Media Statement by Teo Nie Ching in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 14^th July, 2009:

Najib is ‘going against his own words’

Teo Nie Ching, Assistant Secretary of National Publicity Bureau was hitting on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in regards to him ‘going against his own words’, promoting democracy and freedom on one hand, while suppressing media on the other hand, intending to wipe off the negative remarks directed towards him by the media.

She issued a press statement stating that, Florence Looi, the host of the English forum show of ntv7, ‘Point of View’ which discussed about political and current issues, was given warning and transferred to other departments for inviting guests to evaluate Najib’s performance after he has gained power. This is unacceptable and has proven Najib’s intolerance towards different views and opinions.

“If Najib wants to be a PM of the citizens, then he must be opened to criticism and listen to the voice of the people, since the people have the rights to judge and supervise the federal government’s administration as well as providing the PM with constructive opinions.”

She stated that, ‘Point of View’ is an informal chit-chat forum show, with Looi as the host, mainly is to allow citizens from all walks of life to provide different views in regards to issue at hand. It is highly unlikely that all the contents are pro-government.

Teo said, the sad thing is, Looi was punished for inviting commentators to evaluate Najib. This is no doubt the act of the government to pressure and suppress the media.

She pointed out that, Malaysia has been going down the ladder in the Freedom of Information Ranking over the years. Looi’s incident will only worsen the situation; while under Najib’s government, the freedom of information which is longed for by the media worker is apparently further from their grasp.

* Teo Nie Ching, DAP Assistant National Publicity Secretary & MP for Serdang