Press Statement by Lim Guan Eng in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 17^th May 2009: 

The Transport and Health Ministry should explain why the screening procedures failed completely to detect the two influenza A (H1N1) cases into Malaysia from United States(US) 

The Transport and Health Ministry should explain why the screening procedures failed completely to detect the two influenza A(H1N1) cases into Malaysia from the US at the point of entry at the airports into Malaysia.

Whilst DAP agrees with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that Malaysia needs to impose tight screening at airports, especially on passengers coming in from the United States and other countries affected by the outbreak, the public have a right to answers to this questions.

What guarantees are there that the screening procedures applied now would be effective in screening out those suspected cases? The consequence is that all 101 passengers and five crew members who were on an AirAsia flight where the patient was in that flew from the low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang to Penang on May 13 will also be put under home quarantine immediately.

Whilst the two cases are stable, the public hopes for an effective screening mechanism that can also relieve public fears and regain public confidence so that our tourism industry and business climate is not unduly affected by the outbreak.

The Mainstream Media(MSM) should apply the principles of the right of reply and stop self-censorship to regain public credibility and restore freedom of the press

DAP calls on MSM in the country, especially Utusan Malaysia(UM) and New Straits Times(NST) to heed the advice of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to promote freedom of the press by ending self-censorship. Clearly, newspapers such as NST and UM has practiced the art of self-censorship to such a level that the official censors could not do a better job.

Mahathir had told a Bloggers United Malaysia’s dialogue that the media self-censored itself because they wanted to make the national leaders happy That was why the internet and blogging as an alternative media of independent news was so popular and effective in breaking the self-censorhsip.

DAP fully agrees with Mahathir’s disappointment towards the self-censorship attitude of MSM until Mahathir himself has “stopped reading the New Straits Times”. The MSM should apply the principles of the right of reply and stop self-censorship to regain public credibility and restore freedom of the press. As long as they fail to do so, then the public should do what Mahathir had done by stopping reading the NST.

* Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General & Penang Chief Minister; Member of Parliament for Bagan