Lame excuse: Malaysias parliament tightens access rules for media interviews
Malaysia’s parliament has introduced new media-centre rules that ban doorstop interviews without permission and restrict access to key premises where lawmakers typically brief reporters, fuelling fears of a narrowing media space. Under the guidelines, journalists “are not allowed” to conduct such interviews – also known as doorstepping – “without permission”, facing written warnings, access restrictions,…
Under the guidelines, journalists “are not allowed” to conduct such interviews – also known as doorstepping – “without permission”, facing written warnings, access restrictions, or referrals to parliamentary security for serious breaches.
The same notice, dated Monday, permits only “official statements” on matters of public interest and parliamentary business, citing standing orders that bar unapproved distribution of statements or documents and limit publications to speaker-approved reports.
Critics argue the changes target a core practice in Westminster-style systems: catching ministers and MPs in corridors as they come in and out of parliamentary sittings.
Wan Saiful Wan Jan, an independent MP aligned with the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition, challenged the changes in the lower house on Thursday, warning they could be read as a curb on lawmakers’ ability to speak freely.
“Ideally, there shouldn’t be anything that shackles MPs’ ability [to express themselves] … [these rules] aren’t needed in a democracy that is maturing in Malaysia,” he said.
