KUALA LUMPUR (July 17): The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has told the Human Resource Development Corp (HRD Corp) to stop intimidating journalists or any media outlet, and retract its letter of demand to The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd.
The committee's chairperson Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin expressed deep concern over HRD Corp's threat to take legal action against the company, which publishes The Edge Malaysia weekly and theedgemalaysia.com, stating that they clearly threaten press freedom in the country.
"PAC condemns the actions taken by HRD Corp and views this matter as an attempt to pressure the media not to publish reports on HRD Corp,” Mas Ermieyati said at a news conference on Wednesday.
HRD Corp's actions is “an attempt to prevent The Edge from carrying out their responsibilities as media practitioners,” she said, emphasising that the media has the right to report news and articles, upholding the principle of press freedom.
Mas Ermieyati said that this is the first instance since PAC's establishment in 1959 that a ministry or agency has issued a letter of demand and threatened legal action against parties discussing or commenting on its report, as well as the auditor general's report.
"Even when we dealt with bigger issues, such as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which is owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated), neither 1MDB nor the Ministry of Finance has ever issued a letter of demand or threatened to sue the media," she noted.
She called on HRD Corp to withdraw the letter of demand submitted to The Edge or any media company and to stop intimidating journalists or any mass media.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong has since said that he has instructed HRD Corp to retract the letter of demand to The Edge.
On Tuesday, The Edge reported that HRD Corp had threatened legal action against The Edge Communications and one of its journalists for alleged defamation related to its reporting on the PAC and the auditor general's findings concerning the agency.
In a letter of demand issued by the law firm Amrit & Company on behalf of HRD Corp, the media company was accused of unfairly, deliberately, and maliciously misquoting, sensationalising, and misinterpreting findings by the National Audit Department in two articles: "PAC flags dubious property deals by HRD Corp" and "Frankly Speaking: Total breach of governance at HRD Corp."
HRD Corp claimed these articles were intended to defame the agency and its officials, exposing them to public scorn and damaging their professional reputations.
The demand letter insisted on the removal of the articles, a formal written apology published in two English dailies and The Edge's website within 48 hours, and sought damages for the alleged harm suffered.
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