PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has pledged to engage with the police after an online portal, Malaysiakini, was barred from covering the latter's event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
"I will contact the police immediately to ensure that there are no restrictions on the media as what had happened to Malaysiakini," Anwar said briefly to reporters after launching the Ihsan Madani portal here today (Friday).
Yesterday, Malaysiakini said it was barred from covering a police event that was supposed to feature Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain.
The "PDRM Special Dialogue II" event started with private discussions by Bukit Aman Narcotics Department and key stakeholders, including other law enforcement agencies from the Home Ministry and the Finance Ministry.
Despite receiving an invitation and confirming their attendance, Malaysiakini journalists were unexpectedly denied entry to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail's event by a Bukit Aman press officer just before its scheduled start.
Previously, Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) and the National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) had firmly rejected any measures that could undermine journalists' ability to protect the confidentiality of anonymous sources.
They emphasised that news should not be dismissed as "untrue" or "invalid" solely because it relied on anonymous sources.
The statement came following the police investigations into an article published by the portal claiming that there would be a major reshuffle of Bukit Aman's top brass.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said a report had been lodged with the police.
He said investigations had been opened for making statements with the intent to cause fear or alarm among the public, and for inducing any person to commit an offence against the state or public tranquillity, as well as misusing network facilities.