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Zaid Ibrahim recently said only a handful of news outlets reported the details of the press conference with Ong Ing Keong, 46, held at the Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) headquarters, according to MalaysiaKini. Zaid claimed that there is interference in the media climate such that a “blackout” prevented mainstream platforms from reporting said conference.
Mainstream media articles were deleted
Netizens highlighted main outlets such as Astro Awani deleted their article on it. I tried searching for articles from other news outlets as well but unfortunately, there was no luck.
Pivotal details to know
The important details disclosed in the press conference are pivotal in giving new leads to the respective authorities to investigate further as well as information for the public to know the truth.
According to MalaysiaKini, Ong "recounted that there was a Palace representative" when he was in the Brickfields police headquarters and that the police “prepared a second report, instructed him to sign it and accept a compensation fee".
On top of that, this case has also raised concerns for more protection towards the disabled community as demanded by The Malaysian Deaf Advocacy and Well-being Organisation (DAWN) in a report by TRP.
DAWN claimed the police “treated Ong like a suspect”; they did not attend to him for hours and they had him handing his phone over “without explanation”. What's worse is that Ong's request to call his wife and a friend was declined.
This all happened prior to the instruction to sign said second report.
It must have been stressful for him as he had no one by his side, and to go through this ordeal alone is saddening.
Amidst this ordeal, DAWN calls for “more protection and attention from the police, the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development (KPWKM), the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), and other authorities concerned with justice for vulnerable groups".
Furthermore, The Star reported The Regent of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim (TMJ) does not “condone any illegal action or intimidation by a security escort team”. He has also “urged the authorities to further investigate this issue”.
Since TMJ have clarified his thoughts on the matter, why did the media “blackout” take place? Why were the main platforms refraining from reporting the pivotal press conference further?
Malaysia has already dropped 34 places in the World Press Freedom Index and this crisis would only further aggravate the country's berth.
Ng Zhen Hao is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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