Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has reportedly barred the media from reporting a closed event at which he allegedly made “sensitive remarks” yesterday, threatening to close down all news dailies.
According to an Oriental Daily report today, this transpired after Zahid discovered several journalists amongst the audience at a security seminar with community leaders held in Malacca.
The minister then “invited” the journalists to leave the scene, reported the Chinese paper.
According to the report, Zahid earlier introduced several Umno candidates to the audience of the forum and then allegedly proceeded to make “sensitive remarks” in his speech.
However, the report did not elaborate on what these remarks were and did not identify the media involved.
As the speech progressed, a Malacca Umno leader discovered the journalists and ordered his men to ask them to leave.
The minister’s secretary, who sat at the same table with media personnel tried to assist the journalists, and it was at this point that Zahid took notice.
The minister then warned that it was a closed door event and prohibited the media in every language from publishing the contents of the forum, failing which he warned he would have the dailies all closed down.
After Zahid’s warning the audience booed at the journalists, forcing them to make an exit, reported Oriental Daily.
Outside, the organiser tried to explain to the disgruntled journalists that it was all a “misunderstanding”.
This appears to be Zahid’s second assault on the media in a week, after he harassed Malaysiakini’s journalist on Friday (above) for asking questions about the Home Ministry’s loss of weapons detailed in the Auditor-General’s Report 2012.