Have integrity and honesty, journalists told
Published on: Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Journalists have the responsibility to discharge their duties with integrity and honesty.Their reports should be based on facts rather than distortion, which could tarnish the nation's image, said Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Vice Chancellor, Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah."Journalists are committed to their responsibilities towards the community and nation. Therefore, they must deliver a clearer picture to the people of a situation.
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"They (journalists) must not be influenced by rumours spread through the social media the validity of which can be questioned," he said when officiating at the 1Malaysia Young Journalists Course (Zamalah Wartawan Muda 1Malaysia 2015 Sabah) at Sky Hotel here, Monday.He also explained that most journalists today face a lot of challenges due to globalisation."Therefore, it is important for them (journalists) to increase their knowledge in journalism as well as the government's programme and policies to produce precise and high quality news apart from being the catalyst for the nation's development and transformation," he said. Nine journalists from Sabah, eight from Sarawak and six from the peninsula are participating in the two-week course.
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Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Chamil Wariya in his speech advised the participants to take the opportunity given to enhance their journalism knowledge."Give your full commitment and concentration to all the 13 invited speakers throughout this course. The speakers are veteran journalists who are well experienced such as, Harian Metro Group Editor Datuk Mustapa Omar, Daily Express Chief Editor James Sarda, The Star Senior Consultant Editor (Training and Legal Affairs) T. Selva and others who have received various international and national awards," he said.
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According to him, there will also be talks delivered by experienced academicians from universities such as Professor Dr. Azizah Hamzah from Universiti Malaya (UM), Professor Datuk Hamdan Adnan of UMS as well as Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) lecturers, Professor Dr. Mus Chairil Samani and Dr. Jeniri Amir."Besides that, we will also have two law lecturers, Professor Dr. Salleh Buang who is a visiting professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Professor Dr. Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz from Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) who will be touching on the nation's legislative, executive and judiciary, interaction as well as confrontations for check and balance."It is important for us journalists to understand the law as it involves all of us. Your organisations could be fined or prosecuted under the Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act, Official Secrets Act, Penal Code and others," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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