By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 11: DayakDaily journalist Nancy Nais will lodge a police report against a ‘pengawas’ who manhandled her when she was covering the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) election at Paramount Hotel in Sibu today.
Standing five feet tall and weighing 42kg, the petite journalist was practically “grabbed and shoved” out of the room where the e-voting was in progress.
Nancy narrated that the incident happened at about 11.30am when she went to the 3rd floor, where the e-voting was being conducted.
“As I was taking pictures and video, a man in red shirt (with the ‘Pengawas’ tag) suddenly grabbed my upper right arm and forced me out of the room towards the hotel lift.
“I told him not to touch me, but he maintained his firm grip on my arm and pulled me away. He said I was not allowed to enter nor take pictures or videos, but hand was still grabbing my arm.
“He finally let go of my arm after I said, ‘Don’t you dare touch me!’” said Nancy.
She said there were many other officials and voters in the hall, but no one came to her assistance.
“They could have told me nicely that it was forbidden to take pictures and videos. There was no need to get physical like that. All it takes is a bit of civility and diplomacy,” she said.
Nancy has been advised by many on her social media page to lodge a police report, including Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian.
“However, as I have to fly back (to Kuching) soon, I will lodge my police report in Kuching,” said Nancy, who is from Kuching.
Meanwhile, in a WhatsApp reply, Baru told DayakDaily: “Hope she lodged a police report. We do not condone such action!”
Nancy was sent by DayakDaily to cover the PKR party polls in Sarawak, which started yesterday and is scheduled to end today.
Yesterday, she went to Julau to cover the high-profile PKR Julau polls and managed to reach Sibu late last night. This morning, she tried to cover the PKR Sibu election, but she unexpectedly received nasty treatment.
Nancy is a seasoned journalist. She was formerly with Malaysia Today, The Star and the New Straits Times before joining DayakDaily last year. — DayakDaily
