By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Sept 30: Sarawak Commissioner of Police Dato Mohd Azman Ahmad Sapri has made a sincere apology to the media following a minor ‘misunderstanding’ between the two parties recently.
He mentioned that he had received several complaints from the media fraternity regarding their removal from a WhatsApp Group (WAG) — a form of information channel used to relay information between the police and the media.
“There was no issue, and I have also obtained an explanation on this matter. Following this, we will add the removed media personnel who owns valid media documentation.
“I apologise for the misunderstanding that occurred,” he said during a press conference at Sarawak Police Contingent headquarters today.
After the press conference, Azman also candidly suggested that a gathering with the media be held soon to foster better ties between the two parties.
The issue first came after a total of 48 people, the majority of them from the media fraternity, were removed from the WAG yesterday (Sept 29).
Initially, a public relations officer (PRO) of the police politely informed the group to display their ‘media licence’ to continue staying in the group, while failure to do so would result in them being removed.
A media personnel reportedly responded by simply asking, “Lesen???? (Licence????)”, which prompted the officer to remove him from the group stating that group members who lack manners will also be removed.
In this case, the media licence refers to any document that validates a person as a media personnel which is mainly associated with a media pass issued by the Malaysian Information Department (JaPen) or a support letter by elected representatives (YB). — DayakDaily
