Editors of online media organisations that have been denied accreditation to cover the Umno general assembly this week, see it as a bid to further restrict media freedom.

Malaysiakini, The Nut Graph, The Malaysian Insider

and Siasah were only notified of the decision today. No official reason has been given.

internet media and print media Merdeka Review was not allowed to cover the last three Umno assemblies because it did not have media accreditation from the Information Ministry.

Although it succeeded in getting media tags last January, its reporters are still barred from the five-day party meeting which begins tonight.

The editors’ comments follow.

Jacqueline Ann Surin, The Nut Graph (TNG)

We will try to report as best as we can from the Putra World Trade Centre. All good journalists are resourceful and TNG journalists are no less resourceful.

We also expect that there is enough media camaraderie for information to be exchanged among the media corps covering the assembly.

I do not know the actual reason for the decision by Umno, but I can say that the message that is being sent out to the New Media is that Umno is somehow fearful of or feels antagonistic towards us.

Day 1 - 59th UMNO general assembly And the only reason I can think of for that is that it is easier for the New Media to report independently of the government and political parties in the ruling coalition, compared to the traditional presses that are bound by the licensing regime under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

But to be fair, I think Umno should be given a chance to explain. After all, they do have a right to choose who to bar and who to allow into their assembly.

But the implications of their actions and what it says about the dominant party in BN is then something that they may then have to deal with. I think any government is capable of restricting media freedom in order to tighten its grip on power.

That is why it is so important to have structural changes such as the repealing or reviewing of media-repressive laws, rather than depend on the goodwill of individual leaders.

It's hard to tell if there will be further media restrictions under incoming prime minister Najib Abdul Razak. Whether that happens will depend as much on him and his advisers as well as on civil society.

Also, I think that instead of asking whether the media will survive under Najib or whoever else may come to power in Malaysia, another important question to ask is: Will Najib or whoever else comes to power survive the media in this day and age where traditional controls no longer work?

Leslie Lau, The Malaysian Insider

We will appeal against Umno’s decision to bar us from the assembly. In the meantime, we will try our best within our limitations to provide coverage of the event and report things accordingly.

Having said that, the organisers (Umno) have the right to invite whoever they want to cover their event, though of course, it is within public interest for us to cover the event and serve our readers.

I have been told that The Malaysian Insider has been grouped along with (socio-political) bloggers.

Honestly, I do not know why we have been denied entry. We have had good dealings with Umno thus far. The other parties in the BN coalition, such as MCA and MIC, have also welcomed us to their functions and always forwarded their press releases to us.

Chang Teck Peng, Merdeka Review

We will still try our best and make every effort to cover the assembly, as we have done for the last three years. Our stand is that the decision by Umno is unacceptable.

As a prominent ruling party, Umno should bear in mind that people are concerned about what is happening at the meeting, such as what issues they are debating and what resolutions they pass.

Umno should promote the free flow of information.

oriental lecture launching 211205 chang teck peng As to why we were denied entry, I think it is because Umno wants to avoid any critical questions which the leaders might unable to answer, such as the alleged involvement of Najib Abdul Razak in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case [which he has denied], as well as recent conflicts within Umno.

If any untoward incident happens during the assembly, it would be widely and quickly disseminated by the New Media. This is another reason why Umno is denying the New Media access.

They can order television stations not to air such incidents but they cannot stop the New Media from doing so.

Zulkifli Sulong, Siasah

We will definitely cover this event, whether through the front door or the back door. The public needs to know the outcome of the Umno meeting because it will affect our society’s future.

zulkifli sulong 280904 zul in harakah office The situation did not start today. It started yesterday with the suspension of Harakah and Suara Keadilan . It is just one of a series of incidents in the ongoing clampdown on media freedom.

The previous Umno assembly, with all its ‘fire’ inside, was telecast ‘live’ and covered by the New Media and this badly damaged the party’s reputation.

They have realised their mistake. Hence, Umno does not want uncontrolled media like Malaysiakini inside the meeting room again. The only media inside will be those that it can control.