Details of the cabinet decision to air party manifestos on national broadcaster RTM and other broadcasters would only be announced when an election is called, said Information Minister Rais Yatim today.

"It depends on when Dewan Rakyat is dissolved, and when that happens we will give this information to all stakeholders," he told a press conference.

He reiterated that the airing of manifestos would be judged on newsworthiness, and no one should unfairly throw accusations at one another.

"RTM for example is a government broadcaster. So the government, which has the power to provide this facility, has certain interests and statements that should be respected. God willing we will lay it out in detail in the upcoming announcement," he said.

He also said this decision does not affect print media because it is not under the purview of his ministry.

However, when asked, he declined to answer what is considered ‘newsworthy', saying that now was not the time.

Yesterday, Rais announced that the cabinet had approved a decision for time to be allocated for political parties to air their manifestos , but did not give details of its terms and conditions.

Both the parliamentary select committee (PSC) for electoral reform and the Bersih coalition had both called for equal media access to ensure fair elections.

Bersih had previously criticised the proposal when it was first announced , saying that giving equal airtime alone does not necessarily ensure balanced reporting. 

'Demands not just during elections'

Former information minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir hit out at Rais’ suggestion, saying that demands for fair access to the media are not just during elections.

“Fair access means reasonable access, at least three to five month before elections, all parties should be given access to media,” he said at the launch of his new party Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia.

“Why does the government keep saying that they have accepted most of the recommendation by the PSC, the question is not acceptance but when are you going to implement it?” he said.

He added that fair access also requires equal opportunities to air one’s opinion.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the cabinet decision proves that BN has nothing to fear.

“We accepted the parliamentary select committee on electoral reform’s proposal... BN is transparent and open, we are not worried,” he said at Taman Melawati, Selangor today.

He said that the government will now discuss the guidelines with the Election Commission on matters of duration, time slot and topics allowed.

“The Information Ministry will go into the details, we will discuss the best way to do this,” he told reporters after launching the Puncak project.

Puncak is a project to equip youths with vocational skills and is run by Yayasan Kepimpinan dan Strategi Malaysia and Permuafakatan Badan Ilmiah Nasional.

The NGOs receive support from DRB Hicom, which has pledged 200 jobs for Puncak participants and provided RM50,000 in funding for the project.

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