Some journalists had courted danger in trying to be "heroes", thereby endangering the lives of others in the Malaysian media mission to Iraq, claimed a former government officer who co-ordinated the mission.

Zukri Valenteno, former aide to then Information Minister Khalil Yaakob, said some journalists in the Joint Media Team Malaysia (JMTM) had disobeyed strict orders in relation to personal safety.

"All JMTM members were given specific orders on what to do and how to move around once they were in Baghdad," he said when met at his office in Kuala Lumpur today.

"The team's brief was simple - journalists were supposed to get in, capture the suffering of the Iraqis and get out. All they had to do was stick to that."

This is the first time the government's side of the JMTM story is being told.

Malaysiakini approached Zukri - currently the strategic business development director with an advertising agency - for comments on allegations that the 35-member joint media team was not adequately prepared for the mission and this had almost cost some members their lives.

Last week at a media seminar, The Sun assistant news editor Terence Fernandez and group executive editor Zainon Ahmad criticised the government's handling of the JMTM mission to Iraq.

Fernandez and two journalists as well as two volunteers with a medical relief group Mercy Malaysia, were held hostage at gunpoint by a group of armed men for four hours before they were released unharmed.

Referring to the incident involving the attack on the two vehicles ferrying JMTM members and Mercy volunteers, Zukri said the blame should fall on the journalists themselves.

"A few wanted to be heroes and failed to follow orders. They began doing stuff on their own, went to places and did things that were not part of the team's brief.

"This placed other team members at serious risk," said the ex-journalist who covered politics for The Sun until 1996. He had previously covered conflict zones in Cambodia and Somalia.

Although the JMTM committee was based in neighbouring Jordan, Zukri said the feedback received from the ground clearly showed that the action of some journalists - whom he did not name - had put their teammates at risk.

Choice made

When Khalil proposed sending Malaysian journalists to Iraq and received the green light from then deputy premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Zukri said all major media organisations were immediately offered spots for their representatives.

"They had a choice not to go if they felt strongly against using taxpayers' money for this assignment. What the government did was merely to sponsor their passage (to Iraq) and the logistics," he explained.

"Never at any point during the whole trip did the team's management committee or the government interfere with the reporting or content."

The media team was sent to provide a Malaysian perspective of the war on Iraq to counter the predominantly US-centric media coverage by journalists, many of whom were embedded in the invading military forces.

On Wisma Putra's briefing allegedly asking JMTM members to downplay positive developments linked to the US-led forces, Zukri said that although he was not present, he felt that it might have been about not glorifying the aggressors.

"I don't know why those unhappy with the effort did not send any protest letter or decline the offer to join the team," he said.

"The idea was a noble one - to provide an opportunity for media organisations that otherwise could never afford to send their own journalists and crew to cover the war on Iraq."

Money accounted for

Zukri said the estimated budget allocation of RM4.6 million was held by the Malaysian embassy in Jordan throughout the JMTM mission, which lasted 30 days beginning April 5 last year.

The money, he said, was put to "good use" - the team was flown business class to Jordan, they were provided with warm clothing, jackets with Malaysian media emblem, first-aid kits, five-star hotel accommodation in Jordan and allowances.

Zukri said the information ministry prepared a budget estimate of RM6 million for the mission, which was later revised to RM4.6 million. He refuted unconfirmed reports of an RM8 million allocation.

"The account books have been closed and all monies spent have been accounted for, which is less than the budgeted estimate," he added.

Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin, when replying to related questions in the Dewan Rakyat, said last year that a total of RM2.4 million was spent for the mission.

On the allegations of hasty preparations, Zukri said Khalil only gave him a week to make the arrangements and given the urgency of the situation, he had faced a lot of problems with logistics and the supply of equipment.

"I also tried to get insurance coverage for JMTM members but local and foreign insurers refused, including Lloyd's of London, all citing the war," he said.

He also dismissed the possibility of a similar government-organised mission in the near future.