COMMENT | Journalism is under attack

COMMENT | It is said that journalists write the news, not write it. They do both intermittently in Malaysia.

In 2004, three Malaysian journalists who were part of the 35-man Malaysian Joint Media Team (JMTM) team covering the US invasion of Iraq were kidnapped but later released. Among them was my former colleague Terence Fernandez.

Authorities claimed they failed to comply with strict orders regarding personal security.

“All JMTM members were given specific instructions on what to do and how to act when they arrived in Baghdad,” said coordinator Zukri Valenteno, who was deputy to then-information minister Khalil Yaakob.

“The team’s brief was simple; journalists were supposed to go in, record the suffering of Iraqis, and leave. All they had to do was stick with it.

“A few people wanted to be heroes and did not follow orders. “They started doing things on their own, going places and doing things that were not the team’s job,” he said.