KUCHING: Leaders and members of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) have been advised to respect the freedom of the press and journalists.
PKR Betong Division chief Vernon Kedit said at the very least journalists should be treated with respect and dignity.
Vernon was commenting on the incident during PKR elections at a hotel in Sibu on Sunday where Dayak Daily reporter Nancy Nais claimed that she was manhandled by an election supervisor at the election centre while she was taking videos and pictures.
Nancy claimed that a man in red shirt with the ‘pengawas’ tag suddenly grabbed her upper right arm and forced her out of the room towards the hotel’s lift.
Nancy said she had lodged a police report on Sunday at the IPD One Stop Centre in Kuching.
“On behalf of the party, I apologise to Nancy Nais for what had happened to her and I would like to tell her that the party doesn’t represent such thing,” he told reporters.
He said the person involved needs to apologise to Nancy and come out with a statement on why he had acted as such.
“Of course it is wrong and should not have been done in the first place,” he said and urged his colleagues in PKR to respect the freedom of the press and the media and treat all journalists with respect.
Meanwhile, Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian in his whatsApp reply on Sunday had advised Nancy to lodge a police report on the incident, adding that PKR does not condone such actions. -Bernama
