HoDs of govt agencies including enforcement agencies should be more open to media

The heads of department (HoDs) of all government agencies including enforcement agencies should be more transparent and responsible to the media in responding to issues related to the agencies involved, said Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) chairman Datuk Yaacob Md Sam.

He said the attitude of remaining silent by the HoDs would only create more negative perceptions among the public on the agencies, when a certain issue arose.

"I found that some agencies created Facebook (accounts) to interact with the public. However, when there are queries, these agencies failed to reply accordingly.

"This situation should not have happened if the agencies have good management in social media and website monitoring," he said at the EAIC Media Appreciation Night 2017 here today.

Also present was Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan.

Yaacob also reminded media practitioners that the value of a news item did not lie on how sensational or controversial the issue was, but on the high quality and trustworthiness of the news.

Meanwhile, he said EAIC would present a policy paper on strengthening the integrity of enforcement agencies' officers on border control to the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Ali Hamsa, next month.

Yaacob said currently the commission was gathering inputs from the relevant agencies including the Royal Malaysia Police, Royal Malaysian Customs Department and the Immigration Department.

"This policy paper is now in the final process and we're updating the information gathered, among others, on Sabah waters, before it is presented," he said.

Yaacob said EAIC hoped that the security control along the national borders could be further strengthened with the presentation of the paper. - BERNAMA