Media not allowed at Parliament lobby

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today issued a ruling banning media practitioners from gathering at the Parliament lobby with immediate effect.

From now on, they will only be allowed to operate from the media centre.

Pandikar Amin made the decision following complaints from MPs who were not comfortable with the presence of many media personnel at the lobby.

"I myself do not feel comfortable because I feel the media are everywhere, as if the area out there (the Parliament lobby) is a picnic area.

"So I have decided that the media perosnnel who are in Parliament must report the Dewan Rakyat proceedings or press conferences given by MPs from the media centre. Effective immediately," he said after the oral question-and-answer session ended at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

Pandikar Amin said Standing Order 94 of the Dewan Rakyat gave the Dewan Rakyat Speaker the authority to issue the ruling.