comment Controlled freedom of the media to give a positive image to BN seems to be a priority at the Perak state assembly sitting which started yesterday.

The state assembly hall is on the second floor of the state secretariat. But the media were sent up to the visitors' gallery on the third floor to watch the proceedings through a glass panel.

They had to depend on the PA system to hear what was going on.

According to journalists at yesterday's sitting, the audio in the visitors' gallery was switched on and off according to the whims and fancies of the ruling BN.

NONE Political rhetoric sweet to BN's ears was allowed to be filtered into the gallery's sound system whereas anything controversial taking place saw the audio turned off. The media could only watch the soundless events unfolding below.

BN appointed speaker R Ganesan ( right )'s contention for the boxing in the media was that the royalty was coming and many VIPs were also expected.

Hence there was no room for the media in the assembly except in the visitors' gallery.

However, the media noticed a lot of empty seats in the visitors' section in the hall during the royal address yesterday.

Only RTM and Bernama were allowed into the hall for the live reporting and photography sessions.

zambry abdul kadir interview 200409 03 This is a far cry from Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir ( left )'s recent media statement that the press must be given the freedom to report events as they unfold.

Malaysiakini was recently at the receiving end of Zambry's press secretary Nizamuddin Mat Isa who alleged that the news portal was pitting Zambry against former menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in the reporting of the cases of arson at churches in Taiping.

On Monday, during a media briefing on the assembly sitting, Nizamuddin went to great pains to assure the media present that BN was practising democracy by allowing media passes to all who have applied for these.

He also warned Malaysiakini that it has been given a second chance to report positively on the sitting or face possible blacklisting by BN.

The press, like the opposition, were restricted to taking certain lifts to the respective floors where chamber and the visitors' gallery are located.

He also said that the press could only attend media conferences either in the state secretariat library or the menteri besar's office and that all other areas are off-limits.