Utusan hauls up NUJ head over criticism
National Union of Journalist (NUJ) president Hata Wahari’s vocal stance against his employer Utusan Malaysia has landed him in hot soup.
National Union of Journalist (NUJ) president Hata Wahari’s vocal stance against his employer Utusan Malaysia has landed him in hot soup.
He has been hauled up for a domestic inquiry over his scathing comments against the Utusan’s editorial policy.
Hata (
right
) told
Malaysiakini
that he received a notice on Dec 27 informing him of the Jan 6 inquiry at the daily’s headquarters in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
“I am allowed to appoint a representative who will be allowed to speak on my behalf,” he said.
The notice said that he stands accused of insulting the company’s management and tarnishing the company’s image following his comments that appeared in several publications.
Hata is a senior journalist with Utusan Malaysia and was elected NUJ president last September.
Since then, Hata had repeatedly criticised Utusan Malaysia for publishing pro-Umno propaganda and blamed its editorial policy for the daily's dwindling circulation.
'Raising the awareness of the Malays'
Hata has also reportedly been told to quit Utusan if his views are not in line with the newspaper's struggle to raise "the awareness of the Malays".
He revealed that, barely a month after hs election as NUJ chief, he was issued a show-cause letter from
Utusan
.
"This followed the first statement I issued as (NUJ) president," said Hata, who received another show-cause letter the following month.
In the second letter, Hata was accused of revealing company secrets - a matter which was not raised in the ongoing internal investigations against him.
Asked whether he would cooperate with the management on the investigations, Hata said: "I will go (to the hearing). No problem."
Hata - whose organisation has 1,300 journalists nationwide - also said he is not surprised by the action against him.
"It was expected," he said.
On Sept 3, 2009, Utusan investigated and dismissed former NUJ ( Utusan branch) chief Amran Ahmad over claims he had maligned the company following a report he had lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
