Ketika Bos Utusan Meloya akui kena selalu usung teloq pemimpin2 UMNO, Hassan Ali terkantoi...

Ketua pengarang Kumpulan Utusan Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak mengakui bahawa akhbar milik Umno itu tidak menyiarkan laporan seimbang tetapi memihak kepada aspirasi parti pemerintah.

Abdul Aziz, 48 berkata sebagai akhbar nasional, Utusan akan melaporkan mengenai isu nasional.

Bagaimanapun, dalam melaporkan mengenai pembangkang, beliau tidak menyifatkannya sebagai laporan seimbang, tetapi memihak kepada aspirasi parti.

Abdul Aziz berkata demikian ketika ditanya peguam, N Surendran dalam perbicaraan kes saman ketua pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini.

Surendran: Dalam memberi liputan isu politik, adakah anda setuju Utusan Malaysia tidak memberi liputan seimbang?

Abdul Aziz: Saya setuju, (laporan) memihak pada aspirasi pada parti pemerintah.

Terdahulu, Abdul Aziz mengakui bahawa Utusan sebahagian besarnya dimiliki Umno tetapi mendakwa parti itu tidak masuk campur dalam proses editorial.

Surendran bertanya sekiranya terdapat seorang wakil Umno dalam lembaga pengarah Utusanyang juga merupakan wakil perdana menteri.

Abdul Aziz mengakui dan berkata, individu dari Umno itu merupakan Tan Sri Hashim Ahmad Makaruddin.- malaysiakini

UMNO miliki 50 peratus pegangan dalam Utusan...

Umno atau syarikat penamanya memiliki pegangan sebanyak 49.77 peratus dalam Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd, menurut laporan tahunannya.

Setiauasaha akhbar kepada perdana menteri Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad juga antara pengarah Utusan Melayu, dedah Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur dalam samannya terhadap harian itu.

"Saya tahu perkara ini kerana Tengku Sharifuddin mewakili kerajaan menandatangani perjanjian dengan firma Apco di Washington. Beliau bukan ketua pengarah jabatan tetapi menandatanganinya bagi pihak kerajaan kerana menjadi setiausaha akhbar kepada PM.

"Pengerusi Utusan Hashim Ahmad Makinuddin dan pengarah Professor Firdaus Abdullah juga dikenali sebagai anggota Umno

"Oleh itu, mengapa melantik mereka jika Umno tidak mengawal Utusan? Tambahan pula kamu ada setiausaha akhbar PM juga sebagai pengarah," kata Anwar.

Anwar berkata, tidak perlu untuk sebuah entiti yang memiliki 51 peratus pegangan untuk mengawal syarikat kerana kepentingan 33 peratus sudah cukup untuk tujuan itu.

Dalam kes ini, katanya, Umno memiliki 49.77 peratus saham dalam Utusan Melayu.- malaysiakini

Hasan Ali gelabah diasak peguam...

Bekas Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor, Datuk Hasan Ali tidak keruan selepas diasak peguam N Surendran berhubung tuduhan beliau kononnya Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim menghalalkan homoseksual.

Dalam keadaan tertekan, Hasan tetap mempertahankan kenyataannya mendakwa Anwar menyokong homoseksual seperti yang disiarkan pada muka depan Utusan Malaysia pada 17 Januari lalu bertajuk “Tolak Anwar – Hasan”.

Berikut adalah soalan yang diasak Surendran kepada Hasan:

Surendran: Anwar telah mengatakan “We Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia generally believe and committed to support the sanctity of marriage between men and women”. Berdasarkan pendapat anda, adakah ayat ini menunjukkan Anwar tidak menyokong homoseksual?

Hasan: Yang Arif saya membaca keseluruhan ayat. Ayat pertama dan ayat kedua (but we should not be seen to be punitive and consider the archaic law as relevant) tidak dapat berdiri dengan sendirinya dan ia tidak memberi maksud homoseksual tidak diterima.

Surendran: Kalau kita lihat ayat kedua, adakah anda setuju ‘archaic law’ adalah undang-undang lapuk?

Hasan: Saya tak setuju sebab kelapukan tidak pernah berlaku dalam undang-undang Islam.

Surendran: Adakah anda setuju tidak ada apa-apa rujukan undang-undang Islam dalam ayat itu?

Hasan: Undang-undang Islam tidak ada tetapi ayat ini merujuk kepada undang-undang Islam.

Surendran: Adakah anda setuju tidak ada rujukan undang-undang Islam?

Hasan: Ya, tidak ada.

Surendran: Berdasarkan kenyataan “We Muslims and non-Muslims in Malaysia generally believe and committed to support the sanctity of marriage between men and women” adakah Anwar menyokong institusi perkahwinan antara lelaki dan perempuan?

Hasan: Ya setuju.

Surendran: Dalam ayat ketiga “We need to review them. We do not promote homosexuality in public sphere and domain”. Adakah ayat itu menunjukkan Anwar menyokong homoseksual?

Hasan: Ya (disambut gelak tawa pemerhati di galeri awam kerana Hasan dilihat tetap mempertahankan pendiriannya).

Surendran: Anda pasti dengan jawapan itu?

Hasan: Ya!

Surendran: Saya cadangkan kepada anda ayat ini tidak sokong homoseksual tapi sokong perkahwinan.

Hasan: Saya tak setuju!

Dalam soal balas itu, Hasan turut ditanya peguam Latheefa Koya adakah sesuatu dosa itu akan menjadi jenayah apabila ia dilakukan di khalayak umum.

Bekas Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Hal Ehwal Agama Islam, Adat-Adat Melayu, Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam Selangor itu menjawab, dalam hukum Islam dosa tetap dianggap satu jenayah tidak kira ia dilakukan secara sembunyi atau terang-terangan.

Latheefa:Adakah anda tahu perbezan antara dosa dengan jenayah.

Hasan: Saya tak pasti.

Latheefa: Saya cadangkan kepada anda sesuatu kegiatan yang dilakukan dalam Islam boleh dianggap sebagai dosa tetapi sekiranya tidak dilakukan di hadapan khalayak ramai, ia tidak boleh dijadikan sebagai jenayah. Adakah anda setuju?

Hasan: Tidak setuju. Sama ada di tempat awam atau tertutup, kalau itu tidak dibolehkan (berdosa), maka ia tetap tidak dibolehkan.- keadilandaily.com

Utusan boss: Yes, my paper is biased...

Utusan Malaysia's group editor-in-chief Abdul Aziz Ishak has admitted that the Umno-owned daily does not provide balanced political coverage and instead promotes the aspirations of the ruling party.

Abdul Aziz, 48, said as with any national newspaper, the daily would report on national issues.

However, in reporting news about the opposition, he would not described it as providing balanced reporting, rather to side towards the aspirations of the ruling party.

Replying to questions from plaintiff's counsel N Surendran during Anwar Ibrahim's defamation trial against the daily, Abdul Aziz was asked whether the daily provides a balanced coverage.

Surendran: In the political arena, do you agree that Utusan Malaysia does not give a balanced political coverage?

Abdul Aziz: I agree, but it is towards siding with the aspirations of the ruling party.

Earlier, Abdul Aziz admitted that Utusan is mainly owned by Umno but claimed the party does not interfere with the editorial process.

Surendran: There is an Umno representative on the board and one who is the representative of the prime minister?

Abdul Aziz: Yes, Hashim Ahmad Makaruddin is the chairperson and he is from Umno.

Surendran: What about PM's representative?

Abdul Aziz: I would not say the person is a PM's representative. He is more of the party (representative).

Surendran: You mean Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad (press secretary to Najib Abdul Razak)?

Abdul Aziz: Yes.

Surendran: Is there any directives given by Umno on the editorial board with respect to contents or articles regarding the opposition?

Abdul Aziz: There is no intervention at all.

Anwar filed the RM150 million defamation suit against the Umno-owned Malay daily and two others, Abdul Aziz and former Selangor PAS commissioner Hasan Ali, over what Utusan reported about his interview with the BBC.

The daily claims that Anwar wants to legalise homosexuality in the country.

'Hasan said the truth'

Asked again by Surendran whether the daily carries only negative reports on the opposition, Abdul Aziz maintained that it raises the aspirations of its political masters.

He said although Umno owns Utusan, its editorial is fairly independent.

“We do also report positive news on the opposition and Anwar, as I agree that Anwar is a national figure,” the Utusan Malaysia editor-in-chief added.

Surendran then asked about what Utusan's deputy editor, Mohd Zaini Hassan, said that the daily allows spinning of its news as long as it attacked the opposition, but this was objected to the newspaper's counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin.

Abdul Aziz admitted that he cleared the title and front page report on the alleged defamatory article and found it to be correct.

He said what was reported to have been said by Hasan (right), who is also Gombak Setia assemblyperson, was the truth.

“We are confident that what Hasan said is the truth,” Abdul Aziz said in replying to another question from Surendran.

“We believe in what we have from Hasan.” he said several times when asked whether the reported news on the issue was the truth.

The witness disagreed that what was reported by Utusan on Anwar was mainly malice.

“I do not agree that we negatively report on Anwar, as there are positive news on him that we have highlighted before.”

Abdul Aziz maintained that the alleged defamatory article was fair comment and the daily had the qualified privilege to publish it.

During re-examination by Firoz Hussein, Abdul Aziz said like any media such as Harakah and Rocket, Utusan fulfilled the aspirations of the party that owned the newspaper.

Hearing before Justice VT Singham continues on Oct 23.- malaysiakini

Umno owns 50 percent of Utusan Melayu Bhd...

An annual report on media company Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd, which publishes Utusan Malaysia, reveals that it is 49.77 percent owned by Umno or its nominee companies.

Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak's press secretary Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad is also one of the directors of Utusan Melayu, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim revealed in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today in his defamation suit against the daily.

"I know this because Tengku Sharifuddin is the one who represented the government in signing a deal with (public relations) firm Apco in Washington. He is not a director-general of a department but signed on behalf of the government by virtue of being the PM's press secretary."

"Utusan chairperson Hashim Ahmad Makinuddin and director Professor Firdaus Abdullah are known to be Umno members. 

"Hence, why appoint them there if it is not Umno that controls Utusan? Furthermore you have the PM's press secretary also as a director," Anwar said.

The opposition leader had two year's ago revealed Najib's dealing with Apco - where he alleged of the firm's links with Israel in mooting the 1Malaysia concept.

Anwar said it was not necessary for an entity to own 51 percent of a company to say that it controlled that company, for even a 33 percent stake was sufficient for control.

In this case, he said, Umno owned 49.77 percent of the shares in Utusan Melayu.

'Maligned by Utusan for 14 years'

 
For the past 14 years, Anwar added, he had been maligned by Utusan and this was done to fulfill the Umno agenda, as the party found him a threat.

"I have been branded a Jewish and also an American agent by the daily. Recently, a cleric was also reported to have said that supporting DAP, which is associated with Pakatan Rakyat, is haram," he said.

Replying to questions from his counsel N Surendran during re-examination, Anwar said this showed that Utusan did not subscribe to the true trends of journalism.

The politician, who celebrated his 65th birthday last week, said when testifying in his defamation suit against Utusan Malaysia for alluding him to be a proponent of homosexuality in conservative Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The daily reported this when quoting former Selangor PAS commissioner Hasan Ali (above, right), who was sacked by the party and removed as a Selangor state executive councillor, calling on Malaysians to reject Anwar for his immoral activities.

Hasan said he based this on Anwar's interview with BBC, in which Hasan said Anwar called for a review of laws relating to homosexuality so as not to be punitive in nature.

Anwar had earlier promised to provide proof of the Umno-Utusan link during the last hearing.
Hasan: Anwar condones homosexuality

Meanwhile former Selangor PAS chief and exco member Hasan Ali described what he understood Anwar's interview with the BBC to mean - that the opposition leader was supporting homosexuality.

“This is the reason I said that I can no longer be with Anwar and the opposition as he was condoning homosexuals,” he said in replying to questions from Utusan Malaysia's counsel Firoz Hussein Ahmad Jamaluddin.

Shown by Firoz the article by Utusan Malaysia which had reported his press conference, Hasan admitted what was reported in the daily was correct.

He added what he understood over Anwar's description when the politician said in the BBC interview that “we will have to review archaic laws and we, Muslims and non-Muslims generally believe and committed to support the sanctity of marriage between man and woman in Malaysia”, was that the Permatang Pauh MP was opposed to Islamic laws.

“This I find as truly unacceptable as I have always maintained that Islamic laws are not archaic and can be implemented until doomsday,” he said.

Quizzed by Surendran under cross-examination, Hasan, 65, said he held the opposing view with Anwar not because he had a crisis with Pakatan Rakyat.

Hasan said he found what Anwar had said in the interview objectionable and that was why he had made a strong statement against the PKR de-facto leader.

He disagreed when Surendran tried to show that what Anwar had actually meant was that he was not supportive of homosexuality as the opposition leader was committed to the sanctity of marriage between man and woman, Hasan replied that was not what he understood from the article.

Asked by presiding judge Justice VT Singham whether he had sought clarification from Anwar before making the statement, the Gombak Setia assemblyperson admitted he did not do so.

Asked further why he did not seek clarification from Anwar, Hasan felt there was no need to do so as he had understood what the article reported by BBC meant.

Hearing before Justice Singham continues on Oct 23. - malaysiakini

Utusan board of directors work as Umno’s reps

 

 

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