Bernama CEO will be appointed after Pakatan consensus, says deputy minister

- Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The new CEO for Bernama will be appointed only after receiving consensus from the Pakatan Harapan leadership, says a deputy minister.

Asked if former editor-in-chief of DAP mouthpiece The Rocket Wan Hamidi Hamid had been offered the job, Deputy Communications and Multimedia minister Eddin Syazlee Shith (pic) said the coalition believed in making decisions collectively.

"In Harapan, when making a decision, it is done collectively. Not specifically by any individual.

"I believe this would be reached through a consensus... collectively, where everyone agrees," he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini after launching the Cybersecurity Malaysia Awards on Tuesday (Sept 25).

Wan Hamidi has been speculated to replace current Bernama CEO Zulkefli Salleh when he retires next month.

Eddin said that he expected to speak to Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo soon about the matter. 

Former culture and information minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim had reportedly said that he was not in favour of Wan Hamidi being appointed for the position, claiming that this would politicise the news agency. 

Wan Hamidi is currently deputy director of the DAP-linked think tank Research for Social Advancement (Refsa).

He has worked with several media companies, including The Star from 1994-1995 and 1997-1999.