No censorship during the Umno General Assembly, says information chief

KUALA LUMPUR: There is no censorship of the media coverage for the Umno General Assembly 2018, says party information chief Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.

He said that the party did not block the dissemination of any information, control the content of the debates or block any coverage by the media throughout the assembly.

"This is the first time we allowed (news portal) Malaysiakini. Whatever it is, we hope that we will continue to receive cooperation from all the media until the end," he said during his visit to the media centre here at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) on Sunday (Sept 30).

Unlike previous years, Umno has decided that the debate session on the final day of the assembly will be a closed-door event, with a delayed telecast of the debates shown on the screens at the media centre in Bilik Mawar here.

Asked why it was a delayed telecast instead of a live feed, Anuar said any parties that wanted faster information can contact the organisers directly.

"In fact, we have not tried to control any form of news that is going to be published. We hope it will be reported in a positive manner

"The telecast is not something new, we have done it before previously. It is just a slight delay, we are not hiding anything.

"The media is free to interview any of the debaters outside the dewan and get their comments," he explained.

"We have even given the debaters the freedom to talk and criticise our leaders as part of the party's process to rebuild itself.