KUALA LUMPUR: The New Straits Times Press dominated the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Media Awards 2023 for the print and electronic media category.
New Straits Times reporters Aliza Shah, Iylia Marsya, Amalina Kamal and Kalbana Perimbanayagam won second place with their series of reports following an exclusive interview with MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki. They bagged RM6,000 in cash prize.
Meanwhile, Harian Metro news editor Mohd Jamilul Anbia Md Denin won first place for his report on the selling of genuine birth-certificates and MyKid to enable foreign babies to receive citizenship. He took home a RM8,000 cash prize.
Earlier in his speech, Azam said the strategic cooperation between MACC and the media has enabled the graft-busters to effectively communicate government initiatives and national anti-corruption plans and strategies to the public.
Azam also advised the public not to rely on news on social media, especially regarding investigations conducted by enforcement agencies as their primary source of information.
Instead, he said, mainstream media should be trusted over other sources, especially matters raised on social media.
He said, the mainstream media consists of a professional group with excellent journalistic ethics.
"At present, mainstream media remains the primary source and should be trusted over social media because mainstream media groups consist of professional, trained and licensed media practitioners. Therefore, the news produced is based on reliable sources.
"The mainstream media also plays a significant role in countering the spread of fake news circulated on social media, and one should not consider defamatory news on social media of which the authenticity cannot be verified as mainstream news," he said.