According to Malaysiakini, Bernama chief executive officer Roslan Ariffin said he would prefer to have a discussion with Sydney Yap.

“(I told HR) to contact her before pursuing legal action. If she made a mistake (she can) apologise,” he was quoted as saying.

Earlier today, Yap said the Mandarin news segment was seeing less airtime due to a lack of staff, which she claimed was caused by low wages and bureaucracy in hiring new employees.

She also claimed the team had dwindled to just three people from eight previously.

This led to Bernama threatening a lawsuit against her, a move which drew criticism.

Roslan said widespread media reports about Yap’s case had tarnished the image of the state-owned agency and even the government.

He also questioned why she had not raised any complaints during her three years with Bernama TV.

Each year, he said, contract staff’s tenure is renewed and comes with a pay raise based on the government service guidelines.