He said there is no issue with the police asking journalists to identify their sources as part of investigations, as that is their right.

At the same time, journalists are permitted to maintain their stance of not revealing their sources.

“Journalists have the right to report, but the police also have the right to investigate according to the law.

“They (journalists) can continue to defend their reports and sources. When asked (by the police), just decline to reveal.

“There is no issue,” he told a press conference after flagging off participants of the 2024 Kembara Merdeka Jalur Gemilang convoy today.

Yesterday, three journalists with the Malaysiakini news portal were questioned for more than an hour over an article about an alleged reshuffle of top officers at Bukit Aman.

Their lawyer, Rajsurian Pillai, said they were asked 27 questions and they chose to answer most of them in court if they were charged.

The article on Tuesday quoted a police source as saying deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay and Bukit Aman criminal investigation department director Shuhaily Zain would be transferred to head other agencies.

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain denied any reshuffle would take place.

Fahmi today denied the media industry’s image would be impacted by such incidents, following Malaysia’s decline in the World Press Freedom Index.

“The calculations by Reporters Without Borders for the ranking do not solely take into account the specific country’s performance but are relative to the situation in other countries.

“Even if we are at par (with others) based on the metrics, if other countries show an improvement, our ranking would still drop,” he added.