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KUALA LUMPUR - More than 100 Malaysian journalists boycotted news conferences at parliament on Tuesday after the authorities restricted media access to parliament to help beef up security.
Malaysia's usually subdued parliament has attracted huge media attention following March general elections that saw a revitalised opposition deny the ruling coalition its two-thirds majority for the first time in 40 years.
Media presence was heavy on Monday after a member party of the Barisan Nasional coalition said it planned to introduce an unprecedented no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
That motion however failed to materialise.
Parliament security guards sealed off the main lobby and the members' lounge to the media, sparking a sharp outcry from the press corp and opposition lawmakers.
'The media's work has been severely restricted as a result of this,' opposition leader Lim Guan Eng told parliament.
'This goes against the concept of First World parliament and it is tantamount to not supporting press freedom,' he said.
The ruling came a day after officials said it would limit the issuance of parliament media passes to just five journalists per organisation.
There was no limit previously.
'Five is more than enough,' parliamentary affairs minister Nazri Aziz said.
'If five is not enough, then something is wrong with you. It shows you are not efficient.'
Parliament officials said the moves were due to security reasons. -- REUTERS
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