'Wrong reporting by media unacceptable'

JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers yesterday urged all government departments and service organizations to appoint spokesmen to provide the media with necessary information and clarifications.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also urged public organizations to respond to media queries and respond to negative reports.
The Cabinet said public organizations would have the right to take legal action against the media if they did not publish such responses properly. It also restricted journalism work to those individuals approved by the Saudi Journalists Association.
“The government departments and public organizations have been instructed to publicize their activities and projects through the media,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said. “They should also open channels of communication and cooperation with the media and reply to all their questions and clarifications and use their websites for the purpose,” the minister said while explaining the Cabinet decisions.
“If a media organization published a wrong report about a government department and did not respond properly to its replies or clarifications, it will have the right to take legal action against that media organization and the journalist involved,” the Cabinet said.
Khoja said the Cabinet took the decision after receiving complaints about unauthorized writers publishing wrong reports on ministries and government departments.
At the outset of the meeting, King Abdullah briefed ministers on the outcome of half-yearly consultative GCC summit in Riyadh and emphasized the importance of joint GCC action to achieve greater stability and progress for the member countries.
Khoja said the Cabinet congratulated King Abdullah on the seventh anniversary of his accession to the throne. In his reply the king said: “Saudi Arabia achieved its progress as a result of God’s blessing and sincere efforts of its people.” He called on Saudis to work together to achieve greater progress and prosperity. He urged everybody to thank God and adhere to Islamic teachings, and stressed the need for greater unity and cooperation between the leadership and citizens.
The Cabinet welcomed the constitutional amendments made by the king of Bahrain recently and hoped that it would serve the interests of Bahraini people. It reviewed the preparations for upcoming Haj in light of the decisions taken by the Supreme Haj Committee, which met in Riyadh recently.
The Cabinet instructed the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs to set up a database for real estate property ownership within a year. The new database should be linked with the Justice Ministry and the National Information Center of the Interior Ministry.
The Cabinet endorsed the health cooperation agreement with Sweden, which was signed on May 24, 2011.
It appointed Saleh Al-Muhanna financial adviser at the Finance Ministry; Abdul Rahman Al-Dawood administrative adviser at the Supreme Judiciary Council; Muhammad Al-Hajari assistant deputy governor of Baha; Saud Al-Obaisi mayor of Northern Borders Province; Saleh Jabalawi director general of water in Madinah; Saad Al-Quthami director of the auditing department at the General Auditing Bureau; and Abdullah Al-Saif director general of administrative and financial affairs at the Civil Affairs Ministry.