The former deputy director of RTHK has expressed concern about the ability of the public broadcaster to handle sensitive political issues in a fair, open and impartial manner amid the uncertainty about its future.
Raymond Ng Sek-fai, who retired as second-in-command at the public broadcaster this week, said he believed RTHK should separate from the government system and become a statutory body.
'There have been controversies over the role of RTHK as a government department and a media organisation at the same time, particularly about the need for flexibility,' Mr Ng told the radio's Civil Society programme.
He said that as a media organisation, efficiency and vibrancy were the most important things, yet they seemed to run contrary to the strict adherence to proce- dures required by a government department.
He said the ongoing government review of its public broadcasting policy had created a good opportunity to solve those problems.
The review panel, set up early this year, is headed by a former head of TVB's news section, Raymond Roy Wong. The panel will table a report to the government at the end of October, after its nine-month review is completed.
