WHO is the boss in Parliament? That is the question on many people's mind now.

No one seems to know who ordered the ban on media access to the Parliament lobby on Tuesday, which prompted print, TV and online media to immediately unite and boycott lobby news coverage.

The ban not only caught journalists off guard but also Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz, who is in charge of parliament affairs.

Both said they were in the dark about the ban.

Since both were not involved, Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BBC) members took the initiative to remove the red tape barricade that same afternoon.

Deputy BBC club chairman Datuk Bung Moktar Radin said : “The administration did not inform us of the ban, so we need not tell them we are removing the barricade.”

The media boycott lasted for a day and even the functions of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak were not spared.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia called a press conference the next day after news and photos of the media's boycott hit the front pages of several newspapers.

Pandikar said it was a mix-up, a misunderstanding between the press and Parliament administration in the latter’s effort to tighten security.

“There is no winner or loser here, only a mix-up,” he said, while refusing to say if the ban was lifted after the BBC removed the barricade.

However, he said the press was free to move around the Parliament lobby but lines would be drawn against the press who “ambush” certain MPs or ministers.

“I would be the last person to impose a ban on reporters, but could you think again before you put your tape recorder in front of the person you interview. Is he comfortable?” asked Pandikar Amin, who also reminded the press to maintain decorum in pursuit of news stories.

So is that the reason for cracking down on the press?

Reporters cornering ministers at the lobby for stories while cameramen and video crew jostling to get the best angle may have led led Deputy speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar to describe the lobby as messy and chaotic.

“There should be more order at the lobby,” said Dr Wan Junaidi.

The administration was also not happy with a birthday celebration of a five-year-old girl brought in by Opposition MPs and the distribution of red eggs to mark the one-month period of becoming MPs in May. The press were there, too.

Traditionally, the lobby has been an area for the press to approach ministers and MPs to clarify and follow up stories as well as a place for impromptu press conferences.

Before the recent national polls, three or four journalists were enough to cover a Parliament sitting but now a bigger number is required.

Ministers have to be in the dewan to make up the ruling party presence and as a result they are less likely to be attending functions outside Parliament. Reporters have no choice but to track them down in Parliament.

With more Opposition members voted into power after the polls, more reporters are needed in the lobby to cover their stories.

MPs and ministers generally like to mingle the press in the lobby and often give unscheduled press conferences.

However, some appear to find the press presence intimidating and appear to feel they have lost their privacy.

Dr Wan Junaidi and those of his ilk may not realise that the local press does not enjoy the easy access to public information as those in Western countries. The entire Parliament sitting is not telecast live here.

For instance, while each MP got a copy of the Mid-Term Review Report of the Ninth Malaysia Plan on Monday before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled a motion on Thursday to debate it in the dewan, reporters had to beg and borrow from press-friendly MPs to keep the deadline.

A standard reply from the Parliament administration would be “you are not entitled to a copy. Only MPs are.”

The ban on media access is therefore extremely frustrating for pressmen just trying to do their jobs and many view this as an effort to restrict press freedom in Parliament.

As it is, in the name of security and after the 2004 renovation, journalists covering Parliament no longer share the same entrance, staircase, cafeteria, toilet or even the door into the chamber that MPs use.

Now journalists are only allowed to enter via one of the back entrances, submit press tags issued by the Information Ministry in exchange for a Parliament media tag, hand over an identity card to be screened, go through a scanner to scan bags and laptops and climb two flights of staircase before reaching the media centre.

Therefore, the ban on pressmen entering the lobby was the straw that broke the camel's back.

However, with the barricade down and the boycott called off things are not quite back to normal.

The media ban episode does not end with the boycott being called off.

The BBC and Nazri are at loggerheads now over the removal of the red tape barricade. Nazri called the BBC action childish, unbecoming and gangster-like.

In retaliation, BBC chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said Nazri had gone overboard with his harsh comments.

They plan to meet tomorrow to discuss the next course of action.

Nazri has challenged BBC to ask Abdullah to sack him as a minister tomorrow – or shut up forever

The dewan resumes tomorrow.