MEDIA practitioners in the country were today advised to be prepared for possibilities that may threaten their safety when on duty abroad.

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said media practitioners cannot assume they would always be protected and should avoid visiting countries where they safety may be at risk.

"For example, if they want to go to a war-stricken or chaotic country, we should put that as a last choice.

"We cannot determine immediately if protection will be given, or the insurance that we have can guarantee anything," he told reporters after visiting the house of Chennah assemblyman Datuk Siow Chen Pin in Titi here today, in conjunction with Chinese New Year celebration.

He was asked to comment on the death of Al-Jazeera producer Claudia Theophilus, who was killed in an accidental shooting in Lebanon last Saturday.

Expressing his sadness over the incident, Rais said safety should not be regarded lightly, especially if it was life-threatening, and media practitioners should forgo an assignment if they feared their safety.

"Our lives are valuable and we cannot do anything when an accident or fatality occurs, so we must always be ready and exercise extra caution when covering an assignment overseas," he said.

Earlier, Rais, who is also Jelebu Member of Parliament, said the Chinese New Year celebration this year showed a good multi-racial spirit which embodied the success of the 1Malaysia concept.

"We value this closeness through the respect given to each religion as well as meeting the demands of the society.

"We hope after this, we will be able to carry out instilling noble values and attitude change to help each other," he added. -Bernama