All Malaysian mainstream media is a political paper, that plain. As it cannot be truly independent as it does not have a mind of its own but just more for some group purposes. Hence, public will read/watch the same headline/issues as 20 years back then repeatedly - the politic. This does not make any sense at all. We can see that people start to search for alternative.
In this turmoil time, I expect Malaysian media (the newspaper especially,since they had a long history in our country post independent) to change it direction (political party to release it grab or reporter to be more transparent), show that they can improve better, deliver and able to compete for the people’s trust. The new atmosphere now is full with alternative sources where the internet, foreign media and blog was taking out the mainstream news place in providing platform for the public.
Right now that is not happening. What they are doing is merely to continue dividing the people along religion and ethnic lines. Creating fear and prejudice. Being a political tool by rewriting all of this issues and sentiment over and over again, the media is reporting the same old chapter without any pure effort to unite the society. (we can see through your made up campaign - can we really see it work in reality?)
This is sad. People stop reading the paper, and worse searching and believing information from those unethical bloggers because of this. Because they are fed up with the mainstream news that somehow was clearly political bias. I wonder why the mainstream media and our leader cannot see this as a serious and dangerous event if we continue not to do the right thing to regain the people trust.
For example, recently the Utusan was widely known putting a merely headline of "BANGKITLAH ORANG MELAYU-BERSATU HADAPI TUNTUAN KAUM LAIN YANG KETERLALUAN". What would happen if Chinese and Tamil newspapers had emblazoned ‘Chinese Arise’ or ‘Indian Arise’ headlines on their front-page? I am Malay and I fight for the Malay right too, but why make our multi ethnic society uniqueness fragile? Its okay for one to remind his race on the matter (but with more appropriate and rational context). But what happen here is the main Malaysia media do it? As expected, the opposition has use this, remarking that Utusan is purveying communal poison.
When a political party started to use media as a tool, the other part will somehow use it too and this is how the racial hatred was start.
If we really care about our race (Malay), why not launch a friendly campaign - for them to start taking education and business seriously and stop depending on subsidy. Gain financial freedom through business. Yes, the fact is, market being hold by the Chinese is hard and a lot of Ali Baba and cronyism issues out there is hurting too. But trust yourself, every business start from small and hard situation, even the Chinese start it hard centuries ago, but later when the time come for you to reap what you planted, then is the time for you to start smiling.
Judging the recent headlines in Utusan - The infamous Datuk Sosilawati murder case, I still doubt I will change my position to start reading back this political base controlled newspaper. My mind have set that almost all the mainstream media in Malaysia still does not meet the standard of independence and responsible journalism (this also include all unethical blog and website that was created for the purpose of political agenda).
The only reason I knew about this news is when I heard my staff fluently spit out the detail time line of the murder case. But gosh, it’s so detail. Great stuff I think.
When I hear the news on Datuk Sosilawati murder case where it was shown with a very detail table, the next page read out "a corpe was founded burnt in a abandon building in Johor Bahru", amazingly in the same page some gardener in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan also found a dead body strangle decomposing till death in his garden.
I sat back and think very hard on what is the probable thing that has happened. When the news on Mat Rempit was on up height, everywhere we will hear/see news reporting it, when the issues of dead baby left by some irresponsible teenager, i even get a chain email of pictures of baby corpse, not enough just from the TV and paper. And now the killing extravaganza. Before, Malaysia seems to be some peaceful place to live in, but when you heard that this Datuk also involve with 17 killing accusation?? what the hell? is it killing a people feel the same like killing a mosquito now? are we living in the west now?(not to mention all the underground gang fight and political killing that sprout like hell here). Is this all for real or, anytime a news hit the rating booster, every single reporter will work hard to look something similar to flame up their paper selling? Shockingly some Malaysian (Malay) was still sleeping, still didn't realize what happening around them and only care of all those entertainment gossip and foreign football headline only.
I wonder, what happen when some poor policeman struck by local Mat Rempit (all the effort by the public service officer - try to understand that the public service are not the ruling party or vice versa), scientific breakthrough which so much require publicity for local education to be boost, innovation project or public opinion/view from certain party that only quest for national interest, the real issues behind all local/public problem (economy, consumer price index, environmental, education) that will affect those in the future if keep on politicize by the so called the constituent "representative". Were the coverage given as much as this? One thing that everyone know, a month from the next general election, our paper will turn into garbage that only report on effort and nice doing of political candidate. Ha Ha Ha nothing else happen at that time. No Volcano eruption, no economy crisis, no anything..just focus to the candidate.
It look like that such news which didn't bring any political mileage for one in power or didn’t have a WOW-effects to boost the reader rating probably worth less than a front headline, even less will not be cover at all. The public must accept only what serve to them (Both side of the political parties cannot deny that such a thing happened in paper subjugated within their control - full with shit).
Nowadays, thing have literally change a lot, based on logical assessment, the majority Malaysian is educated and the use of internet is common. They can differentiate and rationalize what’s wrong and right base on the issues (some still shackle by the race and politic center attitude). What’s really matter is how issues was brought, confront by the responsible one and the result. This result is what important. The media can write a page full with the political representative KPI or manifesto but at the end the action speak by itself. And if the news is about the local police case (rape or kill), i think a direct report on the matter is better than writing a descriptive report that will disturb the police investigation and merely look more like a satire to the police.
Today mainstream media wasn’t work like the time of post-independent day. In such way, those times, the paper was the most viable and trusted source of information that unites its reader. It post a critical view on issues that happen at that time without any filtration. Yes, I do understand that today without filtration what happen is thousand of blog/website that post all sort of article and picture that unethically baseless and wasn’t true, hence more or less dividing our unity into section – Fitnah. Everyone talk whatever they want without even care the moral and effect of their action.
This is what I am saying. Back then we have Samad Ismail, Ishak Muhamad, Rahim Kajai, Ahmad Boestaman, Harun Aminurashid (just to name a few), this people share a vital knowledge and issues with the public, urge an action taken by the British, the Government and the Bussiness entity therefore being a apart of the result. This people by being vocal, commit and write news only with their own word of truth - no self interest issues. This is what we lack now.
After 50 years of independent, our paper is still covering issues like "masalah kekurangan beras", "rakyat tidak bersatu-padu". And worse the public now keep on being fed with all kind of effort by the political figure which widely known was using the public money.
The question here, aren’t our government had done a lot to settle this issues? Wasn’t it settled yet? Is there no other important news to be cover? Is it cause by the ruling party order to curb the mind growth of our Malaysian fellow (the major stakeholder in the main newspaper share) or is our media that still live within its comfort zone being back by the government with no competition?
We have done a good job in Jejak Rasul Programme. Aduan Rakyat is also a fresh start for the prime media to speak out for the public. What about the newspaper? How the type of news topic is cover, the format, perspective and focus in reporting the news. Until now the only readable part in the newspaper is that article by a freelance writer. I know that most of the news were so hard to be write but public were living in those bed of roses to long. It’s better to woke them up to realize that the ship is sinking.
What I want to say is, our mind set what it wants to think, and referring to the media psychological theory, we set our mind from what we see. Hence, are they someone trying to define (brainwash) the way we think?
The question that popped my mind is, are all the thing that happened-our mass media news covering trend is cause by some capitalist head who only see how much dollar can be made OR both side of the political party were trying to decapitated the public mind. Or worse, if we can somehow rationalize it, there is a coordinate effort from a higher hand out there that want to MALAYSIA to be as low and backward - in a sense of critical thinking, far from the international issues just like before the post independent era which we now we should taking matter in term of larger scale, the world as a whole.
I am not making an accusation but merely asking people to think rationally. If indeed this is the case, what are the probabilities that it is done by capitalist head/ the ruling party in power or those who are link to The New World Order?
My expectation from the mass media is for them to show us the way for better living-the answer of issues-the critical voice of the people. The weak reaction of the mainstream media in directing the public interest shows how very poorly they work as a professional reporter.
