NST's Election Fever Rises




The temperature of election fever is getting higher. In today's (20 February 2004) New Straits Times under the column heading of "Election 2004" on page 4, there ran a few stories that should catch the eye of the concerned and interested reader.

An incumbent party, as always, has many advantages over its competitors. It can promise so-called development funds for certain groups of people who, under normal circumstances, would not make the headlines. And so we have a headline that states, "RM55m to spruce up 452 new villages". In this report, Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting promised to the new villagers that apart from the RM55 million allocated to them, there would be other government funds that would cater to projects such as "resurfacing roads, improving the drainage system and building community halls, recreation and sports facilities."

And very much in the pump-the-flesh tradition among most ruling politicians here and abroad, a photo was inserted to show Minister Ong admiring the haircut of an 18-month-old baby "to the amusement of his mother."

Although the page also carried reports about the Opposition - such as the ones with the headlines "Only 'qualified' Pas candidates to be fielded in Negri" and "Guan Eng submits petition to King seeking a pardon" - the rest (8 reports) were basically allotted to events regarding parties of the ruling coalition. And out of these, three reports are critical of the Opposition: "Support for Opposition in Permatang Pauh waning, says Umno"; "Cheap publicity stunt by Hadi"; and, of course, the usual propaganda about frog-jumping before the general election, "145 Pas members in Tambun join Umno."