Doing a service to the nation on World Press Freedom Day

In the midst of the frenzy with which most local dailies report the return of the trainees from the hastily hatched National Service, a piece published on page 5 in today’s (3rd May) The Sun by no less than The Edge’s group executive editor/financial analysis editor, P. Gunasegaram, comes as a blessing especially on World Press Freedom Day.

In this article, Gunasegaram raises a number of pertinent questions about the national call-up programme that had gone awry. These questions are more searching given the context where the ministers and the officials concerned have gone on denial mode. One of the vital questions he raises that should not fall on deaf ears is, how can a three-month scheme correct what 11 years of schooling can’t? And his concluding remark is no less important, either: “Sometimes it’s simply better to admit failure and start anew.”

To publish opinion pieces or news that critically examine some of the government policies and actions gives more meat to World Press Freedom Day celebrations. Furthermore, to do so is one of the more meaningful and patriotic services that one can offer to the nation.