No demos, we’re Malaysian (media)

11 March was the day after certain political parties, civil society groups and concerned individuals staged a second major demonstration in Kuala Lumpur against the recent petrol price hike. Predictably, not many mainstream newspapers were prepared to report on this incident of national political significance.

The few newspapers that covered and reported the protest, held at the Petronas Twin Towers and its vicinity, did so rather sheepishly. The Star, for instance, buried the demo story in the inside pages, under an odd headline: ‘Stop it, says IGP’. As in many cases of blacked out stories, mainstream newspapers in Malaysia tend to inform readers of the response of the authorities to incidents that have occurred. Readers get a sense of what happened previously via the response and perspective of the authorities concerned and by reading between the lines.

Avoiding the D-word

Yes, you get a picture of what happened – a picture that is framed by the authorities. The account, focusing on the police chief’s response, gave the impression that the crowd was rowdy and a threat to peace and that the police would not tolerate any future demonstrations. What was lost along the way is the fact that the demonstrators, or at least the majority of them, had gathered peacefully to express their grievances over the price hike.

The headline also assumes and gives the impression that readers know what ‘it’ meant. It does look as though the ‘D’ word (demonstration) is taboo in the mainstream press.

Similarly, the front page of The Star on the same day carried the headline, ‘PM: I know you’re angry’. It reported on the premier’s response to the angry expressions of ordinary Malaysians towards the petrol price increase. Again, it was primarily a response from the government to something that had occurred a few days ago but was not reported by the press. To reiterate, it is a common practice of the mainstream press to publish the response of the authorities towards something that has been blacked out while at the same time giving the authorities the space to respond on their own terms.

In the same reportage, the PM also unveiled the government’s plan to conduct periodical public opinion polls via the Public Complaints Bureau and RTM. This is an indication that the government is concerned with the unhappiness among Malaysians that has been expressed publicly through street demonstrations, over the Internet and, to a certain extent, in the local dailies.

A culture of investigate journalism would have spurred journalists to seek clarification about possible inherent weaknesses in the opinion poll. For instance, there is of course the potential for a government-run poll to consciously avoid asking searching and embarrassing questions; such as, what do Malaysians think of highway toll? What do they think of the ‘national car’ project? Should the GLCs be bailed out if they run into financial difficulties? In other words, the people who run the polls can be selective and frame the questions in a certain way while giving the impression that they are providing space for citizens to air their frustration and views.

If there was any redeeming grace for The Star that day, it was in its publishing of a full-page open letter to the Higher Education Minister penned by a plucky and articulate academic from Universiti Malaya, Dr Azmi Shahrom. In a sense, he spoke truth to power, lamenting about the problems that have been plaguing public universities in the country. We wait with bated breath for the minister’s concrete response, failing which we again hold our breath for the ‘People’s Paper’ to follow up on this important issue.


... and missing the bus

The Sunday (12 March) editions of both the NST and The Star were also busy with stories of public transportation. This is in the wake of the government’s promise to improve public transport using the money saved from the petrol subsidy reduction. These dailies reported on the difficulties of getting decent public transport in and around KL and elsewhere. This coverage was commendable as it spoke eloquently of the problems that commuters face on a daily basis.

But, as we are fully aware, this is not a problem of national dimensions that has sprung up overnight. Ordinary Malaysians have expressed similar complaints about public transport for years, but the press did not seem to take them seriously – that is until the PM and his cabinet ministers, peering through the tinted windows of their chauffer-driven limousines, recently confirmed that, surprise, surprise, public transport is indeed in bad shape. In other words, the press only rely on the cues given by the powers-that-be while often ignoring the dire warnings given by ordinary citizens. This is what we call ‘cue journalism’ at its best – or rather worst - and it amounts to a shameful abdication of the press’ social responsibility.