Online sources more sympathetic to Fong Po Kuan's withdrawal

Undeniably, the top story of the day was Fong’s announcement of her decision not to contest in the upcoming elections. Malaysiakini provided a 794-word report of the press conference called by Fong yesterday, simply entitled “Fong quits Batu Gajah.” The report noted that, while Fong did not offer reasons for her decision at the press conference, “there are wide speculations that internal party turmoil was the reason behind her decision”. While Malaysiakini offered no sources for these “wide speculations,” Fong’s letter to DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng – circulated to the media – confirmed this allegation.

Malaysiakini’s subdued approach to the story stood in contrast to those of The Star and the New Straits Times. The Star’s front page article, headlined “Fong drops a bomb,” dubbed the incident as “the latest crisis in the opposition party” while alleging that it “is a result of state party leaders trying to grab her Batu Gaja parliamentary seat”, citing unnamed “sources”. This statement is repeated in the inside page article quoting an unnamed “insider sympathetic to Fong” (page N3). The continued use of the phrase “latest crisis” gives the impression that the DAP party is experiencing continuous, detrimental conflict, while the description of the insider being “sympathetic to Fong” lends credibility to the source.

The New Straits Times front page article, “Po Kuan cries off,” calls her decision a “major blow to DAP in Perak” and refers to “internal politicking” as her reason, a term that specifically connotes self-interested politicians in the party. theSun was the only publication that used Fong’s own words – “internal party events” – to describe what was happening within the DAP without adding supplementary rhetoric. In addition, NST stated that Fong’s decision “threw the Perak DAP into disarray.” Both “crisis” and “disarray” are suggestive terms that rupture an image of strength and unity and question the leadership capabilities of the DAP.

Referring to one of its previous reports, Malaysiakini recalled that Fong was allegedly being pressured by the state leadership to contest elsewhere and to relinquish the Batu Gajah seat to Nga Kor Ming. Malaysiakini and theSun both noted that Perak DAP chairperson, Ngeh Koo Ham, denied forcing out Fong. The Star featured the allegation – acquired from unnamed sources – both on the front page as well as within the article. The Star reported that Fong’s nomination of Thomas Su Keong Siong was to prevent Nga from succeeding her, again quoting unnamed “party insiders”. The article then emphasised that “it is well known that Fong does not get along with Nga or…Ngeh” and that “[they] are not on talking terms”, supporting the image of a party in conflict.

Unlike the The Star, both Malaysiakini and the New Straits Times reported Fong’s own reasoning for suggesting Su – his dedication and action-oriented personality – though Malaysiakini offered two direct quotes from Fong while NST merely paraphrased them into a single sentence. Both publications directly quoted her willingness to support Su’s campaign.