Sabah, Sarawak papers carry BN threats to voters

The Borneo Post and The Daily Express have carried reports effectively warning voters that they risk losing development grants in their areas if they vote for the opposition

This was a line in a Daily Express report: "Should the opposition win a seat in the coming election, (Sabah Chief Minister) Musa said he would not even want to see the opposition Assemblyman if the latter went to see him."

It is simply amazing that newspaper editors, acting more like messenger boys or stenographers, can publish such threats without any critical response. In any democratic nation worthy of the name, such threats could have met with severe sanctions from independent Election Commissions and would have been condemned in a free press. Alas, not here in Malaysia, where politicians and editors join forces to bombard readers with not only propaganda but also blatant threats.

The BN, along with its sycophantic newspaper editors, has a strange notion of democracy. "Vote us or else!" At least the brutal generals in Burma are more honest: they don't pretend to be democratic.

- The Borneo Post Online - http://www.theborneopost.com -

Grants only in BN-held seats
Posted By rajlira On 28th February 2008 @ 10:00 In Local

Voters should know by now seats won by DAP in last state election
without devt projects: Chan

KUCHING: Constituencies under Democratic Action Party (DAP) after the 2006 state election are suffering today because they have been cut off from government projects and development grants.

Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) assistant treasurer Chan Seng Khai, one of the casualties of the 2006 election, said Batu Lintang would have suffered more if not for Datuk Yong Khoon Seng who is still the Stampin Member of Parliament.

"In 2007, Yong alone received RM8.29 million in government grant and this grant had helped us a lot in Batu Lintang and Sungai Maong area," he told a press conference here yesterday.

Chan said the people would enjoy more development projects if Barisan Nasional's (BN) candidates for Bandar Kuching and Stampin could win in the March 8 parliamentary polls.

"If elected they will bring in more money to the areas and benefit the people," he said.

Chan who is SUPP Batu Lintang branch chairman said opposition parties had been misleading the people when they claimed that the government would still continue developing the area even if the opposition win.

He urged voters to reflect on their losses after the May 2006 election and discern whether opposition leaders had really been of any help to their plights.

Batu Kawa assemblyman Tan Joo Phoi said his constituency continued to enjoy government grants after the state election two years ago as the people made the right choice in supporting the BN.

Between 2003 and 2007, he said Batu Kawa received RM11.1 million government grants to carry out various projects for the people.

SUPP Pending branch secretary Lu Kim Yong said Bandar Kuching had no government grants in recent years because the party's candidate lost in the 2004 parliamentary election.

"We can't get a single sen from the government," he said pointing out that city dwellers had a hard time since.

He said there were no grants for community-based associations while Bandar Kuching did not have enough fund for economic growth.

"I hope voters will wake up and be more realistic now," he said.

URL to article: http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=31830


Daily Express

UNTHINKABLE, SAYS MUSA

Posted by kasee
Thursday, 28 February 2008

Tuaran: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman said he dread to think what will happen to Sabah if the State falls into the hands of the opposition.

In this respect, he urged the people to ensure the opposition would not gain ground here by giving their fullest support to the Barisan Nasional (BN) to ensure the development programmes are continued.

Addressing a BN rally at Kampung Kota here Wednesday, he said the people should realise by now that the promises made by the opposition could never be fulfilled while most of its talks are concocted with fabrication.

"Even the two seats won by them (Independents) in the last election, they (elected representatives) have not been able to do anything," he said.

Should the opposition win a seat in the coming election, Musa said he would not even want to see the opposition Assemblyman if the latter went to see him.

The Sabah BN-led government on the other hand, he said is really determined to bring changes to people's lives.

He said the Federal Government allocated about RM20 billion to Sabah under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) and about RM5 billion under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC).

The SDC, he said, is very special because the development programmes under it encompasses all areas in the state. "This shows the concern of leaders at Federal level on Sabah's predicament."

On the opposition claim that the BN is corrupted, he asked, "If that is so, then why is that the State Government has a financial reserve of about RM2 billion?"

In addition, he said that the Yayasan Sabah Foundation has a financial reserve of about RM7 billion.

Musa pointed out that a hospital costing RM120 million would be built in Tuaran soon while the RM500m water treatment plant in Telibong is another proof of the BN's capability in bringing development to the people.

He urged the BN in Sabah to unite so as to ensure all BN candidates attain victory in the election.

Meanwhile, he explained that he appointed Youth and Sports Assistant Minister Jahid Jahim (PBS-Tamparuli) Datuk Louis Rampas (PBS-Kiulu), Datuk Wilfred Bumburing (Upko-Tuaran parliamentary) to their respective posts because he saw in them dedication, sincerity and commitment.

He said they also have a good track record and showed the capability of good leaders.

Also present were Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor, former Chief Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said and former Tuaran MP Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau, among others. - Daily Express

URL to article: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=56133

theSun joins the BN Propaganda Machine

What a transformation in theSun ever since Vincent Tan took over the paper in January - and it has been for the worse, in terms of the way the paper has allowed itself to be blatantly used as a propaganda tool of the ruling coalition.

If at the last general election, theSun proved to be the most independent of the three English language newspapers, this time around, it appears determined to outdo the NST and The Star in dishing out BN propaganda.

TheSun (28 February) provided a shameful example of such one-sided journalism by a newspaper whose sales soared in the past because of its (then) somewhat independent journalistic position.

Let's look at the main reports on each page:

Pages
1 - PM: Opposition spreading lies etc
- Penang passes with "flying colours" (about the BN's Progress Report)
2 - Opposition spreading lies, says Abdullah
- 'Best time to end Pas rule in Kelantan'
- MIC advertises in newspapers to counter allegations
3 - Page 3 these days seems to be reserved for full-page BN ads, today the ad is about the public delivery system
4 - Chinese can't afford to split support for BN: Ong
5- For all people, all issues: Khir
- 'State (Kelantan) may lose part of RM112b ECER foreign investments'
6 - Koh keeping a tight schedule
- Guan Eng wants ACA to haul up four BN leaders
7 - Sarawak BN upbeat with five wins
- Pairin banks on support from local communities
8 - Full page BN (MCA) ad on full JPA scholarships for non-bumiputeras
20-26 - Six page advert (yes, six full pages!) show-casing the BN's achievements in Penang.

Many of the reports are straight out from Bernama. It's really sad what has become of theSun.

The Star littered with BN political ads

Yesterday’s “people’s paper”, The Star, like most other mainstream newspapers, was littered with full-page political ads ‘selling’ the omnipresent product called the Barisan Nasional (BN) party. For instance, one ad claims that it has been proven that the BN has an “efficient public delivery system”. Another full-page ad, which was quite predictable in a post-Hindraf Malaysia, reminds the reader that the embattled component party MIC “Cares”.

Then, came the turn of the owner of The Star itself, the MCA, to assert in a full-page ad that, “2,300 non-Bumiputera students obtained full JPA scholarships to study overseas between 2000 and 2007. A marked increase compared to only 100 students before the year 2000.”

It appears that the financially flushed incumbent BN has decided not to pull any ideological punches in its fight to win the hearts and minds of the Malaysian voters. Apart from insisting that their political messages be relayed via news reports, the BN has left no stone unturned in filling the ad spaces available in the newspapers with their electoral propaganda.

We wonder whether the mainstream newspapers would allow the Opposition to place their political ads if they wish to do so - especially given the fact that they are often squeezed out by the incumbent BN in the normal news sections of the dailies. How much does full-page ad cost anyway - and how much has the BN already spent by now? Even if the Opposition is offered ad space, will they be charged the same rate and can they afford it? The whole advertising campaign is so one-sided, given the Opposition's marginal coverage in the newspapers and its meagre campaign budget. Is this what fair play and ethical journalism is all about?

Speaking of news reports, The Star yesterday (28 February) carried a headline screaming, “PM: People back Barisan”. The PM’s assertion that “the majority of the people would back the Barisan Nasional despite the Opposition’s smear campaign” was reported uncritically as if it were an unassailable fact. Why should a "smear campaign" apparently be the preserve of the Opposition while the one waged by BN is necessarily a clean electoral campaign?

On the hand, Kedah PAS deputy commissioner Mahfuz Omar’s statement in the same report was left reported as a mere allegation without any apparent attempt by the daily to verify it: “Kedah Pas deputy commissioner Mahfuz Omar alleged yesterday that a Barisan candidate and seven other members of a cooperative had been expelled because of an alleged corruption case involving a land purchase.”

Surely such a serious allegation demands immediate and close scrutiny by an investigative journalist worth her salt. Can we then come to the conclusion that the reason for the daily’s lackadaisical attitude is that the allegation involves a Barisan candidate and not someone from the Opposition, whose dirt is otherwise always worth reporting?

The Star Onlines' surprising citizens' blog

By some odd twist of fate, readers might find themselves reading the theStar Online’s “Citizen’s Blog”. Hiding within the menu item “Interactive” on the theStar’s website was a surprising offer of free space for democratic discussion and criticism sans editorial control (so it seemed). The content posted within this blog was a clear divergence from the mainstream paper’s typically pro-government and unbalanced daily publications, including those that grace the “Letters to the Editor” and “Opinions” sections. Ironically, the diversity found in this particular shared online space outweighed the other political blogs—like Malaysia Today, Rocky’s Bru, and People’s Parliament—all of which contain an overwhelmingly pro-opposition reader contribution—just click on “results” for Malaysia Today’s “Mock Elections” poll for an idea.

Out of 12 entries posted from 27-28 February on the “Citizen’s Blog”, three were pro-Barisan Nasional, two were pro-opposition, while seven entries swung neither way indefinitely; rather, they were analytical and/or critical pieces concerning politicians on both sides, the election process as a whole, environmental implications of campaigning and strategies for improving social concerns, such as tax hikes and the rising cost of living.

One such entry, “What we need to do about price increases” (27 Feb), suggested a viable—though perhaps idealistic—approach to addressing the issue: the creation of a panel that is separate from the government, consisting of impassioned economists, industry leaders and politicians receiving input “from housewives, single parents, social workers, minimum wage income earners, college and school students, hawkers, social and religious leaders, foreign thinkers”. Though an idealistic notion, the blog entry embodies what most mainstream publications desperately lack: critical consideration of the situation and an attempt to produce concrete ideas that move towards a solution—a starting point for the kind of critical deliberation that works actively towards an answer.

If only The Star could take a page—or in this case, a log—from its online book.

Malaysiakini reveals BN's report card

Tagged with the slogan, “Security, Peace, Prosperity”, the Barisan Nasional released its 24-page manifesto on 25 February, outlining the party’s intentions, goals and promises for the country should they be re-elected.

A my paper article, posted on Rocky’s Bru (26 February), reported that the manifesto was less a glance into the future than an endorsement of the past, being “heavily coated with the achievements of the BN government from 2004 to 2007” and “not comprehensive enough on the eight areas of [its] focus”. The BN is so confident that its track record speaks for itself it feels little inclination to give voters details on how it plans to improve.

But are the BN’s achievements since 2004 really grounds for such confidence? How well did they uphold and implement their promises and where are the figures misleading? A recent Malaysiakini investigation shed some light on these questions.

In a two-part report, Malaysiakini combed through the BN’s 2004 “Excellence, Glory, Distinction” manifesto, evaluating the party’s deliverance on promises made four years ago. Highlighting successes and failures using international figures and specific examples, Malaysiakini developed the Barisan Nasional’s “Report Card: Excellence, Glory, Distinction”.

Part I dealt with the economy, education and religion while Part II focused on law and order, traffic accidents and public service. Each section began with the BN’s purported objectives in the particular area and followed with Malaysiakini’s examination of their ability to perform. The report card did not appear to be a one-sided attack of the government; rather, Malaysiakini attributed credit where credit was due. For instance, it was noted that the Iskandar Development Region corridor, though still “in its infancy” (and thus, too young to rate its success) continues to experience investment from international property developers. Additionally, compared to other developing nations, GDP growth—between 5.2 and 7.2 per cent—was on par with Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan, and behind China and India only. Doubtless, these are the kinds of achievements lauded in the BN’s recent manifesto.

Malaysiakini, however, reveals how such figures can be misleading. While GDP growth “matches and surpasses other developing countries”, GDP per capita “continues to trail 3-5 times below”. Compare Hong Kong’s GDP per capita income at USD$30,448, to Malaysia’s at USD $7,098—that’s if it achieves its target growth of 6-6.5 percent in 2008. This revealing figure is undoubtedly one of great importance to Malaysian voters—how laudable is GDP growth if it does not benefit the majority of citizens? And what about the Gini coefficient for Malaysia - which reflects the wide income inequality in Malaysia?

In similar fashion, the report card assesses and evaluates the BN’s performance in the eight areas highlighted by the 2004 manifesto. After the first area, “Economy”, results barreled downhill at a rapid pace, eventually crashing into allegations of corruption within the ACA and the police department (“Developing moral, civic, and ethical values”), and figures representative of the increased crime rate.

The results of the BN “report card” are overwhelmingly negative. But there is some subjectivity within the report that should be taken into consideration. For instance, the Hindraf and Bersih arrests of 2007, under “Law and Order”, are portrayed with a negative bias, though pro-BN readers could interpret the amount of arrests made as a government success. Regardless, Malaysiakini’s report assembles a body of revealing facts and incidences that have become disaggregated over the course of the term and hidden beneath a sea of blue. For voters who turned to alternative sources of information this campaign period, BN’s track record told a different story.

Kelantan to “embrace” Hadhari if BN wins

The Barisan Nasional’s promise to the people of Kelantan if it wins over the state is a RM24 million Hadhari Centre in Pasir Puteh to house a mosque, a hostel, lecture rooms, an ICT centre, reading rooms and importantly, all surrounded by beautiful landscaping. So said the main news over Radio 24 at 1.00pm on 28 February.

Apparently the federal government has approved the allocation, which will be put in use if and when the BN took over the state from PAS. This is of course in addition to the RM1 billion grant it promises Kelantan - up from the current RM400 million - from the federal government.

What are these pledges based on? Who approved the budget for this new Hadhari centre and the RM1 billion grant? If the federal coffers are indeed healthy, why not channel the money before this to ensure poverty and other problems are tackled? A typical case of punishing the people who vote the opposition.

A small community off the main road in Sungai Chedu in Banting has seen such play in front of their houses. The incumbent state assemblyman from MCA has been ordering contractors to tar the roads in in front of their houses, but the tar stops exactly where the owner or occupant has gone public to complain about the incompetence of the representative in solving a stinking problem: a dumpsite barely 200 metres away from their homes.

Stories like this abound. You support us, you get good roads and phone and electricity lines. If you're in the wrong party or even religion, you don't get it. This is how taxpayers money is used to play a reward-and-punish game, one that people should be aware of. Today's little tar road could translate into a big tolled highway project tomorrow and you will be the one evicted.

Radio 24 continued with a story from a district where Pas had been in control since 2004 and where apparently the people, that is Umno members, have been denied the right to use public spaces to gather and carry out activities. The local district education officer had reportedly instructed a school to offer space to the people. The three-minute story reported on Mohd Nor Othman from Umno, a teacher, who will be contesting the Hulu Terengganu parliamentary seat because of his popularity in “helping the people”. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, not a single comment from Pas, accused of neglecting the constituents.

BN candidates jostling for space in Utusan

The 27 February edition of the Utusan saw an increase in election coverage in the first 14 pages of the Dalam Negeri section. This means a surge of news on BN while the opposition news remains below 20 per cent of the total election coverage. The increase can be attributed to the paper's attempt to cover as many BN contestants as possible in a positive light.

While the first two pages were allocated to the Umno president and vice president - also the incumbent prime minister and deputy prime minister respectively - other pages were filled with mostly BN candidates from across Malaysia, whether in articles or photo montages. This even spilled over to the City section Utusan Kota, where the contestant for Puchong, Lau Yeng Peng was reported to have announced the government's plan to ease traffic congestion of the area. This certainly put him in a good light.

Early stats show up to 77% pro-BN coverage in newspapers

Mainstream newspapers gave up to 77 per cent coverage for the Barisan Nasional in terms of stories on the 12th general elections in the week leading to the nominations on 24 February. On average, the six newspapers for which data have been collated had between 50 and 70 per cent stories that portrayed BN in a positive light.

Makkal Osai topped with 77 percent on 18 February of its election stories in BN's favour, Utusan Malaysia 75 per cent on 20 February and The Star, 70 per cent on 18 February.

On average, the six newspapers for which data have been collated, had between 50 and 70 per cent stories that portrayed BN in a positive light.

This is the preliminary result in the quantitative analysis carried out by volunteers who are part of the citizens' election media monitoring initiative. The newspapers monitored for the statistics are New Straits Times, The Star, theSun, Utusan Malaysia, Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban from 18 February to 22 February 2008.

Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Executive Director Gayathry Venkiteswaran said while it was common knowledge that the mainstream media would favour the BN in its coverage, the quantitative analysis provided interesting and relevant information to assess the media in reporting the elections.

“The data showed the often held opinion that when the non-BN parties are featured, they are portrayed as in a state of crisis or in a trivial manner. The Utusan Malaysia is a glaring example, but the others are also guilty of the same. The extent to which the stories are lopsided is a worrying indication to the lack of scrutiny for professional and ethical standards.

“Among the issues that the media capitalised for the BN were Fong Po Kuan's withdrawal, Hadi Awang's statement on demonstrations, Nik Aziz Nik Mat calling Umno members orang utan and the opposition's welfare state proposal,” Gayathry said in a statement.

She noted, however, that there were positive stories on non-BN parties and candidates in the newspapers monitored and even Bernama-run Radio24 aired news of their candidates and manifesto although the coverage could be significantly improved.

“So far we have seen the news focusing on the candidates on both sides of the divide. We hope there will be more in-depth analysis of the issues and pledges made by all sides. There is still time to alter the trends in the slant of the coverage to one that proves the ethical integrity of the media,” she added.

Gayathry said as voters relied on the mainstream media as their main source of information, they should be entitled to fair and balanced coverage of all parties contesting the elections. Basic ethical considerations such as fairness in reporting, the right of reply and independence of the sources need to be actively enforced by journalists.

The election media monitoring is jointly carried out by CIJ, the Writers' Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) and Charter 2000-Aliran with the support of independent volunteers. The monitoring is ongoing and will be conducted until the day after polling day. Updates will be provided periodically to all media and interested parties. For inquiries, call Gayathry or CIJ advocacy officer Yip Wai Fong at 03-40249840/40230772.

BN uses taxi drivers to spread propaganda

The Umno president’s meeting with the association of taxi drivers has now put us on notice that, the next time we get into a cab, we’ll be getting a dose of Barisan Nasional propaganda from the drivers. Speaking at the launch of a campaign by the Association of Malaysian Taxi/Limousine and Hire Car Drivers (Pertekma) in Penang on Monday (25 February), Abdullah Ahmad Badawi “hoped taxi drivers would help the government in explaining to the passengers on the issue of higher petrol prices and the efforts taken by the government to protect the people from the adverse effects” (Bernama, 25 February).

This is, of course, after assuring them that the government always “looked for various ways to ensure that the people were not burdened by the rising cost of petrol and other goods, including providing free text books to school children, abolishing school and examination fees and reducing charges for treatment and health care at government hospitals.” In the run-up to the 1999 elections, then Entrepreneur Development Minister Mustapa Mohamed told Parliament the ministry would revoke the licences of taxi drivers who criticised the government. Hmm..

With the benefit of their 24-hours news service, Radio 24 ran the story on Abdullah’s meet several times on Monday and inserted a comment from a taxi driver from the Sunlight company who said he would explain to his passengers the BN’s position and how they supported the party.

Everyone knows that the source of worry for the taxi driver is not only fuel costs, especially if they are using natural gas. At the heart of it is the way in which the operating licence is in the hands of select few who then issue thousands of individual permits. Once the driver pays his or her daily rental, the fuel costs and other maintenance costs, he or she is left with very little to take home. As with many other issues, apart from the appeal, Abdullah didn’t appear to provide any concrete way of dealing with the real problems faced by this group.

The BN’s manifesto took centre stage as in all other mainstream media with responses from the various BN leaders affirming their support for the party. Radio 24 also interviewed an academic from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Associate Professor Saleha Hassan, who noted that the BN’s manifesto was more realistic because they have a proven track record. Her point that the opposition’s manifesto was merely propaganda missed the crucial point that, except for running Kelantan and Sabah, the opposition parties have not yet come into power at the Federal level, which would have enabled them to fulfil their election promises. Radio 24 could have provided space for those with opposing views to provide a more accurate perspective.

Outgoing Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin was quoted on 25 February as saying to village committees that they should be the eyes and ears of the government to counter inaccurate information. It is a known fact that the village committees or Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK) are mainly led by individuals under the patronage of ruling parties. It is amazing how the incumbent government ministers blatantly expose the extent to which Big Brother controls the levels of power and influence.

Unfortunately, for Radio 24, its reporting has slid down to being very pro-Barisan Nasional. The station started ambitiously and had about 20 percent of pro-Opposition news on 20 and 21 February during the 1.00pm news bulletin and an encouraging 62.5 percent neutral stories. But on 27 February, the slant shifted to 87.5 percent pro-BN and only 12.5 percent neutral after the preceding day’s 77.8 percent pro-BN and 22.2 percent neutral.

Sin Chew puts readers to sleep with 'boring' BN manifesto details

Sin Chew Daily has always provided front-page headlines highlighting positive news while (intentionally? Unintentionally?) becoming the propaganda machine for the BN during election periods. This special treatment for the BN has been proven again in the coverage of election manifestos.

As predicted, the BN election manifesto was published on the first page. And not only the front-page, more news on the BN’s manifesto was found on the third, fourth and fifth pages in the national section. From the average reader’s perspective, it would appear that Sin Chew Daily has over-reported the boring manifesto in detail.

On the same day, the DAP election manifesto was marginalised to the page seven. From the day Parliament was dissolved to the coverage of the both the BN’s and the DAP’s election manifestos on 26 February, the DAP had only one chance with three successive days of negative news on the front-page (about the infighting over a constituency nomination).

What is the news value of placing the BN manifesto as headline news? Why not divide the front-page in two to provide equal coverage of the BN and DAP manifestos and to show fairness in coverage?

According to a local survey agency Merdeka Centre, almost 60 per cent of Chinese voters are pro-opposition. It is a fact that the Chinese Malaysian community is always more supportive of the DAP than the MCA. But an outsider would be forgiven for thinking that the reverse was true given the media coverage by a leading Chinese-language daily, which seemed not to reflect this reality and instead revealed its own pro-BN agenda.

Utusan's wide coverage of BN manifesto suffocates report on DAP's

Without any doubt, the Barisan Nasional's manifesto was the theme occupying half of the front page in yesterday's Utusan. It was reported in both point form and an article. Six more news articles on the responses of various ministers and members of the public were placed on page 9. Utusan also had a three-page supplement attached with the economy, city and sports section to further promote the manifesto.

Two more feel good news were reported in the economy section. The first was the shape of MAS, which announced its highest net profit in 60 years of operations. The second was the outgoing Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop's assertion that Malaysia would achieve GDP growth of 6.8 per cent. He is also the candidate for the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat.

The DAP also announced its plan to offset the burden on the poor by giving RM6,000 a year to families earning less than that amount in a year. The news was literally cornered by BN's counter offensive in the same page. Candidate for Padang Kota state seat, Teng Chang Yeow responded in Cadangan DAP tak rasional while the chairperson of the government's National Implementation Task Force, Zainal Aznam Yusoff, responded in Tidak Munasabah.

The BN also enjoyed an almost-full-page spread of photographs and an advertisement placed next to each other in pages 4 and 5. At the bottom right corner of the page, however, was the picture of independent candidate Maimun Yusof, who tried for the fourth time to stand for election in Kuala Terengganu. This time, the 89-year-old grandmother succeeded.

One-sided debates without context over RTM1

Over on RTM1, the "Warta 1" segment and the "Yang sebenarnya" series is proving interesting for the type of "journalism" being practised. The latter is an election campaign slot at 7:30pm running from 24 February to 7 March.

On 'Warta 1' today, there was a snippet on "reinventing" and a brief interview with Chia Kwang Chye on the meaning of reinventing. Very quick flashes of the DAP slogan under the 'reinventing' slogan, but no explanation, nada. Viewers would only know what it meant if they had read about it elsewhere. The whole thing was out of the blue -- the usual listening in on one side of a debate, and guessing what the other side is saying. No explanation of why it was necessary to have this story, no context, nothing.

English language news on television generally seems one-sided, but nothing like that on RTM1, which makes no pretense whatsoever.

Utusan's contrasting questions for Najib and Karpal

DAP chairman Karpal Singh was interviewed by Utusan Malaysia (24 February) and given half of page 10, while Umno deputy president Najib Abdul Razak got more than one page: pages 7 and 8. Najib sailed smoothly over the questions and, at various points, was asked leading questions that allowed him to explain the BN's positions and take a swipe at the opposition. But for Karpal the space was limited to a discussion about the DAP's chances in the elections - and the questions were more hard-hitting.

Some of the questions for Najib:

“Apakah kewajaran untuk rakyat memilih Barisan Nasional sekali lagi?”

“Apakah rakyat mudah terpengaruh dengan janji-janji pembangkang dalam manifesto mereka walaupun ramai tidak sedar ia tidak mungkin dapat ditunaikan?”

“Pada penilaian Datuk Seri di tahap manakah keberkesanan perkongsian kuasa sekarang?”

“Setiap kali berlangsungnya pilihan raya, kempen dan ceramah pembangkang nampak panas, 'berdegar-degar' malah menyerang peribadi lawan. Apakah nasihat Datuk Seri kepada rakyat?”

“Orang muda ini biasanya analitikal dan kritis serta terdedah kepada maklumat tanpa batas melalui internet. Apakah nasihat Datuk Seri supaya mereka ini nanti tidak tersalah pilih?”

Some of the questions for Karpal:

“Setelah separa lumpuh akibat kemalangan yang menimpa pada awal tahun 2005, adakah saudara masih 'relevan' dalam dunia politik?”

“Banyak masa dihabiskan di luar kawasan, tidakkah pendduduk di kawasan saudara merungut?”

“Menjelang pilihanraya umum ke 12, mengapakah saudara setiausaha agung DAP Lim Guan Eng sering mengatakan BN pasti menang, adakah ini strategi politik simpati DAP?”

“Bagaimana saudara melihat peluang DAP di negeri Johor dan empat 'kubu kuat' yang disandang di Lembah Klang iaitu Seputeh, Kepong, Bukit Bintang dan Cheras?”

“Bagaimana dengan dakwaan bahawa saudara sendiri sebagai 'orang kuat' DAP mengamalkan nepotism apabila anak sendiri, Gobind Singh Deo, dijangka turut bertanding?”

It is obvious that the newspaper does not deserve the benefit of the doubt in the way they presented the two leaders when the questions fielded prove the prejudices that exist in the minds of the writers and editors. It was also unfair to ask Karpal about his disability, a thread of criticism used in Parliament by the incumbent BN ministers and backbenchers. Similarly, with the questions on succession and family members in DAP, it was convenient for the writer to describe it as nepotism, but none of the mainstream media refer to the BN family dynasties in that note. While a number of the newspapers did highlight the family connections among candidates in this elections, none questioned the credibility of the candidates. Even the infamous Zakaria Md Deros's daughter-in-law, Roselinda Abdul Jalil, got off rather easily on her qualification as a candidate. Would she “continue” the legacy of Zakaria? What does she offer her Port Klang constituents, already subject to a number of controversial projects? What would her policy be on local council elections, we wonder.

Utusan continued with the decreased coverage of opposition items started since 22 February. Only 16 per cent were opposition news items and articles - or six items from a total of 37 items on the elections. As the candidates list for BN were finalised, the main attention was on exhorting its members to close ranks, echoing the two top Umno leaders' advice. The tendency was to gloss over any impression of a crisis and to project a show of unity. Reconciliation was the theme in nine news and editorial items: Terima keputusan ditetapkan parti - PM, Jangan sabotaj parti - Najib, Tiga pemimpin lupakan sengketa, Penyokong BN diminta bersikap rasional, Rahman tetap bantu BN, Walaupun gugur tetap bekerja keras bantu BN, Jangan derhaka jika tidak terpilih, Gelora politik Indera Kayangan ,and Umno Terengganu kembali kukuh.

It was the first time that “crisis” was alluded to in the tussle for the Perlis chief minister's seat in Gelora politik Indera Kayangan, but this was quickly refuted as the talk of the unscrupulous.

Fouling the ‘Good Feeling’

Some apparently manipulative tactics are being used by the incumbent Barisan Nasional in its election campaign that compromise the integrity and impartiality of news reporting and the dissemination of truthful information to the electorate. Equal coverage of election campaigning by all parties participating is, without doubt, also compromised.

The ntv7 news at 8.00pm on 24 February was interspersed with obvious campaign advertisement using the theme of “Merdeka” implying that the Barisan Nasional, specifically Umno (personified by our late former premier Tunku Abdul Rahman), had gained Independence for Malaysia. The final clip of this advert shows the BN ‘dacing’ symbol ‘crossed’ as the party voted for.

Television advertising is being monopolised by the incumbent ruling party; obviously, it is unavailable to any of the opposition political parties.

This seems to confirm the fact that Umno and the Barisan Nasional component parties will maintain their racial agenda despite making promises of inculcating the spirit of ‘muhibbah’ if elected to power again.

In news coverage of Nominations, candidates from the different parties were interviewed and some even showed goodwill towards their opponents by linking arms and shaking hands with them. In some instances, the lack of this and distance kept between particular opposing candidates was noticeable.

Sharizat of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, in her campaign speech, claimed to be holding a “kempen yang bersih” despite the glaring discrepancies and lopsided media coverage of the campaign favouring the incumbent BN parties over the opposition parties.

When listing the names of candidates and the constituencies they would be contesting in, the names of well-known opposition candidates such as Lim Guan Eng (DAP) were mispronounced as ‘Lim Guan Ng’. Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj (PSM) was misnamed as ‘V. Devaraj’ instead of ‘J. Devaraj’ or ‘D. Jeyakumar’. Whether intentional or otherwise, the misnaming of opposition candidates could confuse voters in the respective constituencies.

Independent candidates appear to have suddenly mushroomed – candidates who have suddenly risen from obscurity and whose contributions to society in their respective areas are completely unknown. In the case of the 87-year-old grandmother standing as an independent candidate, the ntv7 report explained that it had “always been her dream to stand for an election”; no other reason was given for her doing so.

The question arises as to whether the emergence of these supposedly ‘independent’ candidates is aimed at splitting votes - to reduce votes that would otherwise go to the opposition candidate standing in those areas.

In closing the 7Edition news bulletin, newscaster, Azlina Nadri, reminded viewers to watch the Hollywood Oscar Awards on Tuesday evening. Are ‘the Oscars’ so important at a time like this, when our country is on the verge of deciding its future direction?

Penyokong MIC keluar parti; ada calon bebas di kalangan mereka

Rasa tidak puas hati dengan senarai calon dari parti MIC mendorong sekumpulan 108 ahli keluar parti di Klang. Menurut akhbar Malaysia Nanban pada Sabtu, 23 Februari, ada di kalangan ahli parti yang tidak bersetuju dengan pencalonan Kamala Ganapathy dan S Vigneswaran untuk bertanding kerusi DUN Seri Andalas dan parlimen Kota Raja masing-masing.

Ketua pemuda kongres MIC S Letchuman berkata Kamala Ganapathy tidak melakukan sebarang kebaikan untuk pengundinya, malah hanya mengutamakan statusnya sendiri. Minggu lepas, kedua-dua akhbar yang dipantau melaporkan ada ahli parti MIC yang akan bertanding sebagai calon bebas kerana kesal dengan pilihan presiden S Samy Vellu. Selepas pencalonan ditutup, seorang bekas ahli MIC, Ulaganathan Ramasamy bertanding sebagai calon bebas di Perai, Penang untuk menentang calon BN dari MIC L Krishnan. Kerusi DUN ini turut ditandingi oleh wakil DAP P. Ramasamy. Lagi satu kerusi yang menampakkan pertandingan tiga penjuru yang mungkin disebabkan oleh kekesalan dengan MIC ialah kerusi DUN Port Dickson apabila calon bebas Jeeva Kumar Marimuthu menandingi calon MIC yang juga penyandang T Rajagopalu dan calon PKR Ravi Munusamy.

Selain itu, penyokong Parti Gerakan juga tidak berpuas hati dengan kenyataan pemangku presiden parti Koh Tsu Koon yang menyatakan minggu lepas mereka tidak mempunyai calon India yang berkebolehan. Parti tersebut hanya memilih calon Cina untuk kerusi-kerusi yang ditandingi. Nampaknya ramai tidak suka dengan bakal calon yang dipilih dan diramalkan kemungkinan berlaku perubahan dalam undian. Dalam kenytaan media, Koh berkata walaupun terdapat calon India yang berkebolehan tetapi mereka bukan berada di kawasan di mana parti itu diberikan kerusi.

Makkal Osai pada 23 Februari pula melaporkan di mukasurat 1 dan13 tentang laporan polis orang ramai di Lunas, Kedah dan menghantar laporan kepada presiden MIC kerana tidak bersetuju dengan calon yang dinamakan iaitu S Ananthan. Menurut mereka, Ananthan dan kawan-kawannya pernah ditahan oleh polis pada tahun 2004 dan dilepaskan dengan amaran. Menurut akhbar itu, Ananthan, yang pernah gagal dalam peperiksaan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, telah menggunakan sijil-sijil palsu bagi melanjutkan pelajaran di universiti.

Selepas membuat pengumuman senarai calon MIC minggu lepas, Samy Vellu terpaksa menggugurkan calon Tenggaroh, Johor, M Sooriyanarayanan kerana dia di bawah siasatan Badan Pencegah Rasuah. Wujud persoalan sama ada parti itu menggunakan kriteria yang ketat untuk meneliti latarbelakang individu sebelum memilih mereka sebagai calon MIC.

Di samping itu, Makkal Osai mula memberi lebih perhatian kepada isu-isu pro pembangkang di mana ia telah menerbitkan 52 peratus berita pro pembangkang dan 48 peratus berita pro-BN.

Nomination Day over: Let the (propaganda) show begin!

Election campaigning leading to polling day on 8 March has officially begun now that Nomination Day proceedings are over today, 24 February. So far, the mainstream media have already given us some good indication of the kind of coverage we can expect from them. Let’s focus on the New Straits Times (NST) here.

On the very day (13 February) the PM dissolved parliament, Kalimullah Hassan sounded out the BN issues for the election contest in his NST piece on 14 February. For him, the issues that matter are what the PM and BN have done since the last general election and what more we could expect from them. In short, the bread-and-butter issues - because, according to him, voters are pragmatic.

Perhaps that’s how it should be since Badawi now has a track record as PM since the last election. But there are track records and there are track records. And the only ones that matter to Kalimullah are the bread-and-butter issues. In particular, Badawi’s attempt to bridge the rural-urban economic divide through the corridor development programs that focus on development outside of the Klang Valley.

What about Badawi’s promise in 2004 to tackle corruption in high places? Nothing, not a word on it in Kalimullah’s piece. Perhaps he was just too embarrassed to say that Eric Chia, who was charged just prior to the last election, got off scot free. What, indeed, could he say since Badawi has done hardly anything about the promise since the last election?

Only bread and butter issues matter?

What about racial issues and human rights? All Kalimullah could say is, well, the opposition would surely bring up these issues, but all that is mere “verbiage” and Badawi and BN should not waste time getting entangled; only the bread-and-butter issues matter.

One might think those issues are also always most important in elections everywhere else - like the United States, for example. But the differences are often conveniently ignored. The bread-and-butter issues would be more significant when the overall economy is experiencing a downturn. This was the situation with the US economy when Bill Clinton ran for presidency the first time in 1992 with the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid.” But such issues did not take centre stage when Clinton ran successfully for his second term. Neither did they figure prominently in George W Bush’s successful bid for presidency in 2000 and 2004. The economy, however, is becoming a major issue again in the run-up to the US election this November because the US economy is on the downturn again.

Another difference is that even when the economy takes centre stage in election years, other issues are never deemed insignificant or ruled out altogether. The situation in Iraq, for example, is still a major one today for Democratic front-runner Barack Obama and Republican front-runner John McCain.

Indeed, in the last Malaysian election, the more important focus of Badawi’s BN campaign, faithfully propagated by the NST and other mainstream media, was who he was as a man and the kind of PM he would make. Remember the Pak Lah moniker? BN election machinery and PR crafted an image of Badawi as gentle, patient, consultative and respectful of differences unlike the confrontational, noisy and authoritarian former PM Mahathir Mohammad. Openly espousing the view that he would be the servant of the Malaysian public, Badawi was tirelessly depicted as willing to listen to the voters (including the young), who were asked to work with him rather than for him. There was also the Pak Lah who, just before the last election, tantalised Malaysia with two high-profile and highly media-promoted promises to fight corruption in high places and clean up the longstanding problem of an unprofessional, corrupt police force.

Kalimullah thus sure has a peculiar idea of Malaysians, a dim view of them as human beings. His mythical Malaysians exist merely to eat, leaving all the thinking to the BN. There is a word for political governance based on such a polity. It is called dictatorship, however full the citizen’s belly is or how many cars they may own.

Brain dead readers?

Kalimullah’s piece in the NST the day after the PM dissolved Parliament merely offered a broad theme for NST coverage of the run-up to election day. The very next day, 15 February, Zubaidah Abu Bakar reported on how a development project outside the Klang Valley—the Iskandar Development Region in Johor—has been doing swimmingly well, dismissing outright any and every issue Pas has tried to raise about it. Everything is just hunky-dory and nothing is amiss, according to Zubaidah. Hmm, is this not what we heard early in the development of the Port Klang Free Zone (PFZ) scandal until it was revealed that millions of ringgit had gone down the drain? Of course, no one was brought to book for it. The BN government offered a massive bailout of RM4.6 billion, dubbed it subsidy, and explained it away as hardly out of the ordinary.

The day after Zubaidah’s piece, Joan Lau’s article indicated that the young actually cared only for bread-and-butter issues based on her observations in Kota Kinabalu. She appeared surprised. But why? Is it not the case that the young or those who just get out of school are mostly preoccupied with getting good jobs and settling down? Her piece is not considered part of the Election 2008 coverage that NST editors have been adopting to try and make clear to readers which news items in the paper are election-related. Oh, what a nice coincidence that the piece happened to be published a mere two days after Kalimullah’s. Who are they trying to deceive? Kalimullah’s mythical brain-dead Malaysians?

What else can we expect from NST coverage in the run-up to the 8 March election? Oh yes, what about the longstanding issue with the police as corrupt, inefficient and disrespectful of the rights of the people they are supposed to serve and protect? Remember how Badawi set up a Royal Commission to study the problem ostensibly to get rid of all that baggage once and for all? But when the Commission called for the creation of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), he refused, preferring instead to select those recommendations amenable to the police force to be incorporated in the amendments to Penal Code.

Well, on 19 February, a couple of NST pieces focused on the police force. Again, both pieces were not considered by NST editors as Election 2008 coverage. But it is quite clear they were an attempt to show that the PM actually has kept his promise to clean up the police.

Talk is cheap

Santha Oojitham’s piece tells us the human rights training sessions have been well received by the police, according to those who conducted them. Police officers were found supportive of the “pro-victims” approach. If so, someone must have forgotten to tell it to the many police who dragged, punched, and engaged in an assortment of violent behaviour toward peaceful Bersih and Hindraf demonstrators. Or someone must have forgotten to remind them that the police’s job is to protect citizens not just BN supporters. If Bersih and Hindraf demonstrators broke the law by not having a police permit for their assembly, what about Khairy Jamuluddin? Did he have a permit for some of the public demonstrations he took part in or led like the protest rally against the Burmese government?

Talk is cheap. Before the Royal Commission, the police also offered nice, soothing statements for the public about how professional they were in enforcing the law. But that did not stop constant public complaints to the contrary, finally leading to the setting up of the Royal Commission. Is it difficult for folk at NST to understand that actions speak louder than words? Or are they similar to Kalimullah’s brain-dead Malaysians?

Another certainty we can count on in the NST coverage of the run-up to polling day is not giving noticeable coverage to the opposition except in a negative way. Already PKR has been given such treatment.

Everything's hunky dory with MIC

Then, there was the scandal surrounding the DAP’s Fong Po Kuan. After she said she refused to defend her Batu Gajah parliamentary seat because of internal DAP politics, the NST, like other the mainstream media, went to town with the story and concluded that the DAP was in disarray. It also highlighted Najib’s comment the day after Fong pulled out by calling her a “calibre” MP. How nice when she no longer wants to contest in the election. But when she was a parliamentarian for the past eight years, all he and his BN colleagues did was ignore, ridicule or vilify her.

But Fong has since decided to defend her Batu Gajah parliamentary seat after all. So, would Najib want to take back what he said about her? Would the NST say that Fong and the DAP have patched up? More likely, they would find another way to slam the DAP as well as Fong, perhaps along the lines that they cannot be trusted.

The point here is not that Fong’s sudden refusal to contest was not news. Of course it was. And yes, it also showed the DAP up badly. But what about the BN? In particular, Samy Vellu, who has been publicly hounded, yelled at, even thrown slippers at whenever he was seen in public since the recent Hindraf demonstrations? And we are talking about the head of the MIC, a major component party of BN. No sign of the MIC in trouble at all except for sporadic reports in some of the media?

Instead, we get assuring reports in NST that all is hunky dory with the MIC and the BN. Shahrizat Abdul Jalil of the BN was reported (19 February) as saying Indian Malaysians in her Lembah Pantai constituency still support her – and thus the BN as well - in large numbers. No problem then with the MIC. Evidently, balanced news coverage as a cardinal principle of journalism in a democracy is either an alien concept to the NST or something it could not be bothered with.

Finally, expect the NST to be equally brain dead as Kalimullah’s brain-dead Malaysians when covering BN politicians giving out election goodies—like land leases and school construction—in the run-up to the election, seeing nothing at all unethical with it or how the BN is abusing its power. Instead, the paper will keep up with its tradition of taking part in what the BN continues to do— such as,vote buying—and happily giving the BN candidates the photo-ops.

The above topics and approaches to election coverage could already be found in the NST. Expect more of the same when the run-up to the polls gets under way after nomination day today. We would love to be proven wrong but we would be truly brain-dead if we were to hold our breath waiting for it to happen.

The world is watching too, Azalina…

In the past week, at least two AFP reports and several foreign columnists have implicated Malaysia’s restrictive media environment, examples of how the international community is reacting to violations against democracy occurring in this country.

In “Malaysian bloggers warned being monitored”, posted on both the Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today’s websites, Youth and Sports Minister Azalina Othman called bloggers “cowards”, “a nuisance to the ruling party” and warned that they will not “get away with it”. The question remains…get away with what? The AFP article showed clear partiality to the threatened bloggers by highlighting how opposition parties have “resorted to blogs, SMS messaging and Youtube…to dodge a virtual blackout on mainstream media”. Even Azalina Othman stated that the opposition parties were using blogs to get their message out.

So why are they being threatened and monitored? It is the political objective of an opposition party to get their message out to the electorate — with whatever means it has to its disposal. And yes, it is the political objective of the opposition to be “a nuisance to the ruling party”. The government minister condemned the opposition parties for exercising the political and democratic right—making information available to the people—that is fundamental to the process of a free, fair and democratic election. And the international community—at least those entities within the communications field—has not turned a blind eye to the situation.

The AFP report acknowledged how mainstream media outlets—“many partly owned by parties in the ruling coalition—have given blanket coverage to the government and its achievements” over the election period. It then cited Reporters Without Borders’ worldwide press freedom index, in which Malaysia ranks 124 out of 169 nations. This figure should be a wake-up call to everyday Malaysian citizens as well as politicians: the country’s current state of media ownership is a roadblock to the realisation of democracy.

Democracy goes beyond the right to vote; it involves the right to make an informed, calculated decision after considering all of the options. If Malaysia wants to be considered a democratic nation on an international level, its citizens and politicians alike should strive towards media reform and the abolition of what AFP dubbed as “draconian internal security laws which provide for detention without trial”.

Malaysiakini disappoints

Typically commendable for critical journalism in accreditation to its independent status, Malaysiakini’s “MIC evolving to meet rising expectations” left much to be desired. The main problem with the piece—or perhaps it was the choice of headline—is that at no point were readers informed on how the MIC plans to bring this statement to fruition. Despite “an exclusive interview” with MIC candidate S. Murugesan in his car, the candidate is allowed to offer vague musings on the way in which the MIC will remain relevant to voters. The report stated that S. Murugesan “chose his words carefully when posed with sensitive questions”; however, as he could not possibly walk away from an undesirable question, the car-ride interview was a perfect opportunity to scratch beneath the surface.

Yet, S. Murugesan got away with blanket statements, such as: “MIC will rise to the occasion and remain relevant to the Indian community” and “new ideas and new way of thinking have to come up…and it is coming up” [sic]. While stressing that he wants to “[inject] new ideas and strategies” into the party, S. Murugesan was not pressured to offer or outline any of these ideas or strategies (or if he was, Malaysiakini did not provide a ‘refuse to comment’ notice). The grittiest the interview got was when S. Murugesan agreed that “the problems confronting the Indian community were far more complex [than Tamil schools and temples]”; but rather than getting into the complex issues, S. Murugesan blurted out that “Tamil schools and temples are also important”. Thanks, Captain Obvious.

The interview ventured into a discussion on youth concerns, providing more blanket statements, such as: “we must look at employment and business opportunities. We have to make sure that the Indians, especially the youths, must learn how to be self reliant”. S. Murugesan added that Indian youth must “think out of the box and venture into the business sector”.

Here, a multitude of questions could have been addressed: how does the MIC plan to tackle the problem of illegal foreign workers? What strategies will MIC employ to help Indian youth become more self-reliant? Will they sponsor workshops? Provide scholarships? Oversee training and apprenticeships? How can one possibly “venture into the business sector” without adequate knowledge, training and access to loans and other resources needed to start a personal business?

But alas, these questions went unasked, and thus, unanswered. The reader is left with little more critical insight than if they had been perusing a mainstream publication. For the party’s sake, I hope the 40-year-old candidate has more ideas up his sleeve than Malaysiakini could unfold; if not, the only thing he’ll be injecting into the MIC’s veins is air.

Pemimpin BN “lupa” janji 7 isu dalam publisiti mereka

Muka bakal calon MIC telah mendominasi muka depan kedua-dua akhbar Tamil pada 21 Februari 2008, terutamanya pada 12 calon baru yang diumumkan dalam usaha mendapatkan balik sokongan psikologi masyarakat India.

Selain itu, President MIC S Samy Vellu juga berharap akan mendapat 100 peratus sokongan dan undian daripada masyaarakat India. Namun pandangan masyarakat agak berlainan dengan beliau apabila ramai tidak berpuas hati dengan pemilihannya. Malaysian Nanban pula, yang sebelum ini dikaitkan dengan pencabar Samy Vellu, iaitu S Subramaniam, memberi gambaran seolah-olah ramai penyokong bekas timbalan presiden itu tidak dinamakan sebagai calon.

Sentimen ini jelas lagi pada hari Jumaat,, 22 Februari, apabila dilaporkan bahawa terdapat ketua-ketua MIC tempatan dan penyokong mereka yang tidak puas hati dengan calon yang dinamakan, lalu membuat keputusan untuk bertanding sebagai calon bebas. Isu ini dilaporkan dalam kedua-dua akhbar Tamil yang dipantau. Antara kawasan yang dikatakan mungkin memperlihatkan calon bebas ialah di Bagan Dalam, Pulau Pinang dan Perai, Butterworth. Ini membuktikan bahawa masyarakat masih peka dengan isu-isu semasa dan berani bertanding.

Walaupun pihak-pihak parti BN dan pembangkang cuba menunjukkan yang mereka akan memperjuangkan isu masyarakat India, ia hanya sebagai publisiti kepada pihak yang terlibat. Ini paling ketara kepada parti BN di mana tiada sesiapa yang merujuk kepada tujuh isu kritikal masyarakat India yang dikenalpasti oleh Timbalan Presiden Umno selaku Timbalan Perdana Menteri Najib Razak dan Samy Vellu semasa perhimpuan MIC di PWTC baru-baru ini. Wakil BN yang dilaporkan seolah-olah lupa akan janji-janji manis pada perhimpunan itu dan tidak memberi sebarang maklumat atau cadangan untuk mengatasi masalah yang dikenalpasti.

Selain itu, parti pro Barisan Nasional seperti Umno dan parti-parti pembangkang iaitu Pas, DAP dan Keadilan mula memperkenalkan bakal calon mereka untuk pilihanraya ini. Isu-isu seperti ini mendapat liputan yang agak besar dalam kedua- dua akhbar ini. Akhbar Malaysia Nanban agak bias dalam kedua-dua hari kerana menerbitkan 69 peratus berita pro-Barisan Nasional, 22 peratus pro-pembangkang semalam, dan 74 peratus pro-BN dan 18 peratus hari ini. Manakala Makkal Osai pula lebih cenderung ke arah neutral dengan menerbitkan 54 peratus berita pro-BN dan 43 peratus pro-pembangkang semalam berbanding 49 peratus pro-BN dan 31peratus pro-pembangkang hari ini.

Pas' “street demonstration” promise gets attention of Umno's Utusan

The unveiling of BN candidates took centrestage on Thursday, 21 February, with 46 per cent of the total news items on election. This was in sharp contrast to less than 9 per cent of news on opposition parties candidates. Instead, opposition parties got an additional 12 per cent of news items portraying how incapable they are. The bulk of these items continued from yesterday's tirade against Pas' favourable stand on public assembly and its promise for a welfare state.

Apart from the candidacy news, the good news from the BN perspective was that of state-owned Bank Rakyat announcing a dividend payout of 20 per cent, the highest in nine years, on the front page. It was juxtaposed with a report on Pas conceding difficulty in realising a welfare state ('Pas akui tidak mampu wujudkan negara kebajikan'), which was teased further in the regular frontpage cartoon, Senyum Kambing.

More attacks on Pas specifically were found in two reports on responses from BN officials against permitting “demonstrasi jalanan”. The paper also continued to criticise PKR with a second interview with a former PKR member, Ruslan Kassim. The interview was headlined 'Pembangkang tidak mampu kalahkan BN'. In figures, there were 14, or 34 per cent of news items about the opposition, of which five were critical, out of the total 41 news items on the election.

Where the promises of the opposition were reported, they were quickly countered with a BN warning. This happened on page 8 with two reports on opposition candidates promising to spend their salary and allowances on the people if they won. Stacked on top of the reports was a picture of a BN leader and his quote: “Kita tidak mahu masa depan rakyat diperjudikan akibat termakan pujuk rayu pembangkang.”

In the editorial page, 40 per cent of a total of ten articles were critical of Pas. Pas' brand of a welfare state was again severely criticised in a 30-para column in the editorial page: 'Pas ajak ke belakang.' In another article, readers were also asked to treat the promises of opposition as a form of entertainment- 'Hiburan pilihanraya'. For the remaining six articles, three were on BN candidacy, one on how the BN should capture the state of Terengganu, and one on the successes of a BN's agency, the Welfare Department.

The wrath against Pas' stand on assemblies did not spare the letters' section. Two out of six letters were given prominence in headlines and put at the top centre of the page.

New faces, old reportage, little discussion of issues

Much of the mainstream press is abuzz with announcements of so-called new faces (of candidates) put up by the competing political parties, particularly the incumbent BN. As predictable as the morning sun, most newspapers highlighted or front-paged the new line-up of the BN candidates.

These papers also reported the dropping or exit of the ‘old faces’. For instance, The Star front-paged yesterday, 22 February, the news about MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy’s decision not to contest this time. Chan, who was seen as closely associated with the Port Klang Free Trade Zone scandal, quipped, “I cannot say I am very happy but it is the right decision.” It makes the reader wonder what really made him not so happy with this decision to quit the contest and, possibly, retire from politics too.

Such reporting is very much the stuff that the mainstream press in general had been dishing out in past general elections: that is, overplaying the issue of candidacy to the extent of neglecting critical issues confronting the electorate and the nation, such as inflation, corruption in the police force, the judiciary and other branches of government, lack of press freedom and gender and ethnicity discrimination.

But there are a few notable exceptions. For example, in theSun yesterday, deputy news editor Terence Fernandez, wrote a probing piece about the troubled MIC (“Samy and MIC face crucial test”). Here he did try to critically discuss problems that have been plaguing the MIC. He also touched on issues affecting the Indian Malaysian community that the government and the MIC had neglected, Hindraf and the Maika scandal.

And in the same paper, Fernandez, in his column “Down2Earth” rightly highlighted the importance of the mainstream press being fair to all political parties in the run-up to the election. And he announced his newspaper’s commitment to the principle of fairness: “For this election, this newspaper has decided to accept advertisements from all political parties. As long as the content is not defamatory or could be perceived as inciting, there is no reason why we should not accept announcements and advertisements from anyone.”

What is also interesting and noteworthy is that he also called on fellow journos “to carry out our responsibilities to the best of our abilities within the confines of the various Acts of Parliament and discretionary powers of the authorities”. He ended the piece by saying, “We owe it to our craft and we owe it to our fellow Malaysians.” While his intention is indeed noble and is deeply appreciated, concerned Malaysians however would be left wondering whether this intent can be effectively translated into reality, given the various obstacles put in place by the authorities.

One only needs to remember what Umno politician Azalina Othman had to say about bloggers and media freedom in Malaysia. In a news report published in yesterday's The Star (“Bloggers slammed”), Azalina reinforced what media critics have been saying about media-state relations: “the opposition parties were using the blogs because they know that the Home Affairs Ministry was busy monitoring reports in the mainstream media.” As if this wasn't enough of a confirmation, she also revealed, “They (the Opposition parties) think they can get away with it but it is not the case as they too are being monitored.”

DAP plans legal action against media; PSM gets better online coverage

The DAP intends to take legal action against the media where it is shown that they have published false and inaccurate reporting, said legal bureau head and Perak chairman Ngeh Koo Ham. In an interview with the Centre for Independent Journalism on 21 February, Ngeh confirmed the news report in Utusan Malaysia (20 February), which quoted his warning against the media for the inaccurate reporting on the reasons for Fong Po Kuan's withdrawal. The statement read that:

“I would like to give notice to the media that the DAP Malaysia Legal Bureau will be gathering materials which are deemed to be defamatory in nature and will advise the party accordingly on the legal course of action to be taken. We look forward to a media that practises fair reporting and publishes the truth and nothing but the truth. In order to protect public interest, the DAP Legal Bureau will do all it can to counter any falsehood that is reported.” (Statement issued 19 Feb to the media)

“I issued the warning two days ago because the media have reported things not said and implying crisis in the party. There has never been an alternative candidate for Batu Gajah (where Fong is the incumbent), some of them quoted that I regretted the inaccuracies but did not say that we want to sue them,” he said on Thursday to CIJ. The mainstream media had given wide coverage to Fong's announcement with a lot of space dedicated to the alleged internal crisis in DAP, but few followed up with this statement from Ngeh. The Star published one paragraph in page 6 of its 20 February edition in a story featuring Fong's blog. See earlier postings.

DAP supremos Lim Kit Siang and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had remarked that they hoped the mainstream media would give fair coverage. In a 19 February posting on his blog, DAP party leader Lim Kit Siang reprimanded the mainstream media for their unbalanced and sensationalist coverage of Fong Po Kuan’s decision not to defend her Batu Gajah seat in the 2008 General Elections. In “Po Kuan incommunicado”, Lim Kit Siang stated that “the media should not play up Opposition problems while playing down even more serious BN problems in the run-up to the 12th general election”.

He cited the transformation of MIC President S Samy Vellu into “the most unpopular and most disliked politician in the country” as “one of the biggest political news [stories] not only in recent times but probably in Malaysia’s political history”. This, like other “gargantuan problems of BN are played down or even “blacked out”. Lim Kit Siang predicted how the mainstream media would respond if a DAP candidate received such harsh criticism from citizens: “this will be reported on the front page, back page and the inside pages”. Most of the 122 comments to this entry expressed either contempt or lament for Fong Po Kuan's withdrawal, some mused over conspiracy theories, while many encouraged the DAP leader to forget Fong and move the party forward. Fong herself received more than 300 comments for her posting “I am sorry”.

On another opposition party, the significant media turnout at the Parti Sosialis Malaysia press conference on 20 February was not reflected in the coverage it received. On the day MIC president S Samy Vellu confirmed his candidacy in Sungei Siput, PSM's announcement could have generated attention given that they are fielding Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj again this time.

The New Straits Times carried a 10-paragraph story on page 21 under the headline “PSM threatens to wreck opposition plan”, a rather bold headline given that only one state seat is an unresolved issue with the DAP.

At the press conference, PSM secretary general S. Arutchelvan said the party intends to contest either Jelapang or Jalong, both being contested by the DAP, and are prepared for a three-cornered fight if the DAP does not give in.

The Star published a Bernama report on page 22 under the headline “2-plus-2 for PSM under PKR”, focusing on where the candidates would contest. In contrast, Mandarin news portal Merdekareview.com published the party's manifesto in great length, while Malaysiakini.com focused its piece on the Jalong seat issue followed by the election manifesto and the declaration of assets by the four candidates. PSM published its own statement on its website.

Bloggers under attack again

Weblogs themselves were the focus of much online content recently. Overlapping themes contributing to this trend were an emphasis on the younger generation of voters and the efforts of party candidates to extend their campaign objectives via the Internet. Malaysia Today offered two entries of interest on 20 February: “More politicians taking their campaigns online” and “Bashing govt in blogs not Malaysian culture – Rais”.

The first entry opened by highlighting the “I work very hard” digital flyer spoof of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, which is said to have originated from Parti Keadilan Rakyat member Nathaniel Tan’s blog, jelas.info. The report referred to the image as a picture of the prime minister “with his eyes closed at a political event”. Malaysia Today readers jumped all over this description in the ‘comments’ section as the prime minister is clearly asleep in the photograph. The report noted that party members—particularly from the DAP and PKR—are using blogs to inform voters of party news “while occasionally taking swipes at the ruling party”. In addition, Malaysian “Netizens” are endorsing candidates on their personal blogs as well as starting online groups of “like-minded people”.

The last phrase hinted at Dan Sunstein’s well-known ‘echo chamber’ critique of weblogs, the argument being that blogs suffer from ‘preaching to the choir’ syndrome. The entry posed the question: “does online activity filter to the ground…does it translate into votes?” On the sceptical side, the article pointed out that Malaysia’s digital divide confines the reach of an online campaign to the middle class. In addition, many readers are unregistered or unmotivated to vote. Blogger and DAP candidate Jeff Ooi was quoted as saying, “'I'm doubtful it will make too much of a difference….we are still trying to get people online to walk the talk”. The article lent the next 187 words to online hopefuls, such as PKR’s Nathaniel Tan, who claimed the Internet “is the only avenue left for truth” and noted its “viral effect”. Finally, the report acknowledged Malaysia Today’s Raja Petra as one of the Internet’s biggest supporters due to an increasing number of people with Internet access.

Also posted on Malaysia Today was a Bernama article attacking bloggers for “bashing” Barisan Nasional leaders on their sites. Outgoing Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim stated that the bloggers’ “government bashing” was a challenge facing the party, although “it was not the nature of BN leaders to resort to using blogsites to attack others in their campaigns to win the elections”. Rais Yatim called this an “unhealthy culture” and urged bloggers that “condemn” the government to “look at your own heart to see if it was clean” and even suggested that they “attend courses on good manners as good manners is Malaysian culture”. Rais Yatim also alluded to Pas spiritual leader Nik Aziz for his recent—and completely unrelated—‘orang utan’ comment, clearly tying the opposition (many of whom keep political blogs) to the issue. No statements were collected from bloggers for the report.

The entry drew 67 readers' comments as of 20 February. Notable entries pointed out the government’s use of the mainstream media to attack opposition leaders; many provided links to Youtube videos of lewd ‘BN nature’, while others insisted that most claims made against the government were true. Furthermore, Rais Yatim and the Bernama coverage did not specify what was included under the term “bashing”. The report lumped all bloggers under one broad generalisation and did not acknowledge those that exercise their democratic rights by engaging in constructive criticism of government actions and policies. Clearly, the weblogs are believed to have a large enough effect on Malaysian voters to incite this kind of reaction from the minister.

Vel Paari under fire

While the mainstream publications may be downplaying the controversial events surrounding MIC President S. Samy Vellu and his party, Malaysiakini has been following them closely. In “Indian M’sians vent fury on MIC leaders”, Malaysiakini reported on two recent events that “erupted into outbursts” when the crowd—“claiming to represent the community”—surrounded and heckled MIC leaders and demanded explanations for “why they have been left behind in terms of development”. According to the report, Samy Vellu’s son S Vel Paari, was targeted at a party event in Pajam from which his minders “whisked him away to safety”. The report noted that some of the minders were hurt in the ruckus but did not divulge details.

The report featured an eyewitness account: “the crowd listened and when he ended his speech, someone stood up and asked him to explain what had happened to the money collected by Maika”. The inclusion of this statement illustrated that members of the crowd were concerned about issues affecting the community and were not there merely to assault the leaders for their own gain. Yet, MIC leaders claimed just this. Malaysiakini offered MIC room to explain by releasing statements from Information Chief M Saravanan similar to those offered by Samy Vellu in the mainstream publications. In defence, M Saravanan insisted that the heckling groups displaying “thug-like behaviour” do not represent the sentiments of the Indian Malaysian community at large. The Federal Territory MIC chief suggested that “these are men who have been paid to embarrass the MIC leadership”. Malaysiakini did not attempt to discredit the MIC defence; instead it closed the article with two brief paragraphs contextualising the events leading up to the Hindraf rally on 25 November 2007.

Phantom voters

Malaysiakini once again brought questionable voter registration to the attention of readers with their entry, “‘Phantoms’ rock electoral polls in Penang”. The story—untouched by any of theSun, New Straits Times, or Star—exposed 500 voters registered to the abandoned address of the Army Div 2 Base in Georgetown, Penang, a “collection of derelict buildings and overgrown vegetation”. Malaysiakini pointed out that the discovery—made by the watchdog organisation Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel)—comes after “several assurances by the [Elections Commission] that its documentation is in order”. Northern region coordinator B K Ong states that “Mafrel has received numerous complaints that Penang…has a large number of ‘phantom’ voters in several opposition-held areas”.

Malaysiakini included an earlier explanation from the Election Commission in which it claimed that “cases of voters providing the same addresses are because when they don't have a home address and a common address was used for convenience” [sic]. However, a more recent statement from the Commission was not obtained.

Opposition gets more negative space; DAP wants to sue media

For the first time in five days, articles about the opposition parties on 20 February exceeded those about the BN, but not for a good reason. Opposition parties continued to be the subject of criticism in Utusan Malaysia on 20 February while, in contrast, the BN was favourably portrayed almost as if it had abilities of magical proportions. A front-page snippet illustrated how this happened: “Naib presiden Pas, Mohamad Sabu mengelak untuk bertanding di kerusi Parlimen Kuala Terengganu kerana bimbangkan kekuatan luar biasa Umno di negeri itu.”

News, articles and letters critical of opposition parties Pas, DAP and PKR took up 70 per cent of a total of 30 items concerning the parties. In contrast, there were 18 items on the BN, with 16 of them revolving around the issue of candidacy.

Pas bore the brunt of the criticism due to the its president Hadi Awang's statement yesterday approving public assemblies as part of the democratic process. Eight news items quoting Umno officials and members of public, two editorials and one reader's letter condemned Hadi's stand and denounced it as a convenient move to secure votes. Other aspects of Pas were criticised in six more articles including its promise to establish a welfare state, its party supporters' alleged unruly behaviour in trying to prevent the Kuala Terengganu local council from taking down party flags, and its acceptance of Ibrahim Ali, the former Umno division chief who defected. If in the previous day's reports, the party was criticised for ignoring the feelings of its veteran members by accepting Ibrahim, today Pas was said to have done Umno a favour by alienating its own members.

The DAP was next with the issue of Fong Po Kuan's withdrawal from the election taking up three news items and two articles in the editorials. The DAP leadership was said to have sparked the “crisis” due to their clinging to power. The writer of the editorial also expected the DAP to be wiped out in Penang.

The paper also featured on top of page 6 an interview with S Nallakaruppan, a former PKR ally, who delivered a stinging criticism of the party.

Other than these less-than-friendly articles on the opposition, there were nine other short items between two and four paragraphs each. This included a two-para report on the DAP's intention to sue the papers whose reports on the Fong Po Kuan issue were seen as defamatory. The rest were mostly on who will be contesting.

The editorial section did not steer away from talking about BN candidacy, which was already the focus in the news section. One article reminded the BN to take young voters into account in nominating candidates. Another has been the daily feature on BN successes in developing the economy of various states and districts. The two stood as the minority among their five other counterparts in discrediting the opposition.

Sin Chew Daily breaks record

Since the day Parliament was dissolved on 13 February until 17 February or even a couple of weeks before that, the Opposition had no chance of making front-page headline news in Sin Chew Daily. That was totally monopolised by the BN. But from 18 February to 20 February – three successive days, yes 3 days – the DAP was on the front-page.

Sin Chew Daily broke its editorial record for putting the opposition on the front-page for three straight days during an election period. Normally, the BN would occupy the entire front page from the day of the dissolution of Parliament to polling day.

With the opposition making the front page for three days, can we conclude that Sin Chew Daily was being fair to opposition?

Wait a minute… what was the news that was being highlighted for three successive days on the front-page? It was all about Fong Po Kuan quitting Batu Gajah. Why was similar infighting among BN component parties such as the conflict in the Taiping constituency not given similar treatment? And there are more cases in Penang and Johor.

Clearly, in the eyes of the Sin Chew Daily editorial board, the opposition only has a chance of making to the front page of the paper when it is bad news for them. Why is it that only good news from BN can be published as headline news but not positive news about the opposition?

Very soon, we can expect that the BN election manifesto will be similarly highlighted and brought to the readers' attention. In contrast, the election manifestos of the various opposition parties will be relegated into the inside pages of the newspaper.

In conclusion, highlighting the Fong Po Kuan’s story for on the front-page for three straight days reflects Sin Chew Daily's biased electoral coverage of the 12th Malaysian General Election.

Wartawan akhbar Tamil dihalang membuat liputan

Sekali lagi, wartawan-watwanan dari suratkhabar Tamil dihalang daripada menjalankan tugas mereka dalam membuat liputan satu mesyuarat di Bahau, Negeri Sembilan. Wartawan-wartawan ini, terutamanya dari Malaysia Nanban, dihalang dari menyertai mesyuarat masalah tanah di Kampung Melor di sana. Berita ini disiarkan di muka pertama akhbar Malaysian Nanban (pada 20 Februari).

Ini bukanlah peristiwa pertama yang menimpa wartawan menjelang pilihanraya. Setiap kali pilihanraya, mesti ada kes atau tindakan bekas atau bakal calon yang menghalang para wartawan daripada menjalankan tanggungjawab mereka iaitu menyebarkan maklumat yang betul dan berguna kepada masyarakat. Antara kes-kes sebelum ini ialah yang menimpa wartawan dari Malaysian Nanban dan Makkal Osai semasa meliputi pilihanraya kecil Machap. Kebebasan wartawan untuk menjalankan tugas tanpa tekanan sebegini adalah antara tuntutan bersama Pusat Kewartawana Bebas ( CIJ), Jaringan Penulis untuk Kebebasan Media (WAMI), Charter 2000-Aliran dan CSI-Parliament iaitu tiada sesiapa pun yang boleh menghalang kebebasan maklumat dan kebebasan bersuara.

Sementara itu, muka depan dan muka belakang Makkal Osai dikuasai penuh oleh berita pro-Barisan Nasional dan dua berita neutral. Makkal Osai hari ini banyak menmbincangkan tentang siapakah bakal calon BN yang akan bertanding untuk pilihanraya yang akan datang. Muka depan Makkal Osai dan Malaysia Nanban (juga pada 20 Februari) telah memberikan ruang yang agak besar bagi menerbitkan kenyataan S Samy Vellu iaitu beliau akan mengundur diri tapi seolah-olah meminta peluang untuk membenarkannya bertanding dalam pilihanraya ini. Sebenarnya terdapat juga udang di sebelah kata-kata iaitu cuba menukarkan kemarahan dan kebencian masyarakat India dengan bersifat hampa. Sudah pasti beliau telah meneka pecahan undi masyarakat India selepas perhimpunan Hindraf dan penangkapan penyokong- penyokong Hindraf. Maka, nampaknya, beliau menggunakan taktik baru bagi menyatukan balik kesemua undian itu.

Di samping itu, S Nallakaruppan yang memulakan parti baru Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP) pula mengkritik Anwar Ibrahim dalam pelancaran cawangan MIUP di Pulau Pinang. Menurut Nalla, Anwar tidak suka mendengar bunyi loceng kuil pada masa dia menjadi timbalan perdana menteri, tetapi kini, Anwar menyeru masyarakat Indiaa supaya mempercayai dan menyokongnya. Selain itu, menurut Malaysia Nanban semalam, Anwar berjanji tidak akan mengkhianati masyarakat India sekiranya mereka menyokongnya.

Nalla adalah antara pemimpin dari MIC yang kemudian menyertai Parti Keadilan Rakyat, dan akhirnya menubuhkan partinya sendiri yang kini menyatakan sokongan kepada Barisan Nasional. Akhbar Tamil seperti Makkal Osai pernah juga menyiarkan iklan Nalla apabila parti itu dilancarkan pada 25 November lalu (sehari dengan perarakan Hindraf) untuk mendapat ahli.

Antara pemimpin Barisan Nasional yang mendapat perhatian ialah ketua wanita Umno Shahrizat Abdul Jalil yang menyeru kepada orang ramai supaya mengundinya untuk menunjukkan penghargaan mereka kepada jasanya. Kenyataannya agak lucu kerana sebagai wakil rakyat (yang dipilih oleh rakyat sendiri) Shahrizat bertanggungjawab menjalankan segala tugas yang diberikan kepadanya demi menjaga kebajikan dan kesejahteraan rakyat.

Bekas menteri penerangan Zainuddin Maidin dari kawasan Merbok turut mendapat ruang agak besar hampir setiap hari, lebih daripada media arus perdana yang lain. Apa agaknya sebab akhbar Makkal Osai memberikan ruang itu? Sememangnya majlis yang dihadiri kebanyakannya melibatkan masyarakat India, tapi adakah ini satu usaha untuk menenangkan ketegangan yang menimpa mereka? Tepuk dada, tanya selera.

Radio poll gives thumbs up to blogs

“Would negative comments in blogs jeopardise (mengganggu-gugat) the democratic process?” That was the day's question for the daily poll over Radio 24 on 20 February. Eighty per cent of the respondents disagreed as they said blogs acted as a good check and balance, viewers could make their own decisions after visiting different blogs and that blogging was relevant to the democratisation process.

One respondent said some of the criticisms in the blogs could be constructive and likened them to the role of the opposition parties in checking the government. Kudos Radio 24 for broadcasting the results of the poll and the reasons that obviously give a fresh perspective to the antagonism against bloggers expressed by many Barisan Nasional leaders, including the outgoing minister of information, who has control over Radio 24 as well. The latest is a statement by the outgoing minister of culture, arts and heritage, Rais Yatim, that being critical of the government is not Malaysian culture. Of the 20 per cent who responded in the affirmative to the poll question, one of the respondents said blogs had the potential to affect unity. The results of the daily polls are announced at 6.35pm. Our note: we wonder how many people responded to the poll, but the obvious choice of answer is encouraging!

Another breath of fresh air from the station was a news piece on the Selangor DAP's manifesto and candidacy issues. In a 30-second sound bite, which was replayed several times over the evening, state chairman Ean Yong Hian Wah said the party was fielding more professionals in the state, which was seen as their advantage. He also said three women and four non-Chinese candidates would be fielded, and went on to mention the five main issues in the state manifesto: a strong opposition front, clean government reducing costs of living, security, quality education.

A 48-second story (third item out of five during the 3pm broadcast) focused on Pas candidate Dr. Lo' Lo' Ghazali's chances in Titiwangsa, where she is expected to contest. The candidacy was announced last night by the party president at the Titiwangsa office. While it was acknowledged that it would be a tough battle, it was not seen as impossible to win the seat in an area where the party expects to get more support from the women voters.

Hopefully, this bodes well for access to information on the opposition parties although 30 seconds is nowhere near the more than four minutes dedicated to stories on Barisan Nasional leaders. At least three out of five stories on the elections were pro-Barisan Nasional, including one quoting Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan who said that 40 hot spots had been identified in Selangor for the elections. This was rated as a pro-BN story because of the lack of independence of the police force from the ruling party's interests. One of the news items on Barisan Nasional was rather neutral, as it was on the hourly updates on the meetings between BN chairman Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the other party and state leaders.

The top story for today was the announcement of the MIC's candidates for the nine parliamentary and 19 state seats. Radio 24, through a phone interview, spoke with one of the new candidates, S. Murugesan who will contest the Subang parliamentary seat. The anchor, Anne Edwards did a reasonably good job of asking important questions on his opinion of the sentiments among Indian Malaysian voters and his pledge to the constituents.

Makkal Osai yang belum dapat permit 2008 lebih pro-Barisan

Semakin menghampiri pilihanraya umum, semakin banyak berita Barisan Nasional yang diterbitkan dalam surat khabar Tamil, khususnya Makkal Osai dan Malaysia Nanban. Boleh dikatakan bahawa 62 peratus berita di Makkal Osai pada 19 Februari dikuasai oleh berita pro-Barisan Nasional (BN), 11 peratus untuk parti pembangkang dan 27 peratus bagi berita neutral. Manakala, Malaysia Nanban pula menerbitkan 49 peratus berita pro-BN, 11 peratus pro pembangkang dan 24 peratus neutral.

Ini menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan ruang media berada di tangan Barisan Nasional, walaupun pandangan umum ialah akhbar Makkal Osai lebih bebas daripada dua pesaingnya. Ini mungkin dapat dijelaskan kerana akhbar ini masih belum mendapatkan permit penerbitannya.

Analisis yang membincangkan isu tentang bakal calon dan bekas calon agak menarik kerana ia menerangkan mengapa bekas calon mungkin gagal memperolehi kerusi dalam pilihanraya ini. Contohnya muka terakhir Malaysia Nanban mengatakan ketua–ketua tempatan tidak berpuas hati apabila mendengar Komala Krishnamoorthy (wakil Parlimen Kapar dan sebelum ini Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Pelajaran) dan Kamala Ganapathy dari kawasan dewan undangan negeri Sri Andalas mungkin akan dipilih sebagai calon semula. Dikatakan walaupun ramai yang tidak menyokong kedua-dua calon ini, namun mereka diberi jaminan oleh presiden parti bahawa mereka akan bertanding lagi. Ini menunjukkan niat sebenar masyarakat secara tidak langsung.

Salah satu kebiasaan akhbar Tamil ialah untuk menterjemahkan artikel dari akhbar lain.

Hari ini, analisis yang diterjemahkan ialah dari The Star yang agak berfaedah kerana ia membincangkan bagaimana MIC akan berhadapan dengan pilihanraya pada 8 Mac nanti, terutamanya dengan mengambil kira kesan kumpulan Hindraf ke atas parti itu.

Di samping itu, terdapat juga berita yang menunjukkan bahawa wujudnya perselisihan faham di antara ahli-ahli Indian Progressive Front (IPF). Parti ini pada mulanya ialah lawan MIC tetapi sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, telah membuat komitmen untuk menyokong BN. Dua hari lepas, anak Samy Vellu, Vel Pari membuat kenyataan bahawa parti itu milik pakciknya iaitu G. Pandithan yang menerajui parti ini sejak awal lagi. Tetapi, terdapat pihak lawan dalam IPF sendiri yang tidak bersetuju akan kenyataan ini dan sikap presiden Pandithan yang berbaik dengan Samy Vellu. Ketua puak kedua K. Panjamurai berkata parti itu bukan milik mana-mana pemimpin tetapi adalah milik ahli-ahli. Makkal Osai yang mengemukakan berita ini di muka depan dan muka surat 13 melaporkan bahawa kedua-dua MIC dan IPF akan bergabung untuk memperjuangkan kemenangan BN.

Di muka depan Malaysia Nanban dan muka surat 13nya, penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat Anwar Ibrahim diberi ruang agak besar. Beliau dilaporkan berkata di satu ceramah di Brickfields bahawa dia tidak akan mengkhianati orang India sekiranya mereka memberi sokongan kepadanya. Beliau menggunakan isu Hindraf dan perhimpunan pemberian bunga ros sebagai alat publisiti untuk mendapatkan undi bagi calon parti itu seperti R. Sivarasa dan S. Manickavasagam, kedua-duanya ahli majlis tertinggi PKR yang turut berucap pada hari tersebut.

Shahrizat's optimism amidst Indian reservations

The Star (on 20 February), like many other mainstream newspapers, was littered with news of political parties gearing up for the forthcoming general election in Malaysia. And these included stories of both the incumbent BN and the opposition, although the former predictably dominated the pages.

One of the news reports that caught our attention – and criticism – carried the following headline: “Shahrizat: Indians support BN”. Essentially what the report was trying to convey was BN politician Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's confidence in the apparent support from the Indian Malaysian community, her confidence derived from the response to her meet-the-people sessions in Lembah Pantai.

But the headline could be misleading in the sense that it gave the impression that the support from Indian Malaysians was nationwide – and not just from the community in the Lembah Pantai area. Even then, one couldn’t possibly assume that all Indian Malaysians in the area support the incumbent BN.

As if to reinforce this “fact” (of unwavering Indian Malaysian support for BN), Shahrizat was even quoted by the newspaper as saying, “I don’t see why the Indians will not vote for Barisan. We have been there for them.” Her comments were made in response to a question as to whether “there would be a swing of Indian votes following street demonstrations by Indians”.

It would have helped the reader a lot had the paper briefly presented the background to those street demonstrations - such as the grievances articulated by certain sections of the Indian Malaysian community who felt that they had been neglected by the very party that Shahrizat claimed was concerned about their plight.

Of goodies, Gods and myths

Keen on bringing biased media coverage to the attention of its readers, Malaysia Today on 19 February offered a critical commentary on the mainstream media’s spin-doctored coverage of the Fong issue, “Shameless Political Partisanship of Media: The Fong Coverage.” Included in the entry was a reference to an article in theSun of particular interest—“Cashing in for the Elections”—a revealing commentary from Terence Fernandez on bribery of journalists by politicians during election periods (page 12).

Malaysiakini’s Top 10 list on 19 February included a report with a similar theme. In “RM125 mil election goodies for Chinese, Indian votes”, Malaysiakini took it upon themselves to calculate the amount of money promised to Chinese and Indian communities—in the form of land leases and the construction of schools—by the BN since 31 December. Malaysiakini’s total sum was RM125, 580,000 and was derived from BN “promises” appearing in the media. The report was clearly critical of the BN, satirically dubbing Umno president and deputy president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak and MCA president Ong Ka Ting the ‘Gods of Fortune’ and suggesting their use of monetary grants and land leases to “grab headlines during Chinese New Year”. The article did not state if the BN was contacted for a response.

Malaysiakini featured reports that eluded mainstream coverage. “Turmoil in MIC Batu Caves” reported on the disappointment of local leaders over speculation that S. Samy Vellu will field Puchong-based party member T. Mohan over the local choice, G. Jayakumar, for Batu Caves. A peaceful protest was held by local leaders to express their grievances to Samy Vellu. The balanced report features statements from both local leaders as well as Mohan, while Jayakumar allegedly failed to comment when contacted.

The newly-formed Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) received coverage from Malaysiakini in “Spunky graduates to take on Goliaths”, which voiced the party’s plan to target three big-name parliamentary seats, including one against Abdullah Badawi in Kepala Batas. The 506-word article gave space to outline the party’s educational-reform perspectives and goals from the party president Azlan Zainal. A comment from the outgoing Higher Education Minister Mustapa Mohamed, against whom PMN plans to contest in Jeli, called the un-registered party “a mosquito party”—a remark Azlan said was “a good sign”. None of the major English newspapers extended coverage to the party.

According to a Malaysiakini article, a woman is accusing MIC Youth chief S A Vigneswaran of “breaching a sales agreement with her and withholding more than RM500,000 of her money”. The 608-word report did a commendable job of presenting both sides of the story and allowing both parties to make their case, granting 250 and 220 words to the accuser and Vigneswaran, respectively. Reports of the issue did not grace the mainstream newspapers’ pages.

Circulating through the blogosphere were reports of an alleged false statement from Mahsuri's Langkawi Umno Secretary Mohd. Saiful Mustaffa concerning Mukhriz Mahathir’s nomination for the island’s parliamentary seat. The entry—originating with bigdogdotcom and linked to by both Malaysia Today and Rocky’s Bru—stated evidence that Mukhriz’ name was not rejected at last week’s Umno Division Exco meeting, contrary to a report posted by bernama.com. According to “Langkawi Umno Secretary made a unilateral statement”, Saiful’s statement was “personal opinion and not reflective of Langkawi Umno Division’s stance and definitely not representative of the Langkawi voters’ opinion.” Allegedly, the BN wished for Mukhriz to “continue what his father started and tirelessly worked on”. According to the report, Saiful failed to get the majority of Umno branch heads to support a petition protesting Mukhriz’ nomination. Reader’s reactions to and comments about this issue were across the spectrum. While one Malaysia Today commenter expressed hope that the public would not be taken in by Saiful’s statement, several comments on Rocky’s Bru were along the lines of Mukhriz being unwelcome in Langkawi, while others still were supportive of the former prime minister’s son.

Generating a whopping 60 comments (and growing) was a Rocky’s Bru entry, "PM to us: We Subsidized U!”, dealing with Badawi’s comments at the Penang Chinese Town Hall dialogue session. The general nature of the commentary was critical of the caretaker PM and the BN’s policies, comments on ethnic inequality and satirical remarks.

Has Samy Vellu left the building?

MIC president S. Samy Vellu was given prominent air time during Radio 24's news slot at 1.00pm on 19 February, taking up 28 per cent of the time allocated for election-related stories (almost 12 minutes). While there were significant sound bites from Samy Vellu - now the target of open attacks from the Indian Malaysian community - the piece ignored earlier statements he had made about his future in Malaysian politics. Today, Samy Vellu said he was prepared to give up his position if the Indian Malaysian community wanted him to leave.

“I am not going to be here for 100 years, I won't live for 100 years....I am prepared to go if that is the wish of the people, and that decision has to be made by the Indians, as I am the representative of the Indians,” he said, probably at a media conference.

Three days ago, he sang a different tune. Berita Harian reported on 17 February that Samy Vellu he would stay on for another seven or eight years or until there was a suitable successor. The top page story on page 7 dedicated 13 paragraphs to Samy Vellu under the headline: “Samy Vellu mahu dua penggal lagi”, saying among others, “Mungkin tujuh atau lapan tahun lagi saya akan bertahan bagi memastikan ada pengganti yang mampu membela masyarakat India.” The station however, does not mention any of the times the MIC president and other party leaders have been jeered and booed at different events.

For some reason, Rafidah Aziz also gets significant air time over Radio 24. Yesterday, she was highlighted for her statement on the fielding of Wanita candidates. Today, in a follow-up story, Radio 24 interviewed, once again, Professor Datuk Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin of UKM for his opinion on the role of women in elections. This was immediately followed by a sound clip of Rafidah Aziz from yesterday's interview for more than a minute. Earlier, she was quoted as criticising Pas' Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who had likened Umno leaders to orang utan. She said the statement was uncalled for and it was unbecoming of a leader to liken other people to animals. A quick note to Rafidah: she should repeat her statement to her colleagues such as Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz who has a record of making statements against the opposition and civil society groups, remember Nazri's “pondan” to the Bersih organisers and supporters; Khairy Jamaluddin's “monyet” and Zainuddin Maidin's “goblok” against bloggers?

While not directly related to the elections, MCA Wanita chief Ng Yen Yen was mentioned in a news item on the launch of an NGO award with support from Exxon Mobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc (full story in Bernama). The organiser of the award (to reward NGOs that have good accounting and reporting records) is a former deputy minister Wong See Wah, who used to be the MP for Rasah. The story was reported from the scene and was allocated almost two minutes - even longer than the top story of the hour (40 seconds) that outgoing Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman would remain in Johor, ending speculation that he would contest for a Parliamentary seat.

And those listening to Radio 24 (on air at 93.9 or through audio streaming) should take note that a recurrent comment used is that of Anthony Dass of Inter Pacific Research, who was on air several times last week and now this week, on the impact of the elections on the market. Biz English anchors Anne Edwards and Keith Kam need to provide fresh interviews and not depend on week-old recorded sound bites. With so many issues being fought out for the elections, radio stations can provide space for discussion to the different political parties and observers. RTM's TraxxFm, another casualty of playing old programmes (today, it was on stroke), should use its air time for the 11.00am slot to invite speakers to talk about the elections. This is the station that cancelled its interview with Elizabeth Wong of Suaram and Parti Keadilan Rakyat, at the last minute. It was reported that they had asked if she would talk about the Bersih rally that was being organised that weekend, and she had said yes. The cancellation came almost immediately.

Utusan uses bold headlines to bash Pas, DAP

Opposition parties received increased coverage in Utusan Malaysia yesterday, 19 February, due to their supposed internal “crisis”. The coverage of DAP, Pas and KeAdilan combined stood at 39 per cent of total news on the general election, for the BN, it stood at 47 per cent. Close to 80 per cent, or 36 items, of the total news under the Dalam Negeri section was about the election. In the editorial section, seven out of the total of nine articles also discussed the election.

The paper hit out at the opposition with four items on the DAP's internal problem following the withdrawal of Fong Po Kuan from the Batu Gajah seat, as seen through the bold headlines: DAP alami konflik dalaman serius, Ahli DAP bantah Karpal, Guan Eng, tanding di Bagan, Kit Siang nafi paksa Fong ke kawasan lain and DAP tambah retak - Boon Poh pula tarik diri.

The first story was based solely on Umno deputy president, Najib Tun Razak's commentary, something which was not reflected in the headline. In Boon Poh pula tarik diri, the lead painted a crumbling DAP:

“Selepas menerima kejutan berikutan pengunduran ahli parlimen Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan semalam, DAP semakin goyah menjelang pilihan raya umum 8 Mac ini apabila seorang lagi anggotanya mengancam untuk menarik diri”.

Even former health minister Chua Soi Lek's sex DVD scandal did not reach the same sense of crisis as that reflected in the paper's portrayal of the DAP.

The selection of stories on Pas were deliberate in response to the comments by adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat, described as inconsistent and un-Islamic. On page 3, Nik Aziz was given a top snippet titled Nik Aziz dan orang utan which carried his various quotes dating back to 1999. Criticism of Pas was also the subject of an “analysis”- Semalam cakap lain, esok cakap lain. Pas was also said to have disregarded its party members when it accepted the former Umno division chief, Ibrahim Ali into its fold as candidate for Pasir Mas. Underneath the teaser Lompat si katak lompat were two stories, Sanggup ubah pendirian and Rela ketepikan perasaan ahli.

Pas-bashing was more subtle on its front page report on Pas president Abdul Hadi Awang, who promised public assemblies would be allowed if the opposition won. But the terminology used demonstrasi jalanan (street demonstration) - given recent BN propaganda - gave the impression that Pas supported illegal and violent ways to defend democracy.

Out of the 17 items on BN, 11 were on seat allocations and candidacy. The news items were supplemented with six pro-BN editorials in the editorial page: two on developments achieved under BN, two on ways BN should approach new and young voters, one on “advice” for those in the BN not nominated, and one poking fun at the Pas leadership. One more column defended the Election Commission from its recent critics - Bersih, opposition parties and bloggers- the same position been taken by the BN government, in a lengthy piece (59 paragraphs) quoting Commission secretary Kamaruzzaman Mohd Noor from a media briefing yesterday.

NST editorial laced with pro-establishment propaganda

An earlier entry in Media Monitors’ Election Diary posits:

“what can Malaysians expect from the NST in its coverage of the impending run-up to the election if not acting as a full throttle mouthpiece for Badawi and the BN”?

The NST editorial on 18 February disparaging Hindraf’s Roses Day is more of the same. The sophistry is there all right but the pro-establishment propaganda inescapable.

NST says: “On Saturday, a small group of people staged an illegal rally and attempted to take the election hostage. The little support that remains for the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) gathered in the capital determined that the world should know that they are extremely unhappy.”

It repeats the BN line “illegal rally”. It downplays the numbers gathered. Several hundreds is to NST “a small number”. The paper forgets that comprehensive police roadblocks prevented the numbers from swelling. It forgets the pre-emptive arrest warrants that the Malaysian authorities are wont to issue organisers of just such public assemblies.

The public however has not forgotten that the Hindraf Five are still detained under the ISA. And yet, despite that tyrannical Sword of Damocles, which has been a longstanding deterrent to civic participation, the “small group of people” still bravely assembled in the capital.

NST’s editorial accentuates wishful thinking: “The little support that remains for Hindraf”… if only, and goes on to say: “What they are unhappy about exactly is not clear.”

A less mean-spirited reader than NST’s target audience might well rejoin: “If the PM perked up his big ears a wee bit, he might learn the cause of the Indian Malaysians’ unhappiness”.

Of if the PM had allowed children to hand him flowers, he could have heard it straight from the mouth of babes.

Or if the PM had listened, he could have gotten some tips from Hindraf’s alleged attempt ‘to take the election hostage’ –- more info to add to his ruling coalition’s considerable store of knowledge. Or was Abdullah Badawi afraid that Hindraf would once again present their memo, handed by guileless children this time?

The words employed in the NST editorial to describe Hindraf are deliberately pejorative: “wily use of an absurd suit”, “its slick organisers hoped to repeat the trick”. They rightly belong in BN brochures, not in newspapers.

Inept and unaware?

The editorial then goes on: “They [Hindraf] haven't asked for more Tamil schools, for more jobs in the civil service for Indians. They haven't asked for more welfare support for underprivileged Indians. The Malaysian Indian Congress did all that, capitalising on an opportunity that Hindraf's organisers threw away.”

What an inept newspaper not to be aware that Hindraf had already sent hundreds of letters, memos and requests to the authorities, without meriting any response.

What an inept newspaper not to be aware that the Hindraf petition (which its very own editorial derides as an absurd suit and slick trick) had already and clearly laid out the litany of woes besetting the Indian community and their remedies.

These remedies, at least, the NST seemed aware of: more Tamil schools, more jobs in the civil service, and more welfare support for underprivileged Indian Malaysians. But the NST gives credit to MIC, where no credit is due, for raising public awareness of the pressing needs.

Lat year, before ‘Hindraf’ became a household name, Indian Malaysians had gathered peacefully at Putrajaya -- in NST jargon – to “ask”. And they had asked nicely. Sad that they were ignored and sent away empty handed.

NST says, “So, what is Hindraf actually fighting for, precisely? They have the same number of votes as every other Malaysian -- one man, one vote -- so they aren't the heroes of a burgeoning Malaysian civil rights movement.”

One man, one vote? What an unschooled paper not to know that under Malaysia’s skewed electoral weightage, one vote in Putrajaya is manifold the worth of one vote in Bukit Bintang.

Hardly surprising then that it could not enlighten its readers on how constituencies should be delineated so that there is an equal balance in the number of constituents. And if more weightage is accorded to some constituencies, that is, the rural ones, the maximum variation should not exceed 15 per cent (a statutory guideline recommended by the Reid Commission). This ratio is clearly breached in the case of Putrajaya.

Is NST also unaware that one of the main issues confronting the Indian Malaysian community is that though are bona fide Malaysians, a good number of them do not possess birth certificates and other official identity documents? They cannot register for school, much less vote.

If NST is still, now, all that clueless as to what Hindraf is actually fighting for, precisely, then it’s not a very effective newspaper, is it? Newspapers are supposed to find out these things and inform their readership. Not require their readership to inform them.

No constructive points

NST says: “They are citizens of a country where more than two million foreigners work, both legally and not, so they can't possibly believe there are not enough jobs.”

Indian Malaysians can rightly ask: “Then why are illegal foreigners holding these jobs? Where is the law enforcement that is too eagerly deployed to bully Hindraf? Why is it not doing its task of curbing illegal entry into this country?”

And since the Malaysian authorities seem too fond of throwing about the word ‘illegal’, can we also not label these jobs as ‘illegal jobs’ if done by illegal immigrants?

NST blathers on: “What they have done is to claim Hindus have been marginalised, accuse the government of ethnic cleansing, and beg for their five leaders to be released from detention under the Internal Security Act.”

If NST is more attuned to the pulse of the rakyat, it would know that civil society demands – no, not “begs” – demands, that the Hindraf leaders be released. And for the ISA to be abolished.

Aah, but then, NST at least does not tag itself “The People’s Paper”, so its incomprehensibility of the people’s strong sentiments is more excusable. Relatively speaking, that is.

NST adds: “They are also doing the BN a favour. They have made themselves widely resented in Kuala Lumpur for disrupting the lives of thousands of peace-loving city folk.”

Uh-uh. This tack didn’t work the last time. Thousands of peace-loving city folk hooted in derision when the BN trotted out its motley crew of Bukit Bintang pseudo traders to claim that the Bersih rally disrupted business on 10 November.

NST goes out with a whimper (certainly no bang) on this kicker: “They have obscured the fact that there are opposition parties making legitimate attempts to participate in the democratic process and respect elections as a venue for demanding change. It just doesn't look like they are fighting to raise any constructive points. Maybe, it really is for the money.”

Isn’t it a pity that when opposition parties make legitimate attempts to participate in the democratic process, like when they apply to get police permits for their public assemblies, or when they petition for clean, fair and transparent elections, they are denied this very “legitimacy”? Didn’t the PM’s famous son-in-law famously deem Bersih an “illegal organisation”?

So perhaps NST should instead direct its verbal lobbying -- or should we say vile ‘lobbing’ –- at the authorities in a bid to improve “democratic processes”. The paper would then be doing its bit for nation-building.

Otherwise, in NST own words, it is simply one newspaper that patently fails “to raise any constructive points”.

Utusan plays up candidacy as the main concern

News about elections made up the majority of news items under the Dalam Negeri section of Utusan yesterday, comprising more than 71 per cent or 35 items out of a total of 49 items. BN is the focus of these election reports, taking up close to 80 per cent or 27 news items, including a pro-BN news analysis on the state of Kelantan and the Prime Minister’s take on the economy and crime. In the editorial section, eight out of nine articles were on the election and had a pro-BN slant. In the letters' section, two of the five letters touched on general concerns about the election. Only seven news items referred to the opposition parties.

Apart from the withdrawal of DAP's Fong Po Kuan from the race and alleged signs of a crisis in the party, the paper carried a four-para rebuttal by Pas' adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat underneath a 26-para “analysis” on Kelantan's plight. Its primary source: Kelantan Umno Information chief, Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad. Three other stories on the opposition parties centred on candidacy but nothing was mentioned about the candidates' plans or messages.

Candidacy continued to dominate the news about the BN too - 16 items out of the 27 stated above. The focus on candidacy dwarfed public interest issues on rising crime rates and the state of the economy. Only one report each for the topics and they were based entirely on the PM's speeches; “Ekonomi Malaysia dikagumi” and “Bekerjasama perangi jenayah”. The PM also got a report each on page 2 for his reiteration that he has been fair and for his promise on the North Corridor Economic Region (NCER).

Utusan's editorial approved the use of force by the police against Hindraf supporters who gathered in the city on Sunday. Seven more columns were pro-BN in different approaches - attributing political stability and economic development to Umno (“Faktor pengundi atas pagar”, “Salah pilih bawa padah kepada negara”, and “Estet Padi Jelai hasilkan pulangan lumayan”), advocating reform within and through Umno (“Dekati kecenderungan pengundi muda”), and highlighting the weaknesses of opposition parties (“Nasib DAP, Pas di Johor”, and “Kelesuan buku kempen pilihan raya”).

Radio 24 news carries cautionary reports and warnings

Radio 24 was more alarmist yesterday, 18 February, in its reporting: its top news midday was on the warning by the Inspector General of Police against extremist groups during the election campaign. A one-minute news clip focused on the statements by Musa Hassan, who also cautioned that police would make strict checks during the campaign period. One wonders with all the attention to these extremist elements, which were of course undefined, whether there will be any follow up action on the various crimes, in particular to locate the kidnapper of young Sharlinie.

Of the 10 minutes of seven election news, the most time was given to Rafidah Aziz (almost three minutes), who said she would provide names for women candidates in all states except Terengganu to the party president by the end of the week. She deliberated on the importance of women candidates and concluded that at the moment, the party was not yet strong enough in Terengganu to field the Wanita. She seemed to allude to the very conservative approach that women need safe seats provided by the men and they would find it difficult to contest in difficult areas. A story in The Star yesterday on DAP's Fong Po Kuan decision not to contest in the election raised similar concerns about the gender portrayal of women candidates. In The Star report, outgoing Perak Menteri Besar Tajol Mohd Rosli said now that Fong was not contesting, it would be easier for “our candidate who is a lady if she is not fighting against another lady” (page 12 “Perak Barisan breathes easier after Fong's pullout”).

In the earlier part of yesterday, the hourly news over Radio 24 was dominated by the Election Commission's stern warning to parties that have started putting up their banners and flags. Interviews were held with Commission secretary Kamaruzzaman Mohd Noor and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council public relations officer Norhayati Ahmad whose sound bites were aired for a total of two minutes. Norhayati said on air that the council could take action against the parties involved. Again, no specific references were made, casting suspicion that the target of the warning could be opposition parties.

Of the eight minutes during the 11.00am broadcast yesterday, close to four minutes was given to a UNIMAS academic, Jeniri Amir of the Faculty of Social Sciences, to comment on the elections. While the newscaster began by saying that the opposition did not have the confidence to win the elections, the observer focused his comments on the issues important to the people of Sarawak. He felt that land rights and native customary land were prime concerns for the people and warned against the irresponsible use of statistics by all parties in trying to confuse the voters.

An interview with the director of the National Service Department appeared to entice potential voters from among the camp trainers who have been given time off to cast their ballots. At the same time, the director issued a stern warning against the trainees being involved in the political campaign. Our interpretation: its okay to hold a gun, but we won't allow politically enlightened youths.

Nanban beri ruang untuk analisa isu penting

Daripada lebih 30 berita yang berkenaan dengan pilihanraya umum dalam Malaysian Nanban pada 18 Februari, didapati bahawa hampir setengah daripadanya lebih menyokong parti-parti Barisan Nasional dan hanya sembilan peratus yang menyentuh isu parti pembangkang. Satu pemerhatian yang penting ialah kandungan lain yang boleh dianggap neutral. Ini terutamanya diperlihatkan dalam analisis yang diterbitkan dalam beberapa helaian akhbar ini.

Bahagian analisis agak menarik dan mengandungi banyak maklumat kerana ia membincangkan pelbagai isu seperti pendidikan, pilihanraya, masalah sekolah Tamil, Hindraf dan sebagainya. Analisis ini memberikan ruang kepada pembaca untuk berfikir akan kebaikan dan keburukan kesemua parti sebelum mebuat keputusan. Sebagai contoh, antara isu yang dibincangkan ialah pertanyaan ibubapa mengenai nasib sekolah Tamil yang masih belum menampakkan penyelesaian. Malah setiap hari masalah sekolah Tamil semakin bertambah. Bahagian analisis diberikan ruang yang agak besar dan juga diterbitkan di muka depan; ia menunjukkan betapa pentingnya artikel seperti ini dalam membantu pembaca mendapatkan maklumat bermutu.

Malangnya, berita-berita yang menfokus pro Barisan Nasional sebenarnya memberikan publisiti percuma kepada parti- parti seperti MIC dan PPP berbanding memberikan pendedahan yang terang dan mendalam. Selain itu, ia juga bias apabila gagal memberikan informasi yang seimbang daripada kedua-dua pihak. Ia juga meyiarkan banyak gambar pemimpin dari parti ini.

Selain itu, Malaysia Nanban juga lebih menerbitkan berita–berita yang positif yang mana secara tidak langsung akan mengalihkan pemikiran masyarakat kepada isu-isu positif sahaja dan bukan di sebaliknya. Ia juga boleh disifatkan sebagai satu taktik bagi menghalang masyarakat untuk mengimbas kembali perkara-perkara negatif yang telah berlaku seperti tuntutan Bersih, Hindraf, masalah gaji, rumah dan sebagainya.

Walaupun Malaysia Nanban kurang neutral dalam menyebarkan maklumat kepada pembaca kerana bias terhadap satu pihak, namun bias ini dapat diimbangi oleh bahagian analisis yang agak signifikan.

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.

Hindraf Rose rally dominates online coverage

The 16 February Hindraf Rose Rally continued to dominate online coverage. Of special interest is an AFP report, posted on Malaysiakini on 17 February at 3:15pm, entitled “Anwar criticises government over rally crackdown.” After briefly outlining the events and their context as well as Anwar’s criticism of the use of chemically-laced water cannons, the AFP reported that “lawyers claimed a female protester - one of nine who are being held till Monday - was abused in custody.” According to the report, the woman claimed to have been beaten by police and denied medical treatment. Notably, this AFP report was the featured story on Malaysia.msn.com today.

But mention of the alleged police abuse against the Hindraf supporter was nowhere to be found within today’s top three English newspapers. The Star featured a 50 square cm article at the bottom of page N24 merely outlining the charges facing eight of the nine detained demonstrators. On the other hand, the NST’s article, “Hindraf members may be charged,” highlighted an allegedly hospitalised police officer who “injured his leg from a fall after he was pushed by a demonstrator”, according to police chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman. The article also featured a paraphrase of Sabtu’s defence for using the water cannon, saying that “it had to be deployed as the demonstrators refused to budge”.

Anwar’s statement condemning the police response was not featured in either the Star or the NST. The mainstream publications instead emphasised that the demonstration was “illegal”, supported the actions of the police, and depicted demonstrators as violent, irrational people, promoting fear and contempt amongst the general public.

A People’s Parliament entry – linked to by Malaysia Today – entitled “On Hindraf: Looks like Abdullah, sounds like KJ,” highlighted three examples of biased, mainstream media publications followed by commentary debunking the statements. Helen Ang points out that all three were written by “MSM writers who look Indian or whose names sound Indian”. The general nature of the excerpts is that the Indian Malaysian community is neither marginalised nor do its members receive fewer educational or financial opportunities than the rest of population. While Ang's excerpt selection, supplemented with statements from Khairy condemning unlawful gatherings is effective, she did not provide any verifiable facts that may have strengthened her illustration. Nevertheless, the three readers who commented on the article seemed to agree with the alleged absurdity of the excerpts’ claims.

Sparking debate amongst readers was the Malaysia Today posting of a police report against S. Samy Vellu accusing him of lying about a public project contract. Raja Petra mused on whether or not such an offence could prevent the MIC president from contesting in the election. The 23 readers' comments fell along a broad spectrum, from mere “Samy-bashing” to detailed opinions and reasoning as to why the report will not prevent Samy from contesting. No mention of the police report against Samy Vellu was found in the mainstream coverage.

Jelas.info features a Youtube video of Malaysiakini's coverage of the Hindraf demonstration. Nathaniel Tan highlights how Badawi supporters also congregated, chanted and waved posters at the event; yet, they were not faced with retaliation from the authorities.

Malay broadsheets outdo each other in being pro-BN

Over the weekend, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia tried to outdo each other to provide coverage on the elections, with more than 65 per cent of the 38 news items on elections in Utusan and 84 per cent of Berita Harian's 31 articles skewed towards Barisan Nasional on 16 February and 70 per cent of the 27 articles in Berita Minggu on Sunday, 17 February.

Out of the 27 news items on Sunday in Berita Minggu, four were of outright advocacy by BN ministers, four others on BN promises for development, seven on BN candidacy and seat allocations, and four on BN preparations. Pas was the only opposition party covered in the paper in two news items, but one featured the defection of 20 Pas members to Umno. Among the 27 items, only two discussed the state of the economy but in the tune of approving the BN's performance; “Ramai yakin BN mampu bawa kemajuan Kelantan - ahli professional, pakar ekonomi mahu rakyat beri sokongan penuh” and a small item at the side headlined “Jauh lebih murah”. The former used academics in the public universities, government-linked companies and agencies as primary sources stating that the BN is the remedy for the lack of economic development in Kelantan under Pas. The latter is a local academic's reassurance that prices in Malaysia are still cheaper than in the rest of the region.

Hindraf received front-page attention and a full page in the editorial pages, but it was described as “pengacau” (trouble makers) by the Prime Minister and “dakyah jahat” (evil preaching) by MIC president Samy Vellu, who was interviewed in the editorial page. Balance is again in question as no Hindraf members were featured for comment and rebuttal. This is not surprising as most major mainstream media have not given any significant space to Hindraf supporters.

Berita Minggu seems more like a BN paper, judging by the space provided to the ruling coalition. The paper is also devoid of any public interest reporting or critical discussions on the economy, crime and corruption. The only position it took concerning the economy was very much in line with the establishment: reassuring the public and promising better days to come.

On 16 February, most media focused on the BN's plan to wrest Kelantan through its “Tahun Merawat Kelantan” or “Cure Kelantan Year”, a headline carried by both the papers. The objectivity of the Berita Harian is questionable with its emotionally-charged slant in its report on Najib Razak's promise to Kelantan - ‘Kenyataan Nik Aziz hina Kelantan’. Like Berita Harian, the Utusan front page featured Najib's promise to develop Kelantan.

Utusan’s report on the opposition is a little more generous than Berita Harian's in terms of volume, although three of the 13 articles on the opposition were from the BN's perspectives: “Pas sukar kekalkan Sanglang”, “BN yakin rampas” and “Pas kalah sebelum berjuang”. But like Berita Harian, it carried the claims of BN without subjecting them to critical examination such as the actual strength of the economy. Interesting though is Utusan’s editorial that was concerned about increasing women’s candidacy, compared to outright support for BN in Berita Harian.

Mainstream press goes to town with a bombshell

It appears that most of the mainstream newspapers have graced their front pages with news of DAP Batu Gajah MP Fong 'cili padi' Po Kuan's decision not to contest in the general election.

The Star, for instance, reported that her decision was made due to some crisis in the Perak DAP and that she was being 'forced out of her seat'. The photo of a seemingly disturbed Fong occupied almost half of the front page of the paper.

As if to reinforce this point, the newspaper published a comment made by the former prominent DAP politician Wee Choo Keong, who claimed that in the DAP "potential leaders are marginalised, if not killed of politically". Note the headline for this story on page N3: "Beware the daggers in DAP, says former leader". Daggers obviously don't give one a nice feeling.

Internal party problems, to be sure, are not peculiar to the DAP. Surely, certain component parties of the incumbent BN too have their fair share of problems. The difference is that the opposition parties' internal problems are highlighted and magnified by the mainstream press more often than the BN component parties'. In fact, it is highly likely that if there are problems in certain BN component parties, they would be put under wraps.

Put differently – and especially during a general election campaign – if at all the mainstream media editors allow opposition parties to hit the headlines, it would be for all the 'wrong reasons'.

Radio 24 attempts balanced reporting

...but let's see how long this lasts. The all-news radio station, Radio 24, under the national news agency Bernama, is sending mixed signals to listeners as it has the potential to offer diverse perspectives while still following the mould of the “Prime Minister first” in most mainstream media.

Last week's monitoring showed that while the majority of the news during the hourly broadcast was skewed towards the Barisan Nasional, there were independent analyses by academics and an analyst. On 14 and 15 February, Radio 24 interviewed two academics from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia: Associate Profesor Dr Mohammad Agus Yusof, head of the political science department and Prof Datuk Dr. Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, director of the Institute of Occidental Studies. Prof Shamsul said while the campaigning period was sufficient, there were many issues that the public found worrying; corruption and the efficiency of the public delivery system. Dr. Agus expected an exciting contest in the elections but noted issues such as justice and price hikes would influence voters.

On 15 February, JUST director Dr. Chandra Muzaffar was interviewed on his expectations of the elections. He spoke about the absence of the euphoria that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi capitalised on during the 2004 elections. Throughout the day, Radio 24 also played sound bites from an interview with their regular business analyst, Anthony Dass from Inter Pacific Research on the impact of the elections on the market. The lengthy interview during the midday business report indicated the weight of Dass's analysis, which was based on a comparison of the election period since the 1980s. He said the market performed well the week before the elections except for 1986, and concluded that while there has been a trend for the market to do well with a BN victory, the upward trend could be neutralised by current global economic challenges.

Two aspects that are clearly missing from the comments obtained are alternative perspectives in the discussions elections; and a gender perspective to the issues. It is commendable that the journalists contacted the academics, but the radio can offer spaces for differing and competing views.

Overall, despite the attempts to provide independent analyses, the news items showed obvious pro-BN tendencies. For example five of the eight news stories on Friday were pro-BN. Party leaders such as Najib Abdul Razak, Rafidah Aziz and S. Samy Vellu topped the story list. This was followed by criticisms of PAS's welfare state plan and warnings from the Kelantan police chief that political parties should avoid sensitive issues that could cause ill feelings among the people. It was not obvious who the target of his warning was, although the links to violence have been alleged against opposition parties and civil society groups especially over electoral reforms, minority rights and freedom of religion.

A lengthy interview during a talk show on Friday night with Election Commission secretary Kamaruzzaman Mohd Noor was a defensive attempt to counter civil society campaigns on the need for electoral reform. The journalist was not skilled in questioning the speaker and left it to the EC to advocate their position. Few questions were taken, and Radio 24's method of getting responses through email and SMSes means there is room for filtering.

Radio 24 Bernama was launched just after Merdeka last year; it is the only all-news radio station in the country

Citizens’ initiative to monitor media’s coverage of General Election

Charter 2000-Aliran, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Writers’ Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) have come together to launch an initiative to monitor the media’s coverage of the 12th general election campaign. They will be assisted by independent volunteers.

As with a similar initiative in the previous general election, we will keep track of the election news coverage and critically examine whether the media, both print and electronic, have been ethical in their reporting.

As citizens of this country, Malaysians have every right to demand fair media coverage so that voters can make informed choices when casting their ballot. It is thus crucial that we investigate whether each of the contesting political parties receives a fair hearing in the mass media.

The media coverage should be fair, professional, unbiased and ethical. What this means is that there must be:

• equal access to the mainstream media for all parties;
• fair and sufficient coverage for all parties; and
• the right to reply or to respond to state a position or to clarify baseless allegations

Apart from examining news reports, we will also study editorials, features, and political advertisements to ascertain if they are fair.

Our observations and analyses will be posted on the Election 2008 Media Monitors’ Diary at
http://www.aliran.com/elections

We encourage Malaysians and civil society groups to incorporate the RSS feed of this Diary into their blogs, websites, browsers and aggregate news readers. The URL for the feed is http://www.aliran.com/elections/atom.xml

This is a voluntary effort by Malaysians for which no funding has been received from any source.

Dr Mustafa K. Anuar and Anil Netto
Charter 2000-Aliran

Wong Chin Huat
Writers Alliance' for Media Independence

Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Centre for Independent Journalism

NST glosses over Prime Minister's lie

On 12 February 2008, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi told the world that Parliament would not be dissolved the next day. But then he went and dissolved it the very next day (13 February).

The NST even had egg splattered on its face. On the day the PM announced the dissolution of Parliament, a report in the paper that day said:

‘Parliament won’t be dissolved today’

BANGI: Parliament will not be dissolved today.

The prime minister dismissed intense speculation that he would seek to dissolve parliament on the basis of his penchant for the number 13.

“No such thing,” Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters after the launch of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institut Islam Hadhari.

Pressed further if today’s cabinet meeting would be the last for the 11th parliamentary term, he asked back: “What makes you think it’s going to be the last?”

“There will be more (meetings to come).”

Any decent person would say the PM had lied. But not the mainstream media. What’s more, they appeared pleased with what Badawi - who actually is no longer the Prime Minister now that Parliament is dissolved - had done and even used it to take a swipe at the opposition parties.

Take the NST’s report today, 14 February. Its headline “Opposition Caught Off-Guard” says it all. The article gives a run-down of how key leaders of the opposition parties were upset by Abdullah’s sudden dissolution of Parliament and had to change plans abruptly or scramble to get ready for election campaigning. The paper is quite clearly doing a ventriloquist act for Badawi by gleefully saying to the opposition“gotcha”. Way to go, NST. You must be pretty proud.

Never mind the fact that the Prime Minister a devout Muslim, lied to Malaysia the day before. Never mind the fact that the PM—who has the right and big advantage over the opposition parties to decide when to dissolve Parliament in order to pave the way for the election—was clearly abusing that right. And never mind the fact that the PM actually chided the NST and the other media on 12 February, when he said he had no plans to dissolve Parliament the next day, adding, “The Cabinet meeting will go on, go on and go on. You are the smart aleck, you all enjoy circulating the rumours," he said with a smile.

It must be fine for NST to be labelled “smart alecks” and described as enjoying circulating rumours. Or they are sharing an inside joke with the PM?

Either way, what can Malaysians expect from the NST in its coverage of the impending run-up to the election if not acting as a full throttle mouthpiece for Badawi and the BN.

Welcome to the Malaysian Media Monitors' Diary

We will be monitoring the media coverage of the election campaign for the 2008 General Election, so stay tuned. You may copy the Atom feed on this page and use it to update your blogs and websites to counter the spin of the mainstream media. Or you may simply read it on your RSS feed aggregate reader.

On this blog, you can also see the monitoring work that the media monitors carried out in the run-up to the last General Election in March 2004 and in the months after that.