Newspapers should be nobody's stooges

YOURSAY 'This (filing a law suit) is the way to handle such people. Newspapers should never be stooges to anyone'.

NST given 48 hours to apologise to NGOs

LittleGiant: I was an ardent reader of New Straits Times (NST) for more than three decades until last year. In fact, most of my relatives and friends have stopped buying or reading mainstream newspapers for quite sometime already.

I had observed that NST's journalism standards were going down very badly and it reached a point when I could not tolerate its biased reporting with 100 percent BN-favoured reports and articles.

The management and editorial team of NST should have the common sense to know that critics of the government and its policies are also citizens of Malaysia, that they too love this country, care for this nation and have truly patriotic feelings.

Be it BN or the opposition, the sentiment and voice of these critics will be the same, should the government leaders abuse their power and their policies are detrimental to good governance and against democratic norms.

The NST should have the conscience and think for itself if what it is doing is right (truthful journalism) or wrong (deceptive journalism).

Rakyat Malaysia: The criminals and robbers are everywhere in our country and are actually destabilising our society, and yet this BN-controlled newspaper said it is some NGO groups? What a joke.

Disgusted: Yes, give it to them for all their lying and slander. But then the courts are controlled by BN. Do you all think you will get a fair hearing? The case may be thrown out by the Umno-leaning attorney-general and judiciary.

Bumiasli: This (filing a law suit) is the way to handle such people. Newspapers should never be stooges to anyone. I stopped buying the NST since the day they started writing articles favouring the government.

Anonymous #63132177: I have been a faithful NST reader for more than 40 years. It used to be a must-read daily growing up and in my later years. Even my children commented how much of a routine it was with them watching me read the newspaper while enjoying my morning coffee and two slices of toast.

I have now stopped reading the NST altogether because of its gutter journalism. It really saddens me that this once must-read daily is now gone down the drain and no longer deserve the respect of its readers.

Now I don't even bother to browse through the newspapers even if I come across one lying about.

Ren Ai: NST, once revered for high standards of journalism, has plummeted into a grotesque gutter of ‘Not So True' infamy.

Ez24get: No one can destabilise the government more than the government itself through its arrogance, high-handedness, inequalities, intimidation of its citizens and rampant corruption and wastages.

Lately, the government-controlled mainstream media (MSM) have thrown ethical journalism to the wind by spewing serious accusations without basis against all right-thinking and peace-loving citizens and democratic societies or NGOs, dividing them along the lines of race and religion.

It will do good to Malaysian citizens and our democratic society as a whole to sue NST for what it is worth to prevent unprofessional and unethical journalism from dividing the people further.

Msiakini4all: If I show my butt and step on NST, will I get arrested and handcuffed?

Ace: Sue them. The people are all behind you. Papers like NST,Utusan Malaysia and The Star are all lies-propagating thrash papers.

Is there an international journalism body where we can highlight such rubbish and lies spewing "newspapers" to? Even if they cannot take action, at least the world community knows.

Bill Chin: If Malaysia is so concerned about foreign funds to NGOs, why not just stop all foreign direct investments, as well as foreign products and technologies?

Anon: What was the motive of NST for its ‘Plot to destablise government' article? What evidence they have that these NGOs are getting funds to destabilise the government? They just plucked some stupid plot out of thin air.

Anonymous_rb345: NST needs to be taught a huge lesson for spreading lies and publishing unsubstantiated stories to please their BN masters.

They think they could get away like Utusan in spewing hatred, lies and causing racial disharmony. Good job, Bersih co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan.

Anonymous #20120926: I only browse the newspapers at the news vendors for free coupon cut-outs and headlines. If there is one cut-out I am interested, then I will see if it is worth the money I spent on the newspaper for the cut-out. Otherwise, I do not buy.

Don't worry, the news vendors can return the unsold copies for a refund as far as I know. After all, I have to be frugal as the cost of living is getting higher and higher. ‘Barang Naik' (BN), as people always say.

TheMomentIsNow: RM20 million spread over seven years to destabilise the government. I thought RM20 billion would be a fairer amount.

Gerard Lourdesamy: The NST is nothing but a rag sheet and Just World president Chandra Muzaffar is but an apologist for the regime.

So what if foreign funds were used to overthrow dictatorships in the Middle East? Were these dictators a beacon of freedom and democracy for Chandra to be so concerned about the manner in which they were deposed.

Doesn't our government support Muslim insurgents in southern Thailand and Mindanao in the Philippines?

Our entire economic and social progress to date is dependent on foreign investment, loans from the World Bank, United Nations agencies, bilateral assistance, development aid, foreign think-tanks, etc.

And the biggest donors are Western countries and their NGOs. Do we reject all of this investment and assistance based on a perceived fear that they have a hidden agenda?

If that we so, we might as well go back to the Middle Ages and Chandra can become a voice in the wilderness. The government's anti-NGO campaign is Kafkaesque and is making Umno-BN despotic in the eyes of the international community.

Freemsia: Ever wonder why the readership of Utusan and NST are dwindling? Well, this is yet another reason. - Malaysiakini