The Fabrication of fz.com's "Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book"

 

We are dismayed by the shoddy sensation-seeking reporting of Moshin Abdullah, who has fabricated a story without practicing basic professional ethics of checking his facts.

Bridget Welsh & James Chin

We write to express our concern with the unprofessionalism of reporter Moshin Abdullah on the forthcoming volume Tranformations: The Abdullah Badawi Years to be published later this year. This reporter fabricated a story on unnamed sources and did not confirm his analysis before going to press. The end result is an overly-sensational shoddy piece of journalism that misconstrues the collection and Abdullah Badawi’s contribution.

By further describing the book as a “tell all” collection, he inappropriately mischaracterizes and demeans the collection and the contributors. We ask that fz.com apologize for failing to follow basic journalistic standards, retract the piece entitled “Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book”.

We are dismayed by the shoddy sensation-seeking reporting of Moshin Abdullah, who has fabricated a story without practicing basic professional ethics of checking his facts. The reporter did not follow professional ethics of confirming the story with the editors (who can easily be reached by phone and email). His story “Pak Lah takes on Dr M in 'tell-all' book” is a fabrication of his own imagination.  No attempts were made to check the facts or to contact the editors.

Transformations: The Abdullah Badawi Years is an academic publication of more than 40 essays and interviews reflecting and analyzing the five years of the Abdullah Badawi administration. It has nothing to do with “tell all” or an attack on Tun Mahathir. The collection provides a range of views analyzing Malaysia from 2003 to 2008. The core of book is about the Pak Lah administration, not Tun Mahathir. The claim that Abdullah’s interview is an attack on Mahathir, as implied by the fz.com reporter, is not true.

We urge fz.com and journalists in Malaysia to follow basic ethical practices in reporting. Too much of what is being reported today in Malaysia is based on shoddy reporting. The Malaysian people deserve reporting based on credible sources and high professional standards.

Bridget Welsh & James Chin