Only a free media will tell the truth

The ruling government is very adept at using the mainstream media for their own ends.

COMMENT

Lately there has been a lot of propaganda in the mainstream media on the recent price-hike protest held on December 31 last year. Some  has been labelled it as an attempt to overthrow the government.  This is nothing but another malicious attempt by certain quarters to mislead the general public so that the former can still continue to garner public support.

There are also mainstream dailies who are now publishing lies and falsehood on a daily basis.   These dailies have been reduced to being party newsletters instead of being proper newspapers.  In short, they are not really newspapers in the true sense of the word.

If not for the internet, we will not know what is truly happening as the truth will be manipulated or covered up.  Likewise, it was easy to blame DAP for the race riots of 1969 because there was no internet or camera-phone during that era.

With the advent of modern technology, it is not easy to cover up the truth and therefore those who want to cling on to power find it easier to suppress the truth by allowing only poor internet coverage in remote or rural areas.

Feeding the rural folks with a daily diet of falsehood ensures that rural society is always kept misinformed, thus ensuring that they will never vote wisely.

We can see that BN government leaders do a lot of media-polishing to spruce up their personal image and that of their party by presenting a wonderful image of themselves in the mainstream media while information that is unflattering to themselves is suppressed or omitted.

It is thus preferable to read the neutral online news portals where information on both sides of the political divide is presented in an unvarnished truth.

Good or bad, news is news and must be presented correctly, accurately and factually.  There must be no attempt whatsoever to hide the truth.

There is no point in doing a street survey and then manipulating the results to suit certain parties.  The role of the media is to act as a watchdog but how can it be a watchdog when it has taken on the role of an apple-polisher?

Take for instance the issue of crime rate.  It is absolutely deplorable if the media were to say that the crime rate is low when everyone knows otherwise.  The media must point out the faults of all those in power, regardless of whether they are from BN or from Pakatan Rakyat.

If the media only targets the Pakatan leaders, then the media has become BN’s tool and this is totally unacceptable in a nation that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has labelled as a ‘model democracy’.

The Prime Minister must realise that exercising complete control over the media makes Malaysia far from a ‘model democracy’ and is not even close to becoming a First World nation.  The onus is therefore on Najib to free the media in order for democracy to thrive so that voters can make an informed decision.

It is pointless for PM Najib to go all over the world promoting Malaysia as a ‘model democracy’ when events here show that the very opposite is true.

As mentioned earlier, due to modern technology, other world leaders will not be that ignorant of events in Malaysia compared to the era from the 1960s to 1980s.

The BN government’s credibility is at stake if Najib does not free the media from government stranglehold.  The government should also know that criticism from the media will help to ensure that their performance in administration and management is responsible and accountable to all.  The media must be given an opportunity to play its role to keep the government on their toes.

On the other hand, all journalists too must practice integrity in their profession.  By praising the government sky-high as many journalists are wont to do these days, they only end up as apple-polishers for the government while at the same time discrediting their profession due to a lack of professionalism.

Therefore it is beholden to all journalists to report the truth without fear or favour as people are now questioning why certain newspapers have so much leeway in whacking the opposition while those who criticise the government are clamped down.
People are beginning to slowly wake up.  Although apathy and endless stupidity is the norm in this country, there is still hope if people start to clamour for the voice of free and unbiased media.