When fake news becomes a get out of jail card

On Oct 23, Gombak MP Azmin Ali raised an issue in Parliament on the whereabouts of businessperson Low Taek Jho or Jho Low.

According to the Hansard, he asked: "I have brought this up a few months ago, in which police should get Interpol’s help to locate or determine the location of Jho Low, who has been mentioned in many international reports as being directly involved in financial and business crimes.

“My question is, what is the police’s position on this matter? Will police seek Interpol's help to determine Jho Low’s location and get Interpol’s cooperation to detain and bring back Jho Low for the purposes of an investigation into the biggest financial scandal in the country?”

In reply, Home Minister cum Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahidi Hamid said: “Even though this was not the original question, I wish to state that cooperation with Interpol is not only tight but the new Interpol president is the MPS vice minister, of public security of China. Regarding this case, we actually have made a request to Interpol to look for the whereabouts of the person mentioned by Gombak.

"We are very confident that Interpol acted professionally and police have yet to receive any detailed information from Interpol. But we are confident what has been done by international bodies, especially intelligence agencies, had been finalised. We are confident that the case is no longer relevant except to be raised by dissatisfied politicians".

The above remarks were translated by Malaysiakini from the official records of the Hansard.

Reporters covering Parliament were banging away on their computers to file their stories to the office so that they could be published in the form of a news report.

Editors in the office took cognisance of this new and important development, and obviously, it was the talking point of the day.

These discussions had hardly died down when the deputy prime minister “denied” his entire utterances in the august House and issued a statement to the effect that the police have closed their investigation into Jho Low (photo).

In a statement prepared and issued by the deputy prime minister's office the same afternoon, Zahid said the issue of seeking Interpol’s assistance to locate the businessman did not arise.

“My answer to Gombak MP Azmin Ali in the Dewan Rakyat this morning clearly states that there is no case to be tried,” the statement said.

In a matter of hours, there were scurrilous and outrageous attempts to change from what appeared to be black, to white.

If the statement was done with the sleight of hand, even David Copperfield will have stiff competition.

To the many cynical Malaysians, this was yet an attempt to pull wool over the people’s eyes and Zahid’s conduct is reflective of the government’s futile and continued attempts to ignore the elephant in the room.

Both the statements – in and outside the House – are a dangerous precedent which destroys the basic fundamentals of parliamentary procedure and the records of its proceedings.

It is common knowledge that what has been said in the House remains on record unless expunged or amended by a motion.

There is also no such thing such as "undoing" what was done in the House. These are elementary, as Sherlock Holmes would have told his sidekick, Watson.

There’s much more than mere procedures. It smacks of an unabated abuse of the system (if it ever exists) and more importantly, the state trying to muzzle and mislead the people through the House.

But then, wait, there are these brouhahas which suddenly come to the fore when politicians and the government are caught with their pyjamas below their knees.

Yes, there’s a mantra to all the ills of the people who open their mouths without engaging their brains in gear. It is called “fake news”.

For members of the cabinet, the prime minister included, “fake news” seems to be the “get out of jail card” when they are caught trying to mislead the people with their sometimes nonsensical utterances.

If you were an editor, and on your table are two completely diabolical and contradicting statements, how would you handle Zahid’s parliamentary reply and his subsequent statement?

Common sense will tell you that one of them is completely false – either you are after Jho Low or you are not. You can’t say Interpol is looking for him and then say: “The police have closed the case.”

It is the duty of every journalist or editor to verify the accuracy and truthfulness of statements made but in these instances, is there a need to?

Both are written - the Hansard and the statement - which made contradictory claims.

So, where is or which is the fake news? Who perpetrated the silly riposte to a parliamentary answer?

Is the public supposed to read Zahid’s mind or flip a coin and decide which is to be taken as the truth?

What is happening to our government and governance? Why are the systems falling apart? Is it sheer competence (or the lack of it) of some members of the cabinet or has political expediency taken precedence?

Whatever it is, some of our ministers are falling all over themselves to make the news for all the wrong reasons.

In the process, having put their feet in their mouths intentionally or accidentally, the “fake news” card is played.

Do the ministers examine or review their conduct? Do they have the facts before making pronouncements or do they just tembak (shoot)?

As much as every journalist worth his salt will not put his name to a story which contains half-truths, misinformation or non-existent facts, our ministers, too, have to ensure that they don’t continue to deceive the people with their own brand of "fake news".

So, can someone in the Home Ministry tell Malaysians on the status of Jho Low, or do we have to be left with our own devices to come to our own conclusions?

---

R. NADESWARAN says putting an end to fake news starts with the government. Why can’t Putrajaya be generous with the truth instead of crying wolf each time it is caught with its hands in the cookie jar? Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.- Mkini