How dangled carrots lead to forked tongues

Malaysiakini’s 20th anniversary dinner over the weekend was a joyous celebration, reminding me how far press freedom in Malaysia has come since the website’s foundation during the heady days of Reformasi.

Having been in another media company from 1996 to 2018, I can’t pretend to have been part of the Malaysiakini story, but I have certainly been a witness to its struggle against adversity, both as an official of the National Union of Journalists (from 1998 to 2008) and a Youth wing leader of the smallest Barisan Alternatif party during that Reformasi era.

Yet, even during the run-up to the dinner, I was reminded of the ever-present pressure exerted upon the media by politicians. There was the odd message accusing us of being biased, playing up sensationalist angles, misquoting, spinning – the works.

Now, shooting the messenger is nothing new. It’s very common, in fact, for an exposed politician who has said or done something foolish or irresponsible to try and point fingers at the media that reported these words or deeds.

My take on this is - if you keep scoring own goals, are we supposed not to report the match result?

And how come you have so much courage to scold the press, but not your own teammates who are the source of the problems?

Our job is mainly to report what’s out there. Partially to present an analysis for our readers. There is a difference, of course, between an opinion piece like the one you are reading now and a news report or a data journalism piece.

However, if you look at all the howlers going on out there – we aren’t the source, we are not generating any of it.

It wasn’t us who sparked vicious factional infighting, made racist speeches, broke promises about writing off student loans, turned a blind eye while a kleptocrat raided our coffers, U-turned left and right and front and back, had a state executive councillor charged with rape and a flagrantly disloyal menteri besar running down his own coalition partners captured on video.

For crying out loud – you jailed elected representatives, and hailed Zakir Naik as a respected guest, and then complain when we point it out.

I am biased - I won’t deny it - I am biased towards progressive reforms and freedom of speech and equal opportunities for all. I also think it’s our duty to hold a government accountable to its own promises.

To me, the situation is quite clear.

Mahathir has overstayed his welcome. Just like Najib, he, too, is surrounded by yes-men and others who have hitched their wagon to his continued rule.

While the Tanjung Piai debacle should have sent a clear signal to the prime minister that it’s time to set a timetable and get out – he responded with his usual tricks.

In this case it was the announcement of a possible Cabinet reshuffle.

All that this really accomplishes is to further the game of divide and rule, to keep ministers uneasy about their positions and dangle carrots in front of other aspirants.

If you ask me, Mahathir’s methods have resulted in a leadership that is focused on anything but leading. Those who were once so vocal and brave in the opposition, appear, for the most part, to be paralysed for fear of losing their newfound positions.

Worse still – these dangled carrots have led to forked tongues. People whose vision was so clear when we were confronting the excesses of the Najib regime are now faltering when it comes to taking the next clear step. So much so that one can barely see who stands for what principle nowadays.

We even have politicians issuing statements in different languages meant for different audiences. The special officer of a minister wrote us a stinker, threatening legal action after his office accidentally sent us a Tamil language press release!

The reason for this? Because the minister wanted to appear like an ethnic champion in front of one group, but a diplomat in front of another.

He is far from the only one. Politicians on both sides are forced into this trap because they play up the racial angle in front of their own crowd, but also need the votes of other ethnic groups.

That’s why the government – whether it’s the dreaded Barisan Nasional or the increasingly vulnerable Pakatan Harapan – deeply desires a malleable press that tells them what they want to hear.

Incidentally, this hankering for a friendly press leaves them exposed when confronted with bold questioners – as anyone who saw the floundering performance of Islamic Affairs Minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa (above) on the BBC's Hardtalk show will tell you.

Of course, he got caught out over and over and over again – because he talked of a new more compassionate government based on Islam – and the questioners flayed him time and time again about government support for Zakir Naik, the fatwa on Sisters in Islam, the treatment of syiah, and what have you.

I take no pleasure in the government's failings. If it was really delivering on its promises, I would be floating around in a state of ecstasy.

But this really might be the best chance we will ever have to get it right – and thus we have to speak up when the government falters at a crossroads.

I guess that’s what I was thinking about when I saw Harapan bigwigs Anwar and Lim Kit Siang at the Malaysiakini anniversary dinner.

In some ways, the relationship has changed. Where in the past the agendas might have been more aligned, i.e. if Malaysiakini did its job by holding the government of the day accountable, that worked very much in Harapan’s favour (same applies to a range of organisations and causes from Bersih to anti-Lynas protesters).

Now those relationships have changed somewhat, but we still have to do what we have to do.

I see the Umno-PAS tie-up as a repulsive alternative to Harapan, but I do hope that anybody blessed with common sense will understand the importance of a free press in a mature democracy.

It’s one of the few things that clearly has got better in new Malaysia. Grow up and appreciate it.

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MARTIN VENGADESAN is a member of the Malaysiakini Team.