By bujai | June 22, 2011
The readers’ poll on ‘Bersih 2.0’ which was carried by The Star newspaper drew mixed reactions from politicians, the media and blog writers. Some said it was tantamount to The Star throwing its full support for the planned rally next month while others described it as an immodesty.
To accuse The Star editorial team as being ignoramous and not sensitive to the sentiments caused by Bersih 2.0 is also not proper as the newspaper is professionally-led. However, professionals do err once in a while.
But to accuse The Star of committing an enormity is a bit overboard. If we expect the government, especially the Home Ministry to take a relentless action against the publication, we should may as well recap what other papers have done in the past few months. I personally believe what Utusan Malaysia did about two months ago was of ‘equal’ to that of The Star. The Bersih 2.0 poll puts The Star group editor-in-chief Wong Chun Wai (picture) in a limbo. Making him the villain is not just. Calling him a sympathiser of Bersih 2.0 and an Opposition’s supporter will be ultimately wrong and prejudice as he himself is a strong supporter of Barisan Nasional.
This is evident in his many writings about his dissent towards the Opposition. I believe The Star, too is still very much upholding the ruling party’s interest although it may sometimes give ‘a little space to news from the other side’. And there is nothing wrong with that as it also enhances its circulation among the anti-BN readers.
Now, I personally believe Chun Wai and The Star will take action against its online editor Joseph Raj who unilaterally pasted up the poll without his bosses’ consent.
I was just informed that Joseph has accepted full responsibility for carrying out the decision without consulting his immediate supervisor. Whatever his motive was, The Star must conduct an internal inquiry and take necessary action on him.
I was also told that Joseph was at the Home Ministry this morning for a brief ‘interview’ with secretary-general Mahmood Adam. The Star has also lodged reports with the police and the MCMC against manipulators of the polls, and a few SB personnel have met Joseph too.
The Star is not a one-man-show operation. Chun Wai has his assistants and other subordinates whose job is to oversee the newspaper contents from A to Z. I know how the editorial team works as I was there once. Not all matters would be referred to the group editor-in-chief as most of it will only reach the levels of his assistants or other editors.
Even the government makes mistake sometimes. There were occasions when different Cabinet Ministers made contradicting statements about its certain policies. The Prime Minister will only attend to major issues while his subordinates (the ministers) will attend to matters affecting their portfolios. However, the PM will from time to time announce substantive and important matters of the ministries, should the needs arise.
Chun Wai is not a perfect scapegoat either. Of all the accusations that he is pro-Opposition and – to some extents a subversive agent – his stewardship has seen The Star being at the forefront in the nation’s print media industry. Apart from disseminating well-and-balanced news, it also plays a constructive role in bringing the Malaysians together.
The Bersih poll was a mistake by one or two personnel but it should not be turned into a passport to batter the whole organisation. Some doctors do make silly errors on the operation table, engineers’ miscalculation caused some bridges and buildings to collapse while some government projects had failed due to over-zealous implementation.
It is wrong to question The Star fidelity and it is also not right to create a detest against the newspaper. All newspapers have committed similar errors in the past – mostly caused by unilateral decisions by one or two oblivious personnel.
Most of us would prefer to see some heads roll but in this case, its better to leave the matter to the company’s jurisdiction. Of course, the government has a say but any course of action to be taken must not stir the good spirit of Barisan Nasional.
We – the pro-BN bloggers, writers, journalists and others – have a bigger agenda in securing the ruling party’s victory in the next national poll. Let us not lose our sanity by firing at each other. By the way, did we blame Aziz Ishak of Utusan?
This is not a piece to cover Wong Chun Wai but something for us to understand. Malaysia is complex society!
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Jailani Harun, orang Moncino, Melaka. A veteran journalist who used to cover the Iran-Iraq war during the early 1980s, Lebanon and Afghanistan. The only Malaysian journalist who managed to interview leaders like Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Dae-jung, Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachev, of which only few were published as his editor-in-chief then was an idiot. Also interviewed hardcores like Harchand Singh Longowal of Khalistan and Ibrahim Babangida. Now a member of a think-tank group, analyst of international and diplomatic affairs and a writer.