Archive for category Media
Malaysia’s sad media
– Sam Peh
The Malaysian Insider
May 12, 2012
MAY 12 – Even during the most dictatorial days of Mahathir Mohamad, the mainstream media has not been this inept, corrupt, dishonest and even clumsy.
But during the Najib reign, the New Straits Times, the Star and the Malay language papers have crawled to depths never before experienced. Take today’s NST.
Yesterday more than 1,200 lawyers voted at a Bar Council EGM to condemn police brutality at Bersih 3.0 but the Umno owned paper focussed on 16 little known lawyers who dissented. And to make matters worse, the report focussed on whether the quorum was reached (which it was) and whether all those who turned up were lawyers. What rubbish reporting.
I am making public this dishonest reporting because this is the stock in trade of the NST . Remember how the paper tried to stitch up Lim Guan Eng as unpatriotic and Senator Xenophon as anti-Islam. Read the rest of this entry »
Why was Nazri’s parliamentary answer that the Cabinet has agreed to set up RCI on illegals in Sabah blacked out in Sabah press today when it should make it to all the front-page headlines?
Posted by Kit in Media, Parliament, Sabah on Wednesday, 9 May 2012
A most bizarre and extraordinary development highlighting the triple woes about good governance in Malaysia – the unhealthy state of media freedom in Malaysia, the veracity of Ministerial statements and assurances in Parliament and thirdly, the continued contempt and disregard for the long-standing legitimate grievances of Sabahans by the Barisan Nasional Federal Government.
The question all Sabahans and Malaysians are entitled to an answer is why the written parliamentary answer of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz tabled in the Senate yesterday that the Cabinet has agreed on Feb. 8 this year to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the illegal immigrant problem in Sabah was blacked out in the Sabah press today when it should make it to all the front-page headlines?
In fact, the news story was also killed in all the Malaysian mainstream mass media and all other language print media – except for the Sun, which appeared as page lead “RCI on illegals in Sabah” (p. 2), Star online (2.45 pm yesterday) and a few online portals like Malaysiakini and FreeMalaysiaToday.
Is it true that Bernama, which had earlier yesterday sent out a news bulletin on Nazri’s parliamentary answer confirming the Cabinet decision on Feb. 8 to form the RCI, had a few hours later sent out a retraction of the news item? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should produce proof or retract and apologise for his wild and irresponsible allegation that Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Media, Najib Razak on Monday, 7 May 2012
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has belatedly realized that he is losing out in the public relations war over the government’s mishandling of the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka on April 28, 2012, as evidenced by the following recent developments:
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Najib upping the ante in the public relations battle with his wild and irresponsible allegation in Gua Musang on Friday that the Bersih 3.0 rally was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government;
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the desperate roping in of three former Inspector-Generals of Police , Tun Haniff Omar, Tan Sri Rahim Noor and Tan Sri Musa Hassan to lend credence to Najib’s wild claim although there is not one iota of evidence that Bersih 3.0 was a coup attempt by the Opposition to topple the government (in fact, all evidence point to the contrary, with hundreds of thousands of Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class, region, age or gender gathering peacefully in the best manifestation of “1Malaysia” for a common cause for clean elections and armed at most with salt and water bottles to protect themselves from tear-gas attacks);
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The recycling of the Economist commentary “It’s that time of year” in the local media almost a week after its first appearance on the Economist website on May 1.
One lesson Najib’s “image” handlers have learnt from the government’s disastrous mishandling of the Bersih 2.0 rally of July 9, 2011 was to better manage the foreign media – and as a result, the Najib administration had a better foreign media perception and coverage on the night of Bersih 3.0 as compared to the night of Bersih 2.0, as illustrated by the Economist commentary of 1ST May. Read the rest of this entry »
SUHAKAM inquiry on Police Violence on April 28
Press Statement
Steering Committee
Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections 2.0 (BERSIH 2.0)
5 MAY 2012
While the government focuses on the breaching of the barricades at Dataran Merdeka by a few, and what they see as a threat to their power, there is a deafening and irresponsible silence about the unprecedented violence inflicted upon unsuspecting members of the public by the police force.
Whilst BERSIH 2.0 does not condone the breaching of the barricades, the legality of those barricades is questionable, as is the legality of the hurriedly obtained court order. We are also receiving information that much more was happening at the barricades than meets the eye.
The unanswered question still remains – who is responsible for the untold violence upon participants of the Duduk Bantah that occurred after the first tear gas was fired?
Evidence based on medical reports of some of those who were detained by the police appear to show that some members of the police force were out to punish those who wore BERSIH 3.0 t-shirts, anti-Lynas t-shirts or any yellow t-shirts, by inflicting excessive and completely unjustified violence on them.
Some detainees were attacked at the time of arrest, when they were in shops dining, or about to board LRTs while others were attacked after arrest and despite the absence of struggle. Some were alleged to have been assaulted by over 30 police personnel. Many speak of having to “run the gauntlet” of police personnel and beaten repeatedly before being loaded onto police trucks.
The brutality suggests that a segment of the police force on duty that day had acted with vengeance against BERSIH 3.0 participants whether due to orders given to them or because they had lost control. There are too many reports of police officers who were wearing blue police uniforms but without their names and police identity numbers so as to prevent the victims of violence from identifying the perpetrators of police violence.
In addition to BERSIH 3.0 participants, it must not be forgotten that more than 12 photographers and journalists were assaulted, intimidated or detained by police while reporting the rally, and cameras, memory cards and video equipment were taken away. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s Malaysia still stuck in the murk
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Media, Najib Razak on Saturday, 5 May 2012
by Hamish McDonald
Sydney Morning Herald
May 05, 2012
It’s an encounter that has gone into the folklore of our diplomatic service.
An Australian envoy meeting a senior Malaysian official heard a familiar complaint about critical coverage of his country’s politics in the Australian media.
He snapped back: ‘Xenophon’s experience suggests the settings won’t change for the election Najib seems about to call. It’s a pity, given what Malaysia could be.
‘The media in Australia are not owned or controlled by the government,” the envoy said. ”Here they all are, and throughout my time here, I’ve never seen a favourable report about Australia.”
Senator Nick Xenophon, who went up last month to join an international team looking at Malaysia’s electoral system, has just had a personal lesson in just how slanted and hostile its media can be. After the team published a highly critical report, the New Straits Times newspaper, owned ultimately by the ruling United Malays National Organisation or UMNO, went to work on him. Read the rest of this entry »
Bersih 3.0 is even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality are told
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Media, Najib Razak, Police on Friday, 4 May 2012
As I said after the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 last year, there were many casualties especially the police, the mainstream media and the election commission but the biggest loser of all was undoubtedly the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
This is even more the case with the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” last Saturday on April 28 as Bersih 3.0 is an even greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0 – with the damage growing in magnitude and impact when all the horror stories of police rampage of violence and brutality on that day are told where hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who came to Kuala Lumpur in peace were not allowed to disperse in peace.
No reasonable and thinking Malaysian would buy Najib’s blame yesterday alleging that Bersih 3.0 organisers were responsible for last Saturday’s violence, in particular the police rampage of violence and brutality against peaceful protestors and media representatives.
The excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of police force, whether firing of tear gas and chemically-laced water cannon or downright police violence and brutality, cannot be justified by any breach of the Dataran Merdeka barricades last Saturday.
A critic of the government’s gross mishandling of Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections in July last year had urged the Najib administration to discard its “Cold War” mindset and to modernize its concepts to address internal security and national issues.
Read the rest of this entry »
BN-owned media’s shameless whitewash
CL Tang
May 1, 2012
Malaysiakini
Three days after Bersih 3.0, Malaysian hermits who lives in caves, who have never heard of the Internet and who only read the mainstream newspapers would probably have the impression that it was the police force who were protesting and ended up physically assaulted by angry civilians.
Despite clear evidence of police brutality available on YouTube, hundreds of personal testimonies by victims and personal witnesses, and pictures of appalling injuries spread all over the Internet, the BN-owned media shamelessly whitewashed the government-sanctioned atrocities against its own people.
Despite hundreds if not thousands of Bersih participants, most of whom were already dispersing, being beaten and chased like criminals by baton-wielding police and ending up with injuries, these crimes were not reported.
Despite thousands of the ordinary rakyat suffering beatings from the authorities, the mainstream media chose to highlight one single case of an injured police personnel.
Despite scores of journalists and media personnel being abused by the police, their cameras and memory cards confiscated, The Star, instead of coming to the defence of its colleagues and upholding the media’s right to cover events without fear of reprisals from the authorities, it chose to showcase one single reporter’s story of being roughed up by the protesters.
So much for BN’s so-called greater freedom for the media via the Printing Presses and Publications Act amendments. Read the rest of this entry »
BN’s Dirtaran Merdeka
Dean Johns | May 1, 2012
Malaysiakini
BN’s attempt to thwart the Bersih 3.0 rally by transforming the people’s Dataran into its own ‘Dirtaran’ with razor wire, barricades and battalions of police was a monstrous mockery of the meaning of Merdeka.
And this was the clearest sign yet of how terrified the regime is that clean and fair elections would spell an end to its corrupt and kotor rule of the country.
Yet Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his accomplices in crime and grime are still spouting all their usual filthy lies. Read the rest of this entry »
We are a confused nation, aren’t we?
— Abdul Haleem Abdul Rahiman
The Malaysian Insider
May 03, 2012
MAY 3 — While the dust yet to settle on Bersih 3.0 the nation seems so drunk. So lost and so confused.
The best news today surely about Nayati Shamelin Moodliar who was released after been kidnapped for almost a week.
This young boy was released after an undisclosed amount of cash ransom was paid to the abductors. During the press conference Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh have said the following; “The family decided to pay the ransom. The demand was made immediately after the kidnapping. Police are still investigating the case under the Kidnapping Act, and if found guilty, the suspects will receive the death sentence,”
Why is he talking about if found guilty the suspects will be hanged. Have you found the suspects? Arrest them and charge them and then tell us what punishment they will face. After all on many cases before this the only thing you guys found was dead bodies or innocents children.
More on our famous police force. The KL city police released photo shots of 49 suspects who were responsible for the mayhem and violence on Bersih 3.0. Good. Arrest them investigate them and charge them.
Based on the report in TMI Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh told a press conference today the 49 persons were being investigated for various crimes under the Penal Code related to unlawful assembly and disobeying police orders.
When asked if any policemen have been listed as suspects he said there were no numbers yet but said it was not an issue as there are “no problems tracing” members of the force.
“Where is the proof? Show us. These are only allegations which must have proof,” he said when asked repeatedly about various allegations of police brutality. Read the rest of this entry »
NST admits and regrets ‘anti-Islam’ report against Oz Senator
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
May 03, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — The New Straits Times (NST) has admitted to falsely reporting that Australian Senator Nicholas Xenophon had criticised Islam in 2009, saying today it regrets the mistake and will take steps to make amends.
In a three-paragraph statement to The Malaysian Insider, the Umno-owned daily said that Xenophon, a known associate of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, had not called Islam a “criminal organisation” as reported in its article yesterday but had instead used the label to criticise “Scientology”.
The remarks issued by Xenophon were purportedly made during the latter’s adjournment speech in Australia’s Parliament in 2009.
NST also pledged to publish an “appropriate statement” on the issue in both its print and online editions, adding its regret to any distress the incident may have caused the independent Australian Senator.
The NST’s response, in verbatim, is as follows:
“We refer to the news regarding Mr Nicholas Xenophon’s complaint in respect of the article entitled ‘Observer Under Scrutiny’ with a sub-title ‘Impartiality Questioned: Anti-Islam Australian Lawmaker Comes Under Fire’, which appeared in the May 2, 2012 edition of the New Straits Times published by us.
“We regret that the article attributes certain statements to Xenophon, particularly the use of the word ‘Islam’ which he did not make in a parliamentary speech in November 2009. We are taking steps to make amends including publishing an appropriate statement in our newspaper and its online version to address the issue.
“We truly and sincerely regret that Xenophon has suffered any distress and embarrassment arising from the article and we honestly believe that that steps we are taking to make amends will resolve the matter.” Read the rest of this entry »
Free press rank will drop after police assault on reporters, says DAP
By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
May 03, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng today suggested that Malaysia will have a lower ranking in the World Press Freedom Index as a result of violence against reporters in Penang’s anti-Lynas protest and the Bersih rally for electoral reforms.
“There is no doubt that press freedom in our country is deteriorating and getting more restricted,” said Lim, referring to last Saturday’s Bersih sit-in protest where the police allegedly beat up reporters and destroyed their equipment.
“The fact that the police did indeed beat up members of the media is irrefutable,” he said.
“Worse, BBC and Al-Jazeera’s news coverage was censored by Astro for breaching local content regulations. To date, neither the Home Ministry nor Astro has clarified what the local content regulations were,” said the Bagan MP.
The two international news providers had complained that Astro had edited their coverage of the Bersih rally. Read the rest of this entry »
US report: Press in M’sia ‘not free’
By Patrick Lee | May 3, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has been found to be one of the worst countries in Asia when it comes to press freedom.
According to the US-based human rights think-tank Freedom House’s “Freedom of the Press 2012” report, Malaysia’s was ranked 31st out of 40 countries in the Asia-Pacific region where media freedom was concerned.
With a score of 63, this put it just above countries like Singapore (32nd), Brunei (35th) and Vietnam (36th), marking it with the “Not Free” status.
Countries with higher scores are less free, and considered authoritarian, while countries with lower scores are seen as more free.
Malaysia was even ranked lower than its troubled neighbours in Asean, such as Indonesia (22nd), the Philippines (21st) and Thailand (28th).
From a worldwide perspective, Malaysia was ranked at 144th out of a list of 196 countries, sharing its position with Cambodia, Jordan, Madagascar and Pakistan.
Read the rest of this entry »
“A Day of Shame” for Media Freedom, Police Professionalism and Najib’s Political Transformation
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Hishammuddin, Media, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 3 May 2012
Malaysia marks World Press Freedom Day today under the shadow of “A Day of Shame” last Saturday (Bersih 3.0 on April 28, 2012) for media freedom, police professionalism and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s political transformation.
Never before in Malaysian history have so many media reporters and photographers been the target of such ruthless, brutal and systematic police attacks while covering the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” for free, fair and clean elections, making a total mockery of the recent amendment to the Printing Presses and Publications Act allegedly to allow for greater media freedom in the country.
It is an indictment of all the “transformation” programmes and promises of the past three years that media freedom in Malaysia had never felt more endangered to the extent that media representatives and their supporters are marking the World Press Freedom Day by donning black with a yellow ribbon!
This is why I am wearing black with a yellow ribbon today.
When apologizing yesterday to the Malay Mail photographer Arif Kartono, who was attacked by seven to eight policemen who kicked him in the face, legs and stomped on his back and his camera damaged during the assault despite clearly identifying himself with his media tag, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said:
Read the rest of this entry »
Putrajaya moves to soothe journalists
Malaysiakini
May 1, 2012
Putrajaya has moved to soothe relations with news organisations following the aftermath of the Bersih 3.0 rally, where the police were accused of injuring at least a dozen journalists.
It is learned that Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Koh Tsu Koon, got the ball rolling during a meeting with editors from several Chinese dailies today.
Also present at the meeting were Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s Chinese affairs assistant Wong Nai Chee and press secretary Joan Lai.
During the meeting, at a restaurant in Petaling Jaya, editors were asked to share their views on Bersih 3.0 and comment on the alleged high-handedness of the police against journalists.
Meanwhile, all major news organisations will be meeting police representatives at a meeting at Bukit Aman national police headquarters tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry »
Journalist groups call for impartial probe on police violence
By Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
May 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — Putrajaya must form an independent panel to investigate claims that police manhandled journalists covering Saturday’s Bersih rally, journalist organisations said today.
The National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJ) maintained that the panel should comprise a retired judge, a former Bar Council President as well as journalism experts.
“Reporters, including those from foreign press, were beaten while on duty, and this is a serious accusation.
“The panel should summon police officers involved, as well as the journalists and photographers to testify, so that the public can finally know what transpired during the Bersih 3.0 rally,” NUJ said in a statement.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) revealed in a statement that more than 12 photographers and journalists were assaulted, intimidated or detained by police while reporting the rally.
“Many were injured, with some receiving injuries serious enough to require stitches and hospitalisation,” it said.
The IFJ added they were alarmed to have witnessed police officers threatening and assaulting journalists who were “only engaged in reporting legitimate news stories”. Read the rest of this entry »
Editors, journalists slam police violence against media
Malaysiakini
Apr 30, 2012
Editors and journalists from major news outlets in Malaysia have issued a joint statement, the first of its kind in the nation’s history, blasting the government’s violence against journalists covering the Bersih 3.0 rally last Saturday.
It alleged that the authorities had acted upon “orders from above” that resulted in members of the press being intimidated, harassed, assaulted and arrested while on duty.
It called on the government to take firm action against the perpetrators and to live up to its claim of democratic reforms and media freedom.
The statement, signed by various news portals’ chiefs, accompanies an online petition ‘Don’t beat up journalists’. Read the rest of this entry »
BBC flays local censors for slashing Bersih coverage
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
May 01, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has “strongly condemned” Malaysian censors, claiming their coverage of Saturday’s Bersih 3.0 protest had been clipped on local operator Astro.
“During the week of World Press Freedom Day, it would be deplorable if access to independent and impartial news was being prevented in any way.
“We would strongly condemn any blocking of the trusted news that we broadcast around the world including via distribution partners,” a BBC spokesman in a statement emailed to The Malaysian Insider.
The British public service broadcaster added that it was making “urgent enquiries” to Astro to seek its reasons for censoring its two-minute coverage of the violent protest.
“The BBC is making urgent enquiries to the Malaysian operator, Astro, to establish the facts.
“The broadcast of anti-Government protests in Malaysia was apparently edited before it was re-broadcast on Malaysian satellite television, with sequences removed from the original BBC version,” it said. Read the rest of this entry »
Arrests, violence towards journalists condemned
Malaysiakini
Apr 30, 2012
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should conduct a thorough and swift investigation on violent acts in Bersih 3.0, including those on journalists, and charge the perpetrators.
A group of six journalism associations issued a joint statement requesting this yesterday.
They are the Centre for Independent Journalism, Charter 2000 Aliran, Journalists Union of North Malaya, Penang Chinese Media Journalists and Photographers Association (Pewaju), Penang Press Club and Penang Press Employees Cooperative Society Limited.
The group condemned the arrest of two journalists and alleged police violence towards others who were covering the sit-down protest for free and fair elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Pemimpin Pakatan juga berhak mendapat liputan
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 27, 2012
27 APRIL — Tuntutan Bersih 3.0 merupakan satu “extension” kepada tuntutan yang dibuat dalam Bersih 2.0. Negara memerlukan undian daripada rakyat siapa yang sepatutnya diberikan mandat apabila habis tempoh penggal pilihanraya, sekurang-kurangnya selepas tiga tahun atau sebelum tamat tempoh lima tahun.
Tuntutan yang dilakukan oleh rakyat melalui Bersih 3.0 ini merupakan tuntutan yang adil dan munasabah dan sepatutnya tidak menjadi halangan untuk dilakukan oleh rakyat yang tidak berpuas hati dengan cara dan kaedah pilihanraya diadakan.
Daripada lapan tuntutan yang diminta oleh rakyat itu saya hanya ingin menyentuh hanya satu daripada kesemua tuntutan itu, iaitu “accessibility” yang “equitable” untuk semua parti yang bertanding dan menawarkan cadangan-cadangan jika diberi kepercayaan oleh rakyat.
Mendapat liputan yang saksama daripada media arus perdana itu merupakan perkara yang paling asas di dalam sesebuah demokrasi kerana melalui media itulah pihak-pihak yang menawarkan diri untuk mendapat kepercayaan rakyat itu dapat dilakukan. Read the rest of this entry »
DDOS attacks against Malaysiakini begin, again
Malaysiakini.com
6:49PM Apr 27, 2012
Malaysiakini’s server came under attack as tensions mount ahead of tomorrow’s Bersih 3.0 rally.
Readers and subscribers, especially those using international routing such as Blackberries phones, have been unable to access Malaysiakini since 5.30pm this evening.
azlanThe attack known as a – distributed denial of service (DDOS) – involves using a large number of computers to flood Malaysiakini’s servers with ‘dud’ traffic, causing a traffic jam which denies access to legitimate users.
The attack is normally carried out by international syndicates paid to disrupt targeted websites.
A similar attack was carried out against Malaysiakini in April and July last year, in tandem with the Sarawak elections and Bersih 2.0 respectively.
Malaysiakini’s technology team is currently studying the attack patterns and will take measures to overcome the attacks. Read the rest of this entry »
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