PM to media: uphold the truth

"media should not be afraid to uphold the truth" so he said.

the truth? what is the truth? truth according to you? according to umno?

how on earth can the media write without fear or favour, upholding the truth when there is the printing presses and publication act (PPPA)…. not forgetting also the official secret act (OSA) looming over their head?

how on earth can the media uphold the truth if there is this ‘media caretaker’ – the home ministry ordering the media what to write or what not to write?

you tell me, oh badawi.

"I would like communication technology and channels to be used constructively as instruments upholding the principles of justice by disseminating the truth based on facts," he said when launching Bernama Web TV at the Prime Minister’s Office, here.

again, i asked what is the truth? truth according to the home ministry?

how come when a ‘communication technology’ eg RPK of malaysia today website writes something, it is not the truth but all lies? how can you tell? you can tell so much so, that all of a sudden, it has been blocked! (btw, i’m not saying all articles by RPK in malaysia today are the truth).

i’m sure most media – the MSM especially – would like to upold the truth if they can but the problem is that they are being ‘controlled’. that’s why i don’t buy the idea of boycotting the papers. mostly, it is not the fault of the editors or staffs (except utusan malaysia!) that they did not report what they should report. instead of boycotting, we should push for a fair and free media, which is what benar is all about.

the memorandum for media freedom campaign by benar had been extended until 27 october, so i hope all of you who have not signed up yet, please do so now.

speaking of free, i hope you did not missed out the recent joint merdeka message ‘are we a free nation?‘ which had been posted not only in benar but other websites as well, like haris ibrahim.

interestingly enough, and yesterday, malaysiakini featured an article ‘malaysians still ignorant of media freedom’.  it tells of a survey on media freedom carried out jointly by centre for independent journalism (CIJ) and merdeka centre. for the full article, with lots of interesting charts, please visit the benar website.