Ghafar Baba's remarks<\/p>\n
The remarks made in Jakarta on Sunday by Malaysia's former
\ndeputy prime minister, Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba -- criticizing what
\nhe regarded as a biased attitude in the Indonesian media
\nregarding events in his country -- may be considered constructive
\ncriticism. But that is not to say that all of his comments are
\nacceptable.<\/p>\n
His seemingly emotional stance has already drawn strong
\nreactions here from professionals, the chairman of the Indonesian
\nJournalists Association, legislators, observers and even our
\ninformation minister, Yunus Yosfiah, who all regarded his remarks
\nas out of proportion. As has been reported, Ghafar Baba, in his
\nmedia conference in Jakarta -- which he said he was visiting in a
\nprivate capacity -- judged the Indonesian media as
\ndisproportionate and unobjective in its reporting. He said such
\ncoverage could upset the prevailing system and stability in
\nMalaysia by creating unfavorable public opinion.<\/p>\n
The media system that currently exists in Malaysia cannot be
\ncompared to that of Indonesia. Because of the existence of the
\nISA (Internal Security Act) which empowers the government to
\ninvestigate and to detain citizens, including journalists, the
\nmedia in that country is naturally restricted in its freedom to
\noperate compared to the media in Indonesia. Naturally, media
\nreporting in Malaysia cannot be compared to that in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Since so far no official complaint has been received from the
\nMalaysian government or from the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta, we
\ndo not see the Ghafar Baba \"incident\" as something that will
\nupset relations between the two countries. Nevertheless, it would
\nbe advisable for the Malaysian government to clarify the purpose
\nof Ghafar Baba's visit, because his offensive remarks could hurt
\nthis nation's sensitivities.<\/p>\n
-- Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ghafar-babas-remarks-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }