Malaysia's media lacking credibility

By Karim Raslan

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Every morning without fail I do something that might seem innocuous but is in fact extremely detrimental to national unity: I check the Internet for news. In essence I am rejecting mainstream Malaysia. And since I have no confidence in the alternative national vision espoused by the opposition you can understand my frustration.

In the modern IT age, a sense of community and national identity depends on the media. By way of comparison in ancient Greece, it was possible to practice democracy in a highly personal manner. Leaders were able to create a sense of civic responsibility by canvassing for support face-to-face amongst the electorate. Clearly that is impossible today.

Today the media has become the sinews of the body politic. In certain countries such as the United States, it has almost supplanted the political process.

Love it or loathe it, the media is an inescapable part of the national psyche, breathing life into our societies and articulating our every concern. Without it we are merely a fractured mass of body parts -- disparate communities with no core.

Ideally the media should be the guardian of our shared identity and values, giving voice to the things we want to say. Its icons are our icons: its victims, our victims. Similarly, its bad guys are our bad guys and we expect its practitioners -- TV news anchors and journalists -- to champion our concerns. We want them to ask the questions of the rich and powerful that we are too busy and at times too scared to pose. They are expected to expose corruption, venality and hypocrisy.

So, whilst sipping my coffee and scanning through the various domestic news sites web-sites -- Malaysiakini.com, AgendaMalaysia.com and Harakahdaily.com -- I am actually showing contempt for the officially-sanctioned sources of news. I am in my own quiet way whittling down the government's credibility and legitimacy.

Among my generation (and certainly everyone I know in their 20s), the Internet has become the main source of news and opinion, replacing the mainstream English and Malay language media.

In reality the Malaysian situation is highly unusual, because elsewhere in the world the Internet -- and deservedly so -- has an appalling reputation for inaccuracy and bias, criticisms that are certainly true of the above mentioned websites. However, all three provide a necessary balance to the unending torrent of pro- government propaganda that passes for news in this country.

Sadly the mainstream English and Malay media has failed me and by extension most of the younger generation. I don't trust what I read and have grown to detest the ugly, knee-jerk opinions.

So what impact does the media's failure to match up to public expectations have on the national unity? Well, if the sinews holding Malaysia together are stricken by a debilitating disease (let's call it the "Credibility Syndrome") the country will start -- if it hasn't already -- falling apart.

This ailment -- most worryingly -- appears to afflict the younger generation more than anyone else. And as their alienation deepens the consequences grow more disturbing for the nation as a whole.

For the middle classes -- of all races -- cynicism has become the order of the day: Every government move is greeted with distrust and disbelief. Even sensible and straight-forward decisions are greeted with derision. Nothing is accepted at face value because the media commands no respect. But there again most of the middle classes are so disgusted that they're planning on emigrating anyhow.

However for many younger Malays and Chinese "opting out" means a retreat into religious and or racial intolerance -- the comfort zone of chauvinism; a world where solutions are engagingly simple. Frustrated and angry, the other alternative has been to hit the streets.

To the young, the authorities seem to be more concerned about the interests of the rich and powerful. There are times when ordinary men and women appear to be mute observers at the feast that is called national development. In such a poisonous environment attempts to foster a genuine multiracial identity and "belonging" seem ludicrous.

In the past this state of affairs wouldn't have attracted much attention. We had become habituated to our bad newspapers. Moreover no one in government seemed to have made the connection between the younger generation's alienation and the"Credibility Syndrome". However, the recent acquisition of Nanyang Siang Pau by the investment arm of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Huaren, has brought the issue of the media freedoms once again into the limelight.

Curiously, the Chinese-language press -- partly because the political elite cannot read Mandarin -- has long enjoyed a greater degree of independence.

Newspapers such as Nanyang, Sin Chew and China Press are robust and feisty especially on the key issues affecting the community like Chinese language education and culture. In fact their credibility has meant that there has not been the same proliferation of Chinese language web news-sites. One shudders to think of the Nanyang's impending emasculation.

If the government is serious about winning back popular support and especially amongst the younger generation it will have to reassess its handling of the media. Currently the media has become the Barisan Nasional's (the ruling National Front party) biggest liability.

Its craven and unthinking support of the authorities appalls the majority of the population. And when it turns its attentions to the opposition and attacks them, people are further turned off by its partisanship. This is a tragedy because in overall terms the Barisan Nasional's record is not as shameful as Malasyiakini.com would have us believe.

The sinews of mainstream Malaysia are weakened but not fatally so. There are still journalists and editors (such as Ho Kay Tat of The Edge and formerly of The Sun, Shaila Koshy of The Star and Rose Ismail of the New Straits Times) who want to address the "Credibility Syndrome". And the solution is not complicated.

A strong dose of integrity and independence will revive the body politic overnight. Let the media become the nation's watchdog. Give its practitioners the leeway to ask the questions that need to be asked about government policy and Malaysia's future. In fact why not hand over the management of the New Straits Times to the Malaysiakini.com team?

Tackle the "Credibility Syndrome" head-on and the Barisan Nasional may stand a chance of winning in 2004. Don't discount the potency of 44 years of relative stability and prosperity.

Ignore the condition now and the alienation will leave Malaysia crippled forever.

The writer is a lawyer and writer in Kuala Lumpur.