Southeast Asian television stations unite to counter Western media
Southeast Asian television stations unite to counter Western media
Agence France-Presse Kuala Lumpur
Several Southeast Asian television stations have united to provide a unique platform for regional leaders to air their opinions to 300 million viewers in a move to counter alleged Western bias.
Networks from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand on Tuesday night launched a program called In Conversation, which officials describe as a first in the region's broadcast history.
The opening program in a 13-part monthly series featured Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 75, who has been in power for 20 years and is considered the elder statesman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Malaysia's TV3 said in a statement on Wednesday the objective of the program was to provide an outlet for leaders to share their thoughts with the region's people.
"It is also aimed to break free from Western media domination which has a tendency to air interviews with regional leaders on a selective basis to meet the demands of their station or their own agenda," the statement said.
Privately-owned TV3 said some 300 million people in the 10- member ASEAN would be able to tune in to the programs broadcast by iTV Thailand, RCTI Indonesia and ABS-CBN Philippines.
A TV3 executive told AFP the program planned to present all ASEAN leaders as well as some feature items on the region.
He said the next guest would be Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, while Singapore Premier Goh Chok Tong had also agreed to come on air.
Efforts are also underway to get Philippine President Glorio Macapagal Arroyo and Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri to participate.
In the first hour-long pre-recorded interview, Mahathir was questioned by four journalists -- one from each participating station -- and dealt with subjects ranging from terrorism and Islam to regional economies.
He said regional leaders would discuss the economic fallout from the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States during the ASEAN summit in Brunei next month.
"I think whether we like it or not, we will have to discuss what happened in the U.S. simply because ASEAN is actually a trade bloc and our prosperity depends on trade.
"When a market is hurt, we will suffer. So we will need to find ways to overcome that and put in place new plans that will help the economy to recover," the premier said.
Mahathir has condemned the attacks on New York and Washington but urged ASEAN not to join the United States if it launched a military strike against Afghanistan.
He said the regional body should instead play the role of a peacemaker.