– The Malaysian Insider
September 22, 2013
Utusan Malaysia’s Sunday edition today carried an opinion piece lashing out at The Malaysian Insider for its reportage of the Malay newspaper, saying it goes against national aspirations.For good measure, it defined the aspirations as Malay issues and the official religion, Islam.
And it went on a litany of issues from the Allah issue to the late Communist Party of Malaya secretary-general Chin Peng and how the authorities should take action including suspending the portal’s permit.
Let’s make a few things clear.
Utusan’s narrow racial interest is not akin to the larger and wider Malaysian interest.
This is a nation which is 50 years old and it is for all Malaysians, not just a racial subset.
One cannot use the name Malaysia in its masthead and just champion a single race and call it a national aspiration. One cannot then say anyone having a contrary opinion is a traitor to a national cause.
One cannot put out innuendoes and unproven allegations and later ask the authorities to investigate or chastise them for not revealing the results.
And here is the thing, news portals do not need any permits. Only journalists need to be accredited by the Information Department to ensure they get to cover government events.
Utusan writers need to check their facts too before dishing out similar advice. And they should not confuse government policy with national aspirations.
We live in a country of diverse races, cultures, faiths and political leanings. Going to bat for one or labeling others is mischievous and disingenuous.
After all, isn’t this the newspaper that keeps losing defamation suits all the time? Also, the newspaper that wanted to reject a local airline’s advertisements because the chief executive, who is also Malay, criticised its racial slant.
Is this the newspaper that deserves advertisements from government-linked companies when that advertising money is used for a narrow racial agenda and to pay off damages resulting from losing all those lawsuits? – September 22, 2013.