The Malaysian Insider
Jun 02, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — Most of Malaysia’s mainstream newspapers appear to have taken a hit since the May 5 general election for perceived biased reporting, Singapore’s the Straits Times (ST) said today.
The broadsheet cited the examples of Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and MCA-owned The Star newspaper.
“Star is in a dilemma of trying to be independent and yet pressured to boost BN’s image,” Shaharuddin Badaruddin, a political analyst at Universiti Teknologi Mara, was quoted as saying to the ST.
The Star is the largest English-language daily in Malaysia, averaging audited sales of 290,000 copies daily between January and June last year.
Umno’s network of media outlets is wide, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Centre for Independent Journalism.
Via proxies, Umno controls Media Prima, which publishes the New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro. It also owns the Utusan Group, which publishes Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo!
The ST said Utusan Malaysia has been accused of biased reporting for years, and its circulation has fallen from 213,000 in 2006 to between 170,000 and 180,000 last year.
It has been overtaken by Harian Metro, now the largest Malay daily — its circulation rose from 210,000 in 2006 to 394,000 last year. Analysts told the ST that younger readers are drawn to its culture and lifestyle-based content.
Once the No. 1 English-language paper, the New Straits Times saw its circulation decline sharply from 1999 to the early 2000s, going from 180,000 to as low as 80,000.
The ST said readers shunned the paper for what was perceived as lopsided reporting on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking as deputy prime minister in 1998 and his subsequent corruption and sodomy trial.
“In the rural areas, the Malays hate slander. My research showed that only 18 per cent of readers will believe what was written on Anwar,” said Shaharuddin.
The ST said newspaper readership in Malaysia is also facing challenges as younger people increasingly get their news online.
Internet users among Malaysia’s 29 million population grew from 3.7 million in 2000 to 17.7 million in June last year, a 61 per cent penetration rate. Nearly two-thirds of Internet users are aged 21 to 40.
There were 13.6 million Facebook users in Malaysia as of December.
The top news website in Malaysia over the past month was the independent malaysiakini.com, according to alexa.com, a site that tracks Web traffic, said the ST.
“Urban readers are more connected and compare content with the alternative media. They see that the same event is given a different slant in the mainstream so people question this,” said Hah Foong Lian, a new media analyst with Monash University Malaysia and former reporter at The Star.
Three days after the general election, electoral watchdog Bersih and the opposition parties called on Malaysians to boycott the New Straits Times, The Star, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia for perceived unbalanced reporting.
Analysts said that although such a boycott would have little real effect in numbers, the mainstream media should be wary of Malaysia’s strong civil society eroding their credibility, the ST added.
“All mainstream papers reported in favour of their owners but after the election, The Star is the only newspaper that has become more balanced,” Kiranjit Kaur, a media researcher at Universiti Teknologi Mara, told the ST.
“It was very biased (during the campaign) but since the new Cabinet was formed without MCA, it may not feel it has to toe the party line too much these days.”
Its very true, the rural Malays don’t believe those things that are said about Anwar. Before the GE, I even hear rural Malays say “kena tipu bukan Melayu selama 20 tahun” describing Mahathir..
The young Malays have switched off listening to UMNO’s propaganda. That is why all the blaming and racist lying does not help to get them back any votes. Only through the use of force, underhanded means can UMNO defeat the pro-PR votes. The worry is not all the rhetoric and propaganda, the worry is the use of force and abuse of power to undermine PR and the voters..
It should be very interesting to state the number of group subscriptions by corporate sector (hotels, GLCs, NGOs, government departments…) and compare these with subscriptions by individuals. Any reseach centres have taken this survey? Or is this a secret not likely to be given by all the newspapers?
Even if only 18% of rural readers believe what is written in the Malay newspapers, they still ‘saved’ UMNO at the 13th GE.
Does this 18% who watch the 8pm TV news also support UMNO / BN ?
It is said that in many remote / interior areas of East Malaysia, the voters there only know BN and nothing else.
Unless it wins the rural votes, Pakatan or any other Opposition grouping will never be in Putrajaya. All the ‘Ubah’ and similar chantings will be of no use.
Well, former premier Pak Lah summed up the situation sovereignly – ‘1st world infrastructure & 3rd world mentality!’ With many uneducated and gullible (3rd world mentality) and indolent of their rights, political elites can abuse position to make round tripping money from large contracts on infrastructure projects, and at same time control the press to disseminate partisan reporting and even sensationalism and fear mongering in advance of the incumbent party’s cause. Who would care about journalism ethics – the duty to give fair and objective and balanced reportage when the press itself is regulated by Printing Press and Publications Act and every journalist realises that his company being ultimately owned by political masters must toe the line or lose his bread that feeds him and his family?
The more sophisticated and educated segment of readership market of news readers play a role. They shift to the alternative and online press. (Which is why there is now talk on both side of our causeway on how to regulate the alternative and online media as well in the name of public order). The shift of readership means not only less readership for Mainstream media (MM) but also shift of advertisers to the alternative media if it taps wider niche audiences. However the loss of revenue from the market is not perceived by political owners of MM with urgent concern. At least this economic imperative to make money from credible journalism is not as important as their immediate staying in power and by virtue thereof able to harness the national resources for their own self serving political cause. If they were willing to spend RM100 million to win the election what is this loss of income from the media that they own? It is pittance. So the situation will continue.
Not just Malays lah, also got lots of non-Malays who continue 2 b willingly conned by UmnoB/BN
B4 505, how many big businesses forced by UmnoB/BN 2 contribute BIG CASH in d name of corporate social responsibility?
Its not just the newspaper’s credibility being demolished, worrying about police morale as an excuse not to firmly act on custodial death destroys the police’s credibility, putting an oversight committe on the EC when even changing the EC office holders won’t make any difference destroys the EC credibilty, and the illegal cabinet simply even destroys the credibility of the constitution and the Agung office itself..
Can a seasoned prostitute be a virgin?
The same applies to a press prostitute!