This post is lengthy as I feel obliged to try and justify that which I now ask you to do.
____________________________
Received the following 2 sms’s yesterday :
‘Dear M’sians. It’s time to reform media. The local media needs 2 b fair in reporting news to all m’sians. Pls ‘BUY NO PAPERS, READ NO LIES’. The NST, STAR, B. Harian, Utusan, chinese daily, Tamil Nesan & even TheSUN now r feeding lies & garbage 2 M’sians. They cant accept the elections defeat gracefully & r attacking opposition. There r bigger problems brewing in UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan & PPP but no mention. LET’S STOP BUYING THESE PAPERS 4 1 WEEK FR Mon, 17/3 till 23’
‘Dear Malaysians, calling for ur action to show our ‘people’s power’ again! BOYCOTT THE NEWSPAPERS, READ NO LIES! Stop buying NST, THE STAR, Berita Harian, Utusan M’sia from Monday 17 March for 1 mth. They are feeding us with lies! BN could not accept d defeat & r now attacking the opposition & the new state gvnmts. There r bigger problems brewing in UMNO, MCA, MIC, Gerakan & PPP but not featured in the newspapers. Switch to Msiakini, M’siatoday, BBC, CNN, AlJazeera for real news. We M’sians r matured now. Pls send msg to 10 ppl u know NOW’
____________________________
I want to firstly say a big thank you to Malaysiakini for making its internet news portal accessible for free in the run-up to the elections and for several days after.
I hope that this made it possible for many of you who are not subscribed to Malaysiakini to note the difference between Malaysiakini and the mainstream media (MSM) reporting.
Who can forget the telling interview conducted by Malaysiakini with Chew Mei Fun and Tony Pua?
Why did MSM not conduct similar initiatives for the benefit of their readers?
Was newsreporting by MSM in the run-up to polling day fair? Was it even-handed in reporting on BN and on our Barisan Rakyat issues, candidates and ceramahs?
Aliran has done an excellent analysis of the MSM reporting in the run-up to the elections. You can read that in full HERE.
Let me quote excerpts from Aliran :
Excerpt 1
On the eve of polling day (7 March 2008), Malaysian newspapers stepped up the number of advertisements to “persuade” voters to cast their ballots for Barisan Nasional. Although the reporting trend has generally been in favour of the BN, the ads have also been generously displayed.
theSun beat its English-language rivals to publish BN ads in 14 pages, up 80 per cent from earlier in the week. The NST and The Star increased the pages for the advertisements by 77 per cent and 71.4 per cent respectively, while Utusan Malaysia, a broadsheet upped the ads from one page on Monday to five full pages on polling eve. These three papers have higher story counts that are pro-BN in general. Only theSun published a one-page ad for the DAP on page 38 with its slogan `Just Change It’.
The ad campaign is further supported by full-page messages, in colour, from different ministries and agencies, such as the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, Mampu and the Employees Provident Fund, during the election campaign period,. Special pullouts have also been published focusing on the performance of government agencies like Felda, Felcra and Permodalan Nasional Berhad.
Midnight on the eve of polling is not necessarily the end of the campaign, as we know, BN “messages” flow through the media even during the non-election period.
Excerpt 2
Polling day is tomorrow. Let’s look at how the New Straits Times (NST) online covered the campaigning in the past three days–5, 6 and 7 of March. As the tables below indicate, the paper remains ever faithful to Barisan Nasional as its mouthpiece.
News items:
5 March 6 March 7 March All 3 days
BN (Focus) 19 (41%) 16 (37%) 11 (30%) 46 (37%)
BN (Positive) 13 (28%) 9 (21%) 11 (30%) 33 (26%)
BN (Negative) 0 ( 0%) 1 ( 2%) 0 ( 0%) 1 (0.1%)
NEUTRAL 3 ( 7%) 3 ( 7%) 4 (11%) 10 (7.9%)
BALANCED 2 (4.5%) 3 ( 7%) 3 ( 8%) 8 (6.3%)
OPP (Focus) 1 ( 2%) 5 (12%) 2 ( 5%) 8 (6.3%)
OPP (Positive) 2 (4.5%) 1 ( 2%) 0 ( 0%) 3 (2.4%)
OPP (Negative) 6 (13%) 5 (12%) 6 (16%) 17 (14%)
TOTAL 46 (100%) 43(100%) 37(100%) 126 (100%)
Commentaries/Opinions:
5 March – 1 BN (Positive) & 1 Balanced
6 March – 1 Balanced, 2 Neutral & 2 OP (Negative)
7 March – 4 BN (Positive) and 1 Balanced
Out of a total of 126 news items for the three days, a whopping 79 or 63% of them were focused and positive on BN. Only one news item could be considered as negative towards BN. On the other hand, only about 28 items were about the opposition (OPP). And more than half or 17 of them were negative on them. Meanwhile, only eight news item could be considered as having a balanced coverage and 10 are neutral election related items.
____________________
Dare we hope, as some are hoping, that the MSM will now begin the process of reform to be more responsible in its newsreporting?
Some seem to think that there appears to be a slight shift in the reporting, veering to a more balanced presentation of facts and issues confronting the nation.
Is there?
Star’s Wong Chun Wai, in his ‘Denial syndrome must end’ last Friday had this to say :
Two news websites emerged during the elections, MalaysiaVotes.com and MalaysianInsider.com, but being newcomers, it was difficult for them to compete with the more established Malaysiakini.
The websites of mainstream newspapers had an even tougher time, being overly cautious on accuracy, particularly on results, and not wanting to rely too much on unconfirmed news.
In the end, the alternative media scored better as it did not have to worry too much about accuracy. An example was the newsflash on the purported 14 unopened ballot boxes in Lembah Pantai, implying there would be rigging. The report turned out to be false.
But this election was a wake-up call to the nation, not just to the leadership, but also the media. A serious and honest soul searching is required to truly feel the pulse of Malaysians. The mainstream newspapers have to learn, quickly, or face being abandoned by their readers.
As Bernama general manager Datuk Azman Ujang rightly said, Malaysians have spoken loud and clear, “not only on what kind of government they want but also the kind of media they prefer”
…The winds of change have swept through Malaysia and the fact is everyone, especially the media, has to wake up to that reality. It should be accepted, not resisted. The denial syndrome has to stop.
Isn’t that rich?
Poor MSM could not keep up with the prolific internet alternative media newsreporting because the former were concerned with factual accuracy whilst the latter threw caution to the wind!
And what denial syndrome is this Wong fella speaking of?
As far as I know, the greater number of people who work in the MSM and pretend to uphold the highest standards of journalism have sold their souls, and the good people of this nation, for a few miserable ringgit and titles, to boot!
Really, then, do we discern any real change or shift in MSM reporting? From half-truths to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
_______________________
Both before and after the elections, BN had gone out of their way to play the race and religion card.
BN cannot effectively do this without the help of the MSM.
Please do not delude yourself into thinking that MSM is truly repentant or remorseful for their unholy assistance rendered to BN in trying to drum up fear amongst the Malays about the denial of their rights and the non-Malays about the advent of a PAS-led Islamic state regime.
On 14th March, Malaysiakini reported Zaid Ibrahim as hitting out at both BN and opposition politicians as well as the MSM for stirring up racial sentiments – zaid_-stop-pitting-malays-against-non-malays.pdf
This is what Zaid said of the MSM :
And the mainstream media are not helping matters either when they say that the Malays have lost the ‘Ketuanan Melayu’.
Then on 15th March, this is what YB Jeff Ooi said in his blog
All leaders in states not controlled by Umno dominance must be careful.
In the aftermath of the Abdullah debacle in GE2008, Utusan Malaysia and Bernama became the two media organisations that stoked political hatred, pitting Malays against non-Malays.
Both the media groups framed Lim Guan Eng for a mention of May 13, which the new Penang CM didn’t say. I knew as I stood behind him during the press interview. And the CM’s press secretary confirmed the same.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that DSAI had slammed BN for stoking racial tension – anwar-slams-govt-for-stoking-racial-tension.pdf
I quote DSAI :
I am… deeply concerned with the attempt being made by certain elements to stoke the flames of racial hatred” in the aftermath of the elections. This vicious campaign is being orchestrated by a small number of very wealthy Malays and Umno leaders who are themselves guilty of squandering and abusing the NEP.These people are now using the Umno and government-controlled media to incite fears among the Malays and deflect attention away from their electoral defeat and from Umno’s historic failures to address the needs of all Malaysians including the poor and marginalised Malays.
Are the MSM heeding?
Yesterday, Star reported under the heading ‘PAS certain it can set up Islamic federal govt soon’ that PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa said that ‘PAS is now confident that it can soon set up an Islamic form of government at the federal level, which it claims is gaining more acceptance, especially with non-Muslims, following the good showing of the Opposition coalition in last weekend’s elections’.
All yesterday, I was getting sms’s, e-mails and phone calls asking if there was truth in this.
I made several attempts to get in touch with Husam’s PA.
Then last night, at 8.50pm, on Star online, this correction first appeared.
PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa has clarified that his statement on the party taking over the Government at the federal level was taken out of context.
“I mentioned that we are hopeful of taking 30 more parliamentary seats to win power and not about forming an Islamic Government,” he said.
Husam urged the mass media to be careful in its reporting to avoid antagonising anyone unnecessarily.
This morning’s hard copy of the Star and its updated online report of this correction now do not bear Husam’s urging to the MSM to be careful.
Star put words into his mouth in the first report and yet, almost as an afterthought, have dropped what he actually said in the final correction!
Anil Netto, in a posting in his blog entitled ‘Mainstream media trying to stir discord among opposition parties‘, refers to an NST report of DAP’s reaction to the Star report of what Husam is supposed to have said, and says this of MSM : ‘ They are at it again, playing the same old game. This time they are trying to fracture the opposition parties’ unity of purpose and the stability of the new state governments they control’.
____________________
On 8th March, the sheer will of the rakyat drove a wind of change through this nation.
We have voted into Parliament and state assemblies good men and women upon whom the fate of this nation rests.
These men and women are now under siege by BN and their hatchet men in the MSM.
Tomorrow is Tuesday. Our Hartal MSM committee have previously asked that you make Tuesdays paper-free.
This is now not enough.
I urge that if we do not see an immediate end to the shameless attacks on our YBs, that we take the word out far and wide that we, the rakyat will, from 24th March, 2008, commence a boycott of all the MSM for a period of one week.
I urge that if at the end of that one-week boycott, the MSM continues to unjustifiably attack our YBs, we resume our boycott of the MSM for a longer and more sustained period.
This will, no doubt, cause much inconvenience for a great many of us.
The change that we seek to bring about in our country cannot be attained without some sacrifice. If we will not make that sacrifice, who will?
If you will help us in this initiative, I ask that you help to disseminate word of this initiative to your friends and relatives who may not have access to internet.
Use the sms.
We expect much of our YBs.
They, in turn are entitled to turn to us in their moment of need.
That time is now.
The People's Parliament 
Melissa Kraal
March 17, 2008
Dear Haris,
Noted.
I do not buy any myself but I will brow-beat from now on friends, families and colleagues on this urgent need.
These archaic goons have to dealt a harsh lesson.
PS: Torture will also be taken into consideration 🙂
NoPapers
March 17, 2008
MSM will never change their editorial policies unless their ‘political-owners’ change. That will never happen. So instead of expecting the impossible to happen, do what I did about three months ago : I stopped the papers altogether.
For those of you who think that you will go through withdrawal symptoms in the mornings, take it from an old timer (I’m 60) …you will not.
The alternative media is a lot more newsy and if you really must read the stuff you have been fed with all these years, take a quick look at the online versions of the MSM.
Apart from saving almost RM50 a month, let me say that it is a kind of liberating not to have to pay for outright lies (by omission or commission), half truths, deceit and unvarnished conceit masquerading as news.
So go ahead, try it…you’ll be so glad you did.
vic
March 17, 2008
Kelatan has Harakah in print to disseminate the news. Although it has some conditions on its sales.
Can the 4 brand new states of the PKR-DAP-PAS allow news print in the flavours of ‘the rocket’ or ‘the eye’?
Or can these 4 states as well as Kelantan , constitutionally, permit more news publishers to flourish?
Can Malaysiakini be permited to be to published in print (hardcopy), I wonder?
Lawyers, well-versed on state and federal laws, your views pleased.
hihi080308
March 17, 2008
Can’t we do something to this MSM “journalism”???
Just…some wild suggestions: barred them from “entering” the 5 states for reporting? request to read the text before they print it? insist on tape recording in all press conference or interviews? black-list those reporters who spin the stories (we know the reporter is no responsible sometimes but we can’t blacklist the editior!!)? drag them to court for defamation? insist on apology on the front page anytime they spin the story….
I am not a journalist nor a lawyer, but i believe there are plenty in the opposition parties….can’t we really brain-storm and come out with some workable ideas???
Are the opposition parties too “soft” to them?? Guess it’s time to discipline them…
yh
March 17, 2008
lets set a better date;may be sometime in april so as to prepare better for a massive boycott. just as the populace voted with conviction, lets give a bloddy kick to the lying msm with this initiative. and frankly, i cant stand editors who professed their faith in god and lie with their eyes open, even without a blink.
cecilia
March 17, 2008
With u brother! sending out the emails + sms now.
Product of the System
March 17, 2008
Have not bought star or nst for almost 2 years now.
No regrets.
Save money.
Save my brain too.
Jasraj Sandhu
March 17, 2008
To counter any false or unfair biasness in the local MSM we the people who are aware mus spread the word.
Be it via word of mouth, via blogs & forums and any other means – we must make the truth known!
Also I propose that fair media operations like Malaysiakini be allowed prime access to the BR control states. BR parties and state governments must utilize Malaysiakini’s outreach to maximise the spread of the true news.
stk
March 17, 2008
Dear Haris,
I got a very good idea how to make this MSM down on their knees.Boycott 1 media at a time, say 2 weeks maybe first the NSTP than STAR and so on.I very sure it will work by cooperations with all the bloggers to lauch the boycott.Not forgetting their major market is in the west coast state which is under BR now.Trust me it will difinately works.
Grace
March 17, 2008
Have resort to reading papers via online… Save RM1.50 during weekends, and RM1.20 on weekdays…
Plus, we have plenty to read in the information superhighway (Internet)…..in fact, rich information via malaysiakini, malaysiatoday and blogs like yours and many more….
Who cares about MSM now? I don’t give a damn….
TYKo
March 17, 2008
I have not bought MSM since Bersih rally & have lobbied friends & relatives too. However, it doesn’t seems to have great impact at the moment. Will continue to work on it.
Perhaps, if there is a printed copy of alternative newspaper with more balanced view, the MSM will feel the immediate threat. People will have more choice, as it is with the governing parties now.
what about initiating our own newspaper, in cooperation with Malaysiakini & perhaps joint venture with some media companies? How to go about the printing act?
Perhaps, we could initiate this in the 5 states + Klang valley as starter?
Let’s work something out and teach the MSM a lesson too! A media tsunami?
kk
March 17, 2008
I think you are biased people.
You are just presenting the cases to your advantage.
I do not hink the news media is wrong. It just like anyone will present their case. Opposition too present their case in their articles.
What is new. Boycott is not Malaysia culture.
orchid
March 17, 2008
I gave up my dreams of being a journalist in this country in utter disgust 10 years ago when I found out that the real world of our country’s media was filled mediocre, underclassed and bias reporting. Fast forward to now, I am considering writing again thanks to the new media, and to all the brave writers online who dared to make a difference!
P.S: I stopped buying newspapers a year ago after the bootlicking folks tried to sue YB and Bru. Save the trees!
Jaswant Bhatt
March 17, 2008
I echo Haris’ call and am equally disgusted with all the mis-reportings which is clearly to fracture the alternative alliance and create animosity among the races. I have been boycotting The Star and NST since last Monday, and my source of news is Malaysia Kini. I seriously think there should be an alternative newspaper and oh yes, an alternative TV News channel!
myop101
March 17, 2008
and i thought they were just about to repent. honestly, i didn’t know they don’t publish the entirety of what they put in the net on their hardcopies (i stop reading hardcopies for quite some time now)…
right… will send out new SMSes on top of those sent out earlier….
zewt
March 18, 2008
indeed…. enough is enough…
klmc
March 18, 2008
yes sir , agree completely, the MSM seems intent on depicting the ‘new’ state govts in bad light – cancelling my subscription of the star tomorrow.
Defcon1
March 18, 2008
Haven’t subscribed to a newspaper for 5 years. The news on net is a lot more interesting and probably loads more informative.
If you want to listen to propaganda, news on TV is free… 🙂
dan
March 18, 2008
Great idea to teach them a lesson!
yong chee keong
March 18, 2008
But I am used to reading the Obituary columns daily. They sure speak the truth (especially now that the person placing the ad must produce the IC). A friend of mine boycotted the MSM, and within a month he missed 4 funerals of his close relatives and friend.
Paul Warren
March 18, 2008
But Joseph Goebels would have been proud of their attempt wouldn’t he? Of cour he would not be pleased that it failed to work. He probably would tell them to work harder. And as folowers of the Joseph Goebels’ School of Journalism and Information, they can’t help but to do ti again and again.
This is why, there is only one thing that can be said and done, as I have said in my blog which of course I don’t exactly promote. MSM should be given a clear and certain warning. That failing to keep to the letter of the law as to what is envisaged by the issue of the license, the license will be seized and shall be cancelled by vitrue of the Laws existent at the time. Any further dissemination of news, whether print or broadcast, shall be met with the severest sentences. These licenses will be sold for RM1 to whoever the new Government sees fit.
Umran
March 18, 2008
Over and above boycotting the MSM what is needed is good old fashioned competition. What I mean here is to allow for Malaysiakini to print and distribute a newspaper version of their website. I have no doubt that the distribution of MSM newspapers will quickly dwindle if people are faced with an alternative newspaper in the form of a print version of Malaysiakini.
Malaysiakini’s editors have shown that they are capable of reporting both sides of the story and they can also promote mature debate of sensitive issues. This is what Malaysia needs more of. Malaysiakini have been trying to obtain a licence (as required by the infamous Printing Presses and Publications Act) for years now but to no avail.
If Barisan Rakyat wants a greater degree of fair reporting then Malaysiakini represents the best ally in such a struggle.
As we all know the problem with the MSM in Malaysia is two-fold: legislation and ownership. Legislation can be changed overnight but ownership is a much tougher nut to crack.
The BR MPs need to push for Malaysiakini to be provided with a licence so that market forces will force the owners of the MSM papers to allow the news to be reported comprehensively and fairly.
leech
March 18, 2008
bro Haris,
I will send the message out to all my contacts with a link to your blog to boycott mainstream newspaper
pavlova
March 18, 2008
i don’t see why can’t we not subscribe to papers everyday.
it’s very energy consuming — printing and also the usage of trees?? i wouldn’t even dare to count how many trees are cut down for that…
in this era of saving the planet, it’ll be wise just to stick with the internet for the news.
no point paying that RM2 or so just to read garbage on the table. the poor newspaper delivery man would prob have to find another job…
of course, by doing that, it also saves our grey cells… not being dumbed down by the MSM…
SV Singam
March 18, 2008
I asked my friends on another forum whether anyone had any idea about what impact the MSM boycott was having. One of them replied… “None of the MSM companies have showed any decline in share prices”.
That’s how much impact we’ve had so far!
The BN crony companies were willing to bankroll a multi-million Ringgit elections campaign. They could just as willingly help cover any minor and temporary dip in the profits of the BN propaganda machine.
The only way to really hit the MSM is to do what the Star did to the NST all those years ago, when the Star shone free. Beat them in the marketplace. It’s a long haul.
Meanwhile, emulate the Harakah. Get the Party Newsletter editorial teams of DAP and PRK to become more professional with their reporting style – more of news, less of party rhetoric. Then distribute the newsletters widely to the increased party membership base that they enjoy now in the states they rule.
waimun
March 18, 2008
Dear Author,
I support this action 100% but many of us already pre-order our newspapers & its not fair to the vendors to cancel it mid-month. Perhaps its better to do it early of the month?
Birdseye
March 18, 2008
There is no denying that the MSM had, as in every contest in the past, batted heavily for the BN in the run up to the general elections. There is nothing new here.
Malaysian elections have hitherto been seen as unfair by the international community, which the BN happily ignores. The lack of access to the media including TV being the principle complaint.
The Aliran excerpt on the splurge of advertisements in the MSM on the eve of the elections may need to be qualified, however.
People have an ax to grind if the ads were published free of charge to the BN and the government ministries, etc. I don’t think they are. Are the BR parties denied space even if they are willing to pay for the ads? Bear in mind the BR parties do not have the money to advertise or they may have viewed ads in the MSM as unnecessary. It would also be darn foolish, in my view, to give money to the MSM that does not the BR.
tehsin
March 18, 2008
Dear Haris,
I too am utterly disgusted by the BN controlled media’s attempt to stoke tension amongst the rakyat. This only goes to show that they do not have the welfare and safety of the common people at heart and are only trying to protect their interests and illegal wealth.
The star seems to have toned down its racial games, but the NST and others are shameless.
A boycott is one thing, but I would suggest that a massive peaceful gathering in front of the NST, Star, and other MSM offices…a multiracial gathering and banners and placards to show our displeasure and OUR UNITY AS RAKYAT BERBILANG KAUM and that the power for them to BUNGKUS is in our hands. UMNO too should be bungkused, eaten and the paper wrapping burnt or flushed down the toilet.
I hope too that there will be a public inquiry, at least in the BR states, in order to bring the looters to justice. They CAN”T be let free. NEVER AGAIN. That should be the lesson. we must get back the looted billions and put in back into our treasury…auction, sell, confiscate…whatever means necessary.
Tehsin
ps.nathan
March 18, 2008
The New Chief Minister of Penang, should have refused to be interviewed by the Editor of the STAR Dato’ Wong Chun Wai until he had publically appologised for the pre-election debacle, of deliberate distortion and slanted reporting in the run up to the elections.Further he should have sought from the STAR a firm, public undertaking that the STAR would NEVER again resort to demeaning levels of ‘journalism’.The Penang state Govt. should further cease to use the STAR for placing any advertisements, until such undertaking is forthcoming. Is’nt it about time the Barisan Rakyat started flexing its muscles as well?…with the aim of reducing the circulation of the STAR in Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan!
Lets kick them where it hurts them most!
Sharing
March 18, 2008
I agree with hihi080308
Rakyats can be asked to Boycott MSM
But please let Rakyats see how those YBs and Oppositions are handling as well!!
At least the Oppositions are in power in the 5 States and they have greater number of lawyers.
Can we see law and Administration at work rather than Campaign over Campaign?
Let bloggers be organized to disclose the twisting of MSM when they are still under BN
But let Oppositions deal with those ill-minded MSM legally and administratively?
Can we see how the Oppositions are handling this as well to put MSM in the Right track when BN is using them as instruments!
Should PP move more into Legal and Administrative directions and tell the Rakyats how they can communicate with the YBs to do their work or deal with their grievances?
Providing some outlines on what can be done or expected from those YBs (also Oppositions) to do!
To certain extend, many YB are lawyers and they should know how to defend legally and Administratively!
Crankshaft
March 18, 2008
This time, I think the Barisan Rakyat MPs deserve it. How stupid could they be to walk into the crocodile’s wide open mouth? Do they think the MSM is going to embrace them with wide open arms?
If they deny any interviews or comments with the MSM, but only relay their information through online media, then more people will be forced to come online out of curiosity.
They get their faces bitch-slapped by the obviously prejudiced MSM and then complain??
lucia
March 18, 2008
wonder if any of you came across the 2 letters to the star paper written by my friend, stanley? you can read it here and here.
our bangsa malaysia penang group together with the election watch group are planning a ‘civil society meeting with the mainstream media’. visit to NST is this friday and next will be utusan and the star. we are going to talk to them about their unfair reporting and all that.
toyotarave
March 18, 2008
I hv stopped buying papers a long time ago since Internet allows me to obtain uptodate information – but I will persuade friends of mine to consider dropping them too – lama lama jadi bukit
MWong
March 18, 2008
Hey Pakcik Haris,
Yeah, support ur action! The MSN are all ridiculously biased! Dirty dirty local papers.The rakyat wants to know the truth, dont feed us with the nonsense that the govt wants us to know.
Between, watched some of your video clips on YOUTUBE,you’re an outspoken HERO who dares to speak out the truth on sensitive subjects! All Malaysians should look up to you and you’ll have our utmost respect!
After the 8th March election, and listened to your ceramahs, ive reattain a sense of hopefulness for Msia! Seriously, im extremely moved by your speech, you’re such a star! Wish you constant happiness and good health! Malaysia needs more people like you!
MWong,
You’ve got me blushing now.
Always keep the faith. There are many good anak Bangsa Malaysia.
God has truly blessed us.
Haniza
March 18, 2008
Salam En. Haris. I do support your calling. Read alternative medias. Boycott the MSM!
To vic : Harakah is not published by Kelantan state gvmnt. It’s published by PAS Pusat. KDN has restricted its publication to only twice monthly. That’s how FAIR the M’sia G’mnt is. Harakah is avalaible outside Kelantan too.
farida
March 18, 2008
Haris,
Time to persuade the advertisers not to contribute to the lying MSM machine? Surely they know that BN got only about 50% voter support. So though the advertising rates remain the same and they are forking out millions, they are reaching a highly diminished number of potential consumers.
I’d be willing to buy their products if they stopped feeding MSM and fed the poor instead.
How about turning the tables on MSMN by saying to our already identified Advertisers, “Boycott MSM WITH US and we’ll buy your products. Save your advertising money, bring down the price of goods and you have us as your loyal customers!”
Don
March 18, 2008
Will boycotting the newspapers alone improve the situation if the source of the limitations on Press Freedom is not addressed? Barisan Rakyat should take this to Parliament and fight for Press Freedom. Those laws that are implemented to control the Press Freedom must be abolished e.g. Presses and Publications Act and ISA, otherwise, the newspapers media can never be free from this boundary.
Also, the Media should never be owned by political-allied party. That’s why Utusuan is speaking for UMNO everyday! It should be owned by Businessperson / Corporations free from Political ownership. Then they can stay integrity and independant. That’s why acquisition of Nanyang Daily by MCA caused a big hu-ha in the Chinese community years ago!
Lastly, do not blame the Rakyat who worked in these Press companies. They also need to earn a living. Which Reporter do not want to be a truly respected reporter – fearless to authorities, bold in revealing truth, independant in reporting? Most reporters stepped into this career with such dreams. Unfortunately, they are controlled by their bosses that are bound by the Laws and their Owners. These ties must be broken if we want to have truly Press Freedom in Malaysia.
Heal from the Source, Not on the Symptoms.
Birdseye
March 18, 2008
“None of the MSM companies have showed any decline in share prices”.
Let’s see if there is any opportunity to make some money with STAR and NSTP shares. If you hate them then it’ll be sweeter if you can make money off ’em.
KLCI STAR NSTP
31 December 2007 1445.03 3.44 1.99
17 March 2008 1177.53 3.34 1.76
Percentage decline -18.5% -3.0% -12.0%
Wow! The Star (stock code 6084)has even outperformed the overall market! NSTP (stock code 3999) is more in line with the general index.
At 11:15 AM, March 18 2008, Star is up 4.0 sen while NSTP is down a whopping 18 sen. The latter is now performing below the key Bursa index.
STAR is surprisingly resilient for a newspaper stock, generally regarded as a sunset industry with the advent of the internet. Even the venerable (or Bush bashing) New York Times was forced into free access for their online version when few were willing to pay for a liberal rag on the far left. Besides trading volumes are generally thin, partly because of large majority holdings, so the speculative element is not really there. But low trading with few forced sellers can also make a stock steadier, hence the ability to stay put while others tank.
NSTP has a more promising outlook, not as a newspaper, but for gamblers or punters. I’m not sure why it is tanking heavily today but further steep falls without accompanying negative news could present a buy opportunity. But be very careful because the share price can remain in limbo for months.
Ignore these stocks. Boycott will have zero effect until word gets into the market of a mass boycott of the MSM. It’ll work if influential blogs report today’s steep fall in NSTP as being due “to the current sentiment in the market that there is an impending mass boycott of the MSM”. Then STAR may follow suit and tumble. Another story then says that advertisers may start to review their media plans, leading to further collapse in share price (hopefully). Then buy when the boycott effort is revealed as ineffective.
Happy trading.
sirjei
March 18, 2008
haris .. i have already done so 3 months ago .. and doing my part to spread the practice
not till that hypocritical Wong Chun Wai comes face up and apologize to the public of their misdeeds .. will i ever buy their papers..
such a shame ..that STAR started as an alternative voice to the Strait Times from Penang and now they have become what they were fighting against !!
as a Penang lang … i feel so betrayed !!
joe francis
March 18, 2008
Dear Haris,
I am continously disgusted at the low levels that our msm will stoop to fill their food troughs.
Of special mention is that fella Wong Chun Wai who shamelessly played up the racial card on Election Eve on national TV. The recent Husam incident was also downright below the belt.
I urge you and the blogger community to launch a STRIDENT, LOUD and EFFECTIVE campaign to BOYCOTT or even BURY the MSMs starting with the racially slanted UTUSAN, STAR and the myopic NST.
Just as in BERSIH and in the recent GE, the people will be behind you. Many Malaysians stand for decency and and the truth, we will prevail. If the BN political machinery of 5o yeras can be smashed, what of the puny coalition of Cry Wolf Kali, Wong and their cohorts>
Lets get the ball rolling. March 24th! Suara Rakyat! Suara Keramat! Let the be people be heard.
Helen Ang
March 18, 2008
Lucia,
When you cited your friend Stanley’s letter about The Star, you provided 2 e-group links. But did the newspaper publish his letter?
As you may know, the Hartal MSM committee wrote to theSun pointing out its factual inaccuracies. That newspaper did not publish our letter. https://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/do-malaysian-newspapers-not-publish-clarification/
seanee
March 18, 2008
Now that the opposition parties have won control of 5 state governments and denied BN two third majority in the parliament, do the next stage by petition for a Royal Commission on Electoral Reform (RCER) in Malaysia.
If you want to have a better future for our children in Malaysia, do your part by signing the on-line petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/RCER2008/petition.html
This is one way to bring our message to the Government.
Don’t just sit there, stand up and be counted! We want a fair and transparent election.
WHY DO WE NEED TO REFORM THE ELECTION COMMISSION?
1) Gerrymandering. The discrepancy between number of voters in voting areas is too great. The smallest parliamentary seat (Federal Territory, Putrajaya) has only 6,608 voters while the parliamentary seat for Kapar in Selangor has 112,224 voters. What this means is that one vote in the Putrajaya parliamentary constituency is equivalent to 17 votes in the Kapar constituency.
2) Phantom voters. A common tactic is to ‘buy’ the identity card of the voters. Party members from the ruling parties will then vote on the voters’ behalf. Random checking of a person’s identity must be conducted using those finger print checking device (like the bank use). Any voting done on another person’s identity must be made a serious offence under the election law. Now you know why the indelible ink was withdrawn at the last minute by the SPR (Election Commission).
3) Postal votes. The rules on postal voting must be reviewed, tightened and amended. The current rule favours the ruling party as the armed forces personnel and policemen who vote by ‘postal voting’ would obviously not jeopardize their career or promotion prospect by voting for the opposition. Voting under postal voting is not secret as it is under the watchful eyes of the senior officers. Christina Liew of DAP (Api-Api) lost due to postal votes. The ruling party has control of 250,000 postal votes!
4) Spoiled votes. How do we define spoiled votes. It is very easy to turn good votes into spoiled votes (by adding one more x to the ballot paper). Are spoiled votes being verified and watched over by the party representatives? In marginal areas in which the winning margin is razor thin, the so-called spoiled votes need to be scrutinized.
Malay Women in Malaysia
March 18, 2008
I don’t have to do any boycotting, I have stopped buying mainstream newspapers for more than two years now. A lot of other Malaysians have done the same thing too. I’m not worried much about our stupid mainstream newspapers.
We should be more concerned with our television channels. Perhaps now our political opposition parties can now approach and seek better treatment from them.
JJ
March 18, 2008
Disagree. News media will always have their preferred party. In the UK, the Sun is pro conservative while the Star is pro labour. The approach should be to issue a licence to another “independent” newspaper. However, we should be aware that at some point in time, this “independent” paper would also lean to one of the political parties.
Moreover, my newspaper delivery man would be very sad if everyone in my neighbourhood stops buying papers from him.
Cheers.
JJ
March 18, 2008
I found an article in “the Malaysian insider” which is related to the sms going round to boycott the papers for 1 week. For those who wants to read, the url is
http://themalaysianinsider.com/mni/did-you-get-that-sms-to-boycott-newspapers-dont-heed-it-what-we-need-is-more-newspapers.html
To capture the last 3 sentences of that article:
“In 1987, Justice Harun Hashim ruled that an application for a permit to publish a newspaper should be granted as a matter of course.
His judgment was eventually overruled by a higher court, and the government also tightened regulations under the Printing Presses and Publications Act.
Perhaps the government should be asked to review the law towards a situation envisioned by what Justice Harun said more than 20 years ago.”
SV Singam
March 18, 2008
Having denied the BN their 2/3 majority, the next urgent order of business should be restoration of the independence of the judiciary. When we have an independent judiciary able to make fair judgements without fear or favour, then we can bring the other agencies to book.
The BN Govt can be held accountable and press freedom restored. Also litigation against over-the-top MSM can expect a fair hearing. Then we will see who dares to play dirty.
Any attempt to restrict the MSM smacks of the same mindset as the BN, which we should avoid. Allow free competition and see how long the tainted MSM will last. Meanwhile BR leaders can exclude offending media reps from press conferences. Since they publish lies anyway, let them concoct their own lies. Don’t let them misquote you.
brave citizen
March 18, 2008
Star is RUBBISH. Look at this article about the swearing in of Perak MB, the heading is all about the “joy”, no picture of the swearing in ceremony. Instead Star opted to put a single pic of of DAP paying respect at someone’s grave. For a moment, I thought it was a funeral! Why choose a morbid picture to go with the article??? Ask yourself, if u are the editor, will u do that kind of thing?
boycott STAR- the niamah newspaper.
http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/17/election2008/20666523&sec=Election2008
dave avran
March 19, 2008
Dear Haris,
I am in total agreement with you on the msm lies and spins. I have urged my all readers, family and friends to boycott the msm for a week. would really appreciate a link from your post to reach more people. I have already linked to yours. thank you.
http://avran.blogspot.com/
farida
March 19, 2008
Hi Guys,
Go to Sin Chew :
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/8654
for a write-up on the Perak MB wowing the Chinese crowd. This is a first.
Damian
March 19, 2008
Sir,thanks for your effort and you are really wonderful. we was there on your ceramah in Raja Uda(Prai) with Ronnie Liu
Fyi, We already have a team here(Around 20 people) that already boycott all the newspaper & TV3…
we also talking this to everyone not to read Malaysian BN papers & listen to TV3…
Bravo …sir…we stand behind you as TRUE Malaysian..
Makkal Sakthi..
We Make the Difference
Annoyed
March 30, 2008
My family stopped subscribing to two English newspapers like a year ago when we could not stomach the garbage that came out as “the news”. The lies, the fiction, the coverups, the complete blackout on real news were more than we could take any longer.
Infact, my husband wrote a letter to the editor of one of them where he denounced them for their chicken stand but, of course, his letter never appeared in the letters page. So he called up the editor and outright asked him why the newspaper that he had been reading for decades was letting its readers down so monumentally. The reply was very defensive. Then he asked about the letter he wrote. They denied receiving it. But the letter had been hand delivered. Ah, well, what else is new!