My friend, Helen Ang, has a wish for this Christmas.
Read about it below.
_______________________
‘Do we, the people, have it in us to bring the falsehood mongers to their knees?’, Haris asks.
Well, all I want for Christmas is that we, the people, give the falsehood mongers a present of Hartal.
Hence the call by People’s Parliament for boycott on Malaysian newspapers.
Mission:
To persuade other people to stop buying BN propaganda
Purpose of action:
1) Knock newspaper circulation 2) Convince advertisers to pull back or pull out
Plan of action:
1) As individuals 2) Collectively
Mode of action:
1) A civil society initiative 2) In concert with Opposition
If you’re reading online and reading this now, chances are that you’re already sceptical of local news coverage by mainstream media. MSM has a deplorable track record of disinformation. It has relentlessly shaped public opinion to be favourable to BN’s vested interests, and conversely detrimental to our own as tax-paying rakyat.
Their unconscionable spin on recent shows of public disaffection – the Batu Burok episode, then the Bar Council, Bersih & Hindraf marches, protests against the Election Commission and earlier demos against toll hikes, petrol prices & rising costs – puts them firmly beyond the pale.
Now’s the time to put a brake on MSM’s runaway spin train.
Why now?
Because the general election may be just around the corner. Remember two elections ago and the despicable campaign that MSM carried out against the Reformasi movement. Remember how they vilified the attempt of PAS and DAP to work together. Through their false representation, MSM helped retain BN in power and so we get the government we thoroughly deserve.
Don’t let history repeat itself. We’ve learned. This time, we’ve got WMD: Weapon of Mass Media Deconstruction. Our WMD is ICT. Information is no longer the monopoly of the traditional gatekeepers, i.e. BN’s biddable newsboys. We’ll use technology to fight back.
Why is now a good time?
Because MSM have shot themselves in the foot by defending the indefensible. They have endorsed police curbing our right to free expression, the Home Ministry denying our fellow citizens arrested under ISA the right to due process, and painted a misleading picture of what’s happening in our country because they figure they can fool all Malaysians all of the time.
Previously MSM stabbed at our intelligence. They made out Hishamuddin Hussein’s clearly belligerent keris-waving as a ceremonial and conciliatory gesture to the non-Malays. MSM were cheerleaders when the Education Minister gave a stinging slap to Malaysians, who turned the other cheek to be slapped again and at this year’s Umno general assembly meekly bared their arse to be kicked.
The People’s Parliament is an advocacy to have better quality MPs to represent us in the august House. BN’s rogue gallery are shoddy goods and ought to be shipped out to sea and sunk.
Improving our political landscape and decreasing MSM influence are two objectives that go hand in hand. We know that some – or you might even contend, many – of the Ministers and BN MPs suck. Yet MSM has brainwashed our less informed brothers and sisters that this bunch of bananas (who call us “monyet” and “beruk” and “bocor”) are wonderboys (sons and in-laws par excellence) and we don’t have other options.
I, for one, would choose to brave the deep blue sea than stick with the devil we know. If there’s anything I’m proud of as a Malaysian, it’s that I’ve never voted BN and don’t intend to.
Please give us your input on this thread. And invite your friends here or forward this to them. It’s urgent that we act.
You can also post questions and I’ll try to give you a backgrounder on the workings of newspapers from my experience as a former copyeditor. ‘Boycott the newspapers’ will run as a series and continue tomorrow. Part 2 will explore how we can hit at MSM.
Hartal!
The People's Parliament 
Free Malaysia
December 24, 2007
I have stopped newspapers being delivered to my house since last month. And the only thing I miss is the sports section actually – EPL live telecast matches schedule 🙂
No point spending about RM75.00 per month for a bunch of lies.
Good for you.
Go to the EPL website. I am a Spurs fan and there is enough on the internet to keep me happy
lai kee kong
December 24, 2007
working in the local assemblyman’s office, we are constantly frustrated with the coverage accorded to the opposition especially in the vernacular papers. Many a time the opposition would be in the main page and colour while our assemblyman addressing the same issue will tuck away in the back pages. Our views truly depend on where we stand.
lostasylum
December 24, 2007
hi haris,
have stopped buying star for a long time now. the only papers i read is the Sun, who are the most “left-wing” and also because i get it free in the office.
was good to meet you during the weekend, even if it was just for a while, and please, do keep up the good work man. keep the faith bro!
PS: oh no.. haris, you’re a spurs fan??? that makes us sworn enemies for i support the gunners… hahahah..
lostasylum,
Let’s make a date for the 2-leg semi-final.
Sharing
December 24, 2007
lai kee kong,
So you are working for one of the BN parties?
But, the fact you mentioned seemed contradictory!
Anti MSM
December 24, 2007
Bravo, bravo.
My family do not waste our money buying the MSM which are full of lies, distortions, manipulation of news, half-truths, or complete omission of important news.
Boycott them all dear friends, when the circulations drop, the advertisers will quickly desert them.
It is useful to note here that the circulation of the NST is boosted by hotels which are giving this rag free to their guests (often without any opportunity for any choosing other paper.)
In such cases, those with pets can always take it home and use the newsprint to line their pet animal’s litter tray, or cage!!!
SH Tan
December 24, 2007
I am ambivalent about this. While I agree that the MSM’s are all a load of bullocks, I am thinking about the fate of our good deliveryman. He delivers punctually around 7.30 in the morning without fail, rain or shine.Even when he is sick and had an accident. He sent his 3 boys to college on his savings. He used up whatever is left of his savings for his bypass a few years back. I noticed a few of my neighbours have stopped their papers but I can’t do it for his sake. That is the only reason I am still subscribing. I think this intiative is like an economic sanction/embargo. It not only has political impact but also social repercussions on many innocent people in the way. It is a tough one.
SH,
As I recall, most vendors are from the Indian community.
Explain to them about the Hindraf 5.
Explain to them about the brave 30,000 who withstood the full force on 25/11.
Explain to them that we are doing this for the many Malaysians whose children do not have the chance that his children have had.
Paul Warren
December 24, 2007
Spurs fan eh, despite all the heart breaking moments since 1980/81!! If that is a testament of your resolve to go through this, my friend, I am am with you!
Am still working ont that letter you asked me to pen…
Paul,
With Spurs since the days of Pat Jennings, Martin Chivers and Alan Gilzean ( early 70s’ ).
I will continue to push on the civil society initiatives.
What’s the worst? Be labelled politically naive? I’ve been called worse.
BobSam
December 24, 2007
I have cancelled my daily subscription to NST since the legal action against Jeff & Rocky. But have replaced it with home delivery of The Sun.
I do go thru’ withdrawal symptoms on the weekend, especially Sunday…
All the best.
Equalizer
December 24, 2007
I agree. All we get daily is a dose of government crap and bullshit from the UMNO/MCA/MIC papers. Its time we HARTAL them.
But I would request that we NOT boycott the Sun. Its the only progressive mainstream paper but they are under tremendous pressure especially from Zambie and the fourth floor JPM cowards.
didee
December 24, 2007
Dear Mr Haris,
I’ve also stopped buying the ewspapers for a while now. Though i have to confess that I do read The Sun sometimes(It’s FREE!!!). Anyways I was wondering what about the older generation (like my dad, who has no idea how to operate the computer) or people with no internet acess. How are these people going to be able get the necessary information about what’s going on in the country or the world.
(Trying to get my dad to stop buying the papers too, but seem to be having a tough time convincing him.
didee,
1stly, thanks for at least trying to convince your dad.
Those of us who have access to the internet can download or print. I know this is cumbersome, but no-one said that pushing for change was going to be a walk in the park.
Your Dad can also get the news on the TV ( CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera ).
We must explain to the earlier generation why we are doing this Hartal.
If we take the time to explain the rape and plunder that is going on, most will understand and try to help where they can.
But we must try.
maheswaran subramaniam
December 24, 2007
newspapers like the STAR,STRAITS TIMES is waste of money.there is more adverts than news and we need to pay too read all those adverts while these medias earn both ways.the news is crab except the sports and business.this is the only reason i buy the star but with internet why the heck we need to buy these papers.might as well donate this money to some charity
Helen Ang
December 24, 2007
I told my friend who doesn’t read Malaysiakini or People’s Parliament that I’m involved in this Hartal. She said this move might make her lose her job.
“I’m sorry to rock the boat that you’re in because you’re very dear to me.
Since you know me well, you know why I’m doing this.
And for the rest of my friends in MSM: You’re hardworking, you’re skilled. You’re not the deadwood. The Company will be stupid to let you go. It does not deserve you!
You know the newspapers better than I do. So I know you understand the boycott imperative. I know you’re with me on this in spirit. That is why we’ve been friends for so long. I know we will remain friends for a long time to come … come what may.”
Helen,
Tell your friend that I too am sorry how this might impact on her in the short term and that we are doing this as much for her as for everyone else.
She. better than anyone else, knows how the rot impinges on her professionalism.
Remind her to vote wisely so that her sacrifice will not have been in vain
lucia
December 24, 2007
as early as 1 dec. helen had requested me to spread this plea of hers too and i had blog about it… at the same time i mentioned that i do not support this cause. (but i don’t mind supporting helen’s support for the cause, if you know what i mean).
yes although i agree fully that the mainstream media is full of spin and propaganda, i do not support the idea of boycotting the paper.
since i read the star, here i’ll be talking mostly with the star as background. we all know there are lots of other stuffs to read in a paper beside the news, esp. the features and entertainment parts. the way i look at it, it is only maybe about 40% of the contents of the whole paper are news, columnist writings, readers letters that in favour of BN. 60% are good readable materials for us (like tv column… easy to open the paper and have a look what’s on tv, then to go online). so why boycott the paper when 60% of materials can be read, with no relevance to the ruling coliation.
of course one may also argue that we can find whatever features and entertainment online, but as i said sometimes a hardcopy read is better.
yes i know the other argument is that boycotting is to send a signal to the MSM that we are fed up of their news, and/or to hurt the MSM market. on the latter part, the thing is when the market is hurt, people are hurt too, esp. small time people like the newspaper delivery man.
on the former part about fed up of their news… but then why is it that those who said they had stop reading MSM, still quote from MSM online? i feel it is hypocritical to do that. on one hand they are fed up of news and reporting from MSM but on the other hand, they quote a lot from MSM to put in their blogs. of course to quote means they read the news! so they are still reading MSM news!
btw, in susan loone’s blog she also sort of mentioned boycotting could not be the appropriate solution. she suggested for more free press.
lucia,
I fear you have lost the plot.
We never said do not read the MSM. We said do not finance the government’s falshood factories.
Don’t buy.
Every time you buy a paper today, you part finance tomorrow’s misreporting.
Small-time people are hurt, you say.
Well everyday, small time people are hurt big time by the false reporting.
How?
News of racial tension, news that rallies are not civil society initiatives but bankrupt opposition efforts to confuse the rakyat, suppressed news about huge financial scandals, all to make sure that the small time people continue to vote in robbers and thieves.
Continue to part finance tomorrow’s news thru the MSM and you play a part in hurting these small time people.
Avtaran
December 24, 2007
I agree with Lucia. The ‘small time people like the newspaper delivery man’ will be hurt is an obvious issue.
Asking for boycotts is an easy thing.Sometimes we have to reflect deeper to see the repercussions of our actions. Least we become what we set out to change.
Is it acceptable ‘collateral damage?’ Not for me.
lucia
December 25, 2007
nope i did not lost the plot. i did cover the part about financing. anyway, so it seems it works both ways then (after what you pointed out – at least to me) – boycott hurt small time people, no boycott also hurt small time people, then i’d rather not boycott, please.
farida
December 25, 2007
Avtaran,
If my vendor says he suffers because he’s losing RM40 every month because of me, I’m truly willing to give him RM40 every month as support, no strings attached, and NO MSM! That’s my way of upoholding the hartal and not hurting the small time people.
Nanda
December 25, 2007
Everytime I come out from my apartment in the morning, as I pass the Guard House and pick up the free copy of The Sun, I look to the front and I see a man standing there with all the newspapers that he wishes to sell.
Should I now put back The Sun and buy any of the newspapers instead?
Or should I just keep walking with the free copy of The Sun?
By putting the copy down and buying the newspaper that he is selling, have I become a more compassionate person, considering the livelihood of another?
By walking away, does it make me any lesser of a person?
It boils down to choice, I would say. And the matter we are addressing here I believe concerns the people who do not have the choice simply because they are not aware of the alternative and hence they still subscribe to the illusion that what they see and hear in the MSM are the truth and nothing but the truth.
The fact that we are here in the People’s Parliament itself shows that we are capable of making the choice. We are aware of the spin doctoring of the MSM and we know of the existence of independent,alternative source for news. By knowing both sides of the story, we can now consciously make the decision to choose what we would like to do and at all time, remain aware of the truth.
Can the same be said for the vast majority of fellow Malaysians out there?
Can the same be said in reference to people who think NEP is just about getting the subsidised fertilizers?
Can the same be said about people who honestly think transparent ballot box is what BERSIH meant when we demanded transparent and clean election?
We know about the 60% readable material and the 40% ruling party columns in the newspapers because we are aware/exposed to the alternative and independent media and news source.
Can the same be said about the above mentioned members of civil society? Wouldn’t it be for them 100% not only readable but essential materials?
The task is to empower fellow Malaysians.
Ideally, to do things in order, it would be to create awareness among everyone of the apparent blasphemy in MSM and the existence of alternative, independent source. This would lead to fellow members of civil society realising that they have a choice, same as everyone of us here, and they can therefore consciously make their decision, same as everyone of us here. This is a formidable task. Nonetheless, many of us have already embarked on this task and we’ll keep doing it, creating awareness.
However,is it sufficient? Can we just allow the MSM to keep creating their version of truth while we continue to work to create awareness in conscientiously correct manner. The playing ground is uneven.
This drive in my opinion is to send the signal that we can’t tolerate this and are working to make the playing ground even. It is unacceptble for the MSM to take advantage of fellow members of civil society. It is unacceptable for the MSM to forsake the responsibility of reporting the truth as it is. It is unacceptable to blanket what is happening in the capital of the nation and keep mum while the whole world is watching just so that you can devise a plan to come up with a different version of truth.
To be honest, I’m quite disturbed as well of the impact that this hartal against MSM will have on innocent members of society, should the hartal get really moving.
But then its equally disturbing, the extent to which the MSM are willing to go in order serve their version of truth.
It boils down to choice.
Do I put down my free copy or do I continue walking?
For now, I’m gonna continue walking.
trashed
December 25, 2007
From what Haris says, the thrust of this initiative is to AVOID PAYING for NEWPAPERS. Doesn’t mean you don’t read the papers.
Anyway, for me, I only access the MSM online. At some point in time, they will have to pdf the whole paper online anyway, so we should get used to it already. Besides, fewer trees are going to get cut down.
Firdaus
December 25, 2007
IMHO, boycotting MSM would not be a good idea. As mentioned by previous posters, this would hurt other people that are not your targets eg the delivery person, the vendors and so on and so forth.
Anyways, I never actually believe that boycotting something can actually work. They can only give us some moral satisfaction in doing so but not actually achieve something substantial.
MSM is not all local news or propaganda, it contains the whole works: the local news, the world news (which is sorely lacking in alternative Malaysian news websites reflecting a rather self-centred approach i think), sports, entertainment, the ads, job vacancies and so on. Sure there are websites that have these information but more often than not, they are scattered around and are not packed into a convenient package as a newspaper is. Furthermore, eventhough I surf through websites online for news, I still like to read a physical newspaper as it is convenient.
Besides the above reasons, it is always good to know both sides of a story. Instead of exclusively reading alternative news, it would be good to also read local news in MSM for comparison purposes.
And regarding your comment that by buying newspapers,we partly finance the newspaper. Don’t you realise that by even viewing the newspapers’ websites online, we also partly finance the newspaper? Their online websites depend on advertising to survive. The amount of advertising a website obtains is dependent on the number of hits it receives. Therefore, if we all go to the MSM websites to gather info, the number of hits the websites receives increases and it will receive more advertising (or charge higher).
That’s all. Thank you for giving me an avenue to express my views.
Kean
December 25, 2007
I will still stick with my old comment as why we should boycott the newspaper.
The Star newspaper:
“RM1.50 per copy X 1 million copy sold per day = RM1.5 million
RM1.5 million X 30 days = RM45 million a month
RM45 million X 12 months = RM540 million a year
540 million ringgit of rough income which EXCLUDED the advertising income! IF THEIR SALE FIGURE IS 0, THEY WILL LOSE 540 MILLION RINGGIT!!! When the sale figure is 0, do you think any company will advertise in Star newspaper?? Get the idea?”
Can you imagine how much money they earn by feeding us with lies, racist issue and government propaganda? Why feed the corrupted government with your hard earn money (most of the local newspaper companies owned by the government like NSTP, Berita Harian, Utusan = UMNO and The Star, Nanyang, China Press = MCA).
Your ‘kesian’ feeling towards small time people will eventually bite you back in the end if you fail to understand the bigger picture behind this boycott.
Well it is up to you guys to decide but I will continue my 2 years plus of boycotting local newspaper.
Here is 12 clips from a good documentary which I think everyone should watch them, it named Ghosts of Rwanda. Watch if and you will know why we need to free our media and neglected attitude will bring disaster. It is different compare to our situation but if you dig deeper you can see the similarity.
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=assaultivebear&search_query=ghosts
omarkhayyam
December 25, 2007
lets bring this message to more people out there,
lets stand united to bring down “rumour mongering” print liars
lets have a new beginning to end the BN regimes main propaganda machinery
lets cheers
omarkhayyam
December 25, 2007
while we debate on the issue of the “small time deliveryman” livelihood being effected, Zam and BN propaganda are working relentlessly towards churning more propaganda to fence of any challenge thrown towards them.
case of point, at the recent PISA indian dance show, while Samy Vellu was booed and publicly humilated, the TV carried out the news as though indians have rejected HINDAF and very much happy with sitting down and enjoying the show.
so get this deliveryman to start delivering our mesaages to earn their livelyhood rather than help BN regime to spread BN propaganda.
cheers
Reinu Balakrishnan
December 25, 2007
I have not bought the papers in 8 years !!! I am forced to read STAR online to see if there are new rules, law changes, tax and other ‘ LIFE ‘ altering money grabbing regulatings like fuel , toll ,and other changes. If someone can update this on their blogs daily , NO MORE STAR ONLINE FOR ME. Thanks. We must punish liars and they are a plenty from the Govt TV and PAPERS. LIES, LIES , all the time.
Yen
December 25, 2007
Syabus to you sir.YOu deserve a pat on the shoulders.This is the way to go.The day BN controlled media can be brought down to its knees.Thats the real indication all Malaysians are ready for change.If we cannot bring down a small fry like the media to its knees how can we bring down the all powerfull BN machinery.THe media depends on us for its very survival.Rise rise ….The heaven is ready to open up.Are we ready for it?
fletcher
December 25, 2007
I have been boycotting the msm for the past 8 months and I am still doing it but do it at a larger scenerio we can start by boycotting for 1 month first and tell the delivery man to be patient and see the results after that. I am all for it.
neutralsite
December 25, 2007
i’m stop reading local newspaper long time ago
Teo Chuen Tick
December 25, 2007
I am only waiting for an excuse to boycot The Star which I have been ‘reading’ for sentimental reasons – for goodwill built up when it was still a reputable paper, Not for the BN mouthpiece that it has become!!
GoldenApples Project
December 25, 2007
Agree with the title. Newspapers are not quality content.
inthiarmakkal
December 25, 2007
good to know haris you are a spurs fan…great times of the early 80’s…garth crooks,steve allen,ardilles,…btw….most vendors are indians..got to give them an alternative….
I read the star everyday..for some very hilarious reasons…BNs statistics are all rubbish, their statements contradicts by the hour. It shows the BNs face of desperation with no less than five major problems – The lingam tape, hindraf issue,sabah buddist issue,the malay language bible issue,bersih issue and many more….Atleast they give analysis to my mind
fainessforall
December 25, 2007
For the past 2 years I have stopped subscribing to the newspapers as I find most of the news to be crap and lies. I rely on Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini and other blogs to get my news. They are more reliable.
I am definetly for this boycott.
ou
December 25, 2007
Boycott we must. There’s no gain without pain, so to speak. The small time people will always pay the price whether there is boycott or not. The immediate effect may be painful but it’s an effective means to get the message across. A better future for the small time people is the goal of the boycott. No boycott means the small people will forever be “slave”.
Change we must. The current status quo only benefit the elites. Its time for a change and we must unite to see this through. Remember, for evil to triumph, good men need do nothing!
seanang
December 25, 2007
I agree with you Harris that the Media is now the Public Enemy number 1. For the silent majority who only reads the newspaper, this is a social liability. But for those who read both the internet and the press, the existence of spin doctor like NST provides concrete evidences that the government is a Big Liar. The more they lie, the more evidences we have.
If we want to boycott the NST, The Star, Utusan and Berita Harian completely, my suggestion is to bargain for RM1 first. It is when they refuse to sell you for RM1, then you start boycotting the press.
My theory here is the Action of Boycotting and not boycotting itself – is what matters most in civil disobedience. There should be some “ritual” whatsover. Maybe everybody should go to the same Spot to discard your newspaper.
IbnAbdHalim
December 25, 2007
I’ve boycotted the mainstream newspapers since reformasi days i.e. before the call for the first boycott itself. I even boycotted the electronic media.
GHT
December 25, 2007
It would be a good move by the People Parliament to initiate this boycott of the newspaper. It is true, MSM helped retain BN in power through their continued one-sided reporting. As can be expected MSM will effectively do the bidding of their BN masters again especially when the GE drew nearer this time around.
Therefore, I support the People Parliament in organising the move in boycotting MSM. However, I suggest to make it really effective,(like the BERSIH organising) the People Parliament must be very clear on your target and timing.
Do not be general by just saying boycott the MSM and stop it there. I don’t think it will work that way and already there are negative commentaries (planted or so).
I think it could work better if you could choose a specific day and organise to boycott one paper (or two) at a time, ie on 13th January 2008 (Sunday) target and rally everyone to boycott “The Star” for instant (and also for over pricing themselves at RM1.50 [P.M’sia over others], followed by say 15th January 2008, “The NST” and another day, the “Nanyang”, “B. Harian”, repeat and etc.
Give enough time for publicity and for bloggers and supporters to react in passing the words around.
If this exercise can be done effectively, any MSM that twisted their reporting shall subject themselves to this consequences. This could be the only way to counteract and to show respective MSM that they have a people force to reckon with and they just can’t continued to mislead the Malaysian public anymore without shouldering responsible.
Reinu Balakrishnan
December 25, 2007
If you believe you are only buying the papers to help the delivery guy, you are in the wrong zone. If you think you must buy the papers for the other news, BN loves you. If you give excuses like these , then we will continue to enjoy the BN treatment and all that has been done at the intelligent level to ‘ show ‘ you and make you think about the wrong has failed.
IF YOU LOOK FOR EXCUSES , YOU WILL FIND THEM BUT YOU MUST ACT IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THEM.
Sam, we have it tough man. What has happened to the brain man ? grey matter turned black.
Ramish
December 25, 2007
I have stopped buying the newspaper along time ago. I have persuaded my other family members to stop buying as well. Indirectly we are also protecting the environment. ANY WAY ENUFF IS ENUFF about BN Propaganda
Osman Bakar
December 25, 2007
Its time now to theese MSM a lesson . I dont buy any of it. Only read through Internet. All must boycot ,then it works
martha
December 25, 2007
No more Star for me definately. Its Malaysiakini from now on.
raymonty
December 25, 2007
GOOD STUFF
Adam Black
December 26, 2007
En. Harris,
Saya bersetuju dengan pandangan Encik. Tapi, laman berita dan pandangan alternatif melalui Internet hanyalah juadah untuk pengundi di bandar-bandar besar. Kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia di luar sana, terutamanya berbangsa Melayu, masih lagi bergantung kepada akhbar bercetak seperti Utusan, Berita Harian, New Straits Times atau The Star. Tidak membaca akhbar-akbar perdana ini, tidak bermakna pandangan-pandangan dan berita-berita dari pihak satu lagi mampu disampaikan kepada rakyat terbanyak. Ini termasuklah isu bahasa, terutamanya kalau kita mahu memastikan kekalahan ahli ahli politik korup dan rasuah yang kebanyakannya bertanding di luar bandar kerana rakyat terbanyak di luar bandar tidak ada akses kepada sumber-sumber berita alternatif ini. Saya sedia mencetak sebanyak yang terdaya artikel-artikel dari laman-laman ‘alternatif’ kalau kita mampu untuk menglangkaui (‘bridge’) isu bahasa ini.
Nanda
December 26, 2007
Dear sir,
I think seanang and GHT have good points. The same was said by Shar in another earlier post.
We need to build publicity and then choose certain day to display the act of boycotting itself. By boycotting the way we are doing it now, and as I read in the comments where there are quite a number of people who have been boycotting for quite a number of years now, there seem to be no significant impact.
However, by coming together and openly boycotting on a say, specified day, it may create more awareness.
And I believe Shar mentioned this somewhere earlier about continuing on this specified day, say for instance, every Tuesday or so, and then we can see if the advertising on that particular day is starting to drop (I’m not sure how we are gonna do that though, gotta come up with a methodology to do so).
This can be used to gauge the impact of our hartal.
Apart from that, will the second part of Helen Ang’s piece will be posted sir?
krissnp
December 26, 2007
Reading newspapers is imperative to know the falsehood.
krissnp,
The idea is not to buy. You can keep in touch with the lies by reading the online vesion of the MSM.
Just don’t buy.
Devan N
December 26, 2007
Except for the Saturday and Sunday issues, I stopped buying the NST and Star about 6 years ago. Two months ago, I stopped even the Saturday and Sunday issues.
I am glad to see that many others are doing the same.
syabas. Now help to spread the word.
Jason
December 26, 2007
I’ve stopped buying The Star for years to save money and now I’m happy to know that not only I managed to save money, I’m also doing a good cause. I’ve been telling family and friends to stop buying MSM and will continue to do so.
krissnp
December 27, 2007
I have not met anybody so anti-newspaper.
krissnp,
I’m not anti-newspaper.
I’m against the lying newspapers
Jay
December 27, 2007
MSM = men who have sex with men (an acronym widely used in HIV literature)
Another acronym, maybe?
Helen Ang
December 28, 2007
Kean,
Glad you’re with us on this.
One point tho’. You said: “RM1.50 per copy X 1 million copy sold per day = RM1.5 million”.
To clarify, ‘circulation’ is the total number of newspaper copies distributed. They can be sold or given away free to institutions (e.g. The Star gives R.A.G.E to colleges).
‘Readership’ is an estimate of the total number of people who read the paper each day.
So while The Star may claim it has a readership of one million daily, it does not have this number circulation. Usually, it is estimated that 4 or 5 people read one copy of a newspaper (i.e. shared at home or in the office).
Since you mention Rwanda, here’s something I wrote in my mKini column last year titled ‘Un-peopling a land’ on how a newspaper can be used as an instrument of state to brainwash the public.
“State propaganda demonising Tutsi preceded the violence which erupted on April 6, 1994 when the presidential plane of President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down. As early as December 1990, the Hutu paper Kangura (‘Wake up!’) published its Ten Commandments of the Hutu.
Ten Commandments of the Hutu
1. Every Hutu should know that a Tutsi woman, wherever she is, works for the interests of her Tutsi ethnic group. As a result, we shall consider a traitor any Hutu who:
marries a Tutsi woman;
befriends a Tutsi woman;
employs a Tutsi woman as a secretary or concubine.
2. Every Hutu should know that our Hutu daughters are more suitable and conscientious in their role as woman, wife and mother of the family. Are they not beautiful, good secretaries and more honest?
3. Hutu women, be vigilant and try to bring your husbands, brothers and sons back to reason.
4. Every Hutu should know that every Tutsi is dishonest in business. His only aim is the supremacy of his ethnic group. As a result any Hutu who does the following is a traitor:
makes a partnership with a Tutsi in business;
invests his money or the government’s money in a Tutsi enterprise;
lends or borrows money from a Tutsi;
gives favours to a Tutsi in business (obtaining import licences, bank loans, construction sites, public markets …)
5. All strategic positions, political, administrative, economic, military and security should be entrusted to Hutu.
6. The education sector (school pupils, students, teachers) must be majority Hutu.
7. The Rwandese Armed Forces should be exclusively Hutu. The experience of the October [1990] war has taught us a lesson. No member of the military shall marry a Tutsi.
8. The Hutu should stop having mercy on the Tutsi.
9. The Hutu, wherever they are, must have unity and solidarity, and be concerned with the fate of their Hutu brothers.
The Hutu inside and outside Rwanda must constantly look for friends and allies for the Hutu cause, starting with their Bantu brothers;
They must constantly counteract the Tutsi propaganda;
The Hutu must be firm and vigilant against their common Tutsi enemy.
10. The Social Revolution of 1959, the Referendum of 1961, and the Hutu Ideology, must be taught to every Hutu at every level. Every Hutu must spread this ideology widely. Any Hutu who persecutes his brother Hutu for having read, spread and taught this ideology, is a traitor.
Reprinted and translated by human rights organisation African Rights, ‘Rwanda: Death, Despair and Defiance’ (New York: African Rights, 1995). Excerpt above from Samantha Power’s ‘A Problem from Hell – America and the Age of Genocide’ (London: Flamingo, 2002).”
We’re not anti-newspaper. The ‘Kangura’ which printed the Hutu 10 Commandments above was a disgrace to the concept of ‘news’-paper & so are our MSM.