This does not happen in any other part of the world except in UMNO’s One Malaysia.
Even the disproportionately large members of Indian reporters and journalists in the print and electronic media and the alternative media who are supposed to be able to better relate to Indian problems hardly made and makes any difference as it is not in their “tuan” and “towkay’s” agenda to report the critical Indian problems on a needs basis and based on the gravity and severity of the violations of human rights. Almost all these Indian reporters like most of the elite Indians either are “shy” to report the state’s racism against the Indians or become very conscious so as not to in turn be labeled as racist themselves. They suffer from minority complex syndrome or inferiority complex and end up pretending that the critical level of racism against the Indians that has degenerated them into the critical Indian problems does not exist.Somehow in the 1990’s the internet reporting developed and there were great expectations of the critical Indian problems getting coverage at least on a needs basis if not a larger coverage so as to undo the injustices done to this Indian community.
But alas even the frontline alternative internet newsportal Malaysiakini.com got carried away by the UMNO race based mainstream media based and not critical issue based reporting and ably followed by Malaysia Today, Malaysian Insider, almost all bloggers etc.
For example when Teoh Beng Hock was killed, in Malaysiakini.com there were 10 postings and continuing right up to date, 21 postings on the day a church got burnt down in P.J and a couple of postings in a day from day one right up to date on Aminulrasyid being shot dead by the police case.
But on the same day of Teoh Beng Hock’s killing, one P.Gunasegaran was also killed at the Sentul police station. But there was zero coverage for poor P.Gunasegaan by all the print and electronic media and the supposedly alternative media including Malaysiakini.com just because P.Gunasegaran’s ethnicity happens to ethnic minority Indian. This is just the tip of the iceberg of race based news reporting even by the alternative media in Malaysia.
But why does media reporting in Malaysia has to be so race biased? Why can’t it be on needs based or based on the gravity or severity of the violations of human rights? Why is it that it is only in Malaysia that when victims of injustices are the Indians, it becomes “not pressworthy” just because it does not appeal to the majoritarian Malays, Chinese or natives or draws no or very little political mileage. Why has journalism in Malaysia evolved and stooped so low to become so race based to this disgraceful levels?
A cursory read of the real and critical Indian problems in Malaysia which is focused in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com will be telling enough. But we estimate that only between 0.1% to 1% of these are reported by both the mainstream and also in the alternative media.
Unfortunately the power of even the alternative media in Malaysia has not been used to fight 53 years of UMNOs’ racism vis a vis the alarming extent of racism meted out on the Indians.
The latest of such race based reporting is the NST and Star headlines. UMNO PM Najib tells police ‘Do not cover up. Public wants transparent inquiry into boy’s shooting.’ (NST headlines 3/5/10). But there has been zero such directive and media attention ever in the history of Malaysia when the victims are Indians.
“PM: No cover- up. Truth will be told in shooting of teen, says Najib” (The Star headlines 3/5/10). This is UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia directive to Polis Raja Di Malaysia. Similarly this is the multi-racial preaching by New Straits Times and The Star who rightly carried this news in their headlines and front page for the fourth day running.
But there is no history of this kind of attention and news headlines and front page media coverage when the victim is an Indian. Hundreds of Indians have been shot dead by the police and killed in police lockups. But this UMNO Prime Minister who claims to be “Prime Minister for all Malaysians” has never given such a directive when the victim is an Indian.
Similarly the top leaders of PKR, DAP and PAS and their 78 MPs including their 11 Indian mandore MPs would not speak up when the victims are the Indians. Yet claim they are for all races! Their actions indicate this is an oft repeated lie.
The latest example is the shooting to death, execution style, of two brothers in Taiping just last month and when there were even eye witnesses who saw plain cloths policemen murdering them in cold blood. But there was almost pin drop silence by UMNO, PKR, DAP, PAS and NGO’s, the print and electronic media including “our” Malaysiakini.com, the frontline alternative media but which excludes the Indians.
Thus the police shooting spree and killing of Indians in police lock ups and the other UMNO atrocities against the Indians continues with impunity and with no or very little check and balance by especially the alternative media. When we raise this race based injustices and cry against racism, we in turn are accused of being racist, or accused of raising Indian issues only. What a shrewd way to sidestep the real problems!
While UMNO and their police are guilty by commission, PKR, DAP, PAS, the NGOs and especially the alternative media including Malaysiakini.com are guilty by omission.
This level of racism by all sides does not happen in any other part of world except in UMNO’s One Malay-sia.
In fact in the western civil society, the majority will bend backwords to protect the minority, as the majority community will automatically be taken care of. But in Malaysia it is the other way round, ie., the majority and the Indian elite would bend backwords to champion only the majority community! What disgraceful people! This way they get to play to the majoritarian political gallery. Never mind the cold blooded murder of the Indians!
And so the state sponsored and race based atrocities against the Indians continues on a day to day basis. “Wither” freedom of the press in Malaysia!
P.Uthayakumar
