Utusan Malaysia, one the country's leading Malay language dailies, have found it fit to publish an opinion piece that clearly seeks to inflame ethnic tensions and pit the majority Malays against non-Malays :
Sebaik sahaja selesai pilihan raya 8 Mac lalu, ramai pengundi yang memprotes menghela nafas panjang dan mengurut dada. Mereka kini menyesal. Baru mereka sedar betapa hebatnya kuasa undi protes mereka. Mereka kini tahu bahawa satu undi kepada Pas dan PKR akan membolehkan ahli-ahli politik DAP menguasai kerajaan negeri dan negara.I really ought not be surprised considering that up to 50% of Utusan's shareholdings are allegedly held by Umno and her proxies.Mereka kini ada contoh jelas bagaimana kuasa UMNO dan Melayu jatuh. Muncul di depan mata mereka pengalaman orang Melayu hampir-hampir hilang kuasa, pemimpin Melayu terpaksa menjadi boneka dan bagaimana ayat al-Quran digunakan dalam kempen oleh sesetengah pihak tetapi bila memperoleh kuasa ia dilupakan untuk membantu menaikkan politik cauvinis Cina di Pulau Pinang, Perak, Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor.
Perhaps that is why Anwar Ibrahim has accused the government for stoking racial tensions.
One has to wonder why the Barisan Nasional administration is still unable to get to the core problem and improve on their delivery and has to continue depending on neanderthal methods while risking the Security, Peace and Prosperity of the nation (so much for their 2008 Election manifesto).
And where is the integrity and credibility of the Malay language mass media? Has it really gone so far down since the pre-Utusan strike days of 1961?
On the note of caution, the alternative parties need to also be very careful with their rhetoric. With the mainstream media; whether print or broadcast; still controlled comfortably by Barisan Nasional proxies, every word they say will be scrutinised carefully in search of a loophole. Don't be misled that we have counteracted the propaganda war via the Internet alone. It took helluva lot more and the upset only succeeded due to the timely convergence of the various factors. In other words, we just got lucky.
The same institutional deficiencies continue to exist and will continue to be used against those who seek to bring about a new Malaysia for our future generations. Careful strategising still needs to be done on the political front and this task is made even more difficult now as we are thrust with the burden of administration and governing 5 states in the Federation.
So while its true that our fellow Malaysians have allowed us to lead in taking the first step forward, the obstacles remain as dangerous as before. Any complacency now will be deadly.
If you liked this post, consider buying me some coffee. Suggested price is $1.00 for a cup and $10.00 for a 1 lbs bag (personally I am a big fan of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe).
Categories: 12th General Elections
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Comments (5)
menj said:
Not a surprise from Utusan Meloya for spouting such filth. Whether the Barisan Rakyat wins big or not, they will play the same race card over and over again ad nauseam.
- MENJ
Posted on March 16, 2008 5:40 PM
myop101 said:
i don't get it. why do these MSMs intend on destroying the very fabric of our society? it is as though by voting for UMNO things will get better. the reality is, they have been given such a huge mandate in 2004 to carry out the reforms but they didn't.
who is to be blamed then?
Posted on March 17, 2008 12:46 PM
Nick Chan Abdullah said:
It would be interesting to do a survey, to know the percentage of Utusan readers who believe 100% Utusan articles
But one thing I know for sure, ask any soldiers, almost all of them thinks May 13 incident is a good punishment for the Chinese. I wonder if it is in their curriculum
Posted on March 17, 2008 6:08 PM
cherry tree said:
i have to monitor the malay news on my job and it's been tough having to put up with Utusan (it's bad anyway but worse the last 2 weeks). i agree with you how irresponsible Utusan is behaving. the commentaries are so racist that if this were somewhere in Europe, Utusan would be prosecuted.
i dont understand why Utusan is actively promoting hatred and fuelling the Malays' insecurity. it is also an insult to the Malays how the MSM makes them seem helpless without the NEP and handouts.
Posted on March 21, 2008 11:53 AM
Bob K said:
Well .. at least the regressive elements in our society are now clearly identified.
Posted on March 21, 2008 3:39 PM