Share |

Saturday 17 October 2009

LGE's Legacy by Megat Jittendran

Dear Friends,

It’s so easy to undermine the credibility of laymen, politicians, villagers, journalists or media organisations.

Ask DAP cyber troopers. They have the skills, organisation and knowledge on how to do it.

Currently these cyber troopers are operating from Levels 28 and 52 of Komtar, which houses the Chief Minister Kapitan Lim Guan Eng and his side-kick Indian chief mandore DCM 2 P Ramasamy.

What they do?

They monitor the mainstream media and cyber space daily without fail on any stories deemed critical against the pro-capitalist Kapitan Lim’s government.

Once they spot one, hell will break loose in the cyber space.

Like a tiger leaping over its prey, they will pounce immediately on such article, story, comment or whatever.

Their family motto is ‘defend Kapitan’s government at all cost.’

When they sense that they could not defend Kapitan’s iron fist rule with correct facts, they spin the issue raised with lies, misinformation, misrepresenting facts, smearing campaigns, character assassination and underhand tactics.

Their easy targets in their blog spots and comments would be the interviewer and interviewee.

For instance, if Hindraf were to criticise Kapitan for misreading, mishandling and mismanaging the High Chaparral fiasco, the cyber troopers would first attempt to defend their boss with facts.

When they realise that they were bankrupt of ideas leaving Kapitan open helplessly for substantiated attacks, they would resort to dirty tactics to snipe at Hindraf and its leaders.

They would carry out smearing campaigns to undermine Hindraf with lies, misrepresentation of facts and misinformation.

They will raise irrelevant issues to attack Hindraf.

They also hit journalists hard by undermining the interviewer credibility raising unscrupulous and unsubstantiated allegations of biasness, irresponsibility and having hidden agenda.

But the journalist produces a story favouring Kapitan Lim, he or she would not be attacked at all.

How come the journalist escaped criticisms from DAP cyber troopers this time?

One automatically retains his or her credibility if one were to write something favourable to the Kapitan.

Kapitan Lim and co also use their cyber troopers to lodge malicious unsubstantiated complaints to editors on journalists perceived as hostile to his government.

The complaints would be lodged by his cyber troopers either using official capacity or fake names.

But the strangest part is certain editors are influenced by these poison pen complainants and put truthful and hardworking journalists under unnecessary pressure to avert these ‘flying’ complaints.

If the cyber troopers have the balls, they should have exposed their true identity, such as their real name, IC no, corresponding address and contact numbers.

Media bosses, who entertained such complaints, should first demand this transparency from the complainants, who cowardly hide behind a false identity.

Only then the affected journalists can defend themselves legally.

Otherwise, journalists have every right to decline clarifications on issues raised in the poison pen letters posted by certain anonymous characters.

Who are these Kapitan troopers anyway?

Don’t be shocked if these troopers include even elected representatives.

Prior to the last general election, DAP party leaders, including Kapitan Lim himself, comprised these troopers.
But now since DAP has financial capacity and political cloud, Kapitan’s government can easily hires full time cyber troopers, under the guise of personal aides, to do the dirty job for him.

These cyber troopers may well include elected representatives, special assistants and political secretaries to state executive councilors.
So be cautious when talking to these aides the next time.

They may well be checking on you to snipe in cyber.

Kapitan Lim had also adopted another tactic of divide and rule.

He tells something to the Chinese press to maintain the Chinese support to his government, while telling something else on the same subject in other media channels.

He does not care about other communities’ support so long the Chinese blind support is with him.

He spins, lies and spread false stories to portray himself as champion of the poor, the marginalised, needy and all communities.

But truth is, although he represents a party advocating socialism, Kapitan Lim heavily champions the capitalists cause.

If a professional journalist were to highlight this, he or she would be crucified in the cyber space by the Kapitan troopers.

Kapitan Lim also imposes unofficial bans on certain journalists and media groups from his functions and press conferences by not releasing any statements or invitations to them.

This understandably prevents the journalists or media groups from writing his side of stories on any subject.

Through this underhand tactics, he prepares ammunition for the Kapitan troopers to fire at certain journalists and media groups of being bias and having hidden agendas.

This tactics are also extended and expanded to other people, such as individual activists, human rights organisations, politicians, political parties and businessmen.

One has go down the memory lane to recall and review on how the former DCM 1 Fairus Khairuddin was ousted from his office.

Of late, Kapitan has stopped having press conferences to avoid media scrutiny over his mismanagement and misrule when he finally realised that his honeymoon with journalists was over, especially after the Kampung Buah Pala debacle.

Even the once Kapitan-friendly Chinese journalists have begun to question his acts and deeds.

Prior to this, he was holding at least three press conferences daily to highlight even petty issues.

His press conferences was so regular that he earned the nickname ‘PC King’ within months assuming the top executive position of Penang government.

Even a DAP legislator once lamented that the Kapitan was living in a myth that he could run his state government through press conferences.

Compared with his three predecessors, Kapitan Lim holds the world record for having highest number of press conferences within a short period of time.

Kapitan’s version of press freedom is freedom for his troopers to blast at full force against anyone perceived critical against his autocratic style of governance.

But little did he realise that what goes by comes by as well.

If the people can vote him in, they will also vote him out one day.

Either Kapitan is arrogantly stupid or stupidly arrogant for not realising this reality.

Remember no Penang Chief Minister has ever left office undefeated.

Even the once mighty Lim Chong Eu bite the dust finally, ironically in the hands of Guan Eng father – Lim Kit Siang.

One has serious doubts that Kapitan Lim would be exemption to this rule especially when realising that he had made more enemies among journalists and media groups than any of his predecessors in such a short period of time.

If the Chinese blind support to him comes to an abrupt end, Kapitan Lim could just be a one term wonder.

Megat Jittendran

No comments: