Alternative media running amok for no rhyme or reason

by Joe Fernandez

COMMENT It's not surprising that malaysiakini has incurred the renewed displeasure of Umno Government supporters in the wake of GE13 on 505. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/231538, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/231652

Aug 2010, to the best of my recollection, is the month malaysiakini did an about turn in its "making a difference for the better" editorial policy and began emulating the racist Malay media like Utusan Malaysia to degenerate into mindless rhetoric and polemics, often downright news manufacturing under the guise of straight news reporting, instead of contributing in a healthy manner like before to the debate. Janji Di Capati!

Going back and forth between trouble-creators, instigating or provoking them in the process, is not journalism. Journalism is following the news as it happens, not making things up. Why canai or goreng stories, adding sambal and belacan? We have better things to do in this country than indulge in endless politicking.

An example is shameless Anwar Ibrahim apologist Terence Netto writing a story alleging that Hindraf Makkal Sakthi chairman and Deputy Minister-designate P. Waythamoorthy was maintaining an ominous silence on the death of a Dharmendran in police custody.  http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/231260

The May 27 story, complete with quotes in Netto's highly indisciplined language, but attributed to Opposition MP Kulasegaran, was obviously an attempt to blacken Waytha's image as much as possible. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) still seems to be smarting from the Hindraf leader's move to sign a non-political Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Barisan Nasional (BN) on the eve of 505.  http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/231592

In fact, Waytha did issue a stern statement on the incident on May 23 i.e. before the so-called Kula story. It was carried in Free Malaysia Today whose senior journalists were once with malaysiakini before they were hounded out of existence one by one. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/05/23/lame-excuses-from-the-cops/

Hindraf has an important role to play in Barisan Nazional, for want of a better term, re-inventing itself and re-emerging as Barisan Nasional through every component party in the coalition opening its doors to all races.

Hindraf activists, for example, could join Umno if they are interested in politics and strive to change the racist party from within to accept that there must be no deviations and distortions in the implementation of Articles 153 and 3 of the Federal Constitution and the New Economic Policy, among others.

Needless to say the onus is on Hindraf, as 3rd Force allies of Sabah and Sarawak, to ensure that the parti parti Malaya keep out of Sabah and Sarawak in line with the Malaysia Agreement.

The most dangerous trend in malaysiakini is to hype up the rhetoric and polemics on a particular issue for no rhyme or reason until things reach an explosive point.

A case in point is an ex-Judge citing the Federal Constitution to state that government schools must be in the Malay medium. What the Judge seemed to be suggesting was that the Government stop financing Tamil and Chinese schools. Of course, the Judge could have better articulated his presentation.

malaysiakini mindlessly went to town with the ex-Judge's remarks just as they did before GE13 with remarks by Mahathir, Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa and Zulkifli Noordin. The more the trio opened their mouths under malaysiakini's insatiable hunger for rhetoric and polemics, the worse for the BN if not Umno in Malaya.

Again, rhetoric and polemics is what malaysiakini is all about.

Good bullshit we can understand. At least, if for nothing else, it's entertaining.

But malaysiakini is just plain bad bullshit and it's getting to be more than boring and certainly dangerous.

They seem to begrudge giving even a little space to Sabah and Sarawak -- even for carrying Kaamatan and Gawai Dayak greetings on May 30/31 and June 1/2 respectively --  although these two nations will decide the future of politics in Malaysia. Witness the fact that PR obtained 80 parliamentary seats in Malaya and nine in Borneo, and BN obtained 85 parliamentary seats in Malaya and 48 in Borneo.

I can speak with some authority on the subject. I used to be the Sabah correspondent for malaysiakini from 2008. This was despite myself telling them in 2000 that they were not functioning like how an alternative media should, apparently toeing the dictates of its then known foreign backers and investors, and ticking them off for exploiting Indian journalists as cheap labour.

While it lasted, I seemed to have a carte blanc to publish anything in malaysiakini and Sabah and Sarawak got some space. Anything I contributed was uploaded within minutes. Of course, these were all initially non-political stories.

But it was not until Jan 2011 that I received an email from Editor in Chief Steven Gan laying out the new "more exciting" editorial policy.

Subsequently, malaysiakini first banned me from writing on PKR, next Dap, then Sapp, and thereafter on Jeffrey Kitingan and Hindraf Makkal Sakthi. I was banned from writing about Hindraf after P. Uthayakumar accused malaysiakini and Steven of being racists for not highlighting Indian issues especially deaths in police custody.

malaysiakini's agenda was clear: no adverse reporting on Pakatan Rakyat and no space to be given to any movement from Sabah and Sarawak towards a 3rd Force in the Malaysian Parliament or any alliance between Hindraf and Sabah, Sarawak activists. All that was deemed to be counterproductive for PR.

Finally, they placed a moratorium – whatever it means -- on my political stories for malaysiakini. I was not in the mood to go back immediately to writing non-political stories although I began with malaysiakini as a non-political writer. The political situation was building up towards 505.

malaysiakini, the last I know, also did not pay a lawyer who defended it and me in Sabah on a defamation case. The malaysiakini lawyer has only collected RM 1, 000 so far.

I prepared the entire case myself under the oversight of the lawyer who appeared in court for us and worked out an out-of-court settlement with the concurrence of malaysiakini. The lawyer decided that I could present the case better. He stuck to authorities i.e. looking for the law and pointing it out to the Court and citing decided cases for principles.

I advised the lawyer, on behalf of malaysiakini, to file contempt of court charges against the other side and the Court, as a result, struck out the case without a hearing. malaysiakini was upset over the contempt of court filing and took the view that I had “exceeded” the bounds of my authority.

It seems that as in the Taib case, they rather cringe, crawl and grovel sadistically before the other side and apologise profusely in the local media and malaysiakini.

I was hoping that sanity would return to malaysiakini after GE13. No such luck since the politicking in the country continues and provides even more cannon fodder for malaysiakini. Even so, it did publish my pieces earlier this year on the Royal Commission of Inquiry in Sabah and other issues.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/219442, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/219964, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/220024, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/222048, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/222853,

We don't need an online version of the mainstream media from the Opposition angle.

The rot in malaysiakini began when Pakatan Rakyat leaders, especially one who thinks that he's god's gift to politics -- not Anwar Ibrahim -- began influencing the online news portal's editorial policy in the wake of Jeffrey's departure from PKR.

There's public suspicion that many malaysiakini reporters are on the take. Such perceptions, in any case, go with the job.

In line with the new editorial policy, a "racist" editor in malaysiakini allegedly began getting rid of the online news portal's Indian journalists. Perhaps they could now afford to pay more and no longer wanted cheap labour. They cannot afford to be stingy with non-Indians and get away with it. Those victimised, exploited for so long as cheap labour, have their own stories to tell.

Now, there appears to be moves afoot within the Najib Administration to act against malaysiakini.

If the Government can succeed with this move, the country can avoid the prospect of the people, especially the Malays, turning against each other. This is no exaggeration.

If any action is taken against malaysiakini over its editorial policy and direction, similar action must be taken against Utusan Malaysia.

However, while Utusan Malaysia has been a miserable failure in that the Malays are turning against it, malaysiakini has succeeded, and that's another reason to incur the wrath of Umno and the racist Malay media.

FMT, known to be run by moneybags who claim links with Daim Zainuddin, is no better. They wanted me to whack the shit out of PR.

malaysia chronicle is under the direction of the Chinese in Parti Keadilan Rakyat. They once rewrote a Jeffrey Kitingan piece that I did for them at their request. Black came out as white and white came out as black. The greys were removed. That was the first and last Jeffrey piece I did for them. They wanted me to whack the shit out of BN and the Kitingans. Obviously, they think that Sabah is their grandfather's property!

Malaysia Today, financed by moneybags linked to Umno warlords, is into post-GE13 bullshit to disorient and confuse non-Malay politics.

It must reckon that all Chinese are stupid. The Chinese can buy MT at a loss and sell it at a profit.

In a bizarre post-505 claim recently, MT said that Umno, BN and the Malays were light years ahead of the Indians and Chinese in politics. I suppose MT couldn't resist exposing its stupidity in this manner. Sometimes, one can be one's own worst enemy.

MT removed my login recently, insist that my comments be first screened by their so-called administrators, and no longer use my articles and now, it seems, my comments as well are no longed published. Others seem to have a licence to post their comments, unmoderated, complete with vulgarities.

This was after I posted an unmoderated comment identifying the moneybags who financed their so-called study on the ground conducted a year before GE13.

Daim Zainuddin's forecast of the GE13, indeed so-called prophecy, was based on the outcome of a year-long study.

I told Malaysia Today in my comment that I forecast the GE13 results, the cheating excluded, without being financed by any moneybag. The only error I made was that PKR, on the wave of a two-party/coalition system, collected the seats in Sabah which I had expected to fall to Star.

Daim’s concern, behind the MT hype, is understandable. The corporate sector has been contributing heavily to the Umno/BN coffers for GE purposes. The Opposition is making every GE an increasingly expensive outing for Umno/BN. Henceforth, the corporate sector would probably refuse to contribute even a sen to the ruling coalition. Umno is already in big trouble financially because of GE13.

MT doesn’t want to hear that Umno/BN is also in trouble on two other fronts: (1) the veterans and young Malaysians, especially Malays, who find themselves left out as candidates by a small clique in the ruling coalition are flocking to the Opposition; and (2) fewer and fewer Malays are registering themselves as voters and even when they do, they don’t turn up to vote because they see it as an exercise in futility.

Raja Petra Kamaruddin no longer seems to be in control of MT. He didn't seem to mind publishing things that he didn't agree with.

Other online news portals and Blogs are linked to various political parties on both sides of the political divide.

Their common enemy is the emergence of a Borneo-based 3rd Force in the Malaysian Parliament. Why should the people of Borneo be held to ransom by a struggle for power in Malaya?

No alternative media is truly free, fair and independent.

In that sense, they are no better than the mainstream media.

Again, while the mainstream media has been an appalling failure in recent years, the alternative media has had some dubious success to the alarm of Umno.

Ex-engineer dies in police custody

The victim, who was about to be bailed out tomorrow, died suddenly last night at the Tampin district police headquarters.
UPDATED

SEREMBAN: A 42-year-old former engineer has suddenly died while in police custody in Tampin last night.

The family of P Karuna Nithi from Gemencheh, Tampin, was informed by a police personnel at about 9.45pm last night that he has died suddenly in Tampin district police headquarters.

His body has been sent to Hospital Tuanku Jaafar (Seremban General Hospital) last night for post mortem, the outcome of which will be known later today. Negeri Sembilan police chief Osman Salleh is expected to hold a press conference on this matter later today.

According to Karuna’s brother Elam, the former was arrested on May 29 following a misunderstanding with his wife. Karuna and his wife have two children, aged 13 and 15.

He was then remanded for three day before being charged at the Tampin magistrate’s court on May 31.

“He claimed trial and was allowed bail of RM4,000. The family was unable to raise the money immediately, so he was taken back to be remanded at the Tampin district police headquarters,” Elam told FMT.

“We were supposed to pay the bail amount tomorrow (Monday) morning to secure his release but last night we received a call about his sudden death,” he said.

The family does not know the cause of Karuna’s death yet.

However they claimed that they found blood at the back of Karuna’s head and that there were marks on his left arm.

Former Kapar MP S Manikavasagam is with the family to offer support.

Breach of procedure?

On related matter, Negeri Sembilan MIC chief S Rajagopalu questioned as to why Karuna was sent back to be remanded at the Tampin district police headquarters when he should have been sent to prison pending the payment of bail money.

“The procedure is that the police should have sent Karuna to a prison, not police lock up, while awaiting his family to raise bail money. So who’s negligence is this, the court or the police?” asked Rajagopalu.

He added that the deceased’s brother, P Tamilanban, Gedduk MIC branch leader, was mulling legal action against the police on the matter.

Rajagopalu later urged the government to set up a royal commission of inquiry to investigate all death in custody cases as it was becoming increasingly rampant.

“It’s also time for the government to establish the IPCMC as well,” he said.

Karuna’s sudden death while in police custody comes just weeks after two other cases which had reignited calls for the setting up of the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission to monitor the police.

R Jamesh Ramesh, 40, was found dead in a police lock up at the Penang police headquarters on May 26, after being detained for a drug offence.

Prior to Jamesh’s death, the nation was rocked by the death of N Dhamendran, 32, at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters on May 21.

In response, the police has set up a special committee headed by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar to curb incidents involving deaths in police lock ups.

Karuna is third death-in-custody victim in 11 days

Engineer P Karuna Nithi has become the third person to die in police custody in less than two weeks. The family was informed of his death in Tampin last night.

Karuna's family was informed by telephone at 9.45pm yesterday that he had "suddenly died" about 7pm at the Tampin district police headquarters, former Kapar MP S Manivasagam said today.

Manivasagam, who accompanied the family to Hospital Tuanku Jaafar in Seremban this morning, said the family found injuries on Karuna's body.

"Only two persons were allowed to see the body. I was not allowed as I am not a family member, so I told the family to check the body.

"The family was not allowed to move the body but there was blood on the tray where the body was placed," Manivasagam (left) told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Karuna's brother P Ilam said when contacted that he saw bruises on Karuna's arms and blood on his head.

"He was bleeding from the back of his head and there were bruises on his left and right arms.

"The doctor said something may have happened to him in the lock-up but we are not sure what," he said.

Close to 1pm today, Manivasagam said the post-mortem was still going on and the family would claim the body later today.

"The family will take the body for special prayers tomorrow, outside the police station where Karuna was killed," he said, adding that they will also lodge a police report.

According to Manivasagam, Karuna had gone to see his estranged wife about their two children and an a scuffle took place.

Karuna later went to lodge a police report on the incident, but was instead arrested by police and remanded for three days.

He was on May 31 charged in the magistrate's court in Tampin with "causing hurt".

"At that time, the family members were there and they said he was in good health when in court," said Manivasagam.

Karuna was to be out on bail tomorrow

Karuna was granted bail at RM4,000 but was unable to immediately raise the sum.

The family had plan to post bail on Monday but were instead informed of his death last night.

"I call Home Minister Zahid Hamidi to take immediate action. Karuna was a well-educated person, an engineer who had no previous criminal record. It was just a small family dispute.

"Don't let this be another Dhamendran case where those responsible were put on desk duty.

"This is double-standard. When police commit murder they get desk duty but when anybody else is accused of this, they get charged," said Manivasagam.

Jobless man R Jamesh Ramesh, 40, was found dead in a police station lock-up in Penang on May 26. Police said he died of liver failure.

On May 21, N Dhamendran, 31, was found dead after being remanded at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters. Police said he died of breathing difficulties.

However, the case was classified as murder after a post-mortem found the body to have been tortured.

The full autopsy report released yesterday revealed Dhamendran suffered 52 injuries, ranging from his body parts being stapled, rattan-like marks throughout his body and even an incomplete number "8" mark on his hip.