Former NST Editor Asks Malaysian Journalists, 'Where Are We To Hide Our Shamed Souls Now?'

• Social media in Malaysia is buzzing with the news about the US Government's action against 1MDB. Mainstream media, however, chose to not run the story in their print versions, despite reporting about it on their web portals, Free Malaysia Today reported.
  

  • A check by FMT revealed that all Bahasa Malaysia (BM) and English mainstream dailies did not report on the matter, despite a foreign news wire sending out the report before 8pm last night.
    
    Umno-owned New Straits Times front-paged a story on vaccination while MCA’s The Star, and The Malay Mail chose to go with a story on the possible snap elections in Penang, as did BM daily, Utusan Malaysia.
    
    The only daily which reported the news was the vernacular publication, China Press.
    freemalaysiatoday.com

• Mustapha Kamil, the former group editor of the New Straits Times (NST) who quit his job at the newspaper in April after working there for over 25 years, wrote on his Facebook profile how the editors at mainstream Malaysian media "have missed a very big story"
  

  • The former NST editor, while speaking to the WSJ, had said that Najib cracked down on Free Speech to limit 1MDB fallout and has an "authoritarian" stand toward media.
    
    Mustapha, in his Facebook post earlier today, while addressing "all mainstream media editors, especially those who for the past couple of years have unashamedly called their international counterparts 'liars'," wrote how the International media have "scooped" the Malaysian mainstream editors right under their noses.
    
    He asked them, albeit mockingly, as to how are they going to face their reporters, their advertisers and ultimately the public? "Who is lying now?," he poked.
    

    says.com

• Mustapha, who has claimed that before 1MDB, there was more freedom for media to do their job, in a separate post on his Facebook profile, asked his former colleagues in the mainstream media as to "where are we to hide our shamed souls now?"
  

  • Explaining the reason behind using 'we', Mustapha writes, "because I feel ashamed of myself too as for a long 28 years, like you, I failed to play my role as the public's watchdog." A journalist’s responsibility is "first to the truth," he had said in past.
    
    He attributes his failure to play his role as the reason for leaving his job, adding "I take no pride in leaving the profession but I wasn't strong enough to go against the tide."
    

    says.com

• In his post, which has been shared by LGE and Global Bersih pages, Mustapha says that while Malaysian journalists knew what has been laid bare by the US DOJ for the world to see, they said nothing.
  
  

  

  Noting that his time is over, he made an impassioned plea to all those still in the profession to "turn back and put journalism in order", adding that they "owe that to the society you serve"
  

  "Journalism is not about rubbing shoulders with the powerful, being driven around by a driver and with a few honorific titles to show. It is about how we help society master their world by helping them make the best decisions on matters that affects their lives. Lying and the suppression of the truth is not journalism." - Mustapha Kamil.
  

UTUSAN MALAYSIA CONTINUES TO LOSE MONEY IN 1st Qtr 2015 at RM 19.97 MILLION.

A VERNACULAR NEWSPRINT CLAIMING TO BE A "NEWS" PAPER, BUT BEHAVING MORE LIKE A DAILY MEDIA PROPAGANDA TOOL OF THE RULING PARTY now challenged by the ever popular social media and internet-based news portals disputing many of the rubbish it publishes, will continue to hemorrhage financially even more. 

The Star is definitely beyond redemption

The Star must have taken Malaysians for fools when they reported on the statement made by the White House with regard to the GE13.  Now, let' see.  This is what The Star reported ...

The Office of the White House Press Secretary congratulated Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on his general election victory, saying it looked forward to continuing the close cooperation with the Malaysian government and its people to strengthen democracy, peace and prosperity in the region.

"On behalf of the President and the people of the United States, we congratulate Prime Minister Najib on his coalition's victory in Malaysia's parliamentary elections on May 5," a statement from the US Embassy here said.

The general election saw Barisan Nasional returned to power after winning 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats to form the new federal government.

"We also congratulate the people of Malaysia who turned out in record numbers to cast their votes as well as the parties of the opposition coalition on their campaigns as a vibrant opposition is a foundation of democracy," the statement said.

Check the link here.

And this is the press statement made by the White House ...

On behalf of the President and the people of the United States, we congratulate Prime Minister Najib on his coalition’s victory in Malaysia’s parliamentary elections on Sunday May 5.  We also congratulate the people of Malaysia, who turned out in record numbers to cast their votes, as well as the parties of the opposition coalition on their campaigns, as a vibrant opposition is a foundation of democracy.  We note concerns regarding reported irregularities in the conduct of the election, and believe it is important that Malaysian authorities address concerns that have been raised.  We look forward to the outcome of their investigations.  The United States looks forward to continuing its close cooperation with the government and the people of Malaysia to continue to strengthen democracy, peace, and prosperity in the region.

Check the link here.

Hatta Wahari, the brave journalist

This is Hatta Wahari, senior jounalist for Utusan and President of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). He was unceremoniously removed from his job after he spoke out about the journalistic ethics practised by his employer. A domestic inquiry was scheduled but did not take place due to certain arrangements stipulated by Hatta for the hearing and in which the management was not in agreement.

Hatta is now camping outside his office as a protest of his indefinite suspension from his job.

All Malaysians should applaud the courage of this man for taking on the might of Utusan, and I believe that all Malaysians would like to wish him well and support him in whatever ways possible, including his proposed nasi lemak stall to keep him financially going.

This reminds me of a quote made by the late Sir Winston Churchill during the battle for Britain with Nazi Germany, "NEVER IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN CONFLICT, HAVE SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW". Here, the truth rings.


The spoken quote appears at 3:06.

And Hatta, this song is for you.