Najib’s call to the media
“Tunku, you want Utusan to serve only Umno; it can no longer be the Malays’ voice. Slowly, people will understand. Even if they buy the newspaper, it will not be because they support you, but because they have no alternative.”
By The Nut Graph
“BUT to shape society’s knowledge, so that we are more intellectual, critical, and can think objectively, this is also the role of the press. You can’t report only stories that are sensational, hot or about conflicts only.” These were Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak‘s words during the 20 May 2010 groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Utusan Melayu (M) Ltd’s new headquarters. Najib also said, “[The] integrity of your reports is important, because there is no point if you constantly need to apologise for your news.”
Reporters from some other independent media outlets have characterised this as Najib “reprimanding” Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia, or “calling for change”. Najib seemed to be making a general assessment of the national media. But his remarks are certainly pertinent as president of the party that owns Utusan Malaysia, Utusan Melayu’s flagship publication.
But more importantly, is Najib serious about encouraging a more critical and responsible press? Since his party owns or controls several national news outfits, what concrete steps can he take to keep to his word? And what can journalists working within these organisations do to rise to Najib’s call?
Najib’s options with Utusan
Perhaps as the leader of Utusan‘s largest shareholder, Najib is worried about the decline in the paper’s circulation figures. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Utusan‘s circulation dropped from 213,445 in 2006 to 181,346 in 2009. Another Umno-controlled Malay daily, Berita Harian, also saw circulation drop from 203,704 in 2006 to 183,187 in 2009. This slide cannot be attributed to overall weak newspaper circulation. Other dailies have seen marked increases in circulation during the same period. These include Malay-language Kosmo and Harian Metro, Chinese-language Sin Chew Daily and China Press, and English-language theSun.
Said Zahari
More important, though, is the intensity of public opinion against Utusan‘s coverage, which critics see as Umno and/or Barisan Nasional (BN) propaganda. This analysis is at least five decades old. When then Umno president and Prime Minister of Malaya Tunku Abdul Rahman wanted to take over Utusan Melayu in 1961, its editor-in-chief, Said Zahari said:
“Tunku, you want Utusan to serve only Umno; it can no longer be the Malays’ voice. Slowly, people will understand. Even if they buy the newspaper, it will not be because they support you, but because they have no alternative.”
According to Said, Tunku replied, “No, no, we’ll make sure it won’t happen.” Singapore-born Said then led a historic strike at Utusan Melayu against this political interference, resulting in him being barred from entering Malaya. He marks this as the beginning of the “death of press freedom” in this land, and even told then New Straits Times editor-in-chief, Leslie Hoffman:
Will Najib reverse Tunku’s historic action against Utusan?
(public domain | Wiki Commons)
“Mark my words. Now that they are taking over Utusan, they are taking over our freedom to run a newspaper as genuine journalists, like you and I feel it should be. In the next few years, even the Straits Times will be taken over by them.”
The question to Najib then is, is he aware of this piece of history? As a self-proclaimed reformist, will Najib reverse Tunku’s historic action against Utusan? If yes, will he lead Umno’s divestment, or at least remove political control, from all the media companies it owns? Can he do it? Why would he, anyway?
