Removal of Jamal a.k.a. Jiama of 988FM is Another Black Eye for Press Freedom in Malaysia
The removal of Jamaluddin Ibrahim – a host of the Chinese radio station 988’s popular Hello Malaysia programme – for allegedly offending the authorities with his remarks on sensitive racial issues is another black eye for press freedom in Malaysia.
I would like to urge all of you to PROTEST the action taken against Jamal. I heard both Qiu Yue and Joe Liaw will be taken off over the next few days too.
By Khoo Kay Peng
The removal of Jamaluddin Ibrahim – a host of the Chinese radio station 988’s popular Hello Malaysia programme – for allegedly offending the authorities with his remarks on sensitive racial issues is another black eye for press freedom in Malaysia.
PM Najib’s administration is again showing its insecurity and intolerance over dissent and discussion over political, social and governance issues. Unfortunately, the MCMC and the Home Ministry had practiced double standards when parties such as Perkasa and Utusan Melayu had manufactured more racial hatred, lies and hostility.
Jamaluddin told Malaysiakini that the management told him that he had been taken off the air indefinitely from today.
According to him the management received a letter from MCMC yesterday.
The letter named him, saying that the programme is suspected of “threatening national security” and “compromising race relationships”.
I had known Jamal for a couple of months and might even use him for a movie my company is jointly producing with a Beijing production house and the famed Beijing Film Academy. Jamal had consistently stayed away from any political related events and tried to stay neutral. He has persistently promoted multiracialism and a truly multiracial political model.
Although a Malay by ethnicity, Jamal is truly reflective of 1Malaysia. He studied in Beijing and took the interest to learn about another culture. His educational background did not make him less Malay unlike a particular Chinese Muslim academician who had forgotten his racial roots.
I had a pleasure to join him twice on his radio programme despite my lack of Mandarin proficiency. He assured me that language is only a medium of communication and took the pain to translate and explain to the listeners my comments.
If his programme is deemed a threat to national security, those cow head protesters, Ibrahim Ali, Ahmad Ismail and other Perkasa members should be locked up in high security prison for life.
