The Anwar Factor: Facts and Fibs
The Unspoken Truth
The ease of Internet access empowers news portals with the opportunity to present what they feel are important issues for their audience. Hence, while politically conscious Malaysians may feel the wind of change is against Barisan Nasional, many remain unaware that their political beliefs or perspectives have been largely shaped by agenda setting.
Research has shown how some news commentaries as portrayed by news media do not reflect reality – MSM filter what they want their audience to know and shape perspectives via their selective content.
Other times, deliberate media focus on a few issues or subjects can mislead the public to place greater emphasis on those ‘selected’ issues.
Undoubtedly, the media has a very pervasive role, especially on political communication.
Bernard Cohen (1963) noted, “The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.”
The situation is worsened if certain portals, local and foreign are owned by the same person/group as in the case of reporting on Anwar Ibrahim by The Malaysian Insider and The Edge Review.
Owned by Tong Kooi Ong, a long-time Anwar crony, The Edge Review’s recent “Hounding of Anwar Ibrahim takes a toll on Malaysia” which was heavily quoted by The Malaysian Insider (also owned by Tong Kooi Ong) in Jailing Anwar could hurt Najib more than it did Dr M.
Note that thirty TMI staff resigned following increasing differences between the TMI editorial team and its financiers on its editorial direction, especially during the run up to the May 5 General Election. (Read more HERE)
Using their platforms of media ownership, those sites took advantage of the aggregate impact of their pro-Anwar articles to offset a powerful impact on what readers thought of what other people are thinking by cleverly packaging 13 fibs in an anti-BN, anti- Najib tone. These (in italics) include:
1. Jailing Anwar could cost the BN more votes as Malaysians grow tired of the government’s treatment of the opposition leader after 16 years.
Objective reporting by responsible journalists would realize the final verdict has a disconnect with BN votes as GE 14 is many years away. Yet, the editor could not resist reinforcing the stereotype that BN is losing ground. In addition, the dailies refused to acknowledge the fair treatment the courts and government have given to Anwar but chose to make innuendoes about this.
Deliberately, they failed to disclose Anwar requested for almost 70 postponements of his trial. In addition, the dailies have not acknowledged how the government did not zero in on Anwar concerning his many negative comments about the government, with full realization of the delicate condition of political ambiance. The final sedition charge was presumably a decision made quite hesitatingly in a scenario of “Damn if we do, damn if we don’t” as DSAI had been such a loose cannon unleashing a torrent of damaging and negative statements and allegations.
2. His latest sodomy appeal taking place against the backdrop of an on-going blitz against opposition politicians and others critical of the establishment by using the colonial-era Sedition Act.
The above statement makes a weak and irrelevant connect between the trial and the other irresponsible statements of opposition politicians without acknowledging that if the ISA was not been repealed, things might have been better contained with fewer loose cannons in the country. The dailies refused to acknowledge how there is so much media freedom in this country as many go on a rampage in social media with comments and even art work without being hauled up to face the music of their irresponsible acts.
