Why The Malaysian Insider has Lost Credibility

The sarcasm means you risk antagonizing those who might possibly disagree and fuelling those who are already crossed with the national leadership. The resultant angry public is least likely to search for both sides of the argument, detrimental for Malaysia’s intellectual maturity. 

Shamil Norshidi, President of Kelab UMNO US East Coast, in collaboration with Tai Zee Kin, a political observer.

“Our job is only to hold up the mirror- to tell and show the public what has happened,” Walter Cronkite, the most respected news anchor in America.

This letter is addressed to the writers and editors of The Malaysian Insider (TMI); to its staff who’s job is to maintain the credibility and neutrality of this online news portal.

We write this letter not to shame or to antagonize. Ridicule is below the morality of Malaysians and criticism can only lead to both parties defending themselves. Rather, we write this letter to seek TMI’s mutual understanding for concern, in hopes that you will listen to us maturely, in hopes that you will respectfully understand why we are so worried for your recent style of reporting.

Before the stroke of the New Year, TMI released a year sum-up commentary entitled “A Wretched, Horrendous Year, with Little Cheer.” The commentary touched on the floods, air disasters and internal national tensions of 2014. This piece, alongside many other previous articles, was a clear demonstration for TMI’s deteriorating respect for objective and neutral reporting.

On a whole, the article was packed with the blatant tone of mockery; a characteristic more suited for tabloids than a news broadsheet. Even by the first paragraph, your ambitious claim that Malaysia is “not quite the happy Malaysia Truly Asia that we portray in tourism advertisements,” gives the rest of your article a taste of immature callousness.

Within the article, TMI discusses Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s credibility as a leader; how he “even managed to squeeze a golf game with US President Barack Obama … while the country ran on auto-pilot.” No doubt this was a significant story near the end of the year. It put to question the necessity to have our leaders present during emergency times. But the pure sarcasm behind your words is unfitting and childish.

As journalists, you guys should know better than to indulge in such low rhetoric. The sarcasm means you risk antagonizing those who might possibly disagree and fuelling those who are already crossed with the national leadership. The resultant angry public is least likely to search for both sides of the argument, detrimental for Malaysia’s intellectual maturity.

But perhaps reporting on both sides of the story is no longer TMI’s objective. A chunk of “A Wretched, Horrendous Year, with Little Cheer” talked, rightfully so, about the Islamic extremism evident within Malaysia. We completely agree. 2014 was a year where many questionable interpreters of Islam made lavish, conceited and inconsiderate demands. Midway through your piece, you claim, “Apart from religious authorities, other groups came to the picture to dominate the national discourse on race and religion.” TMI is one of those groups, dominating the discussion on race and religion. For example, TMI’s reporting on ISMA.

There is no question that the Islamic group made some dangerous-racially-sensitive statements over the year, but a lot of the anger and resentment was spurred by your headlines and your accusations. Unlike the way TMI portrays, Abdullah Zaik, ISMA’s president, in an interview with The Star Online, is surprisingly calm about living peacefully amongst Chinese and Indians: “We accept Chinese and Indians,” said Zaik, “and we guarantee their security.” The ISMA president also disagreed with Ridhuan Tee for telling unhappy non-Muslims to leave the nation.

Although still enveloped by ultra Malay sentiment, Abdullah Zaik is not the war-mongering, irate individual that TMI portrays him to be. Knowing fully well that you have a strong readership, knowing fully well that readers (now, less so) believe in your reporting, it is shameful that TMI chooses to demonize individuals and sensationalize your stories for the sake of greater clicks.

Back to your original article, TMI’s conceptualization of the many issues you raised shows your clear lack of a balanced view. When you bring up the debate of Hudud law, TMI falls short in carefully considering the merit of the criminal legal system. Instead, you automatically presume the worst of it, focusing only at the disagreement of Hudud by the opposition pact and failing to acknowledge that disagreement is itself a manifestation of democracy.

When you bring up and sum up the 2014 flood disaster, TMI ignores the hard work of militaries, firemen, medical officers and welfare departments who clocked in since day one. Whilst these government officers risked their lives, TMI discounted them thoroughly and grouped them along the line of “ministers being abroad.” TMI’s intention of demeaning the government has dragged along these brave civil servants into the pit of political blaming, as if they too, were on holidays.

You are wrong to think that Malaysia’s 2014 was “wretched” and “horrendous.” Malaysia will always grow, our people will always move forward, with or without its politicians abroad, with or without emergency natural disasters.

You can see in Malaysia the high demand for a balanced and fair reporting. We chose to write to The Malaysian Insider because you have a strong readership, because you, of all news agencies, have the power to develop a more mature Malaysian newsreader. You always talk about the failures of Putrajaya. But realize that as an online media, you influence more people than Putrajaya could ever dream of doing, so use that influence for a positive Malaysia, not one polarized beyond political lines, angry and unable to work together.

 

Shamil Norshidi, President of Kelab UMNO US East Coast
Tai Zee Kin, political observer