Thursday, January 31, 2013

BAD MANNERS MAKE A JOURNALIST?


I witnessed the Wong Family, YB Wong Ho Leng, his wife Irene Chang, eldest daughter Suzanne work tirelessly during the Sibu by-elections in which YB Ho Leng won the Parliamentary seat after an embarrassing delay by the Election Commission. I met Irene again during the Sarawak State Elections. She trained Election Agents during the run-up to polling day whilst Suzanne ran the father’s operation centre in Sibu. Recently YB Wong, was taken ill. The following article below appeared in New Straits Times online:
KUALA LUMPUR: Irene Chang, the wife of Sibu DAP member of parliament Wong Ho Leng, who is also Sarawak DAP chairman, is said to have criticised the party for failing to provide or offer financial support to her husband, who has a brain tumour.
A news portal reported that Chang was incensed after reading a media statement on Jan 13, issued by secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who had merely expressed the party's support for Wong.
She was quoted as saying that the party's leadership was heartless.         
"Wong is only 53 and we have five children -- four of them are in school, college and universities -- and, hence, our financial resources are strained."
She said Wong's legal practice had suffered after he was elected as MP.
"As a DAP MP, he is expected to contribute a portion of his allowance to the party and, more often than not, the allowance is not sufficient to pay for all the expenses of serving the people as an MP.
"Every month, we have to top up another RM10,000 as additional expenses for serving the people and maintaining our service centres.
"And now Wong is sick and we need money for his treatment and all that Guan Eng can say or do is that the party will support us morally and help service the constituency
"Where is the humanitarian support to us in this time of difficulty? Not a single sen coming from the party, after all that we have done and achieved for the party. Shame on you, Guan Eng." 


Could this be the reason why Oscar Wilde said this: Bad manners make a journalist. This prompted Kit Siang to ask: What unethical depths and bottomless pits are going to be plumbed by UMNO/BN leaders and their mainstream media (MSM) before the 13GE?
You might remember that I announced that come January, the GOM and their newly hired Oglivy would unleash a torrent of spins to drown PAS and DAP. This could be it, yah? Yellow gutter journalism! These press-releases by the government controlled mainstream media belong in the gutter because that is where the ruling classes throw their putrid trash. This is the lowest form of popular yellow culture -- lack of information, misinformation and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives -- has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Malaysians are being stuffed with this garbage.
Journalism as practiced by the government media rags has transformed journalism into organized gossip. Wasn’t it one Karl Kraus who said that if the reporter has killed our imagination with his truth, he threatens our life with his lies. Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible. Of course I do not agree with a friend who said that if a person is not talented enough to be a novelist, not smart enough to be a lawyer, and his hands are too shaky to perform operations, he becomes a journalist. I see journalists as the manual workers, the laborers of the word. In my time I had journalist friends whose blood and convictions flowed from  their pens or through their portable typewriters. The likes of Norman Siebel, Cheryl Doral, David Tambayah, Musa Scully, Francis Emmaneul,  Maurice Khoo, Tony Francis, Boey Kok Choy, Terence Netto, Kee Thuan Chye, Fauzi Omar, Lazarus Rokk and William D’Cruz. These I believe walked away when editorial police stifled  personal convictions and as such they have moved on. Fortunately we still have the likes of Frankie D’Cru, Zainon Ahmad, Terence Fernendez, Nadeswaran and P Gunsegaran  All the above named wrote with PASSION. Journalism can only be literature when it is passionate I remember reading somewhere.
We need a press that stresses opinions; not the current sycophant press, radio, and television that emphasize news only on the powers that be. It is no surprise then that Malaysia records worst-ever ranking on press freedom HERE  whilst Malaysiakini is still most trusted HERE

Below, Irene Chang rebuts the nasty bit by the NaSTy tabloid:
Irene Chang on her Facebook:
I have been made aware of a certain article posted online and which reported me as having complained against our party leadership. I am absolutely furious. There is absolutely no truth in this article. I did not give any interview nor did I ever complain against our party or against anyone. More importantly, never did I ever feel, for a second that I have a cause to complain against our party or anyone in specific. In fact, since my husband's medical condition was diagnosed, I have been too worried and concerned about his medical condition than to worry whether the party is providing any financial support or otherwise. But having said this, I put on record that since our party leaders have been told of my husband's condition, each and everyone of them, have been unbelievably supportive and caring. Both my husband and I have, in fact felt that we have been very blessed to know these people, who have somehow, crossed over the line from being political comrades to being very caring friends. And my family and I have been very touched by the call for support for my husband by our Secretary General, YAB Lim Guan Eng, an appreciation of which was posted by our eldest daughter, Suzanne Gail Wong, in her facebook on 14th January 2013. Therefore, it would be very unfair and unjust to let this article be passed around for people to pass judgment on our party leaders, our party and me, without any basis at all. I therefore strongly condemn this article for each and every sentence therein is a lie.

God forbid the day
when journalists can't write,
interview people who can't talk,
for people who can't read.



24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bolehland pada tangga 145 kebebasan media!!!

Pariah CWWong said...

Dear Uncle Zoro,
To start off with the scum of Mother of All Journalist is none other than....WONG Choon Wai of the Stat papers. A real scum-bag and balls-licker of UMNO/BN bigots. Possess no conviction to excel as a true journalist. A slave and 'spin-doctor' of MCA CSL. Talk of him want to vomit. With people like him around where to get fair, balance and accurate news?

wandererAUS said...

We all know what MSM is capable of, outstanding in producing craps and bullshitting! Those so called journlists, came from the holes of the women of the night working in UMNO House of Whore! They are unlikely, to find a prick sharing the same DNA. Itu lah, kurang ajar specimens!...with no parental care.
Bastards of the nation!

Ellese A said...

We have both rubbish pro bn MSM and pro pr AM journalism. To most Malaysians press is good and free when they publish opinions supporting their views and censors contrarian views. Why cant we have objective journalism standards espoused by US SPJ standards.?Both MSM and AM are alike. Worse are hypocrites who proclaim to the world they believe in free press but censors contrarian views. Haris and jahabar fall under this gutter journalism/blogger. Rubbish.

Anonymous said...

"It is no surprise then that Malaysia records worst-ever ranking on press freedom"

Still better ranking than Singapore leh!

Anonymous said...

What can one think when even an exPM can blatantly lie through his teeth stating that Anwar is involved in providing IC for Filipinos in Sabah and tactically absolving himself from any wrong doing. What do you call such scums who without any quilt can lie and cheat for his survival. Truth has become a rare quality among politicians.

Anonymous said...

Dont talk many lah, orang tua Zollo. You picked all the news from MSM. The bloggers and online media all got news second-hand from the newspapers. You just spin and write half truth. I believe MSM more, I salute Jocelyn, Chun Wai and all the MSM journalists. Rakyat depends and believes the newspapers. They dont care about people like you.

Anonymous said...


Uncle Bernard,

These are Malaysia's very own
versions of the
"Volkischer Beobachter".

What else can we expect when we have our very own version of Dr Joseph Goebbels handling an important Ministry too ?



Phua Kai Lit


Anonymous said...

gutter journalism= school of mass communication,UiTM

remember the cut and paste speech by the Australian senator...that's what they were taught at UiTM

tak begitu, rocky bru?

passion1 said...

"As a DAP MP, he is expected to contribute a portion of his allowance to the party and, more often than not, the allowance is not sufficient to pay for all the expenses of serving the people as an MP.
"Every month, we have to top up another RM10,000 as additional expenses for serving the people and maintaining our service centres.

This statement is correct, very correct. For this reason alone, we know that, as an opposition, we do not have that much funds to waste, unlike BN.
So voters, please vote for Pakatan, so that they will do a better job.

mitchell said...

Dear Anon 10:16,
To "spin" is one thing as which sometimes both the the divide are guilty of doing but there again you write or blog on how you see the issue. Those that are pro will see it as a plus point but there will be some who view it differently and are intellect enough to write about it!!
The responsible thing to do in this issue is to verify what the portal produced with the family of the YB.
I thank the people in the Star, Utusan, NST and TV3 for their writing which always makes me wanna vote for PR.....Hidup Rakyat!!

Anonymous said...

The joke is, these are the same "low life" journalists who bend and expose their filthy assholes five times a day.... mocking their Maker!
The gods must be crazy to create such ketuanan "UMNO tainted" Melayu binatangs.

Zakaria said...

The mamak pendatang who was ex-PM was talking so much:

http://jomkitabaca.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/arwah-tunku-abdul-rahman-beri-ic-biru-pada-bapa-tun-m/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=326719307439234&set=a.240360922741740.48505.240245389419960&type=1&theater

Anonymous said...

來屆大選一定會出現激烈戰情,但哪個政黨能贏得執政權呢?這全都操控在選民手中,為了自己子孫的前途和國家的未來,你們應利用手中一票,深思熟慮作出抉擇。

Ubah!

ABU...HASAN said...

Uncle, To me less talk and....ABU..ABU...ABU...ABU shj! Inikali....lah!!

Anonymous said...

Hence, social control should not be vested in those that are only brawny nor even those that are also brave, brainy, or worldly wise. Rather social control should only be vested in those who possess all of those features plus the spiritual quality to work selflessly for the welfare of all.

Roti Sunshine said...

another reason why nst's readership is still in freefall and this umno-owned toilet paper suffer losses consistently.

the more rubbish and lies they spin, the faster the electorate will flee from BN/UMNO.

as for you the spinmasters in umno that own nst, let's make a deal.

if you promise not to tell any more lies, we promise not to tell the truth about you!

Anonymous said...

The title journalist is more of a profession, ie someone professional. I think our MSM only have toilet paper reporters only! Semua tyre celup!

mitchell said...

Listen! Listen! Listen!.....anything but UMNO!!!!! Hidup Rakyat!!!!

Anonymous said...

GST will surely be implemented after the general election if BN wins and this will cause the prices of everything and the cost of living to rise rapidly.

Indians till to-date have failed to read that BN is cunning in practising gimmicks in order to obtain votes.

Therefore those Indians who think that BN will always help out with hampers had better think again as this type of assistance is extremely short-term.

Indians must start to think in a progressive and forward-looking manner. The recent incident in Selangor last month when Indians were seen crowding round the BN lorry waiting to receive bags of rice truly resembles a scene from a Third World nation.

It is the ultimate insult and Indians must therefore reject BN in order to salvage any pride!!!

Anonymous said...

Jocelyn Tan of The Star is an example of poor and lousy jounalist.

Anonymous said...

ellesse
does malaysiakini behave like the idiots in star and nst?
there is this chief in star who preaches every sunday and writes lies the next 6 days. no better than utusan.
pls dont just equate alternative media with the rotten mainstream. find me a credible mainstream.

Zuan Melodi said...

Zorro

Got any scoop on the Zahida-Shafie sex scandal affairs in Sabah?

Anonymous said...

Embattled Upko chief, Bernard Dompok, has raised the “Islamic state” bogeyman to scare Christians in Sabah and Sarawak into voting for the ruling Barisan Nasional in the coming general election.

We are 110% sure there are no Hudud in Kelantan at all, as always this BN politician are a big liar, BN is been corrupted for so many years, Sarawkian do you want to continue with this? there is no medicine to cure, government transformation are not working at all, He is asking the voters to give BN government more time to suck the rakyat blood dry?

Enough is enough this time we will choose ABU! Let us unite and wake up to fight for a New Malaysia, let reformasi and Ubah!