Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) should be more moderate in order to ensure that its credibility as a public-service media organisation remains intact, said mass communication lecturer Prof Dr Hamdan Adnan.

He was asked to comment o­n Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin's denial of the opposition's claim that RTM is a propaganda tool for Umno and Barisan Nasional.

Zainuddin said instead that it is an information channel to explain the government's plans and policies.

'Report all sides'

Hamdan said if RTM, a state-owned media organisation, continues to broadcast o­nly pro-government news, it risks becoming useless as a communication tool for both the people and the government itself.

"Giving out o­nly biased news and reports would o­nly turn people off. If this is not stopped, people would simply consider (watching) RTM a waste of electricity," he said when contacted today.

Hamdan said it is imperative that RTM "plays a more moderate role" and reports news fairly by giving all sides of an issue.

"Of course when a media organisation is run by the government, there is a tendency for those in power to use it to air its views and policies. There is no need to be apologetic about this," he noted.

"But RTM must not forget its main function which is to serve the public. It must try to report the different sides of an issue. If it does not, then it will be accused of being biased," said the Universiti Teknologi Mara lecturer.

Asked whether RTM's news and programmes are biased towards the government, Hamdan said this is a subjective perception.

"The opposition will claim that RTM is biased, while government officials will always say that programmes are informative. But if you ask any man in the street, you would know that it is not (being fair). This is why I say that a public media organisation must broadcast all views." he said.

He noted that, to date, there has not been "violent objection" to RTM content, which could be due to the wide choice of media services.

"If people don't like to watch RTM, they can turn to other stations like TV3 or NTV7. Those who can afford it can subscribe to (satellite television service) Astro which has many channels," he said.

Responsible journalism

Media studies lecturer Wong Yuen Mei (photo right) said o­ne could not expect RTM not to produce pro-government news and programmes since it was established to "assist the government in social engineering".

However, she said responsible journalism need not be neglected even in such media organisations.

"It can be a professional messenger. It should look at the messages it is sending out - if these are based o­n facts and figures which would help the public to make decisions, then it may not be accused of being pro-government," she said.

"But if the messages are of the 'persuasive communication' variety to motivate the citizen to support government policies, then people will tend to accuse it of being slanted or of airing propaganda of the ruling political parties."

She conceded, though, that RTM does have a tendency to provide more "persuasive communication" news, rather than information based o­n facts and figures.

"It publishes details of government policies, yet leaves out important information like methods of implementation, public sentiment and response. So, naturally many consider RTM to be the ruling coalition's propaganda tool," she said.

Separate entities

Centre for Independent Journalism spokesperson V Gayathry said it is not surprising that RTM presents content that is biased towards the state.

At the same time, however, she said it is not acceptable for RTM to be "highly skewed towards the ruling party".

She said the state and the ruling party are two separate entities, and that the state-owned media must

reflect this distinction.

"In its coverage of news and issues, the fundamental principles of journalism - fairness and accuracy - are often compromised, and what comes out is propaganda of the ruling coalition," she said.

"Its depiction of opposition parties is nothing more than systematic character assassination and

political rhetoric. Where is the explanation of public policies? Where is the value of journalism?"

Prof Dr Mohd Safar Hasim of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said it is difficult to determine if RTM is Umno's propaganda tool because a study o­n its news content has yet to be conducted.

"It is the state-owned media's duty to inform the people about government policies. That is why it was set up in the first place," he said.

"There are several models o­n how an ideal state-owned broadcasting station should work. In Malaysia, the government controls the broadcast media and uses it to its benefit. Today, it is the BN but if the opposition wins, then it may not allow the former ruling coalition to air its views o­n television".