VOXPOP 'Astro owes us an apology and must be responsible to replay the news uncensored. Failing which, I will cancel my news component in the package.'

BBC investigating Astro for alleged Bersih 3.0 censorship

vox populi small thumbnailAnonymous #03078561: Yes, Astro is milking Malaysians. It is the one and only satellite broadcaster and it shows us censored news, repeats and reruns.

But what can we do? We need to be entertained and we will still subscribe to Astro to watch world news from BBC, Al-Jazeera and CNN. But now, it appears, we can't even rely on foreign news channels to be 100 percent undoctored.

What a sad state of affairs for Malaysia - retrogressing into the backwoods while Burma will soon overtake it.

Anonymous_3ec6: India, Pakistan and several other countries have electronic voting systems in place whereas in Malaysia, for the first time, indelible ink is to be introduced after the Bersih rallies.

We are backward so they can remain in power through fraud and illegal means. That's BN.

Anonymous #38404485: I had already stopped my subscription to Astro and The Star newspaper a couple of years ago and I do not miss them at all.

Why do we make Umno cronies richer? I save a couple of hundred ringgit every month. If I need news and entertainment, I turn to the Internet.

People, do yourselves a favour and boycott Astro and the Umno-linked papers.

Wira: The delay to all foreign news relays in this country by approved sources like Astro is not 30 seconds. It is more like two and a half minutes, giving ample time for the censors to snip as they like.

It used to be live in 1997. The 2.5-minute delay became mandatory after DSAI (Anwar Ibrahim) received his black eye.

Not Confused: This idiotic government is so mind-numbingly dumb. I can't believe that they seriously think they can apply censorship in this way.

What unintelligent drones do we have running our news organisations when they think that this kind of thing can be done without being found out?

It's rather like banning a book - it guarantees it a runaway success. Censoring BBC news reports in this way is having the same effect.

More people watch Youtube than the BBC news on Astro. If their mentality at trying this on wasn't so serious, it would be hilariously funny.

Blind Freddo: It's an Asian thing. Or perhaps you didn't notice because you didn't want to notice.

To a greater or lesser extent, you all want to control what other people do, say, read or watch. That's why you loved former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad so much and never stood up to him.

Now the boom years are over, you are starting to think for yourselves. Or are you?

Louis: I am a subscriber of Astro with news in the package. The purpose of subscribing to BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera is that I want to see and hear neutral and true presentation of the news.

Now that BBC claimed that Astro had censored part of its reporting on Bersih 3.0 rally, I felt very cheated by it.

I pay to see the real picture of events both local and abroad. I pay to hear the real truth, not half truth.

As such, Astro owed us an apology and must be responsible to replay the news uncensored. Failing which, I will cancel my news component in the package.

Telestai!: Shame on you, Astro. Just who do you think you are censoring news? Are you our moral guardian who tells us what we should watch and what we shouldn't?

The last time I checked my bills, we are your customers paying you monthly fees and having to put up with a multitude of commercials.

Guess what, we all can do without Astro. Louis, don't just cancel your news component, cancel your entire subscription.

Arbeena: Next on the list to be screwed is Malaysiakini. Padan muka hampa.

What kind of regime is afraid of cameras?

Cannon: This is regime of darkness. It fears light. It is afraid of exposure that the actions of its rogue police force suppressing and brutalising peaceful protesters are brought to light to the attention of the world.

The confiscation of cameras, destruction of memory cards and roughing up of journalists are deliberate actions on the part of the police to intimidate and deter the public from documenting their acts of brutality.

Truth is not in this regime. That's why this regime is afraid of cameras. The massive turnout of supporters for Bersih 3.0 is a huge vote of no confidence in our electoral system and a demand for real reform.

The Malaysian electorate wants an independent and impartial Election Commission that serves the people rather than Umno. This regime is violently opposed to electoral reform and refuses to commit to holding GE13 only after completion of the reform.

The proof of PM Najib Razak's real stance is in the obstruction of Bersih 3.0 and response of his goon force.

Dappy: An evil, corrupted regime is afraid of cameras that will expose them to the world. They are so stupid - everyone has mobile phones and cameras, how are they going to stop all? The people will not want a regime that is afraid of cameras.

Chan Huan Boon: Imagine what Utusan Malaysia and The Star and New Straits Times are going to publish in their headlines if Bersih 3.0 is indeed a peaceful assembly?

I am quite sure my guess is like many of yours, right?

 


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