COMMENT | A tribute to Malaysiakini and some reflection

COMMENT | As Malaysiakini is poised to celebrate its own history, I, for one, think that it deserves an important place in our nation’s history.

We are where we are, from my perspective, because of the brave men and women, the dedicated Malaysians, and the courageous few who dared to challenge the might of BN and its powerful leaders Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Abdul Razak.

When BN fell in 2018, Malaysiakini can be said to be the straw that broke the camel’s back many times over.

The “Reformasi” call of Anwar Ibrahim and where the prime minister himself is now, I could easily say was the work of this online media, along with Raja Petra Kamarudin and yes, along with also Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS).

Not Umno certainly, and definitely not so much Bersih.

I know as I lived every minute of the 25 years of Reformasi looking for every scrap of information I could find without having to go down to the streets for demonstrations.

When Anwar was blindfolded and beaten by the chief of police who was like some street thug or gangster, I can still remember the helplessness, the seething anger, and the disgust of being a Malaysian.

That was the lowest point for me, who was too young to remember May 13 at the time.

Information was scarce then. We had to wait for CNN or CNA and glimpse at Al Jazeera when the news coming from mainstream media giants like Berita Harian, Utusan Melayu, New Straits Times, and even The Star were pieces of crap that one would never touch to be used as toilet paper.

Only Malaysiakini, Harakah, and Raja Petra held the fortress on my sanity and many others.

For their courage, we watched as Tun M harassed Malaysiakini editors and journos with the police like some mafia boss sending out thugs to frighten and threaten true and upstanding Malaysians.

I watched from a safe distance of my home and computer screens as well as from the television news of foreign sources.

It was in 1998 that I turned off RTM1, RTM2 and TV3 forever. Those news media were the scribes of an authoritarian rule that should never be seen ever again by any of our children.

The darkest of nights

I saw them. I lived through that period and I carry in my heart and mind the emotions, the thoughts, the desperate hope and the gall of calling this country a nation.

The religious institutions, the universities, the security forces, the ‘other’ institutions that were supposed to be the vanguard of constitutional monarchy, were all useless, all complicit, and all garbage of civilization.

My words seem a bit strong but believe me, my feelings and my mind still can recall the days and nights of Balaclava-masked men with sub-machine guns and the fury of a gangster of a police chief.

I also have never forgotten the faces of BN and especially Umno leaders who followed, egged on, and even stood on the sidelines while the sanity of the country and its people, as well as religion, were being quashed in a smelly and dimly lit lock-up where a so-called war hero belasah (beat up) mercilessly our history, our values, and our conscience.

I can see very clearly the long lines of souls in the Muslim Hereafter asking forgiveness to one soul and I think these are not just Malays.

I am trying to conjure up the desperation of the times when the saviour came in the form of a small group of people hunched over a computer screen that brought the giant and arrogant regime to its knees with meaningful words of truth, wisdom, and integrity.

This was journalism par excellence and comparing that to our social media podcasters and influencers is like the earth and the moon.

When the nation was in intensive care, the three media lifelines were Malaysiakini, Harakah, and Mahazalim.

Although I no longer believe a word of Harakah nor the remnant of Raja Petra’s spin media, I still rely on Malaysiakini.

At crossroads again

However, I sensed a change in the online media that disturbed me tremendously. Ever since the Madani government was formed and saved us from the likes of Mahiaddin Yassin, Abdul Hadi Awang, and Azmin Ali, I feel there is something amiss with this platform and entity.

Our nation is at a crossroads once again.

Before this, it was us against the might of Tun M, Najib, and BN.

But now, I sense that this country will fail, not because of the likes of Muhamad Akmal Saleh or the stupidity of Siti Mastura Muhammad, but because of ourselves who prefer to feed on negative views and negative perceptions of what Anwar is trying to achieve with the cards he was dealt with.

We as Malaysians seem to be impatient and want change without the context of Malay sentiments and Islam-based narratives. The media, it seems, still has the idea that “good news is bad for business while bad news is extremely good for business”.

The podcasters, influencers, and just about anybody on YouTube have discovered the magic formula of making money: the more viewers, the more the income, and what brings viewers are negative news, half-truths, and outright lies created in the vacuum of so-called media freedom and democratic freedom of speech.

I sense that Malaysiakini has to struggle between the professionalism and integrity of their excellent journalism and coverage against putting out poorly edited pieces that play to negative sentiments to draw in subscribers and advertisements.

Subscribers, it seems, want this country to fail to satisfy their ignorant and impatient conscience.

When Umno wrestles for the prime ministership in GE16 with Perikatan Nasional as its partner, the fault will not be with Akmal or Hadi, but with the subscribers who, as the Malay saying goes, marahkan nyamuk, kelambu dibakar (throwing the baby out with the bath water).

Finally, I remain true and loyal to the memories of Malaysiakini of 20 years which is a long time to stay true to a vision, true to conscience, and true to professionalism.

To the journalists and editors of Malaysiakini, thank you for saving my sanity and inspiring hope in the darkest of nights until it was proven once more that the pen is truly mightier than the sword.

TAJUDDIN MOHD RASDI is a professor of Islamic architecture at UCSI University.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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