I was rather ashamed to read the report on Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin's comments on TV stations which appeared under the heading TV stations under fire for not practicing proper ethics .

I wonder what he means by proper ethics? Does he mean that TV stations shouldn't tell the truth about what actually happens? The public has the right to know the truth whether it is good or bad.

In this case, he was referring to the incident where the people of Kampong Rantau Panjang, Klang took to the streets to show their anger with the authorities for not fulfilling their requests for a fly-over, traffic lights or road bumps in front of the Sekolah Agama Rantau Panjang where a Year 2 schoolgirl died after being run over by a lorry.

The residents were fed up with the number of fatal motor accidents in the area and the latest one involving the student was the last straw. As a result of the publicity generated by TV3's coverage, the Selangor government immediately approved the construction of a traffic light in the area the next day,

Without the publicity generated by the TV station, the people of Kampong Rantau Panjang would have had to continue to bear with their hazardous situation.

I find it rather odd and naive of the deputy minister to say that highlighting the incident would be unpleasant to many people. Just because most of the people at the scene interviewed were sore with the government and accused the government of not doing its duty, the deputy minister wants the news to be blocked. Does he want only the 'good' news to be aired?

It was also shameful of the deputy minister to give the reason that the incident, if highlighted, would lead to a culture of people resorting to violence when dealing with social problems.

The people of today are not of the 1960s and 1970s any more. The deputy minister insults the people's ability to think for themselves. The deputy minister, who happens to be an ex- journalist, should realise that Malaysia is now under the premiership of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi where freedom of the press and human rights are being slowly restored .

Please do not drag this country back to the period when the people did not have any confidence at all in the local press .

The deputy minister was also not happy that the media had highlighted the case Ahmad Harizal Ahmad Fauzi's unfair prosecution for failing to attend the national service programme. I cannot see the rationale of why Harizal's case should not have been reported.

Without the coverage, the boy would still be in prison and his family would continue to suffer in silence. The government should be thankful to the media for highlighting the case and the opportunity to resolve it.

Today, due to the good office of the Perlis menteri besar, Ahmad Harizal has the chance to learn a trade in an institution, something he would not have even dreamt of before.