refer to the letter Newspapers have become so pathetic . I agree with Tammy Tay's views that newspapers in the country are now a mouthpiece of the ruling government. More often than not, the editors are not the ones who decide what should go in and what should be censored.

I remember talking to an editor-in-chief of a popular Tamil-language newspaper sometime back in the early 80s and I quote what he said: 'Very often, the editors are in a quandary. Should they publish what the political masters say or should they just give it a one-column treatment at the bottom left of the page? Or should it be totally left out?

'This is the dilemma facing all newspaper editors in this modern era. If they don't toe the line, they may face the danger of being removed. So what do they do? Simple. Just follow what the officials say and all will be fine.'

This is exactly what is happening in Malaysia, more notably so in the state of Sarawak. Newspaper editors in this state are certainly a pathetic lot. They just parrot what the politicians or government officials say.

Though one or two might be bold enough to make their own stand, the majority of them are just 'parrots' who have lost their journalistic sense. Newspapers such as the defunct The Sarawak Tribune and The People's Mirror are two notorious examples where their editors were just puppets playing to the tune of their political masters.

Fortunately, newspapers like The Malaysian Today (now Semenanjung-based) and The Borneo Post are more independent and have their own set of journalistic ethics. But it is a matter of time before these two go the same way as the others.