Newly appointed Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said today that he would dedicate his life to fighting "extremism and chauvinism".

"Our real enemy, the enemy of this country and our people, is extremism and chauvinism. Only Barisan Nasional has been able to fight this," he stressed during a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

Zam, as he is better known, named opposition party DAP and two Chinese education movements collectively known as Dong Jiao Zong, as "extremist and chauvinist".

DAP and Dong Jiao Zong, like religious extremists must be eradicated too, he added.

Zam, 63, whose new appointment was announced yesterday by the Prime Minister's Department, was editor-in-chief of Utusan Group before being appointed as a senator in 1998, and as parliamentary secretary to the Information Ministry last year.

Over the past year, he has been campaigning fiercely against PAS, projecting the opposition party as religious extremists through public broadcast stations RTM1 and RTM2.

Recently, however, the focus has since turned to DAP and Dong Jiao Zong, in a nightly segment called Bahaya Cauvinisme (Dangers of chauvinism) on RTM's prime time TV news.

The five-minute clip depicted the two organisations as "anti-Malay, anti-national and unpatriotic" for their opposition to the government's move to switch to English as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics next year.

Right of reply

In a press statement yesterday, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang called on the Cabinet, which is meeting today, to allow DAP and Dong Jiao Zong right of reply on the same medium.

When asked today, Zam initially said he would not give them the right of reply on television, saying "we will only be listening to the same tune".

However, he later changed his mind and told reporters "maybe I will consider it".

"They say they are not chauvinist but that is from their own perspective. From the perspective of the government, they are chauvinist.

"They (Dong Jiao Zong) have not been able to accept Bahasa Malaysia as the official language or Malay special rights even from the beginning. They have also been the cause for the split in MCA in 1959," he alleged.

"In fact, Tuanku Abdul Rahman (first prime minister) had said if we do not achieve Merdeka, he will blame them for it," he added.

A journalist's role

On his new appointment, Zam said the news was "shocking and I thought it was a joke".

He said he was grateful to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his appointment which he called a "recognition to journalists" in the country.

He also praised Information Minister Khalil Yaacob for his "vast understanding about the duties of a journalist".

"Journalists have ego, we are trained to have social standing, to have skills to be friendly and to be trusted by people. We have to educate ourselves every day by reading newspapers and listening to the radio, or else you are not a journalist," said the former journalist who started out at 18 years old as an Utusan Melayu stringer in Alor Star.

When asked about journalism ethnics and non-partisanship, Zam said he believed in such things and had never thought about joining politics but decided to do so after he "saw the truth".

"I have seen with my own eyes how this country was built. I've had 30 years in jounalism to know the government's policies. To know the ethics and taboos in journalism," he said, adding that his departure from Utusan Group was a "blessing".

A journalist's role

Meanwhile, in an earlier press conference at the same venue, newly appointed minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, said he was surprised by his appointment and thanked Mahathir for his trust in him.

The 52-year-old said he was unfazed by his "fast-track" appointment as he has been active in politics for a long time before joining the government as senator in 2000 and later as deputy minister in the same ministry last year.

The businessmen-turned-politician is Umno executive secretary and Federal Territory Umno liaison chief. He was elected to the Umno supreme council in 1993 and served as Umno Youth treasurer in 1998. He became the Federal Territory Barisan Nasional chairperson in November last year.

Tengku Adnan said he has yet to be informed of the scope of his new duties.

"It depends on the boss. The boss assesses our performance and decides. I will just accept," he said.

Zam and Tengku Adnan will receive their letters of appointment tomorrow from the Yang di-Pertuan Agung, together with Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, 51, who has been appointed as the second finance minister.