The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) today assured that the views of Malaysian leaders o­n the war in Iraq would continue to be reported fairly and responsibly.

The BBC will make every effort to ensure that the views of Malaysian leaders o­n the war are put across, just as those from western countries, its representative in Kuala Lumpur Jonathan Kent said.

"We will continue to approach Malaysian leaders for interviews and statements and we hope that they will be forthcoming," he told malaysiakini.

Kent was reacting to Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin's statement today calling o­n Malaysians to watch reports o­n the war in Iraq with a critical mind.

Propaganda

He said the reports were clearly a form of propaganda that favoured the west, particularly the US and its allies.

"We have no choice for RTM in providing accurate information to the public other than to take the news broadcast by satellites which are dominated by the west, although we realise their broadcasts are a form of propaganda," Zainuddin was quoted in the New Sunday Times as saying.

He said this following complaints that RTM still took news reports provided by foreign news agencies although the visuals and reports carried were clearly not objective.

Kent said that he had the opportunity to interview several Malaysian ministers in the past, the latest being Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar at the recent Non-Aligned Movement summit, and so far there has not been any complaint about BBC reporting.

Reacting o­n Zainuddin's remarks, DAP chirperson Lim Kit Siang questioned the deputy minister as to whether he should also call o­n Malaysians to watch all RTM reports with a critical mind unless RTM is prepared to be journalistically superior to CNN and BBC.

"For a start, are RTM and the mainstream media prepared to institute fair reporting to the opposition o­n the Iraq war?," he asked in a statement.