DAP said the “information vacuum” that the Prime Minister Najib Razak referred to yesterday was the fault of the government’s  “blackout mindset and strategy” when faced with controversial issues.

“(Najib) made a very interesting observation when launching 1Malaysia TV yesterday: the existence of an ‘information vacuum’ in Malaysia in the information age, with youths turning to alternative online site for news.

ops scorpene dinner 220711 kit siang “But is 1Malaysia TV the solution, or it will part of the cause of the ‘information vacuum’ plaguing the government’s credibility?” said DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang (left) in a statement today.

Lim blamed the situation on Najib’s administration itself.

“Although Najib said that it was essential to provide information to the rakyat rather than to black it out ... his administration had been guilty of the ‘black out’ mindset and strategy when confronted with adverse or troublesome developments.

He pointed to Najib’s own silence on thorny issues that set the tone for what he called a media blackout.

 Lim cited several examples of this instance, among them are:

  • Welfare, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s position in the RM300 million National Feedlot Corporation scandal;
  • Malaysia's worst Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranking at 60th place;                    
  • Call by 17 international NGOs for Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud's and 13 of his family members' arrest;
  • Penang High Court ordering Utusan Malaysia to pay RM200,000 to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for defamation; and
  • Global Financial Integrity report that over RM1 trillion was lost to illicit outflow between 2000-2009.

“Will Najib demonstrate a change of this information ‘blackout’ mindset and strategy and use 1Malaysia TV to break his silence and speak up to give an accounting and perspective as the nation's prime minister on these five issues?” asked Lim.