The Selangor state media is apparently being used for partisan purposes by the incumbent Pakatan Rakyat government, although it has been under a caretaker government since April 4.

Checks by Malaysiakini on Media Selangorku , which aggregates all reports from state official media outlets, found that it carried reports on Pakatan politicians almost exclusively. Some of these reports attack BN, which is also the state opposition coalition.

media selangorku One example is a report dated April 11 that quotes Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad accusing BN of covering up two tolled highway projects in the state to avoid riling up voter sentiments.

Even the website's ‘Barisan Nasional' section appears to be devoted entirely to attacking the coalition.

Another report dated yesterday quotes PKR vice-president N Surendran commenting on PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali's alleged sex scandal, although both have little to do with the state administration.

It also provided coverage for Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's campaign trail, such as one video report dated yesterday where he claims that Pakatan would win 115 out of 222 parliamentary seats.

The website, which includes reports from the state-owned Selangorkini and TV Selangor, also displays the cover of the Pakatan manifesto prominently on its main page without offering BN's manifesto the same courtesy.

Malaysiakini's attempts to solicit comment on the matter from Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim since April 10 did not receive any response.

Caretaker gov't guidelines issued

Previously, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali had said that Selangor has issued caretaker government guidelines to all state agencies on Feb 19, which includes a prohibition on using state resources for campaign purposes.

Pakatan had also previously slammed BN for its control of mainstream media, exploiting the federal government-owned RTM and Bernama for its electoral campaign .

One recent outburst was over the Information Ministry offering a mere 10 minutes for opposition parties to air their election manifestos on RTM.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had decried it as a "mockery of the democratic system" and that he wanted "fair access to the media and a free media".