YOURSAY | ‘Let the free market decide if the newspaper will thrive or die.’

Ministry instructs schools, varsities to ditch Utusan Malaysia

Anonymous 2327531438397239: It’s the right move to ditch a newspaper that propagates hate, prejudice and discord, especially in the minds of our young in educational institutions.

Utusan Malaysia has always been acting as a mouthpiece for Umno and stirring racial discord with inflammatory and racist propaganda in its articles. It has never been balanced nor provided news for critical thinking and articles worth reading about.

That’s why it has never been able to make any profit and only survived on its political master’s support.

Hang Babeuf: Whether schools and students should be force-fed Utusan doctrine is another matter. But as for myself, I have been a daily reader for years and will continue to be one.

I read Utusan not to find out today’s or yesterday’s news but to find out what, and how, certain people are thinking - to see what ideas and forms of words they are trying out, polishing - so that I will not be surprised by what they decide to do, by the tricks that they decide to pull, next month.

I find Utusan invaluable for that purpose. It is my window into a certain mindset and mental world, its murky depths and strange currents.

Serious analysts of Malaysian society and politics should read it - and should continue to do so, now that Umno is for the moment "on the outer" and is less constrained than when in government in playing doctrinal "tootsies" with the rancid minds in PAS.

Reading Utusan enables you to keep track of how Umno maintains contact with and controls its base, how it continually adjusts itself and its approach to mobilise and panic and stampede its ground-level loyalists.

Hopeful123: It is the duty of a responsible Education Ministry to ensure that the right publications are sought by educational institutions.

If there are no controls then a lot of undesirable publications will be made available and unsuspecting students and even staff may be influenced by the lies and negative information.

Utusan is one such publication.

BTN: Utusan was a tool used by all to gain knowledge and also used to master Bahasa Malaysia years ago.

It has since lost its original purpose and has been used to indoctrinate the Malays to be negative and afraid of their own shadow.

Anonymous_c033f55c: This is a good move no matter how small it may appear, as we need to save money to build a nation for our children.

There is too much wastage. Furthermore, with good internet connection, people nowadays read news online.

It is best to move to paperless news. Not to mention, it helps save the environment.

Anonymos: All other ministries should follow suit. It's time to end the toxic misinformation of BN.

TV3 and RTM's unbelievably high content of hocus-pocus should also be reviewed to bring advanced ideas, not superstition.

Gerard Lourdesamy: There is no need to subscribe to newspapers owned by Umno and MCA.

If civil servants want to read these papers like Utusan, Berita Harian, Sinar Harian, New Straits Times and The Star, let them buy their own copy.

Indeed, no need for public funds to be used to support these newspapers.

Anonymous_5a309591: Good move. However, we must educate our young minds to take what is good and discard what is bad.

We must make sure our new group of vice-chancellors has a vision for the universities and encourage critical thinking. Otherwise, we are a gone case.

Ace: Well done. At least, there will be one less instrument of divisiveness and destruction – this is especially bad if read by young students.

Anonymous112233: Moving forward, political parties should not control any newspaper. This is to ensure that independent reporting can be done without fear or favour.

No reason for Harapan gov't to 'fear' Utusan, says Umno MP

Pemerhati Bebas: I totally agree with former minister and Umno Selangor chief Ismail Sabri Yaakob - the Pakatan Harapan government has no need to "fear" Utusan.

However, by the same token, the government also has no need to support the newspaper by continuing subscriptions. Anyone is free to read Utusan but they have to buy it themselves.

The government is not revoking its printing licence. So what's the problem, Ismail?

Citizen Peter: Ismail, stopping subscription to a newspaper is not restricting press freedom. The Harapan government never told Utusan to shut down.

After all, other newspapers do not depend on subscriptions by government departments.

Anonymous_1371465729: Yes, there is no restriction on press freedom as Utusan can continue its publication; neither is the government fearful of Utusan.

The government is right to decide not to use taxpayers' money to artificially prop up a newspaper.

Let the free market decide if Utusan will thrive or die; Malaysians are sophisticated enough to distinguish a responsible newspaper from one that purveys lies and propaganda.

David Dass: It was a paper that played the racist line. It chose a side and did not pretend any degree of fairness in its reporting. It gambled on BN winning. It seemed a certain bet.

But BN lost. When BN lost, Utusan lost.

Now Ismail, never a proponent of journalistic impartiality and constitutional democracy, speaks of openness and press freedom. How people change.

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