Competition has led the media to ignore public sensitivities and this does not reflect well on the country, said Deputy Information Minister Donald Lim Siang Chai today.

He said the local media, especially the print media, must be more careful when writing reports and putting in photographs that touch these sensitivities.

The ministry constantly monitored reports or information published by local newspapers and had sometimes found unpleasant pictures accompanying the report, he added.

Lim said feedback from the people and in Parliament felt that the local newspapers had resorted to putting in sensitive pictures and headings in an attempt to outdo each other.

"Many of them feel that such a practice does not give a good reflection of our country," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

"We will look at the possibility of requesting especially editors and chief editors, to be more sensitive in reporting since Malaysia is a multi-religious country with various races," he added.

Lim said even though the media were allowed to report sensitive matters and there were no specific guidelines on it, they should not go overboard as it could cause uneasiness among foreign investors and tourists.

NAM News Network

In another development, the NAM News Network (NNN), Malaysia's brainchild, has been put on the fast track and is expected to be launched by mid-March.

Information Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said today that the idea to set up the 114-nation strong Non-Aligned Movement News Network had received commendable response from member states.

The Malaysian government had allocated RM1.2 million for the project, he told reporters.

Bernama has been tasked with the setting up of the NNN headquarteres in Kuala Lumpur.

The decision to set up the NNN was made at the NAM Information Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur in November last year. It was established to enable unfettered flow of information among developing and under-developed countries in NAM.

The NNN is also NAM's response to biased reporting by foreign wire agencies monopolised by the west.