opinion

In his poem The New Frontier , the Lebanese mystic Kahlil Gibran challenged media activists: "Are you a newspaperman who sells his ideas and his principles in the slave market, who lives on the misery of people like a buzzard which descends only upon decaying carcass?

"Or are you a teacher on the platform of the city, gathering experience from life and presenting it to the people as sermons you have learned?

"If you are the first, then you are a sore and an ulcer. If you are the second, then you are a balsam and a medicine."

Gibran was no fortune teller, but he apparently foretold the sad state of affairs plaguing the Malaysian media today. His words, ancient they may be, surely must strike a deep chord in all of us who claim to be media practitioners and are supposedly 'fair and balanced-minded individuals'.

However, too often we witness how 'worthwhile' information is 'embellished' by certain quarters to serve the ends of their political masters. These masters are coincidently paymasters as well as career builders.

One only needs to glance at the mien of Washington Times Amy Ridenour's story on Malaysian politics to understand the underlying crisis in our country's newspaper world.

In her article entitled 'Turmoil in Malaysia', which appeared in her paper on Aug 15, Ridenour, president of "a non-partisan American think tank", the National Center for Public Research (NCPR), accused jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim of having close links with radical Islamic fundamentalists.

Ridenour warned that the United States could be fooled for the third time if it supports efforts by Anwar to destabilise the Malaysian government.

There first two occasions, she said, were the 444-day hostage crisis at the US Embassy in Teheran during Khomeini's rule of Iran and the other in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power despite the US pouring millions of dollars and vital intelligence to back the anti-Soviet mujahidin .

Fully exploited

Analysts concede that when Ridenour's story was picked up by a local broadsheet with the headline 'Do not be fooled by Anwar, US told', it seemed to smack of blatant opportunism and propaganda, a fad one can find so rampant these days in the local media.

"It is surprising that an obscure commentary, based mainly on conjecture and insinuation, written by an unknown analyst from an equally obscure 'think tank' was given so much prominence in the media here," media activist Anil Netto told malaysiakini recently.

"That, to me, suggests that the propaganda value of the commentary was fully exploited for political ends," he adds.

Based on its website, the NCPR is more of a reactionary, free market-conservative (read: Reagan-Bush campaign) operation and not a "non-partisan American think tank" as claimed by the local media.

The Washington Times , where the commentary appeared, is owned by the Moonies Unification Church, is a bastion of American conservatism and Republican right.

"I find Ridenour's article to be highly speculative and aimed at influencing public opinion. I wonder how familiar she is with the reality of Malaysian politics on the ground today," Netto asked.

"Of course, she is entitled to her own opinion but to me, it seems founded on mere speculation," he added.

Anwar's wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Keadilan president, offered her opinion on a similar turf.

But firstly, she denied that Anwar had any ties with the so-called "radical Islamic fundamentalists".

She explained that the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, of which Anwar was president from 1974 to 1982, was a registered body that has operated within the confines of the Malaysian Constitution for the last 30 years.

"Is it a mere coincidence that Ridenour's article should appear in Washington and Kuala Lumpur at a time when our prime minister was going all out to link the legitimate, constitutional opposition in Malaysia to Islamic militancy, violence and radicalism?" queried Wan Azizah.

Political arena football

Her statement hits the nail on the head. Over the last few months, Dr Mahathir Mohamad's government had used the Internal Security Act to detain political leaders and activists from both PAS and Keadilan, two pro-Islamic and Malay-based parties in the Barisan Alternatif.

The detainees were alleged to be involved in militant activities aimed at overthrowing the government - allegations which they will not be able to refute in a court of law since the controversial ISA allows for detention without trial.

Recently, the government launched an anti-Islamic militancy campaign aimed at varsity students and lecturers who are purportedly involved in underground activities to topple the government.

Department heads, particularly the ones from the prime minister's and education minister's departments, had met to discuss a proposal that students and lecturers sign a 'good behaviour' bond guaranteeing they will stay out of anti-government politics while in the academia where, coincidentally, political activism is said to be rising.

"Mahathir is doing this to convince his foreign critics, including some Western governments and non-governmental organisations, who are unhappy over his unjust treatment of Anwar and his abuse of power," said Wan Azizah.

"(Because of this) Mahathir has had to resort to authoritarian measures to fight Islamic fundamentalism and Islamic radicalism," she said.

Echoing her view is DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang who says that if the government wants to treat such international terrorist links as a national problem which transcended political party differences, an all-party roundtable conference should be convened to deal with it.

"It should not be used by the government as a 'football' in the political arena against the opposition," said Lim at his party's 13th triennal congress in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Lim suspects that the government is escalating its political campaign against the opposition at the international level via the media, as evident, he pointed out, in Ridenour's piece.

"Malaysians are entitled to know whether Amy Ridenour and the NCPR have been hired in a campaign to win over the hearts in Washington," said the veteran politician of the predominantly Chinese opposition party.

"Malaysians are entitled to know whether taxpayers' monies are involved in the retention of American lobby groups to provide sweeteners to the White House in order to pave the way for a meeting between the Prime Minister and President Bush," said Lim.

"And also, whether the militant Islam issue is being used to win the ear of Washington," he added.

Handy issue

The editor-in-chief of the local media which carried Ridenour's opinion refuted Lim's allegation in a front page article which said that he (the editor) had received an e-mail reply from Ridenour confirming that she was not paid by the Malaysian government for her controversial piece on Anwar.

Lim noted that before the 1999 general elections, the government had accused Anwar of being an American agent - out to wreck the country's 'sound economic fundamentals' by consorting with foreign agents and being a willing slave to the International Monetary Fund.

However, just weeks before Mahathir is scheduled to meet with US President George Bush, the table is turned. Now, Lim said, Anwar is accused of being an Islamic fundamentalist in league with Afghanistan's Taliban.

"The government should decide which of the two allegations it wants to hurl against Anwar, as Anwar cannot be both a CIA agent and an Islamic fundamentalist at the same time," Lim quipped.

"In any event, it would appear that Anwar's purported affiliations are regarded as a handy issue," he added. And no doubt by other parties too, particularly the media governed by those with special interests.

However, there will come a time when one must ask as Gibran did: "Are you a searching writer full of self-admiration, keeping his head in the valley of a dusty past, where the ages discarded the remnant of its clothes and useless ideas?

"Or are you a clear thinker examining what is good and useful for society and spending your life in building what is useful and destroying what is harmful?

"If you are the first, then you are feeble and stupid, and if you are the second, then you are bread for the hungry and water for the thirsty."

SUSAN LOONE is a malaysiakini journalist.