Rights and privileges

 Rights and privileges 

1. I was 22 years old when I became a reporter at the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in 1969 - a mere 34 days after the May 13 riot.

2. Almost immediately I had access to then Prime Minister, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, and other ministers. 

3. Such was the privilege of being a reporter. In the case of Tunku, the access was direct. As Bernama's correspondent for Kedah and Perlis, based in Alor Star, I covered Tunku extensively in the final months of his rule.

4. But with the privilege comes responsibility. I was told from the earliest days that I should not abuse the privilege and always protect my news sources. I should avoid causing them harm and not reveal their identities when quoting them anonymously. 

5. A good journalist would refrain from revealing his or her anonymous sources even if ordered by a court of law. It means he or she has to be willing to be held in contempt and punished. 

6. He or she is responsible for personal conduct, the questions asked and the reports written. As an editor for many years, I always reminded my reporters that they knew more than I did. 

7. They attended press conferences and gathered information. Editors relied on them to make the first judgment call.

8. So when journalist Rex Tan of Free Malaysia Today (FMT) either out of malice or ignorance, asked a question to the former British Member of Parliment, George Galloway, implying that Malaysia practices apartheid, he was courting backlash. 

9. In response, Galloway publicly rejected the comparison between Malaysia and an apartheid state as "unfortunate and embarrassing". 

10. Tan is having enough problem in his hand. In spite of his public apology, the media reported that he had an early morning visit from the police. He was questioned, detained and later released for sedition. He has lost his job and the his employer, the FMT, had apologized ahead of him.

11. If Tan had been appropriately schooled in history and was more cautious about partaking in the freedom hype of the Madani era, he would not have put forward the erroneous comparison.

12. Comparing Malaysia (its constitution, policies and practices) with the apartheid colonial regime of Southern Africa or the Israeli conduct against the Palestinians is not only erroneous but also malicious.

13. Ours is an agreement negotiated among representatives of the various races, the Malay Rulers and the British. Apartheid, on the other hand, was a unilateral imposition of will by the European Whites on the Africans. 

14. Hopefully, this incident will remind journalists that, in this ere of instantaneous communication, the simple act of asking a question can go viral. 

Thank you.

kredit: A KADIR JASIN