(Petaling Jaya, Friday): DAP will convene a meeting of political parties, NGOs and prominent Malaysians on 16th March to examine and study the threat of a biased mass media to democracy and the development of a civil society in Malaysia.
In the past, electronic and printed mass media which are in the stable of ownership, management and control of the various ruling coalition parties show the true colours of their bias, spleen, total unscrupulousness and lack of the most basic journalistic principles against opposition parties and Opposition leaders only during the short general elections campaign period.
There however seems to be a departure from this past practice, as there are increasing signs that such bias, spleen, total unscrupulousness and lack of the most basic journalistic principles are becoming more and more evident in certain mass media, although there are no indications yet as to when general election would be held.
One example is the attempt to use the issue of Islamic state and slant and misrepresent the DAP’s stand on the Islamic state.
MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong Sik, for instance, issued a statement challenging me to declare the DAP stand on Islamic State, which was given prominent coverage in the Star.
However, my reply to Liong Sik was blacked out by the Star when the MCA leadership suddenly realised that the MCA President would be placed in a very invidious and vulnerable position in a political cross-fire, highlighting not only his political ignorance, his incapacity and failure as Transport Minister but also his political timidity in not daring to accept my challenge that I am prepared to explain the DAP stand on Islamic state to him even at the MCA headquarters.
As a result, the MCA leadership has decided on a new gambit and is using DAP turncoats to attack the DAP, as for instance, in a prominent report in today’s Star under the heading: "Ex-stalwarts question DAP’s stand".
I would advise the MCA leadership not to resort to such dirty media tricks. If the MCA leadership thinks that it has got a great issue against the DAP on Islamic state, my challenge to Liong Sik to an open public debate on the question of Islamic state remains. Liong Sik would not dare to have such a public debate for he knows very well that the MCA’s attack against the DAP is built on falsehoods and baseless assumptions.
(12/2/99)