EYE ON ETHICS

The writer is a Malaysian journalist.

The daily struggle of the Malaysian journalist is to try to apply journalism principles in an environment where the government treats the media as its personal tool. Some rebel and leave, citing principles, but almost all try to come to terms with it for the sake of a paycheck.
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A journalist with one of the leading dailies in Malaysia looked worried as he watched the editor-in-chief of his newspaper go through his commentary.

The editor-in-chief wanted to “clear” the story on an anti-government movement that the journalist had been asked to write a few days after the announcement of Malaysia’s general election date. Malaysians will vote on March 8.

The journalist said he saw his boss change the facts and put in unsubstantiated claims. In the end the commentary looked like the government propaganda piece that it was meant to be, and not at all like a balanced story fit for publication.

“I just stood behind him quietly – too afraid to say anything. He is, after all, one of the most powerful men in the country,” said the 30-year-old journalist of the man who has the ears of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Malaysian media are run either by people appointed by the ruling coalition, or by those who have the blessings of the country’s political masters. This makes it easier for the Prime Minister to control the content and remove or cold storage dissidents, according to a journalist who has been in the print media for over 15 years.

This is especially evident during general elections, added an editor, and the mainstream media have been criticized for blatant lopsided reporting and complete disregard for the opposition parties and other dissenting voices.

“One of the editors did not cut out a comment by Anwar (Ibrahim) about the media being controlled by the government (in the Feb 25 issue), and the bosses got into trouble,” he said.

This editor was referring to an article on the campaign being done by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is campaigning for his National Justice Party, an opposition party. A senior editor had inadvertently allowed Anwar’s comment about the media’s being suppressed to see print. The political masters were not pleased.

“Every day, we have to go through the stories to make sure the government is not put in a bad light. Once in a while, we try to appear impartial by allowing certain stories on the opposition and then they (political masters) come down hard on us, scolding us over the phone,” said the editor.

“The pressure from the (Badawi) government is getting worse. It was never like this during the Mahathir administration,” he added.

He says this despite being one of the hundreds of journalists who was left without a job for months after then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad closed four newspapers during a mass operation to curb dissension in 1987.

“Mahathir would have a meeting with the editors once in a while and explain what he expected from the media. But now there are many people giving us orders – Pak Lah (Badawi’s nickname), his people, other political party leaders – it gets so confusing sometimes,” he said.

For some, it can get tiresome. Three years ago, when he could no longer take the pressure to conform to the requests of his editor-in-chief, a columnist with over 30 years of journalism experience resigned during a downsizing exercise.

He was constantly asked to change the tone and the content of his columns because it was the government officials and those linked to the political leaders who were on the receiving end of his venom.

The editor of an afternoon tabloid, who left his job abruptly about two years ago, now uses the Internet to continue his journalistic calling. The reasons for his resignation are unclear, but Ahirudin Atan or Rocky is known for his sensational and hard-hitting front-page stories. He has been known to give scant regard for government officials and politicians. He now uses his blog to do the same.

The Internet seems to be the way many ex-journalists are heading. Three former journalists have just set up the website malaysiavotes.com to provide balanced reporting on the March 8 general elections.

The many who choose to remain in the media learn to cope with the demands of the editors and the political masters.

“I came into journalism because, as corny and anachronistic as it may sound, I wanted to serve society. If I wanted to make money, I would have gone into PR,” said a journalist who is 45. “Now I’m too old for a mid-career move.”

“So I just do what I’m supposed to do and wait for my retirement– although sometimes I feel like a factory worker churning out stories without any passion or conviction. What to do? – I’ve got bills to pay.”

“Fair and balanced reporting doesn’t mean anything right now. In fact, it seems like something I used to know a long time ago,” she added.

Bread and butter concerns seem to take precedence over principles of journalism, and this explains why many mainstream journalists continue to work under circumstances that compromise ethics– and continue to receive flak from society for doing so.