Re: The Star littered with BN political ads

Apparently the Australian media was flooded with adverts extolling the
Howard government's achievements. A great sum of tax payers money was spent
by the government to highlight all their achievements most of which were
untrue. The public looked as if they swallowed the rubbish but the end
result of the election indicated otherwise. Howard the Prime Minister lost
his seat to a greenhorn who entered politics for the first time. The
Coalition Party headed by Howard lost their pants.Malaysia may just suffer
the same faith except one has to watch out for a possible backlash by the
UMNO ULTRAs with a civil strive equivalent to the May 13 1969 but this time
there will be no winners. If there is going to be trouble, I hope some of
the leaders heads be taken off first.
"JAMES ANMALAN" <jamesanmalan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:47c8c72b$1_1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
BORNEO POST IS LITTERED WITH BN TRASH


"pluto" <pluto@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:pcehs350r6iqat4j38a0gp0sklgehfc0lg@xxxxxxxxxx
The Star littered with BN political ads
Aliran Monthly - Penang,Malaysia
Then, came the turn of the owner of The Star itself, the MCA, to assert
in
a full-page ad that, "2300 non-Bumiputera students obtained full JPA
scholarships ...
<http://www.aliran.com/elections/2008/02/star-littered-with-bn-political-ads.html>

29 February 2008
The Star littered with BN political ads

Yesterday's "people's paper", The Star, like most other mainstream
newspapers,
was littered with full-page political ads 'selling' the omnipresent
product
called the Barisan Nasional (BN) party. For instance, one ad claims that
it has
been proven that the BN has an "efficient public delivery system".
Another
full-page ad, which was quite predictable in a post-Hindraf Malaysia,
reminds
the reader that the embattled component party MIC "Cares".




Then, came the turn of the owner of The Star itself, the MCA, to assert
in a
full-page ad that, "2,300 non-Bumiputera students obtained full JPA
scholarships
to study overseas between 2000 and 2007. A marked increase compared to
only 100
students before the year 2000."





It appears that the financially flushed incumbent BN has decided not to
pull any
ideological punches in its fight to win the hearts and minds of the
Malaysian
voters. Apart from insisting that their political messages be relayed via
news
reports, the BN has left no stone unturned in filling the ad spaces
available in
the newspapers with their electoral propaganda.




We wonder whether the mainstream newspapers would allow the Opposition to
place
their political ads if they wish to do so - especially given the fact
that they
are often squeezed out by the incumbent BN in the normal news sections of
the
dailies. How much does full-page ad cost anyway - and how much has the BN
already spent by now? Even if the Opposition is offered ad space, will
they be
charged the same rate and can they afford it? The whole advertising
campaign is
so one-sided, given the Opposition's marginal coverage in the newspapers
and its
meagre campaign budget. Is this what fair play and ethical journalism is
all
about?





Speaking of news reports, The Star yesterday (28 February) carried a
headline
screaming, "PM: People back Barisan". The PM's assertion that "the
majority of
the people would back the Barisan Nasional despite the Opposition's smear
campaign" was reported uncritically as if it were an unassailable fact.
Why
should a "smear campaign" apparently be the preserve of the Opposition
while the
one waged by BN is necessarily a clean electoral campaign?




On the hand, Kedah PAS deputy commissioner Mahfuz Omar's statement in the
same
report was left reported as a mere allegation without any apparent
attempt by
the daily to verify it: "Kedah Pas deputy commissioner Mahfuz Omar
alleged
yesterday that a Barisan candidate and seven other members of a
cooperative had
been expelled because of an alleged corruption case involving a land
purchase."




Surely such a serious allegation demands immediate and close scrutiny by
an
investigative journalist worth her salt. Can we then come to the
conclusion that
the reason for the daily's lackadaisical attitude is that the allegation
involves a Barisan candidate and not someone from the Opposition, whose
dirt is
otherwise always worth reporting?


posted by Media Monitors @ 6:17 PM 0 Comments

0 Comments:
===============================================
caveat fair use notice:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml




.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: The Star littered with BN political ads
    ... The Star littered with BN political ads ... reports, the BN has left no stone unturned in filling the ad spaces ... We wonder whether the mainstream newspapers would allow the Opposition to ... meagre campaign budget. ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)
  • The Star littered with BN political ads
    ... The Star littered with BN political ads ... The whole advertising campaign is ... Speaking of news reports, The Star yesterday carried a headline ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)
  • Re: The Star littered with BN political ads
    ... The Star littered with BN political ads ... We wonder whether the mainstream newspapers would allow the Opposition to place ... The whole advertising campaign is ... Speaking of news reports, The Star yesterday carried a headline ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)
  • Rampage victims critical Eleven wounded patients - aged 17 to 48 - being treated
    ... Star Columnists ... Special Reports ... The gunman and a young female student were killed in Wednesday's ... Police would not confirm his identity. ...
    (soc.culture.canada)
  • Re: Cheap Ass Republicans - Put your money where your mouth is!
    ... You can spend the public's money but when it comes to your own... ... Obama reports $51M to start April; McCain raised $15M By JIM KUHNHENN, ... campaign finance reports filed Sunday show. ...
    (misc.survivalism)