KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Oct 2009: The differences occurring within the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) should create awareness among the people that the coalition does not have the capability to discharge their responsibility, said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the various problems that had cropped up in the states under the opposition coalition showed that there was no consensus among the PR’s leaders.
“We outside the Pakatan Rakyat knew much earlier that they could not work together although they tried to show that they have forged close cooperation among themselves,” he told reporters after opening the National Asset and Facility Management (Nafam) Convention today.
Muhyiddin said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang had also admitted in his blog that public confidence in the opposition pact was declining due to the failure of the leaders in convincing Malaysians about their credibility.
In his posting yesterday, Lim remarked that “Pakatan Rakyat had been suffering a prolonged and unceasing bout of loss of public confidence in the past eight months because of the failure of the Pakatan Rakyat leaders to exercise responsibility and discipline in their respective parties to convince the Malaysian electorate [of] its credibility, cohesion, integrity and common sense of purpose.”
Muhyiddin said Lim’s statement should make the people realise that the PR did not have the capacity and cohesion that could gain the people’s confidence.
“This is really worrying, if they don’t administer the states under their rule properly, then all the development brought by the BN (Barisan Nasional) government all this while would be affected.
“This will affect the people and voters in the states concerned,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in a separate media conference after attending the opening of the convention, said the opposition leaders only knew how to criticise. But when they were given the opportunity to administer the states, they had no capability, he added.
“Now, they have formed the government (in some states). They don’t know how to behave except to become the opposition. Now they are opposing among themselves because they need to oppose and criticise people. That’s what they are good for.
“But when it comes to doing things, then they know. It’s not so easy. Governing the country is not so easy, it’s very difficult…,” he said. — Bernama
Kong Kek Kuat says
Wow, Lim Kit Siang must surely be flattered!
Even Muhyiddin is reading his blog!
Andrew I says
Well, the BN component parties are not short on problems either, especially the grab-top-position-now-before-you’re-too-old kind.
See Tshiung Han says
Nothing newsworthy about this. But it’s Bernama, what’s new? Honestly, Nut Graph, what about syndicating stories from other alternative news sources? Or at least a more balanced offering?
I understand that comments on Bernama stories are valuable. It’s great to know what the government deems fit for public consumption. But they publish bad, slanted news. And Nut Graph should be helping give a voice to good, big-picture news.
========================================================
Hi Han,
Thanks, but what “alternative news source”? Bernama is the only wire agency we have that covers Malaysian news. If you’re referring to the foreign wire service, they don’t cover Malaysia as much as we need them to, and truth is, we can’t afford their fees.
And what’s “bad, slanted news” to you may not be to others. Our job as a news site is to provide different voices — not just the voices a particular group of readers prefer.
And actually, I think we already do give voice to “big picture news”, more so, I dare say, than any other news site in Malaysia. We cover angles and pursue stories that other Malaysian media don’t bother with despite not being a big company with a huge newsroom.
Bernama is not an ideal source of news, sure, but they’re all we’ve got for now. And in this day and age when readers can respond to a story directly through the comments section, I do think that the “power” that government propaganda has, including through Bernama, is fast waning.
Jacqueline.
Editor
Tshiung Han See says
Hi Jacqueline,
I guess I should have been more specific.
I’m talking about working out syndication deals with Malaysiakini and Malaysia Insider. Sure, many of The Nut Graph’s readers also read the aforementioned sites, but if you must syndicate a wire service, what about syndicating selected Malaysiakini pieces for free on The Nut Graph’s website?
With respect to your comment on reader’s responding to the articles. What results from the comments? Where’s the continued dialogue. What you’ve done is given readers a voice. Which is a start. It’s a good start. But that’s beside the point.
Somewhere on the spectrum between “bad, slanted news” and “not the ideal source of news” lies Bernama. If The Nut Graph champions ethical journalism, what’s the point of becoming the vehicle of the unethical variety?
Unethical journalism being what I define as “bad, slanted.” Journalism you wouldn’t normally hold up as the epitome of Malaysian English either.
To wit, my comment is about the articles you choose to syndicate. If the choice is to publish a Bernama piece or nothing at all, then I understand. But if your concern is giving people a voice, at some point you need to think about improving the quality of the discussion.