Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently told Chinese Malaysians they are “citizens with full rights” and that those who call them pendatang are “lunatics”. But how do Chinese Malaysians having “full rights” accord with the “Malay agenda” that Najib also claims to champion? To what threat is Najib referring when he warns Malay Malaysians that they may become squatters in their own land? And what has Najib said previously about organisations such as Perkasa that have openly chastised Chinese Malaysians for being ungrateful to the Umno-led government?
Berita Harian
What’s that about Malay rights?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IF one were to take to heart everything top Umno leaders say, and what the Malay-language newspapers report on, Malay Malaysians are on the brink of political extinction. From being sidelined by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to losing electoral power to non-Malay Malaysians, the Malays are doomed. So goes the headlines in Utusan Malaysia […]
Reporting on Sibu
By Ding Jo-AnnInvestigating frontpage stories after the Sibu by-election… (© clarita | morguefile.com) (Corrected at 5.55pm, 18 May 2010) THE day after Sibu fell to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in a closely-watched and fought by-election, what kind of frontpage stories greeted Malaysians in the press? With some newspapers relegating the news of the week to a second […]
Spinning Isa’s victory
By Ding Jo-AnnPolitician speak “The results show that the people have the full confidence in our two leaders. It is also a sign that voters, especially the Chinese and Indian [Malaysians], have now returned to support [the Barisan Nasional (BN)].” “My win is due to a combination of factors. People are now back with BN. They are […]
Call for harsher syariah penalties
Translation by Ding Jo-AnnA CALL for stiffer penalties for syariah offences, and who Umno should field for the Bagan Pinang by-election were among the issues that occupied the Malay-language dailies today. Harsher penalties wanted Utusan Malaysia‘s Herman Hamid reported in Pinda Akta Mahkamah Syariah on the calls for harsher penalties for syariah offences. The Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) […]
Utusan Malaysia and 1Malaysia
By Wong Chin HuatIF newspapers could be judged by their titles like books by their covers, most of the major Chinese-language newspapers in Malaysia would be guilty of not being “national” in character. Some of their names simply refer to a wider region like Oriental Daily (the East) and Nanyang Press (Southeast Asia, or literally the South Ocean). […]
Racialising Teoh Beng Hock’s death
By Zedeck SiewTHE Malay-language press continues to react to the death of Selangor government aide Teoh Beng Hock. Or rather, they continue to react to the outrage expressed by certain quarters over the tragedy. The 20 July 2009 edition of Utusan Malaysia ran a simple warning on its front page: Jangan melampau. The news report to which […]
M’sian youths stick with “mainstream media”
KUALA LUMPUR, 30 June 2009: Most Malaysian youths keep up to date with the news, but almost half say they mistrust the sources they get it from, according to the Merdeka Center‘s 2008 National Youth Survey. Ibrahim Suffian “There is skepticism over the news they are getting in the mainstream media as well as the […]
Husam to withdraw suit against 2 BN reps
KUALA LUMPUR, 16 June 2009: Kelantan state executive councillor Datuk Husam Musa will withdraw his RM6 million defamation suit against the Bukit Bunga assemblyperson Mohd Adhan Kecik and Paloh assemblyperson Datuk Nozula Mat Diah. His counsel, Ahmad Shabrimi Mohd Sidek, told the media today that Husam — the former PAS vice-president — intended to withdraw […]
Perak, PAS and unity
Translation by Shanon ShahTHE ongoing Perak crisis, the upcoming PAS party elections, and Umno’s 63rd anniversary were topics covered widely in the Malay-language press from 11 to 17 May 2009. On 11 May, Berita Harian group editor Datuk Manja Ismail wrote a commentary, Apabila yang tewas enggan terima kekalahan, saying Perak needed to learn from Kelantan, post-2004 elections. […]
