MAS STEWARD SEXUALLY ASSAULTED FRENCH WOMAN

Written by Fatin Amalina

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Image credit: FMT.com Image source

After the heart-breaking stories of two Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight, MH370 and MH 17, again the world has been shocked by the same flight brand only on a different case, the controversial news regarding on sexual assault by Malaysia Airlines’ steward towards its passenger. The occurrence was reported in August 2014 which was a month after the tragic incident of the airlines’ flight.

What had made the incident look a lot bitter, the assault was carried out during the Chief Steward of MAS, Mohammed Rosli Bin Ab Karim performing his formalities. He was then detained by the police officers in France after allegations of sexual assault to one of the MH20 passengers, Laura Bushney on August 4th 2014. According to Bushney, the steward was trying to ‘calm and comfort’ as she was expressing how worried she was being on the plane in conjunction with the incidents that took place between MH370 and MH17. At the end, the action then allegedly turned into a sexual assault. Bushney made a police report about the ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour’. MAS terminated Mohd Rosli two weeks after the alleged incident on August 25th, 2014, and MAS came to admit of the following indictment, Mohammed Rosli was misbehaving against her. According to Astro Awani, MAS affirmed that:

… Malaysia Airlines has always expect the best standard of our staff and we also take seriously the claims of its kind. We will assist the French authorities to investigate (Tamboo, 2014).

However, two years after the occurrence, Bushney sued the carrier under the Montreal Convention for RM616, 000 while Mohammed Rosli was guaranteed in France and is still awaiting trial. Bushney has two years to get compensation based on the physical harm suffered and financial loss, according to Montreal Convention.

The fact that the incident took place between two different countries is obvious to show how drastically contrast the media coverage is.  Now, let’s have a little glance on how the story was being covered between a Malaysian media, Astro Awani and an International media, Daily Mail.

Fairness

Based on what was seen by Astro Awani coverage, it was crystal clear that they were playing with ‘picking side’ style of reporting. This can be proven when Astro Awani for a numerous times revealed the name and personal data of the sexual assault victim, Laura Bushney.

The offender (Mohammed Rosli) on the other hand, not even a single name was mentioned throughout the entire coverage. This plainly shows that Astro Awani was not being ethically fair to both parties of the case because when someone’s name is revealed, in fact, it technically endangers the person’s position too. However, both names were revealed according to the coverage made by Daily Mail.

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Table 1: the table shows certain info and taken a passage from the article that was reported by Astro Awani which shows a different standard given by them towards Bushney and Mohammed Rosli where only the victim’s name and information was revealed.

Propaganda

One of the things that many news agencies always fail to ‘keep an eye’ onto is to prevent from any sense of a ‘hoop-la’. Why? Because audience loves it when seasoning and flavour are added to the stories.

On November, 15 2014, Astro Awani posted a news article entitled ‘Keluarga bekas pramugara MAS didakwa lakukan serangan seksual rayu bantuan’ shows more sympathy for Mohammed Rosli where they interviewed his daughter and son in law.

Kami semua merindui sangat bapa kami dan tidak tahu apa lagi yang boleh kami lakukan… “Kami hanya berharap kepada mana-mana pihak yang boleh membantu kami untuk membawa balik bapa kami,” tambah Mohamad Faiq (son in law)… “Surat tersebut mengatakan bahawa MAS memberinya 60 hari untuk memfailkan rayuan terhadap keputusan itu sedangkan mereka sedia maklum bahawa bapa kami sedang dalam tahanan di Paris dan tidak berada dalam Malaysia… “MAS tidak memberikan bantuan kepada kami untuk menjejaki bapa kami. MAS meninggalkan kami dalam keadaan serba tidak tahu dan ini amat mengecewakan dan menyedihkan kami sekeluarga,” tambahnya. “Dia (bapa) telah kehilangan berat badan. Dia kelihatan sakit dan tertekan. Dia menghadapi masalah berkaitan pemakanan dan mengalami stres selain tekanan darah tinggi… “Paling menyedihkan adalah pada hari terakhir kerana kami tidak dapat berjanji kepadanya bila dia boleh pulang,”  kongsi Syaza yang tidak dapat menahan kesedihan… (Syafique Shuib, 2014).

Apart from that, Astro Awani also posted a news article which reported that Bushney had been deprecated on social media. Together with the news, Astro Awani attached few tweets that were posted by the netizens that disagreed with the entire issue of sexual assault and thought that Bushney was actually playing victim.

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From the tweets, what can we digest from Astro Awani is that they had shown less professionalism in news reporting. At this point, what can we question is; are these propagandas purposely implanted so that their news would sell?

 At the end of everything, we can never deny the fact that communication is the most significant part for every organisational operation as it not only functioning in connecting and interacting within the organisation itself, hence also enables people to communicate world-widely. With the existence of communication, automatically it enables ones to be reached borderless. However, the same thing also goes to media, where communication becomes a connector with one country to another. Hence to every company that sells communication like Astro Awani and Daily Mail, what they need to be aware of is that communication is actually representing who they are. For example, if they are practising and promoting good communication, it shall be a direct image of the company viewed positively among others.

Nevertheless, after a thorough glance of this issue, what can be summarised is that both of local and international news media agencies have their strengths and weaknesses moreover on the way of reporting. Local news are more to exaggerating the news to make it bombastic while international news are straight forward on the issue that they want to report even they if practice freedom of media. However, it is clear that Astro Awani is still in poor communication when it comes to reporting news to its audience.

 

Bibliography

Malaysiakini. (2015, December 11). 3,000 rape cases in Malaysia every year. Retrieved from Malaysiakini.com: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/322980

Syafique Shuib. (2014, November 15). Keluarga bekas pramugara MAS didakwa lakukan serangan seksual rayu bantuan. Retrieved from Astro Awani`: http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/keluarga-bekas-pramugara-mas-didakwa-lakukan-serangan-seksual-rayu-bantuan-48465

Tamboo, L. T. (2014, August 14). Pramugara MAS ditahan polis Perancis kerana didakwa lakukan serangan seksual. Retrieved from Astro Awani: http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/pramugara-mas-ditahan-polis-perancis-kerana-didakwa-lakukan-serangan-seksual-41909

BERNAMA AND BBC NEWS IN REPORTING THE SPREAD OF ZIKA VIRUS IN SINGAPORE

Written by Rasheffa Rashid

History of Zika Virus

Zika virus which is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito is not a new born disease, it was founded in decades ago when it was first identified in Uganda 1947 in monkey (WHO, 2016) before founded in humans in 1952. According to the WHO, the virus has been among the human community but was not highlighted in the media until the first large outbreak where Zika infection cases were reported from the Islands of Yap in 2007 (WHO, 2016). Yap is an island group in the Western Pacific that is part of the Federated States of Micronesia.

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Since then, the virus spread explosively, to other Pacific Islands before it landed in Brazil, and from there spreading rapidly to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean (Teh, 2016). The outbreak of Zika virus began in Brazil in April 2015 which later spread to South and Central America and then the Caribbean Island (Teh, 2016).

Several countries around the globe were experiencing Zika virus outbreaks. In January 2016, a level 2 travel alert was imposed for people travelling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing (Teh, 2016) especially pregnant women. The virus was spreading from one country to another, through individuals that may have been infected by virus, travelling from Zika infected nations back to their own country and others countries around the world.

A news report by Bernama on January 23, 2016, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) had said, that the virus has been reported in 23 countries over the two months since its worldwide alert in late 2015. It also said, Zika virus has spread to 13 additional countries and territories in just one month since.

Zika Symptoms:

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  • Fever
  • Rash
  • Joint pain
  • Conjunctivitis (red eyes)
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache

 

Zika Virus & Pregnant Women 

Unlike a normal person, the consequences of a pregnant woman are more serious, this is because as the Zika virus infection can cause microcephaly in a small number of unborn foetus of pregnant women. According to WHO’s earlier reports, there is no evidence that pregnant women are more likely to get infected with the virus. Pregnant women with symptoms of probably infected with Zika virus are advised to seek medical attention immediately.

How Zika Virus Transmit

The Aedes mosquito-borne disease primarily is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. This is this the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever (WHO, 2016). However, what differs Zika virus from other types of diseases carried by Aedes mosquito is it can also be transmitted through sexual intercourse.

 Prevention Measures:

  • People can avoid mosquito bites by wearing light coloured clothes
  • Keep the doors, and window shut, sleeping under a mosquito net
  • Apply insect repellent.
  • Keep home surroundings clean
  • Keep buckets, drums, pots, gutter and used tyres empty.

 

Summary of Chronology of on The Spread of Zika Virus in Singapore & Malaysia

Since the large and fast moving spread of the infectious Zika Virus in 2015, the South East Asian region has been alerted on the scare. Thus the probability of the disease transmitted into close to Malaysia country was still low but not impossible, however, the Malaysian Health Ministry were prepared at any cost to face the outbreak.

BBC on May 20 reported that Singapore declared its first imported Zika case in May. A 48-year-old local who had travelled to Brazil, where the outbreak started, got infected with the disease. Likely Malaysia as well alerted its public on the matter, according to a Bernama report on that date, Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam, advised Malaysians not to panic following the Zika threat in Singapore. He said, it was among the first few Zika cases reported in Singapore, but was claimed as an imported and isolated case. No travel restriction was imposed between the two neighbouring nations as it situation back then was still under control and no sign of the disease spreading and not an epidemic.

However, managing the large outbreak on August 28 which was more intense and gave a different implication, the Ministry of Health in Singapore confirmed 41 cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection in the republic, with the victim being a 47-year-old Malaysian woman living in southeastern Singapore as the city-state’s first case of a local transmission of the virus.  Zika was spreading fast in Singapore, five days later, a Bernama report said 115 cases were confirmed of Zika virus infection.

Malaysia on the other hand, became a victim itself, when it first announced its first Zika infection case on September 1. According to the Bernama news report, the Malaysian Health Ministry said the victim, a woman from Klang was tested positive for the disease upon her return from Singapore a week before. Malaysia immediately became risk at high alert. The virus spread in late August alarmed the Singapore Ministry of Health did not rule out further community transmission in the country, as some of the Zika victims tested positive also live or work in other parts of Singapore (MOH, 2016).

The Malaysian Health Ministry at this level quickly took first preventive measures to conduct screenings at the main entrance into the country especially at the airports. Picking a Bernama news report on August 28, the Malaysian Health Ministry said, it would intensify monitoring at the two main entry points into Johor Bharu following the case of a Malaysian woman being infected by the Zika virus in Singapore. Quoting Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the report said, precautionary measures to be taken included distributing pamphlets on the prevention of Zika infection and placing paramedics at the entry points to examine tourists showing signs of the disease.

Seven days later, on September 7, a report by Bernama said, the first case involving a pregnant woman was confirmed in Malaysia. According to Datuk Seri S Subramaniam who made a press announcement, the 27-year-old woman’s last visit to Singapore was six months ago, but her husband commuted daily to his workplace in Geylang. Zika infection among pregnant woman created massive attention from the public and the media, and at a point, religious department came up with new guidelines on the possibility of abortion if a pregnant woman is infected with the virus which may result the child born having Guillain-Barré syndrome and other complications.

 

Reference

CDC (2016). Zika Virus: Symptoms. Centre for Disease Control and Prevent. U.S. Department
of Health & Human Services. Retrieved on 18 Nov 2016 from
http://www.cdc.gov/zika/symptoms/symptoms.html

Davies, W. (2016). Zika virus: Risk higher than first thought, say doctors. BBC News, Rio de
Janeiro. Retrieved on 18 Nov 2016 from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36184799

Kindhauser, M.K; Allen,T.; Frank, V.; Santhana, R. & Dye, C. (2016). Zika: the origin and spread
of mosquito-borne virus. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved on
18 Nov 2016 from http://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/16-171082/en/

No Need To Panic, Zika Virus Infection In Singapore An Isolated Case- Dr S. Subramaniam.
(2016). Bernama.com, 20 May, retrieved on 20 Nov 2016 from
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/newsindex.php?id=1247853

Malaysia Reports First Zika Virus Case.(2016). Bernama.com, 1 Sept, retrieved on 18 Nov 2016
From http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/newsindex.php?id=1278573

Malaysia Reports First Zika Case Involving Pregnant Woman (2016). Bernama.com, 7 Sept,
retrieved on 18 Nov 2016 from
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/newsindex.php?id=1280654

Singapore Confirms 41 Cases Of Locally Transmitted Zika Virus Infection. 2016. Bernama.com,
28 Aug, retrieved on 20 Nov 2016 from
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1277530
Teh, W. S. (2016). Zika Virus: How It Spreads And Why Malaysians Should Be Prepared.
Malaysian Zika virus, (2016). Digest.com, retrieved on 17 Nov 2016, from
http://malaysiandigest.com/news/594192-zika-virus-how-it-spreads-and-why-malaysians-should-be-prepared.html
The history of Zika Virus. (2016) World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved on 18 Nov 2016
from http://www.who.int/emergencies/zika-virus/timeline/en/

Zika Virus. Diseases and Conditions, Ministry of Health Singapore, 2016. Retrieved on 15 Nov
2015 from
https://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/home/diseases_and_conditions/z/zika.html

Zika Case In Singapore: Monitoring Will Be Intensified At Johor Entry Points – Health DG. 2016.
Bernama.com, 20 Aug, retrieved on 20 Nov 2016 from
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v8/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1277533

ANTI-VACCINE MOVEMENT

Written by Natasha Sidek

According to Merriam-Webster, anti-vaccine is defined as an opposed to the use of vaccines where a handful parents and anti-vaccine activists told lawmakers on the House Health and Human Services Committee that they believe vaccines are responsible for countless cases of autism, learning disabilities and death.

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The anti-vaccination movement is a loose organised conspiracy theorist subculture which blames the medical practice of vaccinations for a wide range of health problems.

The movement, to a large majority led by people with no medical or scientific qualifications, is based largely on alleged short and long term side effects of vaccination. Since the argument is made that vaccines are deadly poisons, the anti-vaccination movement fails to gain traction outside social media, then by necessity they argue that some kind of cover up must take place that the vaccines serve an agenda.

According to Free Malaysia Today, there are recent reports about new cases of diphtheria in Malaysia and it raised serious concerns about the anti-vaccine movement in Malaysia. It was reported that a two-year-old boy from Kedah and a seven-year-old girl from Malacca died from diphtheria. The number of children who came in close contact with the deceased has been suspected of the disease.

The two deaths related to diphtheria have alarmed the medical community in Malaysia as diphtheria is a disease caused by bacteria from an unhealthy environment and can be prevented through immunisation. Such cases seem to indicate the growing of anti-vaccine movement in Malaysia and it has become an issue of concern.

As stated in BBC News, the news coverage on anti-vaccine movement are more largely reported in international prospect and the point of perspective are also different compared to local news agency.

Some Malaysian parents have expressed their fears of side effects and links to autism. Andrew Wakefield, who is dubbed as the ‘Father of Anti-Vaccine Movement’, allegedly found links to autism to childhood vaccines but his study was retracted in 2010 after it was proven to be an “elaborate fraud”. However, even when many other studies have debunked these myths, some parents are still suspicious to vaccination and suspected that it may have caused autism.

According to BBC News, anti-science rhetoric has serious consequences for society. The rants on social media to the belief that vaccines cause autism, scientific ignorance takes on a variety of frustrating forms.

The people who choose not to vaccinate their children have a misguided belief that vaccines contain DNA from pigs, making the vaccines forbidden or haram for Muslim families. The rumours could have started as some vaccines on the global market are cultivated using the trypsin enzyme from pigs.

But even in these cases, scholars argue that the porcine elements are negligible that Islam allows it as it saves lives. According to Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, the consultant paediatrician and neonatologist said the oral polio vaccine was a big issue because it uses trypsin from porcine sources.

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BBC News also reported on the religion sentiment that a Muslim in Asia and the East had seen “strong anti-vaccination propaganda”. The news reported that the rumours had been spread that a conspiracy to control or even harm the Muslim population was being initiated through administered vaccinations.

The anti-vaccine movement is giving diseases a second life as reported in local news. Even though Malaysia achieved low levels of vaccine-preventable diseases for diseases such as diphtheria and neonatal tetanus, these diseases have not been eradicated completely. Many of the viruses and bacteria are still circulating in this country and that is why it is important that children especially infants and young children receive the recommended immunisations on time.

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The investigative reporting from The World Health Organisation (WHO), the Centres for Disease Control in the YS and the Ministry of Health of Malaysia have unequivocally stated that none of the vaccines given singularly or simultaneously causes autism.

Every propaganda from the anti-vaccine movement should be confirmed and study by all parent so they will not be manipulated by the movement. Evidence has shown that scientifically vaccine would not harm people either in autism or any other diseases. The issues on pig enzyme also being highlighted and should not be worried by the parents as it is clear from it.

BERSIH RALLY

Written by Mazida Desa

BERSIH RALLY

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections or known as Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil or Bersih in Malay is a non-government organisations (NGOs) coalition which seeks to reform the current electoral system in Malaysia to ensure free, clean and fair elections. It was officially formed on 23rd November 2006 as a joint communiqué that comprised leaders from political parties, civil society groups and NGOs. Bersih has accused the Election Commission under Prime Minister’s Department for manipulating the electoral process for giving an unfair advantage to the ruling National Front coalition. Bersih claimed that the electoral roll was spoiled by irregularities such as gerrymandering, phantom voters, mal apportionment and fraud postal votes. On 10th November 2007, Bersih organised the first rally with 10,000 to 40,000 turnouts and held a public demonstration at Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur. Supporters of Bersih were urged to wear yellow T-shirts as a symbol of protest.

Background of the Media

Utusan Malaysia or literally translated from Malay to English as “The Malaysian Courier” is a Malay-language newspaper published in Malaysia. Distinctive for its blue masthead as its logo and trademark, Utusan Malaysia was first published in Jawi in 1939. Utusan Malaysia became an influential medium for the people to voice out their opinions towards the ruling of British Government in Malaya.

BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that is responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and also current affairs. The department is the world’s largest broadcast news organization and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage.

Propaganda

Utusan Online released a statement that Bersih movement is associated with a Christian group based outside of the country. According to the official statement, it is intended to reduce the post of Prime Minister due to injustice in governing the country. According to BBC News, the goal is to push Bersih electoral reform in Malaysia and the government claimed that the action was unfair. In addition, BBC News earned the story by saying there are jets of water cannons from the Net group. Utusan Online discussed the financial funds collected by Bersih that has reached millions of ringgit.

 

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It is not logic if the analysts assumed that the money would be channelled and sponsored from the Christians. There is a revelation of the missing money and that is the cause that triggers chaos and riots. The source also pointed out that the biggest contributor to Bersih movement was affiliated with the Christian. In the meantime, the source also explained that the Net also received financial assistance from NGOs based in United States, Britain and several Asian countries whereas according to BBC News, there was an incident pursuing and using weapons among them.

In addition, the newspaper accused Bersih movement made a scapegoat by the Election Commission to legalise the illegal demonstration and had a net movement of the political mastermind. According to Awani, Bersih 4.0 or a classified banned rally in Malaysia also took place in several other cities around the world. According to Foreign Ministry, the respected bodies will collect information from Malaysians who are involved with illegal assembly Bersih 4.0 abroad. Legal actions can be taken against them later. The Ministry’s Deputy Minister, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the monitoring was conducted by Wisma Putra and their identities will be submitted to the national authorities so that actions will be taken according to the law of the country

Chronology of the Bersih Rally

Starting on 10 November 2007 at 5.30pm, Bersih 2.0 committee failed to submit a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara. However, he described that the association achieve its goals and they also slammed the rest of the participants, including those from other groups. It ends at 7:30 am the next day, there were numbers of trucks of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), including those equipped with water cannons along Jalan Maharajalela and towards Masjid Negara and Masjid Jamek.

Evidence

The evidence of the Bersih is when the Prime Minister felt threatened by this movement and start to take action to this group. The purpose of this motion is to seek justice on behalf of the people and attempt to overthrow Prime Minister. Bersih rally has been initiated since 2007.

1MALAYSIA DEVELOPMENT BERHAD IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD AND MALAYSIAN CITIZENS

Written by AppleFadila

Politics has always been a course of which includes the bright side and the gloomy side. It is a battle of both to the politicians. Politics is also a concerned issue in the local scene. The issue of 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal has been circulated and exposed since the year 2014. First of all, 1Malaysia Development Berhad is a strategic development company formerly known as Terengganu Investment Authority, wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. 1MDB leads market-driven initiatives to assist the Government in propelling Malaysia towards becoming a developed nation that is highly competitive in nature (1MDB.com). Its aim is to drive economic growth through joint ventures that bring foreign direct investment into Malaysia. It lays its focus on fields of energy, real estate, tourism and agribusiness (Bloomberg.com).

In Malaysia, the mainstream press mainly consists of the published newspapers that can be seen on newspaper stands. For examples Utusan Malaysia, Harian Metro and Kosmo. The three ways of reporting are reporting that are being carried out in a positive light, negative reporting and neutral journalism.

The positive reporting consists of two ways which are; showing support by direct words in their reports or non-coverage. What is meant by non-coverage? It literally means, when an issue is sensational, or more revelations or exposure have been made by the other media outlets, but some media, which mainly is the mainstream media may choose to keep silent on the arising revelations. Non-coverage and nil-reporting also constitute positive way of reporting as they choose to not touch at all on the sensitive revelations in their reports.

It has to be made known that most mainstream media outlets own a higher responsibility towards the government. It is because, they answer directly to the government and they are strictly governed by the Malaysian laws such as Defamation Act, Sedition Act, Printing Presses Publication Act, the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission, and a few other related laws. They are bound to these rules and regulations.

For example, Utusan Malaysia’s article titled “1MDB jadi subjek serangan politik” clearly showed that Utusan is in favor of the government and connotes the government to be the “victim” in this scandal. Further in the article, it stated

“1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) telah menjadi bahan serangan bermotifkan politik dengan objektif untuk menjatuhkan ketua kerajaan yang dipilih secara demokrasi yang tidak pernah berlaku sebelum ini” (Utusan Online).

Translated as;

“1MDB has been the subject of attack with political motives with the sole objective to bring down the head of government that had been democratically chosen; something that has never happened before”.

Next, there is also a neutral way of reporting which is more truthful. The media does not take sides and reports it in a truthful light. The issues are not hidden, but enlightened in such way that is neutral and does not show support nor hatred. The example of media that exercises this way of reporting is Sinar Harian. The journalists tend to report the issue of 1MDB without giving their own thoughts or opinions that may be inclined toward any political parties.

Meanwhile, some media even have a negative coverage on the issue that might “polute” the thinking of the people. Some might even consider it as the hurtful truth, but it is up to the public’s acceptance to put their basis and beliefs on certain stories. For example, media tabloids such as Harakah and Suara Keadilan are clearly produced by the opposition parties, hence their style of reporting are direct, unfiltered, and sometimes extreme. They also show support towards the opposition parties and will report on any revelations and exaggerate them so as to get the most attention on the issues at hand. As a result, Harakah was sued by the Prime Minister, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak for defamation based on an online article by the online portal of the tabloid. Harakah failed to meet the PM’s requirements for settlement and that their failure to do so caused the case to be brought to court for trials (NSTonline, Hidir Reduan).

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It has to be taken into account that the new media which is the internet plays a vital role in disseminations of information at current. As most of them are written and handled by citizen journalists with no proper journalism qualifications, most of their posts are biased and include extreme reporting.

For example, “The Sarawak Report” had been banned and blocked several times because of their abusive articles. They also face multiple civil suits against them and mostly are still on-trial. Quoted from The Guardian, Sarawak Report was blocked two weeks after the website first reported on how investigators probing the debt-laden 1MDB discovered that some US$700m allegedly made its way into Dato Seri Najib’s personal bank accounts. Dato Seri Najib, facing mounting calls to resign, has denied receiving money for his personal use. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the country’s internet regulator, confirmed late on Sunday it had blocked Sarawak Report for reporting on what it called “unverified content” (The Guardian; Beh Lih Yi).

Because people demand to know more information about 1MDB conflict and only limited coverage can be found on mainstream media, hence it creates the urge to gain and demand more information to be released by the government. Especially opponent-biased newspapers urge the government to reveal more information or at least answer to most of the questions at rise. The government’s silent action may be caused by the fact that 1MDB scandal is a sensitive issue as it involves the goodname/ reputation of the country.

This is a totally different situation with the international media as they do not owe anything towards our government. They also exercise a free writing style and liberal in giving out their thoughts and opinions. As they are ungoverned by domestic laws, they freely report on our 1MDB issue and most shocking revelations also originated from these outside sources.

The United States, for example, is slanting left in their reporting style. This means they have become more liberal in their reporting. Conservatives have a point. Studies show mainstream media leans left, and that, as economists Tim Groseclose and Jeff Milyo have written, “an almost overwhelming fraction of journalists are liberal” (Fortune; Chris Mathhews).

On the other hand, Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is among of the loudest media outlets that revealed information on the 1MDB scandal. Among others are Al-Jazeera, The Sunday Times, The Times US, ibtimesUK, The Listening Post and The Edge.

At first, WSJ revealed that 700million USD was transferred into the PM’s personal account from unknown and shady sources. It further stated that the money may have come from the funding of 1MDB which is used in an ill-manner and that the PM misused his position as the head of government to attain “silent money”.

One of the articles by WSJ include one with the title “Malaysia Leader Under Pressure From U.S. Lawsuit Over 1MDB Assets” which stated the Prime Minister Najib Razak faced fresh calls to resign Thursday after the U.S. moved to seize more than $1 billion of assets allegedly siphoned from a development fund he founded (WSJ; Jack M.W).

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1MDB issue was alleged to be closely-related to Malaysia’s international debts. However, the PM on June 11, 2016 (in Sarawak speech) said our debts are much lower than of the US’, Singapore’s and Japan’s. We are pretty much in a good financial state and Goods and Services Tax (GST) are going to be a great assistance to Malaysia’s economy.

The Dubai-owned news agency, Al-Jazeera, is also loud in their revelations on 1MDB issues. Al-Jazeera had also made documentaries on sensational issues such as the murder of Altantuya, the conspiracy of the disappearance of MH 370, and not to forget on the issue of 1MDB. Some might even question the eagerness of Al-Jazeera in reporting our 1MDB issue where they even went all-out to do their reporting. Some might think Al-Jazeera might have some hidden agenda by manipulating this issue. It is because their eagerness is extreme even though the issue does not concern on their countries’ welfare or of any importance to them. The same question rises upon WSJ and its reports. Some might question their eagerness to keep on looking for information to reveal from underground sources is extreme to a point that they may have the agenda to bring down the government of Malaysia and weaken Malaysia from within.(Al-Jazeera).

If that is the thought of international media, then what do local media have in mind? It can be clearly seen that tabloid such as Harakah and Suara Keadilan had been using this issue to their advantage, so as to continuously report and open more rooms for the public to view the government negatively. As the tabloid support the opposition parties, hence this will definitely benefit the opposition leaders and politicians.

The new media which is mostly written by citizen journalists shows a more extreme kind of reporting. They also intend to create doubts in the hearts of the citizens towards the government. The internet may exist as a platform to voice out opinions, but it is used and manipulated by certain groups of people to further spread hate towards the government. Websites such as Sarawak Report and Financial Daily were even banned in July 2015 because their contents were abusive towards the Government and violated the freedom of speech under Article 13 of Malaysian Federal Constitution. They also faced defamation sues for their actions.

Yes, it has to be taken into account some media may become “loud” in order to uphold the public’s rights and feed the public of what they want. But, as we live in a country that has strict laws, they should exercise journalism Code of Ethics so as to prevent any legal suits that will just cause financial loss to them, on top of a deteriorated reputation.

 There is also the most recent court case regarding the 1MDB issue. The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur had sentenced the Parliament representative of Pandan, Rafizi Ramli with 18 months of imprisonment for the offence of revealing one page of the audit report on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad. The judge, Zulkarnain Hassan concluded the case, but it can be appealed at the Court of Appeal [PP vs Rafizi Ramli]. However, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s top leadership said the party is confident that lawyers representing its vice president Rafizi Ramli will proceed with an appeal against his sentencing at the Sessions Court (NST Online: Awaina Arbee).

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Image credit: NST Online Image source

In a nutshell, the 1MDB issue has attained global attention, as well as getting mixed perceptions from the local citizens. The issue has become big because 1MDB concerns on people’s money, and the controversies surrounding it from Tabung Haji savings, and buying of lands above market price, and selling them back below buying price is viewed as so worrisome by the people.

However, some media especially the western media have exaggerated the issue with more and more revealing information, sometimes obtained from invalid sources. When the issue is all on the surface; that is when it obtains more and more critiques. Legal suits by the western countries such as the civil suit by the US on our PM had also caused the issue to be more sensational. Thus, as citizens, we should limit our involvements in such controversial reporting, and do not trust 100% on each and every article we come across, especially online.

 

References

1MDB.com. About Us: 1MDB. n.d. 10 November 2016 <http://www.1mdb.com.my/>.

Al-Jazeera. Calls for Malaysia PM’s resignation over 1MDB scandal. 22 July 2016. 11 November 2016 <http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/calls-malaysia-pm-resignation-1mdb-scandal-160721073904223.html>.

Bloomberg.com. Company Overview of 1Malaysia Development Berhad. n.d. 10 November 2016 <http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=140313786>.

CNBC News; Saheli R.C. Timeline: The twists and turns in the tale of 1MDB. 21 September 2015. 10 November 2016 <http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/21/malaysia-fund-1mdb-pm-najib-plagued-by-fraud-allegations.html>.

Fortune; Chris Mathhews. Conservatives Are Right: The Media Is Very Liberal. 2 November 2015. 11 November 2016 <http://fortune.com/2015/11/02/liberal-media/>.

NST Online: Awaina Arbee. Lawyers will appeal court decision on Rafizi, says PKR deputy president. 14 November 2016. 15 November 2016 <http://www.newsjs.com/url.php?p=http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/11/188531/lawyers-will-appeal-court-decision-rafizi-says-pkr-deputy-president>.

NSTonline, Hidir Reduan. 2016. 26 September. 10 November 2016 <ww.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/176146/pm-najib-harakah-fail-settle-1mdb-defamation-suit>.

The Guardian; Beh Lih Yi. Sarawak Report whistleblowing website blocked by Malaysia after PM allegations. 20 July 2015. 11 November 2016 <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/20/sarawak-report-whistleblowing-website-blocked-by-malaysia-over-pm-allegations>.

Utusan Online. 1MDB Jadi Subjek Serangan Politik. 22 July 2016. 10 November 2016 <http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/nasional/1mdb-jadi-subjek-serangan-politik-1.356409>.

WSJ; Jack M.W. Malaysia Leader Under Pressure From U.S. Lawsuit Over 1MDB Assets. 21 July 2016. 11 November 2016 <http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-prosecutors-1mdb-case-divides-malaysia-1469096192>.

HONDA & TAKATA AIRBAG

Written by Fatin Amalina

The exclusive brand Honda currently stands as one of the top global automakers which not only provides a standout performance and comfortability, hence also costs a lot cheaper amongst its competitors. In Malaysia by far, 100,000 of cars are produced per year since 2015 as the sales have been steadily rising. However, only recently the world has been shocked by ‘airbag ruptured’ news which makes people wonder will it affect the very respectable name of Honda.

Hence, for a few years already, Honda had recalled thousands of mobile vehicles regarding on several accidents reported that had been linked with Takata airbag. However, the year 2016 doesn’t seem to be a decent year to Honda Malaysia as it involved several tragic issues. As much as it involved the lives of the loved ones, these types of accidents may defect the sales of Honda as well.

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Image credit: asiaone.com Image source

As supposed, the function of designed airbags to vehicle is mainly to inflate extremely rapidly then quickly deflate at times when crash or impact with a surface or a quick sudden deceleration and today, the problem was,  many begin to worry as airbags do not work as how they should. In fact, people’s lives are at risk. Airbag is prompted by great velocity and open up at more than 200 miles per hour which are much faster than a car crash, hence due to its strong pressure could cause bodily harm. It was reported on Autos.com, children who are riding in rear-facing car seats are at the highest risk for harm from supplemental restraint system (SRS) systems.

The tense force of airbag has the ability either to break the car seat or shove on it with a great force that can lead to harm or death. Since children are regularly placed in a position of forward-facing car seats are at risk from airbag injury too, since these types of seats are a lot farther forward in the seat than an adult would normally sit. In reality, any child age below 10 should never sit in a seat equipped with an SRS system as the potential for injury is merely too high (Autos.com, 2013).

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The table shows a chronology of car accident in 2016 which the drivers died because of the Takata airbag ruptured.

Since this issue involves two big brands name; Honda and Takata Corporation, the news obtained a massive coverage by local and international media.  Here are a few variances that were found between these two local media Astro Awani and Reuters.

Propaganda: Does Reuters only cover on what would bring benefit to them?

We can never argue the fact that a good headline is the difference between encouraging someone to read the story and skipping over it to read something else. Hence, the entire point of a headline is initially to inform readers what the story is about and encourages them to find out more by reading the story. However, some reporters or editors have missed the entire point of headlines to what shall benefit them in return.

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The table shows how Reuters only interested more on sensational stories although there are many other actual options. It seems like Reuters strives to pick issues that can provide a massive over-hyped reaction by audiences.

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In the table, Astro Awani on the other hand, it was reporting stories that mattered more than just sensationalism. Based on the three headlines, Astro Awani was taking their opportunity as an informer to acknowledge and spread the right information through a right manner.

 Practicality

Practicality

Many has misquoted that ‘sensationalism’ is the most important criteria that could sell their news however, what they have forgotten is the fact that informative news attract audience too. Although this may sound very cliché but mass media should minimize the damage by correcting mistakes quickly and completely. Hence every corrections of significant mistakes should be published without delay in a visible place.

In an article titled “Honda Malaysia compensates customers for Takata airbag recall” by Astro Awani; it had provided a very helpful yet informative information of hubs location of Honda in Malaysia.

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Image credit: astroawani Image source

Apart from that, Astro Awani also attached videos in their news which could be more than just sharing practicalities as some audience are more attracted to visuals. Apart from that, it shall bring an effective technique of disseminating news from Astro Awani to the people because people are easily attracted to visual and sound; remember last time when TV was the “in” thing?

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Video credit: Astro Awani Video source

In conclusion, what can be concluded by the news coverage made by Astro Awani, it really proves that Malaysian media is not that bad at all despite the fact that this country is still to be considered as a developing country to be compared to the coverage made by other international news agency; Reuters from England which has been established for more than 100 years. In fact, every inspection that has been carried out throughout this investigation and observation has made it clear that sometimes we as the locals would really look up on the westerners. Everything that is given by them, we always believe that it is so much better than what we already have to offer.

Reuters in other sense had used the element of sensationalism in covering the issue; however, it is essential to remember that sensationalism in the media is not always a bad thing. There are times where a story may be important to the general public but the topic is otherwise boring. Hence, to make it more exciting, the press may choose induce sensationalism in the presentation of the information that is important to the public but through the righteous procedure

Bibliography

Autos.com. (2013, October 7). The Dangers of Car Airbags. Retrieved from http://www.autos.com/: http://www.autos.com/driving-and-safety/the-dangers-of-car-airbags

THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS – MALAYSIAN VERSUS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ATTENTION

Written by Saraa Abas

The concerning refugee predicament is on its height recently as most European countries struggled to cope with refugee’s influx from the Middle East. In the midst of war, the civilian becomes victims of mass event massacre and displaced from their home. The Syrian’s civil war has displaced more than 11 million of its population, fleeing from home to seek humanitarian support from aiding countries. The conflicting war in Syria continues to be the biggest human displacement followed by Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2015 alone, the EU has settled more than 1 million refugees, where mostly seek for asylum.

Syrian civil war began from the collision between long-serving government, al-Assad family, and rebellion group. Initiates by Arab Spring uprising, people in Middle East demand for political reforms. The frustration is more likely of the government failure to achieve the long-promised economy. The successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt energised and gave hope to Syrian pro-democracy activists and many Islamist movements that were opposed by Assad’s rule. In April 2011, Syrian army attacked the demonstrators, leading the rebellion group armed themselves to fight back. This rebellion group grows combining local tribal groups, deserted militant and Jihadist, each with their own agendas.

In the other hand, battling global terrorism, these refugees are becoming the victims of judgement and discrimination of world issues which stroke some European countries due to several incidences involving Islamist extremist. Having all refugees being Muslims, while some countries welcome them with open arms, in contrary, it raises disputes on the foreign policies of migrant acceptance. It addresses the concerns of widening the risk of terrorist penetration, taking advantage from the migration, along with the on-going social problems among the local.

Since the refugee migration took place, there are several incidences and foreign policies changes in adapting this phenomenal influx. Many were criticised and pressured to give assurance to the refugees as required by The United Nations.

Media Propagation

To understand the current status of refugee crisis today, we monitored the local and international mainstream media outlets that disseminate updates and current news relating to this issue. The reflections of world views upon this matter are much likely influenced by how these media portrays the situation (Gerbner, 1999) and agreement of a particular cause. We examined two media outlets, a Malaysia’s news media, The Star and an international news media, The Guardian. In one month media monitoring is held in the month of October 2016 via online, collecting the related articles and extracting their perspective reporting upon this matter.

Malaysian Media: The Star

The Star is established by Star Media Group Berhad, formerly as Star Publication (Malaysia) Berhad, over 16 years and revamped in 2008, embracing digital news, The Star Online, integrate themselves along with readers demand, offering better access to news stories, channel and multimedia. Apart from news by local journalist, we’ve noticed that The Star subscribed to Reuters, a Russia’s based international media, for its foreign news.

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Image credit: Newsweek.com Image source

i.          Denials of human right’s

It has been mixed feeling on the response of European countries providing adequate humanitarian aids for fellow refugees arrived. The Star reported the pressure build up on few European countries to fulfil the basic human need and fair treatment to all refugees. It criticised the failure of those countries to better manage the current crisis and carrying out their responsibilities as developed nation giving assistance to civilians in distressed.   

ii.        ISIS threat

The risk of open doors policy of refugees is the potential of extremist penetration that could jeopardise the safety of local citizen. Due to several occurrences recently in few Europe’s countries, Muslims around the world, particularly from the Middle East were stereotyped and discriminate by politician and the locals. The Star reports of few suspected Syrian refugees were wanted, adding up to the tension to aid provider’s countries. In the reports, The Star repeatedly relates Syrian refugee to agendas of strong connotation like ‘bomb’ and ‘attack’ could leave a perspective on the public readers.

iii.      Restricting borders on refugees

In the period of monitoring, The Star highlights refugee migrant restriction and denial of entrance by few countries on its policies to limit refugee’s intake and deals made between governments to contain the placement of refugees that seek for asylum. The strict restriction led criticism over respective government decision not only denying their duty but also increase the risk of danger of refugees casualties, fleeing from home seeking for humanitarian aids.

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Image credit: Wall Street Journal Image source

International Media: The Guardian

For the international media, The Guardian, is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by The Scott Trust Limited which was created in 1936. In recent 2010, the Guardian has significantly developed and expanded its digital operations. Their objective is to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of The Guardian free from commercial or political interference.

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Image credit: Dailymail.com Image source

In their reports, The Guardian constantly showcase the current situation of the Calais refugee camp and criticise the British government on its treatment of Calais’s children refugees. The Calais refugee camp is the largest refugee placement that is scheduled to be shut down due to its unavailability to occupy large amount of refugees. The demand of France government for the Britain to fulfil their duty has gained support by the media, which pressure the Britain government to uphold its humanities values over restriction of migration policies.

i.          Refugees crisis management

In the midst of refugee crisis around Europe, several interest parties raise their concerns over the financial aids supports and management. The media highlights the rationale of arguments from NGO bodies to have a better plan during the crisis. They also express their frustration on international obligation in fulfilling their moral duty to provide safe havens for the victims. In several other articles, the media relevantly shares their opinion on the current management effort and how participating countries should improve.

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Image credit: Pinterest.com Image source

ii.        Criticism on European humanities values

The Guardian strongly highlights their criticism over the loss of humanities values in many westerns countries. They also constantly promoting and persuading their readers to have good humanities values in understanding the refugee hardship during these times, trying to eliminates negative perception among societies. Many concerned of the westerner’s avoidance in giving helping hands to ease the crisis and the up rise of discrimination and racism to the refugees.

Conclusion

From the observation over the month, we can see that the Malaysian media reliance of foreign media Reuters, shapes types of news and perspective of news reporting. The news focused is on the foreign government policies and ISIS updates instead of highlighting the internal problems faced by the refugees. From our view, the constant news of refugee’s rejection is the main angle of news story. The Star has very little opinion of the current situation and only reports factual policies. Apart from that, The Star most likely to report on the Syrian civil war updates in Aleppo compared to addressing the issues of refugees migration. This may due to the Malaysia’s does not highly impacted by the crisis, but The Star showed their support in condemning the on-going war.

The Guardian constantly promotes humanity values and shares an open criticism to respective countries that denied their duty on humanitarian aids. Not only spreading news, they also highlight writer’s opinion supporting the refugee’s humanitarian aid relating to local’s values and belief to reduce the tension and negative perception of the public of the current issues. In most of their article, they often discussed foreign response and reactions in welcoming the refugees. Their articles also supported by many opinion leaders in convincing their readers to understand and persuade them to give a helping hand to those in need. There has been large coverage on this issue because The Guardian, a media based in UK, is highly impacted from this crisis. Therefore, a constant coverage and advocacy is a must.

REFERENCES

2015 World Drug Report finds drug use stable, access to drug & HIV treatment still low. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov 01, 2016, from United Nation Office on Drug and Crime: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2015/June/2015-world-drug-report-finds-drug-use-stable–access-to-drug-and-hiv-treatment-still-low.html

AlJazeera. (2016, November 12). The refugee crisis and the Greeks: One year on. Retrieved from Aljazeera.com: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/inthefield/2016/11/refugee-crisis-greeks-year-161110113307707.html

Gerbner, G. (1999). Television and its viewers: Cultivation theory and research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The Guardian. (n.d.). Retrieved October 01, 2016, from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/

The Star Online. (n.d.). Retrieved October 01, 2016, from The Star: http://www.thestar.com.my/

UNODC Drug Trafficking. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov 01, 2016, from United Nation Office on Drug and Crime: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-trafficking/

Stereotyping of the Arabs by the Western Media

Written by Rasheffa Rashid

Post-tragedy September 11 in 2001, the world especially the western counties became more aware of the existence of Muslims, unfortunately for the wrong cause. The way the western media portrayed and exposed the incident that took over 3000 lives, blamed a group of Muslims and labelled them as terrorists for intruding and killing innocent people. The misconception of media had made the world especially the western, with some have not ever heard of the religion Islam started hating without understanding further and they also believed the information media fed them with.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported a 1,700 percent increase of hate crimes against Muslim Americans between the years of 2000 to 2001.

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Image Credit: whitepinecharterschool Image Source

Since September 11, the perception on Islam and its followers in America changed and every Muslim was started to be labelled as terrorist. The western media had its own agenda in portraying the incident which some experts claim is a conspiracy against Islam itself or maybe the Arab world. The 9/11 “terrorist attack” also impacted other Muslim countries and also affected the Asians.

Even after 15 years since the tragedy, Muslims are still trying hard to clear the tarnished name of Islam. Many efforts had been taken to educate the western world on the simplicity and humbleness of the religion. While these efforts were in progress, some western population started to understand the religion better, with some decided to follow the faith of Islam. Figures by Muslimpopulation.com proved that the Muslim population has been increasing with high rates of conversions and through births. Islam has become the fastest-growing religion and now has the largest followers on the planet with 2.08 billion Muslims. The site estimates that by 2030, one out of three persons in the world will be Muslim.

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Image Credit: sorblog2014 Image Source

However, this did not stop the western media from continuously stereotyping Muslims (Asian Muslims or Arab Americans) if a terror attack or a bombing incident occurs. The initial suspects are always Muslims. Osama bin Laden was always the main suspect for the attacks, and after his depart, The Islamic State (ISIS) is the new plot to blame the involvement of Muslims in terrorism activities. For example, the Daily Mail on 26 June 2016 with the headline: Terror suspect dubbed ‘the man in the hat’ after Paris and Brussels attacks becomes British police’s first ISIS Supergrass reported, Mohamed Abrini, 31, a Belgian, had been linked to the recent Paris and Brussels attacks, he was dubbed ‘man in the hat’ due to his attire at Brussels Airport in March. It was reported that Abrini has been helping the British police to stop terrorist plots and jihadists, however, he became the main ISIS suspect for UK, now he faces court hearings in Belgium. He was spotted on CCTV travelling to Paris two days before the Paris attack which killed 130 people in November 2015. He is also investigated for his link to the suicide bombing at Brussels Airport March 2016, which took 22 lives.

These planned attacks that were proclaimed by ISIS changed the perception on Islam where it portrayed the brutality of religion in killing and attacking countries they target. In other ways, the western media is trying to portray that the attacks did not stop with Taliban or Osama bin Laden, it is trying to show to the world that the religion Islam itself is cruel and takes many lives for its own objective, in the name of jihad. The scenario in some way ruined the awareness works conducted to explain about Islam post 9/11.  What the western population failed to understand is that most Arabs in America are not necessarily Muslims, and most Muslims are not Arabs, while there are Arab Americans that originate from Lebanon and Syria, while some Muslim Americans are African Americans from South Asia. For them, as portrayed by western media, Muslims are terrorists.

The western media has represented Arabs and Muslims since decades ago. The west conceptualised Islam ever since the first contacts with Arabs Muslims. The term Islam as it is used today seems to mean something simple, the fact is, it is actually part of a fiction, an ideological label and a part of minimal designation of a religion called Islam. Today Islam sadly is a traumatic news in the West.

The negative picture of what Islam and Arabs are was described early in the Middle Ages, especially during the Crusade Wars and along the Arabs expansion in Europe since decades ago. The West promoted almost the same stereotypes for Arabs and Muslims and the pattern is now carried through the many channels of media to brainwash and block the minds of the people in the western world, suiting its agenda.

Many researchers examined the stereotyped image of Arabs in the Western media since many years ago. This is observed in a study by Shaheen (1983) which portrayed:

“…how the American media stereotypes of Arabs accompany a child from his early years to graduating from college, through editorial cartoons, television shows, comic strips, comic books, students textbook, in magazines and newspapers.” (Shaheen, 1983).
Shaheen said, the Arabs were dehumanized and presented as the ‘bad guys’”.
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Image Credit: newsvine Image Source

The west media never respected the Arabs, may it be Arab Americans or Asians; the hatred against Islam has been pre-conceptualized negatively in cartoon images on newspapers and magazines. Scholars had also studied this stereotyped image in editorial cartoons and comic strips. A study by Stockton in (1994) resulted that images of the Arabs had been presented in hundreds of cartoons from editorial pages and comic strips. All the cartoons Stockton studied presented a dehumanizing image of Arabs. The latest incident of humiliating Muslims and Arabs was a comic strip by a French satirical weekly magazine, Charlie Hebdo, publishing a number of cartoons mimicking Prophet Muhammad SAW. This angered Muslim around the world, the magazine later became targets of two terrorist attacks, in 2011 and 2015, respectively.

The American society also stereotypes Arab American women as veiled, docile, home bound victims. A researcher addressed how contemporary American fiction presented Arabs and Muslims as “backward, greedy, lustful, evil, or inhumane”.

“…this group makes “convenient scapegoats in almost all contemporary fiction that deals with Middle East themes”. (Terry, 1983)

The stereotyping of Muslim women began during the Taliban’s insidious reign in Afghanistan, it illustrated lifestyles of the Muslim women under the Taliban rule after 9/11. Muslim women faced discrimination even from the way they dress. Issues on veil and headscarf have been on- going for many-many decades. Among the popular cases is the story of the three students in France where their rights to wear headscarves in school was discriminated. Their acts to stand up for their religion turned many heads, teachers protested and the France government got involved and new guidelines and rules were made siding the school management. The fight of the three girls began in 1989 and it went on until 2003.  Between 1994 and 2003, around 100 female students were suspended or expelled from middle and high schools for wearing the scarf in class. In nearly half of these cases, their exclusions were annulled by the French courts.

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Image Credit: icanbreakaway Image Source

The identity of the Arabs has also been distorted by the media, the complexions of male and female Arabs described differently, where the men are always shown with dark complexion and the females are often fair.  The distortion of Arabs identity is observed in the Disney cartoon ‘Aladin’, where the personality of legendary figure Princess Jasmine was changed ranging from her name to her character. Ascribing to her all the features that are allegedly believed to characterize Muslim and Arab women. The change of identity, the color of complexion and the clothing of Jasmine in the cartoon showed to the world especially children about the characteristic of Arabs, is an indoctrination process to blindfold the people of the world and the young about the Arabs. This proves that the process to spread negativity about Muslims has been designed many-many decades ago through many mediums of the media. The media has the power to influence the mind of its listeners, viewers and readers through many channels where messages are delivered.

The reason for the western media to stereotype Arab Americans and the Muslims around the world, is because of the inferiority of the ‘other’ stereotyped image presents, it is not only promoting the superiority of the stereotyper, but also provides immunity for transgressing against the stereotyped group. Stockton recognized :

“…. that such stereotyping can be justify key policy decisions taken by political power for it to justify injustices committed by individuals or nations against the stereotyped ‘other.” (Stockton, 1994)

The impact of the negative stereotyping of Arabs on Arab Americans, has caused the Arab community to suffer in many ways, as the negative stereotyped image of Arabs has been planted in the minds of Americans and the rest of the world over the decades. It was also found, in a study on American press coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflicts in 1956, 1967 and 1973 that showed negative stereotype of the Arabs was used as a weapon by the American media in favour of Israel.  Having its own propaganda to oppress the Muslim world and the religion Islam itself, the America-Israel leaders had plotted the stereotyping of the Arabs Muslims decades ago by misleading the world on the truth about the Muslims and their lifestyle in practising the religion.

References

Anderson, C. (2002, November 25). FBI reports jump in violence against Muslims. Associated Press.

Joseph, A. (26 June 2016) The Daily Mail, Retrieved, 29 Oct 2016 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3660720/Paris-Brussels-terror-suspect-Britain-s-ISIS-Supergrass.html#ixzz4CupeRWTd

Ridouani, D. (2011). The Representation of Arabs and Muslims in Western Media. School of Arts and Humanities (Mekness).

Jolls, H;  Alaverdian, A; Adams, L; Silva, R (2002) , The Brookings Institution http://www.brookings.edu/press/REVIEW/winter2002/telhami.htm). Retrieved 1 Nov 2016 from http://www.csun.edu/~sm60012/GRCS-Files/Muslims-post-  9-11.htm.

Suleiman, Michael. (1999). Introduction. In M. Suleiman (Ed.), Arabs in America: Building for a new future (pp. 1-21). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Stockton, R. (1994). Ethnic archetypes and the Arab image. In E. McCarus (Ed.), The Development of Arab-American identity (pp. 119-153). Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.

Terry, Janice. (1983). Images of the Middle East in contemporary fiction. In E. Ghareeb (Ed.), Split vision (pp. 315-326). Washington, D.C.: American-Arab Affairs Council.

Image Credit: reclaimourrepublic Image Source

Paris Attack

Written by Najiha Zainal

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Image Credit: countercurrentnews Image Source

The world is getting so much unsafe now. Sometimes, we are too afraid to go out from the house because of what he heard or see on news. Due to irresponsible and cruel actions of certain people, they had actually given a huge impact towards the civilians and in their daily lives. Recently, on the 13th November 2015, the incident of Paris Attack had given a shock and horrified the world on this news. Due to this, Muslims and Islam are accused of cruelty, brutality and terrorist activities as well as creating chaos to Paris. News by news spread all over the world with their own perspectives and opinions. The news on Paris Attack can be obtained from the traditional or the new media to be specific. It is undeniable that the style of reporting of the local traditional and the new media are different compared to the traditional and new media in by the international media. In Paris Attack incident, the New Straits Times and The Guardian are the chosen media to compare the style of reporting.

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Image Credit: BBC Image Source

The case of Paris attack happened on 13th November 2015 where it involved terrorist attacks at the football field during a football match. There were three suicide bombers who struck outside the Stade De France in Saint-Denis. After that, it was followed by shooting and suicide bombings at cafes and restaurants. At the same time the attackers also did hostage taking. There were 130 people who were killed, 368 people were injured and the other 100 were seriously injured during the incident. After the incident of the attack, Paris had made a response from what had happened. The country declared a three months emergency and banning of public demonstrations, blocked websites that enhance terrorism and many more. There were many assumptions made by the civilians regarding the case. Many of the

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Image Credit: IndianExpress Image Source

media had numerous and variety of information. As readers, we need to understand that we need to be critical and analytical in reading the cases from different sources of media. This is because the style of reporting differs from one source to another; basically that is what making the media different from one another. The readers cannot depend solely on one source because the readers need to compare the news reported to identify the most credible source.

Here is the chronology of Paris Attack incident:-

  • 20 P.M

State De France

During a soccer match between France and Germany, an explosion was detonated outside the stadium north of Paris.

  • 30 P.M

State De France

A second explosion was detonated outside the stadium. The body of a second suicide bomber was found later, with an explosive vest identical to the first, according to Molins.

  • 32 P.M

Rue de la Fontaine au Roi

Five people were killed in a shooting outside a bar in Paris’ 11th district, according to the prosecutor.

The attackers arrived in a black car, the prosecutor said.

  • 53 P.M

Stade De France

A third explosion at the stadium was detonated. The body of a suicide bomber was discovered later, according to the prosecutor.

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Image Credit: BrockPress Image Source

In conclusion, the style of reporting is a vital thing that needs to be taken care of to approach the readers to read the news. The reporters play the role in delivering the news efficiently and effectively so that the news will reach the readers well. At the same time, they have to capture the readers’ attention so that the readers will agree with whatever the media is reporting. On the other side, one of the benefits of the news reported is actually to shape the people’s attitude, beliefs and behaviors. The news reporting in local scene is far different than news reporting in the international scene. With the freedom of press that they have and practice, they can write anything that they want with limited restrictions. Therefore, their news are more reliable, trustworthy as well as credible in nature.

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Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II

Written by Najiha Zainal

The media industry in Malaysia is blooming and effectively spreading without us realising it. In Malaysia, people depend on the media especially the online media to obtain and disseminate information. The traditional media is still being used but lesser compared to the new media which is the Internet. The new media, the Internet, is dominating the people’s daily lives and it has been so important to the people. There are pros and cons of the traditional media and the new media. The traditional media is reliable but seems to be biased towards the ruling government and not being transparent to the public whereas the new media is free from interference of the government where the public can express what they feel as long as they still follow the rules and regulations but the credibility of sources is questionable. Another thing that matters is the differences of the style of reporting from the local media and international media. However, it depends on a person’s point of view of which media that they prefer. In Anwar Ibrahim’s case, The Star Online and BBC News are the chosen media to compare on the style of reporting.

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The Anwar Ibrahim’s case has contributed to a controversy in the year 2008. On 26th June 2008, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was involved in carnal intercourse by inserting his penis into Mohd Saiful Bukhari bin Azlan anus in Desa Damansara Condominium, Bukit Damansara. This was the second charge of sodomy case. There are so many propagandas that have been published by the local as well as the international news sources. The case of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy has being highlighted both within the local and also the international media. The case has caused sparks and the politician received criticism and expression of concern from the international media. Some of the politicians in overseas commented that this case has jeopardized the Malaysia status as an Islamic country. On the other hand, in the local news source, there were so many comments regarding this sodomy case. There were conflicts against the opposition and the government political leaders about this case. The opposition political leaders accuse by stating that this was the government agenda to bring Anwar down whereas the government denied and they said the sodomy case was supported by the evidences.

Here is the chronology of Anwar Ibrahim Sodomy II case:-

  • 2008 – Anwar’s former aide, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, made a police report alleging that he had sodomized him at a condominium in Damansara. The report was made, two days after the alleged incident.
  • 2012 – In early 2012, Anwar was initially found not guilty by the high court after the judge ruled DNA evidence had been tampered with.
  • 2014 – The prosecution filed an appeal, and in March 2014, the court of appeal overturned the acquittal. Anwar was sentenced to five years jail but freed pending appeal.
  • 2015 – Malaysia’s highest court upheld the conviction against Anwar, giving him a five-year jail term. Chief Justice Arifin Zakaria dismissed Anwar’s challenge against last year’s conviction for sodomizing a young male aide, saying the court found overwhelming evidence of the crime
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In a conclusion, the style of reporting is an important factor to attract the reader to read the news. Despite of whether they are from international or local news, they need to be professional and practice ‘check and balance’ concept. The style of reporting that has been used by the media is one of the ways to persuade the readers to believe what they need to believe. The reporters play their major and ultimate parts in making their news fantastic and interesting to read. At the same time, they have to capture the readers’ attention so that the readers will agree with whatever the media is reporting. Propaganda is so powerful that can make the people recognize the specific political leader or party. Therefore, it is not a surprise when propaganda is used to support the statements that have been made by the respective political leaders whether from the government or the opposition party.

References

ABC News. (2015, February 10). ABC News. Retrieved from Anwar Ibrahim:A timeline of Political Turmoil: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-10/anwar-ibrahim/6083644

BBC News . (2008, July 18). BBC News. Retrieved 2016, from Malaysian Anwar in ‘Sodomy Alibi’: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7513963.stm

BBC News. (2010, February 3). BBC News. Retrieved November 3, 2016, from Anwar ibrahim Sodomy Trial Begins in Malaysia: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8495000.stm

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