Breathless in 2011
As we usher in the New Year, we cannot forgot the many memorable events in the old year that left indelible marks on the country’s history.
(Free Malaysia Today) – With so many newsworthy events and developments happening in the closing weeks of 2011, it is easy to forget that the whole year has been one that would leave any news organisation breathless.
The revelations about the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) may shock and dismay us, but they are not more shocking and dismaying than the findings and conclusion of the royal inquiry into Teoh Beng Hock’s death. The speedy passage of the Peaceful Assembly Bill fills us with disgust, but so did the gunning down other rights, the death fall of Ahmad Sarbaini, the often unjust ejection of MPs, and the spewings of Perkasa. We applaud student activists for standing up for their rights, but their recent protests and those of KillTheBill.org were just so many in a full year’s series of acts of civil disobedience. The mother of these, surely, was the Bersih rally that happened nearly smack in the middle of the year.
This editorial refers to “we” and “us” because we believe that the sentiments felt in our newsroom adequately reflect those of the average literate and informed Malaysian. And, as any of our regular readers can attest, we are not a voice for any political organisation. Indeed, the last time we were accused of promoting some political clique’s agenda was more than a year ago. We acknowledge that the government and the ruling party often appear in a bad light in our pages, but it is not a deliberate policy. It may well be a reflection of the truth, and the reason we cannot be sure is that neither the party nor the government has kept its promise to be open and transparent. Neither has any BN member or government official made a credible attempt to counter the bad press with plausible arguments.
