JULY 22 — Yesterday, the “Media and Ethics Malaysia” forum saw Bob Teoh of mysinchew.com suggest a conscience clause to protect journalists from being forced to report unethically or toe any change to their media organisation’s ideological stance if they find it disagreeable.
Teoh also said with this clause, journalists can also claim compensation if they end up leaving their organisation.
It’s a good idea — with the powerful influence and authority of the media, journalists should be able to say no to unethical conduct. On its own, however, the conscience clause is not enough to cure the malaise currently infecting the media environment in Malaysia.
The Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) already has a journalism code of ethics, created after studying what is used in other countries including Japan and the US. The contents paint an aspiration to the highest standards of journalistic integrity and impartiality.
In an ideal world, the media is by any measure the “fourth estate” in all senses of the phrase — influential, impartial, persistently seeking the truth in matters of public interest and informing the public accordingly. It should always be questioning, giving credit where due but also unafraid to point out wrongs.
Most importantly, the media should also have such integrity that the public can place their complete trust in it for an honest, reliable picture of what’s really going on.
This is paramount as the role of the media is critical. They set the tone for public discourse and to a certain extent are responsible for how the public sees an issue by what they choose to highlight — and don’t — as well as what context they choose to report in. Much depends on their judgment.
Yet real life often goes separate ways from ideals.
It is an open secret that the quality and professionalism of the media today has declined over the years, a far cry of what it should be. While some media organisations try their best to stay objective, accurate and unbiased, others fail terribly.
The situation now was crisply summarised by Datuk A. Kadir Jasin, the former New Straits Times boss, in his recent column article on the decline of public relations in Malaysian Business magazine.
“Media people now are generally pliant, uncritical and desperate for acceptance,” he wrote, adding that many today misguidedly expect the media to be unquestioning.
Why has our media standards fallen? That’s a different subject altogether, but lack of freedom must be highlighted as a major factor. Another is interference from owners with vested interests.
A case in point: older readers would remember how The Star thrived with its no-holds-barred journalistic style since its birth in 1971 until Ops Lalang in 1987. It truly earned its slogan “The People’s Paper” back then.
After October 27, 1987, a black day for journalism in Malaysia, The Star has been disappointing, especially evident in how it covered the last general election. It has been shackled not only by our publishing laws but also by its 42 per cent ownership by the MCA.
Sadly, the current nature of Malaysian media is so entrenched that some segments of the masses remain unaware that there is an issue. Some still think that if it’s in the papers, it must be true.
What must be remembered is that news stories are written by humans. While good journalists adhere to responsible journalism principles, some have no such qualms. For some journalists, the only thing that matters is keeping their job and getting their pay on time.
It is high time to reform the media culture in Malaysia and a conscience clause is important. Ethical journalists should be able to stay true to his or her principles and decline to participate in irresponsible journalism. But change must come holistically.
A conscience clause aside, the media must be freed from the shackles of laws that essentially put them at the mercy of the government of the day. While the revised Printing Presses and Publications Act no longer requires annual licensing and no longer empowers the home minister to award or rescind licences without court review, there is still the requirement that new publications obtain approval.
Alarmingly, licences may still be arbitrarily revoked. This should not be the case if there is enough commitment to promote freedom of the press. The media should be free to report and print so long as it complies with the law — we have enough to deter the media from abusing this privilege and to take action if necessary.
At the same time we need to educate the public — as well as some members of the media fraternity — that this is a profession that requires high integrity, a strong sense of responsibility. That journalists owe the public a duty to report truthfully, accurately and without fear or favour, and that nothing less will be tolerated.
That journalists are not just writers but also the eyes and ears of the public.
The very first step in this reform must be banning media ownership by any political body. That has been among the root cause of the Malaysian media culture’s slip down the slippery slope of partisan journalism. If political parties continue to be allowed to own the media, what is left to differentiate the media from a political party’s newsletter?
As veteran journalist Terence Netto wrote earlier this month: “Politically-aligned ownership of media outlets is the graveyard of quality journalism and a sure road to delusion of those who sit in the seats of authority.”
I couldn’t agree more.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
