DAP considering case for  legal action against Barisan Nasional and RTM for the blatant nightly  BN political broadcasts camouflaged as news during prime time news slots on TV1 and TV2 to convey the message that Barisan Alternative stands for a Taliban Malaysia


Media Conference Statement
by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya, Saturday): Yesterday, I had called on the Information Minister Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob to direct the immediate discontinuance of the blatant nightly 90-second  Barisan Nasional political television broadcast over TV1 and TV2 prime-time news  for the Indera Kayangan by-election to convey the message that the Barisan Alternative stands for a Taliban Malaysia for five  reasons, viz:
   
I am shocked that the first to come to the defence of the gross abuse of TV1 and TV2 news programme is none other than the Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung, who had to “eat” his own words in  Kangar on 22nd December 2001 when he was paying his last respects to the former Indera Kayangan Assemblyman in Perlis, Datuk Khor Liang Tee, warning that it was not yet time  for campaigning in the by-election until Nomination Day and that  stern action would be taken by the authorities if political parties violate the “no campaigning” ban.

When contacted by Malaysiakini, Chor denied  that the 90-second nightly Barisan Nasional political broadcast aired during prime time news slots on TV1  and TV2 was a political campaign or propaganda.

He said: “What appeared on TV was general information and a news item to the public.”
 
Chor would have put the Nazi Propaganda Minister  Joseph Goebbels to shame in his  blatant and  brazen attempt to pass off the Barisan Nasional political propaganda as news.  I call on all journalists, whether print or electronic - and in particular the RTM journalists - to repudiate Chor’s claim that the 90-second political propaganda qualifies as “news”.

The nightly 90-second  Barisan Nasional political propaganda  broadcast camouflaged as prime time news is the lynchpin  of the Barisan Nasional  Indera Kayangan by-election  strategy to convey  the message to the voters that PAS is the "Taliban of Malaysia", aided and abetted by Parti Keadilan Nasional.

What is unfortunate is that the Barisan Alternative has fallen into the UMNO and Barisan Nasional trap with PAS retaliating to the UMNO attack declaring “PAS as the Taliban of Malaysia’’ with the counter-charge  likening Umno to the “United States and Northern Alliance of Afghanistan.’’ (The Star 29.12.2001)

The 90-second Barisan Nasional political propaganda footage camouflaged as news began with attacks on PAS for being repressive towards  women, proceeding to attacks on KeAdilan for inciting unrest and chaos in the country, with clippings showing the PAS President, Datuk Fadhil Noor and Mursyidul Am Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat attending the PAS general assembly; Al-Maunah terrorist activities; Taliban execution of a woman at the Kabul football stadium; and scenes of  riots, social unrests and the Anwar Ibrahim reformasi demonstrations.

The biased,  tendentious and blatantly  unfair nature of the 90-second political broadcast calculated to paint the Barisan Alternative  in the worst possible light could be clearly seen from the transcript of the footage, as follows:
 

“Setelah mereka melarang wanita dari mengambil bahagian dari musabakah al-quran, mereka melarang pula wanita bertanding dalam pilihanraya. Mereka tidak benarkan pula wanita yang cantik bekerja. Mereka larang hiburan. Mereka menganggap pembunuhan terhadap anggota kerajaan bukan Islam oleh pengganas militan sebagai sandiwara.

“Ini semua adalah bayangan masa depan pemerintahan liar jika negara ini jatuh ke tangan pelampau dan militan agama.

“Apa yang berlaku ke atas wanita Afghanistan tidak mustahil akan berlaku ke atas wanita di negara ini. Belum pun mereka berkuasa, mereka telah
menunjukkan hasrat untuk membataskan kebebasan dan hak wanita negara ini yang dijamin oleh perlembagaan negara ini.

“Sebab itulah mereka tidak dapat memberikan jawapan yang tepat kepada pertanyaan terhadap konsep dan bentuk Negara Islam yang mereka kehendaki.

“Maka kerana itulah para intelektual telah lari  daripada mereka untuk mengelakkan diri dari terjebah dengan golongan mental block dan jemur. Anda tentu tidak mahu sebuah kuasa asing datang untuk mengebom negara ini bagi membebaskan wanita dan rakyat yang tertekan dan tertindas oleh golongan militan. Biarlah rakyat negara ini sendiri membebaskan diri daripada golongan militan yang taksub, jemud dari sekarang untuk mengelak negara dari malapetaka dari melanda negara.

“Firma Allah SWT dalam Al-Baqarah ayat 195 yang membawa maksud …’dan janganlah kamu mencampakkan diri kamu kearah kebinasaan’.”


The 90-second Barisan Nasional political propaganda broadcast camouflaged as prime-time news is the most shameless misuse of television air-time for a dishonest and dishonourable purpose and should be stopped immediately.

Although the political footage is dishonest, biased and unfair, it is a sad commentary of the times that it is very potent and could achieve its dishonourable purpose.

There could be three reactions from the Malaysian voters to the footage which had appeared nightly on prime time TV1 and TV2 news for the past week:
 


If the Barisan Nasional can get the majority of the Indera Kayangan voters to feel that it is better to be “safe than sorry” and that the safest option is to vote for the Barisan Nasional than the Barisan Alternative on polling day on January 19, then the Barisan Nasional propaganda footage would have achieved its objective.

DAP is considering the  case for  legal action against Barisan Nasional and RTM for the blatant nightly  BN political broadcasts camouflaged as news during prime time news slots on TV1 and TV2 to convey the message that Barisan Alternative stands for a Taliban Malaysia for abuse of government resources and facilities.

DAP lawyers are also considering whether in the circumstances, it would be more appropriate for PAS and Parti Keadilan Nasional than for the DAP to institute legal proceedings against the RTM and the Barisan Nasional for the political broadcasts camouflaged as prime time news nightly over TV1 and TV2.

DAP National Publicity Secretary Ronnie Liu has written to the Information Minister, Khalil Yaakob to ask whether the government is prepared to stop its standing ban on political broadcasts on TV1 and TV2 by the Opposition and to allow the DAP to buy air time for 90-second political advertisements during prime time news to tell Malaysians that the choice before them is not between Islamic state ala-UMNO or ala-PAS, but between defending the 44-year fundamental constitutional principle and nation-building cornerstone of a democratic, secular, multi-religious, tolerant and progressive Malaysia or abandoning such fundamental constitutional principle to accept an Islamic state, whether ala-UMNO or ala-PAS.

(5/1/2002)



*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman