YOURSAY | ‘Kit Siang was not extra nice or extra rude (to the reporter) – he was being himself.’

When TV3 swapped roles with Kit Siang

Kit Siang slammed for verbal attack on TV3 reporter

yrsaytv3kitsiangyour say1Clever Voter: Media credibility in the country is probably a ‘3’ on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

Before we went digital, major newspapers had been the mouthpiece of BN. News on the opposition has always been negative or at least it was never considered to be worthy of reporting.

DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang has been there, and has had a long illustrious career. Journalist group Gerakan Media Merdeka (Geramm) is being naive and rhetorical over its urging for ethical journalism.

The media in this country practise self-censorship, especially among the BN-owned media.

True, Kit Siang could have said it differently, but this is the man who has to put up with all the stupid questions from the state-owned media. No wonder their readership is fast declining.

FellowMalaysian: The reporter was obviously trying to trap Kit Siang by phrasing his question with subtle accusatory tones and anyone in Kit Siang’ shoes would be sorely hurt by this man’s question and reacted defensively by throwing the question back at the reporter, which was what Kit Siang did.

Granted, Kit Siang as a polished politician could have replied in a more restrained manner but doing that would be seen to be accommodating this man’s troll.

And the fact that he struggled to find a suitable reply when Kit Siang posted the question to him proved that he was out on a muck-raking day.

Mushiro: Geramm is pampering members of their profession, especially the one from TV3. The video clip is clear and let people make their judgment.

There was nothing preventing the TV3 journalist from answering Kit Siang or counter-questioning him. He was not sharp enough to do it.

Kit Siang was not extra nice or extra rude – he was being himself. The TV3 journalist should have posed the question differently – that if former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad had not attacked PM Najib Abdul Razak on 1MDB, would Najib bring out the BMF (Bank Bumiputra Finance) and Bank Negara forex scandal.

Anonymous 2436471476414726: Geramm should also preach ethical journalism to TV3. This TV station has for years now been turned into a Umno/BN propaganda machine.

Lambasting opposition leaders of Pakatan Harapan and the governments of Selangor and Penang daily has been its prime objective.

Any Tom, Dick and Harry on the street would be ‘interviewed’ to say something bad or negative, no matter how trivial, about the opposition.

In the past, the PAS government of Kelantan and the late MB Nik Aziz Nik Mat had been subjected to similar treatment. But of late, since Abdul Hadi Awang has been cosy with Umno, this had stopped. So much for ethical journalism.

All this is not surprising given the fact that a previous important personality of TV3 has been roped in as a member of the strategic communication team in Putrajaya.

Anonymous_1429175092: Will the same TV3 reporter ask Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) about the 1MDB scandal and RM2.6 billion ‘donation’?

Umno is trying to distract people’s attention away from the scandal and uses the mainstream media and TV stations to do the work for them.

Ah-Hah!!!: TV3’s ‘shining track record’ speaks volumes of whether it ‘spins’, ‘twists’ and even ‘lies’ when it comes to reporting about opposition figures and those who speak up for the rakyat.

Anwar Ibrahim, former Perak MB Nizar Jamaluddin and Maria Chin/Bersih 2.0 and many others have all sued TV3 for huge amounts.

While it would have been a step further up the moral high grounds had Kit Siang kept his cool while telling off the TV3 reporter, his action was well within understandable limits.

I certainly might have done the same in his place.

The Rover: Our reporters should have the brains and integrity to ask pertinent questions based on facts and not ask questions to create an unfounded scenario, and then build a story based on their fiction.

Anonymous_1393648884: It is easy to have empathy for Kit Siang in lambasting the mainstream reporter, considering how ‘non-objective’ and ‘dishonest’ the mainstream media is nowadays.

We are sick and tired of the ‘propaganda’ and ‘falsehoods’ spread by it. I like Kit Siang for his blunt frankness, just like ‘The Donald’ (US President Donald Trump).

Gen Half Track: TV 3 should take note that its prime-time news consists of at least 20 minutes of opposition-lambasting every day without giving the opposition even a minute of TV time to reply or defend themselves.

Ahbengkia: Stupid questions do not need counter-arguments.

The Analyser: Ahbengkia, there is no such thing as a ‘stupid question’ but there are plenty of stupid answers. This is one.

Allforit: I have viewed the video. There is nothing out of the ordinary except for a journalist being jeered. It just shows how bad a reputation TV3 has in the eyes of the public.

It’s normal to jump to conclusion that the journalist was on a ‘mission’, rightly or wrongly.

TV3, what else do you expect? The reporter is lucky he wasn’t barred from the meeting, which more often than not, happens to Malaysiakini at Umno meetings.

Spinnot: Kit Siang and TV3 have more or less swapped places.

TV3 would also be speaking about the BMF and Bank Negara forex scandals differently if Dr M was still in Umno or was still the PM.


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