PETALING JAYA: President of the Malaysian Association of Chinese Newspaper Editors Pook Ah Lek said, as the fourth estate, Chinese newspapers should also serve as an integral part of the Chinese community, and newspaper editors should remain firm in their stand when it comes to issues that may jeopardise the interests of the Chinese community. He said they should not bow to the pressure of political leaders.

He said during Datuk Wong Kee Tat Journalism Awards presentation ceremony Friday night that whenever there was a conflict within the Chinese community, Chinese newspapers would often find themselves sandwiched between the opposing forces, as they would be labelled as either in favour of certain leaders or against other leaders when they expressed their views boldly.

"Some political leaders may accuse us of having hidden agendas or ill motives simply because of a news report or article they don't like.

"Take the ongoing MCA crisis for example. Some of the leaders are in firm control of the plentiful resources and are thus able to mobilise their people to systematically smear or intimidate newspapers through e-mails, websites, blogs or SMS messages."

Duty to tell the truth

"During such conflicts, those involved in the conflicts are busy dealing with the crisis while outsiders get annoyed by them. As such, Chinese newspapers have the responsibility to reflect the truth to the readers, and help them understand the actual situation and developments of the entire issue. How could they be accused of being subjective or biased?"

Pook said political leaders were public figures, and should therefore be willing to face criticisms from the public.

Obsolete clauses should be removed

Pook also hoped that the government would review the 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act and remove obsolete clauses in it, especially on the requirement for newspapers to renew their publishing permits on a yearly basis.

"Although the home ministry has said it would not deliberately close down newspapers, the presence of this particular clause has served as a permanent threat for Chinese newspapers."

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had taken some bold initiatives since he took office earlier this year, including the amendment of the ISA. He hoped the PM would also review the Printing Presses and Publications Act as well.

He said the maintenance of racial harmony had been a common duty of all newspapers in this country and Chinese newspapers were aware of their duty and had never intended to fry up any racial or religious issue.

"Even when handling such reports, we have been very careful not to trigger any undesirable reaction from the public. Unfortunately Malay newspapers have over and again crossed the line, and when Chinese newspapers are trying to make the necessary and appropriate responses on behalf of the Chinese community, they are accused of playing up the issues."

He said the Malaysian Association of Chinese Newspaper Editors hoped the government would seriously look into this matter and rectify the relevant problems. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)