Exposing The "Tong Tahi" ?

Hantu Laut

I am against clamping down on publications that the government is not happy with in exposing its "tong tahi" literally the "sewers."

I have mentioned in my earlier article that the rightful thing to do is to sue the newspaper for defamation which Felda already has.Stopping its publication only make the people more suspicious that the government has something to hide.

If the allegation is not true than the government should publish Felda's audited account in one of the MSM to counter the lies spread by the opposition.

Felda's accounts should not be a secret.It is a company owned by the people particularly the Felda's settlers and the accounts should be made readily available to the public.

Losing money in business is a common thing as long as there were no wrongdoings the people would not be losing their heads..Government should not be intimidated to not telling the public the truth.

People can accept genuine losses from doing business but not if someone is stealing from the company.Such crimes should be exposed and the perpetrators punished according to the law.

I am afraid UMNO hasn't change, the BN hasn't changed and the Prime Minister hasn't changed.

If they think this is still the best way to run the nation than my sympathy goes out to them.

Many thanks to the Minister of Home Affairs Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Onn for his "No political agenda behind action on publications" explanation here.

“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” Mark Twain

Below is an opinion on the same issue.

Censorship in bad faith

NEW Many would have assumed that Barisan Nasional was serious in wanting to revamp itself to remain relevant in the aftermath of the pounding it had received in the 2008 general election. In the days which followed the ruling coalition's heaviest defeat, many leaders said that it was time to do things differently -- discard the old mindset, rebrand the component parties and take up the challenge thrown at them by the rakyat to change.

Najib Tun Razak, who assumed the premiership soon after the polls debacle, then came up with various innovative policies to stamp his mark as the new-breed leader who was willing to listen to the rakyat. In came the walkabouts in your neighbourhoods, the various measures of how the government would conduct its business and his brainchild, the 1Malaysia concept, introduced with the intention of making us, the rakyat, feel that we belong to this nation and that we are one and united.

However two years on, and after numerous self-reminders that BN needs to change for the better, things seem to be the same in this country, if not for the worst. The same old BN mindset of “I-know-the-best-for-you” is still prevalent. The same Umno-lording over BN component parties is still visible. Corruption, transparency, open-tender processes, merit-based university entrances and scholarships and even general cleanliness of our localities are all issues of great concern for the rakyat.

And more worryingly, the same attitude of wanting to remain in power at all costs is gaining speed. Just look at the manner the Home Ministry is handling the publishing permits of the opposition newspapers. All three party organs, starting with PKR's Suara Keadilan, and then Harakah's PAS and now DAP's The Rocket, share the risk of not knowing their future, for allegedly violating their permits.

If the BN government is truly honest about introducing changes to reflect its new mindset in governance, it should not be worried about letting the opposition parties print their organs. After all, these newspapers are there to carry out the agenda of the opposition, and naturally to criticise the BN government. What's wrong with that? Continue reading..