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In Malaysia, PM Mahathir has run a public foreign-media bashing campaign for several years, blaming them obliquely for most of Malaysia's problems from running sensational reports on Malaysian demonstrations, to supporting government opponents and being controlled by foreign elements with hidden agendas to derail Malaysia's economic development. Now he has called for the setting up of an "Asian" media to "counter slants and distorted reporting of certain western media". He said "the major concern among East Asian nations has been the slanted and distorted reporting of global events to Asian audiences and similar reporting of Asia to other parts of the world."

Certainly foreign media reporting of events in Malaysia in the past few years has been generally poor, and characterised by naivete and sensationalism. Even well respected sources such as the Economist and the BBC have run reports that were just clearly incorrect and showed a surprising lack of depth and serious analysis. Cable television such as CNN and CNBC, despite their on the ground presence in the region have made mistakes. The Economist for example has continually predicted economic problems ahead for Malaysia, very few of which materialised in the time scale they predicted at least. During significant points in the Anwar trial and lead-up, the BBC reported a Kuala Lumpur city in chaos with anti-government riots "spanning the city", while those actually in the city were lounging around sipping Starbuck's coffee, and driving around in their Protons wondering where all the excitement was located. Business Week proclaimed Anwar "Asian of the Year" late last year, suggesting that the Anwar case had changed the nature of Malaysian politics forever. Almost a year later, the most significant contribution of the Anwar/Mahathir shoot out was to teach Malaysians what happens to people who buck the system. The Chinese, by and large refugees from a homeland where revolutionary politics forced their migration to Malaysia waited to see who was going to win, and pragmatically fell in behind the winner. The majority Malays, non-confrontational in nature and brought up in a culture where questioning authority is almost taboo, in the end were convinced more by the ruling government's view rather than those of the recalcitrant and prodigal son. And the foreign press too has been guilty of xenophobia and viewing much of Asian affairs using Western models.

However, if Dr Mahathir has in mind the Malaysian local media as a model for this "Asian media", it will be an "Asian media" controlled by the ruling élites, and acting as their personal PR agencies. For that is, indeed, what the Malaysian mainstream media is now. The English language press is the laughing stock of the region. Many journalists are looking for alternative career paths, who initially thought there were going to be journalists, not a PR staffer. Editors receive daily calls from government ministers and minders, checking on the political correctness of their reports. Opposition spokesmen have been denied reasonable access to the electronic and print media. The only times when opposition figures from parties such as Keadilan, PAS and the DAP get great publicity is when there is political mileage for the ruling government, such as stories relating to the finding that Anwar wasn't poisoned, defections from their parties, and the more extremist policies of the Muslim PAS party. State-run TV3 regularly ventures into sloppy attempts at editorialising, playing old clips of Anwar stating that people shouldn't demonstrate in the streets, and signing off with comments like "...but that was in another time...". Papers have reported the poor ratings of the objectivity of other country's newspapers by free press associations, only to ignore that Mahathir was denounced in the same report for his treatment of themselves. A review of the new book analyzing the Asian crisis- "The Asian Eclipse" reproduced an extract praising Mahathir for raising the respect of Malaysian people, but failed to report the main thrust of the book - namely how corruption and collusion in Asian business and politics contributed to the crisis. Many people have ceased buying the New Straits Times and the Sun, who have committed the only sin in journalism worse than bias. They are just.. well.. boring... and best suited for wrapping up your Nasi Lemak.

On the other hand the government makes great play that the Malay language PAS funded newspaper Harrakah has not been banned, despite it's anti-government pro-Anwar line, and some of the Chinese language press does present a more balanced view. However, Mahathir's sacking of the editors of two leading UMNO Malay papers just before Anwar's sacking on the basis of their negative reporting of the opening of the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport, sent a very strong message to Malaysian journos. Support the government... or else...

At the same time as the Malaysian press and media has been stymied, the media in neighbouring countries has been liberalised. In Indonesia the media is very free, a legacy of one of Habibie's reforms that he still needs to be given proper credit for. Indeed papers that were shut down by Soeharto are now printing again, despite major problems for the press in Indonesia generally including high newsprint costs. In Singapore, for a long time a lackey for the government as the Malaysian press is today, reporting has opened up in line with Singapore's increased maturity and openness to the global village. In fact the Singapore Business Times has been set to task several times recently by Malaysian government ministers for their "unfair reporting" of Malaysian politics and business. In Thailand, both Thai and English language newspapers have managed to continue "...keeping the bastards honest..." despite bumbling attempts by ex PM Chevalit to control them when he was in office, and more recent visits to one newspaper by armed minders of a minister who felt he was unfairly treated. Present PM Chuan supports a free press, though reminding them of their responsibilities, resulting in a Thai press which is a model for the rest of the region. The Filipino press, as regular readers of Clarence Henderson's Pearl of the Orient Seas will know, continues their larrikanism, again despite Erap's attempts to emulate Mahathir in recent times. The end result is that the Malaysian Press is only rivaled by the Chinese People's Daily for their "political correctness".

Information is power, as we said at the start. In societies where education systems do not encourage objective analysis and where the emphasis is on answers rather than questions, people tend to believe what they read. The source of the material is never really questioned, and if the ruling elite controls the information, control of power follows. That is one reason why the Internet is a threat to authoritarian regimes. The danger to the ruling elite is people may read opinions or reports counter to their interests,.. and believe them, regardless of their source or substance. While Singapore has largely accepted this, and countered anti-Singapore material on the Internet by producing their own, Malaysia's more negative strategy is to ridicule and denounce.

Singapore's rulers have recognized the ability of their own people to tell the good from the bad. How long before Malaysia gives their people the same compliment? ..or do the Malaysian elite still feel that Malaysian's are children?

In a period of only 3 months, 4 journalists from Malaysia's press have told the Rat that they feel embarrassed to say they are journalists at private functions. Two of these have already left the profession. As in Ginsberg's "Howl", Malaysia is set to lose the brightest of their generation.

Is this what Mahathir aspires to as an "Asian Press"? Granted the sins of the foreign press have been significant, but they are monumentally surpassed by Mahathir's Press, rather than the Malaysian press they really should be. It is doubtful whether many of Mahathir's mates in East Asia will support such an idea. There are other, more local ways, to ensure the Asian voice is heard... We already know that the diversity of this region makes generalisations about common Asian values and culture a dangerous stomping ground. And better that it be the voice of the people rather than the voice of the ruling élites.

And as far as bias and distortion goes, let Mahathir clean up his own back yard first...