THE VOICES AND STATUS OF THE MAJORITY MELAYU NOT PROPERLY REPRESENTED AND MAINTAINED AND ARE DISTORTED.
… WHEN THE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRY ARE DOMINATED BY THE MINORITY GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY…
By Mansor Puteh
THE PROBLEM WITH MALAYSIA IS THAT THE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRY ARE DOMINATED BY THE NON-MELAYU, ESPECIALLY THE CHINESE.
THE INDIAN MEDIA PEOPLE AND THEIR COLUMNISTS ARE NOTHING BUT PARASITES OF THE CHINESE-OWNED OR CONTROLLED MEDIA FOR WITHOUT WHICH THEY ARE VOICELESS, SINCE THEY DO NOT DEPEND TOO MUCH ON THE TAMIL PAPERS.
AND MOST OF THEM DO NOT SEEM TO BE PARTICULARL WITH THE NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS OR ARE SEEN TO PROMOTE THE CONSTITUTION BUT WHICH CONSTANTLY TRY TO CHALLENGE IT.
The Chinese-controlled and dominated English-language papers have also been known to ‘encourage’ and develop the creation of some Melayu groups and other individuals to represent a ‘Melayu face’ in discourses on religion which they themselves are not able to do without their status being questioned.
Worse, when they are seen to be over-promoting foreign countries especially Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India and America everyday.
Shockingly, none seems to be bothered that this is the main reason why many Malaysians, who are less enamored of things Malaysian anymore and how the industries in the country are all being fractured, so that Malaysia becomes the extensions of the film, television and music industries of other countries, especially those which are mentioned earlier.
This has been going on for years, without anyone making it an issue. Where are those people in the parliament and the ministry of home affairs or KDN?
Why are the politicians and the Melayu leaders not aware of this?
They are not interested. They don’t care. Because they are too busy doing other things to worry about such things. But most importantly, many of them are that stupid and who belong in another era.
Even the many so-called Melayu think tanks and other well-meaning groups are stupid.
I have attended some of their seminars and conferences but all they do is for entertainment. The papers and proposals they had were too general and vague and full of empty slogans.
Many of them are not well-educated, and who are old and useless to the cause of the religion and race.
But this does not mean there is no one else in the country who is as blind to this.
So the stories, feelings and images of the Melayu who form the vast majority in the country are not adequately represented or created.
And in some of the papers, the Melayu and their concerns or feelings are totally not described or reported or explained at all as the editors and publishers continue to hide them from their readers, hence the communities and foreign countries they think they are serving.
Even the schools of journalism in the country do not seem to realize this, as they continue to teach their students to be good journalists, sub-editors and later on, editors, who will continue in the tradition of serving their own communities and the countries where their ancestors had come from.
In this context Malaysiakini, too, has become a mouthpiece of the minority groups, especially the Chinese. Just look at their columnists and those who have their letters posted in this online portal.
It’s pretty much the same as in Malaysia-Today. Its webmaster knows pretty well that they cannot get the viewers from amongst the Melayu, so they have to play to the gallery and thrill or excite the non-Melayu.
It’s also the same with the English language newspapers and magazines whose writers and columnists are non-Melayu and the letters they also publish are mostly written by the non-Melayu.
So the end result is that the voices and aspirations and demands of the Melayu are pushed aside.
In fact, if one looks at an English language tabloid owned by the Chinese, one can see so few Melayu or stories on the Melayu published on any day.
If they publish stories on the Melayu and their personalities, they are mostly stories which are negative to them.
I can almost feel the pain they feel when they are forced to publish stories on the Melayu especially those related to the film industry and the arts; worse, during the religious festive seasons when they do not have a choice but to write some stories on them.
In fact, the other online portals which publish stories and articles in English are also non-
Melayu-dominated.
So there is an overwhelming outpouring of grievances and gripes of the Chinese and Indians in them, while the feelings of the Melayu are often neglected.
So no wonder when the advertising industry gathers in their annual bash, they try to pretend that they are not in Malaysia but elsewhere. This should reflect their thinking.
Yet, at the same time, they are supposed to understand the local market and buyers so that they can sell whatever products and services to them.
They had not done that successfully in the past so much so that the government had to impose many laws and regulations to force them to comply with the demands of the local population.
On their own device, they would rather have it differently.
These are critical industries and activities which are everyday ones. What the industry players do can be effective, especially if they have their own biases, prejudices and also chauvinism which they have successfully camouflaged so that it is not seen to the naked eye, but which is there for everybody to see.
And on the other hand, if the media and advertising industry are being dominated by the Melayu since Merdeka, I doubt if most of the discontents that some Malaysians experience today will happen.
So to solve the main problems faced by Malaysia, the Melayu must go into the media and advertising industry in full force.
This can be done very easily as they had managed to wrest control of some of the industries which were once dominated by the others, and this can be done without the use of slogans but in a quiet way.
And no wonder the national agenda is being sidelined so that the voices of the majority are dampened.
So we are hearing gripes and condemnations from one side.
One can tell that the controversies and issues are all being brought forth and debated or discussed by the non-Melayu, who have their own ideas of everything from the history of the country to politics and the government, when in the past these were not real issues at all.
Now they are. And thanks to the internet and the ‘openness’ that the government has offered to the ‘rakyat’.
It is happening in other countries, too, including in America where the voices and aspirations of the majority are not being heard or given ample space to be discussed and only a small group of people with similar racial backgrounds are being given the top priority with the others having no choice but to behave like lackeys.
Just imagine what will happen in Singapura if the newspapers and magazines are being controlled by the Melayu? Worse, if the Melayu control its economy, too.
And imagine no more how the advertising industry has already created a false situation which gives a wrong picture of the situation in the country; that the Chinese-controlled papers seem to get more advertisements than those Melayu ones.
This is despite the fact that the purchasing power of the country is in the hands of the majority population who are Melayu.
But the advertising executives or the media buyers don’t care. They had caused a certain English language tabloid to be far ahead over the other English language papers which are seen to be Melayu-dominated.
So there is bias. So there are also prejudices. But worse, there is discrimination and chauvinism.
These are the three major factors which are affecting the running of the country – or at least this is what many perceive if they believe in what the postings in the internet say.
The truth is not so.
Chauvinism is being promoted in subtle ways, that it is easy for many not to be able to see it.
But it not so difficult for those Melayu who have discerning eyes to see and expose.
That the whole country is being turned outside down because of the interaction of the media and advertising industry, which are all trying to force the chance of attitude.
They have failed. They can only create some confusion. But the end results will be worse for them, as the change in demography of the country becomes more prominent as the population of the non-Melayu continues to shrink further in relation to the fast expanding population of the Melayu in the country.
So sooner or later, there can be some balance when the Melayu or Bumiputera population in the country becomes too overwhelming for small communities to override its interests.
The splitting of the Melayu community into a few political entities and affiliations can only be effective for now. But it won’t be too discernible in the future where parties for the non-Melayu can become totally irrelevant with some of them morphing into social and cultural clubs.
This can be seen in Singapura where the Melayu are grouping not in politics but in their everyday social and cultural activities since there is no way that they can exert themselves in politics.
This is after all a numbers game.
By Mansor Puteh
THE PROBLEM WITH MALAYSIA IS THAT THE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRY ARE DOMINATED BY THE NON-MELAYU, ESPECIALLY THE CHINESE.
THE INDIAN MEDIA PEOPLE AND THEIR COLUMNISTS ARE NOTHING BUT PARASITES OF THE CHINESE-OWNED OR CONTROLLED MEDIA FOR WITHOUT WHICH THEY ARE VOICELESS, SINCE THEY DO NOT DEPEND TOO MUCH ON THE TAMIL PAPERS.
AND MOST OF THEM DO NOT SEEM TO BE PARTICULARL WITH THE NATIONAL ASPIRATIONS OR ARE SEEN TO PROMOTE THE CONSTITUTION BUT WHICH CONSTANTLY TRY TO CHALLENGE IT.
The Chinese-controlled and dominated English-language papers have also been known to ‘encourage’ and develop the creation of some Melayu groups and other individuals to represent a ‘Melayu face’ in discourses on religion which they themselves are not able to do without their status being questioned.
Worse, when they are seen to be over-promoting foreign countries especially Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India and America everyday.
Shockingly, none seems to be bothered that this is the main reason why many Malaysians, who are less enamored of things Malaysian anymore and how the industries in the country are all being fractured, so that Malaysia becomes the extensions of the film, television and music industries of other countries, especially those which are mentioned earlier.
This has been going on for years, without anyone making it an issue. Where are those people in the parliament and the ministry of home affairs or KDN?
Why are the politicians and the Melayu leaders not aware of this?
They are not interested. They don’t care. Because they are too busy doing other things to worry about such things. But most importantly, many of them are that stupid and who belong in another era.
Even the many so-called Melayu think tanks and other well-meaning groups are stupid.
I have attended some of their seminars and conferences but all they do is for entertainment. The papers and proposals they had were too general and vague and full of empty slogans.
Many of them are not well-educated, and who are old and useless to the cause of the religion and race.
But this does not mean there is no one else in the country who is as blind to this.
So the stories, feelings and images of the Melayu who form the vast majority in the country are not adequately represented or created.
And in some of the papers, the Melayu and their concerns or feelings are totally not described or reported or explained at all as the editors and publishers continue to hide them from their readers, hence the communities and foreign countries they think they are serving.
Even the schools of journalism in the country do not seem to realize this, as they continue to teach their students to be good journalists, sub-editors and later on, editors, who will continue in the tradition of serving their own communities and the countries where their ancestors had come from.
In this context Malaysiakini, too, has become a mouthpiece of the minority groups, especially the Chinese. Just look at their columnists and those who have their letters posted in this online portal.
It’s pretty much the same as in Malaysia-Today. Its webmaster knows pretty well that they cannot get the viewers from amongst the Melayu, so they have to play to the gallery and thrill or excite the non-Melayu.
It’s also the same with the English language newspapers and magazines whose writers and columnists are non-Melayu and the letters they also publish are mostly written by the non-Melayu.
So the end result is that the voices and aspirations and demands of the Melayu are pushed aside.
In fact, if one looks at an English language tabloid owned by the Chinese, one can see so few Melayu or stories on the Melayu published on any day.
If they publish stories on the Melayu and their personalities, they are mostly stories which are negative to them.
I can almost feel the pain they feel when they are forced to publish stories on the Melayu especially those related to the film industry and the arts; worse, during the religious festive seasons when they do not have a choice but to write some stories on them.
In fact, the other online portals which publish stories and articles in English are also non-
Melayu-dominated.
So there is an overwhelming outpouring of grievances and gripes of the Chinese and Indians in them, while the feelings of the Melayu are often neglected.
So no wonder when the advertising industry gathers in their annual bash, they try to pretend that they are not in Malaysia but elsewhere. This should reflect their thinking.
Yet, at the same time, they are supposed to understand the local market and buyers so that they can sell whatever products and services to them.
They had not done that successfully in the past so much so that the government had to impose many laws and regulations to force them to comply with the demands of the local population.
On their own device, they would rather have it differently.
These are critical industries and activities which are everyday ones. What the industry players do can be effective, especially if they have their own biases, prejudices and also chauvinism which they have successfully camouflaged so that it is not seen to the naked eye, but which is there for everybody to see.
And on the other hand, if the media and advertising industry are being dominated by the Melayu since Merdeka, I doubt if most of the discontents that some Malaysians experience today will happen.
So to solve the main problems faced by Malaysia, the Melayu must go into the media and advertising industry in full force.
This can be done very easily as they had managed to wrest control of some of the industries which were once dominated by the others, and this can be done without the use of slogans but in a quiet way.
And no wonder the national agenda is being sidelined so that the voices of the majority are dampened.
So we are hearing gripes and condemnations from one side.
One can tell that the controversies and issues are all being brought forth and debated or discussed by the non-Melayu, who have their own ideas of everything from the history of the country to politics and the government, when in the past these were not real issues at all.
Now they are. And thanks to the internet and the ‘openness’ that the government has offered to the ‘rakyat’.
It is happening in other countries, too, including in America where the voices and aspirations of the majority are not being heard or given ample space to be discussed and only a small group of people with similar racial backgrounds are being given the top priority with the others having no choice but to behave like lackeys.
Just imagine what will happen in Singapura if the newspapers and magazines are being controlled by the Melayu? Worse, if the Melayu control its economy, too.
And imagine no more how the advertising industry has already created a false situation which gives a wrong picture of the situation in the country; that the Chinese-controlled papers seem to get more advertisements than those Melayu ones.
This is despite the fact that the purchasing power of the country is in the hands of the majority population who are Melayu.
But the advertising executives or the media buyers don’t care. They had caused a certain English language tabloid to be far ahead over the other English language papers which are seen to be Melayu-dominated.
So there is bias. So there are also prejudices. But worse, there is discrimination and chauvinism.
These are the three major factors which are affecting the running of the country – or at least this is what many perceive if they believe in what the postings in the internet say.
The truth is not so.
Chauvinism is being promoted in subtle ways, that it is easy for many not to be able to see it.
But it not so difficult for those Melayu who have discerning eyes to see and expose.
That the whole country is being turned outside down because of the interaction of the media and advertising industry, which are all trying to force the chance of attitude.
They have failed. They can only create some confusion. But the end results will be worse for them, as the change in demography of the country becomes more prominent as the population of the non-Melayu continues to shrink further in relation to the fast expanding population of the Melayu in the country.
So sooner or later, there can be some balance when the Melayu or Bumiputera population in the country becomes too overwhelming for small communities to override its interests.
The splitting of the Melayu community into a few political entities and affiliations can only be effective for now. But it won’t be too discernible in the future where parties for the non-Melayu can become totally irrelevant with some of them morphing into social and cultural clubs.
This can be seen in Singapura where the Melayu are grouping not in politics but in their everyday social and cultural activities since there is no way that they can exert themselves in politics.
This is after all a numbers game.
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