In My Humble Opinion

Read the two news article below. One is from The Malaysian Insider, and the other is from Harian Metro. Both are reporting about the same incident. Judge for yourself who is telling the truth and if there is any bias in both reports.

From Harian Metro:

Tiga pelajar samseng


HULU SELANGOR: Tiga pelajar tingkatan lima sebuah sekolah menengah di sini, bertindak samseng dengan mengugut untuk membunuh seorang guru disiplin, kelmarin.
Difahamkan, kumpulan terbabit bertindak demikian kerana tidak puas hati apabila guru terbabit enggan menerima buku teks yang mahu dipulangkan mereka.


Berikutan itu, ketiga-tiga pelajar terbabit ditahan pihak berkuasa sejurus guru lelaki berkenaan membuat laporan polis berhubung insiden berkenaan.


Kejadian itu bermula kira-kira jam 11 pagi apabila tujuh pelajar sekolah berkenaan pergi ke pejabat sekolah bertemu pengetua untuk memulangkan buku teks yang enggan digunakan mereka.


Menurut sumber, tindakan tujuh pelajar itu yang berlagak samseng dengan meluru masuk ke pejabat sekolah tanpa meminta kebenaran bagaimanapun cuba dihalang guru berkenaan.


“Hairan dengan tindakan pelajar terbabit, guru disiplin itu bertanyakan tujuan mereka mahu berjumpa pengetua dan mereka memberitahu mahu memulangkan buku teks yang tidak mahu digunakan lagi.


“Guru itu menjelaskan kepentingan dan salah faham yang timbul mengenai buku berkenaan yang dianggap memberi ilmu pengetahuan kepada pelajar,” katanya.


Namun, pelajar terbabit tidak puas hati dengan penjelasan guru itu dan menganggap dia sengaja menghalang mereka bertemu pengetua dan mula bertindak biadab dengan meninggikan suara.


Sumber berkata, guru disiplin yang tergamam dengan tindakan pelajar terbabit cuba menenangkan keadaan dan menjelaskan perkara sebenar.


“Bagaimanapun, keadaan menjadi kecoh apabila tiga daripada pelajar terbabit mengugut guru itu kerana mendakwa dia menyinggung perasaan mereka,” katanya.


Bimbang keselamatan diri berikutan ugutan pelajar terbabit, guru berkenaan membuat laporan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Hulu Selangor, di sini.


Sementara itu, Ketua Polis Daerah Hulu Selangor, Superintendan Norel Azmi Yahya Affendy ketika dihubungi mengesahkan penahanan ketiga-tiga pelajar itu.


Menurutnya, semua mereka ditahan dalam tempoh 24 jam bagi mengambil keterangan berhubung insiden itu dan kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 506 Kanun Keseksaan kerana mengugut dan siasatan lanjut masih dijalankan.


Sementara itu, Bernama memetik Ahli Parlimen Hulu Selangor, P Kamalanathan, sebagai berkata beliau akan mengadakan perjumpaan dengan ibu bapa dan guru sekolah berkenaan esok berhubung isu buku teks itu.


“Saya akan pastikan pelajar menerima kembali buku berkenaan kerana itu arahan kerajaan yang mengekalkan novel berkenaan sebagai teks komponen sastera (Komsas) tingkatan lima,” katanya di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.


Kamalanathan berkata, berikutan kejadian itu, guru berkenaan sudah membuat laporan polis kerana mendakwa diugut abang seorang daripada pelajar itu pada Isnin lalu, manakala pelajar terbabit turut membuat laporan polis kerana perkataan yang digunakan guru itu.



Now from The Malaysian Insider:

Interlok: Polis siasat pelajar tak sah, Putrajaya digesa adakan inkuiri
Mar 08, 2011 KUALA LUMPUR, 8 Mac — Tindakan polis menyoal siasat tiga pelajar tanpa kehadiran ibu bapa atau peguam hanya kerana memulangkan novel Interlok, yang menjadi kontroversi sekarang kepada pengetua mereka, adalah tidak sah, kata pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat.


Ketiga-tiga pelajar SMK Kuala Kubu Baru terbabit disoal siasat oleh polis bandar itu semalam selama 10 jam.


“Soal siasat dijalankan tanpa kehadiran ibu bapa atau peguam.


“Mengejutkan, pihak berkuasa polis atau sekolah tidak memaklumkan ibu bapa mereka bahawa pelajar berkenaan disoal siasat oleh polis,” kata Naib Presiden PKR N Surendran dalam kenyataan dikeluarkan hari ini.


Katanya, pihak berkuasa sekolah dan Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru sekolah itu seolah-olah menggerakkan dan bekerjasama dalam insiden pelajar berkenaan disoal siasat kerana memulangkan novel Interlok.


“Kami dengan keras mengecam polis menyoal siasat kanak-kanak ini dan layanan yang diberikan kepada mereka.


“Soal siasat ini amat bertentangan dengan undang-undang kerana tiada kesalahan dilakukan oleh mereka,” kata beliau.


Novel Interlok kini digantung sementara jawatankuasa khas sedang mengkaji untuk membuat pindaan yang diperlukan.


Malah menurut aktivis sosial dan peguam ini, proses soal siasat itu bertentangan dengan undang-undang memandangkan mereka dinafikan akses kepada ibu bapa mereka atau peguam.


“Pada hakikatnya, sekurang-kurangnya salah seorang daripada kanak-kanak telah dinafikan kebenaran untuk menelefon ibu bapanya meskipun merayu untuk berbuat demikian,” kata Surendran.


“Kami menggesa kerajaan dan Kementerian Pelajaran mengambil tindakan segera untuk mengelakkan kejadian seumpama itu pada masa depan dan mengadakan inkuiri segera berhubung perkara tersebut,” katanya lagi.


Kata beliau, pihaknya mahu tindakan segera diambil ke atas pegawai-pegawai polis terbabit.


“Tindakan disiplin tegas harus diambil ke atas mana-mana guru yang terlibat dalam insiden ini.


“Kami menggesa kerajaan menghormati hak kanak-kanak dan bertindak selari dengan standard antarabangsa hak dan perlindungan kanak-kanak,” katanya.


Mengikut laporan media tiga pelajar tingkatan lima mendakwa mereka diheret ibu pejabat polis Kuala Kubu Baru dan disoal siasat selama 10 jam selepas mengambil keputusan memulangkan novel Interlok kepada pengetua mereka Jumaat lalu.


Kata laporan itu, pada awalnya, tujuh pelajar SMK Kuala Kubu Baru bercadang memulangkan buku teks sekolah mereka kerana mendakwa tidak berpuas hati dengan kandungannya tetapi dihalang oleh guru disipilin yang kemudian mencaci mereka.


“Semua tujuh daripada kami berjalan dengan tenang ke bilik guru besar apabila guru disiplin menahan kami dan mengeluarkan kata-kata yang melukakan perasaan kami,” kata seorang daripada pelajar di ibu pejabat Parti Hak asasi hari ini.


Menurut pelajar, guru disiplin didakwa menuduh mereka sengaja menimbulkan masalah di sekolah itu dan mengeluarkan kata-kata yang menghina mereka.


Menurut mereka, semalam pengerusi Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru Baktiar Md Rashid, yang juga seorang pegawai polis, membawa tiga pelajar yang terbabit itu ke balai polis untuk disoal siasat tanpa kebenaran ibu bapa mereka.


In the Harian Metro report, they do not mention the name of the textbook, Interlok (actually it's a required reading novel). The article comes of as a pro-government report.

Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insider starts their story with a pro-student report giving their first few paragraphs to those defending the students against the police.

Not sure who to believe these days.

Does this mean I'm now in league with Mahathir or does it just mean I have a picture with him?

I had the opportunity to film a private interview with Tun Dr. Mahathir at the Perdana Leadership Foundation. He was nice enough to oblige me with a picture. It doesn't mean he knows me well, it just means I have a picture with him.

Taking a picture at a location or with someone just means you were there at the same time as the other person. It doesn't say whats your relationship is.

How do you like the huge ass watermark? I'm still learning how to get the watermark right here...

Everyone knows what a vigilante is. It's someone who takes the law in his own hand to correct a perceived in-justice. It could be someone who beats up a snatch thief before the cops arrive or someone who guns down gangsters like the comic book character The Punisher. Those are the common examples, but there is another type of vigilantes... the vigilante bloggers. These type pursue a different type of justice, they want to spread the truth, or what they think maybe the truth.

The problem with these type of bloggers is the same with vigilantes, society in general may not agree with their methods but they agree with the outcome. Some bloggers say they're brave; to hell with lawsuits and the privacy of others... the truth must be exposed! However, there is a problem with that... what if someone innocent got hurt along the way?

What if the snatch thief the mob beat up was the wrong suspect? The mob melts away when the police arrive leaving behind a badly injured innocent victim.

What if the person who was slandered on line by the blogger was really innocent after all? The blogger disappears into anonymity while the reputation of someone has been destroyed. What if the privacy of an innocent bystander was violated in the interest of exposing this so called 'truth'? Too often, editors and bloggers say "we did it without malice, we were just pursuing the truth".

Those who were hurt along the way were just collateral damage in the bigger picture. In university, one of the hardest class I ever took was Mass Media Law. The professor who taught us was an experienced print journalist who had practiced journalism for many years. He was the drill sergeant for all of us aspiring journalists. The passing rate each semester was really low, only less than half the class passed. I was lucky enough to pass the first time with a C.

There was two things that I remember him drilling into us, Shield Laws and Privacy Laws. Shield Laws are basically laws that protect the journalist from legal action such as not having to reveal their source when reporting. The trust between a source and a journalist is one of the most important assets of a journalist, it is the crust of their credibility. With it, journalist can always say "trust me, I'll protect you".

The other laws are privacy laws, some states in the US have privacy laws that protect people from the media. The media cannot reveal the identities of certain type of individuals, for example rape victims, children in criminal cases, etc.

I always saw it as if Lady Justice was balancing privacy on one hand and the sword of truth on the other. The press should be pursuing the truth but must also have rules to obey by. The rules are there to protect the innocent, to prevent 'collateral damage'. In large media organizations, every fact that they print has to be verified by at least one or even two sources. It doesn't matter if the source is anonymous, as long as they are credible. Bloggers on the hand don't live up to that exacting standards. An army of one often cut corners.

Bloggers who don't follow the rules are these new media that the public turns to now. While the traditional print press follows the rules, blogs with sensational claims and 'news' only feeds the public hunger for conspiracy theories.

I blame the government for pushing the public to these bloggers for their news. Their original intention of controlling the press was to prevent public disorder was well intentioned but the implementation was bad. Now the more sensational the unverified claims of the vigilante blogger, the more unrest there is.

There is a famous ethical question I often ask in times like these, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" which means "who watches the watchers?" or "who guards the guardians?". The answer is this:

The question is put to Socrates, "Who will guard the guardians?" or, "Who will protect us against the protectors?". Plato's answer to this is that they will guard themselves against themselves. We must tell the guardians a "noble lie". The noble lie will inform them that they are better than those they serve and it is therefore their responsibility to guard and protect those lesser than themselves. We will instill in them a distaste for power or privilege, they will rule because they believe it right, not because they desire it.

Yeah, another reason why journalists are poor hacks who love their jobs as gatekeepers of the truth.

I don't read the Malaysian print press that much now after the election. I think they lost a lot of their credibility even before the election. I just perceive them to be biased.

However, when I do occasionally read them I find it amusing when I read between the lines.

Recently, the members of the press were barred from the main areas of parliament. The Barisan Backbencers Club removed the baricade after the press stopped reporting on their activities.

Read the article below from the star:

Saturday June 28, 2008 MYT 4:52:13 PM

Najib wants Nazri and Tiong to end spat

By AUDREY EDWARDS

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wants the feud between Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz and Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing to stop.

"I hope it will not continue. Arguments within any group of the Barisan Nasional is an unhealthy development," the deputy Prime Minister told reporters Saturday after opening the International Conference on "Meeting of Minds: Developing the Malaysia Master Brand."

"We must make the effort to resolve the situation so we can focus on our responsibility in Parliament, which is to debate on issues of interest to the people and how we can use our role as Members of Parliament and government to continually defend them."

The feud between Nazri, minister in charge of Parliament affairs and Tiong has gained momentum where Nazri on Friday said he expected the BBC to recommend to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to sack him as a minister.

"If they dare not do that on Monday, then shut up and don’t talk anymore,” he had said.

This was in response to Tiong's statement that BBC was upset with Nazri, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who had called the club members childish and gangster-like after they removed the barricade at Parliament lobby on Tuesday.

The barrier was put up to ban reporters from moving freely in the lobby area.

Tiong had also said that the BBC would hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the issue and decide on the next course of action to be taken as they felt Nazri had gone overboard.

Najib, when asked whether he, as Barisan whip, would issue a directive for the matter to be resolved, he said: "It is okay. I will whisper."

I found it most amusing that a few days before that, the press has been reporting what Tiong has been saying about Nazri. I feel the press are still pissed about getting blocked out from parliament. They can't admonish Nazri directly but they can report on what others have to say about him... like Tiong here.

I wonder where this is going to go. Its been fun watching the press being biased on this story.

I also read the statutory Declaration from Raja Petra Kamarudin's statutory declaration. I found it most amusing that he's declaring that he knows something that he heard from 'reliable sources'. Don't you just love how conspiracy theories work? A 'reliable source' told someone and immediately it's the truth... what the heck is this, is this the X-Files?

Then anyone can make a statutory declaration that they read in the newspaper about RPK's declaration and they read from reliable sources (is The Star still a reliable source?) that they know something's fishy. Is that proof now?

I declare this is crap. I have spoken. Let it be the truth.

There are some things best left unsaid. Like the private lives of people, no matter how big a personality they are. I don't read gossip mags because I hate how it intrudes into their private lives, I always imagine if it was me that they was reporting about... how would I feel. So that's why I don't read them. Unless of course, they were doing a misdeed that involves corruption.

Malaysians are really busybodies. They just love to intrude into other's private lives. Take for example, the girl Sufiah Yosuf. The trash newspaper News Of The World did an expose about her being an escort. For a few days, the local press had statements of people who were shocked at what she did and how she 'ended' up like that.

Then, the News Of The World did a follow up interview with her. She said she was happy and enjoying what she does. I say, let her be. She's happy and content and it's a free world. Unless she contracts some STD, she's okay.

Basically, she's not even a Malaysian. The only link Malaysians have with her is that her mother is a Malaysian. Other than that, she's a British national and she has every right to do what is legal in UK. The Malaysian moral police should look elsewhere to police.

Malaysians in general are just so uptight about sexuality. The media is opposed to homosexuality; nudity; free sex and any other form of sex that is not describe in a holy book.

Local media always adopt the holier than thou approach. The former health minister rightly mentioned this after he was secretly video taped having sex in a hotel. To me, he did a pretty good job as a Health Minister, having an extra marital affair didn't affect his job, just his family. Did it affect his integrity? Maybe, probably... I don't know. What I do know is that the Media had a field day crucifying him. The Malaysian media... enforcer of the social norms. 'Don't conform, get out' seems to be their motto.

Well, what about the integrity of the local mainstream media? After their performance in reporting the general election, I think we all know how well their credibility stands. Who are they to tell others what to do, if they themselves can't hold the highest standards?

While they might not write editorial pieces on condemning the ex-minister, they sneakily interviewed other 'experts' and had them do the crucifying. I'm sure they could always find someone to crucify anyone, but what about a fair and balance report? What about those who stood up for him? Where were their soundbites and interviews? Buried in a small paragraph in the next few pages?

Anything you do behind closed doors in the privacy of your own home should remain private, unless it affects others. If you're having consensual sex, no one should have the right to intrude on you 'to find out' if you should be having sex with that person... unless you're making too much noise and bothering the neighbours.