Media body calls for fairer coverage in lead up to Malaysian polls
Updated 1 May 2013, 22:15 AEST
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance says locally-gathered data shows that mainstream media coverage of campaigning, has been 'significantly biased' towards the incumbent Barisan Nasional.
Malaysia's 13th national election is expected to be the closest yet.. and SEAPA says fair and accurate information from diverse sources must be available, so citizens can make informed choices on polling day.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Gayathry Venkiteswaran, executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance
VENKITESWARAN: From what we understand, from our partners in Malaysia, in their monitoring of the news coverage in the buildup to Nominatiion Day, and also during the campaign period, the information through the mainstream media is very much biased towards to incumbent ruling government, the Barisan Nasional. This is of course not new, we're very well aware of that, but it is a trend that's very worrying, because the reliance of the public on mainstream media is still quite high, in terms of the television stations as well as the radio stations.
LAM: So is it actual biased information or is it just a case that the Opposition gets omitted or left out of the reporting?
VENKITESWARAN: In the past, that might have been the situation, but we see also in recent years, how the information is framed to the disadvantage or to discredit the Opposition candidates, or the opposing candidates. And omission is also a problem, when you're not telling the full story.
LAM: And where are you getting your data from?
VENKITESWARAN: For the statistical data, we have been using the information provided by the project called 'Watching the Watch-dog' for the general election. it's a monitoring project conducted by the Centre for Independent Journalism and the University of Nottingham Malaysia. So they have about 700 monitors, looking at various key words and about 29 media outlets in the country.
LAM: Does SEAPA believe that slanted coverage in mainstream media in Malaysia will actually have real impact on the polls' outcome?
VENKITESWARAN: I think it's very hard to tell because on the surface, like, if you look at the social media, you see very active participation from various sites, so you almost get a sense as though it's an equal playing field. But study after study and polls have shown that television news is still considered the primary source of information for many people. So, with television stations either state-broadcasting or owned by companies very close to the Barisan Nasional, it is very much slanted towards them. It feels very dynamic on social media, but when you look at consumption and main sources of information, it is still with the television stations, radio stations and print media as well.
So, Yes, I think it's a concern in the sense that a large section of the population is still getting biased information. The mainstream media have online presence as well. For example, the Star newspaper is the leading, or neck-to-neck with (independent news website) Malaysiakini, in terms of visitors. So yes, online is the 'thing' for the young people, but again, it's mainly concentrated in urban areas or certain areas, those who've studied abroad, living abroad - because I do think even with the quite high penetration, the areas in which would determine alot of the seats, are quite outside of this internet penetration. So I do think in areas that really matter, there's still a debate about whether they are having adequate access. And whether they are able to look at the different information and make the judgement for themselves.
LAM: The Opposition is getting alot of foreign coverage, purely because they're far more accessible than the incumbent BN. Do you think that levels the playing field somewhat?
VENKITESWARAN: No, I don't think so, because I think fundamentally, information that reaches out to the citizens in order to make their decisions, I think that is still the problem. I think the opposing parties under the Pakatan Rakyat are able to get their message out, which is why of course the whole 'Jom Balik Undi' is a massive developement.
LAM: That's the 'Let's Go Back to Vote' campaign?
VENKITESWARAN: Yes, 'Going back to vote' campaign which has been mobilised globally. I think that's extremely significant. I mean, I know groups who are resorting, communities, resorting to the use of newsletters - which is old technology, because they want to fill in that gap. But it's not for all the areas, and these are areas where they don't have adequate internet access.
LAM: Have there been any incidents of intimidation of local journalists? What's your intelligence telling you?
VENKITESWARAN: Well there are, and I think there are probably more than reported, because sometimes they (journalists) consider it as part of their jobs, so not all of them will report (to the authorities) but we have heard or read from the monitors from the ground, at least four incidents of either direct physical intimidation and harassment, to barring the media from entering certain election areas, to cover the different candidates. So far we are monitoring what the electoral monitors have been reporting, so at the moment, there are at least four cases that we've heard of, and it is by party workers mainly.
LAM: By party workers on both sides of the political divide?
VENKITESWARAN: At the moment it seems to be from one party, the Barisan Nasional - but it's very difficult to say because at this time, it's so frenzied, people are wearing tee shirts that may or may not be with the political parties. So at first glimpse, you think it's from a party until you're doing the investigation, and therein lies the problem because police are not response to the complaints made to them. They actually told the reporter in one incident, "You shouldn't be reporting this, you should just erase just all the photographs that you took, where you were being attacked."
So you know, that is impunity. We can't make conclusions yet, because there is no investigation, and that is part of the problem as well.
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