Dissecting Chinese media reports on MCA

SPECIAL REPORT The MCA crisis has become a daily diet for the Chinese media with large number of pages devoted to the leadership tussle. It’s the same with the Chinese talk shows on radio and television.

Nothing is too small to be covered and certainly accuracy is not a priority. Last week, Kwong Wah put up a story, quoting unnamed sources, that former MCA president Ong Ka Ting would be back as party chief.

Although Ka Ting is still an MP, the story is still far fetched but again, accuracy is hardly a concern.

Other newspapers speculated that Ong Tee Keat’s admission into hospital was an indication that the party president would not defend his position in the coming party polls, of which a date had yet to be fixed.

The enthusiasm, if not over-zealousness, in the reporting of the MCA issue led to an apology by Sin Chew Daily last week.
The newspaper had wrongly misquoted the Hainan community chief Foo Sae Heng as saying that the association was considering withdrawing an exemplary service award to Tee Keat.

A case of wishful thinking

The truth was that Foo had never mention any name nor does the association plan to withdraw the award to Tee Keat.
It was a case of wishful thinking for the Sin Chew Daily, which has adopted a hostile stand towards Tee Keat.

Guang Ming Daily recently put on its front-page a lead story of what colour of the under pants the MCA leaders should wear to the recent party’s extraordinary meeting.

But the powerful Sin Chew Group, which controls 85 per cent of the Chinese language publications, has taken a step further.
Early last month, it took the unprecedented move of publishing a strongly worded editorial against Ong.

It shed its neutrality and took a partisan step, calling Tee Keat the “the worst ever president in MCA history.”

It went on to say that “he is not qualified to represent the Chinese community” and ask “how would such a leader put the party’s unity plan into action.”

The tone of the article was harsh but in a paradoxically way, Sin Chew Daily also wrote “Chinese newspapers will never confront, nor side, any political party or faction.”

Relations between the newspaper group and Tee Keat have been strained since the publication of the article.

Said central committee member Ti Lian Ker (right): “The neutrality of Sin Chew is gone. You cannot make a stand by whacking Tee Keat and then in the same breath, says you are neutral in the same article.”

The media group controls Sin Chew Daily, China Press, Guang Ming and Nanyang - the four largest newspapers in the country.

The Sin Chew Media Corporation also publishes 16 magazines titles and is part of the Media Chinese International Ltd, owned by Sarawak timber tycoon Bastard Tiong Hiew King (left).

His group also publishes Ming Pao Daily which is distributed in Hong Kong, Toronto, Vancouver, New York and San Francisco.

Rita Sim's article

Last month, the ties between the MCA and the media group took another dip following an article by Sin Chew’s executive director Rita Sim in an English newspaper.

She wrote that the MCA appeared incapable of resolving its leadership crisis and there was increasing speculation that other alternative channels in the Chinese community might step into the political representation vacuum left by the MCA’s inability to perform.

Her article hit a raw nerve with Tee Keat’s supporters taking it to mean that she was declaring that MCA should now be sidelined. They also pointed out that MCA leaders were making moves, setting aside personal and political differences, to keep the Greater Unity Plan on track.

But what offended the party further was that she signed off her article as the Insap (Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research) deputy chairman. Insap is the MCA think tank.

Ti has pointed out that Sim, who was appointed to the post by Ka Ting, has quit.

Sim (left) has long been involved in MCA and has spoken up for the party’s cause in various forums and seminars but is known to be unhappy with the leadership of Tee Keat.

Tee Keat’s loyalists have insinuated that Ka Ting and his former number two, Chan Kong Choy, are backing vice-president Liow Tiong Lai - who leads the so-called third force in the party.

Ti, a lawyer and a three-term Pahang state assemblyman, has in fact openly linked Sim with the two MCA leaders in his blog.

Tee Keat’s supporters were also irked with front-page reports, quoting unnamed sources, that Star Publications (M) Bhd wanted to evict Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman from Section 13 where the campus sits.

The Star management had to issue a statement to explain that there was no such plan and that talks were being held with Utar to upgrade the existing site into a city campus.

Another statement was issued reaffirming that the new city campus at Section 13 would cater to the development of the university over the next 25 years and it would be built at no cost to Utar.

The issue has since died following the rebuttals, of which the vernacular papers published the stories without even verifying it, taking the information from the sources as a fact.

Said one observer: “There is an unwritten rule that newspapers do not attack each other but the rule is no longer applicable. Worse, no attempts were made to get the other side of the story.”

Editors from these Chinese newspapers have maintained that it has no agenda but MCA politicians feel that they are prejudicial.

But some MCA leaders suggested that Sin Chew was attempting to play “king maker” in the current MCA crisis.

Want unity plan to succeed

However, Sin Chew, in its Nov 3 article wrote that the Chinese media “will stand firm on their mission to help the public see the truth, for the interest of the Chinese community.”

“They will not opt for silence for fear of accusations that they have hidden agendas behind their moves, or are supporting or against any particular leaders,” it said.

The relation between the Chinese and MCA has long been a love-hate relationship. The Chinese media has always regarded itself as a pillar of the community beside the 7,000 guilds and associations represented under the Federation of Chinese Associations or Hua Zong.

Then, there is also the influential Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, which represents trade and business groups, and the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia, known as Dong Zong.

Party observers said the Chinese business groups have been trying to pull together the feuding leaders and they wanted the Greater Unity Plan to succeed.

“They are not putting down anyone or asking anyone to go. Certainly, they are not calling anyone names or labelling anyone the best or worst. It’s a little unusual and even vindictive,’’ a veteran MCA leader said.

He said it was important for the Chinese media to support any efforts to unite the party and not disrupt it, adding that the media should not even entertain any thoughts of transferring Chinese representation to other avenues.

“Let’s leave politics to the politicians. No one whether the media, guilds or educationists should be involved. Democracy isn’t a perfect system but it works,’’ he added.