Bernama - 17 March 2001

Malaysia raps foreign media over ethnic clashes

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) - Malaysia's foreign minister Thursday criticised foreign media for their coverage of the ethnic clashes and told locals working for overseas news organisations not to help "destroy the country."

Syed Hamid Albar said it was not wrong for Malaysians to work for the foreign media but they should remain loyal to the country. "If you quote an unreliable source that is lying or get paid just to belittle the country, this is tantamount to going against human ethics," Syed told a press conference.

"Just because we are employed by the foreign media does not mean we have to follow their agenda, we must have our own principles and should not help foreigners to destroy the country," he said. Syed Hamid singled out Cable News Network International, saying it had blown the news on what he described as gang clashes out of proportion.

The minister, quoted by Bernama news agency, said some opposition parties did not hesitate to collaborate with the foreign media in belittling the country.

"If there is an opposition gathering, the foreign media will cover the event and say that there is chaos in Malaysia or disunity among the people has reached a serious stage. "The police have taken the appropriate action by interviewing those (among the opposition party) involved in providing false information to the foreign media and we must ensure such action is curtailed," he added.

The foreign minister asked the foreign media to obtain what he called accurate information from authorised sources without depending entirely on "informed sources" or information from the opposition.

Police said earlier Thursday they were investigating opposition leaders for sedition after the leaders issued a press statement casting doubt on the official death toll of six from the ethnic conflicts.

Four days of clashes between ethnic Indians and Malays in poor districts near Kuala Lumpur broke out on March 8.

In terms of deaths they were the worst ethnic clashes since race riots in 1969. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government has for years fiercely criticised the western media for alleged bias and inaccurate reporting and suggested it had an unspecified hidden agenda.

Last month censors at the home ministry began holding up sales of Asiaweek magazine and the Far Eastern Economic Review. No one in the government has been willing to comment on whether an official new policy of curbing the magazines' sales is in force.