Monday, June 10, 2013

The truth is, politics sells

Battle of biz weeklies: Taib outsells Halim?

Edge, Focus go political. In their respective latest issues, The Edge has Eighties' corporate high flyer Halim Saad on its cover while rival Focus Malaysia is front-paging what it happily labels as the "Taib Family Inc". The two business weeklies don't usually feature Malay-Bumi corporate names prominently unless there are scandals and mouth-watering controversies involved, so the Halim-Taib headlines are kind of a "bonus" for the community.

The political undertones in both Halim and Taib's articles are overwhelming, if not overcooked in places. In Halim's lawsuit against Nor Mohamed Yakcop, especially, the attempt to scandalize Umno, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Barisan Nasional are hardly sublte. But that's to be expected, too, given the allegiance of the magazine's owners to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, or so people tell me.

The truth is, Anwar is
a favourite with The Edge
Not all pro-BN bloggers are in a hurry to defend NMY, who only recently was appointed as Deputy Chairman of Khazanah Nasional by the Chairman (and PM) Datuk Seri Najib Razak. A Voice is one example: he spells out F.R.A.U.D from the word go but at the same time sniffs out the politics of the Edge and the agenda of its political idol.

For its big scoop on Taib Mahmud, who is a known pain in Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat's butt where its dream of conquering Sarawak is concerned, there isn't a quote from the man himself. The Chief Minister's hate groups Bruno Manser Fund and Radio Sarawak, on the other hand. are quoted extensively throughout the article. The Mahmud clan is supposed to be linked to 400 companies locally and worldwide, but only five Malaysian PLCs are analyzed in the article.

As the Umno general assembly draws nearer, expect more political articles in our business pages.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:42 pm

    Bagus. Kasi lagi muka...
    Kasi lagi support. Kasi lagi ad money. Kasi kasi kasi and last last, pungkok kena main...
    Well done Melayu!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6:29 am

    The Edge is financed by Tong Ong Kooi, fomer Phileo Allied now based in Vancouver, Canada. Anwar's known financier.

    The attack on Taib's family is largely Ottawa based. There's sizable Sarawakian expats there whose family presence dated even before indepedence.

    Peminatrocky

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mustapha Ong7:02 am

    I think transparency is the first norm of good moral and governance. Politicians and corporate leaders who are tainted or implicated with absolutely non integrity and morality values should be exposed publicly in any forum, including the MSM and the social media. As public figures they have a responsibility to the people who have elected them to office and should not be bailed out at any cost or under any circumstances.

    "The more honesty a man has, the less he affects the air of a saint" - JOHANN KASPAR LAVATER.

    "The worst sort of hypocrite and liar is the man who lies to himself in order to feel at ease" - HILAIRE BELLOC.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Peminatrocky,

    Ottawa-based, uh? Sounds like business rivalry, jealousy, etc.

    As for Tong, he was an Anwar crony from the 80s. We journalists used to joke then:

    Mahathir has Ting (Pek Khiing)
    Anwar has Tong (Kooi Ong)
    TIng Tong Ting Tong,
    Tang tuu jugak!

    There are other names, of course, from Soh to Yeo, and they all make tons and tons, and they all have their own political agenda.

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7:08 pm

    Fasih Bahasa Malaysia daily tips.
    (Khas for Aduns/MPs 2013)

    Bantai Perut = Bantal Peluk

    Proper pronunciation is critical as it may cause miscommunications during debates in the Dewans.

    Question: Is this one of the reasons many Malaysian Opposition MPs plan to boycott the swearing-in ceremony ... can they actually communicate in our National Language?

    PERWIRA

    ReplyDelete
  6. Driver but not Pemandu12:31 pm

    Ting Tong Ting Tong
    Najib juga ada (Omar) Ong
    Hehehe . . .

    Wait for his father cybertrooper, Mustapha to deny

    ReplyDelete