Thursday, November 21, 2013

Mother of all editorial apologies

Updated: 1. In Board, Pissed blogger Zakhir Mohd discovers that the board of Media Prima, parent company of NST, is not pleased at all with the apology and wants all future decisions on such matters be referred to it 2. NST should be in "jual ayam" business by A Voice. The blogger is kind enough to provide a link for "A plot to destabilize the Government", their Sept 21, 2012 article the NST won't or can't defend). 
p.s. You may also have read Suaram's response to NST's "unprecedented abject apology", How the mighty have fallen. I suggest the lawyers at NST read Kua Kia Soong's rubbing-it-in piece slowly ... he's calling the newspaper "the ruling party's media assassin. And a poor assassin at that". I think they should get Kua to apologize for this defamatory insult ...


Original posting:

The page 3 obituary
In other words, we are being told that all the claims made against these organisations about them getting foreign funding - which had been said in Parliament by our MPs and Cabinet Ministers, uttered in public rallies before the last General Election and on tv and radio by BN leaders, and written in the columns of the various pro-Government newspapers and publications - were lies and fabrication. 
In all my years in journalism, I have not come across anything like this half-page apology. The newspaper may have saved its own ass and avoid a lawsuit (I assume Bersih, Suaram, CIJ and Merdeka Centre had threatened to sue unless the newspaper apologizes), but the real damage goes way beyond the paper-thin credibility of the newspaper alone. 

48 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:33 pm

    only read Malaysiakini now, tomorrow and forever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:19 pm

      Ek. Me never. Pointless.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous6:59 pm

    In other word, you are blog are based from lies fed by UMNO

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7:11 pm

    DAto, u take over only la

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous7:16 pm

    So do we agree newspapers that publish false news ought to be slapped with lawsuits unless they apologise ?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7:21 pm

    "Paper-thin credibility"?

    Wow, those are strong words.

    So, why did the NST apologise?

    Did the US "surveillance" have anything to do with it?

    Because if the US was monitoring communications in Malaysia, who knows what amount of "juicy" information it could have come across?

    Enough, maybe, to make some people very nervous?

    In Indonesia, we have SBY making tough with Tony Abbott and the Aussie government.

    Left carefully untouched is the question of whether US "surveillance" activities extended to Indonesia.

    Because Australia can be pushed around, but not the US?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous8:00 pm

    Ha ha. make me no promise and I will tell no lies.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous8:51 pm

    Latuk, your turn will come. You are no better than the NST and Utusan.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:08 pm

    It is so sickening to read the apology. How can we trust NST anymore. I thought the paper would go to court to defend what it had printed because it would have trusted the sources who gave the information.if not, then those responsible should the honoursble thing by resigning.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:32 pm

    Which media can be trusted, honestly? It's like asking which politicians are honest.

    Few and far between.

    The NST's still better than Utusan, though.

    Anyway, at some point all the racial & political paid-for hate-mongering has got to stop and the politicians better buckle down to some work.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous9:39 pm

    Last para says "wish to aplogise".
    Check it out from your English teacher if it means the apology was indeed made.
    Ada niat tapi belum buat lagi?
    Real bodoh way of using English language.
    You need not worry.
    Apology has yet to be made! These buggers only expressed their intentions to apologise (wish to). They have yet to make it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous9:48 pm

    Stupid of NST to do this. You are gonna lose ur readers soon.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:29 pm

    low class journalism at work....nst lost its balls.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think the NST is afraid of Karpal. Laws are like that. Good talkers, wins. It's not about who is right or wrong.
    I'm disappointed that NST chickens out. This is the best chance to spill the truth about these foreign agents. Even Ambiga have admitted receiving funds from abroad.
    Najib tak ada telor?

    ReplyDelete
  14. But this is what happens when shit is allowed to get to do the work of brain!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous11:30 pm

    Its a sign that closet Anwar Ibrahim supporters are in power within Ah Jib Gor's govermnent.

    Alfie

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous11:31 pm

    Bro you are more worst ..for the past few months you have planted and feed a bitter hatred to Bumi against Chinese .
    I am aware you believe in Karma , so dont think there is no other power beside human .
    Man u so screw......

    ReplyDelete
  17. so the reporter made it up?
    and the editor did not verify it?
    Surely both should resign.....

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous12:41 am

    Why would anyone trust NST

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous1:16 am

    'paper-thin credibility' at least it apologized.....

    what about those politicians with 'muka tebal macam kulit babi' and goes around inciting hatred and lies with 'zero-credibility'?. Shameless morons with no integrity but hail by idiots especially the pro-opposition as their heroes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:17 am

      You are referring to DUMNO. Very appropriate for a party that lost the popular vote.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:13 am

      Kulit lembu lebih tebal drp kulit babi. Kalau tak percaya, tanye Sharizat, azalina dan Rosmah.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous2:16 am

    Rocky: they apologise now but the damage was done long ago when it mattered to UMNO. this is the work of sick people managed by sick leadership. Same as your blog which serves to pit one race against another to foster insecurity. You are finished, bru. No amount of apology on your part could bring back your cheap cigar donations.

    Godfather

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous2:42 am

    The editor should sack the reporter for fabricating the story .. Period.. Nst admitted the story is false. Period

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous8:15 am

    Please let the melayu-wannabe Ridhuan Tee be the chief editor of NST. Dia tu ada telur.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous9:47 am

    Datuk,
    What la few millions USD to Bersih,Suaram and the likes.
    Read yesterday's theSun... US the foreign investor in Malaysia. This year 7 months figure already equals the next biggest Investor, and more Billions USD to come.
    Last time Anwar as MOF sent M.V Raman to booze with the US congressmen and they promised IMF bailout, US airbase in Kuantan...fortunately Mahathir put a stop to it.
    Today, Najib sent Minister status rep with bevy of girls, Khazanah with posh office, Pemandu party girl.....and see the billions USD are coming...
    So now you think NST apologee is big deal??
    MAMPUSLAH MALAYSIA MACAM NI!!.
    Wak

    ReplyDelete
  24. NST Insider9:50 am

    Critics are getting all high and mighty over that fucking apology but it is not the idea of the newsroom editors. In fact, they were willing to defend it in court to show that Bersih is as creepy as the next anwar Ibrahim asslicker enjoying the support of foreign agent’s funds as part of their long-term campaign to destabilize the BN government and KICK ITS ASS OUT OF POWER!!!.

    It is the kotek lembik way out by nstp ceo azlan abdullah, abetted macam bodoh by the group managing editor jalil hamid.

    They crumbled too easily the moment the Bersih lawyers made their legal suit threat. Azlan & Jalil got no balls to fight the suit but to be fair, their balls were being squeezed hard by their big bosses. Sape? Take your pick….PM’s office, senior Umno leaders & entah mana hantu jerangkong lagi.

    In the first place, that fucking pg 1 story had interference written all over it cos Jalil got no balls to order the report on his own. Of course he was ordered by one of his many dalangs to publish the report b4 polling day.

    Btw, the report has suspicious circumstances but it is still basically true and ok. Virtually everyone from rocky to big dog had exposed bersih’s creepy nature but becos it was the NST!! who made it a big report, Bersih had to go on damage control. The bastards got it easy.

    Whoever the fucking dalangs who told jalil to print the report don’t give a shit about editorial integrity becos all they want to do is remain in power at all cost. It reminds me off the tactics used by kalimullah hassan to tibai dr m.

    In fact, azlan and jalil operated on their own, without telling the board. The board was freaking upset. Media Prime chairman Johan Jaafar meletup during a recent board meeting and scolded azlan and jalil for being pondans.

    But johan too must realize that ini semua kerja orang Najib. If there is anyone to be blamed, blame Najib for hiring the jerangkungs who fuck around with nst’s editorial integrity and make the editors look bad.

    Now u know why jalil was put there to replace zainul ariffin. Jalil is the ultimate insider who will execute anything his handlers tell him to do. Zainul is known to have rejected many instructions, especially fucking stupid ones. At the end of the day, zainul was not a “team player” and removed. But becos he got brains, they put him to take care of the digital ops. Boleh tahan now jadi digital CEO!!

    ReplyDelete

  25. Datuk,

    I know Utusan is 100% UMNO (more or less) but not quite sure about NST.

    One must pursue the question why NST did what it did.

    I am somewhat taken by NST's catchy tagline on its billboard along the Federal Highway - "We dont write to have more likes."

    If the tagline means what it means, then NST should fight all out unless both the Editor's life and the life of the staff who wrote the article is being threatened.
    Nowadays paid assassins are a bounty.You never know what tomorrow's headline going to be.

    Jokes aside, I think we should view this matter seriously. The article in question is about the country's safety and sovereignity. Its not about some cheap artists' gossip.

    I hope KDN or SKMM should look into this matter.
    We have been fed day in day out with LIES. Its time to STOP.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:54 am

    Barangkali ini kesalahan cina

    ReplyDelete
  27. trifling-jester11:06 am

    did they receive 20 million worth of support that is used to bring down the govt, bring down the economy etc? got proof? no? so the apology is valid.

    good that they twisted their finger into this apology.

    dont try to spin it into something else man - not that complicated.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:41 am

    Bukan Gua Bikin lah, Bru.

    Chua Soiled Lek

    ReplyDelete
  29. An apology does not mean what NST had reported is totally false. It's just that they have no concrete evidence or facts that is tangible and can easily support allegations made in court or in legal proceeding.

    It's just like SD. RPK and Bala have proven that SD too can be unreliable.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous11:57 am

    Anon 10.54

    You bodoh macam babi

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous12:00 pm

    "the ruling party's media assassin. And a poor assassin at that". I think they should get Kua to apologize for this defamatory insult ...

    IF it's defamatory, sure.

    But of course it's an open secret who sets the direction for certain publications, and certain paid bloggers and paid NGOs.

    Whether people want to be tools (in any sense of that word) lies with their own conscience, right.

    A lot of people will sell out if the money's good enough.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous12:20 pm

    Surely Your very Close Friend Aini knows more about this? Isnt She the Big Edit?

    What is her take on this?

    ReplyDelete
  33. charleskiwi1:03 pm

    It is so easy to apologise, just say sorry ! But to admit that the story was fabricated by a Malaysian 'journalist' from NST is only a true reflection of all the other article from NST. One wonders which article in the paper is true and not fabricated. Yet you call yourself a journalist of many years of experience.
    Soon, or shall I say very soon NST will follow the path Malay Mail took and may be you have one more 'journalist' blogging for Umno.
    For your information I pray very hard that your egregious Mahathir will recover soon, at least to stay alive long enough, to witness the destruction of Umno Baru !

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous3:59 pm

    Anon 9:50 am spins a good conspiracy theory.

    But he/she chooses to remain "anon".

    Why, ah? No b***s to append your name to your post?

    And let the chips fall where they will.

    Now, who's being "lembik"?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous7:42 pm

    Just googled for NED Annual Report 2011

    Among the Malaysian recepeients:-

    ........
    $ 60K- Merdeka Center for Opinion Research
    $ 100K- Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd
    $ 285K- Nat. Democratic Inst. for International Affairs
    $ 60K - Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd.

    Makcik Kampung like me also can google, orang pandai- pandai macam Mazlan pun tak tau ka? Apa nak jadi kpd 'cerdik pandai' hari ni ? So sad... Bukan salah ibu mengandung !

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous8:13 pm

    Charleskiwi,

    Leave the honorable Tun Dr Mahathir alone. Tak habis- babis cHINA celaka ni dengki. Better still you Chinese pig just stay put in Kiwi! Bodoh punya cHINA cibai!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous12:04 am

    Time to boycott nst

    ReplyDelete
  38. Datuk,

    Anon 7:42pm is spot on.

    This open info is something Jalil could easily obtain and defend Farrah's story. He should honourably stand up against management like this prude and stiff Azlan Abdullah.

    Azlan thinks he is doing the balance sheet a favour. But in reality, it’s ‘Penny wise, Pound foolish’. Amrin is too soft to be stern.

    Azlan and Jalil are both strategy-brain-dead. Very tactical minded!

    They don’t deserve to be there.

    The longer PM Najib retain these two naive clowns, the worse situation his government and BN will face for the next three years.

    Media Prima needs to purge and flush all the hopeless people still in NST. So many Hindu-God-Syiah-Priest ppl are still around and being placed in strategic posts within.

    Media Prima should invest good money and start to buy good journos back into NST. That’s the only salvation left.

    Amrin of all ppl should understand this. He was trained by Halim Saad.

    Unless PM Najib is more interested to read more about Rosmah’s Permata projects in NST every other day instead of winning 14GE. Then the Razak brothers better start shopping for a good private jet starting from now.

    Probably Jho Loh could chip in and get the jet to be A6 registered.

    Reply

    ReplyDelete
  39. charleskiwi8:33 am

    Anon 8.13 p.m.

    If egregious Mahathir is honorable why is it that so many so many derogative remarks are said of him every time when an article is posted abut him ?
    I rather be known as a pig than a snake, that must be what you and your kind are. At least pigs don't bite and are very much of a diet in many parts of the world, including Turkey, where some muslim friends of mine went hunting for wild boars for food with me during my recent visit there.
    How often do you hear someone hunting snakes for food ? People only kill them and if I have the choice of killing a snake and you , you should know what I will do ! Just for you I will spare the bullet that i would have used for the killing of the snake. Can you understand what I am trying to convey the message ?
    Go back to here your ancestors came from and remember the real sons of the soil are the Orang Asli and not you even the daughter of egregious Mahathir and the former minister of trade have admitted that they are 2nd or 3rd generation of immigrants. The real sons of Malaya are the Orang Asli and please don't try to fence them up like animals !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The orang asli got independence eh?
      really really really. They were already loyal subjects before the Chinese and Indians got here.

      Delete
  40. Lady GAGA11:26 am

    I must give my dua sen worth lah.

    Ini kes pengecut. Why?

    A journalist with zero experience in running a surat khabar heading a newspaper, an INSTITUTION such as the NST.

    Itu sudah ONE BIG MISTAKE.

    You mesti fikir -- Apasal Si Najib, PM Malaysia, bodoh bangang dan bengap buat macam itu. Memilih se orang, walaupun seorang wartawan (Reuters agency asing, ya bukan surat khabar) yang kosong pengalaman untuk mengetuai NST..

    MALU lah. Apa yang si Jalil tahu?
    Dah lah pertuturan Bahasa Inggeris macam siot --kalau cikgu Maznah mesti kasi dia D.

    Atau sememang nya Najib berusaha menyambung kerja siot Si K (pengkhianat tu) untuk mengjahanamkan NST?

    Si Jalil ni tak pernah bergelut di dalam medan peperangan kewartawanan.. tidak ada parut-parut di badan nya.
    Itu lah dia mudah kecut.

    Tanya lah budak2 NST tu.. kucing kurap talibarut Menteri pun boleh sergah dia. kecut telur dia.

    Tapi...takkan lah takut dengan SUARAM dan BERSIH.

    Alamak. Apa sudah jadi/ Hancur lah NST...

    The GEIC or now GME reflects the kind of newspaper he heads...as a CEO will reflect the company.

    So. kalau GME pengecut -- bayangkan saja lah newspaper tu macam mana.

    Adakiah ini bermakna lapuran NST mengenai SUARAM tu semua tipu?

    Takut masuk mahkamah?

    Takut terbongkar? Terbongkar apa, ya?

    If you are a real newspaperman, you cannot be easily intimidated-lah.

    You tak boleh ditakutkan oleh SUARAM, BERSIH?

    Apa yang ditakui sangat ni?

    by the way -- external lawyers ni semua kan -- pro BERSIH..

    Lain kali kalau tak ada telur, gunakan otak saja...

    ReplyDelete
  41. Divert divert divert.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Kawan Aina12:31 pm

    Anon 12.20PM

    You said:
    "Surely Your very Close Friend Aini knows more about this? Isnt She the Big Edit?
    What is her take on this?"

    eh, Datuk Rocky your close friend is Aini or Aina, aah?

    Mr Anon 12.20PM -- get the name right, at least lah.

    If you had meant Aina -- it is Datuk Nuraina Samad.

    I say man -- the woman has left NST lah. She is no more in NST.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous9:12 am

    Im not a fan of NST but I must say this is very disheartening. Why did they choose to apologise? Because it's easier?
    I would love to see NST fight it out, defend what they print, and win my heart (and faith) again.
    But alas....

    farha

    ReplyDelete
  44. The guy should be removed-lah. Bagi malu NST.

    The post he is holding is too overwhelming for him.

    Najib and his konco-konco betul-betul nak expose kelemahan. kepengecutan and kebodohan Jalil.

    ReplyDelete