The Truth Matters . . . Not To Detractors.

Its often said that the truth matters. That truth shall prevail. We hear it from our formative years, our parents constantly drilling it into us. Then it happens. When we grow up, we do the same but practice not.

The controversial release of Razak Baginda who was accused of the murder of the now infamous Altantuya Shariibu Murder had indeed stroked further the imaginations of conspiracy theory subscribers. That he was released and acquitted, and the fact that the prosecution did not appeal the verdict added fuel to it. Now he has done one better by finally appearing for a press conference, earlier not showing up for one.

All this cannot help Razak one bit as he attempts to justify his position.

Which leads us to this, the Courts found him innocent, Razak provides details for the first time, and in his course, verifies that Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor were not known to the victim. He further stated that the purported claims that the victim was linked to an arms deal never happened.

So how are we convinced that Razak is guilty?

Razak said it. Bloggers were responsible for spreading the theories, and after many statutory declarations that were made and withdrawn, it helped these accusations. Fact that even Anwar Ibrahim had supported it said even more. But how did it come about?

Mainly from Malaysia Today, in fact mainly from Raja Petra Kamaruddin. And how is he getting away with it? Simply because those that he chose to name in his many postings choose not to give him the time of day. RPK is no doubt a popular blogger. His uncanny ability to get his readers to indulge in his many fantasies seems so uncomplicated. But if you really look into the details like some who care do, you should be able to find the misleading ‘facts’. For example, the proclaimed date and time of Datin Sri Rosmah and her ‘presence’ in the site of the murder does not even correlate with her time being at that place. It doesn’t matter, because if anyone actually pays notice to the person who claimed so would have been easily written off as a Najib collaborator.

And that really brings us back to the title. Truth matters, but not to the detractors.

Stand back and take a good look around you and try to imagine you being the accused, going against the might of Malaysia Today. Hurts, doesn’t it?

Trained journalists are taught to do that. Verify statements and check around for details, however minute it can be. Bloggers? Most of them trumpet the sensational stories. Don’t believe me. Check for yourself. Look through the more popular pro opposition blogs, or for that matter, pro government blogs, and see and ask for yourself. Look at the skewed writings of Bernard Khoo, whose post are as littered with made up facts as many as potholes in Johor Bharu (Post in question vary from Zakaria’s Palatial home where he used photos of the purported Mugabe house, and claims of the use of Government Jet by certain Government officials). The mainstream media may want to tell you what they want you to see, but you can be rest assured that they will tell it as best as they can.

The truth does indeed matter, to us who aim to do. Telling fibs is just not on.

Bloggers Knows Best

The New Media industry is really tough! We have been in business now for almost two months, ironing out all the hiccups, and given the onset of recession in Singapore, and the hopeful barring of technical recession in Malaysia, we online portals are finding it hard to draw in the advertisers!

And yet people like Malaysia Today, can have its editorial staff go in and out of jail, spend countless of supporters 'Makan and Minum' and fishing no less!

The cracks in the 'A list' of Malaysian Blogosphere has reared its ugly head!

In recent weeks, Bernard Khoo of Zorro's unmasked has come out with guns blazing against Ahirudin Attan of Rocky's Bru. Well, if you are truly a blog troller, you would have already seen them.

But hold on. If you take Bernard's view, and all those wonderfully articulated angst of a former teacher, you will surely want to beat up Rocky. But lets stop and analyse Bernard, shall we?

Remember the photos of Istana Idaman? Photos which he very quickly put up on his blog and procalimed it as Zakaria's palace? A boo boo no less.

And what about the countless rant about the Army's mechanised Batalion heading for the Istana Negara to support the Bersih march? No need to verify this, as it is the absolute truth.

And today, he claims that Rosmah, and Najib had taken the 'Government's VIP Jet to the APEC meeting in Peru on 22-23 November. After the 2 day meeting they will proceed for a week long tax payer paid holiday in Washington DC, from 24 to 29 November to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holidays. This as everyone knows is the peak holiday shopping period in the US! The couple will therefore be making a great contribution to the recession plagued US economy.'
It did not matter to his readers that he was not there to send Najib and Rosmah. It did not matter that the other dignitaries from all APEC countries and their spouses are there to do their part for the namesake of their country's contribution to the world's economic health. It did not matter to him that there were reporters sent to do their jobs to actually report on Najib's trip.
It matters only to Bernard that he continues to write from his heart and take in all his readers and make ridiculous claims as illustrated above.

On the contrary, there are trained professional's like us who are trying to make our living the only way we can, trained to see, to report and to gauge, hopefully to turn our portals to success stories like 'Malaysikini'! For Rocky to have used his skills, the ones he knew and still know best from his years in mainstream journalism, he is deemed to have spinned for his masters.

I guess, if all fails, I will return to the country I still call home, and to the Political Monopoly of PAP!

Good luck Malaysia....