Time for media boycott

Ali Kadir

OCT 1 — Several days ago, a Spencer Gan suggested in a posting to The Malaysian Insider that Malaysians should boycott the mainstream media, especially Utusan Malaysia and The Star, because these publications were purveyors of lies and more interested in doing the bidding of their owners, Umno and the MCA.
I am generally not in favour of boycotts and the like but given that these people who run the media refuse to serve their readers and the likes of The Star actually fund the MCA, I think the time has come for Malaysians to make a stand and hit these propaganda sheets where it hurts most: the bottomline.

It is not enough that individuals stop buying the Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times or The Star.
We must encourage and persuade our colleagues and relatives to cancel their subscription until some semblance of fairness is restored to the coverage of issues, especially involving race issues and opposition parties.
This is all the more important in view of the upcoming elections.
If the newspapers refuse to change between now and the elections then our boycott will at least reduce their sales and impact on their effectiveness to shape opinion.
We should think of it this way: by buying the NST, Utusan Malaysia, The Star, we are encouraging the journalists and their owners to continue to insult our intelligence and we are putting money into their political masters who continue to marginalise us.