People Who Live In Glass Houses

Malaysia's government has always insisted on a policy of noninterference when it comes to the matter of international relations between sovereign states. However, it is widely accepted that the Malaysian government rarely practises what it preaches. While it has time and again denounced attempts by foreigners to say their piece about Malaysia's internal affairs, the country has not shown any restraint when it comes to speaking out on matters that clearly are the internal affairs of other countries. The Malaysian government by right should be aware of the saying that people who live in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones but apparently this is not the case right now. The Malaysian Information Ministry (perhaps encouraged by the PM's office and the FM's office) has always broadcast views that clearly trespassed other countries' national sovereignty. One of the ways that this has been done is the running of the rtm DUNIA program on national TV every Saturday evening at 11 pm. On this program, views that clearly betrayed a one-sided stance are televised to the public and the so-called expert view or opinion are introduced to give a semblance of legitimacy to the show. Most of the views or opinions expressed are really lacking in substance and it is not wrong to say that they are no more than shallow and dull propaganda rhetoric. Still, they constitute blatant interference in the affairs of other sovereign nations since rtm is our national TV. Would Malaysia now be able to accept Information Ministries of other countries, especially in the immediate region, to actively shape public opinion through similar programs on their airwaves, knowing that the viewers or listeners in Malaysia would be able to tune in as well ? Malaysia's government should not throw the proverbial stone unless if it was willing to allow others to do so too. The particular rtm DUNIA on 13th December touched on the Mumbai attacks and the view expressed was that the meaning behind the attacks was the long neglect inflicted on the sufferings of the Muslims had resulted in the bloody incident in the subcontinent. Other people in other countries have endured long spells of neglect and discrimination too. Some of them have suffered repeated physical attasks as well. Many of the minority figures are regularly harassed or arrested or threatened. They often get targetted by the police personnel and the extremists because of their background. The Malaysian government would be well advised not to miss a thick grown jungle here because it was too preoccupied with someone else's timber. The parting view expressed was that the attacks was a lesson to us all, if we ever allowed Babri mosques to be torn down, if we ever had ties with Jews or Israel, or if we were pro-Bush, CIA or even Obama. We must only be pro-Malaysia. And pro-rtm.

Malaysia is still NOT a model to follow. Not by a long shot.