Happy Labour Day.
UPDATE: Seems like the 30-minute live telecast from the Dewan Rakyat made history and is going to be history, if the Menteri Penerangan has his way because that’s how BN wants it.
Don’t look the other way.
Yesterday…in one way or another, almost everyone from every level had a field day with the revealing live telecast of the country’s first Parliament sitting after GE08.
Today…as expected, the spill-over across dailies and other media is pretty obvious.
While everyone is busy seeking their moment in the limelight rambling about what has been said and done in Parliament, I find the Menteri Penerangan, Datuk Shabery Cheek considering proposal to pull the plug on the 30-minute live telecast of Dewan Rakyat sessions rather mindboggling.
The way I see it, the issue here is not the live airing of the Dewan Rakyat but rather the perangai of the so called “Yang Berhormats”.
What does Datuk Shabery Cheek plan to achieve by taking the live telecast of the air?
By doing so he is not addressing the problem but rather, avoiding it.
He said in The Star yesterday (April 30, 2008),
“That is the problem with live TV. People tend to play to the gallery,”
“They act like third class MPs, which was proven today, and I feel that to broadcast it in full would be a waste of taxpayers’ money. Maybe some people like to see the circus, but Parliament is not a circus,”
“If I extend the live broadcast, then it would be like this (chaotic) all the time.”
The excuses given by the Minister – who, like all short-sighted BN partisans, is always over-eager to avoid the fundamental issue – is utterly irrelevant.
So now, instead of focusing on taming the rowdy bunch that is kononnya our leaders, our representatives, our voice, the powers that be are trying to grab us by the head and forcing us to look the other way.
To not see the pertinent point.
To buy-in on shutting down the live telecast.
I, for one, won’t look the other way and I don’t think you should either. Malaysians today are smarter and the silent majority is now making some noise. But despite that, I have a sneaking feeling that yesterday’s live telecast of the Dewan Rakyat will be its first and also its last.
Because that’s how BN wants it.
The way I see it, what happened yesterday is nothing new, nothing sensational. It’s part and parcel of the uncouthness of many yang kononnya gelar diri mereka pemimpin, a reflection of the mentality and quality of the elected leaders in this country and perhaps to a certain extent, the mentality and quality of the people who elected them (?).
Just search “Dewan Rakyat” in YouTube and you’ll be presented with a good selection of past sessions filled with all the drama, slander, name-calling, shouting and all sorts of bellow-the-belt hits you can think of.
So what’s the big deal? Why hide this from the Rakyat? They deserve to see how these leaders behave in their natural habitat.
The MPs should pull their fingers out from wherever it is and start acting less like mat rempits and more like leaders.
And the Menteri Penarangan should just do what Information Ministers are supposed to do, that is, to make available to the people – information.
Because an informed people is an empowered people.
Now my question is, with everyone focusing on the isu panas that is the Parliamentary circus yesterday, who’s going to answer the important questions and more importantly, who is going to do something about it?
2 Responses to “Look but don’t see”