Malaysiakini.com | 13-Nov-2013 – It was a victory for responsible journalism in Malaysia today when mainstream daily New Straits Times (NST) had to bend to demands from four NGOs to apologise for publishing a fabricated story.

The apology was part of the conditions set by polls reform movement Bersih 2.0, human rights group Suaram, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and pollster Merdeka Centre, for dropping their defamation suit against the “oldest English newspaper in the country”.

NST’s website claims that it  has been publishing since 1845.

NST also agreed to pay RM120,000 to the four parties, for reporting more than a year ago that the NGOs were plotting to overthrow the BN government.

“The damage was done at that time… I certainly hope this doesn’t become a habit for theNST to write a fabricated story and then apologise for it later,” Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan (left) told reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

“The apology is not the end of the matter. What we want to see is responsible journalism.”

NST agreed to publish an apology, in bold, on Page 3 of its issue within the next 14 days, except on a Saturday. It will also have to retract its online article and publish the same apology.

Lawyers for the plaintiff read out the full apology they are demanding before the judge. In it, NST is to admit that it made “groundless allegations” that were “false and without foundation”.

NST would acknowledge that “we had no proof whatsoever to substantiate  any of the said allegations and that we did not verify the information and facts relied on with Bersih 2.0, CIJ, Suaram and Merdeka Center”.

It would retract the article, and state that “the article ought not to have been published”.

High Court judge Lee Heng Cheong agreed to let the suit be withdrawn after meeting the lawyers for both parties.

“It’s not about the money… I just want to emphasise here that what we are interested in is a suitable apology,” said lawyer Razlan Hadri Zulkifli (left), who appeared for Suaram.

The NST article, published on its front page on Sept 21 last year, accused Bersih and the other NGOs of plotting a conspiracy to destabilise the BN government.

In February this year, after Bersih’s plea for the retraction of the article was not entertained, the electoral reform group filed the defamation suit for an unspecified sum, naming the article author Farrah Naz Karim and New Straits Times Press Bhd as respondents.

The struggle continues

According to the NST report, Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) had allegedly channelled almost RM20 million to a number of NGOs as well as Malaysiakini over a period of seven years since 2005.

The report accuses Bersih, along with several other groups such asMalaysiakini, Suaram, CIJ, Merdeka Centre and Lawyers for Liberty, of receiving foreign funding meant to “destabilise the government”.

In the wake of the settlement, the four NGOs said a “vibrant and free press that reports with integrity is key to achieving our goals for a strong democracy”.

“Anything less must be condemned to the fullest extent as a betrayal of a sacred duty to the rakyat to report fairly and objectively.

“Today, truth has prevailed over lies. It always will, ultimately. However, the fight for the truth has not ended and will not end until the changes that we are struggling for are implemented in a full and proper manner.

“All of us throughout Malaysia must continue to work to achieve these aims.”

NSTP Bhd is part of the Media Prima Group which also publishes other national newspapers such as Berita Harian and Harian Metroand also owns several radio and TV stations in the country.

Media Prima is a listed company and one of its major shareholders is the Employees Provident Fund.

The Star Online | KUALA LUMPUR, 13-Nov-2013 : The New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP) and its reporter apologised Wednesday in a High Court here to Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and 14 Bersih 2.0 steering committee members over a defamatory article published last year.

themalaymailonline.com | KUALA LUMPUR, 13-Nov-2013 — Bersih will discontinue its defamation suit against the publisher of the New Straits Times after it agreed to apologise for allegedly linking the polls watchdog and three others to a purported plot to destabilise the government.

The apology, which was read out in court today, will also be reproduced in the English-language newspaper with the heading “NST apologises to Bersih 2.0, Suaram, CIJ and Merdeka Center for groundless allegations”.

Following NST’s agreement to publish the apology, three companies representing three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) — Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd, CIJ Communications Services Sdn Bhd, Merdeka Strategic Development Centre Sdn Bhd — also agreed to settle their individual defamation suits against the paper’s publisher.

In the apology that NST agreed to print within 14 days except Saturday, the paper acknowledged that the accusations in its report last September against Bersih 2.0, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), human rights group Suaram and independent pollster Merdeka Center were “false and without foundation”.

“We also acknowledge that we had no proof whatsoever to substantiate any of the said allegations and that we did not verify the information relied on with Bersih 2.0, CIJ, Suaram and Merdeka Center,” one of the lawyers for Bersih, Ranjit Singh, said when reading out the agreed apology in court.

In the apology that must occupy the top-half of NST’s third page when printed, it also acknowledged that the article titled “Plot to destabilise government” should not have been published and further apologised to the four for the “distress and embarrassment” suffered.

According to the terms of the settlement read out by Ranjit, the apology must also be carried in the online portal of NST.

The terms sighted by the media also said that the online apology must occupy the portal’s front-page for one day before being shifted to the archives, and the original article must be removed within the next three days.

In the consent order recorded by High Court judge Lee Heng Cheong, the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad will pay a total of RM120,000 in costs, with the plaintiffs in the four cases to receive RM30,000 each.

On February 7 this year, Bersih filed the lawsuit against New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad and Farrah Naz Karim, the author of a September 21, 2012 article titled “Plot to destabilise government”.

In the offending front-page report, the New Straits Times said Bersih, Suaram, CIJ, Merdeka Center were purportedly funded by foreign sources in an alleged plot to destabilise the government.

But on the same day, activists denied the allegation in the NST report’s headline, saying that they were being targeted in a campaign aimed at smearing their reputation, following the publication of similar stories about the purported plot in other newspapers.

The plaintiffs — Bersih steering committee’s 13 members and its current co-chairs, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan (picture) and Datuk A. Samad Said — had sought damages, leaving the court to decide on the amount to be awarded if they won.

In its lawsuit, Bersih also wanted an injunction to restrain the defendants from publishing the article or defamatory words.

The Malaysian Insider | 13-Nov-2013 – The New Straits Times today apologised to electoral reforms coalition Bersih 2.0, human rights watchdog Suaram, the Centre for Independent Journalism and the Merdeka Centre over the publication of a report about them in September last year.

The four non-governmental organisations had sued the newspaper for defamation as the report linked them to an alleged plot to destabilise the government.

The NGOs agreed to withdraw the suit following the apology by NST, which was read out in court.

Suaram denied the claim that the organisations were involved in destabilising or overthrowing the government “through any means or to disrupt the national economy”.

“Our struggle has and continues to be about the struggle of the Malaysian people in bringing about real political change through clean, free and fair elections, transparency and accountability. Today’s settlement with the NST is a vindication of our position and a victory for the Malaysian people,” the group said.

It said one of the fundamental features of the four NGOs has always been to support the Federal Constitution, by honouring the spirit of its provisions.

Suaram however warned that the fight would not be over until the changes which they were struggling for were fully implemented.

The NST report, published on its front page on September 21, 2012, accused Suaram as a tool for foreign hands to destabilise the government, and alleged that the US-based National Endowment for Democracy funnelled up to US$20 million (RM66 million) in funds.

The report headlined “Plot to destabilise govt”, alleged that the US$20 million had been distributed among Suaram, Lawyers for Liberty, the Centre for Independent Journalism and the Merdeka Centre.

However, the daily did not specify how the NGOs planned to overthrow the Barisan Nasional-led government with the donated funds, and also failed to substantiate how the NED wished to destabilise the government. – November 13, 2013.

Bernama.com.my | KUALA LUMPUR, 13-Nov-2013 — Four suits over an article on Bersih 2.0 published by the New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd (NSTP) were resolved Wednesday after the publishing company tendered an apology in the High Court.

The suits were filed by Bersih chairman Datuk S. Ambiga and 14 Bersih 2.0 steering committee members, Merdeka Strategic Development Centre Sdn Bhd, CIJ Communication Service Sdn Bhd and Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd or Suaram against NSTP for publishing the article on Sept 21 last year.

They named NSTP and New Straits Times reporter Farrah Naz Karim as defendants.

High Court Judicial Commissioner Lee Heng Cheong recorded a consent judgement which contained an apology statement read out by counsel Ranjit Singh who acted for Ambiga and the 14 plaintiffs in open court.

Lee ordered NSTP to pay RM30,000 as legal costs for each suit, causing the company to bear RM120,000 as the entire cost for the four cases.

Reading the apology statement, Ranjit said the defendants had acknowledged that the accusations in the article were false and unfounded.

“We also acknowledge that we had no proof whatsoever to substantiate any of the said allegations and that we did not verify the information relied on with Bersih 2.0, CIJ, Suaram and Merdeka Centre,” said Ranjit.

He also said there was insufficient verification to the information used to support the allegations and accordingly the defendants acknowledged that the article ought not to have been published.

“We (defendants) wish to offer our unqualified apologies to Bersih 2.0, Suaram, CIJ and Merdeka Centre for the distress and embarrassment caused by the article,” said Ranjit.

He said the apology was to be published by NSTP in its NST newspaper on its third page in exactly the same manner and style within 14 days from today.

Ranjit further said NSTP had also to publish an apology on the NST Online portal on the front page as the first item under column top news.

Reading the statement, Ranjit said on Sept 21, last year, NSTP had published in its newspaper and online newsportal an article, “Plot to Destabilise Govt” with the subtitle, “Exposed: RM20mil paid to several Malaysian organisations since 2005”.

Ambiga and the 14 other Bersih 2.0 steering committee members in the statement of claim said that the words in the article implied that they, or anyone of them through Bersih 2.0, were conspiring with foreign elements to destabilise or overthrow, through illegal or illegitimate means, the Government of Malaysia.

— BERNAMA

Yahoo! News Malaysia | PETALING JAYA, 16-May-2013 — Women and poorer Malaysians voted for Barisan Nasional (BN) while men and the middle- and upper-class voters leaned towards Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties in Election 2013.

Ibrahim Suffian, the director of independent pollster Merdeka Center, also said today that 55 per cent of respondents in a recent survey stated that they depended on the Internet and social media as their main source of political information.

“We see women generally leaned towards BN compared to men who leaned towards PR,” Ibrahim(picture) said at a forum organised by Universiti Malaya Centre of Democracy and Election (UMCEDEL).

“More men browse political websites which discuss politics and current affairs. Women do that less, despite being younger.”

Around a third of Malaysians own smartphones or have access to mobile Internet, and the figure is expected to increase to around two-thirds in the next two years.

Ibrahim also explained that voters were obviously split between different classes, with the working and lower-income classes mostly voting for BN, and the middle and upper classes for PR.

Respondents who viewed BN positively cited development, Malay rights and its track record as reasons for choosing the coalition.

They were mostly made up of rural voters who benefited from handouts such as the 1 Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M).

Those who viewed BN as negative did so because of its perceived failure in taking care of minority ethnic rights, inter-racial relations and graft.

Meanwhile, PR was viewed positively by those who saw the alliance as a multiracial representation, and felt that it promised a cleaner administration.

Negative views towards PR include a perception of frequent clashes between its three members and their incompatibility.

Pointing towards intra-ethnic differences, Ibrahim suggested that the votes were not split according to races but more towards the different ideologies presented by both BN and PR.

Last week, Merdeka Center had stressed that Election 2013 was not simply a “Chinese tsunami” as urban Malays had also voted for PR.

Analysts have noted that BN’s historic losses in Election 2013 were the result of a middle class and urban exodus from the coalition that further widened the urban-rural rift in the country.

The Malaysian Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 10-May-2013 — Election 2013 was not simply a “Chinese tsunami” as it showed a major swing among the multiracial urban and middle-class electorate against Barisan Nasional (BN), independent pollster Merdeka Center said yesterday.

Sinar Harian Online reported Merdeka Center executive director Ibrahim Suffian (picture)today as saying that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s reading of the May 5 general election as a “Chinese tsunami” was inaccurate as urban Malays had also voted for Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

“There were differences between the low-income and the middle-income areas, as well as between the urban and rural areas,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying.

In their preliminary reading of the vote trend, analysts pointed out that despite the increase in Chinese support for PR, the political tsunami had also swept with it a large number of Malays who form part of the country’s middle- to upper-class electorate.

Ibrahim was also quoted as saying today that several constituencies had shown marginal BN victories that reflected a tight competition between BN and PR.

BN lost the popular vote for the first time since 1969 when it was then the Alliance.

BN also bled an additional seven federal seats to PR in Sunday’s polls. BN and PR won 133 and 89 federal seats respectively.

Bloomberg.com | 03-May-2013 – Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling coalition is “almost evenly tied” with the opposition alliance ahead of a May 5 election, according to an opinion survey released today.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s group received backing from 42 percent of voters, while Najib’s Barisan Nasional trailed with 41 percent, according to the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research. The result of the poll was within the margin of error of 2.45 percent in the survey of 1,600 people on peninsula Malaysia, conducted between April 28 and May 2.

Merdeka estimated that Anwar’s alliance would win 89 seats and Najib’s coalition would take 85, with two going to smaller parties and 46 too close to call. Either side needs 112 seats to command a majority in the 222-member parliament.

Najib’s coalition is facing its biggest test in 55 years of unbroken rule since Malaysia gained independence from the U.K. in 1957. The election will be the closest Malaysia has ever had, Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told Bloomberg TV today.

Concerns over the economy topped the list of election issues for voters, the survey showed.

Malaysia Insider | KUALA LUMPUR, 28-Feb-2013 — Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today refuted claims that Malay support for the government was waning.

He said the result of a survey conducted by the Merdeka Center earlier this month might not necessarily give an accurate picture although the decline was only two per cent from 63 per cent.

“The survey result may not necessarily be accurate because we have received a different response. We depend on our surveys and the feedback is that young people have begun to support the government,” he said.

Tengku Adnan(picture) was speaking to reporters after officiating at the pre-launch of the Barisan Nasional (BN) Squad in conjunction with the “Rakyat Bersatu, Negara Maju” (A United People, A Progressive Nation) programme at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

He said the 1 Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) to the people, including single unmarried individuals, had made the people happy because they appreciated the government’s concern for them.

Tengku Adnan said the opposition political parties played on the emotions of the people and instilled in them hatred for the BN and government policies.

“The government’s enemies make use of lies and slander to confuse the people and youths. They are good at using psychology,” he said, adding that they gave the impression that young people did not support the government.

On the BN Squad, he said it was the brainchild of former Umno Youth chiefs who collaborated with several residents associations of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

The squad, to be officially launched next week in Rapat Setia, Ipoh, would help establish a BN community bold enough to express its support for the government through vehicle stickers and T-shirts, he added. — Bernama