Bob Teoh, former editor of Mysinchew, the English-language online site of Sin Chew, takes exception to the attack by MalaysiaKini columnist Joshua Hong upon Sin Chew as well as the longtime arch editor CC Liew, now managing executive of the company. Bob recalls the time CC discovered the paper when it was during the indicate of fall (and negotiated the paper's lapse from cessation in Operation Lallang) as well as led it by to the present-day success.
By Bob Teoh
Josh Hong's malediction against Sin Chew Daily obviously shows he has an axe to grind with them as well as he does so beyond the decorum of satisfactory comment.
His past columns in Malaysiakini had irritated even blogs similar to http://shuzheng.wordpress.com to tenure him as "Joshy: New voice in Chinese bashing, though an aged racist" as well as "a various of Ridhuan (Tee of Utusan),[who] has Malaysiakini to deposition his vomit." Shuzheng's libel is most uncharitable to Hong as well as additionally beyond the gathering of satisfactory comment as well as we do not subscribe to it in the least. But the indicate is which those who live by the long knife will surely die by it.
Mine is not to urge Sin Chew. Let me be transparent about my organisation with Sin Chew Daily which stretches approach behind to the mid-1980s compartment not long ago when they invited me to help out in their English news portal. we left after dual years as well as 10 months to take up an appointment in Indonesia the year ago.
Hong aptly prefaced his mainstay by quoting Oscar Wilde: "By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the stupidity of the community."
One must be pretty untaught not to be able to assimilate which mainstream media all over the world serves usually the single purpose: an apologia or defence of the establishment. For instance, The Wall Street Journal invariably is an apologist of Wall Street. What el! se do yo u expect? Pravda, the former Soviet state; as well as here in Malaysia, Utusan to urge Ketuanan Melayu. Similarly, Sin Chew Daily is the mainstream media. Surely you don't expect it to play the purpose of amicable media.
It does not make the difference whether Barisan or Pakatan is the supervision of the day, mainstream media will always be mainstream media. Needless to say, with the increase in speed of the joining culture, mainstream media is or will be significantly changed in form as well as substance, thus democratising the media.
Now let me residence Hong's dual strident attacks: C.C. Liew as well as Tiong Hew King.
Metro, Sin Chew have been tops, NST bottoms next 80000C.C. Liew was left holding the baby approach behind in the mid 1980s when the previous owners ran Sin Chew Daily to the ground as well as [the company] was in jeopardy with liquidation. Salaries as well as EPF were not paid, creditors were knocking during their doors. It was afterwards we came to know C.C. Liew. He was Sin Chew chief-in-chief as well as perplexing to put out the fire, while we was the ubiquitous cabinet member of the National Union of Journalists. The situation was so bad which Sin Chew was left with little choice though to close down.
Out of desperation to keep the paper afloat, the NUJ even advised the members in Sin Chew to take the extreme compensate deferment as well as whatever is owing as well as accrued is to be converted in to shares in the organisation with an NUJ rep upon the board of directors. This didn't happen.
But in the Oct 1987 Ops Lallang, former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad shut down Sin Chew Daily together with The Star as well as Watan. Sin Chew's search for the customer came to an end. It is the journal with the journal licence. Nobody wanted to! buy the paper. C.C. Liew went knocking during the doors of any as well as every "suitable" Chinese businessmen though no customer was found. The last doorway he knocked upon was in Sibu faraway in Sarawak. Tiong Hew King listened to Liew's proposition as well as motionless to put in his money in the unwell journal which Sin Chew Daily afterwards was. The rest is history.
Sin Chew Daily didn't turn the #1 journal with weekday circulation even bigger the English papers by accident or sucking up to the government. When faced with no jobs or compensate for some 6 months approach behind in 1987, most of the staff as well as reporters chose to remain, postulated usually by their indifferent conviction which their journal will see the light of day yet under C.C. Liew.
They have been the unsung heroes; immature NUJ members as well as officers behind afterwards though who have risen by the ranks to turn Sin Chew Daily's senior editors today. we have worked with them nearly three decades ago as traffic unionists as well as not long ago in their paper rooms. Theirs is an unenviable pursuit of perplexing to keep the fine balance in between their readers, their owners, their advertisers as well as the powers which be. Every day. These have been no armchair journalists. we am blissful to have been able to be counted as the comrade, the crony as well as the professional between them, albeit usually for 34 months.
On Hong's conjecture of Tiong's supposed swindling with Umno as well as MCA to monopolise as well as muzzle the Chinese media, we have no comments as we had emigrated to Australia prior to the understanding went by as well as had zero more to do with the internal media until recently.
It is fitting which Hong, in running down Sin Chew Daily viciously, additionally cited the correct obiter dictum: "To error is human, to pardon divine. When the single has been forced to swallow the vast cut of common pie, what else can you say?"
Yes, in truth Hong, what else can you say?
B! ob Teoh< br> West Kalimantan, Indonesia
around email
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