By Nesa Sivagnanam
Splashing red paint on premises and putting a live duck in a box to intimidate is certainly not the way to go forward. It resolves nothing and hardens positions. No one is going to get their position heard through vandalism and cruelty to animals. In the face of threats it is more necessary than ever that a free media prevails.
Tiger is not very fond of Mondays. It’s the start of the work week in the corporate jungle and it’s impossible to predict how it will go so Tiger is always cautious or even cautiously optimistic. Well, Monday went along fine and Tiger even managed to get home in time to romp with her kittens. After this wonderful start, the rest of the week simply had to flow as smoothly as a brook on a calm day.
Imagine Tiger’s shock then as she walked through the jungle on Tuesday to one of her favourite spots. The building she usually spends much of her days in simply did not look the same anymore. There was red paint splashed on walls, pillars and the floor in huge blobs and trailing lines. For one crazy instant, Tiger was sure someone had read all about Art as an Investment and decided to have a go at raising funds for the new @Kini building by decorating the walls and floors in some abstract fashion. It could then be auctioned for a fantastic sum of hard cash.
But no, it appeared to be the work of humans who objected to the news portal’s independent coverage of news. Tiger was completely gobsmacked. After all these years, Tiger would have thought that humans had realised the importance of media freedom. And surely there must be a better way to engage with the media.
Tiger had always been under the impression that the best way to solve a problem was to discuss it. However, humans don’t seem to feel that way. They seem to increasingly believe in the concept of shoot first and ask questions later if the reports Tiger has been reading lately are anything to go by. Tiger is starting to feel as if she’s moved out of the corporate jungle and arrived in the middle of OK Corral. No one seems to believe in debates and discussions anymore and violence appears to be the solution to anything and everything.
Nelson Mandela
Surely the role of the media is to report from all sides of an issue in a fair manner so people may make informed choices and society can grow as well as progress. As Nelson Mandela said back in 2002, “none of our irritations with the perceived inadequacies of the media should ever allow us to even suggest faintly that the independence of the press could be compromised or coerced.”
A quote that has long been close to Tiger’s heart comes from Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Hero Worship: “(Edmund) Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all”.
The Fourth Estate is crucial to the growth of any democracy, especially one as young as ours. It ensures that the rakyat make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of fear, ignorance or basing their decisions on misinformation.
The media monitor the political process in order to help ensure that elected representatives don’t abuse the democratic process and implement policies for the good of all.
When a nation acts to silence or curtail the operations of the media, not only is it violating the expressive rights of the media and the journalists, editors and publishers, but it is also violating the rights of its citizens to receive information and ideas freely.
Masudul Biswas
A strong and independent media can exert pressure on governments to support democracy and socio-economic development. Media commentator and academic Masudul Biswas has said that the major aim of the independent media is to make “political participation meaningful”.
Tiger has walked the corporate jungle for a long time and understands that the role of media is often mired in controversy. Some media may be used to tout particular views without giving any voice at all to others. Journalism is supposed to be objective but the media is run by humans with feelings and opinions of their own which might carry through in news reports.
The media may also face an uphill task in staying truly objective in instances where the owners owe an allegiance to a political party or corporate bigwig. In those cases, the publication becomes nothing more than a mouthpiece spouting what it is told to.
The press can and should play the role of democracy and good governance advocate. This role is controversial as there is a need to be both advocate and impartial reporter. The media comments on issues of the day and advocates improved democratic practices and good governance.
The Fourth Estate sits firmly on the side of the rakyat, whose life can be improved or worsened depending on how public authority is exercised. Now with all that, why don’t people want to engage with the press, instead of dumping paint on their walls and traumatising innocent tigers first thing in the morning.
If all that was not enough, the perpetrators had to add insult to the injury. Now Tiger cannot say that she knows all there is to be known about humans and will therefore speak only for herself. In the jungle, there is an abiding respect for life and all living things.
We kill because we need to eat and survive. As the apex predator Tiger hunts to eat and when she does, it’s swift and over in a jiffy. Tiger says thank you, settles down to a good meal, then naps in the nearest patch of sunlight. Tiger does not go around abusing animals indiscriminately for no good reason.
The paint on the walls was painful enough but the live duck trapped in a box was even worse. The fact that it was a waste of good meat aside, Tiger just cannot abide such cruelty. No one was hungry and the duck could not possibly have been there to deliver a message unless we have duck whisperers in our midst. Respect for life should and must extend beyond our own species.
Tiger could just see herself all trussed up and shoved into a box where she could not move and left for hours and hours. It was cruel and inhuman and there was absolutely no reason for it to happen. All they had to do was knock on the door and come in for a chat. Isn’t that how a democracy works or has Tiger got it all wrong.
It is important that all sides of a story are heard but no one is going to hear your story if you go about telling it by vandalising property and abusing animals. The only thing that will happen is that people will get their fur rubbed the wrong way and in the end, no one will hear your side of the tale even if it’s perfectly valid and worth upholding as well as fighting for.
Hillary Clinton
“When a free media is in jeopardy, all other human rights are also threatened. So in that spirit let us continue to champion those who stand for media freedom and expose those who would deny it. And let us always work towards a world where the free flow of information and ideas remain a powerful force for progress,” says Hillary Clinton and Tiger firmly agrees.
Let’s forget about dumping paint on walls and abusing ducks and focus on discussions and open engagement to solve problems and grow as a civil society that believes in democracy. On that note Tiger shall leave to hunt down some roast duck and a patch of sunshine.
GRRRRR!
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