MY attention was attracted today to two items, not so much for the contents per se but rather because of the reaction by one who was directly implicated and in the case of the other, the reactions by those waiting like a hawk to pounce on any story that sounds unfavourable to the government and everything associated with it.
Most people may have just nodded neutrally on reading the remark by Election Commission chairman Abdul Aziz Yusof that perhaps political parties should choose healthy candidates to prevent more by-elections. This was in response to the death of Manik Urai assemblyman Ismail Yaacob which necessitates a by-election on July 14. Aziz has had a busy several months since being appointed and by the time voters go to vote in Manik Urai on July 14 he would have organised seven by-elections in 12 months, more than all his predecessors. Four of the seven are a result of deaths caused by heart problems.
I think his remark should be taken in the right spirit, something that must have been made in jest. But even if Aziz was dead serious, what he said wasn't anything unusual. All over people insist on a prospective employee undergoing a full medical. They even do it for students wanting to enter university, they do it in the government sector, with the police and armed forces and in the private sector. Most places except in politics.
The cynics however look at it differently, describing the remark as something going against an act of god. Maybe it's time for political parties to do what others have been doing since time immemorial. While there is no 100 per cent guarantee the bloke declared as medically healthy will last the distance and outlive everyone else, a full medical check-up for every party's election candidate doesn't sound like such a bad idea after all.
ANOTHER CONSPIRACY WITH MEDIA PLAYING A PART?
ONE very unhappy man is former KL CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim, who on Tuesday had a sealed copy of a bankruptcy order served on him. The New Straits Times carried the item as one of three under "In Brief" on Page 8 while the Star also did not give it any more prominence that it deserved, using a story from Bernama.
Zain subsequently issued a statement to the media insisting that the case was a "non-issue not worthy of publication that was given tremendous prominence". He went to say that "no ordinary person can influence the entire media to run this sort of news simultaneously". Zain's take is that "powerful hidden hands wanted to destroy my credibility and capabilities and prevent me from giving evidence against Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail and Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan for fabricating evidence in Anwar Ibrahim's case".
Fuuh. When I read some of the comments at my e-group in reaction to this and other reactions I wrote that as a former news editor I can say that the media do not need anyone from Putrajaya or elsewhere to highlight this story because it had all the ingredients -- a senior cop who retired not too long ago and a substantial portion of an unpaid loan not from a bank but from an individual amongst them. But I also explained to them that no two days are the same for a news organisation; what is Page 1 today may be buried inside tomorrow but the story on Zain would certainly merit an inside page lead mainly because of who he was.
All media ran the item simultaneously? Precisely how it should be. That's one of the criterion to determine an item's worthiness -- timeliness. That story on Zain was rightly used the day after the order was served.
Zain has also said that he provided evidence to implicate both Gani and Musa. For the record the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has cleared both men after having the allegations against them scrutinised independently and separately by three retired judges but maybe due to a complaint by Zain it is understood that the allegations are being reviewed. We'll just have to wait for the outcome Zain.
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