Journalism, national development and social justice in Malaysia

A factor built into the journalistic fraternity is the hierarchical nature of Malaysian society where there is so much respect and deference given to political leaders by Malaysians, particularly journalists, that they inadvertently abandon the responsibility of asking the hard questions for the benefit of their readers. This explains why veteran journalists were ‘takut-takut’ (‘afraid’ in the Malay language) to ask questions when they faced the former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. It is therefore not an exaggeration to suggest that at times media conferences organized by the former prime minister and other cabinet ministers were often transformed into a ministerial lecture with very few searching questions, if at all.