Utusan Malaysia S Racial Dimension In Reporting

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The paper, Utusan Malaysia, that asked “Apa lagi Cina mahu?” post the 2013 election, is at it again.
This time it highlighted one of a pair which won the world mixed doubles badminton final recently as a “Tomboy who turned world champion”, later changing “Tomboy” to “Gadis lasak” (rough girl), as if that changed things much.
This was the first time our country had won the world mixed doubles badminton final - it’s a big deal. But really, it was not a time to heap scorn on a person who had brought fame and honour to the nation by jointly winning the world mixed doubles title in Paris and that too on Merdeka day, Aug 31.
How appallingly insensitive is that? And what was swirling in the minds of those who were putting this piece of news out? Were they offended by her looks or appearance, or were they showing racism by discriminating against an all ethnic Chinese Malaysian pair, giving scant recognition to their achievement?
A demeaning report
Would the newspaper have been so demeaning if the winners were Malays and not Chinese Malaysians? And why was it so quiet about a record achievement, and chose to highlight and misrepresent one of them in a way which might turn off Malay readers towards them? Was it deliberate?
As a Malaysian entity, even if the Malay newspaper was close to Umno, should it not still celebrate a Malaysian victory of epic proportions without blemishing it by making rather tasteless highlights about a team member, which would tend to lower the tremendous achievement of the players?
Malaysiakini reported that mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei delivered the perfect Merdeka gift by winning gold at the Badminton BWF World Championships in Paris, France, on Aug 31.
Mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee WeiThe pair clinched the medal in clinical fashion, defeating China’s Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin with scores of 21-15 and 21-14.
Their victory marks Malaysia's first-ever mixed doubles world title and the second World Championships crown, following Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik's men’s doubles victory in 2022.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Chen and Toh on X, describing their victory as a "National Day gift to Malaysia".
"Thank you for your hard work in representing the country and glorifying our name," he added.
In a rare occurrence, the national anthem of our country, Negaraku, filled the Paris stadium on Aug 31, and the pair could be seen singing along in the live direct telecast as the flag was raised.
I felt pride and emotion rising and a lump in my throat as I watched the Jalur Gemilang rise, as many millions of Malaysians would have that day after the exciting match, which saw the Malaysian pair outplaying the pair from China.
Opportunity for celebration sullied
A great opportunity indeed for celebration by all true Malaysians, but Utusan Malaysia had to sully it by mentioning “tomboy”, a term that was never used by her mother, who was reminiscing about childhood recollections of her.
Even the replacement, “rough girl”, is too harsh, sexist, judgmental and racist to boot, baiting people to look upon it as something unwanted and shameful instead of joining in unabashed and unrestrained joy at this rare top achievement for the country on the world stage.
The last I looked, the same harsh headline remained - “Dari gadis 'lasak' kini Toh Ee Wei juara dunia” (From rough girl, Toh Ee Wei is now world champion). What an unfeeling backhanded compliment for one who achieved so much for the country!
If indeed the newspaper had no intention of hurting feelings and was regretful, why does it not change the headlines and the tone and feel of that terribly bad report? A girl, one of our Malaysian girls, plays her part in winning a world title, and this is what it gets from a Malay newspaper. How would she feel?
Would this contribute to racial harmony, or will it raise needless acrimony and jousting and suspicion between the races yet again? And of course, there is the gender inappropriateness that has to be dealt with here.
No question about it, when a major newspaper deliberately instigates racial and other feelings by a sly reportage of events, it needs to be taken to task to ensure that no one else follows its example and contributes to needless tension among the various races.
In a column titled “Giving a sense of belonging and well-being to all” just last week, I said how one of the problems non-Malays faced was that they were not made to feel part of the country, even if they did their part.
This is a prime example of that, when the contribution of non-Malays is deliberately trivialised and made fun of by a leading Malay daily, despite the players giving their all for the country.
New unsavoury heights
Utusan Malaysia has repeatedly taken the championing of Malays to new but unsavoury heights, another example being the extremely contentious “Apa lagi Cina mahu?” (What else do the Chinese want?) headline in a front-page article.
The article strongly criticised the dwindling Chinese support for BN/Umno. Anwar was obviously upset by it, saying in 2013 that then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak should take responsibility for the statement.
A dozen years later, Anwar is the prime minister. Will he do anything about Utusan Malaysia’s report? Will he ask Umno to take responsibility? Will he do right by the country? Or will he, like other issues, let the wind blow this away? Let’s see. - Mkini
P GUNASEGARAM, like millions of other Malaysians, heartily and unreservedly congratulates Toh Ee Wei and Chen Tang Jie for their epic victory on Merdeka Day. Well done!
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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