Asia Times: 'Alternative' paper spooks mainstream dailies



	May 19, 1999	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

'Alternative' paper spooks mainstream dailies
By Anil Netto

PENANG, Malaysia - It carries a bit of world news,but there is no business or sports section. And despite being atabloid, Harakah does not have the scantily clad women thatusually grace papers of its format, or an astrology column oreven any kind of showbiz gossip.

But the 11-year-old bilingual biweekly is nevertheless showing upMalaysia's mainstream dailies with a surge in its circulationnumbers, and the established papers are not the only ones that aregetting upset. So are the politicians in the United MalaysNational Organization (UMNO), the dominant party in the rulingcoalition.

Harakah, after all, is published by the opposition PanMalaysian Islamic Party (PAS). The paper used to have aconservative Islamic stance and stressed religious guidance andrituals, but in recent months it has noticeably expanded therange of issues it tackles and become more liberal in its views.

And it is obvious not only to UMNO that the changes - and thepaper's rising popularity - are a direct result of the politicalcrisis in Malaysia and the public's growing hunger for the truth.

''We are being pushed to be more open,'' says Abda-Rahman Koya,the news editor of the tabloid's English section, adding thatthese days the paper is running even articles critical of PAS.

Just a year ago, Harakah came out quietly enough every Mondayand Friday, selling a modest 60,000 copies each time. Then camelast September, when then-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was firstsacked and then arrested after a few weeks.

Thousands of troubled Malaysians threw aside their pro-establishment newspapers and flocked to the newsstands looking foralternative views and insights on the ensuing political crisis.There, many of them found Harakah.

The tabloid's sales rocketed to 300,000 overnight. These days,with reformasi (democratic reforms) leader Anwar now serving asix-year jail sentence, Harakah's circulation hovers between250,000 and 260,000.

Even those lower figures are better than the circulation numbers of the moreestablished papers, most of which sell fewer than 200,000 copies aday. Haraka has also gone on line, reaching even more readers.

But with such heady success have come problems. Last April 28,for instance, Harakah's owners were summoned to a meeting wherethey were warned to rein in the paper's freewheeling content,which was described as increasingly bordering on libel.

The very next day, Ummi Hafilda, the woman who had accused Anwarof sexual misconduct, announced that she was filing a 60 millionringgit ($15.8 million) suit against 'Harakah' for libel.

The article in question was a satirical one written by well-knownreformasi movement chronicler Sabri Zain. Stressing that she isa virgin, Ummi claimed that the piece implied that she was ahooker. A court finding in her favor could drive Harakah intobankruptcy.

But the case has not deterred Harakah's outspoken editorial stafffrom doing what it has been doing the past several months. SaysAbdah-Rahman: ''We see it basically as harassment. It's an UMNOattempt to silence us."

Indeed, this is not the first time that Harakah has elicited aserious threat from those in power. Last October, the HomeMinistry, which issues publishing licenses, warned Harakah'smanagement to stick to a key clause in its license: it could onlysell the paper to PAS members and not to the public.

The stipulation stems from a government directive barring thesale of political party newsletters to non-members. Each copy ofHarakah carries a ''For Members Only'' notice prominently on itsfront page while newspaper vendors are supposed to displayHarakah stocks separately from other papers.

Vendors, however, have apparently been selling the paperdiscreetly to non-PAS members, and observers say there is littlethat the government can do about it, short of banning Harakahoutright. Abdah-Rahman himself says, ''All our distributors arePAS members, but beyond that we have no control."

It is no secret, though, that Harakah was attracting readersoutside PAS circles even before September 1998. Two years before,the 40-page publication began an English supplement - eight pageson Monday and four on Friday. The move brought in a whole new setof readers, many of them non-Malays who had previously shunned thepaper because of its strong Islamic image.

The non-Muslim response has overwhelmed even the editorial staff.Says Abdah-Rahman: ''We are literally flooded with letters, mostlyfrom non-Muslims, ever since we started the English section."

The attraction goes beyond language, of course. In the past,Haraka's being a PAS publication was a hindrance to getting newreaders because non-Muslims did not agree with the party's goal ofsetting up an Islamic state. The issue was also a major stumblingblock in PAS's attempts to have closer ties among oppositionparties.

But today, Harakah's editorial content reflects the party's newsense of cooperation with allies that do not share its politicalideology. The paper now regularly carries the press releases ofthe National Justice Party, the Democratic Action Party and the Malaysian People's Party, along with those ofother pressure groups.

''Basically,'' says Abdah-Rahman, ''we want to be a newspaper notonly for PAS but also other opposition parties as they have beenblacked out by other media."

Harakah's more ''open'' approach, says media analyst Mustafa Anuar,''has provided much-needed space for disgruntled Malaysians whowould otherwise not be able to get a fair airing of their views,especially in the mainstream media. To some degree, Harakah alsoprovides opportunity for debate, which is vital for a democracy."

To be sure, the mainstream media are unhappy about their fast-disappearing credibility - and diminishing readership. Thus, duringthe recent World Press Freedom Day, Home Minister Abdullah Badawiwas handed a petition, signed by 581 journalists from 11newspapers, asking for greater press freedom and the repeal of thesweeping Printing Presses and Publications Act.

The act allows the government to shut down any publication at itsdiscretion and requires publishers to apply for a new licenseevery year. It was used to close three newspapers during acrackdown on the opposition in 1987.

Since then, self-censorship has curbed press freedom. Said thejournalists' petition: ''There is a growing feeling among thepublic that the local media cannot be trusted, that they arecontrolled by the government."

(Inter Press Service)

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