Makkal Osai suspended

A well known local Tamil newspaper Makkal Osai was suspended for one month by the Internal Security Ministry because publishing an offended cartoon picture of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other on its front-page.(Star 2007)The picture was could threaten public security, harmony and morality, or seriously disturb the thinking of the people, or that contravened the law and threatened public or national interest.

Malaysia is a multi-race society country.Therefore, everyone needs to respect each other in regards with all the differences.Besides that,religion is a very sensitive issue in Malaysia.(Kent 2007)Thus, it is important for newspaper journalist to be more concern about the quality of the information and be aware with the communication environment. As agreed by White (cited in Pattyn 2000, p.283) “the ethical norms of public communication outline our personal responsibilities for the quality of communication in our communities, whether that be our local community or a community as a large as our nation”

Pattyn(2000,p.251) argue that a journalist is demanded to act and is easily to blame. Therefore, they should consider the factors such as cultural, political and technical factors which will influence their decision making process in the ethical manner. As stated by Shriver (1997, p.372) that document designers should reference to the personal knowledge, believe, attitudes, and values in order to produce a good document.

Merrill (2000) argues that media ethic is relative and situational. He said that media ethics has a diverse character, tailored to fit the particular mass medium, the particular person, the particular stage in a country’s development and the particular type of government at the time. Since Malaysia is one of the Asia country which has various religions that plays major role in the intellectual development of ethical system and also in the everyday activities of the average. Unlike the West, Asian religious beliefs, metaphysical traditionalisms, and academic philosophy are wrapped together in one package.

In conclusion, the Makkal Osai case is a very good example of the cultural context issues. This case should be use as a warning signal for all of the journalist to be aware with all the sensitive issues.

Reference

Kent,J 2007, ‘Anger at Malaysia 'Jesus cartoon' ’, BBC News 23 August 2007,viewed 8 June 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6960220.stm

Merrill, J 2000, ‘Media ethics in Asia: between relatively and absolutism’, Regional Seminar on Media Ethics, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,viewed 8 June 2009,
https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/bitstream/10220/3162/1/AMIC_2000_SEP11-13_07.pdf

Pattyn,B 2000 , Media ethics: opening social dialogue, European Ethics Network ,Peeters, viewed 8 June 2009, http://books.google.com.my/books?id=2IkCbtVFP9cC&printsec=frontcover

Shriver, KA 1997, Dynamic in document design: creating text for readers, Wiley Computer Pub, New York

Star 25 August 2007, ‘Makkal Osai suspended’,viewed 6June 2009, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/25/nation/18696017&sec=nation