Kam Raslan’s Talking Edge

(Reprinted from The Edge – Options pullout, 27 June 2016 issue)

Dear Kam,
Is it my imagination or was there an ostrich running on the Federal Highway?
Big Bird

I did not know that anything could move that fast on KL’s Federal Highway, where the average speed is 0kph. But it was probably what the country needed — an ostrich running on the Federal Highway. I am surely in a minority for thinking that it has been really bleak recently with all the scandals and arrests because voters in the recent by-elections appear to think that everything is going just swell. But a short video clip of an ostrich (or was it an emu? Is there a difference?) running on the Federal Highway made a welcome change and now the ostrich — let’s just call it an ostrich — has become a celebrity. It was even allowed to appear on Harith Iskandar’s TV talk show. I hope the big bird enjoys its time in the limelight before the inevitable backlash and, well, Chinese New Year.

But if the ostrich plays its cards right, then it could get everything it wants. As long as there are no photos showing that it attended Bersih, then a blue IC can be fast-tracked. If it endorses the right candidates, then it could soon be living a life of luxury, and if it does not flaunt its new-found penchant for Bali-style mansions, then there is no telling where this ostrich can go. It is clear that the ostrich knows what it is doing because now there are videos of a horse, a cow and a man dressed as a chicken running along Malaysian roads. There was even a video of a pig. Everybody wants a piece of the action.

Dear Kam,
I like to know what is happening in the world, so I watch the news a lot and all I can see is that everything is going bad. Is it my imagination or are we doomed?
Crying Inside

I find it interesting to watch how news media play their audience. The rise of Donald Trump and his British Brexit-advocating Mini-Me, Boris Johnson, have put traditional Western news media in a difficult position. Malaysian news media are solidly pro-government. That is what they do and everyone has to accept that, but traditional Western news media have to give the impression of being impartial and balanced. Basically, they must not take sides and instead, they have to simply present the various political platforms. The problem they now face is that so much of what Trump and, to a slightly lesser degree, what the British Brexit campaigners say is a pack of lies or just plain wrong but the news media have to present these arguments as if they are rational and legitimate. If they keep pointing out the lies, then they will be accused of being biased and partisan and, worse still, they will lose ratings because it is so boring.

Rupert Murdoch’s news media outlets play a different game and I think we have all fallen for what is a growing trend. His British Sky News is the perfect example. This TV channel appears to present both sides of a political argument, even if it does like to present left-wing views as a bit silly, but it does not look as shamelessly partisan as, say, a few local publications. What Sky News wants to do is leave the viewer more confused and scared. By using the vehicle of news, it weaves an emotional story of ramshackle political fighting interspersed with senseless murders in suburbia and lots of Muslim terrorists. During the whole Brexit debate, it has presented the various arguments but while constantly repeating the line that it is all so confusing and who can be believed? Actually, there is clear empirical evidence that the European Union has been good for Britain. Britain is a successful and prosperous nation that does not face any threat of a European war. But Murdoch and his Sky News have understood that news is emotional entertainment and the most gripping emotion is fear. If the news can leave the audience unenlightened and afraid, then they will keep returning in the hope of answers.

Malaysian politics (politics anywhere) likes to deal in certainties. Vote for us and we will solve all your problems because we know everything. Governments want to project the image of absolute trust. The Malaysian government is charmingly addicted to the quaintly old-fashioned notion of the public’s blind faith, a notion that all governments could once upon a time rely upon. Governments now face the trust deficit (not ours, obviously) because of decades of lies, corruption and incompetence and the clever news media outlets have cashed in on the trust vacuum by spinning the tales of fear and panic that now clog up my Facebook timeline.

The desired intention is to make you trust and believe in absolutely nothing. It is important to be sceptical but we do want to find some solid ground and the new news media use our desire to find some certainty and some truth against us by telling us that it is all true and also all a lie at the same time (and Russian-sponsored “news” is the absolute best at this). When we find ourselves doubting definite evidence that we saw with our own eyes like the moon landing and 9/11, then they have done their job. Which is why it is so nice to see an ostrich running down the Federal Highway. It is bizarre but it is what it is — an ostrich on the Federal Highway. It puts smiles on our faces, until we discover that it was faked by the CIA.

Reprinted with the kind permission of