KUALA LUMPUR – Awesome TV news has denied airing racist content on one of its recent Berita 7:57 bulletins after receiving backlash from netizens.
A senior official from the channel said the report in question was about the Malay community being unresponsive to calls on voting in the upcoming 15th general election (GE15), which was “based on research”.
The official, who was responding to brickbats on social media, insisted that the report was done to reinforce responsibilities among the Malays so that they exercise their rights as citizens and voters.
“Otherwise, a government not of their preference will rule Malaysia to the detriment of their welfare,” the official said in a brief statement.
“That is the premise of the news reporting and it is not racist in sentiment.”
The report aired recently had courted controversy after urging Malay voters to vote in full force in GE15 to prevent political power from falling into non-Malay hands.
A clip of the broadcast dated November 3 shows two news anchors saying Malay voters should fulfil their duty by voting to prevent the rise of non-Malay politicians.
They also cite data by the Huayan Policy Institute Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies that said 80% of Chinese voters are expected to cast their ballots, while around 10% do not intend to in the November 19 polls.
“All Malay voters must come out to vote to fulfil their civic duty if they don’t want political power to be controlled by other races…if Pakatan Harapan (PH) were to win,” says one anchor in the bulletin.
“If Malays don’t vote, politicians who should not hold power will come into power and marginalise Malay rights,” the bulletin also states.
It also reminds Malay voters to heed the failures of the PH government during its 22-month stint in power, claiming that it prioritised non-Malay issues.
On Twitter, social media users are condemning the news clip, calling it “crazy” and blatantly racist.
Former Klang MP Charles Santiago also slammed the clip, calling its reporting “racist to the core” and designed to plant fear ahead of GE15. He also urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to take immediate action.
Meanwhile, in an official statement, Awesome TV hit back at those who criticised the bulletin, insisting that it was telling voters to elect a government that does not impinge on the interests of the Bumiputera community.
“However, certain quarters with political interests, especially those who do not support the Bumiputera agenda, painted Berita 7:57 as being based on racialism on a variety of social media platforms,” the statement read.
“Awesome TV considers this manipulation to be malicious towards Awesome TV, which intends to cultivate responsibility in voting among the people.”
The broadcaster also accused certain quarters of making false reports on the issue and linking it to a major media conglomerate and a well-known investment fund.
It maintained that the two entities had no involvement in the management or airing of content and news on the channel, adding that the company is fully owned by Awesome Media Network Sdn Bhd and Awesome Broadcasting Sdn Bhd.
“It is believed that the information obtained by the said parties had likely been taken from unreliable sources such as Wikipedia,” the channel said.
“Again, Awesome TV wishes to stress that if Malaysians, especially the Bumiputera community, do not vote, the risk of selecting a government that does not protect their welfare becomes more apparent.” – The Vibes, November 6, 2022
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