The recent piece by Radzuan Halim entitled 'Lesser known side to Malaysian politics' in his column in The Edge (Jan 19) struck a chord in me. Having compared the Malaysian press to its British counterpart, the columnist comes to the conclusion that our politicians are simply too cocooned and pampered by the servile media. Are they not?

Radzuan begs to differ: "Look at the way they are welcomed and addressed. Large banners and impressive backdrops are put up. The backdrops include the Yang Berhormat's every known title and award. There's the bunga manggar and the Indian floral garland which appears to weigh at least 20kg."

Would it be too imprudent to ask why Cherie Blair, the big-time barrister wife of Tony Blair, has to endure the merciless grilling and probing by the British media, while our de facto first lady Endon Mahmud must only be seen gracing some Batik Night or Malam Kebaya?

If our Yang Berhormat and Yang Berbahagia truly believe they have got airs and graces, whose fault is it anyway?

To a certain extent, Radzuan is dangerously close to outraging the authorities. Still, it is the following extraordinary frankness and bravery of his that I must salute:

"Recently, the dynamic and plain-speaking Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand spoke strongly against politicians who keep mistresses or cheat on their wives. He threatened to exclude them from public office. So far, no Malaysian prime minister has issued such a warning to his subordinate."

However, if Radzuan was to write for the New Straits Times or The Star, I am quite certain much of his witticism would be lost somewhere between the lines. Some say The Edge, together with its sister daily The Sun, are editorially the most professional newspapers that one can find in Malaysia.

One must not forget that The Edge appeals not only to the 'sophisticated lot' among Malaysians, but is read by expatriates in this country as well. The latter, long used to sarcasm and critical contents, may find business weekly lacking even minimum credibility should it pander too much to the taste of the powers-that-be.

PM praised

This is not to say that the British press keeps favouritism at bay. The Financial Times, for one, ran an editorial in high praise of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Jan 19.

In commending the PM for being resolute in fighting against corruption (but I want to see a big fish nabbed!), halting the questionable double-tracking rail project and reining in the growing influence of PAS, the daily gave the impression that it is championing Abdullah as the right man for the right job at the right time to revitalise the Malaysian economy and buck the trend of Islamisation in this country.

This accolade is, needless to say, only expected of one of the most market-manic financial dailies in the world.

Apart from his moderate image, be it real or manufactured, that endears him to business moguls in the region, one other important factor that our new PM is so liked by western journalists is perhaps that he contrasts sharply with Dr Mahathir Mohammad, who often shoots from the hip and harbours deep-seated antagonism towards the foreign media.

The symbiotic relationship between the New Straits Times and Putrajaya was again proven alive and kicking when the former carried an excerpt of the FT editorial on the PM the next day. Although NST did not degrade itself by taking the editorial out of context, it nevertheless resorted to one of its modus operandi: reporting only half-truth. Having heaped praises on Abdullah, FT ended the editorial in the classic Anglo-Saxon fashion by calling on the PM to foster a free media and to depoliticise the justice system. This, of course, was completely left out by NST.

Also shunned by it was FT's view that Abdullah is who he is today because "Dr Mahathir's one-time deputy Anwar Ibrahim is in jail for alleged corruption and sodomy". In Malaysia, nothing is more damning than saying the unspeakable.

Working together

On the Lunar New Year Day, MCA-controlled Nanyang Siang Pau highlighted the joint festive greetings of MCA and Gerakan leaders on its front-page. Moreover, there was a sub-editorial on page three entitled 'Who says we are a sheet of loose sand?' that commended the two 'Chinese-based' parties for breaking tradition by issuing a joint message.

The writer went on to urge Chinese Malaysians to 'follow in the steps of the two parties' by 'being united' and 'showing their greatest strength' in order to safeguard more effectively their 'ethnic rights'. A de-sinocised MCA? I am afraid it will remain a pie in the sky for sometime to come.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, I had the pleasure of boarding an AirAsia flight back to my hometown. The departure was on time, and the service excellent. The all smiling and agile crew even got me thinking if they had all been given a share by Tony Fernandez, the chief executive, in running the budget airline!

Recently Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir, the minister of culture, arts and tourism, lashed out at AirAsia for misleading the public on the so-called budget airfares. The nation was puzzled by his righteous wrath, and many expected it to be the prelude to a media blitzkrieg against Fernandez. To the minister's despair, the media failed to come to his rescue.

More ominous were the series of editorials and letters in the major Malay and English papers in defence of AirAsia. Later, the minister and AirAsia's chief were said to have patched up. Last Tuesday, the economic section of Utusan Malaysia ran an article in praise of Port Tanjung Pelepas and AirAsia for manifesting the success of Malaysia as a nation.

This was followed by yet another well-meaning piece in Berita Harian the next day, which suggested that AirAsia could realise the potential of the severely under-used Malacca airport.

I did have a pleasant journey back home with AirAsia, safe in the knowledge that Abdul Kadir and Fernandez now work together happily ever after for the good of the tanahair.