Being a media representative to me is akin to being between the devil and the deep blue sea. I say so because not only do we have to shoulder the expectations placed upon us by the people or rakyat in what and how we write, we also have to bear the wrath of the top bosses should our writing reflect any bias towards a cause we report.

Blame the media when we write a story that is touted as sensational. Whack the media when the story is nothing but the bitter truth and just adopt the media-bashing attitude when violence in society shows no signs of receding.

What I write may seem rhetoric or cliched but it has to be written. It has to be said that the layman has this misplaced notion on how the media must function.

For clarity sake, let us get one point very clear and that is this, that the media is no charity organisation.

The newspapers, especially the mainstream ones, are there to make profit. But having said that, let me also clarify that the newspapers do try and play their role in supporting issues when need be.

However, no effort is ever enough. And rightly so.

Public role too

The press can play a big role in educating people and creating awareness on issues that the laymen need to be exposed to. And it should be an effort exclusive to the media.

The public too has a role to play, in taking up and in voicing out those issues.

Take for instance the way the media reports or highlights cases of rape. We have time and time again been branded as "tabloid" and it seems the rakyat have given up on what the newspapers write on. The consensus among the people is "what do you expect from the Malaysian press?".

One fine example of how the public views the media with contempt is when I recently attended the Amnesty International Malaysia's launch of Amnesty International's campaign on "Stop Violence against Women."

Among those who attended the launch were members of women's groups and students.

It was at that event that someone remarked that a particular section of an English daily had front-paged a story of a boy who detailed how he and some friends gang-raped a girl.

The message that the readers got from this story was this - that the girl willingly consented to be raped, let alone gang-raped!

The said newspaper was censured for having done that. Having read that piece, I do not think that was "yellow" journalism at work.

It was an article that reported the truth, it was hard to swallow, but that was what a rape perpetrator had to say.

Media as scapegoat

Perhaps if the editor concerned had left a disclaimer then maybe the newspaper concerned would have gotten off the hook.

How long will we go on this way, using the media as the scapegoat, holding it ransom for the way the peace and safety of our country is going?

What is keeping our "able" members of the public away from wanting to make the country a better place for all?

Who do they think should be doing it? Let the police run around ensuring our society whilst the rest of us can go happily to some place after work and chill out?

If that is how we are going to go about getting on with life, then let us just drop this "holier than thou" attitude.

It has to be said that Malaysians are becoming so comfortable with their easy-going lifestyle and they are getting complacent by the day.

Merely hitting out at newspapers by way of remarking on how an issue was presented is not going to make any dent anywhere.

The public is not taking it upon themselves to make an impact, to say yes, that the issues of violence against women or perhaps even men is one that requires the involvement of everyone and not just the media and the NGOs.

Here are some suggestions for the public, if violence against mankind bothers you and if human rights abuse rankles you, then please get pro-active. Do not dump the responsibility on a third party.

Spread the work

It does not cost you anything to sit down and pen down your thoughts for the benefit of other readers. Find ways and means to make a difference, to create awareness - where there's a will there's a way!

Talk about it more often, get your friends, relatives and neighbours involved and do your bit to make the country a safe place.

Residents could form vigilante groups in their neighbourhoods, make those evening rounds in your housing area to ensure all is fine.

When Audrey Melissa was raped, the country went into a frenzy over what happened. Then, it was shocked yet again when Nursuzaily Mukhtar was raped and murdered.

And when Canny Ong (image at right) was raped, murdered and her body burnt, the laymen became horrified and at the same time very scared of their environment.

No one these days feels safe anywhere anymore. Yet, the fact has yet to hit home that personal safety is everyone's business.

May I ask, who is responsible for bringing about safety? Is it merely the media and the police? What happened to the spirit of Malaysia Boleh? Where has solidarity among Malaysians gone to?

If you pride yourself as being a citizen of a county where there is no civil unrest, earthquakes, famine or drought, then please do yourself a favour - stop taking things for granted. Get involved in an issue which perturbs you.

Take a stand, don't fight a coward's battle!

JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.