What do you do when a newly-formed state executive council in Terengganu made a historic decision to declare its assets to the public in its desire to be transparent and accountable to the rakyat? Would you sit up and take notice, or would you shy away from it and perhaps sulk somewhere in a corner?

You would, of course, opt for the latter if you happen to be Malaysia's pro-Barisan Nasional mainstream media. Yes, the media predictably had belittled or ignored completely this political resolve, which is undoubtedly of public significance, interest and benefit.

It is a crying shame that such a vital stand taken by a state government is denied the media spotlight, and therefore prevented the awareness of a lot of the ordinary Malaysians, many of whom of late have been clamouring for good governance, justice, transparency and accountability. It is as if the media don't give two hoots to the fact that there are Malaysians of various religious bent who hold dear to certain universal values, such as moral uprightness, integrity, compassion, and honesty.

This episode suggests that the media, which are virtually inflicted by a certain kind of denial syndrome, are adamant that a good political move such as this one cannot be considered good simply because it was initiated by the opposition PAS. This is apart from the fact that Terengganu just slipped from BN's grip in the recent elections despite its media blitzkrieg. At any rate, the media will have - if "consistency" is of high priority here - to maintain their demonic portrayal of PAS in particular, and the Barisan Alternatif in general, that they propagated in the run-up to the recent general elections.

And as if to taunt the BN-controlled media even further, PAS took one more progressive step by declaring that it would appoint former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas as an ombudsman, or hisbah, whose important role is to help facilitate criticisms and comments pertaining to misdeeds or abuse of power on the part of the state officials and leaders.

Furthermore, Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang was said to have urged the Terengganu people not to be afraid of making criticisms against the state leadership if there is a need to do so. We don't want sycophants, he insisted.

Such political development is crucial because mechanisms of checks and balance must be put in place in an administration so that, for example, the wealth of the nation does not conveniently transform into politicians' spoils of war. In other words, these are noble attempts at curbing, if I may use certain dirty words of this millennium, corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

Lest I'm accused of being a spin doctor of PAS at this juncture, this is not to suggest that the mainstream media practise the kind of "development journalism" that they're so used to doing for the BN, that is, singing praises of the Terengganu government's development projects and policies to the point of brushing aside legitimate criticisms and alternative views. What I'm saying is that just as there is a place and time for constructive criticisms, there's also a need to give a pat on the back to whoever deserves it.

In this regard, it is noteworthy that the Transparency International Malaysia also took notice of PAS' keen desire to be transparent and accountable to the electorate. And for this the international organisation gave the political party an award of commendation. Surely this achievement deserves the attention, if not appreciation, of the ordinary Malaysians!

In contrast, The Star (Dec 14, 1999), for instance, carried a story boldly headlined, "Declare assets, Kedah exco told". The first paragraph gave the impression that the new Kedah Menteri Besar was determined to set up a transparent state government by ordering "all 10 exco members to declare their assets immediately". Only in the fourth paragraph in the news report was the truth bared where he was quoted as saying, "Once they declare their assets, I will decide whether to make it public." So much for transparency.

Also proudly splashed by the mainstream press were reports of leaders of BN-led state governments urging their respective state assemblymen and women to work hard for the people (as if this is a newly-found objective). To be sure, there were indeed a number of these politicians who apparently took this advice quite seriously.

The Penang MCA state assemblymen, for instance, even gave the otherwise important swearing-in ceremony, led by no less than the leader of Penang Gerakan (a rival of MCA in the state), a conspicuous miss because they were apparently over-enthusiastic to serve the rakyat. Do we have any reason to doubt their sincerity, or for that matter dispute the credibility of the media's reporting of this turn of event?

Not that the opposition, in particular PAS, has been blacked out completely by the mainstream media. The PAS, for instance, still got a mention or two in the news. At the moment, the political party is being hounded in the media for its contentious attempt to introduce the kharaj tax on non-Muslims in Terengganu.

So we had certain non-Muslim groups reportedly attacking PAS for that, plus a couple of so-called analyses or news commentaries making similar criticisms despite the fact that the Terengganu PAS government had reassured non-Muslims that the kharaj would not be imposed against their will.

The above political development in Terengganu and the local mainstream media's response to it, if anything, should also serve as a grim reminder to ourselves that, if not managed gingerly, all this crass demonising of PAS by the mainstream media may over the years of partisan journalism produce an unintended, cumulative effect of creating a distorted image of Islam.

Let's be clear here: I'm not suggesting that legitimate criticisms made against PAS is necessarilya denigration of Islam; but Islam can become an innocent victim of this very process of downright maligning of PAS by the media.