Malaysia choose and life will go on.

 Finally, after what may well be four long years, or maybe more, Malaysians are staring squarely at the day of reckoning.  After such a time of having their emotions bottled-up, after seemingly endless arguments which at times border absurdity, criss-crossing truths, half-truths and outright lies, Malaysians will now have the opportunity to either show their appreciation or vent their anger at the ballot boxes which will be opened from 8.00 am on Sunday.
 When I saw a frail old lady planting little multi-coloured flags on the grass sidewalk near my office this morning, I wondered about her wishes, her frustrations and her aspirations.
 Likwise, when I saw youths risking their lives climbing lamp posts to hang party flags, I wondered that besides the money they’d get from doing so, whether they actually believed in the party’s struggles.


 The only thing I am sure now is that by the end of Sunday, Malaysians will get the government they wished for.
 Speaking as a member of the press, and largely for myself, I hope we have done our part to help society make their choice. I make no apology as to where I and my newspaper lean towards. As I have said much earlier, here at our newsaper, we abide by an editorial policy that existed long before we came to the job and one that’ll be there long after we leave.
 It is not my job to change that policy. My job is only to ensure that we remain truthful to our profession.
 In our profession, we make thousands of decisions every day and every single decision we make must fall in sync with our editorial policy. As we have chosen long ago to be a pro-esablishment newspaper, we cannot expect some of the influential news portal and printed newspapers owned by opposition parties to share the same views as ours.
 At times, a news that is of value in our opinion, may be trash to others. In any work that involves serving a large portion of the community, it is always impossible to satisfy everyone.
 At times we face situations of conflict in making our editorial decisions. But conflicts or not, we have to decide before the newspaper goes to bed late every night.
 And we have to be consistent and coherent with our policies and decisions. At my newspaper, we have never been vague in our leanings for we know that a newspaper that always stays safe on the fence is a newspaper that is without courage to decide. Nobody reads such a newspaper.
 While we have often been accused as being the government’s mouthpiece, I must also say that even our detractors have loudly proclaimed that as part of the mainstream media, we have lost the monopoly we once enjoyed in information dissemination.
 Such being the case, I do not understand what the fuss is all about since there is nothing then to fear of newspapers or what we print in ours anymore. Society still has the option of not buying newspapers if they don’t like what’s printed in them.
 I have also written in the past that newspapers do not choose the path society will travel on. Not only are we inadequate for such a role, we would be defying the tenets of journalism should we do so.
 We are nothing more than a beacon of light, shining on a path chosen by society itself. We have never once lose sight of the fact that in the end, society is much bigger and indeed more powerful than any press organisation.
 However, even if it is so fated that the government of the day should lose Sunday’s election, I can guarantee you one thing.
 From wherever I may be, and from whichever corner I’d be writing from, I will continue to do what I have been doing all these while -- helping society master their world through knowledge. And I can assure you, someone out there will be reading still.

ENDS