Yesterday was the last time I will be reading from a subscribed Singapore newspaper.
No right thinking person will read the China Daily expecting anything other than partial news that support the official line of the Chinese government. Ditto for Pravda ( Russian Federation) or KCNA ( North Korea).
The only reason we will feel angry when our only English newspaper appears biased and partisan towards the government ( which incidentally owns it in a not too complex shareholding structure) is that deep down somewhere in our hearts ( or brains) is that we thought that somehow the Journalists could be allowed to act and write as professional fair-minded Singaporeans (or maybe PRs).
I ( now I am getting personal) thought, naively now its clear, that the senior people that run the Straits Times ( now I have named the paper) have a conscience to do what is right for us. That they cannot be so blatantly biased or else I and others will get disgusted and not read their paper anymore. Well I was wrong and they were right.
They could and were and will be blatant and yet people like me , till yesterday, would buy and read with a glimmer of hope that is totally unwarranted. Hope that they will do the right thing. It wont happen anytime soon.
I have unsubscribed to the Straits Times. In investment terms we call this “cutting loss”.
Writing to the Forum Page ( and why I write) is also a rather unusual thought process. That is the subject of another post.
We live in difficult but exciting times.
Best wishes
Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan
