The Star today published an abbreviation of my open letter to their Editor-in-Chief with regards to the publication of a fact box claiming al-marhum Ustaz Ibrahim Libya and those martyred in the Memali incident 19th November 1985 as a deviant, militant group. The Star also offered its apology and I quote:
“…on Nov 12, 2013, The Star published a fact box related to the Tuhan Harun issue, which referred to Ibrahim Libya and his followers as a deviant group. To the extent the reference has caused distress to any member of his family and colleagues, The Star offers its apologies.”
The Federal Territory PAS Youth would like to thank and congratulate the Editor and his team for the offer of apology. While PAS will continue to contest the nature of how the Memali incident is currently presented, this apology is truly meaningful in creating greater awareness of the real truths concealed from public knowledge. The apology also came at the most opportune time as we today solemnly remember the 28th anniversary of this sad tragedy.
Indeed, to err is human but to acknowledge mistake and make due correction is a signature of humility that separates mediocrity and greatness. While PAS and The Star will certainly cross paths many more times in the future, today we celebrate our shared roles in exerting check and balance in our own unique ways.
Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom is perhaps the closest thing we can get in understanding the reality of the inner workings of the news media, their complex internal deliberation and the dilemma they face as they push a particular context to an observing and increasingly critical public.
We thus emphatize with The Star as they go about doing their business while balancing the demands of their stakeholders. But if there is one thing that can be learned from this episode, it is the need for the news media to report the truth despite their partisan inclination because the untruth can be hurtful, bring injustices, and costly too. It is something that The Star has learned today and other news media should be learning too.
And then perhaps one day we will see a stronger, more independent Fourth Estate that will help bring concealed truths such as the Memali incident to the mainstream.
Al-Fatihah to al-Marhum Ustaz Ibrahim Libya and the martyrs of Memali. May Allah bless their souls.
Ir. Hj. Khairil Nizam Khirudin
Federal Territory PAS Youth Chief
