Saying Tak Nak to The Star

My blog has been gathering cobwebs recently, but something has been getting my goat for the last few weeks that I cannot resist putting in an entry about it.

I have been reading The Star for almost 25 years now (since 1986), and in all those years, while there has been a slight bias in their news, it was definitely not as bad as NST.

But the since late 2010 till present, I couldn't help but notice the way their op-eds have been bashing/running down certain political parties, and making certain other parties look good instead.  Not only that, I also began to notice the way they filter/place their news to make certain folks look good/bad.

Take the news on Jan 27 2011 that a Commission of Inquiry will be set up about Teoh Beng Hock's case, for example.  On page 2, there was an article about how MCA has been lobbying the PM to get the commission set up.  My foot!!  This totally ignores the selfless efforts and countless hours that have been put in by folks like Gobind Singh Deo and countless others in helping Beng Hock's sister gather support to find out the truth.  Its as if MCA is the only one who has been helping.

So, since a few weeks ago, I have been thinking a lot about quitting my daily habit of reading The Star every morning together with my morning coffee.

And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't need it any more.  I mean, news wise, I am a subscriber to Malaysiakini, and there are countless other portals such as The Edge Daily, Malaysia Today, etc, etc where I can get news.  For classifieds, I realized that I have been buying stuff from lowyat.net forums for more than two years now.   Heck, mudah.com.my and carlist.my has much more Car for Sale listings than The Star!  Even buying/renting property, there are countless portals you can go to.  The Sun even offers their paper online for free, if you can't pick up a copy from your office building.

So, I guess the only person who will be unhappy is my "paper lama" man.  So, The Star, goodbye to you and your self serving articles and op-eds, goodbye to your selling out of your integrity to serve your political owners. It has been a great 25 years, but sorry to say, you have lost your soul.  Adieu.