Malaysia's NST fabricates key word in story - is NST now just a politically- controlled mouthpiece?

NST is a national daily.

NST is read by thousands of Malaysians everyday. We expect it to report the truth. To report with journalistic integrity and the highest standards of credibility.

We now know that NST cannot be trusted, if it can misreport, or fabricate, words not uttered by Senator Nicholas Xenophon.

The NST had yesterday admitted to having falsely quoted Xenophon in its article on Wednesday, 2 May 2012, as calling Islam a “criminal organisation” during his 2009 speech in Australia’s Parliament. (The Malaysian Insider, 4 May 2012).

NST had in its article quoted the senator as saying: “What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality. On the body of evidence, this is not happening by accident; it is happening by design. Islam is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs.”

But in the excerpt from the Australian Parliament’s Hansard, cited in the Sydney Morning Herald, Xenophon had actually said: “What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality. On the body of evidence, this is not happening by accident; it is happening by design. Scientology is not a religious organisation. It is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs.”

That NST could stoop so low to attack someone deemed as opposition leader Anwar's friend; and just so soon after the conclusion of Bersih 3.0 calling for free and fair elections; and in an election year; just smacks of political meddling and desperate measures to discredit anyone or anything that could even remotely be seen as a threat to the ruling coalition. 

NST has of course published an appropriate damage control statement. No one has been sacked yet. The Malaysian Insider said that NST head Abdul Jalil Hamid confirmed that the paper was investigating claims that it had misreported Xenophon's three-year-old speech, which had effectively painted the Senator as anti-Islam.

I think misreporting and false reporting are 2 very seriously different matters.

Najib's Malaysia still stuck in the murk http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/najibs-malaysia-still-stuck-in-the-murk-20120504-1y3z9.html

Paper apologises to senator http://www.theage.com.au/national/paper-apologises-to-senator-20120503-1y1vc.html

NST replaces word, paints Anwar’s Aussie senator friend as anti-Islam http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/malaysia/article/nst-replaces-word-paints-anwars-aussie-senator-friend-as-anti-islam/
NST admits and regrets ‘anti-Islam’ report against Oz Senator http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/nst-admits-and-regrets-anti-islam-report-against-oz-senator/
Aussie senator to sue NST, calls anti-Islam report ‘sickening’ http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/aussie-senator-to-sue-nst-calls-anti-islam-report-sickening
Malaysian Newspaper Apologizes for Statements Against Australian Senator http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/05/03/malaysian-newspaper-apologizes-for-statements-against-australian-senator/