COMMENT: SMRT train saga exposes cracks in outdated media policy
P N Balji10 July 2016
The revelation that cracks were found in China-made SMRT trains has shown that the government cannot control the flow of information and command the conversation the way they have done for so long.
For long has this policy been enforced with a combination of legislation, controls on competition that give the two media houses a free ride to make money and the induction of journalists who generally are convinced to become official megaphones. So numbed has the government been by this policy that it has been blindsided by a reality that is breaking down barriers that very few had imagined even just 10 years ago.
At the heart of this new reality is a media policy that has castrated mainstream media to the point where journalists write and edit for fear of losing their jobs and dump investigative journalism practices to the great benefit of the government.
The results of this outdated and archaic policy blew up in the faces of both the journalists and politicians when a new media platform called FactWire in Hongkong broke the news that 26 MRT trains found to have cracks were being shipped back to the manufacturer in China for repairs.
The news agency, which says its unique selling point is investigative journalism, had videos of the trains being wrapped up in green covers and being moved via road and then sea in the middle of the night.
It caused a sensation here with the government and media caught totally off guard and scrambling to respond to a story that was stolen right under their noses.
For three days since the story broke last week, the government tried to play catch-up by spinning story after story in official media trying to allay fears about safety of the trains.
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