I sense some things aren’t right with the protest. I can’t vividly express what made me feel this way but a hotchpotch of past incidents, reactions of various parties, including response from the nonpartisan bodies and the flyers distributed on the spot give me a notion that this might not be a sheer protest fighting for press freedom but something egregious. The whole scenario makes me feel like certain ulterior parties are backing up, enticing or perhaps heating up the entire play.

Actually, I didn’t really heed the whole things. The remarks of some protesters woke me up. I found that this might not be a mere protest for press freedom but virulent attacks are launched to tarnish reputation of certain parties with image of opposition tainted as a final objective. In other words, overt hostility and personality is engaged, may it be hatred designated towards Sin Chew or Zhang.

Try to think in another perspective, what will a businessman do if other giant media corporations like Media Prima and astro are licking up smaller media companies in the process of fortifying themselves? Will Zhang Xiaoqing’s abstinence permanently put a halt to media monopoly of the other giants?

Frankly saying, I am extremely annoyed by Sin Chew’s editors hailing effusive choruses of praise and orgy of adulation for their boss. However, I can’t turn a blind eye to over-reactions and disproportionate response to Zhang’s buy-up compared to Media Prima sweeping up ntv7, TV9, Fly FM, Hot FM (previously Wa! FM). Did anyone protest in front of TV3 that time?

If they did, that’s good. But if they didn’t, on what basis do they stand this time to make such hue and cry? Did they get provoked by certain parties?

Government policies that set people aloof from media industry are the culprits. But why are Sin Chew and Zhang Xiaoqing be the limelight in this issue? This gives me a subtle feeling that some other agenda is hiding at the back. NGOs should be of nonpartisan. Isn’t that the raison d’etre of NGOs?