On July 21 1961, Utusan Melayu now Utusan Malaysia launched its first protest against Umno’s involvement to be part of the publication. It was aimed at preventing unnecessary voices from the political party coming into the newspaper. Said Zahari, 85, was the editor in chief and the man in charge of the paper together with several of his luminaries such as Usman Awang and Rosedin Yaakub fighting to secure freedom of the press that was important for the nation. “During my time it was not just between Utusan Melayu and the government (Umno), we were still under British colonialism. Slogans we used were for freedom of the press and anti- colonialism,” said Said Zahari. “I am against intimidation of journalists and Utusan Melayu as a free and fair newspaper wanted to protect the rights of the journalists and uphold democracy. When Umno wanted to overtake Utusan Melayu, I opposed it and so did my colleagues. Then the problems started…were we against the government or against the owner of Utusan,” said Said. “For the British as the occupiers, they did not see it as an abuse of freedom because for them freedom of the press is to give away licenses to open up more newspapers. That was freedom for them. But as a journalist, I wanted other journalists to be critical in their writing so as generate more ideas and shape opinions on how to move forward as a nation. We did not aim the protest against Umno but we wanted to protect Utusan Melayu from being taken away for certain political agendas. Utusan Melayu (Utusan Malaysia) should be free from any political power that is what I and my colleagues fought for,” said Said who has touched on the protest in his autobiography ‘The Long Nightmare’ launced recently. Said who is still actively in writing admitted that journalists should be more vocal in their reports and be not be afraid of voicing out their opinions fairly. He insisted that journalists still have a big part to play in creating awareness amongst the public and to actively play their part to protect freedom of the press. “We must fight for freedom of the press and not let anyone dictate what you write. I think for most of the reporters, freedom is no longer in their vocabulary,” he said. When asked about his feelings towards Utusan Malaysia, Said said that he now reads Utusan Malaysia once in a while as he feels that the newspaper has lost its touch. He also expressed his sadness as the newspaper no longer cares for freedom of the press. “What my friends and I used to fight is no mere there. I now read Utusan Malaysia occasionally but back in the days, this newspaper was a must read daily. Where’s the freedom now? I can’t answer,” said Said.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 07:30:31 +0000
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