It's Time For Us To Have Alternative Media, Says PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- The time has come for the world to have alternative media which will become a channel for those whose voices have been ignored by other international media, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.
The prime minister said this would ensure that global issues were reported in a more accurate and objective way compared to the present situation.
"I was a foreign minister for a long time and I remember that on many occasions the leaders of the countries of the South were always talking about getting not enough space, their views were not (heard) ... the media was not interested in what they said.
"... and if Al Jazeera decided that they should play that kind of role, then they are more than welcome," he said in his speech before launching the Al Jazeera English KL Broadcast Centre here, Friday.
Abdullah said international society wanted to know more about what was happening around the world from the alternative point of view.
"We want to know more, we would like to have a fair story, we would like to have an objective assessment of the various situations and issues coming out of the situations," he said.
Abdullah, in welcoming the news network to this country, believed Al Jazeera would be able fill the gap left by other international media.
The prime minister also promised full support and cooperation for the news network while operating in the country.
"We are not imposing on you any kind of imposition, we give you the freedom to operate this centre in the way you would want to, in the way we believe would be fair," he said.
Al Jazeera Network director-general Wadah Khanfar, in his welcoming speech, said Kuala Lumpur was chosen as one of its four broadcast centres based on the unique criteria of the city.
"We have chosen Kuala Lumpur because we realise Kuala Lumpur is a model, a model of tolerance, a model of diversity. It is also central in the region."
He said the network planned to give the KL Broadcast Centre more hours of broadcasting along with various news bulletins and programmes from the centre beginning next month.
Khanfar also thanked the Malaysian government for the cooperation rendered to Al Jazeera.
Kuala Lumpur was chosen over Hong Kong and Singapore as one of Al Jazeera's four broadcast centres for its 24-hour English language news and current affairs channel.
Apart from Kuala Lumpur, Al Jazeera English, which is based in Doha, Qatar, also operates from Washington DC and London.
Located on the 60th floor of Tower 2 of the Petronas Twin Towers, the broadcast centre is headed by Asian Bureau chief Trish Carter with 125 staff, about half of them journalists.
They include the award-winning news anchor Veronica Pedrosa and former CNBC Asia anchor Teymoor Nabili.
Since it started operation in November last year, the 24-hour English language news and current affairs channel is accessible to over 80 million cable and satellite households across the globe.
As the sister channel to Al Jazeera Arabic, it is the first global English language channel with the headquarters in the Middle East, with the aim of providing the same ground-breaking news and balanced journalism to the English-speaking world.
-- BERNAMA

tunku:hello mr prime minister, you are talking about alternative media for the world, why not you start it at our very own soil,Malaysia. The mainstream media in Malaysia are controlled by you.What you dont like cant come out, our dearest ex prime minister's views and comments are black out from the mainstream media. So by all mean we in Malaysia too need an alternative media which covers all views and comments. Have you got the gut to allow it, by what you have said above you should allow.WALK THE TALK pak lah oiii.