SINGAPORE — If there is one central figure that looms large in veteran journalist PN Balji’s new book “Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Veteran Journalist”, it is the late Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.
But the genius of Lee, who was never afraid to actively intervene in the media industry, lay in his ability to mix the carrot and the stick. “He made sure that Singapore Press Holdings and of course Mediacorp, had no competition. And that had a positive effect because SPH could make tonnes of money. Nobody was prepared to come and work or start a newspaper or TV station under those kinds of restrictions.
The book includes a detailed analysis of the events that led to TNP’s darkest hour in 1991, when the paper mistakenly reported that former Deputy Prime Minister Dr Toh Chin Chye had been arrested for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run. It led to the demotion of two editors, one journalist sacked and the payment of $300,000 in damages to Dr Toh. Balji put the episode down to “a footloose newsroom culture” gone wrong.
And when asked why he had chosen to write his book more than 10 years after leaving the mainstream media, Balji pointed to “OB Markers: My Straits Times Story” by former Straits Times editor Cheong Yip Seng as his inspiration. “It was the first book written by an established editor from SPH which actually said that there was government intervention, and he gave some examples,” noted Balji.
The dangers of self-censorshipBalji may have been a reluctant editor, but he was far from reticent in calling self-censorship “the greatest sin in Singapore journalism”. And as far as he is concerned, it is “worse than what it used to be before.”
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