I fully support the call by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) for the Government to respect the cultural sensitivities of the Malaysian Chinese community by refraining from dissolving Parliament and calling for elections during this period of the Chinese New Year celebrations.  

Although it is the right of the ruling party to decide on when to hold the elections, a call for elections during this festive period will smack of arrogance and cultural insensitivity - if not disrespect - to a sizable group of our electorate.

Election etiquette and good practice in democratic countries also calls for the media to function as a neutral stake player in the information blitz that will hit Malaysians shortly.  Fair coverage of the issues and of all political parties – ruling and opposition; honest and factual reporting; observance of the norms of accuracy, balance and fairness:  these have been in short supply during past elections.  They have also earned the country the reputation of being an authoritarian system with considerable manipulation – if not outright electoral fraud - for electoral gains by ruling autocratic parties.  

Now is the time for the media to shed its fear and return to core professional good values and practices and help change our country for the better.   

Kuala Lumpur, 12 Feb 2008