STOP MUTILATING OUR READING MATERIALS!

Photo: The Star 8 Aug 2009

It is a relief to know that the government will not impose any censorship of the Internet. This is the assurance given by the PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Let's pray that he keeps his word. He said this after Information, Communications and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim announced plans to introduce a filtering system for the Internet, albeit only for pornography.

Honestly, what's there to censor in this picture?? (IHT)

It is pointless to censor anything in this day and age where information is easily available at your fingertips and from the home. Yet, censorship continues in Malaysia. And it's not just for internet pornography. As far as I'm concerned, the officers at the Home Ministry are marker-pen happy. The pictures on my subscriber copy of the International Herald Tribune are covered with the ubiquitous black boxes. It's absolutely annoying. Don't they know that this makes me even more curious to see what's behind those black boxes? And I can easily find out by looking up the IHT online. That defeats the purpose of censoring the pictures, don't you think?

Obviously, these black blotters are not art connoisseurs.

Since when were male chests and female breasts considered obscene? (Inset) Even the devil's chest is not spared!

It's not only the IHT that has suffered this mutilation. One irate subscriber of the National Geographic has also vented his anger in the local press over the same issue. "These overzealous censors need to get their priorities right," he says.

(Right) 11 black blots on one picture alone!

Grandma and the children are victims too. And they are wearing their swim-suits!

And while we are on the topic, did you know that there are only three panel members on the National Film Censorship Board? My Google search for the names of the panel members drew a blank. So much for transparency!

Malaysian film director, Amir Muhammad, had three of his movies banned, including his latest "Malaysian Gods". He deserves credit for never giving up. His movies have received even more publicity and critical acclaim thanks in part to the ban!


Malaysia has some of the strictest censorship laws in the world. Books, films, TV programmes, video games are routinely banned if the content is deemed objectionable or detrimental to the moral and spiritual values of the people. The same laws are also applied to local and foreign concerts.


I can understand the need for censorship, but censors should not go overboard in doing their job. At least, for education, arts and culture, censorship should be relaxed. Are Malaysians so weak in character and faith that the government has to protect and mollycoddle them from what it subjectively deems as 'bad' influence?

CAN WE TRUST MEDICAL LITERATURE?

We would all be jumping for joy if we could finally say goodbye to cancer

I was reading the papers yesterday when two articles caught my attention. The first one was actually a leaflet that fell out when I turned the pages of a local daily. It proclaimed a cure for cancer. Wow! The world’s biggest pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporations are ploughing billions of dollars into cancer research, and guess what? A virtually unknown company in Malaysia has beaten the big boys to the finish line!

If that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

There are countless advertisements out there all claiming to be the best or the only remedy for one ailment or another. There are also tonics, health supplements and anti-ageing treatment targeted at the seniors market. The companies that manufacture these products back their claims with impressive research statistics and testimonials from satisfied customers. The big question is - how far can we trust these product claims?

I found the answer in the second article. It was the front page headline in my subscriber copy of the International Herald Tribune (IHT) that caught my attention - "Behind some medical literature, drug industry's invisible hand".

“Newly unveiled court documents show that ghostwriters paid by a pharmaceutical company played a major role in producing 26 scientific papers backing the use of hormone replacement therapy in women, suggesting that the level of hidden industry influence on medical literature is broader than previously known.” (Want to know which company is involved? Click here to find out).

Apparently, the practice of ghost-writing for drug companies has been going on for some time. There are court cases involving some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry.

This is the modus operandi: the drug company hires a medical communications company to draft the article promoting the efficacy of a certain drug or therapy. Then it approaches top physicians to sign their names to the article. Such articles usually highlight the benefits of the drug and play down the side-effects. The unsuspecting end-user trusts what’s written and purchases the drug.

The next time you go to the pharmacy or drug-store, do some research first before you make any purchases. Don’t trust everything you read about a wonder drug or a miracle cure. Don’t be taken in by the superlative claims made in medical advertisements.

Be even more wary when you read about a break-through cure for cancer. The last time I checked, which was this morning, 1962 Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine, Dr James Watson has this to say in his article "To Fight Cancer, Know The Enemy": "We still do not yet have in hand the 'miracle drugs' that would stop most metastatic cancer cells in their tracks".

Think twice before you part with your money on expensive tonics and pharmaceuticals. And if you do find a genuine miracle cure for cancer, don’t keep it to yourself. Share.