LETTER | If one were to rely solely on Utusan Malaysia for news on the current minister for education, one would think that the honourable minister is consumed with only thoughts of socks and shoes.

This pea-brained newspaper with gutless editors is back with their mischief. Their toxic spew is now centred on Maszlee Malik, the minister of education.

Their journalists wait in ambush, trailing the minister on his walkabouts. They care little for any weighty substance the minister expounds on, preferring instead to wax lyrical about socks, shoes and other trivia, an obsession that reveals more about themselves than the man they write about.

If Utusan is worth even a grain of journalistic salt, it would report on the numerous initiatives drawn up by the minister in the last 100 days. This includes the green policy for all learning institutions encompassing vehicle-free zones, community clean-ups, tree-planting and adopting the 3Rs - Reuse, Recycle, Reduce.

However, Utusan has never been known as a bastion of journalism.

A newspaper sans integrity or honesty is but a pitiful face of hate politics, demonisation and vilification. It sows discord and dangerous divides with scant regard for nation-building. It does not educate but leaves a trail of ignorance in its wake.

In the effort to dumb down to the masses and move more copies off the shelves, it has shown itself to be a disgrace and mockery to the art of journalism.

In a country hungry for insightful, investigative and balanced journalism, the mainstream media now stands at a threshold. Known for their trumpeting of the past government, they now have the opportunity to be the voice of reason and check and balance to the current government.

Utusan has the golden opportunity of playing a leading role in this country’s new political process and render support to a minister who could potentially be a gamechanger in the sad affairs of our current education system.

But will they rise to the occasion? Will they pick up this mantle and be a beacon of truth and honesty? Or continue to meekly obey their masters and drown in their own venom?

Some soul searching is long overdue.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.