News: The Straits Times - 7 August 2009
Views of Asia, Middle East must change: SM
He says media organisations from both regions can work together to galvanise process
| By Shefali Rekhi, Assistant Foreign Editor |
IMPRESSIONS of Asia and the Middle East remain fettered by images of their past which need to be erased to showcase changes and deepen understanding, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Addressing a roundtable discussion of 40 editors and senior journalists gathered for the inaugural Asia-Middle East Media Roundtable in Singapore yesterday, he also urged journalists and opinion makers to galvanise that process.
At the last Asia-Middle East meeting held here, he said he was surprised to hear one of the delegates say that until he came to Singapore, he did not know that 'Asians could run such a beautiful workplace'.
'That's the kind of ignorance we have. People think only Westerners can manage beautiful cities,' he said.
At the same time, Mr Goh noted that the Middle East is not just about oil and gas, the Israeli- Palestinian conflict or the war in Iraq.
Instead, he said: 'The Middle East has a lot of opportunities and is rich in culture.'
Mr Goh also said that he regrets having waited until 2004 before reaching out to the region.
'So much has been happening that I didn't know. I was taken aback by all that was happening,' he said.
The Senior Minister, who has been at the forefront of the Republic's efforts to build ties with Middle Eastern economies, also noted that the West has always acted as a magnet for the two regions, while Western agencies have been the source for news.
He said that both Asian and Middle Eastern media organisations have a part to play in improving knowledge and understanding.
Participants at yesterday's event made suggestions on how this could be achieved, including the setting up of a website to exchange news and views from Asia and the Middle East, and more networking sessions.
At the same time, the media representatives highlighted possible obstacles, including limited budgets which restrain them from recruiting journalists in different locations, and inadequate translation services.
Nevertheless, they appeared to be taking their first steps down the road to mutual understanding, as issues of significance to both sides were discussed and name cards exchanged.
Singapore Press Holdings' editor-in-chief for English and Malay newspapers Patrick Daniel told the gathering that The Straits Times had started a regional grouping of newspapers in Asia called the Asia News Network, and that linkages with media organisations in the Middle East could be explored.
The challenge, he said, would be how to ensure that stories about Asia get prime space in the Middle East.
Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew and associate professor Scott Fritzen, vice-dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, also addressed the roundtable discussions.
The media roundtable was proposed by Foreign Minister George Yeo in April last year.
SM GOH ON NATIONAL RECONCILIATION IN MYANMAR
The military 'is very much part of the problem, but it is also part of the solution. You cannot just take away the army and let the people run the country.
'Aung San Suu Kyi is seen in the West as the solution. But in my view she cannot be the solution. She is part of the solution. She has to understand that.
'What is it that she could offer that the military government would appreciate? That she is in favour of lifting of sanctions.'
ON THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE ISSUE
'One day Iran may have a bomb... So go and settle peace with the Palestinians and the larger Middle East at the right time.
'In fact, the right time was some years ago. Now there is another opportunity under (US) President Barack Obama.
'But from the Israeli perspective, on the ground level, not the leaders, Arabs do not believe Israel should be there. That's the problem.'
-end of ST article