Thread by @walski69

Do watch the video, which I did earlier. A few observations:

1. True, the AJ video focus piece did not cover ALL aspects of Malaysia's handling of COVID-19. But it was a FOCUS piece on the alleged mistreatment of illegal immigrants, not an in-depth COVID-19 in MY documentary

https://twitter.com/BernamaTV/status/1283231832721375232

2. About blocking comments - the YouTube posting by AJ initially did allow comments but was closed down AFTER being spammed by thousands of abusive comments. The rebuttal video gives the impression that the comments weren’t allowed from the get-go.

3. Govt’s lack of response from AJ for clarification/comments - the line of reasoning is the same as what some cybertroopers have been stating, that the Govt. was too busy handling COVID-19. Fair enough, but as we had seen there were several unnecessary photo-ops that happened..

… which does indicate that “busy” really is in the eye of the beholder.

4. Definition of Racism - granted the alleged mishandling of the illegal immigrants wasn’t a case of blanket racism, but perhaps Dr. Pfundheller isn’t familiar enough with Malaysia

5. Treatment in MY vs. other countries - Dr. Pfundheller gives the impression that there’s only ONE reason the illegal immigrants are here, that they specifically came illegally to overstay. In fact, there are MANY known incidences where workers who came in legally initially...

… were left high and dry by their employers, some of whom did not return the workers’ passports. Plus, no mention of refugees who in MY are included as being "illegal immigrants”.

6. Selective interviews - the AJ story a short media piece, not a comprehensive survey

7. No attempt to be legal - yes, true, many do not approach the Labor Department. But let’s get real - how many workers, migrant or local, legal or otherwise, are actually AWARE of their Labor rights? The rebuttal makes a broad assumption workers in Malaysia know their rights

8. “Jobs were taken by migrant workers” - is it just me, or does this sound way too scripted to be coincidental? Also, I’m not sure if Dr. Pfundheller is aware of how low the wages are, and no mention of how a section of Malaysian employers are also part of the problem.

9. “Important to track everybody during the pandemic” - Yes, wholeheartedly agree. But I wonder if Dr. Pfundheller is aware of the FEAR on the ground, not just among genuinely illegal migrants but also among the many refugees whom have the experience of being hounded...

… by the authorities DESPITE being certified by UNHCR as being genuine refugees. Dr. Pfundheller also doesn’t mention that Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, and makes no distinction between refugees and undocumented migrants.

10. Handcuffing minors and keeping children under the hot sun are dismissed as “inconveniences” - I don’t think I even need to comment on how insensitive this is, especially since Dr. Pfundheller is a dentist who’s patients have included children.

I’ll leave it at 10 points, but if I really wanted to nit-pick, like Dr. Pfundheller obviously has, I’m sure I could find more.

The point is this: EVERY media - bar none - has its own bias. Whether those biases align with your own bias is of course very subjective.

Dr. Pfundheller also did not mention - since he’s such a stickler for comprehensiveness - the Malaysian government’s heavy-handed response to the Al Jazeera video piece, consistent with the heavy-handed response towards government critics of late.

Lastly, the rebuttal video is certainly fair comment on the part of Dr. Pfundheller. And I agree that Malaysia has handled the COVID19 pandemic really well.

But it, too, wasn’t completely free of bias. Some might say even bordering on propaganda-ish.

Fair comment?

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