Daily accuses Australia's SBS Myanmar radio
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jun 25, 2001
As Australia encourages the system of diverse ethnic peoples and cultures, it permits the setting up of radio stations of the languages of multiple races in order to promote the religion, literature and culture of these peoples who have settled in the nation.
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) was set up as a radio station of Independent Statutory Authority in 1978 under the Broadcasting Act of 1991. The duty of SBS is to broadcast news and entertainment programmes of multiple races and cultures. Broadcasting of one-sided political views and statements injurious to others are being prohibited under the departmental broadcasting policies.
However, the SBS Myanmar [Burmese] radio programme has become a tool of expatriate Myanmar politicians who are totally against the aims and policies of the SBS and are blindly opposing Myanmar. If the announcements of the SBS are analysed objectively, they never really represent any of the political organizations.The Myanmar radio programme is dominated by the opinions of the in-charge of the programme or the views of his closely associated political circle. Especially, its announcements are based on random policies of an individual person. For example, the articles compiled by the one, Maung Ye Khaing, are based on hearsay that are the slanderous news gathered from different corners. Without having any consideration for the journalism codes of conduct, he is announcing the views which are his own creations.
The programmer, the columnist, the regular announcers should have moral conduct and real goodwill towards the public and should always keep in the fore the interests of the entire people. Moreover, they greet the listeners with a sweet and auspicious voice. However, as the SBS is dominated by uneducated, stubborn and random rowdies, it is always overwhelmed by the abusive language.
There is a prescription in Australia that the in-charge of a SBS radio programme should be at least a graduate of an Australian university.Because it is accepted and believed that only the educated and thoughtful persons can produce an unbiased and a pleasant radio programme that serves the people's interests in accord with the rules. Kyaw Tun Aung, the Myanmar radio programmer of the SBS, is a settler who arrived in Australia in 1971. Apart from his fluency in English, for he has been in Australia for long, let alone getting a degree from any university in Myanmar or Australia,he even didn't pass the matriculation examination. In addition to his low education level, he has less knowledge. His programmes are worse and he does not deserve the programmer job.
Only the two women part-time announcers are skilled in radio programming and can produce programmes that help promote the general knowledge of the Myanmar people. But Kyaw Tun Aung's programmes are overwhelmed by the abusive language which is totally against the Myanmar culture, have many duplicates from other radio stations (for example, some of his programmes are the carbon copies of BBC), and are full of random opinions of his political associates.
Though he is said to be giving priority to the politics, he is not a politician.As he left Myanmar at about 1970, he has no connection with the politics of Myanmar. He is just an opportunists. He is just a swaggerer acting on his hearsay knowledge on the four 8s and the four 9s incidents [ie dates of 8.8.88 and 9.9.99]...
Another thing is that if an intellectual person is giving knowledge to Myanmars, they will gain more general knowledge; but when Myanmars in Australia are listening to the words of an uneducated rowdy, they will become useless persons; moreover, it can be assumed as a capitalist method to exploit cheap labour.
Source: The New Light of Myanmar web site, Rangoon, in English 24 Jun 01