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Sunday, November 19, 2017

Malicious unscrupulous evil 'fake news'

FMT - Probe malicious viral messages of durians turned back from China (extracts):


China has yet to allow Malaysia to import whole durians into the country, it was clarified today.

China, however, gave special permission for the import of 3.8 tonnes of durians, with their shells, for use during the Malaysian Durian Festival 2017 held in Nanning from Nov 3-5.

This was stated in a statement issued by Robin Wong, the durian festival’s special coordinator, and festival organiser Dominic Su.

In a statement, they said it was therefore untrue that 20 containers of Musang King durians sent to China were rejected and sent back to Malaysia due to alleged high insecticide content.

They said such messages, spread through social media, were totally “unjustifiable, unsupported, unwarranted and inaccurate”.

“We don’t know the intention of this unwarranted claim.

“But as the organisers of the durian festival, we feel compelled to clarify what we know to stop the further spread of these unjustifiable false claims.

“These may negatively affect the proper marketing of our quality agriculture produce, including durians.

“We should all be responsible for stopping any efforts to negatively affect the good progress that the durian festival has brought.

“We believe that the festival is a stepping stone towards helping to increase our agricultural exports to China, which is beneficial to our economy and country.”


This has been a case of 'fake news' which could be terribly harmful to the nation's agricultural export, implying Malaysia's fruits and other agricultural products have been dosed with high insecticide content.

Another 'fake news' has been a photo of a Chinese traffic jam posited as that in Germany where German drivers simultaneously abandoned their cars on the highways as a sign of protest against rising petrol prices.

Was this to egg on local Malaysian drivers to do likewise against the recent increase in petrol prices.


I had previously posted 'fake news' of fresh seafood (kembong and kerang) prices gone astronomical under GST when fresh seafood are/were NOT subjected to GST.

Some recent ridiculous news was, as one example showed:

Once known as the “poor man’s fish”, the possibility that ikan kembung might become a price-controlled item is perhaps a better economic indicator for ordinary Malaysians instead of growth figures issued by the government.

The price of the humble fish in the mackerel family has been rising since the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) in 2015.\


The poor GST has been innocently blamed for the rise in a non-GST-ed item, namely fresh food including fresh fish.

The example has been what 'fake news' is, published sometime ago presumably to invoke angry/adverse feelings against, in the above stated case, an innocent GST.

A pathetic unscrupulous pariah example but pretty effective amongst kampung readers.




Another one - Siti Zahara who is anaemic said she often buys cockles when the dizziness gets the best of her but has also cut down on that of late.

"The doctor advised me to eat cockles or liver (as an iron supplement) because of my anaemic condition."

Before GST, cockles cost about RM4 per kilo. Now it’s about RM10. So, I buy half a kilo. You can imagine how little that is when cooked.”

The 'fake news' aimed to show that with GST, price of kerang had leapt from RM4 to a humongous RM10.

By the by, I wonder whether there was really an anaemic 'Siti Zahara'?

Well, I have to say there is a '6' somewhere there in the price (a la 6% GST?), but the '6' in that piece of 'fake news' was the difference between a so-called pre-GST-priced kerang at RM4 to a post-GST-priced kerang at RM10.

Who cares if, again, there is no GST on cockles, because such 'fake news' would irate the readers.

Even if there was/is (but to reiterate, there is no GST on kerang), 6% of RM4 only amounts to a round figure of 25 sen.

So could that reporter explain her Before GST, cockles cost about RM4 per kilo. Now it’s about RM10.

But the point has been how 'fake news' (deliberately?) exaggerated the impact of GST even on a non-GST-ed item, to wit, from RM4 to a staggering RM10. The aim has been obvious, thanks Siti Zahara.

The 'fake news' could only be described as highly mischievous or even evil. Very unscrupulous lah!




13 comments:

  1. It is an undeniable fact that the cost of living in Malaysia, and the cost of doing business (which leads to recovery through price hikes) has increased astronomically since April 1st 2015, when GST was introduced.

    Only a misguided keyboard propagandist who doesn't live in Malaysia would call it Fake News.

    That has nothing to do with the reports about the Durians, whatever is the truth there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lived with 10% GST for aeons downunder - no problem - sure your whinge is not politically motivated?

      Delete
    2. Now...u r equating Oz with bolihland economically!!!!

      Wow....mana tu epal sama Oren?

      This is fake news of the most disingenuous kind.

      Delete
    3. I requote what I wrote, which is a fact.
      "It is an undeniable fact that the cost of living in Malaysia, and the cost of doing business (which leads to recovery through price hikes) has increased astronomically since April 1st 2015, when GST was introduced"

      Your 10% GST in Australia us irrelevant to Malaysia.

      Delete
    4. Hi KT, imagine you sell ikan kembung for a living. Assuming (assuming only) your supply cost is unchanged so you are going to selling the fish at the price you sold before there was GST.

      Meanwhile your transport cost increased because petrol increase. Your school going children’s bus fare increased and their school uniforms, shoes, pencils, erasers. Your house electricity, your newspaper, toilet rolls, cooking oil, the onions that you eat, your bathing soaps, bath gel, road tolls, your everyday breakfast all have increased except your kembung fish! You are naïve lah ......... wakakakaka

      Delete
    5. goods including food items will always increase with time - same here in Oz - but to posit that GST make kerang prices jump from RM4 to RM10 overnight because of GST is sheer bullshit

      Delete
    6. same message above for Monsterball - when it suits you, examples of Oz are relevant, when it doesn't wakakaka it's irrelevant - what a biased person you are and have been

      Delete
    7. Equating the Australian economy and Australian lifestyle to Malaysia is Fake News.

      Delete
    8. You ate the hypocrite who sang Lain Padang , Lain Belalang.

      Delete
    9. KT, as explained by Peter (see above), although fresh ikan may not be subjected to GST,petroleum used by the fisherman is; so his cost is going to go up unless he registers as claims back the GST. (Now, how many small fushermen are likely to register especially his low turnover plus GST admin cost?)

      So, GST does affect the small traders who may deal with non-GST items. Your original article implies such a small trader's operating cost would not be affected by GST at all is incorrect.

      Delete
    10. Hi Low, according to your information, the kembong price could be affected by petroleum price increases

      that has nothing to do with gst, so how could the fisherman, even if he wants to, claim back gst

      so that fish price increase has nothing to do with gst but petroleum which ha sits own gst and which should be paid by consumers

      Delete
  2. "Malicious unscrupulous evil 'fake news'" are being used by sneaky bastards in apparent attempts to discredit the government.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The reports about the Durian, true or false, have nothing to do with the government, one way or another.

      Delete