Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KUALALUMPUR935
2008-10-23 01:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Cable title:
THE SUMMER 2008 OLYMPICS THROUGH MALAYSIAN EYES
how-toVZCZCXRO1954 PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH DE RUEHKL #0935/01 2970113 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 230113Z OCT 08 FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1807 INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2537
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000935
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
FOR EAP/MTS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PREL PGOV MY
SUBJECT: THE SUMMER 2008 OLYMPICS THROUGH MALAYSIAN EYES
REF: STATE 105510
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000935
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
FOR EAP/MTS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PREL PGOV MY
SUBJECT: THE SUMMER 2008 OLYMPICS THROUGH MALAYSIAN EYES
REF: STATE 105510
1. (U) This is Embassy Kuala Lumpur's response to action
request in reftel.
2. (SBU) Summary: Interviews with media professionals and
comments from other contacts in Kuala Lumpur confirmed that
the opulent pageantry and success of the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing enjoyed a short-lived positive impact on Malaysian
views of China, which was quickly overshadowed by the tainted
milk-powder scandal that sparked off a health scare in
Malaysia. In general, the Games did little to change
perceptions of China in the eyes of Malaysians, mainly
because China and Malaysia already enjoy close social
cultural and economic ties, and most Malaysians feel that
they have a good familiarity with China. Malaysians,
according to our media and business interlocutors, generally
do not perceive China as an economic threat, but rather as a
&land of (business) opportunity8, though they do see it as
a competitor for foreign direct investment.
3. (U) To gather the information for this report, Public
Affairs spoke to several Malaysian news editors and
journalists, including Norila Daud, President of the National
Union of Journalists, the head of Radio 24 (Bernama),a News
Editor from Nanyang Siang Pau, a reporter from the Oriental
Daily, as well as a local contract Chinese-language news
reader and translator. Poloff and FCSoff also contributed to
this report.
4. (U) Of the news editors and reporters we spoke to, most
said that their newspapers received a healthy amount of mail
from readers on the subject of the Olympics, many praised the
Chinese for the spectacular opening ceremony. However,
beyond sports reporting, only a moderate number of editorials
appeared in print dailies devoted to the topics of the
Olympics, or of China during the period of the Games.
Conversely, none of our political or commercial contacts have
previously discussed this topic with us unless we raised it
first.
5. (U) Malaysians, in general, took an interest in the
Olympic Games, but because Malaysia,s Olympic team was quite
small, public attention to the Games was not widespread
beyond the opening ceremonies and badminton. Sources
consulted who are familiar with the Chinese-language press
reported that the local Chinese Malaysian community (20% of
the population) was extremely interested in the Games. Many
elderly ethnic Chinese, some of whom migrated from China in
the early 1940's, wrote to Chinese-language newspapers to
express their pride in their &mother country8 because it
did such a good job of hosting the Games.
6. (U) News media in Malaysia provided significant sports
coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Most papers sent
reporters to Beijing, though they mainly interviewed
Malaysian athletes. Local media definitely &sidelined8
environmental and human rights issues during the Games, which
was attributed by one source to the excitement of the Games
being hosted in Asia. Said source also commented that the
lack of commentary or editorial reporting on human rights and
environQntal issues was less due to residual &shine8 from
the Games but more because Malaysia is concerned with the
current global economic crisis and cautious of harming its
relations with those countries (such as China) with whom it
has important economic ties.
7. (U) Chinese language papers such as Chinese-language
Oriental Daily published special editions on the Games. Many
opinion writers and columnists from Chinese language press
wrote about the Games, as well as about the Sichuan
earthquake, Chinese nationalism, and the resurrection of the
&Middle Kingdom.8 The Oriental Daily, unlike its four
competitors, did publish a few news stories on human rights
protests that occurred around the Games. As a purely
Malaysian Chinese newspaper -- other papers have stronger
ties to Hong Kong and mainland China ) the Oriental Daily
was perhaps bolder in its coverage of human rights issues in
China.
8. (U) In contrast, Malay language papers were more focused
on whether Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei would win
Olympic gold. Local Malay papers covered Olympic sporting
events daily, but editorials during the period of the games
and following, tended to focus on topics internal to
Malaysia. That being said, Malay papers did publish several
side-articles on China &outside the Olympic Village,8 as
well as one or two reports on human rights demonstrations
concurrent with the Games. By and large, however, coverage
KUALA LUMP 00000935 002 OF 002
was focused on the Games themselves, and on Malaysia,s
chances for a gold medal in badminton. On television,
Malaysia,s main cable network, Astro, and national TV
network, RTM1, covered the Beijing Olympics and provided
daily medal tallies.
9. (U) Malaysian media professionals consulted said that
China and Malaysia are very interconnected. Socially and
economically, the two countries share ties going back
generations, and economic ties in particular are said to have
strengthened significantly since the 1990s, when the
Sino-Malaysian relationship reached a new level of
development with close cooperation and contacts in trade,
tourism, education, culture, science and health. Our
commercial contacts echoed this trend. There have been and
are many exchanges of journalists between China and Malaysia,
which means that those Malaysians who travel to China gain a
realistic view of that country. Few Malaysians we spoke to
were surprised that the Chinese were able to pull of such a
successful Olympic Games.
10. (U) Economic competition from China is seen more with
common sense than as a threat. China is one of the best
markets for Malaysian products. Bilateral trade has been on
an upward trend, growing 25% annually since 2002, and
increasing to over 27.5 billion US dollars in 2006 from a
little over 100 Million US dollars in 1974. Malaysians see
China as a powerful country with good prospects and lots of
business opportunities. Several Malaysian journalists
commented that Malaysians are becoming increasingly aware
that although much of China is still poor, living standards
in some metropolitan areas in China are higher than Kuala
Lumpur. As such, our commercial contacts had very little to
say the Olympic games, as from their perspective they were
still experiencing business as usual.
11. (U) Because media and politicians in Malaysia are quite
familiar with China ) many reporters and Members of
Parliament have traveled to China on exchanges or reporting
trips ) the Summer Olympics are not seen to have changed
views of China significantly, other than to have generated a
healthy amount of &Asian pride.8 However, the recent
tainted milk powder scandal has tended to cause local
Malaysian media to take a more suspicious view of China once
in their reporting due to the local health scare that has
occurred from the multitude of Chinese-made food products
sold in Malaysia.
12. (U) One source said that the Olympic Games should not be
viewed as a single watershed event, but rather as one in a
series of events. The year 2008 is an important one for
those who watch China from Malaysia. First, China handled
its Sichuan earthquake; second it successfully hosted the
Olympics; third, it successfully launched the ShenZhou 7
manned spacecraft, and lastly, China grappled with a
frightening food safety crisis that is still ongoing.
13. (U) In recent weeks, the tainted milk powder issue has
obscured the short-lived fabulous images of Beijing fresh
from the Summer Olympics. Now, in the eyes of the Malaysian
media, China cannot be viewed entirely in a positive light as
a global economic power until it shows it can implement
product safety standards in line with international
standards. Many are asking the question: are Chinese
products really safe for human consumption? As in many
countries around the world, Malaysian views of China shaped
by the media are divided between images of China as a global
economic and cultural powerhouse, and a China full of
scofflaws and exploiters.
KEITH
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
FOR EAP/MTS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PREL PGOV MY
SUBJECT: THE SUMMER 2008 OLYMPICS THROUGH MALAYSIAN EYES
REF: STATE 105510
1. (U) This is Embassy Kuala Lumpur's response to action
request in reftel.
2. (SBU) Summary: Interviews with media professionals and
comments from other contacts in Kuala Lumpur confirmed that
the opulent pageantry and success of the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing enjoyed a short-lived positive impact on Malaysian
views of China, which was quickly overshadowed by the tainted
milk-powder scandal that sparked off a health scare in
Malaysia. In general, the Games did little to change
perceptions of China in the eyes of Malaysians, mainly
because China and Malaysia already enjoy close social
cultural and economic ties, and most Malaysians feel that
they have a good familiarity with China. Malaysians,
according to our media and business interlocutors, generally
do not perceive China as an economic threat, but rather as a
&land of (business) opportunity8, though they do see it as
a competitor for foreign direct investment.
3. (U) To gather the information for this report, Public
Affairs spoke to several Malaysian news editors and
journalists, including Norila Daud, President of the National
Union of Journalists, the head of Radio 24 (Bernama),a News
Editor from Nanyang Siang Pau, a reporter from the Oriental
Daily, as well as a local contract Chinese-language news
reader and translator. Poloff and FCSoff also contributed to
this report.
4. (U) Of the news editors and reporters we spoke to, most
said that their newspapers received a healthy amount of mail
from readers on the subject of the Olympics, many praised the
Chinese for the spectacular opening ceremony. However,
beyond sports reporting, only a moderate number of editorials
appeared in print dailies devoted to the topics of the
Olympics, or of China during the period of the Games.
Conversely, none of our political or commercial contacts have
previously discussed this topic with us unless we raised it
first.
5. (U) Malaysians, in general, took an interest in the
Olympic Games, but because Malaysia,s Olympic team was quite
small, public attention to the Games was not widespread
beyond the opening ceremonies and badminton. Sources
consulted who are familiar with the Chinese-language press
reported that the local Chinese Malaysian community (20% of
the population) was extremely interested in the Games. Many
elderly ethnic Chinese, some of whom migrated from China in
the early 1940's, wrote to Chinese-language newspapers to
express their pride in their &mother country8 because it
did such a good job of hosting the Games.
6. (U) News media in Malaysia provided significant sports
coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Most papers sent
reporters to Beijing, though they mainly interviewed
Malaysian athletes. Local media definitely &sidelined8
environmental and human rights issues during the Games, which
was attributed by one source to the excitement of the Games
being hosted in Asia. Said source also commented that the
lack of commentary or editorial reporting on human rights and
environQntal issues was less due to residual &shine8 from
the Games but more because Malaysia is concerned with the
current global economic crisis and cautious of harming its
relations with those countries (such as China) with whom it
has important economic ties.
7. (U) Chinese language papers such as Chinese-language
Oriental Daily published special editions on the Games. Many
opinion writers and columnists from Chinese language press
wrote about the Games, as well as about the Sichuan
earthquake, Chinese nationalism, and the resurrection of the
&Middle Kingdom.8 The Oriental Daily, unlike its four
competitors, did publish a few news stories on human rights
protests that occurred around the Games. As a purely
Malaysian Chinese newspaper -- other papers have stronger
ties to Hong Kong and mainland China ) the Oriental Daily
was perhaps bolder in its coverage of human rights issues in
China.
8. (U) In contrast, Malay language papers were more focused
on whether Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei would win
Olympic gold. Local Malay papers covered Olympic sporting
events daily, but editorials during the period of the games
and following, tended to focus on topics internal to
Malaysia. That being said, Malay papers did publish several
side-articles on China &outside the Olympic Village,8 as
well as one or two reports on human rights demonstrations
concurrent with the Games. By and large, however, coverage
KUALA LUMP 00000935 002 OF 002
was focused on the Games themselves, and on Malaysia,s
chances for a gold medal in badminton. On television,
Malaysia,s main cable network, Astro, and national TV
network, RTM1, covered the Beijing Olympics and provided
daily medal tallies.
9. (U) Malaysian media professionals consulted said that
China and Malaysia are very interconnected. Socially and
economically, the two countries share ties going back
generations, and economic ties in particular are said to have
strengthened significantly since the 1990s, when the
Sino-Malaysian relationship reached a new level of
development with close cooperation and contacts in trade,
tourism, education, culture, science and health. Our
commercial contacts echoed this trend. There have been and
are many exchanges of journalists between China and Malaysia,
which means that those Malaysians who travel to China gain a
realistic view of that country. Few Malaysians we spoke to
were surprised that the Chinese were able to pull of such a
successful Olympic Games.
10. (U) Economic competition from China is seen more with
common sense than as a threat. China is one of the best
markets for Malaysian products. Bilateral trade has been on
an upward trend, growing 25% annually since 2002, and
increasing to over 27.5 billion US dollars in 2006 from a
little over 100 Million US dollars in 1974. Malaysians see
China as a powerful country with good prospects and lots of
business opportunities. Several Malaysian journalists
commented that Malaysians are becoming increasingly aware
that although much of China is still poor, living standards
in some metropolitan areas in China are higher than Kuala
Lumpur. As such, our commercial contacts had very little to
say the Olympic games, as from their perspective they were
still experiencing business as usual.
11. (U) Because media and politicians in Malaysia are quite
familiar with China ) many reporters and Members of
Parliament have traveled to China on exchanges or reporting
trips ) the Summer Olympics are not seen to have changed
views of China significantly, other than to have generated a
healthy amount of &Asian pride.8 However, the recent
tainted milk powder scandal has tended to cause local
Malaysian media to take a more suspicious view of China once
in their reporting due to the local health scare that has
occurred from the multitude of Chinese-made food products
sold in Malaysia.
12. (U) One source said that the Olympic Games should not be
viewed as a single watershed event, but rather as one in a
series of events. The year 2008 is an important one for
those who watch China from Malaysia. First, China handled
its Sichuan earthquake; second it successfully hosted the
Olympics; third, it successfully launched the ShenZhou 7
manned spacecraft, and lastly, China grappled with a
frightening food safety crisis that is still ongoing.
13. (U) In recent weeks, the tainted milk powder issue has
obscured the short-lived fabulous images of Beijing fresh
from the Summer Olympics. Now, in the eyes of the Malaysian
media, China cannot be viewed entirely in a positive light as
a global economic power until it shows it can implement
product safety standards in line with international
standards. Many are asking the question: are Chinese
products really safe for human consumption? As in many
countries around the world, Malaysian views of China shaped
by the media are divided between images of China as a global
economic and cultural powerhouse, and a China full of
scofflaws and exploiters.
KEITH