Stop consuming sensational news, make enforcement a priority

LETTER | Aren't Malaysians sick of the way the media reports news by now? Constantly playing up and sensationalising politicians responses and not asking the right questions.

Instead of titling misleading quotes from politicians and individuals to rile people up for online clicks, start giving your news article titles on the pressing questions and what should be the gist of an article instead.

With the spate of water issues, one portal decided to title their article that such occurrence is 'common'. 

This of course mostly leads to people only criticising this response when we should really be asking what happened to enforcement? 

Why are there sand mining activities upstream? Are there factories operating in water catchment areas, legally or illegally? 

Which ministry or parties is/are responsible for enforcement? What is being done to secure water safety?

Surely enforcement of environmental issues, and especially when it comes to our water sources must have priority. 

Time and again, it boils down to weak enforcement. Whether it is the failure to catch illegal burnings or vehicles that emit plumes of black smoke for all to see, or the obvious acts of reckless driving.

These everyday issues affect our daily lives and we live in a polluted environment. Instead of looking at how enforcement can be better in this country, the media and public is feeding off each other with sensational stories. 

When people would rather spend time trying to figure out identities in sex tapes instead of asking questions on enforcement for public good, we can expect gutter politics and rubbish news to reign, and lose sight of what's really important.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.