Like bees to honey

It is interesting that even in this era where democracy rules, people clamour for those in power. They can be on one side of the fence one day, and somehow magically teleported to the other side of the fence the next day. One case in point is the recent elections in Malaysia.

Long has it been known that most mainstream media are outrightly pro-government (the Barisan Nasional government to be precise). Newspapers that one can buy from the stands seldom give positive coverage to the opposition parties, let alone show their pictures. The media publicity glitz is all focused on only the government people, the PM being the biggest attraction.

And then, the unthinkable happened. Suddenly, mainstream newspapers started showing a more neutral and balanced reporting after the elections where the opposition coalition swept through most major west coast states. An opposition figurehead who was just a few days ago vilified, is now reported as leading the coalition to implement positive changes to the state administration.

It seems like people give in to those in power. When the oppositions are not in power, nothing they do or say can ever be correct. Given the issues that politicians talk about which are subjective in nature and depends on which side of the fence you are sitting, it is sometimes amazing that journalists can report on an issue like the answer is a dead given and that the other answer simply does not hold any water.

So even though we consider ourselves living in a modern era, the nature of humans who submit to those in power, subscribing to the fittest survive principle, still very much influences the way we think and behave.