Should the media take sides in a court case?

Observing how the media has been covering the case of Azizul Raheem Awaluddin and Shalwati Nor Shal, who have been charged with abusing their four children in Sweden, has been very interesting.

A majority of the Malaysian media seems to have made up their minds of taking the side of the couple and defending them by trying to appeal to the Malaysian public to sympathise with them.

Many try to justify the alleged punishments meted out by the parents on the children as a cultural norm – that corporal punishment is accepted in Malaysia, for the good of disciplining and educating the children.

They also try to explain to the Malaysian public that Swedish culture cannot understand the way Malaysians raise their children and that the Swedish authorities should be more accepting of different cultures.

A quick look at several different international media who have covered this issue will show you that the approach they take is quite different. It is different in the way that you can notice the jarring objectivity in their reportage.

They present the facts as presented in the court by the lawyers, maybe include some public or family and friend reactions, and that is it. The readers and viewers are left without being told what opinion to have.

I can understand that the Malaysian media would want to rally behind the couple as they are Malaysians too. And it is also understandable that Malaysians want to stand by their culture and beliefs.

However, I am of the opinion that because this is now a court case and a crime according to Swedish law, there is really nothing anyone can do but let justice take it’s course.

The law of the land needs to be respected and riling up emotions is just something that is quite aimless since it can lead to nothing. The Swedish judicial system will insist on its autonomy in handling the case.

This would be similar in Malaysia as well if a Swede was caught breaking the law of the land in Malaysia.

Would Malaysia allow a Swede drug smuggler be let off capital punishment just because Sweden doesn’t believe in it?

Now that Azizul and Shalwati’s trial has gone on for several days, a lot of evidence have been presented in court and reported in the media. The public can slowly see and start judging for themselves what really happened.

Look at the case made by the prosecution and then listen to the case made by the defense. Just like any trial, there will be two sides of the story.

And the best way, in my opinion, is for the media to just report all sides instead of taking sides in this case.