WORDS can leave scars, some which may never heal. This is especially true when used carelessly in traditional media.
This was the impassioned plea by a fellow journo himself on X over careless headlines in the media that link members of the OKU (abbreviation for orang kurang upaya) or the disabled community to certain crimes.
Norman Goh (@imnormgoh) who is the producer of Bicara Minggu podcast was lamenting that news of a man arrested for sexually assaulting a schoolgirl in a mosque had focused on the fact that the alleged perpetrator was an OKU.
A schoolgirl was sexually assaulted in a mosque in Batang Kali. A 20-year-old man was arrested. But instead of focusing on the crime, the headlines highlighted one detail—he is an OKU (Orang Kurang Upaya) card holder. No context. No explanation. Just a label, thrown in like a… pic.twitter.com/Ey9eTzVkcY
— Norman Goh (@imnormgoh) February 22, 2025
The former special functions officer to the foreign minister was appalled at the lack of context or explanation in the media over the accused’s condition.
In one fell stroke, members of the OKU community are all seen potential sex offenders, especially those affected by autism.
Goh went on to argue that such woeful reporting can have lasting effect with years of advocacy being swept away with one carelessly worded headline.
As such, he made a clarion call to the media to do better instead of relying on lazy, sensationalist clickbait-type headlines.
The post has already generated 266.7K views at the time of writing with many agreeing with his sentiments.
One commenter surmised that the effect of such sensationalist headlines is even less women attending mosques. He also highlighted the need for enhanced security at mosques to prevent similar incidents.
However, some were still missing the point somewhat of the post by stating that even members of the OKU community had desires. Worse yet, those who cannot differentiate right from wrong will only put more women at greater risk, argued one female netizen.
With a few claiming it is a convenient excuse for criminals to hide behind their OKU card/status.
Some argued that it should be clearly stated what sort of disability that the accused has. Is it mental or physical? A learning disability also does not equate to inability to think logically and thus should be punished accordingly.
The narrative quickly descended into whether a person can get away with crimes simply because he or she is OKU.
One commenter summed it up neatly by stating that most netizens have missed the point about sensationalist reporting, tarring all members of the OKU community with the same brush. It is proof of a “failed society”, he pointed out.
This is indeed a sticky issue with the comments being a reflection of the grave misunderstanding many people seem to have. Even more the reason for the media to watch what it is saying. – Feb 27, 2025
Main image credit: Local Confessions (@ConfessionLocal)/X
