Last week, in response to a proposal from a lawmaker to draft a new law to guarantee media freedom in Burma, Information Minister Kyaw Hsan warned that such a law could be more trouble than it was worth. Citing the ancient Buddhist fable of Saddan, the elephant king whose queen was bitten by red ants attracted by flowers that he had given her, he suggested that the “gift” of a free media could bring more disadvantages to the country than advantages.