For the record: two media related events

DESIDERATA has always followed events on media and the media personalities involved on the Malaysian scene with specail interest. Two noteworthy events/personalities are hereby placed On The Record for the moment as I don't wish to rush into any Commentary. Maybe I'll re-visit this Sunday as an Inter:Lude. Don't know nowadays, writing on anything telated to Malaysian media sucks in the sense it leaves a "bad taste" in the mouth. And I plan to enjoy my CON BF till eternity if my body can lust the pace my spirit tends.

02/11:
Malaysian Editor Caught in Plagiarism Row Resigns

By Jonathan Kent
BBC News

The editor of Malaysia's newspaper, the New Straits Times, is to step down amidst allegations that he plagiarised the work of an American journalist.

Brendan Pereira's recent column has quickly become the target of internet commentators who urged him to quit.

Local websites have placed his column alongside another by the award-winning Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press.

The similarities were striking. Whole paragraphs in Mr Pereira's work mirrored Mr Albom's earlier piece.

'Major scalp'

It has been a clash between the old and new media about the basic standards of the profession.

On Monday, Mr Pereira published the column under the title "How Dearly We Miss June the Sixth" - a comment on the on-going row between Malaysia's prime minister and his predecessor that began in earnest on 7 June.

On Tuesday, local websites placed the column alongside another by Mr Albom.

His column, "Remembering the Day before the Day", was published on 10 September and mourned the changes wrought by the 11 September attacks.

On Wednesday night, the New Straits Times announced that Mr Pereira was to step down as editor.

However, he will officially remain in his post until the end of the year. No reason was given.

Mr Pereira told the BBC that his departure had been agreed with the paper two weeks before the publication of the controversial article.

The New Straits Times is owned by the political party of the prime minister.

Malaysia's broadcasters and newspapers are closely controlled by the government and no mention of the scandal has appeared in print.

However, the government has promised not to censor the internet and it appears that Malaysia's online watchdogs have claimed their first major scalp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Two versions of a court case involving a former Malaysian journalist, now writer-cum-dramatist THOR KAH HOONG -- one from The NST, and the other from The Star.

First, from The NST, and Desi wishes to stress that "the order of appearance does not in any way indicate my judgement of superiority in content".


‘Drama queen’ sparks high drama in court
02 Nov 2006
Sharanjit Singh


GEORGE TOWN: There was high drama at the Sessions Court yesterday when a journalist and a lawyer locked horns over the term "drama queen".

At one point, an exasperated British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Jonathan Kent said lawyer Gan Teik Chee’s overly-dramatic behaviour in court could describe the term.

"This is exactly what a drama queen means. He is doing exactly what the definition of a drama queen is," he told judge Mohd Rosli Osman.

His comment, after a particularly intense line of questioning by Gan that included hand gestures, had most of the spectators in stitches.

Kent said that he did not mean that Gan was homosexual.

His explanation was in apparent reference to the primary point of contention in retired lecturer Edward Dorall’s suit against bookstore owner and columnist Thor Kah Hoong.

Dorall had sued Thor for referring to him as a "drama-queen-lecturer" in an article in The Star newspaper in June 2004.

In his statement of claim, the former academician had said that Thor had committed libel as he had written the article with malicious intent.

He is seeking general damages, costs and further relief for losses and injury to his character, credit and reputation.

Thor, in his defence, denied malicious intent and said Dorall had deliberately misinterpreted the word "queen" out of context for the purpose of instituting the suit.

He claimed the suit was frivolous and mischievous, had no basis in law and fact, and was an abuse of court process.

(The Cambridge International Dictionary of English describes "queen", among others, as a slang term used to describe a homosexual man, especially an older person, whose manner is noticeable and artificial.)

The three-hour proceedings were in English probably because Kent was a Briton.

Earlier, Gan had posed several questions over 90 minutes to Kent on the definition of the term and if it had homosexual connotations.

Kent, a defence witness, repeatedly answered that the Oxford Advanced English Dictionary defined "drama queen" as an overly dramatic person.

To Gan’s question on whether he was aware that Longmans English Dictionary stated that someone described as a "drama queen" could be a person with homosexual tendencies, Kent said he was not aware.

He said he would stick with the Oxford Dictionary definition which was "a more definitive point of reference".

At the outset, Gan had asked Kent if he was aware of the fact that there was something called Malaysian English.

"Yes. I know. It’s called Manglish. I am actually a student of Manglish having served in Malaysia for the past four and a half years.

Kent said the term Manglish was used as a joke and referred mainly to slang.

Thor told the court that he did not think describing a person as a "drama-queen" was in any way libellous or defamatory.

"I think it just means an over-emotional, excitable person who makes a mountain out of a molehill.

"I definitely would not sue someone for calling me a drama queen even if it was done in public."

Thor said being called a drama queen was not necessarily a negative thing as it was sometimes good for people involved in theatre to be excitable and emotional.

Thor was represented by Cecil Rajendra. The court will hear submissions on Dec 18.


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The Star's print copy was read by Desi who had hoped to "Copy&Paste" from te web edition. So I urge my ER to exercise some patience as I seem to be cock-eyed today from staring too long at the wrong objects on the PC screen, and can't spot that web item. If any kind soul sees it, please C&P and send it to Desi, cun?

UPDATE@9.05AM the day after:

From a good sama-ritan in the steal of the night, as he/she does not wish to be a Drama King/Queen like Desi!~~

"**
Anonymous said...


As requested.
Here you go old boy.
Great blog, a daily dose of goodness.
Can't find your email address, so posted this as a comment.

"THE STAR- COURTS
Thursday November 2, 2006

Description not intended to defame ex-lecturer, court told

By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG

PENANG: A newspaper columnist told a Sessions Court here that there was nothing libellous or defamatory about describing a retired university lecturer as a “drama-queen-lecturer”.

Thor Kah Hoong, 56, also a bookstore owner, testified in his own defence yesterday that the term “drama queen” had been in use for years, and in no way was there any imputation that Edward Dorall, 70, was a homosexual.

“I cannot imagine why I would think he is a homosexual. I have met his wife a couple of times and have had no cause to think so,” said Thor.

“My understanding of drama queen is an overemotional excitable person who makes a mountain out of a molehill.

“If someone called me a drama queen, I may protest jokingly and say I am a calm person but I won’t feel there is a basis for a lawsuit.

“I do not write Manglish, I write English. Assuming that I referred to him as a drama lecturer, I would have written it as ‘queen-drama-lecturer’ and not ‘drama-queen-lecturer’. It's a totally different thing,” he said.

Dorall had filed a defamation suit against Thor as the author of an article which appeared in The Star on June 29, 2004.

He originally also named as defendant Star Publications (M) Bhd as the publisher and printer of The Star but both parties reached a settlement in the case in April.

He said he suffered losses and injury to his character, credit and reputation. He is seeking general damages, costs and further relief.

Cross-examined by Dorall’s counsel Gan Teik Chee, Thor said he did not intend to defame Dorall but agreed that ordinary regular readers of his column could not say what was in his mind.

Judge Mohd Rosli Osman fixed Dec 18 for mention."

1:32 AM **"


PS: Thanks to Anon again with two tehtarik.
Now someone can volunteer to be my sexcretary, remind Desi of the next time you spy the hearing date/s, Righto!