Malaysians in their stark naked glory

Yet there is no sense of shame.
In general other Malaysians have become mere hapless spectators.
Or an immunity to be outraged has set in, and most are feeling resigned to their fate of hopelessness.

Ah, but one mainstream journalist, and his "investigative team", are not about to give up yet. And certain Bloggers are inspired to lend a helping hand -- here is just one more.

Today I would take up a half-started Post titled "Media: Responsible and Crucial, YES!" on June 29, 2007.

_____________________Partially Reprised ____________________

But to WHOM?

When I first I glanced at the news headline in The NST page 2 today, and I nodded my head.
But when I proceeded to read the body of the story, I am not too sure I nodded my head rightly.

The media -- especially mainstream print media as a key component of the Fourth Estate -- has always been a core interest of Desi, who earned B&B in that field for two decades plus. I am now still in that field, mainly on a freelance basis, trying to walk a more independent path and find more meaning. The trade-off is less moolah-lah!:)(Jest sharing to Y&A thinking of going into freelance-writing: Be Prepared to receive payments after three months, if not six, after delivering your work on time. The payment is seldom/never on time/dime.:(

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Okay, back to the news report, I had wanted to reproduce in full (the event involving the Prime Minister none the less), with due acknowledgement to the NST, as I parted with hard-earned RM1.20 for it, but wanting to do a quick C&P from its Online edition, I could NOT find any! Hence, the Post was left standing, naked in its half complete glory! AweOfHelen was Miss Patience defined in Desi's vocab waiting till today for Page 2 (boy!:)

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GOING BACK to JUne 29, 2007:


I salute R. Nadeswaran for his tenacity to chase after comunity issues and stories that are "CRucial" and of concern to all the Malaysian people in general, but it's appaling to see that instead of one leader fronting a pack of other hounds, readers continue to see only a lone -- determined and focused no doubt -- hunter on the long trail from Kuala Lumpur to the socalled high performance traiing centre at the Tun Razak Rubber Research Centre(TARRC) in Brickendonbury outside London.

As theSun columnist commonly known as "Citizen-Nades", his front page story update on June 29, readers like Desi are no more "shocked" to learn that "More than six months after paying RM800,000 to a firm of British counsultants and architets, David Lane Associates, to draw and submite plans for the centre to the East Herts Council, there has been zilch to show for."

In a report that ran another two pages on 3 and 6, the following are hightlights worth noting:

* Yet another new connsultancy firm -- White Young Green -- had been hired with the plans.

* The National Sports Insitute (NSI) D-G Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz said four options would be put to the East Herts Council on June 14, the council had refuted it.

* On the many "contradictory" statements made by officials, the NSI and the Youth and Sports Ministry had declined ot comment on requests by the newspaper.

DESIDERATA commends the persistent, consistent and enduring efforts of Nades and his tream of investigative reporters (who rcenetly won a peress award for their outstanding work) to seek the truth on a project that would eat up more and more of the Malaysian taxpapyers' money.

The sad fact of media performance among the mainstream papers is that no other newshounds choose to follow the news trail on what is clearly a public interest Miistry project that would consumer lots of public funds. You sometimes wonder: are members of the other Fourth Estate sleeping on the job? Or there are too many Datuks among the top editorial echelons making them beholden to close one eyes -- even both eyes. Unless it is to do PR work for some non-descript State Assemblyman building a "small house" of four storeys high with no town planning approvals and then side-stepping with a story that "poor feng shui" caused the SA's state of abominable media spotlighting.

Perhaps CITIZENS Joe and Jane should gang up and take up placards at the next public function when Datuk Azalina Othman maketh appearance and challenge her for a full report of what's happening in London, and ANSWER TO THE SUN'S EDITORIAL "Myth of fact? You decide".

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So an Update opportuinity came this glorious Thursday morning July 5, 2007 when a newshound defined in Desi's vocab wrote a NoPunchesPulled column titled:

Staring in the face
of stark wrongs

Quotes:

* There were hardly any ripples when theSun reported last
November that Dtuk Zakaria Md Deros was an undischarged
bankrupt when he served as a Senator.

* For building (that) palace without submitting plans, all he got
was a slap on the wrist -- a compound fine (others got dragged
to court) and for not paying his assessments for 11 years,
he just paid a small financial penalty (others had their moveable
properties seized and auctioned).

* This time arund, history may repeat itself. The High Court hearing
a civil case has deemed that Zakaria had committed a criminal act.
So will the law take its course or will there be hidden hands
preventying justice being done?

This is what Justice Datuk Kang Hwee Gee said on June 21 in his
written judgment in the case of Norakhmar Baharum & Anor v Lee Ming
Leong & Anors: the 4th defendant (Zakaria) had not vacated his
position despite being adjudged a bankrupt. His incompetency may have
a far-reaching consequence not merely at the time he acted as a
director but later with respect to any act done by him during his
tenure which may one way or other affect the company's relationship
with third parties... Further a bankrupt who acts or continues to
act as a director commits a criminal offence...
:
:
:
Desi has reproduced some pertinent points and urged my ER to buy a copy (30sen only-lah!) of theSun to peruse in full -- his piece alone justifies the investment! Just one more point:

*** CITIZEN NADES then posed a question that really bothers Desi, and like-minded friends better sity up, and if you can, do something about it!

"What next? prosecution? But what's there to stop someone
from instructing the Commission (Companies Commission of
Malaysia)not to proceed with prosecution, but just to issue
a notice to copound the offence?"

So bak to the "half-commented" on Post on the Prime Minister's advice that
the media must be Responsible and Crucial", Desi had said: YES! but asked:
But to WHOM?

Just recall that in the Datuk Zakaria's case, one People's Paper (headed by too many Datuk Editors?) went as far as to interview a story rationalising Zakaria's bad press to his palace not having "the right feng sui" while its counterpart was higjlighting all his sins and wrong-doings, including another sprwaling "satay-house"
enjoying brisk business despite its illegal status (thanbk God it was later demolished after the Opposition and ordinary citizens raised a hue and cry!).
That recalcitrant paper was indeed "responsible" -- to protection the recalcitrant State Assemblyman and the Barisan Nasional status quo. And one more obersvation -- much later, the same Datuk Zakaria and wife were displayed as model citizens playing their role of Nature's Conservationists planting trees and flowering plants in their "small house" compound. This People Paper deemed it "Not crucial" whether the idiot had erected the small house legally. Well, he is after all the UMNO strong man in the royal city of Klang.

Also Datuks must stand united against all common enemey fronts, don't they?