THREE C&Pastries -- and it's not compleatly altruistically...

MOTIVATED>>>

from freemalaysiatoday.com where I park myself most days since THREE WEEKS BACK.

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Want a date with “Unsung heroes” book launch tomorrow?

Fri, Nov 27, 2009

National

by Suganya Lingan

KUALA LUMPUR: An event tomorrow at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall from 3.00 pm till 6.00 pm. will examine the “The Fajar Generation” in which the The University Socialist Club and the politics of Postwar Malaya and Singapore players will recall stories about the “unsung heroes”.

A synopsis put forth by the publisher Gerakbudaya says that “The initial stage of building a new thing is perhaps the hardest part of the whole process. This held true in the case of the building of multi-racial Malaysia. The years between 1945 and 1965 was faced with one of the most extraordinary political turmoil in the history of Malaysia and Singapore, or Malaya as it was known then.

“Among the many political parties and groups that were fighting against British’s attempts to manage the decolonisation process, smaller groups that nevertheless played an important part were neglected from being mentioned in our history books. One such group is the University Socialist Club (USC), a group of men and women who advanced a radical agenda of anti-colonialism, democracy, multi-culturalism and social justice.”

The event is open to the public. For further details, please contact Chong Ton Sin at 016-3797231, Clare at 019-227 4473 or visit http://www.gerakbudaya.com/
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Journalists union unhappy over ‘Chasing Away Reporter’ incident

Fri, Nov 27, 2009

National

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of Journalists Peninsular Malaysia (NUJM) Thursday expressed regret over the action of Selangor Pakatan Rakyat Elected Representatives Officers Association (Selproa) secretary Ng Yap Hwa chasing away Utusan Malaysia reporter Yazid Alias from a news conference on Wednesday.

NUJM president Norila Daud said Ng’s claim that Yazid was from a government propaganda tool was improper and only showed a narrow-minded view of the democratic system which the opposition Pakatan Rakyat claimed to uphold.

“As a reporter, Yazid should have been allowed to attend the news conference as it was related to a government matter and not something confidential which had to be kept away from local reporters,” she said in a statement.

Norila said news of the 85 members of Selproa urging the Attorney-General to withdraw an application against the Selangor Menteri Besar’s circular preventing civil servants from being questioned outside of their office and only during office hours by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Comm-ission (MACC) officers was something which had to be disseminated to the people via the media.

Norila said the NUJM hoped that all quarters in Pakatan Rakyat would be more sensitive, adopt a professional attitude and understand the job of journalists who conveyed news to the people who had voted them into power.

“NUJM once again stresses that no one can stop journalists from covering government matters which are linked to the welfare of the people,” she said.

She said Malaysia was a democratic country and the media had a role to report whatever the government did for the people. — BERNAMA

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Note to *PR: Don’t Shoot the Messenger!

Fri, Nov 27, 2009

Opinion

BLOGORHYTHMS

By YL Chong aka Desiderata

Two fellow Bloggers — Ahirudin Attan and Nuraina Samad, who are now back at the MSM for some months now — highlighted an event which should not have taken place if only those well involved know the fundamentals in *PR as in Public Relations101, or in Pakatan Rakyat in a state like Selangor where it is The Government, or in Penang too. The golden rule for PR practitioners should be to treat the Media/Press with respect, and they will accord you the same respect in return. I remember this fundamental rule of “survival” of both human and animal Life in general dwells on the scientific principle of “Mutualism” for co-existence to thrive.

So I was aghast — just as Rockybru was, I believe — to hear of one from a group of PR political or press aides at an official press conference last Wednesday chasing out a reporter Yazid Alias from Utusan Malaysia because Ng Yap Hwa claimed the newspaper Yazid represented was a “federal government agent,” according to Rockybru’s post titled Anti-journalist Selproa.

Ng is not a nobody — he is the secretary of the newly-formed Selangor Pakatan Rakyat Elected Representatives Officers Associa­tion (Selproa), and a potential government leader. But this newness doesn’t excuse such undiplomatic behaviour because Yazid went there to cover an assignment in his capacity as Journalist, and I’m sure young boy Ng has heard of the exhortation of people with a little or much power: DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER! The saving grace for the association is that its president Abdul Razak Ismail later told Ng to allow Yazid in, (and) the latter was heard saying: “We can’t allow government propaganda machines into the press conference.”
If Ng and his “likes” (I was tempted to say “ilks”, but I refrain because I have never met Saudara Ng, so I give him the benefit of the doubt he’s overly enthusiastic on carrying out his job — never mind a misguided mind — the fact that the most developed State in the country fell into loosely-aligned PKR, DAP and PAS out of the blue, clear skies on March 8, 2008. Such unexpected heady tsunamic days could act like wine — or is it beer? — it sometimes makes PR people, and some bloggers too, go crazy and write, or orally command, crazy contnets. Or intent, I also feel confused when I take endless rounds of journo’s brew – “TehTarik, anywan?”
I reprised here quoting mainly from Rockybru’s, (so if anything regarding the event is factually wrong, go shoot the original hunter!) without his permit because I have interacted a bit with him while organising the annual World Press Day event since its inaugural BUM2007, where BUM stands for Bloggers United Malaysia, latter amended by the organising chair to Bloggers Universe Malaysia, without consultation. No, when one organises certain functions, you can’t be totally democratic or you don’t get through Phase 5 of 10. This is based on my experience, and if you beg to disagree, let’s just be agreeable, okay? And the foregoing is a rhetorical question.
Before I close, I’m going to ruffle some feathers at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office where my good friend MP Jeff Ooi sits as Chief of Staff — I call him Taiko of Malaysian blogosphere, for his screenshots.com indeed was the budding nursery for many Johnny-comes-lately, including Desiderata. Dear Jeff — who never fails to take part at BUM events as a speaker because he gets an automatic invite as he was among the founders of the yet-to-be-registered National Alliance of Bloggers – your Office sets a very bad precedent by barring reporters from the the New Straits Times from covering your boss’ official events, is this “ban” still on?

The problem with the mainstream media (MSM) is that of an existence of a bosomy nexus binding the CEOs, top editors to the ruling regime’s top leaders, from UMNO, MCA, MIC chiefly, so the newspapers’ coverage of political developments is blatantly one-sided in favour of those who walk the corridors of power in Putrajaya. But PR component parties should know better than to punish the reporters or photographers, who just earn a monthly salary doing a professional assignment just like any other field, as directed by the bosses. Of course there are bad apples in every profession; only the “bodekking” reporters deserve your disdain — these win a junk trip thrown at them occasionally if they butter up to their editors! — and except for one listed media company, most journalists’ starting salaries are below the poverty line since someone determined that line at below RM3,000 per month (I guess this “someone” had big cities like Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown in mind? Being a weekday socialist, Desi kind of like his kind – some rare ones are found even in the Estalishment! – for his big-hearted inclination).

But whatever, my little message to the likes of Ng Yap Hwa, please grow up and know thy real enemies. Most journalists that I know — and I have had more than two decades of newsroom labour — work hard for a living, with an initial idealistic commitment to the good journalism ethics and practice. They, which include my two charges at the moment just three weeks old, deserve a certain degree of respect as they strive to embrace and practise good journalism. Don’t extend your “ban” because YL decides to write about this memorable event that is expected to raise many bloggers’, and MSM editors’, ire. But just as one swallow does not a summer make, a misstep won’t kill youngster Ng’s career. He must just eat humble pie and tender the tenderest of apologies to someone, I presume?