Satu Hari Di Malaysia

Tatkala fajar menyinsing tirai pagi.
Mataku celik, telingaku jaga, aku senyum.
Alangkah indahnya Malaysiaku.

Dari bendang terbentang
ke kota raya megah bergaya.
Malaysiaku maju membangun.

Indera Kayangan ke Bawah Bayu
Kaya bangsa, budaya dan bahasa.
Malaysiaku penuh kepelbagaian.

Lautan luas, puncak dunia, angkasa raya
Diredah, ditawan, digapai.
Malaysiaku memang boleh.

Tatkala suria membayangi titian hari.
Mataku melihat, telingaku mendengar, aku muram.
Adakah ini Malaysiaku?

Silence Silentius

Silence is a girl. She is the daughter and sole heir of Cador, a noble knight, and Euphemie. But the King of England disallows the inheritance of property by women as the king lost two knights over it. So Silence is raised as a boy, christened as Silentius. And a boy Silentius is to everyone else in hope that one day ‘he’ could lay claim to ‘his’ father’s property.

Upon reaching the age of 12, Silentius is confronted by characters known as Nature, Noreture (nurture) and Reason. Nature wants Silentius to return to a role appropriate to his biological gender. But then Noreture and Reason persuades Silentius to continue the way things are to avoid shaming the family. They also argue that Silentius could lose his current status in society. At this stage, he decides to remain Silentius.

But as the story unfolds, Silentius goes through many tribulations, mostly due to the evil deeds of the queen. Eventually, all secrets are made open and King Evan has the treacherous queen arrested and Silence is made his new queen. The king restores the inheritance of all women in England. Cador and Euphemie make a return to court and are forgiven. Hereon then, everyone live happily ever after.

NST vs. NYT

The world has recently been overwhelmed by news reporting and coverage on the incident off-the coast of Gaza. The incident involved the Israeli Navy and a small fleet or flotilla of ships bound for blockaded Gaza and occurred in international waters.

The international flotilla was carrying aid meant for the people of Palestine. The flotilla was also ferrying peace activists and volunteers. However, on early Monday morning of May 31, 2010, the Israeli Navy decided to board the flotilla. A confrontation was reported. And as a result of that, several passengers become casualties and many others are injured.

Up to the time of this entry, the interest in the issue remained strong. And the issue still make news as the impact is very much felt and lingered amongst not only people in Malaysia but also the entire world. Many news reports have been made thus far, be it locally or internationally. Some of them are rather factual and to-the-point, but there are also those which raise concerns in relation to ethical reporting.

To illustrate my point, I present you with 2 news articles from The New Straits Times (NST) and The New York Times (NY Times).

The Kingmakers

Do you think journalist just report the world as they see it?

Think about that, think hard. Relate it to the whole "Police v. Aminulrasyid" discourse. In the mean time, indulge me a little time to explain my thoughts on that.

Every profession has its purpose. One either provides a service or produce a product. A baker bakes, a singer sings, a tailor sews. A journalist? What about them? What has a journalist got to offer? Well, they manufacture news. Note my choice of word, manufacture.

The bread-and-butter of journalistic career is to run about town (or world, depending on what he or she is covering) chasing for newsworthy items. Once they find something worth reporting, they'll get down to business. The hunt for quotable statements and insider information thus begins.

Malaysian Idle

“In works of labour, or of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.”

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
British hymn writer and minister

The above saying may be of Christian origin, but I reckon there's no harm in me quoting it since the logic makes a great deal of sense. Idleness can indeed be the cause of many great mischief. And Malaysia, the land where everything is Boleh, is renown for its very own brand of idleness - the lepak culture.

It is rather ironic that citizens of Bolehland, who strives for a plethora of feats and records (some bordering absurdity) has a less motivated alter ego, one who loiter aimlessly at shopping malls by day and chat through the night at local mamak place or kopitiam.

Cynics At Large!

I don’t know the exact date I let go of my puerile dream of becoming Doogie Howser. Back then, I thought if he could save lives, I could too. And then I realised that Doogie was fictional and that an actor was paid to play him. I also realised the idealistic notion of a teenage doctor out to save the world was not real. Needless to say, my idol fell off the pedestal. Besides, even Doogie did not want to be Doogie anymore. He’s Barney Stinson now. Hang on, am I a cynic? Come to think of it, I probably am!

Cynicism. We have a good dose of it in our society today. Who would’ve thought that cynicism as we understand now – a bitter and disbelieving attitude, is a descendent of an ancient system of beliefs? Cynics were the adherents of an ancient Greek school of philosophy. It originally promoted a virtuous life in agreement with nature. They advocated the pursuit of virtue in a simple and unmaterialistic lifestyle. A rather poetic ironical turn of events don’t you think?