Brain drained and its not 9 am yet!!!

Its a good thing we subscribe to the Borneo Post. Every morning without fail at 6 am the newspaper will be at our doorstep; fresh and crisp ready for me to open and take in all of todays 'wonderful news'. Living in Sabah although lovely has one definite disadvantage: No STAR or other national papers until after 12pm. I guess I just have to be satisfied with the Borneo Post.


So thats my daily routine, after my Fajr prayers at 5. 45 am (have to be quick coz syuruq here is at 6am beat that!!) I will go downstairs to unlock the gates and door for my helper to come and then get the paper. I was especially excited to read todays' as I couldn't read yesterdays' due to it absoulutely chucking it down with rain yesterday morning and me finding the newspapers soaked to the core I just had to throw it away.



So when I removed the rubber band off the paper what did I see staring back at me on the first page? Nothing else but all this story on DSAI and his second sodomic act. The entire first page was dominated by that with a little corner at the bottom on Datin Rosmah's statement as seen in the news yesterday.

Now guys, I do want to see DSAI put away for again another long time, and I also want to know about the late Ms Sharibuu's case. Nevertheless, I think the media is putting too much spin on other things . Perhaps to steer our concerns away from whats really nagging us : the petrol hike? Only on PAGE 5, beat that, PAGE 5 did I actually see something on the public saying they might consider getting the motorbike as their primary transport to aleviate their fuel-affordability problems.

Spin is a strange thing. In Malaysia it is part and parcel on the mainstream media . When I was living in the UK some years back, a officer at the Daily Mirror and someone at No 10 Downing Street got investigated for an 'alleged'spin story on the Government to digress the people for the cumbersome political issues that were clouding the country then. It resulted in the sacking of both these people when all they were trying to do was save poor Tony Blair's ass.



DSAI although I do not like him has only just voiced his concerns to the US who in turn has issued a statement to the Government.NEVERTHELESS, the media purported it this morning ( at least in the Borneo Post) as a WARNING.



Now I think that's spin.Because nowhere did it mention Tony Casey saying 'we will take military action' or a statement resembling that.



DSAI being DSAI actually is a bloody chicken who likes to throw stones and hide his hands behind -oh no- not his back- but USA's . But as far as me and many others are concerned, having DSAI on the front page isn't going to reduce our petrol prices. He is just another has been who has lost his fangs long,long ago to far far away land of Shrek and Snow White .But thats another story altogether.



The media should be responsible in giving us news thats really important, not someone like Rosmah or DSAI who is TOTALLY irrelevant,at least to me.It is sad to note that in this day and age the big guns that sit on the press board and companies still think that the Malaysians around are still as stupid as before and cannot see what they are up to.They in reporting that many malaysian students that have graduated, be it from local unis and colleges or abroad have completely forgotten to realize that we are thevery same people that make up the pulse of the country. And so we are not STUPID.

The media needs to gain back the credibility that has been lost in journalism that we now see as ass -wiping and politics so that their paper can stay alive. At least I still bother to read the papers, my other half has no time for it, and I think its because where facts are concerned,he thinks his students theses are more reliable.


I thought of the good old days in the UK where we would buy at least 2 newspapers daily, The Mirror for Andy and Amon and the Times for me. It was a daily refreshing exercise of comparing what each paper had to say about a particular issue, very much unlike our country's papers that if you read one you have read them all, even Borneo Post with a circulation of very little compared to our other national dailies.


What is happening to journalism in Malaysia?You know I am curious to know whatever happened to the ever-so-proud (back then we say aksyen-la) uITM Shah Alam mass communications students (back in those days I was student there) that was proud of what they did they saw themselves as the purporter of truth , the best there was, the creme-de-la-creme?

I see one of them once in a while on TV3, on MHI.Looks like his, and other tails, have been clipped. Poor them.



Journalism in Malaysia needs a revival; its dying a slow death. The spin has to stop and the focus has to be on what is really important by asking the right questions.Politicians, if you want our country to develop you must let the journalists ask the right questions.Then you can answer whichever way you want and we will decide for ourselves, who is right and who is the nincompoop.



All this story on DSAI and Rosmah makes stories on the petrol hike go quiet.Perhaps I will wear the white ribbon on me tomorrow.



Then after all that news, I went to shower have my breakfast and all ready for work. The moment I got into my office the first three things I would do without fail everyday is log on to my uniwebmail,read TDM's blog then read Anti*****'s blog. Dispatched comments to the last two but became very boggled at the uni mail to all@ums.edu.my.



Apparently, my opinion on premature promotion of APs and senior lecturers was shared by many,many people at the unversity and has been published uniwide to all staff.Ooohhh..this IS hot stuff. Many academicians are very unhappy at the recent appointment of allegedly undeserving staff when some who actually deserved it were not considered.I have never seen the unimail getting comments as bad as malaysheffield.


Some people are hot under the collar,I bet as this is definitely going to warrant a Senate meeting.


I think its time people put a stop in this unfavourable curry-favour amongst our academicians.And my hope is that our new VC Dato' K will do this. At the end of the day it will only benefit the students if the only deserving people get the promotions. Deadwood needs to be removed and not promoted.But whats happened unfortunately is vice versa.



Like I said, when I started writing it was hardly 9 am but I was already brain drained.So much issues to be mulled over and thought about. But I guess this is a 'cikgu's' job.To think.

Kalau tak macam mana budak budak nak pandai?