Tuesday, June 27, 2006

HOT AGM

1.45am news update

Aah, they will print A. Kadir Jasin's letter after all!

But, predictably, an Editor's note will be added at the end of A. Kadir Jasin's letter stating something to the effect that "We stand by HIS article ..."

No, I don't need little birds to tell me. I've been in the business so long that some things and some people have become so predictable.

By the way, I agree wholeheartedly with Mustang. Kalimullah should not have kept mum at the AGM and let AKJ tear Hishamuddin to pieces. The song Coward of the County is playing in my head.

If they print Sufi Yusoff's letter as well, they'll be outdoing themselves. But watch for the same one-liner at the end of the letter...

6.30pm news update

Question on everyone's mind is, will Hishamuddin be allowed to publish A. Kadir Jasin's letter?

He gave his word in front of the NSTP directors and shareholders, so I suppose he will have to. But we'll really have to wait and see. After all, Kalimullah said in his column on Sunday he would NOT be writing regularly ...

I am also waiting to see if another Letter To The Editor, sent yesterday by Sufi Yusoff on behalf of former Prime Minister Dr M, will see the light of day at all.

The letter referred to an article entitled "Turning to what works best in dire situations" published in the NST yesterday and carrying the byline Brendan Pereira, the ex-Straits Times journalist who is now NST's group editor.

The commentary by the ex-ST journalist accused Dr M of, among other things, "tossing half-truths and known facts into a mix and allowing the combination to emit its own stench".

Dr M had allegedly done these at a dialogue organised by Malaysia Today on Saturday where he continued to nag at his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The NST did not publish any story on the dialogue. It also did not send any reporter to cover the event, according to the dialogue organisers. Brendan Pereira most definitely was not at the dialogue.

At the AGM earlier today, A. Kadir Jasin gave Hishamuddin a refresher's on how to differentiate a news story from a commentary and an editorial.

ORIGINAL POSTING
The longest NST annual general meeting, which lasted more than 2 and a half hours, was also the hottest.

Former NSTP group editor-in-chief A. Kadir Jasin practically fried current GEIC Hishamuddin Aun in front of another former GEIC, Kalimullah Hassan, who had wisely switched to silent mode.

A fiery Kadir had demanded that Hishamuddin (who was sat on the front row of the auditorium and is not a board member) publish a Letter To The Editor he is going to send in response to Kalimullah's "personal attacks" against him in a two-page column today. (for perspective, see latest comments left by Bandit in response to my last posting "WHO'S NEXT?")

The first time Kadir asked him, Hisham was seen looking at Kalimullah, who sat not a metre away with the other directors facing the shareholders, for silent guidance.

The second time Kadir demanded an answer from him, Hisham turned around in his seat and said, "I will have to read the letter first".

Kadir reminded Hisham that he cannot "read the letter first". "It is my right of reply. Your newspaper has made accusations against me and since the Chairman does not wish that I raise this matter here at the AGM, then you must give me a right to reply to what your paper has written about me."

"So are you going to publish my letter or not?!"

All eyes on Hishamudin. He said, "On this issue, yes."

So, bros and siss, watch out for what Kadir Jasin has to say. I asked him after the AGM when he's going to write the letter. Maybe today, he said.

If the NST's circulation goes up tomorrow, you'll know why.

P.S. In journalism, you say sorry for erroneous reporting.
Some postings ago, I wrote about talk that Kalimullah might become chairman to replace the retiring Retired General. I was wrong. I am sorry. But I am not sorry. You know what I mean.

49 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:43 pm

    Thanks Rocky for the interesting update!

    Best of Luck to Dato'AKJ. At the same time we all have the right of reply in these national, and NOT mere personality issues.

    So those of you polished writers here, why not plainly tell the rakyats out there, TDM absolutely NOT alone.

    Tell the rakyats we genuinely CARE!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous6:56 pm

    Bro,

    Yeah, man. What a hot AGM. So hot that the NST deputy chairman was struck dumb.
    Man, what a pengecut! Oh. maybe it is the trendy thing to be. to maintain "elegant silence". Silent, yes. Elegant? Dont know. He looked so scared. Macam tikus. I mean, the former NST GEIC in the form of Datuk A Kadir Jasin, was questioning an article in the presence of the author, and YOU are the author. And you pretended that you were deaf. Of course, AKJ, the Melayu gentleman (in this instance) directed it to the NST GEIC (Hishamudin Aun). Poor Hishamudin. Never a match for his former boss (AKJ). But what did the NST deputy chairman (the author of today's contentious article whacking AKJ) do? Nothing. So not brave. No sir... that aint no elegant silence. That, my friend, is the person Kalimulah is. A coward.

    ReplyDelete
  3. twolooks said...
    Is Kalimullah a BIG liar?


    Need you ask? Aint it obvious.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous9:29 pm

    Sdr Rocky, sudah lama tidak menyertai bahas blog anda. Namun saya setia mengikuti posting saudara dan perbahasan yang berlaku.

    Mengenai posting saudara yang terbaru, izinkan saya mengambil sedikit masa dan ruang untuk menjelaskan beberapa perkara.

    1. "Debat", kalau istilah itu tepat digunakan, di antara saya dan GEIC NSTP, Datuk Hishamuddin Aun, umumnya berlaku dalam bahasa Malaysia;

    2. It wasn't my intention to fry anybody. I was, in fact, honouring Hisham by recognising him as supreme editorial authority of the company. In that capacity, I hold him singularly responsible for what is published and not published by the group's newspapers. If you noticed, I mentioned only two names in connection with today's NST article -- Jen (Bersara)Tan Sri Ghazali Che Mat and Hisham;

    3. I asked Hisham to give the undertaking that he would publish my reply, should I decide to send him one. I need that undertaking and requested the Tan Sri to be the witness because Hisham had not published a short letter explaning that I did not make police report against NST for publishing an offending cartoon implicating the Prophet (PBUH) in February;

    4. I told Hisham that it was wrong for his papers to react to reports that they did not publish as this would confuse readers. I also asked him to differentiate between straight news reporting (by reporters) and commentaries (by editors) irrespective of where they are published in the newspapers; and

    5. I asked Hisham to reinstate the time-honoured "right of reply" policy in his newspapers.

    It's alright for anybody to damn me. But let's be fair. It does not matter if my critics and accusers have a larger and more potent means, like a daily newspaper, to malign me. It does not matter if I only have a weblog and a dwindling (the writer's description) fortnightly magazine (Malaysian Business) to respond. But let's play fair.

    I am curious why Hisham should decide to publish articles and pictures (with me in them) three days after the event had taken place and, interestingly, on the day that the NSTP was holding its annual general meeting.

    Hisham has a long way to go. My journalistic journey has been long and has seen its good and bad days. I am more than willing to give Hisham a chance to be the GEIC that the NSTP and its readers can be proud of.

    For information I have sent my response to today's NST article(pg 6 and 7) to Hisham at about 6pm, well ahead of the offstone time. It was a simple explanation letter. I am sure he will publish it.

    Thank You.

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  5. Ah.... such strong words coming from Kali. Did he ever wonder where he gets his feedback from? As his article "SpotLight: Political tiffs and intrigues not new (NST 27 Jun 2006)" stated, his point of reference is foreigner.

    The article went:
    "A COUPLE of months ago, I ran into a foreign banker whom I had not met for some time.
    Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had, by that time, started regularly attacking the current administration, and the banker was a little concerned about the effects it would have on the investment climate in the country.
    His take as a "Mat Salleh", he said, was that these attacks were a serious problem for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
    On June 23, foreign investment house Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) sent out a research report on the "Mahathir-Badawi administration battle" and its implications for the market."

    Yes, he seems to be getting feedback from foreign merchant bankers and the likes of them may they be American, Singaporean or whatever. Did he at any time make references to the local City folk, Kampung folk, Fisherman, Petty Trader etc? How can he advise the PM when he himself is sorrounded by such people? How can an adviser advise our number one leader if he himself knows not of the plight of the ordinary Malaysian?

    Amazing, with all his so-called "contacts", we were still downgraded in rating by Merrill Lynch a week after that fisco of a roadshow organized by his ECM Libra in September last year. So, Kali should ask himself, is he as ignorant as he looks? Don't go quoting words from foreigners who don't give a damn about the difficulties we, the people (and never forget the voters), are going through. His "friends" are just here to make money, and at our expense no doubt. Kali should please leave his freinds' opinions to himself.

    So, good if Credit Suisse First Boston analysts think that a general election is coming soon. Maybe it's time we put Pak Lah, his half-baked cabinet and even Kali in their place.

    Don't use excuses like this battle, to show the dwindeling confidence of investors to our country. This dwindling confidence in the economy came well before this battle took place. It took place gradually after Kali's boss (the term boss is argueable as Pak Lah is know to listen to Kali rather than the other way around) took over the reins of leadership.

    Kali's attack on Kadir Jasin was also contradictory. Kadir is trully a crony as he mentioned in his article Kadir should have had no problems privatising (and of course making money from) Bernama. In all fairness, the idea was shot down by Dr.M when he was PM. Kali is obviuosly trying to bring Kadir down to his level. After all Kali has had many opportunities as a crony himself: IPO jobs for ECM Libra, takeover of Avenue etc.

    So what if Kadir got Berita Publishing for RM1. Many people are given farewell "gifts" after retiring as a gesture of thanks and as a bonus for many years of service. Some are given Chairmanships and Directorships, some are given cash and company cars. What's wrong with a publishing house in-lieu of cash graduities? As a journalist, I believe one has to be impartial. Hence the reason why no one can find Kadir sitting on the board of any GLC's or corporations. It would be a hinderence for him to write should he sit on the board a company involved in some controversy.

    In fact Kali should ask himself why he was Group Editor-in-Chief of the NSTP and at the same time sitting on the board as well as being a shareholder of ECM Libra? Wouldn't that be a conflict of interest?

    Perhaps Kali is really as ignorant as he looks. His article is nothing short of that of a rambling schoolboy writting a baseless essay. And thanks to him, those who had previously not heard of Kadir can now be enlightened.

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  6. NST and ECM Libra is a nasty coalition of evil...

    Kalimullah and Kerry are the deal maker of ECM LIbra in the robbing of Avenue, a Government owned asset.

    Brendan Pereira takes his salary from NST and ECM Libra to reach his Singapore level of income. How unbias can one be?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry, I'd like to correct a typo error made.

    It was made in my earlier comment. In the second line of third paragraph before last the word "If" should've been typed before Kadir. Without "If", I would make the sentance carry a totally different meaning.

    My apologies for the error and thanks Rocky.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous10:27 pm

    How Kali–Brendan will “doctor” Dr M and Kadir’s right-of-reply rebuttals
    AS of today, it has been made clearer that the spin Kalimullah Hassan parlays within that pitiful ruination called the New Straits Times was actually pre-meditated.
    How far the planning went is uncertain but certainly conceived after Kali realised that many people were viewing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a Prime Minister who had been elevated but knee-deep in shortcomings and compromised by his complacent dependence on the manipulative third party.
    Months after Kali made himself free from the encumbrances of actual editorial supervision, left in the alphabetic assault weapon called Brendan Pereira; the ECM Libra chairman is now devoted to concocting various witches’ stew of spin.
    Kali has fired Scuds specifically on two targets – Dr Mahathir Mohamad and A. Kadir Jasin (Zainuddin Maidin, Kadir Sheikh Fadzir and Shahrizat Jalil had been bombarded but theirs are scratches in comparison) but being unreliable Cold War relics, the Scuds sometimes do not explode as programmed or worst, don’t explode at all, so the targets survive and are able to retaliate with avenging deadliness.
    The former The Star/NST/Reuters/Straits Times reporter-turned-Ghafar Baba press secretary-turned corporate henchman-turned PM’s chief political operative and chief media sycophant (phew!), is marshalling the assaults on three known fronts:
    ► Deflect unwanted attention to the frailties of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who allowed the fire sale of sorts of valuable national assets to Singapore;
    ► Shield Abdullah and his cabal of callow underlings (KJ, KK…whoever) from embarrassing exposure (This would be Kali’s hardest task since everyone firmly believes that KJ and KK expertly pulls the strings; and,
    ► Re-direct all assaults towards Dr and Kadir, or whoever is the convenient scapegoat for that day, as a kind of red herring, which has worked to some extent, judging from the voluminous little potshots jeering the ex-PM for his critical but justified remonstrations against Abdullah.
    Kali could be regarded as a kind of Roman lord who enslaves men to be gladiators: the NST and BH fit those gladiatorial roles perfectly, except that gladiators do fight against their friends and brothers, mostly to the death.
    Wikipedia defines gladiators as men who fought against each other, wild animals, and condemned criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of spectators. Wikipedia further states that gladiators could be also the property of a wealthy individual who would hire a lanistae to train them in specialised training schools (also called ludi).
    Welcome to the 21st century version of corporate gladiatorial sport, Kali’s version.
    After using the NST today as the enslaved gladiator to knife Dr M and Kadir, I’m doubtful if the duo would be allowed the right of reply although Hishamuddin Aun made an open promise to allow it during today’s NSTP AGM. If it does happen, that would be the ethical thing to fulfil and I’ll be glad to be proven wrong.
    But I gotta tell you, Kali plays as clean as Portugal plays its football against the Netherlands, which means that whatever responses Dr M and Kadir submit would be “treated” with some “creative” defensive posturing.
    How? Let’s say Dr M and Kadir sends a 20-paragraph missive each that portrays Kali as a whore that can’t hardened a trick. After reading them, Kali would instruct Brendan to prepare the NST’s pages in such a way that on the day the NST publishes Dr M or Kadir’s reactions, you can bet that there would be certain editorial embellishments and accompaniments.
    What Brendan would be directed to do is covertly pass Dr M and Kadir’s missives to certain people for IMMEDIATE reactions. Then on the day of publication, there would appear some of these fantastically opportunistic broadsides:
    ► A national kind of announcement, contrived or otherwise, that glosses Abdullah as sounding intelligent coupled with a worried-about-the-nation portrait on Page 1; or,
    ► The hound-from-hell Nazri Aziz, who sees Dr M as someone to kick around now, or someone else equally vicious, has a second front page lead or major sidebar with a much louder and more depraved snarl; or,
    ► Key Barisan lapdogs (perhaps the One-Eyed Jack would be more than willing) pouncing ferociously on Dr M and Kadir, attacking their missives and twisting it out of context.
    As you can assess, these are deflective tactics but I’m hoping that by envisaging these probabilities, I would pre-empt the Kali-Brendan frontline attack.
    But you can also bet that they would somehow ”doctor” Dr M and Kadir’s missives, perhaps with a two-column chart – on the left would Dr M and Kadir’s counter arguments and on the right would be the rebuttal, which would be how Brendan would counter.
    Kadir, as much as he is as familiar with the art of the spin and disinformation as Kali and Brendan is, might be flabbergasted at the lengths the Abdullah cabal would go to neutralise the verbal, aural and worded bombardments, implied or asserted.
    Kadir should remember that during the Anwar Ibrahim saga of 1998, he was in the same position as Kali and Brendan is, so he should have a sense of déjà vu. What goes around comes around, so goes the cliché, and Kadir should accept his fate with a dry sense of humour.
    Nevertheless, I wait impatiently for his and Dr M’s much-anticipated rebuttals.

    POSTSCRIPT: I noted with glee that Jeff Ooi had pointed this out: “Bandit must have missed this sate kipas piece when he wrote in RockyBru. Maybe by a few minutes, so I hope Mr Ooi could blog my latest missive as well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:51 pm

    Now we know Kali for what he is. Tulis macam nak gah, tapi rupa-rupanya bukan saja he is a liar but also a pengecut.

    Lol!Lol!!!!!

    Macam juga si Brendan, tak cover forum anjuran Malaysia-Today, tapi whack Tun Dr Mahathir in his commentary of the event. what kind of journalist is that?

    Penipu besaq.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rocky!

    Kalimullah Hassan told Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) research team on the state of well being of the Malaysian economy that what happens in Malaysia betwen Dr M attacking the Prime Minister is just routine, this has happened before in Umno.
    He said in the past he has witnessed many back stabbng between Dr M and other Umno politicians, and other Umno politicians and other Umno politicans, and what had happened to Malaysian politics from Perlis to Sabah is normal and nothing to worry about, yes this is true.
    But the difference today is Malaysian politics, Malaysian system, Malaysian value system, Malaysian fabric of society, Malaysian sovereignty and territorial integrity are seriously being on the verge of being taken over completely by foreign agents and moles that have penetrated high up in this country's decision making office, the Prime Minister Office. Dr M is trying to tell all Malaysians and Malays (read Morons) that he is just making that dreaded clarion call to warn the people we are seriously under the complete infuence of Singapore domination if we dont put a stop to it. What Kali said in his Tuesday column is again to confused the Morons. I have said once Rocky, this time around the fight is not that same inter-party and inter-Umno crap anymore. THis is to serious for Moron like Nazri Aziz to understand. Umno must rise to the ocassion as saviour of the Malays, or pejuang bangsa. Otherwise Morons it will be in future for you all!

    P.S. All it takes is for a Singapore agent, or mole in the PM department, to whisper to the PM ears that it is about time Malaysia should have diplomatic ties with Israel and it wil be done!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:14 am

    hey redcloud

    you are stupid or what?

    Rocky was against the closing of BT and told Dolah KokLanas and the board so. They wanted to increase NST circulation. They figured they could get BT readers. Rocky told them it would not work that way. BT had a niche market. Rocky told them if BT was closed, "someone else" would fill that void. He was right. The Edge filled that void.
    You, redcloud (such a fierce name for someone who is obviously b...less) obviously hate Rocky's guts. Obviously one of those who rocky can put in his pocket. Yeah, one of those.
    And when Rocky took over MM, he injected a renewed senseof pride among us. He increased circulation by more than double in less than 2 years. One of the highest MM circulation was chalked when he held the helm (I may be wrong.It could well hv been the highest). Get your facts right,lah stupid.
    It went down becos Kalimulah made sure it went down. he ordered the MM bureaus outstation closed. That brought circulation down.
    Kali could no longer see MM doing well and NST was not.
    Rocky, as everyone knows, is one hell of an editor. He was afraid of no one. Not even Kalimulah. And, you Redcloud, wouldnt even dare say whatever you have said to his face. Thats why you call yourself RedCloud. You are definitely one of those half-baked whatever....
    Way to go Rocky.........So glad that you are obviously more tickled by what the likes of redloud has to say. Humour him, rocky. And I know this redcloud is a him.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous1:19 am

    Bru, I am afraid your moment of glory (and AKJ's too)will be a short and rare one -- one AGM lasting two and a half hours.
    So what if the NST publishes Dr Mahathir's and AKJ's replies? One day, two replies.
    The NST's gang has the whole day, seven days a week, 30 days a month and 365 days a years to chop these and other NST's detractors to shreds.
    But Bru, I was told other minority shareholders also gave the NSTP hell. Please elaborate on that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous1:21 am

    bro,
    it will depend on whether kalimullah a/l hassan allows hishamudin to make the decision to have kadir jasin's letter published.
    that is how it works at the NST. Simple.
    Kalimullah can be NST peon today and he would stll be the one to call the shots. He would be one powerful peon.
    And NST can put a monkey as GEIC today and the NST can stll be produced. No problem.
    kalimullah is one bad person. Such a rotten heart.
    And one would have thought that no one could be worse than Abdullah Ahmad (Kok Lanas). Man, were we wrong.

    (Sorry, Rocky, we know you have a soft spot for DKL.)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous1:26 am

    Going by your report, kali was silence. Good. Maybe the man has changed. maybe he'll be more careful from now on. each time he gets rebutted, his image suffers. His image suffers, the PM's image suffers. Kali and Brendan have been told to stay on. I was told Brendan was already packing when told to stay another 6 months. I pity them. They're so deep in the cesspool that getting out is impossible. But I still hope they will become true journalists, salvage their reputation and the reputation of the NST. I hope.

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  15. Anonymous1:27 am

    the nst must publish kadir jasin's letter in full. give this man a chance to tell his side of the story. but kadir, for all your talk about transparency, must also tell the truth about his reign (or rather the reign of terror) in the nst. kadir, no hard feelings, but you ask any nst staff and they have no good things to say about you. i think you are aware about it. datuk, could you plse enlighten your role in that dark period.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous1:29 am

    saudara rockybru,

    saya bukan wartawan. Saya dalam bidang perundangan (hukum) korporat.

    Datk Kalimullah and foreigners (media or whatever) --- this is common knowledge. cerita lama.

    Tidak hairan lah.

    Syabas, saudara. Keep this up. Keep up the good work. Terus lah pelihara kewibawaan dan maruah saudara. Itu lah perukuran kekuatan jati diri dan juga tahap professionalisma saudara.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous2:44 am

    lets get real here. all editors have their idiosyncracies. of course they have faults,imperfections. And so, of course, kadir jasin had his too.
    and oh there were things he did which we can criticise and berate him. he may or may not accept it. the point is, we can compare and compare one GEIC with another. Kalimulah is not in Kadir's league. Some people may have hated Kadir. But i dont think they were contemptuous of him. And Hishamudin?? You cant even begin to compare. He just happened to be "lucky" to be Kalimulah's chosen one. He has also DKL and Rejal to thank for.
    Kadir may have been many things.... but he sure was not a COWARD. Cant say the same for Kali and his khadam(s). Kadir had guts. And some people may hate him for that.
    Too bad.

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  18. Anonymous7:15 am

    Rakyats challenge Kali and Hisham (Pak Lah & KJ & KK!) to publish in full the transcript of TDM's talk on Saturday plus the Q & A with reporters in NST & English.

    Better if we can have Supplements -make sure enough copies are there for nationwide distribution...ahli-ahli UMNO and rakyats would love to compare what TDM said and what Kali and Brendan wrote all these while. Depa pun ada otak. Bukan takdak...

    Apa perlu media black out? Dah balik zaman gua ka?

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  19. Anonymous8:14 am

    Brother Rocky, the question in my mind, and the minds of many others, is this - having been exposed by Dato A Kadir Jasin as an incompetent GEIC, shouldn't Hisham give up his position?
    Nowhere in the history of the editorship of the NSTP has an editor been made to look utterly ridiculous at a public function, and at the company AGM none the less!.

    Brother, you have done a service to Malaysian journalism by reporting what transpired at the AGM. We don't care about the NSTP's financial position 'cos the falling price of its share tells the whole story! No newspaper will report what you have reported.

    Where does that leave Hisham in the eyes of the board? Where does that leave Kali in the eyes of those present at the AGM. Dato AKJ's explanation posted above is most appreciated.
    Hisham will be viewed by his colleagues as a clueless editor, shallow and pretentious. And he continues to be led by the nose by the NSTP's deputy chairman and, as you put it, the ex-Straits Times correspondent who is now the Group Editor of the NST. Hisham should stand and be his own man!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous9:21 am

    Siapa-siapalah kat NSTP ni. Dulu lain, sekaraang lain. Pembaca kita bukan budak-budak. Sekarang orang dapat maklumat dari banyak lubang lah. Surat khabar tu, untuk dapat sedikit maklumat je. Rasanya, buat masa akan datang ni, susah surat khabar nak bertahan. Apa juga yang kita spin, kena hentan gn Internet blog. Syabas Rockybru.

    Buah cempedak di luar pagar.
    Ambil galah tolong jolokkan,
    Kami bukan budak baru belajar,
    Apa yang kau buat salah, kami betulkan. Hidup Manja.

    GanuKite

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:16 am

    saudara rocky,
    i accidentally sent a comment meant to be under this posting to the "Who's Next" one.
    Can you please do something about it.like putting it under the right segment.,
    many thanks
    salam

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:34 am

    This mud slinging is getting way too personal. However, dare I say that for a 'small ciku' like me, it certainly opens my eyes that those up there ain't any better than anyone of us. MM, once upon a time, was the lifeline of the other three publications, but when it had its problems, the company simply dumped it. I don't know the hindu god cum malay priest well, but I sure do know that things have gone from bad to worse. At least they did publish Datuk Kadir's letter, in the letter's column. Edited or not, God only knows.
    p/s: Kalibren- You forgot to mention anything about Datuk Patrick Lim. He's like the 'orang kaya baru' which suddenly emerged ever since Pak Lah came into power. A private jet, developing Pulau Duyong (and getting the Ferrari boss to buy a house there), bought half a dozen of sail boats just for the Monsoon Cup and the beauty, i guess, is he is in his early 40's (or could be late 30's). Sigh!

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  23. 1. Datuk AKJ jawab dengan nada yang agak perlahan hari ini. Mungkin ibarat menarit rambut dari tepung.

    2. Nampak gaya AGM NSTP hampir sama hebat dengan KFC :)

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  24. NOTE: THIS COMMENT WAS WRONGLY SENT TO MY EARLIER POSTING, ACCORDING TO BROTHER YASIN. HE HAS ASKED ME TO RE-SEND IT HERE - ROCKY'S BRU

    Yasin said...
    Datuk Hishamudin kept his word. The NST used Datuk Kadir Jasin's letter.
    But I wonder whether the NST would have used it if Datuk Kadir had not raised the matter at the NST AGM yesterday.
    I do not know Datuk Kalimullah. However, as a long-time reader of the NST, I can see that he is very different from Datuk Kadir. I remember Other Thots very well. I have always admired him for his column. He pulled no punches. For someone who confesses to be Tun Dr Mahathir's supporter, he was a true journalist, then. Because he was also a harsh critic of the BN administration and of Umno, and Pas, and DAP and saudara Anwar. He was unapologetic. And he suffered for it. And to a great extent, the NST. But, he took responsibility for all that. He took accountability, He was booted out. But with his integrity and high sense of professionalism intact. I am no fan of Datuk Kadir although I admired his "courage" in writing Other Thots. You can agree with him or disagree, But he wrote his viewpoints. Whacked when and where he could. I know that he was threatened by some hardcore Reformasi supporters. I was in the reformasi. ( But i remained an NST reader)
    So you see, there are journalists and there ARE journalists. You can easily tell the men from the boys, the professionals from the amateurs, the journalists from the jokers.
    Salam, brother.

    10:12 AM

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  25. Anonymous12:53 pm

    Sdr Rocky, thank you for your efforts. Dato' Hishamudin Aun published my letter in today's NST page 28 in full except for removing the word "Insya-Allah". It's Arabic for God Willing. I was told that Christian Arabs used the expression all the time. They too refer to Allah as Allah. But I think we're always a bit confused in this country.

    Some said my reply is mild. Maybe. The idea is to get the facts across with the hope that they are published and are not further manipulated. I have already thanked Dato' Hisham via SMS.

    But I still think what the minority shareholders said at the AGM was important too. Even NSTP's CEO admitted that rising fuel cost, higher electricity rates, inflation and interest rates are affecting the company's performance.

    So if a big commercial consumer like the NSTP is feeling the pinch, can you imagine the poor, individual consumers.

    I thought that's where the minority shareholders questioned the accuracy of reports and comments in the NSTP newspapers on the real rakyat issues. Almost all NSTP minority shareholders present were pensioners and elderly people.

    Thank you.

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  26. Anonymous2:31 pm

    Kami bincang pasal AGM NSTP senalam. Panas-panas, panas....Kalau ada bos-bos lalu, kami buat cerita lain lah pulak. Ada yang kata, Hisham patut give up je bagi kat Dato' Manja yang menggelarkan diri dia profesional (jangan cakap macam tu). Dato' Kadir Jasin mungkin kasar kat Dato' Hisham. Tapi, Dato' Hisham juga kena sendiri mau ingatlah. Dulu dia sms bagi nasihat baik-baik, awak cerita kat Dato' Kalimullah, dia jadikan intro artikel dia pulak tu...Apa kredibiliti you ada....Hisham (tak payah pangil Dato' lah). Hisham nampak berlagak lebih teruk dari GEIC lain. Semua ini dibuat untuk menyembunyikan kelemahan dia. Kita tau setakat mana kemampuan dia. Very soon, akan ada satu lagi test besar bila satu international conference on journalism akan diadakan bincang isu-isu journalism and globalisation. I dapat tahu, nama Hisham dah disenaraikan sebagai main speaker dan berdailog dengan peserta luar negara bersama dengan Chief editors dari USA dan UK. Tak silap ia dianjurkan oleh Asia Press Foundation. Jangan pass kat Manja pula.

    GanuKite

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  27. Anonymous4:23 pm

    Tak payah bincang pasal straits Times lagi lah...surat khabar lama. Kalau takde sebab semua kementerian, jabatan kerajaan dan pejabat-pejabat swasta dan awam yang beli secara langgan new straits times, dah lama bungkus dah. Kira tengok, satu kementerian saja ambil kurang-kurang 40 setiap surat khabar untuk bagi pada menteri dan pegawai-pegawai yang layak. kiralah 30 kementerian je dah 1,200 naskah setiap hari x RM1.50. satu. Itu baru satu surat khabar. Kalau lima surat khabar setiap hari dah berapa? Kira sendirilah. Banyak duit kerajaan boleh jimat kalau semua kementerian dan jabatan buat pool je. Mungkin satu kementerian menteri je dapat semua surat khabar, yang lain kongsi je lah. Begitu juja pejabat swasta. Kira-kira punya kira, tolak campur semua, NST tiggal 50,000 keping je yang boleh dijual di kedai-kedai dan gerai-gerai. Berita Harian dan Utusan Malaysia dapatlah masing-masing jual 100,000 nashkah lebih sikit dan the Star lebih 200,000. Taskpe lah kita anggap di hotel-hotel tu kes terpaksa lah sebab pelanggan hotel nalkan paper. Tapi, kalau hotel berpakat dengan the Sun. habuslah NST. Malay Mail dah nak habis dah. Tunggumasa je lagi. Harian Metro dan Kosmo lain sikit sebab, surat khabar ini tak dilanggan oleh pejabat. Jumlah jualannya tulen sikit, tapi pembacanya tak ada kualiti lah. Jadi kalau Dato' Kadir bertengkar dengan Dato" Hishamuddin Aun pun tak guna sebab surat khabar itu dah tak ada pengaruh. Surat Dato' tu pun tak ramai yang baca pun.

    Sang Kelabu

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  28. Anonymous4:27 pm

    As an outsider who enjoys this site and enjoys the spirited exchanges among people who I believe are journalists and writers, I think this blog has the potential of becoming an arena for discussing wider public interest issues that are not necessarily concerned with new media.
    Even on the media, I think this blog can increase its potential and relevance by encourading its participants who are journalist and not journalists like me to discuss other media than just the New Straits Times. I think other media and media companies also have issues like the NST because they take care of their staff. I think only NST has retrenched journalists by giving the VSS or MSS.
    I read in some other blog also about Mohd Nazri Aziz tellling Tun Dr Mahathir to shut-up or to leave Umno. I think Nazri is painting bad picture of Umno. Like he is saying you can't talk in Umno. If you talk too much you leave. My friends told me Nazri is a very clever Malay politician because he is trained in England in law.
    These websites also say something about a Malaysian VIP who held a big birthday party in Singapore with drinks and orgy. I think Nazri can use intelligence service of the PM Department to investigate this bad rumours. This type of damaging rumour can also be the work of Singapore secret service to tarnish Malaysian image.
    Reporters can also make investigate reporting about this kind of negative rumours because people want to know the truth. Now people want more truth because the policy of openess of the government.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous5:47 pm

    Since Kali is so fond of frgnrs, we would have expected a new std of journalism in M'sia. Moreover looks like he has the means to bring it into effect.

    Alas professionalism not just in NST group, in other mainstream media has gone backward. Certainly no good for a country which aspires to have a 1st World Mentality and a developed nation status by 2020.

    The signs are all there: accuracy, balanced reporting, objective analysis are sorely lacking. Worse still we also have media blockouts, uncalled for directives blah blah.

    Wah, menulis bukan main lagi. Kat AGM awat sindrom pekak dan bisu pulak?

    Look at what Zainul wrote today. Yes, I agree...we have to address crime concerns. But more importantly we also have to address issues of poor administration, media and corporate manipulation, foreign infiltration, national sovereignty, economic independence, national and security concerns.

    It is simply morally wrong to pretend that one is an objective commentator when one is also part of the intrique...

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous8:37 pm

    the man who sold the world and mong_geng, as a former BT reporter, I know Dato' Patrick Lim. It's not fair to fault him. Like other businessmen irrespective of whether they are Malays, Chinese, Indians or others, it's his business to build relationship.
    He is charming, friendly Aussie. I think he's PR here. He started building his business during Tun Mahathir's time. Being of mixed parentage (Chinese father, Aussie mother), he's very Malaysian. He wears baju Melayu during hari raya and Chinese traditional garb during CNY.
    He is an important benefactor of Yayasan Penyayang and is known to be close to PM's son Kamal. He is also a close associate of Dato' Kalimullah Hassan. I think they were involved in the privatization of the Penang Turf Club land.
    The club's race course is being relocated to Lim's property, the former Batu Kawan Estate in Seberang Prai. Incidentally that's where the 2nd Penang Bridge will begin on the mainland.
    I think Equine Capital, Lim's corporate vehicle, together with Scomi, Kamal's flagship, will be big in Penang's infrastructure and property sectors. Lim is said to refer to the PM as "daddy". He is an example to the new breed of Chinese businessmen now actively building their corporate bases in the country.
    I hope people like him will not forget that this country is made up of many races, religion and cultures.
    P.S, Khairy Jamaluddin fell off a horse and hurt himself. Anwar Ibrahim fell too and was badly hurt when he was DPM. Dr Mahathir is an accomplished rider.

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  31. Anonymous9:01 pm

    Bro, i am not going to get into this debate as the topic has already (and is still being) been both extensively and eloquently debated by both the protagonists and the antagonists. but what saddens me most, is how the newspaper that was my "home" and my provider for 30 years, has been converted into a frivolous battleground where the egos of the generals locked in this juvenile clash have grown too large for good sense to find a place even in between the crevices of this insane exercise. i don't know how kali feels about the NST in all the three years he has been there, but for a lot of us who grew up there, it pains us to see the paper -- once a proud part of our past -- take such an alien face. Sadly the NST has become like Michael Jackson. MJ was born a cute little black baby boy and gradually grew up to be an ugly white "woman".
    So Beat It man.

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  32. Anonymous2:54 am

    lazarus, you were part of the nst and you were part of the establishment. now you are talking nonsense. if you have nothing to say, shut up.

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  33. Anonymous5:54 am

    Mong-Geng/ Others,

    I read in Malaysia Today recently something "funny" abt the Pulau Duyong/ Monsoon Cup thingy. Can you please enlighten us a bit abt the so-called fund for the poor (?) which has been said to be diverted in the hosting of the Cuppy?

    Tks bro!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous4:35 pm

    to the nstman (whoever you are) if you are a journalist i really don't know how you became one because you seem to be quite unclear of the concept. of course you genius, if i have nothing to say i would shut up. but because i had something to say i didnt. probably what you wanted to say was,if i had nothing NICE to say i should shut up. but i must acknowlede your flair for the language and the intellectual fashion you argue your point. anyway, if you were to ask kali and brendan they will tell you that even when i was there i was making known my convictions to them, unlike you my friend i got the balls to be who i am and stand up for what i believe in. ask the sports desk, ask kathiresen, balan moses, and whoever attends those daily management meetings, and the tuesday meetings where the week is reviewed. i did not mean any malice then, and i dont mean any malice now either. i believe we are all entitled to our opinions, you obviously don't seem to have any. i still feel for the NST, i still subscribe to it, but i think a spineless creature like you will not be able to understand that. if you want to hit out at the management and keep yourself anynonymous, i can understand that, as it involves livelihoods. but to take a potshot at a blogger and not put your name to it, you man are a disgrace to your family and your father who gave you a name. come on man bare yourself and talk to me, or else please hold your peace. i feel sorry for you nstman.

    ReplyDelete
  35. And in the meantime, I shall switch to The Star.

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  36. Isn't the Malay Mail such a silly paper nowadays with the stupid comments at the bottom of the articles. Looks like a college paper.

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  37. Anonymous7:04 pm

    Jude says,
    Today I had someone came to my office and I offered him the NST while he waited.He said to me that ever since they downsize the NST into a dwarf he has switched to the Star. The words are smaller than those of the Star ( I think he feels claustrophobic) and reading it used to give him a headache. Sad to say, a lot of people share his feelings---about the NST going compact.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous7:35 pm

    Yeah, I think the "MM says" thingy at the end of MM's articles are similar to what FHM does... and guess where MM's new boss was from? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  39. Gee! I have a brilliant idea on how to save NST's dying circulation and readership! Publish Rocky's bru!

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  40. Anonymous2:45 am

    to lazarus rokk,i have said it before and i am saying it now. you were a part of the setup. when you were in the nst, you kept mum apart from making noises now and then. during ahmad A Talib's time, you were his de facto second in command, thanks to the manchester united connection. so don't be a hero because you aint. you are now making noise because you are outside. if you had the balls then (i dont know whether you have the balls now) you would have made your views clear through the various blogs like jeff ooi's. you are just a gas bag. i repeat, you were a joke and your are still a joke. i had no respect for you in the nst and i still don't have any respect for you. all things said and done, i don't want to fight with you over semantics. right now, if you love the nst, pse do something to save it because nst is like a banana republic where warlords are trying to bring it down. i am trying to save the nst, but my efforts appear to be futile. brendan is leaving next month, supposedly. anyway a lot of nst staff won't be shedding tears. but frankly, brendan is a good editor. his only fault is his high=handedness. he doesn't give a shit about hurting people, probably due to his training in the singapore straits times. he is brutal in his decisions. heard syed is going to take over the nst. poor buggger, he is not a dictator. nst needs strong and brutal warlords and syed is too nice to fit the bill. so lazarus, do you know any warlords to fill the slot. perhaps you? in the mean time, let's pray for the nst. god bless

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous4:04 pm

    nstman,

    boy oh boy! you must so dislike Lazarus. Some hard and harsh words there.
    I dont know you, nstman. And you dont know me. You know Lazarus. But he doesnt know who you are except that you are,well, in NST. Presumably.
    It does not matter whether I agree or disagree with yo about Lazarus. I know him. I think he had (has) balls. I now he always spoke up when he felt that Kali or Brendan was wrong about whatever.
    Well, that is my opinion. On Brendan leaving...well. we have heard it before.
    Brendan is a good NEWS editor, in some ways. But still lacks experience. In fact, he makes a good features editor. Certainly not a group editor.
    His english is good. But, hell. If that is the case, that the criterion to be a group editor is good english, just hire a professor in english (or english professor).
    Brendan is a decent bloke. Too bad, he is Kali's minion.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous4:06 pm

    nstman, a leader doesnt always have to be a warlord, i believe after what the nst has been put through, what it needs is an honest and understanding face. which is why i believe my old buddy syed nadzri would be the perfect man, for what the place needs is someone whom they can trust, and turn to, someone like syed. for far too long people in the nst have been bitching about the other behind backs, there has been little trust, but now its time for someone to bring them all together as a family that we once had in the 70s. i agree with u on brendan, he is a good worker, but he is not an nst man, he doesnt feel for it the way we do, i told him so once. but syed does, because he grew up in that paper, and this is what it needs now, someone whom you can trust. syed couldnt do much because he was and still is powerless in this present structure. but give him the power and you will see what happens because syed is a players' manager, he cares for the welfare of people. you dont always need geniuses to run things, right now what the paper needs is a motivator, to bring people back together and start rallying for the new straits times. besides syed is a-political, no agendas, no camps. with syed the news will not be tainted, and it will be back to the New Straight Times. and coming back to you, frankly my friend i dont give a rat's ass if you respect me or not cos anyone who doesnt identify himself when he takes a shot at someone, cant be worth much anyway. God Bless you too my friend, at least we have one thing in common, we both care for the nst. keep the faith and the fight going. i walked away only because i was told by a very reliable source that they were going to start dictating terms to the sports desk, and my friend, 30 years there enough la. besides i don't know what is this thing called "business of news" which is being indoctrinated now, i was brought up on the "essence of news". i was also told by kali that if i wanted to change the course of malaysian sport, i should quit and join azalina. but i must thank him for one thing tho, when he first came in he gave me a rm1,100 jump, no one did that for me, not even ahmad talib whom you thought was my godfather. but having said that, the man (kali) lost the plot when it came to running a newspaper. sigh!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous7:28 pm

    dear anonymous (the one who mentioned the "MM says thingy" at the end of some MM stories.

    I am so so sorry that our beloved "paper that cares" has been reduced to a teen paper.
    It is now Teen Mail. But what can we do. Our beloved (former) boss, Rocky, had to go because he was a pain in Kalimullah's ass. He was.
    Rocky could take on anyone --- The MM was one brave paper. Braver than the NST. As a veteran journalist said -- Kali and brendan habuk pun tadak -- what have they shown us except that MM was NST's competitor when the NST went tabloid. Kali had Salehuddin to do his dirty work to fix rocky. tospy on rocky. it was pathetic. We shall not talk about Salehuddin. Poor man. In any case, this was shortlived because Salehuddin left.
    Now, when you look at the MM, you cannot imagine that it has more than 100 years of history. You'd think that it was made just yesterday by a group of teenagers.
    Check out our team (with the exception of the real pros, the new ones are so laughable you want to die).
    I mean, we had Rocky and now we have ......oh brother.
    So, that is why we have those little "MM says".... real corny. Only people who dont know a thing about newspapers would do that.
    So please dont kutuk us. There is very little we can do. So malu.

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  44. Anonymous5:35 am

    rokk, no hard feelings. like you i love the nst, but it pains my heart to see nst being torn apart by internal dissension and warlords trying to carve their territories inside. i know syed very well, but frankly i don't think he has the muscle to pull nst out of the pits. brendan is leaving next month and i heard kali is calling it quits from nst because he just cannot stomach the abuse he gets every day. nst needs veterans to survive. maybe one day rockybru might come back. rocky is a decent man because like me he loves beer.

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  45. pujangga:

    I refer to "...3. Where did Khairy Jamaluddin, Pak Lah's son-in-law, get the money to buy 3 per cent of ECM Libra shares for RM9 million? I would like to know which bank would give a 30-year-old that much money. Ties with Singapore? "

    Hey, not because I support Khairy J here -- but banks do extend loans to that quantum, and MORE!

    Remember a Ling Jr, son of a past Minister, obtained RM1.2billion to buy control of at least 4 listed companies, earning himself a tag "youngest billionaire at 27" in 1997/98. Remember Tajuddin Ramli borrowing RM1billion to buy controilling interest in MAS?

    So this RM9million is loose change, or is IT Chicken feed/shit?

    Some of you ask the wrong questions and seek out the wrong targets, or seek out the right targets BUT barking up the wrong tree...Pause and Ponder, my 3sen worth of advice.

    Obsrerve some current court proceedings -- MAS suing Tajuddin and the latter counter-suing; RHB's court case involving share margin financing to bigwigs' connected companies-role players of RM500million to five borrowers...

    Anything new in UMNOputra-MCA=cronies politivcs?

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  46. Anonymous3:27 pm

    To mmloyalist: I know MM very well - at least from the mid-90s until now. Yeah, it is a joke. Nope, I don't 'kutuk' you but simply sharing my feelings with other bloggers here.

    As far as I'm concerned, the best thing Rocky had done to MM was when MM opened offices in Penang, JB, Ipoh & Malacca. Greater things were in store as MM was planning to go to the East Coast and East Malaysia. But then, it was too late as NST was in a shitty situation and had to find a quick fix to its problems. Easy, go tabloid-size and copy the MM concept altogether.

    Therefore, the offices in the four states had to be closed down since MM suddenly had become NST's competitor.

    Too bad Salehuddin was gotten rid of. But I was told that had he stayed on, Rocky & him won't get along well. So, nevermind about that.

    Back to MM, yes, MM is a Teen Mail to many people today. If you think you can't do anything about it, LEAVE before you end up staying on too long and spoil your CV.

    I did.

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  47. Anonymous7:45 pm

    pening kelapa ... oopppsss kepala saya... actually in those years i used to buy all the newspapers... but semenjak dua menjak ni rasa like i'm wasting my money buying news which i .. a lay man feels that are not soooo readers friendly..... we are more educated now, we can value news, just stop thinking that we are some stupid people reading whole lot of rubbish. some of the bloggers here are better off than those.... u know who i mean.

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  48. Anonymous7:56 pm

    these newspapers people should stop thinking that we are stupid people buying their 'news'. we are more educated now and can value news better be it politics or economic or education... give us quality news... dont make a fool out of yourselves... he he nak pecah perut sometimes when we read some rubbish... they just think they can klentong us..

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  49. Anonymous5:20 pm

    lazarus rokk...i always enjoyed your cents worth on the sports column when ur still in the nst..too bad u left bro..u rokk..
    p/s : good choice in supporting man utd..maybe nstman is a liverpool supporter..

    mmloyalist..i used to buy mm as a supplement reading material (i always read The Star first and also Kosmo - 80 sens very cheap man)but now i am avoiding mm like a plague..they should rename it as college mail..even their comics are now crap..i miss monty comics...waaaaaa

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