Monday, November 20, 2006

Singapore journalists better?

Return of the Singapore trainer. The NST is bringing back Ravi Veloo, plagiarist Brendan P's affidavit comrade from Singapore, to conduct another training session for the tabloid's subs later this month. But before that Brendan P will bring in a Debbie to teach the Malaysian journalists a thing or two about oral journalism and remind them that Singapore has its pretty side, too.

Not on the curriculum. Plagiarism as a subject in journalist, of course, will be taboo. Not after Brendan P has resigned amid the plagiarism row. And not since the NSTP is suing the BBC for its report.

Plagiarism and Singapore.
In any case, a survey by the National University of Singapore, Brendan P's alma mater, found that students who have studied in Singapore for more than five years have lower awareness of plagiarism!
No wonder they could not tell! [Click here for the findings of the survey].

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:00 pm

    Bro Rocky

    Do you mean that no other Malaysians can do their jobs? How can one trust a plagiarist to appoint new Singaporeans?

    I thought that all along it was not easy for foreingers to obtain work permits in Malaysia. I suppose Kalimullah can instruct the minister to do what he likes.

    My Melayu brothers and sisters, do we really need a Singaporean plagiarist to tell us what to do? ABB, do we need a SIngpaore operative to run an UMNO owned newspapers?

    Well, Melayu tak gunalah!!! please stnad up and not let the Singaporean to trample all over. UMNO threaten to use the keris agaisnt other Malaysians but no b###s to take on the Singapore operatives??? WHY??????????????

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  2. Anonymous2:29 pm

    This person Debbie or Deborah Abraham mentioned is not a Singaporean.

    She is actually a Malaysian working in Singapore. Her father is one of Malaysia prominent paediatrician in practice and also in the local university. He happens to be our kid's doctor too.

    The family is quite well known in Kuala Lumpur circle.

    I think the point about Singapore having a pretty face is really uncalled for and that angle of “reporting” is unnecessary. I don't see a point in nailing a Malaysian on the wrong presumptions that she is another "pretty singapore face" without checking out the facts first. For all intents and purpose, she could very well be doing this to "help out" in her own country. You should probably contact her and ask if this was the case.

    And lastly as an alumni of NUS, I think it is also good to also point the finger at Malaysian university where plagiarism is a skill they can hardly pick up because, they have to learn to read and write first, going by this logic of argument, since the local univerisities are still way off on the international standing compared to NUS. If you see no correlation to this point to yours, well, that was the point.

    Sure, by all means, go crucify Brendan for his “sins” but it is not necessary to pull in innocents others in as collateral damage to your posting here.

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  3. Anonymous4:04 pm

    Brother Rocky,

    You can bring any Veloo....bring in even Samy Veloo, its not gonna make any difference. Do you need to pay them big bucks to train the present batch of incompetent NST journalists, most of them raw heads?

    What about ex-quality journalists of NST.

    Names like Frankie D Cruz, K Bala, Sabry Shariff, Balbeer S Jessy, K H Lim, KL Lim, Ian Perera, Charles Raj, and Rocky - you yourself...arent these people available to save the NST.

    I used to enjoy reading the NST and Malay Mail with bylines of these journalists. Where are they now. Bring them back and train the dumbheads in NST!

    Why waste time money on Singaporeans and allow them to spy on Malaysia.

    After all, the Singapore Press (ST) is muzzled by Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP, what have these dumbs like Mr Veloo have got to impart to NST journalists. I am muzzled.!!

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  4. Anonymous4:37 pm

    Where is Syed Faizal, the CEO? Where is Hishamuddin Aun, the GEIC?. Apa dah jadi dengan kau orang berdua ni. Takkan nak panggil orang luar ajar orang kita. Cuba check tengok, berapa circulation surat khabar mereka? Bagus sangat kah surat khabar mereka tu?. Kita sama-sama sedih campur duka melihat untung nasib surat khabar Malaysia. Harapkan pagar dua orang ni, si Syed Faizal dengan Aun, tetapi rupa-rupanya pagar tak boleh diharap. Pagar pun ikut lentuk padi. Jaga lah maruah surat khabar Malaysia dan pekerja-pekerja rakyat Malaysia. Kalau rasa-rasa tak boleh nak jaga maruah surat khabar Malaysia, berilah peluang pada orang lain pulak. Mesti ramai lagi kat NSTP tu yang tahu maruah bangsa dan negaranya.

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  5. Anonymous5:20 pm

    Shucks, what can we learn from people whose hands are guided when they write.....like how my mother held my hand when I learnt to write ABC. What is happening to us? Zorro.

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  6. hi kriso!

    my apologies to ms deborah abraham. i stand corrected: she is not a singaporean but a singapore-trained malaysian journalist. and thank you for pointing that out, kriso.

    i did not, however, refer to her as a "pretty singapore face" or a "pretty face"; those are your words.

    as for the nus' survey on plagiarism and education in singapore, that was the varsity's findings. the nus said it's findings were not conclusive, of course, but it seems, to me, to be true in brendan p's case, which was why i posted it here.

    thank you.

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  7. Anonymous9:15 pm

    Rocky,
    There's plenty of people who left the country feeling neglected or feel that the grass is greener on the other side. It's their choice. To name a few, Harbans, Donald F, Fifi, Saw Teck Meng, William D and many more.
    Why not bring them back? Why Deborah who has no history with NST? Why?
    Just because she hosted a talk show?
    I'm sure NST will be giving her a hefty salary - the kind of salaries our journalists could only dream of.
    Haha...thank God I left the Group eons ago.

    cucuparit

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  8. Anonymous11:13 pm

    Macam Macam Boleh is spot on saying that ex-quality NST can help turnaround a lame NST editorial helmed by a cheat in Brendan.

    I however do not agree with him some names mentioned. Not fair for me to single them out.

    Frankie DCruz does a lot of work for media here and abroad. He surely would be a good bet and I cant imagine why we Malaysians, never want to use our own quality assets.

    it is such a sad moment for us in NST history and I am sure some of those fine journalists who were there before will not hesitate to give something back to a sick old institution.

    Please dont put forward the argument that these former journalists would be outdated in their outlook of present media.

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  9. Anonymous11:21 pm

    i apologise for the pretty face statement. I misread your blog point on that.

    meanwhile, granted that Brendan was from NUS and the issue of plagiarism from the varsity survey, it is unfair to link the two points together. Of course if you allude to it, and since you mention the survey was deem unconclusive by the varsity itself, this point is moot really.

    Just for the record, Dr M , Tan Chee Koon etc was from NUS also. So that really gives such findings a nice twist then.

    as to the point whether this person is the best man/woman for the job, i am not in the position to know as well as you do in this field.

    nevertheless, i enjoy your blog and do keep up the good work!

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  10. Anonymous1:03 am

    Bro Rocky,
    Ya, what about K H Lim, Sabry Sharif and yoru good self? I can beleive that three of you, with so much experience, was not good enough forthe job in NST. Actually, Kalimulah does not want professional journalist like you, KH Lim and Sabry Shariff, or Syed Nadzri (Syed no choice b'cos has extrmely high level of tolerance).

    Kalimulah needs a Singaproe operative and soemone who can plagiarise or writing about lies - like the June 11 article about Tun meeting ABB in Tokyo. This is the qualtiy that Kalimulah and Here To Stay PM want.

    UMNOputera had the opportunities to put their house in order in the UMNO GA but they chose to threaten the other races with keris and blood - keeping up with the politics of distraction by the current administration.

    I do not understand how could the UMNOputera and Here To Stay PM could tolerate and accept people like Kalimulah, who have lied in JUne article and refused to apologise or retract.

    Bro Rocky, let Kalimulah, the 4th Floor boys and Khairy do what they wnat, we should start a campaign to ask our friends and relatives to stop buying papers associated with NST.

    Let see how long can NST withstand the economic pressure.

    Brother bloggers shall we start this campaign from tomorrow onward?

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  11. Anonymous1:30 am

    Why is Brendan Pereira still bothering to write? Anyone caught so blatantly -- and publicly -- cheating would have slunk away in shame, but he continues to delude himself that whatever he writes henceforth has any credibility! Who will ever believe him? Now when I read his drivel, I'm thinking "does this sentence look familiar?" or "where have I read this before?"

    Re his latest article. He forgot to ask himself the pertinent question of WHY he had to look up all those post-May 13 comments now.

    It's because of that spineless, clueless, halfwit simpleton in office. Who, when he took over, scattered promises of openness, transparency, press freedom ad nauseam, like cheap confetti at a mass wedding, and got all the liberals, NGOs, do-gooders all twitching with excitement about a new era in a post-Mahathir Malaysia.

    But what has happened since? The gates have been slammed on such talk or dialogue. The hope of a new era has fizzled out, corruption is still rife, and worse, the Malays have been shit-stirred into thinking that their rights and position are being threatened while the non-Malays are now alarmed over the UMNO debates.

    All because someone is obsessed with trying to prove he is a better PM than Tun Dr Mahathir, nevermind that the nation's painstakingly wrought harmony is fast-unravelling.

    Feel so depressed about what's happening to our country now. And all that infiltration into the high-reaches of power by the "operatives" from the "red dot" down south. Maybe we should ask ourselves what hold has Singapore over certain members of this administration? There's something very odd and disquieting about it.

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  12. Anonymous2:18 am

    Bro Rocky,

    Has NST sued the BBC over the article on Brendan, the plagiarist??

    Mana Kalimullah berani? Dia sudah pening kepala dengan Mathias Chang di Mahkamah.

    I hope that Klaimullah has b### and sue the BBC so that Malaysians can see how unprofessional and sinful can he and Brendan be!!

    Kalimulah please be forewarned that BBC is not like you, who can lies in the June 11 article and refused to retrac. If the BBC made a mistake on Brendan p's article, knowing the BBC's reputation it will defintely apologise without further ado. Since the BBC stood by their article on Brendan plagiarising other people work, Kalimullah be assured that the BBC must be on a very firm ground.

    Anyway whether NST sue or not sue the BBC, Kalimuallah and Brendan p are still an embarassment for Malaysian journalism. Opp!! Did I hear that they are just Singaproe operatives here???

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  13. Anonymous7:15 am

    This is my plea to Bro Syed Nazri,

    Set yourself free
    Protect your dignity
    Find a trainer from another country
    Singapore Press is never free
    Play along with Kalli
    You know his weak knee!
    Salvage the grand old lady
    That we call the NST.

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  14. Rocky!

    Just to correct keriso: Dr M and the late Tan Chee Khoon attended University Malaya that was then based in S'pore, not from National University Singapore (NUS). You know Rocky you can also be accused of misinformation by letting out many incorrect garbage postings, I am talking about facts that needed to be corrected ASAP for many morons are also reading your blogsite and they will believe any misinfo. and disinfo. from Spore ISD! Which I can detect so many in Rockybru!

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  15. Anonymous12:34 pm

    i really do not wish to argue on the point which i raised up here.

    If you examine the records for University Malaya(the current) medical school, you would find that it has its beginning only in 1964. In 2nd August 1965, Tun Razak officiated the official opening of the Faculty of Medicine for University Malaya, which has been non existent except for that in Singapore which is now part of NUS.

    On occassions, Tun Dr M and his beloved wife will grace the Singapore Medical Alumni gatherings for his & her class group in singapore and his speeches (off the cuff) is always one of the highlights for these gatherings.

    During the period when the british were running these countries(now), the University of Malaya was formed from the merging of two schools, namely King Edward VII Medical School and Raffles College. The medical school was still called Faculty of Medicine of the University of Malaya until later. As this shows, the school was always part of the new entity which became University of Singapore and then National University of Singapore. At that point in time, there was no Malaysia or Singapore but states under the control of the british.

    The medical faculty of University of Malaya current is a new body altogether. The NUS medical faculty celebrated its centenial in 2005. The current UM medical school has yet to reach its centenial. You can make your own conclusions then.

    There was never a move to deny the share heritage of the two universities under the current name which the Malaysian side adopted as theirs (rightfully for it makes no sense to have a UM in Singapore when M is a neighbourly country). In the history for both the universities, this was always noted accurately. But for the medical school where linearge is concerned, the point has been made.

    With this in mind, please do not do a witchhunt (and change history like the current leadership in malaysia like to do) for the sake of fitting square pegs in your round holes, pasquale. Therefore your comments about singapore ISD is really uncalled for, as i am just a malaysian like Dr M, an ex graduate of a singapore univerisity(now) and an old boy in the same college with him albeit a much junior one. He has no problems with that, i wonder why would you do so?

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  16. Anonymous5:06 am

    Oh for Pete's sake! A few years ago, the NST brought in two trainers from the UK, one from the Independent and one from the Observer. NO-ONE complained about them being foreigners or suggested that locals do the training. Why? Because white people are so damn smart? Because British is always better? No, it's probably because common sense and appreciation prevailed. The company I work for provides no bloody training whatsoever and it really pisses me off. So it pisses me off even more that when training is provided, you find something to whine about anyway. This Debbie or whatever may have something to impart. People who think they know it all are destined to reside up their own arses for eternity. Congratulations. You've bested the ostrich. Enjoy your new home.

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  17. Anonymous7:51 am

    bro

    u gotta admit the current crop of nst journalists need major training.

    the question is who would be suitable as trainers. if nst is really serious, it shd get the best wherever they may reside.

    so what if the resource persons are american/british/french/german/ japanese or whatever, knowledge and expertise shd be the main criteria.

    we shouldnt be mired by fears of boogey men masquerading as journalists. if he/she has outstanding journalistic skills and outlook, we shd tap into it and pull ourself out of the mediocrity that colours msian journalism.

    as for the "old guards" mentioned, can alsolah but if there are better resources elsewhere, why not?

    no offence intended but are the ex journalists mentioned really that great?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous7:52 am

    bro

    u gotta admit the current crop of nst journalists need major training.

    the question is who would be suitable as trainers. if nst is really serious, it shd get the best wherever they may reside.

    so what if the resource persons are american/british/french/german/ japanese or whatever, knowledge and expertise shd be the main criteria.

    we shouldnt be mired by fears of boogey men masquerading as journalists. if he/she has outstanding journalistic skills and outlook, we shd tap into it and pull ourself out of the mediocrity that colours msian journalism.

    as for the "old guards" mentioned, can alsolah but if there are better resources elsewhere, why not?

    no offence intended but are the ex journalists mentioned really that great?

    ReplyDelete