Thursday, January 11, 2007

Malay Mail for Sale?

Ananda Krishnan ... again! The Prime Minister's fishing buddy seems to have a fetish for the Malay Mail. About a year ago, he was rumoured to have expressed interest in buying the Mail and sister paper Sunday Mail. (The tycoon told a couple of senior editors that he thought the Mail was the best newspaper around then!). Kalimullah Hassan, who has claimed to be close to Ananda, proposed to the NSTP board that the group sells the Malay Mail and Sunday Mail to the tycoon. His proposal was shot down by a board member representing Media Prima, the biggest shareholder of NSTP.

Talk resurfaced last month that the Media Prima is now offering to sell off the Malay Mail and the (suspended) Weekend Mail. I was told there are three suitors and Ananda is one of them. The other two are Tony Fernandez, the Air Asia boss (who wanted to launch a magazine for Air Asia last year but abandoned the idea in the last minute), and Ibrahim Nor, the Bluc Inc. publisher (who has about a dozen magazine titles and a stake in Berita Publishing).

Ananda, of course, has nearly everything that money can buy, including at least a gulet in Turkey. In the media industry, he has Maxis, various magazines, satellites, Astro tv, and radio channels. But not a newspaper.

You can expect members of the Supreme Council who recently spoke against the proposed NeST-UM merger to oppose the sale of the Malay Mail to a non-Malay. But Ananda is the PM's fishing buddy.

47 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:36 pm

    Little Birds at my end confirm that Astro is in unofficial talks; they have a blloming publications unit and they want to grow another cash-cow.

    BlueInc is unlikely, as the powers-that-be apparently have bones to pick with several of their publications.

    AirAsia is a newbie; Tony is likely to focus on the lot that's on his plate now.... Still, he has submitted an application for a licence at KDN.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is an unwritten rule in Malaysia.
    MAS must be under a Malay.
    NST must be under a Malay.
    All key portfolios in the Cabinet under Malays.
    All Vice Cancellors Malays.
    All DG of key ministries under Malay.
    Bank Negara governor Malay.
    et infinitum.
    This is the countries recipe for its version of national unity!
    Anandan will nver get to buy these papers. Malay supremacy/dominance is solidly in place.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4:57 pm

    I personally think it's a good thing for Malay Mail, given its present position and situation in the local media. It has lost its appeal and therefore also its ardent readers. It will be good if someone like Ananda Krishnan could pump money into it and packaged the Malay Mail to give its image an uplift. I think at this moment Malay Mail seriously needs a change of direction. I hope if the deal does happen, it would restore its pride as one of the oldest tabloid around. We wouldn't want it to go down the drain. As long as the buyer is a Malaysian citizen regardless of race, i'm happy to see it happen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5:14 pm

    Will either Ananda or Tony bring winds of changes to the management of the Malay Mail?
    In one sense, I hope it comes true as at least we can look forward to better days (presumed better days).

    Its very typical of Malaysians to be afraid of changes, but then again, never try never know.

    p/s: But if the Bumi issue comes into play..then Sigh! I retain what i say, 50 years of Merdeka and we're still racists!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:15 pm

    There is no choice but to sell the Malay Mail. The Malay Mail has been pillaged, sodomised, raped and smashed to smithereens by incompetents at Balai Berita. How about selling it to Rocky.

    ReplyDelete
  6. haloo mr. smith and monsterball, even the name spelt as MALAY (mail)dont be jealous la brother... if you change to Chinese or indian at the beginning... sounds rather funny laa.

    that's life

    ReplyDelete
  7. The Malay Mail ought to be sold as the New Straits Times personnel there don't have the imagination to run the paper unlike journalists of old.

    And I am not talking about people like Rocky. He ran the paper down like toilet paper flushed down the throne.

    And the people there now are no better. What a pity as it used to be THE paper to read.

    The greater pity is of course that newspapers need licences in Malaysia.

    That's what we have to fight for, the freedom to print and be damned!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5:51 pm

    Many, like me, have worked for several bosses of various races before. Is bosses' race important? As long as enjoyable work, fun workplace, good money, good guidance etc; who cares about race. If the boss is incapable, frustrating and leads me nowhere, I'll quit even if he is my father.

    Lets see how many of such businesses will still be standing when the next economic downturn hits. My heart goes out to ordinary workers, none for these racist bigots.

    Pray hard for this country. The next hit will be worst in this globalized world.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous6:21 pm

    this is to Rocky...

    wouldn't it be a good idea for you and all your ex-journo friends to get together and put in a bid?

    some might say it's an impossible dream...but dreams do come true...well, at least once in a while!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous6:26 pm

    to Sheih...

    if I'm not mistaken, there's the movie "Gone Fishing" with Joe Pesci and Danny Glover...would be perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Prime Minister ------> Salesman

    ReplyDelete
  12. ahm,
    Given your explnation, then how is it that 'Malay Mail' is not published in Bahasa?
    Malay here refers to Malay-sia.
    Are you insinuating that we Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indians, are not to be called Malaysians?
    It is exactly these kind of attitudes, though, you might think as trivial, or even humorous which inculcates all these racial remarks!

    I think you ought to apologise.
    Or maybe I should take things lightly. . .

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous7:35 pm

    Mr Smith,
    Very unfair for you to say everything goes to Malays! The present government very fair,one...start selling Pantai to Chinese, want to sell sand to Chinese, want to develop Southern Johore to allow Chinese to come in without passports.
    So what's the problem?
    Next thing you will complain is, why not to Malaysian Chinese? Why to other Chinese?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous8:06 pm

    all this is because of the US vs THEM mentality still harping on the 1969 victory parade by the opposition shouting "balik kampunglah melayu" and believing that STUPID fascist book by Dr M, Malay Dilemma, which hammered the idea of Malay supremacy into the community.

    so what if a malay don't own the malay mail now. it would be much better i think since now nst also tabloid and most the editors and journalists also non-malay.

    after 50 years of independence, isn't it time we move on from the divide-and-conquer policies introduced by the british and perpetuated by Barisan Nasional?

    this is 2007 people. not 1967.

    p.s. despite all these ramblings that i hear about nst et al on blogs, i was an ardent fan of both the nst n mm since i was a kid. it is really sad to see the state of both papers now.

    in school it was compulsory to read the NST editorial everyday for english class.

    and the malay mail was always a good read for fun stuff like hotline, crime and other human interests stories.

    i do not see how the strategy of removing experienced staff armed with the contacts and knowledge with newbies can be a good move for both papers.

    at the same time, i fail to see the benefits of a tabloid format. n the stupid excuse given of it's easier to read boggles the mind. is it not common knowledge that broadsheets are folded so that they will be more easily read?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous9:12 pm

    To monsterball,

    To call insulting u an insult would be insulting the word insult!

    We are just describing your comments truthfully.Sorry if it doesnt sound flattering, Ok, bro?

    U dont need other people to insult u..from ur comments, ur doing fine all by yourself.Keep up the good work.

    Btw ther are many non- malay who are rich who were help by the 'Malay' goverment. Judging by the quality of your post i'm not sure u know them but here are a few:

    1)Robert Kuok and his father Kuok Kheng kang..was given a monopoly to supply sugar by the Sultan of Johor

    2)YTL

    3) Ananda Krishnen

    And have u heard of Lee Kuan Yew? Tunku Abd Rahman, the 'racist' President of the 'racist' party Umno didnt give that Chinamen a company, he give him a country!

    Oh i'm sure the goverment is soo racist that it has discriminated and made Vincent Tan,Micheal Yeoh,Tengku Wong, Pat Badawi, Simon Heng, Lim Kok wing, Robert Kuok,etc.etc, to become poor.

    OOps i forgot to mention Eric Cheah..remember him, last time i heard he wasnt Malay, but he did get and later screwed Perwaja didnt he?

    And many Chinese businessman profited by a pro Chineses British goverment for almost a century.

    When the were not citezens remember??

    And all busineses prosper by the climate of political stability and social peace that the goverment has created over the years.

    The chineses due to wealth the inheritted from colonial policies of devide and rule were in the best position to profit from this.Though it was gain during the colonial period,a period of questionable legitamacy, no attempt was made to take it back

    Now, where were we?

    To freelunch 2020, u must be stupid to conclude that the idea of Malay supremecy was introduce by mahathir's book..if there is such a thing anyway

    Btw by calling Mahathir's book stupid and by saying the Malays believe that book then what you are really saying is that the Malays are stupid..very smut, my boy, very smut my boy.I

    If u want to make racial insults, be a man and do it honestly ok?

    U must be another non- Malay undercover racist here arent you?

    Funny the topic is about the Malay Mail but time n again, we c people hijacking the blog topic to spew out, implicit and explicitly, their non-sense about the racist malays!

    But the problem is this people are actually racist..that's why they see racist in every knook and cranny...they never see that no where else in the world do the non- indiginous people have had it as good as malaysia.

    In THailand and Indonesia they have to change thier names to local names.U think u can have chinese schools over there?Goverment sponserd no less?

    In france a country which gave birth to the Enlightenment, which supposedly doesnt recognize differances in Race officially, do u think they will allow people like Zidane, Thuram, Thierry Henry to speak their mother tounges on national TV or after winning the world cup?

    Do you think the muslims of Germany, england, and France where they are 5- 10% population gets to celebrate their holy days via a national holiday?Or have a nation wide schooling system to cater for there own cultural needs which is foreighn to the French?

    Do u think Zidane and co can have their own version of Sin Che Jit Poh? Or Tamil Nissan?


    And do not equate worth of citezenship with economic worth...Al-Fayed, who speaks perfect English, runs and employs many british folks thru Harrods, owns a football team, Fulham FC is not given a British citezenship even after apllying many times.

    NST owned by Umno, a Malay paper, yet gives alot of important post to non- Malays..Remember the Brenden? Remember Harjit Kaur? But does the Star do the same?

    Its not the goverments fault that there are so many racist who cling on to foreighn lifestlyes and names, who do not want to make the nessacry cultural and linguistic adaptations.

    For ex: U guys ever heard Lim Goh Tong speak? I have but i didnt understand him..he was not speaking Malaysian.

    So freelunch, I'm all for us discarding race as soon as possible but not one moment sooner. As soon as the non- Malays adopt the customs of the National culture like in Indonesia, france, Thailand and every other civilized nation than we can disband Umno and the BN.

    So go promote your version of the world to your chinesse brothers first. If u can convince them , then i'm game.

    PS- To Freelunch, the idea that race is just an 'idea' is also just an 'idea'. stating it is neither profound nor new.

    Sorry for spelling errors,folks-m in a hurry to catch a movie.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous11:09 pm

    first and foremost, is there a need to sell the malay mail.
    if only the big guns at jln riong can get their act together and focus on getting the malay mail back on track.
    apasal, desperado sangat ke nak pakai duit?
    the malay mail doesnt need to be sold - it needs proper steering in the right direction.

    i wouldnt blame whats happened so far solely on editorial. i believe marketing also deserves to share the blame for their inefficiencies.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:20 pm

    mat rempit hubris,

    spot on! but a bit long lah...

    monsterball was a reject at malaysia-today. he comes here hoping to hang out with more AAB supporter or more polite commentors.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous11:21 pm

    Just a point to make about Ananda and Tony not being a malay and being deprived to own Malay Mail.Ananda has a gambling licence and biggest TV license amongst others.He also got the land around KLCC for a song if you remember besides other priviliges.

    Tony has an airline permit and he is better treated than a goverment linked company MAS. HE has now been given monopoly for all domestic travels in Sabah and Sarawak to the detriment of the public and Bumiputras there. The service level is simply hopeless and the public is deprived of a choice in favour of Tony. Add to this the Goverment has paid him subsidy despite the inefficiency. I believe the subsidy paid is more than MAS has ever got from the goverment. Lately national traffic air rights to fly abroad also given to his private company Fax Air and not to Air Asia which is a public company. Overnight with this rights its worth millions.
    So please to people who think Ananda and Tony had been deprived you simply are ignorant.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous12:15 am

    If Malay Mail goes to either Tony or AK they can sure make it happen. When AK started Maxis, rival Celcom already had hundreds of thousands of subscribers, but eventually Maxis became the leader. Tony also swam against the tide and made AirAsia into an admired airline. Any one of them for sure can bring back the MM's legacy. I am sure Ibrahim Nor can do a better job than the current team but he is partners with Kadir who is not favored in Jalan Riong. My guess is, if AK or Tony take over MM, they will switch it to morning paper and this will be a competitor to NST. Of course its easy to beat NST as their sales team is not up to mark. Next is to go after Star which commands a chunk of the ad expenditure.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous1:10 am

    mat rempit,

    i've already asserted my non-racist stance many times.

    using racial terms to describe events, etc does not make a person racist. it is when one thinks that there are differences that are raced-based. the reason i need to describe things using 'malay' and 'non-malay' is bcos that's how things are. not because i think there is an INHERENT DIFFERENCE between a malay and non-malay.

    race is a concept, and does not limit what a person can be and is.

    i believe the NEP policies are based on Dr M's Malay Dilemma - a blatantly racist book which may not have introduced the idea of malay supremacy but surely mass produced it.

    let's put it this way, a lazy person is a lazy person regardless of race. a stupid person is also stupid regardless of race. i don't know how people can buy the stupid idea that malays are lazy.

    i never said anything about NST being racist.

    the idea that race is just an idea is not particularly profound, but it appears to be beyond u.

    ALSO PLEASE DON'T PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH! I NEVER SAID MALAYS ARE STUPID. BUT YOU ARE DEFINITELY STUPID. ALSO, MOST MALAYS I KNOW ARE NOT RACISTS.

    re promoting my version of the world to my 'chinese brothers'. i don't need to promote anything to anyone. it's JUST MY BLOODY OPINION. u can agree or disagree.

    BTW, i support the bahasa kebangsaan. so i dunno really understand your rant about france, thailand, etc.

    one of the reasons that CHINESE SCHOOLS exist is because of the NEP based discrimination that prevents Chinese students from accessing education.

    and I AM NOT HIJACKING rocky's blog. i am his fan and enjoy the discussions.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous3:24 am

    Rockybro,

    Just woke up..had a vision of your blog in my dream...being overun by savages- intelectually that is..

    Anyway, in my haste to catch a movie i forgot that i havent left a comment on the subject of the Malay Mail..

    To me, why sell when the problem just require a bit of tweaking.

    But if still want to sell than sell it to anyone, except Ananda or Temasek.

    I dont want Ananda to buy the Malay mail simply beacuse his media empire is extansive enuf as it is already.Too much media power concentrated in one individual is dangerous.Monopolies are no good, economically and morally.

    Sooner or later the decision to allow so much economic and media power to one individual will come back to bite us up the arse.

    And dont sell the Malay mail, or for that matter any newspaper to temasek either. Papers, like it or not, greatly influence the politics of a country and the mood of the people.

    As such, to me, Malaysian domestic politics should be left only to Malaysians rather than birds of passages.

    At least they have a stake in the country- good or bad, they have to live by thier decisions.

    Anyway, drowsiness is catching up with me again.

    so good night

    ReplyDelete
  22. I will sell The Malay Male to Ananda Krishnan.

    Come on, Anan. It's only US$400 million. Just 10% of your money. Come on la.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Rocky!
    A line in this new very good movie "The Good Sheppard" when an Italian Mafia emigre who came to the US when he was two months old was told by this stone-faced WASPy (White Anglo Saxon Protestant = WASP) spyman that he would soon be deported if he refused to help the US government to overthrow Fidel Castro, he said I have live all my in this country have owned everything around him, and the arrogant Italian descent Mafia-man asked the WASPy stone-faced spyman (played by Matt Damon): "What do YOU have?"
    Stone-faced spyman took a short breath before answering and said:"I have the United States, and you and the rest of your likes are just visitng". So the Mafia man helped!
    So Rocky just remind your racist non-Malay posters, this country was orignally, and still does, occupied by the Malays and their sultanate-governance and the rest just came and stayed and overstayed. We are not even asking them to like us, just tell them if the Malays want the Malay Mail they can have it, remember everyone can play the racial card, and the Malays are way better at it! So at the end of the day we can always say the original Malays owned Persekutuan Tanah Melayu and the rest are just visiting, so dont make us say that!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous9:52 am

    Errr... people still buy the Malay Mail??? Jeez... that's like a grown man buying Mangga, URTV and Hai, all at the same time! Sorry, personally, I find the Malay Mail trashy, albeit its civic-consciousness (ala "the paper that cares")...

    Ananda might be rich to buy it, but owning the Malay Mail sounds like Queen Elizabeth wearing a Calvin Klein jeans! Come on, Ananda, you have bigger and better things to eye on....


    Jeez... the Malay Mail!

    - myview_aia

    ReplyDelete
  25. Someone commented on the lack of self-made Malay millionaires in M'sia. There's a newly minted one - the RM1m TM winner from Kelantan. So here you go...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:33 am

    err Pasquale,
    Racist. Ithink you just showed how racist you are.
    And judging by you post, why use Pasquale...are you French?
    Just use Pak Kuale, maybe that may suit you better.
    Someone mentioned chinese being helped by the Govt, yes and they moved on to greater things, and creating many jobs for MALAYSIANS (not chinese, Indians, or Malays)
    But as for the Malay run companies, all they get is bailouts from the Govt. I don't mean all, but evidently you can see there are more of these companies as opposed to the ones run by 'DLL'.
    The point is the sooner we discard this mentality, i.e chinese, Malay, Indian, and we can unite without boundaries, we will sink Singapore in no time!
    But who in the right mind will give up 45% equity 'given'by the govt??

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:49 am

    With love for Pasquale..
    This country belongs to the Orang Asli brother, the Malay pirates landed here from all over the archipelago seeking shelter from the monsoon and a hideout, and if it was not for the tin-mining chinese, and the rubber tapper Indians, the Malays would still be living by the river fishing their ikan keli, growing kangkong and eating it with kicap.
    All the towns in Malaysia, except for Putrajaya, were opened by the Chinese -- hence the distinctive architecture of kedai sederet from Johor to Perlis.
    So, brother in parting, I leave a passage from Khuswant Singh's book which he wrote when visiting New York for the first time in 1968.
    "I went to the men's to urinate, and never felt more relieved in my life. There was graffiti on the wall which said Go Home Yankees, This Country Belongs to the Indians."
    Khuswant said it was his proudest moment being and Indian.
    So, go home to Canada Pasquale, this country belongs to Malaysians.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:08 am

    why can't AK buy Malay Mail.Is he not a Malaysian(sorry pak Ghani from UMNO johor..take a hike, can't yo see the unity during the flood). Are they giving it free to him?If not, why can't he buy it at willing buy willing seller price.

    AK may make MM a great paper and give others like Star a run for the money when clearly no one is able to compet e with Star. And in the process he will give better employment opportunity to all Malaysians and give consumer choices. The commenst are the same if Ibrahim or Tony buys the MM.

    Go for it AK or Tony or Ibrahim Nor!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous12:43 pm

    Sdr Rocky,

    I can't believe that AK is interested in the MM and Weekend Mail (WM).

    Why should he bother himself with puny venture like the MM and WM?

    He made his fortune in petroluem via his intimate friendship with Tengku Razaleigh and later Dr Mahathir. Now he's Abdullah's sailing buddy.

    He flirted with the print media before by launching the magazibe V Mag but that soon failed and was terminated.

    But he has tonnes of money to lavish. His foreign-domiciled companies like Astro All Asia PLC and Tanjong PLC have amassed billion of ringgits through IPOs and government franchises like satellite, paid-TV, telecommunications, power generation, lotteries and many more.

    AK is perhaps the best known MalaysianPutra after Robert Kuok. But both are taking their assets, money and corporate control out of the country.

    MalaysianPutra like AK, Kuok and Patrick Lim could be fishing, dining and partying with Pak Lah but they are progressively moving their wealth out of this country.

    So why should AK want to buy MM and WM? Maybe he wants to use the venerable papers to fool us that he's still committed to this country when in actual fact the control of most of his Malaysian-generated assets and wealth have been moved abroad.

    Don't talk about NSTP being an Umno asset. I don't think Umno cares or dares to get involved for as long as Kallimullah is there. What Kalli says, Pak Lah will concur.

    But I know there are no shortage of Malaysians and MelayuPutra who are willing to relieve the NST of the MM and WM. But they won't get it bacause MelayuPutra ada dangerous unless they polish the Big Malaysian Apple.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Rocky!

    To Ahbeng and the all the delusional visitors I have a question! Here goes: Do you guys really believe Australia should be given back to the Aborigines, should North America be given back to the native "Red Indians", should New Zealand be given back to the Maoris, should Queen Charlotte island be given back to the Haida Indians, the answer to the above is NOooo! But, I agree with Ahbeng that I think Persekutuan Tanah Melayu should be given back to the Orang Asli (notice in caps)! DSo you okay now Ahbeng!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Rocky!

    To Ahbeng, I dont know why I have to go to Canada, if I have to go backI will go back to my little village in Cyprus, not far from Nicosia, about 11kms to the sea! Ahbeng do you know where Cyprus is! Over there there are only us Greek-Cypriots, and the Turkish-Cypriots are on the other side, just to let you know Turkey will never be allowed to join the European Community! Want to know why Ahbeng? We are racist just like you guys over here but pretending to be liberal! Very sad! Kalispira!

    PS. Moron, by the way, is a Greek word!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous3:35 pm

    Uncle Rocky,
    Akhir-akhir ini, komen-komen di blog uncle selalu berbaur perkauman. Walau apa isu yang saudara bawakan, nampaknya...semuanya dikaitkan dengan perkauman.

    Kalau tulis tentang kumbang terbang atau ayam berlaga, atau ikan keli sekalipun pasti individu-individu yang mengaku mereka tidak racist ini akan mendahului komen-komen mereka dengan bau perkauman.

    Persoalannya, adalah ianya bermotif baik atau ada yang tersirat???

    Pada pandangan saya, ini hanyalah satu helah untuk sabotaj blog-blog yang terang-terang mempunyai pengikut yang ramai dan anti AAB n co. sahaja.

    Selepas ini, jangan terkejut jika AAB n Co. mempunyai sebab yang kuat untuk mengambil tindakan tehadap perjuangan blog sperti uncle atas nama membendung unsur perkauman.

    Jadi, pada pandangan saya..Uncle mesti mula menapis komen-komen yang tidak bertangung jawab ini untuk kepentingan perjuangan dan keseronokan pembaca semua.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous4:43 pm

    Rocky,

    You have got balls. I grant you that. However, to gain credibility you must diassociate yourself from that professional arse licker, the Scribe Kadir A. Jasin.

    It was during his watch that the NST and MalayMail began their downward spiral.

    They say "cream rises to the top." I say "so does scum." And even shit floats.

    I aint no Kalimullah fan but I rate the Scribe lower than scum.

    My grade for some journalists:

    A+ Creme dela Creme (Samad Ismail - nobody like him since)
    B+ Cream (Reman Rashid - man he could write)
    C+ Milk (Rocky - a pro who was just getting better)
    D- Froth (Ahmad Talib - ask yourself why?)
    E- Scum (Kalimulah Hassan - professional boot licker)
    F- Floaties (the Scribe Kadir A. Jasin - Common readers you know why)

    I wonder if you will censor this Rocky? The jury is in deliberation.

    dgrimreamer

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous5:08 pm

    If less than RM 5, I buy...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous5:36 pm

    All the big guns can come armed with their cash and buy the MM, but they will get shot fatally if the dont have the right management team.

    obviously, they cant rely on the crap management currently running the MM. They need good, solid journos to put the MM back on track. Mind you, it can be done.

    There is talk in the advertising industry that a bunch of former journos are also in the running to buy the MM.

    These boys will get the job done. I know two of them personally and it would be sheer joy to have them back in action.

    Anyone want to guess who these former journos are?

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous9:12 pm

    Pasquale: "So at the end of the day we can always say the original Malays owned Persekutuan Tanah Melayu and the rest are just visiting, so dont make us say that!"

    My dear Pasquale, you and many Malays, have been saying just that for years. Even the East Malaysians like Kadazans and Ibans, who joined Malaya to make up the federation of Malaysia, are disgusted with people like you.

    By the way, what you call Malays are actually descendents of people who migrated from the Yunnan region and chased the original Orang Asli (please note the term carefully here - ORANG ASLI) into the jungle. See:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_Malaysia

    Furthermore, over the years, the Malays mixed with Indians, Chinese, Arabs and Pakistanis resulting in the Malay we know today. A Malay who without British intervention (and before that, protection from China) would be speaking Thai and taking orders from Bangkok.

    And instead of accepting the consequences of 500 years of colonization - which included the extensive importation of Indians and Chinese to this country while it was under 150 years of British rule - the Malays like to pretend they never lost control, were never colonized, and that these migrants are somehow here on their favor and arrived perhaps two years before 1957. In short, they are trying to escape the consequences of British colonization while penalizing the non-Malays in the process. What does that say about the quality of your character and the character of Malays like you?

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous9:21 pm

    rocky,
    what happened to my reply to mat rempit?
    nvm, u r right, not worth replying to.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous3:02 am

    anonymous 4:43 PM: "My grade for some journalists..."

    agree with your list except abt AKJ. i'd sooner put Dolah Kok Lanas in yr f for floaties list.

    perhaps it's personal animus with AKJ, non?

    as for the incomparable RR, he's with aljeez now.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous3:29 am

    Been a while. Can't resist Anon's grading for editors. Rehman belongs to "writer/columnist" category. Kadiaq should be B+, the bugger got balls but abused some reporters and editors but certainly made of sterner staff than most eds. Haji Datuk Kali a/l Hassan is an big F, which stands for F... well, I won't let Rocky edit me so I'd leave it at that.

    Thanx.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Yang Berbahagia Datuk Ron

    Saya kenal Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, tetapi Tun dah tentu la tak kenal saya (siapalah aku! melancholic sikit...)

    Tetapi, kalau saya ada peluang bercakap dengan Tun seperti Datuk, saya akan mintak Tun "buat hingaq" tentang nasib bloggers yang Datuk sebutkan itu.

    Rocky nampak seperti jatuh ditimpa tangga, terkena pulak taik ayam pandu.

    Kena buang kerja (walaupun guna ayat lain yang bagus-bagus), buat blog yang dipantau polis dan akhirnya tekena taik ayam pandu bila saman sudah mari.

    -lahbodo.blogspot.com (cc: Rocky's Bru)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous11:49 am

    monsterball...ditto... we are proud of OUR roots, even though it's not 'more than 5000 years' and even if we did not invent medicine, martial arts, paper, printing etc. I've always wanted to say this, it has nothing to do wuth malay supremacy (whoever came up with that term?). I dont believe in that. Its just that this place is our roots and our our great grandparents fought for this country (much more than yours anyway) and I'll be damned if some people are telling me otherwise.
    If you ask most Chinese where are their roots, they would say China. If you ask most Malay where are their roots, they would still say Malaysia. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the difference.

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  42. Anonymous12:07 pm

    TO MONSTERBALL,

    (From now on i'll abreviate ur name to 'Monster')


    What's the point of having a civilization of 5000years or 5million even, if the upper classes of that civilization oppress the lower strata of thier society to the extant that they have to leave n search for a new life elsewhere?Including to places where people live on trees?

    Maybe they can build a very long wall and call it "Great" but sadly after thousands and thousands of years still no respect for life..too me that's not very civilized.

    Remember Chairman Mao ? Remember the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution?He'll make Saddam look like an angel.

    When the great friend of Democracy Lee Kuan Yew says'the only language the Chineses understand is coercion' I culd never appreciate it..But then i'm not Chinese, what do i know?

    Sedih sekali.Usia beribu- ribu tahun tapi nilai nyawa masih belum belajar...aiyah

    PS- This post is directed only for Monsterball.My Dr Tan says, when i read his post i get infected by an acute version of 'Selective Amnesia/Memory' virus that he has.

    Folks its deadly! But luckly it passes of after reponding to him.

    So to any of u that take offense to my comments, m soo sori.Its the virus talking..the one i got from the Monster.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous12:18 pm

    To annonymous 11:49,

    Actually, it doesnt matter where u ask the Chinese where are thier roots..lots of them, dont know if its the majority, but many says its Malaysia..and they dont make remarks like the 'Monster' either.Good people

    So i dont think its fair for us to generalize too much because of some bad apples.Just like there are people like Hishamuddin Keris, there are also many non- malay clones of him too.

    N another thing- dont take our 'Monster' too seriously especially when he says "101% accurate and well written"

    His comments r soo totally devoid of both ingrediants that probaly he doesnt even know what those two words mean

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  44. Anonymous12:33 pm

    I wish professional journalists, editors and former editors are given preference to buy the MM and Weekend Mail, if they are really up for sale.

    If we don't recognise professional journalists, we will have another problem later on. As a former NST reader and now a student of mass communications, I know that two factors destroyed the NST; political interference and unprofessional editors like Dato' Kalimullah Hassan Masheerul Hassan and those he engaged to edit the Weekend Mail.

    I don't like Datuk AKJ. He was too pro-government when he was the editor of NST. But at least Berita Publishing survives and some new magazines were launched.

    I think professional journalists, senior editors and ex-editors should get together and bid for the Malay Mail and Weekend Mail and for all the newspapers which are for sale.

    Judging from your blog and other blogs run by prtofessional journalists, i am confident a journalist-owned and operated papers will be well received and successful.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous8:31 am

    To 'abang'Freelunch,

    Must u be consistant in being forked- tounged?If u think i'm not worth replying to than why reply at all,?Replete with insults in capital letters and all.

    Marah ya bang?

    And do u realize that your sentence " NVM, U R RIGHT NOT WORTH REPLYING TO" is also in itself a reply? Tsk, tsk ...cerdik sunguh abang Freelunch ni

    anyway when i said u r saying the Malays r stupid, it is by INFERANCE- if u state that Mahathir's book was stupid especially on what u deem " Malay supremecy" and the mass malays beleive it, than by using YOUR chain of logic, by implication u r saying that the Malays must be stupid to believe a stupid book..comprehende?

    Anyway I agree Mahathir's book is a stupid book with a few snippets of wisdom, so y do u say that Malays believe it?

    That’s what u are saying u know, when u wrote, I quote “ Dr M’s book, The Malay Dilemma- a blatantly racist book which may not have introduced the idea of malay supremacy but surely mass produced it.”

    That quotation was from ur second reply which was rephrasing your original statement on the issue where u wrote in ur first comment “all this is because of the US vs THEM mentality still harping on the 1969 victory parade by the opposition shouting "balik kampunglah melayu" and believing that STUPID fascist book by Dr M, Malay Dilemma, which hammered the idea of Malay supremacy into the community.”

    So on wat basis r u saying most Malays buy into the " Malay supremacy" baloney? In the process care u explain what YOU mean by it?

    Anyway, all that is secondary.

    More importantly, if u dont want others to put words into ur mouth than DON’T SHOVE WORDS OR BELEIFS IN THE THROAT OF A WHOLE COMMUNITY without CLARIFYING

    On this, pls dont say it ws just ur 'opinion ' after the fact.

    If it was, than u should state that qualification WHILE making the statement, not by inserting it retrospectively- after all, unlike ur nick, not every statement is a bloody freelunch

    But u dont have to reply. After all, u said i'm not worth replying to.

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  46. Anonymous10:07 pm

    Bros and sis,

    Just ignore that monster. I am a Chinese and I do not share his view.

    He will defend Lim Kit Siang and his son, hte Sleeping Beuaty, Khairy na dKalimullah. So what is there for us to atalk about him. Let just iognore him so that he will fade away and join the Lim Kit Siang and the Tingkat Empat sponsored blog.

    Whatever the Lim Kit Siang and Sleeping Beauty said he will support.

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  47. Anonymous6:58 pm

    The Malay Mail, the country's oldest homegrown newspaper, is not a racist publication. It can be owned and run and edited by anyone who can produce a great newspaper, which it was even not too long ago. So what if it is sold to a non-Malay or run by one? If that person can resurrect the paper's past glory and make it a viable entity once again, then why not?!
    In fact, if i take a guess, the reason why The Malay Mail has not been doing well is because the reading/buying public is racist. They don't want to read or buy a paper that has the name Malay. If you don't believe me, do a survey and ask people if that is not so. Many will unwittingly admit their racial bias. Frankly, The Malay Mail is not a name that appeals to the current population. Only those with nostalgic feelings still have emotional ties to the paper. The new owner of the paper may even want to subtly change the paper's name, but only to reflect changing times, not to completely junk the paper's historic brand.

    ReplyDelete