Harsh words between old hands. There would seem to be no love lost between the two, if one were to judge by the letter that the minister sent to the newspaper columnist in response to the latter's column that appeared in the Sun on Jan 22, 2008 with the headline More than just a dinner.
In his letter, Zam went on the offensive from the opening paras:Read the rest of Zam's letter and Zainon's column here."In the current atmosphere of open Government some writers are taking the opportunity to present themselves as being liberal by injecting cynicism into their work. Pathological questioning of every decision and poking fun at the authorities is a badge that they wear to identify themselves as a liberal. Perhaps they think it makes their article more interesting to read.
"I am saddened to count you as one of the writers painting themselves into a corner by limiting their work to negative commentaries just for the sake of playing to the galleries."
Monday, February 04, 2008
Zam vs Zainon - More than Just words
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Who the hell does Zam think he is that he cannot be criticized? This is the problem with our leaders at all levels: "Tak pernah dan tak boleh di tegur!" (They cannot and have not been criticized)?
ReplyDeleteNo wonder it does not take them long to acquire the Little Napoleon syndrome - big headed idiots who do not take criticism easily.
We must continue to criticize them and hold their feet to fire. If they cannot stand the heat, then they should get out. As for whether our criticism is fair or valid, let the public decide that.
M. Bakri Musa
Bravo! FInally Mr Zam has shown he too can produced crisp Englais?
ReplyDeletewaa..zam can speaking the london...
ReplyDeleteRocky,
ReplyDeleteI was surpire to read Zam's letter to Pak Non, compared to the Aljazeera incident and many other fumble he did as Info Minister.
In fact I see it as a fair comment on the present of MSM but it should be send to all the editors of MSM and Not Pak Non alone.
Zam, try to send the same letter to Hisham, Wong and Kali and see if they bother to reply or you might see your name not listed in the next GE.
The facts is Hisham and Kali did not bother to attend the dinner at all.
the letter is in english so Zam could have not written it. Too wll written to be him. and Zam can take hike.
ReplyDeleteBTW where is Nazri the balachi??
Dear Mayor Rocky!
ReplyDeleteI am afraid I have to side with Zam, I too know these two people, well not well but sort of bond with Zam as a Malay. With this Tamil speaking Zainon Ahmad, well, he can only bond with the non-Malays, especially the Indian. Iwas told he grew up in an estate mixing only with Indians. He has been known to secretly shown his dislike for the Malays for God knows for what reason. Yes! Zainon is on of those misplaced bleeding-heart liberals Malays who think he is not a Malay, but then he looks lke one, talk like one, and even smell like one too!
What Zam is saying is to a wrong person! If Zam is trying to appeal to Zainon's sense of the Malay esprit d' corp, well forget it Zainon Ahmad, the name may be Melayu but his psyhce is definitely Indian. He would be more comfortable if S. Samy Vellu is the Prime Minister of Malaysia,and all cabinet ministers are Indians!
Oh BTW I feel more close to Zam than Zainon, Zam is definitely a Malay!
So there cleopatra, I have said my piece.....not peace!
zam
ReplyDeletewhat can be compared than how yuou make an arsehole of yourself in front of worldwide audience with your brand of "malaysia democracy style". dont speak for me, for goodness sake.
as for zainon, too bad. your days are numbered and beyond your journalism you dont have plum PR jobs like some of those who toe the official line.
at least , i gave you zainon my deep respect for not being in the same mold as those who only glorifies trappings of lifestyle at the expense of integrity.
good luck, zainon unless you are "rehabiliated", there's limited future for you.
WOW!!! Did he write that all by himself??? So eloquent for a change...Next time Zam,pop a Xanax before going on live TV...helps with the blubbering...
ReplyDeleteIs this wayang? I already removed theSun from my daily read list. It has turned into just another bolehcomic.
ReplyDeleteBravo, Pak Zainon!
ReplyDeletePak Zainon 1 - Zam 0.
Zam's mindset, i am not surprised, is as archaic as they come. Should there be expiry dates for mentality, Zam would have been cast out into the garbage bin long time ago.
'Democracy Malaysian-style' reporting as he continues to push for and pursue is his spin for reporting what he wants you to report and hence makes him still relevant in the cabinet (note the lower case). To say the least, it is downright limiting and insulting.
As i have commented before somewhere in this blog, Zam i think is trapped in his own little mind and world-view. This is the age of the internet and doesn't he know no one can control information anymore?
That said, even the portfolio of minister of information in this day and age is a cruel joke on the person who is appointed such.
Zam is too dumb to know anyway. ;)lol
Sdr Rocky"s Bru,
ReplyDeleteat least Zam got somebody who can write proper English to help him pen his reply to Zainon.
I am not saying that it matches Zainon's but good enough to read.
Elok juga mereka berbahas. Kedua-duanya dari dearah yang sama di Merbok. Zam belajar di sekolah Arab, Zainon boleh berbahasa Tamil.
Siapa agaknya penulis hantu Zam itu?
Teringat saya malam selepas penamaan calon pilihan raya umum 2004 apabila yang bertemu Zam di chalet Kelab Golf Cinta Sayang di Sungai Petani.
Zam waktu itu berlainan daripada Zam yang saya baca dalam akhbar sekarang.
Terima kasih.
The tools of the government
ReplyDeleteThe media aren’t fools
Yet it is made out to be
Say this don’t say that
If you want your license renew
The company silently following rules
The government wants the newspapers
Give its leaders the prominent stage they deserved
Prop them up to the highest bill
Let the people know how good they are
If the government is free
Allowing freedom of expression in medium
Why it wants to teach others when they criticize?
It just doesn’t rhythm
The pied piper wants all to sing the same melody
So you watch
Say one thing go after another
They want glory in their names
They can’t stand criticism
The government leaders can’t change
They can’t feel the new image
They can’t get the visuals
They can say they have new clothing
Inside they are the change resistant
The country woes
Just don’t let these people glow
Kick them out the sooner the better
Otherwise we sit under the coconut trees
Drinking toddy till out of time!
wah! Zam can write in English (as opposed to speaking)!!
ReplyDeleteOne would have trouble believing this letter had come from him after the manglish (mangled-english) he spoke with AJ.
Of course, I am aware of translators..but, hey, couldn't resist a poke! hehe..
Is Zam capable of such good use of the English language or has he painted some editor or columnist into the corner to ghost-write for him. If it is his own, good for him; if not his own, shame is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteOne wrong use of preposition: "....brave departure WITH the rules...." should it be departure FROM.....its me telling ZAM that there sure is room for improvement.
ReplyDeleteI am interested to know your take ont he episode, saudara rocky
ReplyDeleteWho wrote that fine worded letter? Zam? i never knew he is well mannered!
ReplyDeleteWatch here!
Minister Zainuddin Maidin's written English -- bounds and leaps better than his spoken English? See link below:
ReplyDeletehttp://malaysianunplug.blogspot.com/2008/02/thin-skinned-and-red-faced-information.html
I read through the text of Zam's letter twice.
ReplyDeleteMuch as I don't like Zam, it's hard to fault what he wrote in that letter.
Zainon would have come across better if he had refused Zam's dinner invitation.
It's simply not done to break bread with someone and then write something critical about that person (the more so if it is a tongue-in-the-cheek veiled sarcasm). To borrow the PM's words, that's extremely 'biadap'.
Zam has opinions about bloggers. They may be wrong or misguided, but he has expressed them openly. And rather than engage him in rational, civilised debate, the bloggers he has targetted choose to heap scorn and vilification on him.
If you want to criticise Zam, then do it openly - to his face. Hold a press conference. Write letters to the mainstream papers. Or even join a political party and stand for election.
But that would be too much hard work now, wouldn't it?
The Chief Justice , the minister, the tycoon, et al should all sue lingam for defamation since they deny what the bugger said as the truth, correct?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Star..good newspaper..HA! it's a JOKE! It's getting scooped left right centre, stories are so ONE SIDED..and the best part..the journalists there are LEMBIK just like Latok Wong Tak Cun Wai.
ReplyDeleteps: their classifieds are good tho.
betul ke tu surat ZAM? Bukan English dia hampeh ke?
ReplyDeleteDear Rocky,
ReplyDeleteIt is really hard not to judge at this point. What the heck, I am human, therefore I am allowed to judge: I will not believe - in this life or next - that Zam wrote the letter himself.
Betul Doc Bakri! Ramai sangat pembesar kita yg berlagak tinpot despot.
ReplyDeletePasquale
ReplyDeleteZam is a Malay ???
He is an Indian Muslim, a Mamak, for goodness sake.
He is one mamak who wants to be more Malay than an ethnic Malay, all for political opportunism.
Zam is a successor of another mamak Minister in the Information.
Ministry.
Leave alone the issue of whether Zainon or Zam are more Indian or more Malay. That is bad analogy. Don't crowd the issue.
PASQUALE ! You never cease to amaze me with your moronic thick witted hare-brained comments.So what if Pak Non speaks Tamil ? Makes him what ? And as for Zam's English .... what the hell is "Pathological questioning " questionable adjective open to question; questionably adverb; questioning adjective implying a question and saying what ?And ZAM IS MAMAK ! MAIDIN !!!! Helloooo ! thats a Rojak and Pasembor name !
ReplyDeleteI though Al jazeera made a fool out of him already enough,
ReplyDeleteNow he wants to be superfool
To Frank,
ReplyDeleteWell said. Exactly what I had in mind.
Dato Zam,
ReplyDeleteI..I...I..respect your...your..your letter la. I don't..don't know you...you..you can write Inglish ve..ve..ve..very well...well.
Can...can..can..teach me ka? English writing only la but not Inglish skipping.
Heck, I always enjoy Zainon's column, it never fails to give the real perspective. Why can't rambo Zam accepts that journalistic field is an independent arena where different opinions should be allowed, with readers decide what is true. Rambo Zam should give more credit to today's youth at least the non - Malays ones.
ReplyDeleteoh, it is interesting to learn that so many bloggers are interested in zam. By the way, it seems that all of you are old friends. At least, as a minister, he did not forget the old friends and invited all to a dinner.
ReplyDeleteNot like my old friend minister, he never invited us to any dinner.
hahaha sometimes i pity Zam, and sometimes i pity you guys the journalists....
ReplyDeletewhat i think both Zam and you journalists have in common is that both are you stink and always wanting attention...
like Zam, many journalists think they are smart, cunning and funny...many are indeed possess all that, but many more (who are the "loud" ones), are just full with as much craps as Zam has... some journalists claimed that just because they have a big "fanbase", they must be smart and what they write are interesting...well, they must have PhD in spelling then? after all (excluding some pure heart journalists like Pak Sako, one of the breed that currently is in the verge of extinction), most journalists are those graduated with low qualification in their SPM and STPM certs... the common knowledge in SPM's level subjects they cannot master, yet they want to talk about politics, economy and life? what a bunch of sore, underachiever losers....
for me - Zam and most journalists are 2 x 5....
you guys seem to have a 'thing' with Zam's English don't cha...
ReplyDeleteanyway was it fair comment on Zam's part? Was it unfair criticism on Pak Non's side?
Dulu dia cakap English koboi hangpa faham la ni di dah polish sampai merelit, hangpa teruih tak nampak point dia, or maybe that's not important...
anyway I think maybe he should go back to his goblok English to make his point...at least orang paham...
Uncle Zainon
ReplyDeleteIts sad to read some of these comments but they don't know a tinge of your personality, late Mr.Moorthy has told me dozens of inspiring childhood memories about you , he had a lot of respect and
admiration for you and so do I.
You are very much a malay the way you are . You always remind me of the word muhibbah.
May god bless you and your family always
Moorthy's Son.