Kepimpinan "baru" di Bernama

Sebagai seorang mantan warga Bernama, saya selalu mengikuti perkembangan dan kemajuan yang berlaku dalam agensi berita nasional itu. Perkembangan terkini berkaitan perlantikan Azman Ujang dan Yong Soo Heong sebagai Pengurus Besar dan Ketua Pengarang.

Sama ada kita suka atau tidak, setuju atau sebaliknya, ia telah berlaku. Kita hanya boleh berdoa dan menaruh harapan tinggi agar kedua-dua perlantikan itu dibuat dengan betul dan tepat demi masa depan Bernama. Itu saja.

Saya tidak tahu apakah kriteria yang digunapakai oleh Lembaga Pengelola dalam membuat keputusan itu. Yang pasti, perlantikan kali ini dibuat begitu cepat dan dalam keadaan segera. Apa yang hendak dikejar atau hendak lari dari apa? Hanya Pengerusi Bernama yang tahu.

Dalam membuat sesuatu perlantikan, lazimnya pihak yang membuat atau memutuskan perlantikan itu akan mengeluarkan notis tawaran atau pelawaan untuk mereka yang layak dan memiliki kelulusan tertentu memohon jawatan berkenaan. Dalam hubungan ini, saya tidak nampak atau terbaca iklan pelawaan dalam mana-mana akhbar atau media elektronik. Oleh itu, Lembaga Pengelola Bernama, atau lebih tepat lagi pengerusi Bernama, telah berlaku tidak adil kepada sesiapa sahaja yang berminat untuk mengisi kekosongan yang ada.

Saya juga tidak nampak sebarang kelebihan pada Azman Ujang, seperti mantan Pengurus Besar Syed Jamil Shahabuddin, dalam bidang pengurusan dan pentadbiran selain pengalaman dalam bidang kewartawanan. Bagi saya, perlantikan Syed Jamil adalah satu kesilapan dan kesilapan yang sama telah diulangi. Nampaknya Lembaga Pengelola Bernama terutama Pengerusinya tidak mempelajari daripada kesilapan.

Mengenai Yong atau "Buyong", saya akur dengan alasan yang diberi oleh Pengerusi Bernama, jika itulah alasan sebenar. Cuma, pada pendapat saya, ia mungkin membangkitkan rasa tidak puas hati atau kecewa di kalangan dua tiga orang wartawan kanan yang pernah disebut-sebut sebagai bakal KP.

Bak kata orang, semuanya telah berlaku, dah berlalu dan dah terngadah. Terima sajalah.

Kepada Azman dan Buyong, pendayung ditangan anda, dayunglah perahu itu, sama ada menongkah arus atau sebaliknya, dengan cermat dan berhati-hati semoga ia tidak karam dipertengahan laluan.

If you are married, say so Pak Lah!

It is the responsibility of every Muslim to inform the public of his marriage. I am not saying that he or she must tell the whole world, suffice to inform your relatives and friends. Why? Simply to avoid being accused of illicit sex or zina.

If the person is the leader of the community, state or nation, then he must not hide his marriage, be it for the second, third of even fourth time.

So, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi must come forward, either to deny or confirm, his marriage to Jean Danker. Marriage is the sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. and the Malays even describe it as "mendirikan masjid".

Let the truth prevails.

Tok Mat - the longest serving Information Minister

Pix 1: Group photo (1980s) after Tok Mat's visit to the news agency. Seated on the left Rejal Arbee (Datuk and ex-KP), seated second from right Ahmad Mustapha (ex-GM), standing fourth from left Maria Samad while third from right is yours truly. Others in the pix (if u can recognise them) - Hashim Makaruddin (Tan Sri and ex-KP), Azman Ujang (Datuk now KP), Syed Jamil (Datuk ex-GM), Nizamuddin Mohamad, Jaafar Husein (ex-KP), Rahman Sulaiman (ex-KP) Affendi Ariffin, Mahrus Ibrahim, Hoo Ban Khee, Ratna Melan, Zulkifli Salleh, Syed Yahya and the list goes on ....

Pix 2: I was honoured to receive Bernama's long service certificate from Tok Mat, then Information Minister.

Pix 3: Tok Mat, now (February 2007), at 69.

He is still popularly referred to as Tok Mat, Malaysia's longest serving Information Minister until he retired in 1999.

It was a pleasure to meet Tan Sri Mohamad Rahmat at my brother's house in Bukit Damansara. Unfortunately, I could not seek his views on current political development since so many people wanted to say hello and have a short chat with him.

Tok Mat, 69, started his political career in 1965 when he was appointed Political Secretary to the then Transport Minister, the late Tun Sardon Zubir, the guru or sifu of Tun Musa Hitam. In 1969 Tok Mat was elected MP for Johor Bahru Barat and appointed Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health where Tun Sardon served as Minister. In Sept 1970, he served in the same capacity at the Education Ministry and on Jan 1, 1972 he was promoted as Deputy Finance Minister. In Sept 1974 Tok Mat served as Deputy Minister of Coordination of Public Corporations.

In 1974, he was elected MP for Pulai and appointed as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry and in July 1978 he was promoted to head the Information Ministry.

Tok Mat served as Information Minister until April 1982 when he was posted to Jakarta as Malaysia's Ambassador with ministerial rank, by the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. However, in May 1987 he was recalled to once again head the Information Ministry until May 1999 when he retired.

Tok Mat is the most successful and most colourful Information Minister. He was so popular and "down to earth" that he was given various "nick names" such as Mat Bulat, Mat Besar, Mat Setia, Mat Jawa and Mat Re-cond. Sorry Tok Mat, facts are facts but rest assured, your name cannot be separated from many things and the most obvious is the KL Tower or Menara Kuala Lumpur, your brainchild, and as Information Minister, you implemented highly successful campaigns namely Gerakan Setia and Gerakan Semarak. I wonder why such successful campaigns were stopped by his successors?

If only the Malaysia Book of Records existed during your ministerial days, a dozen of things could be easily recorded such as the biggest Malaysian flag, the biggest ketupat and many other "big" things you introduced thus the nick name Mat Besar.

Many of the younger generation are familiar with the "Jom Heboh" programme of TV3 but how many of them are aware that Tok Mat had much earlier organised a similar programme under the K3P project. Of course it was not so "heboh" and lack the glamorous appearance of Akademi Fantasia finalists.

After Tok Mat retired, the Information Ministry is not the same. Now, under journalist-turned-politician, Zainuddin Maidin, what is there to be proud of?

Cruise boats - two of a kin d

Two types of cruise ships spotted off Esplanade (Padang Kota Lama) Penang. Another kind of "ship" missing from the Penang port is the Chinese tongkang or junk. The tongkangs were very common in the days before the free port status was taken away by the federal Government, sadly by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to be given to Langkawi, although the Mahsuri Island was not ready for it.

The tongkangs carried cargo (mostly for barter-trading) from Burma (Myanmar), North Sumatra, Singapore and south China including Hong Kong. The trading agents in Penang were mostly Indian Muslims and thus the term "Mamak Tongkang".

Those were the wonderful days ...

"No elections anytime soon," says the great son-in-law

Malaysians can be rest assured, there will be no elections anytime soon. It is confirmed by none other than the great son-in-law of the great leader himself. I wonder whether the son-in-law was advised to say so by the country's editor-in-chief, the ex-mullah from Kroh (now Pengkalan Hulu) .

So those who are dreaming to be the Yang Berhormat, you can keep on dreaming and the present YBs, there are plenty of time to do "something" to secure your future, to maintain your life-style and to enjoy the good life!

The son-in-law was quoted by the media as saying that the government, yes the government, is unlikely to call for a general election anytime soon. He said various factors had to be taken into account, not just the current strong economic situation.

On what capacity is the son-in-law speaking on behalf of the government? Is he a member of the administration? Umno Youth is not the government, so can the deputy Umno Youth chief issued statements, verbally or in print, to the media on behalf of the government?

Who is in charge of the government? What is the status of the Cabinet so much so that a non-member can freely speak on behalf of the government on such an important issue like the general elections?

The prime minister cannot blame those who criticises his leadership if he allows the son-in-law and his cronies to dictate things on behalf of the government. It is a mockery of democracy.

Is the Sri Tanjung Pinang massive project safe?

This massive housing project is being put up on reclaimed land from the sea off Tanjong Tokong, Penang.

This particular stretch of the coast was badly hit by the tsunami. Several fishing boats were swept by the tidal waves onto the Tanjong Tokong Road. This area is facing the open sea (east of Aceh, North Sumatra). If another major earthquake occurs in that particular area and created another tsunami, most probably the Tanjong Tokong coast will be facing another disaster.

Therefore, is this massive housing project safe?

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

To all my Chinese friends, specially to Jeff Ooi, S S Goh, 'Buyong' Yong, Caroline Hong, Baba Tan, Ah Chong, Ah Keong, 'Ah Moi' Tham, Chye Khim, Chua Yew Kay, and to 'visitors" of my blog, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR.