Is this the 8.00 o'clock news???

"Right is Mount Mat Cinchang"

It was a very rare occasion last night when I actually watch news on the main stream media. Usually, I just let my daughter watch cartoon network or Disney channel as the news resembles the cartoon in the networks. All concocted and embroidered to follow the wishes from some quarters. You know when different hue is painted on a canvas of lies.

However, this post is not about lies or what is told or not. I do not want to waste time typing things which people already know. I just want to highlight things which to me, should be dissipated to the people or the so-called rakyat.

Before the news came yesterday, I spent almost the whole afternoon following the debate at the Dewan Rakyat. As usual, a little hu-ha there in the Dewan Rakyat and being debates, the members are allowed to voiced out their concern on some issues and the ministers gave answers to the issues. Some of the answers are acceptable and some are debatable.

Some of the highlights during the closing debate were the speeches by the Minister of Higher Education (“MOHE”) and the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (“MOA”). Some of the issues highlighted by the members of the Dewan to the MOHE were the issue of appointment of the Vice Chancellor for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and also Universiti Malaya.

Some say that the appointment of women as VC is the factor of the two universities being a little slow and has dropped in their ranking in some list (can’t remember which list though). But the minister says that it was not a factor and further question arises on the appointment of the VC for UKM.

As for the MOA, he gave quite a good presentation as he was very calm, precise and straight to the point. All round of clap to To’ Pa (reference to YB Dato’ Mustapa Mohammad). Some of the highlight is efforts by the Federal Government to handle the food shortage issue especially paddy and rice. Some extra budget was allocated under the 9th Malaysia Plan to solve this problem. Then the answer on subsidies from the Federal Government allocated to the farmers and also the “new” farming method to increase yield of paddy production from 4 metric tonne to 10 metric tonne per hectare. All of that are relevant if you are a farmer and you core business is cultivating paddy.

However, our media didn’t highlight that part where answers are given by the ministers on issues brought by the members of the Dewan. What did they highlight last night during the prime time news on national television? It was a reporting on a minister who uses the word “mampus” during his closing speech and a deputy minister who does not know between Gunung Mat Chinchang (pronounce Mat with the correct pronunciation and emphasise on the letter “a”) and Gunung Mat Chinchang (pronounce Mett with the pronunciation of the letter “a” as “e” as if in Matthews) or some members of the Dewan called some other members monkeys or beruk or barua (I don’t get what the fuss here because some of the members of the Dewan do behave like monkeys or beruk and sometimes even worse).

My point here is the highlight given and the airtime showing the rakyat what is relevant. The media do not have to tell or show these trivial reports as it is not relevant. What is the result of the mid-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan? That is the fact that we rakyat want to know. Not use of some word which may be interpreted to mean something else in some other part of the world. For those whose didn’t have the privilege to know what is the word uttered by the minister, I repeat the word here. The word in “mampus” (which means “die”, “dead” or in malay “mati”). First of all, these words signify only to one meaning in general but to some part of Malaysia, the terms are used differently. Some say “mati” and some say “mampus”.

As to the deputy minister, I think he should go to school again to learn his geography and how to pronounce the malay words in malay language. I mean we don’t say Gua Niah as Gua “Nayah” right? But it is just a small thing. What is the real information that should be given to the rakyat? To me, it is how the government run the country or where the PM spend the taxpayers money. By the way, where do you spend the money to, dear PM? Not for your overseas trip only I supposed and I hope not.

Are we living in some third world country here? Do the media think we are stupid? What? I don’t get what the media is trying to do here. If these reporting were supposed to be like last night news, then I think I’d better join my daughter watching Ben 10 on cartoon network. At least I know that cartoons are supposed to tell you nothing like the news on Malaysian television.