And P is for plagiarism. Take a minute to read this column by Mitch Albom, the author of the bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie:
"If Sept 11 was the day we never saw coming, Sept 10 was the day we will never see again".
Now, read this one here by the Singapore-trained NST group editor, Brendan Pereira. "If June 7 is the day we never saw coming, June 6 is the day we will never see again."
Some say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I call this plagiarism.
update 11.15am:
Screenshots stayed awake to come up with this critical appreciation of the original and pirated works to let us take a closer at how plagiarism is done.
What is the significance?
ReplyDeleteJune 06, 2006?
060606!
It's the CODE OF THE SATAN!
Though I can't remember the details, when one HK computer magazine copied the style of a local writer, he was given the boot when this was found out.
ReplyDeleteI think I read this in Jeff's Screenshots. He may be able to throw some light here.
This is what Brendon should get - the boot. Every editor with some pride and dignity should apologise but then isn't this a word that is not found in the dictionary at Jalan Riong?
I am shocked. wait wait wait. Actually, No. I am not. Not at all.
ReplyDeleteRocky bru. We at the NST, know that that was not the first time brendan has committed plagiarism. We know that sometimes the play
and presentation of his column has an uncanny resemblance to some lay-out and play of certain stories in British tabloids such as the
Independent.
I don't know whether he knows that we know. I suspect he doesn't care.
He is shameless and unapologetic.
Brother, what do we expect of the once-proud newspaper, the NST?
We have the Prime Minister's machais such as Kalimullah and his slave, Brendan, running it. This is what the NST is reduced to.
It is difficult to defend the NST's lack of integrity and professionalism.
Kalimullah's sinisterism is dangerous and insidious.
It is his mission to reduce the NST to a tabloid that lacks credibility and authority. Useless to its political master (in Malaysia). Make it
readable but powerless, politically.
Brendan should be admonished, reprimanded. Nay...he should be sacked.
That is outright plagiarism.
It was not as though he was reproducing facts and data. When we do that, we sometimes advertently reproduce words and phrases
from the source. That is forgivable.
But this is his column,
His editorial staff - reporters and subs - should demand from him an explanation.
They have learnt nothing from Brendan. Worse, they have learned how to be a crooked journalist.
cheers, brother,
and God Bless.
adoi, Bru!
ReplyDeletepengarang kumpulan NST telah melanggar satu-satu nya prinsip kewartawanan!
Malu lah.
this is what happens when you appoint pretenders of journalism to an important position in a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteone commentator of your blog -- i believe it was pelayar internet -- praised kalimullah and brendan for their supposed superior ability, capabilites and knowledge in journalism as they had wide experience as journalists. Pelayar Internet credited their stint in a very successful newspaper, Singapore Straits Times, for their professionalism. He said, the straits times after all is a newspaper in singapore, and singapore is a very successful country.
Now, pelayar internet was either joking (being sarcastic, sardonic) or he was plain ignorant,
we, in the newspaper industry know that kalimullah is less than qualified to assume the GEIC post in NST in 2003. he was there simply because he convinced Pak Lah that he was the man for the job, And of course Pak Lah gave hm the job becasue Pak Lah didnt know any better and because he was, as Kalimullah had described in his Sunday Column, "a man too nice for his own good".
The truth is, kalimullah has no experience as an editor.
As for brendan, his is not at all qualified to be the group editor of the NST. His experience with Singapore Straits Times is too little to qualify him.
editors and senior journalists who left NST can put him in their pocket, anytime, anywhere. and he knows that. in fact, there are still some in the NST who can do that.
brendan has violated a cardinal rule in journalism. he has tainted (the good name?) of the NST. the good name of journalism.
pity the NST. the young reporters who joined the newspaper under his editorship have learnt one thing from brendan --- that it is ok to be a copy cat. it is okay to plagiarise.
the question is -- will he apologise?
no prizes for the right guess.
always a journalist
P is also for PENIPU AND PENCURI.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke. One of NST so-called great writers, tak cukup spin, has to resort to plagiarism.
What kind of journalist are you...so unethically, ceduk karya orang lain by changing bits & pieces here & there & claiming it to be yrs.
So pathetic. Tak ada credibility langsung.
Malu sikit lah.
brother,
ReplyDeletethe ruination of the NST is well in progress.
i ask myself this:
1. why did brendan do it? it was deliberate, no doubt. but why?
2. did he do it because he had run out of ideas for his column and lifted it from mitch's hoping that nobody was the wiser?
3.or he did it (knowing that people will find out), to further erode NST's integrity and credibility?
I am asking this because no journalist wants to be caught with his or her pants down committing such a serious and not to mention, humiliating crime. and in this day and age of technology, we will be caught with out pants down.
brendan may be a lot of things. but he is not stupid.
if my suspicion is that he wants to discredit the NST, it is because i believe that it was his job to do so. he was put in NST by Kalimullah whose job it is to deconstruct and ruin the NST to achieve the bigger anti-Malaysia, anti-Umno and anti-Malay goal.
brother, you may not be aware of this. but i read the singapore straits times too. brendan has been writing anti-Mahathir stories when he was with the newspaper. It was like an agenda. even if you had been a harcsh critic of mahathir, you would not have agreed with the things he said about Dr Mahathir...from as far back as 1999.
brendan plagiarism pereira should resign from the NST for committing such a heinous act in journalism. he is holding the highest position in the NST. How shameful.
ReplyDeleteperhaps, the NST, under Kalimullah and brendan, has re-defined journalism.
then, my friends, the NST is as good as dead.
brendan is well known for plagiarising. most folks at the old Agenda Malaysia were well aware of Brendan's "lifting " capability !
ReplyDeleteHe is a "fake " !
Brenden should be sacked. Period!
ReplyDelete*TypicalProgrammer*
ReplyDeleteShameful and disgraceful. If I copied or plagiarized codes I would be in jail immediately. Journalism at the lowest. If you read the article without knowing it was plagiarized you would still think it was awful and bias. Still what newspaper editor will commit such journalistic sins, plagiarism and bias. I hope other paper will report this.
Ha ha ha this why i like you bro ha ha ha ...
ReplyDeleteRocky! This is to all morons!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the big deal, people like Brendan and Kali I am sure can get away,literally, with murder! So what is there plagiarism to these people. So long as he is in the good hands of KJ and Abdullah Badawi they can do anything they want! Kali was also heard saying there is no such thing as Bangsa Melayu it doesnt esixt anymore, only Basngdsa Malaysia! He is wrong there is such thing as Melayu, and there is this concept called Malaysian. There is also this thing called Bangsa China and Bangsa India!
I dont get it! How on earth can a so-called journalist plagiarise something so recent and hope to get away with it? Is this guy insane or what? I used to remember when we were at school, we were canned by our teachers for copying classmates works. Will he be canned or sacked? Or will NST Board say "We must carry out a thorough investigation and when we receive the report, we will comment further!".... but wait, I should not have said that less I be accused of plagiarism too !
ReplyDeleteBro,
ReplyDeletewell...evidence is there.
If he is an undergraduate subitmiting his assignment/project paper without acknowledging the original source,the normal grade awarded would be an 'F' by any Prof.
So.. he won't be getting any scroll from me.
Bro, apa kata kalau email artikel brendan kepada albom. Tengok apa reaksi albom.
ReplyDeleteOooh.. Yeah, we all know that both Brendan Pereira and Kali do no deserve their position, power and wealth. The problem is accountability is poor in our system.
ReplyDeleteActually I sometimes wonder who reads NST anymore. I actually don't see people buying it and my local stores don't have many copies. My suspicion is that NST sales are primarily to bodek companies. NST website get hit only because there are significant group of people trying to troll for their and the government crap.
to anonymous,
ReplyDeleteyou mentioned pelayar internet praising kalimulah and brendan, saying that wide experience in a very successful newspaper -- singapore straits times, had helped them in their job at NST.
i agree with you that pelayar internet was either joking or ignorant.
one thing you forgot to point out. Straits Times is a very successful newspaper -- in Singapore. If the NST was the only newspaper in Malaysia -- hell, it would be one very successful newspaper.
i remember only three cases of plagiarism when i was at nst. two were in the 80s and one about four years back, none involving a group editor.
ReplyDeletein the first incident a graphic artist desperate to climb the promotions ladder was sacked for plagiarizing the artwork of a foreign rock album (this was before the days of compact discs, when we had LPs. they paid great attention to the artwork on the sleeve of any album then, as if it was as important as the songs on the album themselves!). this stolen creation had won the nst artist an award in a local competition (anti-dadah campaign, i think) which carried quite a bit of money. when a reader exposed the thievery, the artist was sacked on the spot!
in the second, a cub reporter with in middle 80s had copied chunks of a report from a conference and made it seem like it was his own commentary. this, mind you, was one of his earliest efforts at a commentary! the author of the conference paper wrote a stinking letter to the editor and the editor, in turn, wrote a stinking memo that until today, i believe, decorates the reporter's file. the reporter is today one of the editors at nst (and i've never know him to resort to plagiarism ever again after that one).
in 2003 or perhaps 2004, one of the junior editors of the life and times section was "caught" plagiarising chunks from a published book and made those paragraphs seemed like her own creative work. she has since left the company.
in all these cases, plagiarism involves people who are insecure about their own abilities or are extremely desperate in their attempts to make a name for themselves. the cub reporter, obviuously, was not ready to write a commentary and the junior editor was probably not ready to assume the responsibilities that come with the title "editor". the artist wanted a short cut to fame and fortune.
in brendan's case, it is a clear case of desperation. like one of your commentors said, he has been trying to bury the legacy of mahathir since 1999 (i could not verify this; could you help?). if so, he has not achieved an ounce of success; on the contrary, the image of the former prime minister has become even larger to the eyes of the people. brendan, when he plagiarised mitch albom's work, had lost the confidence in his own style of writing (and rightly so!) and wanted something more potent to "kill" mahathir.
but in all plagiarism cases, the thief is caught and punished. plagiarism itself is a desire to commit creative and professional suicide.
thank you.
Brenden P (Penipu), it's time you pack yr bag and leave the NST.
ReplyDeleteGo back to Singapore Straits Times where you got yr training as a half-past six journalist. Hey that's what you are!
You have done enough harm to the NST, you've destroyed it and have now unwittingly exposed yourself as a plagiarist.
Thanks to bro rocky for exposing you for what you are.
You have no dignity, no pride in the profession.
Shame, shame, shame on you!!!
rakyat biasa
i agree with anonymous when he/she said, "he was put in NST by Kalimullah whose job it is to deconstruct and ruin the NST to achieve the bigger anti-Malaysia, anti-Umno and anti-Malay goal."
ReplyDeleteCheck out the way NST is mud-slinging the Malays.Every other Malay politician is corrupted.Ever other Malay officer is a bumbling incompetent.The religion Islam is also not spared lately.Amazing how a Malay Islam Hadhari PM is allowing this - transparency and freedom notwithstanding notwithstanding.
go to this link and you'll find that plagiarism among journalists is thriving. and is a GREAT SIN. one article called those who commit plagiarism "Pirates of the Press". So P is also for Pirate, as in Brendan Pirate Pereira.
ReplyDeletethe link:
http://www.poynter.org/search/results_article.asp?txt_searchText=plagiarism&txt_searchScope=all
*TypicalProgrammer* said...
ReplyDeletehope other paper will report this.
===================================
The Sun? The Star? The NST itself? Fat hope!
They all same gang, mah!
All the editors are Kali's friends, wat.
Maybe...just maybe the Utusan might carry the story, and quote Rockybru?
On second thot, maybe it wont!
Itu Kalimullah, masa Ketua Biro Star di JB in eighties, naik kapcai pegi assignment, malam tonggang sampai mabuk. Sekarang multimillionaire pasal pandai bodek and belit. This is the man who was appointed by Pak Lah "The Imam" as his so-called adviser. The man and Brendan got too many skeleton in their closet, why the Special Branch did not insist Pak Lah not to take Kali and Brendan in despite all the evidences of questionable loyalty, is all for us to ponder and regret. Look at NST sekarang, the once giant in Malaysian media is reduce to a mere propagandist tool. And this is done with the behest of Pak Lah, what a shame.
ReplyDeleteClarkGable of Pulau Duyung University reporting for work:
ReplyDeleteDear Rocky,
Met a similar character in University ,my workmate,rapid climb in hierachy due to impressive research paper published in International journals.Became the gold standard for the rest of us in the department. Praises were plenty.
Together with the head department ,who happily allowed his name included in the 'research paper' many more papers submitted to international journals for publication.The Chief ,who on his own was of an international repute,was called by The Editor ,his close personal friend,and asked to withdraw his papers (as he is co author)which were verbatim extract from some obscure Japanese paper written in Japanese.It brought great shame to the university as all the figures were exact copy except for the name of place which was conveniently replaced with local sounding names.
Looking back ,all 10 papers published in various international journal were pligarised.
Character wise he goes like this which i presume what Brenden is since he stoop so low:
1. Very ambitious,used to be rewarded with promotion with their genuine output.
2. Received accolades for the job welldone and appointed to prominent post and become important personnel upon whom the gold standard was set,leadership quality.
3. Feeling comfortable in the post but short of new ideas to impress the boss.
4. Device a new scheme to have the boss as a frontman and when Boss is praised,invariably Boss shall see him in a very goodlight...position secured.
Conman does this eg.Bring you into an illegal business like blackmoney,con you of your money but you dare not report to police as you yourself is part of scheme in an illegal act.
5. Acute loss of new ideas to verbalise the new research,switch on computer,read the artcle and pliagarised.
If you live by the sword ,you die by the sword...thus if you live by spinning you'll die spinning so is the nature of things.
At least my workmate was smarter as he chosed an obscure paper,unreadable Japanese,old publication and review it in new light.
Brenden is worsed off!! He took it from a Albom,a famous name in journalistic circle,only 50 days old to NST publication and in pure english that can be assesd by billions of people!!
I respect my workmate nevertheless,he resigned (harakiri) and the chief did so out of embarassment when people talked behind his back.
Dear Rocky,
I suppose if you were to scrutinize previous Brenden Publications you shall see more of articles of similar nature...in recent days he became complacent and comfortable thus getting very reckless.
Now Brenden,
People say this straight to your face..PLIAGARISM!!
As an honourable man ,
please do the needful .
I offered you a sword wrapped in a white cloth,go to a tree within the compound of NST building,called everybody out( your staff must see that you are an honourable man), and sit like a samurai would if he were to bring shame to his Shogun, on white sheet of cloth.
Point the pointed part to the right iliac fossa,your appendix area,poked it deep and drag it across....Kali should stand by your side to chopped off the head to hasten the process.You are not suppose to express any emotion as an honourable man.
Sorry to the rest of readers for detailed gruesome suggestion normaly rated SX18 ,as it is quite difficult for people with thick skull to comprehend simple matter esp when you are supratentorially challeged,stupid for short.
I have to offer him a sword as if i were to offer him 'gasing' he shall go on spinning unshamelessly.
Next Kallimullah....say your prayer.
wielmaja,
ReplyDeleteactually, you must have meant that if you were caught copying in school, you'd be CANED (not canned). But you are right, in journalism, you should be CANNED and sacked. and brendan did it because he IS a SO-CALLED journalist. not a real journalist. he is a propagandist. (that, my friend, actually went out of fashion a long long time ago)
writer-in-space
i don't quite remember the "crimes" by the graphic artist and the cub reporter. But I DO remember the plagiarised work of that junior Life and TImes editor (of NST). you are right, she was desperate to make a name for herself. She was not ready to assume the post because of her lack of experience, She was promoted by the L & T boss at that time with whom she and another junior L&T editor were intimate with. I always always believe that you should never appoint anyone to a position which she or he is ill-prepared to assume. You cannot promote a person just because you like her because you will be doing her a great injustice. Because she will be showing to all and sundry her weaknesses and ineptness etc.
Pasquale
i hate to agree with you. But i do. what's all the fuss. it should be expected from people like kalimulah who has no scruples. no integrity, a liar thru and thru. so, brendan is his hatchetman.
orang lama
writer from space
ReplyDeletewell, now you can add one more to your list.. this one makes THREE. and worse, committed by a GROUP EDITOR...
so,what do we tell our reporters if they do the same thing?
a new low, man.
I just posted a comment to Mitch:http://www.albom.com/contact.html "Congratulation, Mr Albom, for the well written article. It was so good that our nation's top newspaper, The News Straits Time, editor in chief deemed it fit to plagiarize, almost words for words for his column entitled: How dearly we miss June 6. For the first time, I am ashamed of being a Malaysian!
ReplyDelete*TypicalProgrammer*
ReplyDeleteI agree that the chance for another paper to report this would be remote but I still hope that one day this would happen. Paper will try to compete which other with genuine article and point out flaws in each other. Still if this gets national attention maybe we still have hope
THIS IS WHAT MITCH ALBOM WROTE:
ReplyDeleteMITCH ALBOM: Remembering the day before the day
September 10, 2006
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
Tomorrow, we remember.
But today, we lament.
Tomorrow, Sept. 11 -- the five-year anniversary -- we see the deluge of grizzly images, we hear speeches from politicians, we make vows to avenge those who perished, we make grim promises to fight on in the war on terror.
But today is just as sad an anniversary. Today, in some ways, aches even more.
If Sept. 11 was the day we never saw coming, Sept. 10 was the day we will never see again.
And we miss it terribly.
We miss when you could pull up at an airport without bracing for a military exercise.
We miss when toothpaste was not considered a weapon.
We miss when the most well-known Muslim names in America were professional athletes.
We miss when a "cell" was a biological term.
We miss when politicians didn't make you feel that you're one of us or you're one of them.
We miss when one party didn't call the other party cowards and consider that a foreign policy.
We miss Sept. 10.
The tragic reminder
We miss when going to New York City meant a mandatory trip to a Broadway play, not a mandatory trip to a large, sad hole in lower Manhattan.
We miss when seeing someone reading the Quran didn't make us nervous.
We miss when we actually celebrated how free and open our borders were.
We miss when Al-Jazeera was just another TV channel we'd never heard of.
We miss when we saw war crimes and said, "Our soldiers don't do that," instead of, "Well, look at what the other guys do."
We miss when Islam was just another religion in the world.
We miss when pilots used to let kids come up to see the cockpit.
We miss when movies would open with shots of a skyline and two giant blue towers.
We miss when we never thought of sending anthrax through the mail, or lighting a shoe on fire, or putting explosives in sports drink bottles.
We miss simplicity.
We miss Sept. 10.
A troubled future
We miss when "jihad" was a foreign word.
We miss when belts could stay on.
We miss when we didn't war amongst ourselves over a war somewhere else.
We miss when we thought paying for gas was just an expensive habit, not a means of enriching our enemies.
We miss when we spoke to our Arab neighbors and didn't hear a voice in our heads whispering, "I wonder whose side they'd be on?"
We miss when you didn't have to show ID for everything.
We miss the feeling that there wasn't a large cloud hanging over our future, and our children's future, and our grandchildren's future, a feeling that nothing could be trusted, that you were never really safe, that this enemy which is only too happy to die for its cause wants to make sure we go first -- and this enemy is not going away.
We miss sleeping soundly.
We miss not being so smart.
We miss our naiveti.
We cry on Sept. 11.
But we miss Sept. 10.
AND THIS IS WHAT BRENDAN WROTE:
WE never saw June 7 coming. Sure, there were whispers that he was not happy with the way his successor was running the country; with the way ministers and business friends were not returning calls.
But no one saw June 7 coming. That was the day Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused the PM of stabbing him in the back; of reversing his policies; of cancelling projects, including the half-bridge to Singapore. He attacked with the ferocity of a street fighter and suggested that Abdullah was the second choice for the top job in the country.
He wanted to know why Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff was no longer running Proton, why development in Putrajaya had slowed down. He wanted to know why the person he left in charge of the country was no longer dancing to his tune.
Looking back, that was the day when he crossed the line. History records these watershed events because they change the mood of the country, pit kin against kin and dominate the landscape.
If June 7 is the day we never saw coming, June 6 is the day we will not see again for a while. And how we miss it.
We miss going to lunches or dinners and just shooting the breeze, instead of spending hours dissecting the latest tirade and figuring out why power is so hard to let go.
We miss those days when people didn’t make you feel that you’re one of us or you’re one of them.
We miss the time when "half-past six" was used in a moment of levity between childhood friends.
We miss the time when exclusive interviews about Malaysia on CNN, BBC, CNBC or Bloomberg were about the country and its prospects, not about a political sideshow.
We miss when a can of aerosol can was not considered a weapon.
We miss the days we watched leaders in other countries slug it out in public and said: "At least our leaders don’t do that."
We miss when we didn’t war among ourselves over a war being waged by an individual.
We miss when we spoke to a friend and didn’t hear a voice in our heads whispering: "I wonder whose side he is on?"
We miss when peace talks referred to discussions between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lanka government or between the warring factions in Palestine.
We miss the feeling when there wasn’t a cloud hanging over the political landscape, and a feeling that no words or explanations can be a balm to this festering sore.
We miss the days when the mention of Dr Mahathir’s name unleashed a vision of a leader handing over power at the peak of his powers, not a mental picture of someone seeking to bring down someone in power.
We miss the days when the prime minister had to defend his policies, not parry personal attacks.
We miss when a volley referred to a sweet left foot strike by Wayne Rooney, not a barb fired across the bow by the former PM against his perceived enemies.
We miss when we spoke of a legacy in glowing terms not with a sense of doom.
We miss when the world looked at us with pride and wondered why other young countries could not have a smooth change of guard.
We miss when Dr Mahathir spoke like a statesman.
We miss the time when we did not have to rake up our dark past and remember stories of former prime ministers taking on incumbents. Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn deserve their rest and place in history.
We miss the days when the battle lines were clear — government versus opposition.
Yes, we miss June 6.
brother bru,
ReplyDeleteDo you know what Brendan misses now? Yes... yesterday, 30 Oct. 2006.
Alahai Rocky, biasa la tu. kalau tak ada idea ori, curik-curik la. Nasib baik orang tak tahu.
ReplyDeletePak lah dak tentulah tak tahu. Dia pun tak baca. Jadi Kalli dengan Brendan pun curik-curik idea orang.
Sebab itulah kita orang ambil VSS. Malu nak keja dengan bos-bos kelas tiga macam mereka.
Itulah standard PM kita. Orang cari editor world class, dia cari editor third class.
Jangan salahkan kalli dan Brendan. Salahkan Pak Lah, Khairy dan Kamal. Merekalah yang lantik editor mengarut ni.
There is no doubt that BP blatantly plagiarised MA's article and/or used subtle mimicry of MA's language style. It reflects BP's standing as an unaccomplished journalist who happens to be group editor of NST.
ReplyDeleteIf he had honour, BP would have paid tribute to MA for an inspirational piece of writing. Alas, BP has none.
Having read both articles, there is a vast difference in the essence of the two messages.
MA wrote, perhaps, asking his readers to reach within themselves, find their humanity, to seek a more rational and saner world.
BP, for all intents and purposes, used MA's 'inspired form' to 'venomise' TDM.
Do you honestly think MA will be happy? I doubt it.
Some of us have done the needful, hence, for others, here's the link -
http://www.albom.com/contact.html
soalan:latok punya anak ada dapat tender gomen?
ReplyDeletepaklelah:mana ada saya yakin tak ada
soalan:ada laporan kata ada
paklelah:ya ka ooo saya tak tau, tak terlibat
soalan:bukan ada 200 kapal ka?
paklelah:eh mana ada 180 jek..oops
no wonder banyaksgt spin dah salah lapor yang dibuat oleh nst:
ReplyDelete1.kes drb-hicom yang konon naza menang(malukan pm je)sebab kata pm bagitau die..oi 10 sen beza tuh..ko nak malaysia kena gelak ker
2.kes raja baharin..suka2 ati ko lapor berita palsu...ingat ni tabloid ker apa
3. kes ex kp kastam ngan lima juta retirement tuh...suka bapak die je nak tulis tanpa bukti..sekali salah..takke malu
4.kes tdm ngan paklah...jangan la jadi kayu api..mahathir umno, paklah umno..ko nak umno berpecah ke????cubalah jernihkan
5. banyak lagi..tak larat nak tulis macam maria..hehe
6.dan selebihnya..jangan tiru tulisan orang lain... malu lah
Dear Rocky
ReplyDeleteI don't read NST except on Sunday. And after this exposure, I have decided today not to read NST even on Sunday. If other days I don't miss NST, then why should I miss NST on Sunday.
Yen Na Deyyy Brendan...
ReplyDeleteSaukiamma?
Poodahhh!!!
typical programmer and shar101,
ReplyDeletei agree with your assessment of Brendan's column. i wasnt aware of Mitch Albom's piece when i chanced on brendan's column. i thought it was so excessive in its treatment of the subject (dr mahathir). it was so melodramatic. it was so out-of-line, off rythmn. made me nauseous.
and then, i was drawn to albom's piece. now that is a different take altogether. that got u there. if you know what i mean. because the subject was about loss of lives, about changes, about trust about a new changing world.
Brendan is a disgrace. WOrse, he has disgraced the NST.
shame on you!
So much fuss here! To me, BP was just following the structure, which admittedly serves his purposes well. There is nothing wrong in exploiting something good, as long as you only follow the structure, not the entire text.
ReplyDeleteBrendan and Albom are cut from the same cloth. The latter was suspended last year for fudging the facts in one sports report which he wrote in advance but never updated. So one cheat copies another.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us agree Mr. P has crossed the line.
ReplyDeleteThe question is now, what's going to happen? Apart from here and Screenshots, is anyone following this? Will the mainstream media have the balls to write it up?
Or will the NST just buat tak tau and let everything slip through unnoticed? I can't think of a worse outcome, so how do we avoid it?
Bro
ReplyDeleteJust send the article to albom and let's have his take on it. It would be nice to have Brendan branded a plagiarist by a known international writer
Bru,
ReplyDeleteI see a new benchmark in lowly journalism. This is the pits, really. If this is the work of a new, raw journalist, then some corrective measures can be taken. But if this comes from the chief editor himself, who is going to take the corrective action? In this particular case, the management of the NSTP and its Board, should take corrective steps. But you and I know that that's highly unlikely! The Board is nothing more than a stamping body; the management is nothing more than a group of tired people devoid of ideas and ability to turn the newspaper group around. What with falling circulation and readership, the management have enough problems on its plate.
What about the GEIC Hishamudin Aun? Isn't he the final authority on editorial matters? Shouldn't he be the policeman on the editorial floor? That's wishful thinking! The real journalists in the NSTP hardly regard Hishamuddin as their leader, let alone a keeper of professional ethics in the trade. Hishamuddin is a realist. He knows he's not going to be a GEIC forever. So, he's gone into business and uses his newspaper to promote his commercial initiatives. Therefore you can't count on him to reprimand, let alone, take any meaningful disciplinary action against BP the P!
Plagiarism is alive in the NST! No less than the Group Editor condones it, practices it! If there's any dignity left in the old and once-proud newspaper, then one must expect resignation or termination. Anything less is unacceptable.
Will the National Union of Journalist say something on this matter? What about the professors teaching journalism in campuses, what is their opinion on this? Will we see another newspaper doing a cut-out of the original article by Mitch Albom and put BP the P's version side by side and expose this shameless act?
Nah! We won't see this. The NUJ is a washout, having sold itself to unbridled capitalism and is now a mere tool of the establishment.
What about Umno's Supreme Council members, who endorses BP the P's appointment as the NST Group Editor? Will they bring this matter for discussion at its meeting on Thursday? Will they debate the new benchmark in lowly journalism brought about by its own newspaper? I think they very well will, and then proceed to defend BP the P as the fine bearer of journalistic standards in the new era of accountability and transparency!
Nak muntah brother! Bro, many of us here have decided to stop buying the NST. You, however, must continue to at least read the paper and alert us of such fine example of lowly journalism.
Bro
ReplyDeleteI tabik spring to you for bringing this up...issue of plagiarism.
And of all people, the culprit is no other than the great spin doctor, the NST "great" writer Brendean Pereira.
As someone here said this is the pit! What a shameful act.
Aha, now he is known as the GREAT plagiarist.
Saperti kawan, I have stopped reading the NST and we need someone like you to read it and alert us to this kind of lowly journalism.
"i agree with anonymous when he/she said, "he was put in NST by Kalimullah whose job it is to deconstruct and ruin the NST to achieve the bigger anti-Malaysia, anti-Umno and anti-Malay goal."
ReplyDeleteCheck out the way NST is mud-slinging the Malays.Every other Malay politician is corrupted.Ever other Malay officer is a bumbling incompetent.The religion Islam is also not spared lately.Amazing how a Malay Islam Hadhari PM is allowing this - transparency and freedom notwithstanding notwithstanding."
Good grief! Even this some people still want to blame Singapore. Hello??? NST mudslinging? How does that compare with other papers like The Sun? Or how about blogosphere? Ever checked out Rocky's Bru? Raja Petra? Or even Bakri Musa? NST is mild stuff compared to these blogs. Are these blogs on an anti-Malay drive as well?
Kluang: " Look at NST sekarang, the once giant in Malaysian media is reduce to a mere propagandist tool. "
ReplyDeleteAnd when was it ever not a propagandist tool?
now wonder the piece sounded so familiar.. then i also hairan dgn tarikh tu sebab
ReplyDeletesep 11 = internationally acknowledged date of a terrible AND more importantly HISTORIC terrorist attack bila i baca..june 6...i also blur tapi..anon (the first comment) cleverly pointed ou that yes IT IS ANOTHER SINISTER CODE...666
wielmaja said... "I just posted a comment to Mitch:http://www.albom.com/contact.html "Congratulation, Mr Albom, for the well written article. It was so good that our nation's top newspaper, The News Straits Time, editor in chief deemed it fit to plagiarize, almost words for words for his column entitled: How dearly we miss June 6. For the first time, I am ashamed of being a Malaysian!"
ReplyDeleteGood job, wielmaja!
Next, let us alert as many other media worldwide as possible, starting with the ones in this region, about this shamelss plagiarism. Include both the links and the articles.
Let's make sure this miserable fake never calls himself or work as a journalist again. His paymaster can change his job title and description to something more in-keeping with what this POS does (i.e. spinning, buttlicking, demonising his betters and backstabbing Malaysia) if they still wish to keep him on their payroll.
wielmaja,
ReplyDeleteplease update us if you have any response from mitch albom.
in malaysia, who do i complain this blatant plagiarism to? a thief is a criminal. in a K-economy, plagiarism or piracy is a big crime. i don't see why this cheat from NST should be allowed to write another lie for our children at schools to read. yes, NST sells paper to school kids, remember? this is akin to selling port at their tuck-shops.
Bru, as thePress CLub president, dont you have the authorities to write to NST bosses demanding action. spmeone has to stop this pervert!
yes, plagiarism is dirty. a sex pervert or serial rapist, in another life, would be a plagiarist.
Anonymous who said this at 12.49am
ReplyDelete"Good grief! Even this some people still want to blame Singapore. Hello??? NST mudslinging? How does that compare with other papers like The Sun? Or how about blogosphere? Ever checked out Rocky's Bru? Raja Petra? Or even Bakri Musa? NST is mild stuff compared to these blogs. Are these blogs on an anti-Malay drive as well?"
the answer is : YES, YES, YES, YES and lastly NO.
(you said ..."as well", going by your pitch, you had better check yourself.)
Plagiarism is to call someone else's work your own. Eg. I stole the research of Dr Lim Teck Ghee/ASLI on Bumi equity %, but I call it my own research. THAT'S PLAGIARISM.
ReplyDeleteBut to copy or imitate someone else's style is NOT plagarism. If that were plagiarism, then ALL writers of literature today are, because many have copied or imitated the style and expressions of, or otherwise been heavily influenced by, the great literary giants like Dickens, Austen, Twain, Woolf, Faulkner, Hemingway...
I thought literary masters are recognised on the basis of the writers they have managed to INFLUENCE??
Your (and Screenshot's) definition of Plagiarism could well destroy the literary culture as a whole. Watch out - don't let your personal vengence cloud your mind.
"Anonymous" and "P For Pervert": Thanks for the comments. I am also hoping that Mitch would response and may be even write to Penipu Brendan (I almost mispelt his name as Brenda, thinking that he might want to change his name after the blunder, lol.)himself. If he does response, I will be glad to share it with all you brothers out there! Anyone has Penipu Brenda's email? We should all write to "congratulate" him for sinking Malaysian journalism to such low ground!
ReplyDeleteI miss the time when the NUJ NST Chapter was a great force and demanded an explanation from the GE for wrongdoings.
ReplyDeleteI miss the colleagues sought answers from the GE's office.
I miss when the GE himself clarified the wrongs he had committed.
I miss when the GE hauled up a journalist who had plagiarised and sent him to the doghouse.
I miss when the GEIC showed his hand to discipline a subordinate.
I miss when the editorial floor stood strong and united against the GE's ofice.
I miss when a young reporter went up to the GE and asked him: :why did you do it? I have lost faith in journalism." The young reporter quit later in the evening.
But then, i miss everthing about the NST.
Some have argued that it's not plagiarism as such to 'mimick' or copy other writers' style so long as credit is given. That's nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIf that was the rule, every sentence/paragraph written would have to be followed by "ala Dickens (in Bleak House, page 54, Penguin 1985 edition); Austen (in Pride and Prejudice, page 24, Penguin 1998 edition 2005 reprint); Woolf (To the Lighthouse, page 22...); Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury, page 69...); Hemingway (Old Man and the Sea, page 116...)
That's absurd, can't you guys see?
When they say that 'ideas' need to be acknowledged and credited, they mean SPECIFIC AND PARTICULAR theories and data/research such as Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Giving credit or acknowledgement to literary STYLES is NOT the same - you have the literary critics to do that, who analyse works of fiction and evaluate whether certain styles have been 'well applied/borrowed'.
In the literary world, it's VERY common to borrow the styles of other writers (without giving a lost list of 'source') - they do it ALL THE TIME!!
So, please don't spill your ink without familiarising yourself with what is meant by 'plagiarism' in the first place. To talk so loud without actually knowing what you are talking about is only to make a fool out of yourself and showing just how shallow the intellectual standard of Malaysian journalists are.
Loud, Empty Can - that applies to both Rocky (I'm sorry, bro) and Screenshot's Jeff Ooi (who has a nasty habit of CENSORING views which are critical of HIM PERSONALLY). Wise up, for the sake of your readers' maturity and for Malaysia's sake.
And to all of the commentators on this blog and Jeff Ooi's, who can't wait to follow the crowd to condemn 'plagiarism', see what the crowd mentality has done to you? Grow up.
p.s: Feel free to mock and ridicule the NST clowns/spin-doctors, because I'm no fan of them either. They have a very long way to go before they deserve to call themselves 'journalists'. But plagiariser? NAH.
Typo. I mean, "(without giving a LONG list of 'source')"
ReplyDeleteanswer for u half blind and read it out loud....QUOTED from jeff ooi's blog by M. Krishnamoorthy, who co-wrote A Handbook for Journalists with press senior, P.C. Shivadas...at www.jeffooi.com
ReplyDelete"There is an appendix on Ethics of Journalism on Page 163, with the lone-soul title: DON'T. Among other thing, it says:
1.Lie in print or on the air.
2.Suppress or omit opinion with which one disagrees.
3.Show favouritism or personal bias in one's reporting or writing.
4.Plagiarise someone else's words or ideas (journalists can use the words with attribution.)
5.Use one's position for personal gain. (e.g. accepting gifts from sourses etc.)
6.Do anything that may be construed as a "conflict of interest" (i.e. write political speeches for the candidate they are covering in an election etc.)"
half blind,
ReplyDeleteMA's article, to me, was a great piece of writing.
Writings such as this are like great works of art. Writers with their choice of words, structure and unique style. Painters with their palette. They all serve to inspire humanity.
In BP's hands, the Mona Lisa was hung up in a back alley whorehouse.
Brendan Plagiara...
ReplyDeleteplagiarism
ReplyDeleten 1: a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else
and is presented as being your own work
2: the act of plagiarizing; taking someone's words or ideas as
if they were your own [syn: plagiarization, plagiarisation,
piracy]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Plagiarism \Pla"gia*rism\, n. [Cf. F. plagiarisme.]
1. The act or practice of plagiarizing.
2. That which plagiarized.
Source: THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993)
PLAGIARISM, n. A literary coincidence compounded of a discreditable
priority and an honorable subsequence.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Maybe Half Blind has not had the proper reference to the description of the word PLAGIARISM.
So this may help.
I am certainly not a writer nor a journalist, but I think I can very well spot the 'uncanny similarity' in the works in question.
Neither do I comment because I am a friend to Rocky nor am I against NST.
But the fact remains, are these kinds of action the hallmark of a professional Journalist. Scratch that, an Editor, scratch that too...group editor?
I won't blame the many who felt cheated, and commented quite harshly against those in question, for I can almost feel the betrayal, whilst some even shared their experience of growing with the institution, NST, they cannot be faulted.
Simply put, it is rather quite telling of the capability of those at the helm!
This is a forum, one that is moderated by Rocky, if he chooses to blog on this , so be it.
As put forth by a previous comment, (sorry, not quite sure who)if you thinks the blog is too biased, go visit another!
I on the other hand find this blog rather therapeutic, as well as educational! (I haven't quite used Plagiarism that too many times before!)
Rocky, keep on blogging.
half blind,
ReplyDeletebrother/sister you are NOT HALF BLIND LA..TOTALLY BLIND LA..
so next time, a journalist just read The Times or etc...and then just rejig for local context la..like everybody also can write commentary la. just rejig ma...
bodoh, tak boleh la..that's called copyright theft la!!!
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS THE RIGHT TERM. MITCH'S WORK IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW!! NST NOW IS LIABLE BCOS OF BRENDAN PEREIRA.
inspired ok..of course can...maybe if a bit longer also ok..like erm..a few years so NOT SO OBVIOUS...BUT SO OBVIOUS LA...so shy..
it is quite clearly plagiarism. brendon took the framework of an article written by someone else and used it to support his own article.
ReplyDeleteif the article he had taken had been known to the wider malaysian public and if he had used it as a basis for a humourous or ironic piece which built in some sense on the original article, that would not have been plagiarism. (amir hafizi's very funny version is satire - we know what he's lampooning.) brendon just took and hoped no-one would notice. and perhaps the worst crime of all - the original piece is powerful and eloquent, while brendon's prose is laboured and earth-bound.
it's interesting to note that in several high profile cases of plagiarism in the US it has been bloggers who have unmasked the plagiarist! You can read about some of them here
earlier in the year i unmasked a plagiarist writing for the malay mail. see here and here.
now that lady was a rookie compared to brendon.
i find it amusing that half-blind [what a nick.. freudian?] came in complete with a scoffing tone, thinking to instruct rocky bru and other rb blog commentors on what is plagiarism, only to expose his own ignorance on what the term means.
ReplyDeletewhat was that again... trying to lecture others here on "literary culture"? from the quality of your posts so far, you don't sound like someone who would be able to tell literary culture even if laser surgery restored your other sight.
what a patronising ar**hole! i suggest you do some self-appraisal with the remaining eye before posturing here again.
otoh, most fitting that someone as pathetic as you felt fit to come to the defence of that phony BP.
eeks sorry for the mispelling of brendan throughout in my earlier comment. would hate to appear iggerant.
ReplyDeletedo you guys think that lifting the framework of a piece is as serious as lifting substance? i don't think i do ... but it still ain't right.
Just read about Brendan Plagiarist being replaced as Group Editor of NST wef 1 Jan 2007. Not sure if this is another Spin Tale by the oh-so-immature boys of NST who managed to put Malaysia through such shame, the report merely said Syed Nadzri will replace him as Group Editor. So is he getting the boot or is he being promoted/reassign to spin more tales for the likes of KJ or AAB or the anti-TDM crooks? I am not holding my breath to find out, just so you know!
ReplyDeleteBrother Rocky, I have the nasty misgiving that HALF BLIND, judging by the way he is defending the Plagiarist, IS ACTUALLY THE PLAGIARIST HIMSELF! Otherwise, I could not see how anyone could be as half blind (pun intended) as him! Do we still have any hope left?
Someone commented that she already ashamed of being a Malaysian when Brendan is not Malaysian at all(?)
ReplyDeleteIf she's pointing her fact to the PM for letting Brendan running the NST, the article might be beyond his acknowledge.
Sorry if this is too harsh. Shed some light on me please.
its timely that ASTRO is showing Shattered Glass, 19 November, Star movies
ReplyDeletesr215 said...
ReplyDeleteSomeone commented that she already ashamed of being a Malaysian when Brendan is not Malaysian at all(?)
==================================
Brendan is a Malaysian who is also a Permanent Resident of Singapore.
Clever fella! In case things get too hot for him here, he can always flee to Singapore where, am sure, he is most welcomed.
So farsighted! Lol!
You plagiarise words, you don't "plagiarise" a style. So, you can be faulted for plagiarising whole sentenses, but not necessarily be guitly of "plagiarising" ideas in the sentence.
ReplyDeleteJournalists are taught to emulate the best of the best. Of course, if the words echo those we emulate too much, then we must provide proper attribution.
If not, susahlah nak menulis, if you are required to be 100% original. No one can be like this all the time.
Case in point? JK Rowling emulates Enid Blyton. Ask anyone who has ever read "Secret Seven" or "Famous Five" and they will tell you of the many stylistic similarities between these and the Harry Potter series.
But far be it for people to accuse Rowling of "plagiarising".
So, yes, "copying" insofar as it involves emulating the style of the people whom you admire is completely acceptable. While you may come across as wholly unoriginal, it is not a crime.
And no, I am not Brendan Pereira.
plagiarism is not just about lifting someone else's work verbatim without acknowledging the orinal author. it is also about the idea and how that very idea is worked along the very same line as the original work.
ReplyDeleteBy both counts, Mr. Group Editor of NSTP must be found guilty of plagiarism.
The NSTP CEO in defence of his man, only displays the cockeyed sense of professional integrity prevailing among the top guns at the NSTP. The NSTP CEO states that detailed facts are different and ergo no plagiarism.
Wake up sir, if facts and ideas are identical as well as verbatim it is called a copy of the orginal work and no one can get away claiming it to be his/hers ala thick skin.
No wonder Tuan Syed the NSTP CEO could praise his Group Editor so sky high. His professed professional ethics would definitely allows him to do so most comfortably.
Lucky for Malaysian journalism we have journalists who uphold a different kind of professional ethics than those in the NSTP.
Pak LAh is a third world Prime Minister. Malaysia is a first world country among developing countries but with K mabuk running NST as Kluang said, what can we do now to stop the rot?
ReplyDeleteTaking the enemies of the Malays Brendan Prereira and Kalimullah to run down NST and the Malays must surely rank as treason to the Malays.
Pak Lah you are fired!
(Rocky's note: re-posted after a tiny amendment. originally left by Anon at 3.15 am)
Okay, so today is 30 Aug 2008 - almost two years after this post.
ReplyDeleteBut I have a good reason for being so late - I was detained.
Anyway, this post "is still alive", what with the court case Rocky and Jeff Ooi are in.
All I want to say is; at least I'm now more aware of what the civil suit is all about.