Editors of smut rag take the rap. The writing was on the wall. Former magistrate M. Zul and expat Simon Burgess have quit the Malay/Weekend Mail. Their departure was announced by Syed Faisal Albar late yesterday through a memo pinned on the notice boards of Balai Berita. The future of The Weekend Mail, launched hardly five months ago and suspended by the Internal Security Ministry last week after the "smut" issue, remains unclear but for the remaining editors that isn't their biggest worry. Their primary concern is to save the 110-year Malay Mail, the country's oldest English-language daily, from further decline. To foolishly carry on the "new" Malay Mail's spirit is to head for certain and sad end. To go back to what the Malay Mail used to be would require some of the directors will have to eat humble pie.
M. Zul and Simon Burgess probably never knew half the story of how and why they had been there in the first place, plucked from obscurity to spearhead what just two years ago was the fastest-selling English-language rag in the country. Not that they would have cared then (and now it's none of their business anymore). They must be told now, however, that they are scapegoats. The real culprit for all this mess at the Mail is Kalimullah Hassan, Editorial Adviser and Deputy Chairman of the NSTP. This man is still around, playing dumb while others take the fall, and taking home a real fat salary for doing nothing but harm to the NSTP from the first day he arrived as its GEIC in 2004.
He was never a real journalist, this Kali guy. But I blame all the directors of NSTP for reducing the Malay Mail to what it is today. How can all of you agree to turn such an institution into a college rag? Fools! At least Shiv fired himself. I don't care if these two Mojo-bozos are victims or villains but I care that the NSTP directors make right what they've done so wrong. If Kali stands in the way, or if anybody stands in the way, sack him. Fools! Stupid fools!!
ReplyDeleteBro Rocky,
ReplyDeleteI am so happy when you have a new update every time I vist your blog.
But I am upset why you have to mention the word "Kali", he is not worth a cup of cold piss. A decent journalsit would have admitted that he screwed up (to put it midlly but to put crudely he lied)the June 11th article about Bodowi meeting Tun in Japan. When a person can lie with a straight face and allow the pariah plagiarist, Brendan to write a dcolumn in the NST as though nothing had happen speaks volume of Kali 's character. Not much to talk about.
The worst is the "Iam here to stay PM" to keep KaliUlar and Brendan, the Plagiarist in the NST is msot unbelievable. That is the calibre of "I am here to stay PM".
Please Bodowi PM dissovle Parliament now and we, the Malaysians, will show you that Malaysia is not the place for you, Kaliular, Brendan (the pariah), Khairy and Kamaludin.
For heaven sake, Brendan the plagiarist and pariah, stop copying other people works and return to your homeland, Singapore.
I have condemned KaliUlar and Brendan, the plagiarist of NST. Datuk Wong Chun Wai is only jsut slightly better but he still had to kowtow to KaliUlar and Khairy and the Tingkat 4 boys. Datuk Wong chun wai please have a bit of self respect and you do not have to suck up to KaliUalr, who has been discredited. My advice to you is jsut steer clear from KaliUlar and Khairy., and you will be respected. If not, you willend up like Brendan, the pariah plagiarist!
I have been out of Malaysia more than a year now.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I follow the local news very closely.
My question to fellow 'enlightened' Malaysians. Look, what is the current government doing right? Nothing. A bunch of idiots, from any part of the jungle can do what they are doing now. But then on second thoughts, these are a bunch of idiots picked out from Kampung aren't they. I'll be curious if we run a simple IQ test (however you define it), perhaps just compare their SPM results to the average. So let's not quite laugh at GW Bush yet. Look at the idiots we have 'running' our country.
I am stupid,
ReplyDeleteIndeed you are stupid. What a choice of name. Why must the whole NST mngt be sacked for Kali's guilt? Who gives directive? Who issues order? How comfortable to be at the top holding no responsibility at all! But then again only people like Kali, Brendan, Hishammuddin Aun and Manja can sit calmly on their rotten leather highback chair becoz they have no dignity...
Today marks the 10th month I cancelled my NST subscription.
ReplyDeleteAfter Malay Mail, its Harian Metro's turn with the DVD thingy.
Methinks Monster Blog will be next.
Kami orang Kelawai kata Kalli ni dia muka tebai. Dia punya hemoi, Pak Lah pun kalah. Kamjat Kelawai pun tak hemoi macam tu. Ada la sikit rasa malu. Tua-tua ni dok ingat cerita strait echo dengan warta negara.
ReplyDeleteThe typical Malaysian mentality reigns supreme yet again . . .
ReplyDelete(Just like why we do not have a good F1 driver, who probably stopped at every opportunity he had to see 'what happened' in the accident that occured before him!!)
When will we Malaysians learn? That you have to address the problem from the top! Just like the municipal councils who 'happen' to have one idiot after another running this 'corporations' as their own!
Councils that continue to defy logic as to how they can spend millions of the tapayers money just because they have the budget (spend on fake palm trees, big bird scuptures that stand next to bigger fake palm trees next to roundabouts only to have it all torn down some 4 years and 2 million RM later...)
What I am trying to say is this...you have to note that the people that are responsible are those at the top! Those at the other end may sometimes (rather all of the time...) carry out their responsibility without using their own head to judge. As in NST's case, it is evidently that they have been reduced to battle with the Tamil dailies to see who has a better readership! So, no need to have rocket scientist to come to a conclusion that all those who sit at the top have to go....ALL!
It really does not mean that if someone screwed up in this department, he can do better in the next! PERIOD. So all you people out there should take notice. As long as the head is the same, the body ain't gonna grow. . .
Brother,
ReplyDeleteKalimullah will NEVER take the fall. He is a COWARD thru and thru. we all know that for a fact.
He didnt want the Malay Mail to be in the way of the compact NST, so he got the Malay Mail to close its bureaus. Then he wanted you to NOT do certain things in the Malay Mail as only an idiot unprofessional dunggu would want to have done. You ducked him off. You knew your stuff. You knew/know how to run the MM. You knew/know how to make the paper grow. Kalimullah, the b#$#$%d, did not want that. Why should you listen to an asshole like Kalimullah? Who was kalimullah? Man, you have taken on BIGGER and MORE POWERFUL people in yout time.. And, bro, you had way more experience than that ducker and his ducking slave had, put together. Huh! Even or in spite of his powerful connnections, He COULD NOT TAKE YOU ON. so he had to get rid of you. so he told the NST board that he wanted to sell off the Malay Mail, a 110 year-old paper, an institution, a paper with a glorious history -- KALIMULLAH WANTED TO SELL OFF THE MALAY MAIL. you know why? because he has not attachment to the paper. The Malay Mail or for that matter, even the NST, means NOTHING to him. The Malay Mail was simply in his way. the NSTP was just too small for two tabloids, and the MM was threatening to be leader. or was already. we know he gave you so much trouble, bro. So, GETTING RID OF THE MALAY MAIL was killing two birds with one stone -- 1. a strong competition and 2. YOU. we were there. we know. BUT THE NST BOARD OBJECTED TO THE SALE OF THE MALAY MAIL. you must know that Kalimullah called and still does call the shots. a COMPROMISE. Media Prima to take over. Kali gave media prima (Rahman) an ultimatum -- new Malay Mail to be in different form and ROCKY MUST BE OUT. SO, VSS for MALAY MAIL. How terrible was that? These people were forced to quit the NSTP. You could say that they were given a choice to take the VSS. But really, was there an choice? They were not wanted. These old discards. You must know that scums like Kali and his servant, Brendan HAS NO RESPECT FOR EXPERIENCE, PROFESSIONALISM and MERITOCRACY in the NSTP. How could the long-time, very experienced, professional, some very senior, some not-so=senior journalists of the Malay Mail remain with the new Malay Mail? Many left. Those who stayed did so for many reasons. So, when Rahman took over the Malay Mail, what choice did he have? Any apppointee of the Prime Minister is the most powerful man in the NST. Sad but true. Sadder when the appointee is a scum like Kalimullah whose mission in life (and in the NST) is to enrich himself, his friends (so that he can continue enriching himself), get rid of the smart and professional ones at NST, appoint raw/green or useless reporters to high positions (in the name of fasttracking them -- a mistake, as we can see) so that they can be controlled and jump when he says "jump", and eventually make NST a pawn of the SIngapore Straits Times. People like you, bro, and Shamsul Akmar (who knows him so well -- even to where Kali's "bisul" is) and some very old friends are ANATHEMA to his very existence at the NST. You dont have an ounce of respect for him because you see him as worthless as do many many many many others too.
WE can blame Syed Faisal, Rahman and M Zul.. but they are all (with the exception of RAHMAN), idiots.
The real CULPRIT IS KALIMULLAH. LET'S NOT FORGET THAT. the culprit is not the board, not anyone else. for as long as his line to Putrajaya is undisrupted, he calls the shots. THAT IS THE TRAGEDY. As far as we are concerned, he is to be blamed. remember, he wanted to get rid of the Malay Mail. What has happened to the new Malay Mail/Weekend Mail is the consequence of Kalimullah's doing. He should be the one to be SACKED.
what will happen to the Malay Mail now?
ReplyDeleteWe lost so many senior and very experienced journalists becasue they were forced out by the VSS. We know that Sunday Mail editor Aishah Ali was told by Syed Faizal that there was no place for her in the new Malay Mail!
Aishah -- LAUGH OUT LOUD, Aishah.. DUCK them, Aishah!!! they thought they could do the job. if you are not laughing out loud, we are..HAHAHAAAHAAA.
How many years as editor have you got Aishah?... and you were under the tutelage of some of th4e greatest journalists... And these DUCKERS think they can do better????
Now that Mojo M Zul and his expat crony were forced to take the fall and resign, who will take over?
Let' see who we have left to take over? NO one. Yushaimi is still not ready. He was just learning the ropes from Rocky. And Rocky was "training" him. Saiful? No no... he is too too rigid and not versatile. Yusri? er er.... no.
There is just no one. Yushaimi, Saiful and Yusri can be on the newsdesk..together, they can be a strong back-up. But to take the editorship of the paper?. Perhaps, the NST managment should look at bringing Zainul Arifin or Azmi Anshar (who was Malay Mail assistant news editor during Fauzi's time).
So so sad. All the senior and good ones have left..
Look what kalimullah has done to the Malay Mail!
how one man has destroyed an institution!
ReplyDeletehow one man has forced the departure of so many senior (good and professional) journalists!
brother, that is how i see it. and i do not think i am wrong. the many NST and Malay Mail senior journalists who took the VSS had no choice but to leave. Of course the NST had to pay them for leaving because the NST had robbed them of their future. I can see clearly why they had to leave. You had to leave. They paid you. Some people say they paid you big bucks. But, that's your future they have taken from you. And you had a great future at the NST. Kalimullah, I was told, knew that you were headed for great things at the NST. You were tipped to be group editor -- you and rose ismail were in the running.
kalimullah saw to it that your day never came.
A BH journalist said that Kalimullah had "killed your periok nasi", brother. Maybe so. But brother, Allah Almighty is all-knowing. No one can take away what He ordains is yours. whatever that may be.
And Kalimullah has committed a terrible injustice. He is the cause of all the rot in the NST. He is the cause of the Malay Mail decline. If anyone has to go, it is him.
cheers, and God Bless!
They had to go, hadn't they? Bru, did you expect Syed Faizal or Hishamudin Aun to quit? My ass! They don't have the guts, man! Their master, Kalimullah, has taught them never to take the fall. As far as you can, do not ever take the blame. Pass the buck. So, that is why M Zul and whats-the-foreigner's-name had to resign. I can't say I feel sorry for them. Like, Brendan Perera, they will be well-taken care of.
ReplyDeleteBrother, I pray for your well-being, for a great future, for your success. I am amazed by your stamina, I am awed by your guts, your balls, your tenacity.
all this while, i can see so clearly so lucidly why kalimullah and his despicable cronies, hate you... NAY, FEAR you.
but take care.. i know you do not fear them. if anything happens to you, brother, i can assure you, bloggers will unite, and your loyal and faithful commentators will come to the fore!
i know i will. and i can tell you several hundreds will too!!!!
selamat berjuang.
anonymous who is upset that Rocky bru had to mention the word "Kali" --
ReplyDeletebrother/sister, i agree. he is not worth a cup of cold piss. and yes. a decent journalist would have admitted that he screwed up...
but you see.. Kali is not decent. neither is he a journalist.
But you know whta! i think i know why bro had to mention this ducker"s name... just so we dont forget what he has done to the NST. and for that, I am okay with bru having to mention his name!!
Rocky!
ReplyDeleteNow it is out in the open let me tell you a story. Kalimullah once was quoted as saying there is not such thing as Bangsa Melayu! This concept is doomed, he said. He also said that he will erase anything that that has Malay atached to it like The Malay
Mail, which he succeeded in destroying, next he will go for Malaysian Railways, just to get rid of the words Kereta Api Tanah Melayu, then, during one of his state of drunken stupor he said Askhar Melayu will be call Askhar Pathan if he has his way.
So Pak Lah do not go n threatening the rakyat. The reason why we now hate you is because you are not good for the country, you protect scumbag and evil people like Kalimullah Hassan and your son-in-law and you do not even now what kind of an evil person they are! Hey!Dollah I am a Malay and a Malaysian, we will keeep on trying your patience so one day you will quit, sooner the better, for the sake of the Malay concept, to say the least! So cut the bullshit, and yes one day I will go public, sooner than you all will think!
rocky bru,
ReplyDeletedo you think you could give us a list of the names of senior journalists who were booted out of the NST. ok ok... those who were forced to take the VSS. because i know most of them were really experienced and very professional who were well respected not only by their peers but by their charges/subordinates.
I was told they had no choice as they found working at the NST under Kalimullah was unbearable due to his unprofessionalism and pengecut and fawning-to-Putrajaya-Singapore/foreigner(s) ways.
thank you!
daripada: saya yang tidak buta dan tidak pekak dan tidak bisu.
You guys are watching how the cookie crumble. Inexperieced editors and non-journalists will invariably hang themselves when they make themselves the top editor. M Zul and Burgess hanged. Syed Faizal and Rahman will hang if they don't heed the signs. Kalimullah is hanging for sure. Hisham too. And brendan's dead duckhead on kali's shoestring with his face covered with lee kuan yew's old boxer shorts.
ReplyDeleteulanbator, your choice of name was not so clever either.
ReplyDeleteAnd anonymous (posting No 2), a lot of us don't like kali and brendan but I think we all have used enough of those words that, sadly, may have future repercussions on this very blog.
I too think what brendan did was wrong, terribly wrong. I've said my piece and I think we can and should focus our energy (and talennts?) elsewhere.
Peace!
My scorecard to NSTP leaders based on the performance of the company and what has happened at Jalan Riong.
ReplyDeleteKalimullah: E.
Syed Faizal: E-.
:ishamuddin Aun: F.
Bru, please give your score to these three stooges.
I hope this change will be for the better. At least without M Zul around, the editors of the respective desks will be able to venture out of their 'once restricted' boxes and be able to cover more grounds. However, it is hoped the desk editors will be bold enough to do so and not just stick with what has been a rather dissapointing five months.
ReplyDeleteNews Desk- hope more crime and local council stories will be published. To say the news writers aren't supposed to touch those issues as it requires a lot of fine tuning is rather degrading to the journalists themselves and they should prove the management wrong.
Entertainment Desk- Go on obtaining your scoops on the latests gossips.
Sports Desk- One of MM's strongest front. Hopefully, the new editor will go out of the 'only motorsports' news for the local pages and start bringing in new stuff.
Hopefully the new people will see this as an opportunity for change. I hope it's for the better and not for the worse.
syed faisal, pse go before you are sacked. pse go.
ReplyDeleteDear Pasquale, you are 101% right about this kalimullah..this no brainer has been given has been given directives by his BOSS to kill all malaysian icons. Another buddy of his is Munir Majid.
ReplyDeleteI will also go public when the time comes. I just hope pak lah can wake up in time.
mmgal said ... all the seniors and good ones have gone ...
ReplyDeleteDavid Lee and Freddy Ng are doing a fantastic job at the Sun.
May be together they can save MM.
bring back the previous MM!
ReplyDeleteyeah.. bring back the paper that cares!
ReplyDeleteAzmi Anshar as MM editor? MMgal, you've got to be joking. He talks like he knows a lot but apart from EGO he has nothing between his ears. Zainul Arifin maybe lah. As for Yushaimi, he is partly responsible for the current MM mess. An editor must have vision, and Yushaimi is clearly myopic. Yusri? God forbid! Saiful works hard but he is not editor material. Kali has removed all the Bumis who could make a difference in the NST. The ones remaining are, in TDM's words "half-past six". So how?
ReplyDeleteIf you learn psychology, you will come across negative and positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement, as the words suggest, leads to negative consequences and/or destruction of oneself.
ReplyDeleteWhat we are seeing now (the constant bombardments against Kalimuthu, Brendan "mat salleh the black ass" and half-past sick (sic) Hisham the GEIC, is a form of negative reinforcement.
As more and more bricks (read: heart thumping and heart piercing articles such as those found in this blog) are wantonly hurled at these prime targets, they will crack and ultimately their best line of defences will break. Remember the phrase: the pen is mightier than the sword?
Kalimuthu's riches, Brendan's witty articles and Hishamudin's behind-the-scene antics will wilt under your constant bombardments. So continue with your insults (justified until proven otherwise) against these morons of the highest order.
May Malaysia blossom as in yesteryears when Kalimuthu, Brendan and Hishamudin were toting tots, led by parents who wished they do no harm to others and benevolence was the order of the day.
P/S: I am a Malay who had an eventful stint in the old Business Times before quitting to join other media organisations. I still have fond memories of the old NST, the old Business Times, the old Malay Mail and the old Berita Harian. Where's the beef now?
GERUBUK
ReplyDeleteHear! Hear!
did someone really say rahman is not an idiot?
ReplyDeletedid someone really say rahman is not an idiot?
ReplyDeleteBro,
ReplyDeleteCorrection ... kalimullah is not playing dumb ... he is Dumb and dumbed (being a journalist, you should know that) but of course we all are dumber for allowing this dumbo to make us look like dumbs.
Whoa, I like this dumb word, dumb boy !
To exmmboy:
ReplyDeleteDavid Lee (many of us 'exmmboys' and 'exmmgurls' swear that he is a racist and bigot) was one of worst News Editors ever at the MM. He filled the paper with nothing much but Michael Chong (kawan baik dia) stories on the front page, uncollected rubbish, cracked houses, disgruntled residents stories and the likes.
I'm not saying that such subjects should not be in MM, but a lot more of other subjects should have filled up the pages.
One memorable example of his lack of skill other than handling the abovementioned issues is this: On the night when we heard that Anwar Ibrahim was sacked, Lee left for home shortly after - while all the reporters were called to come to the office for mega-overtime work.
Yes, I'm sure he is doing fine at the Sun, exmmboy, but I bet you my last C4 explosive that he has no major part in making the Sun what it is today (whatever that is).
The Sun does well with or without him, thank you very much.
Anyway, I'm sure he doesn't want to come back to MM. So, exmmboy, let it go la...
what have they done to my favourite paper...boo hoo hoo hoo.......the malay mail is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BORING NOW. THEY ARE SAYIGN THAT GENERALLY THEIR READERS ARE SO LOW IQ, THE STORIES CAN ONLY BE MAX 5 PARAS KE??? THEN LEPAS TU, GAMBAR BESAR BESAR LA...TUKAR NAMA LA..MM - photo diary
ReplyDeletenstloyalist
true. meritocracy is a myth at the nst.
but maybe we should look at it from a different angle. it is meritocratic, just not based on your journalistic skills but your bodek abilities.
tak boleh tulis, no problem. simply la, sub akan tukar. anyway, bodek enough then ok liao.
tak tau spot interesting stories, no problem. just bodek la. then dull story also can become page2.
no idea what the minister cakap kat function, no problem. ambil la press release je, dan bagi satu duo 'std quote' yg direka sendiri la.
or the best tak tau interview ke, ambil saja dari berita harian atau harian metro la.
so, nstloyalist looks like we have to learn new skills to survive in the nst.
:D
dave - we want to rant, what is your problem. we feel that this is constructive and we are making a difference. do we need you to sign a permission slip?
Rocky!
ReplyDeleteI got a call from a MM reporter yesterday (17/11). She was outstation and her colleagues in Bangsar told her about a farewell do for M. Zul at Oasis (Bangsar) to be held last night (17/11/06).
They said two cakes arrived (either at MM or Oasis, she wasn't clear on that) from an anonymous sender. Both were for M.Zul and Simon.
Both cakes were shaped like ass but in-between was a long brown/black thingy (a dick, I suppose).
Since Simon wasn't going to turn up at the party, some of the MM people jokingly decided that they want to pass it to Jad Mahidin, instead.
This reporter told me that apparently, it was her idea to have the sex stories in WM.
She chose them, assigned the reporters and even edited them - and she was proudly making sure all the juniors know that it was her idea that got accepted by the Editor and this will translate into fame and fortune.
Soon after, she told everyone that she's resigning because got a superb job offer from and oil&gas company.
The reporters found out that like M.Zul and Simon, she was told to leave the company too ;)
Waht! Where are u???? Can you confirm about Jad?
ReplyDeleteho boy. ada berapa anonymous da...hmm, lets see.i know rocky knows better than to believe anons who listen to half-baked (yes, anyone with any less years there than Jad will be half-baked)reporters who cant stand to see people get ahead. i'm sure the monger-els said i was fired as well. we mahidins just don't know how to do good work kot. thats why we're having a lousy time getting nice job offers and earning a nice living so our sons can have nice lives.
ReplyDeletei'd better go pick up my VSS cheque soon before these green-eyed monsters chew it up! i'm sure their nails are gone by now...
Wahts!
ReplyDeleteWow!!! You have not taken your VSS cheque yet... It's more than half a year, gal! Finance Dept will have to prepare a new cheque. After six months the old cheque is not valid, right?
Wahts! I MISS YOUR COLUMN.
Jad, ada keleje kosong, ka?