Ravi Nambiar was the New Straits Times' Johor Bharu bureau chief at the time the article on "unpatriotic" Pak Shahrir was published. His Big Boss then was Kalimullah Hassan, the newspaper's Group Editor-in-Chief. Syed Feisal Albar was the Chief Executive Officer of the company that published the newspaper.
Kalimullah is now deputy chairman of the NSTP and also its Editorial Adviser. Syed Feisal is his CEO.
And Ravi Nambiar is, as far as I know, still the JB bureau chief.
Screenshots says the lawyer who represented Pak Shahrir was Malik Imtiaz, who has a column in New Straits Times.
Will there be an apology for the June 11 article by Kalimullah?
you've got balls man. btw, that's just an expression to say that you are brave. it does not imply that u have breasts or are effeminate cos of these breasts. there is no innuendo intended.
ReplyDeleteBru, pls check, I think Kalli's apology for insulting the Prophet (PBUH) last year was not as clear and as "sincere" as his apology to Shahrir.
ReplyDeleteHe won't apologize to TDM. Maybe not now. Maybe after he and his PM daddy are gone.
Dear Rocky
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your blog very much and is is glad you are back. Keep safe.
bro,
ReplyDeleteu have many friends. you are a gentleman. you are brave. you are not a coward among cowards. you are not a scum among scums.
you want expert witnesses? just holler. you want legal aid, just holler. you want confidential documents about scums.... that can be arranged.
Hi Rocky,
ReplyDeleteCould you write something about the Visit Malaysia Year programme. You can actually look at it from several pull outs in newspapers. After carefully, perusing it, more than 90% of the events highlighted as the main VMY programmes are events that are already regular events - especially Hari Raya, Deepavali, Wesak and CNY (they miss our Christmas though). So what's the big deal about VMY? The Eye of Malaysia? Big deal! I'd rather take a lift up the KL tower. Would you actually believe the English who come all the way from London (where they have the original and much bigger eye of London) would even blink and take up the expensive 30 minute trip? I don't think so. But bro, what irks me, is not the events listed there, but the lack of events that really give foreigners a window to our lives - especially the Malays. If you check the programme, apart from Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which is an Islamic celebraton and not a Malay celebration, there is nothing that celebrates the Malay as a people. No Batik Festival, no songket exposition, No ghazal, zapin or joget concerts, NO festival of Malay food (there is a gourmet fest listed), No silat, no congkak fest, no pantun extravanganza, no malay film fest (though I heard Kelantan is about to host the world's first Islamic Film Festival this June). There is nothing that celebrates us Malays lah. Really. Even the buntings for VMY is Anglofied - check out the buntings for the Eye On Malaysia - 100% orang putih punya bahasa...hello Rais!! YOu go telling TV producers to watch Bahasa Rojak and you allow government events to promote Bahasa Inggeris ahhh..what lah!!!
Therefore, if I really wanted to visit a real Asian or cultural hot pot Malaysia is not the place - I'd go to Indonesia where they have the world famous Gamelan Festival and the Indoneisa Performing Arts Festival in Bali, or go to Thailand for the Songkran or the King's Riverboat parade...very Thai one. Where do we go in Malaysia to catch anything Malay these days? Scratch your head lah. Do you know where to catch people playing Kelantanese Kites? What about the gasing? No? If you don't know, how would the tourists know? So Rocky, please write something about this.
cucuparit
Yo, Dude,
ReplyDeleteDon't worry,
NST is so filled with mistakes and bloopers on every single issue that they should be worry about themselves as a walking 'SUE ME'on their forehead.
Anyone of us could take a SINGLE issue of NST, blindfold ourselves and 'tikam' any of its 1001 NST's unintentional comedies as a public grievance and take them to court.
But again it shows how cowardly NST has been when it comes to dealing with real issues instead of trying to keep ppl from voicing up. A paper that acts as a Media Police. Since when did we became a Fascist state?
rocky,
ReplyDeleteyou should think about suing a certain almost-baldheaded scum for spreading lies about you.
Can a certain scum be sued for ruining the NST, the Malay Mail.
Hey, bro...these people have got malice.
besides they dont have no rep to protect.
rocky---- counter-sue people who want to sue you.
BRING IT ON, MAN!
diponegoro said...
ReplyDeleterocky,
...
besides they dont have no rep to protect...
6:30 PM
...................................
Cant agree more with you.
What reputation are they talking about.
They dont have any, in the first place.
How could one protect anything when one has nothing -- no reputation -- to speak of.
Bro,
ReplyDeleteYou are one brave man. Please be careful.
We pray for you and will be with you all the way.
Coward is Kali's middle name. Threatening to sue you for what?
For speaking up the Truth. And why is he taking along NST?
Only cowards will try to silence those dare expose the Truth.
The method (threat of legal action) Kali is employing seems so familiar, like what that someone from the RED DOT down south has been doing to his political enemies or anyone who writes "not so nice things" abt him.
Rocky,
ReplyDeleteThis Ravi's the offending piece. Hope you can post it for perspective. Thanks.
Has he burnt his bridges?
Ravi Nambiar
NST Feb 6, 2005
JOHOR politician Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad is never one to mince his words. He has a penchant for speaking his mind. Some even call him a "loose cannon". And it was vintage Shahrir again last week which he touched on some raw nerves in Umno Johor by going public with his "formula" for resolving the upcoming Malaysia-Singapore bilateral talks.
Malaysia, he said at a Press conference, should drop plans to build a bridge to replace the Causeway and give up its claim to KTM Berhad land in Singapore. Calling it "radical thinking", he said the two issues, if taken out of the Goh Chok Tong-Abdullah Ahmad Badawi talks, would provide a level playing field for both sides to resolve their long-standing disputes.
Admittedly, Shahrir was entitled to his personal views on this thorny issue of cross strait bilateral relations. But the trouble was that a day earlier, on Jan 22, he had tried to sell the same idea and it was vehemently shot down by Umno Johor. In a closed-door meeting with visiting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Senai, Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman had came out strongly against Shahrir's proposal.
"The question of dropping the bridge does not arise because this is not the position of Umno Johor or the State Government," he declared. "The construction of the bridge will proceed as planned. We will be very firm on this."
Ghani also took umbrage at Shahrir's unsolicited remarks, saying nobody should make the bridge an issue. Apparently, Shahrir, as Umno Johor Baru division chief, had said "aye" to the bridge when the party wanted to take a position on the project. For him to openly announce his change of heart, according to one political observer, was not only offensive but deeply embarrassing to Umno Johor.
"Shahrir sticks out like a sore thumb in Umno Johor, which has always projected itself as a united and cohesive force. By not toeing the party line, he has brought disrepute to Umno Johor," he noted.
Umno watchers, while conceding to Shahrir's temperamental and unpredictable trait, are unable to fathom his latest antic. Many, however, believe it was nothing more than a clever ploy to capture public attention. In any case, he had clearly put himself out on a limb. For the Johor Government, his outburst couldn't have come at a worst time. Already, there were simmering disquiet on the ground about the virtual absence of a "voice" from Johor in the first round of the Goh-Abdullah talks last December in Putrajaya.
Eyebrows were also raised when Kuala Lumpur agreed, apparently without prior consultation with Johor, to open airspace around Gelang Patah for Singapore Air Force fighter jets. This concession was made after Singapore agreed to release some S$2.4 billion (RM5.56 billion) locked in Central Provident Fund savings to West Malaysians. These and other decisions made unilaterally by Kuala Lumpur have not gone down well with most people in Johor. Najib, sensing the mood, said during his latest visit to Senai, that it was "still not too late" for Johor to present its views to the Federal Government. Umno Johor and the State Government were trying to do that precisely when Shahrir threw a spanner in the works.
"Just when we wanted to put up a united front, in comes Shahrir with his divergent view. That has completely demolished Johor's position," noted an Umno division information chief.
But from day one, the Menteri Besar has been consistent and firm in his call for the demolition of the Causeway to make way for the bridge. Indeed, he has gone on record to say the Causeway must go because it is the "last vestige of colonial rule in Johor". More importantly, he says, the 83-year-old crossing is an impediment to the ecology of the Johor Straits. Opening the channel would also spur marine economic activity and spur growth.
Besides, the Causeway is just no longer able to handle the tremendous increase of vehicular traffic in recent years, all of which now pours into Johor Baru city proper, resulting in massive daily congestions. Hence, the need for a new elevated bridge and a purpose-built Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex, with a network of new roads to disperse traffic away from the city.
The CIQ is already nearing completion, although work on the proposed RM700 million bridge has stalled because Singapore has yet to give the nod. But now, the republic may have more reason to drag its feet, according to some observers." Shahrir might have unwittingly given Singapore an unnecessary advantage in the upcoming Goh-Abdullah talks. What he is saying is tantamount to the unconditional surrender of our right to negotiate a settlement," said lawyer and businessman Datuk Chua Jui Leng.
The view is also shared by several others who said Shahrir's stance was not only unpatriotic, but also fundamentally flawed.
"His comments were premature and impractical. Not only is this kind of talk not in tandem with the rest of Johor, but it could also jeopardise our negotiations with Singapore," said another hotelier.
But Shahrir is unrelenting. "I stand by what I said," he said this week. That's classic Shahrir for you - unfurled even when facing the eye of a storm.
rocky bru,
ReplyDeletehe is a coward among cowards, scum among scums, dwarf among dwarfs.
he is filthy. his hands are dirty.
he is a liar.
brother..he has been ruining your reputation the minute he stepped into the NST.
expose him, strip him naked.
drag him drag him drag him.......
and to the NST boys and girls --
dah lah tak naik gaji.... NST kena bayar legal fees diorang. HAH! kesian.
PENGKHIANAT, PENGKHIANAT, PENGKHIANAT NEGARA...
ReplyDeleteTINDAK TANDUK SEPERTI LEE KUAN YEW BUAT TERHADAP PENENTANG/MUSUH POLITIK NYA.
'BANKRUPT YOUR ENEMY' -- ITU LAH CARA PEMIMPIN SINGAPURA MENENTANG MUSUH MEREKA.
PENGKHIANAT PENGKHIANAT PENGKHIANAT ...
Bro.... in case salah faham... i don't mean you yg pengkhianat..
you know who i mean-lah.
Rocky
ReplyDeleteYou are the one who should be sueing that good-for-nothing aka the coward low-lying scum of a person to court for trying to ruin yr reputation.
Kali has no reputation to speak of. An opportunist, he is very ambitious & will stop at nothing --even to the extent of backstabbing his own friends to get what he wants. He is low-cunning, greedy, materialistic & very vengeful.
mysweetlady who, right now, aint that sweet.
Like to add to what my-not-so-sweetlady wrote.
ReplyDeleteKali simply hates competition. When he was in the Star, he considered his collegue, Zainal Epi, a competitor simply becuz of the latter's contacts in Umno.
Umno top guns then didnt trust Kali -- at all.
So journalists like you,brother, Nuraina, Shamsul, Rose Ismail, among others, have no place in the NST under Kali.
No way hosey. All of you are a hindrance to his personal ambition & agenda.
Kali is a laughing stock among REAL journalists. They have no respect for him.
None whatsover.
Bru,
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about Kali suing you will add to your reputation as a blogger who's going all the way in pursuing the professional journalist's basic duty - telling it as it is, painful though it may be sometimes. He has certainly under-estimated you, and when he can't silence you by letting you out on the street, he now wants to muzzle you in other ways. And he's trying to get a reputation that he dares to silence you. He can try, after all he's got tonnes of money and he's been able to buy influence in many high places. I mean he's been saying that all the time, and it's no secret.
I suggest we take precautions. We keep it simple and honest. If he sues you, as reported in other websites, then visitors to this blog can do something. Let's set up a Fund for Rocky. And bro, you ain't the wealthiest of journalists! you can't and shouldn't say no. As I said, keep it simple and honest. No need committees, no need secret accounts. We know you're at Austin Chase in Bangsar and then you pop in at the National Press Club. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so at these places. As I said, keep it simple and straight to the point. Our blogger friend needs help. Let's just do it. You are your best friend. I'm pledging a small sum straight away, to be passed to you soonest.
And if there are good lawyers who want to contribute their services, pro bono or otherwise, then they can meet you there too.
For all you know, there may be nothing at the end of it. Well, that's good. And bad. But Bro, you must know by now that your friends won't allow you to walk alone! Enuf said!
firstly, thank you Rocky for the this link.
ReplyDeleteafter having read the offending article, I sincerely believe there is just cause for Mr.Kalimullah to apologize...if not to TDM for the misreporting of the incident in Japan then to the Malaysian public who paid good money for that particular issue of The New Sunday Times.
secondly, are you sure that Mr. Kalimullah was at one time the Group Editor-in-Chief of NST?
man, he's worse than Kadir Jasin...and I thought Encik Kadir couldn't even write to save his life!
all right, boys and girls, let's get our dictionaries out, or Google if you are connected.
the once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST wrote, "Out of respect. Out of a desire not to hurt Dr Mahathir’s feelings. Out of a wish to ensure his image as an elder statesman was preserved."
now,
question: is "out of respect" a sentence?
answer: no...it is a phrase...hence one cannot use it as a sentence for the simple reason that a phrase is an incomplete sentence!
in any case, what does "out of respect" mean?
question 1: is it I'm all out of respect!?
question 2: is it I asked out of respect?
answer: only the once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST knows!
naturally, there are other moot points but they are too tedious to explain...
but, to save space on Rocky's blog, let's move on to other masterpieces by this once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST.
"Yet, again, restraint. Restraint. Restraint."
ok, boys and girls, a restraint is a noun like an idea, a law, a rule etc. And, when one uses them as in the context (intended but not quite achieved) above they MUST in the plural!
for example...one doesn't say, "Rule. Rule."...but say..."Rules. Rules." because, in the singular, one has to put an article in front of that noun, i.e.
"A rule. A rule."... which doesn't sound quite right, does it?
and, the only reason it doesn't sound right is because it's WRONG! (what a difference an S makes! all puns are intended.)
however, one could use a verb instead.
the verb is restrain. (what a difference a T makes!)
so, another way of saying what the once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST intended to say is, "Yet, again, restrain. Restrain. Restrain."
well, some might argue that it's a typo or something but this, again, reminds me of what someone once said about idiots...humans make mistakes but only an idiot repeats them!
in this case the once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST repeated the mistakes no less than 3 times.
"like Wow, dude... awesome!"
mind you, there are other gems like "So had my family and I, we had the greatest of respect."
but, it's too time consuming to explain... so, boys and girls this is your assignment... go find what/where these mistakes are!
however, some hints:
i) "His adviser, former politician Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, arranged an interview with Malaysiakini, the Internet news site which he disliked with a passion when Dr Mahathir was prime minister..."
ii) "Yet, less than two weeks later, Dr Mahathir invited the foreign Press to his office and lambasted Abdullah and his administration."
or, how about this one, "Sure, Mukhriz feels hurt. Which son or daughter would want to see his or her father criticised?
hmmm, let me take a wild guess here... and, do I get a lifetime NST subscription if I get the right answer?
the second son or the fifth daughter, right?
folks, this is icing on the cake, "I did not respond although I was hurt. I did not respond when my 18-year-old daughter called me from Australia, crying, asking whether I was in trouble.
what? For crying out loud, you didn't even respond to your own daughter?
our sympathies to the daughter... if ever she needs a shoulder to cry on... come to Rocky's Bru, okay?
now, we KNOW the once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST is a cold and heartless father!
well, well...what is happening to the spin king at NST?
if this were a Form 3 class assignment the once-upon-a-time Group Editor-in-Chief of NST would probably receive a D++...and that's being very, very Malaysian about it!.
but the fact that somebody of this calibre could hold such a high position is conclusive PROOF that there must be a lot of apple trees in Malaysia.
in conclusion...it doesn't matter if you are good at what you do but what matters is whether you are any good at polishing apples!
"Work with me and not for me"...yeah, right...whatever!
bru and friends,
ReplyDeletei pledge RM10 as a token...only because i know hundred others will do the same. and if i am wrong that i am overrating the unity of bloggers, the strength of blogger links and sense if brotherhood and sisterhood, then i am pledging RM5,000. and unlike some big shots who pledge RM100,000 to worthy and charity causes and NOT PAY..well, bru, SEE U AT Austin,. I'll have my cheque with me.
People... today is Rocky and Jeff Ooi, and Sheih...Tomorrow it could be you.
To me it is a matter of principle too... How can we allow people like Kali (eeeuw) have the GALL to sue people ike Rocky (tabik, brother) ...cannot-maaah..he must not get away with it.
SALUTE... let the fund start...
thanks to the nst newsdesk dude for posting the article...
ReplyDeletethe last line of that last paragraph caught my attention, "That's classic Shahrir for you - unfurled even when facing the eye of a storm."
what's the big deal?
isn't the eye of a storm the quietest/calmest part of a storm?
now, seriously, what kind of people they got working at this NST?
hud hud and others,
ReplyDeleteyes, the man is a coward,,, how do you explain him dragging the NST ..and the three others. i am sure syed faisal and hishamuddin were "persuaded" to go along. brendan didnt have a choice.
and using NST lawyers, to boot.
hmmm....i suppose NST paying the fees-lah.
Pity us all.....
rocky,
ReplyDeletei wonder what you said about him and the others are libelous.
and i dont see you disparaging the NST, what libelous things did u say about the NST?
Then, thousand others (with names) should also be sued.
Rocky,you should be the one suing him. I know you wont sue the NST, so I wont even suggest it.
Sue him, Rocky, sue him.
Fight, Rocky. Fight fight fight...
and I pledge RM10 or if no givers, RM1,000. This is not just for you, Rocky,...for the blogging community.
mstang said...
ReplyDeleteRocky,
and I pledge RM10 or if no givers, RM1,000. This is not just for you, Rocky,...for the blogging community.
===================================
Rocky,
Me too. I pledge RM100, my sumbangan ikhlas to you & the blogging community.
I know how to get in touch with you & you know me too.
Keep up the good fight.
nstloyalist...
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you. By dragging NST, Kali doesnt need to pay ...not even a sen from his pocket.
Hmmm...smart? Naah cunning, like someone here said low-cunning.
kawan,
ReplyDeleteu are right. rocky aint the wealthiest journalist around. tell me which real journalist is wealthy?
rocky certainly wasnt poor when he was with the mainstream media. neither were other editors.
but...well.. dont know about kali when he was a reporter with the Star and his very short stint at the NST. He never got as high as rocky, never got the respect that rocky got, when he was a reporter. never got to make an impact.. (of course, rocky...ada orang pun benci dan sakit hati dengan you. Ini lumrah dunia)
sure-lah kali has tonnes of money now.
enuf said about him... dont want to make things worse for you rocky.
bro...when i get to see u, i will give names of people who are willing to speak for you.. tell the truth and cannot be bought. at least not by the likes of ...ouch, cant even say the name.
cheers, and salam
Rocky
ReplyDeleteAiya!!! Why do you expect Kalimullah to retract and apologise for the famous June 11th article? Kalimullah is the protected specy therefore cannot be sue. He can sue others. OK!
Rocky, for Kalimullah to lie here and there was ok becaue he did it to protect his boss, the Mr I am In Control, and ultimately top protect himself. we should understand Kalimullah predicament. You know Kalimullah was and is a "good" journalist, he wouldn't have lied if not to protect his boss and ECM Libra.
I think it was quite noble for Kalimullah to sacrify his professionalism for others. Under his leadership in NST, he defended Brendan , the plagiarist, by threatening to sue the BBC. Please tell tell others that Kali dare not sue the BBC even after BBC did not bother about their threatening letter of demand.
In a way, Kalimullah is a selfless person, he fought for others all the times and he even went all the way to lie to help his boss. I think that Kalimullah is a nobleman. Opps!! Sorry, of course, Kalimullah is a nobleman at least by virtue of him being conferred the title of Datukship as soon as Mr I am In Control came into power.
So Datuk Kalimullah is a nobleman and I am very convinced he is!!
Why are we still talking about NST's treat to sue the BBC?? Kalimullah will never do that for the simple reason that the BBC has more superior counsel than ours where media law is concerned. No disrespect to local lawyers: it's a fact. They'll expose much more than Datuk K/Brendan/NST can handle. Secondly, media law in Britain is way more advanced than it is here. Here it's confined to silly primadonnas with their frivolous claims against each other or against tabloids. Media-related litigation in the West has gone way beyond that. So yes, it was just a stupid threat to sue the BBC.
ReplyDeleteRocky and fellow supporters of the frontline bloggers,
ReplyDeleteHope some kind of arrangement can be made so we Malaysian supporters domiciled outside the country can contribute to the fund too.