Malaysia.Is-There has begun implementing aside-style (a.k.a. remaindered links) posts in order to ensure that relevant news that do not receive the “full post” treatment will at least be reported. This was done as there were just too much interesting news to blog about, and far too little time.
Note: The very first aside-style post is right below this one. All asides still have permalinks and can be commented on.
1 # You can take it both ways. But whether it is this post on Malaysian Airlines (MAS) that is old news, or MAS - the airline - itself, the facts remain: MAS is on a downhill path. A net loss of RM367.7 million in the second quarter (Q2) of 2005 is not the problem. It merely underscores the pervasive problems MAS is suffering from.
But patriotism tends to blur the facts. Some have pointed to AirAsia as part of MAS’ woes, claiming that the low cost carrier does “…affect the business of the scheduled airlines unless the scheduled carrier is a fully international airline like Singapore Airlines.” Well, it would be difficult to deny that low cost carriers pose a significant challenge to large, bulky and lumbering airlines like MAS, but the real reasons for that must be made clear. AirAsia is just more cost and price-competitive. MAS just lacks proper management. Period.
Of course, we are given reason to hope. On Feb. 9, it was announced that Malaysia Airlines’ “comprehensive business turnaround plan” will be out to fry on Feb 27. Apparently, we’ll be looking at “…several elements to ensure the airline’s cashflow survival, profit turnaround and human resource development.”
Now, let’s hope that the word “turnaround” wasn’t being used lightly (or worse still, sarcastically). After all, there’s still another five days to the miracle announcement that will salvage our dreams for a self-sustaining national carrier. That’s more than enough time for hope to build up - enough hope to destroy whatever confidence that we have left for the future of one of our most favoured national assets.
Controversial or not, it seems more Malaysians are leaping at the opportunity to exercise their freedom (or rather, luxury) of choice in deciding their future child’s gender. And the nice thing about the whole process is that most methods seem remarkably safe and simple minimal surgery, minimal drugs, and most of all, minimal invasive biotechnological methods.
For the simpler (and less effective) approaches, all you need to do is to attend consultation with recognised fertility centres, and implement a few relatively simple instructions - from eating “…more alkaline-based food such as seafood…” to having “…intercourse during ovulation using a certain method.” But once we go to the extremely controversial (and expensive), yet effective (~99% accurate), pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) method or even the less controversial Micro-Sort and Intra-Uterus Insemination (IUI) techniques, then things start looking a bit cloudier as embryos and the like come into the picture.
In any case, certain religious groups are already complaining - Christians in particular. But I suppose this isn’t a surprise given that, on a worldwide scope, this “playing God” debate is nothing new. However, as long as the more controversial methods (e.g. PGD, IUI) do not become predominant in Malaysia, I doubt there’s really much to argue about.
I’ve been posting very slowly in recent days due to a few commitments elsewhere.
Yes, I understand that there is really no excuse for this, especially since I’m well aware that it is one of the no-nos of blogging. This is made worse by the fact that this is a really new blog.
So… all this means is that I’ll be revving up my posting rate very, very soon. Give me a few days.
We had a set of news bites earlier on 10th Feb., but the backlash from the publishing of the Prophet’s caricatures has yet to end - with global news pouring out almost every day. So, I thought it would be right to post an update on Malaysia’s side of the firestorm.
“Long live Islam. Destroy Denmark. Destroy Israel. Destroy George Bush. Destroy America…”
Well, I would have to say that even though it had this kind of not-so-nice slogans, it was still a non-violent protest, and therefore, there isn’t anything too serious about it. But I guess the one thing people would be looking at is the 100% increase in attendance compared to a similar protest the week before (which attracted only 300 people).
If all goes well, these we’ll be the last negative news bites we’ll see about the cartoon firestorm, at least in Malaysia.
I wonder how I missed reporting this. Anyway, the New Straits Times reported that 10 of the 11 suspected gamblers who had their heads shaved during lock-up will no longer file suit against the police. This, of course, comes after they announced their intention to sue the police and the government for RM 1 million a few days back.
Apparently, “…the group did not want the action of a few police officers to tarnish the image of the entire police force…” and were “…pleased with the outcome of the meeting as we were able to explain what happened on the night of our arrest and express our dissatisfaction.”
News spreads fast these days, really fast. When one internet news release on how a Malaysian engineer was part of the the 2002 West Coast terror plot came out, tens (or maybe even hundreds) of similar news releases were reported within hours (and let me tell you that I am seeing more even now). Just check out the screenshot of my RSS feed reader (which is the easy-to-use Bloglines, by the way) below. I’m sure what I’m talking about will be pretty obvious then, given that the regulations attached to reprinting generally require you to use the same title.
And that’s actually a screenshot of my feed reader right now (6.50 pm), hours after my morning and afternoon dose of similar news releases.
So, what’s this hot piece of news about? It seems that “…Malaysian engineer Zaini Zakaria was among three men al Qaeda was preparing to take part in an attack on the West Coast…” but he cut himself off from the organisation “…when he saw media coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks.” Since then (December 2002), he has been detained without trial in Malaysia.
There’s just too much news coming out of this cartoon firestorm. While it was almost certain that a mere call-up wouldn’t be enough of a punishment for Sarawak Tribune, few would have expected the latest developments in Malaysia:
…should serve as a warning to newspapers to be responsible in practising press freedom…
More specifically, it seems that “…the Cabinet was concerned with a trend by certain media and political parties which sought popularity through sensitive issues.”
But this suspension is probably a minor response if compared to the blanket ban:
And now, let us end with a possible explanation for the firestorm:
Yes, tip of the iceberg it was indeed. Our PM has indicated that action against the Sarawak Tribune is likely to be taken. In the process, he highlighted that “…press freedom is not without its limit. In Malaysia, our newspapers are free, but they also understand what it means.”
But even if action is taken, I believe that it is likely to be minimal - especially in light of the Sarawak Tribune’s front page apology to the Muslim community for the publication of the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.
