I would like to thank Business Times Singapore for highlighting my appeal letter and The Malaysian Insider for carrying the piece
(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/19275-businessman-pleads-for-political-truce )
However, RM 36K for a black and white full page advert is rather bloated. The price we paid is by far lower than that. We also have a good deal with The Star as we are a regular advertiser. We also write our own adverts and design the artwork internally.
Some fellow Malaysians felt that the advert is a waste of money and effort. We all are entitled to our opinion; let’s just learn to agree to disagree.
Alas, God knows best.
7 comments:
Dude, I admire your courage and commitment. You put your money where your mouth is not to mention standing tall (something which brings forth the brickbats as you have obviously experienced.
You are not alone in your sentiment more so what you were quoted in todays Star as saying, "This country is beautiful and special and it is only us that can mess it up. Something that certain parties put great effort in doing.
We need to wake up and smell the roses, to sustain this corner of paradise called Malaysia. Your ad would have reached out to millions and if it struck a chord in just a fraction of them or galvanised even less into some form of action, I thank you...
Bro,
We waste so much money on all sorts of crap.. You did something for a noble cause.. I'm very proud of your dear fellow Malaysian..
Che
Anas Zubedy,
Honestly, I fail to fathom the purport that this caper of yours intend to bring. Apart from some kind of self-jubilancy and appointed heroism, we all understand that it takes more than a page of advertisement to undo what 51 years of mistrust, of mudslinging, of the slow and gradual rise of racism and questioning the pribumis’ landlordship have done by way of tearing the fabrics of this society apart. For some whose grandfathers and entire clans came to this country uninvited and a generation after that starts questioning the Sultans, the rights of the pribumis and even recently equating them to South Africa’s apartheids (funny: it's the reverse! hahaha), the call for “cool heads” to prevail only exist in Mythologies or Aesop fables that fathers read to their kids at bedtime.
Well of course the applauds might be quite dinful. Who doesn’t love Neutrality, Freedom, Peace and Harmony? Unfortunately, the catchwords of Neutrality, Freedom, Harmony and Peace always camouflage the more hideous monsters that need to be unleashed in order to attain them.
Judging from the way you lament about forking 36k for a pageful of adverts, you (or your company) appear to be quite far from a multi-million ringgit entity who has some few extra change to throw away. Lest this delusional “success” gets into your head and prompts you into thinking of doing another Star-daily publicity stunt, think about your Saedahs, your Alicias and your Sudeshes who have been robbed of their year’s worth of bonuses or even current salaries and wages just to cater for your let’s-change-the-nation-overnite one-page fantasy.
Incidentally, you mention about people “agreeing to disagree”. From the hundred or thereabouts comment I read in your article, none of them seem to disagree with you. This impressive 100% agreement makes this to be perhaps an unprecedented happening in the blogosphere, surpassed perhaps only by a poll conducted in Black Harlem on whether they think it is right for Obama to be president. Heck even Che Det suffers from disagreeing voices. There is one commenter whose comments were not accepted to be published. Was it due to vulgarity? If not, are you practising some kind of censorship, Anas? And if you are, just multiply this incident by about 28 million times and you can get some kind of feel on how the ruling government of Malaysia have to handle cases of dissent.
I admire your call, however practically futile though it may be, which can be summarised as a call for a halt to the politicians. This is sensible: just halt everything, from your bickerings, from the mudslingings and concentrate on the economy and helping the people. However, reminiscent of a cartoonish boxing match, some people have taken the opportunity during this “halt time” to punch below the belt. To them “halt, halt, stop, stop, unity, unity” is when they are down and out. When they are up and about again, you cant imagine the kind of words they use to describe their opponents. Thus you get your commenters who question why you are not as tough in criticising the BN compared to how you do it to the Pakatan group, even though everyone can see from your writings that you are more neutral than a soaked-down litmus strip.
Anas,
In this world no matter what good you do, there will always be people like Apocryphalist...He is so full of bull when he says that there are dissenting voices allowed space on Che Det, my friends have complained that only their supportive comments get published on Che Det, never their disagreements with Tun.
I suppose this itself tells you quite a bit about this Apocryphalist character.
I also notice people like him like to transfer intent on to other people, ignore him, you won't be the worse for it
Thank you for the advertisement.
Just so you know I would have done the same thing :)
Respect to you!
I doubt all the negative comments that has come up all over the internet could or would effect your spirit but I could be wrong.
Even though at first reaction is not to care about them but I truly believe that one must care about criticisms but not to live by them.
Anyhow, this is for you...
ANYWAY (author unknown)
People are often unreasonable,
illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be Kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and
some true enemies;
Succeed anyway. people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis.
it is between you and God;
It is never between you and them anyway.
Dear Anas
I must commend on your efforts to call for a quick return to sanity, civility and polity among the political leaders from both sides.
Ever since the last General Election on March 8, 2008, we saw the bitterness within the BN Coalition. The leasers probably did not see the winds of change that swept across the nation.
Instead of accepting defeats in humnily, they continue to waste their precious time and squander the national resources in their furtive, insiduous and dinosauric ways of hitting back at the Pakatan Rakyat.
How I wish the UMNO leaders emulate the way you think and concern about the bread and butter issues of the people on the streets rather than engaging themelves in political acrobatics to no one's benefit.
The people are fed up and tired of their antiquated gutter politics which they must stop for the sake of the country.
The country is rich enough for everyone if and only if he or she is prepared to strive and work hard toward seeking their opportunities to acquire and enhance their wealth.
I have lived and seen the rapid deterioration of the societal moral fibre among our youths. They are frustrated and dismayed at witnessing their leaders for ruthlessly fighting for power, self-aggrandisement and quick bucks through corrupt means
The honest citizens meanwhile continue to work from hand to mouth as you have mentioned while they splash money all round as if it falls from heaven. It is fortunate it comes out from the ground for the time being but a day will come, if they are not careful, the oil-wells will run dry.
They must save for the rainy day and make hay while the sun shines.
You guys in BN have conceived and promulgated the Rukun Negara but it does not give me the confidence that they are serious enough to follow it. So how on earth do they think and expect the people to follow the National Ideology when they continue to remain blind and deaf to the continued uncivil conduct of their UMNO Youths. They in my opinion have gone overboard. And the nation will hold UMNO responsible for its failure to conrol and instill discipline in them.
What they did at the Parliament recently was an embarassment and if no serious action is taken against the recalcitrants, don't ever hope the public will support BN at the coming by-elections.
Act and stop these barbaric members including their leaders who must be held accountable and responsible for their shameful conduct.
waste or not, its your money, you might want to consider, how many bags of sugar, rice, milk products, biscuits, flour, simple maggi would have helped foo the needy:)
maybe Star can run the page as part of their social obligations, you write and they print, the money is funded for the needy, macam mana, boleh....
Raising an organisations profile have many methods, yours is another way ke ke ke
Well done.
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