A comment made on my last episode in Astro

To whom it may concern this post that I am about to write is not at all very friendly to some, but I felt I needed to make a point.

I have been working in Astro for the past 3 -4 years and to tell you the truth, things are really messy in there. Astro is a broadcasting company in Malaysia which has attained an MNC status. While I was working on my last project on Ac Di Sini program, (by the way I have resigned) my fellow colleague mentioned something that irked me. I’m a chinese malaysian, and really I didn’t like a bit what he said (in case your not following, everyone in my team are muslim). Our guest for that particular day were 3 judges on the famous program Akademi Fantasia,  one of them was Roslan Aziz. While I hold respect for him in the industry, AC asked the 3 of the judges a general question and which it goes like this – after translation from malay of course.

ON AIR STUDIO RECORDING CONVERSATION :

AC : So in the coming new season of AF, how would you like to the show to progress to? What do you think AF is    lacking of?

Roslan Aziz : AF is too malay cultured. It needs a new approach like more culture, it’s just too malay.

SILENCE

BACKSTAGE – ME AND MY COLLEAGUES

Colleague : Ayo, why he said that?? This is RIA Channel’s program, he can’t say things like that on air.

Me : Why not? If the U.S. can have a black president when everyone thought it will never happen, who is to say? Besides Malaysia is changing, its about bloody time.

Now here’s the thing, this is one example – and actually I can give lots of examples!!

There was this time when a group of us had a conversation in the control room, and this happenned like March 2008, when the elections were going on. One asked me who I was rooting for, and I told them straight DAP – if not any opposition at that time. The whole control room went silent like as if I would get caught or like I was a ticking bomb, then they broadcast to the whole crew that I was rooting for the opposition. Then i asked, who are they rooting for, and all was rooting for BN, I think only 1 cameraman was rooting for opposition. Lucky no one debated with me on it, as work was still at hand. But it irked me that they found it amusing, found the need to tell everyone that I was rooting for the opposition and at the end of the elections, the opposition did win.

The thing is, I can’t seem to stand this narrow-mindedness stigma. It’s no wonder Malaysia can’t grow, its still so back-there – there was even this one time a Malay artist that I was working with in Sehati Berdansa made a comment that made me nearly felt like punching him. I am not going to mentioned who, but he made  statement exactly like this. ‘Woah! I didn’t even know chinese got good taste in fashion. Since when?’ I retorted back, ‘What exactly is your point? Are you saying the chinese are not good enough? What’s your problem?’ The whole team knew what was happening  and calmed me down, and told the guy that its enough before things got worse.

Things I deal with in this industry and that is just the surface level of it, but nonetheless I have met good people not all bad. Those who are modern and open-minded, you know who you are, and you guys are great. But there are so many who are not, and that is really sad – guess what – in Astro, in the department I work in – my nickname is ‘Ah Moi’  and I worked in that department for nearly 2 years.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate muslims or malay, I have a lot of friends who are muslims and their great but I can’t stand the culture mentality that refuses to change.