Lady journalists

 NST carried this Bernama's story today.

Women still underrepresented in senior editorial roles in Malaysia

and uses this picture to go with it

Why three of the ladies are wearing sleeveless clothing and two of them have weird coloured hair.

Trying to be extra feminist and woke, is it?

Journalists should wear proper working clothes and put on decent appearance la.

If I'm an editor, I wouldn't let them go on assignments like that.

Well, if women journalists want to be taken seriously, they should take their duties seriously and put on the appropriate appearance.

So, not enough high ranking women journalists in Malaysia?

Honestly, I don't think that's a real issue.

As far as I know, the gender of a journalist in this country is not really a barrier for him/her to be successful.

You work hard, play the office politics well, and you will get promoted.

I never actually heard of someone not being given a top post in media organisations in this country because she is a woman.

Only feminists like to think otherwise.

They like to think that women are being victimised but the fact is I know many good male journalists who were also deprived of promotion to senior positions.

It's even a matter of luck, sometimes.

Sometimes the bosses simply just don't like your face.

Or maybe because you are too bitchy and talk back too much.

Or it's because of your political affiliation.

That's what I know about the newsrooms in this country.

Really.

Never heard of a bunch of media bosses sitting in a meeting saying "Let's not promote her because she's a woman".

"Let's not promote her because she's too bitchy" got la.

Ladies, you want to get promoted to that top job, work for it and navigate the office politics well.

Don't expect to be promoted on a woman quota as that would not make you a good journalist.

If you become a top editor just because you are a woman, then your organisation will suffer for it and your colleagues will only have contempt for you.

Same as those who got promoted because of their cables.

Anyway, the media organisations as we know them are suffering these days.

Low advertisement revenue and the social media are killing them.

People expect news to be free, not knowing that the business of news gathering requires a lot of money.

That should be the immediate concern, instead of whether the bosses are male or female.

Senior editors should be those who could guide their media organisations to produce good news contents and bring in the needed revenues.

Doesn't matter whether they have penises or vaginas.

Raya with Covid

Today is the third of Raya and the first time I'm up and about since almost a week.

Believe it or not, I'm now recovering from Covid-19.

Been dodging it for three years and kena juga in the end. Sigh.

I'm drinking lots of warm lemon water, coconut water and Coke.

The Coke is for my sore throat, actually.

I'm still not 100 per cent okay, but can do a bit of work and do this little post.

As I said in my last post I don't really celebrate Raya like most people do and Covid made sure I didn't celebrate at all this year.

Heard others are going all out at it.

The PM and his people are going from state to state with it.

As if the country is already fine and dandy now.

Government has too much money, is it?

Why we want to celebrate anything when things are still tough for most people?

I'm not sure but it does seemed more and more like part of a political campaign for the coming states' elections.

Using government's money that is.

BN leaders used to do that with their funfair-style events disguised as government programme.

Didn't do them any good as we can see now.

Except for their own supporters, I don't know who really want to go to those events in the current hot and hazy weather.

There's the danger of Covid-19 too.

It's stupid anyway.

Islam doesn't teach Muslims to celebrate Raya that way.

For me, Raya is time for reflections and counting our blessings for what Allah bestowed in life - rezeki, family and love for each other.

More important than Raya

About a week from Raya and I have not done anything for the coming celebrations.

No baju or kuih raya this time as I need to save as much as I could due to my current financial constraints.

Last year made pineapple tarts but butter is so expensive now.

I also intend to stay here in the East coast for the occasion instead of going back to KL.

Save duit minyak and toll as well as other expenses that come with travelling.

It's also much cheaper to spend time here.

Basically my Raya is just going to be some greetings via WhatsApp and maybe a bit of nasi impit and rendang on the first day.

Doesn't really matter as I'm not too much into Raya or any other kind of celebrations anyway.

After all, celebrations were meant for good time and it's not a good financial time for me right now.

Really, it's okay. I always believe in living within my means.

I'm not sad or anything because despite my difficulties, I still have enough to go on by.

It's not like I'm starving and couldn't pay my bills.

I even still have wifi, okay. 

Ya, having wifi is more important to me compared to spending money on berhari raya.

I also always keep in mind that there are many more people who are less fortunate than me.

They are struggling to provide for their families and some even having to rely on handouts and soup kitchens to survive.

Just look at the current urban poverty situation in KL.

Almost half a year since we have this current government and things are still like that.

What? Rahmah meals? Sure.

Ya, I know. They need more time.

Later they are going to say they need another term to turn around the economy.

Sure.

Well, fuck that. I don't really care anymore.

Just trying to survive and take care of myself for now.

Everyone else have to take care of themselves too. 

Shouldn't care too much about other people when you yourself are struggling to continue with life.

Forget the bigger picture.

And students, you all better listen to the PM. 

The other day he said you all shouldn't go to the streets if you are not happy with how things are.

Focus on studying, so that you all don't end up with just a general degree of some obscure social science course because you spent too much time protesting  here and there.

Betul lah tu.

Unless, maybe if you are dreaming  of becoming a PM yourself one day...just by selling BS...like the current PM.

Anyway, I really enjoy this ongoing Ramadhan as I can stay at home all the time now.

Not too many distractions or temptations.

It helps to discipline me to perform my obligatory religious rituals, particularly the daily five prayers.

I know, it's very basic, but still I'm grateful as I always struggle on that one.

Just want to focus on that for now.

Oh, and I'm also trying my best to cleanse my heart, be more sincere, as well as avoiding anger and stress.

Yeah, I would gladly trade berhari raya to achieve all that.

The judiciary is not supreme

 No one should be supreme except Allah.

Yup, not even the raja-raja are supreme. 

If they do wrong, then we have to say that they had  done wrong.

The same with the three branches of the government that are the executive, legislature and judiciary.

None of the trio is supreme as they have to be the check and balance of each other.

I actually learnt this basic stuff in my first year at law school.

These days,  it appeared that there are those who think the judiciary is supreme and its conduct could not be questioned.

In the news today were former Bar presidents and prominent legal experts who insisted that the MACC's investigation on Justice Nazlan who sent Najib to jail for 12 years was an attack on the judiciary.

Well, MACC is part of the executive, which job is to "check and balance" the judiciary. 

It's checking and balancing, the judiciary....not attacking the judiciary.

Can't a judge who was suspected of committing a crime be investigated?

As it turned out the MACC had found that Nazlan was not being proper in his conducts while sitting as the judge before Najib.

That's why those supposedly legal experts are all jumping up against the whole thing. 

They are actually not defending Nazlan or even the judiciary but instead were defending the judgement made by Nazlan against Najib.

I'm quite sure they would be very okay if the MACC had instead found out that Nazlan was a model ethical judge with no vested interest in Najib's case.

This is all about politics again.

They are making their ugly noises because they want the 71-year-old Najib to stay and die in jail.

I'm no longer supportive of Umno but I would not agree for these people to use the judiciary to unfairly punish Najib or commit injustice against anyone else.

Judges are not supreme beings who are devoid of mistakes and biases.

It's the same as being a lawyer does not necessarily makes one clever.

There are many idiots among the lawyers too.

After all, it's not so difficult to become a lawyer. 

I know this because I could be one if I had really wanted to. 

Got my LLB (Hons) by actually doing minimum amount of studying.

You would not believe it but many idiots got through the whole thing too and became stupid members of the Bar  Council.

Some became the Bar president where they made idiotic noises all the way until they are no longer holding the post,

So puffed up in their sense of self importance.

Really guys, these people who supposed to read the laws are not all bright or even good people.

They have their own selfish agendas too.

They go to toilet to shit too, just like we all, okay.