THEY chronicle triumphs and tragedies, shaping public discourse. But who tells their story?
Life & The City dives back for its eighth episode, this time spotlighting the unseen world of journalists.
Join Aida Ahmad, Farid Wahab, and Fazleena Aziz as they peel back the curtain on their careers - the exhilarating highs and the moments that demanded soul-searching reflection.
The Life & The City podcast series, which airs fortnightly, highlights topics related to urbanites.
It is available on www.thestar.com.my/metro and on The Star’s YouTube channel (@thestaronline).
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
Life & The City dives back for its eighth episode, this time spotlighting the unseen world of journalists.
Join Aida Ahmad, Farid Wahab, and Fazleena Aziz as they peel back the curtain on their careers - the exhilarating highs and the moments that demanded soul-searching reflection.
The Life & The City podcast series, which airs fortnightly, highlights topics related to urbanites.
It is available on www.thestar.com.my/metro and on The Star’s YouTube channel (@thestaronline).
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00:00Welcome everyone to another episode of Life in the City podcast.
00:00:08I'm Aida Ahmad and together with me again is my co-host Farid Wahab.
00:00:12Hello loyal listeners, this is the eighth episode.
00:00:15So let's cut to the chase Aida, what are we talking about today?
00:00:18Today we're talking about us, journalists and the highs and lows of our daily jobs.
00:00:26And there are indeed a lot of highs and lows, just no one really talks about it.
00:00:32Because it's not about us, isn't it?
00:00:34It's us covering the news and covering people and the general public, right?
00:00:40So rarely people ask, what do you guys go through in your daily life?
00:00:47Yes, I have a lot of friends ask me, you know, how exactly do you come up with a story?
00:00:52What exactly do you do?
00:00:54And I think a lot of people out there are probably curious about what we do.
00:00:58But before we, we have a guest with us today, which is one of our colleagues,
00:01:02but before we introduce her, a few months ago I read The Economist, you know,
00:01:06the British publication, and there was this one story that says
00:01:11journalists should spend less time writing about themselves, but instead exploring the world.
00:01:17The world is far bigger, far more interesting than their newsroom.
00:01:22Today we'll make an exception.
00:01:23Yeah.
00:01:24And we have our colleague here, Fazlina.
00:01:26Yes, Fazlina, welcome to Life in the City, we're very happy to have you with us.
00:01:30Thank you for having me.
00:01:32Yes, Fazlina, just some introduction and context.
00:01:36Fazlina has been with the staff for quite a number of years and did you start at the Metro desk?
00:01:44Yes, I actually got a head start in Metro in 2007.
00:01:50As a Metro reporter, and that's basically where I got a footing, I would say, in journalism.
00:01:57And I'm always grateful for that kind of, you know, opportunity that was given.
00:02:03Because I remember when I joined in 2010, you were at the Metro desk,
00:02:08and we had way more reporters then.
00:02:11And it was one of the most happening desks at the staff, I would say.
00:02:16We always had food.
00:02:18Well, I joined in, let's see, 2019.
00:02:21Yeah.
00:02:22But Fazlina, you are with the news desk now, right?
00:02:25Yeah.
00:02:26So, can you tell us just a little bit, tell our listeners about the shift from Metro to news desk?
00:02:31How has it been for you?
00:02:33Actually, when it comes to the shift, it's basically just you move from local government to federal government.
00:02:43That's basically what it means.
00:02:44Because Metro is more of local news, community news.
00:02:47And then you pick up on local issues that affects the community,
00:02:52whereas news desk, you focus on the Prime Minister.
00:02:56Everybody has to cover the Prime Minister, Deputy Ministers, and the Cabinet.
00:02:59And then you work on national issues.
00:03:01But in terms of writing and all, it's basically the same.
00:03:04You have to have a new sense, otherwise you won't be able to report.
00:03:08Yeah, that's true.
00:03:09All right.
00:03:10So, Aida, just to give a brief rundown to our listeners what to expect today.
00:03:13We have prepared several questions in which we will explore the funny moments, the uplifting moments.
00:03:20Scary moments.
00:03:21Scary moments, creepy moments, and some sad moments that we've gone through in the course of our career.
00:03:27So, if it's all right with both of you, can we just get started?
00:03:31Yeah, sure.
00:03:32All right.
00:03:33So, the first thing I want to talk about is the unexpectedly funny moments that we have encountered in our daily tasks.
00:03:39So, maybe Aida and Fazlina, you guys can share some unexpectedly funny moments that you guys encountered in your daily work.
00:03:48Let's go with you first.
00:03:50I'm sure I think you're, well, technically more a senior than I am.
00:03:55Not really.
00:03:57Okay.
00:03:58I would say it's funny to me because I was actually at another publication at that time, and I was in the Putrajaya Bureau.
00:04:08And what we do is that we used to cover state visits.
00:04:11And at that particular time, we had the Iranian Prime Minister Hassan Rouhani came.
00:04:17I mean, we usually cover state visits, and he's at PMO.
00:04:20And then they'll come with a march, and then he'll check the Malay regiment and stuff like that.
00:04:27So, what happened is that whenever a state visit happens, the state will bring their own press over.
00:04:35And I guess I became the subject of their, I think, curiosity because I had a bag, a cloth bag actually, with an American flag.
00:04:48Okay.
00:04:49And not to go too much into Iran and U.S. politics.
00:04:54You're not fond of U.S.?
00:04:55Yeah, because they're not fond of U.S.
00:04:57So, actually, it's just a cloth bag.
00:05:00And if you know the bag, actually, I got it from Ralph Lauren.
00:05:03And you know that Ralph Lauren, they have their American flag.
00:05:05Yes, they do.
00:05:06So, it's not really a full flag, but because what happened is that I usually carry my own food and stuff like that.
00:05:12Because when you work in the Bureau, it's very long and stuff like that.
00:05:16It's not that PMO actually gives you really good food, but I still would carry.
00:05:21So, all my things are there, so I put it in the cloth bag.
00:05:24So, they were like, American, American, American, American.
00:05:28And it just went.
00:05:29First, I didn't really understand.
00:05:30I was like, what is wrong with these people?
00:05:33And they kept going, American, American, American.
00:05:36I was like, okay.
00:05:38And then the state visit happened, the speeches were done, and still they were going, American, American, American.
00:05:43And they started taking pictures of my bag.
00:05:45Okay.
00:05:46And that was so weird for me because I was like, and all of my colleagues and my Bureau people were like, what is wrong with them?
00:05:53They were like, I don't know.
00:05:55They were just going, American, American, American, all the time.
00:05:58And they started taking pictures.
00:05:59Even when the function finished, as we were exiting the Prime Minister's office, they kept taking pictures of my bag.
00:06:06Oh, dear.
00:06:07It's really funny.
00:06:08Okay.
00:06:09I was like, till date, I'm like, oh, my God.
00:06:11I still think about it.
00:06:12And I was like, what is wrong?
00:06:13It's just a bag.
00:06:14Okay.
00:06:15But, you know, but they were so interested in the flag or I don't know what it was.
00:06:19They just said, American, American, American.
00:06:21And then they started speaking Persian.
00:06:22And I was like, okay.
00:06:24So, that was really awkward.
00:06:26I don't know what experience I got, but it was a bit funny for me.
00:06:30Did you actually approach them and ask them what's the deal?
00:06:34Or did they come and talk to you?
00:06:35Like, what happened after that?
00:06:37They kept saying, American, American bag, American, American.
00:06:40I said, no, it's a cloth bag.
00:06:42I tried to explain that it's a cloth bag.
00:06:44That it's just for me to carry the, I'm not an American.
00:06:49And it's just a bag, you know, it's a cloth bag.
00:06:52And I said, I got it free.
00:06:53But I don't know whether it was a communication error or something.
00:06:58They just kept saying, American, American again and again and again.
00:07:02So, it was funny.
00:07:03And they took a picture of my back.
00:07:05So, it was funny.
00:07:06So, how did you recover from that torment?
00:07:09I didn't know what to say because you cannot offend foreign media as well.
00:07:16And you don't want to be a bad host.
00:07:18So, I just, you know, it's just one of those days where something happens on the job.
00:07:24And you just, you know, like, okay.
00:07:26Did you end up on the Iranian front page the next day?
00:07:29I have no idea.
00:07:31But I know the photographers have a picture of my back somewhere.
00:07:35And they would have probably posted it somewhere.
00:07:37I don't know.
00:07:38Probably, yeah.
00:07:39What year was this again?
00:07:41This was in, I think, 2014.
00:07:47So, social media wasn't a thing yet back then.
00:07:49So, you're safe.
00:07:50Otherwise, you would have been on X or Facebook.
00:07:52Oh, definitely.
00:07:53You would have had hundreds of immediate followers.
00:07:58Yeah.
00:07:59So, yeah.
00:08:00It's actually the picture of, the one on my Facebook profile picture.
00:08:05You see me standing in front of people with a back.
00:08:08That is when it happened.
00:08:09I had to see this back.
00:08:10Yeah.
00:08:11So, that's when it happened.
00:08:13How about you, Aida?
00:08:14Any funny moments in your reporting duty?
00:08:17Funny, shocking.
00:08:19I think all in one.
00:08:20Yeah, I remember I went to cover an event.
00:08:25And it was a launch of something.
00:08:28I'm not sure.
00:08:29I can't remember whether it was a particular brand or, you know, just a general launch of an event, right?
00:08:40So, at that time, I think this was easily maybe 10 years ago.
00:08:45And it was something to do with what I was wearing, right?
00:08:51And I remember it was a long maxi dress.
00:08:55And I think I had a denim, like a crop jacket on top.
00:09:01And I showed up to this event.
00:09:03And when we journalists go for events, we have to register at the media desk, right?
00:09:09And then that's where we get our press releases and so forth.
00:09:12So, the lady who was at the media desk looked at me and, you know, asked my name, my name card.
00:09:19And I did registration and everything.
00:09:21And then she just gave me a once over and told me,
00:09:26Oh, we have a lot of attendees today and there are not enough chairs.
00:09:32Would you want us to get you a chair?
00:09:36So, when I looked in the event hall, I thought, okay, it's not so bad.
00:09:40It wasn't that crowded.
00:09:42So, I said, no, I'll be okay to stand. It's fine.
00:09:46And then she asked me about the food that I wanted to eat.
00:09:52So, I thought it was weird because when we cover events,
00:09:55they don't usually ask us journalists about the food, right?
00:09:59Because it's a given.
00:10:03So, I thought this was very strange and I asked her, no, I'm fine. Why?
00:10:07And she gestured on her tummy. She thought I was pregnant.
00:10:14So, I was just so angry that I wore that particular dress that day.
00:10:19I was probably bloated or something.
00:10:21So, she thought I was pregnant.
00:10:23So, I didn't know what to make of that situation.
00:10:29So, I saw her gesturing and I asked her, what do you mean?
00:10:33Oh, no, are you pregnant? No, I'm not.
00:10:36So, she gestured your stomach.
00:10:38Yeah.
00:10:39So, I said, no, I'm not, but thank you very much for your concern.
00:10:44And I was so disturbed.
00:10:47Like, why did I wear that dress?
00:10:53Yeah, I thought that was a funny moment.
00:10:56One of those in my career.
00:11:00So, I just went about my day and swore that I would never wear that dress outside ever again.
00:11:08But it does happen when you wear something a bit flary, right?
00:11:11Yeah, not only flary, but it tugs at the midsection.
00:11:16So, yeah, that gave off a different vibe.
00:11:19Okay.
00:11:20What about you, Asfarid?
00:11:21This happened during the 15th General Election.
00:11:25It was the first election that I ever covered.
00:11:27I was stationed at the Titiwangsa Nomination Centre.
00:11:30So, there were four candidates.
00:11:32I remember at the time, as the candidates were filing out of the hall,
00:11:36so the reporters were all congregating, were all swarming the candidates to try to get,
00:11:42the reporters were swarming the candidates to try to get quotes and interviews with them.
00:11:47I think Titiwangsa was considered one of the hottest seats in KL back then.
00:11:51And if I'm not mistaken, right now, it's the only one that is held by Barisan, if I'm not mistaken.
00:11:56So, I remember I walked up to the pejuang candidate at the time, Datuk Seri Khairuddin Ibu Hassan.
00:12:01And at the time, I was, I don't know whether I was nervous, I was scared,
00:12:06but I was pretty sure I had seen him before.
00:12:08And I went up to him and said,
00:12:10Kejap, ada Datuk Seri tak?
00:12:12So, I legit was asking him if he has a Datuk Seri title.
00:12:16And he was looking at me, taken aback, you know.
00:12:19And all the other reporters around me were like,
00:12:21I thought, okay, that was very stupid.
00:12:24Okay, I don't know if it's funny, but it's funny to me.
00:12:26You guys should laugh.
00:12:28No, no, I get where you're, because sometimes,
00:12:30You are so objective.
00:12:32I mean, it happens, it happens in the job.
00:12:34Sometimes you just blurt out things that you're thinking, right?
00:12:37Because you know how it is in the media industry.
00:12:40We have to get their title right, you know.
00:12:42And so, I was nervous or something.
00:12:44But I was thinking, imagine you are contesting an election
00:12:48and a reporter just come up to you and said,
00:12:50Do you have a Datuk Seri?
00:12:52It would be like, what?
00:12:54Have you done your research?
00:12:56Yeah, that's true.
00:12:57Speaking of funny moments, I would like to share
00:13:00an incident involving one of our colleagues.
00:13:05So, she shared a story about how in 1990,
00:13:08there was a general election.
00:13:10And she was covering Lembah Pantai.
00:13:13So, at that time, the opposition, Semangat 46,
00:13:17which had two alliances, APU and Gagasan Rakyat,
00:13:21looked like they had a chance to topple BN.
00:13:24And just for context, we are all star reporters.
00:13:28So, she heard that, she and her colleagues heard that
00:13:32Tengku Razali and Lim Kit Siang were coming to Batu.
00:13:36So, a whole bunch of reporters decided to abandon
00:13:39their constituencies to go see Kuli and Kit Siang.
00:13:45So, when Kuli arrived, he was carried by quite a jubilant crowd.
00:13:51So, they enjoyed the speeches and then they went back to the office.
00:13:55So, imagine our boss's surprise when the main photo of the day
00:14:02of Kuli showed him surrounded by eight star reporters.
00:14:07That's not tempting.
00:14:08I wish I was there at that time.
00:14:11But this is another one of our senior colleagues.
00:14:14So, no matter how tightly they cropped the photo,
00:14:17there was a star reporter in the shot.
00:14:20So, the bosses were apparently furious.
00:14:23But the photo came out in the style with all the other papers with her in it.
00:14:30So, okay, I have a question.
00:14:32Okay, first and foremost, to listeners who don't know,
00:14:35we try not to be in the photos.
00:14:37Yes, it's not about us.
00:14:38Because reporters shouldn't be the story.
00:14:40They should be the one reporting the story.
00:14:42But anyway, I want to ask, were they captured in that photo?
00:14:47I think so.
00:14:48Yeah, I think, yeah.
00:14:50So, that was quite funny.
00:14:51Probably just to sort of, it's like not to say that they endorse it.
00:14:56Probably just to say, yeah.
00:14:57They had no choice but to use that particular photo.
00:14:59Yeah.
00:15:00So, I want to circle back to everyone.
00:15:03Okay, Fazlina, maybe you can tell us,
00:15:05what did you learn from that so-called American experience or Iranian experience?
00:15:11I think it's just that you have to play it cool.
00:15:15Because when you have foreign media coming, right,
00:15:20a lot of the times, they may not be aware of what you are accustomed to,
00:15:29or what you know, or what you are doing, the issues.
00:15:33So, what may be okay for you may not be okay for them.
00:15:38Because you have to understand that if you come from countries that are like that,
00:15:43it's a different ballgame altogether.
00:15:45So, you have to be ready to accept certain things.
00:15:51And you can't react.
00:15:52Yeah, you can't react.
00:15:53You can't react.
00:15:54Because even like when I was with Metro,
00:15:58I had actually attended a North Korean tourism event.
00:16:05And you don't react.
00:16:06You just go for the thing and just be mindful and respectful
00:16:11at the person who is hosting the event and stuff like that.
00:16:14So, it's just that.
00:16:16I think the bosses will tell you, when you attend an event,
00:16:19you are going as a star reporter.
00:16:21So, you have to behave like a professional star reporter.
00:16:25So, that's what it is.
00:16:27How about you, Aidea?
00:16:28What did you learn from your dress mishap?
00:16:32Really assess what I'm going to wear that day.
00:16:36Because perception is different, right?
00:16:40Yeah.
00:16:41Okay.
00:16:43And also, I feel as journalists,
00:16:46we have a duty to carry ourselves properly
00:16:51because we represent the company.
00:16:53Yeah.
00:16:54Yeah, that's true.
00:16:56Well, as for me, the lesson I learned was
00:16:59Google the person before you went and interviewed them.
00:17:02Especially now.
00:17:03Especially now.
00:17:04Yeah.
00:17:05With the change of regime and stuff like that.
00:17:07That's right.
00:17:08Yeah.
00:17:09Alright.
00:17:10I would like to shift this conversation further.
00:17:13Let's talk about the uplifting moments that we encountered in our tasks.
00:17:17So, maybe Aidea and Fazlina, you guys can share
00:17:20a moment when your report or reports made a positive impact.
00:17:24Maybe you can tell us what the problem was,
00:17:26how you came across it, what did you do,
00:17:28and what was the outcome of that report?
00:17:31Should I start?
00:17:32Yes, go ahead.
00:17:33Okay.
00:17:35For me, right now, I think
00:17:38I've been writing about child abuse and child sexual abuse of children
00:17:42for one and a half years.
00:17:44And when I rejoined The Star,
00:17:47I was actually thinking what should I be focusing on
00:17:50because our editors were like,
00:17:53you should find a focus that you want to,
00:17:56an issue that you really want to work on.
00:17:59So, we were working on this issue for a whole year
00:18:05and we're continuously working on the issue.
00:18:07And right now, with whatever that is happening with Global Ikhwan,
00:18:12it's also something that I think The Star has been reporting
00:18:17for many months and many years.
00:18:21It's an ongoing issue.
00:18:23So, child abuse, sexual abuse of children,
00:18:26I think it's something that we have to always talk about
00:18:30because given the statistics, right,
00:18:33we, I mean, on an average, we have about a thousand,
00:18:37more than a thousand cases sometimes.
00:18:39And we cannot say that, oh, it's okay.
00:18:43It's not okay.
00:18:44Yeah, that's right.
00:18:45It's definitely not okay.
00:18:46And given the number of children who are,
00:18:52these are the ones that actually come forward and are reported
00:18:57because it's based on police statistics.
00:18:59But there are a lot of cases that are unreported
00:19:02and there are a lot of cases we don't even know.
00:19:05And with sexual abuse, the perpetrators are usually
00:19:09the people inside, the inter-familial.
00:19:12And it's really sad, some of the cases.
00:19:17And I think writing about it definitely helps.
00:19:24And what people always forget is that
00:19:28if it wasn't for journalists and journalism,
00:19:32nobody would have known about sexual abuses happening.
00:19:36And the forefront of it was,
00:19:41I think everybody's seen this movie, right,
00:19:43with Mark Ruffalo and Spotlight.
00:19:46Yeah.
00:19:47So, how they brought in the abuses that was happening
00:19:51in the Catholic Church.
00:19:52You have to understand that if it wasn't for journalists,
00:19:56a lot of these issues would not come to light.
00:19:59Would not be uncovered.
00:20:00Yeah.
00:20:01And people always, they like to say,
00:20:04we are only writing about this, we only write about that.
00:20:07But they often forget when we do these kind of issues,
00:20:12when we pick up these kind of issues.
00:20:14And at the end of the day, I think that is not highlighted enough.
00:20:22I mean, I think in Metro also we do a lot of community issues
00:20:27and these issues directly affect people, you know.
00:20:31People, oh, story pasal longkang.
00:20:33People don't understand the importance of having a clear drain.
00:20:39It's for rainwater, you have to remove the garbage,
00:20:43you're promoting, you know, so many things for the,
00:20:46so the water flows into the river.
00:20:48There's so many things.
00:20:49It's just not, oh, you just bersihkan longkang.
00:20:52The significance of it is great actually, right?
00:20:55Yes, and especially for us who write for the Metro desk,
00:21:01a lot of the uplifting moments are from the residents who are affected.
00:21:07And when they send us the email or call us and ask us to,
00:21:12please come and help us deal with this issue in our backyard,
00:21:16which is literally behind their home or in front of their home.
00:21:19And it affects all of us as well because we are also residents.
00:21:22We go through the same issues.
00:21:24So issues like, yeah, from a simple thing as clogged drains or potholes,
00:21:34broken infrastructure that has caused fatalities or people getting hurt,
00:21:45is, you know, are important things to deal with.
00:21:49And when we go to the ground and then we do the needful of getting feedback
00:21:57from the local authorities, right?
00:21:59And then we do the story and the story gets published
00:22:04and it sort of alerts the local authorities to come and do something
00:22:10and fix the problem.
00:22:12So in that sense, the residents are very thankful that we help them.
00:22:20We alerted the authorities to get the problems fixed.
00:22:24So those are quite a lot of uplifting moments for us.
00:22:29Even the simple WhatsApp or email saying,
00:22:32thank you very much for helping us.
00:22:34We really appreciate it.
00:22:36That means a lot, yeah.
00:22:38And that happens quite often.
00:22:41I remember something similar happened to me in 2019.
00:22:45I think I was about one month into the job then.
00:22:47I didn't really know what I was doing.
00:22:49But I was asked to go to this, there was some orang asli in Sungai Buloh
00:22:56who were complaining about, because this village, they receive water,
00:23:01I mean, they didn't have access to piped water.
00:23:05So they were using water from a local river.
00:23:07So then the river was polluted because there was a mining activity nearby
00:23:12and turned out that mining activity was not,
00:23:14it did not have the proper approval or something like that.
00:23:18And I went in and I went into the area, went inside,
00:23:22went into the jungle a bit to try to have a look on what was happening
00:23:27and I reported about it and it brought the state authorities,
00:23:31the forestry department got into it, the local council got into it,
00:23:34the state government got into it.
00:23:36So they all investigated what was happening, they put a stop to it
00:23:38and eventually they managed to restore the river quality.
00:23:43But more than that, a year later, I found out that they finally had access
00:23:48to piped water.
00:23:50I actually went, I think the village representative actually,
00:23:54she called me and said, come and have a look.
00:23:56I think this was during the pandemic.
00:23:58So I went there and I saw the pipes being brought in.
00:24:01They said, your report made this happen.
00:24:04So I was very happy that that happened.
00:24:08I feel like it's easy to overlook people outside of our own community.
00:24:16So it's good to feel that my report helped make that happen.
00:24:22But anyway, I want to ask Fazlina and Aida also,
00:24:25what did you guys learn from your experience, from doing these stories?
00:24:29What did you learn from it?
00:24:32I think the greatest lesson that you learn is,
00:24:38I wouldn't say it's a lesson.
00:24:41It's just that I feel sad when these things happen
00:24:46and it continues to happen.
00:24:48And I think recently there was that one case with the mother
00:24:53who sexually abused the sons.
00:24:56And I think she was sentenced to 103 years or something like that.
00:25:00She made porn videos as well.
00:25:02So it kind of tells you that,
00:25:06what are we doing wrong in our society?
00:25:11And how can we make this better?
00:25:13Because writing about it is one thing,
00:25:16but you need to make it better.
00:25:18I mean, it's superficial to say you're going to stop it.
00:25:21It's not going to happen.
00:25:22Because it's human nature.
00:25:24You don't know how.
00:25:25I mean, how do you stop evil people, right?
00:25:28Unless you have superpowers.
00:25:30But even then, it's a really big challenge.
00:25:34So how do we get the community, I think,
00:25:39needs to step up in that sense.
00:25:41And actually, if you hear a child who is crying,
00:25:46if you feel that something is off,
00:25:48you have to ask.
00:25:50Because we don't live like that anymore.
00:25:52We don't live like,
00:25:55I don't want to talk to my neighbor.
00:25:57I don't want to participate.
00:25:58But if you don't participate, you don't talk,
00:26:00you don't know.
00:26:02Correct.
00:26:03Right?
00:26:04I think I mentioned this to you a few days ago.
00:26:08We've lost our tribe.
00:26:10We've lost a sense of community.
00:26:13I'm not trying to just put a blanket statement here,
00:26:18but I also see that happening in the urban,
00:26:21well, in our urban areas.
00:26:24I'm glad that I make a point to say hello
00:26:28or greet my neighbors.
00:26:30And I live in a condo, right,
00:26:32where everyone's closed.
00:26:34Your door's closed.
00:26:35You don't know what's happening.
00:26:36It's important to look out for each other as well.
00:26:41So in that sense, I think the community
00:26:43sometimes relies on us journalists to do that.
00:26:48We can't just keep quiet and just be individualistic
00:26:53and just mind our own business
00:26:55when all these things affects us as well.
00:26:58Exactly.
00:26:59I agree to what she's saying
00:27:02because there was one incident that happened
00:27:07in my condo as well
00:27:08where this lady was going off.
00:27:11She was just saying,
00:27:12I'm going to jump, I'm going to jump.
00:27:13And I was really like, what is going to happen?
00:27:16And I was trying to figure out which room it was.
00:27:20So I went all the way down.
00:27:22I was trying to figure out.
00:27:23And her family had come,
00:27:26but they could not go up
00:27:27because the access is very restricted
00:27:29in where we stay.
00:27:31And I was like, oh, I need to go up.
00:27:33They were arguing.
00:27:34The thing is, somebody has to bring you up.
00:27:36Otherwise, the security will not let you.
00:27:38And the security is aware that she's saying all this.
00:27:42So I was like, you know what?
00:27:43You just come with me.
00:27:45So I just took them up.
00:27:47And then you get only access to the floor.
00:27:50So they were like, which floor?
00:27:51And then we can use the staircase
00:27:53because the stairs are still open.
00:27:56And there were kids,
00:27:58and the kids looked really disturbed.
00:28:00And the thing is,
00:28:02the husband had taken away the keys.
00:28:04So they could not come out.
00:28:07Her mother could not go in.
00:28:10So, you know,
00:28:13if somebody didn't actually attend to that,
00:28:15we don't know what would have happened.
00:28:17So I think it's very important
00:28:19to be a bit,
00:28:21not being nosy,
00:28:22a bit, not being nosy.
00:28:24Just be concerned.
00:28:27It's part of the process of living in a community.
00:28:29It's not about being nosy.
00:28:31You have to know what's going on around.
00:28:33And I think the media help you do that.
00:28:35You need to know what's going on in your community.
00:28:37Like just now you were saying about drains.
00:28:39What I noticed is that
00:28:41people who say things like,
00:28:43it's just a joke.
00:28:44But the thing is,
00:28:45until it happens to you,
00:28:46you would know how important it is.
00:28:48And especially if I'm paying assessment tax,
00:28:50I would want my drain to be clear.
00:28:52I wouldn't want it to be dirty.
00:28:53Because then we'll have problems of flooding.
00:28:55Yes.
00:28:56It's a perennial problem in this country.
00:28:59Yes.
00:29:00Which nobody wants to admit that, you know,
00:29:02they are the root cause of it.
00:29:04Before we move into the next session,
00:29:06just one last question for both of you.
00:29:08What do you think we journalists can do
00:29:10to improve the lives of the community around us?
00:29:14Other than talking about their drains?
00:29:18Well, we try to do our job.
00:29:23Highlight the pressing issues, right?
00:29:26But like Faz said earlier,
00:29:29we can't change the world.
00:29:32We can't change what's going on in this country.
00:29:38But we do our best.
00:29:40Especially at the local government level.
00:29:43Because we deal with them
00:29:45and they need us as well to be the eyes and ears.
00:29:48Because they cannot go and fix everything.
00:29:52Again, we need to work with each other.
00:29:55Yes.
00:29:59I think what we are doing is,
00:30:02I won't say it's good enough,
00:30:04but it's at least something.
00:30:06I would like to say before influencers came,
00:30:09we were the influencers.
00:30:11We helped change people's mind.
00:30:14We made people aware of the issues.
00:30:17We made people more educated
00:30:20about certain government programs.
00:30:25A lot of people don't know that actually
00:30:27governments have a lot of programs
00:30:28that they do for the people.
00:30:30But nobody knows.
00:30:31But unless you write about it,
00:30:32then you're like,
00:30:33oh, I read it in the start.
00:30:34How do I get in touch?
00:30:35So you put in as many information as you can.
00:30:39So I think what we're doing is,
00:30:43it is helping people.
00:30:45But I guess we can do a bit more
00:30:49in the change of how we report.
00:30:51And I think we are doing that already.
00:30:53Yeah.
00:30:54It's funny that you bring influencers
00:30:55because I remember the time
00:30:56before social media exists.
00:30:58Because both my parents
00:30:59also worked in the newspaper industry.
00:31:01And I remember they would come home
00:31:03and bring a copy of the newspaper.
00:31:04And I would flick through the pages.
00:31:08And the beautiful thing about newspapers,
00:31:10for me at least,
00:31:11is that I come across things
00:31:13I would not have come across on my own.
00:31:16When I turn to a page,
00:31:17I see, oh, what's that about?
00:31:18The thing about social media is that
00:31:20it's tailored to what you normally browse,
00:31:23to what you normally want to see.
00:31:25So you won't come across things
00:31:27you would not have otherwise come across.
00:31:29Like in the newspaper,
00:31:30you come across things which are,
00:31:32sometimes you don't know about it.
00:31:34But it's important for you to know.
00:31:36So that's how I look at it at least.
00:31:40Let's move this conversation forward.
00:31:42Heartfelt emotional moments.
00:31:45I think all of us have covered disasters,
00:31:48have covered tragedies.
00:31:49So maybe you guys can describe
00:31:51the time when you were assigned
00:31:53to cover a tragedy.
00:31:54Could be anything.
00:31:55Alright.
00:31:56Do you want to go first?
00:31:57Maybe you share yours.
00:31:59Yeah, Aida, you can go first.
00:32:00I think we all went through
00:32:04the emotional moments of the pandemic,
00:32:09the movement control order, right?
00:32:13That itself brought about
00:32:16so many heartfelt moments,
00:32:20heart-rendering moments, right?
00:32:22When we were all stuck at home
00:32:24and didn't know what this virus was about.
00:32:30I think my memory,
00:32:37one of it was covering,
00:32:40I think it was PJ Old Town.
00:32:46And it was that day when
00:32:49they put out all the barbed wires, right?
00:32:52And everyone was just in their homes.
00:32:56And I remember I parked my car
00:32:58and it looked like a dead town,
00:33:00just dead, so quiet,
00:33:02just pin drop silence.
00:33:04And it was in the middle of the afternoon,
00:33:07it was so hot.
00:33:09And I remember we were supposed to meet
00:33:13the representative from the local authority.
00:33:17And I remember passing by the houses
00:33:21and a lot of senior citizens live here
00:33:23in PJ Old Town.
00:33:25And I remember their faces
00:33:26just peeking through the window,
00:33:28looking at what's going on.
00:33:30Like, what can you tell us?
00:33:32Meanwhile, we were all just scared
00:33:33because it was the height of the shutdown, right?
00:33:39So it was in April or May 2020.
00:33:42And I felt so sorry for the elderly
00:33:47who were stuck in their homes.
00:33:49They couldn't see their family.
00:33:51And yeah, I could see the horror in their faces
00:33:54as I walked by the houses
00:33:55in the searing heat of that afternoon.
00:34:00And I think the other one for me
00:34:02was the 2021 floods
00:34:04where we had to go,
00:34:07with Metro Journalists,
00:34:08we had to go and cover the aftermath, right?
00:34:11And I remember I went to Klang
00:34:14and we had to talk to residents
00:34:17whose homes were just destroyed, right?
00:34:21And the furniture, everything was just gone, right?
00:34:25And I remember interviewing some of them in,
00:34:30I think it was Port Klang.
00:34:32And it was just horrific.
00:34:35You know, they were also emotional.
00:34:37They've lost so much property
00:34:41and they had to throw out
00:34:43a lot of their goods at home.
00:34:46And the homes were just in a wreck.
00:34:51And at that time,
00:34:54we as journalists,
00:34:55we can't sort of succumb to all that
00:34:58because we have to be strong
00:34:59and get their story.
00:35:01And when we drive home to the story of,
00:35:05well, at that time,
00:35:07we were still under the MCO,
00:35:09so we're all working from home.
00:35:11And at that time,
00:35:12when you're driving home,
00:35:13that's when if you want to get emotional,
00:35:15just go ahead.
00:35:16Go ahead and cry or whatever.
00:35:18But yeah, I think it was during that,
00:35:21that flooding incident in 2021
00:35:23was kind of, yeah, heart-wrenching.
00:35:28How about you first, Lina?
00:35:29For me, I would say the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide
00:35:34because it happened in 2008,
00:35:36in December, right?
00:35:37It happened because at that time,
00:35:40I was, my beat was Ampang and KL.
00:35:43So it came under me.
00:35:45And I think about,
00:35:46I think five o'clock or six o'clock,
00:35:48I received some message.
00:35:50Those days, it was SMS.
00:35:51Yes.
00:35:52So I got a message from,
00:35:54actually, Brian was like,
00:35:56he got a message from the Red Cross
00:35:58saying that this tragedy had happened.
00:36:02So please go.
00:36:03So I saw it, I think after subuh,
00:36:08and then I got ready
00:36:09and then I went
00:36:10and then I wasn't thinking,
00:36:12I was like, oh, landslide.
00:36:13Okay.
00:36:14And then when I went there,
00:36:15I was like, oh my God.
00:36:17I didn't expect the whole hill to detach itself
00:36:21and how, because all the houses,
00:36:23they had like those bungalow, bungalow houses.
00:36:25The houses were all, all gone.
00:36:28Like the whole thing just moved.
00:36:31The earth moved.
00:36:32And as we entered,
00:36:33there was a small relief center
00:36:35in that edge where the road was.
00:36:38And then the bodies were all laid there.
00:36:40They had about five bodies.
00:36:42Dead bodies.
00:36:43Yes, dead bodies.
00:36:44So I was like, okay, this dead body.
00:36:47So this is not just some ordinary landslide.
00:36:51So as we went, the houses were all like,
00:36:54you know, all gone.
00:36:56Like how an earthquake happened and stuff like that.
00:36:59And it was then I realized,
00:37:02you know, the gravity of the situation
00:37:04and how terrible it was.
00:37:07And it was a bit overwhelming.
00:37:12And so when it actually happened,
00:37:16nobody really knew.
00:37:17We're like, okay, so what are we going to do?
00:37:19So first we just reported whatever that was done.
00:37:22So if they found all the victims and stuff
00:37:25and they brought in the smart team.
00:37:30The bomber was always there as well.
00:37:33And they were putting all the devices
00:37:35to see whether there are other people.
00:37:38But all the people were accounted for already.
00:37:40And people managed to actually get out in time.
00:37:44And we were interviewing residents.
00:37:46And, you know, they were still in shock.
00:37:49They didn't know what to do
00:37:50because their whole livelihood is gone.
00:37:52And so that was really a very overwhelming experience
00:37:58because for the whole two weeks I spent there,
00:38:02it was different, different issues that was happening.
00:38:05People were getting scared.
00:38:06The earth was still moving.
00:38:08And what happened was that
00:38:11we entered one of the houses a little bit on top.
00:38:14And the house was already gone.
00:38:16It was all structure and all.
00:38:18And the photographer and I,
00:38:24at that time, the late Abdurrahman Senin,
00:38:27everybody calls him Amigo.
00:38:28So he's actually a very famous photographer.
00:38:31Everybody knows him.
00:38:32We had a headache.
00:38:36I cannot describe that feeling.
00:38:38It's like I felt like it was moving or something.
00:38:42Both of us couldn't sit.
00:38:44We were doing like swaying.
00:38:47So the soil was still moving when you...
00:38:49I would think so because the house was...
00:38:53I mean, you can't see anything moving.
00:38:55But when you enter that house, it was like...
00:38:58You could feel it, yes.
00:38:59And I was like...
00:39:00I said, Amigo, do you feel it?
00:39:03He said, yes, I feel it.
00:39:05And we were going like swaying and swaying and swaying.
00:39:08And it was so like...
00:39:10Oh, so it's still moving.
00:39:12So that's when we realized that it was not safe.
00:39:15And when you're a reporter, you're just thrown in.
00:39:18And what happens, happens, right?
00:39:21So I actually wrote about that.
00:39:24And the house owner was actually a Tansri.
00:39:27And he was like, what do I do?
00:39:28What am I going to do?
00:39:29He's trying to scavenge whatever they can.
00:39:31And it was really devastating because life is very uncertain.
00:39:36And you don't know what's going to happen to you.
00:39:38And for all these people who are VIPs, everything was gone.
00:39:42Yeah.
00:39:44I remember this is...
00:39:46I remember for my part, my story.
00:39:50I remember in 2020 when I was...
00:39:53When Selangor Mansion and Malayan Mansion were placed under enhanced MCO.
00:39:58I think that was the first area to be placed under enhanced MCO in Malaysia.
00:40:03The Jalan Masjid India area.
00:40:05So I remember I went there and I saw the barbed wires being put up.
00:40:08And I thought, wow, this is so surreal.
00:40:10I never thought I would see something like this in my lifetime.
00:40:13And I remember because I had to interview the residents to try to get something out of them.
00:40:17And some of them were foreigners.
00:40:19So I remember there was a white tent.
00:40:21There were a lot of...
00:40:22There were plenty of health ministry officials in there.
00:40:25And the residents were queuing up outside to get tested for COVID.
00:40:29This was in 2020.
00:40:31So the vaccines hadn't arrived yet.
00:40:33So I remember after they went out of the tent, I was gesturing at them.
00:40:38Hey, come over here.
00:40:39Mari sini, mari sini.
00:40:40Because I wanted to interview them, you know.
00:40:42But of course, we couldn't stand too close.
00:40:44So there was a barbed wire separating us.
00:40:46So I had to like shout at them.
00:40:48Hey, macam mana?
00:40:49I was like asking them questions.
00:40:51And they were like screaming back at me.
00:40:53And then so somehow I had to make that work.
00:40:58Because I had to get a story somehow, you know.
00:41:01So that was the only way I could think of.
00:41:03And then I think one of the ASCA, he saw me and said, no, no, you can't do that.
00:41:07You can't do that.
00:41:08What's he going to ask you?
00:41:09Did he say anything?
00:41:10Luckily, he didn't arrest me or anything.
00:41:12But I think he understood I was doing my job.
00:41:14But also they couldn't let me get too close, right.
00:41:17So and then luckily, I managed to get a phone number from one of them.
00:41:21So then I managed to call him and then he passed me around.
00:41:25So I managed to speak to the other people.
00:41:27Because, you know, by hook or by crook, I had to get a story, right.
00:41:30And then about the 2021 floods, I remember I was asked to go to Taman Sri Nanding.
00:41:38So I think at the time, a lot of attention seemed to gravitate towards Taman Sri Muda, insya Allah.
00:41:44Taman Sri Nanding in Hulung Langit was just as badly hit.
00:41:47There was this one viral video showing residents on the roof of a surau, I believe.
00:41:52And water was around them.
00:41:54And I think if water had risen just a bit more, they would not have been able to stand on that anymore.
00:42:01So I think I went there two days after.
00:42:03So water was still about, I think, slightly above my ankle or something.
00:42:08So luckily, I wore my boots.
00:42:09I went with my photographer, Samuel Ong.
00:42:12And it was like the place had been turned upside down.
00:42:15So when I went, I saw this one lady, she was crying.
00:42:19And then her sons were comforting her or whatever.
00:42:22So I went to her and I sort of spoke to her.
00:42:26But at first, my initial thought was these people were not going to be welcoming.
00:42:32Because they were busy cleaning up their house, you know, and I was here with my camera.
00:42:38But I was very surprised to find that they actually were very receptive to having me there.
00:42:44They actually said, please, please put out this story.
00:42:47Please tell the authorities what we are dealing with.
00:42:50So I was actually very surprised to find that they were very receptive to having reporters there.
00:42:56And so we were walking around.
00:42:58I was in disbelief, looking around me like, what is going on?
00:43:05So yeah, it was very bad.
00:43:09Yeah, some people obviously, depending on the types of stories we do, they are not receptive to us at all.
00:43:15Yeah, they don't like us.
00:43:18They don't like us at all.
00:43:20Well, another incident is involving one of our other senior colleagues,
00:43:25who had reported extensively on the illegal sand mining activities, right?
00:43:32Somewhere in KL, right?
00:43:33Yeah, so this is along the Klang River and Old Klang Road.
00:43:37They were conducting interviews and taking photos when they noticed a few men hiding in the grass.
00:43:43So they knew something was off.
00:43:45So our colleague left and they were chased by two men on motorcycles, each with walkie-talkies.
00:43:53So obviously they were coordinating with someone.
00:43:56So the chase apparently lasted to about three kilometers.
00:44:00And it ended when our colleagues drove straight into a police station.
00:44:05So they were shaken and in tears.
00:44:09But obviously these types of incidents make us more cautious for future investigative stories.
00:44:18Also another incident involving the illegal sand mining activities.
00:44:24Our colleagues were accosted by men on motorcycles who demanded to the journalists,
00:44:34what were they doing there? Why were they there?
00:44:37So our colleagues felt very unsafe.
00:44:41And this is quite common for us when we report on dangerous activities, right?
00:44:51So apparently the police later apprehended the guy.
00:44:54And our colleagues were informed that he wasn't part of the sand mining operation.
00:45:02They were in fact involved in some drug-related activities.
00:45:06So luckily our colleagues were safe.
00:45:10But it's these incidents where it just puts our safety at risk.
00:45:16But we still have to do it to get the story out.
00:45:20I think the thing that people don't know, there are side effects to this job.
00:45:26One thing is you're exposed to these kind of dangers.
00:45:29And you're put in this dangerous situation where you're actually trying to get the story.
00:45:33And then you want to report on the story because of how important it is.
00:45:38And then there's also where you were saying not everybody is receptive.
00:45:42But you have to get the story.
00:45:44And you have to be so tactful.
00:45:46And often people actually verbally abuse us.
00:45:51But nobody really knows how we actually get the story.
00:45:54Fazina, maybe you guys can tell our listeners,
00:45:59how do you balance the need for being sensitive to the people you interview?
00:46:07With getting your job done.
00:46:10We have a deadline.
00:46:12We cannot dilly-dally forever.
00:46:14But at the same time, we have to be sensitive to the people you're reporting about.
00:46:18How do you strike that balance?
00:46:20I think it comes with years of experience.
00:46:23I think the senior journalists have a knack for it.
00:46:28They're more tactful.
00:46:29They know how to get it.
00:46:31But the first time, I didn't know how to do it.
00:46:35I didn't know how to go and talk to somebody who just lost a child or a mother.
00:46:40It's so difficult because you don't want to talk to them also.
00:46:43And they don't want to talk to you.
00:46:45But then over the years, you sort of build that kind of, I don't know,
00:46:50is it a tact or a skill?
00:46:52But the thing is you always have to empathize with the people.
00:46:57And if they are angry, you let them vent out the frustration.
00:47:01Unless they get physical, then you have to back off.
00:47:04Usually, if you're covering riots and stuff like that,
00:47:07I stand next to or the closest to any police officers so that I don't get...
00:47:13It happens during elections as well.
00:47:15Yeah, so that you don't get...
00:47:18But when you're trying to get somebody mourning and stuff like that,
00:47:24I think first you empathize, you say sorry.
00:47:28But you never force them.
00:47:30You never force them.
00:47:31I think that's not great.
00:47:33All right.
00:47:34I would like to move this conversation to our next topic.
00:47:37How do we deal with audience or people that are not so welcoming of our job?
00:47:42Maybe have you been in a situation where you were caught off guard,
00:47:45hostile interviewees, riots, mobs, people who don't like who you are?
00:47:49Have you encountered something like that?
00:47:50How did you deal with that?
00:47:55I'd ask you if we could actually talk about this.
00:47:58But it wasn't a hostile interview.
00:48:01I think I was genuinely scared because I had an assignment to see the then
00:48:09Hamas leader Khaled Mishal.
00:48:12So I didn't know who this was.
00:48:14At that time, I wasn't very well aware of the situation in the Middle East
00:48:19and whatnot.
00:48:20I only became aware after the Syrian war broke out.
00:48:23That was like 10 years ago.
00:48:25So I was like, how do I do this?
00:48:28And then when I went there and all this, I mean, I'm guessing they're all the
00:48:32fighters and soldiers for that.
00:48:34And they're like, how did you come?
00:48:37Where did you come from?
00:48:38Who are you?
00:48:39And stuff like that.
00:48:40And I had my photographer at that time, Bazuki, at that time.
00:48:44And we were like, we've been assigned to come here.
00:48:47And I mean, I was a bit scared because I've never met a resistance group
00:48:53leader before.
00:48:55And they immediately took my phone.
00:48:58Because they don't want to be tracked.
00:48:59Because most of them use analog or walkie-talkie and stuff.
00:49:03So I was like, they took my phone?
00:49:05Like, what do I do?
00:49:07And then I explained to them and I showed my media tag.
00:49:10And then I said, we're just going to interview.
00:49:13And then I think luckily somebody from the Palestinian embassy came.
00:49:17And then I think he spoke English.
00:49:20And then he explained.
00:49:21And then that kind of sort of made them.
00:49:24Eventually the bodyguard gave me back the phone.
00:49:27So then we proceed to the interview.
00:49:29And then suddenly it was interjected by this blogger from Indonesia.
00:49:33And he's like a staunch supporter.
00:49:36And he was like explaining himself to the Khaled, Mr.
00:49:40Michel.
00:49:41And he was talking.
00:49:42And I got really irritated at that time.
00:49:44Because I just wanted to get the interview done.
00:49:47And because, you know, you're translating.
00:49:48He's speaking in Arabic.
00:49:49And then the embassy guy is translating.
00:49:52So it's a bit long.
00:49:53And I don't know what happened.
00:49:57Because that guy also had his recorder.
00:49:59And I put my phone to record.
00:50:02And I think my recording went off.
00:50:04And his recording went on.
00:50:05And it was just a bit of a mess at that time.
00:50:08But eventually, you know, it finished.
00:50:11And we left.
00:50:13I did take a picture with him.
00:50:16Because, you know, you never get to meet a resistance leader anyway.
00:50:20But it was that moment I felt a little bit, you know, it was a bit scary.
00:50:25But at the same time, I was like, oh, I actually did this.
00:50:28And I survived the interview.
00:50:34I think 14 years at the Metro desk.
00:50:37Hostile.
00:50:38Maybe not so much.
00:50:40From the residence, yes.
00:50:41But not until I felt my life was in danger.
00:50:45Not so much, yeah.
00:50:46What about you?
00:50:48Not a person I interviewed.
00:50:50But a former friend.
00:50:52Who came up to me and said.
00:50:54We were on an outing together.
00:50:56And he said, hey, you're the star.
00:50:59You support Amber Heard, right?
00:51:01I was like, what do you mean I support Amber Heard?
00:51:04The thing is, I don't follow celebrity news.
00:51:06I really don't.
00:51:07I follow a lot of things.
00:51:08Not celebrity news.
00:51:09And he said, yeah, yeah.
00:51:10You're the star.
00:51:11You, the star, support Amber Heard.
00:51:13Oh, my God.
00:51:14Okay, I know there was some kind of trial between Amber Heard and Jonny Depp.
00:51:17But I don't know what the trial was about.
00:51:19And then he said, no, because there is a story by the star.
00:51:24Apparently in support of Amber Heard.
00:51:27And I said, oh, it must be a wire story.
00:51:29Okay, to our listeners, I need to explain a little bit.
00:51:32A wire story or a wire service.
00:51:34Let me read here.
00:51:35It's a service that provides news reports and updates to media outlets.
00:51:39Okay, for example, at Bernama, which is our national wire service.
00:51:42We have Reuters.
00:51:43We have AFP.
00:51:44We have Bloomberg.
00:51:45So, I'm guessing that's not actually a story by the star.
00:51:48It's a wire story that we ran.
00:51:50Because there's no way we are sending someone to the UK or the US just to cover Amber Heard.
00:51:55And I said, I don't know.
00:51:58Yeah, yeah.
00:51:59Go support Amber Heard.
00:52:00I said, that could be a wire story.
00:52:02And it must have been published by someone from other desk.
00:52:06Not my desk.
00:52:07Because I don't do Amber Heard.
00:52:08Yeah, yeah, you support Amber Heard.
00:52:09I said, actually, you know, name.
00:52:12I said, look, dude, I don't know what you're talking about.
00:52:15I don't even follow this news because it's not important to me.
00:52:19And they said, well, I care.
00:52:21Because I care about the truth.
00:52:23And you journalists don't.
00:52:25I said.
00:52:26So, is this why he's your former friend?
00:52:28Yes, that's why he's a former friend.
00:52:30I said, okay, okay.
00:52:33But this is a situation we get into a lot, right?
00:52:36They like to corner us and say, oh, you're the star.
00:52:40Oh, you're with the star.
00:52:41You know.
00:52:42Presume.
00:52:43Presume that we.
00:52:44No.
00:52:45You report whatever that is.
00:52:47You know, if the guy is saying that.
00:52:50Okay, I'm just going to say.
00:52:51We'll say the guy said.
00:52:54Yes, yes.
00:52:55And based on your story, we are neither friends with Amber Heard.
00:53:01And we wish we were.
00:53:02We wish, right?
00:53:03Yeah, speaking of that.
00:53:04Being friends with journalists.
00:53:06It's hard for us to make friends.
00:53:07That's true.
00:53:08Right?
00:53:09Because when people come to us and they are so nice and we just pick things up easily
00:53:15and think, okay, what does this person want from us?
00:53:19Because they usually want something, right?
00:53:21There's no such thing as a free lunch.
00:53:23Yes, that's true.
00:53:24So, yeah, I can understand why this person is your former friend, Amber.
00:53:29You know what's funny?
00:53:31Two weeks after he texted me and said, I need you to come and cover an event.
00:53:34I didn't respond because I'm not sure how to feel.
00:53:37Because in my mind, I was like, well, you said I publish fake news, right?
00:53:41So now why are you coming to me?
00:53:42Exactly.
00:53:43But I would like to clarify, as a journalist, just because I write about person X does not mean I agree with person X.
00:53:51Yeah, it just means that as a reporter, I report on what is being said, you know.
00:53:56And one friend once pointed out to me and said, if you disagree with this, why are you writing about it?
00:54:01I said, that's not how democracy works.
00:54:03Exactly.
00:54:04If we operate by the logic that we don't publish something just because we disagree with that person, then where's that going to lead us?
00:54:10You know, I like this saying.
00:54:12I can't remember who said it.
00:54:13I think it was Voltaire, a French philosopher.
00:54:16He said, I may not like what you said, but I will defend to death your right to say it.
00:54:22And I think that's what journalism is about.
00:54:24Although I would say we still have to, you know, verify if the claim that they make is factual.
00:54:30And just tread carefully because now with social media, when we see in the comment section, how people attack us as journalists, attack our organization.
00:54:43You know, it's tempting for us to go in and retaliate, but we can't.
00:54:47Yes, that's true.
00:54:48Because we have to maintain our composure, not get ourselves in trouble.
00:54:55Commenting on a person who probably doesn't exist, you know, because we're cyber troopers and all that, and we don't know whether it's a fake account or a real account.
00:55:05So yeah, all this we have to endure.
00:55:09I had once, because early on when I used to write and stuff like that, right, say, you know, because sometimes when we feature certain people, we tend to feature them a lot and stuff like that.
00:55:20And then this is a relative.
00:55:22Oh, you must take a bribe because of that.
00:55:24I was like, if I take a bribe, I would not be driving a canary.
00:55:31At that time I had a canary.
00:55:32No, they just make this assumption just because you're covering this minister.
00:55:38Oh, you must take a bribe because of that.
00:55:40Like, dude, like, where did you make that connection?
00:55:46And this is a relative, okay?
00:55:47Yes, yes, yes.
00:55:49Oh, you are inclined to this.
00:55:50I was like, no, I just do what I am assigned to do or what my bosses expect me to do or what is the story that is needed.
00:56:00I don't.
00:56:01You want me to take a bribe?
00:56:03Are you really?
00:56:04This is not a job to take a bribe.
00:56:06I think it's a bit of a thankless job, right?
00:56:09If you want to become rich with this job.
00:56:11Don't be a journalist.
00:56:12Don't be a journalist.
00:56:13I don't know.
00:56:14I don't know.
00:56:15I don't know.
00:56:16Very few journalists become multimillionaires.
00:56:18I don't know.
00:56:19Yeah, yeah.
00:56:20Yeah.
00:56:21Unless they own the corporation.
00:56:22I think then you cannot.
00:56:23But if you're just a writer, I doubt.
00:56:25Yeah, yeah.
00:56:26You know.
00:56:27That's right.
00:56:28Obviously, there's a lot more we can say about this, but I think, I think we have to wrap up now.
00:56:34Wrap up the session, yeah.
00:56:35But obviously, this topic, if you want to talk about it, you can take until tomorrow.
00:56:39Maybe we'll have a part two.
00:56:40Yes, maybe.
00:56:41Yeah.
00:56:42Before we end the podcast, maybe Fazlina and Aida, you guys have something, you know, a
00:56:48parting words for our listener.
00:56:50Yeah.
00:56:51Faz, go ahead.
00:56:52Okay.
00:56:53I just like to say that, you know, what happens behind the publication, there's a lot of work
00:57:00that goes into it, right?
00:57:02I mean, we report, then we have copy clearers, then we have sub-editors, then the editors
00:57:06go through.
00:57:07You know, there's a, it's a process.
00:57:09But, you know, we are also human, you know, and humans are not perfect.
00:57:16And people also have to be mindful that, you know, a media publication is also have their
00:57:25own bosses, their own corporation, their own companies.
00:57:29And a lot of the times, you know, reporters fight for the stories.
00:57:35Yeah.
00:57:36You know, this is something that people don't know.
00:57:38We fight for the stories.
00:57:40Our editors also fight for the stories.
00:57:42Bigger bosses to get the stories out.
00:57:44But we still have to work within our own parameters.
00:57:46Yeah.
00:57:47We have our own parameters.
00:57:48And it's not that we, oh, you don't want to do this.
00:57:51No, it doesn't work that way.
00:57:53And we get a lot of hate mails, like you said, right?
00:57:57And those days in Metro, we used to have calls.
00:58:00And, you know, they would just go on and on.
00:58:02We just, okay, okay.
00:58:03You know, we get bashed a lot.
00:58:05And I think a lot of it is we don't deserve it.
00:58:09But like you said, we cannot comment back at them.
00:58:13So, we have to just, you know, let it just be.
00:58:15And I think it builds a lot of character.
00:58:17And we're very patient in that sense.
00:58:20And I don't know whether, you know, Fred's favorite word is teruskan perjuangan, right?
00:58:26That's right.
00:58:27Our boss.
00:58:28Continue the fight, you know.
00:58:31Fight.
00:58:32Because, you know, I think for us, it's about the issue of the stories.
00:58:37You need to report it.
00:58:39Even if it's a mini school story.
00:58:41But like you said, that story that you did changed a whole community's life.
00:58:46So, you know, that is the significance, I think.
00:58:49Yeah.
00:58:50I think one last funny story I would like to share, again, from one of our colleagues.
00:58:55When we get phone calls from residents, we get some doozies, right?
00:59:00But there was one where she was talking to this person.
00:59:06And this person wanted to know where can they send press releases.
00:59:12And we get press releases by the dozens, right?
00:59:15Too many.
00:59:16Yeah, too many.
00:59:17And so, our colleague told this person,
00:59:22okay, this is the email that you can send to this particular desk,
00:59:25depending on what the topic is about.
00:59:29And this person told our colleague,
00:59:31no, I want you to write the press release for me.
00:59:34So, by the way, we don't write press releases.
00:59:38We receive press releases.
00:59:40And so, yeah, she had said,
00:59:44madam or whoever was it, we don't write the press releases.
00:59:49You have to write and send it to us.
00:59:51So, I'm not sure what was the outcome.
00:59:54Any parting words for it?
00:59:56Two things.
00:59:57One, I can't please everyone.
01:00:00And I think since I realized that,
01:00:03since I accept that I can't please everyone,
01:00:05my life has become so much more peaceful.
01:00:07That's right.
01:00:08So, if you think I support Amber Heard, well, go ahead.
01:00:10Maybe I do, maybe I don't.
01:00:12I really don't care.
01:00:13Number two is that…
01:00:15You mean number three.
01:00:16You already said two, right?
01:00:17Okay.
01:00:18Number two is that, yeah, we make mistakes.
01:00:22We are human beings.
01:00:23But what matters is that we will continue to try to do our best.
01:00:28Of course, there were times we will fall short.
01:00:30We are human beings.
01:00:31So, yeah, I hope that clears things up.
01:00:34It does.
01:00:35And once again, it's been a pleasure having you with us, Faz.
01:00:38Thank you for having me.
01:00:39I'm actually quite honored to be part of a Metro kind of event.
01:00:47Because I got my footing there and I think I'm always lurking around there.
01:00:53Yes.
01:00:54Yes, that's true.
01:00:56Thank you again for listening, everyone.
01:00:58The Life & City podcast can be viewed on our YouTube channel at The Star Online
01:01:03or www.thestar.com.myslashmetro.