One day, we were given 2 hours to go out and shoot using a new technique. We were broken into groups of two and my partner is Pakcu, who is a football videographer. However, we got lazy and bought one monorail ticket, got into the station and came out less than 30 minutes later. Paham-paham aje lah…tak kan I nak pergi jauh-jauh with a football videographer who doesn’t talk much. Kekok lah…

Then, we were trained to narrate. And that’s what I produced. Quite lame lah, but I am too lazy to go anywhere to shoot anything. I stole my own photos and tambah. Some of my other coursemates went to Petaling Street, Dataran Merdeka and KLCC to take videos. Me? RM1 masuk monorail station next to Malaysiakini’s office. The theme is ‘The KL I see’.

Anyway…my course ends on Monday and we will be coming back at night. It has been a very long, tiring week and I hope I bring back much more skills in journalism and video filming. Today, Sunday, class ended at 9 pm, had dinner at some warong and just got back at 11 pm.

I also met up with an editor of a Catholic news site and may the Lord gives me the wisdom to produce more thought provoking articles about the churches here in Malaysia. Oh ya, I was so happy to eat wantan mee konlou with the editor near SFX. I went back to class and told Jimmy, “Aiyor…. just I ate wantan mee so nice lah….” Cos the few of us Chinese had been eating mamak, indian, mamak, malay, mamak….I didn’t know how Chinese I am until now…..I don’t know I repeated how many times that I ate wantan mee.

I guess I won’t be able to fulfill my wish of eating tai lok meen with real chee-yau-char or Krispy Kreme….Tomorrow’s class ended at 6 pm and we hope to drive back by that time.

Time to pack because I am bringing all my bags and won’t be back here. Yay, tomorrow night, I am going back to my baby! And my bolster. But spending five nights alone here is quite nice too.

So, sons, make sure you all put red carpet to welcome your mader back, ok?

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Dear Sons

You know your mader lah…..She can get lost in MidValley’s toilet. She can get lost in Komtar carpark. And today, she even managed to get lost in a taxi.

So, I am supposed to meet someone at St. Francis Xavier’s church in PJ. I thought I know where it is. So, hop on a taxi, tell the Malay taxi driver, itu gereja dekat Assunta. Cheh….so confident, kan?

I got to Assunta alright…but that’s not SFX! It is Assumption Church. Doh….poor taxi man gotta ran down from his taxi and cross a road to ask an Indian woman for direction.

Meter showed RM7.50. And lucky the Indian lady knows where is SFX. So, taxi man took me to SFX. Meter now shows RM9.90.

**here private chat with sons, only, ok?*

And you know lah..biasalah…go to Catholic church macam like going to funeral likedat. No one look at you. No one smile at you. And though I was fumbling around the shelves, wondering if I need to take the hymn books and such, no one comes to help this stranger too.

So, mass was ok because the hymns are about the same as our CHS. I didn’t get the name of the priest but I like his homily.

Then, usual lah, mass ended. Mana tau…the commentator suddenly said, “Do we have anyone who is here for the first time?” I pun terlompat because must be truthful mah. They asked me to stand up. Adoi….malu nyerrrrrrr…The whole church gave the welcome lah. All clap lah. So, I thought when mass ended, people sure come by and ask this stranger where I hail from. Tarak punnnn….semua buat tak nampak juga.

Moral of the story, always carry a smile to church.

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Dear sons

Bah…I just got back to the hotel an hour ago. Took a bath and tried to restart my computer but it konk-ed out. OMG, that’s like my lifeline. Lucky after system restore, it works again. Phew….

After so many days, I finally get to eat Chinese foods……OMG, I had been having mamak and cafe type of foods since I got here. And my coursemates and I have forgotten what date and which day we arrived. Our days have rolled from one day to another and now, we even forget who taught us what.

Lucky your ma typed out everything everyone said in a Word document or she probably forgets the names of all the lecturers, what more what was taught.

So, seriously….I cannot remember when I reached here, how many days I have spent here and sometimes, I don’t even remember I got all of you at home. Die lah, like this type of mother also got.

But I have learned many new techniques in journalism. I also learned many creative ways in making videos. And most of all, I get to hear the old timers, much respected journalists who shared their thoughts with us. Yesterday, we had Mr. Sugumaran to share with us about journalism. He has notorious reputation of throwing a typewritter across the room at a journalist. Phew…I like! He also shared his days at SXI and how he often got into trouble because of his laser mouth. I double like!

Tomorrow, Sunday morning, your holy mother LOL is going to St. Francis Xavier church. Mass is at 8.30 am. Actually, I am not that holy because I think Jesus will forgive a lost headless chicken like me to skip mass in a foreign land. Better I don’t go groping around in a foreign place than getting lost and then, pray 100 times, Jesus, OMG OMG, where am I. Jesus hear also ear pain, right?

But divine intervention makes me get there to meet up with an editor of an ……hear this…..open your eyes big big….international….Catholic news site….Oh dear….I don’t know what gives him the impression that your ma can write holy stuffs like that but hey, never under estimate because if God wills it, we can do it. All in His hands, not ours. Jesus said He didn’t call the equipped but He equips the one He calls.

I am going to pray tonight that I won’t end up somewhere else. Mass is at 8.30 am. Father GT said it is his parish. I hope he is back there to celebrate mass. Then, I won’t feel like a lost kid in that church. I hope the parishioners are not snobbish, cold, distant, Catholic-ky but nice like the other church I went to.

Oh dear…I was so busy, I didn’t even have time to phone HM and Mich and Ah Koo and etc. Heck, I am so busy, now I can only lie in bed and hope to doze off soon.

One more thing – I learned something useful from Mr. Sugu. He said journalism is not about writing only. We must have the passion to build the community and create a better society. I just love that role. And thank God, this morning, something affirmed that I am going in the right direction.

Let me listen to a few more Michael Buble like Lost and Home and nite nite. Enjoy your Sunday while your ma slough it out again. 7 am wake up, 7.45 am go SFX, 9.30 am mass over, ber-networking with editor. Get to Mkini by 11 am. And another long day on Sunday because class ends at 8 pm. (But we rarely get home at 8 pm)

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(Disclaimer : This is only an assignment on narrative journalism and not an actual news but they are based on my personal interview and also information I obtained from the news.)

KUGAN’S MOTHER WAIT FOR JUSTICE

They came to the house one morning and dragged him away. The family was exasperated. They do not know where the police have taken him. They were not told why the young man was taken away. Five days went by and there was no news of him.

“I still remember the inspector’s name! Inspector Shauki! Until now, I still remember!” Renuga said, shaking with anger and yet her voice quivered with pain.

“He died at 11am. But they only come and tell us at 9 pm. How could they! “ she continues and the flashback to that fateful day broke the calm in her. Tears started welling in her eyes. The young man’s bereaved mother who was standing next to Renuga sobbed.

The whole of Malaysia knew what happened. A young man, A. Kugan age 22 years old died in police custody on January 20, 2009. Video clips on Youtube showed his body covered with bruises and skin torn. The lifeless, burly injured body covered with the prison orange garb stayed in everyone’s mind. The news spread like wildfire and every single Malaysians were shocked. He was foaming from the nostrils and mouth.

This is no ordinary death. This is death of justice. The first statement from the police was Kugan died after drinking a cup of water. Later on, post mortem report said he had asthma and died because of water in the lungs.
If the death of a son is not bad enough for Indra who is Kugan’s 41 years old mom, the family were even blamed for the bruises on his body because authority said the body was tampered with when the family visited Kugan’s lifeless body at the hospital morque.

“The police interrogated the mother, the aunty and even I, the lawyer was interrogated!” Lawyer N. Surendran told citizen journalist Chan Lilian and other media members. The case is still pending because N. Surendran said the family cannot start the prosecution case as they cannot get a post-mortem report. The police has gone to the hospital “like a couple of thieves in the night, took away every, single blood, tissue and body fluids samples, including the doctor’s handwritten notes.” That’s why Kugan’s mother, aunty and the lawyer were at the Kuala Lumpur High Courts because they wanted the hearing for the case to get the samples back.
“What can I do? I feel sad. Kugan’s younger siblings feel sad too. We can only look at his photos every day…..The Government…the government….” The weak voice expressed how helpless she felt because she is going nowhere with the court case.

Death of a child is the most painful experience anyone can experience. But Kugan’s mom got it much worse. On that rainy day, eight days after her son’s death on January 28, the whole nation grieved with her. Kugan was buried only after eight days because the family had insisted on a second post-mortem as the first one stated Kugan died of asthma.
Everyone is moved to tears to see the mother’s tear soaked handkerchief fell into the muddy grave after her son’s coffin was lowered into the grave.

No one is charged so far. Eleven policemen were transferred out from the police station where Kugan died. No one knows when Kugan’s mom can finally put a closure to her son’s brutal death. Kugan’s mom shall have to wait for justice, six months after his death.

From : Chan Lilian

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Dear sons

Your mom has lost track of the date and day. This is to remind self that today is Saturday. Remember that you, #3 has Martin Jalleh’s Mr. Bean stand-up comic session at 2.00 pm. There is no cat. class for #5.

It is already 1 am now and your ma is still clearing up some bits and pieces of things. Anyway, I don’t have to wake up so early tomorrow because class starts at 10am. Still I am too busy to even switch on the TV or look out my window.

(my latest video on Kugan, please leave some comment on your feelings after watching it)

I got a piece of good news. Today, we are pleasantly surprised that we do get rewarded for the videos we made. I must put an open disclaimer that prior to this, I didn’t know about the $$. When I made all those videos earlier, it never crossed my mind that we do get a small sum of money for them. I know some people may think that I was greedy and made over 30 videos in a short span of 2 months. I made those videos because I believe in the issues or the causes. Yayaya, I actually do not need to explain but I want to because I don’t want some people to think dunno what mah….The amount is more than enough to cover the cost of my video camera but not enough to buy an iPhone. However, my dear husband said, ‘Buy lah’ when I told him. See? I so lucky hor?

I think I better go to sleep now. We are going to attend narrative journalism by Janet Steele, a professor. Oh ya, I have also completed a written article and had submitted it to the editor. Wow, scary man…..I wonder if he will summon me down to the editorial floor to get some shellings? Nay…he is awfully nice, I think. It is an honour to get to produce written articles and submit to the top editor for editing. Even if my piece never gets online, at least it give me courage that I had my work checked by them.

Okok, sleep now.

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Your mader calling….pheeeee phooooo pheeee phooooo

I woke up at 4 am this morning, did a lot of research on Kugan and went back to sleep at 6 am and have to wake up at 6.45 am again. Breakfast was good but knowing your ma, she dare not eat much eventhough she wanted to. Aiyah…no need explicitly blog that I was afraid that I wanna pangsai at the most inappropriate time.

I got to go to the High Court alone. Rain came down so heavily and I couldn’t hail a cab from the hotel. So, I ran with my laptop, heavy tripod and wet jeans and shoes to the nearest Monorail station to catch a taxi. Phew….I am admiring my ownself for my own samsengness and ahlianess.

I believe the power of prayer works. I prayed so hard last night because I am terribly afraid of interviewing Kugan’s mom. I want to do it and shameless asked to be given the assignment. I was afraid that I could only managed a few words from her or I could cried along with her. But praise the Divine, it turned out well. A short clip of the video is here.

Did I tell you my hotel is great? It is located in a red light area but the place is new and the room big. I get a twin bed all to myself, no one to mess up the bathroom and I can snore and no one to copy the sound. Anyway, we have to leave early for assignments and when we come back from our course, it is way too late to do anything. Moreover, your mom is way past the ‘chicken’ stage so I am pretty safe. No Africans nor Bangladeshis want to have a second look. I went to buy toothpaste and no one makes any wolf whistle. Got plenty of ‘chicken’ in the street across my hotel but no chicken clucking here.

I hate to say this but I haven’t have time to even miss you guys. I phoned your little brother but he was too busy to chat with me for long. I got an article to write. I made a draft and the editor said I am being to melodramatic. He shoved it into the bin and asked me to re-write again. Well…he is actually a nice guy and I didn’t do too bad lah. I managed to complete a short video of it, writing an article and I practically one leg kicks all because I even filmed the interview.

Oh ya, don’t remind me the video was shot rather senget. You see, I wanted to capture the tears and expression. So your poor mother had to look at the person talking (usually the lawyer or the aunt), look at the mom, look at the video camera all at the same time. So, I had to quickly rush from mom to lawyer to aunt and round and round again. In the end, yes, I managed to get the ‘feel’ I want. I have to hold hard to my tears and control my choking voice. I noticed a couple of girl reporters swiping their tears away too.

I got scolded actually. You see, got one nasty old fella shouted in front of everyone. “Go to the side lah, we want to take photos lah.” I told him I need to explain to Kugan’s mom first. I put my hand over her shoulder and whispered to her that I may asked some hurtful things and if she needs to cry, please don’t hold back. I told her that we need to move the hearts of all Malaysians to get them to feel for her. I told her that many Malaysians cried along with her. I don’t want to treat her like an object for interviewing but I want her to feel that I am there to share her pain. So, this old man shouted very rudely lah. He said, “Aiyah, she knows what to say already lah, what for want to explain her?” KNN, I was too busy to tiu only. Niamah, or else I take my tripod and whack him baru tau.

And you know what? Back in class, we were coached by Abang Nash, a very famous big gun reporter. I told him I kena marah lah. He said, “You are doing a great job!” Cos he said normally when people cover accident victim surviving families, people terus interview while he would do some small chats first. Yay! Thank God I get affirmation from the best!

Now, I must go take out my contact lens, do my article and fall asleep. Nite nite. Muaks muaks….

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Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Georgetown On 2.7.2009.

The State Government Will Not Take A Single Cent Of The So-called “Goodwill Payment” From The Developer Unless The Residents Agree To The Compensation.

The Penang state government warns Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, the developer of the proposed housing project in Kampung Buah Pala, for threatening to send bulldozers in by August 2 to forcibly evict residents and demolish their houses as highly irresponsible and inflammatory. It is highly improper to stoke fear into the villagers’ hearts by reminding them that they will have to move out by Aug 2 when the one-month grace period given by the developer expires and there will be “no more extensions”. The one-month grace period was negotiated by the state government with the developer to find a solution to the problem.

Nusmetro claimed to have offered the highest compensation in the state from RM140,000 to RM260,000 to the temporary occupation of land (TOL) holders as well as their immediate and extended families. And even offered one of the two cattle ranchers there RM330,000 including a five-year rent-free deal for land in Balik Pulau which was rejected.

To say that the developer has the legal right not to pay anything to the residents just because the developer has a Federal Court order, would not assist in resolving this problem. Instead of all the cruel talk about bulldozers, the developer should continue to seek solutions that works towards a win-win situation for all parties. For this reason, the state government will not take a single cent of the “goodwill payment” proposed by the developer to the state government unless the villagers of Kampung Buah Pala agrees to the compensation.

I wish to reiterate that the state government has nothing to do with the eviction, or the Federal court order and the bringing in of bulldozers to demolish the houses. Instead the state government had intervened to prevent the eviction of the residents since last year. Even though this is a court order obtained by the developer, the state government would continue to work aggressively to try to assist the villagers.

LIM GUAN ENG

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Dear Sons #1, #2, #3 and #5

Your ma didn’t sleep last night because of the rain. So, she didn’t sleep at all because during the trip, she didn’t want to sleep because you know how paranoid she is about people driving and her sleeping. She doesn’t want to go to Heaven without knowing how she ended up there.

Now, it is 4:18 pm and still not sleepy. Your ma got here at 9 am, after one stop at Tapah. Then, it is all the way to Bangsar at Malaysiakini. Course started since 10 am. Lunch was at Quick Bites, some cafe.

I phoned the tua pui but he refused to sembang much with me. I tried to instal Skype on my laptop but the cilaka software isn’t working.

Class is going till 9 pm. Phew….

At 6 pm, we are going to the editorial meeting and tomorrow, we are going to be sent out to the real, big, bad world. I hope they put me somewhere exciting like a riot, tear gas affair or meet the PM at Parliament. Thursday and Friday are doing field work and then, back to office to write articles.

Saturday is narrative journalism by Janet Steele, someone from US to train us. I hope when I get back, you all won’t say I spoke with fake slang.

Sunday is advanced journalism.

And classes last till 9 pm every single day.

It is tea time now!

Leave a message.

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Can you believe that I can even get lost in a car park? LOL. Today, I went to Komtar but the underground parkings are full. So, I parked somewhere outside. The space was so crammed, I could park in but have problems getting out. It is one of those woman’s problem I have. Easily I squeezed in but when I want to get out, oops, the lubang become too tight. Anyway, after several turn and twist on my little Viva, I got out.

But suddenly, I cannot remember which direction I entered. It is an open car park, with the huge Komtar looming on top of my head. And yet, I can’t seem to remember where I came in from. I think the parking attendant must be wondering why I drove around the car park like that. Damn malu, I tell you.

And it is 12 midnight. I am supposed to wake up at 4 am and wait for Jimmy and Natasja at Tesco at 5 am. Yet, I haven’t pack my things yet. The cables and wires alone took up a shopping bag already. The cameras, laptop, mike and stuffs another bag. I think I am going to bring clothes enough for two days. Let Mkini’s staffs wonder why I seem to live in the Groundhog Day world where I wear the same shirt, same jeans, same shoe every day.

I can’t sleep because I cannot sleep next to my SIL or any other strangers. I think I will sit here till 4.30 am….

At the last minute, I am installing skype because I need to talk to my baby! I dare not mention about me going KL before he went to sleep. I dare not tell him, “Tomorrow morning when you wake up, mommy won’t be around.” Bawllssss….So, I will instal skype and leave the instructions to him on how to operate skype. I think my six years old will have no problem understanding the basics.

Yerrr…..I never leave my kids for this length of time one, you know? Even my loukong also, since day one we dated. I better keep myself so busy in the next six days or else I sure take the next plane home. I miss my baby already!

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Jimmy got a video clip that he finds spooky and he mailed the clip to me. Initially, I was too afraid to listen to it. You see, he was filming the cemetery and there was this one part where the MPPP YDP, PHT manager, I and a few other people were walking down this path. That means, Jimmy was way ahead of us. The video captured some noises. I heard it as ‘waaa…waa….’ of kids’ voices. Jimmy heard it too. Anyway, I don’t want to think too deep into it.

Last Saturday, I bought one rosary from church. I admit that I was always too distracted to finish praying using the rosary (beads) because it usually takes at least 45 minutes to do so. I cannot sit still for 45 minutes. Maybe I will when I am 85 yrs old. Now, I am not even 45 years old, you see. Whatever, I like the colour of the beads. And I am so gonna bring it with me everywhere. What more after the video clip.

You know…like those horror movies, they take the rosary and start chanting ‘Hail Mary full of praise…” over and over again when the ‘thing’ wanna kacau? But then, I guess Jimmy and I went to the place with good intentions and nothing is going to kacau me lah. I told my sons, “Your mom is going to be the Ghost Whisperer” (which is a series on TV lah). And they say what you know? “Good lah, go find some ghosts who have lots of buried treasures or properties without a will and make us rich.”

BTW, here is the second video of the Protestant cemetery and you can see the handsome Mr. Tan. (I didn’t say he is handsome but Goot Chan said it one)

Don’t worry, nothing is going to jump out of your computer screen and cekik you. Just say, “We come in peace…..We want to do the best for you…..Have trust in us….we are bringing the Council Chief to bring some clean-up and make your graves clean and welcoming….We come in peace….”

Anyway, the clip I mentioned with the children’s voices are not going to be put online. It is not funny, ok? For the sake of citizen journalism, I kena endure mosquitoes, Jimmy kena saman by MPPP for not putting enough coins into the parking meter and we had to listen to spooky noises on one trip. But all for the love of justice, fair reporting, bringing news that matters to people…..cincai lah.

Just don’t kacau me! Please, I come in peace….

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