Whoever generated the promotional idea that seeks to portray in the World media Malaysia as “truly Asia” deserves high marks and a distinction in a combined degree of Doctor of “Deception Science” and “Dishonesty Engineering.” The greatest disservice any Public Relations professional could do to the Asian continent is to characterize it with the unmistakable ideas and ideals that could only be aptly described as a reflection of Malaysia’s cultural peculiarism and ideological particularism.
Whoever generated the promotional idea that seeks to portray in the World media Malaysia as “truly Asia” deserves high marks and a distinction in a combined degree of Doctor of “Deception Science” and “Dishonesty Engineering.” The greatest disservice any Public Relations professional could do to the Asian continent is to characterize it with the unmistakable ideas and ideals that could only be aptly described as a reflection of Malaysia’s cultural peculiarism and ideological particularism. If the coinage “Malaysia, truly Asian,” is intended to deceitfully instill a possible generalization or extension of the specific characteristics of a major section of the Malaysian people on the entire continent of Asia , there, then, is no doubting the fact that the beautiful and impressive continent of Asia is an unfortunate victim of media demagoguery and Public Relations treachery aimed at presenting an unpopular candidate behind the perforated veil of one with a hard-earned reputation . In keeping with the journalistic principle of objective reporting one should be expected to resist the temptation to generalize on the entire people of Malaysia features and characteristics of a particular racial group of the country. Doing so, no doubt, would amount to the same kind of media deception that seeks to give the impression that Malaysia is “truly Asia.” As such, a reporter’s sense of perception must not be beclouded from the realization that Malaysia is a wonderful country and deserves kudos for its continued strife to achieving greatness. Yet her similitude may be given in the story of a man who went to a marriage bureau to meet the secretary who was trying to fix him up. After a bit of discussion, the secretary said “Oh, I‘ve got just the girl for you in my file. She comes from a similar background and is about the same age and height; her interests are very similar too. There’s just one thing about her, though, which might make you pause- she‘s just a teeny weeny little bit pregnant! That is really what I think of the contemporary Malaysia. There is about her just one little thing which is a bit daunting, if subjected to a critical searchlight. Malaysia goes about Africa in quest for stronger ties. There have been several official delegations from Malaysia to various African countries in recent times. For instance, Malaysia’s Agro-culture and Agro-based Industry minister, Datuk Mustafa Mohamed, as well as his counterpart in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Dr. Maximus Ongkili and others in their rank were officially led to Africa by their Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Rasak. In one of their meetings with their African counterparts, Najib and his delegation admitted that Malaysia saw “enormous potential in Africa and is eager to enhance relations with its countries.” Reporting one of such meetings as held with the Zambian Vice-President, Rupiah Bandas, who stood in for his ailing President, Leilie Andres wrote in the Malaysian New Straits Times of July 29, 2008 that Najib was unequivocal in saying before his African host: I have been looking forward to this trip as I have limited atmosphere of Africa since I have only been to South Africa and Lesotho…. Leslie Andres, who covered the meetings and reported it directly from Lusaka in Zambia, called attention to Banda’s comments on Najib’s invitation of Africans to visit, study and invest in Malaysia. A historic statement of that nature and interest needn’t be paraphrased and should rather be quoted “aloud”: Only a few years ago Malaysia was in the same situation we in Zambia are in now. Today, it is a major power in the world in terms of the economy…As such, Zambia is keen for Malaysia to invest in the country and for Zambian students to attend institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. The Zambian leader, like his counterparts in other parts of Africa where Malaysia has economic and other interests, was so appreciative of Malaysia’s quest for stronger ties with Africa that he even added in a rather joking manner: Maybe we can send more Zambian footballers to Malaysia as well… The foregoing only represents an aspect of the proceedings of recent official meetings between Malaysian leaders and their African counterparts held specifically last July, (2008). Regretably, that daunting thing about Malaysia which, like the girl discovered by the secretary of the marriage bureau, is “just a teeny weeny little bit pregnant” is that she (Malaysia) never told her African counterparts that some of those African students in her various institutions of higher learning may have to fulfill the role of sacrificial animals which may be slaughtered, butchered, or killed dramatically by some brutish, belligerent, crude, miseducated, and ungovernable youths of Malaysia in whom one could easily discern the future of their motherland. The Malaysian delegation including the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Seri Rosmah Monsur, later watched with admiration various performances of several troupes of traditional African dancers, and described Africans as “wonderful people” but remained “a teeny weeny little bit pregnant” of how various African nationals would be slaughtered and butchered on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. There is hardly an African nation that has not been “hit” by bullets of Malaysian gangsters during the interval between those meetings, and now. A handful of such despicable experiences recorded in the past were enough to compete with sand of the seashore. So, it suffices to refer only to the most recent a clear picture of which was given in the Malay (and not African) Mail one of Malaysia’s most widely circulated newspapers as follows : African undergraduate Abdel Aziz Hassan Abdraman, 22, will never again see his eight month daughter and 19 year old wife because he was the victim of a hate crime that claimed his life. Abdel Aziz had planned to return home to Chad for Aidilfitri this week and his friends said he was overjoyed at going back to be with his family. Sunday’s mob attack on 10 African under-graduates in Wangsa Maju caused his death and injured the rest…
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