Today is another sad and difficult day for me, personally.
I experienced the same thing about 20 years ago when I decided to quit smoking.
Today I have decided to quit buying and reading New Straits Times. Yes, I am quitting reading NST, the paper that I have read for almost 36 years. The paper has really disappointed me.
I have been a reader since I was about 14 years old. In those days, I used to buy NST once a week (normally on Saturdays). I used it basically to learn English. As a kampong boy, I think it was quite extraordinary, I saved some of my pocket money from Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays I boarded the bus to town to buy NST. The money saved was just enough for bus fare (30 sen) and the paper (20 sen) - nothing else.
The whole paper was enough for me for the week. It took me ages to finish one piece of news since I have to keep looking up in the dictionary for the meaning of almost every other word.
Except when I was not in the country (1977-82), NST is always the paper for me. It is a must. So you can understand how I became attached or addicted to it. The day would not be the same without NST. It's like being addicted to one brand of cigarette.
But lately, it is really becoming sickening to me to see this paper has become “so bad” and "so disgusting" in it’s reporting.
After reading two consecutive articles written by a writer with the name of Syed Nadzri (one in New Sunday Times and the other in New Straits Times) I decided to call it quit. One article is about TDM shooting himself in the foot by quitting UMNO, the other is praising a former politician for coming up with expressions such as “thorn in the flesh” and “silent elegance”.
Actually I have thought about giving up buying and reading this paper long time ago. But these two articles really broke the camel’s back.
I realize that moneywise, NST won’t suffer anything as a result of my personal boycott – what is RM1.20 a day? But to me it’s a loss of confidence in one of the great institutions in the country.
Now, I have decide to buy and read The Star, which I think lately is quite fair in it’s reporting and is not a personal tool of anybody.
P.S.
Actually I am quite suspicious of any Malay who identifies himself only by his name, without the ‘bin’ or the ‘binti’. (What’s wrong with his/her father’s or family’s name? Is there something to hide?) And there are good syeds in this world and in this country (they mean well for the people and the country), but not everyone of them...
I experienced the same thing about 20 years ago when I decided to quit smoking.
Today I have decided to quit buying and reading New Straits Times. Yes, I am quitting reading NST, the paper that I have read for almost 36 years. The paper has really disappointed me.
I have been a reader since I was about 14 years old. In those days, I used to buy NST once a week (normally on Saturdays). I used it basically to learn English. As a kampong boy, I think it was quite extraordinary, I saved some of my pocket money from Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays I boarded the bus to town to buy NST. The money saved was just enough for bus fare (30 sen) and the paper (20 sen) - nothing else.
The whole paper was enough for me for the week. It took me ages to finish one piece of news since I have to keep looking up in the dictionary for the meaning of almost every other word.
Except when I was not in the country (1977-82), NST is always the paper for me. It is a must. So you can understand how I became attached or addicted to it. The day would not be the same without NST. It's like being addicted to one brand of cigarette.
But lately, it is really becoming sickening to me to see this paper has become “so bad” and "so disgusting" in it’s reporting.
After reading two consecutive articles written by a writer with the name of Syed Nadzri (one in New Sunday Times and the other in New Straits Times) I decided to call it quit. One article is about TDM shooting himself in the foot by quitting UMNO, the other is praising a former politician for coming up with expressions such as “thorn in the flesh” and “silent elegance”.
Actually I have thought about giving up buying and reading this paper long time ago. But these two articles really broke the camel’s back.
I realize that moneywise, NST won’t suffer anything as a result of my personal boycott – what is RM1.20 a day? But to me it’s a loss of confidence in one of the great institutions in the country.
Now, I have decide to buy and read The Star, which I think lately is quite fair in it’s reporting and is not a personal tool of anybody.
P.S.
Actually I am quite suspicious of any Malay who identifies himself only by his name, without the ‘bin’ or the ‘binti’. (What’s wrong with his/her father’s or family’s name? Is there something to hide?) And there are good syeds in this world and in this country (they mean well for the people and the country), but not everyone of them...
1 comment:
Try reading the kecil-kecil cili padi newspaper: "The Sun"(esp commentaries by Nades and Terrence)and "Malaysiakini". NST...have not read that in ages!
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