Of wet blankets and sour grapes

Republished from New Straits Times, Dec 30, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

IN THE aftermath of the bruising 15th General Election, two items are not short of supply under the current rainy weather — wet blankets and sour grapes.

Wet blankets are a common sight when floodwaters rise quickly to inundate homes. And sour and tangy grapes may sometimes be found among the many varieties flooding our market thanks to this year's bumper harvests in Australia and New Zealand.

A wet blanket can also refer to someone who spoils the enjoyment of others in a celebration, or someone who dampens other people’s joy.

This expression started around the 1870s, when cooks at that time kept wet blankets in the kitchen to smother out fires that were accidentally started.

It’s derived from one of the many fables by ancient Greek storyteller Aesop entitled “The Fox and the Grapes”.

In the story, a thirsty fox sees a bunch of plump juicy grapes hanging high from a vine, but fails in all its attempts to get hold of it.

Feeling dejected, the fox walks away without ever tasting the grapes while trying hard to convince himself by muttering: “I am sure they are sour.” The moral of the fable is, it is easy to despise what you cannot get.

As I examined these two expressions, they are against an intriguing backdrop of a few politicians from the same fold, who poured scorn on the ability (or the lack of it) of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to steer the country towards a better future.

Strangely, these “has-beens” had lost badly in the recent polls besides having their election deposits forfeited, a stark indication of how badly they performed. They have little locus standi, and their time has passed, so to speak.

These “Doubting Thomases” said they had no confidence in Anwar's leadership and that the latter was only good in mouthing populist statements.

While the current government had stated it’s untrue that it could not be criticised, and constructive criticisms were always welcomed, it's certainly not open season for detractors to simply pour cold water on the administration without strong basis.

It’s now 2022 going on to 2023, and not 1981 or 1998. To borrow a line from John Lennon and Yoko Ono — give peace a chance — and do give this newly-stitched government a chance.

Anwar’s cabinet is hardly a month old, and even much less for the second echelon of deputy ministers. It’s heart-warming that some of them had even taken the lead for quick wins in a matter of days for the people’s benefit.

The government’s apparatus is not just Anwar’s alone. He has many competent people around him who want to prove the sceptics wrong.

That said, Anwar has to be strong enough to face the world each day and also weak enough to admit that he cannot do everything alone.

Anwar has proven his mettle by reaffirming the confidence of support for him on Dec 19. It spoke volumes of his skilful behind-the-scene manoeuvrings.

His true friends have made their support felt in times of need when others seemed to have vanished.

The South China Morning Post, which tracks Malaysia’s political developments closely, ran an uplifting editorial recently with the headline: “Anwar is the right leader to put Malaysia back on the right track”.

It opined that the outcome of the electoral impasse could be positive for the country, which now has a multiracial government led by a prime minister with Islamic credentials when it comes to fending off extremists.

The SCMP said despite intense distractions of coalition politics and potential racial agitation by the opposition, Malaysia is poised for greater stability and economic development!

Give the government some latitude first. We can scrutinise its scorecard when it hits the 100-day mark. In the meantime, let’s not upset the apple cart without rhyme or reason.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Let’s hope unity govt lasts the distance as people are tired of political manoeuvring

Republished from New Straits Times, Dec 5, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

MALAYSIANS have suddenly become good at maths, especially when it concerns the numbers 222, 111, 81, 73, 30, 23, eight and zero.

You hear that “this doesn’t add up”, “they cannot be put together”, “what if there is a need to subtract when someone pulls out?” and “how long do you think these numbers will hold?”

We’re not talking about a simple maths test. The stakes are higher.

It’s about whether the unity government can last the distance of about 1,825 days as some sore losers may pull the rug out from under it.

Let’s also hope that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can prove his support in Parliament on Dec 19.

It’s also important for Anwar to prove his mettle after his ministers have been firmed up. Then they will have to hit the ground running to save the country.

It won’t be easy for the office-bearers but they have to accept that hard work will be the order of the day.

Too much time has been expended on politicking since February 2020 when the government fell.

Since then, nothing much has happened, save for financial aid for the people, allowing people to prematurely withdraw their savings from a provident fund, and stemming the spread of Covid-19.

People’s welfare must be given priority.

We’re lagging behind Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

Anwar hit the nail on the head when, on the campaign trail, he said he would prioritise revitalising the economy.

He and his team have to ensure the people’s wellbeing.

It’s about giving them access to reasonably priced quality food, healthcare and well-paying jobs.

Anwar set the right tone when he met heads of government departments two days after his swearing-in. The rallying of his troops is key to creating a mental revolution among civil servants to work hard for the government.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Mighty Bee

By Yong Soo Heong

NG BOON BEE was already a big name in the badminton world and synonymous with Tan Yee Khan when I was trying to make a mark in the sport in the late 1960s. Their successful partnership with relentless and powerful smashes was always imprinted in  my mind.

Somehow, I didn’t make it into ‘Big Time’ because of two primary reasons: my  journalism career got in my way (which is a good thing as I look back to those years)  and my belief that I could be a good player if I had perfected my strokes well enough.

Childhood friends Ng Boon Bee (right) and Tan Yee Khan in a buoyant mood
when they last met at Pangkor in mid 2022 – Tan Yee Khan pic reproduced
from FMT with permission

On this second point, how silly and mistaken I was. The game of badminton necessitates one to have match experience in order to excel as no one player is the same. I fault myself for not listening to my dad in this department. No point crying over spilt milk now, as they say.

Back to Boon Bee. One day at the tender age of 16-going-on-17 in 1971, I found myself in the company of the great man himself and his doubles partner, Punch Gunalan, in Ipoh. I was sent to compete in the Perak Open as the then President and Honorary Secretary of the Penang BA, the late Mr Gan Chin Huat and the late Mr Tan Lee Sin, had always wanted to give young players all the exposure to prove themselves.

Somehow, I lost in the early rounds to better opponents. I wasn’t tenacious enough or out of depth, to be frank. But my legs were already wobbly when I saw the two badminton luminaries listed down to play in the same tournament! I told myself how could I stand a chance when these two greats were around!

In between matches, I “bumped” into them at the Perak government chalet along Jalan Tambun where we were accommodated. I was with some of my senior team-mates from Penang who apparently knew Boon Bee and Punch better, when we saw the pair  resting in one of the rooms.

I too made a beeline to see what these two greats had to say as they had months earlier returned triumphantly with the coveted All-England men’s doubles title, beating Rudy Hartono and the late Indra Gunawan (who later went on to coach the Malaysian  team).

I peered from the door. Punch was munching on an apple while Boon Bee was relaxing on the bed. We made small talk. Can’t remember what we spoke as it was more my senior team-mates who did most of the talking while I was just a wallflower in the company of our country’s badminton kingpins. It was a scene I can never forget.

Back in those days when there was no “live” television to follow important badminton matches, Radio Malaysia was the only source of exciting sporting action. I would often  preen my ears to “live” radio commentaries and follow the blow-by-blow accounts on  Radio Malaysia.

Datuk Ng Boon Bee: Jumping into the air
was always an SOP – BAM Facebook pic

Radio Malaysia’s then sports presenter supremo, R. Jeyanathan, was often drumming  it into me with his trademark commentaries. I still remember his colorful description  which would sound like this: “Boon Bee leaps into the air and smashes, but it is well taken by Indonesia’s Indra Gunawan.

“Boon Bee springs into the air again and smashes but Hartono defends it well. Yee Khan smashes this time, and the shot is returned fast and furious.

“Wow! Boon Bee leaps up and chops the shot into the middle of the court. It catches  the Indonesians off-guard and yes!…Malaysia marches forward with another point.”

Boon Bee jumping into the air was always an SOP…standard operating procedure. That was his trademark as he possessed strong muscles in his thighs, which sometimes, to me, looked like that of a powerful frog.

That was why Boon Bee, an ex-pupil of St Michael’s Institution, Ipoh, could excel in  many sports because he could either outrun his opponents or be speedy about things.

He was even a prolific footballer representing Malaysia in the Merdeka Football tournaments in 1958 and again in 1959 when Malaysia were champions. This was the  premier tournament in Asia from the late 1950s to the late 1970s.

N. Thanabalan, an international footballer, recalls: “I had the privilege of playing  alongside Boon Bee for our employers, the National Electricity Board. He was a very  good teammate who was jovial and very highly motivated.”

Boon Bee was a very talented sportsman, who also excelled in athletics, rugby, and even tennis at state level.

But it was badminton that propelled him into the world stage and got him the most headlines and accolades.

During his prime in the mid-1960s till the early 1970s, he would travel in a quartet with his doubles partner Yee Khan, Yew Cheng Hoe and Tan Aik Huang as they took on the world.

Boon Bee and Yee Khan developed into a formidable pair, raking in title after title wherever they competed.

Yee Khan, who was devastated by the recent death of his doubles partner, said they had built up a formidable combination to be the best men’s doubles pair in the world  at one time because of their attitude towards the game.

They had one simple strategy or game plan: always analyzing their opponents game,  whether in defeat or victory.

“Whenever we won or lost, we would discuss how we could improve our game and tactics. We would always discuss before the game on what went wrong or what went right the day before. That was how we adapted well to each other by forging a good  understanding on what we should be doing and what we should not do when on the  court.”

On how he came to form a triumphant partnership with Boon Bee, Yee Khan says: “I was in Form 4 when I started playing together with Boon Bee. I was from Yuk Choy, a  Chinese school, but was subsequently enrolled at St Michael’s Institution where the then Brother Director Pius Kelly asked me to team up with Boon Bee. From there, it was the start of our successful partnership.”

Between 1960 and 1969, both Boon Bee and Yee Khan won some 20 prestigious titles together, including the All-England, US Open, Canadian Open, Denmark Open,  Singapore Open, Malaysian Open, Asian Championships, Asian Games and the  South-East Asia Peninsula Games.

The pair’s highest distinction was the Malaysian victory in the Thomas Cup in 1967,  gained in the teeth of a hostile crowd in Jakarta which was disruptive in behaviour  aimed at heading off a Malaysian triumph that Yee Khan’s and Boon Bee’s exploits in the doubles guaranteed.

The victorious Malaysian 1967 Thomas Cup team (from left) Yew Cheng Hoe, Tan Aik Huang,
Teh Kew San, BAM president Mohd Khir Johari, Ng Boon Bee, Tan Yee Khan and Billy Ng
– Tan Yee Khan pic reproduced from FMT with permission

Boon Bee, together with Yee Khan, starred with captain Teh Kew San, Tan Aik Huang, Yew Cheng Hoe and Billy Ng in the team that brought home the prestigious trophy in that series.

The Thomas Cup triumph was the capstone of a decade of distinction for the doubles pair.

Cheng Hoe recalls: “He earned my respect as our leader for he was a warm, caring and friendly person. It was always good to talk to him. He  would often ask about our well-being during our tours. With him around, it was like family.”

Sylvia Ng, Malaysia’s number one women’s shuttler at one time, also remembers Boon Bee as a friendly person. He proved to be an adaptable partner when he and Sylvia  teamed up to capture the 1970 Asian Games mixed-doubles title.

“We got on very well. Boon Bee was always easy to talk to,” she said. ”I shall definitely  miss him.”

Both Cheng Hoe and Sylvia agreed that it was Boon Bee’s physical adaptability to emerge as one of Malaysia’s greatest sportsmen as he subsequently found success with the late Gunalan after his regular partner Yee Khan retired from competitive badminton because of a serious head injury. This was after Yee Khan had a fall while jogging during training for the Rangoon (now Yangon) SEAP Games in 1969.

One of Boon Bee’s best performances was with Gunalan in the 1971 All-England final when they defeated Indonesia’s top pair of Rudy Hartono/Indra Gunawan. They also  won the Bangkok Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, both in  1970.

“He was without a doubt not only a great player but the best doubles player during my time,” said Rudy Hartono, the seven-time All England singles champion in Jakarta.

“Rest in eternal peace my dear friend. Bless you.”

Fast forward to late 2019, I was in the company of ex-Uber Cupper Sylvia, former Thomas Cupper Saw Swee Leong and former Asian junior champion, the late Tan Aik  Mong. We were on a road trip to look for Boon Bee in Ipoh as Aik Mong said he had lost contact with him for quite a while.

We managed to track him down after going through several phone numbers. It was finally via Boon Bee’s wife, Tong Ee Cheng’s handphone! We met for coffee in a shopping mall. It was a great reunion among those big-time shuttlers and they reminisced about the good old times. Their camaraderieship was something to behold.

When Swee Leong volunteered to say that I was playing competitive badminton with him as well as the likes of James Selvaraj, Phua Ah Hua and Razif Sidek back in the 1970s, Boon Bee let out a bewildered response: “You must be joking!”

And that came from the man whom I held in awe. I can’t fault him for his sharp reaction or observation for I have ballooned into a 150kg sumo wrestler’s frame.

• This story, originally published in mysportsflame.com, is republished with the permission of the author. Read the original here. Read more about the writer here.

Do not let the Fourth Estate's work go to waste

Republished from New Straits Times, May 27, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

THE ROLE of the media as well as challenges and opportunities facing it have often been debated to the point of almost ad nauseam.

But here's a new twist: how about challenges and opportunities under Industrial Revolution 4.0?

And that's the topic to be expounded at the National Media Forum organised by the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) in Melaka on Sunday.

The event is held in conjunction with the launch of the National Journalists Day, or Hari Wartawan Nasional, 2022, or better known by its acronym, HAWANA 2022, by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The importance of the media cannot be overstated here in that it serves society by providing investigative reports, debates, discussions, background analysis and topical news stories.

The media informs as well as entertains, there’s no doubt about that.

For Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub, the Chairman of Kumpulan Karangkraf, which publishes the Sinar Harian newspaper, he sees the staging of HAWANA as a significant step towards bringing back the original principles of journalism in terms of its professionalism, pride, authoritativeness and integrity against what he terms as a slide in journalistic principles through chequebook journalism.

Hence, there's much that the media forum can dwell upon given that MPI has invited several senior editors from newspapers and news portals, top news executives, academics and seasoned veteran journalists to air their thoughts.

Perhaps there should be much to chew on against the backdrop of dwindling newspaper subscriptions and diminishing advertisements among print publications, increase in online advertisements by tech giants, onslaught of news from online news aggregators linked to tech giants and independent news outfits, propensity of consumers to rely on free offerings from news aggregators, proliferation of fake and slanted online news, security of tenure for journalists and challenges in multi-tasking in today’s fast-paced journalism world.

In a world that’s plagued by tremendous cynicism as a result of widespread corruption and scandals, it’s pertinent that watchdog journalism be supported with greater gusto and hailed as an important step towards making public officials, businesspeople and others to be more accountable.

By being the Fourth Estate after the executive branches of the government, legislature and judiciary, the media has a major responsibility to the masses.

This is especially so in publicising issues that have a direct or indirect impact on society and subsequently demanding responses from public officials or parties implicated in the matter.

Given that the prime minister has seen fit to be present and accord a special day for journalists, it is hoped that he'll highlight the far-reaching roles that they play in mirroring the nation's consciousness, achievements or even setbacks.

In this regard, it would be very helpful if he could direct the attention of government servants to issues and complaints frequently raised by the public through news organisations, and to act on them almost immediately.

For example, in the area of the environment alone, we’ve been treated to a never-ending barrage of issues involving river pollution, air pollution and water supply disruptions due to contamination, illegal construction of dwellings and factories, forest degradation, reduction in forest habitats for endangered animal species, poor enforcement at all levels and the ineptness of certain agencies or ministries, to name a few, and they don’t seem to end.

When is the prime minister going to wield the big stick and ensure that government officials don’t just mouth motherhood statements that lead to nowhere in resolving pressing issues?

It’s crucial that he sets the seal for the government apparatus to pay greater heed to the Key Happiness Outcome of the people as their wellbeing will determine the success of his much-touted “Keluarga Malaysia”.

Otherwise, the painstaking work of journalists will go to waste and be akin to the Malay proverbs of “bagai hujan jatuh ke pasir (like rain falling on sand)” or “seperti anjing menyalak bukit (like dogs barking at hills)”.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Some need to learn empathy for good of country

Republished from New Straits Times, Apr 26, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here

By Yong Soo Heong

THE NINTH month of the Islamic calendar is also a special time for me because of several reasons.

Besides being invited to buka puasa events where I get to meet long-lost friends and acquaintances (and occasionally being the only non-Muslim at the table, I am also tasked to “guard the food” while my mates go for maghrib prayers!), it also allows me to reflect on the significance of empathy for those who are less-fortunate.

Fasting during Ramadan, I believe, helps to instil compassion for the poor, who may have much difficulty in putting food on the table.

My Muslim friends tell me, the last 10 nights of Ramadan are considered to be the best of the year. Of the 10, Lailatul Qadr is the holiest, where prayers are recited throughout the night.

One of the interesting activities for me during Ramadan is to help well-meaning friends like Fuzi Hanim Omar, a tireless 70-something “lady warrior”, whose tagline is “Building Bridges of Goodwill”.

Fuzi Hanim, who has been described as someone embodying the spirit of Merdeka with her work promoting inter-ethnic cohesiveness among underprivileged children, had often involved me in her Fuzi Magic “charity cluster”, where she would send food, clothes and money to orphanages and people in the B40 group.

Her volunteers will bring some festive cheer to the under-privileged in the Kayu Ara and Damansara Damai areas in Selangor by distributing satay and roti jala, as well as duit raya. They even provided aid to an orphanage in Kuala Lipis, Pahang.

Some startling facts emerge from these places casually referred to as orphanages, which we should reflect and ponder.

Many of the children are not really orphans but abandoned children. An orphan is one where he or she is deprived by death of one or usually both parents, but the parents of these children are still alive but divorced.

I’m told that these “orphanages” teeming with abandoned children are beginning to change their names to care centres (pusat jagaan).  

While cherishing people like Fuzi Hanim, I am also distracted by some disturbing news of the actions of some people just because they bask in the glory of wealth, titles and power.

I was dumbfounded when a wife of a Datuk was bound over for five years on a good behaviour bond of RM20,000 after she changed her plea and pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt.

She had allegedly used a kitchen knife, a clothes hanger, a steel mop and an umbrella to cause multiple injuries to her maid’s head, hands, legs and internal organs.

Then, there is the case of a Tan Sri who didn’t pay his maid for 12 years until the latter reported it to the Indonesian embassy. These are just a few of the untold antics of the privileged class!

I commend the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, Hermono, and his officers for actively protecting Indonesians here. This is what real diplomats do whenever their citizens ask for help, not strut about at cocktail parties.

And we had better beware because Indonesia has stated that it’s not keen to send its citizens to work in countries where labour abuses go unpunished.

One maid recruitment association chief even said Malaysia may have to look elsewhere after this. Look elsewhere to continue our abuses?

Already, some Malaysian exporters have found difficulty in getting their products into developed countries because of their human rights track record. Have we still not learnt our lesson?

It’s a time for self-reflection, especially during this special month — you live in palatial homes, drive luxury cars, tote designer handbags and yet mistreat workers while still yearning for roti canai and teh tarik at 10 sen each in the 21st century? Come on. Get real.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

 

Establish citizens’ assemblies to hold politicians accountable

Republished from New Straits Times, Apr 9, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

EVER SINCE Malaysia experienced a short-lived political renaissance in May 2018 only to be thwarted by the so-called Sheraton Move by self-serving politicians of every shade in February 2020, our country has been gripped by constant politicking.

The dismal reality from such manoeuvres has been that we’ve not been reaping the benefits of modernity while some of our neighbours who used to lag behind have overtaken us. We’ve been largely held back by narrow-minded policies that befuddle the mind of every right-thinking Malaysian.

And, no thanks to the Covid-19 virus that hit us since early 2020 and is still stifling our society in one way or the other.

Yes, the Ukraine crisis may have lifted crude oil and crude palm oil revenues sky high, but we're still a long way off from being that Asian Tiger we’re supposed to be. And, all that because many in the echelons of power seem to think that they know what's best for the country.

We now hear politicians pressing for the 15th GE to be held soon, the reasons being it's opportune to do so due to recent events in Melaka and Johor; any lingering delay may not be advantageous to some key players; time is ripe to court the naivety of voters who just turned 18; political opponents are in disarray and new alliances could be forged.

But, many in the political gamesmanship seem to be brimming with confidence on how to bring that winning formula for themselves and their hangers-on. I’m not so sure what they've in mind in terms of wealth-creation for the people because I've not heard much about this except that they want to return to power.

And, in the last two years, one of the key words that’s been bandied about was bantuan or aid, as if the country is enveloped by poor and hapless people. Nothing much about how to get citizens to earn better incomes, move up the economic ladder or businesses to take giant leaps forward.

Therefore, we often find ourselves in a dilemma.

Who do we vote for? Who could be trusted? Which politicians will not abandon their righteous cause? These are tough questions to answer.

What do we do to prevent ourselves from being “scammed” by sweet-talking politicians who come dressed in their all-white attire (perhaps to reflect purity in their souls and persona) or travel in some battered and spartan vehicle to show solidarity for the M40s and B40s?

Do remember that a winning ticket for a politician is a passport to a life-time of financial sustenance as they get pensions even serving for just one term!

And, we don’t even know what our lives are going to be in the next five years and beyond! So, guard that vote jealously and choose only those who can work for us!

I’ve been thinking about how to make those victorious politicians accountable for their actions or inaction (those whom we rarely see after they’ve won). We ought to institutionalise a proper feedback channel like a citizens' assembly to air our thoughts to lawmakers.

The deliberative democracy model that's being practised in the Ostbelgien German-speaking region of eastern Belgium is worth adopting so that we won't be fooled once every five years.

Also known as sortition, it’s an ancient practice of randomly selecting citizens to participate in legislative citizen assemblies to voice out their thoughts and suggestions.

Under this form of deliberative democracy, deliberation will be central to decision-making as it adopts elements of consensus decision-making and majority rule for problem-solving. These assemblies can provide the necessary checks and balances on politicians.

Naysayers may say why adopt a Western idea or it  won't work in Malaysia without proper funding or administrative support. Funding? That’s the least of our problems. It’s the will to make things work that's key. Financing could come from the Election Commission, Parliament or State Assemblies.

These assemblies could meet a few times annually and select people from all strata to avoid a potential middle class or upper class domination syndrome. The idea is to have a truly representative and deliberative democracy. It’s also about moving Malaysia forward.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Boosting Penang's musical heritage as an attraction

Republished from New Straits Times, Mar 9, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

ON THE fourth floor of Komtar Complex in downtown George Town, Penang, lies a cultural oasis that showcases various “gems” related to the state’s pre-eminence in the performing arts and broadcasting industries.

Unfortunately, its prominence is masked by stores selling computer peripherals, fried chicken and souvenir knick-knacks before visitors can locate an escalator that takes them to this extraordinary place. 

Known as the Penang House of Music (PHoM), it’s a jewel in the crown among local music aficionados who care about Penang's musical heritage, and a labour of love by its founder, Paul Augustin, a self-taught 62-year-old Eurasian musician from the state, now a musical “historian”, curator, researcher and archivist.

The “house” promotes Penang as the motherland of musicians in the country. It came into being on Nov 21, 2016 under the Penang Musical Heritage Project in line with the state government's aim and vision to establish a heritage and creative arts city.

It traces facets of Penang’s musical journey from the 1900s when the British colonials held sway, Japanese Occupation in early 1940s, return of the colonials in the mid-1940s, the halcyon days of pre-Independence, the glory days of the Swinging Sixties right up to the Buoyant Seventies.

Of course, no presentation would be complete without its most revered star, P. Ramlee.

The legendary actor-singer (along with his heart-throb, Saloma) holds a special place among many better-known Penang-born or raised entertainers like Ahmad Daud, Ahmad Nawab, Zainal Alam, Rubia Lubis, Jimmy Boyle, Ooi Eow Jin, Albert Yeoh, Richard Hoon, Lee Yee and David Arumugam, to name a few.

PHoM also captures the journey of how the local populace entertained themselves in the past, how the different local communities celebrated their festivals with music and performances thrown in, including Penang's famed song, dance and tongue-in-cheek satirical routine — the boria.

Special mention must be made of the presence of a radio studio where visitors can briefly be deejays and record audio presentations for keepsakes and a diorama of a coffee shop in the 1960s complete with a jukebox and a Rediffusion audio box.

It wouldn’t be out of place to say that a fair number of the exhibits mirrored what people usually saw in 1960s, when Paul himself grew up with a host of top-notch musicians, as well as pursuits like requesting their favourite songs to be played on the airwaves.

Also on display are the then immensely popular magazines like Movie News and Majallah Filem that highlighted soon-to-be screened films and sizzling celebrity gossip.

Two exhibits stood out: one, a cubicle where you could listen to golden oldies by pressing a song list on a tiny computer screen at the side; the other, a modern audio-visual screen depicting the Chinese “wayang” puppet shows where the costumes could “change” at will with every movement of the viewer's hand!

Moving forward and thinking aloud, a more strategic location befitting its strategic role could be the old Penang City Council building near the Esplanade, or the rather neglected AIA Building in Lebuh Bishop or one of the bungalows belonging to Penang Institute in the leafy suburbs of Jalan Brown.

The first two locations would add lustre to the touristy attractions in downtown George Town and augment PHoM’s foot-traffic.

The suggestion to be in Penang Institute's serene environs, besides its ample space for exhibits and visitors, is also to complement the latter's research into what makes Penang tick since PHoM had also ventured into research, documenting and digitalising its collection.

PHoM’s archival efforts reflect Paul's mission about building Penang’s (and subsequently Malaysia's) musical repository for posterity to benefit future generations.

Such noble endeavours could also complement the work done by local universities as PHoM’s treasure trove is constantly sought after by researchers on the state’s illustrious local musical journey.

It all depends on how the powers-that-be in Penang aspire to boost PHoM as a musical heritage attraction while the “house” also sifts through an increasing storehouse of valuable documents and artefacts to augment the state's contributions to Malaysia’s “musical treasures”.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

There must be better explanation for fatal cases

Republished from New Straits Times, Jan 21, 2022,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

“UNREASONABLE haste is the direct road to error” was a quote that came to mind when I read that some clear-minded thinkers in our local medical fraternity were cautioning against the rollout of a second booster shot under the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme.

That quote belonged to 17th century French playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his stage name Moliere, as he expounded the virtues of deliberation before acting in haste.

The New Straits Times had cited several people well-versed in medical science that Malaysia ought to study all relevant data on the efficacy of the booster shot, which has yet to reach the arms of many.

I subscribe to that view as many cases unpleasant to the ears had surfaced of late with regard to casualties after getting the booster shot, elegantly classified as Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI).

There has to be greater clarity as I believe all authorised Covid-19 vaccines must have the highest degree of efficacy and safety.

What if the lines of safety are blurred because we've not undertaken a serious study ourselves and had blindly kept in step with the Joneses?

Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan, a former Malaysian Medical Association president, said more data was needed and even the World Health Organisation (WHO) had yet to endorse a global rollout of booster shots.

WHO says: “Safe and effective vaccines are a game-changing tool: but for the foreseeable future we must continue wearing masks, cleaning our hands, ensuring good ventilation indoors, physical distancing and avoiding crowds.

“Being vaccinated does not mean that we can throw caution to the wind and put ourselves and others at risk, particularly because research is still ongoing into how much vaccines protect not only against disease but also against infection and transmission.”

We’ve to probe deeper, especially our own environment. As things stand, 26 million or close to 80 per cent of our population had received the first dose and 25.6 million or 79.6 per cent had taken the second. Nearly 30 per cent or 9.7 million had the third dose.

I'm drawn to morbidity or mortality cases following the third dosage.

There have been several high-profile cases of late. The usual culprit is often blamed on heart attacks. As easy as that? Clarity on how these fatal cases came about is sorely lacking.

Now we have been alerted to another high-profile case involving the father of a state-level religious figure. The authorities told us that the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency is investigating after the religious official revealed that his father vomited, became weaker and even had a stroke after the third dose.

Why is this so when medicines are supposed to fortify one's body? Perhaps as a layman I wouldn't know why.

I’m just asking like any normal person why a trip to the clinic or hospital has to end like that. Someone must explain convincingly.

While we’e bent on achieving herd immunity, I suppose not everyone can be corralled into that herd. Although there's compensation from a fund for extended AEFI cases between RM50,000 and RM500,000, no amount of money will placate the loss of a dear one.

I support the proposal by Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar, chairman of the Volunteers for Community Engagement and Empowerment for Covid-19, who called for the formation of an independent technical committee to address vaccine hesitancy.

There’s still 20 per cent of the population who have yet to be jabbed and another 70 per cent to go for the booster.

Amidst all these, I’m terribly amused by a recent father and son conversation. Daddy told his son that he was better off getting Covid-19. His son was non-plussed at the sudden remark.

His dad then said he had at least a fighting chance of staying in conversation and be alive for three weeks or so in combating the virus before he succumbs. And, if he is lucky, he will get to stay alive.

But with the booster shot, it may boost his chances of meeting his Maker faster! It’s a sobering matter we’ve to consider seriously.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Don’t overstay when the writing is on the wall

Republished from New Straits Times, Dec 4, 2021,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

MY late mother, from Dongguan, Guangdong Province, in southern China, Low Ah Hup, had this advice for me to survive the rat race, bracing for life’s challenges or tip-toeing on social etiquette: choot moon thai theen sek, yap moon thai min sek.

It simply meant when going out the front door of a house, look at the colour of the sky; when entering a house, assess the colour of the host’s face.

How right she was! If we see dark skies, then we ought to be prepared and bring an umbrella in case a thunderstorm starts.

The second part of her tip was even more telling: if we enter a house for a tete-a-tete with someone, it’s time to vamoose to avoid overstaying the welcome, lest we see scowls or dark faces.

The most “celebrated” case we’ve seen so far was the riot on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Jan 6.

That was when a mob of unruly supporters of former president Donald Trump attacked the United States Capitol building to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election by disrupting a joint session of Congress to count electoral votes that would formalise President Joe Biden’s victory.

Amid the shocking scenes, the Capitol was locked down and lawmakers and staff evacuated, while rioters assaulted law enforcement officers, vandalised property and occupied the building for several hours. 

What was bizarre was that Trump resisted sending the National Guard to quell the mob and again asserted that the election was “fraudulent”.

But, common sense later prevailed when the Capitol was cleared to allow for the counting of electoral votes, which was completed in the early hours of Jan 7.

Much has also been happening in Malaysia since May 2018 and even right up to about a month ago in Melaka, when politicians schemed to regain or stay in power, depending on how one looks at the convoluting scenarios.

After all, American diplomat, Walter Annenberg, did say that “the greatest power is not money power, but political power”.

Over the last 50 years or so, we’ve seen what political power can do for the political elites in the name of grandiose-sounding policies.

This is especially so when political power easily translates into money power.

And this fact has not been lost among non-politicians as well. Many dishonest leaders of non-governmental organisations, charity foundations, trade unions, cultural federations, clan associations and vocational trades guilds, especially those with plenty of lolly in the kitty through subscriptions, endowments and fundraisers, have been known to follow the rule book of double-dealing politicians.

An ongoing case in point revolves round a state clansmen association for the Hainanese community, a Chinese dialect group noted for its civility and politeness (besides their chicken chop and chicken rice).

But, temperatures among some of them have been rising when key office bearers allegedly sought another another three-year term by amending the association constitution.

These people, who’ve led the association for two terms, claimed they wanted to complete the association’s “unfinished business” as they were stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But, their detractors begged to differ, as they claimed that one shouldn’t measure one’s life by its duration but by contributions to society.

One of them said: “Individuals, no matter how powerful or popular, cannot be indispensable. When the time comes for them to take a back seat or retire, they should do so with dignity by welcoming the next generation of leaders who can then emerge with fresh ideas and even bring about new changes to augment the good work undertaken by the elders before them.”

The association’s annual general meeting is, surprisingly, scheduled over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Let’s hope good sense will prevail among members without sparks flying or punches being thrown.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

We should seriously study, legislate a future generations law

Republished from New Straits Times, Sep 10, 2021,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

AS WE LOOK back at what our country has achieved in the last 64 years, there’re certainly many triumphs and also failures that we may as well not dwell on, lest they bring us more heartaches.

We could’ve achieved much more. So it’s best to look to the future as Soyen Shaku, a Japanese Zen monk, discovered when he found a way out of past failures by saying, “Do not regret the past, look to the future”.

Perhaps this is akin to the popular saying of no use crying over spilt milk.

Much has happened in our beloved country, especially in the past two years or so. Besides the arduous health and economic challenges, we’ve also been treated to a giant spectacle of political upheavals and manoeuvring on a scale we’ve never seen before.

The familiar refrain of “where do we go from here?” is often heard among those who care about the future of this land we call home.

While we’ve been engrossed in much political infighting, some neighbouring countries that had once lagged behind have even overtaken us.

Take our automobile industry, for example, which we had often boasted about when we got off the starting blocks as early as 1985.

But we’ve not made much headway since then, especially in selling our wares to big international markets, except for making millions of Malaysians happy with their relatively cheap locally made vehicles compared with competing overseas rivals.

Of course, we enriched some local parts producers along the way in the name of localisation.

And look at the South Koreans: one of their marques started about the same time as us, and look where they are now.

Their cars, viewed with disdain by some snooty automobile makers then, have found a niche in the garages, driveways and parking lots of many North American and European homes with their stylish designs, advanced engineering and fuel economy.

Even one-time war-torn Vietnam will start marketing home-grown electric SUVs to the industrialised West in November. Enough said.

But I pray there’s still hope yet for our future generation as I’m captivated by this line of optimism: The past is your lesson. The present is your engine. The future is your motivation.

It may be wishful thinking on my part to hope for radical changes in the next 100 days or so that could bring forth many solutions or answers to the multitude of challenges that we now face.

Who or what could lead us out of the quagmire? Do we sink further into mediocrity?  

I’m drawn to Dr Roman Krznaric, a Briton described as a public philosopher, who had expounded on the need to reinvent democracy for the long term.

He argues that when politicians fail to look beyond the next election — or even the latest tweet — they are neglecting the rights of future generations.

He depicts such flaws as short-termism and presentism.

Governments, he declares, typically prefer quick fixes, such as putting more criminals behind bars rather than dealing with the deeper social and economic causes of crime.

Nations bicker around international conference tables, focused on their near-term interests, while the planet burns and species disappear.

Like Krznaric, I’m intrigued by what the government of Wales in the United Kingdom had done in an interesting attempt to right the wrongs, although it may not be a fool-proof panacea.

Premised on “acting today for a better tomorrow”, Wales had established a Future Generations Commissioner as part of the 2015 Wellbeing for Future Generations Act.

Sophie Howe, described as one of the United Kingdom’s changemakers and top businesswomen, was appointed to the important role in 2016.

Her responsibility is to ensure that public bodies in Wales make policy decisions looking at least 30 years into the future.

The Guardian newspaper describes her as the “world’s first minister of the unborn”.

In a nutshell, the far-sighted Welsh law requires public bodies to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change.

This legislation has been attracting interest from other countries as it offers a huge opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive change to current and future generations.

Do we dare take such a giant step for the wellbeing of future Malaysians?

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Time to act firmly against underachievers, saboteurs

Republished from New Straits Times, Jul 14, 2021,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

FOR THE past few weeks, I’ve been feeling numb, not so much from getting those precious vaccine shots, but more from the idiocy that has enveloped our beloved country.

I don’t find any comfort from witnessing the unproductive actions of certain people in positions of power and decision-making as many matters could have been avoided.

If only people had common sense to act rationally. Perhaps too much information on a single day has caused us to lose our common sense, as alluded by novelist Gertrude Stein.

When the Emergency was proclaimed earlier this year, there were high hopes that we would be seeing strict lockdowns to get the coronavirus off our backs. But it was not to be.

Waves upon waves of dithering have caused the country to be nowhere it wanted to be as seen from the daily Covid-19 cases that surpassed 11,000 yesterday! The numbers could even be higher as some cases go unreported.

An audio clip of frontliners in government hospitals in the Klang Valley crying for help from their never-ending toil from last year choked me to tears. Think about it seriously — they have been firefighting daily and yet, there are parties who are feeding the flames by being lax about the pandemic.

From the audio clip, a doctor could be heard saying: “When is this going to end?”

This will not end if we are still unsure of what to do next amid the pussy-footing with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures as this column had emphasised in the past!

We are now in a war against Covid-19 and yet we are not on a war footing, so to speak. Politicians and policymakers have always said that the country has always been battle-ready, but what readiness is there when our Intensive Care Units are overwhelmed, coupled with a severe shortage of medical staff and oxygen supply?

And in the midst of this, we can’t even handle the issue of the country’s more than 23,000 contract doctors, who have been toiling since Day One. They will always be useful to our country. The "dog-in-the-manger" attitude among top administrators can't go on forever.

This also brings to mind the issue of the recent felling of 15,000 durian trees in Raub, the country’s musang king hub. While the authorities may have their reasons — as they claimed that the trees had been illegally planted on government land — it was tantamount to economic sabotage and bodoh sombong.

Why now? Why didn’t they take action when the land was initially cleared? Why fell fruit-bearing trees? Some win-win solutions could have been found, but common sense didn't prevail.  

Vegetable farmers in highlands have also been dumping their produce of late because they can’t send them to markets in the lowlands as lorries have been stopped from travelling by the authorities.

This is despite the fact that some Malaysians do not even have enough to eat because of the prolonged lockdown, which has led to people losing jobs and sources of income. Why do we allow this state of hopelessness to fester?

Brigadier-General Dr Mohd Arshil Moideen, who heads the armed forces’ Health Service Division, courageously called a spade a spade recently.

I salute him for being forthright when he said: “In a war, like the war against Covid-19, we need a single standardised strategy line of command that everyone can abide by.” A clear chain of command is certainly lacking for the rakyat’s wellbeing.

Malaysia needs to see light at the end of the tunnel. We can’t go on like this with ministers going off on a tangent on their assessment of the economy.

We can’t have little Napoleons ruining businesses and the lives of the rakyat from frequent raids, dodgy summonses and flippant SOP.

Dear prime minister, please act firmly against these underachievers and saboteurs. Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same.

You know you have made the right decision when there is peace in your heart. The rakyat await.

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Malaysia needs to clean up recruitment practices

Republished from New Straits Times, Nov 3, 2020,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

I HAD OFTEN wondered when the lopsided conditions for migrant workers that had prevailed for years in our country would attract the attention of those who might give greater weight to justice and fairness.

Strangely, that recognition did surface recently, but it wasn't from our own volition, but from foreign countries instead!

The floodgates were broken recently when the United States and New Zealand singled out a Malaysian glove manufacturer that had forced migrant workers (mostly women from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal) to work long hours, sometimes as long as 12 hours a day, seven days a week! On top of that, these workers often paid huge sums to secure jobs in Malaysia and the practice usually left them with huge debts they cannot pay back.

It is estimated that such fees may account for up to four to seven months of a worker’s salary! In another area where Malaysia had often beamed with pride – palm oil – a local company’s products were also banned by the US for transgressions in – again – the hiring and treatment of migrant workers.

These importers decided to act as they had found reasonable evidence of forced labour in the production process. These workers aren’t robots or machines. Do spare a thought for these people who might be a father, brother, mother, sister, uncle or aunt to someone. They certainly didn’t want to be trapped in such oppressing conditions, but circumstances forced them to leave the comforts of their homeland to eke out a living here.

The time has come for Malaysia to clean up its act. How long must Malaysians deny or pretend that conditions for low-level migrant workers are “all right”? How can we allow our reputation to be sullied by these repressive regulations or conditions? What if we faced more sanctions from developed nations? We can't consume all the rubber gloves and palm oil that we produce, can we?

There must be some basis to the complaints, which had often been shrugged away or swept aside in the past. There's no smoke without fire. Now, the glove manufacturer that had been targeted had reportedly paid back US$12 million to its workers concerned and had also started paying recruitment agencies the necessary fees instead.

What a turn of events! Such compensation wouldn't cause a big dent in its revenue, as demand for gloves had surged by almost 50 per cent due to this year's Covid-19 pandemic, while share prices of Malaysian glovemaking companies had also soared by as much as 400 per cent on Bursa Malaysia of late! To paraphrase Tom Perez, an American politician, it would be unfair if workers baking the pie of prosperity were not sharing the dividends.

It takes two hands to clap and the issue of migrant labour also takes into account the government’s stance on the matter. The authorities must also bear some of the responsibility for this poor state of affairs. We’ve to really take a long hard look at our immigration policies and question ourselves: do we need foreign workers or not? If no is the answer, then do away with them and let Malaysians take up all the responsibilities from A to Z.

If the answer is yes, it’s time to stop pussy-footing. Make the recruitment conditions as transparent as possible so that any employer need not rely on runners, agents, go-betweens and intermediaries and what-have-yous (it’s almost an industry by itself in Malaysia!)

In 2008, the then Chief Secretary to the government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, initiated an embracing policy known as the “No Wrong Door”. It ensured that the public would no longer be turned away even if they approached the wrong department or agency and the government servants there would forward the customers' needs to the relevant office.

Has that policy been thrown out of the window because of changes in the top civil servant’s job or it found little currency as it eliminated the need for a “runners’ culture” to thrive? Now, who wants to start the ball rolling again?

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Fake news purveyors say they are journalists too

Republished from New Straits Times, Oct 24, 2020,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

IN AN EVER-CONFUSING world of legitimate news criss-crossing with fake news, I’m just wondering how long Donald Trump, the chief promoter of fake news, will continue to spew bad vibes about the mainstream media.

When less is said of fake news, such labelling will hopefully evaporate.

But will it? Especially now that Trump has given greater legitimacy to the wicked forces of fake news by saying such news is everywhere. Prior to late 2016, murmurs of news being manipulated made the rounds but never at the frequency that Trump easily belched “Fake News!” whenever issues weren't in his favour.

Fake news has become a big thing, especially on social media. When fake news is repeated, it becomes really difficult for the public to discern what's real and what’s not.

Real news practitioners have resigned to the fact that fake news and rumours had thrived online because few can verify what's real. And more so when people tend to veer towards content that reinforces their own biases.

Granted that the media had been frequently used by the four Ps — politicians, propagandists, publicists or public relations practitioners — in the past. I won’t say that lies had been thrown about and the media readily gulped them up. To be fair, it’s how the information is treated (or slanted) and disseminated. But with the advent of social media, that’s another kettle of fish!

Let’s take a moment to reflect what a young Pakistani politician, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said: “Propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation have always been part of political warfare. Social media and other new platforms have given it a new life and reach through which the fake news phenomenon can reach everywhere.”

Now if a politician such as Bilawal had admitted that those ingredients had always been part of the political machinery, then perhaps we’ve to exercise greater caution when digesting information from politicians. Maybe not with a pinch of salt but several spoonfuls, perhaps! 

Whether Trump gets re-elected as president remains to be seen. But, ever since he took office in January 2017, he has been assailing the mainstream media for producing fake news.

As a journalist for a number of decades, I’ve always abhorred that kind of labelling. True blue journalists may take a certain stand, stance or bias but certainly won't stoop so low as to produce something that's not real. That’s the domain of fiction writers or mercenary writers imbued with a mission.

By and large, journalists in mainstream news organisations have been steadfast in their profession. But sadly, fake news is now a new menace in the public space as their purveyors also proclaim themselves to be journalists too and taint the noble profession in the process.

I concur with Jim Acosta, who reports for CNN at the White House, when he said: “Yes, Barack Obama had his clashes with the press. I witnessed those first-hand covering the second term of his administration. But we did not have Obama on almost a weekly basis referring to the press as the enemy of the people and accusing reporters of treason and calling legitimate stories fake news.”

The use of social media to implant falsehoods by latching on the legitimacy of mainstream media organisations is rather appalling. With no lack of creative people and the juicy goings-on in Malaysia these days, satirists have been having a field day.

But, what’s worse is that some have even resorted to “hijacking” some media organisation's online platforms to pass on disinformation for their benefit, and frequently saying a public holiday had been declared or that the government was going to pay out bonuses to its employees. Such ruses occur whenever some state or national team had emerged victorious in some popular sports events and during Budget time.

And Bernama, the national news agency, hadn’t been spared such manipulation. What’s even more ruinous is when some people tend to shatter Bernama’s reputation and level of journalistic competency by using their own interpretation of events or some online auto translating tools to post some purported news items on social media.

Bernama has reported this to the police several times but these envious perpetrators have yet to be trapped. I hope these journalist-wannabes can be exposed soon!

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong writer is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Time to act on investigative reports highlighted by the media

Republished from New Straits Times, Sept 30, 2020,
with the author’s permission. Read the original here.

By Yong Soo Heong

THE 2019 MPI-Petronas Malaysian Journalism Awards finally took place recently after the Covid-19 pandemic had initially thrown things off gear. Journalists who had excelled in various categories eventually got their deserving accolades.

With their improved investigative bent and quality of presentation, the marks separating the winners and finalists were razor-thin. I should know as I was again thrust into the punishing position of being the head of the judging panel! As with many award-winning entries of the recent past, many tend to focus on lax enforcement, mismanagement, corruption and red tape in government. The propensity for in-depth unearthing of such misdeeds was not lost on the guest-of-honour, Senior Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin, who represented Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the function.

While urging journalists to uphold journalism’s core values of integrity, authenticity and relevance, Dr Radzi asked — could they turn their attention on positive matters for a change? I suggested in my remarks before the awards presentation that journalists should take up Dr Radzi’s challenge as education could be a fertile ground for positive stories.

While many jaded people would be quick to throw cold water on this much-debated subject, I believe that good education-related materials exist to be unearthed while not forgetting the not-so-good ones as well. On a positive note, one of the winning entries revealed that many urban poor students tend to experience more mental health issues and there was a need for more counsellors in schools!

Education-related matters need further probing to bring to light what needs to be done to provide the best for our leaders and talent of tomorrow. After all, Malcolm X, a Muslim African-American civil rights leader, had reminded us that “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

In my view, news organisations don’t go pursuing bad happenings for them to be sensationalised. These news items are for real, had taken place and warranted attention so that action can be taken for the benefit of the people. Media organisations play a central role in recording events and promoting greater awareness about pertinent issues that affect our lives day in and day out as today's news will stand as historical facts for the future.

Having said that, we cannot help noticing some of the unsavoury things that had been highlighted. Like the heart-wrenching tales of illegal migrants being smuggled into the country and forced to live like animals in the forests before they are “safely” transported were rife.

Not only humans were trafficked, animals too, such as the prized pangolins, rumoured to have medicinal powers for pregnant women to lactate even more! Stories about our rivers and reservoirs being polluted were aplenty. And how the health of young schoolchildren was affected by the now infamous Sungai Kim Kim and other filthy rivers in Johor. Or the frequent encroachment into our rich marine waters by foreign fishermen or villagers being exposed to unhealthy levels of lead pollution from processing industrial wastes dumped by developed countries.

I was also attracted to the New Straits Times’ focus on the daily grind of thousands of commuters at the Johor Baru Causeway, either going to work or study in Singapore. These early risers are doing just that because they want bring to a little more food to the table or to have better employment prospects later on.  It’s a crying shame that our people have to endure deplorable conditions each morning.

Now that the Causeway is not as crowded as before because of the Recovery Movement Control Order, perhaps the authorities could do something there fast. Strike while the iron is hot. Democratic governments change because of shifts in voting patterns of voters or in political colours of politicians. But there's little change in the government machinery or personnel.

It would do the rakyat a lot of good if these investigative reports were seriously evaluated by heads of relevant departments and acted upon immediately. After all, our current government's tagline is “Kita Jaga Kita” and William Shakespeare did say: “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”

• Datuk Yong Soo Heong is a former chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of Bernama. Read more about him here.

Losing a ‘new found’ friend in Aik Mong

Tan Aik Mong (left) with Yong at their last meeting.

By Yong Soo Heong

SHUTTLER Tan Aik Mong’s sudden demise in the evening of May 31, 2020 was indeed shocking, to say the least, for me.

One of my Penang badminton contemporaries, Lim Teong Khoon, had forewarned fellow members of our group chat to brace for something depressing as he disseminated the information. I sat stunned in my car after receiving the sad news.

Stunned and sad because it was just 10 days earlier that Aik Mong had shown how fighting fit he was by mowing the lawn of his Bukit Jelutong home. Later, he was seen strolling the greens at Kelab Golf Negara Subang for his second favourite game – golf – to the cheers of his many friends and club members.

Aik Mong was well-liked and had many friends as he was a good conversationalist although he may have had some unorthodox ideas on certain issues. He was open, opinionated but yet not offensive.

“Mahaguru” Tan Aik Mong (1950-2020): 
Open, opinionated but yet not offensive

But as they say, life is unpredictable. And I was devastated to learn that Aik Mong, 70, had finally succumbed to liver cancer which he fought for many years without the aid of chemotherapy on that fateful Sunday as I was beginning to get used to being a good friend to him.

I was comforted that he had Irene Ch’ng, his confidante of 22 years, by his bedside as he breathed his last breath. His son and family in Singapore were affected by the MCO restrictions then in place but they subsequently came in time for the funeral.

Irene had said that Aik Mong knew the end was near about three days before he was to go and did everything to set everything straight. In other words, he had fulfilled what he had set out to do and was able to let go of the material world towards the end. He was at peace with the world.

Earlier, Aik Mong in fact had planned to go to Johor just after Chinese New Year (CNY) with me and two other more accomplished shuttlers, Thomas Cupper Saw Swee Leong and six-time national champion Sylvia Ng. Besides wanting to sample the glorious food in Johor, he had wanted to meet two other badminton legends, Roland Ng and Billy Ng, elder brothers of Sylvia, and also a mutual friend, Albert Goh Teong Hoe, who had built a 19-court badminton complex in Johor Bahru. (Incidentally Roland died a few days later on June 10 at the age of 89). Ever since Aik Mong left his second Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching stint abruptly in 2013, he had always wanted to find ways to contribute towards coaching the young. The Penangite, who was once BAM coaching chairman in the mid-80s, thought he had some interesting ideas to be put across to Teong Hoe in JB.

These thoughts actually germinated last November when the four of us – Aik Mong, Swee Leong, Sylvia and myself – had gone to Penang on a food extravaganza! But the MCO curtailed our movements this year and now Aik Mong, whom we affectionately called “Mahaguru” (Master) because of his deep and profound thoughts, is no more with us.

I had actually “known” (note the inverted commas) Aik Mong since the late 60s. “Known” is actually a safer word for I hadn’t got close to him due to our age gap although we passed each other almost every other day as we cycled to school in opposite directions – me to Westlands Secondary School and him to Methodist Boys School in Penang. He’d always nod his head in my direction. I reckoned he may have seen me practising at the Penang Chinese Girls High School Hall, then one of the nurseries of Penang’s many badminton players.

Source: mysportsflame.com

While I was a small fry, Aik Mong was already in the Big League then as he was a Thomas Cupper and played in the SEAP and Asian Games. He had already wrestled for individual honours with then Indonesian maestros like Muljadi (Ang Tjin Siang) and Iie Sumirat. His best achievements was winning the 1971 Asian championship in Jakarta when he beat then Japanese star, Junji Honma. Three years earlier, he had also beaten Honma for the Asian schoolboys’ title in Tokyo.

Aik Mong in training as a teenager:
Source: @aikmong on Twitter

In fact, Aik Mong played one of his best matches in the semi-finals of the Singapore Open in April 1969 when he beat Dhamardi (Wong Pek Shen) of Indonesia, who had just won that year’s All England men’s singles title about a month earlier, in a three-game thriller of 14-17, 15-14 and 18-14 lasting 69 minutes! Aik Mong, as a thinking player that he was, was observed to have changed tactics by placing many of his shots far to the baseline to thwart Dhamardi’s fast pace game.

Incidentally Aik Mong also partnered his elder brother, Aik Huang (best known for his 1966 All-England men’s singles triumph in 1966) to gun for honours in the men’s doubles event. As a pair, they had even beaten the top doubles combination comprising the late Punch Gunalan and Ng Boon Bee in the 1972 Singapore Open! In the same year, they had advanced to the final of the Indonesian Open but only to lose to the crack Indonesian pair of Ade Chandra and Christian Hadinata in another three-game thriller.

When Aik Mong was 24 years old and working as a computer analyst for Malaysia Airlines in 1975, he announced his retirement from competitive badminton. In citing his reasons, he said that demands were too great for him and that badminton at the national level was not a part-time thing or a pastime because the game was becoming more scientific and demanded a lot in terms of stamina or fitness, court-craft and strategic thinking.

“You have to do so much training and play to stay at the top. No, I don’t want to play badminton all my life. It’s not my whole life.

“I enjoyed playing badminton because it was good for me and good for my country. But when the demands are so great as they are today and the going is tough, it is no longer a joy to continue playing.

“But somehow I had the satisfaction of being among the respected players in international tournaments. I couldn’t ask for more,” said Aik Mong then.

During the course of my career as a journalist in the 1980s, I had actually stumbled into Aik Mong’s office at Kumpulan Guthrie in Damansara Heights for a news story totally unrelated to badminton. It was for a business story and I was referred to him as he was then the group’s top computer analyst and had been successful in laying the foundation to clinching many top-level computer-based government contracts for his employers.

After a long absence, I got “re-connected” with Aik Mong sometime in 2012 at the annual CNY dinners thrown by Teong Hoe at Restoran Oversea in Jalan Imbi, KL. And Aik Mong was always careful with what he ate because of his medical condition.

Somehow, I got along well with him as I was able to respond to what he had to say, no matter how bizarre or twistingly philosophical the topic may be. In 2015, we got closer as I was involved in the publicity part of a birthday bash for Teh Kew San, skipper of the victorious 1967 Thomas Cup team in Penang. We continued to stay in touch via WhatsApp and we would meet occasionally whenever he had an idea to discuss as I’d happily go along as I had nothing to lose by listening to his interesting insights.

But it was in 2019 when we got really closer as Aik Mong had planned to visit another badminton great, Ng Boon Bee, in Ipoh. Boon Bee was off the radar when he retired from a coaching position at the Royal Ipoh Club. At the same time, we were also going to see Swee Leong as he had bought a gated dwelling in Ipoh and was extolling the virtues of food served in the Perak state capital. For a Penangite to sing praises of Ipoh food, we thought we had to find out.

Aik Mong with Ng Boon Bee at Tesco Ipoh

While in Ipoh, Aik Mong tried connecting with Boon Bee from two telephone numbers that he had gotten from another badminton legend, Tan Yee Khan, in Pulau Pangkor, whom he had met about two months earlier. Aik Mong struck gold when the second number was answered by Boon Bee’s wife. And we got connected with Boon Bee at Tesco Ipoh.

An amusing incident happened at the shopping mall. As I momentarily left the group while the former national team-mates caught up with old-time reminisces, it seemed that Boon Bee had asked the trio — Aik Mong, Swee Leong and Sylvia — how on earth did they get associated with a burly guy like me whom he hadn’t known at all. (Like I said, being a small fry in a big pond, I did manage to speak to Boon Bee in Ipoh at the Perak Open in 1972 but how could he, as an already famous player then, remember me, either as a player, fan or human being?)

When told that I used to play competitive badminton with Swee Leong, Boon Bee said they must be joking as I was more suited for sumo wrestling!

They all didn’t tell me this until we were in the car on our way to KL. As Aik Mong related this conversation to me, he guffawed loudly in the trademark style of his father, Cheng Hoe, a noted football and badminton official in Penang in the 1950s and 1960s.

Aik Mong and I got along even better after that Ipoh trip. We would go for occasional lunches and at one instance, we even visited Lee Guan Chong, a noted badminton player and coach from Selangor, when he was hospitalised for a heart attack at PJ’s University Hospital in early November 2019.

Sylvia Ng, Saw Swee Leong and the writer on 
KTM’s Electric Train Service (ETS)

Aik Mong, Swee Leong, Sylvia and myself had some of our best times together when we went to Penang later that month. We had travelled on the speedy Electric Train Service (ETS) operated by KTM (Malayan Railway) to Butterworth from KL Sentral and later hopped on a pre-booked taxi that took us to all the popular eating joints in Malaysia’s island food paradise. Aik Mong had joked that I needed to buy two ETS seats in view of my girth. So, two seats were bought in my name but somehow Swee Leong could squeeze in the seat next to me as he came on board from Ipoh to Butterworth. (So I wasn’t that huge after all!)

Upon reaching Penang in the late afternoon, we soon “attacked” a coffee shop in Pulau Tikus known for its sizzling mamak mee goreng (Indian Moslem fried egg noodles) and mee rebus (egg noodles cooked in spicy gravy) in Bangkok Lane. In the evening, we “cornered” another coffee shop known for char koay teow (flattened rice noodles in fish sauce fried with bean sprouts, garlic and prawns), sotong kangkong (steamed cuttlefish & water spinach mixed with sweet chilly sauce), lor bak (Chinese meat rolls) and other local goodies.

Aik Mong, Saw Swee Leong and Sylvia Ng:
Outside Jin Hoe Cafe, Aik Mong’s secret
hideout for Chinese-styled nasi lemak

We were again in Pulau Tikus at sunrise for more good stuff – this time for heh mee or prawn noodles (egg and rice noodles, bean sprouts and water spinach cooked in spicy prawn & meat broth) and apong (fermented rice pancake cooked with coconut milk) at a popular coffee shop opposite the long-standing police station. Later Aik Mong took us to his secret hideout of a coffee shop at Jalan Cantonment (also in Pulau Tikus) only known to locals for its Chinese-styled nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk and served with fried fish & pawns with a dollop of pounded red chillies mixed with prawn paste) as well as otak-otak (steamed spicy fish custard wrapped in banana leaves). They certainly brought back memories of yesteryears. Over the next two days, it was the same story – food, food, food.

But of significance was a dinner on Nov 18 where the thoughtfulness and diplomacy of Aik Mong shone through. He had wanted to throw a dinner party that included Kew San, affectionately known as “Ah Peh” (Old Man), among Penang’s close-knit badminton fraternity. Teong Khoon had picked Nov 18. Little did we know that it was also the date of his wedding anniversary.

Aik Mong ordered a cake for the occasion but soon sensed something wasn’t right as it turned out that Teong Khoon’s daughter from his first marriage had also wanted to attend the party. This definitely put Aik Mong in a tight spot.

Sylvia Ng, Aik Mong and Rosalind Singha Ang:
Three-in-one occasion – party for Teh Kew San, 
birthday for Rosalind and wedding anniversary
for Lim Teong Khoon

Amazingly he soon had a brainwave when he discovered that very day was also the birthday of Rosalind Singha Ang, another badminton great who coming all the way from Alor Setar, for the dinner. So, Rosalind got to blow the candles, then Aik Mong also announced that it was also Teong Khoon’s wedding anniversary and asked him to kiss his wife! A sticky situation was averted.

His wry sense of humour and a caring attitude will be sorely missed. Our “fireside chats” at the Jalan Macalister Airbnb late into the night about life in general and badminton specifically turned out to be some of the best times for our reflection. Aik Mong had also spoken of his rather short stint as a coach with BAM, how he had struggled to juggle between his studies and competitive badminton, and how he was living life then.

We did broach on the interesting subject on how the next Malaysian badminton great could be produced. Aik Mong’s views came in a roundabout way as he also spoke of Lee Chong Wei, Malaysia’s star player in the first two decades of the 21st century, and what he had done to achieve fame and glory. Aik Mong conceded that they came with a great price of sacrifice and sheer commitment that included long hours of toil at the gym and on-the-court training.

To put it simply, he was of the firm view that fitness is key to today’s fast-paced game. Without that, a player can’t go far because of the scoring system. We asked him how best one should attain that.

Aik Mong coolly said that if a player could skip 5,000 times a day as part of his or her training regime, then he or she would be on to something. The strokes and strategies can come later. Those words sounded like those of our Penang state schools badminton coach in the 1970s — Lawrence Barbosa!

His confidante Irene recalled that Aik Mong always took on a positive attitude all his life and emphasised that one should always look on the bright side and be happy. For instance, Aik Mong, being the doting grandfather that he was to his grandchildren in Singapore, they would always look forward to his visits because while he was there, there was no curtailment on wi-fi data or gadgets!

Aik Mong also used to say – “live life well and in the most humble way for only God is greater than us. We men are all equals.”

According to Irene, Aik Mong had confided in her that he was concerned for my well-being, especially my weight, as he felt that the demise of my wife, Amy, had affected me somewhat and hoped that I could move on. Such was the kind of concern of Aik Mong for the people he cared for.

I remember one amusing incident when I was sitting alone in a Penang cuisine restaurant in a Petaling Jaya shopping mall and was gorging myself silly over a bowl of spicy noodle soup: Aik Mong spotted me, came over to the open-style restaurant and bellowed from the aisle,”You shouldn’t be eating that!” And he laughingly cautioned me on my food intake.

I shall certainly miss Aik Mong’s sense of humour and his stimulating conversations, especially the cosy “fireside chats”. You were truly a Mahaguru, my friend. Rest well, my champ! 

• This story, originally published in mysportsflame.com, is republished with the permission of the author. Read the original here. Read more about the writer here. All photos, unless otherwise stated, are by the writer.