Thursday, March 15, 2007

Give Us a Break, Rehman!

So, What's Your Rectum?
A blog sister who goes by the name of Acciaccatura describes herself as "just a housewife, no, not desperate". Cute, I thought.
In between housework and her family -- home-making is a full-time job, thank you very much -- this talented musician finds time to log on her PC, opens her blog "Acciaccatura" and gives her 2 cents worth on things that affect her and her family.
I believe, like many other men and women in this country and beyond, she gets a great deal of satisfaction, just tapping away on the keys of her faithful computer.
Another blog sister who calls herself Ibu is a working mother who writes about her family in her blog, Cerita Ibu.
When she learnt of the contentious remarks by Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan on women bloggers, this gentlewoman, gave the minister a good dressing-down.
She said:
-- "Kepada bapak-bapak di atas sana, jangan sampai kerana pulut santan binasa.
Ingat panas sentiasa sampai ke petang ke?
Kalau ringan sangat mulut nak quote statistics on women blogging, cuba lah study our nation's latest demographics. Nanti esok kalau hujan renyai2 turun ditengahari, baru la sibuk nak memancing women bloggers punya undi?
The future voters are conceived, brought to this world, raised, nurtured and easily influenced by the "hands that rock the cradle". Don't put us down and take us for granted - employed or unemployed alike, as we still do sing to our children to sleep, since even before they were born - and if the picture you paint of us is nothing but petty, those songs we whisper to them (your future voters), ain't gonna be lullaby-baby no more.
Remember wahai Pak Menteri, behind every great man, there is a great woman. Behind every great nation, there are great women that help sustain the powers-that-be.
Ingat sebelum terlambat.
To my boys .... I don't know what the future holds. I will ask Ayah to backup all my entries externally, just in case one day in the future, we wake up only to be rudely greeted by a message on the pop up screen which says; "Opppssss! Citizen of blogosphere, sorry... talian anda tidak dapat diteruskan lagi, for the sake of national unity" --


How about that?

And another sister, Elviza runs her "Write Away" blog. She is a lawyer and she enjoys blogging, sharing her views on freedom of expression, the country's education system because it will affect a little son, Luqman, stories about her reunion with her classmates, her anxiety and enthusiasm in planning her son's birthday party and, oh...this, that and the other.
Another lawyer who goes by the nick Typhoon Sue has a blog, "Tattlerama". Sue finds time to talk about her work, her life, her family, movies and hobbies.
She will not hesitate to give her take on serious issues as well such as the segment of TV3's "Sensasi"which featured the controversial remarks by artiste Rosnah Mat Aris.
And then, of course, my dear friend, Zaharah Othman or Kak Teh of Choc-a-Blog who talks about life in general, war-time stories (which I believe she is documenting), love stories, her "sayang mama" (that's her son) and a variety of things.
Her endearing style has made her so popular and well-read. She touches everyone.
Yet, Zaharah a journalist and author, will not hesitate to give a quick take on issues for which she feels strongly about -- gender equality, for instance.
And since I lost two sisters to breast cancer, I am now tuned to Raden Galoh, a breast cancer survivor. Her blog is Onebreastbouncing.
My blog brothers include Anon fm.Miri who gives us poems, stories about his grandson, about Miri in his blog, Clemfour.
I also enjoy Zewt who is provocative, funny, hilarious, serious and very Malaysian. And Zewt is very successfully and gainfully employed.
What about Clark Gable of Pulau Duyong? I just can't seem to get enough of him.
And trust me -- he has a very good, very steady job.

This is blogosphere and I am talking about bloggers -- a subject Rehman Rashid decided to take on in his column in the NST (Tuesday, March 8).
I know Rehman. I still think I do.
But when I asked why he had made such unfair, generalised, stupid, mean and nasty remarks, I was given a "you mean you don't know Rehman?".
Here's what Rehman said of Acciaccatura, Ibu, Kak Teh, Sue, Elviza, Raden, Anon, Zewt and Clark Gable :

"The local blogosphere is the domain of life-challenged grumblestiltskins and disenfranchised pundits whose asinine maunderings only show why they should never have had day jobs in the first place.
"Rumour, inuendo, half-truths and damned lies are their stock-in-trade, and previously sacrosanct standards, principles and ethics are now laughable.
"Are they not entitled to their opinion? Of course they are, as much as everyone is entitled to ignore them. I would venture, however, that everyone has an opinion and a rectum, and not that many seem capable of telling one from the other."

But could he have meant Rocky, Jeff Ooi, Raja Petra, Sheih, Zahrin Yasin "Sang Kelembai", Ruhanie Ahmad, A Kadir Jasin, M Bakri Musa, Zorro or Tony Pua?
Oh, you know bloggers who are a pain in some people's backside?
Then again, was he directing those remarks at me, Nuraina? Perhaps, Susan Loone, Elizabeth Wong or Marina Mahathir?

All of us?
Then, I'd like to know -- really, why, Rehman?

So, Rehman, I know that it is your column. And NST encourages freedom of speech and expression. But shouldn't you be more specific? Say who you mean, brother. Simple.
It's like this -- Not all Muslims are terrorists. Not all Americans are stupid. Not all Malaysians are nice.

But, as someone said: That's just my rectum.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dearest 3540 Jalan Sudin,

Thanks Kak Ena for highlighting my beliefs and humble blog.

Over dinner last night, my non-blogging husband but who is also a lawyer gave his 2 cents on this matter.

This is what he said -

"diaorang ni (menteri2 dan suratkhabar bijaksana kita) takut. These people are unhappy and mind you they are not opposition people, they are rakyat. They are the voters, bloggers and tax payers. These people are smart. Trust me, kerajaan is making a mistake"

Silently I thank god for giving me this man. At least he doesnt say stupid things like Tg (doubtful) Adnan & Rehman!

Blog on sista!

Unknown said...

Hi Kak Ena, thank you for dropping by... I always feel connected with anyone who has experienced dealing with breast cancer or breast cancer patient...may be you share with me your experiences as a caregiver...

And I love reading your blog too..

Typhoon Sue said...

I don't know who this Rehman guy is, and I don't care to know him. But from his writing, I think he is someone who uses big words to impress people into thinking that he is actually smart. I for one, don't fall for that. In fact, I think he have problem finding his own rectum, which is why he assumes that other people have such problem.

Anonymous said...

Dear Nuraina and 3540 Jalan Sudin visitors,

Poor Rehman, I think this uncalled for and badly-timed sneer (in the wake of losing his own day job with Al-Jazz) will not only cost him whatever little credibility he still has as a writer/journo, but will also lose him a huge chunk of audience.

He will soon find out that a writer, no matter how good he is (or how good he thinks he is), is nothing without readers.

He will also find out that knowing how to discern rectums better than others is not exactly a laudable talent.

The trouble with insults, people tend to think that, like most odious things (such as matter passing through rectums), they can only come from equally disgusting source.

Anonymous said...

Well done, Nuraina, for posting a dignified response to Rehman. We are not going to demonise Rehman, he is entitled to his opinions, but we have a problem with him over his sweeping statements.

Zuraidah said...

Salam buat semua, kak dah berblog sebagai memenuhi masa lapang dan berhubung dengan sanak saudara, ipar duai menceritakan serba sedikit tentang kehidupan sebagai seorang isteri dan ibu. Hidup di tempat yang jauh dari saudara mara amat memeritkan....walaupan hanya 2 1/2 jam perjalanan melalui udara.Tak dapat selalu balik kampung macam dulu2....sekarang duit kena kumpul banyak2 baru boleh terbang....kena selalu jenguk tiket murah air asia....dan yang pastinye tidak pernah untuk berbohong dan menipu di blog.

zewt said...

Thanks Nuraina for mentioning me. I am just a simple Malaysia just like everyone else trying to put together my thoughts with words. If that amounts to lying and that we "should never have had our job in the first place"... then i think we are not meant to live at all.

strange, i vaguely remember the country was trying to promote ppl to think. perhaps that sentence is not entirely complete.

Husin Lempoyang said...

AH, Nuraina

Pitty the man, he just got himself out of an accident. Nothing severe. Just that some brain cell got severely knocked to his rectum.

syed syahrul zarizi b syed abdullah said...

More power to malaysian (women) blogger!

Orang dah pesan, jangan cuba jolok sarang tebuan.

Anonymous said...

I salute all of you bloggers who are genuinely concerned about Malaysia's future and the perils of institutionalised mediocrity. Hail Bloggers United! Blog, Malaysia Blog. Insyallah I will join you one fine day.

Unknown said...

"that everyone has an opinion and a rectum, and not that many seem capable of telling one from the other."

It is very difficult to tell an opinion from a rectum if the opinion seems to come from the rectum. So Mr Big Words Rehman the newspaper man, should stick to the old fashion way of getting his opinion to flow the natural way to his mouth, unless of course if his mouth and rectum are the same.

As for the shit-brained minister, I think he has done a good job for tourism in this country especially this being VMY2007. I heard that flight tickets to Malaysia is snapped up. Everyone is eager to see a speaking donkey.

Anyway, I hope you don't mind me creating a link from my blog to yours. I have done it already but if it upsets you let me know, I will take it off.

Unknown said...

Can I consider him like luncai moden...biarlah dia terjun dgn labu-labunya...

Let's blog, bloggers!

Kak Ena, thank you for mentioning me in your blog. I'm so moved!

Clark Gable of Pulau Duyong said...

Dear Miss NAS,

Mr Rectally Eminence Rehman Rashid
(RRR for short) has spoken.So did TA the cerebrally challenged minister(TACC).
Suddenly bloggers became a favourite punching bag for the power that be.

We must have tickle the raw nerves of these people.With blogging , the running of country , wastage of public fund and unabetted ascendency in our corruption index became public concern and discussed in open.It would take people like RRR and TACC not to see that.

Gone were the days when millions rm attained through mismanagement and corruption can be swept away or fed to the fishes.Is this the nerve that we tickle? If that is the case,so be it.

We long for the end of corruption,mismanagement of public fund and greater transparency.The concept is not alien to us all .

To stop blogging Bro and Sis bloggers ,would be unpatriotic and the unkindest cut we could do to the future generations.

I detect some sadness in blogs by our Sis bloggers when confronted with the issue.Do stand up sis,we bloggers are together in this through thick and thin.No fools going to stop us blogging.

Elly said...

I only have one thing to say to Rehman with regards to his awfully wrong generalisation of local bloggers: "I pity you."

Anonymous said...

I used to enjoy Rehman's Scorpion Tales way back when.

But after reading his unfair comment, I'm totally turned off him. TOTALLY.

It's strange isn't it, how one can expose one's true character with a single stupid act?

Rehman has just bared himself naked, and I can see that his rectum has gone to his head.

Not a good sight to see.

Pi Bani said...

You know, I just set up my own blog this month (it has only been 2 weeks)... and already I have joined the ranks of "life-challenged grumblestiltskin and disenfranchised pundit"!

To think that I set up the blog with the purpose of sharing true stories of some unfortunate people... and yet I am called a liar??

Ahh... what a warm welcome to the blogosphere.

Hmmm... do I bring bad luck or what??

Anonymous said...

hi nuraina;
nice post.
you ask could it be all of us?
to me, if someone is targeting one of us, he or she, is doing it to all of us...coz anytime it could be our turn, if we dont fight back....hmm...but then like you say...its just my rectum speaking...hahaha! but mine is a lying, cheating, rumour-mongering rectum :-)

Anonymous said...

Alhamdulillah,Kak Ena. Thank you for mentioning me. Mungkin mereka rasa terancam. He must be desperate. So pathetic!

Anonymous said...

This Rehman jerk can stick his opinion up his rectum. What a pompous twit.

Anonymous said...

Rehman had just shot himself in the foot... he deserves it.

Anonymous said...

Like former admirer, Scorpion Tales, a regular column/op-ed in the NST in the late 80s, was the piece de resistance for me and something I looked forward to every week (kinda like TWB), after so used to reading the UK's The Spectator. I particularly remember his explanation, as a marine biologist, on why turtles cry when they lay eggs which then helped me to understand the phrase "penyu menangis siapa yang tahu?". But now, rather sadly, he seems to have lost his bearing and the dignified thing to do is "kembali ke pangkal jalan".

Anonymous said...

Hi Nuraina,

You have my endorsement and support on your every word. Sock it to him rectally!

Take care. Thanks for helping out on my need for nicotine the other day. Kak Maria's mee rebus is soooomme mee rebus, tell her that for me please. Thanks, again.

Lo said...

sis

let him say what ever he wants. we will see how far he goes.

remember, many bloggers are/were journalists like him too.

Tim said...

If you go to Alexa and compare nst.com.my with xiaxue.blogspot.com...

([Link], type in "xiaxue.blogspot.com" in one of the "compare sites" boxes.)

... NST is actually dropping behind a Malaysian blog site in global hits! When more people read one blog instead of a newspaper site, maybe that's why NST is worried.

Tim said...

Oops, sorry. Xiaxue is from SG, not malaysia..

Anonymous said...

Kak,
Lets stand united and do not let that "rectum mouth" get away. From now its WAR to rectum mouth!!

Molly

tokasid said...

Salam to NAS.

Its sickening to have ministers with Pedis Oralis Megalitis and journos who are Luncai Ringgitis.

Rectum Rehman with his Scorpions Tale used to awed me with his bombastic word and sentences to opiniate his rectum.
Now he had proven he is really an assh**e or what Kedahan says:JUBOQ.

Anonymous said...

Nuraina, keep the faith.

Rehman Rashid Esq has more integrity in his little finger than most people have in their bodies. *If only he would take that rubbish he wraps himself in and throw it in the bin, then we would see that the core of the man is something quite fine.
(*I am reflecting back words he said to me 4 years ago, except that he finished the second part of the sentence with "because underneath is something quite sweet". This was 15 months before The Divorce.)

In my opinion, Rehman's tirade was not at NST's behest. This was entirely personal, aimed, me thinks, at the worst kind of celebrity-stalker blogger.

This is not the first time he has woven his personal angst into his paid column in the national press, leaving those in the know to read between the lines and for injured parties to seethe and burn because the wounds are still fresh. I have a big issue with the ethics of it all.

But like the rest of us, Rehman does not wear betrayal well. Once, I saw him bunch his fists up tightly and well with anger when I passed him by. But then I was not a friend.

The punches he threw me and the slaps he gave were always verbal -- he has little self-control in that department -- but THAT is his weapon of choice against another human being.

Make no mistake. Rehman Rashid is not a kind man. He is certainly no prince among gentlemen. His backbone is not entirely there. His integrity is not absolute.

And yes, he breaks things, smashes them sometimes, when he is filthy angry. He can behave childishly, and I've described him as a loud-mouth lout with a penchant for making a fool of himself in public.

But this I sincerely believe: He did not punch and crack his ex's skull. And mine is doing very well, thank you.

So yes, Nuraina, keep the faith.

Bloggers do not have the monopoly on hurt. Some bloggers behave like they do.

If justice is to be dispensed, let it not be flawed.

Go, scratch the dirt for answers if you must. Behave like hyenas if you must. Hold your kangaroo courts if you must. Grubby Indian women will leave the animals and those who so love their fairytales to take care of the animals.