Monday, March 26, 2012

Friends In Need Are Friends Indeed

A Kadir Jasin

(If you are commenting “anonymously”, please state your name/pseudonym at the beginning and end of your comment. Thank you.)

ON Friday March 23, we buried Mazlan Nordin. The Tan Sri died a day earlier at the University of Malaya Medical Centre. He was 86.

That meant not many of his contemporaries were left to pay him the last respect. About the only one present was journalist-turned-hotelier H.M.Shah, who is 90 and was Mazlan’s boss at the Utusan Melayu newspaper group.

Others were his colleagues like Zainuddin Maidin aka Zam and Kamarul Ariffin. Zam succeeded Mazlan as Utusan’s editor-in-chief and later chairman. Kamarul was also once the group’s chairman. Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak and former Finance Minister, Daim Zainuddin (Tun) also paid their last respect.

I counted among Mazlan’s pupils and colleagues. Others included Rejal Arbee, Ahmad A Talib, Abdul Rahman Sulaiman, Safar Hashim and Azman Ujang.

I first met Mazlan in the second half of 1969 when I joined Bernama. He went on to become Bernama’s editor-in-chief and later chairman. He was a kind person and a thoughtful boss. Working under him made you feel equal.

He was an uncontroversial person, always able to steer clear of partisan politics despite helming some of the most politicised media organisations in the country.

His death is a lost to Malaysian journalism, most notably to bilingualism. He was the last of the bilingual writer of his generation, at ease with both the Malay language and English.

It is sad that fewer and fewer such journalists, writers and editors are being created these days. Most of the younger journalists, writers and editors are either conversant in the Malay language or English.

Not too long ago, I also lost another journalism teacher – Dame Christine Cole Catley. She died in her home country New Zealand last November at the age of 89.

To her too, I owe a debt of gratitude. She was one of my teachers at the Wellington Polytechnic in 1970/71 when I was there on the Colombo Plan Scholarship. I met her again some 20 years later when the class 1970/71 had a gathering in Wellington.

It was she who noticed that Hashim Makaruddin (now Tan Sri and Chairman of the Utusan Melayu Berhad) and I were a bit too advanced for the journalism course she was teaching. Intuitively, she sent us out to “work” with country newspapers and live with Kiwi families.

She sent us out to work with such newspapers in far-flung places in the beautiful country, which in more recent times was made famous worldwide as the Middle Earth in the movie version of Tolkin’s trilogy.

I worked for Levin Chronicle, where worm infestation of the season’s lambs was a big story and the Wanganui Herald, where I was introduced and fell in love with printer’s ink.

At midmorning every day, my news editor, the late George Abbot, made me wait at the printing presses for the first copies of the paper and rushed them to him and other senior staff.

It was while staying with the family of an Anglican priest in Levin that I said my first dinnertime grace. Only years later that “doa makan” became fashionable with Muslims in Malaysia.

It was these old time journalists and editors that gave the newsrooms their life and flavour and, not to mention, colourful expletive-filled language. Sadly, today’s newsrooms are stiff and sterile and lacking the robustness of a creative environment.

Mazlan and Dame Christine were among the people to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude. I also owe debt of gratitude to journalism luminaries like the late Abdul Samad Ismail (Tan Sri) and Lee Siew Yee (Tan Sri) and fellow journalists like late Mohd Nordin Sopiee, Rejal and Ahmad Sebi. Their guidance and camaraderie made what I am today. Alfatihah and thank you.

12 comments:

yoko ono said...

nice piece.i owe my confusion to tun mahathir.i m 51 yrs old.i can't believe his two sons or was it all three are billionaires.he started out with bersih,cekap dan amanah.

that guy confuses me.

Anonymous said...

salam datuk,

Rumpelstiltskin

Firstly, al fatihah.

This is a touching story of an old era. I wish datuk or friends of the same era would one day write a book about past experiences and hand down valuable wisdom to future generations.

Believe me datuk, Gen Ys these days are oblivious of how things were 20, 30 years ago.

I also call upon the powers that be to consider making films/ telemovies from old patriotic novels. Not too far back as Hang Tuah, Left Adnan etc but of our times like Aziz Jahpin's Pulanglah Perantau. How many young Malays these days truly understands the struggle against communism in the 60‘s and 70's.

I know patriotism/ nationalism no longer have a big impact on youths these days. Thanks partly to politicians who milked them for their own interests and popularity. However, we cant allow a void in history for the next generation. Otherwise, there will be others who will rewrite history and fill the void with lies. Already we see people trying to rewrite the 13th May 1969 history.

I hope datuk and friends of the same generation can lead on this effort. We are running out of time.

Rumpelstiltskin

mekyam said...

Al-Fatihah to TS Mazlan Nordin!

Anonymous said...

Alfatihah semoga Allah SWT menempatkan rohnya bersama-sama mereka yang beramal soleh.

Hamba Allah.

awang batuburok said...

Salam sejahtera semua,

Sebesar mana pangkat dan kuasa yg ada pada diri kita didunia ini , ia adalah amanah dan pinjaman sementara sahaja untuk waktu yg cukup singkat (masa berlalu begitu pantas...)

Yang lebih penting ialah sebesar mana sumbangan kita kpd usaha untuk mendaulatkan agama, bangsa dan negara, bukannya sebesar mana gelaran dan pujian yg diberikan sesama manusia.

Wallah-u-a'lam.

Anonymous said...

OrangBaruLahir

Dengan izin Dato' -

Thank you for the piece, as long as there is someone that will maintain the blog, the piece that you had written will always be available as a valuable archive, ready to be researched by those that will come and follow in the footstep of those that had gone earlier.

Patah tumbuh, mudah-mudahan juga yang hilang akan berganti, akan ada yang akan meneruskan perjuangan penulisan Melayu dan penulisan bangsa Malaysia yang masih tidak mengesankan walaupun terdapat banyak KERUSI yang telah disediakan demi meneruskan perkembangan penulisan sejarah perkembangan bangsa ini.

There are people who have help shaped the ever growing numbers of HIGHWAY in the country... they leave behind them, the intricate roadways that connect the nation, BUT much valuable than that are the people who help to shaped the character of the nation with their writings, their thought and ideas, balancing the need to remember the past but at the same time always mindful, that what they write will someday will define the future.

May there be someone that will take up the mantle with magnamity, humbleness and stubborness to make this a great nation, as those that had done in the past.

OrangBaruLahir

Anonymous said...

Aslkum Dakj

Bila Tun Ismail TPM meninggal pd 1973saya rasa sayu dan sedih kerana terkenang jasanya.

Bila Tun Razak pula meninggal pd 1976 sekali lagi saya rasa kehilangan pemimpin Melayu yg bersih dan iklas menolong melayu.

Tak pernah rasanya org mengungkit2 keaiban kedua2 mereka.

Setiap kali berlaku kematian dikalangan org besar2 tak kira raja, PM, menteri, Tun, Tan Sri maupun Dato Sri saya terfikir belum pernah ada manusia yg dpt lari atau terlepas dari nyawa mereka dicabut oleh hamba Allah yg bernama malaikat maut.

Tak kira ketua polis, ketua hakim, pengerusi SPR, ketua SPRM, dan penyamun tarbus manapun jangan fikir anda boleh terlepas dari kematian.

Di manakah manusia2 hebat spt Hakim Agustine Paul, Ariffin Jaka dan peguam negara Mohtar Abdullah sekarang ni?

Beruntung lah org yg bertaubat twrutama kalau dah berumur lebih 80 tahun.

Doa dan alfatihah buat roh org Islam yg baik2 sewaktu hidupnya.

Din Klang

raja2u said...

ASSALAMUALAIKUM.
YBhg Dato' dan Pembahas yang saya hormati. Allahyarham TS Mazlan dan Mendiang Christin telah berjaya melatih Dato' sebagai seorang wartawan yang bertanggunjawab mendidik anakbangsa untuk meluahkan isi hati dimasa yang sangat mencabar ini. Walaupun ada pihak yang tidak senang dengan pendapat sesetengah pembahas Dato' masih berjaya mempertahankan kebebasan seseorang mengeluarkan pendapat dengan beberapa syarat yang manusabah. Tahniah,

Raja Abdul Rahman bin Raja Mohammad Dain,
Pencetus Strategic Vision
Petaling Jaya

Lahuma said...

Dato.

Al Fatihah dan semoga Roh Allahyarham di cucuri Rahmat.


Begitulah perjalanan hidup kita yg pasti berakhir dgn mengadap Allah kembali.

Patah tumbuh hilang perlu diganti agar bidang yg diasas oleh Allahyarham terus berfungsi dan memberi menafaat pada rakyat.

Apalah kiranya pihak kerajaan yang ada hari ini dapat mengabadikan nama Allahyarham mana mana tempat yg wajar dgn sumbangannya .

Banyak tempat boleh diabadikan seperti sekolah.bangunan,jalan,dewan, dan sebagainya.

Kita perlu didik jenerasi kini agar terus menghargai jasa tokoh terdahulu.Hubungan kasih sayang dan mesra antara satu jenerasi dgn jenerasi yg terdahului adalah nilai-nilai yg kian rapuh dan luntur dalam zaman serba haru biru ini.

Terima kasih Dato.

Zack said...

Al Fatihah buat Allahyarham TS Mazlan Nordin. Semoga roh beiau dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama para-para salihin. Pemergian beliau bukan sahaja satu kehilangan besar kepada dunia kewartawanan tetapi titik beralihnya sebuah era.

umar said...

Journalism is a career.Every newbie wants to be promoted to the highest post as the managing editor.
Once there, you have to be serving the interest of your pay-master or owners of the paper.
It is different life for editors of sports, entertainment, fashion, features etc.
However, the political editors are the ones first shown the exit door or ISA when the going gets tough.
I miss Sri Delima of the 80s.
Adibah Amin wrote well in english as well as in Malay. How is she now ? Please do not forget the dieing breed.

A KADIR JASIN said...

Sdr Umur,

I have myself not seen Kak Abib (as we her juniors fondly call her) for a long while.

She's not well. Age catches up with all of us eventually.

Yes, she's a gem of a writer. Writes beautifully in both Malay and English.

I first came to know (and fall in love) with her through the 1960's radio show called Kebun Pak Awang.

She later became my boss when she was editing the Berita Harian and I contributed a weekly economic column called Nota Ringgit.

I was informed that Kak Azah Aziz (Pak Ungku AZIZ's wife) is also not well.

We pray.

Thank you.

About Me

My photo
I was born in 1947 in Kedah. I came from a rice farming family. I have been a journalist since 1969. I am the Editor-in-Chief of magazine publishing company, Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd. I was Group Editor NST Sdn Bhd and Group Editor-in-Chief of NSTP Bhd between 1988 and 2000. I write fortnightly column “Other Thots” in the Malaysian Business magazine, Kunta Kinte Original in Berita Harian and A Kadir Jasin Bercerita in Dewan Masyarakat. Books: Biar Putih Tulang (1998), Other Thots – Opinions & Observations 1992-2001 (2001), The Wings of an Eagle (2003), Mencari Dugalia Huso (2006), Damned That Thots (2006), Blogger (2006), PRU 2008-Rakyat Sahut Cabaran (2008), Komedi & Tragedi-Latest in Contemporary Malaysian Politics (2009) and Membangun Bangsa dengan Pena (2009).