The Queen of Domesticity made a short trip to Malaysia and was given the royal treatment with an audience with our Queen and First Lady. She might not rule a country but being the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she reigns supreme with her own empire (magazines, books, TV shows, satellite radio, home products, etc), powerful enough for our government here to think that she can promote Malaysia.
True enough, her visit here generated much buzz. With social media, Martha documents her experience via Twitter. Some of her tweets via @marthastewart include:
we loved rosmah mansor the first lady- she is doing good work with programs for children and is an active philanthropist
now we are off to melaka to see a bit of the countryside- we are in “food coma- a meal every two hours- here you are asked-have you eaten?
I am signing the Queen’s guest book in the summer palace while the Queen looks on. http://twitpic.com/1phj8z
Rice patties for miles north of Kuala Lumpur, the “rice basket” of Malaysia http://yfrog.com/3zs25pj
we are in kota kinabalu- the night market is directly across the street-great food hawkers-odd food stuffs-dinner of fresh seafood
Via her blog, Stewart writes, “As you may know, I am presently traveling in Malaysia, having been invited here by Tourism Malaysia, who wanted me to see this extraordinary country and experience the fascinating culture and the delicious cuisine.”
I think that most will ask: Is the government actually paying Miss Stewart to visit Malaysia? If so, how much? I had that question in mind when it was announced Martha will visit Malaysia a few months ago. It is really unfortunate to have a foreigner to promote our country (where is our country’s brand ambassadors?) but then again, Martha Stewart is an icon.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much coverage from the international media of her visit here but with her strong reach via her 2 million followers on Twitter and those that follows her blog religiously, it will educate those that might not even know where in the world Malaysia is. They get a chance to experience Malaysia and it might also correct what misconception they have of our country.
Perhaps the government should invite Oprah Winfrey!! I’ll stalk her if she visits Malaysia. Just kidding.
What do you think? Do we need more international icons to promote Malaysia??
ARE WE READY FOR 1MALAYSIA AND MORE YASMIN AHMAD-LIKE MOVIES?
The whole of Malaysia and probably some parts of the world by now, must have already heard of a recent call by a certain ‘princess’ party to ban the production of horror films in Malaysia. Reason given? ‘Horror films could weaken the faith of Muslims in the country.’
I’m not a fan of horror movies and I must say, in fact, I detest horror films because my imaginations tend to run a little wild after the movie and it has its effects on me. My first horror film (which I had to watch from start till end) was ‘Scream’, where I had no choice because it was a film shown in lecture class back when I was in Perth taking Film Studies. We had to write and give our thoughts on the movie after that. Ever since then, I needed night lights and some music to accompany me to sleep. I watched One Missed Call (forced by my boyfriend!) and I had a phobia of TV cameras for quite a while (I was a TV journalist and apparently, according to that film, the lenses & televisions in broadcasting studios can capture images of ghosts and spirits). I accidentally saw a bit of Shutter, and I was afraid of looking at rear view mirrors while driving at night.
Susuk
That was how much horror films influenced me and while I may feel like supporting the ban of horror film productions (I must admit, I haven’t seen a local horror film!), I also felt that there were plenty of fans who would be extremely disappointed by such a call. Horror films, for some reason, are extremely popular in Asian countries and it’s the one genre which Asians, such as Japan, Thailand, Korea and the Philippines, do better than the West, hence the remake of Ju-On, The Ring, Shutter, Dark Water and so on.
Malaysia on the other hand, have had several horror hits and if I recall properly, amongst some of the latest were Jangan Pandang Belakang, Susuk, Orang Minyak, Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam and a popular TV series shown in ntv7, Seekers. Coming from the industry, I’ve also heard of the ‘untold’ behind the scene ghost stories which fell on either the crew members, actors and actresses during production. The horror genre, indeed, is a money-making industry on its own thus I’m not surprised if many are to disagree with the motion of forbidding our local movie producers to come up with more horror stories.
Shutter
When the call for the ban of local horror productions came, the first few thoughts I had in mind were “What? Are we that weak? Oh wait..they said ‘Muslims’, so that doesn’t refer to me. Hey, then what about me? Is my religious faith that strong? Oh no, I’m not a true Buddhist, I eat beef and I seldom visit the temple to pray! I only know the basic of the most basic incantations! But how can local horror films make me lose my faith anyway? And I do pray harder after accidentally watching horror trailers which comes out of nowhere on TV!” I tried to think from the party’s point of view. I tried to put myself in their shoes and wondered how they came out with such an idea. However, I drew a blank. Unless like me, they’re not fans of horror films either and while they can’t stop the international film producers from making horror films, they’ll make our local producers stop. At least, that means lesser horror films right?
Ju-On
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not mocking the idea, but I’m trying to understand the call for the ban. There has to be a reason and while some believed that it’s just a distraction to sidetrack at least a quarter of Malaysians and most importantly, the media, away from raising more political issues, there may be a deeper reason to that. Although I still don’t get it till today. The two main questions I have in mind by the end of the day are: Do Malaysian Muslims need that much ‘protection’ from the Government? How about me, a Chinese Buddhist? Is the Government going to enforce various rules to ‘protect’ me too? I use the word ‘protect’ because it’s not a choice that the people have; its enforcement. It’s almost like parents telling their child what they can or cannot do, and if you disobey, you will get punished (as a kid, u get spanked but as you grow, you get fined, go to jail or get the big rotan). Granted, rules and laws are made to keep some order in the country but there’s a thin line on whether a law is made to serve a good purpose or is misused to clamp down on the freedom we have as individuals. Moreover, further questions will ensue especially if the law is meant to serve only to a certain race or religion and this move is especially popular in Malaysia (first alcohol, now horror films).
Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam
After giving it more thoughts, I wondered bout their reason again, ‘Horror films could weaken the faith of Muslims in the country.’ So if it’s a local Chinese/Indian horror filmed in Mandarin/Cantonese/Tamil/Hindi aimed at the Chinese/Indian community? Would it still be banned? Maybe like the sale of liquor, they’d check the I/Cs before entering the cinemas? That’s a far fetched thought but I’m not surprised that it will materialize IF and only IF the proposed ban is accepted. Heck, the next ban I foresee? Romance films..no local remake of Twilight, that’s for sure! Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan are just too much for our local viewers. Probably explains why our local film industry has nowhere to go but down since they can’t, or are too afraid to approach ‘controversial’ films with violence, horror and romance.
The Ring
It seems, to me, our local filmmakers are pushed to do more movies following the steps of Disney’s cartoons and animations or comedy though it’s going to be really tough since we’re competing with the best of the best Hollywood CGI technology and comedians. Even the popular late Yasmin Ahmad is hailed as a controversial director and that being said, not everyone can relate to her film because majority of the movie-goers watch movies for entertainment and not for more deep thinking or self reflection. The countless number of times I had heard people saying ‘I don’t understand her film’ or ‘her films are so slow and boring’ show that the majority of Malaysians need to be educated to appreciate beautiful cinematography. It’s not too late to save our (un)dying film industry, though I do see less local productions now (no sponsor, no budget! Lack of good talents, good scripts and production technology). Most consider horror films to be in the lower budget category thus I’m sure we will be seeing more horror films to come. This is definitely not the last of Jin Notti – Jangan Notti Notti!
THIS IS NOT A JOKE! LET’S INTRODUCE THE POLICY AND SEE IF IT WORKS
1Toilet to bring students and teachers closer?
The state government of Terengganu will introduce a 1Toilet policy to encourage a sense of oneness between students and teachers.
I do not know how to react. Should I laugh after reading the news article, treating it as some joke? Should I take this policy as a noble cause to create a sense of “oneness”, or my all-time “togetherness”?
I did not study in the local school so I do not know the relationship between students and teachers in the classroom. The following quote, however, got me thinking:
“When students share the toilets with the teacher, they (students) will believe that they are on par with academicians and this automatically invokes a sense of being important to an organisation, which, in this case, is the school,” said State Education, Higher Learning, Human Resource, Science and Technology Committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman in The Star.
The policy will also encourage teachers and students to sit in a common place at the school canteen during recess. How can sharing the toilet or canteen space promote a sense (or feeling) of being on par with academicians? Will students go, “Oh wow, I share the toilet with my teacher. I feel important now. Look at me!”
When I was in school, the last time I wanted was to hangout with my teachers (but I am all grown-up now and some are them are on my Facebook list and we are FRIENDS!). If you are a 13-year-old or 17-year-old, do you want to hangout with your teachers?
Then again, I have a great relationship with each of my teachers. I was lucky enough to be educated in the international schools, where on average, there’s only 15 students (maximum) per class. During our classes, we learn (of course we do!) but at the same time, we still “mingle” with the teacher during our class. It was fun, personable and interactive.
So, the moral of the story is… start a healthy interaction between students and teachers in the classroom. There’s no need for students and teachers to wait during toilet breaks and recess to mingle. I do believe that students need proper guidance and a teacher is a great role model to follow. Then again, teachers should also lead by example and getting the best from their students. If a student is already having an inferiority complex feeling in the classroom, how can he/she invoke a sense of importance with the 1Toilet policy?
Beyonce skipped Malaysia in 2007, but will be making her stage debut in this Muslim-dominated country on October 25 for her “I Am…” world tour. This is definitely great news for her fans in this part of the world.
As Malaysians are all geared up to watch this “If I Were a Boy” singer strut her moves, more dramas are unfolding. Two years ago she skipped Kuala Lumpur because of strict guidelines, and performed instead in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. This time, Beyonce promises to cover up for her Malaysian fans, but an Islamic student group doubts the multiple award-winning singer will follow Malaysia’s strict dress-code guidelines and calls for a ban to prevent the R&B diva from performing.
The group secretary general of the National Union of Malaysian Islamic Students was quoted in a local daily saying: “We doubt whether she will obey the 15.2 and 15.3 codes set by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission while performing.” Both codes deal with attire, appearance, and behavior of performers.
Although more conservative Malaysians are calling for a ban on this “bootylicious” singer, the younger and more modern crowd is looking forward to the concert.
Yes, Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, with the majority of its population Muslim Malays. However, Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. Above all, we Malaysians are as modern as we are traditional. We uphold our traditional cultures and values as much as we worship pop culture.
By “we” I refer to the generation with access to the internet and cable television – MTV Asia, Channel V, CNN, Channel E! and other channels at the flip of the remote control. We are a unique breed, greatly influenced by globalization and the effect of Westernization. Just like our Western peers, we love McDonald’s, KFC, and Starbucks, just as much as we like to eat at the street-side cafes and Mamak stalls. Most of us depend greatly on our Blackberrys and iPods. We know the difference between Gucci, Zara, Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo (by the way, he is Malaysian!). Twitter and Facebook are just a click away.
Walk downtown at Bintang Walk and you will see us dressing just like our Western counterparts, but perhaps in a less revealing way. There are Muslims wearing the headscarf but still looking very chic. Very rarely will you see a woman wearing the burqa, which covers everything except the eyes.
Our easy access to pop culture via the internet and cable TV allows us to be entertained by great international artistes and performers. We have our own line-up of great local music acts, but opportunities to attend concerts performed by big names such as Beyonce are rare. Many prefer to skip Malaysia for neighboring Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore simply because there are no strict guidelines there.
“Hey, Beyonce is finally coming to Malaysia,” a group of us yelled as we heard the news, rushing to get tickets before they sell out like hot cakes. Her name is huge in Malaysia; even a five-year-old I know knows how to dance to the beat of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”. That just shows how popular and influential she is here. Previously, Avril Lavigne, the Pussycat Dolls, the Black Eyed Peas and Gwen Stefani have performed here and adhered to the strict rules.
“Morality” is always cited by Islamic youth groups who want to ban foreign acts from performing in Malaysia. While I agree that foreign artists must tone down their acts to respect the local culture and customs, there should not be a call to ban these great entertainers. “The West” and “Hollywood” are always blamed for “corrupting” the minds of the younger generation. But who has the power to say what is right and what is wrong? Why are we at the mercy of the judgments of a group that might have its own agenda? If we want to talk about morality, there are many issues in this country that need a little clean-up.
Beyonce is a huge star here and most of us are looking forward to her concert. We’ve bought her CDs and we want to watch her on stage on our home soil. It is unfortunate that her alter ego Sasha Fierce must tone down her act, but let the show go on and entertain us!
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My confused brother who is unfortunately born Malaysian thus he's known as La La when he dresses the Japan fashion! Is Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan the Land of La La's? Looks that way now!
I allowed my younger brother who is 19-years-old to dye his hair medium brown as base colour, and light brown as highlight sometime early this year. It was ‘fashion’ to us, but he came home confused and upset when his friends called him ‘La La-zhai’.
I was slightly shocked because I dyed my hair in so many various colours in my life and no one had ever called me a ‘La La’ or ‘Ah Lian’; in fact, some say I’m so ‘Westernised’. So how come, when it comes to my brother’s generation, brown hair dyes have been included in the ‘La La’ category?
To those who don’t know, Ah Beng is a stereotype of Chinese men who lack cultural refinement, particularly known in Singapore and Malaysia. They often get into fights and have a lack of fashion taste. The Ah Bengs are often coupled with the Ah Lians, the Chinese women who also lack cultural refinement and both the Ah Bengs and the Ah Lians speak Manglish or Singlish. Ah Beng and Ah Lian are terms in the Hokkien dialect whereas they are known as ‘La La’ in Cantonese, whereby the male would be ‘La La-zhai’ and the females ‘La La-mui’. Oh, and La La-mui or Ah Lian takes pictures posing with a ‘V for Victory’ sign as well as cute (Japanese) poses using their fingers and pouting their lips. Yes…such discrimination exists!
So if these La La’s lack fashion sense, lack cultural refinement and speak or write bad English, how would you categorise a person who have a preference towards Asian fashion sense, is culturally educated (polite, knows how to eat with fork & knife, respect the elders, appreciates good music blab la bla) and speaks not perfect, but acceptably good English?
Fashion, admittedly, is extremely subjective. What I find fashionable may not be of your taste and what you find fashionable may be not acceptable by another person with a different perspective of what he or she finds trendy. So how does a typical Ah Beng dress and behave? Well, to my understanding…unless the ‘conditions’ of an Ah Beng has changed…is that they’re dressed in worn out or torn jeans (which at one point was considered fashion even by New Yorkers), tight shirts (body hugging, don’t ask me why), slippers, dyed blond hair (the whole head!), with probably a sunglasses on the head and speaks very loudly to grab every one’s attention.
Highly fashionable in Japan yet when any Chinese Malaysian or Singaporean copy them, they automatically fall into the La La trap
My brother on the other hand, is as quiet as a mouse, is Japan fashion-influenced (so yea, cutting edge jeans, small ties as accessory and the occasional silver pendant with black band are some of his fashion toys but no body hugging shirts), has a liking for dying his hair brown and wears shoes all the time (hates slippers unless he’s going to pasar malam because he doesn’t want to spoil his oh so beautiful Zara shoes). The only similarity I can see between him and an Ah Beng? Probably his dyed hair and Asian fashion sense. 2 somewhat similarity out of…so many other criteria, and he is branded as an Ah Beng. Huh?? Does that mean that every other Asian artist is living in La La Land? Has the definition of Ah Beng, Ah Lian or La La changed over time? And what’s the difference between Asian fashion and Western fashion anyway??
Highly fashionable in Japan yet when any Chinese Malaysian or Singaporean copy them, they automatically fall into the La La trap
Maybe I’m outdated but if there is a new definition to the La La’s, I hope that someone can enlighten me. I noticed that the college boys nowadays certainly do not put in any effort to dress fashionably, unlike my brother who is extremely fashion conscious to some point he’s almost (I say almost because he still has disgusting habits as a male species) a metrosexual. He enjoys a free facial once and he loved it, he cares about how he looks, and he knows what branded items he wants be it for fashion or beauty.
I took him shopping at Zara and Pull and Bear in One Utama and he loved both shops. Yet, most would have thought he shopped at Asian Avenue, Sunway Pyramid, well-known as La La Land (although it’s clearly stated there that it is Asian High Street Fashion) among the college kids nowadays. When he showed me photos of his friends, I realized that most of them are either in plain blue regular cut jeans or Bermuda shorts, sport shoes, a T-Shirt…and that’s it. Your basic American or British boy. No accessories, they’ve probably shopped for sneakers and buttoned shirts. Or they’re safe keeping them for ‘special occasions’ only.
La La or not La La? Wait...they can't be La La, they're Mat Salleh!
Either way, it seems to me that people who are bias towards Japan and Hong Kong fashion are La La’s whereas people who follow the Western fashion norm are considered ‘normal’. Erm…helloooo….fashionable New Yorkers, Los Angeles and Las Vegas also accept and pursue Japanese fashion and vice versa…so who’s the La La now? Is my vision of the La La still valid today? Will the real Ah Bengs, Ah Lians and the entire La La community please stand up?
