Minggu turns 46!...

Thank you to all that wish me happy birthday today.

Yep, I am officially 46 years old and still a long 14 years years to retirement.

Well, what a memorable number 45 that was most colourful.

Send across the border to Thailand as correspondent. Then running from tear gas, shootings, bombs, elections, military coup, missing plane that remained a mystery, the traffic jam that make KL look like nothing.

But of course what a nightlife.. the girls are beautiful but the ladyboys are even more beautful, the food amazing but can be challenging sometime, the people are friendly, although the red tape sometime testing patient, the alcohol is cheap although you cannot have them during certain time of the day,

the massage are cheap although many people especially from Malaysia always assuming them to be a naughty place,which not all of them are, the casino are cheap , just go to poipet to enjoy 50 sen roulette, the beach are beautiful with all the bikinis and best of all no raids that could spoil the fun..

So anyone coming to Thailand I hope you have amazing time as me

and now another year.. hopefully as much fun and more and more and more .. .. kind of making me greedy ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee...

Our weekly coordination meeting among the various departments this morning was exceptionally ‘aromatic’ on this global-celebrated International Coffee Day.  Editor-in-Chief Datuk Zulkefli Salleh, in his opening remarks, took the initiative to briefly explain the history of coffee that has now become a big business. 

Whether you favour espresso, americanos, lattes or cappuccinos; iced, decaf, instant or filter – Coffee Day is the day to savour and appreciate your beverage.

Coffee Day marks the long history of the drink: the properties of coffee beans are thought to have first been discovered in Ethiopia. The beans are actually the pits found in the coffee berry or cherry. The story goes that a 9^th century goat herder noticed their stimulating effects on his goats and began experimenting.

Coffee drinking was originally popularised in the Arab world from around the 15^th century spreading across Asia then to Italy and across Europe and to the Americas.

Coffee has also inspired a story, written by an unknown author, which has frequently been cited to describe life. Here goes:

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Resepi Kak Mas sebagai wartawan ekonomi...

Jika tidak kerana bekas Editor Eksekutif Perkhidmatan Berita Ekonomi (PBE), Encik K.C.Leong, bakat dan kebolehan Puan Massita Ahmad sebagai wartawan ekonomi mungkin terpendam.

Ketika datang ke Bernama untuk ‘mencuba nasib’ setelah mendapat panggilan temuduga kerja pada tahun 2001, beliau menjangkakan  jawatan di bahagian jualan.

“Ketika itu Encik K.C. Leong melihat background saya dalam bidang kewangan dan bertanyakan sama ada saya bersedia diletakkan di Meja Ekonomi, Kak Mas rasa sebelah kaki dah masuklah ni, jadi Kak Mas terimalah kerana Kak Mas tak memilih kerja ketika itu,” katanya dalam rancangan “Bersama Wartawan” yang diterajui Wan Yuzaini Wan Yahya menerusi Radio Bernama 24 pagi ini.

Bermula detik itu, anak jati Teluk Intan berkelulusan Diploma in Investment Analysis dari Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM) dan Sarjana Muda Pentadbiran Perniagaan dengan kepujian dari universiti yang sama menjadi wartawan sehinggalah kini dinaikkan pangkat sebagai Penolong Pengarang Meja Berita PBE.

Dengan membahasakan dirinya sebagai Kak Mas, ingatannya masih segar ketika melaporkan diri untuk bertugas pada 3 September 2001.

“Ketika itu, ada SEA Games, saya masuk newsroom tapi sunyi, tak ada orang...saya tertanya-tanya ini pejabat apa.

“Adalah seorang dua wartawan dan saya perkenalkan diri dan ketika itu, Kak Mas bernasib baik diletakkan di bawah, (sekarang Datuk) Yong (Soo Heong) dan editor Encik Mikhail (Raj Abdullah), merekalah yang beri penerangan serba sedikit…oh baru saya tahu, jadi wartawan rupanya,” katanya .

Beliau berkata walaupun tiada latarbelakang dalam bidang penulisan tetapi dari segi terma-terma ekonomi, tidaklah menjadi masalah.

“Cuma ambil masa juga untuk menghasilkan berita, gaya penulisan, jadi kena banyak membacalah, apa in-house style Bernama…itulah cabarannya,” kata beliau yang memulakan kerjaya dengan CIMB securities Sdn Bhd, sebuah firma broker saham pada  tahun 1997 dan 1998 setelah memperolehi diploma.

Apabila berlaku krisis kewangan, Massita berhenti daripada CIMB Securities untuk menyambung pelajaran sehingga memperolehi ijazah sarjana muda pada tahun 2000.

“Masa tu ekonomi tak pulih sepenuhnya, tak boleh nak pilih kerja sangat…setahun juga Kak Mas buat bermacam kerja, jadi guru sementara, purchasing officer…,” katanya.

Setelah menyertai Bernama, beliau mengambil masa antara tiga hingga empat bulan untuk mengetahui gaya penulisan berita ekonomi.

“Kalau nak tahu, wartawan ini kita tengok berita, kita tahu tulisan siapa walaupun tak tengok nama penulisnya..tambahan sekarang, Kak Mas tengok berita adik-adik ni, Kak Mas dah tahu siapa yang tulis,” katanya.

Mengenai tugas harian, beliau berkata liputan PBE “sama sahaja sebenarnya” dengan berita am dan lain-lain.

“Cuma kita ini ada beberapa pasaran yang perlu kita hasilkan berita…pasaran saham, komoditi, komodoiti itu pula terbahagi kepada minyak sawit mentah, tin (timah) dan sekaranag pasaran emas, setiap hari ada laporan dan rotation (penggiliran tugas) setiap minggu dan mereka (wartawan) perlu ada contact yang bagus,” katanya..

“Sebenarnya tidak ada sesuatu yang harus digeruni lagipun contact kita telah kita bina dan hanya perlu meneruskan hubungan dengan baik

“Kitapun berkongsi, tidaklah kita biarkan junior kita terkial-kial mencari contact, oleh itu hubungan baik itu diteruskan,” katanya..

“Laporan ekonomi ini biasanya 90 peratus dalam bahasa Inggeris tetapi ianya sangat straightforward dan tidak ada apa yang perlu digusarkan, malahan rata-rata yang dah masuk itu tak nak keluar pulak (dari Meja Ekonomi),” katanya.

Beliau juga ditanya mengenai pengalamannya membina ‘contact’ terutama dengan bekas Presiden Bursa Saham Malaysia, Allahyarham Datuk Salleh Majid.

“Sebenarnya saya melihat dia ada kolum dalam Utusan Malaysia, jadi mengapa Utusan Malaysia sahaja yang dapat seorang tokoh yang hebat…satu hari saya memberanikan diri mencari contact number dia, bermula dengan email.

“Allahyarham bukan senang nak bina contact dengan dia, dia akan bertanya supaya dia tahu apa subjek yg dibincangkan dan kita faham,” katanya.

“Ada beberapa soalan (yang saya berikan) dan dia bagi contact number dan berlangsunglah interviu, masa itu 2008…kemudian tak susah mendapat beliau, pada bila-bila masa jika perlu untuk mendapat  reaksi apabila ada pengumuman kerajaan lebih–lebih lagi mengenai pasaran saham.

Menurutnya, Allahyarham seorang yang teliti dan  wartawan yang mahu bertanyakan soalan, haruslah mengetahui subjek berkenaan.

Ketika ditanya mengenai permintaan editornya untuk menulis balasungkawa (obituary) bagi Allahyarham, beliau berkata:

“Kak Mas ingat tarikhnya 2 Januari 2012, hari Ahad apabila editor Kak Mas, Encik Mikhail call dan tanya sama ada saya dah dengar, saya terkejut apabila dia kata your friend Datuk Salleh telah meninggal dan dia nak saya tulis obituary.

“Sambil tulis, saya menangis sebab Kak Mas memang ada nak hubungi dia tapi dia tak jawab, tak berapa tahu dia sakit (walaupun)  fizikal  nampak dia uzur… sebulan Kak Mas cuba contact dia, tapi dia tak jawab, selalu tu cepat aja, rupa-rupanya dia sakit dan tahu-tahu aja dah tak ada,” katanya.

Antara tulisannya mengenai Allahyarham ialah harapan Allahyarham untuk mengesyorkan kepada kerajaan supaya membina bursa saham Islam tetapi tidak kesampaian.

“Untuk itu juga arwah Datuk interviu Kak Mas sama ada  Kak Mas boleh membantu dia menjadi part of the team,…yalah tak ada siapa yang boleh Kak Mas  jadikan saksi (mengenai perkara ini),” katanya.

Seorang lagi tokoh yang sangat membantu beliau sebagai ‘contact’ ialah Pengarah Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Negara Manokaran Mottain, yang memberikan beliau berita-berita eksklusif.

“Kita di Bernama, tak boleh simpan berita, jika ada pengumuman kerajaan, apa yang berlaku di luar negara, kita perlu mendapatkan reaksi segera, ini yang Kak Mas selalu tekankan kepada wartawan muda bahawa mereka mesti ada sekurang-kurangnya dua atau tiga contact yang boleh dihubungi pada bila-bila masa untuk  memberikan input dan reaksi,” katanya.

Ketika ditanya sama ada mereka yang berminat menjadi wartawan ekonomi perlu ada asas kewangan, beliau berkata sebaik-baiknya begitulah.

“Apabila terma-terma itu mudah difahami, orang kata we have won one half of the battle …adik-adik yang fresh masuk kita perlu explain apa dia earning per share, profit before tax, dividend, kat situ pun dah mengambil masa untuk mereka faham, belum lagi mengenai gaya penulisan,” katanya.

“Biasanya Kak Mas tekanan selepas kita buat berita, tengok bagaimana wartawan-wartawan akhbar lain menulis, bandingkan dan dapatkan yang terbaik,” katanya.

Selain itu, mereka yang hendak menjadi wartawan ekonomi, perlu bersikap ‘dahagakan berita’, katanya.

“Meja-meja lain sama juga tapi meja ekonomi berurusan dengan real-time, harga-harga pasaran itu bergerak setiap saat, memberi kesan kepada pasaran, harga naik pun kena dapatkan reaksi, turun pun kena dapat reaksi,” katanya.

Mengenai rancangan masa depan, Massita berkata beliau mahu memantapkan meja ekonomi.

“Sekarang ni dah banyak online, siapa cepat beri maklumat, orang akan pergi kepadanya…Bernama perlu menyalurkan maklumat dengan cepat dan tepat,” katanya..

The window ...

A young couple moves into a new neighbourhood.

The next morning while they are having breakfast, the young wife sees her neigbour hang the wash outside.

That laundry is not very clean, she said.

"She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on but remained silent.

Every time her neighbour would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said: " I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life: What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about to judge.

Bernama Radio24 rangkul anugerah kewartawanan radio...

Bernama Radio24 mengharumkan nama Bernama apabila memenangi tempat pertama dan kedua Anugerah Kewartawanan Media Radio daripada Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan (KPDNKK).

Penerbit Bernama Radio24 Nur Syazwani Bakhtiar memenangi tempat pertama menerusi slot Ala Carte Pagi: Hari Francais 2014 manakala Hassan Sallehudin Yahya atau lebih dikenali dengan nama glamournya Essan Yahya muncul tempat kedua dengan slot Dalam Radar: Untung Rugi Cetak Rompak.

Nur Syazwani atau Sya Azam menerima RM3,000 manakala Essan RM2,000 pada majlis penyampaian anugerah daripada menteri berkenaan Datuk Seri Hasan Malek sempena Malam Apresiasi Media anjuran kementerian itu di ibu negara malam ini.

Anugerah Kewartawanan Media Cetak pula dimenangi Utusan Malaysia menerusi laporan penyelewengan diesel bersubsidi.

Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) memenangi  Anugerah Kewartawanan Media TV  menerusi slot 'Suara Kita, Hak Kita' yang disiar TV1.

Foto terbaik pula dimenangi Aswad Yahya dari Utusan Malaysia.

Setiap pemenang membawa pulang hadiah wang tunai RM3,000.

Dalam ucapannya, Datuk Seri Hasan berkata keupayaan media mendedahkan pelbagai isu kepenggunaan serta membongkar kes penyelewengan membantu KPDNKK menjalankan tugas serta operasi dengan berkesan.

Katanya, kementerian amat menghargai sumbangan serta kerjasama media dan berharap ia akan terus menjadi perantara KPDNKK dengan masyarakat.

"Pihak media telah banyak membantu kementerian, khususnya mengenai isu kos sara hidup pada tahun lepas selain aktiviti penyelewengan bahan petroleum bersubsidi.

"Media merupakan medium paling penting untuk kementerian menyampaikan mesej supaya rakyat berhati-hati dan memahami hak mereka sebagai pengguna," katanya.

-- BERNAMA

Zaki juarai pertandingan video patriotik Bernama

Zaki, yang muncul juara, berkata beliau tidak menjangka kemenangannya itu  kerana idea untuk klip pertandingan tersebut timbul di saat akhir.

“First time saya dapat tahu, tarikh tutup pertandingan dah hampir tamat,” katanya.

“Semasa balik kampung, saya dapat ilham dan buat penggambaran di belakang rumah sehinggakan bapa saya bertanya: kau buat apa ni?”

Katanya, beliau pergi ke Bukit Kepong, yang tidak jauh dari kampungnya, untuk menggunakan kereta perisai bagi menambah impak dalam klip videonya

Ketua Pengarang Datuk Zulkefli Salleh, selaku ketua juri, berkata ada penyertaan yang kreatif namun tidak dapat diterjemahkan dengan baik.

“Niat tu ada tetapi mungkin disebabkan keterbatasan seperti kamera, ia tidak dapat diterjemahkan,” katanya.

Ada beberapa video yang kreatif menyebabkan sengit bagi juri memilih pemenang.

“Selaku pengerusi juri, yakinlah juri telah membuat pemilihan seadil-adilnya.

“Terimalah keputusan dengan hati terbuka kerana tujuan pertandingan ialah untuk bersama-sama merayakan kemerdekaan negara dan menggalakkan warga Bernama untuk berkreatif,” katanya.

Beliau mencadangkan kepada para pemenang agar memuatkan entri kemenangan mereka dalam Youtube.

“Kita nak tengok sama ada ia boleh viral atau tidak,” katanya.

Sebanyak 18 penyertaan diterima yang diadili berdasarkan suara, kreativiti, penghayatan lagu dan latar belakang persembahan.
Hadiah-hadiah kepada tiga pemenang utama dan lima saguhati disampaikan oleh Datuk Zulkefli.

Palestinian Al-Kitab Channel Keen To Tie Up With Bernama

Gaza based-Al-Kitab Channel is keen to work with the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in exchanging news and visuals to make Malaysians more aware of the plight of the Palestinians, especially in Gaza Strip.
Its general manager, Wesam Almahallawi said by cooperating with Bernama, especially with Bernama TV, the audience in Malaysia will get to see more of what was happening in Gaza, after the seven-week war with Israel, which killed thousands of Palestinians and caused massive destruction of infrastructure in Gaza.
"We are seeking to cooperate with Malaysia, especially between Bernama and Al-Kitab, since Malaysia is like a second home for Palestinians," he said during a discussion with Bernama's top officials on the possibility of such a cooperation, at the news agency's headquarters today.
Deputy-Editor-in-Chief International News Service, Ahmad Zukiman Zain, said that it would be a good effort for such a tie-up which could see more contents on issues of global importance, especially from the Middle East.
"After all, Malaysia has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and having visuals of the situation on the ground on what is happening in Palestine, will be a noble cause for the agency," he said.
Deputy-Editor-in-Chief Audio Visual Unit Services Mokhtar Hussain said that Bernama TV looked forward to such a cooperation as it would enable the channel to get more materials from Gaza.
"A lot is happening in Gaza which we may not be aware of. And I'm sure that people in Gaza would also like to know what is happening in Malaysia, especially relating to Palestinians residing here," he said.
According to Almahallawi, Al-Kitab Channel has been producing documentaries on the Gaza war apart from documentaries on education and social development.
The satellite channel, which also covers the Middle East, is also working on documentaries on the current rebuilding of the Gaza strip, which suffered massive destruction during the Israeli aggression which started on July 8 and ended on Aug 26 when an open-ended-ceasefire was announced.
"We are seeking to show the reality of what has happened and what is happening in Gaza," he said through interpreter Mahmoud Shakfa, who is Humanitarian Projects Manager, Palestinian Cultural Organisation Malaysia.
According to a United Nations report, during the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, 2,104 Palestinians were killed, including 1,462 civilians, among them 495 children and 253 women.
Reports have stated that Israel's offensive on Gaza Strip, which has been referred to as the most densely populated place on earth, has caused more than US$5 billion of damage to homes and infrastructure including mosques, hospitals and Gaza's only power plant.
-- BERNAMA

AsiaNet Told To Explore New Delivery Platforms...

Members of AsiaNet, the 14-member press release distribution consortium, have been asked to explore the possibility of using new technology-based delivery platforms instead of mainly relying on traditional sources such as news agencies and newspapers.

This call came from BERNAMA General Manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong when speaking at the opening of the three-day AsiaNet board meeting and forum in Langkawi today.

"In these interesting and challenging times when the news reading or accessing medium is gradually turning towards crystal glass displays and rather than on paper, we have to think of ways how we too should have a place there.

Therefore we have to change our traditional delivery platforms to penetrate smartphones, tablets or even smartwatches.

"Perhaps it is high time that we have to explore the introduction of a mobile application to deliver our news and information. It will get to targeted audiences and we can also measure the results," he said.

BERNAMA was represented by Aniceta Ferns, its senior manager for media relations and event management (MREM) at the meeting attended by representatives from the Australian Associated Press (AAP), Antara (Indonesia), Xinhua (China), Kyodo (Japan), Press Trust of India, Philippine News Agency, United News of Bangladesh and InfoQuest (Thailand).

The other members of AsiaNet are Vietnam News Agency, Yonhap (South Korea), Pakistan Press International and NCN (Hong Kong).

-- BERNAMA