Non-Malay Newscasters Not Forced To Wear National Costumes - Zam
Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin stressed Tuesday that non-Malay newscasters with Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) were not forced to wear the national costumes like 'baju kurung' or 'kebaya' while on duty.He said that if the non-Malay newscasters wore the national costumes while on duty, it was of their own free will and not that they were forced to wear them.
"Our way is by making compromise. If one cannot wear (the national costume) every day, wear it once a week," he said when winding up the Supply Bill 2007 on his ministry's behalf in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said this in reply to Teresa Kok (Dap- Seputeh) who stood up and asked whether all RTM newscasters must wear the national costumes including the Malays while on duty. She raised the issue following a complaint she had received that RTM had forced non-Malay newscasters who read the news in Tamil to wear the national costumes while on duty.
A commotion erupted when Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainudin Raja Omar (BN-Larut) intercepted Zainuddin's reply and asked Teresa whether she was forced to wear the national costume when she appeared in the 'Forum Perdana' programme.
Zainuddin said: "There is no compulsion. The Chinese who read the news wearing the national costumes do it voluntarily and it is not a problem, but why the complaint and spread slander.
"I don't believe in coercion. The country's history doesn't believe in coercion from time to time but the opposition view it as a compulsion," he said.
He also said that RTM was still at the trial stage of using the digital technology in its broadcast in the Klang Valley involving 2,000 respondents.
"We have not shifted to digital. RTM is still using the analogue system, so the quality of RTM broadcast depends on many factors including the type of antennas used and whether they face the right direction," he said.
Picture Source: Baju Kebaya
-- BERNAMA
****** Whether there has been coercion or not is a matter of interpretation. To say "if one cannot wear every day, wear it once a week," and term that as a 'compromise' and not coercion is debatable. Frankly there should not be any sort of restriction as far as the 'costume' reflects one of the cultures of our country. That also means it should be ok for a Malay lady presenter to wear a cheongsam or a saree. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Labels: Malaysia - General, Racial Intolerance
posted by The Malaysian. at 12/05/2006 05:35:00 PM
3 Comments:
If they're made to wear the Peranakan kebaya, part of me'll have no problem with it.
But then the dominant half believes it ethically wrong to compel others to dress in a particular ethnic-outfit.
their definition of "compromise" is to force someone wear the baju kurung once a week? i'm not entirely sure if that's the appropriate word in this context. i suppose by malaysian standards, we should be ecstatic that they aren't forced to wear a baju kurung every day of the week then.
Since when the kebaya became 'national costume'?
If our nation so loves its people, the government shld not bother what attire they choose to wear as long as it is decent and neat. Or maybe they can take turn, say, they wear all kind of attires whole week round, starting from costume of malay, chinese, indian, orang asli, kadazan, iban,......that shld hv enough fashion to fill up the whole month..that will show multiracial with multicolors.....
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