By MPI - Kuala Selangor

Last Monday, (11th May) I was invited to attend a media seminar organized by UITM in Shah Alam themed “Media & PRU12″. Attendees were from all over the states with reps from UMNO covered more seats.

Various working papers were tabled by teams of so called Doctors in Philosophy (PhD) on many topics related to PRU 12. Most of the presenters spoke openly how the MSM was blatantly overzealous before and during elections. It was generally accepted that new media had edged the conventional MSM.

I’m not into more about the seminar. Talks during lunch and coffee time were more interesting. First, I had the opportunity meeting old pals during my newspaper days. One guy that really touched me was Nasir. He was the former Selangor Menteri Besar (Mohammad Taib) Press Secretary.

We talked about yesteryears. I still vividly remember helping Nasir writing text for the former MB when he was too exhausted.

“When Abu Hassan came in as Selangor MB, he flushed all of “Muhamadtaibism” in the state secretariat”, recalled Nasir. He further relied to me how he was chased out of his quarters in a manner of a convict. Nasir asked me if I experienced something like him?. I whispered to him, I lost and closed my business.

With this, I pondered why my present MB is a little slow dispensing the many questionable heads in the state secretariat, GLCs and state bodies.

Before goodbye, Nasir asked me to remind my boss TS Khalid to be very careful with some journalists from the MSM . I asked why?

“They will pull his balls down”, as he made his way to the exit.

Back home I browsed the net. I discovered what my old pal said was true. A lot of reports tried to discredit him and even asking him to resign - like one in Malaysiakini.

I remembered what Khalid said in his response to my open letter to him. “ We are not only being smart, but must be smarter. We are not only clean, but must be cleaner than the previous one”.

Khalid seems to be slow in his acts. But no. He was just finding the better solutions to hundreds of problems inherited from the previous administrations. Khalid is the typical perfectionist he was.

To my old pal Nasir, though we are in a different political framework, one sure thing that won’t separate us is friendship.