Justin Sunam Wong is a chili grower from Sabah.
I was driving home from the bank on 29 March 2012, and was listening to the radio. I was tuned in to 99.10, I am not sure which station that band belonged to but it was the only English speaking channel I could get then. That is how it is here in Beaufort, Sabah — on a good day, I can get two English speaking channels but on some days, none! I have always wondered about the inconsistent transmission, but that is for another topic.
I came to a railway crossing and a train was passing by. Hence, I had to stop with the other vehicles around to let it pass. It was a long train! So the wait was equally long. Thank god for the radio! Then a program came on air, I think it was around 2.30 pm. The lady presenter said that the program was a joint collaboration between RRI (Indonesian Radio), RTB (Brunei Radio) and RTM and I think she said the program was called Malaysia Delight.
Radio : … today, we are going to talk about Ikan Lekor … from the east coast of Malaysia…
Me : East coast of Malaysia? Hmm… She must be referring to Sabah then. We are certainly on the farthest east. Oh! They must be doing a piece on one of the towns in the east coast of Sabah. Tawau? Sandakan? Semporna? What is Ikan Lekor?
Radio : … in the state of Terengganu …
Me : %#$*exasperated*%^&*@#
Anyway, I thought nothing more of it later. I attributed it to a slip of the tongue, nobody is perfect.
Then the following day, I was watching the news at 5.00 pm, and what do I see?
I beg your pardon but I did not get the memo about Sabah and Sarawak having shrunk!
When did Pahang grew almost half the size of Sarawak?
See the differences?
Again I told myself that it could be human error. I am told that some maps sold out there have the same error also. Therefore, I think there is no “sinister” intention here. However, since you guys at RTM are the national radio and television station, I hope you guys could do better.
Millions of Malaysian follow you and you have the onus to provide accurate and factual reporting, which includes what you display on the screen.
I know someone would say that I am just being trivial but you know, sometimes, the smallest misinformation could lead to a big misunderstanding or misconception! Better nip it in the bud than let it fester. Therefore, for goodness sake, please get rid of the background image and replace it with an accurate map and get better proof-readers for your scripts.
While you are at it, it would be nice for you to issue a public apology to Sarawakians and Sabahans for your error.
After all, even our Prime Minister is not above apologizing. That is what I call leadership by example!
How har you do baino? I am a farmer from the Venice of the East, Beaufort, Sabah. If you find my writing to be a bit 'sot-sot' or 'mulau' (both mean crazy and quite akin to stupid), you can blame Marcus :P. He let this half wit to post in here. Kotohuadan Marcus!
Posted on 2 April 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
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