Now I'm international!

Some of you may have noticed that I have been promoting Ghost a little. I have no shame. I freely admit that. I even wrote that down in a national newspaper column. But in fact, the column wasn't really about television, or about the business of writing; it was about the serious business of how racism limits both opportunities for employers, and for the general public. I contrast that with the hiring policy of Popiah Pictures, and of how every one of different races just get down to the business of doing good work. They even gave it a nice title: A ghostly glimmer of hope. Positive, forward thinking, optimistic.

I guess I must have hit a chord or something, because guess what I see in a newspaper when I'm in Singapore? My name, and bits of my article on page A9 of Monday's issue of My Paper. It's strategically placed right above a piece about how Pak Lah's declining popularity, including the issue of race relations. What headline does my piece get? Why should ethnicity still matter - on Malaysian job opportunities. To me, this headline has a slightly different spin on it - it sounds like I'm complaining about the situation. Well, surely the article will put them right, right?

Erm. Perhaps not. Because in transferring the article, they also edited out all references to the TV show and to Popiah Pictures. As a result, the tone is a little more negative - a complaint without a balm to soothe it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy to now be internationally syndicated. I didn't even know it was happening. I'm flattered like a bemused pancake under a steamroller. And I'm very comfortable with how the editing team at the Star have treated me. It's just that others who read My Paper might get the wrong impression of what I think.

At least 'Dzof Azmi' is a unique Googlable phrase.

Labels: contradictheory, writing