Tak Seindah Wajah, When Hypocrisy Rules the World!
Byline: Qadeem Zieman
I could only hold my heart when I realised that in this world, hypocrisy
DOES rule the world…
Some people tend to fake a smile, fake a laugh, and fake caring about
you when in reality, all they care about is their own good and benefits,
which means that if you don’t bring anything to the table, you would then only
be a mannequin on display at the party… may you be a friend, a brother, a
sister, or a parent. People would always find ways to go to another route that
is best for them, even if it takes throwing someone under the bus.
I applaud my dear ‘sister’, actress, singer and activist, Betty Banafe
for always standing up for what is right and fair, although sometimes we do argue
a little when we get on a phone. Most of the time, she would be talking based
on a piece of one-sided information, but even then, it was never an accusation, I understand
that as an older person, she feels the right to ‘tutor’ and guide the youngsters
in her own way. I respect her (Betty) and my mother, Zieman (The founder of mStar
and WHAM) for being very vocal and transparent in their words and opinions, as opposed
to some people especially those who are involved in the entertainment field,
who always try to be “diplomatic” in their presence to portray the ‘good’ image
to fit into even more artificial figures’ good books.
There is no such thing as being ‘neutral’ in writing as a journalist, but
there is something, for sure, called ‘being fake’.
As a student of Public Relations and Entertainment Management at MSU (Management
and Science University, I have learned that the main difference between being a
Public Relations Associate and being a journalist is the way they work. As a journalist,
it is NOT your job to sugarcoat or even invent a good image for the
personalities, as you must tell the unbiased truth of the situation based on
what you see from your eyes, almost like a critic. Even if you were to write a report based on information received from a source, you must write it in a
way that is unbiased to tell a story about what it really is. As a PR Associate,
you are hired to work on promoting the products to the media in order for them to
be sold, hence why it is the PR Associate’s part to build a strong connection
with the media outlets.
However, nowadays, it is quite rare to see these qualities in real life,
especially when some so-called journalists are being given a ‘token’ to write a great
story about the events. The news we receive today sometimes can be quite far
from being an honest review as the truth is often being held back by such ‘empowering’
deals. And if this is how it works in the field where we put our trust,
imagine how it runs in reality.
“Di pentas dunia insan berpura, tipu dan daya pencapai maksud, budi dan
harta merangkum noda” - Tak Seindah Wajah (Tan Sri SM Salim)
People would often become opportunistic, especially when it involves
rank, status, and of course, wealth. When I was a kid, I used to wonder why my
mother would decline some invitations, and she would often say that she hated
being around hypocrites. But today, I truly understand what she felt. It is
very comical and unbelievable to see how some people, especially those who seemed
to be so caring towards us then behave a certain way that would backstab those
who had helped them through thick and thin, only for the sake of pleasing the
ones who are currently in power. I now know that not every part of this world is
for the ones with good hearts, and certainly not for my mother…
Zieman, my mother was a fool to think that ‘loyalty’ would run deep in
the veins of some of those whom she had taken in as her own “kids and siblings”
and helped along the way, for when the moment that she left the desk to
retire from The Star, only a handful of those people remembered her, and that
was until she finally left this world in December of 2021 when those people
started realising that it would be a good opportunity to boost their PR
branding by sending her farewell wishes online, while some others didn’t even
bother to post anything online due to the fear of losing mutual interest.
I shall not mention the names, rank, or status of those people, but
they should know who they are, and they ought to be ashamed of their immoral behaviour.
Knowing this dirty secret of the industry, both entertainment and journalism,
I, as the son of a deceased senior editor, who also happens to be involved in
the entertainment field myself, am very disappointed and embarrassed by some of
my seniors, and the examples that are proven to be poorly developed for us, the
people of the younger generation to go by. I could only pray deeply to God for
this world to be a better place in the future.
In this article I shall pay my respects to those who still remembered my
mother enough to pay a visit and/or offer a helping hand during the last days
of her life; Betty Banafe, Shima (Teringin), Dato’ Freddie Fernandez, Rozita
Rohaizad, A. Wahid Nasir, Datin Norma Norell, Dato’ Raja Shah Rezza, Datuk DJ
Dave, Syanie, Ruhani Abdul Rahman, Datuk Habsah Hassan and Dato’ Awie.
“Apart from a handful of celebrities like Betty Banafe, Awie, DJ Dave,
Syanie, Kak Ruhani, Kak Habsah Hassan, and Shima, I’m appalled some pretended that
I did not exist.” ZIEMAN, November 2021.
