Seoul, Oh!

At the Incheon Airport now waiting to go back to KL after a couple of days here in Seoul. Interesting exerience, I must say. Full report coming up soon :)

The GUA Review Show

So this is my effort in putting out something with a little more substance in the local entertainment scene; a review show with more meat than merapu. It's a weekly show that reviews in the latest in films, books, DVDs and CDs. Watch it HERE

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Perth On The Verge...

One of my favourite cities in the world, Perth, is being battered by a freak storm which has seen "golf ball-sized hailstones and causing floods and landslides."
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Damages are estimated to be at more than hundreds of millions of dollars and the people of Perth are basically in panic mode as things come tumbling down all round them.

Worse still, more storm action is expected today. I don't really know if the Perth authorities are equipped to handle such major catastrophes, but I sure do hope that there won't be any loss of lives...

He Is Legend

Peeps! So I've interviewed quite a number of interesting people on MHI so far, but this Monday, I will get to speak to the legend himself... Amy Search! Of course I've spoken to him before, but this will be the first time on TV lah... so terlebih teruja sikit :)

How big of a fan am I? Well, anyone who knows me would know that I'm such a huge Search fanatic since forever. I've watched tons of Search shows, bought tons of cassettes and CDs and maintained Search scrapbooks (!). I mean, do u have a better/older picture of Amy than this??
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Hot Topic 11/3 : Moronic Malaysian Motorists

So okay, not quite a hot topic, but more like a never-ending sore point for many of us. It’s getting tiresome complaining about moronic Malaysian motorists, but it’s becoming a sin NOT to do so.

Just the other day, the topic of traffic jams was opened yet again to the viewers of Malaysia Hari Ini, and the 2 main factors blamed for the problem were the construction of the roads and the attitude of motorists themselves.

And in all seriousness, I would love it if someone were to do a full-on research on the subject. I mean, have people standing by and stop those queue jumpers, road hoggers, etc and straight up ask them what the hell was wrong with them. Seriously.

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I’d love to know the reasons for being such morons; especially those who always end up on the wrong lane when paying for tolls. It can’t be that the signboards aren’t big enough, but there are people everyday who do this, backing up traffic and generally getting a lot of people pissed off.

Why people, why? Is it so hard to queue? Or stay in the right lane? Or, you know, NOT be such a moron?

Just writing about it makes my blood go upstairs lah…

Hot Topic 7/3 : When The New Sultan of Johor Speaks…

So I was pleasantly surprised to read an exclusive interview with the new Sultan of Johor in The Sunday Star today.
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The Sultan basically spoke his mind and I sincerely hope everyone takes note of his, well, wishlist. Allow me to recap the major points:

1.The Sultan wants a “trouble-free Johor”
2. A new bridge should be built to replace the causeway
3. MRT line from Singapore in JB would be good for everyone
4. Politicians and government servants should shape up or get out
5. More should be done for the state’s tourism industry

As a proud Johorean, all I can say is, bravo!

A great state like Johor has the potential to achieve so much more and the Sultan has basically outlined the roadmap for it.

Let’s take tourism for example. When someone mentions Malaysian Tourism, Johor doesn’t exactly come to mind, does it? The question is, why not?

A great empire once upon a time, Johor’s got a lot to offer those into history – if things are organized much better. And talk about eco-tourism, Johor has enough waterfalls, islands and forest reserves to rival an other state in the country.

Till when do we have to depend on the “accidental tourists” from Singapore alone? More should be done to also lure the millions from all over the world who drop by the Lion City each year.

And yes, why is Johor food is not as world famous as it should be?

Loads of points to ponder really, and it’s great to see the new Sultan speaking his mind on these issues. Daulat Tuanku!

Hot Topic 1/3 : Wajib Siar

So, the local entertainment industry is currently buzzing about this new government policy, “Wajib Siar” where radio stations are obligated to play new songs by local artists, starting today.

I’ve read opinions by people in the business and it’s apparent that the opinions are split as to whether this is a positive thing or otherwise.

I personally know people from both sides of the divide, and this is my own stand: I support it.
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The thing is, I just feel that things are really slipping away for the industry, as we know it. People say numbers don’t lie, and the numbers are that the industry have lost some 60% of its worth compared to just a couple of years before. That is huge, people.

And we’ve heard more than once about local artists getting the door slammed in their faces when asking some radio stations to play theuir latest song. These are real situations and numbers.

No, I don’t see this policy as “closing off (international) competition”. I mean, there are tons of stations that play nothing but International music in other languages, so why should the malay-language stations go the same way?

Oh, I forgot, cos “the listeners want it”. But really, if you play something a dozen times a day, sure, you’ll get people “wanting” to hear it even more. But what you CHOOSE to play a dozen times a day is the problem here. Why not apply the same test for all the songs?

The way I see it, the policy doesn’t give a free ride to local artists as well. It just basically evens up the playing field for everyone, and yes, the listeners would be smart enough to differentiate between crap and class.

So, in the end, these local artists would find that ultimately quality is key. But the need for the right environment and support must first be addressed, no?

So okay, in this day and age, there are other potential revenue streams for the average artist, like digital sales, RBT and synchronization, but what’s the reality in those as well? For RBTs, for example, the telcos are the ones truly benefiting, taking 50% or more for every piece of content sold. Yup, it’s not really as rosy as you might expect.

And I personally know that Malaysians don’t really download full songs legally, so that route is virtually a dead-end at this point in time.

One of the biggest criticisms raised against the policy is that it lacks specifics. And on this point, yes I agree. So hopefully the specifics will be revealed pretty soon.

After which, I hope to see those benefiting from this will work their asses off to get what they think they deserve.