Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, 1malaysia, malay, media, namewee, namron, gadoh
Wishing my country a happy birthday through my column at The Malaysian Insider.
Happy birthday, Malaysia!
By Zan Azlee
SEPT 3 — Merdeka Day has come and gone. Malaysia has been independent for 53 years now. I think it’s a very proud milestone. We’ve survived all this while! Next up is Malaysia Day on September 16. Another milestone, marking the year when Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore joined to form Malaysia. I’m fiercely patriotic. If you don’t believe me, sit with me as I drive on the AKLEH highway and witness the tears roll down my cheeks every time I see the KL skyline. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: Kampung Baru Alaf Baru (AKA: New Age New Village), The Malaysian Insider, broadcast, directing, documentary, film, journalism, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, fat bidin, documentary, 1malaysia, film, ntv7, malay, video journalism, journalism, kuala lumpur, kampung baru
In spite of all the work that I’ve been swamped with this whole year… I managed to make another feature film! Damn I’m good! It’s called KAMPUNG BARU ALAF BARU (English Title: NEW AGE NEW VILLAGE)! It’s DA BOM!! Watch it on ntv7 this National Day (31st August 2010, 10:30am)!
Kampung Baru Alaf Baru
By Zan Azlee
AUG 27 — Kampung Baru has always interested me. For the unacquainted, it’s a Malay village situated in the heart of the city of Kuala Lumpur. So there are traditional wooden Malay houses with chickens running around, and in the background are concrete and steel skyscrapers. I like the juxtaposition of urban modern and rural traditional that Kampung Baru has. And so what do I decide to do? Yes, folks, I decide to grab my video camera, drive down to Kampung Baru and shoot myself a documentary film solo-journalism style! [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, video, media, journalism, literacy
Imagine a world where the video literacy rate surpasses reading and writing. I can make money giving tuition to school kids! Hahaha!
A video literate world
By Zan Azlee
AUG 20 — When television started, it was a very exclusive industry. Only those who had the resources (i.e. money) could be involved. This was the case for all media. The Internet comes around and turns the whole business model upside down. Basically, barriers of entry like cost and technology disappeared. Twenty-four hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Mega news organisations like CNN and BBC use user-generated content and call it citizen journalism. There’s nothing wrong with user-generated content. In fact, most people know that I am a big advocate of it. However, only a minority is of good quality while a majority of it is crap. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, islam, malay, journalism, chinese
Poor Zain! He’s so confused. Read all about it at The Malaysian Insider.
Zain, the confused kid
By Zan Azlee
AUG 6 — Six-year-old Zain Azri was going to school for the first time. He was like any normal and chatty kid, making friends easily and loved running around for no reason. Now, Zain comes from a pretty liberal Muslim family and is of mixed parentage. His father is Malay and his mother, Chinese. If you grow up as a Muslim in Malaysia and go to public school, then most definitely you would have had to take Islamic studies. Zain had to. On the first day of class in Standard One, at a certain time period, Zain was led by an Ustazah, along with other Muslim students to a different class. [Click here to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, lecture, new media, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, media, journalism
Ahhh… objectivity is so passe! Read my column this week at The Malaysian Insider.
Objective journalism is so yesterday!
By Zan Azlee
JULY 30 — We always complain in Malaysia that journalism is never objective. Apparently, the government keeps a tight rein on the information that goes out to the public. So all the news outlets (or shall I say the mainstream news outlets?) have a slant towards the ruling party, especially when it comes to political news. I, for one, used to complain all the time. I felt that, as a profession, journalism wasn’t going to develop, and neither would Malaysia as a nation because of it. Even in the lectures that I give, I would constantly harp on about the importance of being objective as journalists. Give both sides of the story and let the people decide. I felt that there was no place for personal opinions and bias when it came to reporting the news. Leave that to the public relations practitioners! But I think I’ve slowly come around… [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, kuala lumpur, one utama, cinema
Okay… when I pay for a movie ticket… I expect it to get it’s price worth! Or else!!!!
I just like enjoying movies the right way
By Zan Azlee
JULY 23 — Whenever it comes to watching movies, I like to make sure that my experience is the best possible one I can get at the time. So when I go to the cinema, I always make sure I get a nice seat, a good hair band to make sure my hair isn’t in my face and a pretty girl by my side (these days, I just bring my wife). I believe that the surroundings and experience of watching a movie can actually determine whether you will enjoy it or not. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: fat bidin, fidel castro, journalism, julia gillard, kevin rudd, kim jong-il, kuala lumpur, lee kuan yew, malaysia, The Malaysian Insider, zan azlee
Hmm… you think my column this week at The Malaysian Insider could break the Malaysian Book of Records for most number of political leaders mentioned in one article?
Immortality by Video
By Zan Azlee
JULY 16 — Fidel Castro is an old man and unwell so he had to finally step down as Cuba’s president and let his brother Raul (who’s also quite old!) take over. Then he disappeared from the public’s eye. That is, up until earlier this week when he decided to make an appearance on television. When the video of him appeared on Cuban television, many critics said that it was probably shot sometime ago. Adding to the suspicion was the fact that he failed to discuss the country’s current affairs, such as the release of 52 political prisoners by his brother. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: business, entrepreneur, fat bidin, journalism, MBA, media, news, solo journalism, The Malaysian Insider, zan azlee
I bought an iPad and now I’m out of money. I need a job!
The survival of journalism
By Zan Azlee
JULY 9 — I do not remember my house ever not having a newspaper the entire time I was growing up. Every morning, the day’s edition would be at the doorstep. My brothers and I would read the comics; my parents, the news; and my grandmother the stock report (ruthless old granny could give George Soros a run for his money!). I have since moved out to live on my own, and my father’s newspaper subscription continued. Right up till a few months ago. [Click here to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: zan azlee, The Malaysian Insider, new media, journalism, ipad, apple, mac
They’re taking the power away from us! We must not let it happen! But I’m still buying the iPad! Damnit!
To App or not to App?
By Zan Azlee
JULY 2 — The Internet excited lots of people because it broke down the barrier between the content providers and the audience. It no longer takes a big organisation with humongous resources to be able to provide content for the masses. Now, gadgets like the iPad are exciting people. Even I got excited (hence, I will be receiving my top-of-the-line 3G, 64G model next week!). But I was thinking just the other day (it’s only every other day I do that). The iPad might actually be detrimental to how democratic the media is today. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: zan azlee, The Malaysian Insider, liew seng tat, projek angkat rumah
According to Liew Seng Tat, if I’m a Malay and have never heard of the Malay tradition of ‘Angkat Rumah’, then I need to reattach my foreskin!
A little gotong royong is what we need
By Zan Azlee
JUNE 26 — It’s been a while since I was a part of a gotong royong. Even then, gotong royong to me means picking up litter with my other classmates in the primary school compound. After my school years, the word gotong royong just ceased to exist in my vocabulary. Everything I did was mainly for the benefit of myself alone. So when my friend Liew Seng Tat, the multi-gazillion times award-winning film-maker, told me about his latest project, I immediately knew I had to be involved. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, media, racism, pi mai pi mai tang tu
Ho hum. Another week goes by and another column written. But a GREAT one nonetheless! So go read it now at The Malaysian Insider… or else I’ll stop writing next week (err… wait a minute..)!! Muahahaha!!
What’s wrong with a little racism?
By Zan Azlee
JUNE 18 — I remember watching television when I was little, around primary school age, at home. There were only three channels on television back then. One of the most popular shows at that time was a Malay sitcom called “Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu”. I’m sure many are familiar with it. It’s sort of an institution in Malaysia these days and there has even been a musical produced which goes by the same title. [Click here to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: zan azlee, fat bidin, The Malaysian Insider, apple, iphone, steve jobs
What has become of me?? I’m now commenting on Apple launches in my column!! I need to shower!
Apple rules the world!
By Zan Azlee
JUNE 11 — The consumption of media is indeed something that turns the world around. In my eyes, there is nothing more powerful than the media. Many major leaders of the world have managed to get into power, or stay in power, due to their influence on the media (read: Silvio Berlusconi, Thaksin Shinawatra and even Adolf Hitler). And when something new hits the media world, many people sit up to see how it’s going to affect the industry, the audience and, well, everything else.
It goes without saying that when it comes to New Media, what Apple says, will be so. It happened with the Powerbook, the iPod and the first iPhone. I’m sure they know that. And that could not have been more apparent on Monday when a cool Steve Jobs stepped on stage with his latest toy. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: apple, fat bidin, ipad, multimedia journalism, The Malaysian Insider, the times, video journalism, web video, wired, zan azlee
I’m big into multimedia journalism! I’m hoping the iPad is going to do something about it… make it more prominent. So read what I have to say at The Malaysian Insider.
Will iPad revolutionise multimedia journalism?
By Zan Azlee
JUNE 4 — Okay. I want to talk about the iPad. Everyone’s talking about it and I want in. With all the iPepet jokes and all, I might just have some thoughts of my own, too. So many people today are saying that Apple’s iPad is going to spark a whole new revolution in multimedia journalism. What do I think? Yeah, it does have potential. But I think it will be more of a case of how well journalism can revolutionise itself to make use of the potential. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: zan azlee, The Malaysian Insider
Never had a real date? Your boyfriend/girlfriend only exists in a chat room? Don’t go out enough? Disconnected with reality? Read my latest column in The Malaysian Insider!
Cyber world keeps us connected with real world
By Zan Azlee
MAY 21 — We live in an anti-social world. We don’t interact with each other. We don’t go out and be part of our environment. Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, blogs and even mobile devices like iPhones and PDAs — these are all supposedly disconnecting people from the real world. [Click hear to read the rest]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: media, solo journalism, The Malaysian Insider, video journalism, zan azlee
Ahh!! Today is a griping session! So… read my latest column at The Malaysian Insider.
How hard is it to go multimedia?
By Zan Azlee
MAY 14 – What I really mean is presenting the news in a multimedia way. Don’t make the news site just an electronic version of a newspaper. If that is the case, the only advantage of being online is that it saves trees. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: hilton, kardashian, pamela, paris, porn, sex, tape, The Malaysian Insider, tommy, zan azlee
I’ve been quite sexed up recently. So I decided to write this for my column at The Malaysian Insider.
May 07, 2010
MAY 7 — Porn is what makes the world go round. Well, the media world anyway. If you observe, the success of any media depends on whether porn takes a liking to it or not. [click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: The Malaysian Insider, broadcast, directing, documentary, internet, journalism, new media, writing | Tags: malaysia, zan azlee, documentary, The Malaysian Insider, media, astro, sybil, kathigasu
Below is an excerpt of my latest column in The Malaysian Insider. Go read lah! Please??
A little boy loses his innocence
By Zan Azlee
APRIL 30 — Once upon a time, a little boy wanted to be a documentary film-maker. He wanted to tell stories which he wanted to see and hear.
To tell stories he felt were not being told, or not being told the way he wanted to see and hear them. So he learned the trade and tried to gain as much experience as possible.
The naïve little boy promised himself that he would always stay true to his principles. If he felt that a story interested him and it might somehow benefit people to watch it, he would tell it.
He also promised himself that nothing would come between him and the stories he wanted to tell. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Who is Sybil?
On another note, a documentary I directed/produced under Firdaus Maju Productions for ASTRO will be out on TV (ASTRO PRIMA) this Sunday (2nd May 2010) at 6pm. It’s called SUATU KETIKA… SIAPA SYBIL?. Do you know who Sybil is? I had good help from my posse (Hilmi and Fatul! Props yo!) Go watch lah! Please??
Filed under: I'M MUSLIM TOO! Heading to the border, I'm Muslim Too!, The Malaysian Insider, directing, documentary, film, film festival, lecture, writing | Tags: zan azlee, documentary, The Malaysian Insider, I'm Muslim Too!, The Life & Times of an Islamic Insurgency, film, heading to the border, I'M MUSLIM TOO! Heading to the border, berkeley, jajang noer
(Left-Right) Zan Azlee, Dr Marshall Clark, Elyna Shukri, Jajang C. Noer and Dr Sarah Maxim, director of Centre of Southeast Asia Sudies
So I’m still in California for the Islam Today Arts & Culture Festival at UC Berkeley and I recently was part of a panel discussion which consisted of the late Yasmin Ahmad’s producer, Elyna Shukri, veteran Indonesian actress, Jajang C. Noer, and moderated by Dr Marshall Clark from Deakin University in Australia.
It was a great discussion of course! So great that I had to write about it in my latest column at The Malaysian Insider!
Malaysia and Indonesia — how we make films
By Zan Azlee
APRIL 23 — I’m still suffering from the cold winds of the San Francisco Bay area. Most recently, after the screening of my films and lecture at University of California, Berkeley, I was part of a panel discussion entitled ‘Making movies in Indonesia and Malaysia”.
Aside from me, the other panellists included the late Yasmin Ahmad’s producer, Elyna Shukri, and veteran Indonesian actress, Jajang C. Noer. It was moderated by Dr Marshall Clark from Deakin University in Australia.
First of all, I was a little intimidated being in the presence of such experienced industry professionals. Elyna had produced some of Malaysia’s most thought-provoking films in recent history, while Jajang has starred in more films than the years I have been alive! [Click to read the rest of the article]
Filed under: I'M MUSLIM TOO! Heading to the border, I'm Muslim Too!, The Malaysian Insider, directing, documentary, film, film festival, lecture | Tags: zan azlee, documentary, The Malaysian Insider, I'm Muslim Too!, The Life & Times of an Islamic Insurgency, film, heading to the border, I'M MUSLIM TOO! Heading to the border, berkeley
Rainbow greetings from San Francisco! I’m attending the Islam Today Arts & Culture Festival at UC Berkeley. My films have screened and I also gave a lecture there. Everything’s good and thank god for good lobster!
Outside the screening venue in Berkeley. Notice the huge crowd gathering around me trying to catch my films!
I gave a lecture to a group of students at the University of California, Berkeley. It was fun and we had a laugh!
These are the professors... Prof. Jeffrey Hadler and Dr. Sarah Maxim.
Lobster babyyyy!!
And.. here’s this week’s column for The Malaysian Insider.
How much did that film cost?
By Zan Azlee
APRIL 16 — Here I am at the San Francisco Bay Area, with the freezing cold wind blowing in my face, giving me extremely chapped lips.
I came here to attend the Islam Today Arts & Culture Festival, organised by University of California, Berkeley’s Centre of Southeast Asia Studies.
They were screening two films of mine, and had invited me to give a lecture and be part of a panel discussion. [Click to read the rest of the article]
Now I’m off to The Castro!
