Gripevine

A conversation between two women in their mid 50s Madam X: So how have you been keeping? Not seen you in ages! Madam Y: I'm fine, sorry I could not find the time to catch up until now, been busy, what with work and all..... Madam X: Working?? Why so old ready still must work....? At our age, we should be resting. Let the children support us. Madam Y: Well the children do their part, but I enjoy keeping busy and active. Don't see myself quitting anytime soon! Madam X: Wow really? Do they still accept people our age at the workplace? I'm glad to say there are many men and women in their 50s and above in the Malaysian workplace today. However ageism is also rife, not just in the workplace, but in society at large. And the ones guilty of this are younger Malaysians - the ones who should be more modern in their views, but who sadly are not! At one of my previous workplaces, some colleagues were hiring for their department, and going through resumes, it was ...

This is something that I have mulled about for years as a member of the profession, and I've finally decided to give words to those fragmented thoughts that have cropped up on and off in the course of work. There's this common enough perception, that in the quest to garner readership and sell newspapers, we in journalism would resort to sensationalising issues and digging up the dirt on others. First of all there is no way we can sensationalise anything, if there is nothing to sensationalise in the first place, and if there is no dirt to dig up, we certainly would not be putting our spades to the task! So to all those who keep grumbling about sensationalism, and the media giving them a hard time - usually all those so-called 'Important People', how about keeping your backyard clean first and not saying silly things - which of course will be reported! When you're that high up, we assume you're smart, it goes with the territory, so when you let slip t...

When it comes to myths and legends, most of us grew up fed on a diet of beautiful princesses and their dashing suitors. The prince was brave, the princess had milky white skin, ruby red lips and was the epitome of what women should be - shy and sweet with a voice as sweet as a nightingale's. Which is why I consider Puteri Gunung Ledang one hell of a kickass character. Spurned all her suitors, even the Sultan himself, and preferred to live all by herself up on a mountain. For the record I don't believe the faerie princess had any ties with Hang Tuah, hence Tiara Jacquelina's big budget on-screen depiction of her is at best a fairytale and at worst plain lame. Well I digress, I have always felt that the stories worth knowing have been shrouded in obscurity, and what we have been fed time and again is cheesy crap. For instance, who doesn't know the story of Cinderella? The moral of that tale? If you need rescuing, wait for a fairy godmother, or a knight in shining a...