Culturally Preconditioned

It’s been almost exactly a year since my last entry about paying
Tribute To Tok Ngah (Sejarah Pencipta Jalur Gemilang).
I found another follow up on the article dated November 2004 written by Mary Victoria Dass from Harian Metro. My Tok Ngah - The Unsung Hero

JEJAK PENCIPTA JALUR GEMILANG: YWJ ada bukti sahih
Oleh Mary Victoria Dass

JOHOR BAHRU: Hasil siasatan yang dijalankan oleh Yayasan Warisan Johor (YWJ) selama hampir dua bulan mendapati pencipta Jalur Gemilang adalah bekas arkitek Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), Allahyarham Mohamed Hamzah. Penolong Pengarah Bahagian Persuratan Sejarah YWJ, Dzulkarnain Asmawi berkata, maklumat dan dokumen yang ditemui selama ini mampu menyelesaikan beberapa pertikaian mengenai sejarah penciptaan Jalur Gemilang. Beliau berkata, selain lakaran mahupun karya Allahyarham Mohamed yang ditemui berkaitan dengan Jalur Gemilang, pihaknya juga berjaya mengumpul beberapa maklumat penting menerusi laporan surat khabar.

�Sesuatu rumusan bukan saja boleh dilakukan berdasarkan dokumen hitam putih, malah bukti-bukti lain yang sesuai dan memadai juga boleh membantu sebarang keputusan dilakukan.

�Sehingga kini, kami turut berjaya mendapatkan beberapa saksi dan sumber yang terdiri daripada rakan karib serta anak didik Allahyarham bagi menyelesaikan pelbagai kekeliruan mengenai sejarah kewujudan bendera negara kita,� katanya.

Dzulkarnain berkata, walaupun pada permulaannya, beberapa individu tampil mempertikaikan identiti sebenar pencipta asal Jalur Gemilang, namun pihaknya tidak menafikan bahawa sehingga kini pihaknya hanya menemui bukti yang memihak kepada Allahyarham Mohamed. Beliau berkata, individu yang mempertikaikan jasa Allahyarham berkenaan juga tampak mendiamkan diri berbanding keluarga dan rakan arwah yang memberi kerjasama penuh kepada YWJ mahupun Arkib Negara.

Menurutnya, selain hasil penyiasatan daripada dokumen lama yang ditemui di stor JKR dan temubual dengan keluarga serta anak didik Allahyarham, pihaknya juga mengakui buku mata pelajaran Sejarah terbitan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Tingkatan Lima menyatakan Allahyarham sebagai insan yang bertanggungjawab mencipta bendera Malaysia.

�Buku sejarah berkenaan yang digunakan bagi sesi pembelajaran di hampir semua sekolah menengah di seluruh negara mungkin tidak mengandungi fakta-fakta yang salah mengenainya.

�Malah, buku berkenaan yang dihasilkan oleh beberapa ahli sejarah terkenal juga berdasarkan rekod dan maklumat sahih yang diperolehi, � katanya ketika dihubungi Harian Metro, semalam.

Beliau berkata, bagaimanapun, pihaknya tidak mempunyai sebarang kuasa untuk membuat pengesahan mahupun pengumuman secara terbuka kepada masyarakat mengenai hasil siasatan berkenaan. Menurutnya, semua pengumuman hanya berhak dilakukan oleh Arkib Negara Malaysia (ANM) mahupun jabatan kerajaan lain yang dipertanggungjawabkan.

�Kami berharap semua lapisan masyarakat termasuk keluarga mahupun rakan Allahyarham bersabar sementara arkib melakukan sebarang pengesahan atau pengumuman, � katanya.

The impossible has happened. Most of my thoughts have been channelled via Roslan tonight. I don’t know if I should kill myself, or kill myself. Anyway, the group opened the show with Abba’s Thank You For The Music, as a ‘tribute for the songwriters’ which was this week’s theme. I have to admit that the theme was quite creative and I hope to see more of this in the coming seasons. What’s also good for another theme? Abba. I love me some Abba ever since Grizedale’s Summer of 1998 ExtraVaganZa. mmmprawncocktailsandwichesmmm. *sigh*

Spectacular #4 - Tribute to Local Songwriters

Nita - Hati Ini Telah Dilukai
Some friends of mine asked me to ‘be gentle on Nita’ for my next blog commentaries. But to tell you the truth, they didn’t even have to make that special request. Nita did great. She looks stunning, and except for that little one sour note near the end, I can’t really find any faults in her performance. Well done. 7.5 out of 10.

Daniel - Kini Bebas
I had already scribbled down “Make.Him.Stop” on my notepad when Daniel initially came on stage. But he pulled a fast one on me. He actually sounded good and I finally figured out what his appeal was to his fellow voters. Because I can finally listen to the words that he’s singing. He will be an exceptional singer if he sings Chinese songs but otherwise, he’s got a long long way to go. By far, this was his best performance to date. 7 out of 10.

Ash - Mustika
I didn’t expect Ash to sound quite as good, but he did. It wasn’t exceptional, but he definitely exceeded my expectation. The ending sounded weird but I felt it was one of his best performances to date. 6.5 out of 10.

Adam - Seribu Impian
Why am I not surprised he picked this song? This song is so him and I personally thought he sounded real good. I was actually shocked to hear Paul Moss’ “Listen, honey” comment. I personally thought that was offensive and deragatory. I wonder how he really feel about Casey. I really wish people would stop ragging on Adam on being so feminine. So fucking what. Don’t these people realize one of the winners of the Eurovision contest was a tranny for fucks sake. Fucking homophobes. 7.5 out of 10.

Faizull
My first reaction when I first saw him on stage was.. NO, please no. Not leather pants!!! I liked Faizull but that was bad. It was terrible. And I’ve been saying this for a few weeks too long, his novelty has worn off. When he started crying at the end, I immediately thought of Ty from Rock Star : INXS. It’s a bit weird to see cold hard rockers, who at the same time, are also crybaby tittysuckers. Faizull is a good rock singer. Malaysian Idol is not the show for him. Maybe he should wait till Mark Burnett pitch an idea for Rock Star : Cromox. A pitiful 2 out of 10.

Farah - Aku Hanya Pendatang
She gets bonus points for singing while siting down. But I have to agree with the judges. She sounded like she was shrieking the second half of her performance. But she still sounded good and is still my pick to win this show. 8 out of 10.

Zaharah - Ku Mohon
Kudos to her for singing a Sheila Majid song. Yay! I’m not a big fan (like you don’t already know that), but I must say she looked lovely with her macthing dress and hair colour. But most importantly (and strangely) I thought her performance was really good. I never thought I would say that. I just wished she had sung like this all throughout the competition. I’m not loving her, but to be fair (and I hate myself for doing this) I’ll give her a 7.75 out of 10.

So that was an interesting show to say the least. Most of the performances was enjoyable. Ahmad Izham has always proved that he gives the most fair and intelligent comments as a guest judges. Maybe we should start a petition for him to become a permanent one to replace either Roslan or Fauziah or BOTH. I have some beef with the audiences though. What’s up with the whoa whoa whoa wooooooooooooo noises? This is not fucking Senario, people! So the editors fucked up by playing Adam’s credits instead of Daniel’s, it’s not the end of the world. Aiyo.. Grow the fuck up, already. Anyway, my votes will go to Farah and Adam as usual. If there’s any justice in this world, Faizull will leave the show on Sunday.

This will be kinda short since (A) I’m feeling less malicious this week and (B) there are other things to be excited about. I do, however, have to call bullshit on Spectacular Three’s genre. R&B Pop ? You can’t just be creating new genres on the fly, 8tv, but whatever. I did, however, like the question that they proposed to the contestants, which is more important to them : Friendship or the Competition. To those who answered friendship.. well, they’re either lying through their teeth to garner “oh aren’t they sweet and so genuine” votes from the general viewers, OR they’re just plain naive. Kudos to those (hey that rhymes!) who answered Competition cause that’s basically what this is, and they know exactly why they’re there. Yes, yes, I know Zaharah is one of those who fall into this category, but I stand by what I say. To the first group, it’s like those Survivor contestants who “are in it for the adventure”.. oh give me a fucking break.

Spectacular 2 - R&B “Pop”

Faizull - Jangan Lafazkan
I swear I made all my notes during the performance, so I almost crapped my pants when Roslan kinda reiterated my exact points. When the hell did this KRU song became an R&B song? Oh well. Plus points for Faizul, the dreadlocks looked good on him. Bad points, his performance was below par. 4.5 out of 10.

Ash - Ain’t Too Proud To Beg
There’s something not right with his singing, but overall it was a pleasant performance. Good on him. 6.5 out of 10.

Adam - Semua Untukmu
Very ballsy of him to take an Anuar Zain song, especially since he’s the guest judge this week. As a rule of thumb, those who sing while sitting down and get all the right notes will almost always get high marks from me. An easy 8 out of 10.

Farah - Don’t Let Go
I was beginning to really like her. Seriously, Farah is my pick to win this. She is the underdog. That said, I think her performance was not up to her usual standard. Was the song too hard for her? It was just so and so for me. 6 out of 10.

Ejay - All Around The World
Sob stories will usually get negative points for me, but Ejay’s sob story is different. It’s not the oh poor me pity party thingy. Her parents asked her to leave the competition after the harsh critics from the judges because they were afraid it will hurt her feelings yada yada yada. But No.. Ejay won’t take any of it which proves she has the guts and stomach to be in a competitive industry. So I will give her an extra half point this week. I have mixed feelings about the faster arrangements that she chose for this song, but she didn’t do too bad. 6.5 out of 10.

Daniel - Obsession.
Three words. What. The. Fuck. Seriously, if all he’s going to do is mumble and whisper sweet nothings.. then I’ve got nothing else to say. 1 out of 10. But I had to change the ratings after hearing Roslan’s and Gee’s criticism. Do they EVER give constructive criticisms at all? See the difference between ME shutting the contestants down is this is my blog.. a place where I put MY personal thoughts. The judges on the other hand are there for a totally different reason. They’re there to guide and give constructive comments for them to become a better performance. Seriously that Roslan is such an idiot. Sing simple songs? Four words. What. In. Holy. Fuck. Because of that I’m gonna add an additional 8 points giving Daniel a 9 out of 10 just to piss off that bald fucker.

Nita - Snow on The Sahara
I absolutely loved the Jack Johnson song playing in the background during the interview.. so that kinda put me in a good mood. Plus, she sang one of my favourite songs, and she looks hypnotically beautiful tonight. Even that duda gatal miang also can’t help but comment on her looks. Anyway, it was a good performance from Nita. 7 out of 10.

Zaharah - Ain’t Nobody
It really was just average. Seriously. 5.5 out of 10.

So. Daniel gets the highest rating from me this week. Who’da thunk it? I will be sending my votes to Adam and Farah despite her inconsistence. And probably send some down Ejay’s way too, because Roslan might not ‘get’ her style, but I do. I’m not gonna take a guess at who might be leaving this Sunday, but I definitely won’t miss any of the rest if they’re gone this week.

I was surprised they didn’t start off the spectaculars with another group performance, but instead all of them marched on to the stage and jigged to “Warna” which was this week’s theme. They then showed clips of last week’s results show which saw Trish and Atilia leaving the competition. I would like to point out how big of a hypocrites the two idiots are. Of course, I’m referring to Uncle Baldy and Lemming Gee. And this calls fro a need to resurrect one of my favourite pictures, for prosperity’s sake.

They sounded and looked (unprofessionally) visibly upset with the results, and yet these are the two same people who slammed Atilia for missing the X factor, yada yada yada. I don’t know, maybe they are stunned as I am over the fact some of the viewers actually listened to what they have to say. And for the billionth time, can Jien just stop his playful pokes at Paul? It’s just getting lame. The joke is getting too old. We get it. You and Paul have a thing going on, but honestly, does he think anyone aside from the two of them find their playful banter cute? Bloody hell. It’s not only borderlining on annoying, it HAS become annoying weeks ago. Just fucking stop it. Please. Seriously. I’m gonna speakly less harshly of Cheryl this time around, cause she actually looked good. It must be the hair.

Spectacular 1 - Top 9 - “Colours”

Daniel - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
I feel his performance has improved tenfolds since the last spectacular. Unfortunately, that’s not really saying much, is it? His pitching was off in places, but that was expected. If I was a teeny bopper, I’d probably would’ve loved that performance. And a special WTF shoutout to Baldy for his “stick to simple songs”. First of all, with Somewhere Over The Rainbow, it can’t really get simpler than that. Secondly, the comment “sing simple songs” itself has just won you the Most Idiotic Mind Numbing Idol Comment of the Century Award. As for the performance, 5.5 out of 10.

Nita - Tenda Biru
With Atilia gone, I had no choice but pick Nita as the best female singer. Unfortunately, her performance was mediocre and I was disappointed. She worked her low registers but it really was boring. 6 out of 10.

Farah - Colors of the Wind
For the first time in the competition, I feel Farah really stood out and made me go WOW. I just realised how good she really is (comparatively speaking, of course). I never realised she had braces on, but no biggies. I’m really starting to like her. 7.5 out of 10.

Azam - Sekuntum Mawar Merah
I thank my lucky stars that at least this Sudirman song didn’t get butchered. I like his strong voice, but I don’t know.. he does look a bit weird during his performances. I think I might call him “Stoic Boi” from now on. I am definitely NOT loving the lesbian hair, though. And I hate to admit it, but I did chuckle during Baldy’s “Eh.. apa ni?” comments when Azam presented the lame rose to guest judge Dayang Nurfaizah (who by the way is perhaps the most boring judge ever.. Dayang masih belajar.. mengikut pengalaman Dayang.. Dayang pun pernah.. oh shut the fuck up already. It’s not Dayang Idol). 7 out of 10.

Ash - Lady In Red
No doubt his attire was intended to imitate Chris de Burgh, but I felt it really looked odd. Even John Stevens didn’t wear an outfit like that on stage. Oh well. His performance on the other hand, was much better. It was a glimpse of what I saw during the audition that made me pick him as a possible winner. Still need lots of improvements though. 6.5 out of 10.

Zaharah - Brown Eyes
To be fair, she did rather well for this song. Her best performance to date. That said, I still think her voice is just okay. I’d give her a 7 out of 10. But being the critical bitch that I am, I will deduct 1 point for the sob story before her performance. And being the HARSH critical bitch that I am, I will deduct yet another point for reiterating the fucking sob story after her performance. I’m not buying, and yes, I am a bitch. 5 out of 10.

Adam - Pelangi Petang
To the so called “judges” (or “idiots” as what most of Malaysia’s population will call them) who keeps dissing Adam, please.. you cannot deny that he has the best vocal in the competition. That said, I personally find his theatrics a bit over the top. I hope he tones down a bit, and you know, just sing. However, I do think his weakness lies in singing English but we’ve yet to see that. 7.5 out of 10.

Ejay - Black Eyed Boy
Lemming Gee is a complete fool for making the “lagu tak sesuai” comments. How can that not be the perfect song for her? She excellently delivered it. Maybe Gee should spend some time to actually listen to original song beforehand. Fool. Ejay’s performance was excellent. After her appalling performance last week, I thought she would be a goner, but hell.. I might even send her some votes this week. In fact, I will. It was good good good. I loved it. 7.5 out of 10.

Faizul - Jaket Biru
He did well. Although his performances has been all about Rock ever since we saw him, at least he’s consistent (if not getting better and better at it). Plus I like his laid back attitude. 7 out of 10.

So a recap. Jien and Paul should go to San Francisco and get married. Roslan and Gee are idiots. And I am a bitch. Best performances of the night goes to Farah, Adam and Ejay! I have no clue as to who’s going home this Sunday. For all we know it could be .. seriously.. no fricken idea. EVeryone knows who I want to see the least in the show, right? But chances are she’ll be in it for the long haul. Oh well.