Wednesday 10 January 2007

Let's go to 3540 Jalan Sudin

With Dr Bukhori’s “Apa itu berita?” still echoing in their ears, three young girls walked nervously into the newsroom at Jalan Riong to report for duty to Pak Cik Dahari, the news editor. They were very aware of the stares, of the wolf whistles, especially coming from the sports desk, right at the back of the newsroom. But they wanted to be journalists and so stares and wolf whistles not withstanding, they put into practice the five W’s and one H that were drummed into them during the first two semesters of newsreporting. They persisted even when the first few assignments were nothing more than running across the city to fetch press releases for senior journalists or writing fillers, or simply watching the subs chop and mutilate their masterpieces with their red editing pencils.

That was nearly thirty years ago.

Two of them really excelled and went on to become editors in their own fields; one in politics and the other in features. One rubbing shoulders inthe corridors of power, the other rubbing shoulderpads with celebs and such likes. The latter even continued with her passion in acting. However the third one embarked on a career as ...er, ...er...a .blogger.

One of the two editors had a headstart in the world of journalism for her father is none other than the esteemed writer, editor and novelist, Tan Sri Samad Ismail. Her late mother was agony aunt Sri Siantan and her sister a journalist. So, writing for her is just a piece of cake. In fact, she could close one eye and still produce a front page material. During the three year course, she had perfected this closing of one or two eyes behind what had become her fashion accessory, the big dark glasses. She would doze off while maintaining a look that said she was paying attention. This proved to be quite useful in later years when covering summits and boring conferences.

Apart from learning how to write intros, wannabe journos were also taught public speaking and drama. Well, we now know what the drama class has done for the editor cum actress cum mentor. No one can fault the three for taking their drama lessons seriously. They held toyol sessions complete with Thai speaking Tok Moh in selected rooms when most people were either studying hard or sleeping. They even commanded a big audience on the 13th floor of the multi storey building, with the toyol session culminating in a chase along the corridor by two not so amused pak cik guards.

Tan Sri Samad’s daughter was always a squatter in the room of the other two wannabe journos, where, needless to say, not much studying was done. However, there was a lot of barn dancing and what must have been the prototype version of Akademi Fantasia, with last minute banging on the old typewriters that kept their neighbours awake all night. But they graduated nevertheless and became the journalists they had always wanted to be.




And now, one of them has joined the other in blogosphere. We are still waiting for the third one to make an appearance. While we are at it, let's twist Aishah's arms.

But for now, let me invite you, readers, to 3540 Jalan Sudin to meet none other than Nuraina A Samad..


58 comments:

Anonymous said...

Blogger but wider acceptance... and glamorous.. Excellento Kak Teh

Ganu Lost in KL.

p/s: erk...am I the first to comment? tsk..tsk..

Anonymous said...

Thanks for introducing the new blog to us Kak Teh. I hope that she woould continue writing in her blog and I shall drop by 3540 Jalan Sudin as often as I can, InsyaAllah.

Jo Kontan said...

Owh !! Sure best nii.

Droooling-drooling-droooling...

Anonymous said...

It's like walking into a candy store. Thank you, ma'am. Great introduction.

Anonymous said...

my very very dearest Ah,
i am suddenly so lost for words. i am speechless. cat got my tongue. and you know how i love cats.
that was the darnest anybody could have said as an intro about an old friend. terima kasih banyak2 daun keladi.
you couldnt have found a better time and opportunity to say all those things about me. hehehe.
and i do still need those darn dark glasses. you know-lah going into a strange/new environment/room. put on them glasses so that i can see people and they cannot see me!
also need them to cover those tiny lines around my eyes. hahaa.
to your question on what i meant by "do i do a kak teh" -- i meant exactly that. you know how good you are at regaling people with yr anecdotes, your stories. you do it so well. i dont know whether i could. i cant even remember jokes told to me.
you bring people into your world. they become part of your world, your life. they feel your sadness, your sorrow. they leap with joy in your happiness.
they have become so intimate with what's going on in your life, your family, your children.
as for moi, tres difficult, mademoiselle. me -- i am a hard-nosed, hard news writer. as plain as can be.
then there is rocky's bru -- breaking news, critical, so brave.
sigh... that seemed to have been my dilemma. but as you can see, i have resolved it.
thanks again, Ah.
P.S : Now we wait for Fatimah Abu Bakar to act her role in cyberspace.

Anonymous said...

my dearest ah,

don't-lah be so modest. excuse me... we are very proud of you and are very privileged to have known you before you got to be famous.
So there!
P.S : remember us in your autobiography.

Kak Teh said...

anon Ganu lost in KL...i like the sound of that. Thank you.


yara, you can sure find some hard and serious stuff in her blog! a very experienced writer.

jokontan, stop drooling and wipe the keyboard!

Kak Teh said...

bergen, its the least one can do for a great and wonderful, not to mention, old friend. She has been lurking far too long!

ena, now, what do we do to get fati to blog. She reads us, that much I know because she tells me... If not i send Tok moh to her!

meandbaby said...

very grand introduction...sure rating naik gila after reading your into..welcome to the blogger's world!!

Kak Teh said...

meandbaby, terima kasih, Nama Nuraina A Samad ni memang tak perlu diperkenalkan. mungkin di dunia blog dia baru tapi dalam dunia penulisan, dia memang jaguh, pemerhati politik.

Anonymous said...

It's so nice to see all these ex-journos blogging now. For one thing, they know how to write. And they're women. AND they're all friends of mine. Yay x3! I was upstairs at Berita Publishing, which I guess was not as sexy as the newsroom downstairs but we all really learnt to write then, didn't we?

Now I'll have to add your blog (and Ena's) to my already long list of must-read blogs. How to get any work done?!!

Kak Teh said...

marina. welcome to my humble blog! the editorial floor is hardly sexy.
anyway, just wondering whether you're still in touch with Laurence. Your mum did mention something about her when I last saw her.
Selamt berblogging too!

Anonymous said...

I could hear the hustle and bustle of the newsroom as I read your post. Thank you for another interesting read.

Anonymous said...

KakTeh, dok tunggu this next announcement "Next stop is JalanRiongStation"! Nak beli day travel ticket..hehe!!

Anonymous said...

"the other" ... do you mean nuraina's sister the ex-journalist has a blog too? i want to see it!!! :D

Kak Teh said...

wonda, i hope you didnt hear the swearing too!

klmuk, laa ni kena beli oyster card. Murah sikit!.

anon, i think i didn't make myself clear- the other is me. I think , it sh'dve been the other one.

Mulan said...

joyous news... more & more to read... experts semua ni..

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, hopped over to Nuraina's blog. So professional, like yours. As I remember, I started reading your blog early April 06 but it took me a while before I picked up my nerves to comment on your blog. I hope I don't have to take too long before I start commenting at Nuraina's blog. :)
OK, I am very blur blur (MCC), the blurred face is you? Why did you go and blur it out?

Anonymous said...

kak teh I baru visit 3540 Jalan Sudin, I oso ajak her come over makan, relax and sembang at my kopitiam.
I agree with dr ve thru, her blog banyak professional macam your blog jugok.

Kak Teh said...

mulan, nuraina cam give a good perspective on the happenings back home. She has been a political and socoal observer all these while.

Judy @ Dr ve Thru, adoi, do i give that impression that I'll bite when someone comments? no laaa, lai, lai laaa!

FH, you can ajak her for sembang-sebang and karaoke orso!

Anonymous said...

how can I not stop by this place?keep going kak teh hope all 4 musketeers will be blogging non stop.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, no lah, I lai liow wat! That was at the beginning when I first started reading your blog in April 06 from Lydia's blog. After my first comment, I realised Kak Teh such a soft, gentle, sweet, sincere, nice, laughable, happy, kind, generous, helpful, friendly, fun, person who is younger than Vern! Hahaha....thank you Kak Teh.

Anonymous said...

Dah lama Abang Malaya tak berseloka
Bukan marah atau dah tak suka
Dengan blog Adik Teh yang penuh cerita
Tapi tak diizin masa dan suasana.

Abang Malaya tumpang gembira
Adik Teh dan keluarga sihat sejahtera
Edelweis dan Kenanga macam itu juga
Kawan dan rakan kenalan semua.

Nak kata Abang Malaya ok tak betul juga
Banyak masalah bertimpa-timpa
Sebab di Malaya banyaknya gejala
Dah tak pasti arah dan hala.

Kalau berniaga apatah lagi
Tak tahu apa akan terjadi
Gaji pekerja sudahlah mesti
Untung tak ada banyak yang rugi.

Abang Malaya la ni berniaga kecil-kecilan
Duduk saja tak buat apa-apa pun bosan
Alhamdulillah bolehlah sikit-sikit cari makan
Yang seronoknya, orang ingat kita buat duit bertan-tan.

Maka tak putus-putuslah minta derma
Depa dok ingat kita ni kaya meliana
Depa tak tahu kita malam tidur tak lena
Nasib baik kat Along tak jadi mangsa.

Baguslah kalau Nuraina dah jadi blogger
Bolehlah kita tumpang sekali sekala
Ilmu di dada kena diguna
Sikit sebanyak berfaedah juga.

Baru-baru ni Abang Malaya jumpa depa bertiga
Bukan serentak tapi pada waktu yang berbeza
Dok cerita pasai dulu kala
Masa NST masih megah dan ceria.

Sampai di sini kali ini
Di lain masa berjumpa lagi
Salam kepada saudara saudari
Harap Adik Teh bersenang hati.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh,
Reminds me of Lulu's song:
...'Those school girls days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
....but in my mind, I know they will still live on and on.....'

Mama Rock said...

kak teh, ican imagine the three young girls entering the new room. experienced the hustle bustle during my short stint in the advertising division of Berita Publishing, long time back. Thanks for showing the way to 3540 Jln Sudin :)

Fauziah Ismail said...

Kak Teh
We "juniors" (not so junior now) remember Nuraina as one of the "Charlie's Angels" (together with Nurhawa Yunus and Sharifah Rozita) covering politics for NST although there were no Charlie on the Newsdesk back then in the late 1980s.
Hers would definitely be one of the blogs I would be bookmarking!

Kak Teh said...

kak elle, two out of four not bad and we are working on the other two. am sure you are familiar with jalan sudin?

judy, lai laaa, wa em si how lian. and for those nice words, kamsia, kamsia!

mama irma, yes, indeed...we had such wonderful time, not so much studying though.

Kak Teh said...

mama rock, so you at berita publishing? small world. I left jalan Riong a long time ago, but i kept going back because of the friends, the memories, the gerais tepi longkang etc.

x matters, hehehe, we must be super duper seniors then! has it been thatlong when we had such zest for life, when there were spring inour footsteps and we were eagerto take on the world?

Kak Teh said...

abang malaya,
kak teh tau abang malaya sibuk,
kalau tidak tak kan tak jenguk,
tak sangka buruk sangkanya elok,
kalau tak hari ini mungkinnya esuk.

marilah sambut nuraina samad,
penulis yang handal teramat sangat,
bersama fati dan kak teh di nst kami mula berkhidmat,
tapi malangnya sekarang semua dah tamat.

abang malaya jumpa depa semua?
seronok sungguh semasa bersua,
bersembang ini dan itu juga
zaman dulu semasa muda.

abang malaya perlulah berehat,
nikmatilah pencen lupakan gelagat,
politik ni semua tak akan tamat,
akan berlarutan sampai kiamat.

~ GAB ~ said...

Wow...looks like the heavyweights are all here blogging. I am happy to see this.

I am good at appreciating good and beautiful things. I, somehow like an artist but not exactly an artist. What am talking about here? hehehe. The idea is, I just love reading good things from y'all.

ManaL said...

Ces trois femmes extraordinaires.....

And with this,I salute you.

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for the serialisation of 'Hikayat Pengembaraang Ali Usmang' (or, it could also be 'Hikayat Pengembaraang Awang Muda'?) :D

Anonymous said...

Hi Kak Teh,
Just visited Nuraina. You all journalist "mo tak teng"! It's a no wonder that the NST paper is not as interesting to read these days as compared to those days. Simply because of the "Angels" who have retired from Balai Riong!

Kak Teh said...

Gab, I see thatu have visited her. She is a good social and political commentator and observer.

manal, merci, merci!

Kak Teh said...

atok, syaer pengembaraan awang muda akan datang - next change!

ilene, hahaha - even angels have to retire laaa.

Kak Teh said...

edel,
itulah nama perubahan zaman,
blog dibaca drp akhbar tempatan,
ramai dah lari membuka lelaman,
menulis apa saja, cerita dan rekaan.

kak teh seronok melihat kawan,
kini buka blog dulu wartawan,
pandai menulis ramai tertawan,
seperti karyawan dan juga sastrawan.

blog ditulis mengasah bakat,
mencatatkan pengalaman nanti tak ingat,
mengumpulkan cerita kuatkan semangat,
untuk dibaca semasa umur meningkat.

kak teh seronok mengongsi pandangan,
menulis, membaca menggamit kenangan,
lebih seronok daripada angan-angan,
menjalin persahabatan dengan berbagai teman.

Anonymous said...

Salam to kak teh.
Dah singgah Jalan Sudin. Alhamdulillah makin banyak pandangan boleh di baca.

(saya baru boh gambaq2 SAHC terbaru kat blog saya kalu kak teh nak tengok la)

Kak Teh said...

tokasid, insyaallah, sat ni kak teh pi tengok.

Pak Tuo said...

Salam Kak Teh,

Sorry lama tak hantar berita.

Tumpang tanya,Kak Teh batch Assari Ibrahim ke waktu diITM Shah Alam campus?Gradauting batch 1979/80

Anonymous said...

kawan lama into blogspere as well.. mesti comel.. it is always great to visit blogs with an attitude..

but i have to say..urs is so warm n so soothing..it will always be one of my fav! :0)

Anonymous said...

Great introduction. Last week dah jumpa. Anyway thanks for sharing.

Typhoon Sue said...

a fabulous foreword and a grand intro, what a way to enter blogosphere!

And I love the title of the blog... very nostalgic, very classy, and somehow, it reminds me of the old radio show i used to listen to with my mum when i was a kid... No.5 Persiaran Satu, (di sebelah kanan masjid, di depannya mini market)

Anonymous said...

Pray tell Kak Teh, what are the 5 W's and 1 H one learns at newsreporting clases? Would have loved to be a journo, but it is way too late now, like a few decades? Ah well, am still grateful to the profession I ended up with instead.
Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Haiya
Why you erase your face lah. All the best to you and Wan H for the new year.

DD

maklang said...

memang tak dinafikan blog kak teh memang selalunya interesting!

Kak Teh said...

pak tuo, tu mesti my junior. I dont think I know that name. perhaps kalau tengok muka mungkin kenal.

alahai simah, always some nice words to say! thank you.

ajzie, aha, good so dah melawatdah?

Kak Teh said...

typhoon sue, i like the title as well, it reminds me of one song, an old song, nombor somethingsomething, jalan tampin...i've forgotten who the singer is.

anon, 5W's and !H was whatwe were taught. itseems that, that should be on the intro...What happened Where to Whom, When and Why...and How. A reader in a hurry shd have all the information by reading the first paragraph.

DD, is that you Didi? aiyaaa if that is indeed you, i erase face orso u know lah!

maklang, apalah yangnak menariknyaa...cerita2 dulu yang mengusik jiwa! kak teh harap cerita2 ni juga dapat menghibur atau sekurang2nya mencetuskan senyuman di bibir.

Anonymous said...

Out of the four pretty gals in that pix, all I can say I have connections with two. One is Kak Teh, kawan berbanter every so often and Aishah Ali, well I know her more lah kot, we meet infrequently at functions.

Kudos to the four famous ladies journos! Continue adding colour to this otherwise gloomy world of ours..

Anonymous said...

Ta Kak Teh for the elucidation. Armed with this new-found knowledge, I could probably attempt to write a blockbuster, hehehehe..... just kidding.
Seriously though, now it all makes sense to me. The 5 W's and 1 H encompass all the necessary ingredients for a good story/yarn; the action, actor/victim, place, time, motive and method. Good one.
Thanks again and love your blog.

Kak Teh said...

ruby, aaaah, u know aishah too. She is Kudu to us - two years our senior.

anon, a lot has changed now with the style of reporting ...I think as long as we can get the message across, then we've got the right formula. Yes, write that book!

HCI said...

Kak Teh, apafasal gambar Cik Kak yang depan sekali tu blur?

Anonymous said...

kak teh ah, your comment blog sudah over flowing lah, cepat pi Judy punya blog, she ada nice surprise there.

Kak Teh said...

has, didnt you know thatI am also known as mak cik blur?

FH, i know, i know and i laughed and i laughed!

Anonymous said...

Oi Kak Teh,
Your friend, Ena, wrote about you.Quick go visit her!

Kak Teh said...

aiyaaaaaaaaa!!!

High Power Rocketry said...

Ive seen an ATM steal cards...

Anonymous said...

kak teh ... are you saying that you're nuraina's sister? i'm sorry but i only know of her other sister, .... the one who has 2 grown daughter's, named J and also J. :) i love reading your blog. you write extremely well (yeah, i know you're a journalist but not every journalist can write well ;) ) how is Tan Sri nowadays? he's such a lucky man to have a long and meaningful life and see all his kids and cucu successful in life.

Kak Teh said...

anon, no I am not nuraina's sister. we were classmates and sometimes roommates. and we joined the nst together. Thank you for coming by.