Amidst worsening floods, The Malay Mail Online chose to end 2014 in gutter

While we have seen in the currently worsening floods how men and women of different professions gave the best in their capacity to alleviate the situation, the same definitely cannot be said of the editors of the The Malay Mail Online (TMMO).

As the water level rises, so do the commitment and perseverance of the nurses, doctors, army personnel and many others on the frontline. Many even go beyond their job description in giving treatment and sending aid to the victims, putting own houses and families aside in the process.

But those editors, sitting on comfy chairs and in air-conditioned office, chose to shame their own profession by coming out with an awfully substandard piece of report on a completely unrelated matter – not to mention unjustified – as if the grim fate of the victims mean nothing much to them.

That was pretty much the nicest description one could give when they selected to vilify Islamic organisations instead, and the causes they stood for in 2014, many of which are matters that Muslims in this country hold dear to and not without valid reasons too.

Any apprentice reporter can do a better job at profiling all the NGOs that were implicated in the write-up if that was TMMO intended to. Of course unless the plan was just to bad-mouth anyone who stands for Islamic causes, or simply anything related to Islam for that matter.

A quick review of Facebook pages and official websites will lead any fair-minded individuals to arrive to a completely opposite summary, nowhere near the “hardline”, “fiery” and “controversial” themes that the TMMO editors somehow managed to concocted and painted with an extra-broad strokes.

If scrolling and clicking those pages back to January were too tough a job for these editors, let’s just look at some of the activities that these NGOs carry out during the floods and see how ‘hardlined’ these NGOs can be.

PEMBINA (Persatuan Belia Islam Nasional) are currently spearheading thousands of youth volunteers from all over the country in helping out flood victims under a special mission called Briged Bakti. (I got the chance last Saturday to team up with some of them in Kemaman as we went to deliver aids to several of the remotest centers and villages there.)

Kelab Remaja ISMA (KRIM) are coordinating fun activities at evacuation centres to help the children and teenagers passing the time while coping with the stress and discomfort they had to face with.

Wanita ISMA spend time with the mothers and ladies at the centres providing counselling, words of encouragement and other practical guidance.

Ikatan Pengamal Perubatan dan Kesihatan Muslim Malaysia (I-Medik) teams do what they do best and that is providing medical check ups besides supplying hygiene kits from one evacuation centre to another, helping the victims to be at least slightly more comfortable and also preventing diseases from spreading.

All these NGOs are operating and coordinated under ISMA, the organisation that TMMO somehow loves to hate (and the one with the largest logo displayed in that unfortunate report by them).

While we are giving all we can and have at our disposal during this trying times, of course there are still just so much more to do and contribute to the victims of the floods and rescuing effort all over the country.

So instead of writing reports with no particular benefit, or even sense, or cracking heads to come up with the most divisive news titles, I’d suggest the editorial team of TMMO to consider taking days off and join any of the relief teams instead. It will surely be beneficial to both the relief effort as well as the profession of journalism.

Worry not, doing actual good deeds would not turn you to become hardliners.

Umar Hakim Mohd Tajuddin

P.S: Our thoughts and prayers are with the family especially the children of Suhaimi Awang and Norhayati Sulong who perished in the tragic boat accident in Kemaman. Norhayati displayed exceptional commitment to her teaching profession and upheld its values right until the last moments of her life. Al fatihah to both of them.

Disclaimer: This article does not represent the official view of ISMA or ISMAweb.

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