Citizen Journalism Blog

I received a notification from the CM’s office that he is visiting the Thaipusam stalls. So, I went along with all the media members. Seriously, I am not keen to follow a bunch of politicians through the Thaipusam road on a very, bright, sunny, hot and glaring late afternoon.

But, I know I will have better access to the people if I go in an official entourage. One doesn’t get these sort of privileges unless you are on the media members mailing list. On the list are editors of all the top gun mainstream media.

So, what does a CJ do in this instance? I cannot abuse the privilege of being part of the media members entourage without giving some credit to the politicians who invited me. Yet, I am not excited about being their public promotion mouthpiece.

I have to find the right balance. I want to make a video with a message. I want that video to give different group of people something worth watching.

So, I added some elements of religious tolerance and racial intergration to it. The CM gets his few seconds of ’see what a caring leader he is’. The Human Rights Party get their say. There is an element of how Chinese and Indians can be together as one in a religious event. Then, I added some inspiring scenes of Chinese kavadi bearers. Not to forget, a short message from ex-Xaverian (who is also an MIC member) on their refreshment stall. Then, I also take advantage of the storm brewing in PKR by highlighting their poster and CM whispering to one of the Adun.

Of course, I didn’t forget that the whole elements of Thaipusam is Lord Murugan. So, Lord Murugan also get his five seconds of fame being featured with his devotees.

The above seven minutes video actually took me four long hours to shoot. I enjoyed the long walk, immersing myself into the beauty of faith of the Hindus plus the colour, drum beats and human interaction. I only noticed how tired my legs and back were when I got into my car to drive home.

This is another one of the video that I enjoyed editing. There are lots of rough edges but I wanted to get it online fast so quality takes less priority.