{youtube}R-K9BwvmYjM{/youtube}

1. Why don’t you have a blog, and what do you think of new media’s role in shaping Malaysian politics?

Well, Facebook is a place for you to network, get to meet friends, even trace long-lost friends. I don’t see why that has anything to do with a blog; In having a blog, you have to maintain it--you have to have the discipline and the time which I don’t have.

And also there’s so much noise in cyberspace, in any case, so many bloggers writing and they’re doing such a fabulous job of it. I would just be adding to the noise.  I think the new media has done a fabulous job in making us politically more aware. Otherwise we would still be living in political ignorance.

The new media has exposed a lot of the ills of an arrogant government, an arrogant party and without that it would have not changed the political landscape. So it’s done a tremendous job.

2. What surprised you the most in writing ‘March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up’?

That people were actually willing to speak up now. March 8 is such an important event; it has changed a lot of things, it has changed people’s lives. It’s changed people’s ways of thinking and there were a lot of people that I approached whom I had never known before in my life; I’d never met them.

I didn’t know them from Adam or Eve. And I asked them for their comments and they gave willingly. And there were people that even wrote essays for the book whom I had never met before, so that was very good. That was the surprising thing, perhaps, if you could call it that.

3. Of the people you interviewed for the book, who had the biggest balls?

Without a doubt, it has to be Raja Petra Kamaruddin, or RPK. The things he says in the book, you can read it for yourself. Amazing things. Not very different from the kinds of things he would say on his blog, and in that kind of language and well, intensity, and conviction, I would say.

4. What hasn't changed since March 8?

UMNO. It’s still resorting to its old tricks, still thinking that the old ways will work. Still in denial mode thinking that people will still support them if they continued with their errant ways.

5. What’s the story behind your children’s names: Soraya Sunitra and Jebat Arjuna?

It’s my contribution to Bangsa Malaysia, and I think it gives them a sense of their identity as Malaysians. I think that’s very important, and it’s unique for them, too. I mean, we pay a lot of lip service to the idea of Bangsa Malaysia but we’ve got to do something about it, so I thought I’d do that.

6. How has journalism changed over the years, and is it for the better?

I wouldn’t say so, because when I started in journalism about 30 years ago, things were more liberal. I think Dr. Mahathir played a very big role in changing it, muzzling it.

I remember when I was in New Straits Times, there used to be a joke going around the newsroom that all he had to do was fart and he would get 20 paras on the front page.

And from that time onwards, nobody in the mainstream media could ever criticize the Prime Minister, and this has been the case till today, it’s still happening.

7. What gives you more fulfilment, journalism or writing plays?

I think writing plays is very fulfilling in the sense that you are able to create fiction from the reality you see around. And you can also get away with a lot more things than you can in journalism because it’s not so direct, and also when you write a play, you’re creating a work of art.

And that transcends a lot of things. When you see the actual product being staged and it comes alive, that’s an indescribable feeling.

8. What are the best and worst things about Pakatan Rakyat?

The best thing is that they will be a new broom, and they might be able to sweep clean for a time, to a certain extent. And if they became the federal government they might be able to bring in some reforms, for a time, until perhaps they learn the ropes of corruption.

The worst thing about them is that they still continue to function within racial compartments. We still don’t see a totally multi-racial and a gender evolution out of this coalition. Sometimes when issues come up, they still take the tribal line or the religious line and that is a worry.

9. Is there any hope for Barisan Nasional?

There’s always hope for everybody. I think Barisan Nasional is still able to redeem itself by going back to the people, by listening to the people more, by following the rule of law, playing by the rules, doing away with all the dirty tricks and tactics. Maybe reform itself as a multi-racial coalition. Why not?

10. If you were stuck in an elevator with someone, who would it be with and why?

Well, I would like to be stuck with Khir Toyo, so that I can tell him to get a life. I would like to be stuck with Professor Khoo Kay Kim so I could tell him that it is about time that we reclaimed our true history and that he should not be involved in it.

But seriously, if I were to be stuck in a lift with anybody it would be my wife, because she’s smart, she’s wise, she would be able to calm me down and tell me not to panic in such a situation, and we would be able to also sit down and talk about a lot of things, like what we’re going to do with our kids, how we’re going to help them, what we’re going to do since we’re about to retire, whether we should renovate our house...a whole host of other things.