I agree that Deputy Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin (or Zam for short) deserves a grand do to celebrate his victory as malaysiakini's newsmaker of the year. From the look of things, he may even again be nominated in 2003!

I watched the RTM1 news at 8pm on Jan 2 and was wondering what the 'opposition bashing segment' had in store for viewers that night. True to form, Zam had devised a catchy title, taking a phrase from a P Ramlee film, called 'Antara Dua Darjat'.

It started off with the normal clips from PAS leaders Nik Aziz Nik Mat's speeches and Abdul Hadi Awang's 'fatwa' way back in 1981, and the oft repeated scenes to portray the opposition in the worst light possible. Never mind that. What he really had in mind was to praise premier-in-waiting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (or Pak Lah), who is going to be his boss, because the rest of the segment was dedicated to trace the nobility and piousness of Pak Lah's family and how even a mosque was named ' Badawi', etc, etc.

Pak Lah, if he wants to maintain his dignity, should ask Zam to stop all this, as people may interpret it as a sign of weakness on his part. For that matter, Zam has also has demeaned and ruined the reputation of RTM1 as a provider of national news not only to Malaysians but also to the world.

I wonder how our leaders can criticise CNN, CNBC and FEER when we on our own allow RTM to stoop so low. Zam's crude methods has not benefitted anyone, least of all the masters he is so desperately wanting to please.