WHAT’S THE BIG FUSS WHEN IT IS ONLY A COMMERCIAL

By PJ Uncle

The knee-jerk reaction by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) elected representatives in Selangor on an “infomercial” at Happy Mansion, Section 17, recently does not bode well with the state government’s pledge that “Selangoreans” are not bracing for a water crisis.

The defensive approach on the repercussion of the infomercial by some PR politicians does little to re-assure “Selangoreans” that there is adequate treated water in the near term without the need of the Langat 2 dam.

Many residents of the 9-storey Happy Mansion apartment were “unhappy” to be awakened on the morning of September 24 by the sound of water tankers and the sight of more than 200 people preparing for a commercial shoot.

While residents of the quiet and serene apartments occupied mainly by pensioners and students had the right to be concerned with the noise and what the gathering was all about, since when a commercial shoot had gathered so much attention of PR politicians.

Were there DSAI or MB Khalid look alike present? Were there any banners or buntings with PR party logos or paraphernalia? Were the hired extras wearing any shirt that were anti-PR or depicts the current Selangor government? For that matter, were the hired extras adorned with materials that were political in nature at all?

If there were no political elements present at the shooting of the infomercial, what’s the big fuss? Why must some PR politicians jump to the conclusion that the infomercial is on water shortage and alleged that it is political smearing campaign that will mislead Selangoreans?

PR politicians, especially the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)-led state government, should look at such infomercial objectively and positively. The message may perhaps be to educate Malaysians in general to conserve water and to use such precious commodity wisely.

It is certainly childish for PR elected representatives in Selangor to have pointed their fingers at Barisan Nasional (BN) for such infomercial when in the first place the PR leadership often boast of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom to assemble that should be in place.

After all, the infomercial was shot by an award-winning production house with the permission of the management of the apartment coupled with hired extras that were willing to participate. Does the PKR-led state government want production houses to seek their permission and submit a storyline or agenda to them for consideration before any shooting is allowed in the state?

Certainly, nobody wants the “happy” residents of Happy Mansion to wake up one fine morning with dry taps. If that happens, the cafes and restaurants located within the Happy Mansion area will not be able to serve their popular Nasi Lemak, Chicken Rice, Pasta, Crepes, and Tom Yam to faithful customers. Worst still, there is a huge laundry in the area that services the many residents of PJ’s Section 17.

PR elected representatives should have the wisdom to think that BN could by the same token allege that the infomercial was orchestrated by the federal opposition to gain political mileage. Moreover, the production house did not disclose who their clients were for the infomercial and thus it will not be right to speculate if such infomercial had political overtones.

As many are aware that once the rumour mill starts to grind in Malaysia, anything is possible and believable. Perhaps, the question that lingers is was it a coincidence for the shooting of the infomercial to take place the same day when Dewan Rakyat convenes its third meeting of the fifth session of the twelfth parliament.