I LOVE working with The Malay Mail — not just the paper but its staff — my co-workers, or more appro priately my friends, who al ways manage to turn a hec tic and stressful day into a fun day.

The jovial atmosphere, I was told by my seniors, has always been The Malay Mail culture and was what kept most of us going despite the rough times.

When I first joined the pa per, I was not prepared for the challenges ahead but I blen ded in and enjoyed every minute of it.

The office is filled with jokers and pranksters.

These jokes and pranks are normally harmless and keep all of us going, especially when we’re faced with deadlines and strict editors demanding stor ies.

The lively mood has always managed to lighten things.

Despite some of the jokes being slightly brash for some who are not used to such an environment, The Malay Mail residents have grown accustomed to this and it takes less than a month for a newbie to make a comeback after being teased relentlessly by their seniors.

It’s good to know that those who have joined The Malay Mail, men and women alike, have always been good sports and always know the differ ence between a good joke and a bad one.

A good joker knows when to stop and knows the difference between what’s funny and what’s not.

I’m glad though that nobody at our office is as heartless and irresponsible as those who have been sending false text messages and making prank calls to the parents of Sharlinie Mohd Nashar, who has been missing for almost three weeks.

Perhaps to these individuals, it cracks them up to give the parents the run around.

Maybe it is funny to them that her parents are trying so hard to find their little girl, hoping that the public would lend a hand instead of be coming a target to be picked on when they are already down.

Maybe it would be funny to them if their own child or loved one goes missing.

Surely, it wouldn’t be funny if something like this happens to them. There’s nothing hilarious about losing a child and you don’t need to be a parent to figure that out.

On Jan 15, a 16-year-old student was arrested and is out on bail for sending prank text messages to Sharlinie’s parents, while the next day, a 27-year-old maid was arrested for giving false information.

More recently, rumours have been circulating stating that Sharlinie was found in Ulu Yam, Selangor, and that a DNA sample had been sent for testing.

In response to these ru mours, Petaling Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Arjunaidi Mohamed pleaded to the public to stop such acts which are not just affecting Sharlinie’s family’s feelings but also disturbing police in vestigation.

Regardless of how the in formation is circulated, it is a waste of time for the police to be hunting down culprits who are giving out false inform ation.

A similar case that comes to mind is the case of Nurin Jaz lin, where pictures of her post-mortem were widely circulated over the Internet.
I received the e-mail and it upset me terribly.

It does not take a genius to figure out what can be forwarded and what should not.

In this case, if you think you can help, contact the po lice and tell them what you know instead of sending false information and forwarding something you are unsure of.

To all those irresponsible pranksters, please think of something more original the next time you’re thinking of pulling a prank.

It’s never funny when you’re making fun of other people’s misery.

Ayu Musa Kamal
Senior writer

Source: Malay Mail – January 28, 2008