Let us be united in hope and love by soo ewe jin THESE are trying times indeed. Flight MH370 vanishes, and after a week, it remains, as the DCA chief puts it, “an unprecedented aviation mystery”. The new information revealed yesterday has taken the search into new territories but the closure that we so desire will still be some time coming. And for a crisis of this magnitude, it is natural that we have to deal with a whole range of emotions depending on whether we are directly affected or just one of the many concerned observers. Apart from the many news sources, I have been looped together with a group of old friends from Penang Free School where information is shared freely, with a personal tinge to it. The captain of the flight, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, is our schoolmate — two years our junior. Some of us know him personally; most of us know about him because of the kindred spirit of loyal school ties. It has been a testing time for all of us. While united in concern, there have also been moments when a careless word or comment slipped through. But I am glad that the group remained intact, as those who erred were quick to say sorry, and the others were gracious to forgive. As I survey the various social media platforms, I feel sad that far too many people, who know so little, are so quick to condemn. Crisis management is both an art and a science. Not even the best PR practioners will agree on what is the best thing to do, the correct words to say, and the signals to give out, at times like this. In some strange ways, while I agree that the information dissemination has been far from ideal, I will not rush into judgment to condemn those who are currently in the frontline. Every day, I can see how tired these people are. We may be able to view things from a safe distance, but we will never be able to feel what they are going through. So, even if they say one thing, and then correct themselves at the next press conference, I will give them the benefit of the doubt. At least, all this is being expressed in the public domain. Going back to my group, I am proud that some of my old schoolmates are able to articulate viewpoints that shed light, and more importantly, remind us that we need to be humans first, and to care for one another in such tumultuous times. All the smileys were flashed out when Prof Datuk Dr Omar Osman, the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia, who was my classmate from Form 1, wrote: “Just arrived from the Middle East on a MAS flight. Saluted the cabin crew. They were calm and reassuring throughout. Everyone was cautious but maintained their dignity and confidence. While disembarking, I told the crew members to remain strong.” Yes, it may be a small gesture on the VC’s part, but I am sure the MAS crew appreciated it very much. Dr Khalid Khan, another classmate, was his usual calm self, able to share his medical wisdom when discussions got a bit hot. “If we are confused and angry, what more the next of kin? Anxiety, depression, anger, acceptance… these are the phases of a typical reaction to a calamity,” he wrote. Lawyer Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos put things in perspective when he said that to help in any disaster situation, we must learn not to draw attention to ourselves. He related how he has led teams to assist in disasters around the world and took great care to select the people he brought along. “We go quietly, do what we can, and come back,” he wrote. Two members of our group, MAS pilot Captain Abdul Manaf Hasan and PR consultant Ritzeraynn Rashid (a former MAS employee), shared deep insights into the personal life of Capt Zaharie because they knew him up close and personal. I am glad that all of us remained “strong and faithful” (Fortis Atque Fidelis) in the true Free School tradition. And it was also appropriate that the current headmaster of the school, Jalil Saad, is also from our year. And we certainly gave him the thumbs-up when he got the school to come together to pray for MH370. The drama is still unfolding but let us try not to be dramatic for all the wrong reasons. I hope that we can all be united in hope and love. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say nothing at all. These are the wise words of Thumper the rabbit in the Disney classic, Bambi. Remind yourself that careless words can and do hurt people’s feelings. More so, in these trying times. > Executive editor Soo Ewe Jin is touched by the words of his friend who said, on his Facebook posting: “We, as Malaysians, must stand not only behind those who are grieving but also behind those who are exhausting themselves to find the plane and the root cause of this disaster. We need to curb our impatience.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 03:46:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015