What matters more? What you say - or how you say it?
This question was on my mind as we began the two-hour bus ride from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca - surrounded by people whom I only knew prior virtually - and it stayed with me throughout the 70-odd hours we spent following the training.
As the youngest person attending the training, I had initially second-guessed almost every interaction with my new peers. I was afraid I would say the wrong thing, and risk offending the people around me.
I was in my shell for the most part at the beginning - wholly unlike me, mind you - but I suppose that’s par for the course when you’re meeting the fabled National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) and its leadership for the very first time.
You see, I am no stranger to unions. My father had led Malaysia’s sportswriters’ union for a decade when I was younger. Though he never discussed with me his experience in the specific, I knew vicariously that unions are a big deal.
As a young journalist making my own way in the industry, I seized the chance to join the NUJ first opportunity I got. As soon as I was made a full-time staff member with The Star on August 1, 2023, I enquired to HR about the union and how I would go about joining it. It was a worthwhile organisation by my calculus, and I had always wanted to be a part of a group of like-minded, progressive journalists.
In fact, the chance to attend the training was perhaps serendipitous - some executive committee members were not attending, so invitations were extended to regular members. So, to Malacca, I went.
I had only peripheral knowledge about the NUJ beforehand, so I came in totally unprepared for what was to come.
Meeting and getting to know my fellow unionists was eye-opening, to say the least. Having the pleasure of meeting Jane Worthington – Director of IFJ Asia-Pacific and our impressive trainer - even more so.
As we went about our three-day course (a training that is intended to run over five days in ideal circumstances), I discovered a breadth of perspectives I was not privy to before.
Principles of adult learning, union capacity building, harnessing your leadership style, as well as union success stories elsewhere were but a few of these perspectives included in the course.
It would be folly to think that only the loudest, brashest, most gung-ho person qualifies as a leader, so I learned working through the material with such a colourful cast of characters, each with their own unique skills and mountains of lived experience.
I also learned of the universality of the challenges that journalists face, and that by taking these lessons we might reveal how best we approach them right here in our own country.
However, it was what wasn’t in the course that really stood out for me.
I learnt firsthand how the NUJ executive leadership built consensus among themselves in the aftermath of Malaysia’s Communications Ministry announcing a so-called “Media Code Of Ethics” on the second day of our training.
I learnt that despite (or maybe, because of) the many existential problems that Malaysian journalists face, interest in the NUJ was as strong as ever.
And most importantly, I learnt that in a thriving union there is no such thing as saying the wrong thing. All opinions, perspectives, answers should be welcomed, embraced, celebrated. Regardless of how it’s presented.
Once I learnt these things, my mind was at ease. I began to express myself honestly (perhaps too honestly on the very last session) and I feel all the better for it.
As I write this log on the bus back to Kuala Lumpur, I am filled to the brim with ideas to bring the union to new heights.
Sub-Editors are an under-represented lot in the NUJ, so I wish to build solidarity within the union for the plight of those of which I share a desk. I would also like to broach the question of unionising other digital media writers.
Organisations like Malaysiakini, SAYS, mStar, and FreeMalaysiaToday, are a few high-profile examples of big platforms unduly profiting from the talents of under compensated, over worked news media practitioners.
I also envisage a robust communications strategy, which would streamline existing efforts to remain in contact with members, as well as supercharge efforts to build public solidarity more broadly.
I absolutely cannot wait to put these ideas into practice. I am more confident than ever that my purpose is to continue to make the NUJ great once again.
Mike Miz is a media practitioner based in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. He has worked in a variety of capacities at some of Malaysia’s largest news organisations, including reporting, feature writing, and sub-editing.