Errr.
Just to quickly point out that Dr Setev Shaariibuu is hardly ever ‘calm’. He is always agitated, frustrated and his expression strained. If you can find a picture of him smiling anywhere, let me know.
From NST:
Father loses cool, slams ’slow’ trial
PETALING JAYA: He is normally calm and composed, but having waited so long and still not having seen justice done, Dr Setev Shaariibuu simply lost it yesterday.
The father of murdered Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu slammed his fist on the table during a press conference yesterday and threatened diplomatic consequences should the trial of the accused not be fair, free and speedy.
Setev fought hard to hold back the tears. That his eyes watered was clear to all, but he put on a brave front - until his outburst.
In general, I think people who haven’t covered a particular issue well enough or followed it from the start should refrain from making assumptions especially on a person’s character, demeanour or disposition. This only misleads the reader. Even when I cover events that I am unfamiliar with, I try to refrain from giving it too much ‘colour’ and I stick to the facts as much as I can. I’d rather have my story be boring and dry to read than to misrepresent or overinterpret the situation. There’s always a fear of getting called up and being fucked you see. Being too creative is a no go for me.
In this case, readers would think Setev is suddenly highly strung over the way the case is being handle and that this is the first time he has erupted before the media. Fact is, he has been frustrated and emotional since day one. I have seen many, many eruptions. And the Malaysian public doesn’t know it because the mainstream hardly reported his statements when he was here for the trial which began last July. He continuously lashed out at the media for not reporting his statements especially TV3 true enough, he repeated himself again yesterday (on the media, not TV3).
However, I think this time round, he has understood the implications of his actions and I noticed how he chose not to comment on the case too much. Sure he still whacks Abdul Razak Baginda but at least he isn’t outrightly saying “he is guilty, he killed me daughter and he should burn in hell”. Setev used to say things like that and it was hard for me to even write my stories. Even more so when he claims he dreamt his daughter Altantuya had told him who killed her. Now that was tough.
So trust me when I say I am thankful for his statements on humanitarian request and the leads on Mongolia wanting to sever ties with Malaysia. These are substantial and factual information that the Malaysian public needs to know, not how Setev suddenly had an outburst in the middle of a press conference. But there is always a tendency to focus on personalities and never the issues, eh?
What we have is a Mongolian mother of two and interpreter for the Malaysian government being blown up to pieces and her aggrieved father wants some form of monetary assistance for his sick wife and grandson. So stories that leads with surreptitious innuendos on one’s character? Sorry, tak jadi, dong.
I’m sure Setev is calm at times but this is most certainly not the case in front of the Malaysian media. And in his next trip back to Malaysia, I most sincerely wished he and his daughter get the justice they so deserve. Maybe then we’ll see calmness and ‘composed-ness’ :)