PMA on OW

There’s this hype about Paula Malai Ali being on Oprah recently. And I’m sure it’s been blogged to death. But I thought I’d express my thoughts on the issue as well, ehem. Anyway, quick recap, PMA was selected to do a short segment on the average 30-year-old woman in Malaysia. So they did a three-minute clip to show how a so-called ‘average’ 30-year-old woman lives in good ol’ sunny Malaysia. It was on Oprah last Sunday, Astro Channel 70.

She starts off by saying she must MUST have her weekly massage (she says 'meh-sahj') , which is ONLY US$12 mind you, and then shows how the threading technique works instead of the usual eyebrow plucking technique. We enter her apartment. Cozy, lots of uber-cool ethnic stuff lying around (“Oh dah-ling, this is absolutely gorgeous, isn’t it? I bought it during my recent trip to Bali/Bangkok/South Africa/whatever sounds exotic”) and the camera pans around to show the swimming pool and tennis courts in her apartment grounds. Her rent, she tells, is only US$250. That’s about RM950 a month. (ok, at this point, I’m wondering when she’ll mention she’s actually married to royalty, is a famous TV personality and hails from Brunei. Hello?)

PMA then claims because of the oh-so-affordable living expenses in Kuala Lumpur, she has spare change to buy the must-have Jimmy Choo shoes (fine, she gets points for pointing out Choo is actually Malaysian).

Someone needs a reality check.

I was kind of embarrassed because the other women from other countries were at least blunt and revealed harsh realities about their lives there. Such as the woman from Rwanda, who was repeatedly raped, watched 16 family members killed before her and is now raising her son (conceived during the rape) and 2 other foster children. She’s living a normal life now and Oprah sent her to college (in true Oprah style of course). And this actress from Mexico – who is gorgeous and rich but anyway - revealed that her country is known for infidelity. I’m not expecting PMA to share some personal trauma but some dose of reality would be nice. Like, Malaysian women are very self-conscious. I think we are anyway. We’re always worried what other people will think if we do this, wear this etc. But I have long accepted that’s the way our culture works and although I don’t like it, I have to be honest and say I too am guilty of adhering to society’s expectations and requirements.

Ok, that’s a different topic altogether.

But Paula representing the average 30-year-old woman? Why didn’t they get some average executive who commutes to work, shops at Parkson Grand and watches movies at TGV on Saturday nights? Cuz it’s boring, that’s why. And heaven forbid we Malaysians be portrayed as boring. But it doesn’t have to be boring. It’s all about portrayal. A night out at the mamak can be deemed exotic to the foreign eye, right? Whatever it is, I just feel they could have done Malaysian women more justice by making the segment more realistic, honest and unique at the same time.

Ok that’s my two cents for the day. But what do i care about 30-year-old women anyway? I’m only 25,haha.

"Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate.
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you.
You better let somebody love you,
you better let somebody love you
before it's too late."
- Desperado, The Eagles