This year I celebrated Merdeka Raya with a few friends eating asam laksa, lasagna, lemang, rendang, chicken curry and mooncakes.

Amidst all the festivities, I felt a deep sense of loss and grief with the passing away of Noramfaizul Mohd Nor , the Bernama TV cameraman who was killed in Somalia last week. My deepest condolences and heartfelt wishes to the family.

Also, on behalf of most Malaysians, we would lie to convey our relief that most of the team have arrived back safely. We also wish Aji Saregar Mazlan a speedy recovery and pray that the Somali mission survivors will be given trauma counseling after such a tragedy.

When I first read about the Putera 1 Malaysia Club’s decision to go to Somalia in the newspapers, I felt a deep sense of foreboding. I am not playing the blame game here. Nor do I expect our journalists to stay home because they don’t get want to get killed.

Personally, having visited the Middle East and met with media,  NGO, UN and aid agency people who have worked long-term in conflict-driven situations, I was worried for the Malaysian group because it sounded like they were planning a ‘picnic’ (lawatan sambil berkelah).

There were almost as many number of media personnel as there were volunteers in the list. It looked like too much of a charity publicity stunt.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe in doing good, in charity and helping people across the world.

Maybe I will be considered unfair and critical about this effort but why couldn’t we have channelled aid through the UN, Mercy Malaysia or other NGOs? Why did we have to cart something like 18 media personnel when one cameraman and reporter would have done the job, so that the news could be distributed across print, radio and TV? It borders on the ridiculous.  Our seeking personal glory will get us into a lot of trouble.

We Malaysians have never lived through war, famine and disaster for generations. I have had the opportunity to interface with people who have lived through war. You need to bring your own bullet proof vest; the poor, destitute war-torn country does not have bullet proof vests for you.

There was a time when UN peace keepers on duty in a certain African countries had to wear blue plastic bags because they had run out of blue berets. The blue berets kept them safe because it identified that they were not the enemy.

In future, Putera1Malaysia and all Malaysians who wish to provide aid in war-torn countries, please note the following:

Ensure that we have a department of war medicine in Malaysia to train the doctors and nurses

Ensure that we train our journalists and cameramen to deal with conflict and hostage situations

Provide the right equipment (eg. bullet proof vests, night vision goggles, cameras which are suitable for reporting in war zones)

Ensure that there is post-traumatic stress counseling for all on the mission.

Ensure that the employers are also aware of the risks

Ensure that insurance coverage for conflict areas is covered and that families (in particular the children) will be taken care off if untoward incidents were to happen.

We are not going for a picnic with our nasi lemak Kelab Putera1Malaysia, this is real life.