It's the PREMIER wedding alright!

Most importantly however, the man of the day - Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi - has his wish of having a low-key wedding granted. But his decision to keep the ceremony low-key was also, understandably, baffling to some.

If it were public, many would surely want to witness the historic event - hey, this is the first time that a serving Malaysian prime minister is getting married. As weddings of prominent public figures have always been "weddings of the year, century", this one could be, too - if only wedding gate-crashers were not turned away from the ceremony.

Local television station TV1 showed footage of members of the press, both local and foreign, lingering outside the prime minister's official residence Seri Perdana after being denied entry to the event. This was around 12 noon.

I'm sure Pak Lah would feel bad about it today but I believe he will make up for it another day when he welcomes thousands of visitors to his residence on festive occasions like Hari Raya. So well, let's respect the prime minister's wish for privacy on this very important day of his.

Story of the day

I'm still in my first week at malaysiakini and today, I was assigned to do a story on the wedding. I was specifically reminded that it was an important story and to do a good job of it. Low key or not, it was going to be the story of the day!

However, my editor was sensible enough not to request that I made the long trip to Putrajaya (knowing that entry would be difficult as we're not invited) but to monitor the event from the office.

Mindful of the task, I diligently followed TV and radio broadcasts of the event but there was nothing much from there to do a story. Bernama was also 'quiet' until 4.40pm with a short four-paragraph statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

Meanwhile, I could hear my impatient editor screaming at a photographer to go out and "steal, rob, bribe... do whatever it takes" to get a wedding photo of the newly weds.

Realising later that was also impossible, I was then asked to do this analysis of today's event instead of a straight story. So here I am.

(Happily, our alert graphic guy managed to locate some wedding photos from Reuters and AP at about 7pm).

As my thoughts ran, I feel that the press could only imagine that it was a garden wedding, judging by the arrival of florists. They could only attempt a re-enactment of the ceremony if they were really pressed by their superiors.

Imagine the amount of news stories that the event would generate. Not only could general journalists report the sights and sounds at the ceremony, but fashion critics, food writers, wine tasters and wedding planners would also return to their offices with materials for their new publications. Disappointed writers are not the only ones feeling the pressure from the loss of potentially amazing pieces of writing for submission onto the desk of their demanding editors.

A commercial affair

Expectedly, businesses from fashion designers to door-gift suppliers grieve the loss of profits due to the prime minister's decision to restrict the guest list to only close relatives. The wedding would surely generate revenue for businesses from advertising agencies and retailers and create a bigger economic pie that many could benefit from.

Earlier guidelines released by the Prime Minister's Office had asked the media to rely on official announcements released by (state news agency) Bernama.

I understood this as an effort to subdue any attempt at trying to oppose the prime minister's will of having a modest affair. As a member of a non-official news agency, I did not have the privilege to write a first-hand account of the wedding. If I had, I would certainly leap with joy for this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness a premier wedding.

Besides that, it would also allow me to dress myself up in our national costume and attend it with an open heart to understand Muslim wedding traditions and customs. The event would also be a successful social event for the mingling of Malaysians from all backgrounds.

All I could do was wait for the official announcement. I just wanted to have a look of the beautiful couple on their wedding day. Announcements on the wedding were finally posted at 4.40pm but it was a letdown because there were no pictures but only four short and simple paragraphs.

Under the heading, 'PM Marries Datin Seri Jeanne In Private Ceremony At Seri Perdana', Bernama reported that the marriage between Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah was solemnised at Seri Perdana today.

"The akad nikah ceremony was solemnised by the imam of the Putrajaya Mosque, Haji Abd Manaf Mat, at 2.50pm. It was witnessed by the prime minister's son, Datuk Kamaluddin Abdullah, and son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin.

"The ceremony was attended by close relatives, according to a statement issued by the prime minister's family to Bernama at 3.40pm.

"The prime minister and his wife would like to thank the people for their good wishes for a happy marriage," the statement added.

At least to see a photo

That's all there is to the official account of the wedding today. It's boring eh! But this is what Pak Lah and his family wanted, so let's just leave it at that.

If I were not privileged enough to rub shoulders with my prime minister on his wedding day, I hope to at least see a picture. Nevertheless it is pointless for me to agonise over such a trivial issue now as today is supposed to be a historic day to be celebrated by all Malaysians.

Ours is a community of sharing. We practise the time-honoured tradition of sharing one another's ups and downs. In our community, more often than not, a wedding is not only the affair of the parties involved. Who are the parties involved anyway? All well-wishers or only blood relatives? I think it is a noble practice that neighbours help one another out in a wedding preparation. This does increase the sense of belonging and unity within a community.

But what if I am one who treasures privacy and does not want unsolicited attention from nosey and unrelated parties. Will I then be considered arrogant and wanting to be an outcast? I can only imagine the amount of stress that a couple has to go through in preparing a wedding. After the hoo-ha and involvement of so many people, they had better keep their fingers crossed that the wedding would materialise eventually.

Now, let me not digress but go back to the relationship of the prime minister and his people.

Pak Lah's second marriage has been on the horizon, but it was only publicly made known by the man himself on Wednesday.

While the people were caught by surprise, especially after his public denial of marriage rumours, many expressed their heartfelt congratulations to the prime minister, with notable ones being Dr Mahathir Mohamad's remark about the marriage being allowable in Islam and Samy Vellu's poem.

Of course, there were some who congratulated the PM and his bride on one hand but on the other, they also bombarded him with requests. There have been demands of gifts for the country, ranging from the more self-interested requests for public holidays by individuals to those calling for the release of detainees held under the ISA.

The country could be divided on certain issues but our blessings for Pak Lah and Jeanne Abdullah should be wholehearted. Whether we get tangible gifts from the PM or not, there is one thing that we should be happy about and anticipate - that the prime minister will do more good work now that he is happier.

Only the two of you

In his first address to the press after his wedding announcement on Wednesday, Pak Lak said, "I hope they (the people) will pray for our happiness because a happier prime minister can do a lot of good work,"

Many would concur with the popular saying that behind every successful man, there is a woman. If that is true, it is only in the people's best interest that they give total blessing to Pak Lah and Jeanne Abdullah.

It is almost a protocol for a national leader to be accompanied by his or her spouse on diplomatic trips. It certainly feels lonely if the spouse is absent. Therefore, we are all happy for the PM that he has found a new companion who can give him all the support that has been lacking in his life.

The country had been missing a First Lady since Endon Mahmood succumbed to breast cancer in Oct 20, 2005. Although Pak Lah and his late wife were considered a model couple who had been seen showing their affection for one another in public, we should be reassured that his love for his late wife was still strong as he believed that God had created in his heart spaces for many people to love.

Jeanne will kick off her new role as the First Lady by attending the wedding of the daughter of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah with the prime minister.

I am with the prime minister for looking beyond the superficiality of a wedding because essentially, marriage is a person's declaration of his or her love for the spouse. It does not matter if the world knows if I am married to so-and-so, except, well, for legal purposes.

A grand wedding is just sometimes a blatant in-your-face assertion of wealth and class, which only benefits capitalists at the end of the day. It does not matter if your wedding is a nationwide, or even a worldwide celebration, or just a humble affair, attended by, uhm , only the two of you.

SU HUI HSING, now on a summer break from Smith College, Massachusetts, is on a two-month internship at Malaysiakini.