Keeping a Promise

It will be this week-sometime, that is-when I'm going to post somewhere a video of one of Malaysia's best and unforgettable radio deejays, Patrick Teoh aka "The Voice'" given a verbal 'slap in the face' by a lady!!!

Btw, I'm itching to talk about Perak, a state where my late dad was a home guard before the war and my mom received her training as a mid-wife at Ipoh Hospital ...

One thing I can say is I love the state, people, sights and sounds & food there ...

Yes! I think there is a 'great pretender' there!!! The people should decide at the ballot box and not be 'robbed'!

His name is Patrick Teoh. Known also as The Voice (He claimed he was crowned this title following an incident whereby he said something out of the blue and those present called him The Voice ever since) for his deep Pavarotti voice and natural English enunciation, he had a huge following in Malaysia. Some would hate this controversial radio deejay; others would love him when he hosted some of the morning shows on Radio 4 before Traks FM appeared.

Need I say that long before he became a long term fixture on the Rhythm of the Nation show, he was already a rising star of the Cool and Swinging Show...and The True and Amazing Facts Show (I heard about the latter and frankly, I haven't listened to it before).

Why was he so controversial?

He was outspoken, opinionated (too highly opinionated to some!), brash and blunt at times. Some said he was rude and obnoxious which would be debatable.

I liked him the way he was and saw him in the former description as outspoken, opinionated, brash and blunt. It's honesty at its extreme. Nevertheless, it was therapeutic for many, I believe.

Consider the sort of listeners he had in a time when Big Brother ruled with a big stick: Boring shows were the norm of the day. Interaction with the Malaysian public was a new phenomenon and this was skilfully molded by him into absolutely highly rated entertainment for everybody.

Folks from all walks of life and I include a certain buddy of mine who was a top sales rep in Miri loved to phone up and talk whatever topics Pat had in his Rhythm of the Nation shows. Alas! My buddy actually hit the bottle after his show went off the air following Pat's suspension for a hilarious prank, famously called the Duck Test Joke on April Fool's Day.

I heard my buddy calling twice over the radio. He was heaping praises on him for providing so many interesting shows! This sales guy was also agreeing with every word that his radio idol was complaining about such as annoying callers with their irritating radios switched on while on the phone line chatting with him. Sometime later I was quite shocked that this fan of his was angry that the show was no longer on and he really had to drown his sorrows by drinking heavily. This was a surprising revelation, considering he was not supposed to drink on strictly religious grounds!

These are just a few thoughts about Patrick Teoh. I'm keeping my promise to him to talk about him and the Pat fan who went nuts .... It's done, man!

By the way, as an afterthought, I don't think fans of his like us have a name...How about maybe we call ourselves patties after his name, Patrick or perhaps, duckies after his most controversial prank that likely got him off the air...