My moment of fame

About two weeks ago, I got recognised. Or rather, my voice was recognised. Twice on the same day!

I was at the launch of SMR.T's upgraded first-generation trains, which has a few new disabled-friendly features. I decided to focus my story on that aspect rather than the colour of the seats or the better air-conditioning, so I interviewed two disabled people who had been invited to the launch.

The first was a blind lady. First I asked her if I could interview her, then I asked for her name, and then finally I introduced myself. When I did she said, "Oh yeah I've heard you. I thought your voice was familiar but I didn't want to jump to conclusions."

After that I interviewed another lady, and when I introduced myself she recognised my name too.

I was definitely chuffed. I mean, I don't go on air regularly. There are days and sometimes stretches of days when I don't go on air at all. When I do go on air, it's always for 2- or 5-minute spurts. I really never expected anyone to remember my name.

It sure beats having PR people ask, "You from Berita?" the moment they see my face. Seriously. What, just because I'm Malay I most definitely must be writing for the Malay paper? There was once I went to a press conference and without saying ONE word to me, the PR person took the name tag that said "Be.rita Haria.n" and put it in front of me. The irony was that the CNA reporter there was also Malay, but he asked her where she was from before giving her a name tag.

I guess he figured if there were two Malay reporters in one room, they can't both be from English-language media. Surely there can't be more than one Malay working in an English newsroom in Singapore right?

But it's not just a Malay thing. My colleague, let's call her Sha.ron, has the most impeccable, clearest English-speaking voice in the newsroom. But for some reason PR people often assume she's from the Chinese-language media. It boggles the mind.