Zed ZaidiTWO peas in a pod – that perhaps best sums up Malaysia and Indonesia.

However, at times, both countries are more like two bickering peas. The relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia is a sensitive one.

Just like in any marriage, there are times when one has to tread carefully and avoid unnecessary arguments.

From border disputes, sporting rivalries, cultural issues to abuse of Indonesians working in Malaysia, the latest volatility in the thorny relationship we share with our neighbours comes from an unlikely source; the entertainment industry.

To recap: Julia Perez, an Indonesian singer/actress, known for her 'sex bombshell' image, recently took to her Twitter account to criticize the quality of Malaysian dramas. She compared it to Indonesia's, saying the latter is far ahead in quality, and that she was proud to be Indonesian.

Pretty normal stuff, right? Or so one might think.

But Perez, or Jupe, as she is more affectionately known among her fans, angered many Malaysians who thought her statement was uncalled for. Especially as she was on Malaysian soil when she tweeted her little critique.

Her tweet caught the eye of one Zed Zaidi. Local actor, Seniman president and aspiring politician (maybe).

Zed, despite Jupe's tweet not directly mentioning him, responded to the Indonesian, calling her 'gampang' and 'biadab' and also went as far as hitting out at her moniker Jupe, asking if that name was even "human".

Jupe got riled up and fired back at Zed, reminding him that there are many Malaysian celebrities earning a living in Indonesia as well. She also became a tad political, in referring to Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin's criticism of former Indonesian president, BJ Habibie.

To cut an unnecessarily long story short, the whole exchange was pointless and juvenile, at best.

Now let's get back to our dear Mr President, Zed Zaidi.

Realizing that Jupe was in Malaysia, he found that she was here for a film shoot, and took it upon himself to investigate the status of her work permit.

His ammunition was beefed up substantially when he discovered that the Indonesian celeb did not have a permit to work here. It emerged that the film production, under Murali Abdullah for the film 'Sentuhan Malam Pertama', had allegedly neglected to obtain one.

Any normal, rational person would immediately understand that the task of applying for a work permit falls under the responsibility of the production company, and not the actors.

Jupe was invited to film a role in the movie. She obviously accepted the invitation. Flew into the country. Acted out her bit. Left.

The fact that Zed directed his little 'immigration' crusade at her was illogical at best.

He ranted on his Twitter account about how he had checked with the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) and found that no permit was applied under Jupe's name.

He also offered his two sen's worth about the Immigration Department and on how Finas planned to 'serbu' (raid) the film location. He basically carried on as if Jupe was a prime target on the FBI's Most Wanted list and that he had just solved the crime of the century.

To me, all it did was make him look stupid.

He garnered a lot of support on Twitter. That is something I found even more disturbing.

Somehow, amidst all the chaos, people forgot to ask one pertinent question: If he did not get into a Twitter war with Jupe, he wouldn't even have known that she was here, much less working without a permit.

So what kind of a president, who is allegedly fighting for the rights of local celebs, is he?

That aside, Zed has always been vocal about foreign celebs making their mark here. Apparently, according to his logic, these foreign artistes are 'taking food straight out of the mouths of our local celebs'.

Whatever happened to healthy competition, one wonders.

Zed once questioned fellow actor Aaron Aziz winning a local award, citing the fact that Aaron is Singaporean.

If there was a local actor who deserved the award more than Aaron, I'm pretty sure that local actor would have won. Is it Aaron's fault that he managed to win the hearts of Malaysians better than any current local actor could?

What we have here is a small entertainment industry. Our artistes are known in Singapore and Indonesia, and vice versa. Why on God's green earth can't we all just work together and be happy?

Zed doesn't realize that even if he bans all foreign acts completely, our local talent pool will not magically improve overnight.

There is a reason why Indonesian songs make it big here. There is a reason why their 'sinetron' (television dramas) is arguably more widely viewed here compared to local dramas.

There is a reason why people have taken a liking to Aaron Aziz. There is a reason why Indonesian films are more recognized worldwide compared to ours.

And the reason is simple. Talent. Hard work.

Our artistes find it hard to penetrate their market not because they ban us. But because they have a better talent pool, so why the heck should they listen to or watch our crap?

Yes, I say crap, and I don't mind saying it over and over again. Because as much as Jupe appears to be an artiste without much substance, her criticism was on the nose. And we Malaysians are brilliant at living in denial.

We are also champions at dodging criticism. Instead, we prefer to hit out at our critics and label them 'haters'. God forbid that we are made to accept our shortcomings.

Zed Zaidi is not a good president. He is not a good representation of our entertainment industry. And the mere fact that he is getting much support from outside and within the industry itself is scary and terrifying. What will happen to our industry if he continues reigning at the helm using his outdated mentality and methodologies?

The late, great Allahyarham Tan Sri P.Ramlee put our industry on the map. And what do we have today? Despite all this technology, we're stuck in a rut. The quality of our local production is both sad and depressing. And that is exactly how it will stay if we continue to entertain the delusion that we are above criticism.

To Zed Zaidi, what we need is to buck up. When we improve someday, we don't have to 'sekat' foreign acts from coming here; we will automatically support 'barangan buatan Malaysia'.

The reason why we prefer Kris Dayanti or Nicholas Saputra today over Zed Zaidi or some other local talent is simple. The formers are talented. Accept that and improve. As long as you refuse to accept criticism, you will forever be the talentless junk you started out as.

- mD