Happy 22nd birthday, TV3

22 years ago, my family bought our 1st ever colour TV, of Philips brand, 21 inches size. It was just after my 3rd brother, who is also the youngest of my brothers and the seventh in the family was born (April 21, 1984). Malaysia only had two TV channels, i.e. RTM-1 and RTM-2 at that time (were also known as rangkaian satu (TV1) and rangkaian dua (TV2)) and they are still broadcasted from their flagship building, Angkasapuri, KL until today. Me and my family used to watch those TV programs in black and white since our old and also 1st ever TV set bought by my dad is a black and white television, 21 inches, brand NEC. It has wooden-body, plastic tuning control nobs, big analog channel tuning nob, and two sliding doors from the left and right side of the TV to shut the TV box. Its first 4 yrs (probably more) was in Pekan, Pahang and it migrated with us inside the removal lorry to Bandar Baru Bangi in mid-1980.

That Philips colour TV made its debut just few weeks before TV3 made its first TV debut on the 1st of June 1984. It had that rejoiced, lively and rejuvenated presentation, something that TV1 and TV2 seemed lacking behind. The first highlight of TV3 broadcast was that Los Angeles Olympic Game, summer 1984. I think that was also that 1st thing I could almost remember much of TV3 back in 1984. There was this guy, Sherkawi Jirim who did the sports commentator, and some younger fella, i think it was Zainal Abidin Rawop or something like that. TV3 that time seemed to favour younger, fresher TV personalities in almost all of their main TV programs. And that appealed to many viewers across the Klang Valley at that time. Additional note: TV3 was only broadcasted within Klang Valley since its TV debut and it proceeded step-by-step broadcasting across the peninsula malaysia before it reached nationwide which include Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo Island.

Early TV3 personalities include Wan Zaleha Radzi, Furzanne, Abdul Razak, Kamaruddin, Mahadhir Lokman, Christine Ling where most of them did both english and bahasa malaysia newsreading. TV3 offered so many entertaining and very recent TV programs from the afternoon cartoon slots to the prime time slots. It was that very time of the year that RTM started to compete for its viewers having lost many of them to TV3.

In 1986, TV3 created one of the longest ever running program on television, Muzik muzik, which featured musical countdown of top hits song in malaysia. Every month they will elect the most popular song and singers and after 12 months, all these singers be it solo or in bands will compete for the top song of the year in a competition-cum-entertainment program called Juara Lagu (loosely translated as "The Best of the Songs of the year") which is now known as Anugerah Juara lagu (The Best of the Songs of the year award).

Nowadays, i do not spend much time watching TV...prefer browsing through the digital Astro channels if I am to spend my quality time in front of the telly (i dont really like to call it IDIOT BOX. That term is probably suitable for many of the American viewers and those who doesnt have much life out there, extreme couch potatoes, pathetic loners (i reckon they have switched to internet surfing unless they can't afford paying the internet bills).

To be honest with you, I don't think I can survive that long without a telly in my place. Not that i would "deteriorate" without it, but I'd like to have it so as to complete the house furnishing or something like that. Rather than just tuning in to the radio, i would definitely prefer putting MTV-stuff like that on the telly while i am reading or doing my internet surfing, cooking and whatever else thats exclude going to the toilet or during my praying time (although sometimes i turn the TV volume high enuf while I am doing my business in the bathroom just so that I can still catch any important announcement (news stuff), cool songs, or whatever stuff esp during those Big Brother years in the UK...).