MIC Boss To Scammed Malaysian ‘National Geographic’ Photographer: “Don’t Give Up, Bro!”
Despite the scam, MIC encouraged the photographer to make the most of his Kenya trip and continue pursuing his dreams, emphasising that the fault lay with the fraudulent letter, not the young man’s aspirations.
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The young photographer who was fooled by a fake National Geographic letter has received some solid advice from MIC’s big boss.
MIC president Tan Sri S. A. Vigneswaran told the guy: “When one door slams shut, 10 others swing open.”
A few weeks ago, news sites were abuzz about how 32-year-old Tinesh Sritharan was supposedly selected for National Geographic’s prestigious Explorer program in Kenya.
The young photographer was so excited, he slid into Senator Dato Sivarraajh Chandran’s Instagram DMs to share his good news.
He presented his “acceptance letter” and emails that looked legit enough to fool anyone.
Impressed by his story, Sivarraajh took him to meet the MIC president.
The boss was thrilled to meet an ambitious young Malaysian Indian and decided to back him with RM15,000 for his trip to Kenya.
MIC Still Has His Back
Then National Geographic dropped the bombshell: the letter was fake.
“Look, if the kid got conned, we feel bad for him,” said Sivarraajh, adding that nobody should have their dreams messed with by scammers.
But MIC isn’t throwing the photographer under the bus – “The scam is in the letter, not the kid,” the former Cameron Highlands MP explained.
The advice was simple: don’t let this setback kill your dreams.
You’re already in Kenya, mate. Make the most of it and come home with photos that’ll make everyone proud.
According to Sivarraajh, the MIC leader has no problem with the photographer continuing his work in Kenya, fake letter or not.
Photographer Calls Out the Scam
Professional photographer Syahrin Abd Aziz was one of the first to suspect something was amiss with the entire National Geographic story.
He pointed out major red flags: the guy had to fund his own “assignment,” his animal photos were actually taken at Zoo Negara, and nobody in Malaysia’s tight-knit photography scene had ever heard of him.
“Getting an assignment from National Geographic isn’t easy – you need a powerful portfolio and extensive experience,” Syahrin explained.
He emphasised that National Geographic rarely works with newcomers, preferring established photographers who are already household names in the field of photojournalism.
The photographer noted that when National Geographic assigns real assignments, they provide a representative and cover the costs – they don’t require you to pay your own way.
In Malaysia’s photography scene, we all know each other, so whatever we do, the community will find out.
READ MORE: MIC-Backed Malaysian Photographer’s National Geographic Claim Exposed As Fraud
Parts of this story have been sourced from Nambikkai.
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