by Faizaah Kamal
Faizaah Kamal: So …first question: Who is Ainun Sailah?
Ainun Sailah: I am 23 years old
from Shah Alam. I am currently in Fourth Med. My passions are reading,
travelling and photography. I am quiet and introvert person. I just prefer to
be the observant one in a crowd, instead of mingling with people. I grew up in Shah Alam, but in 2006 I moved
to Kuching, Sarawak. I spent my high school years there before I entered
college, a Pre-Medical study in AUCMS, Penang. My family has already moved back
to Shah Alam.
FK: Wow! I feel like we have so
many things in common. So, which genre of photography do you like best?
AS: I actually like photography
since high school but coming here and meeting with so many wonderful
photographers reignites that passion. At that time, PPMC organized a street
photography competition and I thought that the submissions were so beautiful and
that started my ‘love affair’ with the genre of street photography. I don’t typically
favour landscape photography because I feel that it’s unfair to capture
something that is already so beautiful. For me, true photography skill is when
we can capture something that seem ordinary and turn them into beautiful arts.
I like taking portraits as well because I like to capture people’s emotions and
expressions.
FK: I know that Humans of PPMC
project is inspired by Humans of New York (HONY) but what inspires you to say
,’I am going to do that here in Cork too.’
AS: So, let me start from the
beginning of the story. I was obsessed with Humans of New York after a friend
shared them with me. At that point, I was already in PPMC as the Multimedia Committee
and I thought that it would be nice to replicate that here in Cork. The first
person that I interviewed was Fasihah Nabilah but I did not feel confident with
my work so I just kept it as a draft until the committee started asking about
this project. So I told them the state of the project and Dzar started to
motivate me in the middle of the meeting to upload them. Surprisingly, many
people liked the post and that gave me the confidence to continue with the
project. I didn’t think that I could do it alone so I asked my colleague, Fahmi
Faisal to help me with this project. We planned it to do every week with
alternating gender and different themes. The purpose of the project was we wanted
to show a different side of a person, of a PPMC member that most of us might
not know. Instead of focusing on what are they known for, we asked on a different
aspect of their life; family or hobbies.
FK: How
about you tell us the process of creating a Humans of PPMC post? I am sure
people out there are really curious.
AS: It’s actually very simple. By
Tuesday or Wednesday, Fahmi and I would discuss the subject for the week. In
terms of recruiting, we chose a subject that was not too unknown in the
community but at the same time not too famous. I’d contact the person and set
an appointment and we would do the interview and photography usually on weekend
or Friday evening. And depending on the
person and on the topic, the interview could go from 40 minutes to 2 hours. After the interview, my colleague which was
an amazing photographer, Fahmi would take photo of the subject. Then, I would
write the post and Fahmi would send the pictures to me. A private post would be
uploaded and the subject would have the chance to review it, in case they
wanted to change anything. By Sunday at 8 pm, we would upload it.
FK: It’s truly amazing the work that you have
done. Talking about the Humans of PPMC, I am sure you have done many interviews
for this project. If you have to choose one post, which would you say your
favourite one?
AS: I truly enjoyed talking to all of them, so it would be
quite tricky to choose one. Besides, it depends on the topic itself. But if
there was one interview that I would like to share with the public, I’d say
Evon. We talked about a lot of things,
but there was one quote that I couldn’t forget until now and I would like to
share it. She said, ‘It is a true privilege to be a medical student, to see
people at their most vulnerable state and we are the one at that time who can
help them. Just remember that no matter
how exhausted you feel with all the stress in medical school, the patient are
in much worse condition than us. We have to think about the patient. So even if we have to take some scolding from
consultants, get to hospital early before the sunrise, it’s all going to be
worth it because it is for the patients that will need us one day.’ But that is
just from one person. I often felt inspired after I did the interview. All
these people are so amazing to talk to.
FK:Wow! That is amazing! How about the most awkward or
embarrassing interview moments?
AS: When I interviewed Amirul
Asyrof, there’s this one moment when he started talking about his wife and
marriage. He was so in love with his wife, complimenting her and talking about
marriage which was very lovely but I was blushing throughout the interview due
to the embarrassment and awkwardness. I remember thinking, ‘How am I supposed
to write this?’ That was the only time that I could not reciprocate with my own
life experience!
FK: Oh my! I can already imagine
the awkwardness in the air during that interview. Alright, by doing this
project, did it change you in some ways? If so, how?
AS: Yes,definitely! I get to sit
down and talk about heavy and light topics with so many people which is a rare
opportunity. I discovered so many different outlook and perspectives coming
from different people. It makes me more open to different ideas and it teaches
me that sometimes if you spend your time with people and ask the right
questions, they will open up to you. You
just have to ask.
FK: You mentioned that you are a quiet, introvert
person Do you find it is difficult to do the interview process? Any tips on
good interview skills?
AS: Not really because I am usually
a good listener and one tips that I can give is to share your life experience
too regarding the topic on hand. You as an interviewer have to ‘expose’
yourself so that they can too, open up about their thought and feelings. Usually
there are certain topics in our life that is a little too private and we all
have that so I do understand their position if they are not comfortable talking
about certain topics, I will usually just close that topic and open a new topic,
instead.
FK: So, I am sure there are many
people who have helped you in some ways in making the project a success. Do you
want to take some time here and maybe mention some names?
AS: Definitely! My
partner-in-crime, Fahmi Faisal , that
has helped me a lot. My housemates; Aisya Amira, Shafika, Sazrina, Ridhwah Anis.
They were the one who I consulted when deciding the subject for their opinions.
Fasihah and Nadia Sahrudin as well, for their support. Dzar too, for giving me the push that I needed
to upload the first post. Also for all the people who supported the project.
Their positive feedbacks always keep me going. Also for all the interviewee who
spent their precious time with me. I could not thank them enough for the time
that they spent for the interview.
FK: What is your greatest
accomplishment?
AS: I don’t really think about it actually
because I don’t live my life and keep track of my accomplishments that I made.
I don’t like the feeling of pride of the things that you have accomplished. But
I guess, I am proud of the Humans of PPMC. Because whatever message that I tried
to get across in the posts were well received by Malaysians here.
FK: What does friendship means to
you?
AS: Mutual understanding. My
group of friends are a mix of introverts and extroverts. I am a timid introvert
so I have those moments where I need time alone and they understand and respect
those moments. I am really grateful that they understand and love me as a
person. They can even express and explain my feelings or actions to people when
I can’t so it’s amazing.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Faizaah
Kamal is having a quarter-life crisis due to lack of accomplishments.
