Boycott

Over the past few days, many if not most have been talking about this idea of boycott or refusal to participate. An economic boycott was sanctioned by the Malaysian government in order to send a strong message of disagreeing with the Gaza conflict. Israel has been seen as the culprit and deemed to be the "bully" between that conflict and thus a boycott on items related to israel has been put into motion. Oh and a few minutes ago i just got a message stating that McDonalds and Starbucks are going to contribute their whole month of income ( January) towards the Israeli cause.

Over the past few days as well a few things have popped into mind regarding this matter for me. A student in one of my classes when prompted questioned: "Will it work?" (if youre wondering why an English lecturer would be talking about the conflict, its because language needs an issue.)

I stared silently into the crowd, remembering the many disputes and debates i have had with myself, my countless monologue while i commute to work.

It has always been my contention and a known fact that boycotts (1) work only in the long run (2) it is a accumulation of individual right.

When confronted with the question of boycott these two things sprung to mind. Because firstly, the conflict in Gaza has been going on for almost 60 years, some might claim even longer and there are facts to support that. And in this 60 years we have decided to begin our boycott in an era where most of our citizens have grown accustomed to the things they are asking us to boycott. I read somewhere the internet were founded by jews and so was the pentium. So to boycott israel means to not buy computers??? you figure it out.

You see boycott is a self choice. If people think that cant live without McDonalds for example, it would be hard for him or her to participate in the boycott (this is rhetorically of course). So it should be left up to personal choice. If choosing between a supposedly (israel tea) and Sabah Tea fo instance, then the better choice (assuming of course youre participating in the boycott) would be to buy the Sabah Tea. But not to the extent of throwing away your computer because the intel chip was founded by people who are supporting Israel.

The two kinds of boycott would fall under the necessity and the luxury. For example, eat local food instead of a chain store like KFC or McDonalds, drink Sabah Tea instead of Lipton or Boh (these are just examples i dont know whether they are israel based) using mustika ratu lotion instead of johnson and johnson. Yes some would argue the quality differs and that is why i leave it personal choice. If you think you cannot live without johnson and johnson lotion then dont try. Youre boycott should not in anyway put you in a discomfort. More admirable are those who allow themselves to be rid of certain or all luxuries in life which could contribute to the Isreali cause but lets be realistic, I dont think all could do so.

Which brings me to another point. Why have we chose to implement this now? If we had started 40 years ago our generation today would not have grown dependant on household names such as Johnson and Johnson, Seba, Pampers and such. But no, we decide now to do so.

Will it work? will people really stop buying for sure???

No..... people wont. So confounded are people with their current status quo that most would simply brush this idea of or give a lame excuse such as, "the neighboring countries of palestine dont give a damn so why should we?"

I see the glass as half full... so even though our so called boycott might not work because of the dependancy on foreign products, it is still a statement that we do not condone israeli violence. That we are against it and we want the UN to stand and be counted at this moment of despair. It is in this time of conflict the UN should prevail and understand that Isrealis are the bullies and even though vengeance has grown deeper and darker and even more bitter over the span of 60 years, it is time we intervene and stop the violence.

I once read an article telling this story of an Israeli soldier. Where he said three of his friends were out on patrol and during that patrol they taken/abducted and killed and heads were stuck to a stick displayed for all the israel soldiers to see. Then he went on to tell the story of how israel soldiers were being mocked by children on the border and as the kids (aged probably around 8-12) threw rocks and cursed at the israelis, the faces of their fallen comrades come into their faces and these soldiers start shooting at the children. Putting round after round into these young bodies because they were angry. In the story he said...

"I have forgotten the cause of this war, it has been so long ago that i do not remember how everything started in the first place... but as look upon the bodies of a Palestinian child bloodied guilt swarmed over me, this young body will never understand life anymore and we have taken its life..... I have forgotten the cause of this war... but even if i remember... i do not think it is worth... what ever the cause maybe... too much blood has been spilt..."

As a muslim im with my Palestinian brothers. My Muslim brothers, their suffering is mine and if we sit idly by, we are as much as guilty as the israelis who are killing innocent children. Churchill said For evil to prevail all good men have to do is nothing. So at the very least, I emphatize with my Muslim brothers.

as a human being, i do not believe any man was built to withstand guilt of killing an innocent child. And if Isrel continues its horrendous assault on the innoecent victims that now lay waste at 900 bodies, they are losing the spiritual war. They are losing themselves. They are losing the battle to remain.... Human. I do not know this for sure... but i hope that they do feel guilt of the innocent lives they have massacred because if they have no guilt... then this war will carry on until both nations lay in ruins.

One of my friends asked me.... "Do you understand this war hanafee?"

To be honest, i understand and i do not understand this war. I understand that basic need to keep what is sacred to you in your lineage. The battle for jerusalem. The battle to retain what is sacred. But what i do not understand, is why both these sides would allow innocent casualties. Why dont the Hamas move to an area further away from the civilians instead of continuing with this militant hiding in the society tactic, and why does israel continue to attack without acknowledging that innocent lives are dying. Would they prefer to kill innocent lives just to win this war?? would both the hamas and the israelis prefer to let all innocent people die before finally killing each other???

This post started with just a brief explaantion regarding this idea of boycott and this is the extension and extent of this issue. This is one war no one will win.

For the closing I take the words of the Turkish general in the Movie Kingdom of Heaven. Jerusalem -- It is everything, and nothing.

Pendatang!!!!!!!!!!

Summer mentioned that i had not written a political piece in a very long time and as i thought about it, i realized i did not want to write about it. Many of my friends wondered why i had not taken interest in this matter and to show i am interested i have written this post.

All day long we read in blogs and newspaper seeking redemption, seeking that extreme measures need to be taken because what Ahmad Ismail had done was unacceptable. I am disgusted at this. Minority leaders spoke of equality and that we should all learn to accept each other in order to live in this country we call Malaysia, but i have not seen one minority leader say

"What Ahmad Ismail said should not be taken seriously, it was a comment of one man who seems frustrated with his surroundings, a man who might not have been in the right frame of mind when he said what he said.."

No one said anything along these lines, not one, and reactions of minority leaders all seem to be that Ahmad Ismail needs to be punished, hanged, politically banned, arent these comments going to generate even more hatred? I think politicians today are more looking out for themselves. They know that if they spoke harshly on behalf of their own race they will fuel anger towards Ahmad Ismail and later fuel hatred on the party that Ahmad Ismail is a part of.

When i was in primary school, i was placed in a chinese school, my father believed in cultural integration, he believed that we had much to learn from our counterparts, and so he had tried to instill in me a certain amount of compromise. Now tell me, is there a difference with this situation compared to Chinese boys telling me to find another school because i wasnt chinese??? Telling me that i was lost for staying there... Where did these 8-9 year olds even learned these things if not from their parents??? I have been in the receiving end of racism so many times i remembered in high school wanting to play basketball i was forced to practice alone as the captain shouted in the beginning of training "Melayu practice belah sana, Cina di sini" and guess what? I was the only Malay. And i took that walk towards the other side of the world to play alone and I did.

Despite that, I have also met amazing individuals of different race that i have admired. A friend, a mentor, a lecturer, a basketball player, they too found acceptance.

I think Ahmad Ismails comments were blown way out of proportion. Had it come from a 16 year old teenager who refused to let a malay boy play basketball he would have been noted down as immature. But it doesnt make it any less significance. I have reacted well to racism always believing in humanity. but ask yourself this, what if Ahmad Ismail had been a victim of racism all his life? what if he was the boy transfered from the chinese school he had tried to learn in, to a malay school? what he was refused the right to play on a leveled playing field of a basketball court? What if he was the one graduate turned down by a Chinese company because he had to pray on fridays? What if he was fired because he went missing from the office for 15 minutes at 130pm 430pm and 715pm???? You want to tell me its not happening??

It is Malaysian mindset that we judge people quickly when we forget that only God has that right. What right do we have to judge him? and even if we do.. why pour oil on already burning fire?

The MALAYSIANS that i have known in my life are accepting, they accept the fact that we are different and how we react to certain events are different and how we have been brought up are different. Im not defending Ahmad Ismail, there was no excuse for he had said, but i refuse to be drawn to this mentality that is largely affected by politicians that he needs to be punished. God punishes you, not your fellow man.

I have sat with Chinese who lean close and whisper
"hey the chinese guys behind us are saying some bad things about you in chinese..."

I have sat with indian lecturers who say:
"Sometimes when all else fails hanafee... you turn to your God.... Im sure you'll feel a lot better..."

I have sat with Chinese friends who say
"Hey let me pay, you paid the last time we chatted"

I have met Chandra, Boon Han, Jeslyn, Huey Mei, Raj, Ai Huey, Swee Keng, Koh Yung Bing, Eldero Pan, Teo Yung Lun and they were all exceptional individuals.

But I have also met those who refused to even befriend me because i am Malay.

All im saying is that everyone has had their fair share of being treated as an outcast, victims of racism be it Chinese against Malays or vice versa. So we should all not be pulled into this web of hate spun by political leaders who believe making people hate Ahmad Ismail for what he said regardless of his past is the right thing to do. Because we all know its not the right thing to do.

Punish him and we would have proven those who already have hate in their hearts that they are right. We have better things to do then to dwell on what one man said. We have a country to fix an i have no time to dwell on trifles. Remember it was just one man. But punish him and you will see that he will have even more supporters just like Anwar.

p/s - Some NGO's Malay Based has already expressed their approval of Ahmad Ismail, be aware of this week when one of those NGO's start voicing out their opinions and their approval of Ahmad Ismail. When you shove one of the Malays, some will help him shove back. We'll see where it goes from there.

what are you thinking???

As i browsed the bookmark pages on my bookmark tabs and read entries and comments of all the blogs that i read, i found this one entry which was commented. His entry was regarding the victory of DSAI in Permatang Pauh and of course it effect in a national sense. What strikes me is not that content of the blog but rather the comment left by one particular reader in which he/she suggest something i found offensive. The comment wrote and i quote

"Keamanan palsu lebih teruk dari peperangan terbuka..."

I found myself mulling over this idea of war and how open he was to it....

This is what i think, any kind of peace is better than any kind of war, the peace that he so called says is fake, is the reason why anyone has an education, why he has a computer to write on, an internet connection to use, a place to voice his opinions, while in war, there is only death, killing and destruction.

I know not the preference of this comment, but i honestly found it disturbing that someone who have ever lived in Malaysia find the idea of war a better solution to the "fake" peace we have today.

How can this person who have never experience a war believe that it is ever a solution??? Have you ever killed a man? Would you like to? Have you ever held a dying man in your arms whose only worry is that his family will never knew he died? Have you never looked at pictures of children who have become the victim of war and natures malnutrition?? Have you ever stop to think that the peace you have no matter how fake and trivial it may seem to you is the reason people flee from other countries and into ours? Have you ever stopped to think that maybe the reason that you are even still breathing is because of this fake peace????

I am not one for war, war should never even be an option. War has always been the last resort, and i doubt that our nation would need to resort to war regarding the political differences we are currently having. And unless you can tell me that you have been in a war before, that you have placed a dying mans head on the ground before so you could continue to kill others because their ideas differ from yours, then please.... mention not this absurd idea of war, you have no idea what you are asking for.

Merdeka

Every time Merdeka comes around, i always have this tingling feeling from the past. I always have this picture in my head where my whole family and I cuddled together in front of the television early 31st morning to watch the parade celebrating our nations independence. Even though today I have yet to re-live that memory the smell of that day stayed.

I always thought that Merdeka was just another bad excuse to celebrate something. "Melayu itu kuat temasyanya, walaupun sudah tergadai tanah" - Usman Awang. Over the years i have realized that it is more than just a celebration. It is more than just a day to be happy about, more than that, it is a day to remember. A day that should serve as a reminder to all of what the nation had went through in order to give us the gift of independence. The fathers others have lost, the mothers others have lost, the brothers, the sisters, the sons and the daughters, the tears, the sweat, the hands that hold the warm bloodied body on the battle field slowly losing its warmth succumbing to death. The frustration of having told that your nation is not ready to govern itself, the agony of writing over and over again on a blank piece of paper "Give Us Freedom".

Freedom....... Give us our independence....

For those who have forgotten here is a reminder. Freedom is to make our own choices, to govern our own nation, to live our lives the way we want to...

Freedom is the right to breathe.....

So many have died for that right.... so many have died for our right to live.

Selamat Menyambut Kemerdekaan
Selamat Hari Jadi Malaysia

Because they fought for the future, we will remember the past.
Remember how passionately they loved this nation we call....
Malaysia

A life experience

Everyday we go through life meeting people, doing things, saying things, looking at things and breathing. Without realizing though that all of the things we do everyday changes us slowly. We change everyday by the things we say and the things that are said to us. But more importantly everyday we almost never experience or show anyone a gesture to induce change.

I have always been a firm believer that changes happens slowly. In an effort to change the world, we must first begin to change one person, and that person will in exchange change another person and another and another. And these changes will one day affect the world.

So how do we change the world? how do we make the world fall in love with each other.....

Here's how i see it... once during a rainy day, i was wet out of my clothes by i had a flat tire and of course like any drama would suggest, i had to be somewhere and i had to be there soon. So i stepped out of my car in the pouring rain and started to change my tire. The rain poured so heavily that my visions were bothered by it. My hands we slippery and made it all the more difficult to change a tire. but i kept trying... then suddenly, from the corner of my eye, i saw a car pull over in front of my car. Now i dont know whether it was instinct or bad common sense, my first reaction was to grip my wrench tighter. Like i was sure i was gonna be mugged. Out came a man around my age (i was 20 then) and he came running to me and said

"need some help buddy??"

at that moment, my grip loosened and i nodded. So we spent the next 45 minutes trying to unloose bolts strengthen by a powertool and all this by force of two people. And we did, i didnt have any money so i offered him a cup of coffee and a warm meal to say thanx. He obliged and we went for lunch at a nearby mamak stall. and to my suprise we had a lot in common. but this is what he said that stuck

"I dont know actually why i stopped, i just have this obsession to believe in humanity. I want to believe that after all the shit the world has gone through, there are still people in this world worth helping. Worth taking your time to get to know. Worth your effort. I stopped not because i wanted to help you, i stopped because i wanted assurance that humanity is still kind. That chivalry is not dead. Doing you a favor, was in turn, doing myself a favor. It allowed me to believe that the only reason people are scared of each other is because they refused to lend a hand. The only reason we fight is because we refuse to reach out. I had stopped and spent my time helping you, but in return, i found a friend and more importantly,i had a glimpse of how humanity can survive in this cruel world that we have created ourselves. In doing you a favor, i did humanity a favor. In this world we just need the courage to say "need some help?" "

he sipped his drink and continued

"Who knows maybe next time.... You'd stop to save humanity..." he grinned....

A couple of years after that.. i was driving down a rainy road when i saw a car stop by the side of the road and at that moment i remembered him. I remembered those small steps he took from his car to mine, his helping look, his clam smile and most of all his favor. I thought to myself, why not.... lets at least try to save humanity. So i stopped the car and i ran towards the vehicle, a red proton saga. And as i grew closer, i saw a girl in the car and she seemed scared. Only natural i guess. I tapped on the window and she looked at me scared. I asked her to roll down her window a bit... and i took out my wallet and three my ic in. and i said

"i just wanna help..." she picked up my IC, pondered for a while and lowered her window...

"flat tire..." she said....

I smiled and said to her....

"Need some help??" trying to imitate the guy who helped me...

She smiled and nodded....

Every day we are changed by the things that happen around us. We are given the oppurtunity everyday to try and make the world a better place. And we dont realize it. Sometimes, when i tell people this story, they would say, "What if you were mugged or robbed when you tried helping that girl?" and i would tell them what the guy told me...

The only reason we are afraid of people and each other today is because we refuse to lend a hand, because we refused to reach out... because we refused to say "need some help?"

Saying "need some help?" as trivial as it may sound.... might just help to save humanity....

He changed me, and im pretty sure the girl i helped walked away that day thinking, chivalry is not dead. She and i will have realized that humanity is not lost... humanity can be saved... if we only said

"need some help??"

Perkara 121 (1A) Perlembagaan Persekutuan

Due to recent times, this article of the constitution has been questioned a few times over the years. I think it is outrageous that anyone would do anything to question the authority of this article. First and fore most let me reiterate the reason for this post.

On 9th August a forum held by the Lawyers Council (Majlis Peguam) was scheduled to be held with the forum basically questioning the above mentioned article. So for those who do not understand what is the big deal, well basically the article says that the Syariah Court is not under any jurisdiction whether The High Court or the Sabah Sarawak High Court and that it acts on its own jurisdiction which should be respected by all forms of legal body in the country. This is to ensure that all Islamic matter will be handled by the Syariah court without interference from any other party be it civil and high court. This allows for a surmountable amount of legal power for muslims. So why are people afraid of it? Well most non-muslims find that getting out of Islam is not as easy as they got in it. So those who are trying to get out of Islam cannot seek help from civil lawyers but rather a syariah lawyer and all Syariah lawyers are definitly not going to go against the article.

I think it is sheer lunacy and idiocy to go against this article of the constitution and i think its a good thing the forum was stopped rather than allowing it to proceed further and i think it is a good thing that it happened.

Over the years there have been countless questions regarding the Malay issue and the Islam Issue. Both of course being treated in the same manner. Over the years we have always compromised the Malay Issue. We allowed for the meritocracy system and we allowed non-malays to enter malay institution such as MARA and such, over the years we have compromised. In 1988 this particular article which was included in the 1957/58 write up was amended and at the time everyone saw it as a step back for islam and yet everything went on as usual. 20 years later that want us to take another step back.

I am angered at this, only for one reason. If there was no idea of social contract between the three races in our society i wouldnt have minded. But our founding fathers sat down on one table and decided that the indians and chinese will respect these few things or priviliges which were given to Malays and Muslims. They both agreed. All agreed. How can you turn back 51 years from that time and tell us you dont wish to obey it? Yes some things needs to change and in todays time the definition might have gotten blurred, but it is up to us to change it, not others. Up to the malays, why>?? because we were the ones who put it on the table, so if we refuse to change it,if we say no matter how hard it is, you should accept it, why? because your grandfathers agreed to it and our grandfathers agreed to it.

If these things are not questioned then it will never be a problem. But if you question it then we will have to react.

Salah rasanya kalau aku sendiri tidak berbahasa untuk meminta orang berbudi. Kata melayu ada menyebut "jangan kau sentuh! Agama, Sultan dan keluarga Melayu..." I remind everyone of the Malayan Union, we stood up against tyrants for our Sultan, and we will stand even stronger if the matter or cause for offence is our religion. We Will REACT. Please do not make us.

p/s - I am not a racist... but then again if people who read this thinks so... i do not care. I just believe in a promise all the races made a long time ago. Remember we have never asked you to stop building your temples or churches. we have never stopped you from doing anything except that in which has been mentioned cannot be done. Do not make us react in a manner that will leave all of non-malays out of the governing body.

True or false

My girlfriend an avid reader of blogs came across this one page that i think a lot of people should check out - http://us2.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/10901/84/

Now the interesting thing about this is not the post in its ownself but rather the comments that came afterwards. I was always under the impression that you should never totally and perfectly believe what we read in books, magazines or even newspapers and i assumed that most of the bloggers or people that read blogs would have the same amount of cynicism that i have. Apparently i was wrong. I have always believed that what ever happens in this world it is up to the judicial system to act and if that is corrupted God would probably show the way, however i read comments and i see all these people leaving behind idiotic and irrelevant comments and i think to myself "all this because they read something online? acting like its the gospel truth..."

The fundamentals of being a good readers, analyst and even journalist and even a good human being is that you always have a skeptic side to everything. Why one earth would this article be published online clear cut with the fact to be placed on one side of the argument. I was thinking to myself that if i had the capacity, to change and influence how people think i might use it so people would agree with my ideas with how i saw things.

Sadly enough a posted pdf format letter (which by the way could have been written by anyone) is all it takes to convince people. I know not how to approach this issue of sodomy and lying and religious ideas, i do not know how. All i know is that i always remain skeptic towards everything that people give you. Even the history books in high school was always questioned. Championing one man to the extent that a simply posted document on the web could convince you of his innocence is just down right idiotic.

If someone there posted a comment as such

"I downloaded the pdf format and had one of my lawyer friends look at it and found that it was authentic because the MD's registration number bla bla bla and there fore the letter is authentic bla bla bla"

i would have thought "ok thats a relief someone actually took the time"

But all i saw was

"damn najib!"
"go to hell badawi"
"There is no need for a trial"

So.. immature.

Come on people do you really expect everyone to just read something and believe it totally? do you bloggers who once championed your ability to question everything in this world as having two sides, do you really believe reading one article online should be able to change your mind? For those who often read this blog. I wrote this blog for a group of people who are silent readers of my blog. I know they read... they've emailed me before... and i am not afraid of confrontation. read the link i posted here and think this... is a blog post really enough to convince you of something? do you believe everything you read???? :D

Why?

I just had lunch with my older brother. Someone i have always rated as being underrated in means of critical thinking. People often overlook his opinions but i think he holds more bearing in terms of rationality compared to most people i know. I asked him what he thought of Anwar and he spoke of it so calmly. I remind anyone reading this that i open for debate. I am open for arguments as well. So let us see just how much really is Anwar a charismatic leader.

When i asked my brother he said to me this. "The question to ask is why..."

As if jolted by a bolt of lightning i was reminded of the fundamentals of learning. To always ask why. So here in this blog i begin by asking a few questions.

Why the Turkish Embassy? Why the rally of international support including The United States and Singapore? If he has the secret to make fuel prices lower then why does he keep it tom himself? Why does he not disclose it to the people? if he says he is fighting for the malays then why insist on fighting battles that will divide the Malay community? Why the need to involve foreign countries to the matters of nation and state?

Lets follow this issue point by point. Lets start from the beginning, lets start from what Anwar wants. He says he is the voice of democracy, that what he wants is a prosperous, democratic and just country. Now every Malaysian knows this story. The story of Ghee Hin Hai San. The story of the British intervening in our national matters because it was getting beyond what our leader could help with. So they came in under the mask of making things better. We'll fix it for you. We lost Pulau Pinang, Melaka and Singapore at that time. And again today we are faced with the same situation. Anwar holds a rally, UMNO retaliates and we end up having American Peace Keepers amongst us. Another term for Resident Gabenor (familiar names include J.W.W Birch)

The concept is the same, America sees us unfit to rule so in the name of democracy, they intervene and under the mask of (wanting a free world) they come and take away our freedom.

How do we know this is going to happen? Because it has happened before. Orang Melayu kata "benda dalam kelambu takyah cerita dekat orang." If Anwar keeps on with his snitching and telling then it would play into arms of other nations that America had no choice but to intervene.

Now the plight of the people is the rising fuel prices, Anwar claims to have the solution. Why keep it to himself? Why not do it now? Tell the government... let them do it. Why wait until he becomes prime minister? Why does he have to wait until he is in power? While waiting for Anwar to be Prime Minister Malaysians (the one he claims he is fighting for) is spending more and more money everyday. Losing the battle with large fuel corporations everyday. So why are you selfish??? Similar to a boy who knows how to multiply but refuses to tell the whole class unless he is appointed as the teacher.

He knows that rallies breeds hate. People will have their differences highlighted during these so called peaceful rallies. "The Bersih Rally" for example. Yellow shirts are with us, those who are not wearing yellow against us. Imagine a guy who was walking among them totally unaware of the reason of the rally or any political event for that matter, so he walks through the crowd to get to a Seven-11 to buy a can of coke. The yellow shirts around him starts staring at him. Their minds thinking "Pro-government lah tu nak tunjuk berani" when in reality, he doesnt even have political preferences.

Intimidated by the looks around him, he reacts in a defensive manner. And in minutes push turns to shove and violence erupts. Why would he ask the people to rally and risk violence? Why highlight the differences between us?

Kita tengok, benda ni sounds familiar ke tak. Dia jumpa US kata kerajaan "jahat". Dia balik dia suruh buat rally. Manusia-manusia bodoh buat rally, polis masuk campur pengikut pro kerajaan pun masuk campur and bergaduh. US kata "things have gotten out of hand and we need to restore democracy to Malaysia." Dalam beberapa bulan, askar dan polis America mula memasuki dan menduduki tanah air kita. Perwakilan dilantik untuk menyelia perkembangan negara. Sultan tidak lagi mempunyai pendapat. Perdana Menteri yang dipilih adalah yang memang rajin merepot pada America. Ketuanan Melayu tidak lagi wujud, kenapa? kerana USA mahukan negara multi-cultural. Negara Bangsa.

Dan kembali lah kita pada perjanjian Pangkor. "Hence forth all efforts will be put forth by the East India British Company in order to restore the nation into a prosperous nation" dan mula lah semakin ramai perwakilan mereka menduduki, merosakkan negara dan menjadikan kita barua mereka yang seterusnya.

Apa agenda kamu Anwar? Kenapa kamu mahu berada diatas sebelum kamu mahu membantu bangsa kamu sendiri? Kenapa perlu jadi perdana menteri sebelum kamu mahu menolong rakyat? Tiada pengaruh? Tiada sumber? Tidak Benar. You said in 1996 during your speech in UKM. "We can do anything we set our minds to, even without support." buktikan kata-katamu.

Right now what the people need are not prime ministers, or ministers, or parties. We need leaders. Leaders who are willing to sacrifice self-ego in order for the better good. The public good. The good of all. If Anwar insists on being in power before he starts helping the people, then what is going to stop teachers stopping to teach unless they get a raise? Whats to stop surgeons from not wanting to perform surgery because he wants to be prime minister? The only thing stopping is their oath to do their duty. A politician has no oath, no ethics like lawyers or doctors or teachers. Even under-graduate students signs a promise and oath letter to study. But not politicians they are not bounded. The only things that controls them are two things. The self-conscious and the people. The people godify Anwar. And if he wants to be in power before he starts helping the people, then we know what he has in his self-conscious.

People question Why. Why does he tell foreign nations. Why he insist on being prime minister before he starts helping the people. Im not saying the government is a hundred percent good. Maybe one day if i have time id talk to my brother about Altantuya. But similarly enough, we should not let personal agenda of the leaders be our directions.

How our leaders mock free speech

OK this will be another political piece simply put because what happened yesterday for me was lunacy. For those who do not keep updated on the current news profile of governance or politics, Yesterday was the day the parliament was in session for the first time after the general elections. I watched it, seeing that for the first time it was going to be on TV live. This is what i had in mind...

"A live telecast of Malaysian leaders debating and questioning the issues for the greater good of the country, to establish a democratic liberal government that is associated only to the uprising and upbringing of the nations people for a better nation, country and society..."

What i got was...

"Its a circus... a really bad circus...."

For what was shown on TV that night proved a few things... but first let me be very clear what i think about it.... IT WAS TREMENDOUSLY EMBARRASSING...

A figure of a polling proved that more than 68% percent of the nation tuned in last night to watch was suppose to be a great and enthralling battle of wits and intelligence, and leadership and charisma... but it wasnt... it was a battle of the incumbent who were out for free publicity. To solve it lets first mention what was the problem...

For me the problem is only this - Everyone came that day being offensive. The government came knowing that the numbers were now leveled and what ever fight they had gone through before this would be increased staggeringly because the playing field is now leveled. The numbers are almost the same. If the government shout ten the opposition today can also shout ten if not a nine. The government came thinking they have to be offensive, the opposition too. Why? because they think theyre coming to the enemy's playground so its like walking into a gang member area so they think "we have to stamp authority... lets be offensive." Yeah thats exactly what we want from our leaders. narrow mindedness.

So narrow that an opposition leader called a government incumbent a "bigfoot" which the government incumbent then replied by calling him a "monkey". Yeah mature... very mature...

some of my friends say its the speakers fault for not being able to hold them in order.. i think any man being placed the burden of controlling to sides that has been enemies for ages should get pity and not blame. Trust me its hard enough being the middle man for a friends dispute... imagine doing it on a national scale. With by the way the allegedly great minds of the nation.

by the way if youre wondering what an incumbent is... an incumbent is a political term which means to hold a position in governing ministries. A government ministry has incumbents oppositions might not. back to topic.

we have the problem which is our leaders being fanatics to free publicity, childish and offensive.

So what do we do??? How do we solve a problem that includes peoples mentality?? Well for one thing we say it out loud so maybe they might listen... if anyone who is related to someone important is reading this do pass it along...

FORGET ABOUT PARTIES FOR ONE MINUTE!!!!!

Be open to debate... why question the protocol and procession when you can start talking about creating a better nation??? Mr. Speaker... let them ask their questions and leaders answer them please... Answer them to the extent that they no longer have a question... I think Pak Lah was right in saying "I dont mind accepting supplementary questions..." i think he was right to do so.... but what took him so long??? by allowing the opposition to argue with the speaker Pak Lah was allowing them to go on so the opposition would look bad which was political.... you were suppose to intervene the speaker and mention it earlier... answer the questions.. i mean how many questions do they have?? plus questions make your plan better because we all know its not perfect so might as well rectify it where we can. Why wait so long smiling when you can be the bigger person??? They have questions.. if you think its interupting your point tell them to wait for a minute... ive seen high school debate which was far more intelligent...

My point is this... lest the leaders of our nation, of Malaysia learn to put the people first and politics second, then they are not patriots. This proves one thing and one thing only... the opposition is just as bad as the government. Why argue on triviality?? Why??? Is it that important that you have to put the issues of our nations future on hold???

The government incumbents are going to say its the opposition fault and the opposition is saying its the government peoples fault... Sound familiar??? because i remember this all the time when my father would get me and my brothers together after a fight... when i was 9 i would say its my brothers fault and vice versa... and we both got a beating. If only parliament was this easy to deal with.

To the government... its time to wake up.. the people have spoken.. start co-operating with the opposition because one - they;'re not going anywhere... 2ndly - they are there for the same reasons you are... they want a better nation.

To the opposition... its time to open our minds to public debate... allow for issues that is regarding the people not the political. Politics should come second... because one - the people have spoken and the government is still the government.. 2ndly - they want a better nation too...

Unless both sides understand that their objectives are the same, their beliefs of a better nation are the same then we will be playing in mud when the world build homes of bricks. Leaders you went to parliament to debate together so you can build a platform for a better future. Build then a better platform for the future. Its like building a house together... if we argue on what kinds of bricks to use or who gets to lay the bricks and the stones and the foundation... when will we ever finish building the house??

I beg our leaders... please oh please start with the building... lets think about who gets credit later.....

the end.

An undivided country

OK... this is pretty much what Me and Summer were talking about the night she lost her mood hehhe she said i should blog about it so here it is.

I am a member of a family that has always believed in democracy. In this sense, for me democracy is not about partisanship (party) but rather about the government or country. It is about patriotism. The best kind of democracy is when we give in or let another to rule because we now for a fact they can do better. So how do we know they can do better? through debate. If they are able to debate properly and well then they deserve my vote. If they talk more about how to solve the problem instead of just mentioning the problem then youve got my vote. Anwar for example spoke of rising gas prices, he's solution, "Im gonna make go down again." good or bad argument? As much as i would like to say i love democracy, i dont think our nation is ready for it. Anwar's argument was unacceptable for me. Why? because he mentions the solution to petrol hiking prices is by trusting him. That is it... A good debater would question, and whats your system for doing that??? How do you plan to do it? cutting taxes?? Raising individual taxes? Funding of subsidized fuel has to come from somewhere right? Where does it come from?

It is our mentality that when we are told something we do not question further. Summer questions and most of the time what she gets is people jeering. What kind of a nation are we turning out to be? The government lost the election because they refused to ask questions. You wanna talk about facts and numbers?? Last year alone the government succeeded in creating more than 7000 new jobs. 7000 thousand which would accumulate for almost 75% of government sponsored graduates... Did we hear the government talk about it??? NO why? because they dont read the reports handed to them. These reports were made so that you would read, educate yourself and answer questions.

Right after The Hindraf demonstration, a MIC candidate spoke of why the police needed force to end it. He stumbled on his words like he was a baby, and he is a leader!!! he even had the audacity to say "Im not there in Kuala Lumpur right now so im not really sure how their being dealt with." A leader of the nation who doesnt watch the news would not know. If he doesnt know that he simply does not care.

The worst thing about it is that its not his fault. Because we didnt raise the idea of public debate. We didnt tell our leaders that they need to be smarter. Being articulate is one thing, but being articulate and smart is a whole different matter. Essence is just as important as the delivery. So here is my take on our nation.

To be a better country we need better leaders, and to get better leaders we need leaders who are able to define the "regression" in perfectly simple manner for the country. We need leaders who ask questions and know the answers. we need them to read the report given to them. I talked to a friend about how the government is considering to halt mega projects in Penang, especially the Second Penang bridge and the PORR (Penang Outer Ring Road) and he said

"so>?"

and i said "Youre not worried about this??"
"Of course i am but kerajaan memang teruklah macam tu... dah nampak perangai setan dorang"
"The Penang government should talk it over with the federal government... find a compromise"
"We dont compromise... kalau tiap kali kerajaan ugut kami kena kompromi susahlah!!!"

At this point i was angered.

"It is for this reason i hate malaysian politics. It is not about compromising youre ideas or beliefs, its about compromising for the people. This two projects alone are going to create jobs that we are gonna need in the next month or so. If the price to pay for the Penang government to compromise with the federal government is so that future graduates would have job, then why dont they compromise??'

"Sebab tak guna compromise dengan kerajaan..."

"Have you ever tried it? Penang government are the ones holding leverage, the government cannot afford to put this project on hold forever, if they do they might risk losing the next general election, but it needs to be pointed out as well that the penang government took no effort of offering the government a compromise. Compromise!!! its for the good of the people. The Opposition might not like it i agree, but then again so does the federal government. But its gonna be a win for the people, and thats what government should be after. When it comes to governance, i dont care what party youre from regardless of what youre ideas are, because all i know is when you are governing you work for the people. What is wrong with the Penang Government going to the federal government and saying "Ok we know you cant halt it, we want it to run... what can we give you for you to proceed with the project?" now the government has a choice, pick something they like, or say no to the negotiations and lose the next election "Kita orang taknak apa apa kita orang just a bunch of sore losers yang taknak penang berkembang." you can see the news headline... but unless the Penang government tries to go and talk to them, nothing is going to happen.."

"So opposition kena merendahkan ego? kena pegi merayu dekat kerajaan?"

"its not begging, its opening up negotiations, if they refuse negotiations or even ask for something like 'semua menteri penang letak jawatan' then theyve already lost the next election. Why? cause the opposition can say this

'for the sake of better employment and advancement we have chosen to open negotiations with the federal government, but their request for all of us to step down is absurd, we have tried to serve for the people, to give people more jobs, to give people a better lifestyle, the government has chosen to say no...'

this speech alone will win the opposition the next election, but they have to initiate the first act of negotiation."

"whatever, kerajaan still teruk jugak.. aderker nak buat macam tu."

"that is whats wrong with our society today, we realize the fact that everyone is doing something wrong but the party comes first. The opposition comes first the UMNOs the MICs the MCAs the PASs the ADILs, that comes first, when in reality what should come first is the people."

"The leaders should be able to stand for their people, but more importantly they should also be able to kneel..." Gandhi said that.

Today our nation is divided not by democracy, but by party. The party always comes first, we forget that the very idea of patriotism is enhance the nation and not the party. Whats wrong with working with the opposition if what comes out of is going to benefit the people? Whats wrong with working with government is you create more jobs for future graduates??? Whats wrong with saying "I want it, and i know you want it too... lets talk how we both get what we want??" Its not about losing its about how to get the most out of things.

remember this... anyone who has managed to get to this paragraph... debate allows you to establish who knows more and who is more likely to do a good job. The only way to have a debate is if we have questions. How do you intend to make education free? How do you intend to make oil prices lower? How do you intend to keep creating new jobs when youre halting projects?

My dad once said to me

"They're creating better schools for the people, BISTARI, BIJAK those kinds of things..."
So i asked him "Wouldnt it be better if they just used the money to fix the level of education on the schools we already have?"
"That my son, is the right question to ask..."

Its all about questioning the leaders, questioning individuals and parties on how. How do you create more jobs>? how do you intend on going through your idea of being hard on crimes? How do you intend to help abolish corruption??

we should not settle for "Saya akan menghapuskan masalah korupsi dalam kerajaan kita.." we should only settle for what comes after that sentence... How do you do it....

I wish for an undivided country, a government that serves the people with leaders who knows the answers instead of throwing general comments at you...Dont you think that when someone tells you

"Saya akan mejadikan pendidikan negara kita percuma dengan menaikkan kadar cukai 10 peratus rakyat malaysia terkaya pada kadar 3 peratus secara tidak langsung memberikan kepada kerajaan lebih 1.4 billion wang untuk membantu masyarakat kita mendapatkan pendidikan percuma"

is better compared to when someone tells you

"saya akan menjadikan pendidikan negara kita percuma kalau anda undi saya.."

If we dont ask our leaders to be better on both sides then we will never ever be a great country. How can we reach for the stars when we're still arguing who gets to go??? Our country can be one of the greatest Islam nations in world history. We have the platform, we have the resources, now if we can find away to stop bickering about parties, then maybe, just maybe one day a hundred years from now people will write "Malaysia: Islams last hope" Or "Malaysia:The voice of global progress". But we can only do that if we serve the people, the country, the nation and not the party or ourselves.

the end

p/s - Mak aih panjangnya... Sayang... jangan turned off ok??? hheehehe i love you

Humanity

A Utopia is a term used to define a perfect government. Perfect as it makes everyone happy and that no one has anything to complain about. Idealistic and unrealistic as it may already seem to most, early American writers such as Paine has made these ideas as the fundamental to the development of their society. This is a speech i want someone to listen to. The things i would say if i was given a chance to give a speech about us as a nation.

............................................................................................................

Today we are a country that has succeeded in demanding for respect from the global community. There have been times when we have been provoked by political and economical injustice and it is in those times we choose to stand our ground and tie ourselves closer together to get through a problem. The Problem of inflation that our country had went through during the 1997-1999 period were one of our most challenging times and we slowly yet surely created history as a country that was not bounded by the grips of debt to the IMF. The pride we held in our hearts as we refused help shed the people of Malaysia as people who self-respect. Today we are faced with a far larger and more dangerous enemy. Ourselves.

Today we are faced with the problems that our society has no longer the capacity in which it dictates every governmental affairs to regards of faith and belief. Rather we focus on the economics of a country. What message are we sending our children if we tell them the highlight of our country is that we were named "Third Most Economically Productive Country of The Year" when a man died in a river and all we can conclude from it is that he drowned. Commodification and Objectification are two of the most influential ideas in Communism. And today we see just that in our society. We no longer look to the skies when we are in need for guidance but rather we look into our pockets to see whether we have enough money to pay our problems away. We no longer look to the best in mankind but rather tell ourselves that people are not to be trusted. We no longer look to god for guidance but rather we look to those in power and with money. And what is even worse we created that image of ourselves when we were overcoming ideas of success.

today our idea of success is not a happy family but rather a rich family. Our idea of a happy man is not that he has the respect of his family but rather how much money he can give to his sons and daughters. today we look at a man poor and in trouble as being one who did not try hard enough in school instead of maybe establishing that he just never had the opportunity to go to school.

"The problem with mankind is that it cannot survive when man are animal-like..."

Today our biggest problem is that we have lost faith in humanity. We have lost faith in friends and we have lost faith in families. We have been open to the idea of unfaithfulness that we fear it might happening to us. So we do it before it is put upon us. We make thieves by not giving people a chance in life and then we punish them for doing so. we treat each other like dirt and then we punish them for treating us like dirt. Their is no more honor.

My dad once said to me though that "in order to live a life or honor, you need to put aside the bad placed upon you and think about the good you can do for others...."

My dad was intelligent but i have to say the essence of his advice here was simply sometimes unbearable. Be patient when people treat you like crap, but never ever do unto others what you think is inappropriate. My dad lived a life of betrayal. betrayed by his colleagues and friends and co-workers and yet the advice he gave my brothers and i is that we should believe in the best of humanity. I dont know whether to put him as an idealistic idiot..... or a man of honor and faith towards his countrymen. Sometimes i wish i was more like him. I wish i believed in humanity. i wish i could believe in the best of people despite the worst circumstance in which they have left or placed me in. I wish i could outrun the diseases of our community and society and find a place for it to grow and live again. I wish i could trust the world.

My dad said "In our world today... the only thing a man needs is another to believe in him...that is all you have to do...believe in each other..."

maybe one day i will believe. I will believe that even in the darkest corners of darkest street in Kuala Lumpur there will be a shred of decency towards the purity of human life. No more will the people throw unwanted babies into garbage bins. No more will we look down upon the man who holds out his hand for favors by the road side. No more will we place uncertainty in people around us. No more will we not trust those who we work with and believe that maybe they are willing to fight for what is right as much as we are prepared to do the same. And maybe if we can achieve all this, then maybe, when we look to the stars once again, we will see the stars that guided us and our founding fathers, we will see the sky clearly and maybe we will believe that maybe, maybe, just maybe, our society will once again have its humanity.

The problem with our society today is that we do not trust each other. I myself cannot trust everyone. I cannot trust humanity when i read about killings and deaths happening on a street i passed when i was younger. But i want to. i want to trust humanity. Because i know that if we can be better people, then we can make it easier for others to believe in the humanity in us.

"And as we let our own light shine,
We purposely give others to do the same,
as we liberated from our own fears,
our liberation from fear,
allows others to be liberated,
as they no longer fear themselves...."

If maybe we can believe in our humanity or our society then maybe one day we will find that faith brings out the best in people when it is directed in the right place. faith in humanity can never be foul.

Ethnic Cleansing

"[E]thnic cleansing [...] defies easy definition. At one end it is virtually indistinguishable from forced emigration and population exchange while at the other it merges with deportation and genocide. At the most general level, however, ethnic cleansing can be understood as the expulsion of a population from a given territory" - definition by Andrew Bell-Fialkoff


The term "Ethnic cleansing" was created in order to make what was wrong, to be right. Ethnic cleansing is just another word or term for mass murder. Din told me of a quote by a Nazi that he doesn't remember the name where he said "When you kill 1 it is murder, but when you kill a million, it becomes a statistic." Some of you might already realize that this post is another serious post. Something I believe Malaysians do realize is happening, yet we turn the other cheek.


On January 30th a USA envoy declared that Nairobi, Kenya was facing ethnic cleansing. Let me rephrase that. On January 30th, a USA envoy declared that Nairobi, Kenya was facing mass murder of its people. More than 800 people have been killed so far and the newly appointed Kenyan government has yet issued a statement regarding their actions on the on going matter. I read the news excerpt on Yahoo.com carefully and as i read it I realized this...... This people in Kenya, are killing Kenyans because they come from a different tribe. A tribe they are convinced does not belong in their place.


Some of you might be thinking, disputes and wars happen. But i say that this particular war (if you can call it that) is actually ridiculous. Let me explain why i see it as being ridiculous. In Malaysia you have Malays, but as Usman Awang said in his poem entitled "Melayu" he said -


Melayu di Tanah Semenanjung luas maknanya:
Jawa itu Melayu, Bugis itu Melayu
Banjar juga disebut Melayu,
Minangkabau memang Melayu,
Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu,
Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu,
Arab dan Pakistani, semua Melayu
Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu
Malah mua'alaf bertakrif Melayu
(Setelah disunat anunya itu)


Meaning to say instead of focusing on our differences, we have succeeded in focusing on the things we have in common, and we make each other no stranger. These tribal war in Kenya, is between a tribe named Luo and Kikuyu and as i scroll looking for pictures of the fight. I realize that their differences are as clear as my differences compared to my friends. Its like i would kill a Jawa who is also a Malay just because he was not fully Malay. It was as if i would kill Din.


There are times in life when we must look at the stars and wish that their guide would stream over to everyone, so that all would understand that compromise brings with it not only peace, but also comfort. They should realize that no blood is worth shedding just because we know that they are different. The question of whether or not they deserve something or not should not be a question left out to human beings, as a matter a fact, is a question that should be left up to God himself.


My friend once said to me this sentence "Is this the part where you tell us that we should all count our blessings that we live in a peaceful society?" this is my answer to him and to everyone.


No, we should not be counting our blessings yet, as a matter a fact, judging from the current state of our country, we are likely to be offended or offend others in this closest time. We should count our blessings but at the same time, be afraid and aware, because if we are not careful, one of us, one day might just cause a racial war.


God give us strength and courage to face what You may one day might throw at us, God give us the ability to Compromise....

Freedom

Facing threat from our society that now has turned global and no longer has borders. We spend our times and days in order to find the answer to life which is today a harder thing to find compared to an AK-47. The life today for us is as hard as it was for any people in the past. But the difference though is that today people have a hard time understanding themselves and what they want.

Today we are faced with this problem in our society of missing little girls. As our search little Sharlini intensifies, despite what everyone is thinking and feeling, the unsaid emotion that she might never be found slides in the dark and back corners of our minds. The reward has risen and yet still no information has been found. People have been caught but none has been convicted. And everyday we live in fear of leaving our children our sister and our brothers and our cousins and our nephews and nieces unattended.

Heavens cries and prays for her. We look down today at our feet and cry. The heavens cries for her. We are reminded that in the moment where we find ourselves to be at our best, at a time when we found ourselves to be stabilized, we are again reminded that evil does not rest. And even though we did not invite nor provoke evil we should know that evil lurks and comes when you least expect it.

This is a time for ongoing efforts, a time for heroes to remember the importance of our future that lies in the children. The moment to keep trying to find her and convince society that no matter what happens we will unite in order to save our future. We will look at the stars for guidance and we will sweat, bleed and tear for the ones that we have lost and for the ones we refuse to lose. God we pray to you... save her.... let her be your testament for humanity that you will not let children of your faith go harmed. That you will not let any child or any faith go harmed. God spare her of the humiliation and suffering that others have gone through before this. God let us find her. God let us save her. God let us find her. God let us save her. God...... let her live to tell the people of your faith... You will not give the children of Your faith ill will... she will be saved.... God Save her... because if we cant... then God save us all because, we don't deserve to live...