peace of mind, and that was Taiping Lake Garden.the hash run: free them (ISA detainees) was a success as the lawyers and members of public decided to run on that day despite being discouraged to take part in the run for some unfounded reasons.

it was always my intention not to run, (as i dont like running,). since every one was insisting, i decided to drag nad and af along..after a few minutes we decided to drive and follow the hashers from behind.Dara, being all ready in her sports attire was lured to hitch a ride with us, leaving Edmund behind, running with other hashers.

all in all, it was a success as every one was so dedicated to fight for the cause.the media coverage was great.there were a few reporters from Indonesia who came to cover the event.i was so glad that GMI was given a warm and pleasant welcome by the hashers and they decided to organize the next run in KL. I was so glad that i had the opportunity to promote our 'abolish ISA campaign' as i was given the honour to make a speech. and the cutest moment was when every one sang me a song after i finished giving my speech.i told chris, one of the organizers that they've got such a cute collection of funny and cheerful songs which made the event more meaningful and pleasantly overwhelming.

i also had the opportunity to talk to ADUN Pokok Assam, Mr. Yee Seu Kai about our campaign, and he was more than happy to help out with the campaign. there was also a 5 minutes interview with Malaysiakini reporters about the campaign.

i was thrilled.

as everyone was about to leave for dinner, being spontaneous as we always are, we decided to continue our road trip to penang. nad wanted to buy new dvds and i wanted to eat the famous chicken tika..in conclusion, that was the epitome of a bunch of happy people who find working life is nothing but deprivation of freedom!:)

i was standing in a crowded place, in my black and white suit, and the next thing i know i was brought to a camp by some FRU personnel. all that i could think of was how to escape from this place. i remember holding my mobile phone, tried to call my lawyer friends but couldnt get through.."where have all the cowboys gone (paula cole)"..eh salah, rather "where have all my lawyer friends gone"..yah, by playing some songs would make it more dramatic.

i heard from other detainees that the SBs are coming to torture me.."saints are coming!"(green day feat. U2), eh silap, rather "SBs are coming!".

it was too tensed that i later found myself sitting on my bed at 230 in the morning..God, that was depressingly scary! being involved in GMI campaign and reading the judgment of Malek Husin's case yesterday must have contributed to this.

now i know what it feels like.

hmm..looking forward to road tripping with af to taiping to join the 'Bar Hash Run-free the ISA Detainees'. Nad will be following too, i hope her mum would say yes, yah Nad, u better behave yourself in order to get your mom's permission!

we'll be leafleting and try to get the people to sign the petition.by all means necessary.ill think about it tomorrow.still thinking how to dress up my car. need to get my car transformed into a mobile booth..how cool is that..ala2 rancangan pimp my ride.:)

Urgent appeal to repeal ISA: Your voice saves humanity! (www.malaysianbar.org)

Contributed by Fadiah Nadwa Binti Fikri

Saturday, 19 April 2008 08:22pm

Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI)’s campaign to call for the release of all detainees particularly those who have been detained for 6 years under the ISA was announced in a press conference held in the Chinese Assembly Hall on 11 April 2008. All Malaysians are encouraged to call on the Government to release all the ISA detainees and to repeal the ISA. The programmes for the campaign are as follows: 1. Distribution of open letters written by the wives of the detainees addressed to the Prime Minister of Malaysia This particular programme was conducted and completed successfully during the 12th General Elections campaigning period. Open letters written to the PM were distributed by candidates to the public to raise awareness of the issues. 2. Petition Signing A Petition has been drafted and it is up here: http://www.petitiononline.com/NoISA/petition.html. Kindly sign the Petition if you are in support of its contents. This programme aims to buttress a strong collective voice to repeal the ISA and release all the detainees. 3. Letter Signing Kindly download and send the attached letters which are addressed to: (a) Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Minister for Internal Security and Home Affairs (b) Ms Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 4. Postcards Signing A specially designed postcard calling for the repeal of the ISA and release of all detainees is being crafted, and which will be distributed soon. The proposal is to have several collection centres where the postcards may be deposited such as the Bar Council, Kuala Lumpur Legal Aid Centre and SUARAM office. The postcards will then be sent to the authorities. 5. Vigil in Kamunting and Hunger Strike This event will be held in June 2008. All Malaysians are invited to participate. The details for the vigil in Kamunting and the proposed hunger strike will be informed soon. It is also to be noted that the Bar Council Human Rights Committee has been actively involved in these on-going efforts. Apart from providing legal representation to the detainees, the Committee plans to conduct fortnightly rotational visits by teams of lawyers to the Kamunting camp in batches of 8 lawyers per team. For those who are interested to be part of the teams, kindly email Syamsuriatina Ishak at syamsuriatina@yahoo.com. In the spirit of justice, it is our responsibility to be part of this cause and end this flagrant injustice and uphold the spirit of humanity. One minute of your time gives great hope and strength to those who have been oppressed by the use of the ISA and their family members. One minute of our time will decide the fate and face of our nation. We can make a difference by being part of this noble cause. Your immediate action is important. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does” Margaret Mead

a friend called me up yesterday

s: pegi tak dinner?
me: tak nak.
s:why?
me:a sign of protest, i dont want to breathe the same air with him
s:ok

*i'd prefer having meeting with GMI, discussing our plans in Suaram office..having so much fun eating loadsa peanuts..*weird?hmm..

Urgent appeal to abolish ISA : one signature makes a difference! Sign the Petition Now!

Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) has launched petition/letter signing campaign to call for release of all detainees particularly those who have been detained for 6 years under this particular draconian law. This campaign has been announced in today’s press conference held in Chinese Assembly Hall calling all Malaysian citizens to show their undying support by signing the petition/letter to urge an immediate release of all detainees.

In the spirit of justice and humanity, it is our responsibility to be part of this cause and end this arbitrary injustice that is in gross violation of human rights. One minute of our time signing the petition gives hope and strength to those who have been directly oppressed under the ISA and their family members towards the abolition of ISA and release of all detainees. We can make a difference, and we can be part of this noble cause, in the name of humanity and justice.

Your immediate action is important. Click and sign the petition!

http://www.petitiononline.com/NoISA/petition.html

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does”-Margaret Mead.

"should i care?"

When Robin asked me how long have I been practising, I told him “seven”..as in seven months!”and he was like..owh..i thought 7 years..yup, im still a junior in practice, a junior is all I am. For me, it’s of great importance to treat each passing day as a new experience. There are a lot of things to learn and there are a lot of thoughts that cannot be discarded no matter how hard we try to ignore them .I am learning still.

I still remember discussing on our new project to organize training for young lawyers who are interested in urban settlers matter. It has always been a new thing to me, all that I could think of when this topic is brought up in discussion is, no one has the right to bulldoze one’s house leaving him/her homeless for the sake of development. It is also to be noted that it is the responsibility of the Government to provide proper resettlement.

It was quite a moment of enlightenment when I heard Steph mentioned about caring society which is part of the very ideal of development. Why do people need a playground in their housing area?why do people need a community centre in their housing area?why do people need decent houses, not one small box made of stone some call home. Well, ironically people who call this ‘home’ are more often than not people who live in a gigantic oh it feels like heaven mansion. Yah, I still remember some minister was saying “change your lifestyle” when there was a mass dissatisfaction in the air on oil price hike some years ago.and my first reaction was, “you gotta be kidding, change our lifestyle?hello!we are not the ones in dolce and gabbana flip flops walking around the house!

Where was I just now?hmm..the ideal of development equals to building a caring society. Why is it so important that we strive towards building a caring society?for me, individualism is nothing but selfishness. Everything that happens in life has chain reaction. When we stop to care, self-centeredness dominates. The whole ideal of caring society losses its soul. When a thing loses its soul, it is meaningless. Modernity is often used as an excuse to segregate the role of morality as a whole. When something grossly wrong happens, we are so quick to react in the name of ‘right’, individual’s right. Is self-destruction a right to be upheld by logic and reason? If it is, whenever someone kills a soul, can we say, it is his right to do what he wants, so let him be?or if a woman is involved in prostitution, can we just say,let her be, it’s her right?have we lost confidence in reason and virtue?

According to Aristotle, human beings have a natural desire and capacity to know and understand the truth, to pursue moral excellence, and to instantiate their ideals in the world through action.

As much as we claim ourselves to be the masters of modernity, does that change the very essence and purpose of creation of human beings? If it does, where have all our souls gone?

*times like these*

yesterday i was in the office the whole day...when i was about to leave, as i turned on my engine, i saw a huge crack on my windscreen...i tried not to cry and be positive about it..but i couldn't..it was either hit by a stone or someone did it...i tried to call my brother but he didn't pick up the phone..God, it felt so bad that all i could think of was cry my heart out..times like these made me realize how bad i wanted my brother to be around..at about 7pm, he called me up.

b: pasaipa telefon abang?
me: cermin keta pecah...
b:yaka?macammana?
me:taktau...sedih...
b:takpa2..nanti balik kita repair..
me:ok

hmm..all i needed to hear was only that..it was bad, but we could fix it!