Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Maths and Home Minister

In response to the Lawyers for Liberty's press statement on fatal police shooting up to 17 fold, Hishamuddin, who is extremely good in making routinely stupid statements in public on security issues went on to say that there is no rise!

Police shooting 2001:5 deaths,2008:82 deaths,2009:88 deaths and yet you can irresponsibly say there is no rise!

Oi Hishamussin, did you fail your standard one maths? I bet he would say that there are only 100 people living in both Wales and England as the statistics show there are only 3 deaths in 2008 and 2 deaths in 2009, or he would say that police in Wales and England use feather dusters to apprehend suspects!

Hisham, Hisham...are you for real? Malaysian Home Minister?

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

BieberiSwiftly suffocating!

When “baby, baby baby uuuhhhh…” won the best male album in the American Music Awards last night, all Far and I did was look at one another and we were like what? “Which part of Bieber was male?” she asked.

Yes, I’ve committed a sin watching that stupid Award show last night. Not that I intended to, blame it on this habit of turning myself into a fixture in front of the idiot box whenever I get home late, too tired to even go to bed and save my sanity from being exposed to this kind of thing.

This is the reason. The reason I stopped listening to the radio. Sometimes your brain just couldn’t take it no more. It’s getting too much to swallow that you sometimes find yourself screaming in the car in so much anger, while the radio keeps on playing and the next thing you know is someone next to your car is looking at you, questioning your mental health.

This explains the constant visit to that particular music shop. A sign of protest against the annoying buzzing sound of the radio. Radio that plays horrid songs that would eventually suffocate, and bring death.

She woke up in the morning, grabbed a pen and a paper and started writing art she said “you wear sneakers, I wear flip flops, you’re my boy friend, I’m your girlfriend”…and she went on and on. Far said, “I have nothing against her”. Likewise, I have nothing against her either.

It’s just that the world is misleading her and the likes into believing “we go out on a date, watch movie, I feel sad but I love you” that is later turned into a song that sells like hot cakes, which profit is enough to finance a revolution is art.

Art has soul.

Pop culture will never get that.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

What they see

Most of the time, you just have to let it be
That you just have to stop justifying the resonance within you
Ignoring the piercing stares
Pleasantly surprised that it does not bother
Even when the world stands together
In condemnation
In retaliation of your solitary resistance
Standing still, content
Clinging onto the irony
Of uncertain victorious destiny and definite despair
Devastated
Can you still win?
Breathing upon your own death
Letting the world through their science
Dissect your sanity
It doesn’t matter does it?
What they see.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Bukit Gasing


Photo from here.

After completing our weekend ritual of climbing Bukit Gasing last Saturday, we decided to walk on the reflexology stones to see whether we could endure the pain while contemplating where to hang out since Raju's was close due to Deepavali long break.

Kak Lat was busy catching up with this one guy, reminiscing their meeting during Bersih Rally. I was busy looking at the tree that has always been there, amazed by its existence, its height and its beautiful leaves. Eric was busy looking at this plant near the tree, asking whether it was tumeric plant. Murnie and her sister were busy enjoying their cold plain water.

Me : Look at the tree, I never noticed how beautiful the leaves were.
Suren : You know what, I planted this tree, its name is Bogambo. It can get higher than this.
Me : oh....
Eric : Hey, is that pokok kunyit?
Murnie : It looks like it.
Eric plucked the leaf and smelled it: No, it's not kunyit.
Me: It's not kunyit, it's Bogambi.
Suren : Your Swahili is good.

Murnie just laughed. Kak Lat was still talking to that guy.

Eric : Hey, there's this one place for rent, it's really cheap, it's 1k per month.
Us : really? that's great.
Eric : You know why it's so cheap? It's above this one psychiatric clinic.It's cheap because people think it's jinxed.
Me: Ha? There's nothing wrong with it lah.We can visit the clinic if we need to!hahaha.

There was this sudden silence. I wonder why.

Suren : Hey, why is every one looking at Fad?

They all laughed.

Me : Hey! What's that supposed to mean????

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Selvach's case and 1984

Following the police report lodged by Selvach's wife, Saraswathy, her statement was taken by the Police yesterday afternoon. Saraswathy's neighbour who was also there on the night Selvach was cursed at while he was opening the front door, beaten up while his two hands were handcuffed, dragged down the lift in front of his wife and his neighbours, kicked into the van, in front of his two children was with us for the statement taking.

The cursing and the anger seemed unearthly. "I can see one of the police officer was shivering in anger, cursing at Saraswathy and Selvach, while he was trying to open the front door to let them in", the neighbour recounted to me what happened that night after the statement taking was done. I was listening to him while my mind kept thinking about 1984. A sudden numbing fear crawled all over my skin.It is 1984.

The ideal state of police coming to someone's house, knocking the door, informing the person that he is arrested on this and that ground, keeping the person in the lock up, bringing the person to court court is nothing but a devious imagination.

After I was done taking down a few details for the habeas corpus application, Saraswathy asked me whether I can provide her the reported stories about the Saturday protest at Bukit Aman.

The neighbour said "I'm so happy that we protested on Saturday, that was my first time that I got to witness something like that, I see hope". "I never knew any lawyers before, but after the Saturday protest, I'm so happy that I know a few lawyers who stand up for her, thank you".

I can see Saraswathy's smile, she shook my hand and she said "thank you so much" and then she hugged me before we said good bye.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

The Buzzing Sound

As I was listening to him this morning, I believe that he does not want it to be over analyzed nor over interpreted according to what he meant by it.It's crime against art they said. So this whole search on what he meant should just be abandoned and replaced by how do we relate to it,to make sense to what we feel and what we see. Trust me, it will make sense, if you have faith in it.

Odd he said, the buzzing of a detuned radio and a fridge in a hotel room. It then becomes funny and he just has laugh about it.

Yes, the oddness that is bordering funny ha ha, ended by the feeling of letting it go, not so much out of frustration, rather to leave it be as it's not worth grieving over.

They buzz and buzz and buzz and buzz.As if the longer the buzzing continues, the stronger their faith and conviction get. Amusing isn't it?. Life will be much simpler buzzing than trying get rid of the buzzing sound and get down to what life without it would be like. That's the difficult part of this whole endeavour. No wonder people will always choose to buzz, it's convenient.

So, I decided to ignore the annoying buzzing sound and try to look out my window to find out whether faith is still there. Oh, there you are. Standing proudly with people who never second guess you, people who never buzz.


While human rights activists in Malaysia protested the beating of Selvachandran & his arrest under the ISA, which it seems to be, fellow Malaysian held a similar powerful protest against the draconian law in front of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board at Trafalgar Square London, last Saturday, Oct 30.-photo and caption by Ginie Lim

And now you, the buzzing sound, you can just go away, evaporate, just like you always do.