So long 2008, welcome 2009

Time really flies. People are getting older. Some are getting wiser, some have changed for the better, and some might stay the same.

2008 marks my second year being in KL after one year getting stuck in my hometown, trying to complete my pupilage. It was a compromise with my mom actually, one year in my hometown would give me a good excuse to move to KL right after I completed my pupilage. To be honest, one of the reasons that made me want to move to KL was to get myself involved in peaceful assembly. Dreams do come true. :P

2008 also marks my second year of involvement with GMI and series of campaigns that we have held for the year 2008. It has always been a good experience for me, to witness the effect of the ongoing campaigns, from 70 over detainees in early 2008 to 40 over left in Kamunting Camp in December 2008.According to Kak Laila, this showed that the campaigns have been effective. I'm happy to be among these strong, dedicated people in GMI, to be able to learn a lot of things from them. It always feels good to be treated like a little sister in the family and it always feels good that they have been so patient in putting up with my crazy antics particularly in times of distress.

2008 teaches me a lot of things on friendship, honesty, and sincerity. I realize that being all naive thinking that every one has a good intention is rather a wishful thinking. I realize that there are not many good people left in this world, good people are facing extinction I figure. So, all that we need to do is cherish those few good people around us. People who would stand by you in hard times, people who would be happy for you, people who would support you and people who would tell you what is the right thing to do. I’m glad to have these few good people around me. I truly am.

With so much love from my family and my good, close friends, 2008 indeed is gonna be remembered. I would like to ask for an apology for the wrongs that I’ve made. Happy New Year every one, let’s pray that we become a better person for the years ahead of us.

KL Teater Bilik Sulit: The Closing Night!

Last night was the closing night for Teater Bilik Sulit. Full house. I could still remember preparing for the play two weeks before it started. Before Kak Lat left for Japan, I managed to see her and sorted everything out. I was a little worried that I had to make decisions on my own during her absence.

Organizing programs is seriously no picnic. But the experience is all that matters. Decision making, communication, negotiation, having to run back and forth here and there. And i quote Billy Joe from Green day "for what is worth, it was worth all the while.."

Organizing programs, again, I reiterate here, is no picnic, as things like these are also bound to happen at the same time : miscommunication, torn in trying to make everybody happy having to make big decisons in a short period of time. But then again, this is what we call experience. A lesson worth learning.

And the best part of this play was, having great friends around to help me organize this play. For me, it is crucial to have a fun working group that can just crack up jokes and laugh and laugh and laugh, and make people around us laugh in amazement asking "what on earth could have possessed these people?".

And the fun part of this play was, the after party that we had at Mamak in Bangsar. Eat and be merry. Eat and laugh. Eat and talk about the world (??)

It's kinda sad that the staging of Bilik Sulit in KL had to end. It had been so much fun having it on 4 consecutive nights. Life is back to normal again, at least for a few days, as we have to start cracking for the staging of Bilik Sulit in Penang which is gonna be held on 9,10, 11 January!Something to look forward to!Boria Penang (as the opening act??) here we come!!:P

Special thanks to the ever committed committee members, Kak Lat, Sasha, Farhana, Nalini and Murnie for their tremendous committment to make the play a success. Seriously we couldn't have pulled it off it it wasn't for each and every one of you. And to every one who was involved directly or indirectly in the play, many thanks to you!

INVITATION TO TEATER BILIK SULIT
LAST SHOW TONIGHT!
23/12/2008 (TUESDAY)

Space is limited, kindly RSVP.

Contact Info : 012 465 1671/012 384 2972

INVITATION TO TEATER BILIK SULIT

Teater Bilik Sulit is a play that features the untold true accounts of the nature of Police interrogation of the ISA detainees which are based on testimonials of those who used to be detained under the ISA.

Dear All,

In conjunction with the International Human Rights Day, The Bar Council in collaboration with Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) would like to extend an invitation to all of you ladies and gentlemen to Teater Bilik Sulit which is going to be held on these dates :

20/12/2008 (Saturday)
21/12/2008(Sunday)
22/12/2008(Monday)
23/12/2008(Tuesday)

Venue : Bar Council Auditorium, Level 1

Time : 830pm

Space is limited, kindly RSVP.

For more info kindly contact 012-4651671 @ fadiahnadwa9@ yahoo.com

Just got back from Indonesia...Great company, great new friends, enlightening and thought provoking discussion on asian philosophical ideals...

And now, I completely lost my voice due to constant coughing...I pray to God that i'd get my voice back before Tuesday as I have to be the emcee for the Human Rights Debate opening ceremony. Please dear God, I need my voice back, indeed it's utterly torturous to abruptly stop talking. :P

selamat hari raya aidiladha to every one. barakallahufikum.

Baby legal eagles to the rescue.

Sunday, 30 November 2008 08:40am

(From left) Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Valen Khor Xiou Shan and Bar Council Legal Aid Centre chairman Ravi Nekoo.
©New Sunday Times (Used by permission)

• 'They never asked us a single sen'Up to 90 per cent of those charged with crimes in the Kuala Lumpur courts do not have access to legal assistance or representation. While most lawyers might choose to sit in cushy offices and ignore this is happening, Audrey Vijaindren finds out that some young lawyers are trying to correct the situation.
THEY'RE not on a payroll. They don't get a fat bonus. And they don't go on lavish company trips.
A hip bar downtown? Fancy designer clothing stores? These young lawyers could be anywhere they want.But yet, every week they choose to gather at the courthouse and Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (LAC) to help those who can't find their way around Malaysia's legal system.The primary objective in legal aid is to provide all citizens equal opportunities for the enforcement of their fundamental right to equality before the law.

The centre has spent over RM100 million this year doing just that.The centre's baby legal eagle Fadiah Nadwa Fikri and her buddies have been giving up their weekends to give back to society for the past two years."Many people think that it's too time-consuming and not worth the effort. But, that's not true."It only takes a few hours a week to make a difference in someone's life. And if every lawyer gave a little bit of his or her time, we'll be able to reach out to many."Legal awareness campaigns, human rights talks and mobile clinics are what Fadiah is most passionate about.

"We give advice on everything under the sun to anyone who needs it. Many people who come for help are those who can't afford a lawyer and have nowhere else to turn to."Not everyone has the benefit of understanding the law. But that shouldn't be a reason they have to plead guilty for a crime they didn't commit."I hope by sacrificing a part of my weekend, I'll be able to empower people and teach them how to protect themselves."Because lawyers have the privilege of reading the law, she says they shouldn't be stingy about sharing knowledge."Law is a very complex subject and it's difficult for the layman to know what it's about. Lawyers have the ability to understand it and should educate the rest."It's not only a contribution to society but also a nation-building service.

"Valen Khor Xiou Shan, 25, is another baby legal eagle who has put her social life on hold for those lost in court."It's not easy to juggle volunteer work and an office job. Most of us have just joined law firms and are trying to prove ourselves at work. Taking too much time off could make us look bad."My boss is supportive enough to allow me to excuse myself from some meetings to volunteer. But I have many friends who aren't as lucky."Khor started volunteering immediately after completing her compulsory 14 days' legal aid service while chambering."I learnt that many young lawyers stop volunteering the moment they finish chambering."After they finish the 14 days, they just leave and never come back."They should realise that it's not only about giving back to society but also a way of polishing our communication skills."In the end, I find it helps in my work as well."But volunteering, she says, is no joke."You are answerable to your clients. If you're not committed in doing a good job and helping those in need, then you shouldn't give false hopes."If you concentrate more on working than giving back to society, think twice about what you want in life and why you became a lawyer.

"Bar Council Legal Aid Centre chairman Ravi Nekoo says they have helped more than 18,000 clients so far this year alone."You can't depend on volunteers alone if you want legal aid to work. There are many people out there who can't afford legal representation."The government must step in and provide assistance."As the country develops, the legal aid centre is feeling the strain."He says it's fortunate that many young chambering pupils later come back to the centre to volunteer their services because they have the passion to serve and learn."It's hard to know how many there are because they come and go. Most of our volunteers are in their 20s. Access to justice is fundamental. In most countries, legal aid is part of the curriculum."It's sad that it's still not part of the syllabus here."Legal aid, he says, is not only a service to the poor."People think it's only the poor who need help. That's not true. Legal aid serves a larger section of society, like squatter area residents."But most of the cases we are helping with are for criminal defence."

DIFFERENT CLINICS TO SERVE DIFFERENT NEEDSTHE Legal Aid Centre (LAC) reaches out to many by offering various services:

• Legal aid clinic and syariah clinic: These clinics create awareness and educate the public on their rights and duties. Members of the public come to seek advice on legal problems such as criminal cases (client on bail or in remand in prison), family cases, domestic violence cases and syariah cases.

• Dock Brief: This programme provides legal advice, representation and assistance to unrepresented people in the magistrate courts in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, for only criminal offences. Services are provided to those clients who plead guilty and need assistance in mitigation (reducing the sentence), bail applications and remand hearings.

• Prison Clinic and Juvenile Remand Home: This programme provides legal advice, representation and assistance to remand detainees in prison and homes for the juveniles, including women. It also helps family members to post bail and to inform them of the whereabouts of clients.

• LAC/Awam Legal Information Service: This is a joint programme with the All Women Action Society (Awam), which provides legal advice and assistance on criminal and employment cases. These are mostly on matters relating to women, especially involving family cases and domestic violence cases.

• LAC/Sisters In Islam Clinic: This is a joint programme with Sisters-In-Islam (SIS) and deals mostly with syariah and other matters relating to women.

• LAC/Tenaganita Migrant Workers Clinic: This is a joint programme with Tenaganita’s Migrant Workers Desk, providing advice, representation and assistance to deserving legal migrant workers.

• LAC/UNHCR Clinic: This is a joint programme with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It provides legal advice and assistance on refugees’ issues to refugees.•

LAC/PTF/MAC Legal Clinic: The Pink Triangle Foundation (PTF) and Malaysian Aids Council (MAC) provide legal assistance and advice to six communities, including people living with AIDS, sexworkers, gay men, lesbians, drug users and transsexuals who have been marginalised by society.* For more information on the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre, visit their new website at http://www.legalaidkl.org/ or call 03-26932072

'They never asked us a single sen'RAIN or shine, the lawyers from the Legal Aid Centre were there to help.
"Even in bad weather, they never let us down," says Sabariah Hashim, who lived in a squatter home in Kampung Semarak, Kuala Lumpur, for over 30 years.Sabariah, 40, and her family received a letter from City Hall asking them to pack up and leave."It was a complete shock to us. No one expects to be told they have to gather their belongings and find a new shelter. It was a stressful and sad time for my entire family. We didn't see it coming."Some families willingly agreed to leave, but the rest wanted to take our cases to court."
More than 300 families in Kampung Semarak, Kampung Padang Tembak and Kampung Loke Yew were asked to leave their homes in September, 2006. Almost half took the matter to court.The legal fees would have amounted to thousands, Sa-bariah says, but thanks to the Bar Council's Legal Aid Centre, it didn't cost a sen."I don't know what we would have done without them. The centre helped us with court matters until the end. The matter reached Federal Court in March last year."They were very helpful, very good and on top of that, they never asked us for a single sen."Most of the squatters could not afford to pay anything more than RM50, which was used for filing documents and photocopying."Because of the frequent trips to Putrajaya, we put money in an envelope to pay for the lawyers' petrol expenses, but they refused the money. That's how selfless and genuine they were."Sabariah says even the staff were polite and kind."There were many instances where we had to call the centre for last minute meetings."Many of the lawyers at the centre are very young and just out of college but they're so professional. We couldn't have got better lawyers even if we had the money."Sabariah today is happily married and living in a rented flat with RM2,000 spending money she obtained from the city council.

60 years of forgotten genocide of the Palestinians.

Throughout history, we’ve seen that the world has triumphed in stopping the gravest crime against humanity. The world stopped Nazism, and the world stopped Apartheid. After 60 years of mass killings of the Palestinians by the Zionist Regime and its allies, can the world stop this crime against humanity as it did before?

As I was blog-hopping, I stumbled upon a blog (http://toadexodus.blogspot.com/) where the writer vehemently expressed his resistance against the 60 years of mass killing of the Palestinians by the Zionist Regime.

I was enlightened to learn that Mahatma Gandhi (who inspires me tremendously on civil disobedience) had written a letter in reply to Martin Buber’s letter on Israel issue.

After reading his letter, all that I could say is, Mahatma Gandhi indeed was a great man, a man with a clear conscience, a man with a clear conviction as to what is right and what is wrong.

Something for us to reflect upon.

**************************


"Several letters have been received by me asking me to declare my views about the Arab-Jew question in Palestine and the persecution of the Jews in Germany. It is not without hesitation that I venture to offer my views on this very difficult question.

My sympathies are all with the Jews. I have known them intimately in South Africa. Some of them became life-long companions. Through these friends I came to learn much of their age-long persecution. They have been the untouchables of Christianity. The parallel between their treatment by Christians and the treatment of untouchables by Hindus is very close. Religious sanction has been invoked in both cases for the justification of the inhuman treatment meted out to them. Apart from the friendships, therefore, there is the more common universal reason for my sympathy for the Jews.

But my sympathy does not blind me to the requirements of justice. The cry for the national home for the Jews does not make much appeal to me. The sanction for it is sought in the Bible and the tenacity with which the Jews have hankered after return to Palestine. Why should they not, like other peoples of the earth, make that country their home where they are born and where they earn their livelihood?

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs. What is going on in Palestine today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct. The mandates have no sanction but that of the last war. Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.

The nobler course would be to insist on a just treatment of the Jews wherever they are born and bred. The Jews born in France are French in precisely the same sense that Christians born in France are French. If the Jews have no home but Palestine, will they relish the idea of being forced to leave the other parts of the world in which they are settled? Or do they want a double home where they can remain at will? This cry for the national home affords a colorable justification for the German expulsion of the Jews.

But the German persecution of the Jews seems to have no parallel in history. The tyrants of old never went so mad as Hitler seems to have gone. And he is doing it with religious zeal. For he is propounding a new religion of exclusive and militant nationalism in the name of which many inhumanity becomes an act of humanity to be rewarded here and hereafter. The crime of an obviously mad but intrepid youth is being visited upon his whole race with unbelievable ferocity. If there ever could be a justifiable war in the name of and for humanity, a war against Germany, to prevent the wanton persecution of a whole race, would be completely justified. But I do not believe in any war. A discussion of the pros and cons of such a war is therefore outside my horizon or province.

But if there can be no war against Germany, even for such a crime as is being committed against the Jews, surely there can be no alliance with Germany. How can there be alliance between a nation which claims to stand for justice and democracy and one which is the declared enemy of both? Or is England drifting towards armed dictatorship and all it means?

Germany is showing to the world how efficiently violence can be worked when it is not hampered by any hypocrisy or weakness masquerading as humanitarianism. It is also showing how hideous, terrible and terrifying it looks in its nakedness.

Can the Jews resist this organized and shameless persecution? Is there a way to preserve their self-respect, and not to feel helpless, neglected and forlorn? I submit there is. No person who has faith in a living God need feel helpless or forlorn. Jehovah of the Jews is a God more personal than the God of the Christians, the Musalmans or the Hindus, though, as a matter of fact in essence, He is common to all the one without a second and beyond description. But as the Jews attribute personality to God and believe that He rules every action of theirs, they ought not to feel helpless. If I were a Jew and were born in Germany and earned my livelihood there, I would claim Germany as my home even as the tallest gentile German may, and challenge him to shoot me or cast me in the dungeon; I would refuse to be expelled or to submit to discriminating treatment . And for doing this, I should not wait for the fellow Jews to join me in civil resistance but would have confidence that in the end the rest are bound to follow my example. If one Jew or all the Jews were to accept the prescription here offered, he or they cannot be worse off than now. And suffering voluntarily undergone will bring them an inner strength and joy which no number of resolutions of sympathy passed in the world outside Germany can. Indeed, even if Britain, France and America were to declare hostilities against Germany, they can bring no inner joy, no inner strength. The calculated violence of Hitler may even result in a general massacre of the Jews by way of his first answer to the declaration of such hostilities. But if the Jewish mind could be prepared for voluntary suffering, even the massacre I have imagined could be turned into a day of thanksgiving and joy that Jehovah had wrought deliverance of the race even at the hands of the tyrant. For to the god fearing, death has no terror. It is a joyful sleep to be followed by a waking that would be all the more refreshing for the long sleep.

It is hardly necessary for me to point out that it is easier for the Jews than for the Czechs to follow my prescription. And they have in the Indian satyagraha campaign in South Africa an exact parallel. There the Indians occupied precisely the same place that the Jews occupy in Germany. The persecution had also a religious tinge. President Kruger used to say that the white Christians were the chosen of God and Indians were inferior beings created to serve the whites. A fundamental clause in the Transvaal constitution was that there should be no equality between the whites and colored races including Asia tics. There too the Indians were consigned to ghettos described as locations. The other disabilities were almost of the same type as those of the Jews in Germany. The Indians, a mere handful, resorted to satyagraha without any backing from the world outside or the Indian Government. Indeed the British officials tried to dissuade the satyagrahis (soldiers of non-violence) from their contemplated step. World opinion and the Indian Government came to their aid after eight years of fighting. And that too was by way of diplomatic pressure not of a threat of war.

But the Jews of Germany can offer satyagraha under infinitely better auspices than Indians of South Africa. The Jews are a compact, homogeneous community in Germany. they are far more gifted than the Indians of South Africa. And they have organized world opinion behind them. I am convinced that if someone with courage and vision can arise among them to lead them in nonviolent action, the winter of their despair can in the twinkling of an eye be turned into the summer of hope. And what has today become a degrading man-hunt can be turned in to a calm and determined stand offered by unarmed men and women possessing the strength of suffering given to them by Jehovah. It will be then a truly religious resistance offered against the godless fury of dehumanized man. The German Jews will score a lasting victory over the German gentiles in the sense that they will have converted that latter to an appreciation of human dignity. They will have rendered service to fellow-Germans and proved their title to be the real Germans as against those who are today dragging, however unknowingly, the German name into the mire.

And now a word to the Jews in Palestine. I have no doubt that they are going about it the wrong way. The Palestine of the Biblical conception is not geographical tract. It is in their hearts. But if they must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs. They should seek to convert the Arab heart. The same God rules the Arab heart, who rules the Jewish heart. They can offer satyagraha in front of the Arabs and offer themselves to be shot or thrown in to the Dead Sea without raising a little finger against them. They will find the world opinion in the their favor in their religious aspiration. There are hundreds of ways of reasoning with the Arabs, if they will only discard the help of the British bayonet. As it is, they are co-sharers with the British in despoiling a people who have done no wrong to them.

I am not defending the Arab excesses. I wish they had chosen the way of non-violence in resisting what they rightly regarded as an unwarrantable encroachment upon their country. But according to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Let the Jews who claim to be the chosen race prove their title by choosing the way of non-violence for vindicating their position on earth. Every country is their home including Palestine, not by aggression but by loving service. A Jewish friend has sent me a book called The Jewish Contribution to Civilization by Cecil Roth. It gives a record of what the Jews have done to enrich the word's Literature, art, music, drama, science, medicine, agriculture, etc. Given the will, the Jews can refuse to be treated as the outcaste of the West, to be despised or patronized. He can command the attention and respect of the world by being man, the chosen creation of God, instead of being man who is fast sinking to the brute and forsaken by God. They can add to their many contributions the surpassing contribution of non-violent action".

I suddenly become a gutless being today...gotta get myself together and i'm hopping that i'll be brave again, at least by 630 pm today.

thanks friends for the moral support!!:P

you know who you are.

The weak and the powerful

I watched this movie last night

What do I have to say about this movie?it was hilarious!
And this particular part really made me laugh my head off:

"My name is Moto Moto, it's so hot you have to say it twice"(btw, Moto means hot)

There was this part in this movie where Makunga (the power-hungry lion) had forcefully seized Zuba's reign as King of the wilderness. Makunga ruled the wilderness in the truest meaning of dictatorship. Whoever opened his/her mouth would end up being kicked and land on the other part of the world.

One day, every one started freaking out as the land's water supply was drying up. There would not be enough water for every one. Makunga arrogantly announced that whoever wanted to have the water would have to fight for it.

A little deer stepped forward and said that it was obvious that he (Makunga) would win because he was the most powerful of them all. Every one else would eventually die.

My summary on Makunga's perspective on the crisis-Too bad that you were born weak. Life is unfair, deal with it or just drop it!

I would have to admit that this part of the movie was intriguingly provocative. It deals with the relationship between the weak and the powerful.

To state the obvious, this is how the world works. We have the poor and the rich, the weak and the powerful, the fortunate and the unfortunate. When we talk about economic, social, political and cultural development, the main goal must be towards bridging the gap that keeps on widening in the name of modernity. The formula must always be the enforcement of rule of law and principles of justice and humanity.

These rules and principles never change. Only human beings do. It’s like conscience. Conscience will always be there, at the back of our heads, but it all depends on the individual whether he opts to acknowledge it or ignore it.

Some say there is no such thing as absolute rights. Some say there is no such thing as absolute freedom which justifies the true meaning of democracy to continuously derogate. And that some people forget what those words mean.

The term human rights mean the minimum standard of protection of basic human rights and freedom to which all human beings are entitled to as a human beings. The word "minimum" and "basic" should be given emphasis as to comprehend what human rights is all about, and to deny the "minimum" and "basic" rights and freedom is nothing but absolute injustice.

For human beings to continue to flourish, it is mandatory that this rule of law must be adhered to unconditionally. A country will not collapse and come to its doomsday by upholding these unconditional, inalienable, God-given basic rights. A country will not collapse by defending those in need against those who would always have the upper hands in economic domination. A country will not collapse by defending the refugees in the name of humanity and brotherhood. A country will not collapse by giving decent wages to the workers. It’s a matter of faith. And only faith can bring us all to heaven.

Whitewater rafting!

On last weekend, I had the opportunity to go for whitewater rafting in Sungai Kampar, Gopeng. It was such a fun adrenaline pumping experience. It has always been something that I always wanted to do. I was so thrilled that I managed to make time to do this despite my busy schedule on weekends.

Before every one got in the water, the trainers gave a briefing as to the do's and the don'ts of whitewater rafting.

"if you get thrown into the water, do this instead of doing that"
"if your raft capsizes, do not panic"
"do not injure your teammates with the T grip of your paddle"

Seriously there was too much information to digest in 5 minutes...I could hardly focus on the instruction as my attention span will automatically shut down when i got overly excited to do this kind of activity.

"agak bahaya, buat dulu and worry later" principle applied.

It was so much fun. Our team did a pretty amazing job! Our raft didn't capsize and no one got thrown into the water! The experience was something to die for.

I just can't wait to do it again.I'm looking forward to doing flying fox, next week in Bukit Cerakah.

Agak bahaya, buat dulu and worry later lah!:P

with lotsa things that are happening, lotsa things to do and lotsa places to go, it is indeed a really good way to de-stress.

Bungee jumping and sky diving are definitely something that i will do, hopefully, one day.