Dumb and Dumber

The infamous sex-bloggers couple back home were charged under the Film Censorship Act, Sedition Act and Penal Code, all stemmed from a picture of them greeting the muslim breaking fast while enjoying bak kut teh that they posted online. Long story short, they are being charged for being stupid.

And the kicker, they were denied bailed.

On what ground?

They are a jobless and penniless (and stupid) couple posing no threat whatsoever to anyone, and anything. This is their first offense. They are certainly not a flight risk. Oh, and have I mentioned that they are stupid?

They are denied bailed.

The stupids being dealt with by the stupids!

I do not condone them publishing that supposedly seditious picture online. But some people are just stupid (I can't stress this enough). 

Faith

News from home about the burning of Malay language Holy Bibles in Penang turned out to be a non-event. No one showed up. While it's such a relief that a potentially volatile situation was averted, but there exist such potential in our homeland, where everyone, maybe not every one, almost everyone takes pride on our religion tolerance, cultural sensitivity and mutual respect, that's really disturbing.

Is such insecurity a manifestation of fear or ignorance or both? Maybe such irrational acts is merely a symptom of self inferiority complex?

Have faith in your fellow countrymen, have faith in your religion, have faith in yourself.

The azan (Islamic call to prayer) and the chimes of the church bells can be such beautiful and uplifting melody to the ears, if you simply have faith. 

428 Afterthought

It was around 9am in the morning of Apr 28 here in Juba, 2pm at home in Malaysia. Many of my fellow countrymen were all donned in yellow, taking it to the street demanding for a change for the better for our beloved country. Here in Juba, my 2 colleagues and I, coincidentally all wearing red, were having breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Yeah, we were so wearing the wrong color for the day. I guess we did not get the memo. Anyway we were following the beat by beat accounts of the rally in KL on Facebook and Twitter. 

For the following days, I was reading various comments and blog postings as well as looking at the photos of the rally online. A few aerial shots of the massive turn out at various places really caught my attention. Those were the people gathering at various meeting points before marching towards Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) for the sit-down protest. To me, the photos were powerful, sea of yellow packing the streets, peacefully and orderly, ready to voice out our dissatisfaction, ask for change. It was all calm. And then the march started and we all knew what happened next. 

It got me thinking a little.

What if everyone just sit down there and then on the streets at the meeting points, for the sit-down protest? Would that not be effective enough? There'd still be hundreds of thousands (as claimed by various quarters) of people in yellow sitting down at various locations in town, in protest of the severely corrupted system in our country. Is that not good enough? Like I said, from the aerial shots, they were powerful. 

I couldn't be any more certain than the next person to say that the rally might turn out differently if people sit down just at those different meeting points. But at that moment, it was serenely calm. If we could just sit down there and then, do we still need to march to the already heavily barricaded square for the sit-down? 

At the end of the day, there are many ways to skin a cat. And of course, things are always easier or making more sense in hindsight. 

But I'm sure of one thing, the quest for change for the better must not stop, should not stop and will never be stopped. 

Go yellow!

Newton's 3rd Law of Motion

Amidst the festivity and merry-making over the Lunar new year, words got out that Singapore is planning to file claim to UNESCO that yee sang, a raw fish salad with crackers and julienne of vegetables, popular during Chinese new year, as an intangible cultural heritage of Singapore. Of course, this then sparked a heated dispute between the Chinese and foodies communities of the two countries.

While it's extremely difficult, if not impossible to ascertain the origin of the dish, I applaud both the courage and pro-activeness of the Singaporeans in their efforts to preserve and promote this culturally significant dish to such extent. The Malaysian? We do what we do best: crying fowl! That's it! That's the reaction from Malaysians.

Let's face it, we are not even that good and determined in preserving the tangible cultural heritage in the country. Cases in point, look at what had happened to the century old Pudu Jail and the majestic Bok House. Or look at what soon-to-be happened to the pre-war shophouses along Jalan Sultan. We do not appreciate these beautiful historical structure at all, demolishing such heritage treasures for the building of offices and shopping malls and parking arcade. So who cares about the intangible heritage? Aside from Singapore, Indonesia, as UNESCO had given them the intangible cultural heritage of humanity listing for keris (the asymmetrical wavy dagger), batik (the hand dyed cotton or silk garment) and the wayang puppet theatre (the shadow puppet story telling), as they claimed.

Newton's third law of motion states that for every action there's a reaction with equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. Unfortunately, we the Malaysians are always the reaction, opposite in direction and generally less in magnitude, significantly less in magnitude.

New Best Friends

There's a saying that money can't buy you love, money can't buy you happiness.

But you know what, money sure can buy you friends, a lot of friends, in a blink of an eye. Just look at the National Transitional Council (NTC) of Libya, there are just a whole bunch of people, 63 of them to be exact, desperately queuing up to be his friend. They even organize a Friends of Libya Conference to express their loyalty and sincerity, to pledge their allegiance and support!

Suddenly, everyone wants to be Libya's new best friend!

Power

In a relationship, the power lies with the one who give less, or love less. One has got the upper-hand power over the other. What kind of relationship is it when there exists such an inequality? It seems like a master-slave dynamics, which is perfectly fine to me, if you are talking about role-playing kinky sick (depends on who you talk to) stuff in bed.

In love and as in life, all should be equal.

In bed, that would be a different story.

Who Are We Kidding Here?

Read online about the electricity price hike back home.

Read about how the powers that be explaining the people that this hike is inevitable but it's structured to have the high usage group pay more. Read about how the powers that be comparing the price we pay for electricity is among the lowest with the neighboring countries. Read about how the powers that be warning the private sectors of the severe consequences on irresponsible price increase in their services or products following the rise in the electricity price. Read about the powers that be advising the people to be mindful and diligent in energy usage. Read about the powers that be assuring us that the hike will not be a burden to the low and mid-income groups.

Oh c'mon. What horse shit are you talking about? Who the fuck are we kidding here?

The people always end up paying. The people always get the stick up their asses.

Just Wondering

More than 30000 copies of the Holy Bible in the Malay language were seized by the authority in Port Klang and Kuching Port because the word 'Allah' was use in the publication to refer to God.

Since when did the word Allah proprietary to Muslim? And where is this insecurity about one's faith coming from?

On the flip side, why can't the Christian quarters use the word Tuhan in reference to God.

I wonder what Allah thinks about that.

P/S: I believe in God, just no one in particular. I doubt religions, all of them.

Getting Some?

Another sex tape hits the country, headlining front pages, occupying prime time news, rocking radio air waves, blasting the cyber-sphere.

Damn, we are one hell of a sex-crazed nation.

Are we really that desperate?

Welcome to Malaysia

Yesterday, 20 Afghan illegal immigrants fled the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Immigration Detention Depot en masse, again! This is the second exodus this year. In March this year, 12 Afghans and 4 Burmese nationals escaped from the depot by cutting through the fence.

Welcome to Malaysia.

World Peace

On Jul 27, 1953, the cease fire was signed ending the arm conflict in the Korean Peninsular. Today, it is the 57th Korean War Armistice anniversary.

South Korea is kicking off a military exercise with the United States of America in the Sea of Japan.

North Korea countered with a threat of "physical response", possibly to deploy its nuclear weapons in a "retaliatory sacred war".

Yay, world peace!

Scary Symptoms

Five months into the year 2010, natural disasters have been wrecking havoc around the world in an unprecedented and catastrophic scale. The raging volcano eruptions in Iceland, Guatemala and Ecuador spewing ashes and turning the sky grey. The violent earthquake in Haiti, Chile, China and Indonesia shattering homes and lives, leaving us agape with the aftermath. The torrent flood in Central European countries such as Poland, Austria and Czech Republic, as well as southeastern Australia, sweeping away lives and livelihood.

Some say that our planet Earth is getting sick. These are the symptoms. Time is ticking away so quickly that it calls for actions right here right now, before it's too late. I'm wondering, if these are just merely symptoms, how would it be when our planet Earth is really coming down sick with something. Can you even begin to imagine?

I don't think I can, and I don't think I want to. I believe neither do you.

So please do our part, no matter how smaller that is, and go green for our only planet Earth.

Are You Listening?

GST and MyCard to buy petrol, a couple of government proposed policies that were taken off before they take off. The PM said the proposals were shelved after the government considered the tidal of unfavorable feedbacks from the public towards those proposals. He was listening to the people. The government was listening to the people.

But why are those who were rejected by the people during the last general election still occupying high posts in his Cabinet line up?

Dear PM, you said you are listening?

Are you really?

Beyonce Is Coming To Town!

Beyonce is coming to town for a concert soon. Everyone is getting excited, including some religious quarters. They are excited, all up in arms to call off the concert, voicing so very strongly their disgust and disapproval of Beyonce's performance and her stage appearance. It is considered too revealing, too sex; insensitive, inappropriate and contracting to our local culture and Oriental values. Our youngsters going to concert would be poisoned by such hideous, despicable acts. So they claimed.

I was pumping iron at the gym this evening. TV screens everywhere in the gym playing Beyounce's music video, Single Ladies.

Oh my God, have you seen that before? I must admit it was my first time catching that. I dropped my workout all together and had my eyes plastered on the TV, gawking and almost drooling. How hot is Beyonce with all those crazy sexy moves! Mmm mmm... Damn! Jay-Z is one lucky bastard.

Then I thought, how accessible and how common a TV is nowadays. Every home has got at least one. Then the gym, mamak stalls, in the bus, shopping malls, airports, TV is everywhere, omnipresent. Basically, everyone is watching TV everywhere. More importantly, everyone is watching Beyonce prancing around in her skimpy outfits shaking her bootie everywhere! So how effective is banning her concert her shield our kids from the supposedly evil of Beyonce?

You tell me.

Man vs Beast

I think it was Tuesday morning, 7 o'clock. I was inching along in the rush hour traffic, bumper to bumper madness.

Suddenly the sound of siren was heard from afar, approaching from behind. Along the already super congested road, everyone was struggling to make room for that.

It was a motorcade, small one, just 2 cops on bikes, clearing the street, (now here's the kicker in the nuts) for a trailer carrying horses! They must be some really special horses belong to some really big shots.

Still, what the fuck?!

We, the people, were held off in jam-ville for a couple of horses! Now that was something new, wasn't it?

Well, I suppose the 1 Malaysia concept also extends to animals.

Some animal-rights activists, happy now?

Shame

A friend, H was relocated to the UK last year. He has been sharing his pictures visiting around the UK on the net (Yes, you got it spot on, via Facebook!), filled with quirky trivia and funny facts. It is always a joy going through his pictures: centuries-old castles, churches, cathedrals and towers, some built in as far back as the 1100s, still standing tall and stately, beautifully conserved and maintained. Then I thought of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Terengganu collapsed last week, just merely a year after it was constructed. That made me cringed with such immeasurable sadness and shame.

Mostly shame!

How?

How would you understand how sick, how sad, how crappy and how pathetic the state of the traffic network and public transports is when you being chauffeured around town in your limo with a motorcade clearing the street and holding us in the traffic to ensure you a smooth ride?

How would you care for something you don't understand? How would you bring about meaningful changes to us the people when you don't care?

How?

Reminder

Just another stark reminder of how powerful the force of nature is: the rain bringing down the super hot high speed Malaysian F1 GP race to a complete halt.

Don't mess with Mother Nature.

More

The world switched off for an hour last night. It was a simple act which sent out a remarkably strong message: the power of a small change that can make a enormous difference to the environment. It was a good start, to light the candle to instill awareness and hopefully to ignite the will to act for a better and brighter environment for future generations. 

You know, there are more than just switching the lights off for an hour that we all can do. Just for sharing, here are what I do:

1. Bring shopping bags for groceries run. 

2. Use own food container for take-away order to avoid foam container.

3. Buy organic produce.

4. Save water.

5. Recycle cans, bottles, newspaper, card boxes...

6. Turn off the power AND pull out the plug when done charging.

7. Eat less meat. Well I'm trying this one.

8. Switch off the computer AND the monitor at work at the end of the day.

9. Squeeze 2 pages in to 1 and print double sided.

10. Tell friends to do the same. Use force if necessary. Spread the good words.

Now go do your bit for Mother Nature.

Simple Concept

Actually, it's a really, really simple concept: when an elevator door slide open, you stand aside, wait patiently and make way for the people IN the elevator to come out first, then, and only then you walk in. Well you know, these things just can't be rushed.

Now that's not so hard isn't it? Get it?

Oh the same concept applies to LRT, monorail and commuter train too.