moribund breed

Having roamed the earth close to half a century, I had the opportunity of meeting personalities from both political divides in Malaysia. In the heydays of UMNO, I worked with two politicians as backroom boys preparing inputs for economic papers especially for tabling in the parliament. Those days these politicians seemed sincere enough in wanting to do something good for the nation. I closed one eye to their pursuit of personal gain as they also contributed, even though minute, towards nation building.

Political awakenings as a result of persecution of Anwar Ibrahim opened up opportunity for me to meet with and getting to know politicians from the other side of the divide. I realised then that there was another side of the coin, the side I was not acquainted with but suspected all along to contain a lot of misconception.

I stumbled upon a group of aspiring young entrepreneurs who were sick of being foolhardy in chalking up slices of economic pies. These young men formed a new branch of political party PAS and set out to study its constitutions and embracing its methodologies in shaping members to become concern and deeply involved citizens, choosing to walk with their eyes open.

I was very impressed with their commitment and their intelligence drew me towards their movement. I joined the group a few sessions of studying and understanding PAS constitutions. My father had in all his active years in politics been telling me to read PAS constitution and yet as a person who seemed so sure of what he was doing, I chose to ignore this instead. I should have heeded my dad’s advice. If I did then, I would have treaded a different kind of path, a path filled with much wisdom and continuous learning.

I toyed back with “usrah” or study group with PAS. This was nothing foreign to me as I had experience with such a movement when I was a student abroad. However, this time around it was more systematic complete with syllabus and curriculum and a host of recommended (read compulsory) materials as references. While Syed Qutb’s “In the Shade of the Quran” was familiar to me, other literatures like Fathi Yakan’s “Kenapa Saya Seorang Islam” (Why Am I a Muslim) were alien to me. 40 Hadeeth was a must.

Today, I understand the “PAS Way”. Beginning with Guide to Usrah and then digesting the PAS constitutions cover to cover, continuous reading and understanding the Holy Quran and Way of the Prophets and Virtues of Sahabah and then emulating the way of the Mujaddid in Ikwanul Muslimin was a comprehensive way of moulding a man to face current political scenario. As with others’ struggles in the past, this war to bring people from an ignorant to an informed state of mind is thorny and treacherous. Only those that truly go through the discipline would be able to come out unscathed.

All in all, this allegiance leaves a profound impact on me. I begin to see the world as it is and not the one painted by the (controlled) media of the government. It was an awakening indeed and having seen the light, I would not want to even get near the dark ages let alone reverting to it. As with other great experiences, I would want others to walk in similar paths and not be blinded by the false light shined through coloured filters by those in power.

Today, I have grown up children who are fortunately more aware politically and walk in same path as I am. I am blessed with intelligent children that choose ways of the companions of the Prophet as their paths and propagated further these ways to their friends and foes alike.

Gone are the days when politicians were able to pull wools over our eyes and spread their hideous ideologies only to enrich themselves and made us fools. These unscrupulous politicians are of a dying breed and they have lost their legitimacy in handling the society and its affairs.

It is heartening if dirty politicians are vanishing but if the learned ones are disappearing also, it is a course for concern. We pray that those with sincerity in seeing this nation comes out of this dark-age will multiply in numbers and continue to shed lights towards real freedom.

troubadour

p/s: Wise man says “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.

doses of hypertensions

I refrain from writing on politics, the ruling federal government or those in power in Malaysia but time and again I fail to live up to my desire. Just an instantaneous flip on TV3, RTM or other “controlled” channels, I will stumble upon some morons making ridiculous statements that is so vile and despicable. A glance at headlines of their subservient print media drives up my blood pressure in a similar manner.

When will those idiots in UMNO understand what it means by transparency and good governance? Or do they actually understand this phrase yet choose to do things devoid of transparency and govern in a shitty manner? Whichever way it is, one thing for sure is that they will meet their doom soon enough.

In a world where information flows readily free and at the speed of light, these goons choose to lie and a great one at that as well. Not a single sentence is uttered without lies in it.

First there is this Interior Minister that keep on saying that ISA is justifiable by citing the Mumbai Massacre as a good example of an incident that can be avoided with an act like ISA in place. Twenty years ago he could get away with this sort of ignorance. But now, they may hide behind many kinds of masks but truth is too glaring to be ignored. Don’t they know that they are making fools of themselves and they look down right silly, arrogant and very stupid?

This old fart is angry with Malaysia Today for printing a satirical interview with him, purportedly ridiculing himself talking about current affairs. It is a satire but the fact that he went out to cite it for contempt is only a demonstration of the truth the satire carries.

There was also another dimwit giving interviews somewhere that I received a posting from a friend that told a story of a friend of Chief Minister of Melaka defending him on his inability to converse in English or making sense when speaking in the English language. This apple polisher was saying that this particular chief minister once headed an international youth movement with this shortcoming. The chief minister must have mismanaged and misguided the movement then if it goes by this claim. How can one get the respect of the world if one cannot even utter a sentence in English? Republic of China’s premier may get away with it because they are a super power but for a Malaysian living in a former colony of mother England, it is preposterous. Outrageous it may seems but this is the kind of idiots we have running the country. No wonder international watchdogs continue to mock us with their reports. We have ourselves to blame for this kind f stupidity that we are faced with.

Then there is our flipping Prime Minister announcing a formation of Judicial Appointment Commission that reports to him, all in the name of reform. What a load of rubbish this flopping minister is talking about? He might as well appoint the judges himself and this will save a hell lot of taxpayers’ money. A rose by any other name smells as sweet and equally, a shit smell as foul whichever way one put one’s nose in it and this faeces smell bloody awful coming from the highest person in the country. Bloody idiot!

There is this war against those cyclists that “ride for change” and the Chief of Police is keeping mum while his underground boys went on to threaten and to top it up torched their bikes and point fingers at arsonists from the general public. Since when have Malaysians embraced anarchism? This happens when everyone knows that the only people who dare to act in such a manner belong to the elite group of the police force. What kind of crap is this so called Chief of Police is giving us?

We are truly living in a challenging time. The real challenge is actually to keep our blood pressure down just going through our daily lives with our eyes open and witnessing all these horrendous acts of those we elect to run the country and those they in turn appoint to run civil service. It will not be long before we kick the bucket due to sheer weight of conscience on our heads.

Malaysia Boleh! Anything Boleh! This is indeed a Bolehland! I have no doubt at all!

troubadour

adressing needs

We always take for granted the things that we already have very much at our disposal. This is closely associated with our needs and how we respond to our ever changing needs. Maslow’s Theory of Needs proved this point clearly. Maslow depicts needs in the form of a pyramid and we constantly move upwards as we acquire our needs. We move to the next level the moment we have acquired certain needs and thus take for granted what we already earned.

I had this experience of losing something and only then realise that I took for granted so much of the thing that readily have access to. The internet!

Even though other countries have moved leaps and bounds when it comes to access to internet and the kind of speed that they are privileged to have, we so much lag behind that whenever a colleague from abroad experienced our line and cursed its sluggishness I felt like burying my head in the sand like ostriches do. Despite all this backwardness I embraced this technology and now cannot live without it. When I cannot access the internet for whatever reason be it technical or financial, i.e. my company fail to settle the bill for example I feel like screaming on top of my voice. Then I realise how have taken this little luxury for granted and how much my life depends on this communication media and most importantly my resource centre, readily available at a push of a button.

Today is Sunday and I woke up early in the morning as I was awakened by sound of wild swine scouring my backyard looking for worms. This is what these pigs are after I was told, crawly creepy worms. As I live in some kind of a country home, wild pigs are common sight late at night or before dawn. Up and about so early in the morning, I had the time to write and when I want to access the internet, I could not do so. We have become creatures that depend so much on machines. Now the machines rule us.

Back to the subject at hand, one will only miss something when one loses whatever that one use to have and taken for granted all along, lost of loved ones for example. We long for our loved ones only when we lose them or been away from them. This kind of feelings is human after all. Otherwise Maslow would not have studied and discovered as such.

Humans’ pursuit of wealth is also something that demonstrates the working of this Theory of Needs. It is never enough. The reason for this, according to theory, is that move to the next level of needs having acquired the kind of wealth that we already achieved. Crude it may be but this is what we generally termed as greed. Our greed takes over every time we entertain our love for worldly objects and ignore our inner feelings of gratefulness of what we possess.

How do we then deal with our greed? Or better still how do we train ourselves not to be greedy and to be grateful at all times for the worldly possessions that we have and the health and our serene state of mind. There is no substitute for peace of mind and there is a way of getting rid of greed inside us.

The Prophet taught us to inculcate this attitude of gratefulness. This can be achieved by always comparing ourselves with the less fortunate or those of lesser wealth when it comes to worldly possessions and as for doing good deeds the Prophet stressed that when it comes to good deeds, we must always compare ourselves with those who are more charitable, humble and pious and knowledgeable when it comes to pursuit of knowledge.

There is no end if we continue to pursue mere material wealth but on the other hand knowledge is power and knowledge is “having it to apply it”.

Kuala Lumpur, on a gloomy Sunday and drizzling all day long!

troubadour

old horse learning new tricks

One is never too old to learn. It is a fact yet many choose to die ignorant than to learn even on a deathbed. If we care to look around us, we can see that those who continue to work and sharpen their brain as they age will actually live a long, happy, rewarding and relatively free from diseases. And it also goes to prove that manipulative persons live a hell lot longer. This is perhaps the reason for the phrase “only the good die young”! Of course we do not consider those that kick the bucket because of self inflicted injury or get knocked down by the garbage truck. Those that self inflict themselves with three to four packs of cigarette also it seems manage to live beyond our expectation. For those who wish to join the ranks of those that live a healthy long life, let us look at one particular figure that outlive his expected average lifespan and continue to run havoc or create much mayhem. The infamous Tun Mahathir! Having ruled Malaysia unjustly for most of the latter part of his premiership, the old man keep on coming back to haunt us with his ranting, tantrum and a host of tangential issues. What I hate most was his demolition of the Multimedia Super Corridor, MSC. He and his close advisors came up with a brilliant idea of communication media industry to replace industrialisation and privatisation policy, only to destroy it later when he went after his then anointed deputy premier. And now, when we are all caught up in this stupid political crisis ever since that incident, he is back in the centre stage pointing in all directions except towards him for all the blames. In fact he never leave Malaysian political scene. His sabbatical leave was only when he was on the operating table for a coronary bypass. Even that could not stop the man. He gave a press conference barely hours after operation. What is it that drives this ancient of a man that continues to dominate our space and prolonging his long age? One thing for sure, he has this strong desire to cover up all his wrongdoings and misadventures. Secondly, he truly believes that it is him and him alone that can do the job, or in other words, he is one hell of a conceited bugger. How about lying? Studying the old man you will note that he lies a lot and I mean truck loads of those almost on a daily basis. He will not just lie, but lie with a straight face and shove it to us as if we are morons. You will not see him giving a whimper over what he has done. He just tells lies with a bloody straight poker face. Set up a blog, write and taunt the public with your undying ideas? Yeah, that was what he did and he continues to insult us almost daily. Self fulfilling prophecy Theory goes to say that if we truly believe that we are good, then we will be good. As for Tun, he honestly believe that he is right and if goes by the theory, then he is right! Does this make any sense? Perhaps it does. That is why he is right! (Not anymore though as his one time powerful media is now under the command of his protégé, the man dubbed C4). So, in conclusion, be a conceited bastard, cover up as much as possible all the mess that is created, lie and bullshit, always believe that you are right and surely then you will have a long and healthy life. Forget all other people’s recommendations such as taking vitamin supplements and eat healthy stuffs that contain a lot of anti-oxidants. It is very true then that only the good die young and even an old horse continue to learn new tricks. And if you are approaching your average lifespan, get cracking. Be a real conceited bastard and try a thing or two that we learn today. Do not be overly worried if people call you a bastard because you know that you will live a long-long life. Worry about hellfire when you get there. By then it will be too late anyway. troubadour Penang, the Pearl of the Orient.

we shall till at will

A fertile land is ripe for planting. It is also haven for weeds and bushes. This lush land that we toil has become a sanctuary for insects and birds and animals of various kinds. Little that we suspect that amongst God’s creatures there are those that harbour ills towards us. These are villains and foes for human kinds. Their existence is devoted to destroying the very fragments of human society. This alternative coalition to the ruling federal government is comparable to a fertile land, fully covered with lushes of greens and full of life. While many seek refuge in this coalition, many are still sceptical of what it stands for and what it is capable of. That is what sceptics are good at, wonder in awe and disbelief. They will prove to be a nuisance in times of needs. This coalition has blossomed into something that allows many to hang hopes on. This then is the envy of foes, perching nearby. When it threatens the very existence of the enemies, it is an acknowledgement of its superiority. It is time that this sworn enemy be attacked ferociously and destroyed beyond recognition and banish from the face of the earth. Coalition comprising of three unlikely parties, seemingly poles apart but proven to be a viable alternative when they share a common goal, a goal to have a country governed in a just and transparent manner, and free of corruptions and devoid of hatred. But when differences are ironed out and common interests promoted and unity is achieved, they awaken the enemy from their deep slumber. Counter attacks have started. The enemies have sown seeds of discords on this very fertile land we cultivate. The seeds germinate in abundance, blossoming with flowers and transforming into fruits filled with venoms and poisons and ripens in the sun. Some harvest this fruits bountifully. They look scrumptious and hide their poisons well. Many took a bite. The poisons rush throughout the blood vessels, choking in an instant but we die so very slowly. Years belie, we live the lie “multi-racial society, living in harmony”. Racial cards maintain the divide. We have been ruled by divide, half a century of division by fostering suspicion. We remain divided and though attempts at uniting us are successful, the unity is very fragile. While it is very difficult to foster genuine unity, it is incumbent upon us to forge close working relationship so that we begin to understand each other’s fear and shortcomings. It is through continuous interactions that we are able to understand each other, empathise and appreciates that we are all human and that vast majority of us wants the best for us, our children, their children and generations yet to come. We must work hard towards maintaining this relationship and not to let us be swayed away from our goal. We have a divine objective of seeing all men live in peace and harmony, true to the command of The Supreme Being. Cultivate goodness and weed out the bad. We owe it as much to our future generations to inherit a nation truly united, rich in culture and full of diversity. And true to the words of a troubadour, “The fields lie fallow, whatever ye sow so shall ye reap! This ground we hallow is ours to tend but not to keep”. troubadour On a rainy day Monday Kuala Lumpur

internet is the mainstream media

A lot has changed in Malaysia. Traditional thought and belief that a government knows best what is good for its people is gone. A bit too late for Malaysia but it is better late than never. While other democracies flourish, Malaysia remains backward in term of discharging her duties towards the citizens. People were made fools by those in power and for now at least there is hope. This is evident in events prior to the March 2008 general election. For once a party that rule the country for half a century conceded that there is a more powerful medium of reaching to the people, the internet, and people for once chose not to let absolute power continues it corruption of basic rights of citizen to voice discontentment and take fate in their own hands. In a world where democracy continues to be shoved forward for the masses to swallow, many find it hard to ignore that this western style democracy is firm in the hands of the haves and not the haves not. Money still rules but for now democracy is the only acceptable system that is touted as the answer to the world’s turmoil, albeit this shortcoming. Money in turn allows aspirants to buy access to the second “M”, machinery that will see to it that it will mobilise forces to fight the enemies and work days and nights for its candidates. In this information era, the third and final ingredient to propagate ideology is of course access to media. Traditional media has been overshadowed with the advent of the internet. And in case of Malaysian politics, the internet has become the mainstream media. This is the main reason on the part of the archaic ruling party of Malaysia to scramble madly towards acquiring this coveted media. It has this notion that everything can be bought at the right price. Attempts are made at rounding up this coalition of internet writers. Little that these unscrupulous lots comprehend that this coalition exist because of a common cause of propagating reforms, fight for injustices and promotes transparency and good governance on the part of government that are missing components of civil societies. A few falls into traps set by these shameless lots. As with any struggle for that matter, there will be those who succumb to pressure or simply not committed enough to usher into a new dawn of information freedom. And there are those who realise that it is virtually impossible to buy into internet portals that carry credible news and commentaries choose to get themselves involved in setting up portals that do their bidding for them. In an era where free expressions thrives and prospers, websites that do not go along a mainstream of political freedom fall like monsoon rain or disappear into oblivion the minute it goes on cyber space. Enter a jungle where the only rule that applies is the namesake law. In this dense jungle the game played by these scumbags is the one with no rule. Those that we cannot conquer, we will imprison with fear. Those that have the courage to fight, we will break with draconian rules and oppressive laws. Will this curtail struggle for freedom? Recent blunder of internet censorship and disruption by the Malaysian government proved to be costly and self serving. But as with other repressive regimes, this budding regime learns very little. Persecution against dissents will continue even though this will serve only to bring destruction to all. But it only goes to prove that the internet media can no longer be ignored and as for battle ground of the future, these internet wars are wars of the future. troubadour

Kuala Lumpur