WE THE PEOPLE WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/analysing-bersih-3.0-malaysian-in-the-us/

Just would like to post here and share, my comments on FB to Farhana's posting of this excellent article from the Malaysian Insider. My comments reflect some of my thoughts post-Bersih 3.0. :-

"Precisely. The stupidest thing to me is that the government (via police) is justifying their actions of the whole brutal shenanigans- tear-gas, hauling people in masses to the police station, etc- because it is an illegal assembly. But why must it be illegal in the first place? The government made it an illegal assembly! without justifications. It is still beyond me why people cannot be allowed to gather peacefully so long as their cause is not "supportive" of the government. Then we might as well be a communist country then. Just obey, no questions asked.

When such a large number of people gathers (remarkable!), and some violence did ensue, then the problem is that it is impossible to positively determine who started it off. Because once it is started, of course there will be a chain of reaction, as people caught in violence (both sides) would have no choice but to defend themselves. Here it is going to be a he says-she says situation. Bersih participants started the violence. No, the police started the violence. Both sides are personally involved, and hence none of their words can be taken in value. THEREFORE, we turn to the words of the IMPARTIAL observers, the international observers and international journalists, etc, who were in the middle of it TO OBSERVE AND REPORT with no personal stake involved. (Now those who says the international people are actually biased because they want the opposition to rule so that the West can exploit the country and destroy Islam, etc, u know the usual, are clearly delusional. Malaysia ni tak sehebat mane pun untuk diorang nak exploit. Bukan lah kita ni kaya sangat dengan minyak pun. Bukan lah ekonomi kita ni mantap pun. Bukan lah kita ni Islamic sangat pun, tengok lah perangai2 majority Muslim kat Malaysia ni. So sila sedar diri sebelum nak perasan negara luar nak ekspolit kita.) And I saw on the Singapore news (ok ni pun mesti ada orang akan argue "oh Singapore memang nak menjatuhkan Malaysia". Please. The reason I watched the Singapore news is because of course la these kind of report would not be shown on Malaysian governement-controlled news channel), INTERNATIONAL observers, from India, etc, Australian ambassador and so on, stating that they were in the midst of it and the people were indeed gathering PEACEFULLY, and the brutality and tear-gassing from the police were totally UNPROVOKED. (I guess the police were attacking just for the sake of it being an 'illegal' assembly as their justification, as above)

Now, I am not blaming the police, and yes we should not maki hamun the police (I read someone's status saying what if polis2 tu mak bapak kita and kita tengok org lain mencarut2 tentang polis), but we should instead blame the people WHO INSTRUCTED THE POLICE i.e. our beloved government. Seriously, nak tergelak tengok press statement Najib on why it is ok to use tear-gas on the people. Because using tear-gas is better than if lost of lives were to happen. Problem is, if the brutality was unprovoked, i.e. it is the police side who started the violence, then why are you using fear of lost of lives as an excuse to tear-gas the people? You, yourself incite the violence, then u use that as an excuse to further attack the people. Brilliant. (It is not that you can just use tear-gas whenever there is a large crowd gathering for 'fear' some lives might be lost if the gathering continues. You only use it when the crowd gets unruly and HENCE threatening lives. But not when YOU are the one being 'unruly'. Please understand the fine distinction here MR. Prime Minister).

To me, whatever has happened, BERSIH 3.0 is a success. Why? Because more important than the actual demands made by Bersih 3.0 is the MESSAGE that it seeks to send to the government. That is, the people will not lay idle and let you make a mockery of our democratic system, let you run rampant with corruptions, let you trample on our rights, and let you do whatever the hell you want just because you are in power. WE THE PEOPLE WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE."

Now, I would like to add.

Yes I am pro-Bersih 3.0, for the MESSAGE that it seeks to put forth to the government- Accountability. But I am also a realist, therefore I know sentiment would mean both sides would try to put the blame 100% on people on the other side of the fence. BUT, what is important now is how this nation MOVE FORWARD post-Bersih 3.0. And so on this point I think Art Harun says it best on his blog (and I quote):

"I say, apart from that, the Bersih rally reveals a nation which is not at ease with her people and on the other hand, a people which is suspicious of their nation. It shows that at times, all of us could lose our head and descend into some kind of a contagious sickness.

I just pray that soon, all of us would regain our collective consciousness; regain our rationality and reasonableness; regain that missing piece of humanity. And then perhaps we would sit down, with a cup of coffee in hand, and ponder whether we would want to continue with our waywardness.

Or whether we would want to heal this nation; get back on our feet and move forward as one people with one purpose.

In unity."

Whatever it is, for my thoughts and admittedly my sentiments, underlying it all is my utmost and unshakeable belief in the Rule of Law (NOT the Law of Rule) wherein every democratic government, as Malaysia claims to be, must be reminded lest they forget, that WE THE PEOPLE WILL HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE.

Between Being Feminist & Being Delusional

Love the point made here: in our quest of empowering women, we made the fatal error of putting man as the standard. It then becomes counter-productive to our initial objective. We can never be like men, and who says we should?? I just read a book called Fight Like A Girl (Who Says It's A Bad Thing), although the author argues using biblical reference here & there, but the position is the same in Islam. I'm proud that in every "fight" and battles in life that I have faced, I have always fought like a girl i.e. using my natural God-given strength as a woman, rather than trying to fight like another being whose characteristics I do not possess. I hate it when people say women are too emotional, like being emotional is a bad thing. I love & value logic, but if everyone functions on the basis of logic alone, with no regards to feelings and intuition (i.e. if everyone of us wants to be the stoic-logical man in all situations, no compromise) society would eventually be soul-less..

Being a Feminist DOES NOT mean fighting to be just like a man, it means fighting to be WHO YOU ARE, to be the best that you can be & to fulfill your true potential, fighting to have an opinion & not to have others view shoved down your throat, INCLUDING the view of how you should be less feminine (and every single thing that word entails) and more masculine.

So ladies, lets draw the line here, Between Being Feminist & Being Delusional

http://www.yasminmogahed.com/2010/12/19/a-woman%E2%80%99s-reflection-on-leading-prayer/

Less Than Ideal

Yes, I know our situation is less than ideal...

It's not ideal to be separated by all these miles...To not be able to drop by each other's place or office when the fancy strikes, or not being able to call for you to pick me up when I need some rescuing (given the chance, I'm always in need of rescuing ;p)...or to steal some time to have a quick lunch or dinner together. Because we're so far away from each other. Well, physically far away. But in truth you are always so close...because you are in my heart. And it just feels to me like you are always right by my side. Every step of the way, in everything that I do, I can just feel you there with me. Because you are my best friend.

It's not ideal that we don't get to see each other as often as I would like. Well, ideally I would like to see you everyday. Okay, once a week is good enough. But I know that's not possible given the distance. The physical distance. But it's ok, at least I hear from you everyday without fail. We each know the detail of our everyday life. We share all that's happening to us, everything we are doing, all the things we are thinking, the things that are bothering and upsetting us, the things that are making us happy and bringing us joy. We are sharing our life with each other, and like you said, I "see" you more often that the people I literally see day in day out. Because I "see" you with my mind and with my heart. And sometimes I see you in my dreams *blush*. I always see your smile. And it's a bonus that everytime we do get to meet I feel so excited like every date is our first date. I don't take for granted the time we get to spend with each other, and that makes every moment so special. Because it's priceless.

Yes, I know our situation is less than ideal...But I will not trade in what we have together in exchange for normalcy. Because what we have together makes me happy, happier than I've been in a long, loooonnggg time. What we have together gives me peace, and makes me want to be a better person. So I will not for one second consider giving it up for all those ideals.

Yes, I know our situation is less than ideal...But it's a small price to pay, when what I get in return is YOU. When you have Perfect, who cares if it's Less Than Ideal.

:)

Knowing and Accepting

Knowing and accepting that a person was a bad match for you does not mean a small part of your heart can now stop loving that person.

Knowing and accepting that a small part of your heart can never stop loving a person does not mean that you would ever want to get back together with that person.

Knowing and accepting that you never ever want to get back together with a person does not mean you are not afraid and fearful to consider opening up your heart for another person.

Knowing and accepting that you are afraid and fearful to consider opening up your heart for another person does not mean you are not hoping that someday you will.

It's all about Knowing and Accepting.

The Past, The Present, The Future

Each can be confusing in its own way. Utterly confusing.

The Past will come back to haunt you, when you least expect it, catching you by surprise, pushing you into a tailspin of emotion that can leave you feeling hollow inside, an emotional wreck.

The Present can seem to be so dismal, sometimes grey, sometime a myriad of colours but always predominantly grey, where you can lose yourself in the mundane, the habitual, the boring, the incessant repetition bordering on hellish.

The Future can be the worst beast of all, with its thousands of uncertainties, making you calculate every action and every move, afraid that the consequences in the future might destroy what you've worked for all your life, but in effect paralysing you with FEAR, fear of the unknown.

But the nastiest is when in a single moment, you reel with CONFUSION as if walking in a dream, when they all come crashing together, The Past, The Present, The Future.

Whose Reality - Yours or Mine?

Inception - one word: AWESOME!

Yes, the cast gave a stellar performance. And the story line is near perfection - like a big complex jigsaw puzzle that fits together with no loose end. And I love the ending bcz it's kind of like Schrodinger's Cat. Whether the totem stopped spinning or continued spinning does not happen, until we (the viewers) ourself make it happen by the conclusion we draw from the ending.

But what I truly love about the movie is the idea behind it. To me the real idea behind it (yes, I know it's not a novel idea) can be seen from the scene where the old man in the sort-of basement with a lot of people sleeping/dreaming denied that all of these people come to sleep, but that "they come to be woken up". The idea is this - Who's to say what you perceive as reality is not really just a dream, and vice versa.

To me there is something distinctly religious about this idea. I have always understood this world, this world that we perceive as reality, with things that we can feel see touch and taste, as but a fleeting dream. To me our soul is THERE, dreaming this dream, before we are woken up to the REAL eternal life. It's like Plato's Shadows in The Cave philosophy. But to a lot of people in this world, this "concrete" world IS reality, and any "abstract" notion of the 'afterlife' is just a dream that we come up with in order to help us cope with that reality.

But when you talk about Reality, THE Question is this: Whose Reality - Yours or Mine?

Welcome To My World

I've figured it out. I need to be highly strung, only then can I sit for my exams. Give me ample time to study, and I will sit in my room, space out & be with the fairies. With my book on my lap, I will construct scenarios in my head and live in an alternate universe (at least for a while). Point is, I need to give myself only a short window of time to study, and only then can I do it, with adrenaline pumping in my blood (or in my veins? I suck in biology). Anything longer than that short window of time, I'm just spacey (with capital S). With that short window, my mind works faster, my memory works better.

I always have this issue. That's why I'm always running late, always missing my trains & buses, always having to be in two places at one time. I blame being a Taurus-Gemini Cusp (I tend to believe in astrological signs. Well, not to the level of being Khurafat, but still) as the reason I always need to be highly strung, always on edge, restless, nervous energy abound. That's why I talk fast, and my mind move from one thing to another rather quickly. It's tiring trying to keep up with myself at times! That's the Gemini side of me, but the Taurus side of me needs stability, so I'm rather conflicted most of the time. That's the thing about being born on the Cusp, we are often conflicted babies.

See how I've moved form initially talking about exams, to talking about my affliction, to then talk about astrology?

Welcome To My World.

HIM

There are moments when you feel the presence of God in you. You feel it in your veins, you feel it coursing through your blood, you feel it in your heart. When you couldn't have gone through something, something that seems so impossible, so improbable, that you just know that you could not have gone through that without a Higher power actually helping you through.

And I am not talking about my breakup from my 7-year old relationship either!

I'm talking about surviving my BCL Masters exam here in Oxford.

Yes, some people might think I'm being a bit melodramatic here. But they don't know. They don't know the amount of materials on the reading list for each subject that we are expected to read through. And they don't know about all these crazy people surrounding this place who all actually made it a point to finish reading up EVERYTHING. They don't know the amount of geniuses that walk through this place who at the same time are damn hard-working and work their asses off in the library EVERYday of the week. They don't know of the complicated ideas and concept that we are expected to wrap our minds around and spit them back out in an ORIGINAL way.

And the problem is I'm not one of them hardworking people. I know I HAVE to, and NEED to, work my ass off as well to compete with them in THIS PLACE. But I've been too caught up WITH this place. I'm too caught up with for once living FOR MYSELF and doing things FOR MYSELF. Not thinking about responsibilities, about what the future HAS to be like, about what is EXPECTED of me. For once, in this place, I found the break that I need, to stop being Ms. Perfect, the first-class Best Student of IIUM, the International Finalist Mooter, the all-rounder high-achiever, the perfect girlfriend to be proud of. The Perfect Person.

For once I feel I can stop being too hard on myself.

I've not been the most hardworking intelligent student of the BCL. I definitely haven't. But I have made it a point to EVERYDAY do things that make me HAPPY, be surrounded by people who I am comfortable being myself with. I have made it a point to travel the world (well, some parts of the world at least). I have made it a point to laugh the most and the loudest, to have fun, to feel great, to experience Life. To Rejoice. To do new things and meet new people, and learn things that can't be learnt from a textbook.

Yes, people might think I am not pushing myself hard enough academically here. But I've spent the best 17 years of my life (at least) doing just THAT. I know I can do it if I want to. And I have nothing left to prove. I've let, and seen, life just pass me by. But when you had your future ripped off from under your nose, it does shift your perspective a bit, and you realise that your priorities have changed. Being the Best Student no longer seem like the most important thing in the world. Being happy is.

So in a nutshell, after all these life-changing experience, I found myself at that dreaded moment. The moment when I have to sit for my exams. The moment when my first paper of 3-papers-in-3-consecutive-days (and then one more) is just a week away, and I have to catch up with what the rest of them have been doing for A YEAR LONG since September. Hell, it felt like the MOST IM-POS-SI-BLE thing and I almost cried a few times thinking I would not get through this without actually breaking down during AT LEAST one of the exams for not being able to answer the paper.

And hence I come back to the point I was initially making (oh how I've drifted!). I actually made it! I got through each and every agonizing moment, and emerged safe and sound on the other side. I made it without breaking down. I made it without dropping dead. And I knew. And I felt it. In my veins, in my blood, in my heart. I could not have done it without HIM.

BEING FOOLISH

Sometimes you can't help feeling or thinking (it just crosses your mind without your control!) that some people are just being foolish. I am afraid when such thoughts cross my mind, because I'm afraid that I too am doing foolish things without me realising it, or WILL be doing foolish things in the future...But then upon reflection I come to this point - aren't we all human and thus susceptible to the human condition. And sometimes, we can actually learn something from being foolish, because there's always a lesson that will come up at the other end. And as to a foolish heart, well..matters of the heart are never logical anyway. So go on, be foolish. Here's to BEING FOOLISH!

Being a grown up sucks.

Sometimes you need to take a step back from everything...
And evaluate.

Are you really cured? Or have u been fed a placebo?
Are you making that choice because it's the mature decision to make? Or because it's the easy one?
Are you really thankful to Him come whatever? Or because you thought you are getting what you want?
Have you really learned? Or are you making the same mistakes but in a different way?
And at the end of the day, after everything is over and done with and you are left with just yourself, do you actually like what you are left with?

And what if you don't know the answer to any of the questions. And you realised that just as you thought you have finally gotten everything figured out, you get handed down a different piece of the puzzle.

Like I said, being a grown up sucks.

Tears

Post 2nd January 2009, whenever I think of He Who Shall Not Be Named, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes. At first, angry tears. Then tears of despair, anguish and pain. Tears of hurt, of unspeakable hurt. Later on it became resigned tears. Thoughts of him never EVER fails to make me cry. Alone. Even if I'll be laughing and cracking jokes whenever his name crops up (however weirdly) in a conversation, later on, alone in my room, the tears would come. That was how strong his "presence" was in my life still, even one year after the fact. But what would you expect, of a man who had shared 7 years of my life, from the time I was still a bright-eyed teenager hopeful and passionate about the future.

Now...more than a year and a half later, whenever thoughts of him crosses my mind, tears would still welled up in my eyes. But this, this is a different kind of tears. These tears come from the realisation of how grateful I feel for those who had been there for me, those who had helped me gotten through it all. Family and friends without whose support I might have jumped off the balcony of B-9-2 PV3 (which I did consider doing more than a few times). Grateful tears of the countless show of love I gained by loosing one.

And it dawned on me, perhaps I'm finally on the real road to recovery. Because of course when the tears come, there is still a kind of hollow sadness in my heart that accompanies the sense of solace, but thoughts of him no longer bring a stab of excruciating pain in my heart as it used to. In fact amidst the tears that trickles down my face, the feeling of regret is now amiss. I no longer regret what happened. How could I? Regretting what happened means I have to also regret ever knowing him, and that is something I CANNOT do in all honesty. Not after all that we've shared and after all that I've gained from him, a man whose soul I know is full of goodness and kindness, despite it all. These are now tears of acceptance. Of wholehearted acceptance that we will never ever be together, but that his lessons and his spirit will remain with me for the rest of my life, for me to give to THE ONE (whoever and wherever he may be) who truly deserve me and deserve my love, THE ONE who's written by the stars for me to love and cherish by the lessons I've gained through this tearful experience.

So even if at times they appear unexpectedly, I now welcome them, and accept them, because these tears, they are Good Tears.

The Denigrated Race

At the Projek Amanat Negara I attended some few weeks ago, an experienced somebody (I shall not name names) had this to say (in summary):

"That Malay has become the denigrated race. That their politicians are laughed at. That they are bashed at (even by Malay themselves). Malays, in effect, has become the minority."

As sad as it may be, this is indeed true. We are indeed now "The Denigrated Race". Why is that? Is that justified?

Well, this entry is not meant to be an intellectual piece about how the Malays need to improve themselves to be at par with the rest, yada yada yada, something that have been talked about in my circle for so much since I started law school (heck, actually since I was in TKC) that frankly, I'm bored of it already (that's the problem of having said so much and been so opinionated since an early age, by the time you get to this age of mine you feel so jaded already by all this topics. Been there, done that).

And this entry is not meant to be a racist propaganda either.

This entry is meant for me to vent this frustration of mine.

Why are we the denigrated race? I do not think that we deserve that. True, we are not a perfect race, we have weaknesses. But aren't you too? True, our politicians are mostly crap, but aren't yours too? (In fact aren't all politicians shit-spitting lowlifes, even here in the UK!)

We love this country. We would do anything for this country. We would stay here and fight for what it's worth no matter how bad the situation is, how bad the economy is, how bad the standard of living is. We would spill blood for this country. We would die for this country. Would YOU do that???

At least 80% of Non-Malays I've met here in the UK, when I asked them personally, have indicated that they do not intend to go back to Malaysia. At least not until "the situation improves". WHAT THE HELL. So you are going to stay here and hide, living in luxury (or what you perceived as luxury, after the astronomic tax) while the denigrated race fight and slave out at low salary in order to keep the country going. You just want to walk back in when everything is fine and dandy?? At official get-togethers kau cakap berdegar-degar, demanding a change in this, a change in that. You talk so much, but you are not even willing to come back home and make that change. Remember, YOU should be the change that you want to see happens. Not hide out here berlagak Westerner, eyeing for that PR.

I would respect you if you say (in all honesty) that you do not want to go straight back home because you want to get the experience that you cannot get back in Malaysia, so that when you come back you can contribute to a new kind of development.. But don't give me the impression that kau just tak nak bersusah di negara sendiri. So siapa sekarang yang kene bersusah untuk kau? Kerajaan hantar belajar tinggi2 so that kau balik and menyumbang pada negara. Bukan untuk menyumbang pada kekayaan dan kesenangan hidup kau sorang.

I know, and I truly understand (because I feel the same way too) that the government SHOULD do something in order to ensure that when we go back home there would be jobs that would fulfill our career needs in terms of job satisfaction as well as intellectual satisfaction, and of course at a salary that is befitting our education and qualification.

But it is while the going is rough that you can see who truly loves the country and who are just "parasites" wanting to feed-off the country (sorry for the strong words). Remember, you need the country more than the country needs you. Being in a place where you belong, even if you don't make as much wealth, is far better than being somewhere where you are just "the outsider". Apa kau ingat orang UK suka sangat kau ramai2 kat sini? Come on, you know the answer.

And don't say you don't feel like you truly belong in Malaysia because we are not tolerant enough. Tak cukup tolerant lagi ke? You want to go to your own school? Silakan. You want to speak your own language? Silakan. (In fact, some of us can't get a job at some places because we don't speak your language) You want to practice your faith? Silakan. In grandeur lagi (Let the gold-plated tallest statue of Dewa Murugan at Batu Caves be a Testament to that). Of course there are no absolute freedom. Freedom needs to come with limitation, especially in a multi-racial country like ours. In fact, can you name me one country that practices absolute freedom? Can you?

But you, you question our Bumiputera rights. Padahal apa sangat lah rights tu pun. You want us to respect your sensitivity. But have you ever respected ours? When you use Allah to denote your God, although you know how precious religiosity is to us (like how precious money is to you), you disparage us when we get insulted. Why is it that we always have to respect you, but you never respect us? Yes, it may be linguistically correct, and you can harp on Freedom of Expression, but how does that reflect on how "respectful" you are (something you claimed to be) and how does that reflect on your social conscience?

Now, coming back to the issue of the denigrated race. Why is that so? Why do you hate us so much? Why do you belittle us? Are we not friendly to you? Do we not welcome you with open arms when you come to our house? We want to talk to you, we want to hang out with you, we want to be your friends. But how can we do that when you just stick to yourself, and speak in a language that we cannot understand? Can't we speak in English (no matter how broken our English is, or yours). Come to think of it, why can't we speak in Malay? Because it's our language? And here i thought it's the National language. Well, that's what the Federal Constitution says anyway. And if you don't like what the Federal Constitution says, well blame your forefathers for agreeing to it when you once seek the protection of Malaya.
In any event, I'm sure you did pass your SPM Bahasa Melayu paper (and I'm sure in more probability you got an A1 for it).

Last thing about the denigrated race. How come there are Malays themselves who like to denigrate the Malays. Sebab kau malu jadi orang Melayu kan? Sebab kau ingat kau Western and modern kan? Bangsat lah kau. Itu nama nya tak sedar diri. Western, modern, kau makan sambal belacan jugak.
Please lah, I really hate Malays who feel the only way they can appear cool , open minded, and be accepted by the non-Malays are when they disparage and belittle their own race. If that's what you have to do to gain acceptance, THEN SHAME ON YOU.

Now the Malay in me has spoken. Let it be damned!

*(spoken like a true denigrated race)*

Exchange with a Beloved Friend

*I want to share an exchange I had with a beloved friend of mine, Sasha Lyna, on FB yesterday. This is just to show that if we have enough respect and love, we can disagree on anything, but still be good friends afterwards. Then you can say you have maturity in the true sense of the word. :)

(In italic are Sasha's)*


So I'm heartless because I say it's better to take your grievances to the court rather than to the street? Yes, we can emulate civilized countries, but only if the people are of civilized minds first.



how can u have revolution like that?and whe n until u take it to the streets will the people knw the real story..COURT?with our present image of our court?HOW?!!



That's on the presupposition that we need a "revolution"...can we handle a revolution? can we carry through a revolution? you think we are ready for that? seriously?

Yes, I used to think crap of the court as well. and the police. and the government. But then someone asked me, "why are you so cynical?". Aku terdiam (hek leh, cam real je aku mampu terdiam!)

Then I realised that all of us idealist (including me) fighting for utopia are no longer CRITICAL, but just purely CYNICAL. We are too quick to condemn ANYTHING state-like. Sebelum dengar ape2 lagi, tengok apa2 bukti lagi, kita dah buat judgment. This is NOT what the Rule of Law (that ironically we are fighting for) is about. This will just bring CHAOS. Sekian.



if with that kind of thot, of cz we're never gna b ready..

but do we have/need to b ready to carry out a revolution?change is needed when there is no other way n clearly there is a wrong that is soo apparent n needs to be corrected.

surely, u must give other opportunity to prove their worth rather than saying they don't knw anything....

y do u think there is chaos?is it not also contributed by those in power?arent they retaliating to the move towards revolution?

we cant all be gandhi(may he rest in peace).


oh babe, I agree that we need CHANGE, hell yeah we do..but we don't need a REVOLUTION...check history and see what that means..see the price that has been paid for it..the price is blood. But the move towards change can only come from objectivity, not emotion!

Not ALL things should be taken to the streets. If available legal avenues have been exhausted, then fine. But don't jump the gun! In civilized countries you think diorang main belasah je ke. They follow proper steps. All in time.

For example the shooting issue. For all 1000 ppl yg melatah terus kondem polis, there are another 1000 yg melatah and terus defend polis and kondem the boy. U see? There is no space for unification when things are done on the basis of "cepat melatah". Kalau takleh unite, u think we can carry through a revolution? It's not a matter of not giving ppl the chance to prove their worth, but see...their action has spoken louder than their words.


but nenek jst bcoz don't agree tak smestinyer means bloody..we need to educate people thats all..its ok to disagree!!like us, i still love u as much even if i dont agree with u ;)


as long as what we do tu betul2 melambangkan nak educate people..."don't listen to what a man says, look at what he does" (ni quotation utk carik jodoh, tapi boleh pakai gak ah! hehe)

Betul tu bulu, altho I might not necessarily agree with you fully, but I still love you nonetheless too! Ni baru lah differences of opinion secara berhikmah kan...as long as we keep our cool and remain professional...nak emotional, save that for pergaduhan ngan your laki/bini, hihihi :P


*and that was my intellectual Exchange with a Beloved Friend (for the day)*

TRAGEDY

This is something I wrote as a comment to Abu's status on FB regarding the shooting of adik Aminulrasyid, which I decided to re-post here:

I think ALL of us know the law. Semua orang pass CPC and Consti dulu kan. Everyone knows about Proportionality. Everyone knows that Police can only shoot when they are shot at, or when their own life is threatened (unless it's a warning shot). Everyone knows that Natural Justice warrants the Presumption of Innocence (and it works both way, on the kid, and on the police as well).

Now to put all these legal principles in context, we CANNOT do that UNLESS and UNTIL we know all the facts of what actually happened. Hence, investigation by an INDEPENDENT panel/commission is needed (the independence of the government-led one is reasonably questionable).

But before all the facts are laid down in public and objectively analysed, people should refrain from making emotional statements swayed by political underpinnings. The police camp will say that happened, the boy's camp will say this happened, it will be a case of he says-she says, that's why result of fact-finding by an independent party sahaja yg boleh dianggap FACTS OF THE CASE, yang lain2 tu ALLEGED FACTS (from both sides). We are all legally trained to know rules of evidence kan.

Sebab tu I personally think the case going straight to court is the best way to go (which I just read is what's happening now).

But I have to say, naluri aku sedih bila aku tengok gambar budak kecik tu, that is something I can't help. Whatever the outcome, this IS a TRAGEDY.

All the World's an Oyster

Sometimes when your spirit is a bit down, u need something to cheer yourself back up. So I'm going to turn to something that never fails to cheer me up, Traveling!

(A) Countries I've been to (in chronological order of visits)

1. Thailand
2. Singapore
3. Japan
4. Australia
5. Netherlands
6. United States
7. Italy (Milan, Venice, Lake Como)
8. U.K (England)
9. Ireland
10. Greece

(B) Countries I'm going to (in the plan, in the very2 near future, insyaAllah. Amin3x!)

11. Scotland
12. Turkey
13. France
14. Spain (Barcelona, Granada)
15. Italy (Rome)
16. Nepal (budget permitting)
17. India (budget permitting)

(C) Countries I would love to visit someday (honeymoon perhaps! haha)

(1) the rest of Italy (Florence, Pompei, Pisa, Tuscany)
(2) any African countries (maybe Kenya or South Africa)
(3) Egypt
(4) Russia
(5) Germany
(6) Monaco
(7) UAE (I almost went to Abu Dhabi, but gave it to my sister instead bcz she has never traveled abroad)

(D) Countries which I would love to go to AGAIN!

(1) Japan
(2) Greece

Now I realised that I've been blessed. No wonder they say that if ada tahi lalat dekat kaki kita akan berjalan jauh...I have a prominent one on my left foot!

Ya Allah, please make all my traveling dreams come true! Because they say All the World's an Oyster!

Age

They say age is just a number. But I disagree.

If age is just a number, and you can be young at heart so age does not matter, then ape cerita kedut2 bawah mata ni, or ur metabolism slowing down rapidly, or you getting sakit kaki and backache after a long day, or u forgetting more easily and need more time to recall things?? Haaa, jawab jawab!

On a more serious note.

Age is not just a number. Because with age comes experience. And with experience comes lessons. And with lessons come wisdom. (Or 'wisdom' of some sort!)

The age-old question: What is the meaning of life? If you asked me this at 23, I would have given you some crappy narcissistic answer which all revolves around ME, ME and more ME. But after several life-turning experience, at 26 (going on 27) I realised Life is something Beyond You. And Life is Unpredictable (they say life is like the Mistress, she is unpredictable and her mood-swings can create havoc to all balance and order that you hold dear!)...You just have to stop, look around and ponder...to realise how bewildering Life is. And no matter how in control you think you are, or you want to be, you can NEVER ever control Life. And also somehow, in some way, all of us are inextricably linked together in this whole fabric of Life.

There is much to be said about maturity. It is not something you can see from the surface. It is not something physical. Even if you look 30 although you are only 21, it does not mean you are matured! (Here in the U.K I often get mistaken as a 19 year old because of the physicality)...I have many friends here who are so much younger than me. And although when we are together people can seldom see the difference in age, but when you talk to them you just know they are younger. It's their outlook towards Life and towards so many things in general. It's in the way they talk. It's in the way they behave in relation to other people. It is in the way they seldom see the bigger picture. When I am with them, I have to humour them, and tell myself it's because they lack life experience (I also have a way of always appearing more stupid or helpless than I really am so that people don't feel the gap! It's a skill I've developed over the years). I also have friends who are more or less my age, or older. And it is just so much easier to connect with them at an emotional and mental level. They just seem to "Get It" (it's difficult to explain)...I came to this realisation about the connection of all this with age is because usually after getting to know these ppl for some time, only then you know their age...then you go (in your head) "Ooooh, no wonder. Patut lah".

Another important thing. Life and Age, it changes you. You are never the same person that you were 5 years ago. Or 3 years ago. Or even a year ago. External influence (your life experience) and internal influence (how you react internally to those experience) keep moulding you and you realised that I am just not the same person anymore! Sometimes you feel that this is bad (Oh I used to be so carefree, so optimistic and passionate about the future) but actually this is often for the better. Because u wake up and realise that you are more at "one" with yourself. You are more in touch with your feelings, of who you are. But more importantly, you are more in touch with other people in your life, or other people around you, because you have more sympathy, empathy and understanding towards others compared to when you were younger...

This is what I want to say to Aliza of yesteryears. "Of course you have more youth and beauty than me, but I can always strive to have more of those too. If I sing more and laugh more, my heart will be more youthful. If I take care of myself more, have a healthier lifestyle, or even have cosmetic surgery (haha), I will be more beautiful. But no matter what you do in this world, or how hard you try, I will always have something more than you...and that is my Age!"

:D

Lost in Translation

I came across a writing by Paulo Coelho on translators, and I was interested to read what he has to say, simply because I too have done some translation work for Institut Terjemahan Negara (translating books by Dato' Saifuddin Abdullah & Prof. Zaini Ujang), altho of course I did those during my spare time and hence I am not a professional or even a serious translator (or maybe a serious translator that cannot be taken seriously!).

I came to the realisation that yeah, but for people who are translators, I would not have been able to enjoy many books that I really love simply bcz they were originally written in languages that I do not understand. Paulo Coelho's books themselves (which I am a fan of) are written in Portuguese, and I also have a collection of Boris Akunin's books on Erast Fandorin, the Russian detective, written in Russian (well, duh). But for translators, I would not even fully understand my own book of guidance, the Holy Qur'an...

Isn't God great, that when he created diverse people of different tounges, he also gives the wisdom to a number of them to be able to understand more than one language, so that they can spread knowledge to the four corners of the world! So that in people's unquenched search for knowledge (as enjoined by God Himself), we would not get Lost in Translation...