Bersih 3.0

Even if you do not usually read the news, I bet you will know about what's happening on the 9th of July. Because friends on Facebook are blowing their status updates about Bersih.

Some of them are pretty emotional while some of them backed their statements with logics and reasoning. There are however some of them that, well, I think they should think twice about reproducing.

To tell you the truth, I'm all for peace. Heck, I'm even inclined towards the government's side, that sometimes got me into heated debates with my uncles and father and even my Encik that he said my allegiance to the government is sometimes appalling. I'm telling you this, just so you don't write off my sentiment towards the current situation coming purely based fron my political choice.

Some of my friend (not really, just someone-I-kinda-know back in high school; funny how Facebook makes on us calling everyone we used to know at some point our friends) are focusing so much on the rally that she is missing the whole point of Bersih. It's not just about the rally. It's about wanting fair elections, without any ghost voters, without votes being rigged, so that the results are 100% representative of what the people wants.

Not in any way I am condoning the act of the rally itself if it is not backed up with a concrete cause. Nor do I wish that our generation adopt the Indonesian students style of protest, notorious for taking their disapproval towards the government to the streets, which includes burning stuff up and basically just creating havoc.

It might get tiring reading all the statuses (although you do have a choice, jangan bukak Faceboook!), but I think it's kinda healthy that our generation is caring more and more about the current development of our country. It's about time we start caring.

Malay Dilemma?

Finished reading another chapter in The Malay Dilemma. Susah sungguh nak habiskan. Sebab Ablenkung dari novel-novel lain yang lagi menarik banyak. Lagipon, buku macam ni, lepas habis satu-satu tajuk, nak kena ada sesi diskusi, pastu fikir-fikir dan renung-renungkan, barulah boleh nak absorb betul-betul.

Following a long discussion with Encik just now, we came to a few conclusions (which are of course our mere opinions, not facts, and I never intend to imply so) which can be broken down to a few important points here :

1) Malays protect their Ketuanan Melayu with such fierceness and perhaps, rightly so.

2) Most Malays tend to discredit themselves too quick too often; they've been told a long time ago that they are not able to compete with other races without the leverage of the Bumiputera title, and they hold onto the belief so dearly.

3) Most Malays are afraid of the Malaysian Chinese. They are just human beings! They've no superpowers! Some of them work really hard, and the results show. That's it. There are slackers Chinese, as there are slackers Malays and Indians. It has nothing to do with race! Not unless we allow ourselves to conform to these racial stereotypes.

4) Most Malays believe that without the leverage, our race would perish; I personally think we should give ourselves more credit regarding our capabilities.

5) Most Malays are scared of the possibility of no 4) actually happening, but most Malays do not take proactive measures in case no 4) actually happens. We stay lazy. And lament and complain. Well, at least, we are good at that.

6) Some influential group notices this fear, and they use it as a chain to keep us from questioning too much, if at all, from forming our own opinions other than those that are in line with the group's interest.

7) In return, we give this group of people too much power, that we readily give up our rights, and they keep feeling more secure and getting sloppier in fulfilling their responsibility to us, to the country.

8) I know the situation in Malaysia is not as dire as in the Middle Eastern, and some might question, tak cukup bersyukur ke apa yang dah dapat?, but do we really need to wait until things get much worse before wanting a change?

9) Disregarding any involvement of political parties in it, I still think Bersih is not a bad concept. Who in their right mind wouldn't want a fair election in their country? Saying 'no' to that is like proclaiming that we are totally OK with the possibility of being cheated.

10) Kenapa orang nak cakap, tak cukup ka apa kerajaan bagi?, tak bersyukur ka dengan pembangunan yang kerajaan dah buat?, I mean that's pretty messed up, how they think of that. First of all, I believe that the notion of perasaan syukur tu hanya boleh digunakan kepada Tuhan. Rezeki Tuhan yang bagi ok, dan itu bergantung setakat mana yang kita usaha. Second of all, it's not like the government took the money out of their own pocket to feed us, to do all these pembangunan! It's the taxpayer's money, and if your parents pay their taxes, you are entitled to what we have gotten in our country so far. Third of all, it's their responsibility because it's their job. If they do their job properly, respect, they deserve to stay another term, but bersyukur to them? Or maybe I misunderstood and they actually meant, bersyukur kepada Tuhan of what the government has done to our country so far. But the way to show our kesyukuran is by saying 'no' to a fair election? Ok, that's even more messed up than the first one.

11) I'm not taking any sides, I don't even have sides that if someone would ask me to pangkah right now, the paper would just come up blank (when the time comes to pangkah I would look at the calon-calon first, that's my strategy). I just want to see Malaysia has a political scene that's healthy in which both sides work together to keep each other in check, and the voice of the people and kepentingan rakyat are the ones that matter the most. Or maybe that exists only in a dream.

12) I cycled for 31km today woot! Hehe. Sekarang, kalau baring pon kaki sakit. Sungguh tak macho. Ok itu ja nak tambah.

Let's Save The Earth

Even with all the technology available now, and the great brains that are at work to solve the impending disaster from the energy crisis the world is dealing with, there's still no ultimate solution to it. We are still miles away from solving a crisis that might change civilization as we know it.

Oil well is drying up, which has led countries going into war, killing thousands of innocent lives. The fact that we are running out of oil is nothing new but we still produce millions and millions of cars every year.

We do have an alternative though; thanks to those genius lot that have discovered renewable energy. Energy source that would always be available in abundance. Isn't it great? Doesn't it sound perfect? Too perfect to even be possible even? Kinda. They are extremely expensive. Crazy expensive. And plus they take up a lot more space to generate the same amount of energy than an oil refinery. Imagine a future with desert and farming land converted into a power plant with rows and rows of wind turbines and photovoltaic panels. Where would we grow our food then? With food crisis already ripping some countries apart now, surely we do not want that problem to add on our already long urgent list?

What about biogas? That's a good effort. But even if we collect every single drop of shit from every single cow on this earth, we won't be able to generate enough energy to power the world. But it will be a good help though. Just not enough to substitute oil.

Wait, what about nuclear power? Their reactor doesn't take up much space, they generate a lot more energy, in a factor of thousands, compared to oil and gas, and they don't cost that much either. Hmm. Let's see. First it's nuclear. The name will always carry a stigma with it wherever it goes. Secondly, there's the issue of disposing the waste. Thirdly, if anything goes wrong, and things do go wrong sometimes, think Murphy's law, the disaster that awaits is horrifying beyond words. Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Remember Chernobyl? Surely you don't want to risk your predecessors for generations to come with unfavorable genetic effects. And let's not forget, nuclear power is generated from uranium, a limited natural resource, just like oil and gas.

Everything comes at a price. Everything comes with a catch.

Apart from the energy and food crisis, as of late, natural disaster of a terrifying magnitude is occurring at an unusually increasing frequency. First Haiti, and then Chile, followed by New Zealand and the latest, Japan. All in the span of a little over a year.

Scientists are discussing the seismic changes, how the human race hasn't seen the worse that the Earth could throw at us.

And yet, we the human is screaming unabashedly about saving the Earth, like we are actually doing the Earth a favor by cutting down energy consumption and reducing global warming.

Throughout the years, we have tremendously changed the landscape of Earth, we dried up Earth's natural resources that took centuries to form in a matter of just several decades, we scraped layers of ozones away, we might even be the reason for the increased temperature of the Earth's atmosphere. We believe that our greed for a great civilization has slowly poisoned the Earth.

We fail to realize that the Earth is God's genius creation that is bigger than you and me, it is more powerful than every man combined, walking on its soil. History has shown that it is capable of adapting to the most extreme changes; it shifts, it squirms, it hibernates until it reaches once again its equilibrium.

To even think that it needs saving from us, that's pretty ambitious, isn't it?

To really dwell into the thought that there's a bigger force out there, it is rather humbling. Helps put things into perspective.

Technophobic

It is really annoying whenever I find myself in a situation in which I have to talk about things that I'm least informed on.

Like the latest gadgets in the market. It's not that I don't care, it's just that....

Well, fine, honestly, I just don't care.

Case of point number one :

I've been using a MacBook Pro for the last couple of months and naturally I have friends asking me about its specs. Technical specs, rather than the aesthetic ones. You know what, I'm the last person anyone should ask that question to. If you are not already sold on the product, you won't find yourself wanting to buy one after hearing me talk about it. No chance that Apple will appoint me as their spokesperson in this entire lifetime, even though they are going broke, and I'm the only person who's willing to work for them for free. Yeah, I stink that bad.

With my old laptop, all that I ever needed it for was to browse through Facebook pages, stream movies and songs, the occasional downloads, simple photo editing, Skype-ing, among other basic computing tasks.

When my 3-year-old Compaq was getting too problematic and too slo-o-o-w for my patience, for the well-being of my mental health, I decided to replace it. The price margin between a MacBook and other good laptops out there is not tremendously huge, so I thought why not go for it.

Things haven't changed with this new laptop. I still need it for those same basic tasks. I haven't developed a love for gaming or film editing so far.

So that's the story of how I ended up with a MacBook Pro without actually being a pro in computing and stuff. But after using it for quite some time now, I'm amazed by the effort those creative team at Apple has apparently put into the production of this machine, seeing how every littlest detail has not gone unnoticed. Getting used to this laptop takes a full day or two, but later, you'll be amazed at how easier easy things could get.

Feel like buying a MacBook Pro now? See?

Case of point number two :

Team Blackberry vs. Team iPhone vs. Androids?

Who cares?

I know, I don't. Not until the time comes when I actually have to decide between the three anyway.

See. That's what I hate. I hate that I sound like a total bimbo when I talk about gadgets.

And that label is quite bothersome because 1) I know I'm not actually stupid and 2) I know I'm not cute enough to appear adorable talking like a bimbo.

Period.

So yeah. I will try to be more informed about the whole gadget-craze in the future.

Cash Rules

I don't want to have to work for money.

*OK, that just sounds like I'm such a lazy bum.*

I perfectly understand that in this life, if you don't have a multi-million inheritance handed down to you from your late late grandfather's business empire, and if you don't plan on finding a super rich husband to take care of you, or if winning the top price in the lottery is not how you roll; then you have to work in order to earn money.

Fine, that concept I have accepted for some time.

It's just that, the idea of being an overworked and underpaid employee of a company or organization that hogs all the money to its top-rank important people doesn't seem so appealing. Of course it would be cool to be on top. But climbing the ladder takes time. And by the time you reach the top, you'll be 50. And there goes your youth.

Of course, that's a matter of personal perspective. Mine might be far off different from yours.

The point is, I think that there are so much more to life than money. Having money doesn't necessarily result in happiness.

But having a little more than enough does give you freedom; depending on your interpretation of freedom.

I think besides well-equipping ourself with the necessary professional knowledge to better prepare ourself for the working world, it is also wise to learn about financial management. Nowadays, it's not all about saving your way to rich-dom. It's fine if you are willing to wait and want to enjoy the fruits of your labor when you are 50. But there's a lot of possibility (proceed with extra caution as there are also more smart scams too) out there to make money work for you; the same time you are working hard for money.

I am not saying that I would not work for an earned income; I am excited to start working in my field once I finish my study. But at the same time, I think it is important to slowly build a B-plan so that you are not too dependent on your normal pay-check job. Because a pay-check job means no pay-check if you stop working. What if the Murphy's law work against you, and you found yourself fired? Or unable to work because of an illness or a freak accident (mintak simpang)?

If I sound like an insurance agent, rest assured, I am not one. But please do give more credit to them because the product they are selling is an important safety net; though sometimes the relentlessness of some of them in their pursue to sell you their insurance package borders to being a harassment.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, having a financial safety net is very crucial.

If you do not have money to invest, why not invest some of your time to learn about it; nothing to lose in learning.

Funny Little Thing

I will stop talking about people behind their back just to give me the right to judge people who talk about other people behind other people's back.

Sounds fair enough to me.

*****

Rasa macam nak piat telinga orang yang post kat Facebook cakap bila Malaysia nak revolusi macam kat Egypt? Fikir dulu bila cakap, boleh tak? Memanglah kerajaan kat Malaysia ada corruption, ada nepotism, ada serba-serbi segala-galanya, tapi keadaan negara kita tak seteruk Egypt kan? Egypt, negara yang tiap-tiap tahun tak berhenti pelancong seluruh dunia datang tapi majoriti rakyat masih hidup bawah tahap kemiskinan. Mana pergi semua duit tu?

Negara kita aman damai. Lagi ramai kanak-kanak kat Malaysia yang pergi sekolah daripada yang terpaksa bekerja untuk bantu sara hidup keluarda. Jadi buat apa kita pilih nak huru-hara macam keadaan kat Middle East tu? Berapa ramai orang awam mati, cedera sepanjang demonstrasi kat situ? Sanggupkah kalau salah seorang daripada ahli keluarga kita, rakan-rakan rapat kita mati kena tembak, kena pijak, kena bom dalam rusuhan macam tu?

Orang-orang yang lebih kurang macam ni la, tapi versi ekstrem sikit, kalau dalam demonstrasi aman, mereka yang akan triggerkan kacau bilau. Macam kalau dalam pilihan raya, orang-orang macam ni la terjerit-jerit, terkinja-kinja, bakar poster bendera, nak mula bertumbuk semua. Orang-orang macam ni la, bila ada perselisihan faham yang boleh diselesaikan dengan cara lain, tapi pergi pijak-pijak bangkai kepala lembu untuk bantah pembinaan kuil. Orang-orang macam ni jugak la, yang begitu semangat dan berani untuk ke barisan hadapan demi memperjuangkan hak, tanpa betul-betul mendalami nilai hak itu sendiri. Mereka semacam suka nak be in the middle of the chaos.

Adrenalin dan testosteron ja yang lebih.

Saya emotional sebab tak nak tanah tumpah darah kacau bilau.

Bukan memandang rendah perjuangan orang-orang kat Tunisia, Egypt, cuma rasanya situasi kat Malaysia sekarang tak menuntut sesuatu yang seekstrem itu.

*****

How do I pretend to be comfortable for the sake of your happiness? I'm trying. Quite hard actually. Inside I'm crying.

*****

Can one be sad and happy at the same time? Or maybe only one part is real and the other make-believe.

Or maybe it cancels each other out so at the end of the day, I am just OK. Nor sad or happy.

Dia Gay, Awak Tak OK?

Saya merasa terpanggil untuk menulis. Akhirnya.

When someone starts feeling suicidal, showing suicidal tendencies, you don't go saying that, oh she's just born that way. That's just who she chose to be, that's who she is, let her be then. She's not harming anyone else except herself. Right?

I think anyone in their right mind would not buy that argument. You would get her help. She's apparently in a severely confused state.

If someone chooses to be aneroxic, bulimic, or addicted to plastic surgery, you don't just let her spiral down the road of self-destruction. You don't ostracize or alienate her either. You don't shower her with judgements or hateful words, lest you want her to feel alone in the predicament she's facing and be stuck in the hell-hole forever.

If that someone is someone dear to you, you lend a helping hand, you help her overcome her sick, twisted reality through support and understanding.

Oh oh and let's not go forgetting about the 'freedom to choose' argument. One has the right to exercise his or her preferences. Everyone should respect that, given that the person involved is not harming anyone else. Right?

What about another someone who loves little kids, more than he should? No, he doesn't like kids' pornography, he just like watching cute kids' pictures and well, enjoys himself. It's not like he goes out preying on little kids, he just enjoys it through his laptop's screen in the safety of his room. He's not harming anyone, nor does he plan to. It's not wrong per se. Take, for example, Humbert, the character from the controversial novel Lolita, a middle-aged man who loved his 12-year-old stepdaughter too much. He didn't rape her even though God knows how deeply infatuated he was with the girl, in fact, she was the one who initiated their first sexual encounter. So basically, he didn't do anything wrong; he just loved her dearly. What could be so wrong with he love? Right?

Ok, let's put kids out of this, it's too creepy.

What about gamblers? As long as they are not married with kids to support, meaning that they don't have a family to ruin, it's their right and their choice, how they want to live their lives. There's completely nothing wrong with their preferences. Right?

What about other substance abusers? If they can afford it, if their daily lives are perfectly in tact, it means that there's nothing wrong if they are addicted to ganja, meth, cocaine, ecstasy, or even sex?

Let me make this clear. I'm not interested in judging people, it takes up too much energy, positive energy. I have no right to judge a person on his/her personal belief or his/her relationship with God because I'm no God. I can only judge someone based on his/her relationship with other human beings.

But that doesn't mean that I would agree with everything that one chooses to believe or do. And when someone that I don't have the right to do even that, well that's just not fair.

I'm talking about the whole blown up issue of homosexuality in Malaysia, after a Muslim guy, decided to bravely come out of the closet, through a video in YouTube, which has been taken down, following death threats.

I'm not taking the side of the supposedly religious individuals who have no single word resembling a civilized and educated citizen, who threatened this guy with death threats that he felt compelled to limit his time outside in public. What are you people planning to achieve through that? Personally I'm embarrassed that people of the same religion as I am react in such a way. Akal pendek sungguh. OK, that is me, judging.

But to those who hold the opinion that our country should start accepting and embracing homosexuality as another way of life, like being vegan or vegetarian, that's just not fair. It's like forcing an opinion down one's throat.

Personally I think it's not an innate characteristic, like the ability to roll your tongue and the colour of one's skin and eyes. It is a choice. What differs it from suicidal tendencies, self-destructions, and addictions? What makes gay-ness not just another result or reaction from childhood trauma? I don't understand how people come to that conclusion, of course I don't, since I don't know what's going on in their head or heart. To me, it's pretty simple, being a heterosexual. Come to think of it, it's just the law of nature. Even plants have reproductive systems, which can only function with both a female and a male part. God has created nature in pairs.

I feel that if one chooses to be gay, so be it. I don't agree with his/her decision, and I have my own personal opinion on homosexuality, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to hate, or stop having contact with that person, just because he/she is gay.

I just hope that this issue will not result in violence in my country, which would be really stupid.

Just as I believe in God, but if a friend one day decides not to anymore, I'm not going to stop being a friend just because of that one decision of his/hers.

I know talk and discussion about core things such as these, which make up the fundamentals of our lives, can escalate into something heated and tense in no time, but it doesn't have to. Let's be civilized and exchange opinions. We don't have to agree with each other's belief, or non-belief, we don't have to make each other see eye-to-eye, that is not the whole point. We should just be able to look each other in the eye and live side by side.

The Malay Dilemma

"I am not ashamed to admit that I cannot compete with the Chinese and Indian students when studying medicine. They had much better results than me and the other six Malay students for entry into the Medical College.

It is not shameful to lose out against them. Simply to catch up with them we need handicaps. To be given handicaps is to ensure fairness, not discrimination."

-Tun Mahathir Mohamad-

I'm sorry Tun but I just have to disagree with you on this. To have handicaps spoon-fed to you all the way will only train you to get used to being one, not to progressively move forward without it.

I give Malay supremacists as much credit as Malays who underestimate their own race.

First thing first, let me try and make this as clear as possible, screw racial background. It has almost nothing to do with one's personal achievement. Besides environment and opportunity, the other important element in the equation is the will. For example, A is a normal kid who lives in a war-torn country, where access to education is next to impossible. B on the other hand, is considered luckier as his family has managed to relocate to another stable country before the war reached its peak. Chances are, B will be more successful in terms of education compared to A even though they are from the same race. That's logical. Right?

So why would students from the same country with the same opportunity to education be treated and evaluated differently? Why, because Chinese and Indians are generally smarter than Malays? Ouch. I am not an overtly proud person in general. It is not a big deal for me to own up to my own shortcomings openly to other people. But no, I am not going to accept your statement, Tun, which implies that our race is a stupid one.

My little cousin one day announced that he did OK in his exams. Though someone in his class managed to do better. When asked why, he simply answered, "He's an Indian." Like that's a perfectly normal answer. Like being an Indian or a Chinese automatically makes them smarter. Not their hardworking habit and their will to excel in what they do. What have we hammered into the brains of our younger lot? That we are generally less competent than our Chinese and Indian counterparts so that it is okay to accept it if we always fall short behind them? Or better still, not try at all? Oh come on, give me a break.

Why are we so afraid to get rid of our training wheels? Why are just the mere talk of the possibility of finally standing on our own two feet, without the help of a crutch that has in some way hinder our advancement got us all fired up?

This is the Malay dilemma. We should cut ourselves less slack.

God helps those who help themselves, right?

These Things We Should Know

Jesse James allegedly cheated on the ever stunning Sandra Bullock because of her overwhelming success that he can't seem to come to terms with.

By now the media has lost count of how many times fashionista Sienna Miller keeps going back to the arms of Jude Law even though it is apparent that the bad boy Jude doesn't seem to want to be domesticated and tamed.

Recently another two women confessed of having shared intimate moments with Beckham oh pretty pretty Beckham who was allegedly said to be frustrated of Victoria's lack of meat like she used to have during her Spice Girls's days. Just because he is such a beautiful creature, I (my boyfriend seems to share the same opinion too but maybe for other 'manly' reason) am willing to dismiss this confessions as some girls' cheap tickets to the limelight. I know I am shallow.

Who can't forget the pictures of the badly bruised and battered face of Rihanna just hours after the incident that created a world-wide rage?

Permaisuri Aishah risked her reputation after pictures of her closeness with the notorious ghost-hunter leaked on the guy's blog. Who knows, she might actually have developed real feelings towards the guy (mungkin jugak Uncle tu hypnotize her into liking him) only to discover that she is just an instrument in his dishonorable quest.

A family friend was pronounced bankrupt several years ago thanks to her two-timing ex-husband. At mid-30s, she had to rebuild her life and her career from the ruins for the sake of her children.

All of these are the results of abusive relationships.

Relationships are really tricky as there is many gray areas that you must wade through. A woman might think that as long as she doesn't have bruises on her skins, she is in a healthy relationship, which is very misleading. Abuse doesn't always have to be physical.

As an empowered generation of women, to know and understand our basic rights in a relationship is a favor that we owe to ourselves.

And these are our rights (I found this from the internet) :

1) The right to good will from the other; when you commit yourself to another in a relationship, you are put in a very vulnerable state. If your partner doesn't have an honorable intention towards you, you have basically just dug your own grave.

2) To receive emotional support; relationship is a two-way support system, not a babysitting service. Otherwise the relationship will be emotionally draining.

3) To have your own view, even if your partner has a different view. This does not apply to core beliefs, like religion, sexuality, and life goals.

4) To right to be heard and responded to with respect. Indifference is as bad as a mean response.

5) To be called by no name that devalues you.

6) To have your feelings and experiences acknowledged as real and important, not dismissed as trivial.

7) To receive a sincere apology for any comments or jokes that you find offensive.

8) To live free from criticism and judgement. The wounds of verbal abuse stay long after physical wounds have healed.

9) To receive clear and honest communication. No going behind your partner's back.

10) To be respectfully asked rather than ordered. It should be an equal relationship, not a boss-employee dynamic.

11) To live free from accusation and blame.

12) To have your beliefs and your interests spoken of with respect. (Note to Encik Fudye : So I believe in UFOs and bigfoot and dinosaurs..these beliefs should be treated with respect, ehem ehem.)

13) To receive encouragement, be it in terms of words, times or energy. A partner should not resent or undermine the success of the other by being indifferent to his/her efforts. If anything, a partner should be your biggest cheerleader.

14) To live free from emotional and physical threats.

15) The right to clear and informative answers to questions that concern what is legitimately your business. If you both agree to pursue a relationship, a long-term one, then a partner has the right to know where and with whom you are spending your time with. You have the right to feel secure in a relationship.

In all seriousness. My mom always tell me that if respect to your parents can't stop you from doing wrong things, then at least, have respect for yourself.

You owe all this to yourself. Peace.