Rising Oil Prices and a Government of Imbeciles

KAJANG, 5 June 2008 - There are a few issues that begs to be answered by the sudden hike in fuel price. Firstly, why was the matter handled so poorly by the government. One minute it was August and then it was.."we will review and look into proper mechanisms" and then SMACK it was announced at 6pm Wednesday 4 June 2008 that prices will increase by 78 sens effective midnight resulting in utter chaos!One of the most badly managed PR exercise ever!

What is shocking is the lack of understanding and sensitivity by the government on the implications of this to the mass. How exactly are people supposed to afford the new prices and continue to have a DECENT living? decent meaning - access to proper health, security and nutrition when all these will escalate in price?So, are babies having to cut down their dosage of milk in a day and replace it with water?are children going to be fed unhealthy but filling empty carbohydrates because parents can't afford healthy food? are people suppose to walk 10km to work, since public transportation are amazingly unreliable? are children having to be neglected of parental care because parents will have to take on 2nd or 3rd jobs to make ends meet? Did anyone in our flippin' cabinet think of these???

Secondly, the fact that we are being held hostage by a global market that is ruthless and inhumane. Petrol companies are reaping gazillions on future profits while people literally suffer. I am imagining that someone/people out there are gleefully sitting on their expensive leather chairs counting money while people are going hungry and businesses going bankrupt! So whats the plan? it's not like oil per barrel went up to US$135 overnight, it has been constantly increasing since the Iraq invasion and no one in government even thought of coming up with a plan? this is just too ridiculous!!

So what do we do, by August we will be paying the full amount regardless whether the Rakyat are ready to face the onslaught or not. So if you feel that this has been badly managed and the government is not doing enough, that people will suffer tremendously including yourself and/or your loved ones and that you believe that we have to start fighting back against this monstrous petro industry? then join the July 12 rally coz i know i will.....

Petrol Hike...declaration of War..

KAJANG, 4 June 2008 - I am very concerned with the global developments on petrol pricing. We have heard and seen public acts of outrage and frustration in numerous countries, from 3rd world to developed nations, the repercussions are unimaginable but to give a sneak preview, it would include soaring price increase for basic food, daily travel, energy and etc. In France, fishermen's are demonstrating for their inability to afford to go out to sea, working class Indians in India are finding it hard to make ends meet and outbreaks of violence in Haiti because people cannot afford to eat. We are looking at a possible global epidemic, and the escalation of armed conflict and human displacement won't be mere prophesies anymore but stark realities. .. in Malaysia, a country that has poor public transportation system making owning a car for every household a necessity even if one can barely afford it, dependency on imported food products and our low competitiveness in the global industrial market, makes impact of the fuel hike even more difficult to bear especially for the working class who barely make enough as it is and those living in the outskirts of the city who will have to commute an average of 80km a day! However, at the same time when normal citizens are suffering, petrol companies are experiencing never been seen before record high profits and can even afford to give 12 months bonuses to employees (heard on radio this morning). Something is ridiculously wrong here!! And for oil producing countries like Malaysia, the petrol heritage is owned by her people but the benefits of the soaring profits are not being shared with them!!...can we not do something about this? or are we just going to let the so-called market dominate, the exact same excuse was given by petrol companies that pricing is a result of supply and demand, but they have barely changed. Global supply is not decreasing at a phenomenal rate. I have a feeling Petrol companies are trying to make future earnings now, to compensate when the oil really does run dry. Is this fair?! While long-term answers which lies in alternative technologies is the ultimate goal but we still need immediate answers for the impeding crisis, to relieve the situation in the next few weeks or months. What has happened to the NGV technology, is that not an alternative? We have been testing it long enough and by now all taxis are using it so why aren't the latest Proton cars not designed to include NGV cylinders? I want answers and I want it now.... or is this a prequel to a war with Iran?

…. Of women’s clothes and politics….

If a woman’s dress is enough to make a man lose all rationale judgment, no wonder we have so many wars!

I am sick and tired of hearing silly debates on women’s clothing and how the increasing rate of sex-crimes is related to it. Worst still, when silly women for some desire need to sound assertive and intelligent takes on the challenge of leading this campaign of equating sex related crimes to women’s clothing! All this trivializes and simplifies the problem of sex-crimes but worse of all, puts the blame on women. That woman in general simply asked to become victims is despicable and if not releases then lessens the responsibility of the perpetrator! What is more sad is Dewan Muslimat Pas’s immediate reaction. While one can understand the need for solidarity with one’s comrades but in this case, the reaction lacked wisdom and if Aiman Athirah Al Jundi bothered to check current literature, which are in abundance, then she would know that there is no co-relation between clothing and sex-crimes!

In referring to the recent scandalous supposition made by the National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia's (PKPIM) vice-president Munirah Bahari that the current female school uniform has resulted in the increase of “promiscuity and rape” and their demand for the Education Ministry to review the current female school uniform clearly portrays the organization’s lack of judgment and leadership. It is understood that when anyone most of all an organization that is seen to command respect such as PKPIM and represent a significant section of today’s youths and in this case local educated Muslim youths – before coming out with a statement, they should have at least done their homework! What was the main objective of the statement?? Just to make sensational headlines or to make a positive difference?

In a follow-up press release posted on Majlis Hewi’s webpage, the women’s wing of PKPIM, stated that the request to review the uniform was done so that it would be more in line with the interpretation of the Shariah dress code and it is only for female Muslim students. There are two major points that is alarming from this statement; firstly, crime and statistics was never the primary reason for the statement, instead it was the desire to abide the Shariah. Then this should have been their argument from the very beginning and not, for the “prevention of rape and promiscuity”. Current studies and statistics do not support such an absurd assumption and instead shows that rape cases tend to happen in close quarters, with the perpetrator being someone close or trusted to the victim and in the case of promiscuity – seriously! Wearing a black hijab or a black abaiyah does not prevent curiosity or imagination. If teenagers or even adults want to do it, no black cloak will stop them except Iman which is not worn! The second underlying point is that; PKPIM does not care about the safety and well-being of non-Muslim female students. Based on the hypothesis presented, that current uniforms encourages rape and promiscuity, then shouldn’t PKPIM also be requesting for all uniforms be reviewed since non-Muslim female students wear skirts that bare their legs (very seductive!) and many also wear the transparent white and blue coloured baju kurungs. Are they not also in danger of rape here? Or their non-Muslimness saves them or best still, they’re irrelevant. The perception here is that non-Muslim women are not worthy of our concern.

There are supporting studies that show continuous exposure to pornography is dangerous not only because its co-relation to sex-related crimes but also for health reasons. Based on observation in the US, a high number of inmates serving time for sex-related crimes such as rapist and pedophiles are addicted to porn and have been exposed to it since childhood. One of many reasons given to the danger of pornography is; it portrays an unhealthy, unequal and unrealistic image of male and female relationship and gives the wrong impression that women secretly want to be brutalized and abused. Clearly it’s not the victims fault and one cannot equate blatant pornography with our current school uniforms! There is a legitimate campaign to ban the pornography industry, which in 2005 brought in a profit of 8 billion dollars in U.S. alone. So instead of making unfounded accusation perhaps PKPIM should be involved in this type of campaign instead and provide it with an Islamic twist.

In conclusion, while personally I have nothing against PKPIM’s desire to promote the wearingof clothes that they deem more Islamic but its how they did it which riled me-up.I believe that everyone and every organization are entitled to their own opinions and views be it religious or not. What I am very concerned about is how we voice out these views and has enough judgment been given before going public. Wisdom people! Wisdom!

GENJER-GENJER

GENJER-GENJER

Gendjer-gendjer neng ledokan pating keleler
Gendjer-gendjer neng ledokan pating keleler
Emake thole teka-teka mbubuti gendjer
Emake thole teka-teka mbubuti gendjer
Oleh satenong mungkur sedot sing tolah-tolih
Gendjer-gendjer saiki wis digawa mulih

Gendjer-gendjer esuk-esuk digawa nang pasar
Gendjer-gendjer esuk-esuk digawa nang pasar
didjejer-djejer diunting pada didasar
didjejer-djejer diunting pada didasar
emake djebeng tuku gendjer wadahi etas
gendjer-gendjer saiki arep diolah

Gendjer-gendjer mlebu kendil wedange umob
Gendjer-gendjer mlebu kendil wedange umob
setengah mateng dientas digawe iwak
setengah mateng dientas digawe iwak
sega sa piring sambel penjel ndok ngamben
gendjer-gendjer dipangan musuhe sega

(Gendjer-gendjer ada di lahan berhamparan
Gendjer-gendjer ada di lahan berhamparan
Ibunya anak-anak datang mencabuti gendjer
ibunya anak-anak datang mencabuti gendjer
Dapat sebakul dipilih yang muda-muda
Gendjer-gendjer sekarang sudah dibawa pulang

Gendjer-gendjer pagi-pagi dibawa ke pasar
Gendjer-gendjer pagi-pagi dibawa ke pasar
Ditata berjajar diikat dijajakan
Ditata berjajar diikat dijajakan
Emaknya jebeng beli genjer dimasukkan dalam tas
Gendjer-gendjer sekarang akan dimasak

Gendjer-gendjer masuk belanga airnya masak
Gendjer-gendjer masuk belanga airnya masak
setengah matang ditiriskan dijadikan lauk
setengah matang ditiriskan dijadikan lauk
nasi sepiring sambal pecel duduk di ambin
Gendjer-gendjer dimakan musuhnya nasi)

...hanya sebuah lagu rakyat yang sederhana, tetapi cukup untuk menggerunkan sang diktator....

The Philosophy of Travelling Defined by Me

We're going where the sun shines brightly,


we're going where the sea is blue,


we've all seen it on the movies,


now let's see if it's true.
~ Cliff Richard (Summer Holiday)

The first day of the New Year and my eighth day here. It’s the rainy season; hence the strong cool breeze blowing, causing the heavily leaved tree branches in my home-stay garden to sway as though dancing to a melody sung by the wind….. as I read these lines, written in my travel journal during my one month stay in Bali, I start to reminisce of the times when I could just pack-up and leave for a month or two bumming around without any worries! The typical image of a spoilt brat who in the spur of a moment decides that she’s bored and needs entertainment! … for years, all throughout University I had this horrible label plastered on my forehead - the Anglo-speaking Malay chic who thinks she’s better than everyone else and instead of finishing her studies on time, there she goes gallivanting and wasting daddy’s hard earned money which by the way is not true since the bulk of my holiday expenditure came from my many months of financial canvassing! Now, I have no idea what brought these labels on…I never stood out in a crowd, I dress like the average student (no brands!), I ate at the same canteen and loafed at the hang-out spots as everyone else did and I took public transport, until that is, when my Mum lent me her Kancil. She had nightmares of me crashing after I told her that Uncle Razak was giving me his classic scooter!!...dashed were my dreams of zooming around KL wearing one of those vintage retro helmets and goggles. So yeah, there was nothing out of the ordinary about me except that I had the tendency of making people annoyed with me.

Why is it that Malaysians view travelling as a luxury? I guess this has much to do with our history and our cultural interpretation of travelling. While we are progressing towards becoming a developed country, we are however still carrying the baggage of our third world experiences. During the days when the country’s infrastructure, in particular our transportation system was underdeveloped it made access within the country very difficult and expensive. I remember the days when my family would take our yearly balik kampung trips to Kuala Terengganu driving through the old Bukit Bentong road in an old beat up Daihatsu car. One trip could take up to thirteen hours, driving on road conditions that would make anyone car sick! and it doesn't take much to imagine what it was like during the rainy season! These were the days when highways were still being built and in most areas the term unheard of. This is still pretty much the same situation in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak. However, in the past 20 years or so, we have seen major changes – we have become the land of the highways and tolls! Come the new millennium, we were introduced to budget airlines which finally made it possible for us to travel within the region, something that was nearly non-existence since the cost of an airfare to Bangkok nearly equalled that of going to Europe and until the early 1990’s Southeast Asia was divided by the Cold War. However today, with affordable rates and no more Cold Wars why is it still a luxury? This brings me to my second point, of how we define travelling. Each time I ask a friend, so what did you do in so and so? The reply would be a list of shopping expeditions taken and details of which place to shop for what item. It’s all about shopping; from Bandung to Ho Chi Minh, no wonder very few go to Laos, I mean what can you possibly shop for there! Forget about exploring one of the largest limestone caves in Asia or trek the magnificently mind-blowing Plain of Jars. We are token snap shot tourists more eager to tell folks back home what we bought, where we stayed and how much we spent. We are disinterested in learning about or appreciating the simple beauties of other cultures and their people. This is really sad! No wonder my Uni-mates were annoyed to hear stories of my travel, my ability to afford this so called lifestyle shouts of a certain social status. They probably felt that I was rubbing it in and showing-off and resented me for it. However, today it is a very different scenario, I constantly have to endure listening to friends shopping adventures – how haggling in Jakarta is different compared to Bangkok or about the boutiques in Milan and Paris. Who can really afford to travel if this is the bench mark!

Travelling and holidaying are two very different things, while the later represents status, the former represents a journey that can be taken regardless of one’s social class. Travelling is journey for the soul. Be it backpacking on a shoe-string budget across Java, language course in Moscow or a cross-country drive from Glencoe to Lands End, the journey you take to understand the place you visit and the people you meet inadvertently teaches you about life. Inducing a sense of humility that moves you, telling you that you are not the only ones here and neither is your way of life more superior. It also revitalises your sense of belonging as well as opening to you a world of many possibilities if you just take the extra effort of looking. As a student I would save every penny I had or made into my travelling fund, forgoing the new pair of Nike’s, makeup or handbag for the experience of a lifetime. Travelling shouldn't’t be a lifestyle, who says you need an abundance of money to travel. Of course it’s different and more difficult if you have three kids and a mortgage to pay but still possible even more so if your young and single. Today, in comparison to before, we have more options and not everything is in dollars or euros, in case no one’s noticed, Asia is huge and quite affordable! So if you think you can, then try it– see it, live it, love it!