bloodletting

i'm in such a foul mood today.... or any other day when it's suitably awkward.

2009-09-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

i sent ck a note on his FB announcement... ie. that he's married and what do i send to him in return? this note... "congratulations...dude... first of many days of certainty and joy. you want happiness go fuck a hooker... =) lol..." that was mean and funny at the same time.

women expect and want too much from the guys. i had a discussion the other day and i stand by it. men and women have such different expectations... men look up to "the man", that tent pole of lust and domination, that conquering fuck of all he surveys. women think, i suspect, that all men or the lot of them are just that.

can i burst that bubble of shit? i only know of one guy who's reputation exceeds him, and he's nicely locked away in sabah until he feels like taking a trip on airasia for some peninsular pussy. most of my guy friends are relatively pussy whipped and quite bunch of good boyfriends and husbands. that's why the prevailing male movie fantasy is to be "the man", the alpha dogg, squadron commander flashheart type. cos' face it men are by and large creatures of habit and routine.

the ladies on the other hand, i think have very varied love lives. just as a comparison, up to the point of going with mickey's ex, i gather from the lad that his ex had clocked up a fair number of boyfriends, maybe 6 deliberately serious ones, while the green horn in mickey had only managed 1 other relationship. with an age difference of 6 years, between him and her no way he's gonna catch up. after breaking up, she was back in the game within a year, and with 2 very interesting blokes, he could only let out a sigh and reflect on managing only 1 after a barren 3 years. it took him that long to get back into the groove.

when you really think about think about, most of lady friends you or i will ever know, have had and will have really amorous love lives, it's only a matter of time. nobody needs to dial up the numbers... just look at the many movies out there these days that perpetuate the opposite of it.

any lad's teen or guy gets girl movie will often feed the fantasy of the trophy girl... or woman (if you really want to be tetchy about it). that purity, that "i'm so nice, i'm not a bunny but i fuck like one" schtick. it's the complete opposite of real life...(or is it? - the eternal optimist strikes) the guy's always promiscous and the girl's always the angel.... not necessarily the virgin... hollywood's waaay past that complex.

so the reality of it is scary, i just sat over a dump and realised that most women i'm going to meet are never going to be virgins, or handmaiden's to be sacrificed for more rain, but plain interesting women. they may be ugly, but most of them are quite interesting nevertheless. while on the other hand, the ladies ought to realise that most guys, aren't the horn dogs you thought of them to be.

they just figure out that special move, that special something... i dunno, like a ferengi ear lobe massage, and stick to it... like sports and games... you keep it simple and get good at it... and they will cum back for more... (ha ha.... cum and back... in the same sentence).

yes there is also a sizeable minority (49.9999999% to the nth) that fit the mold on the fantasy... but from what i've seen, the former's usually case....

if you're a feminist, you need not point out to me the fact that hollywood is a male conspiracy.... i would agree with you, but this is not about the deification of women, but simply the understanding that you get what you deserve... and it's a reflection of what is out there. if you want to make a difference switch to discovery or animal planet.

i know a couple of close friends who've frequented bordellos. they're still well adjusted fellas, and now most of them are married or in a long relationship. so what's the difference between joy and happiness... i first read of it in stephen covey's 7 Habits book and there's this article which explains it... good fortune, huh... if you got the money to spare, give it to apple at hotel the world. but if you really want to get freaky get a relationship.

i watched "the girlfriend experience" about 2 weeks back. did i like it? not really. i had to switch it off half way through. instead i flipped on "lesbian vampire killers" and finished it. TGE was harrowing and stupid at the same time. if i didn't know better i'd swear, stephen got a really great lay from sasha, and being all that with that "unique business acumen" of hers... she managed to get the sod(-erbergh) to bankroll this exercise in narcissism.

i, along with most of the male population of this planet have known sasha for a very long time. but if skinny tart is your flavour then go ahead. give me annette schwarz or belladona any day. real women going about they're own thing and not giving a shit what anybody else has to say... sasha's a real diva. it's amazing that people dig TGE. LVK on the other hand was so bad, it may even be good, but for the strong and prevalent use of final cut pro and bad scripting... i got no issues with FCP but moderation and invention, is the key....

if there was ever a porn star role model for the ordinary joe, it would have gone hands down to the ugliest son of a bitch, ron jeremy. a fat hairy dong who hung out with the best.... i mean you only have to watch him to know that he gives hope to millions where there once was none. if you ever felt down, all you gotta to do is watch ron get it on and you will feel like a million bucks. i mean, if he can, you can...anybody can. just stay away from my dog, you sicko... and my pet goldfish, too.

on the flip side, there's rocco siffredi for me. with rocco, he's the guy everybody wants to be. he gets the girls, all of them. he's known to be rough.. very rough, but you can't fault the guy if the ladies return for repeat performances. he's virile and energetic and quite possibly a hard worker.

so if i had a choice it would have been ron for inspiration and rocco for setting the bar. the former is a premium and it still is, the latter i can do without some days. the argument for or against pornography has become so pedantic and stale, it's amazing how it's become part of mainstream pop culture, and boring. because after clocking all the hours you could sit yourself through, you get hit with the cold hard bitch steel called life... and she's still sitting there. there's nothing you can do about it.

anyway, if you find a girl who's as freaky as you are, don't let her go. i often get asked the question, "am i picky?" or as a statement, "oh, you're just choosy.", but i'm not, really. i just have an inbuilt sense of what i drives me and it changes from day to day. some days, i'm forgiving, and other days i'm so bloody cerewet. but most days, "i love who you are, i love you ain't". you gotta look for that silver lining. life's really shitty and it's gonna beat you down... and if you can't find it, go give it a 2nd chance.

... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.... or you could get some.

I stand by what i said earlier.

2009-09-05T23:01:00.000-07:00

hi all...

i love this country as much as all of you do. when i wrote this piece i was really fed up and broken up with all the bullying and lack of compassion and magnanimity shown by the majority and/or the people in power. i see what i see and i hear what i hear and i understand what i understand.

i just wrote what i felt and it was brutally honest. i did not set out to mask my words in finer language or well thought out sentences. i realised that what i wrote was ugly but it was the truth. the truth has a nasty habit of making one feel uneasy because it brooks no nonsense. it is, a hard task master.

maybe some of you feel that the message could have been refined. but at what cost? it is what it is and i'm telling it like it is. the thing about germany in the day's of hitler's shenanigans was the notion of the "good german"... where there any? we know now there were. but at the point in time and/or immediately after the 2nd world war, the idea of a good german was thought to be illusory, i.e. if they were good why did they allow the atrocities to happen.

evil festers when good men do nothing.

as a parallel, as a malaysian and a muslim, i had implored and if i have to i'd go down on my knees and beg each and every malaysian muslim, to write about the protection of minorities, be it of ethnicity or creed and it's importance to the diversity and dynamism of this country we all call malaysia.

i feel powerless most of the time but i feel the strongest when i tap on my keyboard and with each keystroke, i feel like i reclaim my humanity and separate myselfand my being from those who would do harm to others. i know i am different and i intend to show people that i am not bound by the constant drumming and programming of communal politics that have dulled this county's economic and social competitiveness.

i want to excel and i do not see why malaysian muslims have to cower in fear of these acts of belligerence and intolerance just because they live in a society primarily fueled by prejudices and presumptions.

i am a muslim, and religiously that makes me PART OF THE MAJORITY. knowing what my faith expects of me emboldens me to understand that we have to protect the rights of minorities. what is faith if it merely exists in a vacuum, devoid of diversity and differences. it is diversity and difference that celebrate God's divinity... but who are we to dictate what is and what shall not come to pass, unless we have no qualms in usurping His divinity.

I am also a malaysian, born of a chinese mother and an indian father, and that makes me PART OF THE MINORITY, but would it amaze you to know that i also apparently have the benefit of the bumiputera status? it is an albatross around my neck and i curse the day such a privilege was granted not on needs but on racial motivation. there may have been a time in our nation dark past that such an equaliser was needed for this young nation.

but this nation is now 52 years old and with the benefit of experience and contemplation of greater nations in our midst, we appear to choose not to rise above our own petty presumptions and narrow mindedness.

we are all rich and poor. we are all dark skinned and fair skinned. we are all different and the same. we are all brave and we are all weak. we are all of these things and we are malaysians. whether we are of one ethnicity or another we are all bound by similar and core values that we seek from our faith and our brethren whoever they may be.

maybe the intolerances and bigotry happening with such frequency these days, show our tendency to be weak willed and cowardly. I know of no such person who is strong of heart and will, who would commit such acts of vile hatred and cowardice. it is through the literature of ages that such acts have been strongly condemned as being the acts of the weak.

so why does this BN government allow for such acts by the the majority to go unpunished or unchecked? is the BN government weak willed or cowardly? i stand embarrassed that such apathy exists.

can it be so difficult to do the right thing?

... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight..... or you could just fight to get it back again.

I endorse this.

2009-09-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is it. I can't take this simpleton bullshit by BN's meddling, total apathy and/or stupidity anymore.

Hi. I'm a Malaysian and a Muslim (i feel like i'm already at an AA meeting), and I thoroughly endorse Jacqueline Ann Surin's article below. So if Zulkifli Nordin-types, or tea-bagged brained politicians in UMNO or their dick wad NGO pallies disagree with this, please let it be known that you don't fucking speak on my behalf, you bunch of sicko-psychos.

If you're reading this, a Malaysian and a Muslim in particular, please take a stand in support of her article on your blog and or social networking page or take up a front page ad in Utusan (just to rile those fuckers up).

Her article is a damning indictment of the BN governments lack of will power and/or belligerent attitude towards its citizens and the protection of minorities in this country. Please take this as a step to reclaim your faith as a Muslim to say NO! to this irresponsible behaviour towards our non-Muslims brethren.

I think Najib better start explaining to the RAKYAT, what the fuck he means by 1MALAYSIA. Because it is starting to look like the rise of Hitler's Germany. One Race One Nation.... and it goes on and on and on... so which is it? 1Malaysia where all differences are embraced and celebrated or 1Malaysia where everybody who is non-MalayMuslim has to fall in line with the majority's whims and deficiencies?

you already have the following dimbulbs....

a DPM who's an idiot - yeah calling Rohaizat's disbarment a mere parking ticket, shows what a retard he is... brother, i never knew of a parking ticket that could deprive a person of his livelihood.

a Home Minister who thinks he's fucking Oprah... who the fuck is he to mediate with the cow head protesters, and step on the AG's or the Police feet? As it is, damage has been done by the cow head protesters and he does no favours for himself when he tarnishes his daddy's legacy. Please get his head checked... people who feel victimised can hold peaceful assemblies... but when you see a cows head being thrown around and spat upon.... every fibre of your being should tell you that this is soo wrong and walk away, BUT they didn't... it is blood lust and the protesters should be punished for it in accordance with the law. By the way, i read that the following day he backtracked on his lame-o endorsement.

a Culture Minister, who is forced to back track on everything he has said in recent days... 1st, the green dam implementation fiasco, then the Black Eyed Peas Arthur's Day gig, is he senile? has he got alzheimer? i want to know. A minister who says one thing and then backtracks, clearly has a fair weather brain and has no spine. so why is he still a minister?

is this the quality that we're getting from a 1Malaysia type cabinet? Fuck, even UMNO's allies, the MCA and the MIC can't do anything... they're too busy with their internal shit to even give a fuck about current affairs affecting their electorate... oh i'm sorry... I forgot MIC and MCA were wiped out last 2008 elections. so, what electorate are we talking about?

so there you go.... BN doesn't give a shit. All talk and same old bullshit. but let's not forget our PR folks who are committed to bungling at every opportunity they get... even the CarryOn bunch would have finished the caper in double quick time. The PR's biggest downfall is that they are not able to get the message out effectively...

and with all the bitching in public... hey, i'm all for an open relationship where people talk things out... but can you take your lover's quarrel and shove it behind closed doors, please? Here's an option, put your money where your mouth is. Throw out the Zulkifli Nordin and Hassan Mohd Ali types on disciplinary grounds and let them try to be the fucking turncoats that they may be... if they do jump ship to BN or become the latest thing in vogue, an independent, and the PR governments fall.... then so be it. Integrity is a severely underestimated quality. If you can't keep your fellas in line how are you going to forge policy? it's still going to be paper that i can wipe my ass with (not literally... i prefer triple ply).

what you politicians have to say arises from a responsibility to this country and ALL its citizens. don't fuck with it.

If the UMNO led BN Goverment (what a mouthful that was) doesn't want to go after their own trouble makers and ne'er do wells, what credibility and respect can this UMNO led BN Government (i'm already huffing) expect to get? Oh... i guess that's why BN has always subscribed to rule by law because it's likely they don't have the brains to understand how to govern by rule of law.

so i raise my glass of (pick your poison), and congratulate Ms Jaqueline Ann Surin for sticking it to the man.

... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight..... or you could just fight to get it back again.

What possessed the protesters?
4 Sep 09 : 8.00AM
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
jacquelinesurin@thenutgraph.com

WHAT possessed them? That's the question I'd like to ask the protesters who desecrated a cow head on 28 Aug 2009 after Friday prayers to object the building of a Hindu temple in Section 23, Shah Alam.

We know that it's not Islam that teaches intolerance of and disrespect toward other religious beliefs, nor is it Islam that preaches violence or force if Muslims don't get their way. We also know that it is really not Malaysian or Malay custom at all to be so obnoxious, threatening and crude. For all my life as a Malaysian, I have known Malay customs to be gentle, sophisticated and inclusive. This is most likely because the "Malay" race was actually historically constructed; its customs weaved from a convergence of different continents and cultures.

So, if neither Islam nor Malay custom drove the 50 protesters to publicly despoil a sacred Hindu creature and to threaten bloodshed because of a Hindu temple, what was it?

Possessed by superiority

My hunch is that these protesters were emboldened by a culture of Malay Muslim superiority that has been carefully cultivated and strategically stoked by the Umno-led government, Malay Muslim politicians from Umno, PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), and by the judiciary both civil and syariah.

We only need to consider the following events where non-Muslim, non-Malay Malaysian rights are deferred, even trampled on, by a system that upholds Malay-Muslim rights and sensitivities as ultimate and unquestionable.

Despite several police reports that have been lodged by Catholics against Al Islam for an undercover report that desecrated the holy communion, no action has reportedly been taken against either the publisher or the editorial team.

Despite the incendiary reports and headlines in Utusan Malaysia that promote ketuanan Melayu at the expense of the constitutional rights of other citizens, no action has been taken against the Malay-language daily by the Home Ministry. Consider how other media have received warnings and threats, and have even been suspended or shut down before for much vaguer offences.

Additionally, let's not forget that in 2006, it was the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, under the leadership of then Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who banned any discussion of Article 11 and the proposed Interfaith Commission. Abdullah also threatened to use the Sedition Act if Malaysians attempted to discuss their constitutional rights in the light of issues arising from a clash between civil and syariah laws because some Muslim groups charged that these initiatives were attempts to undermine Islam.

According to Selangor PAS, beer must not be sold in Muslim-majority areas regardless of non-Muslims, who may want to consume alcohol and are not prohibited from doing so.

Because this is the holy month of Ramadan, PAS Youth wants the Michael Learns to Rock concert banned. They have described it as a huge insult to Islam especially since Muslims, presumably, should not be having any fun during the fasting month. The Umno-led BN government, surprise, surprise, has also chided the concert organisers for being disrespectful towards Muslims and Ramadan.

But since when was Ramadan meant to be a kill-joy for Muslims and non-Muslims? I don't recall Catholics in Malaysia insisting that non-Catholics should also fast and sacrifice during Lent. Or Hindus suggesting that everyone else should also be a vegetarian on a Hindu holy day.

Mind you, this attempt to ban a band because of preferences, defined by some Muslims for all others, is no different from when the animated movie Babe, which starred a pig as the lead character, was banned several years ago.

Consider also how "Allah" cannot be used by non-Muslims in their worship in Malaysia, out of deference for perceived Muslim insecurity and the notion that the word "Allah" only belongs to Muslims. Let's remember that it is the government of Malaysia that is upholding the ban on the use of "Allah" even though historically and culturally, the word cannot be copyrighted by Muslims, and was used even before Islam.

Notice also how the proscription of pork in students' school lunch boxes and increasing regulation for pet dog ownership presupposes that Muslim sensitivities are all-important regardless of the way of life of other Malaysians.

And it's not just food and pets, its dress codes, too. Remember how in 2005, several ministers defended the dress code imposed by the International Islamic University on non-Muslim female students? No matter that even among Muslim scholars, there is no consensus about the requirement for Muslim women to wear the tudung.

In the conversion cases involving, among others, Shamala Sathiyaseelan, M Moorthy, R Subashini and more recently, M Indira Gandhi and Mohan Singh, one outcome keeps recurring: not even the civil courts will uphold the rights of non-Muslims.

Police inaction

I'll also wager that the Shah Alam protestors were bold enough to do what they did so publicly, showing no fear of being caught or penalised by the police, because they knew that they would not be arrested. After all, in the past, police have demonstrated an uncanny ability to restrain themselves from taking action whenever a Muslim mob attacked a Malaysian forum that tried to address the issues of political Islam and how they affect our nation.

We shouldn't be surprised at all that the Selangor police stood by and did nothing on 28 Aug while the protesters promised bloodshed and clearly threatened the peace. After all, the police also took minimal action against the mob that disrupted the peaceful Article 11 forum in Penang in 2006, and against another mob, led by PKR's Zulkifli Noordin, that disrupted the August 2008 Bar Council forum on conversion in Malaysia.

And what has the current administration led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak demonstrated to reinforce this culture of inaction in the face of threats and attacks against civil liberties and the legitimate rights of non-Malay and non-Muslim Malaysians? It excuses these threats of violence. Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein not only found time to meet the cow-head protesters at his office, he also found ways to justify their actions by making them out to be the ones who were "victimised".

We all know that if any group protested against the building of a mosque by using a severed and bloodied pig head, the group would not have stood a chance with the authorities. And they definitely would not have been so easily welcomed, and then defended, by the home minister in his office. And that's why, even when protests that are designed to insult Islam happens, the perpetrators of such hate antics do so without revealing themselves.

So, what possessed the residents of Section 23, Shah Alam to do what they did so boldly and publicly? I'll be happy to wager that it's because they believed they would get away with it. Even if they eventually don't because of public outrage, including among Muslims, and the embarrassing international headlines, these protesters probably started off by believing that their method of protest would not result in any repercussions on them. Indeed, Hishammuddin's defence of them may just be an indicator of how, even if they are taken to task for instigating violence, they will be let off lightly.

And so, do you blame the protesters for thinking they would get away with threats of violence? I don't. The evidence, after all, that they would likely escape action because they belong to a Malay Muslim majority, is just too overwhelming. Denying that a particular political culture has been put in place in order to favour such bigoted, violent and intolerant behaviour would be to deny that the 28 Aug demonstration ever occurred.

Jacqueline Ann Surin had to shout to be heard over a Merdeka dinner at a friend's home in Section 6, PJ because the terawih prayers from the nearby mosque was being blared for more than an hour before she left. She wonders if for some Muslims, piety is best demonstrated by being a nuisance to one's neighbours.

Growing up with a loved one (updated with official video directed by cameron crowe).

2009-08-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

It's that time again. They're back with their 9th studio album. I'm not relishing the thought of kicking it with this new album, but after listening to the their 1st single "the fixer".... the buzz is killing me and i can't wait for this 20-9-2009 when it's officially released...

what i'm really drawn to is that they're still together after all these years and this just blows my mind. just as a primer, have a look at the making of....

i wonder if it makes sense to go to some seaside town to get some new done up? a change of scenery... the drums from "got some" sound amazing. trust MattCam to take it a notch higher...

then i came across this official video directed by cameron crowe.... rocks heart on sleeve....

to inspire wild things and to take heart of them...

2009-04-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

again, being on this weird spiritual journey of getting connected with what or who i think or thought i am and to move and grow from that wretched place they call "then". maybe not spiritual, but you can feel the energy derived from the enterprise. admittedly i've been so far behind on the things that replenish me, maybe for the past 10 years... that i've more or less felt empty... perhaps i've been running on empty. without petrol and grinding down the machine that is me.

I don't know, maybe i've lost the plot or simply lost direction. I've been persistently dead set against having a garmin GPS in my car... and i think it stems from the fact that i want to retain my purportedly excellent sense of direction.

but having a sense of direction would, i think inevitably mean being rather retrospective, because you know where you've been and how to plan your escape route... but what about life's mysteries which simply show up and take you places? places you've never been or opportunities that even allow you the privilege of being blessed by something completely different?

i start today with this band, "Arcade Fire". the music's amazingly gut-wrenching and uplifting. i still haven't gone through their entire catalogue to truly think they're excellent but from what i've hear i love the dynamics... quite easy to pin down, but it takes a certain amount of inspiration to get it in the right order and they seem to have done it.

the question is how did i get to this point of being introduced to Arcade Fire? just my love for trailers. i came across this new movie that coming out sometime in october by spike jonze... "where the wild things are", which is a screen adaptation of the children's book by maurice sendak. i've never heard of it, but now i have and for some strange reason i feel so utterly rewarded. not only was it a good trailer, i found out it was a great book that i'm going to look for at either kino or borders, i found out about Arcade Fire how supplied the song for the trailer... recorded especially for the movie...

the song used in the trailer was "wake up" by arcade fire and it rocked. plus having tony soprano being carol, one of the wild things in the movie and in the trailer, can't be a bad thing.... here's the trailer if for your viewing pleasure":-

and if you really want to keep it and view it in glorious HD, click here.

so is this post about the movie or the song? I don't really know or care. do you? i think it's just telling me that i'm on to something. maybe i should keep at this and surprise myself every day... and it sure beats doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

my latest super deluxe extra specious love tawdry marital loverly stalking paining obsessive-tion

2009-04-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

these last few days of the week have been harrowing and i'm hoping it'll end with a bang tomorrow. actually, with a few drinks here and there and a couple of laughs. this has been my pre-ccupation for the past few weeks.... it started last year when i saw the trailer for madonna's directorial debut. "filth & wisdom". it's gotten quite a panning, but what drew me to it was this irresistably loud and cacaphonous band... gogol bordello. with their lead singer and main man, eugene hutz, kicking up a shit storm. so i've been hooked since. so i checked them up on youtube and... jumping jeepers!! they really are as advertised....

so we start of with... supertheory of supereverything from their 2007 release Super Taranta...

then we head of with... start wearing purple from their debut album, Voi-La Intruder...

then this one from the movie and Super Taranta... wonderlust king... with an aged withnail...

finally to see them pull it off in the flesh... wonderlust king on david letterman

... and this ditty... not a crime...on Jools Holland's show and from Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike...

so i've been little aloof about things since... well, since... but this is sort of relateable and a welcome relief. so here's to eugene and the gang for making handlebar moustaches fun since 2002. =)

...these are a few of my favourite reds...

2008-10-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

this is the shizzle if ya gizzle ma' dizzle, ma' bizzle?

if you watched the dark knight and had this linger on your mind, fret no more. here it is...

ok ok ok... so it was not a red band, but why... so... seriousss....? or wha tabout this one? this should be what an anti-piracy ad blitz be about.

so yeah, let's get on with the reds...

till next time.

the malayan borneo grasscutter ninjas union quartet

2008-10-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

like all things weird that pop up, an unauthorised cover of the "whole year inn" by the maharajah commission. cannot believe how low people go to rip off other people's work without permission. i'm joking, of course. these lads have our blessings. here's "whole year inn" by the malayan borneo grasscutter ninjas union quartet.

KAMI a view through the perspex

2008-10-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

the worst thing about penning my thoughts about KAMI - this is not a review (haven't done one of those for a very long time - is when you gotta do the dirty on a friend, or in this case 2 of them. me? I know fendi and fizzi and i know them well enough to feel awkward about writing this. on one hand i couldn't just let it be and be totally apathetic about it, or simply pretend i didn't watch the movie... with the usual euphemism, "ohh... busy-lah." but then again, i promised fizzi, i would. this could be a case of being careful for what you wish for.

so let me get this out of the way. in short, i liked it*. the asterisk is there, because i feel i have to qualify that statement. since i'm going gonzo on this, bear with me. i watched 3 movies this raya weekend, KAMI, Eagle Eye and Painted Skin. the last two were sheepishly bad... baaad. EE was mindless turdshit, i.e. shit of shits, while Painted Skin really offended my sense of wonder, the editing was bad, the story sucked seven types of floaters and the actors puked out their lines like the triads forced them to say stupid shit. WTF. how do people bankroll stinkers like these?

with that, i think KAMI became my favourite movie of the week. on its merits, i liked KAMI in parts, small measures. the acting was interesting, but the thing that annoyed me the most was the lack of dialogue and excess of posturing... "oh, look at me.... i'm misunderstood" or "oh... don't ask me too much... the truth will eat you alive and give you a migraine". "oh... look at me smirk, an evil smirk... i'm such a baddie", i could go on. i know its motivation but when people spend too much time on the screen with the difficulty of not being able to speak their minds, you have a problem.

let me try to explain myself. if you watched an arthouse/outhouse movie and there wasn't much dialogue or even an attempt to speak, it's cool... in an artie fartie sense... or on the flip side, if there was too much talking, you'd end up with a bunch of kevin smith poser retard characters whom you have not affection for, and case in point jay of the jay and silent bob. i like jay but he doesn't stick because he says too much.

but what we have in KAMI, is chilling. people with sooo much to say but having difficulty saying something. so if you watched the movie you'd be wanting to shout at the characters to "fucking say something!!!!" before the next fuck-up happens. can it be possible that so much shit happens in the movie because these kids have a problems talking to each other, even though they are friends? or are they even friends? go watch the movie and tell me if it is not fuck-up by numbers, and the determinant being a lack of chat time. dear readers, "what we have here is a failure to communicate".

it's bad enough the bunch have problems with their parents, or don't really have much to say to them apart from the pouting and storm offs, but even among themselves...? i was steaming in the cinema. that said, i do hope there is a sequel, just to see if these characters actually grow up - even if they don't, what fuck ups will they endure... like the rambo series or the nolan batman franchise, the theme of escalation may work out here.... let the failure to communicate escalate, so that they ended up doing really odd things... and we can all them have a laugh.

by the way, where's this university of norwedon? i'd like to know... cos' if i have a kid, i'm not sending them there... who in their fucking right mind would give sofie a placement in a university when she only just finished her SPM... bearing in mind her results are still weeks away. don't medical students have to at least have A-Level requirements....?

so, no.... i do not think the following, that:-

(i) ali's an underachiever with an oedipal complex, and how can he not with mommie being a hottie;

(ii) abu's a nut job, but after so many beatings in juvie detention, and no one really doing anything about it... an intervention may have saved him, but that wouldn't have sold as many tickets, i suspect, unless of course your uncle's tony soprano.

(iii) lynn's the other nut job and clueless glue that binds. so she can't articulate, but she can write... hatchet jobs. i'm guilty of those and i relate very well, all the way up to receiving my paychecks...

(vi) sofie's such a princess but her mommie's utterly bonkers. what happened to jamal, may not have been necessary to the plot, but leaving it unresolved means leaving it muddled and not ambiguous with regard to her mom's intentions of hiding sofie's offer letter.

(v) adii's my one true spark. she may as well be the allspark. i've never seen a character this whoreishly virginal and spunky in local cinema. may be an original.

(vi) boy's just an asshole who get's his comeuppance and not much else. the one thing i could not get was why was he a drug pusher, channeling paedophilic tendencies... you see that smirk and glint in his eyes? i thought he was just horny.

there were one too many sub plots that didn't matter, for me to really make sense and have closure. i didn't need it nicely wrapped up but it feels to unresolved. would there be a director's cut? i hope so.... all these little things would add to a lot.

i just wish there was some polish to KAMI, rather than a diamond in the rough. so i do like it, while reflecting on my childhood, the annexe, paul's place, doorbitching and bad jam sessions. but that's life and all that. i just wish i had a longer glimpse of what was or never was, than the 1 hour and 50 minutes afforded.

so just in case, you "think" i'm slagging the film off, please stop thinking... i'm just being honest here. i know i made a point somewhere in here, but that's up to you to figure out. i'm going for a dump right now. until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

don't give up... oh siti, don't give up...

2008-05-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

The outcome of the Siti Fatimah case, while a well earned victory for the applicant, Tan Ean Huang, raises more questions than it answers. Notwithstanding the constitutional issues pertaining to the jurisdiction and scope of Malaysia’s syariah framework vis-à-vis the Malaysian civil courts on the issue of apostasy, the Siti Fatimah decision as reported in the local mainstream media does provide Malaysians with the necessary clarity needed on such sensitive matters.

It may be noted that constructive discourse on the matter cannot be made just yet, as the decision of the learned Syariah Judge has yet to be published. However, as a commentary of the tone of the various reports in the local mainstream media (in particular, The Star and Bernama) the following issues, amongst other things, appear to have arisen:-

(i) that the MAIPP intend to appeal on grounds that her marriage would not have been annulled by her renunciation of her faith; and

(ii) that MAIPP appear to have been negligent in its role of “guiding” her back into the religion;

The MAIPP’s statement on the annulment is unnecessarily belligerent and obnoxious. While Courts and the religious authorities take the view that a civil marriage is at end when a conversion into Islam by either spouse occurs, it would appear to be repugnant that it is not the same if a renunciation were to happen as it has in this case. Why the double standards? Clearly all Malaysian citizens are equal in the eyes of the law.

What was it that MAIPP was required to do to ensure that Tan Ean Huang did not fall by the way side? There have been concerns and misgivings that an application to renounce one’s faith in Islam within the Syariah framework in Malaysia would lead to persecution and human rights abuses arising from the manner in which religious authorities conduct and discharge its obligations when “guiding” an applicant back to the faith after such an application is made.

We have only to look to the outcome of the Revathy case and the atrocious manner in which the accused and her child were treated to know that something is not right with the present system of handling apostasy cases. The Malaysian Courts, both syariah and civil, and the relevant authorities have to bear in mind that the Syariah framework, is a creature of statute, i.e. the Federal Constitution and not a separate “constitution” of Malaysia.

While freedom of religion is a reality in Malaysia, under the Federal Constitution, it must be clearly affirmed that Malaysia is a secular state and as it so, all Malaysians must be guaranteed their freedoms to enter and leave their respective religions by their own will and conviction, despite the affront that it may cause to another’s belief. It is paternalism, a misconceived notion of public order and this ever growing need for certainty that will diminish one’s faith, to which all Malaysians of any faith will ask, “whatever happened to faith in God?”

activism, action & acceptance

2008-04-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

been on an ADF buzz for the last few weeks.... here's some stuff i pick up along the way....

1) rebel warrior - live

2) flyover - live

3) oil - live

... and here's an article on ADF. this next one's a personal favourite of mine from Dr Das.

gangsta hype

2008-04-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

'nuff said, dude.

dude, i'm a Malaysian for the first time.

2008-03-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

the 12th General Election has validated how a lot of us longed and yearned to feel... to mean what we see printed on our identity cards. I went to sleep knowing that for once we have become Malaysians and i woke up thinking it didn't matter what my skin colour was nor what i subscribed to. for this brief moment, i can look down a barrel of a gun and say it with conviction.

to those of you who voted, give yourself a pat on the back...no, no... more than that, take your arms and hug yourself and let out a huge zany grin. the voter turnout was on an average 75+%. that's a wildly OTT figure. even the americans can only dream of 30+%.

democracy rocks and it prove one point, the right not to vote - is mere apathy and not part of the democratic process. the BN did filter out with reports that in a number of places, the BN votes never came through, which to my mind seems to mean that the usual apathetic bunch rightly stayed away but to their own detriment.

right now we are on the cusp of a new balance, and it pays dividends to remember not to take the paths our predecessors took on May 13, 1969. I for one believe that path was never a righteous one and brought out the evil we sometimes see in the glint of our eyes when we look in the mirror. we have to learn from our past. period. Today, is a new day. Malaysians have spoken with their "X".

The NST and the the Star have shied away from stating that the BN have lost their precious 2/3 majority. The Star alludes to it by merely stating the number of seats taken by the BN and the Opposition. I did the math and the Opposition have 36%.... and that's the significance of it.

Although the BN has won the right to form the next federal government, that right should not be begrudged. it's democracy at work.

what the BN should do is realise that, "we've lost. we"ve lost" in Badawi's own words, and be mature enough to understand that from this day onwards, the politics of the brave have come to the fore, and the new BN government has to learn how to engage the Opposition with due respect, candour and courtesy and not simply discount or pooh-pooh the Opposition.

Today, the BN can no longer conduct themselves as though, no one is looking at them. Gerakan, PPP, MIC and the MCA are mostly now academic exercises. Who's National Front are they heading? Although the BN is a fractured beast, it is still a sentient one.

I can say this, the BN - before anyone says anything stupid from the BN camp - ought to be magnanimous and not kick up a fuss about the "evil" Opposition, because not only have the people made themselves heard by the ballot, foreign investors will taken note of your reactions to decide whether we rightly deserve their money, the same money that this country depends on to thrive economically.. the FDI.

the HINDRAF 5. the indian community have clearly spoken. the "community champions" have prevailed. what more can the BN do but to listen to indian community and release the HINDRAF 5 back to their families. the days of unlawful detention are at a twilight. this election has hammered the message home. Hadhari-ism is a failure and we need to look at fundamentals and not racial or religious politics.

By fundamentals, i mean... that we have to understand that we are first and foremost humans and we all bleed red. we also share the same salinity in our blood. and despite our diverse environments and cultural differences, we all share the same sense of emotions and a common desire for change. we cannot simply tolerate... that is no longer acceptable. we have to embrace our differences and bring something to this glorious table we call, Malaysia.

i'm fuzzy with excitement and hope. until yesterday this country was gripped in the claws of the "politics of fear". today we grew up and rightly deserve our 50 years of independence, as we embrace "the politics of the brave".

thank you for bearing with me, and thank everyone around you for this "brand new day", we all deserve it, "warts and all"

was it a sabbatical?

2007-12-11T19:49:00.000-08:00

nyet. the only reason nothing's been forthcoming on my part for such a long time, is simply because most issues have been canvassed and adequately dealt with. i've had nothing to add. but you know as well as i do, these are rather interesting times we live in. it's not a question of degree, but a question of maturity and the growing up we all have done. i'll be writing quite a bit this month, but i thought maybe i should just touch base with you, whoever you may be.

the recent spate of arrests have been life affirming and before you let out a ghastly gasp, i have to say that i make this statement with a view to the bigger picture, and not merely our rice bowl or our tummies - that's day to day.

see you in a day or two.

the lowest common denominator...(2)

2007-11-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

hey, this was niggling at the back of my mind for the longest time. this is wht albar said the last time in response to sarah montague's grilling on revathi soosay's situation - see this post.

“...has a child with a hindu man...”

“you know, if you follow a certain religion, like you are a member of a certain club, you are subject to certain rules. when you want to get out of that club, then you must make sure you follow that rule in getting out of it. but nobody is going to stop anyone who so strongly profess a certain religion, they want to change to another religion, that’s up to them but it does create misunderstanding between people, between religion... malaysia, we have survived because we have kept that com....(?)... rather than various religions living, practising, without interference. if you see in malaysia ther are more... malaysia practices more freedom than even in this country...”

now if you have a minister who flip flops as good as this, wouldn't you want to buy him a pair crocs, befitting of his ignominy? so let's see, the idioticus actually compares religiion to a club. please tell this tin-pot ding-dong that a club is one where you can enter and exit without fuss. anything else that suggests cruel and unusual punishment, i.e. to ask a person abusively, "are you sure you want to fuck out of the gang?" has to be a cult, and not a club. last i checked, i only had to make sure my dues were paid and the book club i was at, said "a-ok, bro"... so if the rules pertaining to your constitutional right to freedom of association apply, as the tin pot simplistically lets out, doesn't that mean there's a funk going on around here?

by the fucking way.... HH, can wave the 60cm keris all he wants but its never going to compensate for anything he may have to offer. btw, i'm quite sure i'm straight about this. Mr Pang might take a shine to keris. the keris is no umbrella by a long shot. it's not meant to protect other races and you can't say it is, and it shall be. that's not the way trust is begotten. HH, show us u got a comparable dong, and maybe we'll know that you know wht you're talking about. meanwhile you can stick that rhetoric up your USB port and get SIL to shove his iphone up your lil USB port, too, if you got space to spare.

meanwhile, yesterday, dear old "not a bum bandit no more" anwar has released a 10 second cock tease, and here it is... concerning the lingamgate saga. let's see how this swims, then i'll sort something out arising from my other post on this.

but right now... chill. but remember, kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight....

things that get misconstrued in the 3rd world.

2007-10-19T21:54:00.001-07:00

now, no wonder sex ed is out of the question in local schools. =)

be careful when u name ur kid.

... but as i was saying somewhere on this blog, that i forget. there's a reason why madtv appears second rate. it's talent. take a look atthe snl bunch here. see if you can spot the lot of them. i always felt this was one of the more consistent sketches on snl. you can go search for more to see what i mean.

have a good day. try to. it has been a good one, because it appears you can still get the bejeezus bombed out of your tailpipe for believing in your politics here in the 3rd world. i don't hv a high opinion of mdm. bhutto, butt the bhutto has right to speak even if the it's all potty.

stop and smell the gravel.

what an odd day...

2007-10-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

here with the i-rack... thhe thing about madtv is that alot of the time the sketches don't work. this is one of them, but you see where they're coming from, and it does give me a glimmer of a snicker. =)

where it began, when the phoenix arises from the ashes and soars.

when money isn't everything. which kind of reminds me of russell crowe in "a beautiful mind" when he assuredly asked, "are you capable of original thought?". think about that for a moment.

and to rub it in...

so there you go. i've been thinking pretty hard about the message. nothing got lost in translation. the theme, so to speak, has always been about redemption. whether we like it or not, we're all looking for it in different ways. if you're looking for it, godspeed. if you're not, we'd like to know about it.

have a half-full day.

today's not much different from yesterday...

2007-10-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

here's the original scene that the good folks at sprint probably watched when they were kids, too. =)

and the original english trailer...

...and how about the theme song? wait till you come to next one after it. blood will boil for the right reasons. i like the setting, very NBT-like. wonder if we've got anything like this playgin downtown KL?

ok... just to cap this lil fan appreciation session, here's the original opening credits in italian and a scene right after it...

hope you've enjoyed that little trip down memory lane with me. you can learn more about trinity and bambino by clicking on their names. i was duly surprised.

love y'all.

here's to you...

2007-10-18T07:48:00.001-07:00

hey joe... hey seira... just one for the books... since we're on the topic.

a regular day in congress....

2007-09-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

while our local MPs debate on leaks.... the americans show how it's done... taking it to the rim. enjoy.

Live From Congress: The Skull Fucking Bill Of 2007

wow.... imagine that, deadpan lives...

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays

what were once shadows, revealed as matter.

2007-09-19T23:54:00.000-07:00

wow. this is a lot to stomach for one sitting. after viewing this, you'll know what i mean:-

8 minutes of filth. misplaced patriotism and misguided nationalism. that's enough mis-isms for one day. you want to know more, go to jeff ooi's screenshots (here and here) and anwar ibrahim's blog.

i can't begin to understand how litigants who hv been affected by the goings-on described in the video stomach the fact that their cases may hv been decided on anything but the law. let alone practitioners who slog day in and out, only to find out the bald faced truth, that the law is subverted in such a manner.

the bar council's response to this video can only mean one thing - a loss of credibility - both for the judiciary and the government of the day. maybe it is or is not ahmad fairuz on the other end of the line, we'll never know. so unless vk lingam pops up to say that it was merely a well orchestrated video, in which he planned to parody himself for his so-called frat house alumni dinner entertainment, i don't know how he's going to weasel out of this.

i can forsee international investors apart from mark mobius, who in his right mind decided to pack up his funds and leave this country and who according to syed albar is only 1 out of 10 fund managers who appear to have his head screwed wrong, starting to think twice if such allegations do prove that in this country it's justice at a price... the right one, of course. mind you 1 out of 10 is 10%...

the video also raises the sceptre of suspect elevations to the appellate courts. that points out nazri aziz's recent bull-headedness in forming an independent commission to appoint judges as being unfounded and hopelessly ill-intentioned.

is malaysia this fucked up for no one to notice that nothing beats an honest day's work? i really am gobsmacked by this video. i'm used to the idea that there are lawyers who think judges are dirty, but i always push through with the belief that even through dirt, a good legal argument will always shine through.

syed albar and everyone living under and professing the virtues of the shroud of the National Front can hv their la-la land jingoism and proclaim "we are unity, we are harmony, we are integrity" all they want but you can dress up a 10 dollar hooker and she'd still be a 10 dollar hooker.

ahmad fairuz, wants to leave his post as CJ with a bang. initially i thought maybe that's why he was going all don quixote abt scraping our local reliance on english common law and substituting it with malay/islam jurisprudence. i can only say, "lu siaw-ah?!?". but with this video, i think he ought to come forward and come clean before going on his high horse on the road littered with windmills.

so, as details become clearer as the days go by, we just hv to hope that the truth will out. until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

the lowest common denominator...

2007-09-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

dato' seri syed hamid albar's grilling by sarah montague is a prime example of wht i 'd refer to as the lowest common denominator ["lcd"]. you bet your sweet ass this was lcd at its best. granted sarah wasn't particularly well versed with the issues at hand but albar's replies were mainly based on rubbish best left on the reject pile of the worst "yes, minister" episode you can think of. then again such a comparison, does a great disservice to the series.

i've problems with democratically elected monkeys like albar mouthing off rubbish like he did. why should i (as a viewer) or even sarah hv to put up with rubbish as can bee seen in my short , not all there transcription of the interview.... you can view the real audio clip here.

"dato' seri hamid albar, welcome to hardtalk..."
" thank you very much..."

"is it time to change malaysia's laws and treat every one as the same?"
"i think, ah, when you talking about looking at everyone... you are looking at nation-building, the most important thing is that malaysians feel they are malaysians. i think we recognise our diversity as a source of our strength, there is no need for us to change our laws so long as we are able to exercise the unity, we are able to act as malaysians, and i think this is happening. the process of nation building is not a short process. we came from a divided society that was recognised by its economic functions, living at a very poor living standards, so i think we have tackled the issues in a way that will bring peace and stability, at the same time people are able to share the prosperity and it is happening..."

"..but then there were laws thatt were originally brought in to help malays who were... basically to tackle poverty, there may have been some justification for them at some time... but since poverty has been tackled, since illiteracy eradicted, what's the justification for treating generations of treating generations old of ethnic chinese and indians who've been in malaysia for generations.. why should they be treated differently now?”
"i think that when you are looking from a detached point of view, you may be seeing it in that way, but if you look in reality, what is happeing is that is the economic growth of the non-malays is faster after the new economic policy than before it, the share of the economic cake is bigger, wider and deeper than before.... so it is, it is not as if you are looking at a theoretical, contextual thing, you are looking at the realities at the ground. on the realities on the ground, if you look at the household income between malays, chinese and indians, even the indians have got better household incomes than the malay, so i think if you take it out of its ethnic dimension, then you will see that it is the function of any government to have the less fortunate, to make sure that the divide, that is based on the ethinic divisions can be overcome, and i think we have.. (done that successfully)....."

"ok, let's look at access to university.."
"hmm..."

"is it fair that it's easier that for malays to get to university than it is for ethnic indians and chinese..?"
"i think maybe the question at the begining is the same thing in uk or any other country that start to build a nation. when you start to build a nation, you see the disparity, education disparity, what we wanted to do was to create the opportunity. how do you avoid seeing people who are living in tthe rural areas with less facilities...”

"...but my argument is that you don't have that problem any longer...”
"we do have, at present it is based on merit, it is based on merit.... if you look at the university, our democratisation of the education, you have to look in total... the number of students in malaysia, i think people who see it from outside will try to aggravate the situation and say 'ahh, there is disparity..'"

"...but does seem to be people from the outside saying this, the ethnic and chinese in malaysia..."
"i think, i think you have to look at it this way... without me getting excited about it or emotional about it. looking at it in a fair balance... if you look at it in terms of "total" number of students of all the universities in malaysia, there are still more non-malays than the malays, and this should not be an issue that divide us. i think that ultimately, we have done, we have tackled all issue, step by step. i think it is working and for malaysia it is working wherever we see there is disparity... at one time scholarships were given to malays, the government scholarships were given to malays, now it is open to non-malays also, so all this that are...."

"so what about government contracts, government contracts?"
"for your information, the contracts that are enjoyed by the chinese in absolute terms and the malays, is bigger than the malays. if i have a land that is one acre, rural area, that one piece of acre of land may be valued at RM10,000-00, or about USD3,000-00. but if you got a 10,000 square feet of land in the urban area, that will costs millions, so we do not look in that we are building a nation, a nation that is left divided, being recognised by their economic activities... now there is that building on common factors amongst us...

"but do you not accept that you are in danger of, that there is rising resentment among ethnic indians and chinese because of this situation that is persisting and they don't see it needs to persist anymore?"
"i, i... i think there is a lot more discussion, open discussion, but do not misinterpret that open discussion among the races as something negative, it shows that the nation has reached a level of maturity. we are questioning things that before, we had taken for granted... the chinese are loking at what more can the get, the indians are looking at how they can improve. i am not saying there is no problem, but for outsiders to come and tell us, "oh, there is going to be racial tension, there is going to be problem' , i say no... i think you just witnessed the 50th anniversary of independence, i think there is that sense of belonging, ownership and it's up the malaysian to go and dismantle whatever they consider..."

"but how is t that ethnic indians and chinese feel a sense of belonging when, right from the very top, that they can't get access to the top cabinet posts?”
"wh-who told you that?"

"when was the last time a senior cabinet post was held by an ethnic indian or chinese?"
"what do you mean by senior cabinet post?"

"since 1973, the top cabinet posts, the prime minister, deputy, home affairs, internal security, foreign, finance, education, trade and international trade. 1973 was the last time any of those post were..."
"i may assume it is so, in other countries..."

"... but we're not talking about other countries..."
"..no.."

"... we are talking about malaysia other countries can deal with their own problems on their own. how do you.. do you recognise that as a problem?"
"let me say..."

"you talk about sharing power..."
"let, let me tell you in a way that you will not get excited, don't get upset about something that you do not understand. let me tell you this, whenever we want to do something, it's important for us to look at other countries, that's how we learn, that's how we leapfrog. democracy does not come be itself, it comes because we look at the examples created...”

"ok..."
"so let me say that in the case here, the most imporrtant thing is that there will come a time when the chinese, the indians and the other races in malaysia have accepted that arrangement, how can somebody from outside come to tell us, 'oh...

"you are saying this situation is fine because nobody is saying anything in malaysia?"
"... no if they are able to, if the opposition are able to or the chinese party are able to decide to get together and to change that thing, there is nothing under the law to stop it, that is why i'm saying..."

"do you not think it's a little odd that all the senior posts in the cabinet, in the last 30 years have been held by a non-malay?"
"i don't think so, this is a democratic system. each one of them have agreed, in a coalition, to work together. it is well and good for somebody to say, "oh.. it should not be", i do not think they are going to be fooled..."

"so those outside, so those outside, those inside malaysia who say this social contract is actually state racism, what do you say to that?"
"oh... i can say the worst about state racism, in our case we don't have state racism, you have to look at this in objectively. i don't think it is right to look at malaysia, as a racist country. i don't think it is right. you should see how the infusion of cultures, the getting together, the people get along together. yes, you can find, there are people who disagree with you, ah.. that people say ahh, it's not perfect, i wouldn't be the last person to say it is a perfect situation, but i think we have succeeded in building a multiracial society out of our diversity. we have succeeded in bringing together the whole of the malaysian community, even the diverse background, together, to work together. there would come a time, you know that if it, the choice of the people, because one person get one vote, then it's up to the voters..."

"because there are plenty of people outside malaysia, let's take a look at investors, because even if you think, look at that being absolutely fine, there are those who would invest in malaysia but choose not to. here, an emerging funds manager has cashed out funds investments in malaysia, cos' he says that, the problem is the malaysian do a lot better as well, if they haven't got the restrictions, they've got the resources, they've got the people, they're just not harnessing them in the right way, and he suggests you roll back those measures to encourage entrepreneurial energy. and that was mark mobius who's a fund manager with franklin templeton."
"i think, what he's saying is that iif you do not, if there are 10 fund managers, there is 1 fund manager who says it in that way, then i think he is entitled to his own view. but i know a majority of fund managers who find that malaysia is a good place for investment, it is a good place that gives good returns on investment, the malaysian economy has grown because of foreign investment..."

"but why has it not grown as much as other countries..."
"i think, we are quite happy that it has grown the last...if you look at it from double digit... so that is not a bad growth..."

"it's slowing and your neighbouring countries are growing faster?"
"no, there are times our neighbouring countries grow slower and we grow faster. i mean you can't take a one particular moment and say this is growing faster, so therefore, it is because of this... i can actaually give all sorts of clarification but i want to on so many things, but i think you have to look at it, has it succeeded in crating peacce and stability, in generating prosperity among the races. have we succeeded in infusing culture out of our diversity? we are better of than many of our..."

"my question is will it continue to do so?"
"i think it will. i am not in the same position like you are. you look at it negatively. i am a malaysian. my love for my country, my commitment to my country, i am not going to allow anybody, foreigners to tell me, 'oh this is going to break...' i am not going to allow that"

"a recent survey on race relations in malaysia found that 34% of those who were asked have not taken meals with citizens of other races. the lines between races in malaysia arenow so divided, that they learn in seperate schools, they eat seperately, they work seperately, they socialise seperately. does that worry you?"
"well, if happens in that way you say, of course, it worries me. that's why we have been adressing the racial issue. we talk among ourselves, i don't know whether you realise it or not, we talk about the danger of polarisation, the danger of looking at ourselves seperately... of course, we tackle these problems. but we recognise that it can, at least but we have a desire of tackling those issues. is not as we are saying, brush everything under the carpet and saying 'oh, i doesn't exist.' what exists, we recognise. what...."

"but why is society becoming increasingly divided? the crown prince of perak makes the point that in his boyhood, the different races mixed more freely and he says some malay majority schools have made the girls wear headscarves and even told people to avoid non-malay homes. he points the fact that lives are being lead more seperately, increasingly so."
"i think that's a very good comment that he has made. he is as much responsible as all of us are. all of us have to find a way. that we have identified the problem. the fact that a person wears a headscarf does not make a person an extremist. what we want to avoid, is extreme behaviour, through our faith, our culture or our customs. we need to work together. i think the most important thing, you know, sarah... if i can tell you, is to understand the issues and try to address them. Not to look at them, issues, and say “oh, It’s getting worse”. There is this problem, we need to tackle those problems. I’m not saying there is no problem. there is ….”

“do you not accept that it is getting worse? and i quote the ... institute, prominent historian, khoo kay khim, that it is becoming increasingly difficult for people of different races to participate in common acts...”
“i think this is what the malaysians have addressed. all of us are talking about it. it is not something that is alien that you are telling me that this exists...”

“but do you not accept that it’s getting worse?”
“ no, i think race realtions all over the world is getting worse. polarisation all over the world is getting worse. but it does not mean you should give up. we know it exists but we want to take steps to overcome this. that’s why our current government is giving everyone the opportunity to talk about it, and then try to provide solutions. one of the things we have done at the merdeka celebrations is to get that sense of participation, that every race.. because, we know that there is that problem of polarisation, division, people go to chinese schools, to tamil schools, they don’t mix with each other... so all this we are handling and tackling them, i’m not ...

“what are you going to do about the schools then? the fact that they are...”
“of course, we need to overcome the problem of sensitivities... the establishment of intergrated schools, where eveeryone studying their language, studying the medium of instruction under one schools but here in this particular case, the chinese does not want, they want a separate school of their own. so now what we have done in the national school, we have brought in that you can study chinese, you can study tamil, you can study other ethnic, you know you can’t get that in other places, you know i think we recognise their problems, but it is not a problem that we cannot overcome...”

“... article 11, of the malaysian constitution says taht every person has the right to profess and practice his religion; increasingly its seems to be becoming increasingly meaningless. is it?”
“i don’t think so. you are talking about practicing you religion. you know that malaysia is one of the places you can see the practice of multi religion, that is all religion in malaysia. but if you are talking about converting one person, that is a different issue entirely.

“is a muslim, and there have been some high profile cases, perhaps the most high profile is lina joy, malay woman, she tried to convert to christianity and she wasn’t allowed to...”
“no,no... i think you turned this into something negative. lina joy wanted to change her name. she was never not allowed to convert christianity or whatever religion that she has chosen. but a person is born with an identity card. there is a system there, we have in malaysia. the ID, and that ID you want to change, that creates problems. it’s got nothing to do with the fact that nobody has arrested her and forced her to become a muslim or to come back to be converted into a muslim. but the court decided on the basis that you cannot change your name in the ID. but she has her own choice and made her own choice in choosing what she wants to be. i don’t think we stopped that.

“so anybody can convert? in that case let’s take the case of revathi masoosai, now she was a muslim born malaysian woman who was sent to an islamic rehabilitation centre for 6 months because she tried to live with a hindu.”
“I think that happens all the time. as a muslim, you have to look at the diversity. as a muslim, you are converted or you choose to convert, we see whether that conversion is being done or she had been entered into another religion voluntarily or not, then she will have that right, the choice, the option to decide on her own, and i think if you pick out of 5 million malaysians, or there are 12 million malaysians profess certain religion and there are 2 or 3 cases, i don’t think it represents the whole country and there are quite a number of issues that are more important or bigger than what you are describing, but if you describe out of one then it becomes the whole picture, then i don’t think it is right...”

“it’s important because it shows what the status is, it shows how it could affect other individuals, i mean if you take her case, why could she not practice as a hindu?”
“if she has decided if ultimately she has decided to become a hindu, then it’s up to her...”

“but she has to go through...”
“because she is a muslim...”

“the 6 month rehabilitation, she says it was like a prison,... she says it was actually a prison”
“out of the how many muslim women that you have converted into hindus...”

“she...”
“you are, she came out and she said this is what had happened, have they proceeded against her? they have not proceeded against her... she has, they want to make sure that her conversion out of islam...

“she now has to live with her mother in order to see her child...”
“to see her child... whether..."

“...has a child with a hindu man...”
“you know, if you follow a certain religion, like you are a member of a certain club, you are subject to certain rules. when you want to get out of that club, then you must make sure you follow that rule in getting out of it. but nobody is going to stop anyone who so strongly profess a certain religion, they want to change to another religion, that’s up to them but it does create misunderstanding between people, between religion... malaysia, we have survived because we have kept that com....(?)... rather than various religions living, practising, without interference. if you see in malaysia ther are more... malaysia practices more freedom than even in this country...”

“but these cases are used, are used as examples where people fear a creeping islamisation of malaysia”
“i think, i think there is that prejudice, rather than creeping islamisation, you must remember that in the constitution, islam is the official religion of malaysia... you know and at the same time we have got....”

“is it an islamic state?”
“it is an islamic state but it is not a theocratic islamic state. we have said that. you know, because we have said that as far as we are concerned, we do not see the separation, the old rule of separation of church and state as something that is applicable to us, we do not stop people building churches. there are soo many churches in malaysia, more than wherever you can find...”

“but have syariah courts operate?”
“syariah courts are for the muslims.”

“only for the muslims?”
“only for the muslims. its not... please don’t get...”

“but you have this system, because of the amendment in 1998, where there seems to be confusion over when syariah law apply and when...”
“ i think that, i know that you have looked at certain parts of it and try to dissect it. there is on matters pertaining to syariah, jurisdiction is given to the syariah courts. on matters pertaining to syariah. if there is any conflict between the two laws, between the syariah laws and civil laws, it is for the courts to decide. but this is done in the courts. we use the rule of law in order to determine rights and to determine which law is applicable and i think that is the correct way of approaching the subject. malaysia is not an easy country to run though, it is easier for commentators to say ‘this is wrong..., this is wrong’ but i think you have to live in it to see how it.. the govern the country and i think overall we are happy in what is happening in our country and whatever weaknesses we will overcome them.”

“when your prime minister abdullah badawi became prime minister, he promised to do a number of things, not least tackle corruption... and yet a certain survey by P...., a hong kong based consultancy, shows that corruption is perceived to have worsened in malaysia. can he accept that he has a lot more to do?”
“yes i think we agree with that, we have to do lot more, in terms of ensuring good governance, ensuring our fight against corruption can overcome. i think ahh, this is a... perennial problem that needs to be tackled and it has to be tackled with the law, as well as with education, that’s why have established the institute, the institute of integrity, in order to inculcate that sense of good governance, values which is necessary, a sense of morality. when we have problems, we identify them and try to tackle them.”

“is not going as fast as you had hoped? do you accept that?”
“i think in some areas it is slow and in some areas it is moving in the right direction, but there are problems..”

“dato' seri hamid albar...”
“thank you...”

so there you go. a bloody waste of time. a few things to note. albar's reliance football metaphors, spin doctoring, and verbal low-sai.

the 1st sign of trouble...

2007-09-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

this was originally posted elsewhere on 19-4-2007. so since i'm planning moves... why not go the whole yard..? so here it is... the "this" in this post dropped off the internet radar after succumbing to NST's little "pay for our archives" scheme. do i begrudged them? i do. but then again they've got little to say past being an overrated mouthpiece....

have look at this for context.

this takes the cake. i've been somehow anticipating this "squirming out of a deadline".

so someone realised that 2020 is merely 13 years away and decides to fudge the issue that this inglorious nation is supposed to be a fully functional developed nation.

so the language shifts to say, in very uncertain terms, "hey, this is the century of success, baby!"... where can-lah.... this shifting of goalposts.

you don't have to look that far ahead to realise that the dichotomy of 1st class insfrastructure / 3rd class mentality is already crippling this nation.

i read well between the lines to know that going by today's report, we are well behind schedule. you don't have to see or know it. you can feel it. you can prop up the economy so high up, that it'll come crashing down like MJ's nose under hot stage lights.

i feel very slighted. all those years of growing up under the vision 2020 drive, from the endless jingo-istic attitudes of rtm to the droning whine of school teachers, 2020 was somehting to look forward to if this bloody country worked at it the right way. no pretense.

ini tak boleh!!! now i have a sleepyhead piss-ant who shifts the goalpost. if i didn't know better, procrastination is now officially a nationally celebrated value.

the next 50 or 100 years can be wonderful but it doesn't concern me... those years are mere consequences of the work towards 2020.

the main objective and only question here is this, will we be a developed nation on or before 2020?... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

i'm off to koh tiki wiki waka waii waii

2007-09-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

this was originally posted elsewhere on 18-4-2007. so since i'm planning moves... why not go the whole yard..? so here it is...

you betcha' i'm off for a holiday at the dawn of may... if you had to ask "where", i'd tell you that is exactly the point. =)

It's been so long since i went on them walks of solitude. when you hearing nothing but the rustling of leaves, or nothing punctuated by little insensitive shits in the distance mat rempiting their way along or the blaring of car horns...

my favourite island has to be singapore. it's a classic example of irony. I live in a bland suburb (that's where all the nasty shit go down) and work in a city. so when i'm holiday in singapore, it's a great relief... cos' i'm on one and the locals are playing rodents. so i enjoy walking around like an uncouth apek lorry driver in his favourite running shorts, while everyone's in their business suits. you can't ever beat anonymity.

on a political level, they're like israel, with that "siege mentality" macho grunt thing. i dig the politics of "us against the world", but I don't like the direction they have taken to a lot of issues, but at least their consistent. singapore's mitigation to the frequent charges of being boring, hyperactive types has to be their transport system. efficient, dependable, cheap and un-rapid lrt-like.

i'd rather shun touristy islands - that whole common purpose thing scares me... what if the people who are already there are actually zombies... that's true.... if you go to a rave, see them move.... then again i connect with "shaun of the dead" and "kevin & perry go large" on an almost juvenile level... anyone out there, who thoroughly enjoyed how eye-ball paul got his comeuppance, message me....

now if were to consider that whole desert island thing, my decision on the state of that island and whether i choose to stay on it depends on a few things. electricity, perhaps? no... if I had this amazingly gorgeous goddess stuck on the island with me... it could be bearable... no one but us, althought she might not see it that way... or even a great qualified thai masseuse on stand by while i get used to the place. then again, not. especially since it is a "desert island".

which brings me to the cartographical representation of one's constipated rectum delivering out one tiny little piece of... well... a dunglet (like piglet but piglet's nice). if you guessed the answer, message me about it.

so much for travelling and islands...until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

jackie chan, baby, jackie chan...

2007-09-09T08:21:00.001-07:00

this was originally posted elsewhere on 17-4-2007. so since i'm planning moves... why not go the whole yard..? so here it is...

it's weird... last night we went to no black tie to watch cheeky rafique-e rashid, dish some good ol' fashioned whup-ass. the original troubadour and all round baddie boy.
the old gang was there to see rafique sans alex... azmyl, the fang bros, frances and pietro all hanging out like 5 and a half years didn't go by...
so if you ever want to watch rafique in action, he's up again on 30.4.2007... and if you're a cheapbastardos like us, you'd like to know there's no cover charge and dear evelynn won't pick on you...
which brings me to my next item... the maharajahs are at it again... next month's end. will it be fun or will it be another unscripted massacre akin to "this is spinal tap"... like all values malaysian, wait and see-lah...
one thing i'd like to float here is this... rafique thought the word "morass" was entertaining after a few... i thought it was funny too. That made me think of my favourite double think phrase - not that i really use it anyway.... but it calms me down a bit... it is this "as a whole".
for usage, consider this, "as a whole, you are wrong" or even "as a whole, your position is untenable".... or what about "as a whole, i love you"... don't try the last one, you'd likely not take your relationship seriously and eventually piss off your ..., unless you're trying to make up after a fight....
ey, macha.... that's language for you.... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

never gone all megatron in a cinema?

2007-09-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

i worship the god called optimus prime. if you're one of the countless persons to have come out hating "transformers", face it, you seriously need to get your head checked by a jackhammer. am i imposing my likes and dislikes on you? i could and i am doing it right now. this is my blog and i am doing my best frank welker-megatron laugh....

this is actually a bug that's been bothering me for a long time. people who walk into cinemas and saying, amongst other things, that there is no story or lack of one, that its not realistic and the list goes on. not just for this movie but every other movie in the sci-fi or action movie genre.

1stly as a reference, "transformers" was directed by michael bay. that says it all. he doesn't understand acting but he sure knows how to blow things up. but how can anybody complain it's not real enough, when it's about insane robots tearing each other up like no 2moro? i know it's all CG, but the key was a sense of realism and depth.

and die hard was real? seriously. die hard was about one sorry ass white male blowing things up that looks cool when blown up. do you see me whining like a faggot-pseudo reviewer saying "its not real-lah"? i liked the latest 4.0 and if one took the time to read the article "farewell to arms" by john carlin, there may even be some appreciation for the movie. fact is, i'm asian and i like watching white grudgy males blow shit up. nothing makes me feel more asian than watching sly, arnold, brucie, dolph, van damme stir things up. nothing gives me closure to my lil wins than rounding it off with a quiet "yippiekiyay..."
what really winds my up tremendously, are such "its not real-lah" allegations being levelled against the james bond series.

is it possible that after 21 instalments, people still live under "tempurungs" and not know that JB is premised on ridiculous stunts? and that nobody gets laid that easily without contracting crabs and being an utter knob. (pause)... oh, a flood of names come trashing thru and thus, i stand corrected. =)

so next time, if anyone watches a movie and decides to get smart with an "unquotable quote" like, "it's not real-lah", think twice before you do it, because it is as annoying fatty as the "i taiko mah" ah beng in the DiGi ads... and the fatty finally gets his comeuppence in the new line of DiGi ads. some clap and sound of their approval, but a huge majority are silent about it. i wonder why.

speaking of get smart, "get smart" is hitting the big screens soon, with steve carrell... how about that. with his talking shoe, etc... you know the caveat. don't say much abt that and walk away... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

if this was pop culture in the USofA, you know why BushJr made it this far

2007-09-01T02:57:00.000-07:00

This was hilarious. A prime example of verbal diarrhoea.

...and then redemption.

happy merdeka hols.

hello, my name is azmyl yunor...

2007-08-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Here's azmyl's recent break out at Bay Beats Festival 2007 @ Esplanade in Singapore.

Enjoy...

All you have to do to bung it up is to close one eye.

2007-05-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

True to their penchant for saying the most perverse things straight out of a generic American episode of "World's ...-est Videos" our local BN MPs Bung Mokhtar Radin and Mohd Said Yusof have once again allowed their own upbringing to sully this nation's Parliament.

Clearly the theme song for the day had to be familiar goading of "the Limbo Rock", as popularised by Chubby Checker. So, how low can you go?

It is embarrassing for a man, let along a Member of Parliament to speak of menses in such a trifling manner. and one only makes such an assumption because that is alluded to by the remark made towards MP Fong Poh Kuan DAP, which to any right-minded rakyat may be considered as being about as subtle as a sledghammer having tea with the family jewels.

This latest incident has transcended partisan politics and brought to the fore a moral imperative that every voter has to consider.

In short, as the Speaker has decided to sweep the matter under the rug by relying on an almost perverse reading of Standing Order 26(1)(p), it bears noting that your government has been numbed into inactivity. That brings to mind the shallowness of the the supposed moral majority now lording in power and harping on about having the moral high ground, when their own MPs conduct themselves in such a beastly manner.

Although, the debate that precipitated the said remark was centred around policy, it just went to show that the said BN MPs had to resort such insensitve chest-thumping to drive their point home at the expense of DAP's MP modesty, when the arguments got a little more testy than usual. Assuming we live in a parochial climate, Is that then, truly the measure of a man?

The action taken by the Speaker of our august Parliament is nothing short of a glowing seal of aproval for such a remark and that the conduct of the said BN MPs, remain duly noted as a national embarrassment and an international stain.

It is perhaps easy to forget the gravity of the matter after a few days or weeks thereafter but consider the implications of not censuring or punishing the said BN MPs or if nothing meaningful is done to remedy the effects of the horrible remark made.

It would be tantamount to institutional acceptance of the said remark and that will inevitably set up bad examples to impressionable minds that it is perfect acceptable do so and at the most, perhaps a light tap on the wrist may suffice. The damage has been done. Consequences be damned.

To put things in perspective, what faith can the rakyat have in our elected officials if they cannot hold their tongue or conduct themselves in an honourable manner. A further point to be made is why women BN MPs in attendance did not nothing to defend the DAP MP's modesty.

Whether there is a party line to be followed is debatable, but to do nothing, speaks volumes of our national values. Condoning such acts can lead this duly elected government into a false sense of well-being, which can then degenerate into a "monkey see, monkey do" mentality. Perhaps this has already become the norm, but that is to be left for another day.

The remark made is beyond apology for although the said BN MPs may be forgiven, the hurt and embarrassment that accompanies such public remarks will remain. The year 2020 is fast approaching and with it, high ideals and aspirations. Do we remain apathetic heathens and let this slide?... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

when hand-ups lead to panhandling

2007-05-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

My views on being a bumiputra, can be attributed to Rehman Rashid's views on the matter in his wonderful book, "A Malaysian Journey". I didn't find the book to be the best thing since sliced bread, but where I once did not have an opinion about who I was or were to become, I can easily say the book was iconic and life changing, and can be favourably seen in the same light as kerouac's "On the Road"... (well, that and easy rider... ).

simply put, it is a privilege and not a right. this is an absolute. there's only so much affirmative action one can be handed down with before one's natural instincts to excel and survive, diminish.

my politics on the matter's very simple. on an individual scale, preferential treatment should only go as far as education. after that, you're on your own. this is the way of the world. no extra discounts for bumi homes. no extra incentives, no preferential hiring of employees, etc. I take the middle path that while i feel such affirmative help is beneath me, there are rural folk who need it and there are many that need help.

the one thing great about being a professional is that you dictate your terms. that your work and the quality thereof remains the only benchmark that you are judged by. you are not beholden to or accountable to anyone but yourself and your client. you don't get the job or win the case in court because you are a bumi. justice remains untarnished by fraudulent and pseudo-nationalism.

with the Maybank and AmBank ruling on 50% Bumi equity now dealt with in public, i only feel disgust. For context read here. It's bad enough that it appears acceptable to receive handouts to no end, but to adopt a very suspect "if they are doing it, so can we", is a clear indication of polarisation and a lack of understanding as to what it means to be a professional.

historically perhaps, as a race, the malays were economically impeded , but as the pace of modernisation continues to accelerate and the way this glorious ship called earth becomes but small village, with an unimaginable level of connectivity and technology outstripping the way we deal with the world, such preferential treatment becomes a mere crutch.

it is very difficult not to walk on the streets of of every suburb, city or town and not see a sizeable number of savvy and middle income malays on the street. if the benchmark for development is severely held back by the rate of development or lack of it within the rural demographic, isn't it a case of lousy planning and ineffective delivery?

i'll tell you a simple fact, no single skin colour is unaffected by poverty or a lack of accesss to choices. to think in such a manner that it does, as the current model of the NEP condones, is simply an abdication of this country's leaders and a great hindrance to national unity.

hey brader... even chinese, indians and lain-lains can be poor and destitute. what compounds matters, is that these fellers share the same destiny and spill blood for this same nation and walk around with the same identity card. what makes the good intended of the NEP incapable of being colourless, is the influence of greed and selfishness and not merely vested interest (which is a nicer way of calling out the former).

this post is really about all these thoughts that there has to be limits as to how much help one can receive from privilege before inequity sets in and ruins the party for every one.

so you get an education, being a bumi you got no money or access to university, so you get a hand up... not a handout. so you work and earn your salary or daily wage and buy yourself a house. what makes a working bumi any different from a working non-bumi? some say housing discount, and i'd agree.

if a bumi and a non-bumi both get paid RM5,000 for their respective jobs and the bumi gets a housing discount, what little social balancing is there to be done to actually justify such a discount or preferential treatment?

if such help was for poor folk then that should be just it, because once you can walk on your own two feet and slog for your food does that mean you should still rely on crutches all your life?

if as a bumi you feel sufficiently empowered do join the human race and abolish such anti-competitve and unprofessional practices, and maybe, Rehman's wish that the bumi work output be granted the respect it deserves becomes a social reality.... until next time... kill the lights and pray you don't see daylight.....

bloodletting

2007-01-11T04:19:00.000-08:00

uh, testing, testing... 1, 2, 3.... mission control, we have lift off......