Namawee? Modern Crusader or Loudmouth Hill Billy?

One thing you've got to hand it to Namawee, he got guts. Looking at his video, people will either love him or hate him. While many of us can emphatise with the notion that Malaysian service providers and utility companies including the civil service is more often lacking, its a question whether the method he went about it was the best method.

We all have our share of power cuts though people in the Klang Valley will not truly understand the crux of the matter compared to people living away from the urban center. I was in Sabah for five years and I can tell you the service there was terrible. Often blackouts occur nearly every single month and god help you if it occurs at night, then you can expect no service till the next morning. Though this may have improved things there as of now I still wonder. For consumers it is a right to question why service providers cannot deliver when customers are paying their bills and yet the same excuse time after time is that 'best service available' policy which literally means 'it's not our fault we keep on getting subscribers and later complain out rollout of infrastructure cannot meet peak demand'.

Should we stand for this? Take for example my Astro has problems every time it rains and I cannot watch, meaning in a tropical country like Malaysia, say bye bye to your telecast during monsoon season. This after they have promised better service transmission with the launch of the new satellite and digital system, not happening. Streamyx is another thorn in the foot, for years this monopoly has provided subpar service and while other neighbouring country are heading forward with better broadband and faster speed, we are still crawling and Streamyx imposing bandwidth capping citing '20% of the users are using 80% of the bandwidth'. So What do you expect? Files are getting bigger, online tools such as streaming videos and filesharing programs are the norm, if they cannot keep up with people's need, give the job to someone else. But having said that while there are headaches, and some very chronic indeed, not all their staff are bumbling idiots.

Citing an example recently, I had problems with slowdown of internet in my home and called the call center a day before Hari Raya, they said they will rectify the problem by Monday. To my surprise they came on a Saturday, checked the system and resolved the problem. Kudos to the two fellows who came.

Nowe back to the video, first of all again while I emphatise with the grouse he had, trust me if this happened in KL every single datuk will be ringing up the TNB chairman to get power up within the hour so realistically being in the dark is no fun period. Secondly three blackouts within the year is not a small problem, question begs as to why this has occurred as in the case of Muar for Namawee's case, is it due to inadequate maintenance, sub-standard equipment or as he claimed TNB staff not doing their job?

While Namewee tends to be rude, okay very rude, I believe he is quite brave to do what he did. How many Malaysians actually stand up and get down to the matter of things? How many qould question why things happen such as blackouts and why action in getting power back on are not as efficient as it should be? How many people would make formal complains and ask for an explanation for which as a paying customer he has the right to? Most probably none. While the manner of his is not diplomatic, I can emphatise with the fact that desk officers are not often the most friendly bunch, more often the norm rather than the exception. To be more efficient and beholden to the customers I believe that the companies should be more responsive. We all don't ask for much, we want to know of the explanation when something happens so that we can ascertain if its a reasonable enough explanation. We would also like to see service providers ensure that the customers are getting what they paid for. Would TNB be more efficient if say they have to compensate customers for downtime? I've experience before TMnet Streamyx service getting cut for a week whereby I couldn't do any work and still the same amount of bill came at the end of the month. Should I have been given a rebate for loss of service? Yet all I got was a phone operator telling me, we are trying our best to solve the problem, that is if they can be reached at all.

Bottom line is, customers all want quality service commensurate to what they pay. Should Namawee be blamed for his outburst? No really but I did cringe with the language he uttered and how he treated the TNB workers, he had a legitimate claim but the way he put if forth made them hostile. What can we learn from this? We all should bring along a portable camera when we go and meet service providers to complain and ascertain how they actually conduct their job. Namawee will most likely make as many enemies as he does admirers. But Malaysians should also take his video as an eye opener that we should not just sit down and take whatever service providers dish out to us and not bat an eyelid. If they are not keeping up the quality of their service, exercise your right to complain, we have consumer associations, we have politicians, heck even the service providers have complain desk (when they actually work), so go through the proper channel first. If that don't succeed, well Namawee has shown us another outlet to vent your anger right?

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Who'd Ever Thought Smiling Was Hard?

If you'd told me that the simple act of smiling, of being happy and joyous and of having an uplifting feeling that tomorrow holds endless promises was something that comes naturally I would've agreed months ago. I've always been a pessimist but I've never let myself feel hurt or down or to fall into despair. When times were tough I've always been able to cope and to bounce back, all it needed was a good night sleep and the next day all way right in the world again. Yet at this moment, no matter what I do, things all feel as if all the effort I put in are futile, that whatever I do seems so pointless. It feels like the hardest thing to feel happy again and not to fall into self loathing and pitifulness. And it has never felt so lonely before ever. I know I really have to shake this feeling off, but at this point in time, I just can't. So for those out there that have someone to be with, or are able to enjoy their happiness, cherish it and grasp it so tightly that it can never escape you.

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It is a Sad Day So Near to Merdeka

If you haven't read about the Cow Head Incident in Selangor please do.

It is a sad day and worrisome incident that such a thing happened and within the Holy Month of Ramadhan which is a month of contemplation, fasting and forgiveness and within days of Merdeka, a celebration of freedom for ALL races. It is sad or scary if you consider:

The people of Section 23 say they are left with no choice but to take protest and bring a severed cow head to the Selangor State Secretariat. A wholly "Muslim" congregation parades a symbol sacred to another religion to protest the construction of a religious worship center in their housing area is provocative and sacrilegious. And these people are suppose to be fasting this month. God knows only how swift action would be taken if anything nearing bacon was wielded and calls for death to infidels would be incited if it was the other way around. And through all this time have they seen Indians or for that matter of fact other races protest violently when only the Section 23 residents have acted uncivilly?

"We object to this temple" and "Rodziah Babi" written on the fence. Using an item forbidden by ones religion while wielding the object of sacred nature of another in protest is just sheer hyprocracy and bigotry.

These people claim to represent the voice of all Section 23 residents. So it is really 90% Muslim or 40% Indian in Section 23? I can't believe who's right at this moment but just hop over to the Department of Statistics and it can be cleared up easily right? But why does racial composition matter anyway? Oh right, allocation of land for worship depends on the area's racial composition and thats why Indians, Chinese, Christians are finding it so hard to build places of worship while under the government policy, land is alienated for suraus and mosques in every housing estate. 1 Malaysia I salute you.

Police took no action in halting the illegal protest and no further action were taken even if from my eyes the act warrants ISA if there was ever a case. Other illegal rallies and protests were put down with the full force of the law. Bloggers have been arrested, questioned and jailed. A mysterious death of a person brought into MACC questioning is slowly dying down and no answers are forthcoming. A murder of a Mongolian national has gone off the radar and no justice is forthcoming. A death of an Indian in police custody has no solution though evidence have pointed to the fact that there was foul play. Body snatching and demolition of Indian housing were greeted without an eyelid of those not concerned with other races. Where were the people of Section 23 then?

They said they feel cheated by the PR Muslim Leaders. What does Pr or not have to do with this? Or are there some malignant forces from the cough 'opposition' stiring the pot because the corrupt and bigoted ex premiers got booted off when they deserve it and now is stiring the hornet's nest to regain power, God wonders if these people should even be elected ever. Why feel cheated, the people of Kg Buah Pala also said they feel cheated by PR but wasn't these problems a legacy from the previous administration? Will voting UMNO save the day for the Section 23 residents?

They say they were not consulted? Is this the relocation of some dangerous nuclear waste dump, some hillside project that threatens their life? From the sound of it relocating a temple is akin to putting a mental asylum or pusat serenti or even a prison with violent criminal next to their house. It boggles the mind to understand how siting of a religious temple in a housing estate would need consultation or their approval. For god sakes people its a temple and you can't coexist with one when the rest of Malaysia have happily coexisted with Malay houses of worship built with tax payers money at every corner of the country. Have we ever protested. Oh yeah we forgot what a ruckus it was when Teressa Kok was slandered by Utusan concerning her disapproval of the azan being played from a surau which turned out to be untrue. Did we all come with pork and did the unthinkable. I think we are more civilised and tolerant in that sense.

160 m from a house, 50 m from a playground and 150 m from a surau? Why is this relevant or even a concern? People please take a drive down to Harmony Lane in Melaka where a Chinese temple, Masjid and Indian Kuil are within walking distance of each other and is there any conflict? 160 m from the house? Industrial areas have been built within less distance and are more harmful than a mere kuil can ever be and no one complains. 50 m from a playground and comments that parents now fear letting their children play near the temple? Mind boggling as it makes it sound as if temple going people are liable to cause mischief and trouble to the point that children need fear. I've entered numerous temples and joined them while they pray and not once have I feared for my safety and life. It's scary to think if these people actually have this mindset against other races or pity them if they really think other races are as such.

Prices of houses falling? Property devaluation? I believe similar concerns were voiced by residents of a condominium when plans for the expansion of a Muslim cemetery right outside their property were approved but in the end with all their peaceful protestation it was snowballed through. Where was the justice then and you expect the opposite now? What of the Muslim cemetery in Bukit Damansara and Sg Buloh Forest Reserve? So green space can be trammeled for the sake of religion while siting a religious temple in an housing estate is unacceptible?Prices falling, let me see research showing this actually occurred, that property near temples and kuils actually devalue. In the end such flimsy excuse denigrate the intelligence of the people in the area. Please refrain from making asses of yourselves.

Relocation of the temple was proposed by BN to an industrial estate which as far away from any residential area. Smart move and its no wonder why its not a good move to relocate the temple to a housing area nearer to the masses. It's no wonder under BN's policy permits to construct places of religious worship for other races are curtailed. Complex and long hauled permit and planning permissions? normal. Race-based requirements such as percentage of total population to site building? with slowly reducing non-muslim birthrates siting looks likely to become impossible in future. Its no wonder and sad to see so many Christian worshiping in shophouses and Indian temples being demolished as illegally sited. Sad Sad. The tenets of freedom of religion is guaranteed in the Constitution but in practice is sorely true. And I thought we were living in Malaysia and not Myanmar or China.

If the legacy of the past 50 years have led to paranoia and xenophobia among the population concerning each other then its a sad sad day indeed. What can make residents who are Muslim's fear for another religion as if it is so antithesis to have them nearby I cannot fathom. At the same time it is scary to see if true that the general populace holds such disdain and loathing for people of other religion and races. If it only involves a handful of people then its ok but if it really is the general attitude and perception shared by the majority Muslim population something is wrong in this country. Playing with fire concerning religion and race will lead to long term impacts and those wishing to use such tactics to their own gain are really the most despicable persons on earth.

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Merdeka 52 Years of Malaysia

This Merdeka is our 52nd year of existence as a nation. It might be a good time to reflect on what it really means to be Malaysians. Does it only end at us ticking an immigration form stating our country of origin? Is it just a denomination we use to reply to others who ask us which country we are from? Is it nothing but a name and no more? Lets look back to nearly half a century and see what we had to go through to get to this point in history. Multiple races finding their destinies entwined in a foreign land, staying on because of the promise of opportunities and a place to call home, hardships and wars, having to forge a nation from so many diverse patches of origins, people, religion and background can be a daunting task. We might gripe and complain that things are not right in the country, we may bellyache about the corrupt and incompetence of our politicians, our growing mistrust and fragmented society, our unjust and self-defeating lack of meritocracy and fairness but we must also take to mind that we have a lot to thank for. Where as could've gone the way of Yugoslavia with its endless sectarian and racial wars and terror leading to its eventual breakdown as a country, we are still very much vibrant and intact as a people and as a country. So what does that say about us? No country is perfect.

For this Merdeka, forget about the political infighting, the actions of extremist and fanatics that want to paint us Malaysians as a intolerable, bigoted and fascist bunch, the ever present corruption and injustice. What Merdeka means to us is freedom, freedom to do right or wrong but by our own. If we fail than we have only ourselves to blame. Politicians would always like to remind you that the success of the country is due to the Government and how they have led us the past 50 or so years. I say the success of this country lies more in the ordinary people that have given their sweat and blood to build this country up. As great as leaders such as Tunku Abdul Rahman and those lesser leaders that has followed in his footsteps, Malaysia would not be a reality if not for the man on the street. So let it be a celebration among us the rakyat and that no matter how bad things are on the top, we as a nation led by the actions of the individuals chart a course that will bring us to greater heights.

When the national anthem Negaraku starts playing, stand tall and sing, not for the politicians, not for the government but for your country and for yourselves. Happy Merdeka Day come Monday.

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Faces of the Times

A handshake speaks volumes of these people, even when we had no means of communication.

In the small town of Dengkil, you can meet a microcosm of what Malaysia truly is. Walking by the local mosque during Aildil Adha after the morning sermons were finished, the group of people streaming out would be familiar to any Malaysian at present. All were Bangladeshis who form part of the 2 million or so immigrants and foreigners that call Malaysia home for economic reasons. As they exit the mosque, these people who are often more misunderstood most of the time show a side that we don't often acknowledge, that they are just as human as any resident here in the country. Seeing their compartiots, they openly welcome each other by giving hugs and embraces, surprisingly a gesture that many locals would not even deign to show citing impropriety of public indecency.

In a land which they don't speak the lingua franca (I tried but was replied by a mix of body language and facial expressions), often working in the lowest paying jobs that Malaysians scoff at, they often only have themselves to rely on. Looking back at our nation's history this is a glimpse of what our forefathers endured, living in ramshackled conditions, far away from home anf often exploited and at worse endured suffering and death. The camaraderie and friendship shown by these people only serve to define what Malaysians are and what we can expect the demographs to be in future, some foreign nationals already surpasses the legal numbers of certain races in the country, so how do we define ourselves as a nation? Do we still go by race, religion and political affiliations? Or do we look beyond and treat a citizen as anyone who contributes to the nation, a nation of melting pot that is not one or the other but of the whole.

Another quark we seen in this town is a reflection that Malaysia is very much a multicultural and tolerant nation, even if this was truer in the past then present. A stone throw away from the main road of Dengkil we can see the mosque that the Bangladeshis stream out from, is also a Chinese temple set up in the early 30s and further down is a small roadside shrine and temple manned by Hindu Priests. If the proximity of structures of various religion is not enough, we bumped into a Chinese uncle seating on the five foot walkway who greeted my Indian friend with so fluent Tamil that she was amazed that he spoke even better than most Indians, and this was his only language. Times are changing and multiculturalism is giving way to racism and narrow minded politics. We should take a leaf from the little town of Dengkil, located near to the ultra modern administrative capital of Putrajaya (of which is nearly all Malays), that we as a nation are more than the sum of our race, religion and beliefs and we share this land with each other, for better or for worse.

Talking on the phone to home.

All smiles and as charming in wit, he must be the most fluent and eloquant Tamil speaker that Visithra had met.

Bangladeshis waiting off the rain after morning sermons at the mosque.

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Rise the Chauvanistic Generation

You take one step and you think that Malaysia is finally shaking off its racial polarization after being haunted for so long by it and the next thing we find is that instead of making progress it feels like we make a back slide to the bottom and we have to start again. I believe that many Malaysians are moderate, pragmatic and progressive that wishes to be left in peace to make a living for themselves and their family but there are groups out there that revel, enjoy even being in the limelight and would not be shy to use what ever means to achieve their 5 minutes of fame.

Race relations have been a thorny issue for too long especially since many quarters have been shooting their mouth out, questioning the origin of the people of Malaysia, harping on imposing religious laws onto others and now we have a group of so called 'Malay Chauvinists' that decided that they would wake up and so Datuk Chua Soil Lek for RM 2 million for comments made that he would support Malay rights but not Malay supremacy.

It's quite a tragic comedy, one which I know not to laugh or cry. In the age when Obama made history in breaking into mainstream America as the first black president we have people like Mohd Apis who heads the Young Malay Graduates Movement. It sends a thingling feeling in me to image that these are the leaders of tomorrow, people who have been weaned on tax payers money, paid to be sent to study overseas, landing cosy and comfy government positions and contracts and getting fat at the expense of other people that are more derserving than them. It is surely a farce to see tax payers money bringing up bigots, racists and race chauvanists into our society.

A look at their web page and other of their ilks show that they are neither intellectuals, contributors of society or even decent human beings. The entire page could even be called seditious and a danger to security, moreso than Raja Petra's blog or even the entire Hindraf movement and maybe a sprinkle of Ayah Pin Combined. Rather then rant and rave I'll let readers decide for themselves on what is written and decide are these proxy of UMNO and running lapdogs worth even our time to lambest or should they be pitied that in a world where diversity should be encouraged they chose to be narrow minded and retrograde.

GGMM Webpage
Perak Bangkit
Keris Pusaka Melayu
YEOPerak
Pemuda Enggang
Empayar Malaya
Panglima Perang Cyber

If they are so keen to sue Dr Chua, let them look back in history as well as brush up on their kenegaraan where the constitution safeguards the rights of all races, religion and rights. Then the orang asli should pay Mr Apis a visit with a petition to collect on payment rendered for:

(a) invading and displacing the kaum pribumi/ orang asli from their ancestral land
(b) infringing and trampling on the rights, culture and lifestyle of the orang asli
(c) disregard the orang asli as bumiputera whereby they have as much right and even more to be here than immigrants from tanah melayu
(d) pay back interests for the years that malay imigrants have been residing and inhabiting this land which belongs to them

I think RM2 million is too little don't you think?

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The Mannequin Graveyard

It's often amazing what you can stumble into. Was walking to Laman 2008 when passing through Muzium Negara we saw this display. The workers were discarding tons of used mannequins used for displays.

It's amazing to see the details on some of these pieces and when I saw them being loaded it hit my mind a question "Where do mannequins go when they die?" We'll we stumbled into one such resting place, it was scary how life like they were and how creepy a pile of them look, it almost human in tragedy to see them.

Still its sad to see them discarded, I imagine they have been on display for years sitting in the stuffy museum displays for people to see them in their historical regalia. Now they are striped naked, bare and discarded as if they are junk. It is a sad fate.

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Kampung Baru Ramadhan Food Trail

This is the first time I saw fried popiah with chili padi in it, was nice but not as crispy as I liked.

One thing I look forward every time its puasa is the stalls of food selling lovely stuff for berbuka puasa. Nowadays its so common to find a pasar Ramadhan in almost every single location here in Kuala Lumpur each with its own variety of foodstuff though the more common fare are always present no matter where you go, just the quality differs. I've heard complaints once that many of these stalls often pop up just during Ramadhan when people are out to get some extra cash for Hari Raya and thus the quality of the food served are questionable, how good can it be if its only available just one month of the year by a cook who doesn't specialised in cooking? True there are the bad from the good but generally I find the atmosphere of the pasar more delightful then the food served. Its often busy with people browsing and puchasing food, the sights and sounds and the pushing and shoving to get at price morsels along with the shouts and stunts of the stall keepers trying to attract customers to their stall (who wouldn't as competition is stiff, imagine there were 10 murtabak stalls in a single street). You can tell which are popular by the lines forming and during this year at Kg Baru, I saw a queue a street long for a particular murtabak stall and they had 5 skillets going at once and still can't keep up.

The stalls at Kg Baru streched several streets long with all kinds of foodstuff. There were murtabak, nasi campur, ayam pangang, goreng pisang, apom, drinks, roti jala, roti john, kepak ayam, nasi kerabu, som tham, mee and meehoon goreng, etc. Visithra, Praveen and I went about purhcasing from most of the stalls to test the food there. Sadly it wasn't as nice as I expected compared to the one we went to at Subang last year. The som tham we had was tasteless, the nasi was ok though but on the pricey side (ayam, sambal and sayur for RM5.50 is a bit much) and the restaurant we went to served my two Indian friends tom yam with beef inside and asked us back what was the problem. But it was nice walking about and enjoying the atmosphere there, the best sight we had, the Kg Baru mosque distributing the famous bubur lambuk for free to the crowd.

Ayam Perchik is one of the dishes I look forward to every Ramadhan.

Kepak Ayam being sold on skewers.

A shy stall owner making ikan bakar.

Variety of juices were on sale.

The famous murtabak stall where the crowd were just lining up to buy as soon as it left the skillet.

Roti jala being made.

Roti jala goes great with chicken curry.

Ikan keli masak sambal my favourite!

Roti John, just that the guy was handling it with bare hands.

Otak-otak freshly made to order.

Prepacked drinks is just a thrist quencher after a hot day out.

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Street Children of Kota Kinabalu Part 2

If eyes could talk this girl would have much to say. Hanging about all day at the Kota Kinabalu wet market, carrying baggage for a few cents seven days a week.

Street Kid, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

So young yet having to work to sustain life.

Smile when hardships are upon you is one way to get you through difficult times.

Curiosity and inquisitiveness are still part of this child though her childhood is long gone.

One of the countless bag children in the Kota Kinabalu Market. Plastic bags tucked into her clothes and a pouch to hold the change she gets for her service and nothing else but the clothes on her back.

Moving on, she walks by looking for the next customer to offer her a few cents to carry their bags. At least its an honest living.

Averting his eyes from me, a chance shot managed to obtain a portrait of this kid.

Elsewhere in another life, she may have grown up to be a beauty enough to grace the catwalk, yet her beauty never diminishes even in her present condition.

Hunger is a constant companion, without means for a proper meal this kid was sucking on the discarded sauce for fruits, something most of us never think about throwing away.

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Through Different Eyes - Street Kids of Kota Kinabalu Part 1

Having a little fun at my expense, this cheeky little bugger is too cute to kill.

I always wanted to do a photo essay on the subject of street kids in Kota Kinabalu at its ironic that I only managed to get about it now when I was there for a day when I had five years previously to do so. These kids comprise of both locals and foreigners particularly those from the Philippines and Indonesia whose parents arrive here through both legal and illegal means. Most of then are without citizenships and thus are not entitled to education, health and social benefits that we enjoy, in other words they live in limbo from day to day. Yet if you meet them they are just like any other children with the innocence and joviality that only children can possess. Most follow their parents who are traders here or act individually to serve as bag carriers to the myriad people shopping for groceries at the Kota Kinabalu Market, exchanging services for a few cents of coins which will likely be used to supplement their parent's meager earnings to ensure that they survive the day with food and shelter if any are to be had. These photos tell their stories and we may have to look at ourselves and question who is entitled to be citizens and who are the foreigners, particularly in Sabah.

Different reaction from different kids are the norm, some are natural posers that will keep on following me to get in front of my shots, others are more reserved like this kid who stares warily, others are just plain afraid and hid from my lens probably from advice not to have their face so easily identifiable in case I'm from the authority.

Portage for cash, offering to carry heavy packs of vegetables and meat for customers for a few cents.

In the absence of any family structure, kids find other avenues to give them a sense of belonging, forging close ties with one another as if thats the only form of 'family' they will ever see.

Unabashed, this guy got in front of my camera countless of times and kept on saying 'ambil gambar ambil gambar!'

Are we exploiting them or are we helping them to earn a living? Western child labour laws isn't known here.

A look straight from Dicken's novel as if he's saying "Please sir can I have some more?"

Though he may look shabby and messy his eyes shone with an intelligence borne more from surviving on the streets than any formal learning.

Life isn't too hard if there are others of similar situations as these boys gang up together.

Taking a moment to rest in her mother's arms as she mans the vegetable stall at Kota Kinabalu Market.

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