Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Tuesday Rant

When I started blogging just over a year ago, the one thing I promised myself not to do was write political commentaries; in other words, indulge in so-po (socio-political) blogging.

Which is just as well, really, because there are so many good so-po bloggers out there. It doesn't matter where their political inclination or affiliation lies. What does matter is that they write with such passion and conviction that you can't help but give their thoughts due attention.

Of course, there are also those whose only claim to fame is their ability to spew venom in the worst possible way, by being obnoxious. These are the bigots whose political depth is suspect, but whose ability to swear and cuss is not.

There were times when I itched to hit back, especially when my race and religion came under attack by people professing to uphold freedom and justice. Despite being born here and living here all their lives, their reluctance to integrate is nothing short of bewildering.

Rubbishing other people's faith is something I can't stomach. If you have nothing nice to say, just shut the fish up. My religion is sacred to me as I am sure yours is, to you. So don't push your luck too far. Sarang tebuan jangan dijolok...

Having said that, I also abhor those who pontificate; their holier-than-thou attitude makes me want to puke. And I have no love for people who use religion as a political platform. Religion is above politics and those who use it for political gain should rightly be vilified.

I am writing against the grain of my promise because of what have been happening in the country lately. I don't have to expand on this; unless you have been living like a hermit in a cave somewhere, you would know what I am talking about.

Non-Muslims dispensing with 'fatwas' about pregnancy outside marriage and illegitimate children (don't cloud the issue here with rapes etc please) and the 'halal/haram'ness of beer?

Muslim scholars and respected royalty coming under fire for exercising their right to speak and express their own opinion? Gangsterism in "Utopia"? (Not quite as squeaky clean as you had made yourselves out to be, eh?) I need not say more.

1) mengata dulang paku serpih; mengata orang dia yang lebih.
2) meludah kelangit, jatuh kemuka sendiri.
3) menepuk air di dulang, terpercik kemuka sendiri.
4) semut di seberang lautan nampak, gajah di depan mata tidak.


Lest they forget, there is a SILENT MAJORITY out there of which I am a member. I don't need to take to the streets and disrupt the lives of my fellow peace-loving Malaysians to prove my point.

I have been doing it at the ballot box ever since I could vote, and like hell I shall exercise it again in the not-too-distant future. Just don't underestimate the collective power of 'us'. We don't need to resort to Bollywood antics to make ourselves heard.

Oh, a footnote before I conclude:- I was amused to read Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's comment (in yesterday's dailies) that the National Day celebrations in Penang could be postponed due to H1N1.

[For the record, I am not an advocate of independence day celebrations. I have no use for mega concerts, military parades and pyrotechnic shows. I celebrate the way I know best, by raising my country's flag at home and flying it on my car. I am unashamedly patriotic, so sue me].

I salute LGE for being a concerned leader. "Our priority is the people's safety." How gracious, how noble. But how come there wasn't a squeak from him when those kutus were having street demonstrations and illegal rallies in Kuala Lumpur recently?

After all, the H1N1 virus isn't discerning, to attack only Penang Merdeka Day revellers and not Kuala Lumpur's kaki protes jalanan, especially the kind who led children like cows to slaughter, to be used as a human shield so that the image could be flashed around the world for international condemnation, not to mention turning it into a "modal" to whack the authorities...

17 comments:

_deli said...

Salam Kak Puteri,

Likewise, I do too shy away from spawning my political thoughts; religion however, I did tip toed occasionally to the best of my understanding.

What piqued me most in your entry is that dramatic, bad-mouthing dulang attitude towards the effacing paku – on how badly chipped the paku is, only to suffer a humiliation end once the dulang is obscenely stripped from its porcelain-like coated surface (dulang dulu-dulu); exposing its scarred and corroded skin. Yikes!

Come to think of it, memang si dulang ni sedari dulu lagi asyik dok mengumpat mengata tentang si paku. Tengoklah! Suatu hari nanti berkemungkinan si paku akan tujah si dulang yang telah sedia rapun dan getas (brittle). Barulah tragik.

Now, that’s not political right? Only pure vengeance or ...deli merapu di pagi hari...

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hear, hear Puteri,

If u got nothing nice to say, come sit next to me….hehehe.

Here’s a few of my favourites as a ‘Silent Majority’ like u;

"We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by."
-Will Rogers

"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare."
-Mark Twain

And what about this, that only people that ooze class like u & I can appreciate…ahem ;)hehehe..

“I love luxury. And luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity. Vulgarity is the ugliest word in any language. I stay in the game to fight it.”
-Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel

Salam,
Tommy

Unknown said...

salam kak,
saja nak bgtau, i have moved to perlis, so if u ever end up here, pls contact me..pls email me at my gmail acc and i will give u my contact no
salam rindu
serene123

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Puteri,
Ditto!!! I'd rather be a cat...anytime!

Lawyer Kampung said...

Well said, sis!

NanaDJ said...

Salam Puteri,
Life is too short to rant and rave about any thing and every thing. Thank Allah for what we have. I cannot understand apa yang hendak direbutkan. Kalau dah kalah beri peluang untuk orang lain tunjukkan kebolehan mereka. Bila dah menang insaflah dan jangan ulangi kesilapan yang dibuat oleh mereka yang dulu. Kan senang. Too much being written and said... full of sounds and fury signifying nothing. It is still more of the same. Am getting quite fed up.

But I love you all, the gathering at LC was great just good clean fun and full of affection. I wish we can spread the joy to others as well.

luah fikiran said...

That's ok for u to talk about socio-politics once in a while. Sometimes we are forced to respond. Your points well said. I had a few postings on the same issue in my blog (luahfikiran). I dont take sides. Yang tak betul, tak kira siapa, I beri pandangan. I can do this cause I have no political interest. Orang nak dengar atau tidak lain cerita. Kita tak boleh paksa orang lain ikut cakap kita. Ok

wanshana said...

Very well said, Kak Puteri.

I'm sure a lot of people out there feel the same way, and you've said it out so rightly and so well on behalf of the silent majority.

Hmmmm...I personally think you should dabble in and write more on so-po issues :)

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Deli - in politics, everything goes. That's why politics is so dirty.

Tommy - frankly tommy, the whole lot of them are wasting precious time bickering and calling each other names, instead of working towards nation-building.

Jash - hiya serene, i shall e-mail you soon..

Cat - so do i, cat, so do i. being a pampared cat is the best, even your poo is other people's problem..

LK - tq for dropping by. you've got a lot of good things going in there..

Nana - yes nana, life is too short to rave and rant. pi karaoke lagi baik kan..hehehe

LF - i wasn't usually affected by the nasty words used in blogsphere, tapi bab hina Islam ni terkilan sikit kalau tak bukak mulut..

Wanshana - the only reason i vowed not to do so-po blogging is because it taxes the mind so much.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hi Puteri,

I read this article (on a lazy ‘stay in bed all morning’ type of Sunday :)) by a radio DJ on random act of kindness by strangers and would like to share these last few verses she wrote;

These and other stories come back to me especially when I hear so many people on radio talking about "what’s wrong with society" and how they (whoever "they" are) are doing everything wrong and the world is such a bad place. Some of the world IS a bad place but I don’t think it’s as bad as we think.

Socrates was right when he walked around irritating the "good" citizens of Greece by not going with the accepted sweeping generalisations mentality and asking for specifics. He also asked individuals what each was doing to better the world.

I wonder what sort of community we could build if we each were a little kinder than we needed to be? If we stood up for others in the bus, bought a coffee for the Salvation Army woman rattling her tin and smiled at strangers – cognisant that they may be experiencing a grief or difficulty in which they feel alone.

I wonder about the potential to not only make a difference (small though it may be) to someone else’s life, but also to our own.

That sense of wonder makes me very excited about what our community could really be like.

Cheers,
Tommy

elviza said...

Kak,

If I were them, I'll be damn afraid of the silent majority such as yourself.

I heard they speak at the ballot boxes! *Shudder*

amish said...

Puteri,
tambah 1 lagi.

Ketam mengajar anaknya berjalan dengan betul....

I agree. Jgn dikacau silent majority. Ni bukan sarang tebuan ni,ni lubuk piranha.

Rosak plan nak makan nasi kandar Ibrahimsya dekat Jln TAR.

the witch's broo said...

kama,

for a self-confessed non sopo blogger, you're very clear on your thoughts.

you are right.

there are just too many bigots out there and they figure among the people some of us mistakenly chose during the last general election.

we can always right the wrong!

meow!

Anonymous said...

Madam,

First, it was the pee.
Then came the pooh.
Now this.

I should think all three belong to the same outhouse.

Yeah, I am with you.

Derebar

لف توف™ said...

One guy said..... No merdeka celebration in penang sbb of H1N1 scare.... donwan to expose his rakyat to the deadly virus.
On he other hand he sort of "encouraged" the spread when his kind of rakyat had big good time demonstrating the Anti-ISA in kayel recently.
Yeah, after all apa nak takutkan sangat H1N1 nie.....
Horlick1Nescafe1 saja.

mekyam said...

puteri,

some things just need to be said!

Pak Zawi said...

Kama,
Pak Zawi always made a mistake whichever way Pak Zawi voted. How I wish I can have another alternative to what we have at present.