jelas.info

These few days are turning out to be very busy, and I do apologise for lack of writing (both past days and days to come).

Wanted to highlight a couple of things :)

The first is an album (re)launch from one of the nicer guys you’ll meet, Antares. Do check out the music!

Secondly, tonight Zunar is launching another cartoon book – the aptly titled Cartoon-o-phobia :) Especially after his 1FunnyMalaysia got banned, I think this is a great initiative to support. The damned authorities should take a chill pill and learn to laugh at themselves like the rest of us.

After much persuasion and encouragement of fans and publisher, Zunar puts together his latest collection of Cartoonkini in the Cartoon-o-phobia. As such, we would like to invite you to attend the launch of this book. The event will be officiated by Datuk Seri Ir. Haji Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

Date: 24 September 2010, Friday
Time: 8.30pm
Venue: Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, 50150 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Guests: 1. Datuk Seri Ir. Haji Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (former Menteri Besar of Perak)
2. Steven Gan (Editor-in-chief of Malaysiakini)
3. Zunar (Author of Cartoon-o-phobia)

I was also asked to publicse Pluck’s Musical Arson :)

And lastly, a book launch on Monday :)

You guys really have to read this.

Selamat Hari Raya semua!

Do drive safe, and have a wonderful time with your loved ones :)

And to all readers of this blog I may have offended or wronged, my must humble and sincere apologies.

In line with the holidays, I’ll probably be on a blogging break as well, so two quick plugs:

1) I’m not sure if they’ll use it, but I was interviewed briefly for a Raya special on BFM’s I Love KL, sharing thoughts on relations between religious communities, societal maturity and freedom of expression. I think the show airs on 89.9FM, Friday night, 10th Sept, at around 11pm.

2) The MyConsti campaign has been kind enough to invite me to share a bit at their Malaysia Day slot (organised by FAC & CHAI) in Jalan Bangkung – it looks like it’ll be a fun event all around :) Sept 16th, 3-5pm, the restaurants at Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar.

Quick detour first. Many say RPK has been wrong about quite a few things. True or not, we can’t deny that he has been right about quite a few things. If he’s right about this, then I think we really have something to be worried about.

Dato’ Rocky wrote some time back:

The sometimes rocky road the PDRM and MACC tread. The good news is, crime rate is significantly down. According to Idris Jala, who was hailed by the Opposition for his honesty in predicting the country could go bankrupt by 2019, the OVERALL crime rate in the country dropped by 36.9 per cent! Street crimes alone declined by 14.2 per cent. Don’t you feel it safer already?

I’m not sure if he was being sarcastic, but I think we have ample examples of why we don’t feel safe in the least.

Both my uncle in PJ and his neighbour was burgled just recently – their houses ransacked between 7 and 9pm or so one night. That’s as good as broad daylight – and this in an area that employs private security >:(

A friend of mine was recently groped by a motorcyclist, barely a few hours after she shared the story of how another friend suffered a terrible robbery ordeal:

I just went through one of the scarriest time of my life. If it was not for God’s protection over us, we could have been found murdered in my car. My friend could have been raped!

What happened? I was letting my friend drive the car around Mahkota Cheras before I send her back home. We took the same road twice and the 3rd time we took it, we decided that we should go back home because it was getting late. As we changed place, I started to drive when suddenly I saw a man infront of the car! I slowed down the car and suddenly, my window on my side broke!! I was shocked and I stopped my car! The 2nd time the window crashed and this time it exploded into thousands of tiny pieces of cube glass and sprayed the entire car.

Immediately a hand reached in and tried to remove the car keys and I grabbed the car keys but he got the alarm part of the key and before I could do anything, he screamed and show his sickle parang!! I had to relent and pass him the car keys. At that same moment, I told my friend to go out the other way but another guy was waiting on the other side and told us to remain in the car.

They both demanded us to give our money and handphones. I had one and my friend had two. After that they asked us for more money and they started searching the car for valuables. They took my Ipod (i miss it soo much now!), my watch (my most expensive lost! Given as a gift from my uncle) and my rings (no more The Lord Of The Rings story!) :( . As for my friend, they took her ring (a prized possesion of hers), they searched her handbag and took all the money in there.

After all that, they were still not happy with how much they got (I wasn’t in my most productive season you see) and kept on asking for more money! By now, still no car in sight to help us which leads me to believe that they are from that same area as they would know the frequency of traffic in that area. I was praying in tongues quietly when all this is happening. At one point, the guy with the parang swinged his parang at me and he stopped halfway! That was the scarriest point for me because he could have swinged it all the way. Thank you Jesus for stopping him!

By now, they should have left! By now, they could have run away. By now, they could have gone and left us alone! But no!!! They were still there and I was beginning to believe that they had other sinister plans and true enough, one of the guy grabbed my friend’s breast!! I was sooo angry at this point of time but I kept it within me because I knew if I retaliated, one of them could easily stab me. I needed a way to go out from the car!! We were both trapped in the car and it felt like a cage!! Right at this moment, the guy said close the light (the car light) and he was looking like a lustful animal at my friend and he slapped me and told me not to look! I had to turn and I prayed “Lord, please open the door!”

Now, because of the stone being thrown at the window, it broke my door’s lock. So the other guy couldn’t open the driver’s door. It turned to be a blessing in disguise. The guy inside the car asked me to get out but I told him I couldn’t as my door is jammed so he asked me to go out from the passenger door. My friend told me not to leave her. I told her that I won’t let anything happen to her and I got out.

I have to thank God that the other guy was still on the other side of the car and I can’t believe it that he was laughing looking at his partner in crime trying to touch my friend. I took a few steps back and screamed as loud as I can!! “Tolong!!! Tolong!!!” The both of them got spooked and got out of the car and wanted to chase after me. I ran around the car while screaming and they realised they wouldn’t be able to get to me and they ran away!!! I kept on screaming and my friend got out of the car and we both shouted for help!

The rest of the story is on the blog.

I don’t know about you, but it seems we hear these kinds of stories almost every single day :(

Feel safer already? I sure as hell don’t.

Wanted to highlight some good upcoming events.

The first is Say Sorry Day, the 5th of September, inspired by Yong Vui Kong.

Both events look great, and I think Saturday night’s feature should be particularly enticing – esp with who I think is one of Malaysia’s best writers, Brian Gomez, who gave us the magnificently brilliant Devil’s Place:

The next event is on Monday night, which features, well, censored Malays :P :) Including DJ Jamal, Zunar, Amir Muhammad & Hisham Rais :) Should be fun!

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Say Sorry Day Activities

In conjunction with the Say Sorry Day on 5.9.2010, the initiating group will organize two public events as follows: -

(1) “Beg Your Pardon – when governments, leaders and invididuals say sorry” Forum to be held on 3.9.2010 @ 830pm, at the Annexe Gallery

(2) “The Hardest Word – the art of saying sorry”, art performance by local artists to be held on 4.9.2010 @ 830pm, at the Annexe Gallery.

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SAY SORRY DAY: Sun 5 Sep 2010

A collective of individuals and organisations are coming together to declare Sept 5, 2010, as Say Sorry Day. Everyone – in Malaysia and beyond – is encouraged on this day to seek forgiveness from and grant it to each other.

The inspiration for Say Sorry Day is a young Malaysian, Yong Vui Kong, who was only 18 when he was arrested for drug trafficking in Singapore. He is currently appealing for clemency, but he may still be hanged and not get a chance to redeem his wrongs.

His situation is extreme, and many people may not find themselves in the same situation. However, we all need forgiveness because we all do wrong; as the saying goes, “to err is human, to forgive, divine”.

To find out more about Say Sorry Day: http://www.facebook.com/saysorryday

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Beg Your Pardon

When governments, leaders & individuals say sorry Forum

Fri 3 Sep, 8.30pm

The Annexe Gallery, 2nd Flr, Central Market Annexe

Admission: Free of charge

SPEAKERS:

1. WHEN GOVERNMENTS SAY SORRY: by Ambiga Sreenevasan

2. WHEN CORPORATIONS SAY SORRY: by Sreedhar Subramaniam

3. WHEN COMMUNITIES SAY SORRY: by Edry Faizal Eddy Yusof

4. WHEN INDIVIDUALS SAY SORRY: by Leow Puay Tin

SAYING SORRY is first and foremost a personal act to initiate a journey of reconciliation and healing between two individuals. However, it is an act that also has implications beyond two private individuals. When leaders of communities, corporations and even countries apologize for the wrongs of the past, they also begin putting things right in the present in order to have a brighter future together.

The apologies quoted above have become historical milestones of recent history. We remember them because public apologies from leaders are so few and far between. So few in fact they often shock us into catharsis and tears, allowing many of us to move on from our hurt. But yet, we are aware of many more wrongs yet unaccounted for. Are there things for which our government, community leaders and public individuals have yet to apologise, thus preventing us from healing as a nation?

This forum aims to explore both the personal and public dimension of the act of saying sorry to facilitate greater thought in the respective spheres, and hopefully inspire individuals and larger groups to cultivate a culture of the willingness to make amends.

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…JUDGES, LEGISLATORS AND MINISTERS like to believe that law and punishment can correct criminals and teach us how to be moral citizens. After all, politicians have to believe they have some use! But punishments only inspire fear and the law merely teaches us how to escape being caught.

The law does not teach lessons, second chances do. Therefore, a few Malaysian artists, actors, writers and musicians have come together to help us reflect honestly on our capacity to do wrong, to seek forgiveness, to be forgiven, and to forgive.

“True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive.” ~ Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960

THE HARDEST WORD: The Art of Saying Sorry
Performance
The Annexe Gallery, 2nd Flr, Central Market Annexe
Sat 4 Sep, 2010, 8.30pm
Admission: Free of charge

PERFORMERS:

1. AMIR MUHAMMAD, critically-acclaimed filmmaker-writer, shares a montage of clips from old Malay movies featured in his new book 120 Malay Movies.

2. ANNE JAMES & JO KUKATHAS, award-winning theatre actors, re-enact a scene from the play Cuckoo Birds.

3. BRIAN GOMEZ, writer (Devil’s Place, What Do Gay People Eat?), reads from his new short story, written for specially for the occasion.

4. HISHAMMUDIN RAIS, non-governmental individual, writer and former ISA detainee, does his infamous stand-up routine.

5. I-SOUL, Chinese-language band, offer us acoustic songs on the theme.

6. LIYANA FIZI, popular singer-songwriter, sings apologetic original songs.

7. PANG KHEE TEIK, Annexe Gallery arts programme director, just wants to say sorry to everyone.

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Invitation to Public Forum: Malays Are Muted Too! – The Importance of Freedom of Expression

The Civil Rights Committee of the Kuala Lumpur & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (CRC-KLSCAH) together with “1 Muted Malaysia” and Mederkareview.com are embarking on a series of public forums in the wake of the recent crackdown on public dissent by the government. This is part of our initiative to promote a democratic space for Malaysians to engage in issues pertaining to freedom of expression.

The first session, entitled Malays Are Muted Too!, is organized with a view to discussing in greater depth the dilemma faced by the largest ethnic group in the country. On one hand, the Malays enjoy the constitutional provision of being recognized as Bumiputras; on the other hands, they continue to face restrictions of various forms imposed by the powers-that-be. It is therefore important that this dilemma is properly understood by all Malaysians in order to create a platform for multi-racial response.

The details of the forum:

Date: 06 September 2010 (Monday) 8.30pm (To cater to Muslim friends who break fast around 7.30pm)

Venue: Upstairs Auditorium of KLSCAH

Jointly organized by: CRC-KLSCAH, 1 Muted Malaysia, Mederkareview.com

Speakers:

1. Amir Muhammad, renowned writer and independent filmmaker whose artistic products are often too hot for the authorities to handle;

2. Jamaluddin Ibrahim, popular Mandarin-speaking DJ who has put the MCA leadership in the cross hairs over political interference;

3. Zunar, cartoonist who continues to entertain the nation with his hilarious political comics, to the chagrin of politicians;

4. Hishamuddin Rais, community activist, writer, and film maker. Currently he is writing as a columnist at The Edge, Malaysiakini.com, and The Sun.

Mediating Language: Malay / English / Mandarin

For further enquiries, please contact Mr. Chia , the assistant of KLSCAH at 03-2274 6645.