Matinya seorang patriot! (IP4)*

So the day finally came.... My iPhone 4 which had been patriotically serving me 24/7 over the past couple of years had given up on me. 3,2,1,...poof went the flicker and all the king's men and the king's horses could not put IP4 to tick again. This work horse served its purpose well through all the hard knocks and immersions (in sweaty conditions of the running environment, waterproof casing came in much later) that life had to offer.
The passing of the patriot reminds me of the story of a national laureate's composition 'Matinya seorang Patriot', a critical assessment of the duel of the two greatest Malaccan warriors - Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat. We all know the duel, immortalised by P Ramlee's 1957 film.

Usman Awang

The bone of contention here is whether Jebat, the fallen, did the correct thing by avenging for his best friend against a corrupt and unreasonable monarch who had their own yes-men and plenty of cloud and power over the people.
The eternal question is whether Jebat showed disrespect to the hierarchy or acted in good faith to right the wrong and for natural justice for the general public the Malacca Sultanate. Fighting against the revered establishment is alien culture but then there is only so much a person take lying down. Soon or later, after taking much beating, the single strand of hay is going to crack the camel's back.

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