RIFLE RANGE BOY: speedy

Saturday, 21 September 2024

Danger of swift justice!

We Want Justice!

A thing or two came up on my radar recently. Firstly, yet again, the unending saga of 1MDB took another court postponement. The deposed Malaysian PM has not finished disposing of his cases. This time, he has excruciating knee pain that needs hospitalisation. When told to be wheeled into the courtroom, the defence lawyers quipped that since he would be on opioid painkillers, he would not be in the correct frame of mind to follow the proceeding. They said their client must be seen to be given a fair trial. So be it, said the judges.

Across the Straits of Malacca and Bay of Bengal, over in Kalkota, demonstrators are screaming that new legislation must be passed to expedite trials on rapists and impose the death penalty on them. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly even stipulated that investigations into sexual assault and rape must be concluded in 21 days.

Are we overdoing it in the haste to right the wrong, punish the wrongdoers, and set an example to potential offenders?

The story of Kannagi, which was written by Illango in Silapathikaram in the Sangam epoch, probably in the 2nd century CE, comes to mind. Even though it is generally accepted as a literary work, some insist the likes of Kannagi walked as flesh and blood in the lands of Madurai. There is evidence that a big fire actually engulfed Madurai around that time. There is even a temple commemorating Kanagi as a symbol of chastity. To this day, people in Northern Sri Lanka still have a commemorative celebration on a particular day of her ascension to the heavens. Kannagi is said to have arrived in Sri Lanka after leaving Madurai and stopping at Kerala.

What does Kannagi's story have to do with dispensing justice? Everything!

Kannagi, a wealthy merchant's daughter, married Kovalan, a trader. During his business trips, Kovalan met a dancer, Madhavi. Kovalan started an affair with Madhavi, spending way too much time and money on her. When he realised his coffers were dry, Kovalan finally came to his senses and returned to his faithful wife.

Kannagi and Kovalan decide to start all over again. They left their hometown, Perompahar, to settle in Madurai. For money, Kovalan left to sell Kannagi's anklet.

Coincidentally, the news was that the Queen had lost her anklet. The royal goldsmith, who had stolen the anklet, accused Kovalan of being the thief. Kovalan was apprehended, given a half-hearted trial, and beheaded for being caught red-handed with the anklet.

Chera-Chola-Pandya kingdoms
300BCE - 300 CE

Kannagi charged into the royal court after hearing what had befallen her husband. She demanded justice from the King who had erred. She threw in her other anklet, similar to the confiscated one. It had rubies implanted into it, unlike the Queen's, which had pearls. Pandya King Nedilcharan had a heart attack and died on the spot. The Queen followed suit. The raged Kannagi started burning the curtains, and fires spread rapidly. She is said to have sliced off her breast in a fit of rage and fled the town. Fable has it that Meenachi, the city's guardian Goddess, had to come down to pacify her.

The event highlighted the trouble with hasty trials without proper detailed investigations and adequate representations. One innocent life lost is one life too many.

No matter how enraged society is, due process of the law must continue. Striking the iron when it is hot may burn one's fingers.

Silapathigaram is one of the five great epics said to have come from South India in the Sangam era, the golden era of Tamil literature. The epics of the Sangam period, which lasted between 300 BCE and 300 CE, are Seevaka-Kintamani, Silappathigaram, Manimegalai, Kundalakesi and Valayapathi. Tolkappiam is said to be the oldest scripture available from this era. In this period, different parts of this region were ruled by three major Empires, Chera, Chola and Pandya, with Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism with various popularity over time. Some staunch Tamil literary figures insist that scriptures of the Sangam period are of higher literary value than even epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. It is less cluttered and gives a vivid description of life and culture in ancient Tamil lands without involving too many characters. Works emanating from this era gave valuable South religious, sociopolitical and economic conditions. They were written in poetry and sometimes prose form in Tamil script.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Sunday, 6 September 2020

The man behind the spirit!

One thing I have noticed over the years is that there are some of our activities that reaffirm our propensity towards herd mentality. One is our appreciation of haute culture. Just because a movie star is seen wearing a transparent tunic which does not leave anything to the imagination of lies beneath (her undergarment or therein lack of), everyone wants a piece of the action.

Some people take great pleasure in their vintage wines and spirits. It has become a fashion statement of sorts amongst the high societies to serve single malt whisky of a particular age which boasts of a specific amount of character and complexity from the cask. Guests would all nod in unison after the first sip. I wonder if they would still be able to discern the difference if the liquor was unceremonious replaced with a younger whisky or for that matter a blended one, after their third or fourth drink.

In 1976, Steven Spurrier, a British merchant who sold only French wine, had a blind wine tasting competition in Paris; involving French and Californian wines. The Californian wine industry was considered a Lilliputian in contrast to their French counterparts. Hence, it was unwelcomed results when the creme de la crème of France's oenophiles turned in the Americans as the winner. The organisers were so embarrassed by the outcome that they suppressed the news from the French public. A lone reporter from the Time magazine leaked out the information to the world of what was later to the 'Judgement of Paris' in reference to the Greek mythology. In the Iliad, Paris was appointed as a judge to a beauty contest involving three Goddesses - Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The best candidate did not win as Paris was he bribed by Aphrodite.

Rihanna
covered the bare necessities?

Lately, Malaysians were pleasantly surprised to learn that a Malaysian-made blended whiskey had won a silver medal at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Pleasant because we are always trying to find accreditation outside to convince ourselves that we are doing alright. Surprised because no one knew that we were brewing whiskey in this country, with the new wave of religiosity creeping in and all.

The point to note is that it is spelt 'whiskey' not 'whisky'. Whisky is sort of patented for whiskies brewed in Scotland, much like whiskies from America are bourbon. Elsewhere, it is just whiskey for you.

Timah is here and is selling faster than you can google them. The packaging honours a certain Captain Speedy who had served the British East India Company well. I was perplexed. Even though I cannot claim to know the Malayan history in and out, a famous figure that deserves recognition for a Malaysian product ought to tickle my brain cells, I thought.

A little search and there, I discovered that Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy a.k.a Captain Speedy was quite a flamboyant character who led an illustrious life. Born in Meerut, India, to a family with army traditions, he was trained as a soldier in England. He returned to India as an Army Officer and went on to serve in the Northern Frontier Province and Ethiopia. In 1871, he was summoned to Penang as the Superintendant of Police. He must have been quite a character for getting quite a caustic remark from the then Governor of the Straits Settlement.

Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

Vol. 26, No. 3 (163), Captain Speedy of Larut (Nov 1953, pp 3-103).

Speedy went on to be a mercenary to provide Indian troops to squash the Larut clash between Ghee Hin and Hai San gangs. He went on to become the assistant to JWW Birch, the first British Resident of Perak. He was instrumental in the development of Taiping town.

Later, he and his Mrs went on to explore and live in Sudan.

(P.S. 'Timah' is tin (Stanum, Sn, atomic number 50 on the periodic chart, in the Malay language. Tin brought in Chinese immigration and an excellent opportune for British meddling of Malayan affairs. Chinese immigration also brought in the triad, namely Ghi Hin and Hai San. Originating from different part of China with different dialects, Cantonese and Hakka respectively, each wanted the stronghold of the mining business. Caught in the middle are the local chieftains who also wanted to collect levy (without working!). The chiefs turned to the British for mediation. Speedy, the maverick, who by then had resigned as the Superintendent of Police of Penang, was roped in the squash the disturbance. Speedy brought in Indian soldiers for that purpose and billed the Malay chief handsomely).

That is Tin (Timah) and Speedy are linked.