When I was king!

2nd October 2011....
In a bar somewhere in India...
"Sorry, Saar! Today is Dry Day - Gandhi Jayanthi - No alcohol today."

Well, it was definitely not a dry day for the 10,000 odd runners in the Adidas King of the Road race who were wet drenched with their own sweat trying to outbid their inner naysayers to complete the 16.8 and 10km road race on one the new highways in the Klang Valley called New Pantai Expressway (NPE).
The morning started with runners armed with their armamentarium of cardiac heart rate monitors, foot pod pacers, I-pods with headphones and all the necessary paraphernalia, fuel belt (not for rocket launchers, but to fuel their energy and hydration needs) as if they were off to war.
After parking their vehicles (not horses or Humvee), all contestants made it to the starting line in front of the mammoth stony structure of Sphinx-like lion-head atop Sunway Pyramid. After being flagged off at 0645h as scheduled, we went to war on foot trying to beat the challenge put up by the concrete ugly monument of modern man called highway. From Sunway, the war path took us to the beginning of NPE near Sek 14 where we ascended on the elevated road. It was a relieve to act like a king of the road on the highway weaving from right to left at your fancy as the road were closed to traffic between 0300h and 1100h. On a normal day, the warriors would have all been road kills to break-neck speeding Malaysian drivers!

The battlefield extended through the toll booth where we pass through without paying dues, like royalties. After about 9km, we retreaded down the highway and made it back to the starting pen. 

It was a well organised run with no rush and people falling all over the place trying to get their start, drinks or finishing goodies.

I managed to finish the duel of 16.8km in 1h44m while my partner in crime who seems to be improving by leaps and bounds by the run finished his in 1h35m!

Kudos to Suresh, Adidas and the organizers.

Don't you pick a bone with me!

I take back what I said about successful Western movies needing to show flesh (lots of it) to stay on top. I stay corrected after watching Winter's Bone, another gem from my friendly Ah Long cum DVD peddler from his vast vault and arsenal of illegal digital  video decoders. This time around I had the depressing pleasure of viewing an indie production which won at the 2010 Sundance film festival and nominated for the 2011 Grammy.
Depressing pleasure must be a new entity created to highlight the act of finding solace in relating to movie scenes of the suffering of common people in their lives and feeling happy that he has overcome it. These scenarios are sine qua non of good Tamil movie in Amma's definition where she would be in red tear-welled eyes after watching a movie and say, "What a good movie!"

Jennifer Lawrence: Academy award nominee

My children, who think that everything is hunky dory in the Land of Opportunity (USA) - Starbucks, McD and everyone is cultured and learned, should watch this. The props are set in the frosty cold bleak grey hued Mid West where times are hard. Methamphetamine is a perennial problem in this land of farmers, work is scarce, men are violent, women are second class citizens where might rules. Upon this backdrop, our 17 year old heroine has to run the household with a catatonic schizophrenic mother, two preteen siblings and a farm which may be repossessed after her father jumps bail. It is a depressing movie minus the exaggeration of an Indian movie. There is no attempted rape or attempting to bed scenes and our heroine is fully clothed throughout the show!

Superior boss and humble servant?
 or maverick and suckers?

The plot takes us through her quest to discover her meth-cooking father's whereabouts to save her house and her family in a jungle of secretive and hostile white trash world in one of the Bible belt states of the country that has the biggest GDP in the world.

We won't bury 'em, anyway!*

The Traveling Wilburys, 1988. 

L–R: Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne,

Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty.

I may be 20 years a bit too late but as they say, it is better late than never! Thanks to eBay and the professional packing from the seller from Deutschland, I received my crisp untouched and uncluttered CDs (+1DVD) in the mail. Even though their second and last album was out 20 years ago, only now I had the sheer pleasure (and pleasure without of guilt of being spendthrift) of listening to this group which is said to be a congregation of the greatest in rock and roll - 'The Travelling Wilburys'. It is a collection of happy and fun filled melodies of men who have passed their prime but still have something to offer. And offer they did with lots of energy while enjoying it as they did as I can see from the music videos on the DVD.

We all know George Harrison who needs no introduction; Roy Orbison, the toupeed aphakic rocker, is supposed to be a legend but I only know his 'Pretty Woman' song, but his lullaby-like hypnotising sing-song (the pun intended) voice is nice. Bob Dylan, the high school dropout who recently was honoured with an honorary doctorate, who made headlines and was a hit in the flower power era with political statements in his folk song inspired songs like 'The times are a-changing' joined in as well. Dylan, the croaky-voiced hirsute singer (or rather talk-sings) - in the same vein as Johnny Cash and Mark Knoffler, the PhD in History doctorate from the group 'Dire Straits' - joins the spectacle. The blonde baby-faced Tom Petty of the 'Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' is supposed to be a pretty famous rocker. Jef Lynne had worked with Harrison during his solo career and Bangladesh Aid tour. The drummer, Jim Keltner, with an impressive CV to make any drummer go green with envy having played for many musical icons from the 70s onward was roped in.

On a personal note, if a tone-deaf musical illiterate like me may be allowed to comment, is that these guys had a fantastic time writing and playing the songs as they did. In the first album, the vocal chemistry is pretty good with an excellent display of strumming acoustic guitar with thought-provoking profound lyrics to match. 4 of their 13 songs from this album turned out to be classics, I think - 'Handle with care', 'Last night', 'Tweeter and the monkey man', 'End of the line'. It also earned them a Grammy in 1989.Orbinson passed on after the first album.

The second album, intentionally labelled Volume 3 lacked the zest of its predecessor. 'She's my lady', 'Inside out' (Global pollution)and 'Wilbury Twist' (silly comical song) is exciting but sadly after listening to the second album, I came off thinking that they sound like a bunch of over the top men trying to look cute and act cool but failing miserably. How sad! Excellent for easy Sunday evening listening when you are in a pensive mood!

*Travelling Wilburys, the origin; "We'll bury 'em (in the mix)" Jef used to say when there was an error in recording of their songs. This phrase evolved to be Wilbury. They thankfully did not name themselves as 'Trembling Wilburys' as they initially did. The concept of 'Travelling Wilburys' is like a concept of travelling music men or Snake-Oil peddlers who used to entertain small towns in the Wild West!

To sample more of their songs, try this!

Are we mature enough?

Are we, Malaysians as a nation, mature enough to discuss so called sensitive issues without being all sensitive and sentimental about it? The answer is an emphatic NO! It is even more difficult to 'discuss' as a big chunk of so called Malaysian citizens cannot converse and communicate with each other due to inability to converse in a common language and deep rooted suspicion of each other. Eating and enjoying other's delicious cuisines and slurping till the last drop is where national integration stops for some!

Brave men or working for livelihood?

This is evident by the recent two happenings in the country. Ruling coalition leaders are crying foul with crocodile tears asking for the scalp of opposition leaders who suggested the possibility of a) the communist warriors/ terrorists (depends which side of the fence you are on) as freedom fighters and the policemen who defended the British fort in Bukit Kepong as British stooge; and b) the national flag, Jalur Gemilang, looking like a carbon copy of the Star Spangled Banner, be re-designed to reflect our own identity!
In this country, everything that is taught in History lessons is expected to be accepted as the gospel and divine decree. There are always two sides of the coin, sometimes three if the coin stands on its side! History has also shown that the churches have been wrong on numerous occasions, starting from Nicholas Copernicus and then onward. At least, they changed their stand as time went on when they realised that they belief does not hold water any longer!

Sepoy Rebellion (heroes in retrospect)

Now, the conquerors ruled their conquests through appointed agents and proxies. From the Romans to the various Emperors ruled their subjects with their own (meaning the conquered) people so as to maintain peace, order and fear so that the victors can enrich their own race. As to ease administration, they introduced system of education, policing and cultures which were naturally perceived as 'modern and cultured' by the ones defeated. Does that make the agents traitors? Or the people who fought for self rule trouble makers? These are the points to ponder in a civil debate! Not making police reports and whining like a toddler whose toy had been snatched away by the bigger child.
Everyone knows the uncanny resemblance of our flag to the US even though the majority of Malaysians hate the gut of the American and their hegemony of world policing. At the time of the birth of our nation was at period of Cold War and Iron Curtain, hence to showcase to the world that we are indeed not a tool of the communists but in cahoots with the capitalistic and democratic league of the world. What better to show this than to have a flag which is almost identical to the Big brother's?
Malaysians may boast of having 98% literacy rate but are we really learned or educated in the real sense?

RRF to PPSP: Ep. 3: Brush with the authorities!

Damocles (a courtier in the royal court of the

tyrant Dionysius) exclaimed that, as a great man

of power and authority surrounded by

magnificence Dionysius was truly extremely

fortunate. Dionysius offered to switch places

with Damocles, so that Damocles could taste

that very fortune first hand. Damocles quickly

and eagerly accepted the King's proposal.

Damocles sat down in the king's throne

surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius

arranged that a huge sword should hang

above the throne, held at the pommel only

by a single hair of a horse's tail. Damocles

finally begged the tyrant that he be allowed

to depart because he no longer wanted to

be so fortunate! (Wikipedia)

 The University Act was drafted in 1971 to keep a check on university students' opinion on current events after a spate of the ugly showdown between these young punks and the authorities. With that looming in the background like having a sword Damocles hanging above our necks, university students of the mid-70s onward were just toothless castrated tigers.

Many inequalities were happening right under our noses but we were just too aloof to say anything. We were just pretending to be too busy buried in our book till that day when a lecturer in Chemical Pathology (NAW) walked in on that fateful day.
That was the beginning of his second lecture. Rumours were circulating around the school that he was a disgruntled medical student sent on a government scholarship but had flunked his papers and had a bone to pick with us, medical students. Listening to his lectures we could understand why he flunked - he was clueless about his topics.

At the start of the lecture, he decreed that as from his next lecture, he wanted gender segregation to be practised in the hall. There should not be any male student sitting beside a female student as their concentration would not be 100%! We were aghast by such an order at such time of human civilization.
Then started the master planning late that evening in the hostel by all non-Muslim students. We did not involve Muslim Malay students as they decided to stay away so as not provoke the sensitivity of fellow Muslims. The sequence of events was masterly planned over the few days preceding the next lecture date. The Dean (an open-minded man) and a few students-friendly lecturers were informed on the decree and our course of action.

And the big day arrived without much pomp...

The front two rows of the lecture were occupied by pre-planned sitting arrangements, alternating non-Muslim male and female students. Of all days, yours truly was fashionably late that day. So there it was my empty seat right in the centre of the first row. NAW came in. After seeing the seating arrangement, he told sternly (in Bahasa Malaysia), "I am giving you 2 minutes to change your seats after which I will need to chase out of my class." And the time ticked ... And he said, "1 minute left..." Guess who walks in and like putting a cherry on the icing takes the centre seat right smack in the front row, (ME!), much to the amusement of the hall.

Furious, NAW chased each of us out, "You get out! you, you,...." to all 16 of us!

As planned we all marched to the Dean's office to put forward our predicament. Life went on. NAW's behaviour was discussed at the Senate level and was barred from lecturing for a period of time. He never lectured us for the rest of the year, anyway!

The paper back power puff girl!

The invincible Power Puff Girls

Finally over a span of less than a year, I managed to finish reading the Millennium Trilogy. The trilogy is actually a set of 3 books written by a Swedish author, Steig Larsson who submitted the manuscripts and died soon they were accepted for publication. His death, at 50, due to heart attack after climbing 10 flights of stairs on a day of elevator failure is fraud with conspiracy of poisoning as he, being an investigative journalist, had exposed some individuals with Aryan supremacy activities! I managed to complete the books in midst of my daytime job and other vices like blogging and running. Most of the reading is done during toilet breaks!
The series are actually suited to adult readers as it is dealing with mature descriptive subjects. Apparently the author witnessed a rape and felt guilty of not helping the victim. Hence, in his own way, as an advocate of anti-violence against the fairer sex, he highlights the abuse of women in his stories (the Millennium Trilogy, at least).
The story centres on Michael Blomkvist, a political magazine publishing house and Lisbeth Salander (the real heroine). Blomkvist, a part-time reporter, has his warped sense of affairs with almost anyone with an XX on the sex chromosomes. Salander has to grapple with the label of mentally incompetence and the torture of her almost psychotic father and her guardian with ulterior motives. In real life, Salander is a withdrawn computer hacker with confused sexual preference.
The three books are essentially continuation of a story which can stand alone on their own. It starts (#1 The girl with the dragon tattoo) with Blomkvist getting into a mess with the Swedish legal system after publishing a false report in his magazine where he works as a part time journalist. The lead into this information was apparently fraudulent as he later found out and had to pay back by imprisonment. It is at this time, Blomkvist is employed by an eccentric conglomerate to investigate the disappearance of his niece 40years previously! High on his suspect list are the entire cast of his dysfunctional Vanger family; each with a huge closet full of dancing skeletons! From here the story goes on to dwell on myriad of topics like the Nazi, white supremacy, deviant sexual orientations and Blomkvist's varied sexual appetite. We slowly get to know of Salander's amazing clandestine cyber spying and problem solving capabilities.

#1

#2

#3

In the next instalment (#2 The girl who played with fire), 2 reporters who were at the verge of exposing a high profiled international sex racket are killed. Somehow, our femme fatale is implicated in this and she goes on the run trying to prove her innocence. Salander's father and half brother who are hired assassins are involved in this imbruglio with a long story of Russian defection and Swedish secret police. The story also dwells with Salander's distorted early childhood and her subsequent admission to psychiatric surveillance and label of mental incompetence. The story climaxes with Salander tracking the real killers and she is shot in the head. The story ends there and progresses to #3 The girl who kicked the hornet's nest.
Actually, I received books #1 and #2 as birthday gifts last year (July) and only started reading on my holiday late December. By the end of the holiday, I had finished reading the first two books and was only logical thing to do at that juncture was to purchase the voluminous book #3 at the airport on my way back! Daily commitments only enabled me finish #3 in July this year.
#3 continues her miraculous recovery from head injury and how she dodges from attempts on her life again. Despite being on police surveillance, with the help of Blomkvist and her cyber friends, she manages to conduct cyber spying to set things in order. In court, she is defended by Blomkvist's sister and the crooks are exposed and she walks out a free competent woman!
I heard they have movies out of this trilogy in Swedish. Will try to watch it and blog all about it in no time.....

History lessons again!

Excerpt from Dr. Jeyakumar's letter.....

Let me cite a few historical facts -

(i) Following WWII, all the left-leaning groups partook in open politics, asking for early Independence. They were part of the AMCJA-PUTERA coalition. Rashid Maidin and Abdullah CD were in unions affiliated to the PMFTU (Pan Malaysian Federation of Trade Unions) which was a major component of the AMCJA. The AMCJA-PUTERA coalition came up with the ‘Peoples Constitution’ in Feb 1947 which the British ignored. This group organised the Hartal of August 1947. A Hartal is a nonviolent General Strike where not only workers do not go to work, but businesses do not open and schoolchildren do not go to school. The August 1947 Hartal brought all economic activity to a halt for a day, but it did not result in the commencement of negotiations with the Colonial Government that the AMCJA-PUTERA Coalition was hoping to bring about. All this goes to show that the initial intention of this coalition was not armed struggle but political mobilization utilising legitimate democratic avenues.

(ii) It is also a historical fact that the Colonial regime reacted harshly against the AMCJA-PUTERA coalition long before the start of the armed rebellion in June 1948. Some examples

- Ahmad Boestaman, the charismatic leader of API (Angkatan Pemuda Insaf), a component of Putera, was arrested in 1947 and detained for 8 years.

- A new Trade Union ordinance was passed in 1947 and this led to the de-registration of 85% of the component unions constituting the PMFTU. They were all required to register. However, when they attempted to register, they were turned down and thus rendered “illegal”. The PMFTU itself could not get registered.

- The ‘thondar padai’ (anti-toddy activists) faced harsh aggression. Beatings by the colonial police actually led to deaths among anti-toddy activists picketing at toddy shops in Kedah (see the account in Colin Abraham’s book, ‘Their Finest Hour’).

- Estate union activists planning for May Day were attacked by the police – their chairman was shot dead (see Colin Abraham)This was the backdrop against which the MCP made the decision to switch to an armed struggle in Jun 1948. A strong argument can be made that the MCP was pushed by the colonial regime to take the course they did! The 3rd historical fact that one has to look at carefully is the Baling Talks in 1955. Chin Peng and Rashid Maidin were prepared to lay down arms at that time for the guarantee that they could participate in the democratic process in Malaya. Tunku and especially David Marshall took a hard line position –‘surrender and submit to preventive detention. We will decide when you can participate.’ It is now clear that the British had indicated in no uncertain terms to Tunku that Independence would only be granted if the MCP was kept out of the political process! Malaya remained an important source of wealth for Britain even after Independence! The MCP finally got what it asked for in 1955 – withdraw with dignity - in 1989! The jungle war could have come to an end when the country won Independence. But the British wanted the Malayan Communist Party kept out of the political process, and the Alliance Government went along with that game plan. If one is to be strictly objective, all the injuries and deaths arising from the jungle war from 1955 onwards cannot be attributed entirely to Chin Peng and the MCP. The Alliance through Tunku and the British also played a vital role in perpetuating the jungle war that everyone knew the MCP could not win. It is on the basis of these analyses of our nation’s history that the PSM perceives the MCP leaders as “Pejuang Merdeka’ or Freedom Fighters. They took on the most powerful colonial power of that time. They were committed to the building of an independent and just society in Malaysia. So, even though PSM itself rejects the ‘Armed Struggle’ option as a route to political power, we consider the leaders of the MCP as Independence Fighters.

However, although our perception of the MCP and its leaders is quite different from BN propaganda, the PSM does not consider the rehabilitation of the name and image of the MCP as one of PSM’s priorities. Yes, history has to be re-assessed and, yes, the struggles of the past have to be accurately understood, but some of the wounds left by the armed rebellion are still raw and there are far more important things to do with/for the Malaysian Marhein here and now – the ordinary people of Malaysia are being pressured by neoliberal policies that hold down wages while increasing the costs of all necessities. There are many estate communities and urban pioneer communities which are being threatened with eviction. ...........

Dr. Jeyakumar is PSM Central Committee Member as well as PSM’s member of parliament.