Interlude~
Posted: September 11, 2008 Filed under: Digressions 10 CommentsIt’s funny how my mum keeps so silent about politics, that when she DOES open her mouth to let known her thoughts, she’s a bomb!
My dad and I were talking about the 916 defections. At about the time when Anwar just won the Permatang Pauh seat, I had asked my dad: “So, do you think 916 will happen?”
His reply: “If it doesn’t happen, then this “wave” would go to waste!”
That would mean that my dad is FOR the crossing overs.
Then yesterday, I asked the same question: “So, do you think 916 will happen?”
His reply: “No! And I don’t think it should. A government formed through defections is a weak government. And we don’t need a weak government now.”
I was a bit shocked, to be honest. What a turnaround! (Parents are allowed to be fickle and change their minds. Sadly, children are not, except when change is in their favour..)
Though he did say that the best is for Pakatan Rakyat to call for a no-confidence vote in Parliament, get it dissolved, and call for another general elections. We even joked that if the Malaysian government has no money to hold another general elections, then maybe NZ can help them (The NZ govt has an X-amount of excess budget, and they are in a predicament of not knowing where to use it. They are considering tax-cuts). He said: “Change is good. But do it right.”
And then, out of nowhere, my mum butts in with this:
Aiya! What is there to change? So what if Anwar is made Prime Minister? No difference one, I tell you! You don’t remember meh? What he was like last time when he was still in UMNO? Same one lah all of them! Now he says ‘change change change’. Later when he got power, see lah what will happen!
*Moment of awkward silence ensued..
Disclaimer: I’m not necessarily for or against anything that I’m writing in this post. I just find it interesting, and worth some thought.
I Am Malaysian 
I think your mama is speaking for so many of us here. I believe that that is the real reason PKR got only the five states, and not all the states. Too many of us remember him from his days in UMNO.
I want to believe that he will bring change. I need to believe this. But whether it will happen or not, we can only wait and see. And that is the scary part for all of us: the waiting. For, our nation’s future would be in his hands. So, what awaits us?
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I read this quote once: “There is no terror in the bang, just in the anticipation of it”. I guess that pretty much sums up where we are, don’t you think?
But yeah, my mum’s “retort” got me thinking. Because in all honesty, that’s where I started when I started blogging.
So I’m probably going to “stay away” for a little bit, take some time to clear things up, and for my assignments too.
Your mom is probably right.
Heard of the saying ….. “all crows are black”. Having said that, and in all fairness, one would recognise that it is much ‘healthy’ for any progressive nation to have a so-called two-party system ( check-and balance)in its setup, just look at countries like Uk, US, etc where we can take a leaf from.
You Mom is Indeed a wise Lady , you should listen to her more Often.
ps: your dad included.
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That I will, ‘o brave knight. That I will.
‘Change’ is in vogue these days. But are we changing for changing sake. I believe not knowing what we are changing into is what scares people most, thin ice!
But sometimes you do find people’s emotion gets the better of them. They sacrifice the ‘knowing’ and dive into the unknown, hoping for something good at the end of it. Hope is all you have especially when you are into BIG changes.
There’s a malay saying “ibarat menarik rambut dari tepung. rambut keluar tanpa tepung berselerak”. Change can be gradual and done with inteligence and respect for surroundings. No need to flame racial sentiments and yet you can still causes change in racial acceptance.
There is also a saying by the prophet ” those whose station today is better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today are those who are successful”. So change we must, but must also do it wisely.
if it’s not broken,don’t change it!
unless there’s someone trying really hard trying to break it.and there are cracks all over right now i bet you.even a tiny hole or crack can lead to failure of the structure.
i agree with your mom.change? same ol’ same ol’.all they need to do now is really patch things up,power struggle does not help the people.change will only lead to change of personnel in nepotism and what not.
nobody’s perfect.but to be better we need to look at ourselves first and not to be the ‘it’s all his/her fault’ kinda person most of us are right now.
so now 5 states,prove it!this is your time.169,209 whatever just wait for the election.selangor,perak, kedah,penang rich as hell,prove your worth.then the people will realize.
you dont have to have everything to make a difference.take yourself for example,doing whatever part you can and believe in it(i salute you for that).dont be like kelantan(sorry but its true)where there’s nothing there,and no one too as all of them migrated to find better jobs elsewhere.
politicking is one thing but after the election by all means please go and do your job.i live in s’ngor and apart from the free water,it’s all the same.how am i to be convinced?wah selfish pulak!anyway keep up the good job.cheers.
Still remember my parents used to hate this Anwar Ibrahim when he was the Education Minister and then as the DPM. They both hated the sight of him during his ‘fiery’ speeches and said he is a hate-instigator. Hell, i even hated the sight of him then.
It was not until lately, been reading and listening to many of his interviews and speeches, that just maybe the prison experience has changed this man and changed him for the better. I want to believe this is so, but still there are reservations. There is another important thing to realize; we have not much choice here between him and the current racist regime. Would like to believe that, for most of us, we are not supporting him per se but supporting our belief in the cause he championed because it is our cause too.
We must keep the hope that this time change will be for the better. The worst case scenario would be things stay the same and the rakyat suffers still.
But would we not hope that things will turn out to be better, now that there is a hint of it? If we’re trap in a tunnel, would we not walk towards the light at the end of the tunnel hoping that it would lead us out of darkness, even if there’s a slight doubt in our hearts that it may turn out to be false? Lest the older we get, the more tired and jaded we become to place hope for any change. For now, we must not stop asking questions but we must also keep our hopes alive.
I longed for the day when we will write of more ‘important’ things in life like music appreciation, great movies, and life in general, and not argue about whether “i deserve this and that privileges as i’m from this special race”. Sigh…
completely agree with your parents.
they have lived long enough and contented with the past and present.
to change the future, into what, which is still unclear and fazed – other than just change? I think they’re a bit skeptical
On another note, RPK has posted a very sensitive article on his site. I had accidently read this article on the web then, when it was first published in 1999.
Back then maybe not many people would have stumbled upon it. Never thought it would see the light of day again.
You can read it here: http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/12512/84/
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Have read it. I wouldn’t call it sensitive. But what the authorities might think though, I don’t know.
In Malaysia,it’s not that you can vote a good man into the highest office of the land like other advance country, it is always the choice between two evils, so for the minority Malaysians, the best for their children future is to choose the lesser of two evils, so that their suffering can be lessen instead of increase but not eliminate as long as they are considered as third class citizens below umnoputra n bumiputra.
Michelle,
Ask your mum and dad what is the alternative to Anwar, to a crossover, to a new government? It will be more of the same BN shit until Malaysia becomes a failed state. Is’nt that what prompted your family’s move to NZ? The certainty of national failure given current policies?
Response: Actually, no. We came for very different reasons, and it was a very difficult decision.
I am of your parents’ generation. I am sure we have faced many dilemmas and shared similar situations. I chose to return to Malaysia. I choose to believe Anwar is changed person going by his public pronouncements and shared vision for anak Malaysia. If wrong, then we have exchanged one rotten regime for another, possibly bringing forward our failure date. But if only partly right, there is hope for the future, for the next generation. Is it not worth taking the risk? Have faith. We shall overcome.
I, too, am holding on to faith and hope at this point. So are my parents really. I just thought I’d share what their thoughts were, and it seems that there are quite a few people who can relate.
But yes, we shall overcome.