When a friend of my friend is my friend

That was not how things were 50 years ago back in the 1960s. Back then we had a bond. And that bond was worth more than everything in this world. But we have now lost that. And we blame the government for the current sorry state of affairs. But we fail to see that honour and ethics have nothing to do with the government. It is what is inside us. And if we do not have it inside us then we can change the government every year for the next ten years and we still not have it inside us.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

This article is a continuation of my earlier article, ‘When I used to be a Malaysian’, although it is not quite a ‘part 2’ of that article. In my earlier article, I talked about honour and code of ethics. Some may even call it honour amongst thieves. I must admit, though, that there is such a saying and that saying was not ‘invented’ for no reason. Such a thing does exist.

Many do not understand my philosophy in life and are perplexed as to why I can consider enemies as friends, or vice versa, when I should clearly draw the line between friends and enemies and friends should be friends and enemies should be enemies. Maybe the US has greatly influenced our thinking in many ways, not just in movies, music, lifestyle, eating habits, etc., but in how we perceive and evaluate things as well.

Say what you like, but I am still old school in some things in spite of being viewed as a ‘liberal’ Malay who shuns old traditions and cultural ‘norms’. In some things I may be new school, but in others I am not.

Maybe the US has taught us that either you are with us or you are against us. That may be true for the present day neo-cons or neo-conservatism (I think this is what they call them). This is how Wikipedia describes neo-conservatism:

Neo-conservatism (or new conservatism) is rooted in a group of former liberals, who in the late 1960s, began to embrace nationalism and interventionism in opposition the rise of the USSR and moved significantly to the right of the spectrum. The term "neo-conservative" (sometimes shortened to "neo-con") was initially used in the 1930s, to describe American liberals who criticized communists for following a path closer to Soviet communism.

Nevertheless, we must remember that the US did enter into an alliance with the USSR to defeat Nazi Germany. Hence, even the Americans could put aside their ‘ideology’ and take an enemy of an enemy as a friend when the need arises.

You see, sometimes the boundary between friend and foe is quite blurred and not that clearly defined. Are you enemies based on ideology or enemies based on causes and objectives? There are times when ideology and causes may be incompatible and run contra to each other (like in the case of PAS and DAP). So you need to decide which takes priority, the ideology or the cause?

The US, in spite of having a very clear ‘ideology’, even if you can call it that, does put aside its ideology for the cause when they share a common cause. I mean, the US supported Iraq against Iran in the nine-year Iran-Iraq War. But are not Iran and Iraq both the same? Are they not both Islamic dictatorships? So why take Iraq’s side against Iran when they are both peas of the same pod?

To make matters worse, Iraq is a socialist dictatorship while Iran is an Islamic dictatorship. And is not socialism the ‘traditional’ enemy of the US?

Yes, both countries may be equally bad and both are more or less cut from the same cloth. But Islam is a rising power while socialism is on the way out and not that great a threat as it used to be. So, while both Iran and Iraq can be considered enemies, Iran, however, can be considered the more dangerous enemy of the two. Hence it makes sense -- that is, if you can make sense of war -- to support Iraq against Iran. Then, when Iran has been checked, which did happen, the US can deal with Iraq later, which did happen.

Is this a good way of looking at things? I suppose if you believe that the end justifies the means then the answer would be yes. Some say it should not be about winning but about how you play the game. In certain situations it is the other way around. They play the game to win, by fair means or foul, it does not matter. And, basically, this is what politics is all about.

As I said, I am new school in some things and old school in others. And that makes me a very confusing person, although I would like to believe I am not in the least confused about what I want and about what I am trying to do. And being from the older generation, it would be very difficult for those from the younger generation to understand where I am coming from.

I suppose it all depends on how you were brought up and the type of education that you received. You are moulded by your impressionable years and this would normally be from the ages of 13 to 18, what we would refer to as your teenage years. Of course, as you grow older, people change. But you never really change totally especially when the teenage years were the best years of your life. You tend to cling to certain old values and hold them dear to your heart all the way to the grave.

In my earlier article I spoke about the triads and my experience in the 1960s and the value system and code of ethics they had then. And the streets being where I was moulded would mean I would still retain certain ‘street values’ of that era. That is certainly unavoidable.

I remember one incident where I was at the Cathay cinema in Bukit Bintang to watch the Saturday midnight show with a Malay friend from Kelang named Sunny. He was from the 24 triad and was quite a fighter. So basically we were in enemy territory.

As we were queuing up to buy our tickets, one Chinese bloke tapped Sunny on the shoulder and told him to follow them. Sunny suddenly went pale because he recognised this chap as someone he had whacked some time in the past. We were surrounded by probably five or six guys who escorted us to the boss who was sitting on the railing in front of the cinema.

I knew we were in deep shit and I almost wet my pants. The boss, Eddie Chia, asked Sunny whether he was from Kelang and he had no choice by to admit so. Eddie then turned to me and asked me whether I was Choong’s friend. Choong owned Choong Motors, a motorcycle shop in Petaling Jaya, and Eddie, a Sap Pat Loh Hon boss, was also Choong’s friend.

I replied that I was and Eddie asked me, “Why do you come here? You know this is our area. And you are 24.”

I had no reply to that question and Eddie told the chaps surrounding us, who were itching to send us home in a coffin, that we were friends. No doubt Sunny is 24, and someone who had whacked one of the guys surrounding us -- who was going on and on with ‘tiu nia mah’, ‘chow chee bai’, and more that I can no longer remember -- but Sunny was my friend and I was Choong’s friend and Eddie was also Choong’s friend. So we were all friends.

Remember in my previous article I said that Dennis and Richard became my ‘best’ friends? Well, Eddie Chia also became my ‘best’ friend and from that day on we would race motorcycles together and he would come over to my house almost daily and sometimes even stay overnight.

Eddie, of course, is around my age. Today, he lives in Rawang and is a staunch DAP supporter.

In another incident, another friend named Eddie Wong, who was also Sap Pat Loh Hon but from Cheras, and I went to Jalan Pasar. He wanted to buy something but I can’t remember what it was now. I waited at my bike while he went in to the market. Within minutes I was surrounded by three chaps, Sap Pat chaps, of course, and they spoke to me in Chinese. They called me Serani Chai and wanted to know which triad I was from (awak mana jalan?).

Luckily Eddie came out just before they could beat the shit out of me, and when he realised what was about to happen he rushed towards them and started talking to them. I heard Serani Chai and Brickfields mentioned. Eddie said something to them and they smiled and tapped me on the back and apologised. They even invited me to join them for a drink, which I politely turned down. I thought it better that I just get the hell out of there.

They got the Serani Chai and Brickfields part correct. But Eddie told them that I was his friend and that he was the younger brother of the Sap Pat Tiger General from Cheras. Hence, since I was a friend of a friend, then I was also their friend even if I was Serani Chai from Brickfields.

Yes, life in Kuala Lumpur in those days could be pretty dangerous if you lived on the streets like I did. But you learned certain ‘street values’ in those days as well. And those values were that friendship and comradeship are very important. Even if you are an enemy, as long as you are a friend of a friend then you also are a friend. They valued friendship. And the friendship was so valuable that even your friends are treated as their friends.

And that is why I get very upset when, today, friends sell you out. This is not what I learned from the streets during my impressionable years. You can be Long Fu Tong , Sap Pat Loh Hon, 24, 36, Wah Kee, Kau Lok Lau, Cha Pat Kau, Sam Pat, Pat Long Fu, or whatever. Friendship overrides the tong. And all you need is to be a friend of my friend to also be my friend.

Today, we divide ourselves into Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. And if you are from one, you are my friend, and if you are from the other, you are my enemy. And if you are the friend of someone from the other then you become my enemy. We no longer put friendship above politics. Our friendship is decided by our politics. And you can have been my friend for the last 50 years but if our politics differ then you will now be regarded as my enemy.

What has become of us? Where are our values? Is everything just about politics? And will you discard 50 years of friendship just because we may have a slight difference in political ideology? I have seen friends turn foe so easily the last couple of years or so. Just because I may not agree with your political leaning I am now ‘the enemy’.

That was not how things were 50 years ago back in the 1960s. Back then we had a bond. And that bond was worth more than everything in this world. But we have now lost that. And we blame the government for the current sorry state of affairs. But we fail to see that honour and ethics have nothing to do with the government. It is what is inside us. And if we do not have it inside us then we can change the government every year for the next ten years and we still not have it inside us.

And to every Malaysian wherever in the world you may be and whatever your origin may be: SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI.