I read with much interests RPK's WHEN THINGS WERE RELAXED AND RACIAL IN THE OLD DAYS because such glimpses into our local history, especially from the common folks' viewpoints, have always been far far more interesting than studying, for example, why the Malayan Union failed or how Harold MacMichael the post-world-war British Military Administrator pissed off the Malay sultans, ...
... or who neighbouring Bung Karno or Ngo Dinh Diem or Diosdado Macapagal were, when they were born, what they did for their respective countries, how they lost power, and about non-monarchial oligarchies in South East Asia and the Indian sub-continent ruling their countries for years on end, but which it must be said, indirectly raised the status of women in our world.
Mind you, I had a childhood crush on Macapagal's daughter wakakaka - see my post Lustful fantasies over at my other blog KTemoc Kongsamkok.
Aiyah, today's schoolboys are far more lucky as they would be studying neighbouring leaders like yummy Yingluck Sinatrawa (notwithstanding the current military oppression and persecution of her), Aung San Suu Kyi and yes, my sweet lovely Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, wakakaka.
And in years to come, our students will be even more fortunate, wakakaka, looking into the policies of politicians like Dyana Sofya, Nurul Izzah and the humane leadership of activist Marina Mahathir.
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There's much truth in RPK's narrative that people in yonder years were less politicized and thus less sensitive despite the ugly practice of racialism. Nowadays we have to be careful of what we say, lest we be accused of racial, age, gender, etc, discrimination - this is especially true in Australia.
I personally feel that while contemporary understanding and demand of equality and rights are good and should therefore be encouraged, I also sense that there's a decided lack of 'responsibilities' in most people, especially those seeking greater or due rights.
'Rights' (or 'authority') and 'responsibilities' are, nay, have to be indivisible twins, essentially the balance of yin and yang for a harmonious society. If one over-stresses 'rights' (usually one's own, wakakaka) without commensurate understanding and exercise of appropriate 'responsibilities', then the yin and yang of those elements won't be nicely balanced into a harmonious Tao.
That's what's happening today, and I'm not talking only about the lamentable yang-ish exertions of rights by Perkasa, ISMA and UMNO bigots as has been outrageously demonstrated just recently but then cowardly denied and sadly condoned by his boss, but also by the other side of politics and community groups.
Yup, all about rights but where was the responsibilities?
A sad example of the 'other side' (mentioned above) was witnessed when immediately after the Selangor Sultan had issued a decree banning non-Muslims in the state from using the Arabic word 'Allah', our dear "intrepid" Father Lawrence Andrew insisted openly that Catholic churches in the state would continue to use that word in their masses.
Now, Father Andrew might well have been legally correct to assert the Catholic Church rights (I'm not a lawyer so I personally don't know), but really was there a need to be so offensively-openly rude to HRH? Hardly surprising that the Malays perceived him as being so arrogantly dismissive of HRH's decree that they were damn pissed off, even unto accusing him of treason.
For more, read the Malay Mail Online's Herald editor in ‘Allah’ storm accused of treason against Selangor Sultan.
Surely there's more than one way of skinning a cat, for the Church in Selangor to continue using the Allah word in their masses, without what the Malays perceived as the equivalent of a F.O to HRH's decree?
So in such a situation, with perhaps legal authority (rights), there should be commensurate socio-cultural responsibility - in other words be sensitive to the feelings of others. And let's NOT now compare ourselves to bigots like Ismail Sabri. We should easily be far far better.
Recalling my Penang kiddie days in Ayer Itam village, reputed at one time to be the largest Chinese village in Malaysia, the various ethnic groups went about their own merry ways without significant racial problems let alone conflicts - of course not counting the occasional odd fisticuffs between individual youths.
In fact, I dare say the Chinese fought more frequently and regularly among themselves, as did the Malays and Indians.
Perhaps that's why Ayer Itam and Kampung Baru enjoyed good community relationship for years (at least during the time I grew up) because they wisely kept the pollies out, wakakaka.
... or who neighbouring Bung Karno or Ngo Dinh Diem or Diosdado Macapagal were, when they were born, what they did for their respective countries, how they lost power, and about non-monarchial oligarchies in South East Asia and the Indian sub-continent ruling their countries for years on end, but which it must be said, indirectly raised the status of women in our world.
 |
| Ngo Dinh Diem His downfall began when he, a Catholic, oppressed the Buddhist majority |
 |
| Thích Quảng Đức immolating himself in protest against Ngo's oppression of Buddhists US President John Kennedy said: "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." It spelt the beginning of the end for Ngo |
Mind you, I had a childhood crush on Macapagal's daughter wakakaka - see my post Lustful fantasies over at my other blog KTemoc Kongsamkok.
 |
| my old uni professor told me 'mature' women make better lovers wakakaka |
Aiyah, today's schoolboys are far more lucky as they would be studying neighbouring leaders like yummy Yingluck Sinatrawa (notwithstanding the current military oppression and persecution of her), Aung San Suu Kyi and yes, my sweet lovely Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, wakakaka.
 |
| there's something uniquely delicious about women in uniforms wakakaka |
And in years to come, our students will be even more fortunate, wakakaka, looking into the policies of politicians like Dyana Sofya, Nurul Izzah and the humane leadership of activist Marina Mahathir.
There's much truth in RPK's narrative that people in yonder years were less politicized and thus less sensitive despite the ugly practice of racialism. Nowadays we have to be careful of what we say, lest we be accused of racial, age, gender, etc, discrimination - this is especially true in Australia.
I personally feel that while contemporary understanding and demand of equality and rights are good and should therefore be encouraged, I also sense that there's a decided lack of 'responsibilities' in most people, especially those seeking greater or due rights.
'Rights' (or 'authority') and 'responsibilities' are, nay, have to be indivisible twins, essentially the balance of yin and yang for a harmonious society. If one over-stresses 'rights' (usually one's own, wakakaka) without commensurate understanding and exercise of appropriate 'responsibilities', then the yin and yang of those elements won't be nicely balanced into a harmonious Tao.
That's what's happening today, and I'm not talking only about the lamentable yang-ish exertions of rights by Perkasa, ISMA and UMNO bigots as has been outrageously demonstrated just recently but then cowardly denied and sadly condoned by his boss, but also by the other side of politics and community groups.
Yup, all about rights but where was the responsibilities?
Now, Father Andrew might well have been legally correct to assert the Catholic Church rights (I'm not a lawyer so I personally don't know), but really was there a need to be so offensively-openly rude to HRH? Hardly surprising that the Malays perceived him as being so arrogantly dismissive of HRH's decree that they were damn pissed off, even unto accusing him of treason.
For more, read the Malay Mail Online's Herald editor in ‘Allah’ storm accused of treason against Selangor Sultan.
Surely there's more than one way of skinning a cat, for the Church in Selangor to continue using the Allah word in their masses, without what the Malays perceived as the equivalent of a F.O to HRH's decree?
So in such a situation, with perhaps legal authority (rights), there should be commensurate socio-cultural responsibility - in other words be sensitive to the feelings of others. And let's NOT now compare ourselves to bigots like Ismail Sabri. We should easily be far far better.
Recalling my Penang kiddie days in Ayer Itam village, reputed at one time to be the largest Chinese village in Malaysia, the various ethnic groups went about their own merry ways without significant racial problems let alone conflicts - of course not counting the occasional odd fisticuffs between individual youths.
In fact, I dare say the Chinese fought more frequently and regularly among themselves, as did the Malays and Indians.
Any scent of trouble brewing, say, between Chinese and Malay youths, would be nipped early in the bud by village elders, and f* politicians.
The Malays in my village followed a man who I will just name in this post as Abang Mat. If the Chinese or Indians in our village encountered any sticky problems involving Malays, they would seek him out to mediate. They respected his standing among the Malays, especially those of the younger set, and relied on him to cool young hot heads. And the village was very successful in that approach.
The Malays in my village followed a man who I will just name in this post as Abang Mat. If the Chinese or Indians in our village encountered any sticky problems involving Malays, they would seek him out to mediate. They respected his standing among the Malays, especially those of the younger set, and relied on him to cool young hot heads. And the village was very successful in that approach.
Abang Mat appeared to be around late 40's but looked far too young to be addressed by the honorific of Pak Cik so we kiddies just called him Abang. He was known to be the leader of a group of tough looking Malay men, all younger than him, in their mid 20's, or even in their late teens.
Mind you, it was not that his group were trouble makers. I had never seen or heard of them ever quarrelling with Chinese or Indians. But as mentioned, Abang Mat commanded mucho respect among the Malays in Ayer Itam and the adjoining suburb of Kampung Baru.
His group looked tough (very muscular) because they were very much into weight lifting. Their hideout or nest where they did their pumping was at a Malay (keramat) shrine next to the Ayer Itam river.
Abang Mat and his cohorts would frequent the same kopitiam I did, where I noted their fave drink was aw-kau (Guinness Stout). Of course they didn't drink openly in the kopitiam front section but discretely behind the shop where the Hainanese owner set up a make-shift pergola under a Malaysian 'cherry' tree.
The local police (mainly Malays) knew what was going on but never intruded - those were the days before the lil' Napoleons in J-organizations started to flex their "divine"-conferred muscles.
We learnt that Abang Mat and his followers believed in aw-kau as a complimentary tonic to their weight lifting exercises. This was not surprising as it was a belief many Chinese and Indians shared and I believe still share - me too, for I somehow feel quite comfy after downing an aw kau following a hard day's work, wakakaka.
No, Abang Mat was NOT the government appointed penghulu who no one knew or cared the f* about. The appointed penghulu just drew his government salary and remained quietly and undoubtedly happily unknown. As far as the Chinese and Indians in Ayer Itam-Kampung Baru were concerned, Abang Mat was THE man in charge of Malay affairs.
His group looked tough (very muscular) because they were very much into weight lifting. Their hideout or nest where they did their pumping was at a Malay (keramat) shrine next to the Ayer Itam river.
Abang Mat and his cohorts would frequent the same kopitiam I did, where I noted their fave drink was aw-kau (Guinness Stout). Of course they didn't drink openly in the kopitiam front section but discretely behind the shop where the Hainanese owner set up a make-shift pergola under a Malaysian 'cherry' tree.
The local police (mainly Malays) knew what was going on but never intruded - those were the days before the lil' Napoleons in J-organizations started to flex their "divine"-conferred muscles.
We learnt that Abang Mat and his followers believed in aw-kau as a complimentary tonic to their weight lifting exercises. This was not surprising as it was a belief many Chinese and Indians shared and I believe still share - me too, for I somehow feel quite comfy after downing an aw kau following a hard day's work, wakakaka.
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| my grandpa's ducks? wakakaka read my post Village memories 1 - ducks |
No, Abang Mat was NOT the government appointed penghulu who no one knew or cared the f* about. The appointed penghulu just drew his government salary and remained quietly and undoubtedly happily unknown. As far as the Chinese and Indians in Ayer Itam-Kampung Baru were concerned, Abang Mat was THE man in charge of Malay affairs.
Perhaps that's why Ayer Itam and Kampung Baru enjoyed good community relationship for years (at least during the time I grew up) because they wisely kept the pollies out, wakakaka.
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