I expect that most Malaysians at home and overseas must know what’s been happening in and to this country in the past few weeks. They must be aware of, perhaps, the first giant steps we’ve taken towards giving ourselves a shot at installing a ‘new’ government to administer this country. Well, the cries of “INI KALILAH” (THIS TIME) and “UBAH!” (CHANGE) rose to the skies from thousands and hundreds of thousands of throats at Pakatan Rakyat (Peoples’ Coalition) rallies all around the country, in the run up to our 13th General Election. We feared reactionary responses by Barisan Nasional‘s (National Front) minions and supporters. It is not a joke, as we feared the worst. Continue Reading »
former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in October 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad addressing the General Assembly on September 25, 2003. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Anti-Margaret Thatcher badge (Photo credit: dannybirchall)
I wasn’t overjoyed or saddened at the news of Margaret Thatcher’s demise. She was the UK’s first woman Prime Minister, yet seemed less concerned about what concerned most women - their children. I’m not British, and seeing the trend of ‘capitalist’ and ‘neo-liberal’ behavior she set in motion in Britain and in other countries of similar economic persuasion during her term as PM, I might feel glad not being a claimant of her legacy. Continue Reading »
Posted in Reflections | Tagged Britain, Malaysia, Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister, Privatization, Social security, Thatcher, Thatcherism, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad | 11 Comments »
Cover of Maid in Manhattan
Domestic Workers on Sunday (Photo credit: JMR_Photography)
English: Domestic worker in Colombia Nederlands: Huishoudster in Colombia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Some may remember the 2002 movie “Maid in Manhattan” with Jennifer Lopez as Marisa Ventura, a mother working as a chamber maid in a classy Manhattan hotel. She meets a politician, Christopher Marshall, who falls in love with her and is staying at the hotel where she works. He mistakes her for someone else but later finds out, and she gets fired from her job for this seeming deception. However, after the story runs its course, true love triumphs in the end, and they live happily ever after.
Many young girls,especially those from impoverished rural areas perhaps hope such dreams will come true for them in a more affluent environment where they can earn a decent living, and get a better life for their families and themselves. But, the reality isn’t as simple or straight-forward as they think. Continue Reading »
Posted in Reflections | Tagged Domestic worker, Foreign worker, Labor, Malaysia, Migrant domestic workers, Sarawak | 2 Comments »
Instead of knocking me down, he knocked me up (Photo credit: Liz | populational)
Deutsch: Münster, Petrus-Skulptur, Überwasserkirche in Münster, Portal, Schlüsselsymbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
HIV/ AIDS – NAKURU (Photo credit: davida3)
Hey! Never thought you were listening to this common human being. Obviously, you’ve got a very BIG EAR! So, you heard my gripe about what kind of Pope, this opinionated one thought should wear Peter’s sandals. You gave me what I wanted and I hope it’s a good thing. Well, at least he seems to have started off right. Sincerely hope he can make the necessary changes, especially in this too-much-of-me-world. Continue Reading »
Posted in Reflections | Tagged Africa, Catholic, Catholic Church, Francis, God, HIV-AIDS, Jesus, Non-governmental organization, Pope | 27 Comments »
Ghatotkacha as seen in Javanese shadow puppet play (wayang) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Wayang Kulit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There are many cultures which have taken on the art of using shadows as a medium of communication in performing arts. In Malaysia, we have the “wayang kulit“, a traditional Malay, shadow puppet show. The stylized elaborately designed puppets interact, dance and glide behind a large white cloth screen on which a very bright white light is shone. The dramas acted out by these puppets are usually ancient myths and legends. But, the idea of shadow play has actually taken on a more modern usage. Continue Reading »
Posted in Refreshment | Tagged Malaysia, Performing arts, Puppetry, Shadow play, Wayang | Leave a Comment »
Granny (Looney Tunes) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Irene Ryan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There are these young ones who like being ”know-all’s”. They seem to imagine that older people, I mean much older people, don’t know the tricks of survival. Well, we weren’t born yesterday, OK? Continue Reading »
Posted in Complaint | Tagged barbarians in branded clothes, Granny, plagiarists, Seniors, young ones | 12 Comments »
The 2004 Asian Tsunami disaster at Tanjung Tokong, Penang (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
PSY – the mop (Photo credit: Joybot)
Following up from my last post on Psy‘s dilemma, it looks like the BN’s sneaky tactic to lure votes, backfired instead, when thousands turned up just to enjoy Psy’s performance. A few incidents took place starting with the ‘yee sang’ fracas… Continue Reading »
Posted in Off-the-Cuff | Tagged Barisan Nasional, BN, campaign, Chinese New Year, gangnam, Malaysia, Najib, Najib Razak, Penang, Penangite, Psy | 13 Comments »
-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Donate
Meta
You may like these blogs too!
