Like a thousand blooms.
"Bloom, flowers, bloom"
and there's HOPE YET FOR NEGARAKU, about 49 years old,
yet unsure of its footing, because many adults -- many are national leaders no less! --instead of leading us
and LIGHTING UP THE PATH FOR THE RAKYAT, AS PROMISED IN THEIR ELECTION MANIFESTO!
are taking us down that SLIPPERY SLOPE OF SLIDE AND SLIME.
Many Malaysians are getting tired, many are resigned to the fact it's more of the same with each passing day, then choosing to remain on the sidewalk; and some are running scared...but choose to "stick their neck out" to speak their mind.
For the less politically educated, Desi has this challenging question:
Would you feel complimented OR offended when someone in taking leave waves
with this parting shot "MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES AHEAD!"?
Please Gostan from here and read "A bulb lights up..."(06.06.06)
and today's morning post "A bigger bulb lights up...?"
After a blistering report card full of red marks on Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's premiership in about three years, the former PM TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD could have said the above quote as a farewell greeting "Pak Lah, may you live in interesting times ..." and IMHO, half the 219 MPs in RUMAHssParlimen would think it a handsome compliment. I'd exclude Sharir Samad and Rais Yatim, but definitely include Said bin Yusof. Yeah, can sue Desi if I'm procven wrong, I have a potential Mave waiting in the wings for defence:)
+++
"Et tu, brute!"++++ to Howsy and other Footbrawl mates -- less than 24 hours away, and I'm still hunting down the 22 balls.
If you can't follow DDC so far, don't blame yourself, because sometimes one has to speak in tongue (and chic) in certain terrortry!
I'm seeking your indulgence as I think Allowed and Aloud in the tradition advocated by my sifu in blogosphere-lah, with some reluctance at arriving at firm conclusions with the current Sandywar going on the Malaysian stage -- in the style of Julius Caesar in deed because at stake is the future of NegaraKu, just as Mark Anthony and Brutus and Cassius (not Clay-lah, the one 'with the lean and hungry look'!)had to confront the situation of the great Roman Republic on the verge of becoming a Kingdom as Caesar was thwarted by a team of conspirators, who in Brutus' words then, avowed that: "It's not that I love Caesar less, but that I love Rome more...".
Ah, that quote often thrown about by Desi +++: I had commented several times before, was that expression by Caesar of the greatest "betrayal" in literature/(history?) that I'gonna recycle, it's not that I'm lazy, it's jest that I love the short cut more!It was made in conjunction with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's stand in expressing full support for Pak Lah, in the face-off between ex-and current PMs~~~
"Et tu, brute!" in Latin means "You too, brute!" with 'brute" being a word-play in the 'best friend" to Caesar's name Brutus, who plunged the dagger into the Emperor-2B's chest at the Capitol ion the IDES OF MARCH that proved to be the fatal "stab in the back". Described by Mark Anthony as "the most unkindest cut of all".
Was Pak Lah's decison in aborting the Crooked Bridge the "unklindest cut of all" in the eys of Dr Mahathir, who "anointed" him as successor over Najib who got the "higher number" of votes?
Who is the one acting in the nation's interests?
Or God forbid, is it a case of between The Devil and the Deep, Blue Sea?
Both parties were acting in their ownor cronies' interests, so damn you Malaysian rakyat for giving us the huge mandate GE, after GE, after GE2004 with the mostest of damned all at 92%!
Yes, that fateful day when the skies rained down cats&dogs&tigers&elephants and all manner of sound&fury to preface a great calamity to befall Rome! -- that also inspired a li'l Desi's birth of Desiderata2000. And this "betrayal" echoes with deafening silence along the corridors of power in Putrajaya, does it not, my dear ER? You tell Desi, because I'm still trying hard to "desi-pher" through the maze, haze and gaze on the world that is the Malaysian stage.
Okay, enough of Digression&Aggression, which I told you you must let a Blogger indulge in in his own terratry!:(:
That little bulb that lights up some fellow Malaysians, including Desi's and Primrose's, lives~~~~~~~
***An open letter to the PM
By: Jacqueline Ann Surin (Thu, 01 Jun 2006)
Dear Prime Minister Abdullah, When you first came into power after the 2004 general election, you promised us that you would be prime minister for all Malaysians.
In fact, I still have the letter you sent out to voters before the elections that promised you would fulfill your duties with sincerity, integrity, efficiency and fairness.
It was a letter that moved people, including staunch Opposition supporters.
There was hope that a new leadership which was more conciliatory, more willing to listen to differing views and more just was in store for the country.
And people invested in that hope by voting the Barisan Nasional back into power with a clear majority.
But recent events, including your administration's reactions to these events, have been deeply troubling.
The most recent has been the disruption of a peaceful and legitimate public forum in Penang organised by a group of non-governmental organisations that wanted to help people reclaim their rights under the Federal Constitution.
It was unfortunate, but really no longer inconceivable, that those who opposed such a civil discussion should frame their opposition in ways that incite hostility, threaten violence and make false accusations in the name of Islam, a religion that in fact promotes peace and justice.
What is actually more troubling is that as prime minister, you have also publicly announced that these issues of Constitutional rights are "sensitive" and the organisers of such events must be careful not to tread on "dangerous ground", lest the government has to use the Sedition Act against them.
Why would you lend legitimacy to the argument that Malaysians should steer clear of discussing issues which affect us all as citizens, whether Muslim or non-Muslim?
By continuously telling Malaysians these issues are "sensitive" and "dangerous", isn't your administration really creating a self-fulfilling prophecy? Aren't you in fact supporting the argument that these issues should not be discussed?
Additionally, Malaysians have been reminded by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz that it's not for no reason that the word "amok" comes from the Malay community.
Non-Muslims - and that easily translates to non-Malays in this country - are told we cannot speak out about the way Islam is used to formulate laws and public policies in this country even though they affect all of us.
We are told that not just the Sedition Act can be used, so can the Internal Security Act which allows for detention without trial.
In fact, I found it deeply paradoxical that Nazri could repeat the threat of the ISA at an international meeting of experts on Islam and human rights last month.
How can an unjust law be Islamic? We know it cannot, and yet, it would seem your administration is wielding it as a way to silence citizens in a democracy.
The way I see it, naming something "sensitive" and "dangerous" is just a disingenuous way of saying, "This is not open for dialogue and discussion. We might tolerate your views but only to a certain extent."
What that extent is, is left to be seen. We hope your election promises will be kept for all Malaysians, but really, many of us are more fearful than reassured.
From a non-Muslim perspective, the events leading up to the need for public discussions such as the Article 11 forum in Penang, have been disconcerting and troubling.
The painful injustice suffered by S. Shamala who found that her estranged husband could unilaterally convert their children to Islam, and the widow of M. Moorthy who discovered she could not bury her husband according to Hindu rights, are real and frightening.
But those instances of injustice are not being framed as "sensitive" by non-Muslims. They are not being used to threaten violence or incite hostility in order to silence discussion of the issues at hand.
Additionally, when you upheld the decision for the tudung to be used in police parades, did you consider how it would make non-Muslims feel? How can it still be a surprise then that most non-Malays will not join the police force?
Really, I don't need to be a Muslim or a Malay to have a stake in this country. But even that might be delegitimised because in more ways than one, I'm a minority.
And I'm constantly reminded that my views and concerns must give way to the privileges and rights of the dominant race, and a specific interpretation of the faith they profess.
But really what I want to ask you is this: Why do I have to constantly feel afraid in my own country? Why am I continuously told I have less rights to discuss important issues affecting my community?
You promised to be prime minister for all Malaysians. We hope you will remember that promise.
A Malaysian citizen. "****
Jacqueline Ann Surin believes that you cannot be neutral on a moving train. She is an assistant news editor at theSun.
DESIDERATA salutes Jacqueline for getting away from the sidewalk to speak her mindfrom a fellow Concerned Citizen here. Please note that the emphasis highlighted like this in her OPEN LETTER is done by Desi.
I was gladdened to read this response in theSun's Letters column Speak Up today -- another salute to another
Little Light Bulb!~~~~~~~
"An Open Letter to Jacqueline Ann Surin
Dear Jacqueline,
YOUR "Open Letter to the PM"
(Extra June 1) may cause an
uproar in some quarters but I
would like you to know that I
hurt terribly because you are
hurt. I grieve because you live
in fear.
I weep because this country
could have taken the higher,
nobler path but it has not.
You speak of fear, yet your
very letter to the PM is
testimony to uour courage. You
despair, yet I sense you still
have hope for better times, for
if hope had died, your letter
would have died as well.
I do not know you but you
are my sister because Malaysia
is our home and we are her
daughters. When I read what
you write, I do not see your
race. I do not see your faith. I
see only your heart and the
wounds it bears from broken
promises. And I am wounded
too.
Because you are my sister.
Farida J. Ibrahim
Petakling Jaya."~~~~~~~
"TWO SALUTES TO TWO SISTERS,"
from a brother, Desi.
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