Corporate Comedy Mockery
by Zoosh

I found it quite disturbing the fact that spoken Malay language not entirely being practiced on tv or movies. DBP is the body of authority that suppose to look after the language and they seemed to be under a black-magic spell or hypnotised by politicians.

The biggest contradiction to be found during the parliament session which I subsequently follow on the net. Telling the people to use proper or standard Malay, to educate and to guide, hence the programmes on tv or movies talked like crap-shit-text-book Malay. While the parliament members talk like my uncle bargaining Ikan Patin for RM5 per/kg.

In comparison of an Ustaz giving lecture during the last one week school holidays which I happened to hear, he said earlier in his lectures “Saya datang bersama anak-anak dan isteri, saya bagitau anak saya, kita datang untuk bekerja bukan untuk bercuti”. Highlighting his sacrifices for the sake of trustworthy, commitment and serving the country. Fine. Later on, in the final part of his lectures he said “Jangan guna harta kerajaan untuk kepentingan peribadi, jangan guna telefon untuk hal peribadi, guna itu ini bla…bla..”.

It came to my mind the thought of his children and wife – they came with him. Now, as he arrived along with his family, the host greeted them right? Offered THEM government-funded drinks, let them sit on government-funded seats, all courtesy on time and energy spent by government servant for him was then also for his family right? Family are personal (peribadi) aren’t they?

Where do I look up to whenever I want to cling on and restore my faith in common sense? At least Paris Hilton is a bitch and she’s fine being one. In fact making money out of being one.

Giving lectures on morality and doing the opposite is simply what I like to call as common sense being not so common.

Back to the language issue, setting up a language standard only in certain fields simply to be mocked and still doing it for what?

It’s either you let the language evolves and register the new word or phrase, or you can shove it up your DBP asses because I think it’s plain stupid to regulate something when it is actually not so regulated? Or rather they meant to be that way?

Language after all a form of art.

Regulations on media electronic has made what I called crap-shit-text-book Malay become another form of art, in that case a lousy one.

Because who the fuck go to Pak Lang shop and talk like this “Pak Lang boleh berikan saya seikat kangkung?” Yes, only drama/movies. Still this crap itself has made it to the art platform. It is a form of art with a blend of a few ounces of corporate-comedy-mockery.

Eh it’s a good name for a band eh? Corporate Comedy Mockery – CCM. Nice, a punk band called CCM hang out at CM with their song entitled “At Least Paris Hilton Is A Bitch & She’s Fine Being One”.

Zoosh.

petang di warung kopi
mydin lembah bangsaT
dan nyaring suara el ar ti,
kau datang
membawa berita
dan cerita.

Petang terakhir pertemuan itu aku mendengar ayat yang sudah kulupa, “tiap-tiap yang bernyawa pasti akan merasai kematian,” kau sebut berulang kali dan aku seperti biasa sudah tidak peduli lagi pada petikan ayat-ayat suci kerana selalu kata-kata tuhan atau sabda nabi jadi isi perkakas kuasa

perisai melindung pura-pura, keangkuhan.

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AKU tidak mahu lepaskan peluang sekali seumur hidup ini.

Aku MISTI pergi ke Pesta Woodstock. Aku mahu bebas. Aku tidak mahu tunduk kepada tatatertib hidup chara lama, kepada tatasusila yang kolot. Aku anak zaman sputnik, zaman soyuz, zaman manusia naik kebulan.

Ayahku melarang, tetapi larangannya tidaklah begitu keras seperti amaran ibuku.

“Tak takut dosa? Tak takut api nuraka?” Dia mengherdik.

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An interesting look into what’s happening in East Timor, especially within it’s relations with “the saviour” Australia – sent in by Shah in Melbourne, taken from Socialist Alternative (SA) magazine, issue 129, June 2008

Ex-Falantil guerrilla says get Australian hands off East Timor!
Socialist Alternative’s Cipi Morgan spoke to former Timorese resistance fighter and now author and activist Naldo Rei.

I met Naldo in 1999 at a refugee centre in East Hills, Sydney. I was there visiting young friends – new arrivals from East Timor and Kosovo. When Naldo arrived at the camp all the Timorese children shrieked with excitement and the centre suddenly transformed into a party.

People – including the Kosovars formed circles and danced the “Tebe Rai”, a traditional circle-dance with a popular song from the Independence movement. The Timorese children told me then: “That’s Naldo from the Falantil East Timor’s freedom fighting guerrilla army.” Over the years I got to know more of Naldo’s story.

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Fellow Malaysians: 1969? Pffft..!
by Asparagus Alfalfa | March 10th

Like in the Harry Potter series, where the monster’s name is always referred as ‘He who should not be named’, it has been looming, like dark clouds above our head, ever threatening – the number 1969 as the ‘Year that shall not be mentioned’. C’mon folks, this is the sole reason why the racial card is still playable- the constant broken recorder-like repetitive threat of them who played the racial card, saying that ‘1969 will happen again if this, this or this be done, revised, changed, questioned’. Her e is a few reasons why I think 1969 is so obsolete, sooo in the past, and not worth mentioning at all unless you are a nostalgic racist slasher: Dude, you’re alone.

I say, ignore that thought. Fear has been used by those in power to control commoners like you and me. Just like how the Bush administration used it to win the second term. The proof has been evident: the guy in power who threaten in 1987 to bathe his keris with Chinese blood and the recent younger keris wielding hopefuls in the local KKK assembly. They reinstate and keep the fear constant and of course, it backlashed. Believing what they telling and further occupying our mind with that would only contribute to their successful use of the four lettered f-word. Why do we even bother?

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We Don’t Need a Strong Opposition, We Need to Kill Democracy.
by Asparagus Alfalfa

Someone once said that philosophy is a debate about words, since we utilize the vocabularies in our perusals to debate about it. I am going to debate why you SHOULDN’T vote, since everybody is asking you to, for the sake of being the Devil’s Advocate, it might be a bit philosophical, but let us try to see the other side of things, upholding the believe that we are all rational, open-minded and non-puritan/fundamentalist individuals, ready to hear opinions form all sides of the arguments.

First, power corrupts AND enemies become friends and friends become enemies in politics. One minute this guy happens to be your best friend ever, openly express his admiration for you and how much he would vouch for you but in another minute, he switched political party and openly talk and digging your dirt from the past about how it was a big mistake being a comrade with you (refer: Chandra Muzaffar). It is all power struggle of those people with their names appearing on the media. Not you or me. We have no business there in this power struggle thing: Those guys just need a reason to be in power and they will have it once you endorse them to be there by casting your vote for there- regardless of the ruling party or their Opposition.

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singalong!

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Pramoedya dan Ceritanya
oleh Elle J. Hafiz

Lama sebelum saya terjumpa karyanya, nama Pramoedya Ananta Toer (6 Februari 1925 – 30 April 2006) ini sudah saya dengari. Tak ada apa pun petunjuk – kecuali sedikit catatan-catatan penulis tempatan – untuk saya jadikan panduan mencari buku-buku beliau di Malaysia ketika itu; cukup sukar bagi yang mencari bersendirian. Ketika itu juga, disebarang kesempatan yang ada, pasti saya akan menyelongkar rak-rak buku di mana-mana kedai untuk mencari hasil kerja Pram.

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Inside-Outsiders
by George Wielgus

Whatever happened to individuality?
Whatever happened to idiosyncracy?
Whatever happened to unity? Unity? Unity?
Whatever happened to you and me?

There’s a war going on in Batu Arang
There’s a war in the Bukit Bintang
There’s a war going on in Chow Kit, Brickfields
There’s a war going down your street
From the KLCC to the Damansara Heights
From PJ to Puchong to Ipoh
Port Klang, Melaka, Penang, JB
There’s a war in your kampong scene

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Angkasawan Pt II
by Rafil Elyas

Whilst I wish our space flight participant a safe return home, I am shamed by the sheer magnitude of financial waste and stupidity of all parties involved in our Angkasawan program.

I thought I’d just leave it at one satirical post (refer to pt. I) but the level of idiocy and damage it has done to this country’s credibility in the field of science and technology has infuriated me. I can’t laugh about it anymore.

101007 is when the entire planet snickers (fortunately, in past space flight participants have opened the door for shooting useless personel into space) at this country, and more specifically the Malay peoples. Malay Muslims (true believers or IC ones) have enough trouble casting off stereotypes, the last thing we need is something this big and stupid.

For those Star Trek fans, we are now officially Pakleds.

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rice note: a schoolmate of mine wrote me a rare email yesterday, enquiring if I would be heading back to Terengganu for the Raya.

Read on…

Extremely Words
Awang Goneng

It is a fact well known among those who have stared at them, face to faceless, that Trengganu ghosts have especially long fingernails, panjang jjenggöng as they will tell you, and then they will end it with a final Eeeeee! plus a shoulder-shrug. The last to signal their note of aversion for having had to behold such a terrible sight. The confrontation would have taken place in the thick of night, gelak gguguk, in a distant place, jauh jjenak.

Jjengöng, gguguk, jjenak are nonce words, standing only for the occasion, never seen again outside the context or hand unheld by the adjectives that they enhance — panjang (long), gelak (dark), jauh (far). On their own they are meaningless, but with the companion adjectives, they enhance. So, dark (gelak), becomes very, very dark (gelak gguguk), long becomes very, very, long (panjang jjengöng), and dark becomes very, very dark (gelak gguguk). These are ‘extremely’ words.

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Malaise in Space
by Rafil Elyas

In less than 10 days, a Malaysian, part of the national Angkasawan (Astronaut) Program, will be sent into space. Unlike the first Malaysian Everest Conquers or our World Beater Squash Champion, he’s relevant. I.e., he is of the correct race and religion.

Allhamdullilah.

Finally.

For those unfamiliar with the background of Malaysian space exploration, no problem, let me summarize where we are so far.

We’ve acquired satellites for communication and entertainment but we don’t have a viable space program.

Malaysia is not a space faring nation. Malaysia has no jet propulsion lab, no aeronautical/aerospace research facilities, no fabrication yards for space hardware. We have no young von Brauns shooting projectiles into the air.

A couple of years ago, there was a local interest program on TV about a guy in Ipoh who’s been struggling for over a decade to build an ultralight aircraft. He was unsuccessful, but he was of the correct race and religion.

Never mind all that.

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Got this on the APA yahoogroup today and I can’t wait to share it with you guys:

Very fair writer Dina Zaman wrote this post (a blatant spam):

“Fair and Lovely has come up with a short story competition. 12 winners, 9 of which would get a cash price of RM500 and be published in Harian Metro the top 3 would get a cash price of RM3,000 get published in Harian Metro AND their stories would be adapted into TV dramas, which would be directed by Osman Ali.

Each story in Malay should not be more than 2,000 words, with an interesting title. A4, double spaced. Send it in before the 31st of July 2007. Fair and Lovely Mini Novella Penuh Hasrat Hatiku.. bla, bla, bla”

and here’s Panda’s reply, an excellent attempt which in the ideal world should won him a trailer-load of Fair & Lovely!

Subject: [APA] Writing Contest! | Importance: High

>transformation in the live of a woman in her quest to reach her goals and dreams.
>published in Harian Metro

In order to meet the stringent standards of that fine publication, the following elements are necessary:

a) Black Metal
b) Harussani
c) Jabatan Pengguna Islam
d) Malay people
e) Clueless, Confused and Angry Malay people
f) Brickfields OCPD
g) Strange deaths.

The protagonist needs to be a Malay, Venom Listening, Devil Worshipping, Goat Riding, Black Metal Slut who sees the light and TRANSFORMS.

Plot summary:

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Taiwan Punk Scene Report
taken from: The Deported’s MySpace Blog

Last year I spent a long time writing a Taiwan punk scene report for Maximum RocknRoll. I attempted to document the short history of punk-ish music in Taiwan, the past and present bands, as well as the various self-styled promoters and labels.

After Joe Kidd, one of the big kahunas of the Malaysian scene saw one of my half-ass reports on Ricecooker he said something like “reminds of the early days of the Malaysian scene in the early 90’s. Heady times indeed.”

Well, thinking back, 2005 wasn’t exactly heady, but it was kind of exciting to have bigger crowds at local clubs and bills featuring all punk-influenced bands. But then that fall four Taipei bands broke up and like a small musical village hit by a corporate plague of mainstream small pox, the underground was wiped out. The kids went back to popping ecstacy and raving till dawn to Mando-candy techno at the monstrous downtown night clubs.

To put it simply, Taiwan is a lot more of a conformist society than some of us were willing to admit (particulary us foreign devils). Keep in mind, this report is very much written from a foreigner’s point of view – albeit a foreigner who has lived in Taiwan for five years and played in a band. NEVERTHELESS…

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Montage peristiwa perobohan rumah rakyat peneroka bandar di Kg Chubadak Tambahan, Sentul, KL pada 5 Disember 2006.

background:
KG CHUBADAK TAMBAHAN – THE UNFINISHED STRUGGLE

jerit.org