Archive for July, 2009
I love PS22 Chorus! Check out this Interview.
My coffee is finishing soon. It’s not Ipoh white coffee.
The picture above has stuck in my mind since I arrived in Ipoh 2 days ago. I think it speaks a million.
It’s obvious that whatever one may do to the people on the outside, it what’s on the inside that matters and tells you more about what’s really going on – what the people really wants.
I’ve come to the conclusion I need to strengthen on theology of sin. While so often we give a benefit of a doubt to people whom we are supposed to trust and respect, but it’s better to still have a tinge of caution.
It’s important to know who we are, what we stand for, and what we are called to be and do. Too many variables are outside of our control, and often what happens to us really has nothing to do with us. It’s likely to have more to do with the ones calling the shots.
The moment “God” is brought in to close down a debate, it shows that we’ve crossed the line between of being used by him and using him. Lord have mercy.
When we “abstain” from making a decision, the effect is that we empower those who say “No!”. It’s our right to do so, but we still need to bear the consequences of the decision of “non-decision”. We can empathize with the struggle of those who “sit on the fence” – it’s not easy when we are forced to make a tough choice, but especially for those in leadership – we have no choice but to face hard options all the time.
I do believe in the "hidden” work of God is some times more visible than others. In my limited experience, reflecting upon it on hind sight is the healthier way to speak about it. Explaining away an immediate scenario is premature.
Is God’s will “whatever will be will be”? or is God’s will about truth, justice, righteousness, peace, reconciliation, etc. rather than a deterministic posture?
The fact of the buzz outside the formal settings is a reality. As human beings we are people in community, and it’s only natural to engage in mutual reflection non-formally. The challenge is whether one will still show courage and articulate the results of those conversations and take ownership of those views.
There are times when we are caught between a rock and a hard place and speak on behalf of others. Speaking up for and on behalf of the weak, the voiceless, and the marginalized is to be applauded. But when those in power, and do have a voice expects us to speak on their behalf – then it’s a troubling and makes one pause and wonder . what’s going on here?
Trust is a precious commodity in all relationships. When it’s broken, it’s almost impossible to mend it. Almost impossible, not impossible. We are not finished yet ..
Courage is not about volume. But it’s cowardice when we expect someone else (or worse ask someone else) to speak up for us, when we have the voice to speak up for ourselves.
Many will debate about whether truth is absolute or relative, lots of people when asked will say they believe in absolute truth. The test is not in the articulation or the sophistication of epistemological position. The test is when one is confronted in situations when the demand for truth telling is apparent. I suppose all of us don’t want to be liars (okay, most of us 
), but a lot of us will find it hard to state things as it is.
Truth telling, courage and trust . . . these three have been on my mind with intensity for 48hours.
My coffee is finished. Looks like my random thoughts have finished too.
I’ve resigned from work in order to move from one job to another. Yesterday, was the first time I’ve resigned from a position. It doesn’t feel good. But I know it’s right.
BTW, don’t read too much into the random thoughts . they are random thoughts!
There are real contexts for the thoughts but everything above is jumbled up. It’s been a while since I’ve done a “random thoughts” post!
” (HT: 
I count it an honor to have been part of the preparation for this event in a small way.
I believe it will be unique memorial which everyone regardless of race, religion and political persuasion can relate to. It’s beyond party politics, so I’d highly recommend your participation.
To confirm and spread the word click here
Below is a personal invitation from Wong Chin Huat :
Dear Colleagues,
A special memorial will be held tomorrow night at KLSCAH tomorrow night, the 14th day of Beng Hock’s death. But this is not one for him alone, but for all others who perished in custody – police lock-up, prison, detention camp. We do not have the figure since the inception of Malaya or Malaysia. From 2003 to date, the number is 1,805 including Beng Hock. That is 23 deaths every month, or 3 deaths every four days.
One life lost is too much. Is it not? When Beng Hock died, many of us would like him to be the last. He did not make it. Another person, 31, just died in custody in Sentul hours later. Can we still feel indifferent?
Come tomorrow night to KLSCAH, in black. (Please avoid bright colour even if you dont have anything black.) Light a candle for the dead who should be living.
There will be no political speech.
There will be no religious ceremony.
There will be only tribute to the dead and reflections of the living.
Yours,
Chin Huat
on behalf of
Civil Rights Committee, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
“Justice for Beng Hock” and “1BLACKMalaysia” facebook groups
May He Be The Last….. A Memorial for Beng Hock and Beyond
“A Tribute and Time of Reflection – strictly beyond party politics”
Date : 29 July 2009 (Wednesday)
Time : 8:45pm till 10:30pm
Venue : KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, 1st Floor HallOrganized by:
Civil Rights Committee, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly HallSupported by
“Justice for Beng Hock” and “1BLACKMalaysia” facebook groups-No Political Speeches. Just tribute and reflection.
Please wear black and light a candle for Beng Hock and 1,804 others who died in custody since 2003.
Semoga Beliau Mangsa Yang Terakhir….. Upacara Pengenangan Beng Hock
“Penghormatan dan Masa Untuk Keinsafan Manusiawi”Tarikh : 29 Jul 2009 (Rabu)
Masa : 9pm sampai 1030pm
Tempat : Dewan Tingkat 1, Dewan Perhimpunan Cina Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (KLSCAH), 1, Jalan Maharajalela, Kuala LumpurAnjuran
Civil Rights Committee, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Dengan sokongan
Kumpulan-kumpulan Facebook “Justice for Beng Hock” and “1BLACKMalaysia”
Tiada ucapan politik. Cuma Penghormatan dan Saat Keinsafan Insani”
Sila pakai baju hitam dan nyalakan lilin untuk Beng Hock dan 1,804 orang lain yang mati dalam tahanan pihak berkuasa sejak 2003.
让他成为最后一人 —-明福追思会
“哀悼与人道省思之时”
日期：2009年7月29日（星期三）
时间：晚上9时至10时半
地点：隆雪华堂楼上礼堂
主办：隆雪华堂民权委员会
支援：“为明福讨公道”与“黑色大马”面子书(facebook)群组
没有政治演说。只有哀悼省思。
请穿黑衣到来，为明福与自2003年来在扣留与监禁中死亡的另外1,804人点一根蜡烛。
Based on the original First they came poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984).
Thanks Sze Zeng. Let’s see whether any couples in Malaysia will take up the challenge. Perhaps, a more contextualized version?
With thanks to the late Yasmin Ahmad.
I don’t know how to explain it. But this video did me some good.
In the past, a loss like this might feel the same with perhaps the loss of Michael Jackson or another celebrity. But a key difference for Yasmin is that a friend of mine was there during her last moments, so its no longer a feeling from a distance. There’s an insight to something deeper than what is merely reported in the news.
Thanks David BC Tan for expressing in words what many of us feel about Yasmin’s works. Overall, I had a pretty good weekend with good meals, great conversations, and a special wedding. But in the midst of all the good, we are always reminded of human frailty and the reality of our mortality. So, for me today it’s Yasmin Ahmad.
YASMIN AHMAD (1958 – 2009)
I do not say it lightly when I write that Yasmin was a true Malaysian. Her works envisioned a society so guileless in ways we imagine Malaysia could never be – multicultural, multiracial, multilingual, many selves going about lives in the most unself-conscious way.
People were normal and the eccentricities of race or religion were not sharp edges to be avoided. Instead, in the world that Yasmin pictured and in the films she made, they were embraced – eyes unblinking – without irony or fear. People were people under their skin, immersed in the polyglot of everyday conversations that looked and sounded like Malaysia.
In Yasmin’s version of Malaysia, people were the same at the core of their being – however messed up their lives, whatever desires possess them, whichever direction they face when they prayed. No one was less noble than the other, none excluded, everyone’s fates interwoven. They were our mirrors, and they reminded us that in her world as it is in our own, we are all poorer without each other.
The stories that Yasmin told imagined a society that could be. Sadly, they seemed also to be tales of a far, far away land, of a once-upon-a-time people, bathed in light and music resembling ephemera now lost and never to be retrieved.
We’ll miss you Yasmin.
Challenging stuff from The Work of the People through Claudio Oliver from Brazil.