Listening to : Angguk Angguk Geleng Geleng - Ahli Fiqir
Imma dive straight into a rant right now - one of my aunties from my fathers side, who hardly shows unless there's some drama in her corner of the family, suddenly called this evening and said that she'll be crashing over for the night - she's with her new husband (2nd or 3rd i cant remember, yes plenty of drama there) so she can't bunk over in kak nab's room. My estranged and not-quite-technically divorced cousin is still living with us in the guest room - she has been for about the last 2 months or so.
THEREFORE, they have kak nab's room, and she has to bunk over in my room for the night. Okay, sharing a room with her is not so bad ( besides from the freight-train snoring and the eventual wake up call at 5am for dawn prayers) but to be inconvenienced as such aGAin by a relative from my dad's side. My mother didn't like the ' husband stealing wench' either so dad, mom, cuz and i went out for late night mamak together for the first time. With any luck , probably after i'm done blogging she'd be up.
Mmhmn of course families are supposed to stick together and such, but my fathers' side has soo much more than any families share of problems. Of course, with him being the only decent and responsible one, he always has to end up bailing them out by mediating endless fights or by ponying up moolah - sometimes its like his siblings conspire to exxagerate a small problem just so that he'll just throw them some money to be over with it. Like, c'mon - one of his brothers has 12 kids ( doesn't look like he's stopping soon either ) and also gambling debts left right and center. It really grinds my gears because he obviously gets stressed about it and throws these little hissy whiny fits once in a while, and that in turn pisses mom off, and eventually i get these loong loong lectures about responsibility and such. Errgh
And that bitch still manage to fill up half our fridge with chocolates for random people back home before her flight tomorrow, and she had the gall to tell us that none of it is for us. I can only pray that the flight will end up like an off-film Malaysian version of Lost.
Ahhh....baru puassshh
Now, for something different!
A quick review of albums in heavy rotation on my playlist - heyy - i actually bought some of them tau!! Suppport!! Well when i say review, i mean my brief thoughts of the music followed by off the wall rants about the artistes or their genres. Still reading? Dear you must be rather bored, aren't you?
Juwita Suwito - Brand New World
Pretty darned good for a local artiste - actually deserved her AIM award for best local english album. She used to do gospel so a coupla of the songs and lyrics has that slight gospel tinge, but they're very well written and performed. They ranged from light-hearted poppy easy listening ballads to those with a touch of rock. Her shot at R&B wasn't bad, except that the lyrics and idea for that "SMS" song was completely daft. Compared to her other songs it was like a joke track done just for fucks.
Ahli Fiqir - Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah
I might not have heard that much Malay music from Singapore, but if we're to go from their collabs with local artistes , and groups like Bhumiband and Ahli Fiqir , there are manna to the ears compared to typical local shite - especially m'sian malay rock groups. Their lyrics actually have a semblance of poetry and prose, and their production values are much better too.
In the case of Ahli Fiqir, most of their songs are quite catchy, especially Angguk Angguk which is practically playing everywhere - and their lyrics have a real " Hidup Melayu " feel to it - you know, the whole cast-off-your-stereotypes-and-get-off-your-lazy-ass thing. Sometimes you just have to think whether that in itself is kinda diametric in itself as they are the typical malay hip-hopper - b-boy kinda crew - and the artists they associate with like Too Phat and the Teh Tarik crew arent really doing their bit to berjuang untuk menaikkan martabat melayu, y'know what i'm sayin?
Jamiroquai - Dynamite
Another cd in typical Jamiroquai fashion - catchy, electronic and funk beats with the occasional lapse of R&B and chillout. You gotta wonder how he affords his stable of cars and his 72-arce Buckinghampshire estate though. ONE rare vintage restored Maserati is no excuse for his fleet of typical Premiership Footballer-ish cars. He's been throwing so much money to Ferrari that they let him have one of the first Enzos AND let him use their prancing horse insignia on one of his album covers.
Anyway, isn't Jamiroquai a group? Howecome you never see any of the other members? Are they hideous misshapen lepers chained to the mixers and synths? Or are smart enough to quietly take their money, invest it and live low key lives. Not like some brash skinny twat who for some reason still manages to reel in record catches of poontang.
B.E.P - Monkey Business
Personally, i liked it better than their last album - the songs actually sound different - well more than their last effort anyway. Besides from their two songs gettin heavy airplay - Phunk and Don't Lie, Like That and Pump It are damn syiok to listen to as well.
My beef with them? Nothing much - haha but they're obviously such camera hams - you can see how much they are into it when they do their videos, especially Phunk. Hooo yeah and Fergie's still one hot momma. Daayymn!
Missy Elliot - The Cookbook
Everything Missy-E touches turns to freaking gold. Especially if Timbaland or The Neptunes is on board. Just like her last 2 albums, all her songs are a good mix of that ol' skool vibe, beats you be 'feelin, and catchy-ass lyrics. Also, she is still somehow losing weight - Enough to actually dance in her videos! GasP! Go Missay !!
Other albums worth a listen:
Nina Sky - La Conexion
Jason Mraz - Mr. A-Z
Jesse McCartney - Beautiful Soul
And now, something completely NEW!
I dont normally, if not never , go into politics on mah blog, but this is gonna be a first. Following the recent gaffes and faux pax in Malay politics - Gambling Debts, Proton , APs, Melayu 'Glokal' and such it's inevitable that most of the conversations in the house veer towards lamenting the state of Malay Politics. My parents are all for BN, but they also are very leery of some aspects of the Malay governance, especially with my mother being a civil servant for a govt body, having the inside view of their practices. Its amazing how thoroughly corrupt Malay politics are with so many people at the top being just straight-out mark-ass smooth-talking thieving fucks. I am soooo not looking forward to paying taxes if it's gonna go towards some Datuk's gambling debt or hideous European palatial furniture in some Datin's crib.
I read quite a sagacious article the other day, summing up the failure of the NEP and why Malay politics is in such a state, while at the same time not being too condeming or biased. For those of you Bumi or Non Bumi who oh-so-love discussing this issue, you just HAve to read this article -
The Malay Today
by Din Merican
[Reprinted from Malaysia Today Thursday, July 28, 2005. www.malaysia-today.net]
The problem is that most Malays today do not read. Dr. Bakri Musa made this observation in one of his books, Seeing Malaysia My Way. To most Malays, as related by Bakri, anything beyond a simple essay is “too difficult and too long, lah.”
Others note that there are not enough books published in Malay. Or that maybe we Malays want to be spoon-fed.
Poor Excuse
If indeed there is a shortage of reading materials in Malay, then learn English, or any other language of one’s choice. Spend your ownmoney and attend night classes if need be. More truthfully, it is a question of attitude and motivation. The Vietnamese for example, are highly motivated; they work during the day and learn English at night. For ten years (1965-1975), the Americans tried to bomb their country into the Stone Age but failed. Unlike the Vietnamese, we Malays have our NEP and NDP now for over 35 years (1970-2005).
We have our share of exemplary Malays as worthy role models. Sadly most were in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Paradoxically those were difficult times, and those Malays are a vanishing group. They will disappear soon.
What we have today to be the role model for our young are self-serving Malay leaders and the so-called Malay “lingo” nationalists. During the early years of independence, these “lingo” nationalists were in league with ambitious Malay politicians who wanted the Malay Language to be the world’s lingua franca. Malay nationalism was the road to fame and fortune, the consequences be damned.
These “leaders” successfully won the day, with Malay replacig English as the medium of instruction in our schools and universities. Did we have the books, articles and other publications in mathematics and the sciences and other subjects then? No, that would come later, we were assured. We probably thought those things would magically drop off from the sky.
Thus was the national language policy implemented, in earnest without regards to developing the necessary infrastructures and softwares needed to ensure its successful execution. “Dasar dulu dan yang lain semua belakang kira.” (Policy first, all other things can come later)”.
Today we see and bear the consequences of this myopia. We have Malay university graduates who are unemployable, and government officers who are scared to speak at international conferences because they lack the prerequisite English language skills.
Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka was created 40 years ago to accommodate the “lingo” nationalists. Since then it has been on a steady decline. Perversely, while these nationalists were publicly championing our national language, their children are all fluent in English and other languages because they have been educated abroad!
The burden of the national language follies is borne by the poor Malay kids in the kampongs and small towns. Yet these language nationalists are still around today, punching their kerises in the air, and strenously opposing any policy change.
Dewan Bahasa is still active, but preoccupied with doing the same old and outdated things. Vested interests, a feature of all bureaucracies, prevent any meaningful reform or strategic change. I do not deny that we need to develop our language but the vast sums of money invested in this institution were a colossal waste.
A cynic might say that Dewan Bahasa was very successful in fulfilling its mandate, which is to promote the use of Malay in administration and business. That served our domestic needs. But times have changed and in the era of globalisation, it would be a great advantage if Malaysians were fluent in English, Japanese, German, Mandarin, French, and other foreign languages.
Glokal Malays
How can we be “Melayu Glokal” if we lack foregin language skills? If we cannot handle own language, then something must be wrong with us. Of course we can, but what about English, for example?
Our home-grown intellectuals, with few exceptions like Kassim Ahmad, Syed Hussin Ali, Rustam Sani, K.S. Jomo and Terrence Gomez, tend to go along with their political masters. If you watch the television coverage of the recent Umno General Assembly, the guest commentator was an UMNO apologist. He had nothing original or incisive to say. Many others are like him. They shape Malay opinion, advocating a culture of conformism. Hang Jebat goodbye!
Those who dare speak and offer alternative views are marginalized. They are rarely invited to sit on government committees to help shape national policies. Worse, their writings do not appear in the mainstream media which are consumed with self censorship. Or when they are published, the are heavily “edited” beyond recognition. In some cases their books are banned. Fancy banning books and publications in the 21st Century! Even sadder, a few have been imprisoned and suffered police brutality.
Fortunately thanks to the Internet, today we have independent websites like bakrimusa.com, kassimahmad.blogspot.com, malaysia-today.net and malaysiakini.com, to name a few, as well as the many bloggers. They allow us to express our views and discuss our concerns in an open and responsible way.
We will soldier on and get our share of readers. Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia Today receives some 250,000-300,000 hits daily. Unfortunately, Raja Petra’s house was recently raided by the police because he publsihed articles critical of the Negri Sembilan Royal Family. What is the message here?
I must admit that I do not have time for Malay novelists and writers except for Keris Mas, Tongkat Warrant, Samad Said, Kassim Ahmad and Baha Zain. I have a preference for the classics, biographies and autobiographies of great men of history, philosophical treatises, international relations, and economics. My doing so does not make me less of a Malay. In fact my readings make me very conscious of my “Malayness.”
It is not correct, as one reader put it, we just “simply nag and make noise in our own circles.” You as well others of your generation must write and act, but do so responsibily. To be able to do that, you must first read and and be able to think critically and develop your writing skills.
At my age of 66, I have done more than my share through the years. My contemporaries and I have made it possible for you and your generation to move forward. The question is: Will you and your friends take up the challenge for a better Malaysia and a stronger and more dynamic Malay society?
It is time for action by your generation. By all means, correct our mistakes. Be aware however that even the most well intentioned policies carry their own seeds of destruction, the Law of Unintended Consequences being operative. Politicians and their sycophants choose to ignore this reality. Actually they could not care less of the the consequences, intended or otherwise, of their policies.
Tidies up most things, doesn't it? I for one believe most of it is true - come on - look at our parents' generation - those who were educated through the 50s through to the 70s. Look at them and their peers - They're more liberal ( come to think of it, they were a lot more liberal in the 60s and 70s in certain ways compared to today) and open minded when it comes to issues of race relations and i'm sure most of them won't care much for affirmative action no matter they're Bumi or Non Bumi. It's not just a society level thing - its just that there was actually better overall racial unity before the NEP screwed everything up. There are a lot more relevant thought-provoking articles discussing the "Malay Malaise" at this Blog
Pretty long post, innit? Probably one of my longest not even including the article. Wouldn't it be funny yet strangely appropiate if they got Ahli Fiqir to do a gig at the next UMNO grand assembly? I doubt most of the fatass "teh & kuih" constituents have the mental capacity to comprehend anything faster then one of those murderously slow and boring UMNO adresses. Islam Hadhari and Melayu Glokal? Rubbaysh. Its just like when you see words like 'synergy' or 'paradigm' in a corporate address. Its just codewords for "total,fuckall filler bullshit"
Well better UMNO then PAS. I dunno bout'cha, but i'm not big on never seeing anymore of a woman other than her face in public ever again OR a Final Solution-ish approach to stamping out anything that resembles entertainment - imagine back to back Nasyid videos and religious forums on tv. God even those western-culture bashing friday prayer sermons bake my cookie.
While we're on the subject of the Malay Dilemma, i still have a rant in me about Akademi Fantasia, but since most of you who read this far are probably tired enough from the scrolling alone, so i'll leave a vitriol infused rant about that show dan segala yang sewaktu dengannya for another fine day.
Another quick thought - altough its generally better to be able to see both sides of an argument you're in to get a clearer picture and set everything in perspective, it just sucks when as a result of that you lose conviction in your own points and start thinking way too much into it, no? Especially in those situations where no one is really at fault ( or both parties, for that matter).
Anyhoo, If you're lookin for me, i'll prolly be at 1 U gettin some Leka Leka gelato. MMmmnn lychee and mango gelatooo....
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