catakserukin

Banyak rupenyer video x uplod lagi lam computer...

And this is a particularly interesting one. It's a video of national laureate and Bersih Co-Chair reading out his piece 'Pemimpin Catakserukin' at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kg Baru.

There aren't any crowd shots in this video, but this was a few nights before Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II verdict, and the club's grounds in front of the stage where this video was recorded was just packed with people that night.

 And it has since been one year.

gunakanlah bahasa kebangsaan kita

The use of good Bahasa, even when it comes naturally to background speakers of the language, can become an act of activism. 

Because it is just strange and odd to not speak like a racist caricature when interacting with different ethnicities, never mind that they sound exactly like you.

Malays in this country seem to still think that they hold sole ownership over anything vaguely Malay: language, dress, religion, land; that, whether they realise it or not, they put down, reduce to their basic prejudice of a race, anyone who they feel is getting too big for their shoes.

Amoi terer you cakap melayu

You kena faham, kami orang Melayu, orang Islam, minum air suam

A paranoia coupled with the delusion that we are the vanguards of Malay culture, 

whose purity we happily protect through neglect.

Meanwhile in Pulau Jawa, books, movies, music in Bahasa are being produced at a rate we dare not imagine.

HOW TO SPOT AN ERSATZ LIBERAL:

1. Dresses like a catalogue

2. Has a penchant for designer coffee

3. Uses words like ‘penchant’

4. Has complete mastery of American pop canon.

5. Discussions over gelato.

6. or tapas

7. or organic vegan food

8. Completely oblivious of Faizal Hussein’s cultural significance prior Bunohan

9. Malay is useful for talking to stupid people

10. Your argument is valid if you namecheck Marx, Adorno, Russel, not so valid if source text doesn’t have a penguin edition.

11. Keeps an open mind on religions but has strong fear of ghosts.

12. subscribes to Apple's product newsletter

13. Buys ‘Foreign Affairs’ because twitter was going crazy over one article

14. RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION over injustices if there’s a picture in the media

15. blissful indifference over injustices if it’s there’s a picture in the media but the caption’s not in English.

16. Keeps opinions that are the intellectual equivalent of stuffed bears, menacing but ultimately useless.

mari berpantun bersama il-bloop

Ini pantun kegemaran saya:

Padi muda jangan dilurut,

Kalau dilurut pecah batangnya;

Hati muda jangan diturut,

Kalau diturut salah datangnya.

Tapi, inipun boleh tahan:

Tuai padi antara masak,

Esok jangan layu-layuan;

Intai kami antara nampak,

Esok jangan rindu-rinduan.

Tapi, yang ini konfem champion!

Abang makan hendak berhidang,

Memakai kain berbelah tepi;

Di dalam merana cinta datang,

Air mata jatuh ke pipi.

AKHIRNYA

Nasi lemak buah bidara,

Sayang selasih saya lurutkan;

Buang emak buang saudara,

Sebab kasih saya turutkan.

Tapi hakikatnya,

Kalau mengail di lubuk dangkal,
Dapat ikan penuh seraga;
Kalau kail panjang sejengkal,
Jangan lautan hendak diduga.

ku sangkakan

Air mawar jatuh ke laut,

Gulai itik sama belangkas;

Apa soalnya tidak disahut,

Adinda belum tahu membalas.

Rupa-rupanya!

Puas sudah kutanam padi,
Nenas juga ditanam orang;
Puas sudah kutanam budi,
Emas juga dipandang orang.

Alahai…

Sekadar hiburan di tengah malam.

Sekian.