I Love You Except...

I was having this conversation with a friend of mine who was busy tearing into how shitty Barisan Nasional is (and you know this line of thought has become so easy to pick up that intellectuals should start supporting Barisan for the sheer mental rigor trying to come up with positive things to say...) and as usual include the following caveat "You know I'm doing all this because I love this country...".

I've been listening to this a lot these days. A lot of people are using the line "I love this country..." and the proceed to diss everything and anything you can think of. The traffic, the Government, the Malays, the Government, the Chinese, the Government, the Mamaks, the Government, the economy, the Government, the cost of living, the Government...and so forth. I hear people complaining about how hot Malaysia is, how wet it is, how smelly the city is, how stupid the people are, how lazy we are, how crazy our drivers are, how dirty our restaurants are...well, you catch my drift.

Of course, then these very same people would add, "Oh I love this country". But do they? Really?

It's a lot like you are in a relationship with a girl. Only in this case, you don't get to choose (like an arranged marriage!). You say you're in love with her, but you find her face ugly, you think she's stupid, you hate her attitude, and you can't stand the sound of her voice. So what do you actually love about her? Then once in a blue moon, like during your anniversary, you say nice things about her, and claim to everyone you love her, but for the rest of the year you can't think of how better it'd be if she was someone else.

I've met so many people who can't stop talking about how great the UK is, the US is, how nice it is to stay in Australia, how great it is to be Singaporean. It's like being married to Siti Nurhaliza but can't stop talking about Jennifer Lopez. Then you start finding fault with Siti, like how weird the contraption she's wearing on her head, or how contrived her dancing is. In your mind you wish Siti would turn into JLo. So are you really in love with Siti, or are you actually more interested for Siti to become Jlo?

All I'm saying is, sometimes we just say "because we love this country..." but we really don't. I am not saying we shouldn't criticize what's wrong with the nation, but sometimes I get a feeling people have been criticizing for far too long that all we could say we like about this country is "the food". You can't say you love your wife if the only part of her you love is her nose (and you kinda hate everything else).

As we come to celebrate Merdeka, let us try to take a breather and recall what we love about this nation. Heck, if we have to "recall", then something's not right in the first place. Me? I like that a lot of Malaysians seem to kinda hate being in Malaysia. Now THAT is uniquely Malaysian:)

Just like Public Bank...

Hey, other than the cool remix of Waving Flags (oooo...welcome Tan Sri Teh..."), I don't see what's so odd about this celebration. I'm just curious to know if the great Tan Sri can hire me as his event coordinator because obviously he really like his ladies...lol

Are We For Real in our Pursuit of Happiness?

(I guess that qualifies as the longest blog title by me...ever)

What makes a person happy? If you remember one of my previous post, I was reading this book called Hector and the Search of Happiness. I didn't really follow through on that topic, as I was merely highlighting the important parts of what I thought was a really simple yet engaging story.

I don't know why (maybe you do?), but I feel this sudden urge to revisit this theme of happiness. It could be because I am surrounded by too many people who have nothing good to say about their work, their partners, their income, their life in general. And yet, people are more exposed to self-help materials and motivational thoughts than ever before. Psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist and just plain old counselors are increasing by the day.

Lots of folks spend good money on motivation courses and companies go out of their way to create a "happy work environment". But the reality is that my generation and the generations after mine are increasingly easily dissatisfied over everything and then none.

I've met folks my age who already has gone through 3-4 different jobs in the course of 2-3 years, some even more. I know of couples who have gone through divorce at a very young age, and some have even remarried and are now apparently in the process of breaking up again! I've seen government servants whose education were fully sponsored by the government unhappy that their pay is not the same as those in the private sector. I know of private sector employees unhappy that they're not getting tenure and hospital benefits like those in the government sector.

When the NPE (New Pantai Expressway) was first being built, a lot of Subang Jaya folks were complaining about the traffic jams and slow pace of work. Apparently they don't need the highway. But now, years after completion, Subang folks can't imagine what life would be without the NPE. The other day I was reading about KL folks complaining that the covered walkways being built (along Jalan Pinang etc) is a waste of time and money. Once it's completed, I'll bet they'll complain DBKL didn't build enough.

In other words, we are an easily dissatisfied lot, and whatever satisfies us would only be temporal before we find the next thing to whine and complain about. Why is this so? Why do generations before us can be happy earning half of what some graduates are earning now doing something that's 1/4 as exciting as what some of us are doing?

I was thinking hard about this (well, not really. I was in the toilet...and let's just leave it at that) and I've come to a conclusion we're a bunch of whiners because WE THINK WE CAN.

We're brought up in an environment that encourages dream-building, that espouses "You're The Best" mantras all the time, that highlights more and more success, that promotes the best of the best. When we were kids, our parents no longer say shit like "You're an idiot, learn how to be useful with tools". Instead, we are told "You're special. It's okay you can't read, maybe you'll be a math genius someday".

You think your teachers weren't encouraging enough? Tell me how many of us know of a kid in our class who was actually held back because he or she is an idiot? Even if that kid can't spell "shit" without shitting in his pants, they'd say "Perlu banyak bantuan" and then send him straight up to the next level.

We watch a lot of television, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it's basically a fragment of the best of reality. It creates a culture of, "If he can do it, so can I". We even have a lot of movies where fat ugly people are shown to be able to get the hot beautiful cheerleader/quarterback/Mr.Popular. Books, magazines, movies, papers...every media (despite the so-called depressing news) seems to promote a world of infinite possibilities.

Hey, even if you're an ugly jerk with zero personality, you could get someone super-hot and sweet at the same time. Hey, if you're stupid with an IQ of a donkey, you could still come up with a brilliant start-up and become a billionaire. Hey, a divorce is alright, see all these happy kids of divorced parents on TV. Hey, you can go to space, but only if you're a good-looking dude.

This creates a generation of individuals who believe they can be anything they want to be and do anything they want to do. People say that youths are too negative but the reality is that I think they carry too many unrealistic expectations.

Nowadays, every kid wants to be an Internet mogul with billions in values through creating puff online games that has no actual economic value except to destroy work productivity. Nowadays, every guy thinks that they should get the hottest girl (thanks to all these nerd gets hot girl TV shows and movies) and every girl thinks that they could marry the perfect man (based on the mindless Sophie Kinsella-type novels they read growing up).

Politics and governance is another area where we carry ideals that seems to be based on a perfect world when in fact we live in an imperfect one. We whine when we earn less than RM 10K, but we expect our YBs to be perfectly happy living their life on RM 6-7 k a month. We want our government officers to be smart, educated, high achievers, when most of us who are smart, educated, high-achievers go and apply to join GLCs or private investment banks for better pay and prestige. We want our police to be like those in CSI, but never have we encouraged our smart children to become policemen.

Reality check! No, not everyone can be Seal and marry Heidi Klum. Yes, if you're obese the likelihood of you contracting diseases and not find a life-partner is higher than the average person. No, not every math whiz can create the next Google. Yes, you'll have to settle for that job of yours for a bit longer because you're not good enough for a promotion.

(Haven't you realized that not a single one of your friends ever said something like, "Oh, yeah. My boss is right in not promoting me and giving me a raise. I'm just not ready for that responsibility". EVERYONE thinks they deserve a raise, can take over their bosses job, and should be CEO by 30)

I've long discovered that I am at my happiest when my current situation or a situation in which I have control over, is directly in sync with my EXPECTATION of that situation. For example, someone that realistically have calculated that the average educated person below 30 earns between RM 3-4K a month would have been happy if he or she is in turn earning RM 5-6 K a month.

The problem is, we are now more and more exposed to individuals who are anomalies, and they're highlighted as if they're the norm. Those under 30 earning more than RM 10,000 a month? Those Investment Bankers earning one year bonuses in a failing economy? These are statistical anomalies and yet they become the poster boys and girls of our generation, creating a chasm between reality and hyper-reality.

When that happens, and based on our natural instinct to always compare with others, we become these ungrateful, unhappy, attention-seeking generation who forgets that in life, true happiness lies not in the absolute result, but how much that result matches our own expectations.

I too am brought up in this "Yes, we can" environment. And it has helped me a lot achieve what I have achieved. But not everyone is fortunate enough to have results that matches their expectations. Go ahead, dream as much as you want, but make sure your dream doesn't create an unrealistic vision of yourself. Maybe then, we'll be a little bit more happy with what we have.

Selepas semuanya terjadi...

Ketika aku (terbaca tweet mengatakan penggunaan "aku" adalah manja dan mesra bagi keturunan Jawa. Walaupun aku bukan Jawa, aku rasa saja-saja nak merasa jadi Khir Toyo) menulis coretan ini, lebih kurang genap sudah 48 jam perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 bermula di ibu kota Kuala Lumpur. Aku membaca begitu banyak reaksi, "laporan" dan "analisa" daripada pengkritik tepi jalan, atas jalan, malah yang sesat jalan pun ramai.

Hah! Namanya bukan aku kalau tidak masuk campur. Dari dulu lagi kerja aku masuk campur, macam aku ni pandai, walaupun dulu waktu Tingkatan 3, Ustazah aku sumpah aku takkan lulus PMR. Nasib baik sumpah Ustazah itu jadi terbalik (mungkin ini dipanggil "reverse doa" ala-ala "reverse psychology"), dan aku lulus dengan terlebih cemerlang (harus selit bagi nampak kredibiliti 'cendekiawan').

Jadi sebagai melaksanakan keperluan genetik aku untuk masuk campur dan buat-buat pandai, ini sedikit sebanyak rumusan aku pasal perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 (aku masih rasa Bersih Durian lebih mengikut keperluan zaman sekarang...) :

1. Seperti yang aku pernah tulis sebelum ini, aku tidak pernah hendak menentang "hak" rakyat untuk berkumpul dan bersuara, sebab aku terfikir kalau satu hari ada benda yang aku pun nak jerit di tengah jalan, aku nak ada kebebasan tersebut.

2. Aku setuju sebenarnya bahawa ada pelbagai perkara yang boleh diperbetulkan oleh SPR dan Kerajaan Malaysia (tidak kira parti apa pun). Sebagai contoh, bukan susah nak memperkenalkan dakwat kekal. Susah-susah fikir hendak buat undian secara dalam talian ("online"), lagi mahal. Dakwat bukannya mahal, mungkin lebih sedikit sahaja dari kos minyak jet peribadi pergi membeli-belah ke Amerika.

3. Kalau hendak dibawa berbincang tentang reformasi (ayat ini jangan disalah anggap dan dibuang dalam kamus pro-kerajaan, sebab maksudnya indah) institusi kerajaan memang tidak cukup sehari semalam. Oleh itu, skop coretan kali ini adalah pada perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 dan objektif mereka.

4. Cuma aku terfikir, walaupun kali ini niatnya dikatakan murni (sabar, sabar...), adakah satu hari rakyat Malaysia yang pro-demonstrasi akan menyokong kalau ada kumpulan NGO PERKASA hendak buat demonstrasi menuntut agar bangsa lain ditindas? Bayangkan satu hari elemen rasis dalam UMNO menular (cuba fikir kenapa...) dan mereka bertekad hendak berhimpun bersama PERKASA di tengah kota. Perhimpunan aman kata mereka. Adakah penyokong demonstrasi Bersih akan turut sama menyokong perhimpunan ini? Adakah pejuang kebebasan akan mengeluarkan syair, puisi menyokong perhimpunan ini? Orang kata kebebasan bersuara dan berkumpul itu satu hak, maka hak itu tidak harus ditindas walaupun niatnya tidak murni, sebab siapalah anda untuk menilai kemurnian tindakan itu?

5. Ada yang akan membalas, itu lain, ini lain. Aku setuju bahawa senario yang digambarkan berbeza dari segi elemen perubahan yang ingin diperkenalkan tetapi cara pendekatan adalah sama. Elemen rasis dalam PERKASA ingin menggesa kerajaan mengubah Undang-Undang agar hak bangsa lain dihapuskan, mereka tidak pernah membangkitkan isu ini di dalam parlimen, dan walaupun mempunyai ramai penyokong melalui UMNO di Parlimen, tidak pernah cuba untuk membawa usul undang-undang ke Parlimen. Mereka kata isu ini adalah untuk kebaikan semua, tanpa mengira parti, tetapi mereka tidak pernah berhubung dengan wakil rakyat parti-parti lain untuk mendapatkan sokongan. Masih lain?

6. Aku terdetik untuk memberi komen balas apabila ada yang menyatakan "Inikah polis, memukul rakyat sendiri?". Setahu aku, polis memang tugas dan bidang kuasa ke atas rakyat dan penduduk dalam negara itu sahaja, selagi mana rakyat dan penduduk itu melanggar undang-undang. Aku rasa polis jadi gila kalau kena tangkap orang di Thailand atau Singapura sahaja. Sebenarnya mungkin yang mengutuk itu keliru. Dia sebenarnya marah kenapa diharamkan perhimpunan tersebut, bukannya marah polis. Sebab kalau tidak keliru pasti sedar kalau perhimpunan itu dikatakan haram dan tidak sah, maka polis boleh mengambil tindakan. Sesiapa yang terlibat harus bersedia menanggung akibatnya.

7. Senario ini lebih kurang sama macam aku di Universiti dulu. Aku tidak faham kenapa aku kena saman oleh Pak Guard sebab tidak pakai tali leher pada hari Isnin walaupun jelas aku tanpa tali leher lebih kemas (dan dipercayai lebih kacak) dari sesetengah budak bertali leher tetapi selekeh. Maknanya aku mempertikaikan logik peraturan yang lebih fokus kepada pemakaian tali leher daripada objektif iaitu kelihatan kemas dan segak. Tetapi aku tidak melenting Pak Guard sebab menahan dan menyaman, kerana memang jelas dikatakan hari Isnin harus bertali leher. Aku marah Hal Ehwal Pelajar.

8. Pada hari Jumaat dan Sabtu, aku memang tergerak untuk pro-Bersih. Sebab membaca tweet-tweet indah-indah belaka dari mereka yang berada di sana. Kemudian aku melihat video-video yang dirakamkan. Dan mendengar laporan-laporan berita. Dan membaca lagi tweet-tweet indah. Objektifnya adalah untuk melihat sebaik mungkin senario yang berlaku.

9. Aku punya rumusan amat mudah - kita hanya nampak apa yang kita nak nampak. Macam aku ni tidak mahu nampak apa-apa (harap-harapnya). Orang Bersih cakap semuanya baik-baik belaka, dan aku tahu sebab ramai kawan-kawan aku yang ada di sana memang orang yang baik-baik belaka (serius ni). Aku rasa orang yang baik-baik belaka ni majoritinya melalui pengalaman yang selamat secara amnya.

10. Tetapi jelas juga melalui video-video bahawa ada segelintir dari barisan hadapan yang tidak bersurai walaupun diarahkan dengan jelas oleh polis. Laungan takbir jelas kedengaran (tetapi tidak di-tweet oleh @bersih2 nampaknya) di beberapa video. Laungan "reformasi" juga banyak kedengaran (pun tidak di-tweet). Ada juga video di mana terdapat serangan balas terhadap polis. Setahu aku kita tidak boleh pukul polis, melainkan main "police & thief", itu pun bahaya sebab takut budak menangis.

11. Aku jadi risau sebab kalau dikatakan "media bias" wujud di arus perdana, maka adakah terdapat bias di arus alternatif? Adakah benar perhimpunan ini 100% aman atau ada elemen/anasir ekstremis yang bersedia membuat kacau bilau? Bukan tugas aku untuk spekulasi. Itu kerja polis.

12. Berbalik kepada isu pokoknya - apakah kesan daripada Bersih 2.0?

13. Aku cakap dah sebelum ini, pihak kerajaan seharusnya lebih menangani isu ini dengan kemas dan teratur. Tunjukkan kepada rakyat bahawa mereka okay dengan Bersih, tetapi tidak okay dengan geng-geng politikus yang mengelilingi Bersih. Tetapi Najib dan penasihat-penasihat bijak pandai dari Universiti luar negara jelas ada strategi sendiri. Mungkin strategi mereka hendak lebih ramai orang tidak suka Barisan, macam "double reverse psychology". Ini cakap boleh kumpul tetapi tidak sediakan tempat untuk berkumpul.

14. Tetapi aku juga nak menasihati kawan-kawan yang taksub dengan arus perubahan ini bahawa kadang-kadang dunia ini lebih kompleks daripada apa yang kita sangkakan. Objektif parti politik, secara am-nya, adalah untuk menang. Jangan kita sebagai orang yang boleh berfikir termakan sekadar membaca berita kawan-kawan sahaja. Korek juga laporan dari lawan. Mungkin banyak yang kita boleh nampak dan belajar.

15. Aku sebenarnya setuju sekali sekala kerajaan dan rakyat kena dikejutkan melalui insiden-insiden seperti ini sebagai peringatan. Walaubagaimanapun, aku lebih berharap agar perhimpunan seperti ini tidak dibuat sekadar untuk kejutan sahaja. Kalau nak kezutan, panggil je Aznil Nawawi. Aku harap Bersih 2.0 dapat teruskan usaha reformasi mereka melalui saluran lain seperti di Parlimen, di media, dengan pendidikan kepada generasi muda dan tua. Tetapi aku dapat rasa Bersih ini akan muncul semula hanya apabila hendak menghampiri PRU seterusnya. Harap-harap, tekaan aku ini salah, sebab aku kesian tengok kawan-kawan yang dah melakukan macam-macam untuk perhimpunan ini tetapi perjuangan mereka hanya untuk kepentingan politik sahaja.

Yang penting lawan tetap lawan, tetapi kawan masih kawan.

Follow Me Down The River...

"Congratulations Bersih for making more and more people hate you guys..." was basically the sum of a tweet by someone I'm following.

"Now we have more people supporting Bersih because of you Jibby!" was basically the sum of a tweet by someone else I'm following.

So which is it? Have the recent incidences raised the number of supporters for Bersih 2.0 or have it actually made more people annoyed with Ambiga and gang?

Well, that depends really on your circle of friends. I made the assumption that a lot of people are for Bersih 2.0 simply because of some tweets indicate a growing number of restless individuals willing to risk everything in the pursuit of Bersih's "noble" cause.

But I was at a gathering recently, and the old folks there were really against the rally and Bersih. To them, street demo is not our style. I thought this is isolated to older folks but I started talking about it with some peers and apparently, there's quite a lot of people unhappy with Bersih.

My take on this is simple. Both supporters and detractors must realize that it's a self-fulfilling cycle of information if you keep yourself to only people you like to hear or conform to your views. 

Like Twitter. If you only choose to follow liberals and Opposition-biased individuals, then certainly your feed would be filled with rallying cries and "Najib's gonna learn the power of Rakyat!" shit. I am especially interested to see how single-track some Twitter personalities are when it comes to dissenting voices. It's like bloggers who can't take criticism. When someone criticizes them, the other loyal followers quickly back the writer up, creating a barrier that prevents the blogger from actually listening to valid points.

It gets worse when you consider that if we only follow the people we like, they in hand would continue to gain followers who are only there to say "Wow, you're so brilliant". As more people follow these people, and more of them say "Wow, you're so brilliant", the particular "influencer" would only get more and more cocky and belief that their views are accepted by the majority. I've had my duels with some of them using an alternate account (just for fun), and clearly they're as intelligent as the next person at a coffee-shop - meaning they might be genius, or maybe not.

The sad thing is that those who scream the loudest often appear to be right, when the reality there's a LOT of people who don't support or don't care or don't even know about all these issues (really, there's a lot more of these folks than you can imagine).

I've learned my lesson not to assume that just because NetraKL or Aisehman says something it is automatically correct and supported by all intelligent beings. It's not their fault, but their followers for leaving their thinking cap behind. Because democracy is useless if no one can think for themselves.

...

BERSIH or NOT...

Bersih 2.0 is going ahead with its planned July 9th rally in the capital. Here are some brief thoughts on what is, of course, a complicated issue:

1. I am not a fan of demonstrations, especially street demos. I would have applauded the organisers if they had the sense to organize it indoor at one of the many Pakatan controlled State venues (ie. Stadium Shah Alam?). But not being a fan of street demos doesn't mean I am against it.

As a political tool to effect change and influence public opinion (including international media), nothing works better than the sight of baton-wielding policemen going after men, women and children. Maybe that is what the organizers are hoping for?

2. Bersih 2.0 is organized to effect changes to our election system. There's nothing wrong with fighting for what is right and logical, for example the lack of transparency or even the need for massive postal votes. But I'm a bit perturbed at how quiet Bersih has been since the last GE in 2008 and only now, with the looming GE coming up, at how noisy they're trying to be. If it was a proper and legitimate NGO, it should have campaigned, fought, protested for the past 2-3 years as much IF NOT MORE as it's doing this year.

I have little doubt in my mind that Bersih is also a political tool used by the Opposition. Consider that the last Bersih rally was held in Nov 2007, just months before March 2008, an election that saw massive gains by the Opposition.

It's a repeat of the same playbook. That's not to take away the efforts of real bi-partisan activists, but I have a strong believe that it's a matter of "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". Bersih without the massive grassroot numbers from political parties like PAS could never imagine to gather the number of people it hope to cause real impact.

3. But the reaction from the Government is baffling, to say the least. It has given this rally a life by endlessly talking about it. Even my dad, who has finally abandoned any attempt to keep in touch with real news, asked me yesterday, "What's going on the 9th?". Everyone now knows the date, and the rally. The fear-mongering is not working, and instead curiosity is piqued.

Today they just raided the office of Bersih 2.0, and there will be more pre-emptive arrests coming up soon. The Internet is abuzz with intelligent young Malaysians more and more disgusted by the heavy hand the authorities are using to quell this demonstration. The Government, in effect, has alienated the very group of people it knows it needs to draw away from the Opposition to have any chance of dominating Malaysian politics again. All the gains, if any, from ETP, PEMANDU etc is now lost in a space of a month.

Meanwhile, we have youths linked to UMNO attacking PKR headquarters and opportunist like Ibrahim Ali going all racial, without even a slap by the authorities. To see how silly this has become, Hisham just declared having the Bersih T-Shirt is illegal. Well, I'll be damn.

4. This does nothing but further infuriate more young professionals, and generally helping Bersih get more people invested in their cause. It's like telling people not to rob your house, but then opening the gate and letting people see how much money you have inside. Talk about shooting oneself on the foot.

If it was me in charge of the Government, I would offer the National Stadium with a police guarantee that no harm will come to any participants. This tactical gambit has the advantage of showing you're not against demonstrations, but you're concerned over the well-being of other citizens and to prevent chaos in the city center. Naturally, this offer would be rejected, but the goodwill has been established.

Once rejected, instead of arresting the organisers, work with them on choosing the best route, with safe corridors of passage guarded by the police. Publicize this co-operation.

On the day of the protest, keep your word. Protect the citizens who are exercising their rights. Make the whole protest AS BORING AS POSSIBLE. Imagine the following headline "Thousands March in KL" vs. "Protestors Attacked in KL". The first story would probably get only one or two mentions in the media, especially foreign. But the 2nd one would run for months, generating enough YouTube materials to spur people to hate the government leading up to GE. Nobody would watch videos of people just walking slowly and petition being handed over. But people love to spread videos of police beating up makciks and pakciks.

But alas, I am not in charge of this country:)

Finally, just to re-iterate, I am not a fan of Bersih, much less the Opposition. All I know is that Malaysians just like you and I are trying to say something that they feel strongly about. Maybe this time that thing is not something I share an interest in, but what if one day I want to say something I feel strongly about? Don't just dig a hole when you wanna shit. Think about the future.

p/s : Bersih 2.0 is so dot-com. Now it's all social and cool callsigns like Android Froyo. So maybe Bersih should consider a different name like Bersih - The Empire Strikes Back, or Bersih Durian. LOL

Operation Malaysia

Just got a text "Malaysia braces for threatened cyber attack on govt website by internet vigilante group Anonymous - REUTERS". Read the star front-page on the purported security threat by Anonymous.

To me, this threat by Anonymous represents a bigger shift in geo-politics. No longer is the world subject to formal laws, but to actions by International vigilantes who, by all account, remain above and beyond the reach of the law. "Cyber-nation" has no rules, no set demographics, no population but instead exist like a collective consciousness of Internet users. It will be a growing threat, which I believe will one day bring down an entire government. The problem is, the basic premise of such organizations is its anonymity making it susceptible to infiltration by foreign elements.

Who can say for certain that there are no foreign government operatives infiltrating the Anonymous rank, and even to the point of leading its leaderless brethren, to perform attacks and hacktivism supposedly for Internet freedom but with an underlying political intention? Who can say for certain that criminals are not masquerading as Anonymous members? Recently Sony's gaming site was hacked and millions of credit card and personal details were exposed. The hack was attributed to Anonymous, but as Anonymous could include anyone, could criminals have access to our accounts?

And now Anonymous is threatening a sovereign government, Malaysia, for its decision to request ISPs to ban bittorrent and file-sharing websites. This is not the first time they've done so. Australia was marked last year because of its decision to start filtering child pornography sites.

Malaysians quickly supports the Anonymous cause because (1) they want their free music (2) it's against the Malaysian government.

My thought on this is simple:

1. Do you believe downloads of music and movies and TV shows for free are illegal? If you don't, then you're an idiot and there's no point in going any further (surprisingly quite a number of people actually think that downloading music and such is legal. Guess KRU's cartoon on piracy failed)

2. Knowing that it's illegal, do you still do it? Yes, I do. We all do. It's part of life. Been downloading since the days of Napster. What other illegal things that you know is illegal but you still do? Let me give you a simple example - speeding. We all have breached the statutory speed limit, some more than others. We all know if we get caught that we have no excuse. It's illegal, and we must be punished.

But we still speed don't we? We just become a bit more aware of where the cops normally do their roadblocks. We monitor #kltu on twitter. We install those sensors that can detect police speed-guns.Or we just speed knowing that the probability of getting caught every time is less than the probability of me hooking up with Giselle Bunchen.

3. So accepting that downloads are illegal, why is it a problem if the police or enforcers or the government take steps to prevent an illegal act? Wouldn't they NOT be doing their jobs if they don't take action?

4. Yes, it'll hurt us for a bit. It'll hurt me and my attempt to build an all-time greatest hits compilation. But we will move on and survive. Every time they put up roadblocks, we find another road to use, don't we?

5. It's more dangerous that we accept foreign intervention on our sovereignty. It's even more dangerous when we cannot identify who these people are.

I know this is an unpopular post, but popularity often masked ineptness. I've learned that on twitter. Plenty of idiots with thousands of followers make me believe that the world is really going down the shit hole. LOL

I Will Not Neglect You Any More Baybeh...

Oh blog,I have been neglecting you. Yes, we have been together for quite some time, although it still feels like only yesterday I opened up my heart to you. It was sad to leave Undergrounduate, but I knew I had to move on with you.

Problem is, 38 dates after more than two years is a sad sign of our relationship. Yes,I realized thst I don't feel like going out with you if nobody notices how great we are as a couple. I admit I feel a pang of sadness when nobody talks about us.

Yes, I have cheated on you. Remember Facebook? Yeap, we went out a few times but it doesn't feel the same. When I tag people on my dates with her, it feels like I'm forcing friends to watch me make love. So I turned to Twitter. I have to admit Twitter fits the box of what I'm looking for in a relationship right now.

It is simple, uncomplicated, and above all, quick. I know we had some quickies before but being limited to 140 steps kinda forces me to be very much straight to the point,and she accepts that willingly.

But its very simplicity, single-mindedness approach to dating means I miss out on my favorite part of consummation - foreplay and the cuddle afterwards. You see with you, blog, I could take my time, building up the excitement to an inevitable climax and later enjoy a literary equivalent of a stick of ciggy while you purr lovingly in my arms. Sometimes the journey with you, blog, is better than the destination.

And so please forgive me, my dear, for I have neglected you for so long. I promise to go out with you at least once every few days. But I have promised you this before, haven't I?