"Drama swasta Melayu" (Malay drama serials) has the answer for all your problems.

Are you a fan of the daily or weekly "drama swasta Melayu" (Malay drama serials/movies or "soap opera") on TV?
Do you notice that in those dramas or movies, if ever there is a problem, any problem, there is only one solution that can solve everything?
The one magical solution that solve everything?
It is marriage.
Yes, marriage is the magical solution to solve all your problems.


Your son is a playboy?
Marry him off to an innocent religious kampung girl.
(Ohh... and don't tell her that he is a playboy...hussshh...)
Hopefully, he will turn a new leaf.

Your daughter was caught "khalwat" (adulterous situation) with her potential rapist?
Then, marry her off to that potential rapist.
Your twisted sense of "honour" is more important than her safety and dignity.

You want to expand your business empire? 
Or your company is facing bankruptcy and you need a rich company to merge with?
Marry off your son or daughter to another rich guy's daughter or son.
Make sure the prenuptial contract is tight.
Love is not important.
Increasing  your wealth or saving your company is more important.

Your son is leaving the nest but he does not know how to manage his life?
He does not know how to manage his own bachelor pad?
Easy. Just marry him off to a simple kampung girl that can do house chores and treat her like a maid.

Your daughter is a tomboy?
Choose a man, any man, and pay him to marry her.
Hopefully, he can make her more feminine and more docile.

Your daughter is pregnant out of wedlock?
Ohh...The father does not want to marry her?
Then, choose a random stranger off the street and marry her off to him.
Pay him if needed.
Again, your twisted sense of "honour" is more important than true love and compassion.

Your son is a dug addict?
Abusive?
Does not pray five times a day?
Find an innocent religious kampung girl and marry him off to that girl.
(Ohh... and don't tell her that he is any of the above.)
["What?
This plot is the same as the "playboy son" plot?
No, it's NOT!
In that story the son is a playboy.
In this story the son is a drug addict.
It is not the same!
How dare you say my drama is unoriginal!
You are insulting all Malay dramas, Malay actors and actresses, Malay producers, Malay directors and everyone involved in the Malay movie industry!
You better apologise before I sue you for betraying the Malay race!
You are racist towards the Malays!"]

(Oh! The horror of criticism!)

Yes, all those are actual plots of our Malay drama serials.
Or if not, I would not be surprised that they will be someday.
(Don't blame me, I watched them a long time ago, but then I try to forget the banal plots and purge them from my memories. Forgive me if my memory is a bit mixed up.)

If these dramas are a true indication of Malay society, then we are doomed.
If you say Malay society are not like that, then I predict it will be, if not sooner, then later.
At the root, all of the above, are about a twisted sense of honour, where family honour is borne by the daughter, and the daughter alone.
Do you know where this can lead to, if we are not careful?

It can lead to these...

https://www.dw.com/en/a-daughter-killed-by-her-family-a-story-of-love-and-honor/a-46362212

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-48802237/every-day-has-been-hell-since-honour-killing-of-banaz-mahmod

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-pakistan-honourkillings/pakistani-man-kills-wife-two-children-six-others-in-alleged-honour-killing-idUKKCN1TW2J0

(Yes, even in the story where the playboy son and the drug addict son are married off to the girl, it is about the girl restoring honour to the family. It is the girl's responsibility to change him. If she does not, she has failed to restore the family honour.
But if the husband were not able to change the tomboyish wife to a more feminine religious wife? It will be her fault for not being able to change, not the husband's.)

This is sad.
As a TV addict that like to watch TV and movies, I want to watch interesting storylines.
Stories that challenge the mind, that build civilisation, that inspire and lift spirits.
Comedies that relax the brain but at the same time tickle thought.

Heck, I even watch cartoons. My favourites are superhero cartoons.
Why?
Yes, it is childish, but they impart to the children ideas about justice, compassion, courage and honour (the right sense of honour defined in terms of personal responsibility and personal dignity.)

Watching "Upin & Ipin", I am hopeful about the future.

But for our drama serials?
Can we please have more variety and more creativity in our storylines?

I paid a lot for my cable TV subscription and I want my investment to be worth it.
Is that asking for a lot?

Merdeka Month: The nation is free but are we ourselves free?

August is our Merdeka month, the month in which date we gained our Independence, 31st August.
Our nation is now independent and free from colonisation.

But are we ourselves free?

There are other forms of bondage and slavery.
Political, economic, social, mental.

In politics, one aspect of bondage has been broken.
The rakyat are now not afraid to change government.
Previously, there was a kind of paralysis or fear that changing the government will lead to chaos or collapse of the nation.
So much so, that it appears like we do not have political freedom.
Hopefully, this new freedom is here to stay.
If the new government does not perform, the rakyat should be politically free and brave enough to change them again, if needed.

But there is a long way to go.
Many people are still beholden, even enslaved, to their political ideologies, to the point of ignoring their good moral values.
Their support are unconditional.
Any wrongs or immoralities or illegalities are justified in the name of the political cause.
The political cause trumps everything, even throwing good moral judgement into the dustbin.
This is a form of slavery, an ideological slavery.
You do not give yourself freedom to judge right and wrong by yourself according to clearly established moral codes.
You defer to the political leaders to tell you what is right and wrong, even when the truth stare at you straight in the face.

In economics, freedom to do business are severely restricted.
Monopolies and oligopolies are abound and propped up.
Questionable bureaucracies and red tape are set in place for various reasons, many to support the political cause of the government of the day.

Did you know that not everyone can import sugar into the country? (link)
What is the point of restricting sugar import?
What is the strategic value in that?

There are also restriction in import permit for steel. (link)
What is the point of this restriction?
The usual excuse of protecting local industries (like local padi farmers and batik/fabric SME's) does not hold water since we do not have a vibrant steel industry in Malaysia.
This restriction causes steel price to be high causing housing price to be high which directly impact consumers.

Apparently there are AP requirement for import for almost everything under the sun.
(Yes, not just for cars.)
What about restriction in signboard for your shop front?
You already have a business license and yet you have to apply a different permit to put up a signboard for your shop front.

All these unnecessary restrictions are a form of economic enslavement.
The rakyat are enslaved to the government in order to make a living.
In trade and economics, we are not fully merdeka yet.

What about social security?
Do you know that in May 2019, the Bantuan Sara Hidup recipient numbers were 3.6 millions? (link)
That is more than 10% of the Malaysian population.
This means more than 10% of Malaysians are poor, to such an extent that they need government aid.
Relying on government handout are a form of enslavement of the people by the ruling elites.

The only segment of society that should receive government aid are the severely handicapped (quadriplegic and similar), orphans, and mentally retarded.
And the only form of government aid to the poor, if any, should be non-monetary, for example in the form of skills training and assistance to find jobs.
The only acceptable financial aid should be in the form of scholarships to deserving students geared towards nation building by ensuring sufficient human capital development.

All other forms of aid, especially free cash handout, are a form of enslavement.
If you rely on the government to put food on the table, then you are not free.

Then there is mental bondage.
The restriction that you yourself imposed on yourself that inhibit independent and critical thinking.
It is the most devious of all, because most of the time you do not realise that you have this.
There is an invisible wall within your mind that limits your thought, your potential and personal freedom.
It is different for each person.
How to recognise it?
Well, that is for another post.

But the short answer is the level of your support for free speech.
If there are no speech that can offend you, then you are free.
Any speech that you say are offensive is nothing more than the speech "knocking" at the "walls" within your mind.
It is annoying (or offensive) because you are not willing to break that "wall".
(Don't get me wrong. You let the speech, or an idea, in not to accept them blindly, but you let them in, in order to engage the ideas and evaluate critically.)

For now, assess for yourself.
The nation is free from colonisers.
But are you free from the tyranny of your own government machineries?
Are you free from the mental bondage of your own making?


Think!

Bangau Oh Bangau: A Modern Interpretation

Mr Crane is poor.
He is always in and out of jobs.
His life is as per the Malay saying "kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang" (dig in the morning, eat in the morning; dig in the afternoon, eat in the afternoon).
Some days he does not eat.
Because of that, he is malnourished and skinny.
He is as thin as a stick.

By trade, he is a fisherman and a hunter.
Most of the year, he fish, and during the monsoon, he hunts.
However, to fish, there are a lot of bureaucratic hurdles from the Fisheries Department in terms of licensing and fishing restriction.
Unfortunately, there are also licensing and bureaucratic hurdles for Mr Crane to hunt set by the Forestry Department.

Hence, Mr Crane blames the Fisheries Department and the Forestry Department for his lack of "rezeki".

The Fisheries Department says they set all these licensing and bureaucratic hurdles to protect the environment as required by the Department of Environment (DOE). Rather than plan for sustainable fishing management, they take the easy way out and ban fishing outright in many places, in order to protect the fish and underwater seaweed, the so called grass of the sea. The Fisheries Department said they are simply following the DOE guidelines.
So, they blame the DOE for Mr Crane's predicament.

As for the Forestry Department, their answer is similar. They set all these licensing and bureaucratic hurdles to protect the animals and the green forest, even to the last grass. Instead of planning for sustainable long term forest management, they ban hunting outright. They say they are also simply following the DOE guidelines.
So, they also blame the DOE for Mr Crane's predicament.

The DOE says they have to protect the environment.
Their guideline has become even more restrictive after the spread of the "buffalo flu virus" that infect jungle animals. The virus infects the stomach lining of animals causing them to suffer indigestion and malnourishment.

One of the symptom of the disease is that the animals are not eating. This causes imbalance in the natural food chain in the forest. Some species almost become extinct for not eating and some species become overpopulated due to not being eaten. The forest also grows and encroaches into city limits causing inconveniences to city dwellers. The DOE blames the Veterinary Department for not being able to find the cure for this "buffalo flu virus".

The Veterinary Department, after taking samples from the animals and from the stomach of "Patient Zero", which was a buffalo, found that the cause of the disease was due to "Patient Zero", the buffalo, eating contaminated rice from a paddy field. The paddy field was overdosed with herbicide and insecticide causing the "buffalo flu" to mutate and spread. The Veterinary Department blames the Agricultural Department for this situation.

The Agricultural Department, instead of planning a careful spray management that does not damage the environment and does not endanger the food supply, they simply spray willy-nilly causing overdosing and food contamination. They plan for the rain to wash away the overdosed herbicide and insecticide instead of careful measurement of the dose. For that, they rely on the Meteorology Department to provide them with rain forecast.
However, as everyone knows, rain forecasting is not an exact science. And yet, when the rain does not fall as they had hoped, they blame the food contamination on the Meteorology Department for providing inaccurate rain forecast.

The Meteorology Department blames the wrong rain forecast on Mr F. Roger who did cloud seeding in the neighbouring state. Mr F. Roger's state was experiencing drought, so he did cloud seeding to create rain in his area. However, this causes havoc in the weather of the surrounding area which in turn causes weather forecasting to be more erratic and less exact than it already is.

Mr F. Roger blames the water shortage on the water service provider. The water service provider cannot give a decent service to its customers. There are always water shortages, water cuts and interruption in services.
So, that is why Mr F. Roger did cloud seeding in his area.
 
So, who does the water service provider blame?
Nobody.
They say they are just following their procedure.
It is how they operate.
Or in other words, inefficiency is their nature.
Deal with it...!

And the name of this water service provider?
Syarikat Negara Air Kuning Enterprise or "SNAKE" for short.

Go figure!

Let us now together sing Bangau Oh Bangau!

Lyrics below together with the English translation.

Bangau oh bangau
 Kenapa engkau kurus?
 Macam mana aku tak kurus
 Ikan tak mahu timbul
 Ikan tak mahu timbul

Ikan oh ikan
 Kenapa engkau tak mahu timbul?
 Macam mana aku nak timbul
 Rumput panjang sangat
 Rumput panjang sangat

Rumput oh rumput
 Kenapa panjang sangat?
 Macam mana aku tak panjang
 Kerbau tak makan aku
 Kerbau tak makan aku

Kerbau oh kerbau
 Kenapa tak makan rumput?
 Macam mana aku nak makan
 Perut aku sakit
 Perut aku sakit

Perut oh perut
 Kenapa engkau sakit?
 Macam mana aku tak sakit
 Makan nasi mentah
 Makan nasi mentah

Nasi oh nasi
 Kenapa engkau mentah?
 Macam mana aku tak mentah
 Kayu api basah
 Kayu api basah

Kayu oh kayu
 Kenapa engkau basah?
 Macam mana aku tak basah
 Hujan timpa aku
 Hujan timpa aku

Hujan oh hujan
 Kenapa engkau turun?
 Macam mana aku tak turun
 Katak panggil aku
 Katak panggil aku

Katak oh katak
 Kenapa panggil hujan?
 Macam mana aku tak panggil
 Ular nak makan aku
 Ular nak makan aku

Ular oh ular
 Kenapa kau makan katak?
 Macam mana aku tak makan
 Memang makanan aku
 Memang makanan aku


English translation below:


Stork oh stork
 Why are you so thin?
 How am I not skinny...
 The fishes are not surfacing
 The fishes are not surfacing

Fish oh fish
 Why are you not surfacing?
 How can I get to the surface...
 The grass is too long
 The grass is too long

Grass oh grass
 Why are you too long?
 How can I not be long...
 The Buffalo did not eat me
 The Buffalo did not eat me

Buffalo oh buffalo
 Why do you not eat the grass?
 How can I eat them...
 My belly ache
 My belly ache

Belly oh belly
 Why are you sick?
 How can I not be sick...
 I ate raw rice
 I ate raw rice

Rice oh rice
 Why are you raw?
 How am I not raw...
 Firewood was wet
 Firewood was wet

Wood oh wood
 Why are you wet?
 How can I not get wet...
 Rain fall over me
 Rain fall over me

Rain oh rain
 Why do you fall down?
 How do I not fall down...
 The Frog called me
 The Frog called me

Frog oh frog
 Why do you call the rain
 How can I not call?
 The Snake wanted to eat me
 The Snake wanted to eat me

Snake oh snake
 Why do you want to eat the frog
 How do I not eat it...
 It is my natural food (It is my nature)
 It is my natural food (It is my nature)

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner: Why does Coyote only fall when he looks down?

Copyright Warner Brothers.

Why does Wile E. Coyote only fall when the Road Runner shows him that there is no ground beneath his feet? If he remains ignorant, would he not fall?

It is as if, if he were to remain ignorant of his situation, he is literally, able to float in mid air, a miraculous deed.

He could in theory, walk back to safety, on the condition that he does not know that he is in danger in the first place.

Juxtapose it to real life, it begs the question; would you choose to remain ignorant in order to stay "safe" and "comfortable", or would you risk knowing, even if that knowledge would lead to your "fall" or "discomfort"?

On the flip side, if you are the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote is not your enemy but your family or friends, would you point out to him that there is no ground beneath his feet. Would you relieve him of his ignorance thus ensuring his "fall" or would you remain silent in order for him to remain safe "floating" in mid air?

It may seem like an absurd question.
But think carefully and critically.
The story of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner is almost like an allegory for blissful ignorance.

Would you rather remain safe in blissful ignorance or take the risk of knowledge?
Would you look down and question your foundation?
Your long held believe?

You decide.

The rules of the Road Runner show.

The Power of the Sage: A Tao Poem (How Mr Lao Tze, founder of Taoism is wrong & a commentary on Malaysian hypocrisy)

I found the Tao poem below at this website.
The poem was inspired by the Tao philosophy.

-------------------
 
The Power of the Sage.

You can bribe one who is greedy;
Shame one who is guilty;
Flatter one who is vain;
Threaten one who fears;
Steal from one who values possessions;
Tempt one who has desire;
Break one who is unbending.

The sage is none of these things.
This is the source of his strength.

------------------

Mr Lao Tze (the founder of the Tao philosophy of which the poem was inspired from) lived about 2,500 years ago. Malaysia as a country did not yet exist then.

If Mr Lao Tze had known about Malaysian politicians, the first para of the above poem would only have six lines instead of seven.

Because Malaysian politicians have no shame.

In fact, they are proud of their sinful deeds.
Malaysians, especially the supporters of those politicians, also have no shame.
They not only support those politicians, but make up excuses and joking slogans to show their supports.


Accused of stealing money?
No worry, just make up slogans that trivialise the stealing.
It's normal, what...
Everyone steals.
No shame.

Sex scandal plagued your idols?
So what?
Everybody "eats" outside once in a while.
No shame.

Ohh...skandal "kunyit"...?
The other guy confessed...?
Got pictures?
They don't know each other, lah...
Ohh, got picture together?
It's blurry lah...
Just continue your job.
No shame.

That thief share the stolen money with you?
Yes, I know it's stolen money, but I did not do the actual stealing.
"Tak baik tolak rezeki".
Anyway, we will just lie and say we don't know anything.
It's OK to lie in the name of religion.
No shame in doing that.

God says so.
Where does God says that?
He said it somewhere, just trust me, He said it.
No need to be ashamed as long as God is with you.


Yes, Mr Lao Tze was wrong.
You cannot shame the guilty, at least not in Malaysia.
The guilty has no shame.
They have something far more powerful.
They have supporters who are blind, or religious excuse that can wash away their sins and shame like rainwater on keladi leaves, or thick skins that are thicker than hippopotamus skins.

They have thick skinned hippo angels with angel wings that carry their repentance to God for forgiveness. And why wouldn't God forgive them? After all, they are defenders of God, and defenders of God cannot do anything wrong! 



Flying hippo.
Copyright here.