71 year old woman named Biyu Aiguo

The piece you are about to read is a short narration of a personal story of an old woman who is 71 years old. She introduced herself as Mrs. Biyu Aiguo who has lived in Alam Damai area of Cheras for over 15 years. And at her age she has gone to school up till University level. To be honest she did not say much because the interview was conducted while she was not feeling too well and age too could not let her go into details. I asked her what was wrong with her and she told me that she had Goiter which is defined as the enlargement of the thyroid gland appearing as swelling of the front of the neck. Iodine deficiency is one of several causes. And thus her speech was difficult to understand due to the surgery she had to remove the Goiter. She told a tale of her late husband who died many years ago, but the love she has for him could not let her love any other man, she still loves her late husband Mr. Aiguo. “I still love my husband, he was my first love and only love.” She said. “We met and fell in love while we were both still young that piece of memory is unforgettable”. She went on “I am old now and I stay with my daughter who is married to a Nigerian”. The daughter and her husband (popularly known as Yellow) own an African restaurant in Taman Connaught Cheras and she usually goes there just to have some company. “My daughter is the co-owner of the African restaurant called Goody Foody in Taman Connaught”. The restaurant caters mostly for Africans since it is a bar cum restaurant. She said the restaurant/bar also has a lot of history. The restaurant in question was opened for business in mid 2007 and ever since it has grown into a night spot for Africans living in Malaysia as the menu serves mostly African food. She said the Africans come there to eat and drink, she told me that she has witnessed fights at the bar which resulted in closing down the place. She recalls one particular incident of how a reporter was attacked last Ramadan when she was filming the activities of the bar; these angered the ‘drunken’ customers who in turn seized and broke the camera of a TV3 reporter Puspavathy Ramaloo. That incident she said led to the arrest of her daughter and husband until they took an undertaking never to allow such thing happen and paid a fine. She told me that the restaurant is what is sustaining her daughter as a lot of customers patronize the joint.

Then she asked me if I wanted to hear something else and I said sure why not then she told me she is too old now and sick so she couldn’t say much but she wanted to. The only reason why she was allowed to talk to me on her sick bed for just 10minutes is because she has African friends who she met in the African restaurant and because I told them I am a student who wanted to do a project of this nature. She says “I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I’m old and this
sickness is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As I leaned closer she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it. There is a difference between growing older and growing up”.
I became confused as to why she would end it like this, with this kind of advice to me! What did she sense? Obviously she is too old but that don’t mean she should give up on life just yet. She had family and friends who always come to see her every day. After saying that her daughter told me that it is enough “mama would like to rest now”. So I obliged I could see that she is not feeling too well. I thanked them and left, but I never stopped thinking of her words “find humor every day”.

As it is I wanted to probe deeper to find out more from an old lady like that but her sickness stood in my way and the people who stood around us were not helping. I had to let it go at that because there was nothing I could do. I m not totally happy either, because an old lady like that would have so much stories to tell if the circumstances that prevented her speech weren’t there. But I am glad I had this little time to interact with a 71 year old woman named Biyu Aiguo.

PERSEPOLIS!

PERSEPOLIS
The film begins in an airport where Marjane Satrapi is unable to board a plane to Iran. Sitting and smoking a cigarette, she remembers her life as a girl in 1979 with Marji at the age of 10, a young girl with dreams of being a prophet and an emulator of Bruce Lee. (The film is black and white during her memories).
The movie is about Iran and how some Iranians fought an oppressive regime to gain their freedom from fundamentalist dictators who have been ruling Iran and imposing a particular way of life. Obviously fed up with status quo, the movie shows how those who are liberal made effort to free the country.
Just like in any country, the opposition are arrested and detained and some killed. But Marji who fancies the free life and democracy was not willing to give up just yet. Her parents sensed that she was going to be vocal against the government when she grows up, so they decided to send her to Vienna to study. She went through different stages in her life in Vienna and enjoyed the liberty in Europe but still thought of her home (Iran).
Iran has always been a traditional society built on the Islamic principles and laws. The world has evolved over the years but Iran is still the same. In the world today, Islam as a religion is facing difficulty due to recent events such as the 9/11 attacks in the USA. Islam unlike any other religion cannot be separated from the state (in cases of Islamic nations), thus the case in Iran. Although the people yearn for change and democracy, freedom, things still remain the way it was.
The western countries that practice advance democracy succeeded in doing so by separating the church from the state. That formula has worked in many western countries and today they are enjoying the fruits of democracy. Women are not forced to dress in any particular way and they are not required to behave in any particular way as well. Freedom allows people to express themselves in any form they wish.
The United States Government has been the strongest advocates of democracy all over the world. They are still trying to get Iran to embrace this way of life but their effort always runs into a brick wall. The hardcore Islamist’s who are opposed to reformation and modernization always thwarts these efforts. I believe they will lose control of the countries resources once they allow genuine democracy to flourish. A close look at Iran’s ruling class will reveal that there is no ideology in what they do. There is no logic in it except may be self interest. Iran is blessed with natural resources and the only way to control the resources is to control the people with strict laws. That way, no one can oppose these dictators.
From the movie Persepolis, it is easy to determine the true feelings of Iranians, though recent events in that country also show that the mood of the population is for change and modernization, of genuine democracy and of freedom from the bondage of dictatorship. But will they succeed against those who have ruled over their affairs for a very long time? Again the answer can only come from future generations like Marji who think that the will of the people should prevail.
Arguably, democracy is the best form of government now. A lot of countries have embraced it and that formula has worked well in many parts of the world. Iran can also take steps to allowing the people decide their own fate. No government or group of people should hold an entire country to ransom for selfish reasons.
Using religion as a basis for perpetrating evil is not advisable as Edward Said pointed out in his essay, Islam as news. He believes that the state should be separated from the mosque or church. But that would be a difficult thing to achieve in Iran because the state believes that Islam is the religion of the people and therefore must be part of the general society.
I strongly believe that for Iran to get out of its current situation, it should head to that advice and join the rest of the world in embracing the true principles of democracy. The people must feel that the country belongs to them and not the rulers. And if that happens, then there will be peace, harmony and progress that will lead to greater Iran.

Our Burmese Days!

This documentary has a concept that I like, the concept of the daughter pushing her mum to admit her past. Lindsay (director) is the daughter, Bill the brother, and Sally the central character and the mum are a family. Sally who originally is from Burma refuses to accept her past and admit that she has her roots there. He inquisitive daughter wouldn’t let her mum throw away a perfectly good piece of family history just like that insisted that they all take a trip to Burma to see what really is out there.
Sally who claims to be English because she has stayed in England for quite a long time was reluctant and unwilling to play along with the daughter to dig up there history and trace their roots. Sally agrees to go to Burma with the daughter and her brother. When she visited Burma memories came back to her, she got emotional at one point and cried. She remembered her mum and the good old days. Her mum was a major influence in her life, but still she refuses to admit her past, which is sad.
While she was in Burma, she met old friends of her mum who narrated to her how her mum died. She obviously misses her mum and broke down and cried at the cemetery. While all this was going on, Bill was also busy exploring Burma and trying to remember lost memories. If it wasn’t for the unwillingness of Sally to accept that she is part of the Burma community, the whole trip would have been a more memorable one for all of them that went to Burma, especially Lindsay who initiated the whole thing in the first place.
For Lindsay, being born in United Kingdom and having learnt of her connection with Burma the whole experience means a lot to her. She wanted to meet folks who remembered her grandparents and to be able to feel that she belongs to and is also part of the Burma community. But her hopes were dashed by her mum’s refusal to accept the fact that she is even from there. The mum’s insistence that she is English had provoked not just Lindsay, but Bill as well.
One thing that is certain is this, if the war that happened in Burma didn’t take place. And Sally had no reason to migrate to the UK, would she still deny her ancestral heritage? Her stubbornness and open denial of her birth place is frustrating to me. I m sure a lot of people especially in western countries would love to trace their roots. But here, Sally stands in Burma she still remembers most of her child hood days in Burma, but she still denies her roots. What a waste. She should at least have the decency to admit that she is Burmese, even if it’s just to make her daughter Lindsay and brother Bill proud to be from Burma.

The Big Durian

The Big Durian
1. In the first place, I find the Big Durian to be very interesting, funny and educative among other things. The scene that made an impression on me is the scene where a former employee to successive Sultans made testimonies about the way each Sultan he served behaved. The casual way he spoke and conducted himself during the interview was what fascinated me: he smoked cigarettes while he spoke and his clothes look unfit for a former employee of the royal palace. Furthermore, I find his revelations about some of these Sultans very shocking. For instance, his testimony that most of the ones he served never fasted during the fasting month, rather, they would consume alcoholic drinks, which is not only forbidden in Islam (the religion of all the Sultans) but also during the fasting month. If these revelations are true...Then what a tragedy. I thought the Sultans are the custodians of the holy religion?

2. According to the documentary, the strongest rumor that is out there is the one which says that Private Adam’s reason for running amok is because a Sultan murdered his brother. He made a police report but no action was taken against the Sultan. There was no investigation and he felt that his brother died in vain because the Sultan is a powerful member of the society. Thus his reason and pain for running amok. Although, he was not quite happy with the indecency of Jalan Chow kit, the actual location of the incident. However, in my opinion that alone could not be motive enough!


3. The character from Sabah stays with her uncle. According to her, what she saw on Private Adams face was “freedom”. He was free and calm as if he has been set free from captivity. She wished to be like him. Free!

4. The perspective of the director in viewing the events of 1987 was mostly political in the sense that whatever made him run amok was political. The historical vintage point is the post reformasi period, after a cultural-political shift has begun in Malaysian politics, in the early 2005.

The Anthony Milner essay and Liew Kung Yu’s art.

The Anthony Milner essay is quite a piece of writing that deals with the way history of Malaysia is shaped right from inception to date. It also looks at how different narratives compete with each other for relevance. Anthony Milner is part of the ISEAS project that looks at how different south East Asian countries developed into a nation state. Milner’s area of concentration is Malaysia where he examines the things that can make or break Malaysia. He refers to the concept of Malaysia as an “idea” that is in a precarious situation (state). He also spoke of how Malaysia lacks a common unifying factor that the people will look up to. He spoke of the Philippines situation where the great revolution lead by Andrés Bonifacio was seen as a single great tradition that unites them.
In his essay, he spoke of how different segments of Malaysia have their own perspective about national history and how each segment has rejected the others perspective because of racial issues. Malaysia is a multi racial society founded by all the races (Malays, Indians, and Chinese). However, the Malay race is claiming ownership of the land and considering others that are involved in the Malaysian project as settlers or migrants. This of course did not go down well with the rest of Malaysia especially the Chinese who are believed to have worked tirelessly for the independence that they are enjoying today.
The issue of race and unity will continue to dominate national discourse in Malaysia as long as the other races involved feel marginalized by one section (Malays). A lot of countries have dis-integrated because of this. However, Malaysia still remains in one piece after fifty years of independence. Does that mean that though Milner referred to Malaysia as ‘precarious’ it would never break? The answer lies with the future generations of Malaysia.
Anthony Milner suggested that in other for Malaysia to move forward as an indivisible country, equality must be emphasized. That will encourage inter-racial unity among the races and will save Malaysia a lot of headache. It will also end the long standing racial disharmony that is the case presently here in Malaysia. That’s his suggestions for a better Malaysia. And I say that will be a way out of this mess that Malaysia is in right now.
Liew Kung Yu is an artist that is unique in his own way. His art work is unique as well; he tries to use the common elements to tell his stories practically about everything in the society he lives. He tries to integrate elements that are seen as common so that the ordinary people can relate to his work. He tries to speak to his audience through his work and also criticize the ruling class.
In his latest work titled cadangan- cadangan (proposal for my country) Kung Yu tells a story of Malaysia using national landmarks as his tool to tell the story of how Malaysia is divided internally. He also has a habit of showing how divided the country is through his work. He uses a frame to indicate the boundaries of Malaysia and how the different races live and work. Kung Yu is a critic and a master of his art. His works speak for him and interacts with the audience.
The cadangan-cadangan displays public buildings and public spaces and shows how Malaysians live in different parts of the country. The four large art work also proposes how integrated the country should be, how it is possible for all the different races to come under one roof and live in peace and harmony. KungYu believes that Malaysia can actually be united if the right effort is made.
Anthony Milner and Liew Kung Yu are both trying to show in their own different styles how the country can unite and inspire one another. To see themselves as a people with a common destiny and purpose, rather than bickering about. Both of them believe that the racial problems of Malaysia can be solved and the country united if all sides especially the Malays compromise.