Author: Hafiz Noor Shams

For more about me, please read this.

Categories
Politics & government

[1465] Of angry, tired, disillusioned

Already it is December. My, oh my, how time flies. I woke up last Saturday to discover that it was already 12 hours into December. Around this time several years ago, I’d wake up in a very dark room, curtain blocking the sunlight from penetrating. I’d smile because I was thankful to be alive. I felt blessed. There was nothing more I would ask. These days however, I’m angry, disillusioned and tired. Whereas a smile came naturally then, it’s a chore now.

I wish I could turn back time, forever savoring that blissful moment again and again and again. I wish I could just stare at the ceiling for the whole morning, knowing full well that for that day at least, I was happy and nothing would bother me. I would breathe in cool fresh air filling my pair of lungs with sweetness and then slowly releasing the air. All worries would dissipate by mere breathing. By just breathing, I was satisfied. I would just lie on my bed, breathing, smiling and eyes wide opened, for hours. It was bliss that seems so distance now.

I could hear Haydn in the background. No, it was not on the radio. It was in my head and only I alone could hear it. I had listened to him too many a time the previous night. I had closed my eyes, concentrated to the music and fell asleep over it. If I may, there was an afterimage, an aftertaste that lingered in my consciousness. And I cried before I embarked on a journey to slumber, as I am right now. I cried not because of Haydn but because of that bliss, knowing that it wouldn’t last. And I cry now, for I have tasted the fruit and I long for it. No more could I hear Haydn in the background.

Suddenly a voice, “carpe diem!”

Realizing the sun would not wait for me, I would take a walk, enjoying my time in the sun. I would stroll along the river, enjoying the breeze with an empty mind. I would imagine that I was flying amid a field where the long grasses grew just over the hill away from the clumsy ducks. Before long, I would find myself staring into the blue sky, liberated, lying on the earth, again smiling to myself. And breathing, and satisfied.

That has past and I am growing increasingly bitter now. Each day provokes anger continuously without fail. Already the anger is saturating to a point that it begins to define the opposite of bliss. I dread waking up every day. I really do. I wish I would sleep and never to wake up. I wish for liberty from physical constraints.

Let others argue for I am tired. It is the same argument over and over again. It is the same polemics, the same flaws, the same rationale, the same answers. Enough.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s — the early edition of this article was first published at Bolehland.

Categories
Sports

[1464] Of Malaysian team is frustrating

The field hockey match between South Korea and Malaysia ended very frustratingly for me. South Korea won 3-2 but the frustration is not about the loss per se but rather, the way Malaysia ended up on the wrong end of the gun.

I only managed to catch the second half of the match and I was initially delighted to find out that Malaysia was leading 1-2. South Korea had painted an image of invincibility on themselves after beating Australia and the Netherlands. So, it was easy to rationalize why I was impressed at the scoreline. Malaysian playing style became apparent to me soon enough and that turned me off. It really turned me off, I tell you.

I do not know how they played earlier but in the second half, Malaysia appeared contended to simply defend instead of attacking. On top of that, Malaysia was fond of long balls. Unfortunately, the long passes were rarely accurate. If I had not known better, I would have thought that the Malaysian team was kindly passing the ball to the Korean!

But it was not too bad really because Malaysia did attack and produced some remarkable chances. But it was not long before the Korean equalized.

Much to my dismay, the equalizer only made Malaysia to burn throw away their sword away and hide being a shield all the time! It reminds me why I hate the Italian soccer team so much!

It almost worked though. Almost.

As the seconds ticked away, Korean redoubled their attacks. While I was visibly angry at Malaysia’s defensive mode, I found myself praying — now, that is a miracle — for the clock to run out. Barely two or a minute from the end, the Korean scored a goal. Needless to say, the pray went unanswered (I wonder why?).

Malaysia tried to do something after a bang in the head but it was too late for anything.

This is so much different from the way Malaysia played against Australia and Pakistan. During those two games, Malaysia fought valiantly. We attacked and played intelligently. Australia, the Kookaburras, one of the top teams in the world, were struggling against us! Struggling! For that, I do not mind losing to Australia. At least, we came down fighting. As for Pakistan, they were simply playing badly. But against South Korea in the second half, we were truly pathetic and frustrating. It was so frustrating that if I had knife right beside me, I would have stabbed myself to death. The frustration was un-f-bearable that it would warrant suicide.

All I can say, Malaysia deserve to lose that match and get no sympathy from me. At the moment, the Malaysian team is placed 8th out of 8 possible places. In other words, we are at the bottom of the table.

Categories
Liberty

[1463] Of Malaysia is a democracy

Recent events had provoked outrage amid those that sympathized with the idea of individual liberty. With a stake of woods burning, BN-led government threw fuel into the fire, allowing it to burn more brightly than before. One of the more angering statements, to me personally, was made by a minister that had the cheek to claim that no force was used to disperse protesting crowd whereas on the contrary, clearly caught on camera, the police did fire tear gas and water cannon. Another claim which I wish to address here concerns claim that Malaysia is a democratic country. While many understandably would like to fiercely dispute that, Malaysia is a democratic country. What it is not, in practice, strictly speaking, is a liberal democracy.

When the minister made that assertion, my initial reaction was of pure disbelief. Frankly however, I need time to rationalize something and any reaction that comes immediately after an event may be prompted by emotion without proper consideration. As emotion subsided, as it always does with time, I began to impartially reassess at the minister’s assertion. My conclusion is that, Malaysia is a democratic country, in the purest sense of the word.

As written earlier, democracy in its purest form is majoritarianism. Many however assumes the term democracy is liberal democracy instead of, well, simply democracy.

To the defense of those that disagree with the minister, the term democracy and its underlying assumptions have evolved ever since the ancient Greek popularized it. The ideological triumph of liberalism over socialism in the 20th century later made the word liberal in liberal democracy redundant. Slowly as liberalism proliferates everywhere, many come to associate democracy with liberal democracy. Day in and day out, what was simply an act done in simplicity’s sake has become an act of redefinition as far as popular opinion is concerned. As liberal democracy becomes accepted norm and taken for granted but is referred to democracy instead, the fact that the word democracy today enjoys a polymorphic but inaccurate definition is forgotten. Those that take liberty for granted usually are less rigorous in rationalizing their liberalism. These people especially are unable to recognize the difference between pure democracy and liberal democracy.

But ignorance is no reason to erase that line that separates the two types of democracy. While I am uncertain if the BN-led government as a whole realizes the difference between the two, it is quite clear that the government refers to majoritarianism when it talks of democracy. Under this definition which is perfectly fine — and I would argue, the most accurate — Malaysia is a democratic country. Elections have been held on regular basis. There are serious flaws in Malaysian democratic processes but Malaysia fits the shape of crude majoritarianism. Nothing compels a society of pure democracy to respect liberty.

With that respect, Malaysia is not a liberal democracy; a democracy that respects individual liberty which includes free speech and freedom of assembly, among others.

One may argue that BN-government is stuck in the past and has yet to move along the evolution of ideas that transformed the popular definition of democracy but in all honesty, both definitions of democracy, of majoritarian and of liberal, are perfectly valid. The former appeals to majority rule while the latter fuses the best of democracy with liberalism.

In the end, what this highlights is the importance of definition. Without being on the same page, it is hard to move forward.

Categories
Environment

[1462] Of Australia ratifies the Kyoto Protocol

Just over three years after Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol and in effect, bringing it into force, Australia ratifies it.

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Monday he has ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in his first official act after being sworn in as leader.

‘Today I have signed the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol,’ Rudd said in a statement.

‘This is the first official act of the new Australian government, demonstrating my government’s commitment to tackling climate change.’ [Australian PM ratifies Kyoto Protocol. Forbes. December 3 2007]

And as stated yesterday, the Bali Summit opens today.

Categories
Sports

[1461] Of when strange is normal…

College football pundits are recognizing this season as strange. If I remember correctly, they called last year’s season as strange too. And so was the season before, too.

Question: if every season is strange, would that make another “strange” season as typical, normal, standard, familiar (insert any synonym from thesaurus here)?