The call for bloggers to blog about such tragedies carries with it the intention to create awareness. Awareness? Do we still need awareness if I may ask.
Honestly, aren’t we all fully aware of how fucked up things are? Just mentioned terms such as ‘tape’ or ‘rasuah’ or ‘korek-korek-korek’ or ‘religious freedom’ or ‘protest’ or ‘election’ and that’s enough to set our mouth and ears on a long road towards talk-cock-orgasm. Once climax is reached, we finish our teh-tarik, go home… and that’s it.
So what is the big fuss about creating awareness?
What is the purpose of asking why and why and why this and why that when deep down inside, you already freaking know those questions will not be answered. Worse, why ask when you yourself freaking know the answers!
And I definitely want to question the timing of the why-s. Do you suddenly feel compelled to bombard life with all these questions; or you only do it because reality hits you?
**paragraph deleted after due consideration**
Then there is this bus tragedy who claimed the life of a soul with a bright future. Indeed, it’s a sad thing. But wait, isn’t there a bus tragedy not so long ago? Did you blog about it? Why is there a call to blog about this particular one just because a person with a bright future is a victim? The victims of previous tragedies have got no future and not worth mentioning?And c’mon… how many of us will forget about this tragedy by the time we have our teh-tarik next Monday?
If a person like Jeff Ooi asked me to blog about an issue which I believe in, I will do it. If Nat Tan asked me to blog about an issue I feel strongly about, I will do it. If Pinkpau asked me to write about a social issue, I will do it. But if someone who has been blogging paid post and how lovely life is but suddenly went gung-ho about creating awareness and making a change simply because the ‘needle pokes your flesh’… harap maaf.
And to all those who got high in this awareness-orgy, I want to ask you this question. If you are 21 and above… have you registered to vote? Have you fulfil your responsibility as a Malaysian? Are you aware of the awareness you are spreading?
If you answer is yes, well done. If otherwise, I must say I truly do not understand how people can spend hours blogging about such issues and hours complaining about such issues and hours talking-cock about such issues and yet… not willing to spend a few minutes at the post office counter to get yourself registered.
And for goodness sake… please vote if you’re registered.
The situation is this… the shit has already hit the fan. If you have been trying to make a change and have fulfilled your responsibility as a Malaysian and yet the shit hits you… well, life sucks; and it’s probably there are tonnes of us out there who are still living under the fan but has yet to taste the shit.
If you have been doing nothing but enjoying the breeze under the fan or afraid to do anything so that you and your family can continue your lovely life or you think that so long as you stay away from ‘danger zone’ you will not be hit by shit and … SUDDENLY!... the shit still hits you… well, I hate to say it but… serve… you… right. That’s why they say… shit happens.
They all live in their own comfort zone in the name of ‘protecting-my-family-and-myself’ or ‘I-need-to-make-a-living’ until someone’s body got snatched or someone they know got raped or someone got killed and then… they come out with all guns blazing. Even that, I wonder how long it will last before they all go back to their little comfort life. So what’s the fuss about creating awareness?There is only one way to change things and the whole freaking country knows it but yet, the majority of the whole freaking country doesn’t give a damn about it.
And hey… if you don’t know what is the thing that you can do to make a change… you’re so fucked up I tell you…
I know this entry is rather blunt and to a certain extent… brutal… but this is certainly… as zewt as it gets.
60 comments:
i think this is an honest and direct opinion... and often we only start worrying when it comes so near to ourselves...
reminded of the statements made by Rev. Martin Niemoller...
zewt i know what u mean ....i feel very upset when i see bad news on the paper and i will tend to think abt it for long. and wonder if so-and-so has been found yet, etc. this world is so sick. when we are happily enjoying ourselves, they are millions of ppl suffering with problems of their own...i try to put myself into their shoes and i feel their pain. sadly speaking, i can do nothing to help :( and i dont blog abt it. am i bad?
oh yest was my 1st time being snathced of hp off my neck..it feels horrible. the aftereffect is horrible. worse things cld have happened.
I would toast to every single word you posted dude.
Yes... am gonna vote with my hands AND my feet! If you get what I mean.
This entry certainly comes across as rude and crude. But hey, life is not a bed of roses either. It is time people wake up and not expect to smell coffee and roses all the time.
This is your blog. Only you and you alone can decide what you want to blog about and what you do not want to. Let no one make you feel guilty for not jumping into the bandwagon and talk about issues that they feel are important.
Bloggers talk about freedom. Bloggers want freedom. Bloggers want their freedom to talk about anything under the sun. Fine. Blog about everything you want to. But these bloggers should also respect the freedom of other bloggers not to support their causes. If only we understand the meaning of freedom.
Bloggers or anybody else for that matter should choose to fight for causes that they believe in. We should choose our battles wisely and be committed to it. It is better to do well in one cause than to superficially support many.
We are not Superman. We cannot go around minding every issue that comes our way. But Malaysians being Malaysians, we tend to be reactive rather than proactive, and expect others to be the contrary to what we are. That is hypocrisy at its highest.
Zewt, I do not read your blog often but what you say hits a nerve. We are all very good armchair critics but when called to action, we chicken out. We are afraid of being arrested. We are afraid to physically break the law but act like heroes in cyberspace. Rude and crude this entry may be but you spoke the truth. Well done.
I apologise for this long comment. Just woke up and this is the first entry that I read this morning. Spoke in depth to someone about the blogging scene in Malaysia yesterday and what I wrote here flowed out naturally.
I believe instead of keep asking WHY these tragedies are happening, one should focus on HOW to stop it from happening in the future. Otherwise, you will be asking WHY again in not so long time from now.
chill chill!! i havent registered..dun scold me!!!
okok and i know the post office is only walking distance from my office haha
can we still register btw? i'm such a procrastinating queen
yes, we don't need awareness.. Juz use your vote wisely... but did the voters do that?
zewt, are u coming back to vote? haha... spend about Rm10k juz to go back and vote...
@huei,
no use for you to register now. the process takes 3mths to add ur name to the electoral roll. the 12th GE will be held after CNY. So you only can vote in the next 4-5yrs. lol...
hahah screw me lar..i haven registered...wooohahahaha...
but then again i dun blog abt dis kind of agenda..sort of immuned to it..
Zewt, I have been patiently waiting for your entry (as your promised the others) and you have not disappointed me. You hit the right points and showed your maturity as someone who understands what is going on in this world around us (Malaysia) though you may be miles away.
The majority of Malaysians have been conditioned to "just follow law" and shut up for fear of draconian laws like ISA which only serves those with political interests.
It is unfortunate that the group who wish to make a change do not realise that accidents will happen and do happen BUT it can be minimised through proper enforcement of laws in the country. Not selective enforcement based on festive seasons or ops this and that but enforcement all year round. How many of the bloggers out there who jumped into the bandwagon would condone corruption? How many have obtained a driving license through bribery? If none have, good.
I remembered you have written previously about whether Malaysians are actually willing to make a change starting with themselves. That post and this tells the truth about our society.
Thanks for being blunt. We all need a slap in our own face.
Hey Zewt..
Woah.. your post is quite a fiery one ! What you say is true though.. We've got a tendency to 'yan' and 'yan' and 'yan' and when all the shit hit our own fan.. that's when we take action... when its hitting all our neighbous fan we keep quiet..
The only real way to make a difference, is to vote. And I'm proud to say I'll be voting this GE. Probably the first and last time I'm voting, since a few months after that I'll be voting with my feet.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-by Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller
Yeah Zewt! Totally agree with u! Good hit on this one... I have registered to vote! ;P
im a registered voters and i will vote...even tho i doubt about the end results.
i agreed! everyone has a bright future in their own way. not just any specific/particular person.
ps::sigh! i need to wait for another 5 years to vote.
zewt, you're not the only one feeling exasperated and perplexed at the attitude of msians in general. like what dr m says, "u deserve the kind of gahmen u get" (thru voting them in, or not willing to do anything abt it). many ppl are just not able to think beyond their small circle of comfort. take the simple excuse "my single vote doesn't count"...well, that's why u see 5 million eligible citizens not willing to register to vote...and now "5 million votes don't count" either.
anyway, to u guys and gals who put the money where your mouths are, DAP PJ is getting 400 volunteers (u just need to be 21 and above) to be polling and counting agents in all the polling streams in PJ utara, subang jaya and bkt gasing. it's more important now than ever that the opposition can place agents in all the streams to minimize as much as possible hanky-panky during the entire electoral and counting process. there will be a briefing in english tonight (31 Jan) at 8.30pm at DAP Selangor HQ (77 Jalan 20/9 paramount garden). do attend if you could (there will be more sessions coming...pls refer to tonypua.blogspot.com for details). we will try to place u in the same school where u're gonna vote (for those who are going to vote in PJ).
400 volunteers is a target so that we could work in 2 shifts. play your part to ensure a fairer and cleaner election, and fulfill your responsibility to your country. ;-)
The girl who died in the bus crash was a good fren of mine. Whether or not shes a person with a bright future or the other way round, none of this should not happen anymore. The government should know stern actions must be taken!
With honest sincerity, i hope you would come and sign the petition thats been going on ..Just visit my site and it will lead u there. thank u so much.
I agreed.
Let me shared a link.
http://daftarj.spr.gov.my/daftarbi.asp
What you need to do is key in your IC number and it'll show you the area, that you are suppose to vote.
thanks.
Zewt, cool down... Ignorance is a human nature. I've got the feeling that Abdullah may be in for a surprise.
zewt, great post. it's neither crude or rude as some might think, it hits the nail straight in the head.
The simple message is, you decide who and how your country is run and governed. You have the power, so why not exercise it.
I know why u're so pissed ;) and I can agree with your view. Many dun give a shit until the shit happens to them.
From my own personal point of view, I am deeply saddened by what happened. But I didn't create 'awareness' when many blogged about it.
However, I will support the petition because I want safer bus rides and not because someone ask me to sign it.
And since I support safer bus rides, I would also hope others would sign it (if they want the same thing). So I'll put up a link to the petition which isn't hard to do.
Having said all that. Is the petition going to accomplish anything? I dunno.
But I do know, I need to cast my vote when the time comes.
could this happen???
i wouldnt bet against it…
Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong Declared a Muslim, Children ‘Disinherited’
http://juslo.blogspot.com/2008/01/tan-sri-lim-goh-tong-declared-muslim.html
I am fat! Am I AWARE of it? Yes, definitely!!! Am I doing naything about it? No!...I rest my case!
This is surprisingly direct. I know you must be frustrated because I've followed your blog for sometime and you're never an 'angry' blogger.
I do agree with you on the principal point about not feeling the pinch until we ourselves got poked. But then I am not comfortable with the thought about your implied rights of the person/blogger to ask for help because he/she never blogged about social issues in their blog.:-)
The fact is, not everyone blogs about SoPo stuff. That does not make these non-SoPo folks any more ignorant about our local political scene than the next person. We won't know. Afterall, we don't know the blogger on a personal level.
I would simply view their plea for help as that. If any blogger think it is a cause worthy to blog about, do so. If not, don't. This is solely at the discretion of the blog owner.
But then I won't exactly put so much emphasis on the rights of the person asking for help on the basis he/she never blogged about social issues. :-)
That's just my thought. Have a nice weekend! :-)
Try the Twinings Chamomile tea with honey and drink it while it is hot n steamy.
Jules is there already or not?
Have u been to the national gallery down at the trafalgar square yet? The Tate modern gallery also nice and not far from barbican.
* no wonder i smelled something burning just now....rupa2nya u were fuming mad hehe....
*clap clap*
Pssttt... cili padi in London is extra pedas, eh? ;)
I travel more than 300km to vote the last 3x ;)
If only we bloggers & blog readers make the change, enuff meh? How now brown cow?
Zewt
i quote
'To the person who suffered the tragedy… yes, I feel sorry for you. But as much as I hate to say it… why do you only call for bloggers to blog about such body-snatching saga and create awareness when prior to this tragedy, you don’t blog about such thing at all despite the fact that such tragedies happen on a regular basis. I know cause I spent some time going through the achieve.'
statements such as the above is really uncalled for. You have made it a point to search through archive to see what they have blog about in the past? Empathy should be the keyword here, they are already down no point making it worse? Just remember all humans are made differently.
J Chin
I'm an idiot.
Back to the point. I guess it's human nature. Or like they say, ignorance is bliss.
And shiattt! I'm taking bus home tomorrow... errr... I hope to reach home safe and sound! :/
Zewt,
Blogger or not...journal-like entries had been made since geocities time. The hypocrite you...do you not remember how you garner all this "blogging" popularity by writing the lost of our mother. What you have written in your blog after that event is not any hit wisdom. You are just a very COMMON person and always stating the OBVIOUS. Just very common. Nobody need to hear those pieces from you, blogger or not. bottomline, YOU ARE JUST TOO COMMON.
History repeated itself....this time the bright girl who was killed did cross my path. I doubt the involved parties in previous tragedies were more like "hangat hangat tahi ayam". There wasn't any walk the walk, talk the talk since necessary actions were not taken by the concerned parties to prevent more recent accidents!
Anyway, back to the point. Perhaps your blog is such a popular place that you might play a small but pivotal role in adding fuel to the fire (or rubbing salt to the wound!!).
I have registered and voted in the last round. If the date coincides with my trip back, I'll certainly vote but I won't do the postal vote thingy from overseas!
You're making me feel guilty once more. I haven't registered. Too late to vote this time, I suppose.
*THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE*
Well written & well said!!!
I wish I could write like you in reply to those same requests. *sigh*
Woow! Exact hit on the bull's eye. just to further my personal opinion, i think that to boycott the bus company isn't a rational thing to do. I might get a lot of hating for this but its my opinion. Yes, the bus company do hold a certain amount of responsibility for this. However, don't anyone think that the system is to be blame? If the bus companies and the "people in control" communicate and work together this situation could be minimalised. I do feel sorry for the victims but people need to be more rational and seek for a long term solution.
Aiyah! All NATO lah! He! He! Cum erection time........I will throw a star fish back to the sea!
Hemmmmm!!!! It seem that I am the only one throwing starfish! Pity u r in London!!! It will be nice if u can also throw one starfish back to the sea!
Have a nice day & happy CNY!!!
p/s do more pokeing! It is good for u!!!
wahlau - it's a disease that has no cure... unfortunately.
Winn - i am glad you're ok, the string didnt pull you down or anything eh? yeah, crime is getting worse... but we all know we can do something about it.
frostee - hahaha... i vote with a pencil... :P
Peter - hi peter and welcome to AZAIG.i like the way you say how we are all armchair critics. it's an unfortunate truth, we are all guilty of it on way or another. and yes, sometimes, one has to be brutally rude in order to get the message across. no worries for the long comment. i love it... and thanks for dropping by.
jam - that is very true. i am glad your see the light bro...
Huei - hahaha... rasa pedas eh? yes, you can always register, but whether you can vote in the next election is another issue.
Danny - i will be back soon enough and hopefully... i wont miss it :)
constant craver joe - that is ok... cos then you're not a hypocrite. but i know you're leaving soon hehe...
pablopabla - yes, we have been made to live in silent... but deep inside, we are not capable to be vocal...and we are certainly not prepared to live the life we claim we want to... it's truly unfortunate.
Theodwyn - voting with your feet... hehe... took me a while to understand that.
princessladyjane - well done jane... well done...
j or ji - that does not matter. we must not be chained by the thought that our votes make no difference.... it does.
iamikel - at least u r willing to vote... which is a great thing.
Ko-chi Wai - hey there and welcome to AZAIG. indeed, most of us feel such a way till we are immune to it...which is bad. i hope the 400 volunteers will show up. i wonder if i will join if i am back home... hehe.
Kah Yin - hi there.... i signed already. sorry to hear about your friend...
Pauline Yap - thanks... i check that all the time :)
Dan-yel - let's hope I will be surprised too! :)
Klaw - thanks bro... i dont get this blunt all the time haha!
adrian - i signed... though i know the petition will not achieve anything. but then again, that's the least we can do... on top of voting of cos.
juslo - hello... welcome! i tot i am really missing some big news till i saw the date.... hahahahahahaha....
suituapui - very subtle indeed :)
Helen - wah... so many :-)... no worries helen... everyone is entitled to his or her views. i am just trying to knock some sense to everyone... not individuals, although i know was a bit too blunt there. oh well... to each its own.
Manal - hahahaha... forecast said it will snow tomm!! wooooohooooo!!!!
angeles - well, we must first strip the top that whatever we do is not enough... we must believe in unity and believe in ourselves.... dont u think?
anon @ 7.24pm aka J Chin - i get your message loud and clear. i guess i cannot satisfy everyone.
kyh - since the issue is hot now... i am sure all drivers are all qualified and summons free :)
Judge Judy - i have never said i am unique. i have always said i am a regular blogger.
whoalse - i do wanna play some role... but not in the normal way... i guess that's just me. me too... i wont do postal... but i will definitely vote if i can make it.
lynnx01 - that doensnt mean you cant register... right? :)
Jemima - i am sure you can Jem. Hope everything is well with you and your mom.
Melyong - i think the long term solution is to have proper enforcement... to have better enforcement, we must have better enforcer... better enforcer comes from better enforcer employer... so....
Hor ny Ang Moh - hehe... if i can make it back, i will certainly be throwing them back too! :)
A person's house is his own private domain. He can choose to do whatever he likes, fart whenever he likes, scratch wherever he likes... It is not for guests/visitors to criticise and comment. Those who do not like it may just leave (and knowing what people are like, they'll go and badmouth the poor fella everywhere!). Likewise, a person's blog.
Judge judy says, "You are just a very common person and always stating the obvious." I would consider that to mean sincerity and that is what I like. That's why I keep coming back and kaypo2 post a comment or two. I won't want to associate with people whom you are never certain whether they mean what they say or not. "A false face hides what a false heart doth know." (Shakespeare)
I've been to other blogs that I didn't like, so I left and never went back. They can say whatever they want; after all, it's their blog. And it's not for me to tell them what to do wand what not to do.
BTW, which "judy" would that be? The one from the Punch and Judy Show? LOL!!! (Sorry! That wasn;t necessary! Couldn't help myself! Old people like that lah! Losing control! Ha ha ha ha ha!!)
P.S. So, zewt, do I get a dinner treat when you come back to KL??? LOL!
You are right zewt. Mostly malaysians sit down in the mamak, bitch about everything but won't do anything about it.
All talk, no action.
I would have attended a rally in Msia, but there wasn't any at the time :(
well said my friend :) i have nothing more to add to that. recent 'exchange of conflicting opinions' in facebook exhausted me.
zwet,
i just hope it wont become true. cheers.
hey .. thanks a lot. whether or not it will make a difference, at least we hv done our part. thanks again.. same goes to adrian ..
hey i can feel the fire & smoke from ur head by reading this man! Chill...But i do agree with u lar, we have been sitting comfortably under the fan enjoying the breeze for too long...
I have to agree. Those people in charged are the ones. Long term is the way to deal with things. Its a crazy world out there
i guess i can be included in the category of "someone who has been blogging ... how lovely life is but suddenly went gung-ho about creating awareness and making a change simply because the ‘needle pokes your flesh’".
i'll have to agree that i never really talk about this kind of things in my blog. i didn't talk doesn't mean i know nothing. i may not be as popular as you or pinkpau or whoever.
and like you said. no matter how much we talk. we've known the answers. sometimes i really wonder why we bother talking about those issues.
this time. my friends need help. i do my part. nothing is wrong about that. right?
anyway. i'm still impressed with you. you are really very frank.
suituapui - wooooaaaaahhh... *bow down in respect*... to the shakespear part... i like literature... really.... :) .... well, i was browsing the channel here and saw a channel called 'judge judy'... maybe i should have a peep. yes, i owe you a big meal! hahaha... no kidding.
jasonphoon - hahaha... i had a friend came back from UK for my wedding and he said the same thing.
bongkersz - facebook... dont want to get involve... addictive... hehhe...
juslo - if it really happens... i'll be damned! hahaha...
Kah Yin - i will sign in with my name too.
sharlydia - beware of shit then.... now that you're preggy with your second one... think of his future.
Melyong - crazy... but i still think we can change it.
zthon - hi there. nothing wrong at all... and i respect you for playing a part... i was merely trying to say that we should act on such thing even if nothing happen to our friends....
poor zewt...'tiba-tiba kena', u know what i mean? i was taken by surprise when i read yr big name too and am waiting for your retaliation....u didn't dissapoint me, hahaha!
no, i'm not adding salt/pepper but i absolutely agreed with you coz it's your own choice & it's just not right to enforce others to do anything!!
jcss - yeah.... certainly not from someone who have not been 'involved'... :)...
I remember reading somewhere - and it's definitely not by Dr. M, as one of your commenters said, it's on WIKIPEDIA - democracy is the system by which people get the government they deserve. And you're right in that people who want change need to VOTE for change.
People who whinge but don't bother to vote because they think "it's pointless, anyway" piss me off so, SO much with their martyred attitude. Especially since THEY are in a position to ACTUALLY EFFECT CHANGE; unlike me, the dumb fool who registered last year in my hometown, thinking that after Badawi's titillations the erection, excuse me, the election would be when I was home for summer. Only to find out it's THIS year, and there's no way I can swap to postal votes.
If that's not electoral rigging, as reported by the Human Rights Watch, I don't know what is.
To some of us, your question of "Why now" can simply be answered this way: "Because the same thing is allowed to happen again". It may not have anything to do with the future of the said victim whatsoever. It so happened that the latest victim had a bright future, that's all.
On your "harap maaf" I agree to a certain extent. When most of everything else is hardly their concern, why concern now? However, that said, remember that we should not judge a person simply by just reading his/her blog entries.
But I can see your point. I have registered to be a voter early last year. I will exercise my right as a voter to the fullest.
We all fall within the NATO notion - "No Action, Talk Only".
It's always easier to complain and not do anything about it, no? The mouth moves faster than other parts of our body after all. It's easy to judge what people have done and what they should or should not do, which is the case of many of us around here. At the end of the day, we should applaud those who did something about whatever issues we have. And by that, I don't mean by "Talk Only". It is those who take upon themselves to TAKE ACTION for the good of people.
sheena - hmmmm.... i tot ppl like you (those under JPA), can do postal vote?
narrowband - i get your point, not to judge part. but there are too many ppl out there who only feel it when they get burn... just too many of them. good on ya... the voting part.
gracieq - yes, those who get arrested... protest... get arrested and still wanna go protest... they are the ones who deserve our utmost respect.
Zewt - After your reply, I went to do some checking, and you're absolutely right, I AM entitled to a postal vote. And not just me, but any student outside M'sia, provided they have registered. I DEFINITELY intend to blog the procedure needed to get a postal vote, just so's other M'sians overseas know how to do it, too. Thank you SO MUCH for the tip-off! I can't wait to vote!
*rubs hands in glee*
sheena - i was also told that as a JPA student... if you are not careful with your vote... well, i dont need to elaborate further...
Zwet, I AM AWESOMELY PROUD OF YOU FOR THIS POSTING. MORE POWER TO YOU.
zorro - thanks zorro... made some enemies with this one...
Amen!
allan & nigel - :).... feels good to hear that.
i voted the last election...i'll definitely vote again....cheers to all voters out there !!
shopaholicfern - well done!
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