Hands to Heaven

Today – 26th August 2008 – is another Day of Destiny for Malaysia. The decision of 58,000 voters will determine the destiny of 26 million Malaysians.

How apt that that the meaning of “Permatang” in Malay as “divider”, would divide the history of Malaysia. A victory by Anwar would certainly rewrite the history of this nation.

Yes, history is always written by the victor. Lets hope & pray as the elderly lady above, that we banish the corrupt, illegitimate, and fascist ruling coalition to the annals of our dark history and rewrite a new chapter of history and celebrate our patriots.

Pic Credits: malaysianinsider.com

Technorati Tags: Permatang Pauh, Malaysia, Election

Ismail - the Last Days Musical

This musical production is loosely based on the final years of Tun Dr Ismail the deputy to Tun Razak and is performed at KL Pac until the 2nd September. The life of Doc Ismail (as he is referred to in the past by his mates) is documented in a book "The Reluctant Politician")

I went to watch this production because I think Doc's life and his passion is someone that all Malaysians should know and learn from. His non-ethnic approach to politics is what we need today as well.

Quote from Wikipedia: Ismail was particularly known for his non-ethnic approach to political issues. Expressing concern over racial polarisation in the country, he once asked:

“

Why did we fight for Merdeka? So that the different races can be divided? That can't be the way, right? That can't be why all these great Malay and Umno leaders fought for this ... Something is wrong... I hope the new discussions will start. Why are we building Malaysia? What Malaysia are we building? What kind of symbol is Malaysia supposed to be?

After watching the performance, I have to say that I wish that it had a bit more drama and story and less singing! So what if its a musical, it can't be all singing. Definitely not repetitive singing!

Some plus points however can be found - the lead actor Malik Taufik was for me the saving grace. He sang well, spoke clearly and was the more polish of actors. The other cast were average and bordering on amateurish at times - what do one expect as a few were in fact part time actors!

Some songs were interesting but most of them were rather sedate. I loved the selection of Malay songs. At some point, the singing becomes irrelevant and self-indulgent. The song by Doc's Aussie girlfriend near the end was totally irrelevant and poorly delivered.

The poems were good but suffered for poor rendition.

The story wasn't fully developed as one would have loved. Given that its a musical perhaps that was an impediment. However, if the songs were short and sharp, there would have been more time for a bit more bite on a few potential dramatic moments.

The addition of a villain or two in this story would have added a new dimension not explored in this musical.

There was a lack of clarity in the conflict that play out between Tun Razak & Doc, leaving the uninformed rather confuse as to why they disagree in the first place.

No one cried, few laughed, no one got angry. In fact a few yawned. In fact, a few orchestra members actually looked bored!

It is just unfortunate that a great hero like Tun Dr Ismail story was not given its due dramatic treatment.

His perspective on Malaysian politics and nation building is truly what we need to hear at such a time as this.

All in all a 7/10 for a local act. Under broadway standards, it would score rather poorly.

Technorati Tags: Tun Dr Ismail, Malaysia, Merdeka, May 13, Musical, KL Pac, Malaysian Performing Arts, Ismail - the last days,

Heroes Season 3

Season 3 is coming - 22 September 2008. Can't wait, the preview looks good!

Hand in Hand

From an email:
"When I was in China last month, I saw a Chinese modern dance competition on TV. One very unique couple won one of the top prizes. The lady, in her 30's, was a dancer who had trained since she was a little girl. Later in life, she lost her entire left arm in an accident and fell into a state of depression for a few years. Someone then asked her to coach a children's dancing group. From that point on, she realized that she could not forget dancing. She still loved to dance and wanted to dance again. So, she started to do some of her old routines, but, having lost her arm, she had also lost her balance. It took a while before she could even make simple turns and spins without falling.

Then she heard of a man in his 20s who had lost a leg in an accident. He had also fallen into the usual denial, depression and angry type of emotional roller coaster. She was determined to find him (apparently he was from a different Province) and persuaded him to dance with her. He had never danced, and to 'dance with one leg...are you joking with me? No way!' But, she didn't give up, and he reluctantly agreed thinking, 'I have nothing else to do anyway.'

She started to teach him dancing 101. The two broke up a few times because he had no concept of using muscles, of how to control his body, and knew none of the basic things about dancing. When she became frustrated and lost patience with him, he would walk out. Eventually, they came back together and started training seriously. They hired a choreographer to design routines for them. She would fly high (held by him) with both arms (a sleeve for an arm) flying in the air. He could bend horizontally supported by one leg with her leaning on him, etc. In the competition, as you will see, they dance beautifully and they legitimately won the competition. It's ingenious how they incorporate the crutch into the routine!

This is the most magnificent and touching performance I have ever seen. It is living proof that the strong human spirit can conquer tremendous physical limitations!"

A mother's undying love

Baby rescued from rubble.

There were so many touching stories from the Wen Chuan earthquake but this one stood out.

When rescuers found her, she was already dead, crushed by the collapsed house. Through gaps in the rubbles, they could see her posture. Kneeling on both knees, her entire upper body bent forward, held up by her two hands pressed against the ground, as if performing the ceremonial bow in an ancient ritual. Except, her body had been compressed out of shape and looked somewhat eerie.

With some effort, rescuers carefully removed the debris burying her, found her child lying beneath her, bundled in a little red blanket decorated with yellow flower prints. He was about 3-4 months old.

Shielded by his mother's body , he was totally unharmed, sleeping peacefully as he was brought out. His soundly asleep face warmed the hearts of all rescuers on the scene. As the rescue team's doctor unbundled the blanket to examine the baby, he discovered a mobile phone tucked into the blanket. He subconsciously looked at the display, found there was a SMS message.

"My Dear Baby, If you were to stay alive, you must remember that I love you."

No stranger to the pain and sorrow brought by death, the doctor nonetheless wept at this moment. The cell phone was passed around, every person who read the message wept.

Technorati Tags: earthquake, Wen Chuan, China earthquake, mother's love, heroes

Unsung Heroes of the Election 08

Lulu is my Heroine.

Here is my list of unsung heroes (not in any order), that made the 12 General Election such a success.
1. Everyone in the Bloggers United (special mentions to People's Parliament, Malik, Nat, Zorro, Mob & Lulu)
2. Volunteer Polling Agents
3. Raja Petra's Malaysiatoday
4. Malaysiakini.com
5. Everyone who forwarded & printed views, emails and blogs exposing the "truth"

Obviously, there are plenty more unsung heroes.
Who do you want to add to this list?

Technorati Tags: Malaysia, Unsung Heroes, Election, Change, Democracy