ROJAK Awards 2012

REFSA Rojak is our weekly take on the goings-on in Malaysia. We trawl the newsflow, cut to the core and focus on the really pertinent. Full of flavour, lots of crunch, this is the concise snapshot to help Malaysians keep abreast of the issues of the day.

Special Feature: The ROJAK Awards for 2012

As the year draws to a close, and Christmas looms ever nearer, gifts, company dinners, bonuses (and, no doubt, bribes!) are being dished out left, right and centre. In honour of that grand tradition, and to recognise those who have left significant marks on society, be they imprimatur-spots or unpleasant stains, REFSA presents its own ROJAK* awards to Malaysia’s top newsmakers of 2012.

9. Starting off, the Sour Mangoes Merit Prize goes to the sourpusses and turncoats we’ve seen these past few years. From dear Hassan Ali, to the Terrific Turncoat Trio who handed over the reins of Perak to the opposing side via defections, there’s been no end to the puckering and posturing from these ‘frogs’. What a bunch of sour grapes mangoes!

8. Sweet notes are heightened following sour sensations; and theCool Cucumbers Award goes to the new political leaders that we see emerging today. From Saifuddin Abdullah to Nurul Izzah Anwar  to Tony Pua, these individuals not only keep cool, fact-based minds in fiery debates, but also exhibit a willingness to engage in all platforms, be they public forums or social media. Politics is the new cool.

7. The Crunchy Jambu Trophy belongs to the alternative media, who give airtime to our Cool Cucumbers, whistle-blowers such as Rafizi Ramli of cows-and-condos fame and extensive coverage of events such as BERSIH which are peripheral in the world of the mainstream media. For bringing to the forefront the news that matters, this award goes to alternative media outlets like Malaysiakini.

6. When it comes to the Limp Kangkung Gift, there is none more deserving than the mainstream media. In fact, the mainstream media wins hands down (or should we say butts up?). Censoring the British Broadcasting Corporation (another worldwide first for Malaysia, we believe), deviously and deliberately mixing up the words Islam and Scientology in Australian Senator Xenophon’s speech, calling crime a perception problem, … there seems to be no limit to their ability to bend to their masters’ wills.

5. In stark contrast, the Crispy Crackers Cup is awarded to the various bodies who have made us laugh in spite of, and sometimes because of, all the daft comments, scandals, disappointments, and atrocities. From the brave political cartoonists of the likes of Zunar and Johnny Ong, to the netizen-run memes of pages like Curi-curi Wang Malaysia, thank you for cracking us up, and subtly ‘cracking’ irresponsible politicians’ heads with wit and humour derived from their (all too many) foibles.

4. Coming up, by unanimous vote (alright, maybe just 5 people), is the Styrofoam Box Bonanzawhich goes to LYNAS for all its environmental nastiness and suspicious secretiveness. I mean, it’s not the Cold War; it’s not like they are building some radioactive facility for some oppressive, authoritarian government….

3. On the other side of the Styrofoam fence, is the Satay Stick Honour, and this is bestowed upon the Anti-Lynas movement, for, literally and figuratively, walking the talk. These ordinary but gutsy people banded together and walked 300km in 2 weeks on their Green March for a healthy and safe environment. India had its Salt March, Mao Ze Dong had the Long March, now Malaysia has its own Green March. The walk to freedom is long indeed.

2. The Rojak Sauce Salutation goes to the BERSIH movement, for bringing all the disparate flavours of Malaysia together. From old to young, from Malay to Chinese to Kadazan, BERSIH united Malaysians all over the country, in fact, the world, for a just cause. Honourable mention goes to organisations like Tenaganita, the Bar Council and Tindak Malaysia, who advocate, fight for, and defend our rights as citizens of Malaysia and turn the spotlight on incidents of repression and abuse. Working tirelessly, while being paragons of humility, they ensure the weak and oppressed do not stand alone.

1. Last but not least, we have the Order of the Rubber Band. You can have the best rojak sauce in the world, you can have all the freshest fruits of the rainforest, you can have the sticks ready and the box closed, but without a rubber band, that box of rojak may be all for naught. So this award goes to you, the Malaysian voter. We know you are flexible, we know you are adaptable, and we know you recognize that everything has a limit.  So make your choice judiciously, cast your election vote wisely, and take responsibility in protecting and preserving our wonderful, mixed-up, diverse country.

And that’s a wrap.

*ROJAK Awards has neither international accreditation nor the endorsement of local authorities; it is a purely home-grown, cottage industry to give due recognition to all deserving awardees, worthy, or unworthy, of mention. We await an ‘entrepreneurship’ award for our efforts.

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As published by REFSA.

5 Things Worth Celebrating for Merdeka

 REFSA Rojak is our weekly take on the goings-on in Malaysia. We trawl the newsflow, cut to the core and focus on the really pertinent. Full of flavour, lots of crunch, this is the concise snapshot to help Malaysians keep abreast of the issues of the day.

Malaysia turns 55 this year, and a generation is retiring – a generation for whom a mouse was definitely not something you wanted in the house, a generation for whom Emergency was when communists came knocking on your door and not when you lost your smartphone, a generation where “tweets” were only for twits.

As that generation passes the mantle to the next, it is time for reflection upon our yesteryear. Though our beloved nation has seen its fair share of controversy and angst over the years, there are certainly things for which we can be happy about. And so today, REFSA Rojak puts aside its usual cynical self, and celebrates those things that give us hope, things that unite us as a nation and as one people. Five things stand out as we turn 55…

5. Exorcising the ghosts of May 13, 1969

May 1969 no longer conjures the same feeling of dread it used to. It has become like the bogeyman in fairytales of yore – used only by people who think they know what is best for us, to scare ‘ghoul-able’ souls! This spectre of fear tried to rear its ugly head after the 2008 political tsunami. However, the attempts to stoke ethnic tension – cow heads in Shah Alam, church arson, pig heads in mosques, JAIS raids on church dinners, bible-stamping – fizzled out when ordinary Malaysians rose above the fray. With Bersih being the most ‘muhibbah’ event of recent years, and inflammatory film trailer Tanda Putera receiving a red light sabre of dislikes on youtube, it looks like this May 13 ghost has truly been busted.

4. A new breed of young political leaders

With the dead having been taken care of, let’s focus on those who are breathing new life into the nation. From the ever purr-fect and CAT-chy Lim Guan Eng and latest clean-and-lean analytical machine Dr Ong Kian Ming, to the Rambo-brave Rafizi Ramli, the blossoming Nurul Izzah and the far-sighted Saifuddin Abdullah, to name a few, a new breed of political leaders have emerged, leaders who stand up for what they believe in and kneeling only in service of the rakyat!

3. The blooming of grassroots movements

While young politicians at the top are spreading the spirit of nationhood down, grassroots movements from the rakyat are also spreading their roots all the way up! Civil society movements have burst forth these past few years. Many, such as UndiMsia, Loyarburok, Bersih, Stop Lynas and Tindak Malaysia have received overwhelming support from ordinary Malaysians. They are truly organisations by the people for the people!

2. ‘Jalan-jalan cari makan’

At the end of the day there is one thing in Malaysia that can stop FRU units mid-charge, blow away placards and banners, and unite the entire country against ‘Singaporean culinary culture thieves’- FOOD. From the divine balance of spice and fragrance in that Mak Cik’s nasi lemak, to the joys of chomping on a dhal-flooded roti canai from that machaar down the road – Malaysia is truly the land of Makanmania. All things point to the possibility of eating our way to inter-cultural harmony, and this may well be the foundation to restore inter-ethnic interaction and understanding.

1. The freedom fighters

No, we’re referring to not just the soldiers who fought in the Emergency, not just the leaders who claimed independence from the British, not just the entrepreneurs who made it big on the world stage, but people like you and me. We celebrate the parents who lay for us the foundations of freedom that shape our character and sense of right and wrong, the teachers who give us the beginnings of the freedom of thought, and the friends who teach us the meaning of freedom to be who we are. Today, as we remember our day of Merdeka, that fight for freedom continues.

Fifty-five years on, let’s recognise that there is much to celebrate. The things that really matter are really right before us.

“A great nation is not one which, like Russia, has an enormous territory; or, like China, has an enormous population. It is the nation which gives mankind new modes of thought, new ideals of life, new hopes, new aspirations; which lifts the world out of the rut, and sets it going on a cleaner and brighter road.”

                                                            L.E. Blaze, Lecture at the D. B. U. Hall, November 26, 1926

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As published on REFSA.

Kami

She treads lightly with hands open,

Soft skin brushing soft grass.

Her touch banishing frosty dew;

Her warmth, a spell is cast.

Like a blossom past a winter,

Red rose on bed of snow;

Clad in scarlet and white colors,

She walks with the river flow.

The old azalea sun did rise,

A gentle light setting life free.

Yet one more sun that day was seen,

Amaterasu, blinding to see.

Its warmth too warm, its light too bright;

Outshone, the bloodied sun did flee. 

Surrounded in unnatural fire,

She closes her blinded eyes, hands unfurled.

Color fading from her cloth,

Lips and cheeks graying like a moth

“I am become death, destroyer of worlds.”

Grass in blazes, black from green,

Rivers dry, dew turned to steam,

Kimono burned off soft skin,

A wrath like never before seen.

Now, body charred, color gone, there she lies.

Once a beauty, now less than food for flies.

___________________________________________

Kami= Japanese for deity

Amaterasu= Japanese goddess of the sun

From http://gothicfaerytales.com

Author's note: 

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has always disturbed me. I took some liberties with the season:: August 1945 was in fact in the midst of summer. I made such a choice to portray the power of life, its touch and beauty manifested in the magical walk of a kimono-clad woman. 

The poem may be a mix of fact and fiction, but I hope that the poem successfully conveys a sense of loss and grief. More than a rail against just nuclear weapons, I wrote it with the intent of reexamining the justifications humans often give at acts of aggression: be it in the name of ending a war, avenging a war, or defending a country. 

Such immense powers of destruction at the hands of reckless man may one day be the deaths of us all.

Identity Crisis

"Tell us about who you are."

Who am I? 

The truth is, I don't really know. 

The past two years has been an incredible journey of self-discovery and change for me. My involvement with the amazing people at various NGOs, research institutes, schools, and conferences have shaped, bent, demolished and rebuilt my conception of self again and again, so much so that I am truly not the person I was two years, or even one year ago.

In a short two years, I've gone through various crises of faith: I started out as a Buddhist, briefly became an atheist, and now I'm agnostic. My political beliefs have been a roller-coaster:  from right wing free marketeer to left wing social liberal and now a centrist and moderate. Even my opinion of food, one thing I always thought would be constant, has been challenged: I find myself meeting people who have turned vegetarian for one reason or another and I question whether I can continue eating away with a guilty conscience. 

People who know me from my Wesley days call me an idealistic, melodramatic chatterbox. Those who know me from my early ISKL days might call me a reserved, skeptical realist. Those who know me now probably say I'm a mixture of both. I used to think I was pretty knowledgeable about the world, and I frequently made assumptions about people. But now it seems the more I learn, the more I realise that I know so little. 

Man, I must sound like a really funky cocktail gone wrong. But in truth, I don't think that's a bad thing. I try to reconcile the differences, to recognise the conflicts that are happening within me, so that I can know myself a little bit better.

And so to answer the question: Who am I?

I still don't know. And I may never really know.

But I plan to find out. =)

P.S. How have you changed these past years? Who are you? I'd like to hear, and thank you so much for reading!

Politics in Monochrome

Why should politics be in black and white?
The world is not black and white. Even for the colour blind, there are shades of grey (indeed, as many as ahem, Fifty Shades of Grey!). One of the first things we learn as we grow up is that things are often not simple – nuances permeate our world.

Somehow, however, this awareness that the world is not binary is suspended in our perception of Malaysian politics. Depending on whether you follow the mainstream or alternative media, every forthright political participant is pigeon-holed as either an anti-government/pro-opposition troublemaker, or a government-paid lapdog cyber trooper.

Following on from this artificial labelling is the “all-or-nothing” expectation of the personalities involved. Nothing good must be said of the other side, and 100% adherence to your side is demanded.

A recent example is the comment by PAS member of parliament for Hulu Langat Che Mat Che Rosli that radiation levels from the much-loathed Lynas plant were low. He was swiftly bombarded with criticisms including charges that he was paid by the government to lie and he had turned traitor. Che Mat, a nuclear scientist by training, was blasted for stating a fact as he saw it.

Or consider the issue of low wages in Malaysia: those who opposed minimum wage were swiftly branded as selfish rich capitalists while those who supported it were labeled socialists.

This binary view turned Twitterjaya into a class warfare background. Lost in the hostilities was a deeper consideration of the issue at stake, and the reasoning behind the different positions.

Refsa considers this narrow view of politics a serious impediment to the development of a mature democracy in Malaysia. It reduces politics to a two-size fits all dichotomy: you are either all Pakatan or all BN: “[My side] is always good. [My side] is always right. [The other side] is always wrong.”

This all-or-nothing approach is presumptuous and undesirable. It is presumptuous as the stifling of dissent suggests that only the views of the party leaders are correct and important. It is undesirable as it fails to recognise different opinions on particular issues and prevents constructive discourse.

The fact is there can be many potential approaches to address the social problems of our day. Rational, intelligent thinking people would be expected to evaluate proposed policies on a case-by-case basis, and cannot be expected to always support everything a particular party is doing.

Constructive criticism must be welcomed. Dissenters must not be labelled as traitors.

Expanding our horizons
All mature democracies accept constructive criticism as necessary for improvement. Consider this: back in 2008, then Democratic US presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton had differing opinions on how to run the economy and conduct foreign policy. They intensely criticised each other’s proposals, and the debates allowed a consensus on the ‘best’ policies to evolve.

So much so that Mrs Clinton subsequently agreed to serve as President Obama’s Secretary of State!

No one was called a traitor or chucked into some stereotypical category, because the American public recognised the goal of the discourse. Recognising the colourful views that people have can be bitter, but is ultimately beneficial.

For our democracy to mature, we Malaysians must expand our horizons and realise that people have a right to express different stands on different issues. We may have our political leanings but it does not mean we have to support our particular party blindly all the time, for we are not mindless automatons.

In fact, like any parent who has scolded their child will know, it is those who give fair criticism that truly have their beloved’s best interests at heart.

Sadly, our mainstream media is not facilitating this maturation process. Part of the internet vitriol directed at Che Mat following his comments on the Lynas plant were probably because he was misrepresented in the mainstream media. He said that radiation levels were low but the most critical issue of waste disposal had yet to be addressed; the mainstream media quoted him as saying Lynas was safe!

His clarifications were not carried. In this environment, Pakatan leaders and supporters cannot be blamed for being hesitant to express contrary views for fear that they will be taken out of context.

As citizens of Malaysia, we have to be discerning in our views and keep our minds open. The mainstream media, sadly, is unlikely to help as it has plummeted to the depths of lying about Australian senators and censoring BBC news feeds.

Refsa hopes our alternative media can step up. Do not pigeon-hole Pakatan personalities. Do not label them as ‘traitors’ merely for expressing contrary opinions. And when we read mainstream media headlines of “quarrels and disunity’ within Pakatan, do not immediately condemn Pakatan or the personalities but ask yourself “What are the relative merits of the different views/arguments? Will this help the nation?”

With questions like this in our minds, Malaysia will truly be on its way to a colourful and bright democratic future, and not a drab black and white world.

As published on Free Malaysia Today, REFSA & the Malaysian Insider.

City of Cutlery

The canteen is a place of moderated chaos – students walking, moving, laughing, munching, chomping, grabbing, laughing, shouting.

The bell rings. The buzz dies down gradually, crowds, heading like sharks to blood to the end of the hall.

Students push, pull, squeeze, walk, shuffle. A bottleneck towards their destination. There is a presence, tension rising as it awaits in anticipation.

Plates are thrown, unfinished food is dumped, forks and spoons clang against yolk yellow plastic trays. There is a blur spot in the background.

Spaghetti sauce splatters, drops of curry ooze into bins, bones with bits of meat slide down from plate to tray,  an oily surface acting like a slime ski. The entity is now actively reaching in, turning the messy into the orderly.

Cities begin to form – metal foundations of clanging cutlery, towers of plates, built on the soil of meat and rice, interspersed with rivers of tom yam. The architect, the builder, and demolisher are at work.

A rogue plate is thrown instead of placed. The character shouts an undignified ‘Oi!’. The perpetrator walks away, hands stained with the curry of his crime, continues laughing, chatting, talking, sparing one thought for the presence: Bitch.

The city has crumbled. And the pieces have to be picked up.

I walk toward the ruins. And I pick up the plates. I look up, and hand them to her. She smiles for the first time that day.

‘Terima kasih, adik.’

Walking away, I half whisper, ‘No, thank you mak cik.’

Santa's Chapati

Santa's in town!

Type of food: Indian

Signature dish: Chapati, sambal sardine

Location: 15, Jalan Sarikei, 53000 Kuala Lumpur

Map: http://goo.gl/maps/4k1z

Opening hours: All days except Sunday, Mon-Fri 6.30am-6.30pm; Sat 6.30am-3pm

Contact:  0169958819 ( Kulwant Singh)

Other: Halal

No, this is not Mr. Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas Santa! However, I can guarantee you that Santa Singh certainly does not lack for delectable gifts and culinary delights! Santa is a very famous chapati stall- he's been featured in many a paper and I've been an avid fan of his chapati for years now. All the chapatis I've tried have thus far paled in comparison to his. Read on and find out why!

Fuyoh, motion blur man!

The chapathi at Santa's is always piping hot from the pan, with the skillful hands of his workers always flipping the delicate dough back and forth. The sight of the chapati being done right there and then, the subtle but mmmm so good smell of the dough, and finally the slight burn you get on your fingers as you juggle the hot chapati onto your plate- all make for a full sensory adventure.

Don't underestimate the power of a fluffy chapati.

The chapati itself is fluffy, with a good bite- sufficiently chewy and doughy without being rubbery; it's got a fresh feel where you can actually taste the dough itself; and is just the right thickness. Overall, a GREAT chapati. But of course, one usually does not eat chapati plain ( though I could eat this one plain!), one usually has some condiments with the chapati to complement the flavours.

Sambal sardine..mmmm

This is where the chapati becomes surprisingly addictive. Santa's all time favourite condiment is his sambal sardine- an extremely tasty, slightly spicy blend of sardine fish bits, onion pieces that provide a good bite and fragrance, and a sauce that just brings everything together. The sambal sardine is a mighty fine concoction- Santa has his own special blend, it tastes nothing like sambal sardine from a can or from any other restaurant I've been to. The sauce goes fantastically well with the chapati, and I can easily chomp down three chapatis in one sitting with the sambal sardine. The other condiments are really quite good as well.

Mutton keema

The mutton keema has a good bite to it, very nice flavours that blend well with the chapati. If you like mutton, I suggest you take bucket loads of this! 

A bit like bitter gourd chips!

The deep fried bitter gourd is a must try for vege lovers- it's crunchy, rich with spice and with a good hint of bitter!

The dhal is very decent as well, but when fresh ( around 8-9 am), it is GREAT. You've never really tasted dhal till you've tasted it fresh.

Makes you feel like going MOOOOOO.

Of course, what is a Malaysian breakfast without the ol' cuppa Teh Tarik? This is another aspect where Santa shines, with a Teh Susu Lembu* that is oh so frothy, with a nice natural rich milky taste! I don't know about you, but I'm a Teh Tarik junkie, and this is one of the best in town!

Restoran Santa
Taste: 8.5/10- Best chapati in town.
Value: 8.5/10- It's mamak prices, a meal for one with condiments should cost no more than RM8
Health: 8.5/10- Chapati is a really healthy bread!
Overall: 4.5 durians!

*Susu lembu- cow's milk- when fresh, has a really strong, milky smell and taste, perfect for a cuppa!