First of all, allow me to apologize to those who have been dropping by my blog looking for new articles. I haven’t been able to update regularly due to work (actually malas pun ya jugak). But I do appreciate your interest in my opinions, so allow me to dedicate this post to all my loyal fans (I know tak ramai mana, tapi saja nak feeling #retis kejap). Things have been rather busy for me of late, new job, new friends, and for the most part, entertaining my pemalas side. My thoughts are still aplenty but thanks to Twitter, they have not gone unspoken. To those of you who follow my Twitter account, you will know that I still have strong opinions on a lot of issues and pretty much none of it just dies in my head. So for this posting, I shall divide it into a summary of the most pertinent issues that have been bugging me these past few months. Kiranya macam rumusan dalam paper Bahasa Melayu SPM lah. Seperti biasa, persoalan dan isu yang masih hangat diperkatakan sekarang, tidak lain tidak bukan, berkenaan institusi diRaja di negara kita.
Ever since the mess created by the presence of a certain royal figure on Twitter (of which my blog became goreng pisang panas for a week or two), the royalty issue in Malaysia has escalated pretty significantly. Dah bermacam-macam cerita yang kurang enak kita dengar, baik di Twitter ataupun suratkhabar juga blog dan online forums. Pukul orang, kena tahan polis, buat laporan polis tentang akaun Twitter palsu, bagi statement tanpa asas di Twitter, pembidaan nombor plat, bergaduh, dan macam-macam lagi. I have been advised by many not to write about this anymore. Infact some people are even questioning whether or not I have some sort of immunity. Perhaps I am of royal blood myself, or that my parents are prominent public figures, etc etc. Allow me to clarify here once and for all, I do not have mafia protection, not connected to any mob families, have no idea who to contact in the Yakuza, no links to any underground kongsi gelap associations and have no ties with Pekida, Pekuda, Pekada or whatever other organizations. I am a member of the Michael Jackson Fan Club though. That’s about it. I am an ordinary working Jane, who is either in possession of balls of steel or an idealistic fool who is completely oblivious to how the world really works. Either way, what I know is that I am someone who can’t stand nonsense. When I see nonsense, my brain works in overdrive and sends a barrage of signals to my mouth (or my fingers) to spew out something in retaliation.
So it appears that my plea has gone unheeded. I was hoping that this certain someone would at least shut down his twitter account until he gets his head straight and is able to communicate in a way befitting the status he is so proud of. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. I believe he is still churning out nonsensical statements and it appears that there is just no stopping him. All I have to say at this point is to each his own. I have tried to do what little part I can in trying to impart some advice to him. However all these drama has made me realize one thing. That it is difficult to educate those who do not want to be educated. The next best thing I realized is to educate the masses instead. After all, when it comes to public figures, no matter how they may argue that it is their God-given right to be there, without the masses supporting them, they will then be relegated to nothing. I know ardent supporters of these people will easily take my points out of context. Let me clarify here that it is not my intention to question God’s work. Yes God has written our fate and it happens the way He so pleases. True. But God has also given us brains to think. If public figures argue saying that it is their God-given right to be where they are today hence exempting them from having to adhere to proper human behavior, then might I point out that the same argument can be used for criminals. Take this as an example: Sameon used to be a thief and he is now living a life of luxury with the things and money he stole. He travels all over the world, buys whatever he wants and lives in a big mansion. Can we then say “Itu rezeki dia. Allah dah takdirkan macam tu”? Can we say that and not do everything in our power to apprehend Sameon and make him pay for his crimes? No we don’t say that. Our police force will go all out to catch Sameon and put him behind bars. So the point here is that, if there is injustice, we can’t simply sit back and use the reasoning that he was born to be in that position and it is his God-given right to do as he pleases. Even the person himself should not fall back on that reasoning. Royal families are not above everyone else. God did not make them extra special. They are human beings, just like the rest of us. Di sisi Allah, hanya iman dan takwa yang membezakan manusia. Not one’s title, wealth, nor position. So by that simple logic, it is apparent that we the public are guilty of revering these people so much to a point that they feel exalted and above everyone else. Without our support, they are nothing. That is something they fail to realize. Kenapa? Sebab dari dulu lagi, kita yang kononnya pacal yang hina ni dah terlalu taksub mengagung-agungkan public figures. I am not saying that we shouldn’t respect them. In fact I have no problems in respecting them and acknowledging that they are an important part of my country. But as of late, they are not doing much to earn that respect anymore. What I am trying to do here is to make the masses see that it is up to us to demand good behavior from them. What I’m saying is that if we stop kissing-asses so much, then maybe they’ll change. Part of me sees that they shouldn’t be blamed entirely. Sebab macam mana manusia tu nak berubah sekiranya ramai yang memilih untuk menutup mata dan memuji membuta tuli? Of course mereka akan rasa seronok dan bangga bila ramai yang memuji. That’s just human nature.
So I have now stopped hoping for them to change out of their own accord. Clearly some of them are unable to accept the fact that they’re misbehaving. And we the public are making it even harder for them to realize when we keep complimenting them left and right. Sikit-sikit puji. Sampai nak muntah baca some tweets from the public to some public figures. Please my fellow Malaysians, obviously those people lack brain cells, so janganlah korang pun sama jugak jadi bodoh. Stop sending complimentary tweets just to feel good when he/she responds and say thank you to you. Tak boleh bawak ke mana pun balasan tweet dari diaorang tu. Nak print screen buat frame gantung kat rumah ka?? Tak pun nak laminate bawak dalam wallet? Lepas tu tunjuk kat semua orang, “Eh tengok ni, so and so ni reply tweet aku.” Korang sedar tak betapa bodohnya korang bila berbangga dengan sesuatu perkara yang nyata bodoh? Walau Barack Obama sekalipun yang reply tweet korang, tak boleh bawak ke mana. Apatah lagi yang kat Malaysia ni. Kalau orang sombong refuse to accept advice and masih nak teruskan perangai bongkak dan sombong, janganlah kita ni menyemarakkan lagi api kesombongannya. Dia rugi, kita pun rugi. Nobody wins. What I’m trying to say here is that please be smart in whatever we do. The worse is when you people hantar tweet and say “Today is my birthday, please wish me happy birthday!” Do you realize how desperate that makes you sound? Kalau public figure tu respond and wishes you a happy birthday, adakah korang rasa bangga nak jaja story dia wish korang tu sedangkan dia wish sebab korang mintak. Di manakah maruah anda semua? I know it’s easy to lose yourself on twitter. That is what I’m trying to advocate here people. Common sense and a sense of decency to uphold your integrity. Kalau zaman dulu senang nak detect orang yang tak bermaruah. Tapi zaman sekarang ni, lebih senang nak hilang maruah tanpa kita sedar. If you ask me, tweet-tweet bodoh macam tu pun dah qualify as menjatuhkan maruah diri sendiri. Tak payahlah nak kutuk perempuan yang tak pakai tudung atau pakai baju seksi. Walaupun salah, tapi apa yang korang buat tu pun, sama ja. Pot calling the kettle black. I really don’t understand what pleasure you derive from getting these public figures to respond to your kiss-ass compliments and idiotic requests. “Can I have your baju?” “Can you attend my sister’s wedding?” Can you this, can you that. Tolonglah wahai bangsaku, please don’t make a fool out of yourselves.
We as the public yang konon hina sangat ni, we make them that way. By that logic, yes I would agree that we are hina. Because we fuel their nonsense and make them feel okay to behave that way. Without remorse. Like everything they do is the absolute truth. They are human beings. Tak lari dari buat silap. Lagi kita memuji, lagi mereka berbangga diri. Lagi lah keluar statement-statement arrogant. Yes we know you’re rich, we know you’re way up there, so why don’t you just keep that to yourself and go about your life normally? There is absolutely no need to reiterate that fact on your twitter accounts or during interviews with reporters.
I found it intensely disturbing that people would go so far as to say that jangan bila susah baru nak cari Raja (or words to that effect). Negara-negara beraja are not in any way above negara-negara lain yang tidak beraja. What about Muslims living in the United States, what about Muslims living in Singapore? Are they lesser than us yang ada Raja? No. Not in any way. No. Please people; get that through your heads, No. No. No. No. I can’t stress that enough. We are not in any way better off than them. Berpada-pada lah dalam mengeluarkan kenyataan. Like I’ve said in my previous posts, think before you say anything. Arrogance will not get you very far. Lama mana kita nak hidup atas pujian orang? Lama mana kita nak tolak semua kritikan?
Moving on to my next point, I noticed that some of our Malaysian artistes are still making asses out of themselves on social networks. From petty arguments, to squabbling with fans, to announcing every single detail of their lives, to God knows what else. Saya nak buat cadangan kepada saudara Zed Zaidi dan Persatuan Seniman, dari nak menyebokkan diri anda buat PC nak ‘selesaikan’ masalah budak-budak tak cukup akai bergaduh, apa kata buat kursus Cara Betul Penggunaan Laman Sosial Untuk Artis? A lot of PCs can be avoided if you take this suggestion. I honestly have no idea what is going through Zed’s head when he decided to take it upon himself (and the Persatuan) to meddle in some kids’ petty argument. And when the whole thing was over, he acted like he had just solved the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Masalah budak-budak ja bang oi, all you did was make the Persatuan look stupid. Find other issues la. I can name you quite a few isu yang lain yang lebih pressing and important for you to look into. Interested? Contact me. Sapa-sapa yang rajin, forward lah posting ni kat Zed Zaidi. Saya dah berkali-kali tweet dia dah, tak dilayan pun.
I think I have pretty much summed up what’s been brewing in my head of late. There’s more actually. But if I continue writing it now, lagi seminggu pun tak tentu siap. I’ll post my other thoughts some other time. Hope this is good enough for those of you who have patiently been waiting for something new from me. With all that said, here’s to common sense and making it common again.
P/S: Before you start commenting on my post, let me warn you first. Only argue with me if you FULLY understand what I have said. If you want to take things out of context, please go do it one someone else’s blog. I only accept intellectual arguments, based on points that are valid.
