Hello Again
I have not published anything ever since I moved out of my old department in August. I did write some of my thoughts on some issues but perhaps they are not suitable materials to publish. Well, let me put it this way, they would buy me an instant one-way ticket to at least 2 years of solitude in the red room in Kamunting, if you get my drift.
Do I have the right to say what I want to say at any time? In this country, I would say, yes and no. Yes, I have the rights to do whatever I like and say whatever I feel is the right thing to say, but if I do exercise my rights, no, it would not be right. Somebody could and they would exercise their rights to do whatever they have been granted the rights to do.
Honestly, things are beginning to get very weird around here. I can't help it but worry on the wellbeing of the country and its people. Everyone is talking about some kind of violations of human rights, and demonstrations and pickets seem to be the only way out of expressing themselves. But what are human rights to us?
BERSIH thinks human rights would be violated if the Malaysian citizens were not guaranteed a clean and transparent electoral process by SPR with no ‘phantom voters’, no usage of Government machineries by the ruling coalition parties, among others.
HINDRAF thinks human rights would be compromised if Indians continued to be put in some kind of self-claimed ‘ethnic cleansing’ by the UMNO-led Government. To them, human rights would be preserved if each and every Indian were given RM1 million each, for the sins committed by the British Government of the Ice Age for bringing their ancestors to the-then Malaya.
To NUBE, human rights would mean that MCBA agree on their demand for a 30% pay hike with existing benefits including the sacred 2-month contractual bonus remained in the CA.
What are human rights to others? To Mat Rempits, perhaps human rights would mean something if they were allowed to convert all the streets in every city, every town and every kampung into tracks for their no-holds-barred night racing spree (come to think of it, the idea for Singapore to have F1 racing at night doesn’t sound that original after all). To drug addicts, they would achieve the highest level of human rights (they would die happy) if the Government or concerned GLCs came forward to their rescue to provide subsidized or rebate scheme for whatever toxic waste substance they are taking, on top of the free syringes supplied by the AIDS Council.
What else? The list of what constitutes human rights is endless. Well, we are human beings for one. We maybe the same species but each and every one of us are unique individuals, regardless of whatever separate us (race, religion, gender, home state or our favourite food or lucky numbers or whatever else we based our judgement against another human beings) and we do have different needs and dreams. And, the first step to understand human rights is to understand and surrender to our differences. How about our willingness to go up or down from where we see ourselves, to be in the same level and start listening to each other for a start?
Chazz
Do I have the right to say what I want to say at any time? In this country, I would say, yes and no. Yes, I have the rights to do whatever I like and say whatever I feel is the right thing to say, but if I do exercise my rights, no, it would not be right. Somebody could and they would exercise their rights to do whatever they have been granted the rights to do.
Honestly, things are beginning to get very weird around here. I can't help it but worry on the wellbeing of the country and its people. Everyone is talking about some kind of violations of human rights, and demonstrations and pickets seem to be the only way out of expressing themselves. But what are human rights to us?
BERSIH thinks human rights would be violated if the Malaysian citizens were not guaranteed a clean and transparent electoral process by SPR with no ‘phantom voters’, no usage of Government machineries by the ruling coalition parties, among others.
HINDRAF thinks human rights would be compromised if Indians continued to be put in some kind of self-claimed ‘ethnic cleansing’ by the UMNO-led Government. To them, human rights would be preserved if each and every Indian were given RM1 million each, for the sins committed by the British Government of the Ice Age for bringing their ancestors to the-then Malaya.
To NUBE, human rights would mean that MCBA agree on their demand for a 30% pay hike with existing benefits including the sacred 2-month contractual bonus remained in the CA.
What are human rights to others? To Mat Rempits, perhaps human rights would mean something if they were allowed to convert all the streets in every city, every town and every kampung into tracks for their no-holds-barred night racing spree (come to think of it, the idea for Singapore to have F1 racing at night doesn’t sound that original after all). To drug addicts, they would achieve the highest level of human rights (they would die happy) if the Government or concerned GLCs came forward to their rescue to provide subsidized or rebate scheme for whatever toxic waste substance they are taking, on top of the free syringes supplied by the AIDS Council.
What else? The list of what constitutes human rights is endless. Well, we are human beings for one. We maybe the same species but each and every one of us are unique individuals, regardless of whatever separate us (race, religion, gender, home state or our favourite food or lucky numbers or whatever else we based our judgement against another human beings) and we do have different needs and dreams. And, the first step to understand human rights is to understand and surrender to our differences. How about our willingness to go up or down from where we see ourselves, to be in the same level and start listening to each other for a start?
Chazz
