I'm baaaaaaaacccckkkkk

I've finished my internship! I had lots of fun working in Shearn, as compared to my earlier experience at Lee Hishammuddin - btw I can never get the spelling right. Is it Hishammudin? Hishamudin? Hishamuddin? Hishammuddin? Gah. Anyhoo, after initially telling everyone my internship was only for two weeks, I finally bid goodbye to Wisma Hamzah-Kwong Hing an extra two weeks later, a pair of earphones short and a couple more names to add in my phonebook. I find myself kinda drawn towards Intellectual Property, and now I'm kicking myself for not putting IP higher on my list of 3rd year options. Perhaps I'll be super hardworking and attend IP lectures even though I haven't signed up for them.

There has been much talk about the Malaysian blogosphere lately, and some prominent bloggers have been getting reprimanded for the kind of things they post about political figures and the political scene. The government is extremely sensitive about comments made about them. But celebrities get poked fun at everyday and it's not that big a deal. So why is it that people should not be allowed so say anything about the ones sitting in power? We picked them through our right of election and that should warrant us every right to criticize what they do because if we don't like it, we're gonna pick someone else to sit in their seats. I don't see what detaining someone or arresting them under the Internal Secrets Act is gonna do for your reputation except send a negative message out to everyone that you're just a vain childish prude who must have everyone love you OR ELSE. Plus the fact that you don't tell us about what's going on makes us wonder even more if there's something you're hiding. If you were completely innocent, then please by all means adopt a transparent stand so that everyone knows that any allegation of corruption or cronyism etc against you is totally baseless and untrue.

Obviously there is a line to be drawn with regards to freedom of speech. I suppose there should be some sort of right of internal privacy with regards to your personal and private life and as to how the Parliament of the day is run (or whatever such form of a right is called). If it reaches the point where what is said can amount to libel or slander, that's clearly toeing it. But then where exactly is that line? Is it subjectively or objectively drawn? Perhaps someone who's reading this post can enlighten me on this.

I have been thinking about getting into politics for awhile now. I may not know much and I am quite keen to learn far far more. You might call it a whim, but I'll have you know my interest in law spawned from watching Ally McBeal okay. Anyway, I spoke to a chambering student at Shearn and I was telling her how I wouldn't mind taking up some sort of interning post at KeADILan so I could delve more into the work they are undertaking and stuff like that. I guess I started rambling on about how if Malaysia was to change everyone should start voting for the opposition and things like that. And then she gave me this wry smile that made me feel like I was saying something stupid so I stopped. The first thing she said was, Why KeADILan? And then I think I said something like, oh because I think that some of the changes they're pressing for are in line with my beliefs in how a country should be run, like a better recognition of rights and how something should be done about this bumiputera rights thing cos it's a potentially dangerous tool in our multiculture climate.

And then she said, Even if everyone votes for KeADILan there's no guarantee that things will be better. Personally, I think that as long as Malaysians think the way they do now, it will be another 100 years before any opposition party obtains the power to govern the country. There must be a reason why Barisan Nasional still holds the majority of votes. In fact, I think you have a better chance if you joined BN and started implementing change there. It will take a lot of work, but it it would be the same if you joined any of the opposition parties. What matters most is that you have to plant the seed of change and it doesn't matter where you do it. When Malaysians start to voice out their opinions and dissatisfactions and decide for themselves what sort of rights they want and what it is that they really want to achieve with their nation, that's when you'll start to see more of the Malaysia you hope for.

I thought that made alot of sense (see, I told you I'm still learning). The problem with Malaysians is that all we do is complain and complain to our family and friends about how we don't get enough pay, how the government is ridiculous, how there are quotas on everything, how our buses are infrequent, how our neighbour's dog pooed in our gardens; but it's all always talk and no walk. If we want something done we've got to see that it's done. Enough of the backbiting and gossiping. We've got to start talking out LOUD. If you're not happy with your boss, tell him he's a selfish pigging slavedriver. And if he fires you, so what? Get another job. When people see that you had the guts to square off with your boss, they'll do the same thing and hand in their resignations. And pretty soon your former boss will be begging for people to join his firm. That's when he'll realize that he was a pigging slavedriver after all and he'll decide to be a nicer person from then on. This is all so easy to say right. That's why I'm gonna do something about that annoying uncle who takes RM 2 from me whenever I park outside Masjid Jamek. It's all about little steps towards a a bigger future :D

P/S: No reference to you at all Dian. Although, your story was some sort of inspiration for the above example. Hahahhaha. You should be proud of yourself.