Negaraku-ku?
So, a guy who goes by the code name Namewee has booked his name in the main press, for quite some time at least. Negaraku-ku? That sounds pretty interesting. If you haven’t watch it, go YouTube it. By the way, I’m not too impressed. Well, this is just a personal opinion anyway.
Poor goverment delivery service (spot on).
Deteriorating quality of security force (spot on).
Double standards (spot on).
Religious and racial stereotyping (blatant foul).
Usage of national anthem (blatant foul)
So, what seems to the problem? Ministers are angry. Some are deeply offended. Some are in silent agreement. Some are cheering in support thus making him a national hero. Reaction of any action is such an enlightening event to witness.
So, he claimed he was patriotic in his new version of Negaraku. What’s so patriotic by insulting the practices of other people’s religion? Worse, making a harsh generalization on everyone of one race. This is not patriotism but resentment. Well, let’s play a game of simulation.
So, let us have Ali, Ah Chong and Raju again, my three favourite characters.
Raju was taking a not so peaceful nap in the a hazy evening, no thanks to fumes from forest fire. But the "dosage" of haze was heavier. He opened his window and guess what he saw? Ah Chong and his family burning hell money. It’s Hungry Ghost Festival people.
In Raju’s head:
In Ah Chong’s head:
Man, this is insane. The haze is bad enough. And now the fumes from their worthless papers are billowing into my house. Insane! Insane!
May the restless lost spirits pain be eased.Somewhere at another corner, in Ali’s head:
Kafir… these people who believed such things will be damned to Hell…
Well, it’s worth noting that not every individual thinks similiarly like the characters above. Back to the Negaraku-ku story. So what if the azans are giving you wake up calls in the morning? Of course, it can be annoying at times. But bear in mind that as much you hate the wake up calls, they are people who despise the practices of your religion as much. I had already exemplified it above.
Racial stereotyping? We are moving back to the times of apartheid. Bear in mind, not every Malay is lazy. Bear in mind, not every Chinese is arrogant or rich. Bear in mind, not every Indian is violent. So what do you reckon? Create an army to wipe out the people you deem hopeless (or a threat) like the Nazis? We just never learn.
50 years of independence, yet we still fail to see through our differences. Flashy unity ads? Mystical.
Ignorance.
"To me, it seems a dreadful indignity to have a soul controlled by geography."
-George Santayana-
ya, i’ve seen the video.. but you know, i feel that there’s a lot of us out there who actually do stereotype and generalize, he’s not the only one. the vast majority of ppl, educated, less educated…
it takes a lot for people to put themselves into someone else’s shoes. it takes a lot.
50 years.
there’s still a long way to go eh.
anyway, on another note, and this note is not quite related to the post. you know, ytd, a malay guy told me: it’s good to see chinese berjoget
mm, ya, R.A.M.
i was encouraged. i have my fears and worries and i do feel left out at times, to be very honest. but you know, i told myself to be tembok muka besi and join nia :p
actualy, i was just wondering, how come no other chinese wanna berjoget one? … weird hor. plus not that i can dance very well also. but you know, i think i’ve done enough to step out of my comfort zone and be a part or R.A. MALAYSIA. though i’m not active, but i think it’s one step towards understanding someone else’s culture and religion better
like you said, to understand each other better, we gotta work together
malaysia.. malaysia.. malaysia……
Comment by glo — August 11, 2007 @ 8:59 pm
glo/timun, there are many chinese who berjoget, berzapin and bersilat. at the same time, there are many malays who speak better mandarin that mr timun here himself. there are many hardworking malays (just look around you), and many lazy chinese/indians (look around KL) too. you guys find fault in racial and religious stereotyping, but tell me, how did you get anything across to the masses if you re talking abotu specific individuals traits/examples?
bck to wee wee video, while it’s “illegal” to use the national anthem in such way, i think it has achieved exactly the effect - of inciting both patriotism, love-of-country, anger over indifferences and other unspoken emotions. if he has parodied m nasir’s semerak padi, i don’t think the song would have such a widespread following/support.
while it’s not right to insult others religion, but honestly, he is patriotic in speaking out. there are too many cowards amongst us who are just too “patriotic” to speak out. so, in that sense, i m on his side. using your ali, ah chong, raju story…you can just imagine him as the ali fella who went out and made a statement. how long more the chinese and malays and indians in malaysia have to liev in denial that we have a very fragile harmony?
yes govt…keep suppressign us!
Comment by Silent Me Not — August 12, 2007 @ 11:58 pm