Random Thoughts Of A Driftwood

Horatio, Why so glum? The words seem to hum, But it augurs a despair... foreboding and dumb, An emotional moribund, Denial He became stuck in the ways of the smith, Oh how would he buck the blues, However best he tries to duck the truth, The man strives on with his flute, Loneliness The emptiness is a desolate desert, In which he plies his trade, The solitude a great partner, But it threatens to poison when in danger, Bitterness Turning and churning the bitter pill, Reality seems mocking... but still, The shocking brute of workmen life tills the mill, The man strives on with his drill, Sadness Sorrow fuses the pangs of depression, With the bitterness of the futility of escaping the flow, The feelings make strange bedfellows, But he is trapped in the billowing canvas of his work, Sanity Horatio, are you all right? The words linger a little longer this time, A sense of conciousness returns, like the scent of thyme, The man strives on with his poe...

The debate that has been garnering quite a bit of anticipation over the weeks has finally happened. Lim Guan Eng from the DAP(current Chief Minister of Penang) took on MCA's President, Chua Soi Lek in a debate that was aired on Astro Awani earlier today. It was in Mandarin with translators translating the whole debate into Bahasa Malaysia(as best as they could). This is indeed a rather momentous occasion to have a political debate be aired on TV(granted it was Astro Awani, but it is still a significant moment nevertheless). Both of them agreed that they would like to see more of such debates happening. I would add that debates such as these expand the knowledge horizon of Malaysians and create awareness amongst the plebeians on the positions that our leaders take on key issues affecting the nation. It is rather unfortunate that I felt there was less of a focus on these key issues and a overblown insistence on putting the blame on the opposition(and by opposition I mean the other pa...

One fine Sunday evening, Jean was traipsing along the ridge of this rugged hill(which was just near by his home). Alone he traipsed, as he had no friends, no one to traipse along with. He often wondered why company was hard to come by. He wasn't a mean or vile creature that scoffed at anyone who was friendly(in fact he scoffed at no one). All of a sudden, he caught the glint of light from the almost blindingly white and black striped tail of a lemur. It waltzes into view with a family of lemurs. A cohort of fellow furry creatures that tail it's leader with majestic agility that would put a word class ballerina to shame. "Who goes there friend?" Jean called out, not knowing exactly why he tried hailing a group of lemurs, as if he was expecting an answer. The family of lemurs halted their vivacious dance and stared at him. Out of this group, a boisterous little one popped out from the group in what seemed like an attempt at communicating with Jean. Instead, the c...

I read with revulsion in the Sun Newspaper the other day that the election commission of Malaysia, in response to civil societies insistence on the need for overseas Malaysian citizens to be accorded the right to vote; is considering imposing the rule that voting rights only be given to those expatriates that pay tax to the Malaysian government. This is just wrong on so many levels... In a democracy, every adult citizen deserves the right to vote. This is a basic democratic right. No exceptions... no compromises. No discrimination regardless of gender, social status, wealth, political affiliation, sexual preference, religious or non religious... no exceptions whatsoever. Once you start having exceptions, you put a nail in the heart of democracy. Every concession, every compromise, every exception is a piercing strike at the beating heart of democracy and freedom( I don't think democracy is the ultimate form of government, but that is for anot...

Dear Love, I lament the over bearing fact of the loss, The dejection of one's lost self, The aimless wanderings of a raving mind, For my love guides me to my destination, It is my strength, my passion, my life, It is my waking hours, to my slumber, It is the blanket that I snugly hold on to, for my heart, The infinite and never ending vigour, I love your beauty, I love your presence, For it lifts my spirit, It is the fire that keeps burning, I love your enduring ardour, Your words that keep me company, In the loneliest nights when the stars do not shine, I adore you with all my heart, Yours Truly, Your Love Forever.

Today's topic is a little personal. Marriage... it's a mixed, twisted and perplexing affair if you live in an Indian family. If you've reach the age where your family and relatives start to pester you about marriage, then you know the mental torture that precedes it. If your parents are the pro active type and start looking for a bride or groom, then ironically, you'll be the last to know about it. Why do they do that? The most awkward and embarrassing situation is being in a family dinner(out with relatives) or visit and having one of your parents bring up the subject of marriage only to completely catch you off guard. You what? but why? The conversation then just falls silent and then someone courteously tries to offer some advice to you. I appreciate their concern but I'm quite happy the way I am. This may sound weird, but I have always found marriage to be a rather ludicrous precept(I know I'm about to cause some divisions here with my friends, bu...

The Nut Graph posted this little piece over here that is another indication of how the Malaysian government feels it needs to tell us, the honest people, how to live our lives. Just like the peaceful assembly act, just like the Universities and Colleges act, the Race Relations Act is yet another attempt of plugging in loopholes in our dysfunctional society. It's a stop gap measure that big brother uses all too often. Don't get me wrong, I find racism and discrimination of any sort repulsive. But the sheer audacity of the state to assume authority to control society is... quite contrary to the enlightenment, and egalitarian principles. It's sort of like repairing a damaged wooden village house. They take a plank and a hammer and hammer away to seal a gap, rather carelessly. Cracks and problems start to appear few years down the road as all manner of cretins manage to squeeze their way in through the impenetrable 'act'. The fact is, people will always find ways...