Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Freedom

Much has been said about our beloved country’s up-coming biggest event of the year but politics aside, I really think we’re cool. Our forefathers put their lives on the line just to gain the hard-fought freedom from the then british scums. I think the least we could do is to show our gratitude and appreciation by celebrating our 50th come 31st.


From my view point, merdeka simply means freedom. The definition of it is broad but I’m not getting into the philosophical side of it or my brain will go bonkers.

Personally, after years being bed-ridden, getting on a wheelchair for the first time was already a huge achievement. It was a step forward. That’s freedom to me. Never has it crossed my mind I’m physically prisoned for life to be confined on one. I can basically go anywhere with it albeit some of the disable-unfriendly building structures around.

Like-wise, our public transportation. Getting onto their buses is a long shot. But with most of the drivers are junkie-bunch, I’m not missing anything there, am I?

Besides, wheelchair-users in the Klang Valley have Mobiliti they can count on. It is run by caring Malaysians, and being true to their tag as an NGO, funds are always short. I may be lucky to be a klang-Valley-ian, but not so for my crip-buddies up-north, down-south, those on the east-coast and across the South China Sea. This is where the relevant ministry should play their part as such services should be expanded nation-wide.

So anyway, I’m trying to stay focused. Lets get back on track. More about freedom.

We have moved forward so fast economically since, say, the Japanese occupation that today we have restaurants like Sushi king or that Yoshi-kuniya or something to choose from, from the very same Japanese weirdos themselves.

Now, freedom is about choice.

I listen to anarchy music but chose not to be a left-winger. Nor am I an ass-licker. It’s what the music is to my ears, that’s my choice.

That’s freedom to me.

I'm free to crank the system up to my prefered decible level anytime of the day, except for maghrib or mom will give me 'the stare'. Still, that's freedom. The flexibility is there.

And now days I get to switch channels during commercial breaks. I’m free to be nosey watching other family’s life on Little People Big World instead of the stupid primetime news at 8.

These are the simplest of freedoms that I truly appreciate and that one should really take into account.

I tried to understand what intellectual freedom is all about but it was so boring I had to quit reading it.

The Communist chose to disband when they shouldn’t have formed in the first place.

And that was the only intelligent thing they did. So I figured that’s how one defines intellectual freedom. Or maybe not. I dont know. I just couldn't care less.

I’ve chosen to set up a blog with zero experience in writing. Now by the way, I chose to cut this entry short or I’ll only make a fool out of myself.

Come Friday, I chose to be with Malaysia spiritually.

Salam Merdeka!

Woohoo!

24 comments:

Salt N Turmeric said...

Freedom is:
being able to go/live anywhere without being afraid tht im of a diff race/religion than others.

being able to eat nasi lemak, roti canai, murtabak, kuey teow and drink teh tarik or longan juice 24/7.

being able to joke abt other ppl and self without insulting other ppl or self.

being a Malaysian!

Salt N Turmeric said...

eh forgot to mention tht i love watching little ppl big world too! cant belive theyre showing tht in Msia as well. told michael tht if ever we go to portland, i wanna visit their farm. ;)

Bailey said...

happy 50th merdeka, kerp! =)

Anonymous said...

Dear Kerp,
I'm touched.

Bravo brother!

Mystery sis.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

PJ,

Wahh..you really out did me there with your own version of freedom.

The last roti canai I had was tasteless which was bought at the very same mamak joint of our fav. And I had nasilemak this morning when I wished I had Bic Mac instead. Hihi…

We’ve got this new channel on astro called health & living where LPBW is being shown. The Roloffs are great bunch to watch. Once Molly turns 18, she’ll definitely be a knocker.

and I’m so facinated by their farm house. They’ve got practically every transportation mode available to move about within its farm, which is so cool. They are the pride of portland.

Buuuuttt…California is still the best, for its beaches, tinseltown, and ofcos PJ is there too…hihi..

Thanks sis. Happy Merdeka.

Bailey,

Happy 50th Merdeka to you too. thanks for crossing over. And oh, since you’re into stand-up comedy, check out Carlos Mencia, he’s the best in the business.

Thanks. And don’t ever stop bloggin will ya?

Akak Mystery,

Nothing to feel so touched about la akak. I am even more touched to have people like you wasting their precious few minutes just to surf this crappy blog. What more could I ask for?

Selamat Hari Merdeka to you and your family. Any plans tonight?


Thanks ladies!

tokasid said...

Salam bro kerp:

That came from deep inside you. true, if we wanted Merdeka to be idealistic by the book, we will not have it at all.

I think what upsets most ppl is not the Merdeka. Its actually when Merdeka is being used as a political tool/apparatus to gain mileage(political).

We all know, we are bounded by the Constitutions and the law of the state, But when there are double standards and selectism( ada kah word ni) in carrying out the law, ppl will get upset. They see these as injustice( memang pun kan?)and hence all the hoo-haa about what merdeka meant( aku pun sama lah).

Bro I like you multicoloured Salam Merdeka. Creative beb!

Pi Bani said...

No matter what, Malaysia is still our country and we are still Malaysians. SO yeah, we should still celebrate Malaysia's 50th birthday! Salam Merdeka to you too, Kerp.

Anonymous said...

Dear Kerp,

I have called your hp twice, tapi u tak angkat.Idak le teman berani call rumah, takut pulak your mom yang angkat.

Where have u been? How's your sore throat?Hope it's getting better. Take care.Macamana nak jerit ni - kalau sakit tekak niiii...

Mystery sis.




Mystery sis

Anonymous said...

Well said, bro!

Reminds me of that Scottish hero(forgive me, I forget his name) who when given the chance to say a last word, chose 'Freedom!'.

Coincidently, that guy Talkonly, wrote something about this sometime back. Perhaps you may want to visit it: http://talkonly.blogspot.com/2005/10/
of-fishes-life-and-isa.html

Salam Merdeka - Amir.

Unknown said...

I was only 1 year old when we won our independence from the snobbish English so I wouldn't know really what it was like to be kept in a leash by colonial idiots.

I don't like, in fact, I hate to be cheated and yet everyday in my life I am cheated and the shit part about it is that I am expected to be accept it. I am gagged and I am supposed to say it is right. I see daylight robbery right before me and I am supposed to shut up when I am also a victim of this robbery.
I am supposed to preach truth by suppressing truth which I find very difficult to do.

Somehow I do not feel merdeka having to do all these that I don't want to do.

How I wished that simple things are enough for me. Maybe it is my fault but I am what I am.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Salam doc,

Yes, we are not directly involved with the battle against them colonialists but it does not in any ways mean we shldnt be celebrating Merdeka. Its for our forefathers sake. They made it possible for us to be where we are now. and as I said, try and leave politics aside, I think the big day will be more meaningful. Politicians will be politicians. Down right dirty, cunning and selfish. But, Merdeka does not belong to them. Malaysia does not belong to them. And jalur gemilang does not belong to them.

As always, your comment is a good read.

Color tu was spur of a moment thing. Hihi..thanks, doc.

Kak Pi,

You put it nicely. No matter what, we are still Malaysians. We don’t need to celebrate big if we don’t feel to, its pretty much from your heart. Thanks. Salam Merdeka to you too, akak, and your family aswell.

Akak mystery,

Thanks for the call. I had a blast talking to u. so this comment can be ignored lah!..hihi…thanks.

Amir my brader,

Aiseh, broken link lar. But still managed to cross to his and read this particular entry. Very political indeed. Hehe… tak tau nak komen camna. But I sensed something lar abt this talkonly guy. You’re not him are u?

And that scottish hero, bukan william wallace ke?

Cikgu,

The time moved so fast didn’t it? my dad talks a lot about how snobbish they were especially at night clubs. and now here we are adoring their football. Hahaha…

As I mentioned above to tokasid, lets not take Merdeka as something political cikgu. Lets do it for our ancestors sake. They fought hard the colonialists, and the communist leeches. So come tomorrow, we remember these past heroes, be it from UMNO or PAS or MCA and the ones we have today. To me that’s quite a simple task.

thanks cikgu. your feedback is always a pleasure to read.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Here’s where I ‘stand’, no matter which political party you’re affiliated with, nor the colour of your skin, neither about your social status, I am your friend.

Happy 50th Independence Day, buddies.

Daphne Ling said...

Hey Danny,
From what I gather, you're meaning that freedom is the little things in life which we often take for granted (like the kind of music we choose to listen to, and when)...I agree! We take so many things for granted huh? Here's a big Merdeka salam to you too, about 200 km away from you. I see you managed to take a picture of that flag outside your condo unit =)

Anonymous said...

Bro...how can you say like that about me? Now I got small heart you know.

But neber mind lah, what's a small heart between brothers eh? (censored, censored, censored)...hehe, for that, now you must read this: http://aminiskandar.wordpress.com/
2007/08/30/semangkuk-pondan-dan-seekor
-penyanyi-karakoke-hishamuddin-rais/

- Amir

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Amir,

Yo bro, its ok. Brothers do tell each other off. Hihi…now we have the freedom even more to each other names. Hahhaha..

Thanks for the link. I have read that from bro Black.

Daphne,

Yes, you’re spot on. Small things we often overlook. It may be small to some but it means the world to others, that kinda stuff.

Salam merdeka to you too, sister. I’m off!!!!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee…………….

Unknown said...

hey...like this entry a lot.
Freedom = choice!
So true and well illustrated.

Great to see u in high spirit and feeling free!

idham

Accia said...

salam kerp,
oh betul sangat pasal freedom is about choice. the fact that i can still choose how i want my life to be, walaupun keadaannya umpama melawan arus kepada sesetengah, cukup saya shukuri.

selamat menyambut hari merdeka kerp!

mariannie said...

Salam merdeka!
Merdeka for me - bila kita terlepas dari sifat2/negative tought yang ada dalam diri. Merdeka - bila ada prasana & peluang yang boleh membantu OKU untuk berdikari.
Merdeka!!!
P.s -tetap sambut merdeka walaupun tidak ke Dataran Merdeka.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Abg Idham,

Salam perkenalan. Its this very same high spirit that got me moving. Otherwise things will get all gloomy and just the thought of it makes me cringe.

really an honour to have to crossed over here. Thank you so much.

Kak accia

Macam saya kata, it’s the simplest of things that make a huge different. As in this case, the freedom of choices is in our hand. Basic thing in our daily lives. Bersyukur tapi tdk semestinya atas seadanya sahaja. kalau kiita boleh pegi lebih jauh, alhamdulillah.

Kak mariannie,

Setuju sgnt dgn kata2 akak. That’s exactly what I had to go through. Merdekakan diri dari persaan negative sendiri. By o means it was peanuts but I managed to pull through. Our bigger task is to be free from other’s negative perception towards us. It will be like a mountain to climb but never impossible.


Salam Merdeka, guys!

Anonymous said...

Uh-oh! My name's mentioned! I'm outta here! Don't want anyone coming with a 50 calibre! Hey! There's only so many holes you plug somebody. Anymore than that, there will be no more body to bury!

You take care bro, just holler my name if you need me, insyAllah I'll be there. Now, I have to go save someone - me! Hehe... - Amir

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

amir,

mr talkonly left a msg in my top post. very nice to see him. u introduced me to his well-written blog.

bro, reveal abit more abt urself lar. u cld disappear without a trace, just like mekyam...where is she i wonder.

a holler to mekyam,

where r u???

Anonymous said...

kerp: a holler to mekyam, where r u???

Ouch! mind the eardrums, sweetie! :)

Sorry kerpie, I've been away. Almost all of August. Three weeks of skimming across times zones and shuttling the hemispheres, lugging my 17" widescreen lappie yg berat giler, cussing non-stop in a few languages at the contrariness or non-existence of either broadband or wifi or my bluetooth doing an "huh!" or my not having the correct jack to milk juice in different parts of the globe. Aiyah, it was such a drag.

If I sound like a whinging spoilt techie-brat, blame it on the corner of the world I call home. Yep, it made me take being online 24/7 for granted.

The upshot kerpie, the Almighty (probably most displeased with the coarseness of my language) smote me at the end of my long weary jaunt with a bad case of strep-throat. I still sound like a female Darth Vader. So you're not the only one with faulty larynx or pharynx or whatever in the last few days. Perhaps yours was a sympathy ailment, non?

Now that you know I've not deserted you, I'm going back to reading the rest of the entries I've missed.

P.S. Drat that Malay Male! How dare he practiced his freedom on us... and while I was internetless too! Should have known the guy was a heartless git. He's probably a transformer bot. Though I wish him allbest in his endeavours (generous soul that I am) may his carut-lulled throat strep too while he rakes in his trillions of MYRs. ;D

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Yay! Mekyam’s back! Hihi…

That was one heck of an adventure. And of cos I know u didn’t ditch us. I hopped from one blog to another without a single comment from the mysterious ‘mekyam’ spotted. Really, what have u been up to huh? Huh? Haha…I’m glad things r ok with u, minus the retarded pharynx.

And that malay male fella. It came as a surprise. He has been hinting on it but being a little slow that I am, I didn’t catch it at all. Cant blame him either. For his talent, he wldnt want anything to distract him from reaching his goal of world domination. Maybe he’ll come back once he becomes a zillionaire.

So anyway, nice to have u back, mekyam!!

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