Tok Guru At Pandan Indah

I seem to be flitting from one PAS event to another. Last Friday, it was the fuel hike protest at Kampung Baru, and on Saturday night, I took some time to attend a 'Ceramah Perdana' that would feature amongst others, Y.A.B. Tuan Guru Dato' Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Chief Minister to the State of Kelantan Darul Naim. The photograph here shows members of Unit Amal Malaysia performing their evening prayers at the MPAJ field prior to the event.

Members of Unit Amal Malaysia, an auxiliary organization affiliated with PAS, being briefed on security and protocol measures just before the event kicked-off.

Registration drive for new members for PAS itself (Muslims) and for PAS Supporters Club (Non-Muslims).

"Those UMNO fellas stole my punchline! Somebody get me a lawyer quick!" Hulu Langat Member of Parliament, Che Rosli Che Mat at the pulpit stand. He issued a challenge to any Barisan Nasional lawyers in the audience, said to be sent to Pakatan Rakyat rallies as observers, to identify themselves. He promised the BN lawyers that they would be given the privilege of being seated next to Tok Guru himself. Suffice to say, either there weren't any BN lawyers in attendance that night, or the prospect of being seated next to the Tok Guru himself just wasn't good enough.

A nasheed choir entertains the audience.

Y.B Iskandar Abdul Samad, Executive Councilor to the Selangor State Government and ADUN for Chempaka. Whereas YB Che Rosli could be said to be on the side of rhetorics and biting humor, YB Iskandar Samad is more measured and calm in his pronouncements.

Tok Guru Nik Aziz listening intently to Iskandar Samad's speech.

I couldn't recall the name of the ustaz here who was up next after YB Iskandar Samad. However, I could remember what he said about Tok Guru's economic policy, which was summarized as, "Berbelanja jangan sehingga membazir, berjimat jangan sehingga kedekut" i.e. spend wisely, not waste; practice thrift, never niggardly.

"Just great. I was gonna use that line! Now what do I say?" Tok Guru Nik Aziz in deep thought.

Y.A.B. Tuan Guru Dato' Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Chief Minister to the State of Kelantan Darul Naim.

The all Malay crowd that night hung on to every word coming out from the mouth of Tok Guru. It was obvious to me that Tok Guru commanded much respect from segments of the Malay community.

My estimate of the numbers in attendance that night? More or less 5,000.

Fine Day For A Fuel Hike Protest

When you get a beautiful sunny day like this Friday, most photographers would roll out their DSLRs with tripods and say: "A beautiful day today! Take panoramas? Macro, perhaps? What the heck, I'll do 'em all!", and dutifully go about their business to do their best to make Frans Lanting look like an amateur. Yeah, right. Anyway, since my bridge camera screw mount got busted, I couldn't roll out my tripod and all. I then decided on the next best thing: photograph the fuel hike protest organized by PAS. It was scheduled to begin after the end of Muslim Friday prayers, starting from Kampung Baru mosque and to make its way to KLCC i.e. Petronas Twin Towers.

Dr. Lo' Lo's (Member of Parliament for Titiwangsa) community service center at Kampung Baru. I was so busy trying to get a shot in the can that I did not notice a car pulling over. The driver and the passenger steps out and gives me a quizzical look; then only I realize I am looking at Dr. Lo' Lo' herself. After a brief introduction, she graciously invited me in to her community service center and permitted me to take some photographs.

Dr. Lo' Lo' attending to one of her constituents. The man on the right had had some problem enrolling his child with a higher learning institution and was given the runabout by a few apparatchiks. His coming to ask for Dr. Lo' Lo's help was the only available course after exhausting all possible avenues.

Following one of Dr. Lo' Lo's supporters through the nooks and crannies of Kampung Baru. Before we left, Dr. Lo' Lo' and her crew dispensed a packet of salt to everyone. Apparently, placing salt under your tongue and sucking on it like a sweet (irony, huh?) mitigates the effect of the chemically laced water sprayed from FRU water cannons.

The police officer seen on the right, from what the reporters there told me, is an OCPD from the Dang Wang police station. This was taken just prior to the Friday prayers. At that time, I didn't know who he was, but decided he must be an important police officer as he had rows and rows of medals and badges on his uniform, reminiscent of Leonid Brezhnev.

Mosque. Unpredictable crowd. Riot gears. Tough looking heavies in red berets. Silly photographer aspiring to be the Malaysia's Robert Capa. And all the while I was thinking: is this a good time to call up my medical insurance carrier?

My thanks to the men and women in blue for this photograph. Ribuan terima kasih daripada saya kepada pegawai-pegawai polis yang bertugas diatas kerana sudi bergambar. From left to right: Cik Noraziah, Cik Suraida, unknown, Cik Yana, Cik Suzi, and Encik Hairul. Thanks!

Commencement of the fuel hike protest at the end of the Friday prayers.....

.....and met by heavies in red berets armed with thump-guns and in riot gear. (I really should stop getting up-close. I mean, do I really wanna see my insurance premium skyrocket? Lucky I don't drive, ya know what I mean?)

I later bumped into Haris Ibrahim of People's Parliament at the tail-end of the march at the SOGO department store. Haris commented that he observed that the show of force by the boys in blue and the heavies in red was not, uhm, how should I put it, at a respectable level that commensurated a true riot control, you know what I'm saying? He speculated that perhaps the authorities did not want an all-out confrontation right at the doorsteps of the mosque, which could have ended as a public relations fiasco, and therefore only deployed the bare minimum. My estimate of the crowd in numbers? 1,000 to 2,000. Tops. The fact that a fuel rebate could be claimed as early as this Saturday (in cash, no less) at the local post offices may have played a part with the attendance of the fuel hike protest.

IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE! IT'S.....

.....a police chopper. Just great.

There's a punchline here. The cops are overseeing the demonstrators. And the demonstrators are overseeing the traffic. Apparently, in order to avoid a confrontation with the police, the demonstrators were herded to SOGO at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman instead of KLCC. Haris later informed me the real show of force i.e. water cannons and all were deployed in strength at KLCC itself. The men in red shirts on the right are from Unit Amal Malaysia, an auxiliary organization affiliated with PAS. That Friday, those men in red shirts acted as provost marshals, traffic controllers, and pathfinders. Judging from the way these men managed the crowd and traffic, PAS definitely has quite an oiled and organized political machinery, second only to UMNO.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

My packet of salt from Dr. Lo' Lo' and her crew. Thankfully it remained unused but I did share it with Rahim and Jim from Malaysiakini, and a lady from NST, whose name I had forgotten. As for me, no more adventures and close-ups with thump-guns. For now.

Walk And Talk For Media Freedom

Yours truly today attended the Walk (and Talk) For Media Freedom organized by BENAR, Center For Independent Journalism (CIJ), and Writers Alliance For Media Freedom. The original idea was for journalists, bloggers, and citizens to start a walk from the flagpole at Dataran Mereka to National Press Club (NPC) for the Talk with Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, the so-called de facto Law Minister. I did see some folks doing the Walk, but basically, it was more or less nixed by the cops. Many of those gathered at the NPC were asking for a repeal of the following Acts: Printing Presses and Publications Act, Internal Security Act, Sedition Act, and Official Secrets Act. Anyway, here's Datuk Wong Chun Wai of The Star newspaper sharing a laugh with one of the participants.

"Rocky, baby. Ya breakin' my heart! Didya have ta close ya eyes when I pressed the shutter button, huh? Didya? I am not gettin' any respect here..." Mr. Ahirudin Attan of Rocky's Bru.

"Rocky, this is how ya shoulda pose for the camera. Lookit this! Class. Suave. Debonair. Zorro, ya gotta tell Rocky to stop ruinin' my shots!" Mr. Bernard Khoo of Zorro Unmasked.

(The guy who got himself arrested by the cops for lighting a candle at Dataran Merdeka. His comment on that? "I tell ya, I get no respect at all!" Lucky it wasn't a short fuse to a bundle of plastic explosives, ya know what I mean?) Mr. Haris Ibrahim of The People's Parliament. Someone please get this a man a cigar!

"So the guy at Petaling Street tells me it was a genuine Vacheron Constantin! And for two and half grands! How could I pass? Two weeks later, my grandson comes over, takes a look, and say he sees Mickey Mouse engraved at the base plate! I ask ya, is this respect, huh?" Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and Datuk Wong Chun Wai of The Star discussing matters of horological significance.

Standing room only at the National Press Club. I did not have a tape recorder nor did I jot down any notes while the speakers made their points. So I'm just recalling from memory on what had had transpired on the Sunday of June 1, 2008 at NPC. I'll just digress and paraphrase what Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim had to say regarding press freedom and the laws governing the media. So, if there's any misinterpretation or misunderstanding on my part, I'll be glad for corrections from readers.....

"I feel your pain; but I ain't no Bill Clinton." The Senator makes it clear he wasn't there to endorse or accept any statements or positions advocated by BENAR and CIJ regarding press freedom and the repeal of certain Acts considered necessary or draconian (depending on your POV). However, he also makes it clear that he is amicable and understanding on the issues concerned.

"Listen, fellas. I ain't no UMNO warlord, ya get my drift?" The Senator continuously drives home the hint that all of the Acts considered draconian by the press is considered necessary by certain members of the Cabinet. Furthermore, all of the said Acts fall under the purview of the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar. Whilst Datuk Zaid may be sympathetic, he point blank tells the gathered audience that they invited the wrong guy for the dialogue.

"Hey, the wise guys tell me is all they wanna see is some quid-pro-quo, ya know what I'm sayin', huh? Ya want some, ya give some. Look, the Dons are being reasonable..." Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim would like to see media and press agencies form a common stance and present a reasonable alternative for overseeing of the media and press freedom in the absence of the PPA and OSA.

After Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim concluded his speech, a Q&A session followed. The above two photographs shows two participants of the event fielding their queries to the Senator. There was some booing and heckling, which was unnecessary, as the Senator had the courtesy to address the gathered media at NPC and wasn't there to dispense agitation propaganda. In my humble opinion, once you read between the lines on what the Senator had to say, you just might have an idea of the difficulties faced by him in advocating press freedom sans the Acts to a Cabinet populated by, as Raja Petra Kamarudin would put it, Powerbrokers and Warlords of Utmost Influence and Significance. But that's just my two cents on this issue.

After Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim left, many of the participants decided to make The Walk after The Talk. But in reverse; from NPC to Dataran Merdeka. Mr. Steven Gan of Malaysiakini can be seen at the foreground of the first photograph. I think this was one of the few times the cops got caught by surprise because by the time everyone arrived at the flagpole, no cop was to be seen. Nada.

A press statement from BENAR and ICJ. A tepid and uninspiring rendition of Negaraku. Shouts of Merdeka for three times. A photo-op for the gathered participants. Finish. (Rocky. Quit hogging the limelight, huh?)