Discrimination is a Pink Train

There is a sense of naivety with the introduction of these female exclusive trains. It is understood that there is an idea of good nature to protect women from sexual harassment and the danger of pickpockets. But seriously, is this really the best solution for these issues?

From the Star

PETALING JAYA: KTM Bhd will introduce its first women-only coach for the commuter train service operating from Sentul to Port Klang today.

The railway said in a statement that the move would be implemented as statistics showed that 60% of KTM Komuter passengers were women.

It said the special coach would provide more comfort and security to women and protect them from “sexual harassment and jostling with male passengers.”

KTM said boys under the age of 12 were permitted to ride in the “women-only” coach with their female companions or relatives.

The railway said it was not mandatory for women passengers to use the coach but they were encouraged to use it.

Named “Ladies Only At All Times”, the coach is located in the middle among the three coaches of every commuter train. The coaches at the front and back are for all sexes.

A pink “women-only” coach sticker will be placed on the window, doorway and in the coach area to differentiate the coach from the rest.

Passengers at stations can identify the special coach via a pink banner at the platform and pole.

It is sexist. In an age where we are heralding equality and a changing perception of gender, this is a step back.

It is discriminatory to the male public who have to forfeit their limited time, amassed by the hectic KL lifestyle, to step aside for these exclusive pink coloured trains and wait for a mixed gender train because he lacks a vagina. The introduction of this gender discriminatory coaches undermine the perception of Malaysian men, as the world looks in and views the male population as criminal brutes and throbbing perverts.

Males not allowed in train

It is offensive to women too. That the perception that the females in the country need to be sheltered away from the masculine gaze as they are too weak to comprehend, or take action, against the ‘infatuated’ male who ‘cannot’ resist the temptations of the allure of the charms of a woman’s appearance. By introducing these trains, the status of women in the country are reduced to be seen as feeble, and helpless to resist the approaches of men.

The practicality comes as allowing woman to travel in comfort and safety. Its still a fresh idea, untested to any future occurrences to extreme and unexpected outcomes. What if sexual harassment rises on the female coaches? The concept would be left in ruin, and Malaysia, (Islamic authorities specifically) would be in stringent investigation on the hoard of lesbianism. These coaches would leave the women vulnerable, compacted in one location, if say there was an armed robbery. Have these situations been imagined or considered? It is unsound to demote these ideas as unconventional, it can happen.

As the world looks in at our Muslim majority nation, we strive to accommodate a modern, forward thinking image. But with these small occurrences, It is forgivable if a foreigner mistakes us as a Middle Eastern nation. Segregation of gender is a perception of the past, even if it is taken a ‘positive’ view, the modern world revolves around the notion of equality.

The Pressure of Procrastination

Human beings need a jolt of excitement to motivate them to proceed in whatever goals they choose to achieve at the end of the day. Motivation is a desire to do something because you want to. Its fuelled by inspiration, aspiration, and at most times intimidation.

As you are reading this, there is most probably something that you are putting away from, because you suffer a lack of motivation of doing it. This works vice-versa whilst writing this rant. Whether its that financial report due for a meeting tomorrow, a three thousand word assignment due Friday, or even cleaning up the house, we all leave these menial duties relegated to back of our minds, only to achieve them when necessary.

Procrastination. The act of putting off something for something better. Something more entertaining perhaps? Our psyche stems its desire to find an activity, object, or person that enthrals our interests to keep us concentrated with our reality. Our minds selectively choose the things that stimulate our neurones over that is considered boring or arduous. Put in simple context, would you rather stare blankly at a MS word screen, or read an rant from an amateur writer trying to convince you about his view on procrastination. I rest my case.

By leaving things aside, we forget what should be prioritised, and we are left unorganised with the tasks that we are required to do. Chaos, panic, and anxiety fill our emotions. We are left scrambling now, since we’ve left it ‘to the last minute’.

Interestingly enough, this jolt of pandemonium has come as form of obscure motivation. The pressure of failure, of being defeated, has startled your interests to finally concentrate what you were meant to do. Scrambling through the raw data, the scholarly journals, and the unwashed dishes, there is adrenaline in your system to commit to these humdrum routines.

Many react in this manner, they say that its the only way they can work. There has to be  a threat of some sort for these people to function. The situation can always be seen as a similar image – A cup coffee, the clock reading 3:30am, and a heart rate beating abnormally hard with the rhythm of anxiety.

There are the types that are able to be self-motivated, well-prepared, and focused. They need not to worry of such ordeals. Where instead, they fear the pressure of such situations, and choose to eradicate the distractions, and put the order of important tasks into action much earlier. I am in full envy of  these individuals.

A lack of a shower, A messy apartment, and a pile of ‘real’ work is scattered around my table. I am experiencing such a situation of procrastination.

My list of ‘Things to Do’ is piling up, and all I read of it is ‘Nothing’.

Ignorance Is bliss..Right up to the last minute.

Has Malaysia Failed to Progress?

Tensions were put on the cutting table last Saturday at the Prince Philip Theatre at the University of Melbourne.

About 200 Malaysian students gathered, eager to voice and hear the opinions of their peers on a policy that is seen as discriminatory and exclusive to certain groups in Malaysia.

The inaugural Debate organised by the Malaysian Students Council of Australia (MASCA) was a unbounded platform to allow the different faces of Malaysia to express their feelings about the New Economic Policy (NEP).

The motion put forth was whether Malaysia has failed to progress since the inception of the policy.

A contested Issue

(Photo by Aqmal Anis)

Standing affirmative to the motion were Monash second year law students Sri Komathy and Julie Ngai,and Shamir Hameed who is a creative advertising student in RMIT. Taking the opposite front were Kelab UMNO Association Melbourne (KUAM) president Haerris Riani, Commerce student Nor Leanna Hannifah and Masters in International Relations student Ronald Li.

The affirmative argued that the inception of the NEP  has made Malaysia less competitive within the global stage. That it had restricted Malaysia’s full potential in the economy, education, and has failed to unite the different ethnicities in Malaysia. They argued that the policy had allegedly increased corruption in the country, where funds are inappropriately allocated to only a elitist group in Malaysia failing in its idea of balancing out inequalities in the economic pie.

The rigidity of thirty percent Bumiputera policy ‘closes’ the Malaysian market to foreign investment, and has spurred disunity because of its discriminatory tone in its policy. This has led many to leave Malaysia and find opportunities overseas.

The debators

(Photo by Aqmal Anis)

The negative argued that the NEP had had pushed Malaysia through progression that was not able to be imagined during the sixties. They argued that the policy had met to balance out the equity of increasing Bumiputera share of the economic pie from 2.4% to 20% over the last twenty years and has seen great economic growth within the country, evident by the establishment of local industries and infrastructure in the country. They acknowledge that the NEP was not a perfect policy, however had done enough to be a foundation for Malaysia to progress to do better in the future.

The floor was open for the audiences between each speaker to voice their opinion on each teams argument. Where many put forth their personal accounts being affected by the policy. Many of the students spoke out how the policy had made them feel discriminated in their country, and supported that the policy had stunted Malaysia’s from its full potential. Some, argued that it was needed in the sixties to allow for the Malays to catch up economically, however acknowledged that the policy had not entirely met its goals and needed revisions in the recent decade.

Throughout the debate, there was a evident contrast between each team’s angle of debate. Where the affirmative stood that the policy had ‘completely failed’ to address the needs of the citizens of Malaysia, whilst the negative argued that the policy had ‘progressed, however has not met its goals entirely.’ Both sides agreed that the NEP was an expired ideology, and needs reforms to address Malaysia’s current economic situation.

The audience participated in a poll before the debate and after, and the results had a surprising change at the end of the debate. Where the first poll a majority of 44.1 percent of the attendees agreed that the policy had failed with 29.9% disagreeing with the statement and 26% undecided.

The numbers flipped in the end where people agreed that the policy had not faltered completely with 40.2% standing at the NEP’s failure, but a jump to 43.9% supporting that the NEP brought progress, with 15% still undecided.

The debate was a good forum to allow the young generation of Malaysians to spur different angles of opinion on a sensitive issue. Having been its inaugural staging, it was a success to bring a certain sense of closure of what the larger community feel about the policy and united Malaysian’s to be open and critical of the issues that needed to be address in the progression of future successes for the country.

You are a Radar detector!

Darwin Deez exemplifies a recent breed of musicians. An early fascination with classic-rock being accentuated by recent interests in electronica is a trend that the newest generation of artists continue to play with; Listening to his album ‘Darwin Deez’ you’ll find a style that is comparable to that of Phoenix, The Strokes, and MGMT (which he attended the same University), a great mould of synth pop and indie-rock.His sounds have a cool demeanour with a unique tuning on his four string guitar producing a breezy melody which comes as recommended listen.

THE TITTY GHOST

Its late evening in the village, the sun is setting in the horizon and two children are gleefully playing around in the deep scrubs of their small fruit estate. As the sun retires for the day, the sound of the Adzan calls the religious for their nightly prayer. Seven year old Johari covers his eyes and starts counting.

“Don’t peek!” Shouts his four year old brother Ali, as he scuffles away through the banana trees to find a place to hide.

As he pushes aside the large leafy branches, he discovers an infallible spot behind a large rock within the dense banana plantation. Johari lifts his hands of his face.

“Alright, I’m coming to get you!” He shouts exuberantly.

He peers around the compound, in front of him is his aged wooden home, and he can see the silhouette of his parents prostrating in prayer. He ponders keenly ; “If I was fat and slow, where would I hide?” He examines their rumpled estate, full of shrubs, bushes, and fruit trees and decides to start near the slope where the mangosteen trees were planted.

Nightfall curtains the village, and Johari tirelessly searches underneath the stilts of the house, between every shrub and bush, and wanders blindly through the deep banana trees to find his brother.

Suddenly, a shriek of anger startles him.

“Johari! Ali! Don’t play around at night! There are spirits around, come back inside now!” Screams their mother worriedly.

The elder brother withdraws dejectedly in failing to find Ali, and shouts out loudly to his brother that he had won. Hearing his brother’s cries of relegation, he grins in triumph and pumps both his hands in the air signalling success. As he stands up, he notices a figure behind the banana tree in front of him.

He is not able to identify what it is, and his imaginations frightens him, influenced by the numerous ghostly tales his grandparents used to tell him. Ali nervously turns around and sprints back through the darkness, forcing aside the banana leaves that brush in his way.

He freezes.

The shock had jolted his senses to pause, the goosebumps and his terrified emotions overcome him as he urinates his torn pants.

In front of him stood a lady. Her black pupils peering deep at him with a wide eerie grin,portraying her exposed, abnormally  large bosoms and withered pale skin. She floats towards the child, and pulls apart her breasts sideways and engulfs him.

Ali was never seen again.

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Many of you in South East Asia may have heard similar variations of the anecdote above. Hantu tetek (crudely translated by myself as the Titty ghost), is a folklore told by parents to scare their children not to play when it gets dark. This supernatural apparition is described to have massive breasts that kidnaps and even kills children by engulfing them between their boobs.

Hantu Tetek seems to be more of a joke when you’re an adult, as being engulfed by massive breasts is seen as a extremely fun experience. But remembering this story as child, you would not dare play around when it gets dark, being fearful of being crushed to death.

(Death by boob? Sounds like an awesome way to die now)

The origins of Hantu Tetek has not been widely discussed, but many often attributed to its existence to be the Balinese witch Rangda:

The origins is based on Mahendratta, an ancient Javanese princess who married the Balinese Prince Udayana. The couple had a son name Erlangga in 1001AD. Mahendratta was exiled in the forest because of her witch craft activities, continuing to haunt Erlangga long after his father’s death. Now taking the identity of Rangda, the witch caused a plague to come down and almost detroy the Erlangga’s kingdom.

Hip Hop loses a Legend

Highly influential rapper and founding member of Gang Starr, Guru (Gifted Universal Rhymes Unlimited) died on Tuesday after a year-long battle with cancer. Guru, whose real name is Keith Elam, health took a serious turn  last month when he fell into a coma after an apparent cardiac arrest.

Since news of his death broke there has been an outpouring of grief from both fans and industry peers alike.

Long time collaborator and close friend, MC Solaar said that he was “one of the best MC’s and hip hop icons of all time.”

Snoop Dogg tweeted that “420 [20th April] gonna be in honor of the big homie Guru”.

But the most moving tribute came from long time friend and A Tribe Called Quest rapper Q-Tip, “from Allah we come to Allah we return,” He said.

“R.I.P. Keith GURU. A great man, poet, and I’m proud to say friend … 23 yrs, Damn.”

Just To Get A Rep (1991)

Guru – a member of the Five Percent – an off shoot of the black Muslim organization Nation Of Islam, was known for his intellectual and complex rhyming style and monotone delivery . He came from an era of late eighties and nineties east coast conscious rap, where themes included black empowerment, poverty and urban city life.

Along with partner DJ Premier, Guru formed Gang Starr in 1985. Together they released six albums between 1989 and 2003 including classics such as No More Mr. Nice Guy, Daily Operation and Moment of Truth. As well as a slew of revered singles  – “Just To Get A Rep”, “Mass Appeal”, “Code Of The Streets”, “Ex Girl To Next Girl” and “Above The Clouds” to name a few.

Outside of his work with Gang Starr, Guru put out Jazzmatazz vol. 1-4, a critically acclaimed series of hip hop/jazz fused albums.

Ex Girl To Next Girl

Over the years Guru collaborated with jazz greats Branford Marsalis and Roy Ayers as well as Kool Keith, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Kelis, MOP and many, many more.

After his death Solar released an open letter penned by Guru over the last month of his life. In it he says “I am very proud of what Gang Starr has meant to the music world and fans” and equally proud “of my Jazzmatazz series”.

He also writes in length of his non-for-profit organization Each One Counts:

“I have a non-profit organization called Each One Counts dedicated to carrying on my charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting”.

The letter has, however, caused controversy due to its statement on DJ Premier. “I do not wish my ex-DJ [DJ Premier] to have anything to do with my name likeness, events, tributes etc. connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over 7 years and want nothing to do with him in death. Solar has my life story and is well informed on my family situation, as well as the real reason for separating from my ex-DJ.”

This has led many in the Hip Hop world and fans alike to question the credibility of the letter and the sincerity of Solar.

Guru will be sorely missed but will live on through his music.

Interview with Gangstarr

Paulina Cerilla – Acoustic Yum Yum.

I’m infatuated with Usher’s new song OMG, and recently with most songs produced by Will I. Am.

I admit his lyrical talent may only be limited to the topics of checking out women, comparing their aesthetic genes to be derived of their mothers, and engaging in sexual activities with women. However, his composition instrumentally which lately has much electronic synth influence, has made wanting to get up each time and awkwardly try to dance like a black guy.

So instead, to cover my inability to dance, I am able to strum a guitar – mediocrely. So I usually go on my routine of finding covers of songs, and here I find this young beauty and her impressive cover of Travis Mccoy’s Billionaire and OMG.

Before the male readers start thinking of anything dirty, she’s fourteen. Yes, I don’t believe it either. Hailing from Houston Texas, this lass has appeared in small local shows like America’s Most talented Kid, and has won awards such as Best Pop Singer in Houston 2009, and Best Country Singer in 2009.

If your into Justin Bieber and underaged Pop artists you can download some other covers and original songs of her website

Pink Penis Parade

Hail the Penis

In the minds of foreigners, the Japanese have an alternative sense of sexuality that is not easily understood by the contemporary western mind. Where you can find video games rewarding you with participating in rape, vending machines that offer preloved underwear, and ofcourse Bukake. (I prefer not to hyperlink that one)

The Pink Penis Parade is not a wicked cultural manifestation for an excuse to drag a Pink Penis around streets. However, It is an ancient Shinto festival to honour fertility, prevent STI’s, and to raise money for HIV research:

(From Weird Asia News)

The Kanamara Matsuri, which translates to “Big Iron Penis Lord,” is celebrated during the first week of April in Kawasaki, Japan. The event concludes on the first Sunday of April, which this year ironically coincided with the Christian holiday of Easter. So while many Westerners celebrated by eating chocolate eggs and chasing bunny rabbits on April 3rd, the Japanese paraded through town with a big, giant penis.

The festival, which has been held since the 1600s, centers around the legend of a demon that, according to Wikipedia, “hid inside the vagina of a young girl and castrated two young men on their wedding nights.” In retaliation, the young damsel sought the assistance of a blacksmith, who in turn built an iron penis to combat the demon.

This led the Shinto people—Shinto is a form of spirituality practiced by over 90% of Japan’s citizens—to build a giant penis shrine that prostitutes would visit to seek protection from STDs. In due time, the shrine became portable and thus a festival was borne.

Yum Yum.

It has come to suggestion that some of these folklore may have influenced some of the variations of accepted sexual practices in Japan today. In the folklore quoted above the key words that have come in my mind were: Demon, Hid, Vagina, and Iron Penis -It almost sounds like a plot for a Hentai movie.

But I have to admit, how insane would penis shaped weaponry be? I mean the notion of an aggressor attacking you, and you can whip out your penis shaped mason, and beat him (not in other way) to a penis bashing pulp. Awesome.