I was sitting on the floor, shuffling through some papers. My client and his friend, both Chinese, sat across from me, lounging on ceramic and accumulating dust. Not a piece of furniture in sight, and I sighed. Houses in Kota Tinggi were starting to look depressingly familiar: all interiors, paint and echoes. As I gathered to leave, I saw a boy in his teens stroll up past the front gate, waving and declaring “wassalamualaikum”. The boy was decked in jeans and a bright red polo t-shirt, one arm wrapped around a bag of rice perched on his shoulder. He smiled and proffered the food, and my client’s friend smiled and accepted it with thanks.
“Orang PAS,” client’s friend said.
“PAS?” I said, instantly alert. I was under the impression that Opposition parties were not allowed into flood affected areas, an impression based on a rumour I heard while working in Kota Tinggi. I looked closely at the food client’s friend had just deposited next to me.
I was pleasantly surprised, and suddenly curious. Packing up my papers and stuff, I made hasty goodbyes and hurried to my car. I didn’t have far to go: men in red polo t-shirts were all about. I accosted one of the guys and asked him where he was from. From Trengganu, he said, with PAS. I was still surprised and asked him if he knew whether there was a ‘larangan’ against Opposition parties entering flood areas. He didn’t want to answer, and waved toward an approaching Kancil. The Kancil stopped next to me and I suddenly felt I was in some bit of trouble.
A man in his 50s emerged, wearing a skullcap, his clothes almost as brown as his aged and lined face. Another man emerged from the passenger side, wearing a cap and one of those red t-shirts. He asked who I was, and I gave him my name. He then asked me what I was doing in Kota Tinggi, and I realized I was caught in an assault of questions. I tried one of my own, asking him what PAS was doing in KT. Charity work, he said, part of PAS NGO (is there such a group? Wouldn’t such a group be contradictory?).
I then asked him if Opposition parties were barred from participating in the relief efforts in flood-affected areas, and he said no rather emphatically. I was surprised, and questions like “where’s PKR or DAP, then?!” ran through my head. He saw me hesitate, I think, or saw the disbelief in my expression. He then asked the inevitable: “you support party mana?” I was caught off guard. He was asking me to declare my political allegiances, when I had none.
“Bukan BN,” I said.
“Bukan BN, habis parti mana? DAP, ke?” he said.
“DAP? Bukan,” I said.
“Habis, PPP?” he said, and both men laughed long and hard. I laughed because they laughed, mostly.
“PKR,” I said, running out of parties to pick.
And that led him on to his long spiel about how some parties needed to “stay the course” and hold on to embers till they become ash, etc. The word “peribahasa” came to mind, and I didn’t bother stopping him: he obviously had some issues with both Anwar Ibrahim and PKR. What disturbed me most was his original question, the attempt to determine which ‘party’ I supported. Do partisans view other people as partisans? I’m not that much of a fence-sitter on issues, I think, but to view things in rigid either/or’s is one of those things I try to avoid.
It was a strange encounter, and as I drove home, I received a call from one of my colleagues requesting some help for a presentation the next day. Little did I know then that I’d be wading deep into partisan territory when I said ‘yes’….
Comments (16)
Malaysians are political in general. When I was a temporary teacher (ahem!) in a suburban kampung, I asked the students for their father’s occupation (to make them practise Engrund lar, since it was my first day of work) and one of them said ‘PAS’. I was like…WTF???
Oh, nice layout btw. Keep with this and you’ll be fine. :)
Dude, that’s the thing I don’t get: it’s like being a member of a political party is some sort of profession.. like we’ve bred a whole generation who believe politics is a job or something… and for those who don’t like politics, that politics is a job like selling insurance.. heh heh :)
“Charity work, he said, part of PAS NGO (is there such a group? Wouldn’t such a group be contradictory?).”
PAS has a Unit Amal, their charity arm. Guess you didn’t know that, did you?
- MENJ
And its funny that you deny being a supporter of the DAP. Always believed that you are ideologically aligned to them.
- MENJ
No, not that it would’ve interested me, actually. It’s just odd to find a politically-aligned non-governmental group in operation. Sounds to me that such groups are “non-governmental” insofar as their main patrons aren’t part of the government, that’s all…
No, I’m not politically-aligned with the DAP, and any ideological similarities (such as they are; I’ve not actually stated what views I subscribe to) is incidental, not an endorsement.
;)
i got 1 question for you, why the hell you believe the stupid rumour? i mean, you can think, right?
Well, I didn’t believe the rumour if you mean I took it as bible truth. It just didn’t make much difference to me.
It’s like hearing that rumour about fishermen catching a fish with a misai and 2 horns, as reason for the flood. You believe?
“It’s just odd to find a politically-aligned non-governmental group in operation.”
Nothing odd about it. Unit Amal is a separate entity from PAS the same way Aman Malaysia is a separate entity from UMNO. They are both still NGOs, though of course we know who their primary backers are.
- MENJ
nice new look. love it :D anyway, PAS has done a lot of flood relief work and were among the first Opposition parties to go down and hand out rice, etc etc. check harakahdaily.
as to where were DAP + PKR….i am still asking that question….
“hold on to embers till they become ash, etc” ~~~ quite farnee….anwar actually said something almost exactly like this in the Tribute to Reformasi Heroes night. To quote him: “Kita mesti biar ombornya (dunno spelling) untuk terus membara…”
anyway, re whether partisans normally view others as themselves i think it’s common to project one’s own psychological make-up, traits, pref, etc onto others. in my limited experience, partisans expect me to be partisans. and it’s hard to explain my non-partisan stand sometimes. i have to keep reiterating that although i support some of the stands that particular parties take, i may not necessarily support the whole party…….
happeee sunday :D
Brother not yet expyred!
It’s okay to be partisan — I’m aligned to Opposition cause since I became an activist because the Establishment was, is, will, NOT delivering.
There isn’t much choice at the moment, but I openly plug for Reformist PKR and ex-DPM Anwar Ibrahim as the opnlyvisible light at the end of the tunnel. Okay, just a glimmer at the moment until and unless more Y&A like freelunch and howsy and YOU (Person of the Year, remember, though 1month+4days past shelf or self-life!) get on board the train. Let’s ENJOY the journey together, can? I have endless flow of tehtarik, colour same as flood waters in recent Johore, still in your fave towns –Kota Rendah? and Batu Rehat? Ooops, Batu Tinggi and Kota Rehat! I’m awe confused when I’m reduced and recycled!
@desi: LOL! Ya, I know you support PKR and Dato’ Anwar. Perhaps the coming elections will prove a better one for PKR, and a better one for the rest of the Opposition. Many steps to go before that will ever happen, I think everyone can agree, and I hope people remember the mighty cock-ups that occurred last year and the year before that. People, unfortunately, forget easily.
I’ve lowered my expectations subconsciously, I think: yes I’d like to see the Opposition gain some ground - for the right reasons and all - but at the end of the day, I’m tired enough to just ask for an accountable government, no matter who’s in power. Politicians can go squabble with each other over which piece of political landscape they’d like. Hopefully something positive will come out of all of this.
@freelunch2020: maybe that’s how that rumour started; I’ve been in KT six weeks, now, since Boxing Day, and I’ve been speaking to the locals. No news of DAP or PKR at all. Who knows? Maybe I’m not asking the right people LOL. Maybe the lack of opposition presence - except, of course, PAS - has led people to conclude that there was a blanket ban on opposition parties participating with the flood relief efforts? Who knows.
And yeah, just why do partisans expect other people to be partisans. I don’t want to generalize this trait in all partisans, of course; desi, for example, doesn’t view everyone as partisan. It’s just that sometimes I feel partisans view everyone else as “The Opposition” ™. It’s just like that world-view in which either you’re for or against the Opposition. It’s a false dichotomy, and it’s a false dichotomy that gets stuck onto you because of your views.
I dunno. hopefully there are more partisans like desi around :)
@menj: Well, if you don’t find anything wrong with partisan-linked NGOs, then good for you, I suppose. It’s just a bit weird, don’t you think? Oil companies, for example, are non-partisan (surely!) but their presence in the middle east, raping that region of its oil wealth, certainly raises hackles and images of western imperialism, particularly american imperialism.
Just in the same way that DAP is associated with the Chinese - which I’m told is erroneous - I wonder how partisan-linked NGOs can escape the stigmas of their associations..
That is an encouraging post. If only all Malaysians stop identifying people by their ethnic origins and religion…. there is so much prejudice around. Stereotyping is so easy.
I will come and visit you more often. I like what I c here :)
Hi, thanks for dropping by :)
You know, I get the feeling that one of these days, ALL of us need to meet up soon to pool our collective efforts (if only to give the ISA fellas some targets to keep a watch on..) heh heh.. :)
“Oil companies, for example, are non-partisan (surely!) but their presence in the middle east, raping that region of its oil wealth, certainly raises hackles and images of western imperialism, particularly american imperialism.”
That’s probably because a lot of oil companies are national-owned.
“Just in the same way that DAP is associated with the Chinese - which I’m told is erroneous”
Then, obviously, you are not a Penangite.
- MENJ
National-owned? Er, no. Check your facts, please, or offer proof.
And: I could be a Penangite and still be told that the view that DAP is associated with the Chinese is an erroneous view. What is your point?
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reduced and recycled: the PAS encounter in KT I was sitting on the floor, shuffling through some papers. My client and his friend, both Chinese, sat across from me, lounging on ceramic and accumulating dust. Not a piece … [Link]