Change…
November 19, 2007
Last Friday evening I dragged my mother to a forum on the Malaysian judicial crisis. Entitled How to Stop the Rot the forum included a panel comprising Tun Salleh Abbas (former Lord President), former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Shaik Daud, Vice President of the Malaysian Bar Council Ragunath Kesavan and former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Moderated by human rights lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah, I knew this was a forum I badly wanted to attend.
Was I glad I attended this forum! Attended by some 1000 people, we crammed into a small ballroom and listened to the panel of speakers who provided much needed background information, effects and long term solutions to overcoming the crisis.
Suffice to say, attending such talks will not be the last. Perhaps I’m a little jaded but I think I’ve reached this point where I’ve had enough. Enough with sitting around merely reading about what is happening to this country and criticising from afar. Time to learn more, read more and hopefully develop an understanding of what this country is plagued with.
To tell the truth, I am not intending to be an activist, nor do I want to see myself in that light. But during my four years in Australia I have gradually (but surely) become more aware socially and politically. Working for my employer, a man who readily shares his deep knowledge for politics, philosophy and Islamic thought, has certainly influenced me to start thinking and doing more.
In the near future I will be posting up events and talks happening around KL. The events will not be party-specific but instead will focus on social and political issues. My personal hope is for family, friends and silent readers (in Malaysia and beyond) to choose to take notice.
A simple hope, yes?
