Stop educational apartheid

The Malaysian government must start awarding educational aid/scholarships to deserving Malaysian regardless of race, ethnicity, color, creed, not only for the sake of healthy national development, peace, and social justice but also to immediately stop the practice of educational and social apartheid -- one that has been practiced by this regime since Independence that was fought by and for ALL races. --Azly Rahman

The RAHMAN Theory deconstructed

In Malaysia's political urban myth ... the R.A.H.M.A.N. theory is dominant -- what comes after "N" (Najib) is of interest of who will become Prime Minister. I would say "Azly Rahman" completes the mystery; in the Jawi writing style and positioning read via Romanized form, after Rahman comes "Azly" :) :) :) -- ar

 

Those Javanese eyes

Those Javanese eyes
by Azly Rahman

I dreamed of a Javanese girl
bright eyes
jet black hair
pink cheeks
smile like a million rupiah
lipstick borrowed from her Bugis mother

That Javanese girl
she may have been twelve
or thirteen
maybe younger
lips so red
Her mother's  lipstick
Maybelline maybe
Estee Lauder maybe
that worn by Christina Aguilera maybe
Home-made...  from dried red roses  maybe
she wants to grow up fast
that Javanese girl with eyes like sunshine
she wants to meet the world

In Kuala Johor
lipstick stores are rare
in Singapore the kampongfolks hunt for their ware
group tours they dare
To cross the causeway at discounted bus fare
Lychees
munchies
oodles of cloth
imitation Oshkosh B'Gosh
Doraemon dolls
Barbies from Padang Besar malls
multicolored hair clips and all
extra strong men's cologne
    Brut, Drakkar Noir, Polo, Ralph Lauren, and all
the Kuala Johor folks will buy them all

Those Javanese eyes
shining bright as the Bali sun
sparkling as the sage Hamka's  lakes in Medan
To see the world she must
what will she see?
what will she see?
what will she see?

Only those little red Javanese lips will tell
A story will multiple endings only Kurosawa could foresee

non-malay prime minister most welcome

i welcome a non-malay prime minister for malaysia anytime ... even if he was born in timbuktoo before the birth of malaya ... as long as he/she is not a thief and a fascist by political profession -- ar

non-malay prime minister?

i welcome a non-malay prime minister for malaysia anytime ... even if he was born in timbuktoo before the birth of malaya ... as long as he is not a thief and a fascist by political profession -- ar

Hang Tuah's real name

Hang Tuah, the symbol of Malay chivalry actually has a real name : Hang Bodoh ... meaning "YOU'RE STUPID" ... he is still a symbol of modern Malay stupidity -- ar

The Balcony

The Balcony
by Azly Rahman

the past seems so far yet so near
the future seem so distant yet it is here
as i close my eyes and call upon the ones so dear,
     to meet me in Time that has collapsed entire
as i look down below from way above yonder
     sharing my blessings with those in need ...
with those in conditions dire
     -- Amen

I had asked you once
if your suffering is a bed of nails of a joy unfathomed
if your sorrows are a pathway of thorns you traversed unscatched
     you were silent
I could see the pain in your eyes
The window to the inner you shattered a million times
Your screams only the inner world in you could hear

You were silent
I had asked you not once but many times
To bless thy cells and each and every atoms in your body
To speak to every single vein
To breathe life into each breath
To close your eyes and stare at the finiteness in you
      until it explodes into infiniteness
     You were silent
You have not understood
What your silence means
What you shall worship
      and where you shall direct your offerings
Unlike any other worships you have seen
I had asked you to do these
Not once, but many times
     You were silent
Though you worship … still
          In your suffering

Times that I look down yonder below
     from my balcony of hope
          and of love, and deliverance
I had asked many souls
Of what it means to read and read
     in the name of this or that …
I had asked walls and stones and rivers and forests , even

Where does one begin to read the self entire and see
     where the story begins
Where the conflict arises
Where the climax arises
Where it reaches multiple heights
Where is all gradually find meanings … unfolding
Where it will all end
Where it will begin .. in a different realm
I had asked many
     to read oneself
     like a scripture wide open
As wide as the vastness
     of a merciful ocean
But read many cannot
Illiterate they have become
Closed is the book of life
     when kingdom comes

Shall I then conclude our conversation by this:
     Unto you your readings
          Unto mine is my understanding

-Amen

What (actually) is "jihad"?

Press Quote: Islam threatened in Malaysia?

Islam's position has never been threatened in Malaysia ...it is how bigots and racists have positioned Islam that is of threat to itself and to people of other religious faith -- azly rahman

Kids of "Sin City, JB," do something useful with your lives ... ! You make Johor Bahru filty and dangerous ... tarnishing the image of this city ..

The day Osama died

The day Osama died 

by Azly Rahman

The day Obama put that Osama to sleep I saw a rainbow across the Manhattan sky
But why was it black?
with a darker cloud bursting at the end
                      of the rainbow?
The end of jihad and the last man could it be?
I do not know

Meditating upon a Manhattan bagel and a latte to begin my day
Watching bodies flow up and down Fifth Avenue
A man in three-piece suit at a news stand holding a daily
a front page photo
of that man Osama
a large caption reads " ROT IN HELL"

Meandering were my thoughts as those words danced frantically

Does not the Quran curse those who bring terror

          in the name of Thy Lord who created thee and placed thee in an abode called "Love"?

Did not the Quran warned against false prophets and those who bring chaos into this world?

Did not the Quran asketh human beings to see and feel what the Path of Righteousness is about?

Did not the last verse of the Quran speak about holding on fast

          to the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity?

Is not the greatest jihad lie in the struggle against

          arrogance,

          intoxication of power,

          selfishness,

          gluttony,

          the urge to plunder,

          murder

                        ... in the name of religion too?

Why must those who believe in the Merciful and The Compassionate be apologists

          to those who create terror and make false promises

                            to those who are trained to terrorize?

That Osama died for his own truth

In a world wherein there is none to hold on to

          except that of  one's evolving own

truth that matters lies not in how others have read the Scriptures for you

          but how you have read them

                     and how the Scriptures in turn have read you

From Love Man hath come

Unto Love Man shall return

Wake up Johoreans ... if you don't like "Sin City, Jay Bee" ... at least appreciate some WS Rendra...

Lecture to UMNO Club, New York 2009, Part 3

Lecture to UMNO Club, New York 2009. Part 2

Lecture to UMNO Club: On education and cultural change, New York, 2009, Part 1