Pain is temporary, Pride is forever. In a different context the word 'decus' has a negative connotation to it. Pride would be a loose translation but arrogance is another. Pain is temporary arrogance is forever.
I was seated on the train across a single mother and her 2 daughters. They were going through their homework and Jane, their mum (whom I later learned was a PhD student in some contemporary Arts course) was explaining the concept of pH to them.
I recalled this same topic a long time ago and I learned that the concept of pH was that acid had a low pH and Alkaline had a high pH. I accepted that and thus ended my curiosity.
Now these 2 girls on the other hand inquired as to what pH was. And Jane had trouble trying to explain it. I then explained that they would learn it later in chemistry where pH was a measure of Hydrogen ions and Acids had a higher hydrogen Ion count whereas alkalines had a higher hydroxonium ion count and therefore a mixture of them would produce salt and water. They then asked me about litmus paper and how it changed colours and i mentioned that it is made of a kind of moss, a lichen to be exact. They were intrigued by this and asked me about why oven cleaners were alkaline instead of acid and i mentioned that grime and oils stuck in ovens tend to attract bacteria and chemically produce organic acids as a result of bacteria eating the oils (i wasn't going to explain fat metabolism in prokaryotes to a 8 and 12 year old girl!)
What amazed me was how inquisitive they were and how critical their line of questioning was. And i recalled having the same questions back in school but I never questioned the teacher as I believed I would learn it later in life, or I'd read it up myself. Most of the time I'd just forget it and memorize a set of alkalines and acids and regurgitate them for the exams. With this I introduce you to the background of the education system in Malaysia. Critical thinking is frowned upon, independent thought is a sin and a paradigm shift in method i deemed secession of the soul.
It has been a breath of fresh air that some degree of rebellion has since found its place in Universities back home. Lets recall that every ( I REPEAT EVERY) major schism of social activism began at the heart and soul of a young adult at Uni. In 1989, at the aptly named square of heavenly peace (Tiananmen Square), students united brought about the most significant movement in history.
Li Peng, in his attempts to stifle this movement resorted to martial law.
The most iconic moment of this entire ordeal however was not the massacre that took place during the chaotic arrests of protestors. One individual, who shall remain eternal, even more so than all the dynasties combined in Chinese history, walked up to 3 tanks and stood silently.
30 years prior to this in the Phước Hòa pagoda, a senior buddhist monk Quang Duc had informed his disciples of an act he was about to commit to protest the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnams predominantly Roman Catholic Goverment lead by Diem. Malcolm Brown, a photographer was informed of a protest that would be staged in Saigon and headed to the Cambodian Embassy in Saigon. Quang Duc later dours himself with petroleum and ignites himself. This picture wins Malcolm Brown his Pullitzer (plus a place on my room door). John F Kennedy lamented that "no news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one."
David Halberstam, wrote about the incident and recalled it in an interview many years later.
He described a carnival like atmosphere with 350 monks and nuns marching in 2 single file lines preceeded by an Austin Westminster Sedan. Quong Duc emerged from the car with 2 assistants, one who placed a cushion on the road the the other who doused him with 5 gallons of petroleum. He then respectfully plead to President Diem to take a mind of compasion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality. In his own words " I call the venerables, reverends, members of the Sangha and the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism. He sat in the lotus position with a rosary in one hand chanting Namo Amitābhāya (homage to Amitabha Buddha). and struck a match and dropped it on himself. Flames consumed his robe and flesh in seconds.
David Halberstam wrote:
I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think ... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.
After approximately ten minutes, his body was fully immolated and it eventually toppled backwards onto its back.
One thousand monks had congregated inside to hold a meeting while outside a large crowd of pro-Buddhist students had formed a human barrier around it.
15 June was set as the date for the funeral, and on that day 4,000 people gathered outside the Xá Lợi pagoda, only for the ceremony to be postponed. On 19 June, his remains were carried out of Xá Lợi to a cemetery 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) south of the city for a re-cremation and funeral ceremony. Following the signing of the Joint Communique, attendance was limited by agreement between Buddhist leaders and police to 400. During the re-cremation, it was noted that his heart remained intact and did not burn. The intact heart is regarded as a symbol of compassion. On finding out about the intact heart, the secret police intended to confiscate his ashes, but two monks had escaped with the urn, jumping over the back fence and finding safety at the U.S. Operations Mission next door. They did however confiscate his intact heart.
The curtailing of suppression and oppression has been part and parcel of student movements across Asia and the world for many years. In 1970s, the last significant student movement protested the Universities and College Act 1971 which in essence was aimed at halting students involvement in politics. Malaysia was in its infancy and with the recent separation of Singapore, desperate times had resulted in desperate measures. The irony is, alongside this the prestige of University Malaya (the centre of the protests had dipped, so much so it ranks outside the top 200 universities in the world, from previously being in the top 10. The fall from grace may have just been a coincidence with the implementation of the act, but I personally beg to differ. Such coincidences are best dissected. The inquisitive mind is a working mind, and by starving it, you limit it. Clipping the wings of the soaring students back then resulted in a generation of conformers, thus preventing any advancement in thought as conformity became the staple.
The finest universities have been known to produce the most firebrand of leaders in fields. And thus, in a nation where the fire has been doused, we were left ruing what could have been. Fast forward 40 years and students have miraculously found a voice again. Images of Adam Ali lowering a flag swept the nation. Sadly symbolism is a higher form of cognition and with years of slumber, the masses that were peers of this renegade saw his act as one of treason. A symbol, without a context is a mere act. But in the right context, with the right interpretation, could move a nation. Fed with putrid hogwash however, a generation of timid, obscure students today continue to prevent the natural course of intelligence; to mastermind a way out of the shackles.
This was typified during a recent forum organized by a bogus pro-women's rights organization that call themselves SW1M. The coordinator, one Sharifah who presents herself with an air of superiority as a product of years of falsely instilled 'knowledge'. In a Forum (which to any being with an IQ of greater than 20) means a discussion, hence calling forward viewpoints that may differ from ones own, she proceeded to indoctrinate the timid. And in her valiant attempt to avoid the possibility of being questioned, she rushed through the question and answer phase of the forum to the lucky draw bit.
Out came a 2nd year law student who challenged her on a few aspects of her talk. Unperturbed by the subliminal intimidation tactics which included a soul chilling stare, a villainous catwalk towards her mic stand and finally an utter rude gesture of halting one from finishing her points, she later proceeds to shake her hand. All of this before she berates the law student who was born and bred and is a citizen of the country but of a different ethnic minority. Now the irony is judging by Sharifah's exterior, she would be of the same ethnic group but because she professes a different religion, her race per se has swapped. How this is possible is beyond my comprehension. Now she threatens the student and ridicules here in front of 2300 other students for making a point which was valid. She later laments that there is a difference between them being that she's got a degree and the student hasn't. She later states that the student lacks an education as she fails to show respect to her elders. Now at this point, any mortal would shudder at the nonsensical scene that was taking place. But Schadenfreude, a german word which means pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others, comes into play. The other students now have a scene. The lack of a critical and independent thought manifests itself to the puppet-master that is Sharifah. With this instilled confidence, she continues her tirade, completely misconstruing human rights for animal rights and talks about the plight of animals. This ecowarrior-cum-vegan vehemently, voraciously vexes the vox populi with her vacous words while serving as a vanguard for women. Now I worry for her, more than i do for the student, as pain is temporary, and pride is permanent. And in her arrogance from years of acceptance by her putrid bunch, she has become insolent and sadly arrogant. Idiocy filled the room she spoke in that day and to my utter dismay, no one stopped her. Quang Duc who underwent self immolation did it for a noble cause. This rogue speaker who was unbeknownst to herself, undergoing a form of self immolation had no one to stop her. It is a disgraceful sight to see someone who could be so misinformed and yet not be corrected.
The Truth Shall Prevail, is the term a chinese bloke once said to me after a prayer session I attended at a Sikh Gurudwara. He informed me of the profound meaning of a salutation that we Sikhs use to greet each other. In his own words, he said, "Be proud, your religion seeks the truth in every way".
In that light, the truth did prevail and this incident that took place in a university in Malaysia was recorded and broadcasted all across the web. The local media however, has not commented much on the affair that is the hottest topic on Yahoo News, facebook, twitter, 9gag and so forth. The reason behind this? Like Russia during the days of the Soviet Union, and Gestapo Germany, Knowledge is power. Knowledge is the process of accumulating information. As long as the source of information can be controlled, the knowledge one acquires can be kept in check. Just as one chooses to shut the blinds to the rays of the sun, an Iron Curtain is in place to limit the enlightenment. Any bad press that has repercussions incriminating a protected few never surfaces.
And so, like every activist movement in the past, the grassroots acquire the knowledge and share it at a meeting (today made easier by the internet) by a few and the message is spread like wildfire. Sadly for Sharifah, this meeting has been attended by a few too many people. The public outcry at the outrageous fatuousness has been promising. One can only hope the timid grow courage and the obscure faceless ones gain a visage and stand to be counted.
