You Know You're an Architecture Student When...

• The alarm clock tells you when to go to sleep. (TRUE)
  
• You're not ashamed of drooling in class anymore, especially during Structures lectures (True, and Structures is due next sem, haih)
  
• You know what Superglue tastes like. (Ahha, it's UHU in my case)
  
• You celebrate space and observe your birthday (haha, what the fuck)
  
• Coffee and Red Bull are tools, not treats. (Totally true for coffee. I dislike Red Bull.)
  
• People are nauseated just by smelling your caffeine breath. (haha, not really)
  
• You are surprised when you see a new building in your school. (well... UiTM's not that big)
  
• You think it's possible to create space. (*grin*)
  
• You've slept more than 20 hours non-stop in a single weekend. (YES)
  
• You fight with inanimate objects. (bansal wood..T-squares.. my very long steel ruler.. everything.)
  
• You've fallen asleep in the bathroom. (hahaha)
  
• Your brother or sister thinks he or she is an only child. (OK..., I'm not sure about this)
  
• You've listened to all your CDs in less than 48 hours. (playlists count, right)
  
• You're not seen in public. (this is for you to decide)
  
• You lose your house keys for a week and you don't even notice. (heh, tell me about it. Even slippers, shirts, shoes went missing)
  
• You've brushed your teeth and washed your hair in the university's bathroom. (Nah..)
  
• You've discovered the benefits of having none or very short hair, and you've started to appreciate inheriting baldness. (I did a mistake by cutting my hair really short -- not that I appreciate it!)
  
• You've used an entire role of film to photograph the footpath. (No.., or not yet?)
  
• You know the exact time the vending machines are refilled. (Not exactly, but we know for sure when will the pakcik at the nearest stall will close down)
  
• You always carry your deodorant. (No. But I've carried my perfume around once.)
  
• You become excellent at recycling when making models. (HAHA, maybe... but I waste a lot, really.)
  
• When you try to communicate, you make a continuous and monotonous whine. (er....)
  
• You've danced YMCA with excellent choreography at 3 am and without a single drop of alcohol in your body. (haha what the fuck?)
  
• You take notes and leave messages with a rapidograph and colour markers. (I once wrote a list for take-away food on a piece of cardboard. The mamak still keeps it at the counter)
  
• You combine breakfast, lunch and dinner into one single meal. (sometimes.. many times)
  
• You see holidays only as extra sleeping time. (checked.)
  
• You've got more photographs of buildings than of actual people. (*whistles*)
  
• You've taken your girlfriend (boyfriend) on a date to a construction site. (oh no no... not yet!)
  
• You've realised that French curves are not that exciting. (yeah, and 'dealing with your models' is not that alluring either)
  
• You can live without human contact, food or daylight, but if you can't print it's chaos. (...especially when it's a last-minute work.)
  
• When you're being shown pictures of a trip, you ask about the human scale. (er... not at that level yet)
  
• You can use Photoshop, Illustrator and make a web page, but you don't know how to use Excel. (the Excel part is very true)
  
• You refer to great architects (dead or alive) by their first name as if you knew them (Frank, Corbu, Mies, Norman). (sheesh. Tell me about it)
  
• You buy 50 dollars worth of magazines that you haven't read yet. (YES, YES, YES!)
  
• When someone offers you a Bic pen, you feel offended. (Haha. In our case, it's Kilometrico.)

I pathetically have to go all over to Perak again tomorrow, as my final project got selected for the final external review, which is due this Tuesday. Upon selecting us our lecturer gladly told us to 'repair' and 'touch up' our drawings and models (like what the hell, eh), while I'm getting really sick upon seeing them, desperately wanting to get my hands off of everything and starting to pack up for a holiday.

Haven't touched up anything yet. Well.

Another six semesters to go. *takes deep breath*

P/S: Damn it, Katrina and Meme are going to Melbourne to visit and fetch Ilah! Stupid travel agency's retaining my passport; and of course Ayah wouldn't let me go as we're having our own plans for the break. *wink*

Listening to: John Mayer - Say. And the Flickr has been reloaded!

Finding Re-defined Ways

With much of the past faded and much of the future blinded, can our choices today assure the best out of our lives tomorrow?

I have got to know Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (see here) from a review in TimeOut Istanbul last December. The article was written in a contemplative tone, with the writer questioning herself in the last paragraph, '(As we're) walking out of the cinema, between ourselves, my sister and I were furious at the veiled women who were exiting with us; could they even fathom the idea of living in Iran after their comfortably emancipated lives in our secular Muslim society?'

The writer, apparently an adamant secularist common in the strongly secular Turkey, added, 'unfortunately, after a few minutes, I was perturbed by my own thoughts: if I wanted to keep my right to uncover my head, did they not have the liberty to continue covering theirs?'

Her thoughts immediately reflected the Turkey I know. There is a soaring gap between Turkey's secular and religious groups, but this was hardly reflected in what I saw in its richly cosmopolitan Istanbul -- the devout and the modern ran their lives side by side, the many mosques always full during prayer times, differences put aside as business went as usual.

But ever since Atatürk abolished the Ottoman Sultanate completely and transformed Turkey into a strictly, explicitly secular state in 1924, secularism remains a highly defended matter and questions of founding an Islamic state is ultimately out of bound -- at least, not until recently.

The situation going on in Turkey, of course, is in perfect contrast with what's happening in Iran. Marjane Satrapi's reminiscent view of her homeland in Persepolis is a melancholic one. Adapted from her best-selling autobiographical novels, Persepolis bears witness to a story of a girl who traversed her life in the times where Iran was transformed from a revolting monarchy into an Islamic state which adheres to the laws of Sharia.

The Islamic Revolution during the early '80s is pictured to pose an oppression to many, which includes Marjane's upper-middle, Western educated family. Throughout the story, she often gets her inspiration from her determined and supportive grandmother, whose views are very pessimistic in seeing life. Seeing the unstable condition in their homeland, Marjane's parents sent her to study abroad in Vienna.

She returned to Iran years later, and was set to endure the life under the Islamist regime.

Another movie, The Kite Runner, (see here) which was released last month, is adapted from the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini, bears a similar general storyline to Persepolis, albeit differing in character. Set in 1978 Afghanistan prior to the Soviet invasion, the story lies in between the lives of two boys, Amir and Hassan, in which the former is from a well-to-do family in Kabul, while the latter is the son of his father's servant of the ethnic Hazara.

Amir and Hassan are one of those childhood best friends that went up to untie a knot of brotherhood which knows no boundaries and such. Both share the same passion, which is kite-flying, common in Afghanistan at that time but was banned by the Taliban regime later.

Their friendship reached to high grounds, until Amir witnessed the rape of his loyal friend by another teenaged boy. Loyal to Amir by not handing over his friend's kite which he was chasing after earlier, Hassan was assaulted on the reason of being a Hazara. Ashamed by his cowardice to not helping Hassan, Amir felt guilty and started to treat Hassan poorly later.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan, and the war began. Amir's father, who was known for opposing communism openly, feared for his safety. Together with Amir, they fled to the borders to Pakistan, before moving on to California.

So, both stories went off. Interestingly, neither of these two movies are mainly politically oriented (or at least they're not initially and directly). Both movies just wanted to share the ups and downs in upholding humanity -- the struggle of being human come low or high tide. And yes, they have also shown that politics really do affect our lives whether we like it or not.

Both films poised the question of how people suffer from failed and oppressive governance. Both films also let the viewers linger around the questions of survival, freedom and liberty. However it was Marjane's Persepolis that went a little bit critical of the government that is led mainly by clerics.

The Kite Runner, on the other hand, pictured vaguely the oppression posed on the people living under the Taliban, while magnifying mainly on the fundamental humane (and inhumane) issues, without posing any direct criticism of the previous Afghan government.

Nevertheless, we can conclude that in Turkey, you'll always be sure that they're ultimately secular, in which, religion and state affairs mix ill, and both should be separated completely; whereby in Iran, it is an Islamic state with Sharia law and whatever lifestyle that is deemed Islamic. Whereas in Afghanistan, the Taliban regime is now a ghostly past, gone with its much touted 'ruining oppression'.

Interestingly, closer to home, you'll never be sure of what Malaysia actually is. The nation's founder and the much revered first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman once stressed out that Malaysia 'will never be an Islamic state', while Tun Hussein Onn said 'Malaysia can still be secular, with Islam as its state religion'.

But 'Malaysia is an Islamic country,' said Tun Dr. Mahathir. The status of Malaysia as either a secular or an Islamic state remains a hotly-debated topic, especially between DAP and PAS, two Pakatan Rakyat parties of differing ideologies.

While the dispute alone is an issue, the question of what does an Islamic state actually stands for is another. What I'm sure of -- big mosques, arches and arabesques everywhere in buildings all over the country, and tudung-clad girls walking around are not enough to ensure that we are an Islamic state.

We seem to always fall to the mistake of interpreting Arab culture as Islamic culture, and with that, we got confused of what is Malay, what is Arab, what is Islam, and intuitively, what is Malaysian. Quite unfortunately, our administrative capital Putrajaya was largely built out of this ignorance, and what we see today is a big misunderstanding of these clash of civilisations.

Disappointments occur when people fail to relate to their surroundings. It can happen everywhere. At all times, freedom are better than oppression, as oppression often leads to misunderstandings. The writer of the Persepolis' review recorded a view of an Iranian visitor to Turkey, as follows, 'You know, it's so strange; while we're trying to get rid of our veils your people are trying really hard to put them back on.'

'Just like in Iran, it all seems to happen slowly, but surely,' the writer responded.

Whatever it is, everything just sums up to an individual opinion. It falls to what you really believe in; what you've chosen to believe. We're given choices, but nobody said that the choices would be easy. Like Marjane and Amir, there are millions in this world who are trying to shape their lives according to what they believe, and nobody is sure whether they are wrong or right.

'There is a way to be good again,' says Rahim Khan, Amir's father's close friend. And I do hope that the way shall be easier to be found.

PHOTOS Up; A scene from Persepolis (2007) directed by Marjane Satrapi. Below; The Kite Runner (2008), directed by Marc Foster. Persepolis won the Jury Prize at 2007 Cannes Film Festival, among other awards. Khaled Hosseini has written another novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, in which the story also took place in Afghanistan. TimeOut is a popular listing magazine for particular cities all over the world, with TimeOut KL only to be launched last month. See TimeOutKL.com

May Day

So on World Press Freedom Day,

1. Raja Petra Kamarudin had his laptop and personal computer confiscated during a raid by the police on his house, and was questioned following the publishing of his article 'Let's Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell' on the website Malaysia Today.
2. The Ministry of Information threatened to suspend live parliamentary telecasts over the reason that some MPs 'didn't behave' during the session's opening.
3. Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad blogs.

We're living in interesting times.

Flickr Updates: Featuring...

Visual updates! Over 1,000 freshly uploaded photos, here.

Photos that have been captured since ages, only to be uploaded recently! 100% Unedited!

Comet and I. From Studio Life: 3

Faris, Ika, Jawa and Moshi at the studio, February 26. From Studio Life: 3

An elderly man tends to his car in the town of Pusing near Batu Gajah, March 29. From the set Seri Iskandar and Environs

The sun sets as traffic flows on Ipoh-Lumut Expressway, outside UiTM Seri Iskandar, April 9. Doomed to be one of Perak's poorest districts, Perak Tengah's progress is to be accelerated by UiTM's presence in Seri Iskandar - an already strong community of up to 10,000 people and academic members and the nearby Universiti Teknologi Petronas or UTP in Tronoh, which is made up by a more cosmopolitan population of over 5,000 people, also contributes much to its growth. Silhouetted in this picture is the Masjid Daerah, located at the township's administrative section. Ipoh is a smooth forty-minutes drive up north, while Lumut is half-an hour drive down south from this junction. From Seri Iskandar and Environs

Visitors walk up the path to BOH's Sungei Palas Tea Centre near Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, March 20. BOH was, and still is Malaysia's largest tea producer since 1929. Its Tea Center won numerous prizes for its architectural feat, and BOH itself patronises the progress of arts in Malaysia by holding the prestigious annual Cameronian Arts Awards. Cameron Highlands is just a one and a half hour drive away from Seri Iskandar. From Cameron Highlands: Third Trip

A barber tends to his child customer in Tronoh, March 26. Tronoh was a thriving mining town back in the tin-mining heydays in the tin-rich district of Kinta, with its main mine -- the Tronoh Mines -- being a major contributor to Malayan tin-producing industry. A railway was built by the British leading to this town from Ipoh, but it was dismantled during the World War II by the Japanese. With tin sources receding and the mines closing down, the town was sent into major sleepiness, worsened only by the diversion of the main road which once passed through the town to a newer road (now the Ipoh-Lumut Expressway) on the town's edges. Tronoh is today home to the glistening, million-ringgit UTP, established in 1997. From Seri Iskandar and Environs

Zetty poses in front of an old shop, Tronoh.

Dira gives Ibu a bite of her birthday cake on her 19th birthday tea party at KGNS, March 22. From Dira's Birthday Tea Party

Maryam, with Lizha showing the denim part of the handmade keychains in preparation for the Revive-themed upcoming Archi Dinner, April 1. From Studio Life: 2

Comet, throwing a bursting leaking Diet Coke can towards Pre't - who later failed to avoid that. From Studio Life: 2

Irda, preparing the gifts for Archi Dinner, April 5. From Archi Dinner: Revive

Ijat testing the instruments prior to the night of Archi Dinner, April 5. From Archi Dinner: Revive

With Pieqa and Uncle, hosts of the night. From Archi Dinner: Revive

Crazy revellers. From Archi Dinner: Revive

Jawa and Auntie. From Archi Dinner: Revive

Celup. From Archi Dinner: Revive

The Part 02 batch, December-April 2008 session, the organisers of Archi Dinner this semester. The Dinner has received tremendous positive reactions, especially from the seniors, touting it as 'the most successful dinner since ages', though Cik Li, our Introduction to Architecture lecturer has criticised it to be 'failing to cope with the theme, in a design point of view'. We had fun, anyway. From Archi Dinner: Revive

Peteh in the process of completing his model, April 14. As the date of submission draws near, the only thing that was in our heads was work, work and work. Nothing gave us greater relief when Cik Nas gave us one day extension on the eve of our submission, which have made the submission date shifted from the original date to April 18. From Studio Life: Prior to Submission

Extension or no extension, the studio would still be in perfect turmoil. From Studio Life: Prior to Submission

With the work. Which is roughly finished, anyway. From Studio Life: Submission Day

The studio. From Studio Life: Submission Day

.. and of course, more of that where it came from -- Flickr.com/photos/syukrishairi. For a look of other sets, go here! Photos are ranged from February 26 until April 18.

Listening to: White Shoes & The Couples Company - Sunday Memory Lane
Syukrishairi 2008.

Post Thoughtful

"Bawak la elok-elok eh, jangan nak potong-potong sangat.
Bawak elok-elok,"

"Drive carefully ya!"

"Taktau..taktau.."

"Syuk, bukak lampu. And drive carefully"

"Syuk, diorang accident dekat Kg Raja, Cameron."

"Kitorang tengah kat GH Ipoh lagi ni. Jenazah dah bawak balik rumah..."

"Kitorang semua nak turun Shah Alam, naik bas.
Tunggu."

"Syuk, pinjam kopiah"

"...binti apa ye? ..binti.."

"Makanlah, pakcik buat biasa-biasa je."

"Iyalah, tempat tu memang keras.."

"Jangan bawak macam aku, Syuk,"

Silence.

It was a long day. People can say it was tragic, it was dramatic, it was emotional -- but for me, it's just long. Everything just diverted from what was planned. I was supposed to get up early to partake in an Umrah lecture together with Ayah before going back to Perak. Instead, I got overslept, woken up by a call telling the very last thing that would've come across my mind.

And it was unbelievable.

We've submitted our final project on Friday morning. Yes, we were happy. We were relieved, and I know everybody has worked so hard to finish their tasks, so when everything has ended there should be some calls for celebration. I went back home on Friday afternoon together with Syith, Qayum and Adi. And the folks back in Seri Iskandar also had some exciting plans ahead of them. So be it.

Fast forward. It happens. It was happening. It happened.

Of course there are stories. But let they be impermanent visually, while they have been fabled through our minds and souls. There is nobody to blame, but there are lessons for us to learn. For everything else, we have God to decide.

I only have one thing to bear in mind tomorrow when I drive back. Drive carefully.

We are all sinners relying on your mercy. So accept our prayers, God. And have mercy.

Al-Fatihah.

Al-Fatihah

I woke up to a shocking news from Ijat that our course mates have involved in a fatal car accident in Ipoh just now, with Eton being the most critical.

My heart sunk when Eton passed away half an hour later.

I'm waiting for some of us to come down to Shah Alam now, by bus.

May God grant His blessings to Eton's soul. From God we came, and to Him we finally return.

Al-Fatihah.

Oh, the Aftermath!

There are many reasons for me to ask my readers to 'read wisely'. One of them is because I think a lot before I post anything up here, so that is why it takes a lot of time for me to 'update' on something new. Another reason is, I don't give out straightforwardly what I wanted to say, but I will highlight my thoughts in a moderate point of view. In another way, my blog is not a textbook and neither is it a loud political blog. It's just a mere blog.

I've reminded my readers about this many times before (see this). That's why it took me at least two years to publish anything that is mind hijacking, and if it is, in a very minimal way.

SO I GUESS 'Demonstrasi Demokrasi' (read here) is just another very minimalised, simplified and a more conclusive version of what has been published all over the Internet, related books and magazines publications and even the mainstream media. Those who find the views in the article new and 'offensive' to them clearly have not been getting any exposures -- the broader ones -- while claiming that they have known everything just by 'reading the newspapers'.

Some have gone far by claiming that I 'don't read history', though I know these people would have cats biting their tongues if asked which part of the Constitution bears the rights and supremacy of the Malays, or freedom for practicing religion. These people will also be the same people who will answer '31 Ogos 1957' when asked when the Federation of Malaysia was formed. And of course, they will think that the main member of ruling coalition alone has 'fought' and 'achieved' the Independence from the British after the Second World War. Typical, typical.

Or am I wrong? Correct me then!

If you're going to argue with the KBSM Sejarah textbooks, then be my guest and you can go on being an SPM candidate all over again. If you're going to argue with a non-marginalized, unaltered, not prone to one-sided propaganda version of Malaysian history, then I am all-out to hear more from you.

Yes, dear, our country's rich history is being manipulated heavily. History is always written by those who win, and this is not even Da Vinci Code. It's a real-life scenario. While it is made to be boring in class, history is very important as another form of identity towards nation-building. But it needs to abide by somebody's interests somehow. In a way, it's a cluster of chosen facts of our past.

So, now, how old is our nation's freedom again? Fifty? Or is it, forty-four? Are public demonstrations and protests really against our culture? What is the New Economic Policy really for? What really happened in 1969, 1987, 1998? What really happened last March 8, 2008?

I've read a lot, I've traveled a lot and I've listened a lot, too. I don't say that it's enough -- because it's never enough -- but I guess it's a part of my research which have paved the way to my judgments-making. So I guess if there are still anyone out there who still wants to condemn me by 'not reading the newspapers' or 'not knowing history', I'm ready to meet you and list down all my references, and the researches that I've made before I write something and I'll let you to judge after that.

And I want to see yours, too. Anyway, chill lah, it's just an article.

On a less-related but in-a-way-it's related matter, Sunburst in general, and Incubus and John Legend especially, went perfectly. And many more artists are coming downtown. I have many events to look forward to after all my works are done -- gigs, acts, stagings, exhibitions, screenings, concerts, parties alongside with many trips and excursions for the very long break -- well I guess things just don't change. Just in case any government suppresses arts and entertainment, ring me up. If nobody isn't, then don't be such a paranoid. I know I'm not.

And if you've never been to Kelantan, stop saying that 'Oh fuck we're so going to be like Kelantan', and if you've never been to Sabah and Sarawak, stop saying how underdeveloped are these states even though you never know how really underdeveloped they are. Things and thoughts around Kota Bharu, KK and Kuching can be much different those in the Klang Valley.

Really, you don't have to worry about having to cover up lah, or stop minum ke. Isn't that up to your decision? I respect an 'uncovered' girl more than a girl who covers herself up because she'll be fined if she doesn't. Hey, I thought I have so many 'liberal' and 'open-minded' friends, but suddenly what I faced are rigid thoughts. See how insecure we are? It's time to think out of the box and be critical. Most of us are very educated, in fact. So my advice: try to stop falling into the pitfalls!

Watching: Persepolis (2007). Dir: Marjane Satrapi. PHOTO by Tasha Abu Bakar at Flickr. Current read; Sharing the Nation: Faith, Difference, Power and the State, 50 Years After Merdeka by Norani Othman, Mavis C. Puthucheary & Clive S. Keller. SEE ALSO Socialism, Progressivism, Liberalism and the Social Contract of Malaysia. And this and maybe this. And a piece from Farish A. Noor, which is good as usual.

Demonstrasi Demokrasi

I find myself, again after four years, observing what Malaysians do best prior to the elections -- a feast of flags and banners display. Everywhere, from the rural Parit to the urban Shah Alam, from the serenity of Cameron Highlands to the congested Ipoh, even the most secluded settlements are not to be spared. Distinctive to the Malaysian phenomenon of campaigning, putting up flags and other party symbols is a must, though for my very personal opinion, it really is not necessary. However the chaos gives us a clear sign -- the election is near, and there are a lot of things to fear.

It's a thing for me nowadays to feel skeptical to whoever that falls into the mediocrity of the Malaysian so-called political scenario. A scenario which is, basically, a 'battle' of a defined sides of 'right' or 'wrong', to condemn or to be condemned, and having 'options' to 'choose this, or else, suffer'. In a way, it's not a clean fight for democracy. Instead, sometimes it has critically fallen into the potholes of solely to gain power.

I feel apathetic over those who really eat up whatever is served in the mainstream media, without posing any further questions or at least having a curiosity of what really is going on. I guess it is such an ignorant and biased way of spreading information which lacks integrity and professionalism in a very imprudent way.

Any intelligent Malaysian would choose a government that would practice democracy over everything else. And by intelligent here, that doesn't mean that you've scored straight A's and gained scholarship to study overseas. Though the definition of who's clever and who's not has getting lamer and narrower nowadays, that doesn't halt anybody who really sees things outside of the box to judge the real situation and make a right decision.

Any intelligent Malaysian should know that loyalty should be paid to the country, and not to any political party that forms the government. This is a crucial thing that every Malaysian should know and take note of. But unfortunately, many of us don't.

Students are made to shy away from politics, thus making the majority of them very apolitical. Prone to one sided propaganda, we are all basically forced to believe what are manufactured to be made believe -- manipulated history, a corrupted version of freedom of speech, benefits of racialist politics, etc. etc. Our rights to speak have been denied, and since the 1970s politics have been off-limits for students.

Ironically in a very globalised world, these acts have critically made our ways of thinking underdeveloped and are subject to anybody else's definition of how should we live our country or what we want our country to be.

Sadly, we're way behind the real progress. The liberation of the minds of the people are still far away. We think in the midst of insecurities and indecisiveness. We're not sure of our future even though the future can be determined by the votes casted by our own hands. We're still divided albeit ignorant declarations of a fabricated unity. We're still challenged by our own version of religious freedom and freedom of speech. The question is, are we living a livable Malaysia?

Intelligent and contemporary voters should not just jump into the bandwagon and caught up by the bias agendas powered by the mainstream media. Intelligent voters cast their votes after making full analysis and coherent judgments and not just because 'they have to', or worse, after watching RTM every single day since the starting of the campaigning period.

Apparently we're still way behind in many ways of achieving true democracy consisting of first world election with first world parliamentary system, yet we still don't want to take a lesson from the swift and liberal democracy practiced in the US and the UK. Oh, maybe they're the West, so Westerners are all evil. But how about India and Japan? Maybe somebody wants to beg to differ.

Intelligent voters should not fall to any remarks made saying that 'we're not ready' in response to the call for a much liberal democracy. If so, when will we achieve a wholly mature, liberal society? If we're forever so ready to send a cosmonaut to space, why are we not ready for such crucial reforms?

We youngsters should not be excluded from contributing to this wave of change. We are, and should be the new generation of the nation's expanding young minds, a generation exposed to fraudulent changes of the global world, a generation which the word 'media' isn't limited to TV and the press only.

We should mature, and be sure of our options. The word 'future' is not just about bigger mosques, longer bridges, wider highways or taller buildings. Its about the liberalisation of our suppressed freedom and blocked minds, a progression of soul and a comprehended definition of unity.

As we're flipping through the election results tomorrow, be sure of the ever growing distant voice of the silent majority. The expected familiar victory of the ruling party -- which however will not be big this time -- will continue resonant and will be fabled repeatedly, but the restraining echo will be interrupted with loud sounds of changes made by the rakyat who have voted against them.

Whatever choices that have been made, we've made a choice for a better Malaysia. A better Malaysia where our land can be roamed safely. A better Malaysia with efficient and better public transportation, better mobility, and better public services. A better Malaysia with freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of practicing religious rights. A better Malaysia with real unity, and real courteous people. A better Malaysia with fair elections and clean democracy in the future. A better Malaysia for us to live in.

Last but not least, be an intelligent citizen. Don't just jump into the bandwagon. The mainstream is not all that good. And if you're intelligent enough, you know for now which side am I in.

God bless Malaysia.

Listening to: One Buck Short - Kelibat Korupsi
PHOTO by chedi73 SEE ALSO: Off The Edge, Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today, Malaysia Votes, Rocky'sBRU, Marina Mahathir, Farish A. Noor, Anwar Ibrahim, among others. For the results, go here.