The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 27 Dec 2012 04:23 PM PST DEC 28 ― The year is coming to an end and it is time to look back and reflect upon the momentous events of the passing year. I thought it would be a good idea to look back at 2012's top ten searches on Google… and that led to my website, Fatbidin.com! 10. Ridhuan Tee Abdullah Number ten could be one that has given me the most pleasure this year. I disagree with everything this academician, TV host and writer ― whose real name is Tee Chuan Seng ― says. We had a brief heated exchange in our respective columns (his is in Sinar Harian), from which I emerged victorious. 9. Kabul Being the gloriously brave war journalist and adrenaline junkie that I am, I went to Afghanistan to shoot a documentary. After a decade of war and after the Taliban, it's quite a surprise that the country is still getting media coverage. 8. Bersih 3.0 This has to be one of the lowest points of the year. I witnessed things that I don't ever want to witness in Malaysia again. The police were brutally attacking demonstrators and even journalists like a bunch of street thugs ― after they removed their nametags, of course. But the spirit of Malaysians that gathered, now that was a high point. 7. Lomokino This was quite fun. Lomography, the novelty film camera manufacturer, hooked me up with their virgin attempt at making motion picture film cameras. I used the Lomokino camera to shoot a short documentary film about the Fugees School, which provided education for Somalian refugees. 6. Malaysian army in Afghanistan Not many people in Malaysia are aware of the fact that the country has a small contingent serving under NATO in Afghanistan. I was embedded with them during the second half of my time in Afghanistan and what impressed me was that they were not on a combat mission. They were mainly doctors, dentists and nurses who were on a humanitarian objective. 5. Lim Chee Wee Lim Chee Wee, the current Malaysian Bar Council president, was in the news for quite a bit for being very vocal and also for organising the lawyers' Walk 4 Freedom march to parliament against the Peaceful Assembly Act. Unfortunately, the bill was passed anyway. 4. Damascus, Syria Everyone is familiar with the violent uprising against Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. I had visited Damascus in 2007 to shoot my documentary film "I'm Muslim Too!" but it was peaceful then. I had planned to go to Syria last month when I was on assignment in the region, but cancelled due to safety issues. (Fine! I got scared!) 3. Fat Bidin It is the name of my website and my company. People are always asking me what it means. I've mentioned it during interviews before. There's still a running contest on my Facebook page for the public to guess and win a Fat Bidin Media original DVD! 2. Sex Melayu Don't ask! 1. Zan Azlee Hey, I'm glamorous, smart and have rugged good looks! Is it my fault if people like to stalk celebrities? Let it be known that I sign autographs for RM5 a pop while a picture with me will cost you only RM8. I kid! (Not really! Haha!) Happy New Year everyone. May you all have a great 2013! * This is the personal opinion of the columnist |
| Posted: 27 Dec 2012 03:26 PM PST DEC 28 ― The diminutive old man waved his arms energetically as he explained his favourite recipe. "After neutralising the chicken with ginger, I steam it to cook the meat. At the same time, I heat up the oil. And then…," he pauses for effect, "Just when the oil is hot enough, I send the chicken into thermal shock." Habibie the engineer-cook smiled satisfyingly. His use of technical jargon in describing a recipe was characteristically endearing of the man. "Voila! And that is how you prepare the best chicken in the world ― golden on the outside, white on the inside." I was at a loss for words. Had I not known any better, I would never have figured this humble, passionate and grandfatherly man to be the former head of state to nearly a quarter of a billion people. One is immediately put at ease in the presence of BJ Habibie, third president of the Republic of Indonesia. Ever ready to regale his surrounding company with a tale or three, Habibie's greatest strength is perhaps his ability to seamlessly weave together his multiple facets ― scientist, technocrat, politician and now, elder statesman.  Habibie speaks at Universiti Selangor in Shah Alam, December 6, 2012.—File pic However, no political leader is without his detractors, even one as genial as Habibie. I had expected his visit to elicit some critique and even the odd disparagement, but I was utterly shocked by what can only be described as a vengeful, intemperate and grossly personal attack by former Malaysian information minister Tan Sri Zainudin Maidin in his column in a national daily. Without mincing his words, Zainudin labelled Habibie a "dog of imperialism" in a stinging piece that also likened the former president to a pair of "scissors in Suharto's fold", as well as a "traitor to the Indonesian race." Habibie, he opined, is to blame for the "political chaos" that has enveloped the country on the count of the fact that Indonesians are now "split" into 48 political parties. The shallowness of Zainudin's arguments is not even worth pointing out. Exactly what is wrong in having 48 political parties in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country of 240 million people separated into 33 provinces spread across 17,508 islands? Is freedom of association not an expression of democratic rights? I suppose it would be asking too much to expect an ideologue from the very party which frowns upon freedom of assembly and speech to grasp the fundamental precepts of democracy. In his article, Zainudin also cynically attributed Habibie's short reign in office (one year and five months) to his decision to allow a referendum for self-rule in East Timor, presumably under the weight of Western pressure. In other words, is Zainudin suggesting that Habibie is a traitor and imperialist stooge for giving a long-oppressed people the right to choose their own government? By the same token, would Zainudin also suggest that Palestine should not be allowed self-rule? Or that Malaysia should not have been granted independence because it would have been treacherous to the British monarchy to do so? The fact is that the East Timor referendum remains one of Habibie's proudest achievements. To his mind, he had righted a wrong. Historically, East Timor was not even a Dutch colony and should not have been part of Indonesia. Hence, to lay claim to the land was, in Habibie's own words, akin to colonising them. Zainudin, though, is correct on one point. Democratisation and decentralisation are indeed Habibie's greatest legacies. After all, it was under his short-lived presidency that sweeping reforms were made, including the lifting of restrictions on the formation of political parties, the unconditional release of political detainees, the provisions for press freedom and the setting of a two-term limit for the presidency. Even more significantly, it was also by his decree that the terms "pribumi and "non-pribumi" were abolished from all official circumstances. One can only wonder whether Malaysia would ever see such transformational reforms. Having said that, it is also true that no one is perfect. Certainly, it is worth noting that Habibie himself had been a party to Suharto's iron-fisted rule for over three decades, even if it was in a mostly technocratic role. One can also say that he did not go far enough as president, but considering that he had come into office at a most tumultuous time, with an economy in free-fall, riots in the streets and a rebellious military descending upon him, it is not difficult to imagine that a lesser man would have yielded. But not Habibie. For when the moment of history was thrust upon him, he did not disappoint. And that is the measure of the man. If he is to be likened to a dog, then let him be remembered as the hound who championed freedom. Zainudin, on the other hand, has been revealed to be of a completely different pedigree. His legacy will forever be cemented by this salacious attempt at cheap propaganda. Nevertheless, I daresay he has committed political hara-kiri, for not only has Umno lost the support of moderate and sensible Malaysians, Zainuddin's latest gaffe may have ensured that they will also lose the support of their phantom voters. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist |
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