an instant poem to be shared quite urgently by Azly Rahman
I told you already of the fate of this country that has moved so fast and now we have another BERSIH rally yellow mellow what will it be like tomorrow? we all won’t know until we wear yellow
I have advised the country already to go to the national square and treat it like a samba party why aggravate the authorities when they too wish to join in the party? they are all lonely and want to be clean and happy in their hearts they powers that be want to be corrupt-free
what then must we do for a yellow mellow hot potato tomorrow? i am into cultural parties and and sports events aplenty so– BERSIH people let us do things differently
wake up very early brush your teeth and eat capati and mutton curry get your yellow mellow -shirt and hide it in your bag together with your Rolling Stones CD out of the house you shall march and march and march quietly march and march on your own quietly to the station LRT don’t let anybody see your yellow tee and your lunch pack of mutton curry the authorities will want some of it but don’t give your capati to anybody
ride the LRT quietly when folks ask you where you’re going tell them you’re visiting a sick auntie a white clean lie goes well with the spirit of a BERSIH rally
when you reach your destiny .. opps .. destination i mean seriously wait till you see people suspiciously carrying a backpack of capati and mutton curry these are your brothers and sisters in arms and legs and limbs aplenty
when all eyes locked in unspoken camaraderie jump up and down and sing hip hip hooray and do a bit of funky chicken dance to release some BERSIH energy or the Africans call it honoring the “good chi”
mind you folks the authorities don’t want you to march or rally especially if you still have that capati and a plastic bag of mutton curry
but here is what the organizers can do to make it a smooth sailing sit-in party …
Now take your yellow mellow hot potato tee wear it with pride and unquestionable dignity it might smell a bit of capati and mutton curry — but what me worry?
get in groups of twenty we will have a three-hour sports and cultural party do the samba dance the rhumba sing “honga honga” do the tai chi put away the capati do the yoga wear a yellow toga perform the malay silat be careful of the flying lalats do the breakdance make sure those over sixty just sit and watch quietly if they can sing the acapella singing praises of the global listing of FELDA dance the zapin remember it doesn’t go with the songs of led zeppelin ahhaa .. don’t forget the dance poco-poco banned in perlis and 13 states more to go … this is the time in this yellow mellow sports and cultural sit-in rodeo for those poor perlis folks to overdose on the poco-poco those with a guitar or a sitar or an avatar of the sitar and sitar sing the blues and the jazz tunes praising the beauty of Perak’s left and right bota johoreans can sing the ghazal accompanied by PERKASA performers from silat pulut sambal pahang folks can do the joget pahang dancers imported from telok bahang i’d like to join the indian classical dancers the bharat nadyam i think is a cool dance that provides life’s difficult answers ahhha … we must not forget the shaolin dance inspired by ancient chinese buddhist monks always in trance yellow mellow kung fu hot potatoes — not that’s a shaolin training laced with “Ohm-mi-to-fu” as verses fit for budding Shaolin heroes
i can go on and on and on and on suggesting how a yellow mellow clean rally can be Malaysia’s open big samba party so big that both the proper and improper authorities can see the beauty and possibilities of a peaceful rally even the world’s royalty can join in the yellow party since they wear yellow outfit daily they will save on BERSIH yellow tee …
Malaysians I honor and respect thee Rallies need not be ugly Sit-ins need not be a time to get angry A regime change is a possibility in any democracy A gentlemanly and lady-like act to relinquish power held for centuries Deep in the heart of any regime is the cry to repent from all its sins and to take a break from doing the work of devils and djinns
Yellow mellow hot potatoes Yellow mellow sweet potatoes We shall all see a better tomorrow
Adios amigoes …
DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 400 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.