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.