Dampened Spirit

It has been raining and raining and raining for the past two weeks in Malaysia. The country is flooded at places, people are not leaving houses without an umbrella and plans are rescheduled because of the rain. And so are the spirits of some of its people.

Suppresion=Oppression=Revolution!!! Quite a formula ain't it. Came up with this one while I was trying to put the recent happenings into perspective, while driving to work this morning. The 5 got arrested yesterday. To the unfamiliar ones, ISA is the Malaysian Internal Securities Act that allows an individual to be arrested and held for up to 2 years withour being charged. That explanation speaks for itself, I guess. All the leaders keep asserting that Malaysia is a democratic country, but is that reflected in what it does! "Freedom of speech is given BUT must follow certain regulations", said one leader. That's not freedom at all.

These acts are publicising the movements of the group and awakening people who took them lightly. Whispers such as "They must be powerful, otherwise goverment wouldn't have used ISA" or "The government can't control them anymore, so it is using ISA" or "The government is trying to sweep things under the carpet, as usual" can be heard everywhere. Even the neutral parties are beginning to lean towards the group, away from the government.

What has happened is clearly a sign of denial. Hoping to keep these 5 people away for two years, hoping that the fire will gradually die off without the fuel to burn it, hoping that the 5 will lose their support and people will move on with their lives when eventually they are released from detention, hoping that others will be scared of this drastic move.....

One thing is hoped though - that there will be hope burning till the the answer sought has been given or that new awakenings will be born from this struggle.