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zedecksiew · 5 years ago

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The Otter

Here’s a -- personal essay, I guess? I performed this 22 November 2019 for Sweatheart, a monthly-ish storytelling night held at Lit Books.

The night’s theme was “tomayto! tomahto!”, so I thought I’d talk about language. And also otters.

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THE OTTER

There is an animal in my head. It is an otter.

Did you know that we have otters, here? There are several species native to Malaysia. I didn’t know this until about three years ago! I’d known of the Malay word “memerang”, and that it meant “otter”, but never consciously made the connection --

“Memerang” means “otter”.

Anyway. There’s an otter in my head. I can see her so clearly: her brown-black coat, wet and sleek; her whiskered face, her webbed feet; she chirps and she sings and she wants to slip onto a fisherman’s boat, wants to steal some bait, wants then slip away again.

She peers through my eyes. She cannot squeeze through. She paws through the cage-door of my teeth. She cannot lift the latch on my mouth. She starts to run in a panic -- circles-circles -- a trapped animal. Rattling, shaking my skull. She screams.

The otter, trapped; the otter that cannot get out --

For me, this is what writing and speaking in Bahasa Melayu is like.

Hi. I’m Zedeck Siew. I’m a writer from Port Dickson. I write fiction; with my partner the visual artist Sharon Chin, I wrote a book called “Creatures of Near Kingdoms”.

“Creatures of Near Kingdoms” is a bestiary, a herbiary: a collection of seventy-five animals and plants I imagine living in Southeast Asia.

I write in English -- it is my first language -- so the book I wrote is in English. But I’d originally dreamed of it as a bilingual work. Early this year, I applied for -- and received! -- a small grant, to translate Creatures of Near Kingdoms into Bahasa Melayu.

I decided to translate the book myself. This was not the smartest decision, in retrospect? I am now four months past my original deadline. I am stuck.

I have had seventy-five otters in my head. Some of them still cannot get out.

It is not like I don’t know Bahasa Melayu. I went to kebangsaan school.

But, like many urban, non-Malay middle-class persons: done with SPM, I would head to college, or maybe uni overseas -- actually I just started working here -- the thing is, I thought I was going places.

I put the otter into the carrier cage of my head. I wanted to travel, you see?

And I do travel. Australia and Singapore, where my siblings now live --

But also from Subang to Taman Tun to Damansara Heights to Uptown; from neighbourhood, to mall, to cafe, to bookstore. From Twitter to The Guardian to n+1.

If you are of a particular background, of a particular class, you can live on English alone.

You don’t need Bahasa.

It’s not like school prepares you, anyway.

The basics of Bahasa Melayu are easy. But so much of common-use Bahasa is context as much as text. There are no tenses, so time is less obvious. And the pronoun “dia” could refer to a person of any gender; an animal; an object.

Spoken Bahasa is all about efficiency: “Makan? Makan? Makan.”

Written Bahasa tends to run-on sentences, a half-dozen clauses linked together, stringing disparate thoughts along, charting orbits instead of straightforward meaning.

It is a quickly-evolving, shifting thing. A language of cues. And, exactly for this reason, if you don’t use it every day?

Very easy to tell.

Aku switch kejap ke BM. Bagi korang dengar BM aku ni macam mana. Rasanya dulu kat sekolah BM aku macam ni lah. Tapi even now bila aku dengar kata-kata yang keluar mulut aku ni, aku rasa tak sedap. Tak petah. Either sebab gagap, or skema sangat.

Just so -- so poyo!

When I locked up my otter it was so very easy to lose the key.

The question then is: why? Why Bahasa?

Why not stick to English? It is the language of success, after all. It will get you anywhere that matters.

It is an advantage. Why take the trouble, just to be at a disadvantage? To be vulnerable?

Not being proficient in the tongue of your homeland is embarrassing. I’ve had people laugh at me, judge me. Kata Orang Malaysia. Tapi cakap Bahasa Malaysia tak boleh.

The language divide is a chasm. It shelters ethnic and material resentments. Ultra-nationalists say that those who cakap omputeh are traitors.

I’m sure most people in this room have, at some point or other, sniggered at the broken English of a Vernacular or Kebangsaan Ed person.

I still get cabbies and Grab uncles asking me: “You don’t speak Chinese? You not Chinese? Why you not proud of being Chinese?”

Like an apartment cat, like a loris in a zoo -- it’s safer inside, dear otter. The air is air-conditioned and the bars are plexiglass.

Amat mudah untuk berpidato; mengangkat senjata kata-kata:

“Jurang antara Bahasa Inggeris dan Bahasa Melayu adalah jurang antara bangsa, dan juga antara kelas. Ia membahagikan masyarakat kita kepada puak-puak kecil yang makin lama, makin hilang upaya untuk bertegur sapa sesama sendiri.

Menjadi tanggung-jawab setiap warga Malaysia untuk merentasi jurang ini. Membina jambatan di antara hati-hati dan minda-minda yang kian lama bercanggah. Menjadi kewajiban kita!

Sanggupkah kita menyahut seruan ini? Mengambil langkah menyelamatkan negara tercinta?

Ayuh -- berjuang!”

Tapi aku tak ingin berjuang. Aku hanya ingin pecah kunci sangkar kepala aku ini. Lepaskan memerang yang terjerat.

I hear her scratch whenever I talk to my gardener, to the Indonesian auntie at the warung, to the Bangladeshi cleaning the mall lavatory, using the lingua -- the bahasa -- of the working class.

I hear her whimper when I switch to BM to speak to Immigration; the abang polis; the kakak at the post office. Language deployed as a cynical simulation of kinship, to make my life easier.

I don’t know whether you have an otter. I only know that I do. I locked her up: for her safety; because it was simpler. Through my eyes she sees the green and the birds of the place she was born.

I feel her hands touch the inside bone of my skull -- touch, touch, touch.

Telling me she wants to be free. To chatter with her children. To eat fish she catches herself. To swim in the waters of her home.

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I’ve spoken about writing in and translating Bahasa Melayu, before -- why I think it’s an important thing to do; what I think it means, to be a multi-lingual writer in Malaysia --

Before this, it’s always come off as a bit self-righteous. A little lecture-y?

But I think I’ve got it, now. The most truthful way to talk about Bahasa is to talk about my relationship to Bahasa.

What it’s like. How I see it. How difficult I find it, how bad I am at it. How badly I want it. How badly I want the vulnerable animal in me to be free.

(Photo by Lainie Yeoh)

#writing #speaking #sweatheart #storytelling #language #bahasa melayu #translation

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stastrodome · 7 years ago

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Benzene Tarts

The only flavor of Pop Tarts we had was benzene.

The only kind of floss was cheddar.

My mother was happy for the 1969 Mets, though. Seaver, Koosman, Nolan Ryan.

There was orange plush carpet in my sister’s room. The free standing centerpieces were ashtrays.

Salmon salad sandwiches with thick pats of butter.

My mother knew who Gil Hodges was I loved Boog Powell, especially the same Boog.

World Series games took place in the afternoon, and, if I faked being sick I could get home.

The town smelled like sulphur so faking illness wasn’t a big performance.

Ice Castle brand root beer Seaver, Koosman and Nolan Ryan

But Nolan Ryan coming out of the bullpen.

All I ever wanted to know about a poet was where and when they committed suicide.

Most of the poets I ended up meeting in bars were pretty jazzed on acting the part of “the activist”.

They were on the internet one hundred percent of the time

Or to put it in the terms of TV characters, they made Logan Huntzburger look like Al Bundy.

In the The Beatles' Swimmy Beans the Ocean-Ape a piano pairs with a hurdy-gurdy.

John or Paul (or maybe both) go “Blimey that Ocean-Ape could swim!”

When the Beatles broke up My sister cried and cried.

I miss her so much and I tried to live with a sense of duty to her.

But I was lost more often, desperate to please others with lies.

Sad as in obese.

If it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple and don't notice it,

imagine how steamed he must get when you're not a Yankees fan.

Our upper duplex was not Tobacco Road but a dream starting to come true.

I've outlived Kerouac, all the Ramones and Shakespeare by at least two olympiads.

I am reinventing myself, eating canned ravioli wearing a wig I found at the gas station.

A poet complaining about "the one per cent" is like a goose complaining about the V-formation.

The best gender-neutral name for a poet is either "Suicidal Jordan" or "Suicidal Alex".

If playing the doosaphone was what poets did my friends couldn’t play the doosaphone at all.

My friends made Gregor Doosa, the inventor of the doosaphone, wish he had never been born.

Womp, womp, gorgons on the cornices of Judas Academy; womp, womp, those terrible tax-payer made books.

It took a lot to kill the pain of having read your second novel The Librarian of Gillingford.

Saturday morning barefoot subway ride. Saturday morning barefoot subway ride.

A poet complaining about "the one per cent" is like a horse complaining about the clatter of hooves.

Billy Joel, composer of "Only the Good Die Young", turned sixty five the year I was stabbed in a hospital.

I dreamt of checking into Wevill’s Motel in Phenix City and watching the World Series there.

When the oil tanker Cymbeline blew up in Montreal harbour, my father was seventeen.

He lived in a boarding house but still took dinners on Dickson street, where his family lived.

He wasn’t on shift at the Vickers Shipyards and those who were not killed just went back to work.

Their doctor, who served in the first world war, was (ironically) afraid of blood and of no use.

At ninety-nine years of age, my father kept a small garden, saying "I get out of puff"

and knew mostly by memory the gardenias, petunias, forget me nots and purple daisies.

In nineteen thirty two, when he was seventeen, my father earned ten dollars and forty cents a week

He gives his mother ten, pockets the remaining forty cents, helps his illiterate grandfather gamble.

The ship was in from Port Arthur, Texas for repair. Its gasoline tanks were empty

but the residual fumes were still so strong, when a hot rivet fell, the air itself combusted.

My father's father, Jack, however, was "in the hole" on another ship and narrowly escaped. Boudin the barber was allergic to hair. Biddy Hagens demanded payment at the door.

They lived at Cadillac & Notre Dame near the Teasdale grocery store.

After the Cymbeline disaster, a man’s burned face was skin and bone.

Ethel felt sorry for him.

Don't tell me to sit and impress the sailors Like a latter day Farrah Fawcett-Majors.

Don't Alexander Cartwright me and say you are setting the length of the basepaths at ninety feet.

O youse Wazir of "What're you going to do?" Oh, Sultan of sulking

"Baseball is second only to death as a leveller" Big Spitball said to Turkey Cum who was like “hey, man!”

In my day, in the love me or I’ll kill myself club. we made a DeWitt Hopper recitation of "Casey at the Bat" seem subtle.

Pluto runs on Chevron Oil I'm afraid I did not know Pine-Sol grows on trees

I shared a room with brothers in an upper duplex by the refineries.

If my life was the cast of Diff’rent Strokes My love of baseball was my Todd Bridges

Later, a poet, living in horrible apartments, town to town, too stupid to know I did not belong.

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kathykwelch · 6 years ago

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Here Are 5 Activities You Can Do in Desaru

Desaru is a coastal resort area in Johor, Malaysia. Every year from November to February, the monsoon wind and rain lash the coast, but once the rainy season ends, it is a perfect location for a beach retreat.

Although Desaru isn’t as developed as Kuala Lumpur or well-known as the other beaches in Malaysia like Port Dickson or Pulau Langkawi, it doesn’t mean that it’s not a decent place for a holiday getaway.

There are many activities available, suitable for families, couples or even solo travellers in Desaru. Here are some things you can do in Desaru:

Beach activities

The beaches in Desaru are the main reason why tourists and locals flock to this area. The coastal area stretches to 22 kilometres of white sand filled with various resorts for visitors to relax.

Besides chilling on the beach, you can go snorkelling, fishing, surfing, jet skiing and many more.

Ostrich farm

If you haven’t seen the largest bird in the world yet, take the opportunity to see them while you’re in Desaru!

The Desaru Ostrich Farm is your chance to get close and personal with more than 100 ostriches. Learn interesting facts about the big birds as a tour guide brings you around the farm and possibly get close to an ostrich egg!

Desaru Fruit Farm

Malaysia is known for its various delicious tropical fruits. If you’ve only seen them in the supermarket or on fruit stalls, perhaps you should check out the Desaru Fruit Farm.

The 180-acre farm houses a large variety of fruits, plants and flowers where you can see farmers pluck the fruits from their trees. Although you can’t harvest the fruits yourself, the farm sells their produce to you.

Eating seafood

As Desaru’s close to the sea, it’s not a mystery that seafood is a part of the local delicacy.

You can find plenty of seafood restaurants serving prawns, crabs and fishes prepared in different cooking styles anywhere while you’re in Desaru. However, one of the more well-known restaurants is the Jade Garden Seafood Corner, famous for its fresh young lobster.

Golfing

If you’re not a fan of the beaches or getting close with nature or the animals, you can go golfing instead.

One of the popular golf establishments is the Desaru Golf & Country Club. Renowned American golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr designed an 18-hole golf course here in 1984, using the land’s natural jungle terrain.

youtube

Conclusion

Unlike what most people might think, Desaru isn’t a boring place with zero activities to do. Besides its pristine beaches, there are plenty of activities suitable for everyone there.

Looking forward to a trip to Desaru? Plan and book a room by visiting https://www.hardrockhotels.com/desaru-coast now!

The post Here Are 5 Activities You Can Do in Desaru appeared first on TOWCAPE Fun Blog.

from Driving | Towing | Road Side Assistance http://seatowcapemay.com/here-are-5-activities-you-can-do-in-desaru/

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luispdavis · 6 years ago

Text

Here Are 5 Activities You Can Do in Desaru

There are many activities available, suitable for families, couples or even solo travellers in Desaru. Here are some things you can do in Desaru:

Beach activities

The beaches in Desaru are the main reason why tourists and locals flock to this area. The coastal area stretches to 22 kilometres of white sand filled with various resorts for visitors to relax.

Besides chilling on the beach, you can go snorkelling, fishing, surfing, jet skiing and many more.

Ostrich farm

If you haven’t seen the largest bird in the world yet, take the opportunity to see them while you’re in Desaru!

Desaru Fruit Farm

Malaysia is known for its various delicious tropical fruits. If you’ve only seen them in the supermarket or on fruit stalls, perhaps you should check out the Desaru Fruit Farm.

Eating seafood

As Desaru’s close to the sea, it’s not a mystery that seafood is a part of the local delicacy.

Golfing

If you’re not a fan of the beaches or getting close with nature or the animals, you can go golfing instead.

youtube

Conclusion

Unlike what most people might think, Desaru isn’t a boring place with zero activities to do. Besides its pristine beaches, there are plenty of activities suitable for everyone there.

Looking forward to a trip to Desaru? Plan and book a room by visiting https://www.hardrockhotels.com/desaru-coast now!

The post Here Are 5 Activities You Can Do in Desaru appeared first on TOWCAPE Fun Blog.

from Driving | Towing | Road Side Assistance http://seatowcapemay.com/here-are-5-activities-you-can-do-in-desaru/

0 notes

marymjackson · 6 years ago

Text

Here Are 5 Activities You Can Do in Desaru

There are many activities available, suitable for families, couples or even solo travellers in Desaru. Here are some things you can do in Desaru:

Beach activities

The beaches in Desaru are the main reason why tourists and locals flock to this area. The coastal area stretches to 22 kilometres of white sand filled with various resorts for visitors to relax.

Besides chilling on the beach, you can go snorkelling, fishing, surfing, jet skiing and many more.

Ostrich farm

If you haven’t seen the largest bird in the world yet, take the opportunity to see them while you’re in Desaru!

Desaru Fruit Farm

Malaysia is known for its various delicious tropical fruits. If you’ve only seen them in the supermarket or on fruit stalls, perhaps you should check out the Desaru Fruit Farm.

Eating seafood

As Desaru’s close to the sea, it’s not a mystery that seafood is a part of the local delicacy.

Golfing

If you’re not a fan of the beaches or getting close with nature or the animals, you can go golfing instead.

youtube

Conclusion

Unlike what most people might think, Desaru isn’t a boring place with zero activities to do. Besides its pristine beaches, there are plenty of activities suitable for everyone there.

Looking forward to a trip to Desaru? Plan and book a room by visiting https://www.hardrockhotels.com/desaru-coast now!

The post Here Are 5 Activities You Can Do in Desaru appeared first on TOWCAPE Fun Blog.

from Driving | Towing | Road Side Assistance http://seatowcapemay.com/here-are-5-activities-you-can-do-in-desaru/

0 notes

itsiotrecords-blog · 8 years ago

Link

http://ift.tt/2rLYp4e

Malaysia could be on your list of adventurous traveling destinations for so many reasons. They are known for their beaches and rainforests with a rich heritage culture, loads of activities, and sites to see. As for activities, they have big caves and old temples to visit, some of which are pretty whacky and scary. Malaysia also has lots of exotic foods to try. Malaysians believe that if you visit their country, you will instantly fall in love with it. According to the website Malaysia.travel, “To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia.” Their slogan “Malaysia, truly Asia” proves that in the country one can discover a convergence of different races—Indians, Malays, Chinese, and many other—that altogether live peacefully and harmoniously. With the diversity of cultures that thrive in Malaysia, it should come as no surprise that it is home to hundreds of colorful festivals. Because of this, Malaysians naturally love to socialize and celebrate. If you’ve never been to Malaysia before or even if you have already visited it, you might want to consider reading this list of 15 disturbing facts Malaysians don’t want you know about their country. The list includes some pretty weird things, including strange superstitions, icky eating habits (just a warning, worms are involved), and growing and building the largest things on Earth.

#1 They Have The Grossest Infestation Of Cockroaches Thriving in one of the caves of Malaysia, Gomantong Cave in Sabah, are cockroaches in abundance. In fact, the worst infestation in the world. They are all there fighting for food from bat droppings and thriving from the wet environment. Remind me never to visit this large cave in my life. What sounds worse than bat droppings from the ceiling and cockroaches swarming at your feet? It gets worse. Not only do they have the worst infestation of cockroaches in the world! They have a problem with large snakes too. Drum roll, please! King Cobras. Yes, you guessed it right. The largest venomous snake in the world is found in Malaysia. The longest King Cobra was found at Port Dickson in 1937. It was so huge that they captured it and took it to a zoo in London where it grew to 5. 71 meters.

#2 Practice Of Needles Under The Skin! Here is a practice that you do not want to try! Shamans practice cosmetic sorcery by poking gold, silver, or precious metals underneath their skin. This practice developed from the pre-Islamization era of Malaysia and Indonesia. This is meant to make the Shaman who partakes in this practice of poking himself with needles never die. This practice is also meant to prevent his spouse from cheating on him. It’s also believed to heal his ailments and infections in the body and bring everlasting youth and beauty. Very strong claims for a simple weird practice of poking yourself.

#3 Crazy Flying Records You might not have heard much about Malaysia and its accomplishments, but this one was quite the real deal. Dr. Shikh Muszaphar Shukor is an astronaut from Malaysia. He was practicing Ramadan when he was meant to fly to space. He didn’t let this deter him. In fact, he actually became the first Muslim astronaut to practice Ramadan while in space. Think that’s crazy? They also had the youngest pilot fly around the world by himself. Captain James Anthony Tan was only twenty-one years old when he chose to fly around the world all by himself in 2013. He flew a thirty-year-old Cessna 210 Eagle aircraft for twenty-two miles around twenty-one countries in fifty days! Talk about guts, I would be too scared to fly a plane full stop.

#4 Weird Superstitions Old beliefs do not die easily. For instance, Malaysians are still afraid of the number four. If you go to Malaysia, you will find that in lifts and on unit floors the number four doesn’t exist. They usually replace this with 3A. This apparently comes from the old superstition that the number four sounds similar in phonetics to the word death. On the other hand, they see the number eight with a lot of favor, mostly because the Cantonese pronunciation sounds like ‘batt’ sounds similar to ‘faat’ which refers to wealth and prosperity. So impressed are they with this number that you’ll often see men driving around with the number eight prominently on their number plates. They have many superstitions. Apparently, according to ancient belief, if a cat jumps over a coffin with a dead person inside before the coffin is buried, the man will come back to life! This doesn’t sound like a very hard feat to bring someone’s life back. I wonder why they don’t try to have more cats jump over coffins, like a regular ritual at burial services.

#5 They Grow Some Of The Biggest Things In The World Though not a very large country, Malaysia grows some of the most gigantic things in the world. Found naturally in Malaysia is the biggest flower in the whole world known as the Rafflesia. They also have the biggest undivided leaf, the Alocasia Macrorrhiza from Tawau, in Sabah. They have the largest cave chamber in existence, known as the Sarawak Chamber at Gunung Mulu National Park. The cave chamber covers an area of 1.66 million square feet! This was discovered in January 1981 by three British cavers during their Mulu eighty expedition. You certainly wouldn’t want to get lost in there. Apart from that, they also have the largest insect in the world—a stick bug. Named as Chan’s Megastick, the stick bug measures up to 56.6 centimeters. The bug was discovered in 1989 by a naturalist, Datuk Chan Chew Lun, in Sabah. After having read about all of these massive things, I’m sure you couldn’t decide whether to consider this cool or freaky. It makes one wonder why almost everything grows gigantic in Malaysia?

#6 They Have An Old Custom Involving Babies And Worms Malaysia is known as a place of rich heritage and culture. Some of their cultural traditions are a bit stranger than you would imagine. For instance, traditionally in Iban communities in Malaysia, babies and young children are referred to as ‘ulat’ until they are given a name of their own. The word ‘ulat’ actually means worm! Somehow, this is meant to be given in an affectionate way. The idea of having a generic nickname until an official name is decided on was actually common for many traditional cultures. The use of the nickname worm is rather odd, though. If it was a bit of a cooler nickname like ‘precious’ or ‘cool kid’, then I wouldn’t mind adopting a tradition like this. I think it’s much better than everybody referring to the baby as an ‘it’ for the first few days or weeks (some people take an awfully long time to decide on their baby’s name).

#7 They Make The Biggest Things Ever worried about getting lost on a long endless road? Well that fear might actually come true if you stay in Malaysia. They have made the longest highways in the world. In fact, the total length of their highways is 40,934 miles. That’s more than the circumference of the earth at 24,901 miles! The plan was to make it easier to get around, but making roads longer than the entire earth is just plain freaky. As if the 40,934-mile highway wasn’t enough, they also designed the biggest roundabout in existence, the Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Putrajaya. It’s not just me that gets lost reading these really long names, is it? Its diameter is 2.7 miles (3.5 km). In 2015, they won a Guinness World Record for the largest hotel in the world known as Genting’s First World Hotel. It has three stars and has 7,351 rooms. This sounds like a place worth staying, doesn’t it?

#8 First To Try This Crazy New Medical Procedure You probably wouldn’t guess it but the first arm and hand transplant was actually performed in Malaysia on a little girl. Up until this moment, only hand transplants are done. This procedure took place with Dr. V. Pathmanathan in charge of the team. They operated on 18 May 2000 at Selayang Hospital on a baby girl only one month after she was born. Her name was Chong Lih Ying. Her new arm and hand was actually from her identical twin sister who died at birth from severe brain damage. Only five months later, she was already waving both of her hands and cuddling her teddies. The surgeon responsible believed that the surgery would be successful only because they had used the identical twin’s limb so this means they have similar cells and come from the same blood group. I guess there’s always a silver lining in the dark cloud.

#9 Boats Capsizing They have boats capsizing. According to a post from news.com.au in January 2017, “A boat ferrying 40 people from Indonesia has capsized off Malaysia’s coast, killing at least nine people and leaving nearly 30 were missing. . .The agency said a combination of overloading and bad weather and heavy seas were believed to have caused the accident.” Apparently, this incident was not the only occurrence of boats capsizing. A number of similar accidents have occurred along the waterways of Indonesia and Malaysia. More often than not, these accidents are caused by overloading of ferryboats carrying laborers who seek for work in Malaysian plantations and factories. According to a news article, in November 2016, “more than half of the 101 passengers aboard a boat died after it hit a reef and sank off the Indonesian island of Batam, south of Singapore. Four months earlier, a boat sank while en-route to Batam. Malaysian authorities recovered eight bodies and rescued 34 people.”

#10 They Don’t Take Jokes Lightly If you’re planning to go on a vacation in Malaysia and see all the terrific and great sites of the land, always bear in mind that their law system is rather very strict. And if you’re caught being very silly, you might just end up in jail. In October 2016, according to 9news, nine Australian men were put in prison for stripping down to colorful Speedo trunks in the design of the Malaysian flag. As if that wasn’t enough, they drank beer out of their shoes and sang in a public place during celebrations at the Grand Prix. While the crowd found them the pinnacle of amusement and joy, many cheering on and taking selfies with them, the authorities put them directly in prison. Authorities said that they would receive their sentence with a possibility of getting out easily by simply paying a fine. However, there’s still a greater possibility of being sentenced up to two years of prison “with intentional insult to breach the peace.”

#11 Malaysian Delicacy Will Make You Want To Vomit Okay so when I read this strange fact, I actually had to stop myself from gagging. In East Malaysia, they have a delicacy that you never want to try. Although they are said to have a creamy consistency and not taste half as bad as they sound, would you still want to go all the way to the country and eat these rather stout and “juicy” worms? Probably not! Mostly eaten as a treat in Sabah and Sarawak’s native tribes are the larvae of sago worms. Thankfully, this has mostly been phased out in modern menus around the country, though you can still find them stir-fried, roasted, or simply raw at weekly markets and at tourist attractions! Why tourist attractions? Leave it for the old tribes please. But yes, you can find them at tourist attractions like Monsopiad Cultural Village where they’re served to the tourists as part of their program. Maybe this is why they name their babies after worms. This is the absolute most appealing picture I could find. Just try Googling larvae sago worms and imagine eating them raw. Bon Appetit!

#12 They Have Fruit That Stinks The Durian fruit, a real charm in Malaysia. These were banned from traveling on the Singapore Mass Transit because of their intense odor even when still unopened. You either love the fruit or you hate it. And for most, it’s a hate relationship. Though in Malaysia, most people love this fruit and some even love the smell. When they are in season, they have durian fruit buffets that people flock to to eat as many durians as they want. A Malaysian source still suggested bringing mouthwash along. According to food writer Richard Sterling, “Its odor is best described as pig-sh*t, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia.” Anthony Bourdain calls it “indescribable, something you will either love or despise. … Your breath will smell as if you’d been French-kissing your dead grandmother.” Judging from what I’m hearing, I’d rather give this fruit a miss.

#13 Cat Museum In A City Named After Cats Open from 9am to 5pm every day, this is a cat lover’s dream coming true. Some visitors have complained online that it’s rather overpriced for a dingy rundown place with not so much to see. Though according to their website, they only charge for photos and filming (perhaps these charges are outrageous?). According to Sarawaktourism.com, “The World’s first Cat Museum, devoted to all things feline, is in Petra Jaya in the Kuching City North City Hall. Cat lovers will find a range of exhibits, photos, feline art and cat souvenirs; over 4,000 of them. The museum is housed on the ground on the City Hall Building, spread over four galleries covering a total area of 1,035 sq meter.” The cat is said to be a good luck charm, so I guess they decided to make a museum of 4000 things of good luck! Personally I would much rather visit a couple of cute little kittens at a pet shop or a cat café than go through 1,035 square meters of souvenirs and paintings of old cats.

#14 Venomous Snake Temple If you weren’t freaked out enough to hear that Malaysia had the largest snakes on record, then maybe the fact that they actually have a venomous snake temple for tourists to visit will make you a little…okay maybe not so little…uneasy. The Penanag Snake Temple is said to house venomous pit vipers and green tree snakes. Upon entering the temple, one can see a big incense burner filling the main prayer hall with smoke. The smoke emitted by these incense burners tranquilizes the serpents and makes them appear motionless or even asleep. Additionally, at the start of the temple, there are tanks that hold pythons and cobras. This is meant to be the best spot to get a photo. This temple is one of the most popular tourist attractions and there’s only a small fee to visit. Someone would have to pay me more than a large fee to get me to even consider visiting that temple.

#15 Mosquito Virus “Zika” According to an article from new.com.au in September 2016, Malaysia is on high alert for the Zika virus. Catching a virus from a mosquito is alarming as they are so small and unassuming. Sure they usually annoy you with their itchy bites, but how do you even avoid them when they’re flying around. If you’re traveling to Malaysia, make sure to bring a load of mosquito repellents. Actually, Malaysia put up a poster at Kuala Lumpur International Airport warning people and advising tourists to be extremely careful by being fully covered in clothing with long sleeves and pants. They’ve also advised tourists to avoid having unprotected sex when they return home for eight weeks. Zika virus is caused by mosquitoes and can leave you with an awful fever.

Source: TheRichest

#IoTRecords

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1destinyhope · 8 years ago

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Four names I go by 1. Amylia 2.amy 3. Lia 4. Yaya Four things I hate 1. High heels 2. Wake up in the morning 3. Sleep early 4. Battery low Four things I love to watch 1. Zoella 2. Thatcherjoe 3. Superwoman 4.hindi movie Four places I have been 1. Kedah 2. Pulau Pinang 3.port Dickson 4. Shah Alam Four things I love to eat 1. Kong nam mee 2. Taiwanes mee 3. Gol gappa/ pani puri 4.all indian food Four favorite drinks (not water) 1. Starsbuck( peppermint mocha) 2. Coffee 3. Green tea 4. Herbal tea Four things I am looking forward to: 1. Sleep whenever I want 2. Shopping grocery 3. Travel 4. I wanna size "s" and healthy Now here is what you're supposed to do. Please don't spoil the fun.... Copy and paste the blank version below in your status with your answers. Don't forget to copy a blank copy in your comments for other people to copy.

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zedecksiew · 6 years ago

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The Weight Of Our Sky

Finished Hanna Alkaf’s landmark debut novel, “The Weight Of Our Sky” today.

It’s good. You should stop reading this post, and go get it.

(Disclaimer: Hanna blurbed our book, so quite possibly I’m biased? But if you don’t want to listen to me you can listen to these other folks.)

The book is basically a how-we-survived-the-apocalypse narrative?

Secondary-school student Melati Ahmad’s world -- already difficult; she has obsessive-compulsive disorder -- collapses one Tuesday afternoon. Armed men barge into the cinema where she and a friend are watching a Paul Newman film.

These men separate movie-goers by race: Malays on one side, Chinese on the other.

The date is 13 May, 1969. Kuala Lumpur is a warzone of ethnic strife. To get home, Melati has to deal with mobs; trigger-happy soldiers; her own literal inner demons.

My parents were in their late twenties when 1969 happened.

They remember the race riots as a distant anxiety. The stories I heard growing up mainly concern army checkpoints around the Port Dickson refineries; or cops letting my dad dodge curfew to buy my mum the durian she craved (she was pregnant with my sister at the time).

The other piece of May 13 fiction I know of is Beth Yahp’s “In 1969″ -- in its dramatised version, “That Was The Year”, the Five Arts Centre production.

The play’s text is a phantasmagoria: a woman gives birth in a ditch; the riots rage around her; Mahathir and Tun Dr Ismail speak in quotes over the din. A nightmare vision -- the love for one’s countrymen, unrequited and betrayed.

In contrast, “The Weight Of Our Sky” is more ... matter-of-fact? The prose sticks to Melati’s voice, and sees what she sees. The Rex Cinema is a site of executions. Chin Woo Stadium is a refugee camp. The streets of KL look like this:

' ... a sprawling stain on the pavement roughly the shape of Australia that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than dried blood ... limp, lifeless bodies, more than I can count. Men, women, and even children ... One girl’s blue ribbon trails behind her on the pavement where she lies ... '

As a teenager, these streets were part of my daily commute. I’d been vaguely aware of their 13-May history, hitherto -- but because of Hanna’s specificity, reading this book is the first time I’ve imagined those streets, the same ones I still pass through monthly, as sites of ethnocide.

Another mainstay of 1969 accounts is the kind of quiet heroism that folks displayed in those few terrible days. Makciks hiding Chinese folk -- stuff like that.

This is a thread through "The Weight Of Our Sky”, and supplies its moral core. Hanna has talked about her love of auntie characters; emblematic of this love is Auntie Bee, a middle-class cheongsam-ed woman who rescues Melati early on.

Her no-nonsense stoic auntie-ness is responsible for my guiltiest laugh-out-loud moment in the book. This bit happens right after a fairly major tragedy:

‘ Auntie Bee regards him through narrowed eyes for a minute, then decides to let it go. “Did you eat?”

Vincent snorts. “We’re in the middle of a riot and you can still ask me if I ate?”

“Well? Did you?”

“Yes, Ma, I ate!” ’

If the book has a primary antagonist it is the Djinn -- the personification of Melati’s OCD.

Basically: the Djinn shows Melati images of her loved ones dying gruesomely -- possible fates he will avert only if Melati performs taps or gestures in multiples of three.

While “The Weight Of Our Sky” implies that Melati’s Djinn is her way of rationalising neurodivergence -- I like that the text gives him space as a real character.

When he speaks he “hisses”. He has “scaly arms”. In a flashback, detailing an attempt by Melati’s mother to get her exorcised:

‘ Truly, I did feel better that first time. I let the words of the holy book wash all over me, and came out feeling virtuous, cleansed, purified ... This false sense of security meant I was unprepared for the onslaught when he returned later that night. You thought it would be so easy? The taunting lilt barely hid his anger. You will see that you cannot be rid of me so easily. ’

That night, the Djinn psychically scourges her, as punishment.

Outside of spec-fic ghettos, fiction tends to treat the supernatural not as significant in itself, but as a vehicle for theme or metaphor -- which is sort of condescending? Also wrong-minded, vis a vis Southeast Asia specifically, where the supernatural has a material weight.

In her foreword, Hanna writes:

As you read, you may also want to keep in mind that for Muslims, djinn are real.

I’m glad the book allows djinn that reality.

Hardly a page goes by without Melati tapping or nodding or whispering some numbers -- she performs her Djinn-mandated counting throughout.

Initially the rules of her condition were fascinating. Then I started to tune out these little "episodes”. Then I they started to annoy me.

Then I realised: the fact Hanna never glosses over Melati’s repetitive actions is the point. They aren’t asides. The text attempts to faithfully portray the lived reality of Melati’s OCD -- it is exhausting; inescapable (she never exorcises the Djinn); it is debilitating, with race riots in full swing.

It also underlines Melati’s triumph during the book’s finale, when she wrestles through her Djinn, and finds herself temporarily able to silence the need to count -- long enough to deliver a title-dropping Big Goddamn Speech, earnest and hopeful and despairing all at once.

GET IT HERE.

#reviews #writing #hanna alkaf #the weight of our sky #13 may #malaysia #kuala lumpur #young adult

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