Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
Two things: first, an apology for not posting for so damned long; the last posting was in April… of last year… Like, seriously?!?. The second, and arguably the more important thing, is that Walski has made the decision to stop writing in the third person (except for this sentence).
Yeah, it’s tiring, truth be told, and somehow puts me in the same league as those entertainment gossip columnists in Malaysian media we so love to loathe. So there… as I – and Walski before me – break with tradition. Again.
I could go into all kinds of reasons why – mostly made up – I haven’t updated this blog in such a long time, but quite simply it’s because 2024 has been a busy year for me in the real world. As you may or may not know, I co-run an art business and since it’s now a nomad gallery, travelling has been a big part of running said business.
These days Walski shuttles back and forth snugly hibernating in my suitcase between KL and Manila, and only gets the opportunity to leave the confines of baggage and breathe some fresh air whenever something ire-inducing pops up on X/Twitter (and other social media outlets).
Which arguably is becoming more often than I like it to be these days.
Domestically, the primary source of ire is how a coalition I had put my trust in to introduce positive reform has instead been mostly regressive in their 2+ years in office. Making matters worse is an opposition block that, to put politely, has been not much more useful than a zoo full of morons (except for a few monkeys).
I won’t go into a blow-by-blow account of how disappointing the PH-led government has been, or the legislations they’ve pushed through that are more problematic than they are helpful or progressive. To be fair, the PH-led “unity government” has achieved some positive milestones, like the model of government itself for one, and the abolishment of the mandatory death sentence, to name another.
Personally, I see that the achievements made thus far are few compared to the amendments to, and applications, of restrictive laws, in some cases make them more vague and more open to abuse; the most recent example being amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act that were rushed through the house despite calls from all and sundry for it to be sent to a Parliamentary Select Committee for scrutiny. Oh, and the amendments also give MCMC almost unrestricted powers. Hurrah for freedom to shut the fuck up, or else…
But why has PH, which ran on a promise of broad institutional reforms and freedoms, turned retrograde and regressive? IMHO the answer lies in the elephant-sized albatross that’s also part of the “unity government”, better known as UMNO and the handful of hangers-on that form the rest of BN. PH couldn’t have formed a government if not for this unity arrangement, which I’ve mentioned on X/Twitter sometime back is far from ideal. But here we are. And it is what it is for now.
And don’t even get me started on the MIB (Malaysian Islamic Bureaucracy) and its tentacled network of affiliates (both private and public sectors)… But I will mention one discomforting initiative on their part: the proposed F.T. Mufti Bill.
Internationally, the world seems pretty messed up these days. Gaza, Syria, Ukraine, and the FUBAR attempt at martial law in South Korea… just to name a few recent global events. Topping off the global shit-cake is, of course, the orange-tainted cherry of Trump 2.0.
So yeah, loads and loads to bitch and moan about, but so little bandwidth…
I am hesitant to make any promises that this post will mark a comeback to posting more regularly. Time and again things in the real world have come up causing me to go on hiatus and Time being the elusive animal it is, refuses to tell in advance.
But we’ll see… where there’s a will, there’s a way; and a horde of relatives fighting for the deceased’s estate…
Hasta la later, sports fans… unless you’re a Manchester United fan, then it’ll probably be much, much la later… 🤣
myAsylum 