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Like many Malaysians, my mind had already been made up regarding Bersih, a movement to push for the cleansing of the electoral roll in Malaysia. When the Bersih 3.0 date was announced, all plans were dropped to make sure I would be there!
However, after a harrowing experience at the rally – almost getting seriously hurt and nearly losing my camera, I came home questioning my support for the movement.
Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan addressing the crowd
I have to admit; my enthusiasm for Bersih 3.0 was slightly a notch below last year’s event. What made me uncomfortable about the whole thing was the growing divide on social media between friends, amongst those who supported the movement and those who didn’t. Still, I declined a job on that day because I felt it was important for me to be there.
The whole experience for me was quite terrifying. I wanted to take photos, so I separated from my friends to go where the action was. Having gone to Bersih 2.0 and experiencing a “gassed and chased down” episode, I was confident that I would be protected by fellow rally-goers.
I did not regret that decision because when I found myself squashed between men at the barricade, the men around me started shouting, “Tolong bagi laluan! Ada perempuan di sini, tolong tunjuk hormat! (Please make way! There’s a lady here, please show some respect!).
Instinctively, however, I did not have a good feeling about how things were going and was glad to be directed over to the other side of the barricade, reserved for media and the police. A cop asked for my media tag, and I didn’t have one. He insisted that I return to the crowd even though I begged to remain here or to exit from somewhere else.
“Kalau kamu boleh masuk dari sana, kamu boleh keluar dari sana,” he sternly said. (If you could come in that way, you can certainly exit that way)
Reluctantly I went back out to the mosh pit and the next thing I knew, some rally-goers had pushed through the barricades and the attack against rally-goers ensued. I felt very thankful at that time for the man who had covered the pointed edges of the fallen barricades with his hands to prevent me and another elderly from getting stabbed by it should we be pushed down by the crowd going amok.
Tear gas (?) being dispensed from the train line from above
I contemplated writing about my experience chronologically, but I felt it would do no more than to affirm our stand on the issue. Bersih supporters would only see the police brutality, and those against it would see the police response as justified. To be honest, when I got back, I felt disorientated about the whole thing. As disorientated as I was when engulfed in tear gas, walking like a zombie gasping for air – skin burning, wanting to plea for someone to make it stop as I looked down to my 1-meter visibility and saw single-sided shoes littered on the floor, handphones scattered, people falling around, and eventually when the air cleared a little, people throwing up.
I was terrified when I was trapped on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, when police blocked both ends of the street, coming from one end with tear gas cannons and the other, beating up protesters. I was shouted at by the police for taking photos and almost got into a messy situation, but thankfully, the door to the stairway I sought refuge at with others, was locked thanks to the quick thinking of the people who had let me in.
On our left
On our right
And shortly later, our front view
Before I slept that night, after reading about how journalists were beaten up and cameras were smashed, I told my friends I felt that it was not a risk I wanted to take again. It was a horrible experience and I didn’t know who to blame. The ruling government? The organizers? The opposition? Myself (for putting myself in harms way)?
After a day to reflect on what happened, I decided that I don’t need to look for someone to blame. It is just part of growing up as a country and as a citizen. Determining who runs the country and how it’s done is no longer conversations confined to the “uncles” in the coffee shop, but is something everyone seems to want to give you their piece of mind on. And because of that, I think whatever your stand on the issue is, we Malaysians, we own Bersih and with that we own what is to be the fate of our country.
View all the photos I took on that day here.
Read about my experience at Bersih 2.0 here.
If you need any photos of the photos, please don’t hesitate to contact me szening@gmail.com
Apr 30, 2012 | Categories:Protests/ Demonstrations | Tags: ambiga, bersih, bersih 3.0, chemical water, democracy, demonstration, grassroot, Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, kuala lumpur, police violence, rally, speech, street, tear gas, violence, water cannon | Leave A Comment »
A lighter side of our trip - swimming in the Yeak Loam lake with newly made friends.
Three years ago I made a trip to Cambodia as a field coordinator for Elevyn to meet with some NGOs there. It was a bittersweet experience for me.
It was my first experience in a country where there were so many child beggers. Now, the tour books and websites all warn you about child beggars and how best to deal with them, as if were the same nuisance as dealing with bad weather. But when you’re surrounded by hungry children in rags (which many people would advise you ignore to avoid perpetuating the problem), as you head from a sightseeing tour to a nice cafe for a good meal on you holiday; it was impossible at least for me, not to be in a perpetual state of moral dilemma. To top it off was a sign in our backpacker’s room which says “no sex with children” along other nos like “no drugs” and “switch off the A/C on your way out”. Since then, I never quite looked at poverty the same again.
My 3-week long trip involved meeting many NGOs and social enterprises which were amazing to say the least. The group which hit closest to home was an indigenous Kreung community’s social enterprise. It was after our trip to meet this group through CANDO in Ratanakiri, that I spent one sleepless night in Phnom Penh, typing this story which we posted up on Elevyn’s blog, a story about the significance of a piece of craft played out by ducks, helicopters and bombs.
Traveling to a Kreung village by bike. The journey was not so kind on the butt.
The main source of water in this Kreung village in Cambodia is from the water pump.
I want to bring life back to the story and memory because I was informed last week of the passing of Mr Saphork, our village host who is also a volunteer for the Kres village community-based craft enterprise. According to our NGO friend, he had passed away in his sleep. In memory of his kindness, hospitality and generosity, here’s an excerpt from that blog entry featuring the interview with Mr Saphork.
“Duck…duck……helicopter….. zero?” I read out. Looks like our indigenous people here in Cambodia are quite modern, I thought to myself as I wade through an array of scarves with traditional motifs, ducks and helicopters.
These villagers had no electricity, no television and are pretty much surrounded by thick forests – why would they weave helicopters? Guessing it was a novelty from a picture or something – I asked to affirm it.
“In memory of the Vietnam war, we were affected by it as our village is so close to the border,” explained Saphork from the Kreung village where these scarves were made.
“Those are bombs dropped from the plane,” he added pointing to the patterns that looked like ‘O’.
I must have looked quite silly looking at him with round eyes going “Wow….”
Spellbound by these hand-loomed textiles, I longed to own every single piece I got my eyes on. They came in all kinds of textures and colours; from rough to soft, from ones coloured with natural dye and those coloured by market dye.
But I was not too sure about those with duck patterns though. I love animals and I made a personal pact not to eat farmed animals simply because of my love for them. But I’m not exactly a fan of ducks.
“What’s with the ducks?” I asked – guessing it must be for children.
“Oh, during the war we had to keep moving. So we couldn’t take our ducks with us and we had to leave them in the forest,” Saphork explained.
After a short pause he added, “We really regret it…”
I decided then that I loved ducks.
Note: Translation from Khmer and Kreung to English by CANDO team members
(View original blogpost here)
On days when I feel like I’m losing direction in what I’m doing, I remember Mr Saphork’s story and it gives me a sense of humility I hope to embody on a day to day basis.
In memory of the late Mr Saphork and his lovely farmhouse.
Apr 08, 2012 | Categories:From the field | Tags: cambodia, cando, craft, elevyn, farmhouse, indigenous, kreung, poverty, ratanakiri, saphork, scarf, village, yeak loam lake | Leave A Comment »
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Like most other places, the landscape in Sabah is fast changing.
A few years back I had a love affair with Sabah, a Malaysian state in the island of Borneo. It was a time when I wanted so much to fit in and be accepted, a time when I thought things had to be perfect. Like much of the photos I published online at that time, I was obsessed with getting an all encapsulating photo.
I’d say I did a lot of my “growing up” in my mid-20s in Sabah. The most important thing I think I learnt is to not take things so seriously. It is not that I care any less, but now I’m rather more focused on embracing the moment.
Although there’s a lot more I’d love to share about Sabah, in the spirit of embracing moments, here’s a short series of unpublished photos from that very special time of my life.
A lot of roads have opened up, making once hard-to-reach places now very accessible.
Growing up as a Chinese diaspora in an urban environment, I will never truly understand what it’s like to be indigenous to a certain place and have traditions and cultures so closely linked to the land. But in all the villages, no one ever held my awkwardness against me and very zealously encouraged me to find a Sabahan husband.
Day-to-day life was certainly different and everyone kept busy putting food on the table in the literal sense.
Subsistence rice fields (left) and women collecting leaves used to wrap rice and place food on (right)
Chasing away birds that will eat up the padi in the evenings with a makeshift flag.
CAUGHT! Padi-eating birds.
In some areas, rice is still grown for subsistence use. Wild vegetables and wild game often compliment a rice meal. For really poor families living in a degraded forest, they make do with salted fish and rice. There’s even a very catchy local song about how boring it gets to be eating salted fish every day, Silaka Ikan Masin.
A fox being chopped up for the frying pan.
Wild meat went a little unappreciated on me as I was not a huge fan of meat.
Highly prized porcupine bezoar stones.
I never fell very sick in a village before, but a man once approached me to see if I wanted to buy porcupine bezoar stones which is popular and highly sought after in Chinese medicine. He said he dreamt he found a porcupine with the said stone in its stomach. Sure enough, when he went hunting the next day he had caught a porcupine with these “black gold” in it.
The smell of money smells much like sewage.
And of course, no “well to do” village is not without the stench of rubber being dried when rubber prices are high.
Merry-making nights, depending on one’s mood and alcohol tolerance, can be highly anticipated or dreaded.
A Sungai Rumanau elder (left) and women (right).
Carrying chickens to be slaughtered for a feast (left). Taking a nap in a government-issued house (right).
Like with most developing areas, the pressure for indigenous communities to integrate into a more organized and controlled system gets higher over time, for better or for worse. Though a lot of people find that it is very much for the worse.
Relocation project site in Sabah (Kg Gana)
Traditions gone mouldy?
I for one have always admired the way the people of Sabah adapt to change and foreign influence while at the same time maintaining a very strong sense of their own identity.
Traditional Murut dance.
All night "exchange of poems" singing during a Murut wedding celebration.
Traditional Rungus dance.
With all that being said and shown, I’m so pleased and excited to also announce that I’ll be going back to Sabah for a very special photography assignment soon! I certainly anticipate it like as if I am going home.
Till then, I’ll just be dreaming of the chilly clear Bornean evening air.
The view from Kg Buayan.
Mar 31, 2012 | Categories:From the field | Tags: aramaiti, Borneo, children, dance, dusun, fox, indigenous, logging roads, murut, orang asal, padi, porcupine, porcupine bezoar, relocation projects, rice fields, rice wine, river, rubber, rungus, sabah, sungai rumanau, sunset, tradition, traditional, wild game | 15 Comments »
I’ve been house-sitting a lovely place for a good friend since late last year. After two and a half years living in an apartment, the transition brought many terrestrial adjustments. We have cats crossing from the front to back all the time, frogs, caterpillars appearing on the bench and the star of this blog post, birds nesting in the garden!
My “deprived childhood” growing up with a concrete garden (cemented floor!) became evident when I mistook the nest for a frog sitting on one of the hanging pots of fern, jumping out each time we water it at night. It turned out to be a Yellow-vented Bulbul’s nest, as identified by a friend of mine.
It made a lot of ruckus all day long as the chicks explored their vocal range, calling for more food. I made myself (un)comfortable by the window whenever I had some time, trying to get some shots of my feathered housemates.
Both parents tirelessly spend the entire day feeding their little chicks. Here are some of their delectable meals, beak-picked by mommy and daddy.
Le Worm
Uuu... grasshopper.
A fuzzy caterpillar.
Open wide!
And down it goes.
This photos reminds me a little of a family horror story we like to share. My grandfather used to chew peanuts, spit it out and feed it to my brother when he was a baby. He probably invented peanut butter. Oh yeah, pretty gross indeed.
And off it goes again to look for more food.
"More! More! More!" squawks the little chick.
Spending many sweaty sessions peaking out the window through my zoom lens brought me back to my childhood days when evenings were reserved for play time on the street, spending hours terrorizing stray animals and observing those that are hard to reach; like turtles in a pond in someone’s house. Watching these Yellow-vented Bulbuls made me appreciate the animal kingdom beyond the restaurant menu, a feeling I’ve become more and more distant from, from daily desensitization in my little urban/ city/ internet bubble.
I can also see why so many cartoons and games are inspired from these little creatures. Just looking at this fat chick makes me want to laugh (also because it makes me feel like I should slingshoot it into a group of pigs).
Oh they grow up so fast... (sob)
My feathered family have already left the nest. While I now have peace and quiet all day without crying chicks right at my doorstep, every time I hear birds singing I look out hoping they would once again share my home with me if even just for a little while.
More on the Yellow-vented Bulbuls here (“it is said that it is almost impossible NOT to see Yellow-Vented Bulbuls” in this region).
And check out more photos of my feathered friends here.
Mar 05, 2012 | Categories:Personal | Tags: animal farm, bird, birds, chicks, feeding, Malaysia, Merbah Kapur, nest, petaling jaya, Pycnonotus goiavier, selangor, south east asia, Yellow-vented Bulbul | Leave A Comment »
Right after completing the piece on Orang Asli land rights, writer Pat Fama had roped me in for a piece he had been writing for Esquire Malaysia. The ancient art of kickboxing – better known as Muay Thai, is popularly practiced in Kelantan. Here, the locals call it Tomoi.
What made this assignment exciting was that it is a bit of an underground sport as it was banned by the Islamic state government, Kelantan, from early 90s till 2006 on the grounds of being “un-Islamic”.
Now I’ve lost count of how many 6-hours (or more) drive trips I’ve made to Kelantan in the last year, but it was another trip I looked forward to because with each trip I fall more and more infatuated with the people and culture.
It was my first boxing match and it was in a knock-out style format. What surprised me the most was how quick those boys got knocked out, certainly something which Karate Kid (1, 2 and 3), Ong Bak and all those Chuck Norris movies did not prepare me well for. Many a time I suppressed the urge to yell, “WAIT, I’ve not gotten my shot yet!” when some of the matches ended within the first round or two with one of the poor boys, reeling on the ground from a blow to the head.
Though I’m not a fan of WWE, I could certainly appreciate Tomoi as a non-mainstream sport. Having rock climbed for a few years during my undergraduate days and now actively Crossfitting, I related to the tight-knit sense of community I felt in the arena (which was very basic to say the least) and the passion from the fighters and everyone involved in the process; organizers of the event, spectators, the time keeper – everyone wanted to be there for the love of the sport.
A fighter receiving an oiled massage right before his fight.
A mix crowd watching the match which lasted till 11pm.
Mat Kudin performs a graceful wai khru ceremonial dance, in show of respect to his trainer(s), opponent and audience.
Fighters don a pre-fight ritual headgear, which is known as Mongkhon to Muay Thai practitioners.
Jasuri stared at his opponent performing the wai khru ceremonial dance impassively before taking him out within the first few minutes with a strong blow to his head.
An intense second match where the confident fighter overpowered his opponent in a series of blows.
At the end of Day 1 of the tournament, I was caught up in the showmanship, the intensity of the matches and the many different emotions each fighter brought to the ring. Most of all, I was impressed by the dedication, discipline and bravery. As I met back with Pat, my feet all caked in mud from circling the arena busily trying to capture every aspect of the event, I spat out, “Wow, did you see that?!”
Tomoi is certainly something I would say is uniquely Malaysian and beautiful, while at the same time sharing many similarities with our beloved South East Asian neighbors; much like our culture, terrain and facial features. Or as the slogan on the Thai street market t-shirts aptly puts it – Same Same But Different!
Pat Fama wrote an excellent piece on it; detailing the historical and cultural significance, the ban in the early 90s and current growing scene. A great read, so grab a copy of Esquire Malaysia from newsstands before the end of March!
In the trainings ground of The Malaysian Police Training Centre (PULAPOL), current champ Tengku Shahrizal aka Pokku Kuda Merah, building his jaw muscles so that he can take more blows to the head without being knocked out.
Feb 28, 2012 | Categories:From the field | Tags: blood, boxing, chuck norris, crossfit, esquire, fighting, kelantan, kickboxing, muay thai, pasir mas, pulapol, same same but different, sweat, tomoi | 2 Comments »
What a crazy and challenging year 2011 was! I would say by far one of the toughest year I’ve had in a long while. Reflecting back, I think I just had to endure these challenges as it will help me shape (for the better) the way I approach a lot of things in life.
So here’s my year in a few photos.
Uphill journey? Or a long way down (to rock bottom)?: Mike and I scaling down Mt Kinabalu (photo taken by our guide).
2011 started with me climbing Mt Kinabalu in January, the highest peak in Malaysia. Having missed an opportunity to ascend the famous mountain during my undergraduate days, I promised myself to jump at the next opportunity to do so. And jump I did, when I won 2 tickets to Kota Kinabalu via a Twitter Firefly contest. My winning tweet? “Borneo Boys are hot!”
But climbing Mt Kinabalu was nothing short of misery for me. Let’s just say I cherished the experience more from seeing the photos than when I was actually there!
What I didn’t know then that it truly was a precursor of my year to come.
(Not to discourage anyone from going up the mountain; it’s truly an experience. Whether enjoyed or not would depend on your expectations and previous trekking experiences).
Uphill all the way: Orang Asli children walking up next to a swidden, in Kg Tenlan, Betau.
Like the signage below, the end of the road seemed a very long way to go. And it wasn’t smooth most of the way.
Long and rough adventure: (left) Printed signage directing the way to a village for the launch of a micro-hydro dam project which said, “Tg Rambai – Jauh lagi” / “Tg Rambai, A long way ahead.” (right) For interior villages with a decent trail, a motorbike cuts the journey time in half. As well as the life expectancy for the villagers.
Without getting into the details of the doom and gloom; the long year was filled with challenges and as corny as this sounds – self discovery. Sometimes when working in the field of human rights, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees.
Or lose the forest altogether?: Logging site in the Orang Asli’s traditional land (Kelantan).
I had also spent a month nomadic in-between moving from an apartment to a place which I’m currently house-sitting for a friend.
Home improvements: (left) A Semai man working on his roof. (right) Leaves from a palm being weaved to be used as roofing material. Photo taken in Woh and Kg Sagong respectively.
Health-wise, 2011 had been a very poor year. After a string of frequent bouts of illnesses, I decided to place more emphasis on better nutrition and fitness. This year, I plan to read up more on the topic and further advocate eating real and wholesome foods like this wild forest product below.
Healthy eating: Bunches of petai, a type of bean, just out from the forest awaiting to be taken by the middle-man for sale in towns. The sale of Petai is an important source of income for the Semai people in Woh, where the photo was taken.
It was strangely at rock bottom, when I was unwell and demotivated about work, that I found back my motivation.
A sewang performance depicting a healing ritual by the Orang Asli entourage from Peninsular Malaysia during the 2011 World Indigenous Day celebrations in Sabah (East Malaysia/ Borneo).
And realized ever more so (and found comfort in) that I am part and parcel of a large community which would help me when I’m down and to whom I credit my little successes and victories to.
A big community gathering: A feast of rice and tapioca cooked is various traditional methods was prepared for lunch during a mapping workshop which gathered over a 100 representatives from different villages in Kelantan.
2011 was not a great year, but it was possibly one of my most important year. I’m really glad to be able to greet a new year in good health together with great friends, colleagues and family.
Thank you (reader) for being part of that journey and I’m looking forward to a mad, crazy and exciting 2012!
Jan 04, 2012 | Categories:Personal | Tags: 2012, greeting the new year | Leave A Comment »
Today, over 1,000 lawyers and members from the civil society marched in protest against the controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill. The bill, which bars street protests, has been criticized as more repressive than those in countries such as the military-ruled Myanmar (Burma).
A large crowd of lawyers (and members from civil society) gathering at the Royal Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur.
Many more lawyers joining the crowd. They may look real smart in their suits, but they suffered the most under the noon heat.
Human Rights lawyer Edmund Bon, motivates the crowd with shouts of “Bebas! Bebas! Bebas himpun!” (Freedom! Freedom! Freedom to assemble!)
Arul from Parti Socialist Malaysia (PSM) giving the iconic fist.
All set to march
Reaching the cop barricade.
Right in front of the Parliament House, an anti-gay group gathered to protest against the lawyers claiming the Bar Council was marching in support of gay rights. The group shouted that they would not allow the lawyers to enter parliament. But lawyers just walked right by, escorted by the police.
Like a Christmas sale gone bad as everyone rushes in.
The 10-lawyers representing the Malaysian Bar Council walks into the Parliament House. The metal detector was rather ornamental in purpose as cameras sent it beeping at every passing of a member from the media.
The memorandum is received by the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Liew Vui Keong.
Anwar Ibrahim, de facto leader of Keadilan (the People’s Justice Party) receiving the memorandum.
Lim Chee Wee, president of the Bar Council, thanks the police.
The Bar Council team walking out of the Parliament House, after getting a feel of a day in the life of Kim Kardashian stalked by video and still cameras.
Walking back pass the barricades to join the crowd patiently waiting outside.
“Today, we proved we can assemble peacefully,” Lim Chee Wee addressing the large crowd before the group dispersed.
Aunty Bersih (seated in a navy blue and white flower print shirt) in a group discussion after the memorandum was handed. Feeling like a teenybooper fan girl when I spotted her, I couldn’t resist taking photos of her (and a few close-ups which sent her giggling when she noticed my starstruck look).
The Peaceful Assembly Bill was later passed with some amendments despite the strong objections.
More information on why the Malaysian Bar Council are against the Peaceful Assembly Bill here.
Nov 29, 2011 | Categories:Protests/ Demonstrations | Tags: human rights, kuala lumpur, Malaysia, malaysian bar council, occupy parliament, occupy parlimen, pa2011, peaceful assembly bill, protest, street demonstration | 2 Comments »
On July 9th this year I attended the controversial Bersih 2.0 rally, organized by a coalition of NGOs in Malaysia to push for clean and fair elections. The rally was, however, deemed illegal by the federal government – but the organizers pushed forward with the march, held in a tense, locked-down capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
It was my first time attending a demonstration of that scale and I must have spent two weeks prior glued to Twitter and Facebook for updates and reading everything I could to prepare for the worst: the Idiot’s Guide to 9th July Marches, the effects of chemical and tear gas, and the Malaysian Bar’s Know Your Rights pamphlet (in case of arrest). I even activated Prey, a GPS locating app on my phone and gave access to my friends who were not attending the rally in case I went missing. Nothing could match the excitement and adrenaline building up to the rally and the feeling of standing up to your constitutional rights as a Malaysian.
My goal was also to photograph the rally – I would drown myself in chemical spray if I didn’t! However, things weren’t looking too good with reports of army tanks being sent to the city the night before. Not knowing what to expect, I compromised with bringing my backup camera, the D70s, and the only wide angle lens I had at the time – an 18mm f2.8, fully prepared to have it smashed. Thankfully, that did not happen.
(from left) Pocket size handbook on knowing your rights, (middle) some stuff I packed, the box of baking soda was just for illustration purposes, lingerie was to pack on top of all everything just in case I got stopped and my bag is checked, to hopefully embarrass the officer to stop searching, (right) artistic impression of what could happen, sent to my friends the night before as a joke following news of the arrest of people involved in the rally.
Despite all the preparation, I truly felt like a total mess. When we eventually entered the city and joined a group, I separated from my friends and like a boss, walked right up to where the face-off was happening.
According to friends who are seasoned rally photographers, as a photographer, we can position ourselves on the police’s side. But in the heat of the moment, and me anticipating warnings from the police before they gave chase (as is normal procedure at the smaller demonstrations I’ve attended), I stood dumbfounded as the cops came charging without warning.
A field commander motivating the demonstrators. The street echoed cries of "Hidup, hidup. Hidup Rakyat!" (long live the people).
“Oh, sh*t!” I said in my head.
Looking back, I figured I could have stayed back and shot the chase. But at the sight of baton-wielding cops charging at you in full speed, with a heavy dose of chemical gas marring your judgement, I ran for my life like never before!
During the chase, I had a choice of either running down the straight ahead, or turning left into an alley. In movies, actors usually take to the alleys, so I opted for that. Feeling like Aladdin in flight after stealing an apple from the market, I ran like a much clumsier and slower version of him, being squeeshed between some big elderly ladies. I was not very clever either in wearing ballet flats, which had always worked very well before. However, when it’s rain-soaked and you’re panicking and sprinting with people shouting “Lari! Lari!” (Run! Run!) behind you – it made no difference than running in Japanese slippers!
And all the while, I mentally debated with myself; “Stop to take a photo!” “No, get the hell away before you get beaten up!”
I compromised by shooting while running. Clearly, not the brightest thing to do.
Fleeing after the FRU team gave chase without warning.
The chase ended with the rain, after which everyone got back on the streets to regroup.
There were many women on the streets, a sight I took to comfort.
Some people tweeted that helicopters were dropping gas bombs. Lucky the many that went over us did not.
After that climax, we eventually met up with the rest of the demonstrators at Petaling Street without incident, and dispersed peacefully.
Fellow photographer gives me the peace sign.
The many uses of the Malaysian flag.
For most of the time there, I felt like a rally tourist cum noob, except when I was chased down, during which I felt like a criminal. So I was really pleased that some of the photos came of use when it got picked up by Mobile World magazine to complement an excellent article by Kashminder Singh on the significance of mobile phones during Bersih 2.0, which he called the ‘third force in media.’
Here’s the article from the August 2011 issue.
*posted with permission
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Nov 22, 2011 | Categories:Protests/ Demonstrations | Tags: bersih, bersih 2.0, demonstration, kuala lumpur, Malaysia, mobile world, noob, street rally | 1 Comment »
On Wednesday, I followed the Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) to a demonstration organized by the Orang Asli (indigenous minorities of Peninsular Malaysia) of the state of Negeri Sembilan, to hand a memorandum to the Chief Minister.
In the memorandum they protested against the new land policy which will would entitle them to only 2 acres of land per family, a lot less than their traditional land which they’ve lived on for generations. They also wanted the Chief Minister to apologize for describing them as squatters in the media a few weeks back.
A stronghold of 300 Orang Asli from Negeri Sembilan waited for 3-hours, insisting that the Chief Minister accepts the memorandum himself, as he does with other groups. He eventually spared 8-minutes of his time to accept the memorandum.
I mostly handled the video camera but grabbed a few shots on still when I could.
The crowd assembling at the Wisma Negeri dan Dewan Undangan in Seremban town.
A young Orang Asli boy wears the poster "Orang Asli ada Hak" (Orang Asli have Rights) as a hat. (Poster text: Recognize the Orang Asli's traditional territories).
Over 300 Orang Aslis attended the demonstration, including supporters from Malacca, Pahang and Selangor.
The noon sun beats down on everyone as they light an incense to seek blessings from their ancestors.
Women, old and young stood for 3-hours while they waited for the Chief Minister to receive their memorandum.
A passerby reads the signages on his way into the building.
The crowd was kept motivated with traditional songs which highlighted their struggle as they waited.
While some of the demonstrators sat down to rest and shade themselves from the sun, some of the women, fueled by their passion, remained standing and sang to motivate one another.
Ezuli Langkap speaks to reporters while waiting for the Chief Minister to come down.
The 7 representatves waited impatiently for the Chief Minister to arrive to accept the memorandum, after failed attempts of several representatives of the Chief Minister who offered to accept the memorandum on behalf of him.
Check out COAC’s Facebook page for news updates and more photos on the event:
Nov 19, 2011 | Categories:Protests/ Demonstrations | Tags: chief minister, demonstration, indigenous minorities of Malaysia, indigenous peoples, Malaysia, memorandum, Negri Sembilan, orang asal, Orang Asli, Peninsular Malaysia, protest, Seremban, street protest, Temuan, women | Leave A Comment »
In 2007, I was a research assistant at Wild Asia and one of my first few field trips with a DSLR camera was to oil palm estates where I assisted in social surveys.
The conversion of land into oil palm estates is rampant, badly affecting many indigneous communities who have lost much of their traditional land (and thus their livelihood) to large corporations.
Seen as a crop that will bring economic development to rural areas by the government – the expansion of oil palm plantations does not seem to be halting anytime soon despite protests from grassroot organizations and environmentalists.
With much of the workforce coming from neighboring countries, the well-being of these workers widely differ from estate to estate. In the worst cases, the conditions can be akin to modern slavery.
Below are some photos of the workers in the estate, all taken in 2007.
Workers at the oil palm estate get onto trucks early in the morning to be transported to their area of duty in the estate.
An oil palm harvester marking the amount he harvested today. He is paid by piece rate.
A worker washing up.
(left) In estates where the workers are well taken care of, workers such as this sweet old lady have made it very much their home, so much so that the linesite (workers’ quarters) looks and feels like a kampung (village); proudly maintained and adorned with flowering plants (to compete in the annual Most Beautiful Linesite contest). Unlike in Peninsular Malaysia, migrant estate workers in Sabah have their familes with them. This lady, originally from the Philippines, has lived here for a long time but no longer works in the estate fields. Instead, her sons work for the estate, so they’ve been able to continue living here. She can’t imagine being anywhere else; as she says, “this is my home”.
Nov 09, 2011 | Categories:From the field | Tags: Borneo, collecting oil palm, estate workers, fresh fruit bunches, Malaysia, oil palm, palm oil, plantations, rspo, wild asia, workers | 3 Comments »
