The event, themed ‘Protect Your Kidney—Control Diabetes’, was launched by Selangor Government Health Committee chairman Dr Xavier Jayakumar and was kicked off with healthy cooking demonstration from celebrity chef Chef Wan.

Learning to cook balanced meals, said Xavier, is an important step towards a healthy lifestyle, as Malaysians tend to prefer unhealthy food.

“Malaysians have chosen fried and oily food, as well as fast food, as a substitute for healthier home-cooked food.

“This, coupled with a sedentary habit has resulted in a generation who are obese (and suffer from health related problems) such as diabetes,” he said.

According to National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Dr Zaki Morad, diabetes and high blood pressure raises the likelihood of kidney problems.

As such, visitors were encouraged to undergo a free health screening at the NKF Mobile Health Screening bus, which traveled through Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang as part of the roadshow.

Visitors were also reminded of the fun in fitness, through dance performances and a treasure hunt, which saw 50 teams of four crisscrossing three floors at the shopping complex.

First price winners of the treasure hunt walked away with free 3-month gym memberships at Celebrity Fitness and Adidas merchandise worth RM4200, to help maintain their top form.

Other prices include hampers by Nestle and trips to Langkawi and Port Dickson, courtesy of Orient Escape Travel Sdn Bhd.

NKF Health Screening bus

Emotions ran high at a forum on the controversial National Civics Course (BTN) organised by the Selangor MB’s office at the Petaling Jaya Live Arts Centre yesterday.

Entitled ‘BTN: Patriotic or Racist?’ the forum attracted about 150 people, consisting mainly of former BTN participants from various races and age groups.

Pakatan Rakyat Selangor ADUNs Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (left) and Amirudin Shari, who took credit for the ban on BTN courses in Selangor addressed the three-hour forum.

Other panel members included Malaysiakini columnist KJ John and writer and cultural activist, Eddin Khoo.

All the speakers were against the way the BTN is being implemented, stating that it has transgressed its initial intention of nation-building and is now redundant.

Also present at the forum were MPs Teresa Kok and Yusmadi Yusoff.

‘What’s wrong with loving my race?’

The participants managed to bring balance to the proceedings, with a significant number speaking out in support of the programme and refuting claims that it was racist in nature.

Among the arguments put forward was the fact that BTN syllabi only stated what is in the constitution, like Article 153 which states that “Malay privileges must be protected.”

A fiery Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz (below), a member of a group calling themselves the ‘ex-BTN Group’, said the courses provided room for dialogue and was not conducted in a top-down manner.

Nik Nazmi said he supported the teaching of the constitution, but felt that the syllabi is selective and did not offer a complete perspective of the constitution nor its history.

KJ John concurred: “It must be understood in context of the whole constitution. For example it took days of studying the constitution to understand why Islam is written as ‘the religion’ and not ‘the official religion.”

Amirudin added that the constitution is not a static document, and that it should be constantly discussed in order to stay true to the “spirit” in which it was written.

Another Malay member of the audience, who had attended the course thrice, questioned the problem with loving one’s own race.

“It is all about perception. For me, I came out of BTN motivated to do better for my race, without hating or having to deny others their rights,” he said.

Amirudin(right) responded saying that while it is not wrong to love your own race, his fear is that the BTN has gone overboard.

“My fear is that BTN encourages people to love only their race, that it comes to a point that people would say, ‘He is corrupt, but he is Malay so it is okay’,” he said.

Giving an example of blatant racist analogies, he related his own experience as a participant when he was told a story of a Malay mother working for a Chinese trader, whose child was eventually eaten by the trader’s dog.

‘BTN founded to stop Anwar’

Like Amirudin who likened the BTN issue to opening ‘Pandora’s box’, Eddin felt that the issue is just a symptom of a larger problem, like the failure of our education system, much to the delight of the audience.

One person who had attended BTN in 1976 felt that the course had been racist from the onset, said that the fact that it exists is proof that our education system has failed.

“Even in 1976 it was used as psychological warfare. We were set against one another so those in power will remain in power,” he said.

Eddin said that BTN is an exercise in “reconstructing history” by differentiating the historical experiences of each race.

“It is not as simple as whether it is patriotic or racist. If we trace the history of the BTN, we will understand that there are many spillovers, chief of which is the issue of education,” he said.

Indeed, Amirudin said BTN founder Johari Abdul had told him that its purpose was to control the uprising that was being led by then student leader Anwar Ibrahim and his cohorts in the 1970s.

KJ John felt that the programme, initiated in 1974 by the Youth Ministry, with former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as the secretary general, was a reaction to May 13, 1969.

‘Leave us alone’

Regardless of its origin, Eddin believes that the BTN had no place in Malaysian society, then or today.

“Society in Malaysia has always been plural and our roots are cosmopolitan, so the BTN in essence has no role to play and is a waste of tax payers’ money,” he said.

Supporting his view, members of the audience spoke out, saying that they did not need the BTN to teach them how to behave.

“I don’t need BTN to be patriotic, nor do I need BTN to make me a racist,” said one man.

Another who related his BTN experience as a government scholar said: “My course-mates and I went in as a family because as children of teachers and soldiers, we all came from the same economic backgrounds.

“But we were made to feel different from each other and came out completely dejected. Just leave us alone, we are already patriotic because we are all Malaysian,” he said.

The Annexe Gallery, known for its work in championing freedom of expression,today lauded a number of individuals as ‘heroes’, including Malaysiakini editor-in-chief Steven Gan.

The Annexe Heroes award, which is being handed out for the second successive year, honours those “whose efforts courageously fight against injustice, ignorance and indifference for the betterment of all in Malaysia.”

Also honoured were book publisher and filmmaker Amir Muhammad, web talkshow PopTeeVee producers Fahmi Fadzil, Hardesh Singh and Mark Teh, advocacy group Sisters in Islam and political scientist Wong Chin Huat.

The recipients were nominated by the public through the Annexe Gallery’s website, and the final selection was done by its arts programme director Pang Khee Teik and media manager Jerome Kugan.

The five join 2008 Annexe Heroes – political blogger Ahmad Hafidz Baharom, Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez, author of bestseller ‘March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up’ Kee Thuan Chye, artist and Sisters in Islam programme manager Norhayati Kaprawi and writer Shanon Shah.

True to the gallery’s unique nature, no trophies were in sight. Recipients instead received a military-style dog tag engraved with their names – a nod to the ‘battles’ which each of them has fought to open up public discourse in Malaysia.

The audience of approximately 80 people were kept entertained by the witty conversation between award host, Pang, and the recipients, and the antics of the ‘dog tag’ bearer who came in bedecked in red cape and antlers each time a ‘hero’ was announced.

‘Laugh so you won’t be afraid’

Indeed all the recipients have courted considerable backlash through their work, like Wong, who was arrested for sedition in May for writing articles and organising a series of ‘1Black Malaysia’ protests.

However, the harsh reaction from the authorities has little affect on Wong’s sense of humour, which he credits as a deliberate strategy to confront fear.

“It’s important to be able to laugh, because when you laugh you will not be afraid,” Wong told Malaysiakini later.

The irreverent university lecturer also dedicated his award to his “friends in Bukit Aman”, saying that he feels honoured to have been awarded so much importance by the police force.

When asked of his New Year wish, he said that he wants Malaysians to have more love for freedom, which he said comes with many responsibilities.

“We don’t have the Internal Security Act because the BN government is evil. We have it because we cannot overcome our fear of freedom,” he said.

The award was also accepted in a very light-hearted manner by Amir Muhammad, whose approach to media censorship has always been a comic one.

Amir is credited for pushing boundaries of expression by publishing “though-provoking books on pertinent topics”, including perceived taboo topics such as sexuality, which was broached in his Matahari Books’ ‘Body2Body: A Malaysian Queer Anthology’.

Like Wong, the writer who started writing for the New Straits Times in his teens, also credits the authorities for much of his ‘fame’, which he said came mostly from having banned films ‘Lelaki Komunis Terakhir’ and ‘Apa Khabar Orang Kampung’.

“There’s a list of films which have been banned in Malaysia, including ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’, and I feel very honoured to see my films in that list,” he quipped.

On a more serious note, Amir said that his contributions to freedom of expression pales in comparison to others, in particular two documentary makers in the Philippines who were murdered for their work on extra-judicial executions in Mindanao.

‘Don’t wait for heroes’

Gan also shared this view, saying that for him, the launch of Malaysiakini 10 years ago was merely something that needed to be done in this country.

His hope for the New Year was for Malaysians not to wait for heroes.

“I’m not one. If we wait for heroes, nothing will ever change. All of us must do our bit, and do our best in whatever little things we can do,” he said.

SIS, on the other hand, hope that they would win their case against the banning of their book, ‘Muslim Women and the Challenges of Extremism’, not just for their sake, but to set a precedent for other book ban cases in the future.

More than that, SIS hopes for a more inclusive Malaysia, with more “democratic spaces, especially in the context of freedom of, in and from religion.”

Meanwhile, PopTeeVee producer Hardesh Singh said that he was happy to finally receive an award as he has long been misrepresented as an “award-winning composer”.

Hardesh is part of a proudly multiethnic team which include Mark Teh and Fahmi Fadzil, who hosts online talkshow, the ‘Fairly Current Show’.

Fahmi said the show aims at encouraging more dialogue through laid-back but informative discussion, which broached topics such as the recent fatwa against yoga, in a humourous and accessible manner.

He added that his personal wish is for Malaysians to not give up in the quest to make the country better for all.

“Stay on course, Malaysia, stay on course,” said Fahmi.

The original article can be viewed here:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/119702

Here they are:

Many apologies for the sound quality (or lack thereof) and the grainy and shaky footage. Hope the content makes up for it!

The premises of Sepakat Efektif Sdn Bhd, the publisher of the popular bi-monthly magazine was raided after they were accused of not having a valid printing licence.

A total of 408 copies of the magazine and 18 printing plates were confiscated during the raid on Aug 25 for violating the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 .

The editor of the magazine Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar, denied they had operated without a valid licence and is now back after a brief hiatus.

Zulkiflee and his team of six talented cartoonists circumvented the rules by publishing the second edition of Gedung Kartun in book form under the title “Perak Darul Kartun”.

In Malaysia, non-serial publications are only required to have an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and Zulkiflee said they are not out to provoke the Home Ministry.

“This is not our objective as the Home Ministry was only doing its job then when it came for us,” he said. “This time around it’s in book form and published once a month.”

“If the book faces objections, then it’ll be clear that the ministry is concerned over content, and not whether we have a permit.”

Cartoonists have a duty

Zulkiflee said they will continue to produce alternative content. “Cartoonists have a duty to not be silent or indifferent in times of crisis.

“We are currently facing a moral crisis with Malaysians losing faith in their leaders. If we remain indifferent, it means we are on the side of those who have acted unjustly.”

The Home Ministry has thus far been mum about the permit to publish Gedung Kartun as a magazine, and other applications submitted for various publications by Zulkiflee.

“The procedures required for publication permits is outdated, as it is still the ministry’s prerogative to allow us to print or not to print,” he said.

The ministry is not compelled to provide a reason for rejecting an application, nor are they required to process applications within a certain timeframe.

Zulkiflee also urged the government to not hold printers accountable for the content of what they print, as it is not their job to vet or proof-read publications .

He admitted that several printers had declined to print Perak Darul Kartun as they did not want to risk getting into the authorities’ bad books.

A sensation on Facebook

Several cartoonists who contributed to Gedung Kartun had also pulled out from the current project for the same reason.

10,000 copies of Perak Darul Kartun, with works from 14 cartoonists and six writers, went on sale on Monday, and is causing a sensation on social networking site, Facebook.

Academic Farish Noor is one of its contributors and showed off his skills in a 14-page contribution, entitled Istanaku (My Palace).

“(Farish) completed these drawings 10 years ago, and asked if we could include it when he heard that we were publishing (Perak Darul Kartun),” he said.

In keeping with its title, the book will be officially launched by ousted Perak MB Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin this Sunday at the Bukit Antarabangsa Service Centre.

The first 10 pages of the book is devoted to the Perak crisis, detailing a battle between pro-democracy (led by Memanda Nijar) and primitive group (led by Kapitan Nazak) to capture the fictional state of Darul Kartun.

It features recognisable characters like super hero Speaker Supersiva and three frogs with human heads, who brought ‘ong’ (luck) to the primitive group.

Sections from Gedung Kartun like Nostalgia ‘98 and Selangor Tanah Airku (Selangor My Homeland) also make a comeback.

The book also takes a swipe at the Home Ministry with a strip depicting a man applying for a permit to laugh. The 80-page book, printed in colour is sold for RM10.

Gedung Kartun’s inaugural issue which had 68 pages and sold for RM4, was snapped in no time. The publishers had to print an additional 5,000 copies to the initial 10,000 to meet demand.

The issue broached the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock and the Port Klang Free Zone scandal and lampooned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the cover, holding a Mongolian flag while crying ‘Merdeka’.
——-

The article was published by Malaysiakini.com on Dec 09, 2009 and can be found at

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/119449

Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang have the dubious honour of being front-runners in recording new cases of HIV transmission in the country.

According to the most recent statistics compiled by the Malaysian Aids Council, Kelantan was worst hit, recording 297 new transmissions between January and June this year.

Pahang followed with 240 new transmissions and Terengganu with 191 during the same period.

Many factors may have contributed to this scenario, but a study in 2007 by Universiti Malaya (UM) on fishermen in Kuantan provides insight.

Sumathi Govindasamy (right) of the UM Centre of Excellence for Research in Aids (Ceria) said that, of the 100 intravenous drug users surveyed, 42 were HIV positive – all of them fishermen.

“We had gone in to research intravenous drug use, but were alarmed to find such high prevalence of HIV among fishermen,” she told a roundtable discussion on the incidence of the epidemic.

This discovery led the Ceria team to zero in on fishermen, who make up the second-largest occupational group as far as HIV transmission is concerned.

In a socio-behavioural study, they found a strong link between the community and drugs, with one fisherman describing the two as “inseparable”.

Sumathi said 48 percent of the respondents admitted to taking drugs two to three times a day, while 38 percent had injected drugs. Most began the habit in their early twenties,

The fishermen are mainly deckhands on deep sea fishing boats, and are at sea for nine to ten days at a time. They also admitted to sharing needles, some using the service of ‘port doctors’.

‘Port doctors’ are professional injectors, usually other intravenous drug users, who specialise in injecting others and receive drugs or payment for the service.

More alarmingly, 25 percent of the fishermen surveyed said they would continue to use the services of ‘port doctors’ even if they themselves have access to new needles.

Sumathi also pointed out that, while the study was undertaken in Kuantan, this is the case in many fishing communities across the nation.

Studies in fishing communities globally have revealed that deep sea fishermen engage in similar behaviour.

In 2004, for example, Philippine health officials were reported to be closely monitoring fishermen believed to have multiple sexual partners and who were using drugs intravenously.

‘I just don’t like using condoms’

The high risk behaviour among Malaysian fishermen can have a detrimental effect on their community, noted Sumathi.

This is because most of the respondents said they do not use condoms, thus exacerbating the risk of HIV transmission.

One fisherman told researchers, in a follow up study in 2009, that while he knows that using a condom reduces the risk of HIV transmission, he does not do so because he simply does not like it.

“It is important thus for us to also look at the hidden sub-population within this community, that is the women in these fishing villages,” said Sumathi.

She believes that the incidence of HIV/Aids in these east coast states, which have large fishing communities, must not be viewed as merely a health issue.

The problem of intravenous drug use by fishermen could be addressed in part through the use of methadone therapy, issuance of new needles; and syringe-exchange programmes, which have been rolled out with a degree of success across the nation.

But a holistic approach must be undertaken, whereby health services are linked with social and welfare services, to ensure the sustainability of treatment and care.

]]> http://cj.my/silabernafas/2009/11/24/drug-use-hiv-cases-rife-among-fishermen/feed/ 0 http://cj.my/silabernafas/2009/11/24/female-circumcision-a-la-malaysia/ http://cj.my/silabernafas/2009/11/24/female-circumcision-a-la-malaysia/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:45:18 +0000 frizzorama http://cj.my/silabernafas/2009/11/24/female-circumcision-a-la-malaysia/ By Aidila Razak and Hazlan Zakaria
(Can also be found here:  http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/118195)

“After I was circumcised, I got up and continued with my game, playing catching and jumping from branch to branch of a ciku (sapodilla) tree. My mother was shouting, ‘Come down! You were just circumcised!’”

Siti Nora Manaf, circumcised at the age of seven by a village midwife in Negri Sembilan, recalls a memory common to many Malay-Muslim women in Malaysia.

They experience female circumcision at a young age and, to most, this was but a brief and fleeting affair.

This practice however, has drawn criticism in some quarters that equate it with the more drastic technique practised in some parts of the Muslim world and which is defined as ‘female genital mutilation’ (FGM).

To understand the issue, there is a need to examine the forms and disparity which exists within the wide spectrum of female circumcision.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the techniques range from the excision of part of the clitoris (Type I); to partial or total removal of the labia (Type II); removal of external gentalia and the sewing shut of the vagina (Type III); and slight scratching of the clitoris (Type IV).

In Malaysia, female circumcision refers to the act of making a small scratch or using a sharp penknife to nick the prepuce of the clitoris. It is usually performed on infants within a few months of birth, by medical doctors or midwives.

The practice goes largely unquestioned and is taken as a matter of faith by Malaysian Muslims, most of whom follow the Shafie school of thought.

Interestingly, of the four Islamic schools of thought, only Shafie deems the practice compulsory, while all others say it is unnecessary because evidence for such a requirement is weak.

Both sides trace their view on their understanding of a hadith which reads: ‘Reduce the size of the clitoris but do not exceed the limit, for that is better for her health and is preferred by the husband.’

While a 2007 fatwa in Lebanon has outlawed the practice, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) still deems it compulsory.

A Jakim researcher, who declined to be named, said the decision is based on verses of the Quran, and that the ruling does not differentiate between females and males.

She, however, conceded that proof that circumcision is required for cleanliness only holds true for males.

“To date, there is no scientific proof of the benefits of female circumcision but that does not mean it is not compulsory. The solat has been practised for centuries, but the empirical evidence of health benefits is only now being discovered.”

She also said contemporary fatwas against the practice in countries like Lebanon and Egypt are aimed at more severe forms of FGM, which do not exist in Malaysia and which are not supported by Islam either.

“I have spoken to paediatric specialists in the Health Ministry and was told that they don’t know of a single case of Types I to III in Malaysia,” she said.

Cultural norm, religious practice

However, research done in Kelantan in 1999 by Universiti Sains Malaysia scholars revealed that most women think of the practice – while customary – as only encouraged, but not compulsory in religion.

Out of the 262 women surveyed, only 31.7 percent cited cleanliness as a reason for circumcision while 88.5 percent saw it as a mark of adulthood, despite the fact that it is most commonly conducted on infants within six months of birth.

Most also felt that circumcision can help curb a female’s sexual drive while enhancing the male partner’s sexual pleasure.

Apart from stating that they saw no harm in the practice, most also said they feared the disapproval of their elders if they do not circumcise their daughters.

Conversations with young mothers in Kuala Lumpur revealed the same need to adhere to what the elders want. However, most admitted to feeling apprehensive that circumcision would cause their daughters pain.

One young mother confided that she entrusted the circumcision to her mother’s supervision, as she herself could not stand to see her daughter suffer.

“I inspected my daughter the moment she arrived home, but could hardly find a wound or mark. (The wound) was practically the size of a pinhole,” she said.

While young urban Muslim mothers have access to more information, most still rely on older relatives for insight into the issue. The fact that it is encouraged in Islam is reason enough for most of them to accept circumcision.

Those who consulted gynaecologists or paediatricians were generally advised that the procedure could help their daughters curb sexual desire.

Guideline being drawn up

Medical research is quiet on the matter, especially in the Malaysian context.

Research in Sudan found that there is a strong positive relationship between infertility and the severity of FGM.

The damage done to genital tissue compounds the risk of vaginal infection, while damage to the fallopian tubes heightens the risk of infertility.

Pelvic inflammatory disease, for example, is three times more likely in cases where the whole vagina is stitched up.

A 1993 study on the attitudes of Malaysian women towards circumcision showed that there were some cases of infection or bleeding. With circumcision now being conducted by trained professionals in medical settings, such problems are fast diminishing.

There is no official guideline for the procedure, but the Jakim researcher said the Health Ministry is in the process of producing one, based on Islamic guidelines and current practices.

This is despite the WHO having issued a strong warning to all health ministries against the ‘medicalisation’ of the practice as early as 1982.

There are those who feel that the act of circumcising children is wrong as it causes irreversible change to the body without the child’s legal consent.

This echoes Article 12 of the UN Convention on Child Rights (CRC), which states that the child’s view must be considered and taken into account in all matters affecting him or her.

However, the CRC also states that the best interests of the child must be primary consideration for all actions concerning children.

In this regard, all the mothers who spoke to Malaysiakini baulked at the idea of FMG, as practised elsewhere, and maintained that they would never circumcise their daughters if this causes harm.

In a society which places the bulk of responsibility for a child’s welfare on the parents, the decision on female circumcision may remains with those who have the child’s best interests at heart.

Daily news outlets in Malaysia, and yes I am implicating myself in this, is very much a portal of political soap opera. Hardly is there space to talk about issues –if we are going to go nuclear to reduce carbon emissions, for instance, or what to do about sex education in schools, or the lack of it rather, or whatever will be left of our rainforest when we are done with our lucrative love affair with palm oil.

I say hardly, of course, because I can’t say that these issues are not at all discussed. They make appearances sometimes. But never really on the front pages, and often only under headlines that say whatshisname minister said, or so-and-so politician said.*

Why has the media been rendered to this sorry state…where we seem to be nothing but the mouthpieces of politicians and those who like the glow of the limelight. To be reduced to just he says she says. To fail to excite the imagination of possibilities of what should and may be. To direct discourse about the direction of the country, beyond the agenda set by politicians whose profession is to politicize.

While ratting out corrupt individuals is not wrong in itself (and is in fact quite laudable), I was slightly disheartened by this current trend in politics.

Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong was practically bubbling at the mouth in Parliament last Thursday, hot on the heels of Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen, whom he alleges practiced cronyism in the Shanghai Tourism Expo.

Indeed if you go Wee’s blog you would find that he has been on the case for months on end and has managed to at least introduce some sort of intrigue in the tender processes of the Ministry of Tourism.

So convincing are his arguments that I think he should quit his job and perhaps join the MACC.

Today, Batu MP and PKR Head of Strategy, Tian Chua has released Bank Negara findings that Negri Sembilan Chief Minister Mohamad Hassan had transferred RM10 million to London via a money changer.

While the large sum does ring many bells (where on earth would he have gotten RM10 million being the question on mystery door number one), and I laud Tian Chua for letting us know, I wonder really where he had the time to find this out, what with being PKR’s strategist and being hauled to court and being an serving the people as an MP and all that.

I personally feel that the fact that politicians are now moonlighting as graft-buster is a worrying trend.

1) MPs are elected by the people to take care of their constituencies. Now that we no longer have local government elections, MPs are really the link between people and the federal government. But can they really be effective at this job, the one they were elected to do, if they’re moonlighting as graft-busters?

2) If it is possible to take up fighting corruption as an after hours past time, then perhaps there is no need for MACC? Or are politicians forced to do so because the MACC is dragging their feet? Worst still, is corruption so rampant and so severe in this tanahair of ours that it is not enough that we have a whole commission dedicated to smoking the fat cats out? I think you would agree that neither of the options is desirable.

3) Now back the media…the media is according to those righteous media theory textbooks, is the fourth estate and the watchdog of government, to make sure the government does what it’s supposed to do. But if all we report on are politicians ratting each other out, who is making sure the government is putting in those fiber optic cables on time, or running programs to deal with the rising HIV cases among housewives, or working out a way to unclog the mess that is KL roads on weekends and peak hours. Yes, we want to make sure they don’t siphon out money…but we also want to make sure they do something good with it. We can’t do this if we are kept distracted by scandals and political soap operas.

4) And with the media becoming this he says-she says medium, who can blame people for not caring about politics, or even good governance for that matter? I can see the appeal of choosing to join the dark side that is apathy, if the alternative involves having to read about watch politician bicker and snitch on one another. This is loathsome stuff. We get enough bitching from office politics and reality TV.

And while all the bickering, and the reporting of which takes place, I am still ever-so-patiently waiting for a time when I can ditch my car and depend on public transport, without the fear of being late for appointments, getting ripped off, or raped or robbed.

* Or only as lengthy special reports that give one off blows and disappears because their writers had spent weeks writing it, and later becomes discouraged to do more because it seems like that no one reads them anyway.