AdminMalaysian lyricist Pannir Selvam Pranthaman who is on death row in Singapore’s Changi Prison recently penned a poem for this year’s International Women’s Day.
We Are Still At War
1.Heaven, Invaded by silence, The shadow’s of Angel’s, No longer lingers, In the garden of Eden.
2. They are here, With you, With me, Among us, In disguise, Named as a women, Came as a grace, To shine ablaze, Upon the human race.
3. Am I exaggerating it? Yes, I do, Because not even, The Angel’s of heaven, Could bear the burden. March along, The parade of fire, Rising the torch, To inspire without being tired.
4. Humanity N’ Procreation, Society N’ Civilization, Community N’ Contribution, Love N’ Compassion, Self-Sacrifice N Patience.
5. Independence N’ Confident, Bold N’ Beautiful, Gentle N’ Strong, The list can go on, But let's move on.
6. They touched us, In every aspects, Throughout the histories, But I am afraid, The same can’t be said from our side
7. Net of judgment, Clouds of doubt, Torrent of torment, Series of miseries.
8. All, Have been call, To fall as a wall, Imprison them, In psychological cage, And exploits them, As an avenue, To release our rage?
9. The past, Is trying its best, To make a comeback, Its wounds still bleed, Resolves to paints, The picture of the future.
10. Even today, Lot’s of barriers, Are pressing down, Our everyday worries There’s never been, A peace time, In a real sense, We are still at war.
11. The quality of equality, Are suffocating humanity, The air we breathe by each Passing day’s, Losing it’s fairness, Polluted by, Debris of discrimination.
12. There is hidden tears Behind those smiles, Scars and pains, Which they gains, As prizes, For all their sacrifices.
13. There’s dreams and Hopes, That fades and lost, Ambitions and Goals of a silence soul, Which been put on hold, So that, We can achieve our own.
14. Let’s take a moments, To make one, To find solidarity, Even in solitary.
15. To share, Mutual respects, Love and Equality, To open our eyes, And realizes, To open our mind, Be considered and kind.
16. It's not too late, To act, To purge, The nature of inaction, And binds together, As an agent of change.
17. To stand by their side, And Fight for them, As how they had, Still and always will, Fight for us.
18. Without free women Freedom Lost the true essence.
By Pannir Selvam, 2nd March 2021
Ipoh-born Pannir was sentenced to death for trafficking heroin in May 2017. He turned lyricist behind bars with two notable hit songs, “Arah Tuju” and “Bukan Sekadar Hikayat” featuring Santesh Kumar and Saint TFC.
His third song “Di Sebalik Pintu Besi” with Kidd Santhe and Dj Dave is currently in the making. Pannir hopes to give hope and highlight the plight of death row inmates through his lyrics.
CJMY
Shufiyan Shukur
