To get the votes
It’s that time of the year again here at Cardiff University. The lead up to the Student Union Elections. Which means that the candidates are doing their hardest to promote themselves in order to win the votes.
Suffice to say, fliers and banners are everywhere. On notice boards, pasted on windows of residential houses and kebab shops and even some in the toilets. Each candidate has some sort of flier in order to sell themselves. Some of them even put on a persona to ensure that they stick in the minds of the student public. There’s a guy who proclaims himself to be Scooby Doo, another who walks around in a military uniform claiming himself to be G.I. Joe, a Helen of Troy, a guy whose name is Smith and campaigns himself using Granny Smith Apples and a King Edward whose symbol is of course, the King Edwards potato.
Banners and fliers are just a start for some. There are those who take it to the streets, promoting themselves in a multitude of ways. The Scooby Doo guy actually walks around with a Scooby Doo suit and is accompanied by his own Velma and Shaggy. He even has the famous van from the cartoon series. Likewise, the G.I. Joe guy dons a complete army attire, facepaint and toy M16 included, walking around the corridors and streets of the university. And King Edwards leaves his potatoes all over the place, even the things attached to the traffic lights that one needs to press in order to cross the road are not spared.
Yet underneath all this zany and sometimes irritating facade, most of the candidates have genuine manifestos. G.I. Joe once stopped me and a friend to promote himself and amongst the things that he wants to introduce is a an ‘in-house’ Cardiff University letting agency to ‘ensure better quality housing for students with greater landlord acountability’. It is a well-known fact that some landlords do not take care of their tenants, the result being that some are left with defective houses, rat infestations and other problems relating to the leased premises. G.I. Joe therefore had some reasonable proposals, even if he walks around with a toy gun.
Which begs the question; when any voting process takes place, do people vote for the proposals or for the persona? If do go for the Student Union elections, without having read any of the manifestos, isn’t it so that I’ll likely be voting for the people who campaigned the most? I’d likely vote Scooby Doo for the post of Athletics Union President not because I’ve read his proposals, but because out of all the candidates, I know more of him than the others for the simple fact that I’ve seen Scooby Doo and his gang on the streets. I suppose that is the reason why the candidates put so much effort in promoting themselves and donning such personae, in trying to reach for the masses, one has to put forth an image that is different enough for people to notice. One needs to play the game first before one is able to make the changes.
Yet sometimes, it’s playing the game that makes one shy away from politics. Politics, undisputedly, is a dirty game. Yet in order to make changes, in order to gain enough power to actually make a difference, you must be willing to get your hands dirty. That is why, for someone like me who has aspirations to make changes do not want to get into politics. The process of getting to power, of garnering the recognition and the votes is so convoluted and morally ambiguous that it leaves someone like me with no choice but to leave it to those with aspirations similar with mine yet are willing to play the political game.
And power is a powerful temptation. It can be a corrupting influence. It can change a person and his principles and ideals. There is every likelihood that a person with good and noble intentions will change once he gets into power. The view changes when one is at the top. There will always be reasons to maintain the status quo. Change always look, sound and feel better from below.
Cardiff Games
Last week, the MSSCF organised the 2006 edition of the Cardiff Games. After a gap year in 2005 (because our beloved Deputy Prime Minister came to Manchester at the same date it was supposed to be held), it has been hard to attract other universities to attend our Games. Compared to previous years, Cardiff Games 2006 is very much a smaller affair, yet this is no criticism of the organisers. I’m sure they’ve tried their best with what has happened, and the actual event itself was well oragnised and enjoyable.
Being the lover of unity that I am, events such as the Games and last month’s Festival of Diversity often give me joy. Malaysians from all races working together for a common goal is never something that should be taken for granted. It goes to show that, kris-waving antics from politicians aside, most Malaysians are still able and willing to work together. Bersekutu bertambah mutu, indeed!
Baik punya Baik Punya Cilok
I have to say, I am a big fan of Afdlin Shauki and his works. The man is a genuine comedic talent in our country and should be recognised as such. I thoroughly enjoyed Buli and yesterday, I watched one of his latest movies; Baik Punya Cilok. And I was again highly entertained.
He attracts some of the best talents in Malaysia. Hans Isaac, AC Mizal, Harun Salim Bachik, Patrick Teoh, Harith Iskander and Ida Nerina are some of the names that appear in the movie. He even coaxes a decent performance from Awie (I have nothing against the guy, Awie is a rock legend, but his acting in Sembilu and Tragedi Oktober is nothing short of woeful. Or maybe its just Yusof Haslam.). The wealth of talent truly shines in the movie.
The thing I like most about the movie is that each character in the movie, no matter how small, has personality in spades. There’s a blind pajak gadai owner who moonlights as a local taiko. There’s a law student whose hobby is close circuit survailance (or skodeng). There’s a dangerous looking bodyguard with thick rimmed spectacles whose hobby is cooking. There’s a though, built like a brick hardman who spews peribahasas left and right. There’s even a Kelantanese rapper guy who speaks with Kelantanese-accented English. And those are just some of the memorable characters in the movie.
The storyline is pretty good too. It has something which many Malay movies nowadays lack; unpredictability. It has many plot twists and turns and you simply cannot second guess where the movie is heading next. This is truly commendable for two reasons; the fact that it’s a Malay movie and that it is a comedy.
And for a Malaysian movie, comedy doesn’t get funnier than this. Forget Senario-level nonsense; the jokes here are intelligent, contemporary and satirical. The movie left in me in stitches throughout. Anyone can make a comedy, but to make an intelligent comedy requires a different level of finesse.
I also like the camerawork in the movie, they are definitely not conventional. A scene involving Awie and a few thugs fighting beside a lake is particularly memorable as it was shot across the lake with the camera following Awie’s movement as he dispatches the thugs in his way.
And on a smaller note, I also like how the movie is very Malaysian. In most Malay movies, although there are non-Malay characters in them, these characters are just side characters usually to provide comedic relief (Sepet aside). Yet in Baik Punya Cilok Hans Isaac’s, Patrick Teoh’s and Carmen Soo’s characters are not just there to make up the numbers. Jeffrey, Tauke Wong and Lina are intergral to the storyline and this provides a nice change from the norm.
Baik Punya Cilok is wonderfully entertaining movie. In many ways, it provides a nice change from the multitude of below average Malaysian movies especially in the comedy genre. I highly recommend it.
