Tentang Rindu Yang Bakal Terubat

Palu gendang bertali pantas 
Alun degup berderap kencang
Hati girang meletus deras
Rindu hati bukan kepalang

Jasad jauh beribu batu
Namun pisah hanya sejenak
Dua hati terjalin satu
Takkan lerai walau terjarak

Terbang tinggi sayap garuda
Depa besi membelah awan
Kanda datang bertemu dinda
Kasih tulus mengubat rawan

Tentang Birat-Birat

Birat-birat itu adalah
Biru lebam yang belum padam
Seakan cakaran yang cukup dalam
Pada tubuh dan jiwamu
Takkan kau lupakan
Meskipun bertahun lamanya
Meskipun dia sudah lama mati
Dendam marah itu masih sebati
Marak kesumat
Merah meligat
Api kecewa seorang anak yang terbangsat.

Tentang Pergelutan Setiap Malam

Setiap malam
kau harus bergelut dengan
suara bisik desisan yang
mengumpan gundah dan amarah:
kau tak layak
kau tak mampu
siapa engkau
apa hak kau

Dan setiap malam
kau tak mampu terlelap
mata parau memandang ke
siling bilik yang mengejek mencebik:
kau pasti gagal
kau anak tersial
kenapa engkau
mengapa kau

Setiap malam
kalaulah mampu ingin aku
pinjamkan selaut kasih dari
hati tulus ini agar menjadi
perisai yang melindungimu dari
bisik cebik itu
dan menyelimutimu 
agar lena dibuai kasihsayang 
selamat dalam teduhan tenang. 

Tentang Secangkir

Secangkir kopi semanis puan 
Buat pembuka hari terindah
Syukur hati bertindan-tindan
Kasih adinda perawat gundah.

On Neverness

I will always remember
that evening, humid, balmy
you were dressed in white
crowned by fiery stars
like the most graceful
swan that swims serenely
in a lake of her own joy. 

Meanwhile, I am just
a speck of sand
here amongst these
people who love you.

And as the crowd rises to its feet
in celebration 
I shove my hands in my pockets
and look away for just a brief 
moment 
lost in the neverness of us. 

On Political Tourism

Those who know Kat and I well would know that we both have an abiding interest in politics. In fact, the first time Kat and I ever met was at the Putra World Trade Centre – during the UMNO General Assembly back in 2007! I was working for Pak Lah then, and Kat was working as a political analyst with Karim Raslan Associates.

Over the years, while both of us have drifted away professionally from the world of politics, we both have maintained deep interest especially in Malaysian politics, and the general broad lens of public affairs remains a common point of interest for both of us.

So much so, that one of the things we have been doing, on-and-off over the years, is what we both call “political tourism”. The usual expression of this is when elections would take place somewhere – whether it is general elections season, or a more locally-focused by-election – we would take the time to drive around, have a look at the poster game, maybe even chat up the locals on their take of politics on the ground at the local gerai or mamak. In the recent general elections of November 2022, Kat and I both made it a point to attend as many political ceramah and rallies as we could, taking care to try to attend events held by each of the major political parties. Often, the mood and fanfare of the events as they take place, and the level of energy and excitement amongst the speakers and the audience, are a very good barometer of political sentiment, and often a good leading indicator of how the political tea leaves would fall in place come Election Day.

We have walked through a crowd of mostly Chinese onlookers in the audience, eyes transfixed on me being this one obviously Malay dude, as Lim Kit Siang spoke on stage in JB to explain why it was it was time to punish Ah Jib Gor and UMNO. We saw, in Shah Alam, the tepid response to Arul Kanda’s arguments on why he believed that everything was ok with 1MDB. We saw, in Gombak, that the level of enthusiasm for Amirudin was going to carry the seat for him against Azmin. We were in the audience one rainy November evening, the crowd undampened by the weather as fireworks streamed to the sky and we realised that Perikatan Nasional – contrary to my initial expectations going into the November 2022 elections – were going to win big. It’s been a great ride, and many memorable moments, so far.

Recently, we just realised that we are about to – inadvertently, I must add – find ourselves participating in yet another jaunt in our long string of political tourism over the years. Should be fun!