Malcolm X

Malcolm X, the black activist was as different from Martin Luther King, another civil rights leader, as night and day. While he advocated violence and segregation to achieve racial justice for the black people, Martin Luther king was for nonviolence and integration with the white people in his celebrated speech "I Have A Dream". Malcolm X's speeches inflamed while Martin Luther King's inspired and gave hope to the black people. Both diametrically opposite ideological stands are reflected in some of Malaysia's current political leaders.

The UMNO (the dominant Malay political party) general assembly begins next Monday. Some fiery speeches asserting the special position of the Malays can be expected; so also the usual threats to other communities not to offend Malay sensitivities.

The role of Malcolm X was played by Danzel Washington who was nominated for the Oscar for his role in 1992.

Transcript

Malcolm X: I must emphasize at the out start that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is not a politician. So I'm not here this afternoon as a Republican, nor as a Democrat; not as a Mason, nor as an Elk; not as a Protestant, nor a Catholic; not as a Christian, nor a Jew; not as a Baptist, nor a Methodist; in fact, not even as an American, because if I was an American, the problem that confronts our people today wouldn't even exist.

So I have to stand here today as what I was when I was born: A black man.

Before there was any such thing as a Republican or a Democrat, we were black.

Before there was any such thing as a Mason or an Elk, we were black.

Before there was any such thing as a Jew or a Christian, we were black people!

In fact, before there was any such place as America, we were black!

And after America has long passed from the scene, there will still be black people.

I'm gonna tell you like it really is. Every election year these politicians are sent up here to pacify us! They're sent here and setup here by the White Man!

This is what they do!

They send drugs in Harlem down here to pacify us!

They send alcohol down here to pacify us!

They send prostitution down here to pacify us!

Why you can't even get drugs in Harlem without the White Man's permission!

You can't get prostitution in Harlem without the White Man's permission!

You can't get gambling in Harlem without the White Man's permission!

Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle, that's a Government's seal you're breaking!

Oh, I say and I say it again, ya been had!

Ya been took!

Ya been hoodwinked!

Bamboozled!

Led astray!

Run amok!

This is what He does....

Post-script

Contrary to expectations, this year's UMNO General Assembly was considerably toned down in comparison with last year's, which augurs well for the nation as a whole. It would do well for the nation when the nation's strongest political party focuses on the issues that affect all Malaysians rather than its communal rights and privileges.

The Hokkien photographer

I am not sure whether this commercial for the Olympus E500 is Malaysian or Singapore made. But it's a hilarious depiction of the frustration of a Hokkien speaking photographer attempting to snap the perfect picture (clip sent by Alston).

The Hokkien speaking photographer

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi addressing the Indian National Congress

Suffering from an attack of nostalgia, I went searching for old movies that meant a lot to me. And it came to mind that one of the most moving movies that I have seen was Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" with Ben Kingsley playing the role of Gandhi. The other was Robert Mulligan's 1962 movie, "To Kill A Mocking Bird" with Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, the white lawyer who dared to defend a black man in an era when racist sentiments against black people were prevalent. However, the movie file for Mocking Bird is too big to be included here. Instead I have posted the one on "Gandhi" which shows one of those defining moments in the movie.

Transcript

Gandhi: Since I returned from South Africa, I have traveled over much of India. And I know that I could travel for many more years and still only see a small part of her. And yet, I already know that what we say here means nothing to the masses of our country. Here, we make speeches for each other, and those English liberal magazines that may grant us a few lines.

But the people of India are untouched. Their politics are confined to bread and salt. Illiterate they may be, but they're not blind. They see no reason to give their loyalty to rich and powerful men who simply want to take over the role of the British in the name of "freedom."

This Congress tells the world it represents India. My brothers, India is 700,000 villages, not a few hundred lawyers in Delhi and Bombay.

Until we stand in the fields with the millions that toil each day under the hot sun, we will not represent India -- nor will we ever be able to challenge the British as one nation.