This is how it works.
You attend one of the SABM forums, and the message delivered at the forum resonates with all that you feel.
Or if you haven’t attended any of the forums, but you’ve seen video clips of messages delivered or heard of the same from friends and you think “Why our politicians don’t think and talk like that, ah?”.
Whichever, you now want to share that message with your family, friends and colleagues.
Get in touch with SABM. e-mail us at events(at)sayaanakbangsamalaysia.net or call us at 03-2095 0435 from Wednesday to Sunday between 12noon-7pm.
Or you can send me an e-mail at thepeoplesparliament@gmail.com.
Organise some teh tarik at your home, your office, or at some stall. Get your family, friends and colleagues to come round.
We’ll come and partake of your fellowship and share our message.
________________________________________________
After the KL Roadshow and forum on 23rd January, a young student who attended the forum contacted us.
This led to a “lepak session” between about 12 local university students and 4 SABM core-groupers, myself included.
For me, personally, it reinforced my conviction that the hopes of this nation rest with our young.
A second “lepak session” is scheduled for later this month.
Yesterday, an anak Bangsa Malaysia who had also attended the KL forum played host to a teh tarik session in Cheras.
She contacted me through Facebook last week and it culminated in yesterday’s fellowship.
Robert and I attended.
We shared the 5 SABM key messages and then there followed a sharing of thoughts, concerns, fears and hopes.
As always, for me, it was an enriching experience meeting new people.
And like so many other similar fellowships that I’ve attended in the past, I was left with the impression yesterday that there are good people in our midst who have for a long time languished under a sense of hopelessness, who want so much to come forward and help make a difference and make our country a better place for all, but succumb to the fears that the best from amongst us have.
Family.
Putting food on the table.
Job.
We all need a reason to believe that any effort by us to help take this country back from the ugly forces that now sit in the driving seat of this nation will not be in vain.
I offer you two reasons to believe.
First, anchor our effort to bring justice and equality to this nation in an unshakable faith that God is with us on this difficult journey.
To my brothers and sisters of the Christian faith who made time yesterday to share their thoughts with Robert and I, allow me to share with you a verse from your scripture that has always inspired me to overcome my own fears.
“Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me” – Psalms 23 verse 4.
Second, know that we have it in ourselves to set this nation right.
Know that collectively, the good people of this nation are an insurmountable force to be reckoned with.
Acknowledge our faults of the past in allowing the nation to slip into the state that it is in now and say “No more”.
Resolve to work together with all fair-minded anak Bangsa Malaysia to take our country back for our children and their children.
I want to reproduce here an excerpt of something I posted here when this blog was but 5 days old, entitled “Set the picture frame right”.
“Imagine a picture frame hanging on the wall which appears lopsided to you, as you observe it seated in your armchair. Try as hard as she does, the adjustments to the same by the maid just does not seem to get it right. Either it is too much to the left or too much to the right.
You have a choice.
Sit there and gripe until death brings an end to your misery.
Or get off that armchair and set the picture frame right.
You and I have the same set of choices about the state of mismanagement of this country. Sit and gripe or get up and set things right.
…I believe that Malaysians by and large are decent, caring people who, in truth, are greatly concerned about the wrongs that are being inflicted to a great many of our fellow Malaysians. I believe that the seeming silence of the greater number is not out of indifference to those wrongs but is brought about by an unfounded fear to dare to stand up and ‘set the picture frame right’.
It is my hope that this blog may help to rally together like-minded Malaysians to dare to stand up and ‘set the picture frame right’.
What is my aspiration for this country?
The comment by A. Williams to my first post sums up so succintly, the problem that grips us as a nation and, that which must come to pass if we are to emerge from this national crisis as a just and caring people. I pray that we have the strength and courage to ’set the picture frame right’.
“The government meant to serve us, the people of this land, has hijacked the power that belongs to us to fire those that have disgraced the sacred seats of Parliament. Our rights over the years have been whittled down by draconian laws. The wealth of this country that belongs to the citizenry has been squandered by irresponsible men and women.
And we, the people, have been sleeping, lulled into thinking we are the servants of the government we chose. We have accepted false measures of what a nation should be, what our rights and responsibilities are, and many of us have turned the other way rather than face our failure to be a people faithful to the truth, protective of our children’s future and loyal to our Constitution.
We voted in our government servants and promptly became subservient to them. We have such a low opinion of ourselves as a people able to bring dignity back to our Parliament and able to change the destiny of our nation. Why? Because we are on the whole self-serving too, at our own level. We live in enclaves of self-preservation and want the other man to fight for us.
The time has come to change. And change must begin with us. We need to change our mindset of apathy. We need to forge a new alliance among ourselves, a unity founded on a love and respect for all peoples of this nation. We need to carve on our hearts that every man not given justice is our brother and every woman shackled by the discriminatory laws and customs is our sister .
There is no other road to restoration but that of commitment. We must rise as a people if we want a People’s Parliament”.
Admiral Tojo
February 27, 2010
YOU HAVE BEEN ASLEEP TOO LONG. TIME TO WAKE UP PEOPLE. THE ROBBERS ARE PREPARING TO FLEE. HAVE NO FEAR. EDUCATE AND PASS THE MESSAGE ALONG.
SHALOM
sampalee
February 27, 2010
Upon seeing the Truth pointed in the kithab,I have little fear since.But courage means little if there is no right leadership to provide the direction and harness the power of the rakyat released by fealessness.
Haris and Admiral and the likes of RPK,are you ready to come forward and lead.Currently the leaders from bn and pr are only politicians and electing either of them make no difference.I am not saying there are no good leadershp material within the current bn and pr.Kuli and Zaid are excellent leaders.but they are too good to survive in the cesspool of politic.
The rakyat have been ready for a long time.Its now for those who can lead to align themselve and offer their united service to the people.We do not need political parties,we need God’s chosen leader to come forward and lead.As I have often say,I cannot lead,but I can be an untiring follower to the right leaders.
Do not always blame the public when the choice offered are mostly trash.
If the faults lies in the balloting system,then guide us to overcome it,even if we have to do it with our feets[as in the bersih march led by the giant MAT Sabu]
Fellow Malaysian
February 27, 2010
This to me is true patriotism, one of many things that still burns my heart with hope, to rectify what is wrong. I believe we ourselves create the fate of the nation, not others.
SABM, do keep up the noble work and i know a lot of people would be supporting you along the way. One day, you might be a force to be reckon with. I salute and give my deepest respect to all of you who have committed to ‘fix the frame’, becoming soldiers of the true.
mana maruah?
February 27, 2010
SABM is good, but can tune down on religion a bit? This will attract non-christain.
mana maruah?
Er, you mean Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Tao, Sikhs, Bahai etc are put off by matters of faith?
Pauline
February 27, 2010
Each time I called up my friend, a lawyer, we end up arguing when we talked about the need to change and the change has to come from us, rakyat. As usual, ‘Family, Job, Fear’ remarks from him got on my nerve. So, yesterday I wrote a very long email to him, appealing/begging him to wake up before it’s too late. And I even mentioned about your roadshow, SABM. Haris, I wish I have your tact and cool to discuss with skeptical people like him.
Pauline,
After a while, you begin to realise that your job is only to deliver the message of change.
Pauline
February 27, 2010
Thanks Haris for your advice. Perhaps I tried too hard.
Pauline,
Keep at it with hope and belief.
God Willing, we shall prevail.
Vinod
March 1, 2010
Dear Pauline,
I can really understand your frustration. I have been trying to ask my cousins and friends (whom I am very irritated against now) to spend about 10 minutes at the Post Office to register as voters. All they say is they have no time, no mood etc but they got all the time to go clubbing and bonk any girls they can get from there.
At times, I really hope that these fellows get persecuted and deprived of things that they hold dear so that they realise than mankind does not live on bread only…
peng
March 1, 2010
Pauline & Vinod,
I feel exactly the same. Tried to invite friends to the SABM roadshow in Ipoh. Not only did they made silly excuses not to attend, they also chastised me with this; ‘I won’t visit you when you are in the lock up..’
Everything else is of interest to them – shopping, dating, the stock market, gossiping etc. And frustrated as I am, I had wished that perhaps one day, one day when all these ‘pleasures’ are taken from them, they will sit up and notice the rot in our government, but then again that may be just too late!
Malaysian Wannabe Again
February 27, 2010
Well said Bro’
I have been following the Malaysian news and was starting to lose faith until I attended the Ipoh roadshow recently with you. We were only discussing the very point you mentioned above that of people griping but unwilling to walk the talk and waiting for others to do the fight on their behalf.
I say NO MORE. Today, a friend and I organised a BBQ where we got like minded Malaysians/ex Malaysians to discuss where the country has gone and we all came to the same conclusion that the country has been hijacked by a small group of extremely selfish politicians and their cronies.
We will start a SABM Australian chapter soon and recruit Malaysians and ex Malaysians to help take back the country for true Malaysians. Wish us luck. And to those that just gripe, STFU.
Flyer168
February 27, 2010
Dear Haris & all SABM Brothers & Sisters,
Well done & keep the momentum going.
Take advantage of the Malaysian Teh Tarik Lepak Culture, friendly private gatherings, etc towards a Positive Focus of “Enlightenment & Empowerment”…to the new SABM Brothers & Sisters to Go Forth with Confidence to deliver the Message….
Remember, our Rezki/Blessings comes from God Almighty & not from any one else….
As long as we are sincere, honest & truthful to ourselves, our faith, our family, our friends, soceity & God Almighty…
There is nothing to fear from Man except God Almighty.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We must accept finite disappointment, but must never lose infinite hope.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Remember, our Nation’s & Citizen’s 1st struggle for Independence in 1957 was against the British Colonial Rule…
This is our Nation’s & SABM’s struggle for our 2nd Independence from the Ketuanan UMNOputra Rule…
“Maybe it takes someone WITHOUT any NAME, without any POSITION, without any PAST ATTACHMENT, no POLITICAL BAGGAGE….
SOMEONE only WITH the Sincerest interest to Right the Wrongs, being guided by the Almighty and having the unseens praying for him as they too are concerned of this state of affair of this blessed nation….
Maybe the time has not come yet….for such an ‘event’ to happen…”
Yes, many Chosen Situational Leaders will evolve in the process from amongst the Rayaat…
Followed by God Almighty’s “Anointed” Phoenix…
A True & Wise, Humble but Firm Leader for Malaysia will arise like a “Phoenix” from amongst “the Downtrodden Rayaat….Insha Allah!
All our prayers to God Almighty seeking “Sanity, Truth, Justice, Equality & Freedom” will be answered.
Truth & Justice will prevail…We shall Overcome!
Cheers God Bless.
Joea
February 27, 2010
I am happy with what I have read above. Right way to go and I hope that more and more Malaysians, whatever their colour and creed will response to the SABM forum.
It gives real hope for change come the next G.E.
anna brella
February 28, 2010
“We all need a reason to believe that any effort by us to help take this country back from the ugly forces that now sit in the driving seat of this nation will not be in vain.”
On those “valid” fears, suggest you look at it this way:
FAMILY: You cannot protect your family in any way if your Constitution is raped (i.e. amended arbitrarily without any control) and its Rule of Law control is dismantled in reality through an emasculated toothless, fawning Judiciary which can no longer function as an independent body to be that guide and watch dog, independent external auditor to check and balance your unbalanced Legislative parliamentarians’ and unaccountable Executive government’s bad excesses and constitutionally, ultra vires activities.
FOOD: You cannot really protect your family from hunger, malnutrition and possibly eventual starvation if you have the above under FAMILY.
JOB: The economy will go belly-up if you have the above under FAMILY and FOOD. And believe me, there’s no job satisfaction and zero career advancement to be had in being some bossy, supremacist so-and-so’s gofer this and gofer that maidservant or coolie serf.
Change this unaccountable Executive pdq or get stuffed with FAMILY, FOOD and JOB as above. Perhaps that’s harsh but nevertheless, a fair pragmatic comment from my perspective.
And if still in doubt over those “valid” fears of family, food and job, suggest you ask Mr Anwar Ibrahim how being framed and “sodomised” might feel.
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
fireduck
February 28, 2010
Bro Haris,
I remember one of your pieces (or was it from somewhere else) mentioned that we should not just be inviting like-minded people to the sessions or roadshows as these are already the ‘converted’. What we need to do, is to bring people who are apathetic, fence-sitting, or just pro-status quo to the roadshows or tehtarik sessions, so that these people’s eyes can be opened further. Am I right? So, starting out with like-minded people is fine, but don’t just stop there, people.
Best wishes to all Anak Bangsa Malaysia.
abu sayab
March 1, 2010
fireduck,
good point, make sure we convince all our relative and friends to be registered as voters too.email them all the untold stories from the internet to counter all the lies being spread in the MSM if not Malyasia will be destroyed by UMNO/BN very soon.
Bigjoe
March 1, 2010
My disagreement with your SABM effort is that it should emphasis Sarawak and Sabah more rather than Peninsula. PR in Sabah & Sarawak can learn a thing or two from SABM. It these kinds of grassroot movement in Sabah and Sarawak that will make the biggest difference although its logistically tougher and cost more.
Honestly, it should go into long houses, into coffee shops, rural markets and night markets in Sabah & Sarawak that will make a larger marginal impact in the end.