People stop and stare, they don’t bother me
For there’s nowhere else on earth that I would rather be
Let the time go by, I won’t care
If I can be here on the street where you live
The wonderful love song by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner from the Broadway musical (and later the film) “My Fair Lady” sounds creepy in this day and age. Sounds like a stalker anthem. Haha.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f6.3, 1/160 sec.
A Muslim Burmese lady was feeding abandoned kittens by the roadside. She declined to have her face photographed.
As I photographed the kittens, a busybody stranger remarked that she’ll be getting massive ‘pahala’ points (based on the concept of receiving blessings as reward for good deeds).
I thought the man’s Malay accent sounded like that of a Bangladeshi migrant living in Malaysia. When I met him later inside a Toto shop, he told me he is Rohingya as well.
The lady seem annoyed by his remark. She declared: “I’m doing it because I can’t bear to see a living thing die of hunger. Not for any reward.”
Compassion. It reminds me of a quote attributed to Mahatma Gandhi:
“It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures” .
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 320, f4, 1/200 sec.
As the stranded and unwanted Rohingyas come under the international spotlight, I realise many fellow Malaysians are unaware that there are thousands already on our soil, most with valid UNHCR refugee status.
I have photographed the community in the past and decided to visit them again today. On any working day they blend discreetly with other migrant workers such as non-Muslim Burmese, Bangladeshis and Nepalis.
Sunday is when you see them out to pray, play and to socialise among themselves. Photographing them was challenging as many were understandably suspicious of an outsider. They have endured much harassment from every side.
It took much engagement to win their trust before they agree to be photographed or to talk. I usually jot down notes on my phone or on a “Buku 555” paper booklet. Had to go by memory to put them at ease. I think I spoke to more than a hundred people and remembering everything was the challenge.
Picture is of a shop house surau and community centre used by all Muslims from Myanmar, and not just the Rohingyas.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 400, f4, 1/200 sec.
Homage to the music video and song (If Only I Could) Turn Back Time by Aqua. It was the Danish-Norwegian eurodance group’s only slow-paced song. Nevertheless, it showcased the vocal prowess of Lene Nystrøm Rasted.
It was also the soundtrack of the 1998 film ‘Sliding Doors’ with similar visual treatment. The twin-universe rom-com was about the consequence of Gwyneth Paltrow’s character missing the train.
Photographed at the Tanjung Malim train station.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4, 1/10 sec.
Known was Air Batu Campur (mixed ice) or ABC locally, the icy dessert is found across Southeast Asia in different variations. Hitz Cafe of Tanjung Malim serves the traditional Malaysian and Singapore version.
It is shaved ice with assorted jellies, beans, nuts, maize, sago seeds, topped up with evaporated milk and rose syrup. Ask for ice cream, if you fancy.
ABC is also Michael Jackson’s monster hit when he was 11. I can’t remember if he sang ‘ABC’ in his 1996 concert in Malaysia but I still wonder if he had ABC during his stay here.
Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f4 1/125 sec.
