MY DEAR JENGLOT AND LITTLE MERMAID

By – Hesmel Faznee Ahmad Faisal

Why is so important nowadays to carry an I.C, Identity Card, kad pengenalan or whichever you feel comfortable referring to it? According to NRD Director General Datuk Abdul Halim Mohamed, those who are caught travelling (for instance) from Jalan Tunku Bendahara, Kulim Kedah to Kelana Jaya, Selangor without your IC a.k.a Identity Card a.k.a kad pengenalan, will have to pay a RM300 fine or a 3 year jail sentence. That is what the NRD (ataupun National Registration Department, Jóse. Saya faham, awak tak pergi menuntut di Oxford Cambridge!) has decided what to do to Malaysians, caught without their I.C’s!

With the cost of living in Malaysia is very high nowadays, the RM300 fine is definitely out of the question. Even a RM300 charge will make a guy who earns RM1500 a month raised his eyebrows! However, to reconsider spending 3 years in jail; when everything is been taking care by the Government, it won’t be a surprise if someone out there are willing to loose their I.C just to get the privileges in jail (Apa nak heran Jóse, duduk 3 tahun dalam jail macam duduk dalam Universiti dan semua makan tanggung!). It may sound stupid, and it does sound stupid. What do you expect from a person who is jobless for 4 years even though he is a graduate from the Oxford and Cambridge University! (Any graduates from the Universities?)

There is a very good reason why some Malaysians refused to carry their Mykad.. According to Fomca secretary-general, Mohd Sha’ani Abdullah some Malaysians feels that it will become a hassle if they lost the card, especially due to snatch thief cases and many more. Some also said there would be a problem when they need to reapply the card and that is the main reason, why they prefer to keep the card in their home or under the pillow!

That is how important for us to have an identity. This also shows Malaysia as a wonderful country and the Government really “takes” care of our identity (cakap pasal jati diri, towering personality and such!). We should appreciate and should take care of our I.C. Don’t loose it or face the wrath of paying RM20,000 fine or 3 years in jail!

However, this is not my concern about why a Malaysian has to pay that much of a fine and spending 3 years in jail (bandingkan dengan kesalahan mencuri atau pecah amanah!). I would like to discuss about having a good personality and the feeling of self-conscious and honesty (Jóse, ini cerita pasal towering personality and such!).

The current story, which is still hot in our society, is about the fate that falls on Mawi and his fiancée, Ina. The engagement between him and the lovely Ina is over. Let us see, how it started. First, there were rumours about Mawi was getting intimidated with one of the Rafar’s youngest family members, Diana.

It started when Mawi personally went to Diana’s house to send fresh caught fishes (Ini bukannya majalah Mangga atau URTV, Jóse, jadi penulis taknak panjangkan cerita) and the media had taken it as an act of dishonesty to Ina.

I have promised myself, not to dwell around with the story of Mawi and his former fiancée or even the relationship he has with other artistes. Let us just leave about Mawi and his scandals and moved on with other story.

The Selangor State Museum had come up with an exhibition that highlights the mysticism world, called “Genies, Ghosts, and Coffins". To this date, the exhibition has attracted more than 2,0000 visitors daily! The usual quiet day at the Museum (biasanya muzium adalah tempat yang sunyi sepi tanpa pengunjung la Jóse!) was broken with noise made by thousands of curious visitors, queuing up to get inside the museum. The reason was to get a closer look at the said mermaid and the infamous jenglot!

The jenglot and the mermaid have sucked our society into the world of fantasy. Based on folklores and the “cerita-cerita seribu satu malam orang-orang tua” stories, they are excited to know more about it!

Why, the belief on the mystic world still exists in our society? We are in the world of biotechnology, science and wonder and yet we still holding on to our roots of believing the ghosts and such. We have another 14 years left before reaching the year 2020 (if, the current Government was keen to uphold the Vision!).

It is why I would like to relate the story of the lost I.C and the story of ghost and the mysticism world. Visitors have to pay Rm5 and have to queue for hours; just to get a glimpse of the so-called ikan duyung and the Jenglot (bukan Jon Lord, keyboardist Deep Purple tu, Jóse!) creature.

When we talk about the identity of the Malays, two things will arise normally. One is about the attitude of laziness of the Malays and their inability to cope up with other race. Is it true or we are being untrue to ourselves?

Have we really managed to move forward with the technology that is available around us? Alternatively, we are not interested with it and we are more interested about the ghosts, coffins or the mystical world. The Malays are not lazy; they are neither stupid nor foolish of believing into the mystic world. It is how our parents and ancestors have raised us into believing that the creatures do exists. For instance, the elderly had taught us on believing the creatures’ existence. The feeling of respect on other creatures had helped us to convince it!

It is not into my desire to disregard any of your faith about ghosts or the coffins but I strongly believe there is more than meets the eye. We should be thinking about what will happen if we kept on believing in ghosts and the coffins in the year 2020. What will happen in our progress to reach higher achievements in our live, we are still stuck to the dogmatic beliefs?

This is the most important thing we should try to rediscover and expose it.

I think it is about time for me to sign off and let you all read my latest article. I’m sure none will be interested to read this piece of writing and it is not even worth to call an article, as it is full with crap and nonsense!

There, I am typical Malay because the feeling of inferiority complex (kepada sesiapa yang tidak bersekolah tinggi hingga ke Oxford Cambridge macam penulis, inferiority complex tu bermaksud merasa rendah diri!) still exists in me! However, I do not believe in any of the ghosts’ stories, coffins, and such. Don’t put it wrong, I do believe the devils’ existence in the society (tambah-tambah dalam masyarakat yang berkiblatkan nafsu!)

What is important for me is to make the Malays rethink about them and to look at the other side of the mountain and they will know that the greens over there is much greener than the other side.

To recap our main topic, I hope my Bacalah readers can try to connect the link between the jenglot and the mermaid folklore with the rationality of paying an irrational amount of summons if you are caught travelling without your I.C!

Kita Kan Tersesat Pabila Malam Menjemput Bulan Semula Ke Sangkar Waktu – The Salam Connection