Sireh & Cengkeh Update.

Interview with founder of Beautiful / Decay magazine

Temubual dengan Datin Paduka Marina Tun Mahathir

Akan datang ke Sireh & Cengkeh, temubual bersama penulis & aktivis Datin Paduka Marina Tun Mahathir. Juga, temubual dengan pereka grafik Elliot jay Stocks.

Weekly Update.

Minggu yang memenatkan. Jom kita tengok apa yang menarik.

1- Ada Interview baru di web sireh dan cengkeh dengan designer Benjamin Mermaid .
2- Sireh Dan Cengkeh secara rasminya dilantik sebagai sistem integrator / vendor MEPS untuk produk mereka FPX. Apa itu FPX? Ia merupakan aplikasi yang berfungsi sebagai pengantara antara pengguna dan bank. Fungsinya sama seperti MEPS, ia berfungsi untuk memudahkan pengguna untuk memilih bank dan membuat transaksi atau membeli produk online. Sebarang transaksi berjalan dalam 'real time'. SI tak banyak kat Malaysia, untuk live preview, tenguk website AirAsia.
3- Terima kasih kepada Info Malaya kerena melantik Sireh sebagai rakan media.
4- Hempon gua hilang. Hipotesis gua, kene pikpoket.Hangin. Sapa nak tolak hempon murah-murah call, eh, email gua.
5. Reza, anak cikgu Usop Ledang 3 kawin 26 ni.

An Interview with Jay Adelson, CEO of Digg

I am participating in a collaborative writing & open journalism project. Assignment Zero is a new approached to journalism that allow people (public) to help cover a story. It's a collaboration among NewAssignment.Net & Wired. Next week I with the help of Christine Riedel, an editor of Assignment Zero will have the chance to interview Jay Alderson, CEO of the massively popular social content website Digg. I am still jotting down notes and questions for the interview. Wish me luck. More info soon.

ravi grover ~ political punk activist & writer

He is one of columnist in HeartattaCk, one of my favorite punk hardcore fanzine. i have been thinking of emailing ravi some questions but only recently did i am able to do it. I’m really glades that he finally answer the questions.

He have strong views in certain issues and have been writing for quite some time for punk hardcore/DIY fanzine and alternative Publishing such as Clamor.

sireh// I am a big follower of your writing, especially in HeartattaCk. Which other publications have you write for?

Ravi//i don’t really remember everything I’ve written for because I’ve been writing since 1995. I’d say my more recent articles have been printed in Clamormagazine, an Asian American zine out Univ. of Berkeley called Hardboiled, AsianAmerican Revolutionary Zine, Trinicenter.com, Maximum Rocknroll, and a whole bunch of smaller circulation zines back in the 90’s.

Sireh// What do you think, being a minority in US punk community, in a sense the understanding between different cultures etc.etc?

ravi// The American hc scene is a smaller reflection of “mainstream” US’ attitudes and their perception of cultures – regardless of how many white American punks try to emphasize how “different” they are from the “mainstream.” Several times foreign cultures have been turned into trends in hc, such as the Hare Krishna fad (ripping off Hindu culture from India), the ska/rude boy scene (taking from Caribbean culture), etc. Not to mention when bands use pictures of oppressed 3rd world inhabitants on their covers to sell records and make themselves look political. I think most (not all) US punks are only willing to look at these cultures when it is in the context of music or talked about in a song. There is rarely an effort to actually study these cultures further or to criticize people who turn something cultural into a trend.

Also what I’ve noticed is that American punks will only talk to someone from another culture if that person is directly involved in the punk scene. An example of this is in Profance Existence #38 where a white American columnist states “The fact is that as punks we have more in common with other punk kids in Argentina, South Korea or Norway than we do with mainstream citizens of our own countries.” This statement is sad to me because it shows the attitude of some misguided American punks: they won’t talk to someone who lives in their community because they don’t share similar interests, but they’ll talk to a Korean simply because that person listens to the same music as they do!

sireh// What do you think about the war against terror? Is it a winning battle? I guess not and what do you think the initial reaction from the US public about this. Is it really worth it?

ravi// I think a lot of the US public support the War on Terror only because they are being fed misinformation on a regular basis. For instance a lot of Americans failed to understand why most of the world opposed the War in Iraq. But then when Americans who supported the war were asked their reasons for backing an attack on Iraq, a lot of them said things like “Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11.” We all know al-Qaida was behind the attacks but somehow the enemy was switched from bin Laden to Hussein. That’s directly because of the Bush administration distorting the information it was giving to the public.

The War on Terror can only be won in the long term through international cooperation and bettering the living conditions for people around the world. This includes the first world taking responsibility for the fact that they are directly at fault for horrendous poverty around the globe, whether through past

Colonial occupation or today through corporate exploitation. The first world needs to immediately start paying reparations to Third world nations, and developing nations need to unite and form alliances to decrease dependence on rich countries.

sireh// What are some of the projects you are doing now? Have you ever/ plans to go and tour South East Asia by yourself or with a band? Have you been to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia or The Philippines? Do people in US have good exposure to our scene in Malaysia? Just to inform you, Rambo, Power Of Idea (Japan) and Battle Of Disarm will be playing here this month.

ravi// I’m about to put out a South Asian zine called Vidya (which means “knowledge” in Sanskrit or Hindi). Also I will start writing a book on South Asian history and how it has been distorted by white historians. Particularly how Indian history has been falsified and rewritten by archaeologists to make it look as if Europeans had a hand in helping start up advanced civilizations in ancient Asia.

I have traveled throughout parts of Asia with my family. Specifically I’ve been to South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, India, and Nepal (these last 2 countries is where my relatives live). I lived in the Philippines for 2 years, attended International School’s junior high/middle school there, and my little sister was actually born in Manila. I would like to be able to visit both Malaysia and Indonesia the next time I visit Asia which will hopefully be next year or two years from now.

I am not involved in the scene that much anymore but when I was I don’t think too many people were aware of any Malaysian bands. This might have changed recently but I really wouldn’t know.

sireh// Okay, something lighter. How about influences in your life. Who have the most impact on you? And music wise, what is your favorite band right now?

ravi// Hm, that’s a good question, I’m not sure how to answer this. I’d have to say my travel experiences and meeting people from all walks of life has been very influential on me. My perspective on the world and on people has been largely shaped because of the fact that I’ve lived everywhere and because I have met people from every continent. I also think a lot of the negative people I’ve met in my life were very influential on me. For instance, my experiences with racism has shaped how I think I should treat people on a personal level; the fact that I have friends or family who are in much worse situations than me has made me acknowledge privileges on different levels causing me to stop worrying about trivial things.My favorite music? I have a diverse taste in music, but at the moment I listen to a lot of hip hop and Indian music.

sireh// You seem to be involved in many voluntary works and your view on politicis. Very interesting. I think coming this election, Bush should go or the killing will just go on and on and on. From you point of view, will be a good candidate to be UP president? It might sound silly and too idealistic, but I just want you view. I vote for Jello Biaffra any time!

ravi//I think Kerry is very corrupt and tied in greatly with big corporations. He is definitely the lesser evil if it comes down to him and Bush. I would say Nader or any other Green Party candidate is the best candidate but I know they Unfortunately have no chance of winning

sireh// I love Al Burian. What do you think about the guy and his writings?

ravi// He’s always got some interesting stories to hare.

sireh// have you ever have any problem with the government? I don’t know, during protest run or direct action activities?

ravi// I’ve actually been very lucky so far. Never been arrested or anything, the Worse that has happened to me is being racially profiled by police officers so I am fortunate in regards to political work

sireh// About the romantic side of you. Do you like to read literature, or you just read political stuff?

ravi// People assume I only listen to political music and read political literature. The truth is I’m into everything and read a diverse range of stuff. Lately I have been reading a lot of science fiction

Note: from s&c terpilih zine issue 1

An Interview With Tok Rimau

He is the man behind tokrimau.tk and has been active in writing his own blog for some time now. A level headed guy with so many stories to tell, he also headed one of Malaysia largest blogging community, Geng Jurnal. Interviewed around middle of 2004

SIREH: I’m in a process of making a (fan)zine. It very much about life, people music and art. And right I’m in the process of compiling the stuff for our maiden issue. You can also read more about it here, in sireh.org latter on.

TOKRIMAU.TK: Suggestion: include sample blog entries with the interviews. Where can I buy your zine?

SIREH: how long have you been writing your own blog?

TOKRIMAU.TK: My first blog entry was written on January 11, 2001. Before that, for 2 years, I spammed mailing list with series of political jokes known as Lawak Tanpa Permit. The thrill faded off then I started blogging. Malaysian political scenario is funny, so does my own life. Expert’s advice: write about what you know best thus I write about me. Ever heard of the phrase, one day you’ll look at this event and laugh? I’m not waiting for that one day, I want to laugh now.

SIREH: can you tell us more about yourself. Your background, interest, interest, etc

TOKRIMAU.TK: Son of a retired army cum taxi driver. I was brought up in army quarters around Malaysia, Bukit Chagar Ghetto (one room flat, JB and Setanggi Squatter Village, JB.) Being not filthy rich and was slightly at low middle class then, I am cynical by nature. No regret though, I am thankful of the informal education I got from the neighborhood. Now, I am an academician. I love reading books and watching movies. One of these days, I will write my own books and make my own movies.

SIREH: what motivate you to write? Is it more like a hobby, or the thought of sharing your story with everyone else?

TOKRIMAU.TK: I write because they are people who read. If nobody is reading then I will stop blogging. What do I get out of it? Well, blogging sharpens my creativity and by writing and interpreting events make me learn a thing or two about life.

SIREH: do you think bloggers are mainly made of nerds? You know, the silent majority? People that are not that out spoken in nature and choose to write to convey or share their feeling and thoughts?

TOKRIMAU.TK: We can’t put bloggers any label. There are so many different kinds of people out there. There are sick bloggers, funny bloggers, jiwang karat bloggers, arty bloggers, techie bloggers and also geeky bloggers. Just mentioning a few. One thing similar about them is that, they love to write. Very opinionated. I would say, weblog is a good medium ifself expression.

SIREH: What do you think about the future? It is estimate that in the future, there will be less personal space. People will find comfort in technology, like hooking up to internet or put on a walkman – to escape the real world. Is this a bad thing?

TOKRIMAU.TK: The future will stay at it is now if nobody is doing any effort to shape it. Nevertheless, there are people who build things and others who take advantage of them. Technology is the real thing; those who try to run away from it or fail to keep up with it are out of tune with the real world.

SIREH: do you think majority of the bloggers out there are honest? All the events that they wrote, is it true or they make it up. Not saying there is such thing as true and false in blogging, but what the moral stand here should be here?

TOKRIMAU.TK: All media is serving the interest of its owner. Most blogs are based on true stories twisted to serve the owner interest. If everybody is doing the same thing then, that is the standard. We have to accept, some facts are better let unknown. Even Berita Bernama is being selective of the facts they want to deliver.

SIREH: how often do you blog?

TOKRIMAU.TK: Between 4 to 7 times a week. That is if I have the Internet access.

SIREH: can you suggest some spanking hot blog site out there?

TOKRIMAU.TK: I like blogs that poke fun at life:-http://www.drliew.net/http://jongkang.blogspot.com/ http://members.tripod.com/encikkhairul/khairul/khairul2.htm

SIREH: blogging is virtually new, as Pyra, the company that commercialized it all released blogger.com in 1999. Will it died eventually? What do you think?

TOKRIMAU.TK: It won’t die. It will just evolve. The future promise video blog, audio blog and mobile blog at the hand of the masses.

SIREH: thanks. Any last words?

TOKRIMAU.TK: It’s good that people promote Reading Culture but I strongly feel, it’s time for Writing Culture too. If you need content for your zine, just take any of my entries. Don’t forget to gimme credit to.

Note: from sireh dan cengkeh terpilih #1