Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Kampung Pictures Tale in Ten A People's Walk
A People's Walk PDF Print E-mail
Written by straits-mongrel   
Thursday, 29 November 2012 23:55

BACK there on the colourful streets of Sentul, an auntie extends a large plastic bag weighted with plump curry puffs. "Ambik! Ambik!" she gestures, insisting that bashful walkers load up on their carbo-fuel for the journey ahead. She's from the neighbourhood, you can tell, who's simply out greeting her guests. Back there just metres from the Chow Kit Monorail, a drinks and fruit seller guides his vehicle into the thick of the moving crowd. He stops. One hand waving to the people around him, the other grabbing packets of pre-cut fresh fruit, he offers: "Ambik! Ambik!" There is the pakcik in his jubah on Jalan TAR, a crate of mineral water before him. Same gesture, same words pretty much.

 

Something's different today. You feel this is one special Sunday.


hijau03

This is Straw Hat culture. Unyielding in principle and unbounded in warmth.

 

hijau01From the salt-stained banks of Kuantan on the other side of the monsoon wall called Titiwangsa, they had trekked towards the capital with one simple message.


hijau04

And on this Sunday, the 13th day of their walk, they are greeted with 20,000 friends spilling in from community pockets along the route. Anonymous is the new muscle.


hijau08

From Taman Melewar in Gombak, the group make their way into the city, resting at Kampung Railway before resuming the final push through the urban collage called Sentul.


hijau07

And at every major street corner hundreds await to join in the walk. The sun blisters but - the thousands will agree - today is as good as any to develop a farmer's bronze. We march.


hijau13

Bank managers, financial advisers, corporate stiffs... whoever imagined they'd be puffing their lungs on vuvuzelas.


hijau09

Whoever said Mahjong Sundays can never ever be violated?


hijau11

This Sunday afternoon, truth be told, I am bowled over by a beauty that is expressing itself more and more in Malaysia. It is a spontaneous outpouring of care and action; not choreographed by political parties nor steering committees, just People Doing Things. It shows itself at many local levels. It is at once humorous and heart-breakingly sweet. A sweet hum.


hijau05

People Doing Things. It is borne of this that the Malaysian flag flies.


hijau14

You just want to pickle it and preserve the moment.


hijau10

As the sky darkens and the lead group arrives at Maju Junction, the green swath stretches a good length of Jalan TAR by now... 200 metres from here to Dataran Merdeka, 300km from where it all began. The spirit reaches a crescendo. The walk continues.


hijau12

Only to be met with this.


hijau02

Here then is journey's end. A victorious message by any measure. They will camp here for the night. It will be a rest well deserved.


hijau06

Back in the room, after a good shower, I hang my straw hat and chuckle at my farmer's bronze. For a nation choking on slogans, declarations, proclamations but scant action, thank you for this Sunday and the dozen days prior. Thank you Himpunan Hijau for walking the walk. Thank you for allowing a beautiful Malaysia to be, a Malaysia sown from the ground up.

 

A People's Malaysia. The way it really ought to be.


 

Comments
Search RSS
Only registered users can write comments!
Elaine |2012-12-01 04:43:15
Thanks for your pics and thoughts Am. Reminds me of the Malaysia I knew when I was a child. Beautifully written
:)

:)

Anonymous |2013-04-23 21:08:48
Thanks for a warmth seen in the photos of oneness and as one people bounded by differences living with respect for each other and en-culturing and enduring, tolerating and learning each other.
I grew up in Malaysia for 13 years.
Love you Malaysia. Bless you Malaysians.
Anonymous |2013-04-14 21:03:19
:cheer:

:cheer:

 

Your are currently browsing this site with Internet Explorer 6 (IE6).

Your current web browser must be updated to version 7 of Internet Explorer (IE7) to take advantage of all of template's capabilities.

Why should I upgrade to Internet Explorer 7? Microsoft has redesigned Internet Explorer from the ground up, with better security, new capabilities, and a whole new interface. Many changes resulted from the feedback of millions of users who tested prerelease versions of the new browser. The most compelling reason to upgrade is the improved security. The Internet of today is not the Internet of five years ago. There are dangers that simply didn't exist back in 2001, when Internet Explorer 6 was released to the world. Internet Explorer 7 makes surfing the web fundamentally safer by offering greater protection against viruses, spyware, and other online risks.

Get free downloads for Internet Explorer 7, including recommended updates as they become available. To download Internet Explorer 7 in the language of your choice, please visit the Internet Explorer 7 worldwide page.