Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Hunt for NameWee Continues..... Family!

This is an ongoing saga that I've been blogging about. I'd just watched The Godfather trilogy recently. Next, I heard rumours about the kinds of actions that our Government is taking against NameWee. Then, I read this article in TheStar today caused me to recall one very beautiful quote from the movie. This advice was given by Michael Corleone to his nephew Vincent:

"When they come, they'll come at what you love."
In case you don't understand what it means, Mike was telling his protege that when the other Mafia bosses take action against him, they will come after his loved ones. This was around the context of a power handover from the old Don to the new Don.

I guess that our Government had checked and realised that they are not sponsoring any students to Taiwan (big surprise!). So, they cannot reach the kid and force him to come home. So, just like the movie, they have decided to go after the family. And just like the movie they send their messages through trusted middlemen.

The rumours say that the police invited NameWee's father over to the local station for a cup of tea and asked the father to deliver a message to his son: They advised the son to issue an apology in various languages for his actions. I'm not sure what they want NameWee to apologise for. I think that his only fault is his patriotism and love for his country. He should have just behaved like other tidak apa Malaysians. That would have kept him out of trouble.

Then, today's news indicates that the MCA is trying to diffuse the issue by speaking directly to the parents again. They claim that they will try to advise them on how to handle the situation so that it does not escalate. As much as I would agree with the MCA that any escalation is bad, I don't think that the parents are doing anything to escalate it. It's the Government that is attracting unwanted attention to the issue. If they had just let it go, it would have been long forgotten by now.

The MCA have suggested a way out by implying that NameWee is a young man. And as all other young man in this world (moi included) we make mistakes. It's through mistakes that we learn and grow into responsible adults. They suggested that if there was any offence taken, it might not have been intentional. All this is political speak for a way out of this mess. However, all this is for naught if the other side refuses to accept this way out.

Then, the DAP weighs in as well, but not in a very useful way though. They have extended an invitation for him to join the party. They recognise that he is very creative and they are interested in using his talents. But, they don't seem to suggest anything to help the kid, and are only interested in gaining political mileage through this issue. Personally, I think that this is the same kind of sad behaviour that is being shown by our Government.

So, the next thing is to see how the kid responds. If he chooses to accept the political way out presented by the MCA, everyone will understand. If he caves in to the authorities, he will face severe penalties. If he chooses to join the DAP, he will only be made use of and cast aside later. If he decides to kick up a fuss and put up a fight, everyone will pray for him.

Whichever decision he makes, he already risks his own life and the life of his family. He has already received death threats. I'm surprised that this has not been reported by the mainstream media. There is no easy way out for him, unfortunately.

Oh, please read his official statement made in partly broken but perfectly understandable Malay. He is trying to explain is position and put correct, all the FUD that's being spread around about him. If he was rich, he could possibly launch libel suits against the associated media.

PS: Another example of a creative (and unauthorised) attempt to breath new life into our National Anthem.



PPS: This is our National Anthem, for comparison. You can probably see why it needs a breath of "fresh air".



UPDATE+3: It has now been alleged that he has made an official apology. I use the word alleged because I don't believe it just yet.

2 comments:

David Yoong said...

My thoughts resonate with your views. Although this Namawee is the centre of attention, I find it interesting that his 'voice' has not been presented by the mainstream media, rather it has largely been the 'voices' of the authorities.

BTW, interesting blog. ;)

Shawn Tan said...

Thanks for the comment, my new reader! It's no surprise that our mainstream media are acting as mouthpieces for the authorities.

The sad thing is that he's caught in something that's not his making. He's just an unfortunate fish, being caught in the net of the coming general election.

If he had released this video after the GE, things might be totally different.