Sweet and Sour (2009)

  Good Saturday, dear reader, we are now into our second week of the fasting month. I trust that you are having pure thoughts during daylight and sweet nothings whispered in your ears after dusk. It has been a sweet and sour week, a week of punishment deferred, a week of rationing and some rationalising as health meets wealth and, as ever, the two dancing that inevitable duelling dance of titans. Just a thought, to get the old grey brains cell whizzing - If justice deferred is justice denied, just what is punishment deferred – in that, we can but wonder at man’s logic. While a certain former model now languishes as she waits for her punishment, on the East Coast of our glorious land, is it not time to take a step back and consider - what on earth is actually going on in this confused country. Infamous philologist Friedrich Nietzsche, whom some (half) wit rhymed with peachy, suggested - “All in all, punishment hardens and renders people more insensible; it concentrates; it increases the feeling of estrangement; it strengthens the power of resistance.” Is this really the intention of not only a senseless punishment but also a senselessly deferred punishment. The sweetness of this model’s unexpected return to the bosom of her family, after being led away a hero, martyr for her cause, is marred, necessarily, by the deferment, rather than cancellation, of her obscene punishment. No doubt, those making such decisions are wishing that the whole matter would now just go quietly away, especially as the eyes of the world seem to swivel towards this ludicrous case, and, quite possibly, the international reputation of this country resting on this matter too. Elbert Hubbard, that grand American writer, on hearing of the above, might have pointedly remarked; punishment – The justice that the guilty deal out to those that are caught. It has been a hog of a week. It has been the most swinish of weeks, a week in which there have been overt concerns with influenza of the porcine variety, of masks and masquerades of officialdom. A week, in which, potential two or three-ply paper mask wearers are saved the ignominy of exploitation by unscrupulous entrepreneurs, who sought to make a fast buck out of the fears of ordinary people, prone to wearing such items. Mercifully, those protective masks now have a price fixed , with a ceiling imposed preventing further exploitation of the people’s paranoia. It has been a week concerned over the most flagrant of conspiracy theories. In their narratives, these theories have mooted involvement with our good ole friends the American CIA, and the bioengineering of weapons-grade swine influenza, now popularly called H1 N1. Some scientifically inclined individuals suggest that the present H1N1 might be human-engineered and similar to other pathogens - Ebola and HIV/AIDS in transmission vectors, which throw doubt upon the natural occurrence of these diseases. Stories suggest, that certain laboratories are encouraged to churn out viruses with weapons potential to be used in future conflicts; as they have a much greater targeting specificity over more conventional weapons. Conventional weapons, with their great capacity to obliterate anything, awkwardly tend to mess up property as well as people. Awkward, that is, if you intend to occupy said property, or salvage items of worth, as many thoughtful, mindful soldiers have done - just for their safe keeping mind. With this information firmly fixed in mind, perhaps people of a nervous disposition should refrain from watching Neil Marshall’s post apocalyptic British film –Doomsday (2008), at least until this current outbreak is over. While some people may still view social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, as being sad refuges for pathetic lonely people, perhaps, at present, they are the safest way to interact with fellow travellers. Especially so if Malaysia undergoes the same intensity of H1 N1 outbreak as Mexico did, where only but essential services were allowed to operate because of the risk of spreading infection. Nevertheless, fear not. If you do not have the swine flu virus, and seem unlikely to get it because you spend more time than is strictly necessary on those aforementioned social networking sites, you can always over indulge your taste for all things sweet - and get diabetes. In this holy month of Ramadan many thoughts turn, obviously, to kuih, air bandung, teh tarik and a veritable cornucopia of wonderfully sweet, teeth rotting edibles and drinkables too; for during this sugary month more sugar is consumed in Malaysia than it is in the rest of the year. To aid in the manufacture of delectable, but deadly, items, copious amounts of refined sugar are required, with many households in the habit of purchasing in bulk. This being so, the government, being patriarchal and nanny-like, have placed regulations on the movement of sugar between states, thereby restructuring the existing distribution network, confusing bees, ants and the odd official or three. This measure, seemingly, is to prevent the annual hoarding of sugar. Mind you, without strict guidelines regarding what is hoarding of sugar, chaos ensues - I guess governmental minions will just make it up as they go along, as usual. A further, yet allied, government initiative, from the Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Ministry has been constructed, obviously, to discourage ideas of love thy neighbour and instead prosper concepts of tattling, spying upon your neighbour. This is to reward spies, bringing news of hoarding sugar, with a grand prize up to RM10,000 for the sneaky fifth columnists. It is nice, is it not, to know that our blessed government has monies to spare to give to snitches, tell-tales, sneak thieves, instead of buying schoolchildren books. It has been a healthily unhealthy week. Sweet nothings almost became nothing sweet to take at berbuka puasa in this health conscious week; a week when the only safe type of interaction may have been through the internet and social networking, unless you managed to purchase a paper mask with a capped price, that is.