by Anil Netto
Aliran Monthly Vol 25 (2005): Issue 9

	'I�ll be there before the next tear drop falls' was turned to 'Makcik ku, betulkah AP skim kaya?' Anil Netto

Images of deserted winding roads and lonely pathways, snaking along and disappearing into the horizon, flashed on the screen, during the multimedia presentation at the Aliran High Tea celebration in Kuala Lumpur.

These images, interspersed between scenes of Malaysian life, symbolised the twists and turns in the struggle to raise awareness of social justice issues. At times, it has been a solitary, lonely journey.

More images flashed on the screen, this time of the marginalised communities, their faces pensive and uncertain, left out of the mainstream of development. Snapshots of anti-ISA and anti-OSA protests provided glimpses of the ongoing struggle for justice and freedom.

The Ministers, they come and they go.... some staying well beyond their sell-by date.

In the background, the strains of the evergreen song, �He ain�t heavy, he�s my brother�, wafted across the National Union of Plantation Workers hall that Sunday evening of 25 September 2005.

In a sense, these images recorded Aliran Monthly�s own journey � often a voice in the wilderness - through time.

A labour of love

Over the years, since 1980, Aliran has faithfully recorded and analysed current issues during the turbulent days of the late 1980s, the economic boom time in the early 1990s, the economic crisis and reformasi in the late 1990s and the period of political transition over the last few years.

First it was through its newsletter, and then Aliran Quarterly, which later evolved into Aliran Monthly. It has been a labour of love, as Aliran president P Ramakrishnan pointed out, in his address to some 500 people gathered at the event.

This was the first time in many years that Aliran was holding a major event in the Klang Valley, so the organising team were determined to host an evening to remember under the theme �Creating Free Spaces and Alternative Ideas� in connection with Aliran Monthly's 25th Anniversary.

The Aliran Singers were quickly reunited after their last major performance in Penang in 2003 and soon got down to work, spoofing hit songs by adapting their lyrics to current issues. Thus, the Beatles� �Can�t buy me love� was turned to �Can�t buy me health care� in a protest against the privatisation of health care. �I�ll be there before the next tear drop falls� was turned to �Makcik ku, betulkah AP skim kaya?�

The inclusion of traditional percussion instruments and drums added �oomph� to the Singers� rousing performance. Not surprisingly, the Singers were a hit on the night itself � even if we say so ourselves! � judging by the chuckles from the audience. Johan, our �cool� singing professor, also gave a virtuoso solo performance, backed by his daughter and her friend.

The Singers� performance was matched by an outstanding performance by Comedy Court�s Indi Nadarajah and Allan Perera, who brought the house down with their skit of two MPs �hard at work in Parliament�. When the spotlights lit up the stage, lo and behold, our two �MPs� were seen snoozing and snoring in their seats!

When they finally woke up from their slumber, one of them chastised the other for not coming up with more creative ways to justify junket trips. That way, no official need worry about being caught for wasting taxpayers� money on, say, belly dancing performances along the Nile. These foreign junkets could easily be explained away by jargon such as �understanding cultural practices� (belly dancing!), �studying the landscape� (a golfing holiday), and �examining consumer spending patterns� (a shopping trip).

Miracles

It was an evening to savour � meeting old friends in the struggle, new faces and those sympathetic to our work. The event was made even more �meriah� when theSun newspaper unexpectedly front-paged Aliran Monthly�s 25-year struggle with five pages of interviews, articles and comments that weekend. Imagine, Ramakrishnan, our president was the highlight of the newspaper that day!

At the high tea, all tables were sold out. Some well-wishers had even sponsored additional tables even though they were unable to come. The surplus generated from the event exceeded our most optimistic forecasts as Aliran Monthly supporters, new ones as well as old faithfuls, dug deep into their pockets.

We have seen this miracle happen time and time again. Just when Aliran Monthly�s back is against the wall, whether it is financial difficulties or problems with the authorities, something unexpected happens. Malaysians rally around the magazine in the nick of time to ensure that we can keep on going - or through some divine providence, we manage to find just enough to keep going for a bit longer.

For sure, it is a miracle that we have survived 25 years, despite lower sales over the last few years. Perhaps our readers and subscribers see something in our magazine that other Malaysians do not fully appreciate.

Getting off the fence

Ever so often, well-meaning Malaysians criticise Aliran Monthly for being �negative�, �biased�, �anti-government� - you name it. Seems to us the people who make this sort of criticism do not understand what we are all about.

Our concern is for justice, human dignity and rights, democratic freedoms, solidarity especially with the marginalised, economic and environmental justice, and freedom for all. So naturally, we are interested in these issues. And there is precious little space in Malaysia to highlight these concerns given the stifling control of the mainstream print and electronic media � and that is why it is so important to create free spaces to highlight these concerns.

Some people say we should also highlight some of the good things about Malaysia (which we have done from time to time).

Since our interest lies in issues of social justice, human rights and democracy, we would be the first to highlight and welcome any positive developments in these areas.

For instance, if the government were to repeal the Internal Security Act and other preventive detention laws that deny Malaysians natural justice, we would be the first to congratulate the government and celebrate. If the government were to revive local government elections, we would be the first to applaud this commitment to democracy at all levels. If the government were to provide decent, affordable housing and health care for all Malaysians, we would be the first to say �well done�!

But as long as there is one single ISA detainee who is denied the right to a fair trial, we will not rest. As long as there are Malaysians who are evicted from their �squatter� homes � the only dwelling they have because they cannot afford to buy low-cost houses, which are scarce to begin with, we will not remain silent. As long as the gap between the rich and the poor is growing and there are Malaysians who find it hard to make ends meet on their take-home pay or pensions, or who cannot afford expensive medical treatment, we will highlight such issues.

If that�s being negative, so be it. For to be �objective�, �impartial�, �neutral� or �positive� in the face of blatant injustices is tantamount to supporting the status quo.

So, yes, we are biased � we believe in taking a strong position in favour of human rights, justice, freedom and democracy. We don�t believe in sitting on the fence and being �impartial� when people are suffering out there. For the suffering and the marginalised and the victims of human rights violations are our brothers and sisters too.

This is what Aliran Monthly is about, and this is what we have tried to do over the last 25 years.

Please support our work by buying a copy of our print publication, Aliran Monthly, from your nearest news-stand. Better still take out a subscription now. If you prefer to read our web-based edition, please support our work and make a donation.

Now tell us what you think in fewer than 250 words. Your comments may be published in the Letters section of our print magazine, Aliran Monthly.