So says one of the volunteer on Marvi Marmara, Norazman Mohd Samsuddin.
He went on to say that the real heroes were those who prayed for their safety, and those who helped secure their release.
I don't disagree with his first statement. He has a good perspective of reality. In a country where there is a dearth of real heroes however, we would just pick anyone - just about anyone and turned us Malaysians into hero worshipping. May be we should give them 1 acre of land each, and reward them hundreds of thousands of ringgit as compensation for being handcuffed for 15 hours, and not allowed to go to toilets for 24 hours.
Just like we would reward our sportsmen every time they underachieved.
I think Norazman and the rest of his colleagues are embarrassed by the attention everybody is giving them.
I however disagree with his definition of heroes.
Those diplomats negotiating for their release in the comfortable air-conditioned office in Amman, Jordan are not the heroes. They flew in first class, stayed at first class hotel and wine and dine expensive meals, and we called them heroes? Pleaze!
Neither were those of us praying in the comfort of our homes in Kuala Lumpur.
But he correctly pointed out about the plight of the Palestinian people.
"But the people in Palestine are in a worse situation than ours. They are constantly being confronted by the Israeli army who are prepared to kill at any time," he said.
The real heroes to my mind are the Palestinian people - the people who were oppressed, murdered, shot, beaten and raped by the Israel regime on a daily basis; those people in blockaded Gaza. We have no clue of the hardship of their lives despite them constantly being in the news.
Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu memikul.
C'mon guys - our people did not fight the Israeli army or won the war for the Palestinian. Yes, they did good deeds in trying to penetrate the blockade and brought much needed supplies for the deprived people of Gaza. Yes, they did much more than what I had done my entire life, so they should be applauded for the effort, but please do not turn them into gods, if you know what I mean.
What do we Malaysians living in comfortable Kuala Lumpur know about heroes?
Let us put things in perspective!
Assalamualaikum bro!
ReplyDeleteOne word from me to describe your post here : 'Bullseye!'
Waalaikum salam Bro Zainol,
ReplyDeleteFor a moment, I was afraid to open and read your comment. For sure you would vehemently disagree with this entry, since it is off main stream; or at least that's what I thought.
But...well, you are on the same page here.
The audacity of the Malaysian media or the blogging fraternity here if you can call them that is that the stated parties almost always tend to exaggerate and raise up mediocre or failed achievements to a pedestal it surely doesn't deserve!
ReplyDeleteThe Gaza Aid mission was a total failure. The supplies were confiscated by the Israelis. Good people among the activists have been assassinated by the Israelis.
What bloody heroism are the media and bloggers crowing about?
Its utter poppycock if I may say so?
Wow, strong words Bro Zainol. Can't wait for the full entry at your blog. Wassalam
ReplyDeleteFrankly speaking bro. I'm so peeved at so many things here in this hypocritical country of double-speaking pretentious so called leaders who are ripping off this nation whilst loudly proclaiming themselves as the saviors of the mostly ignorant ummah!
ReplyDeleteThere are just so many wrongs taking place in this land.
I speak from my heart bro.