Snapshots of 21st Century Burma/Myanmar

Text & photo's by: Antares

I first visited Burma in 1984 with my 13-year-old daughter in tow. Those days tourists were only issued a 7-day visa but we ended up staying 8 days because our Burma Airways flight to Kathmandu was delayed 24 hours and the airline put us up an extra night in the Strand Hotel, a colonial relic with musty charm.

Burma in the 1980s was pretty much a timewarp reality – everywhere you looked you would find buses and jeeps from World War Two still plying the mostly untarred roads outside the urban areas. Coca-Cola was mercifully unavailable – except, perhaps, at the swankiest establishments.

My second visit to Burma (now officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar) was in August 2011. This time it was an even shorter stay, even though tourists are now issued 28-day visas, so I didn’t venture beyond a few streets in Rangoon (now Yangon).

Malaysia’s Hibiscus Revolution

By: Antares

July 9th, 2011, marked a massive shift in the evolution of political awareness in Malaysia.  On that day, between 50,000 to 100,000 people of all races and ages defied the despotism of a jackbooted police state and gathered in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, demanding electoral reforms.

In the wake of what has been dubbed the Arab Spring and China’s Jasmine Revolution (quickly suppressed but still simmering), Malaysia’s facebook and twitter generation moved the battle against old-style authoritarianism from cyberspace to civil space, in a peaceful rally called Bersih 2.0.

JUNGLE FEVER IN JULY: Sarawak’s Rainforest World Music Festival

By: Antares

THIRTEEN YEARS have elapsed but the euphoria hasn’t evaporated. The euphoria of being transported to a different world for several days – a world of pulsating beats and funky ethnic fusion, mingling with superb musicians from every continent, and befriending some of the most hospitable folk you’ll ever meet.

Inspiring venue 

With the mysterious Mount Santubong as backdrop and the South China Sea a short stroll away, the Sarawak Cultural Village (45 minutes from Kuching) makes a marvelous setting for the Rainforest World Music Festival. Artfully reconstructed native dwellings surrounding a lake create a wonderful atmosphere for the packed-out afternoon workshops. It’s an opportunity for music lovers to interact with the performers at close range – and to see and hear the spontaneous fusion of musical styles and traditions.

Murder, Sex & Mayhem in Malaysian Politics

By: Antares

Around twilight on 19 October 2006 a young woman stood outside a suburban residence in Kuala Lumpur peering anxiously through the locked gate. She glanced at her watch and exasperation clouded her exquisite features for a brief moment. Then she fished out her cellphone from her purse and keyed in a number, looking resolute.

Her name was Altantuya, though called her Aminah. She stood outside the well-appointed house where a political analyst named Razak Baginda lived, dropped the phone back in her purse, and yelled:

I know you’re in there, you bastard! I’m not leaving till you come out!”

The police commandos arrived in plain clothes in an unmarked car and took Aminah away. She was never seen again – but a week later bits of her shredded flesh and shattered bones were found in a remote jungle clearing after some Orang Asli (native Malaysians) reported hearing a loud explosion late at night. Forensic pathologists declared that Aminah had been shot twice in the head before her body was blown to smithereens with military-grade C4 explosives.

Death of a Shaman, Death of a Tribe

By: Antares

Sibin Aus (also known as Sudin), resident shaman or dukun of Kampung Pertak (a Temuan village located 44 miles northeast of Kuala Lumpur in Ulu Selangor) died in his sleep on 9 January 2011. His sister-in-law found him lifeless around noon. When I said goodbye to him around 2:30pm his body was still warm.

Sibin, an Enigmatic Temuan Elder

My guess is that Sibin was around 79. He told me he had served with the Royal Malaysian Police during the Emergency period, which means he must have turned 18 in 1950 or thereabouts.

Sibin was one of the most enigmatic Temuan elders I have had the honor of befriending. One by one they have balik pulau (returned to the Isle of Fruits or paradise) since I relocated to the area in early 1992. When I first met him Sibin was living with a medicine woman named Awa Anak Lahai. She threw him out eleven years ago and hasn't spoken to him since.

Sibin was a bit wayward but quite harmless. The kids enjoyed teasing him whenever he was intoxicated (and he invariably was). He always took it good-naturedly, even when they called him Berk'ot (smelly and unwashed) to his face.