light a candle!

light a candle tonight! yes, don’t forget, penangites, tonight at 9.30pm at dewan sri pinang.(and henceforth every friday until 17/10).

i’ll be there early… to distribute yellow ribbons. someone from our church had decided to start a yellow ribbon campaign. she had cut hundreds of yellow ribbons to distribute in the church (cathedral of the holy spirit) this weekend. knowing that i’ll be at the vigil tonight, she had given me 200 pcs. to be distributed.

why yellow ribbon? well, yellow signify freedom and also support. the ribbon is for you to tie it to your car, bike, door… anywhere appropriate.

wear black t-shirt tonight and don’t forget to wear the abolish ISA badge. the big red one looks better than the small black one. i hope suaram has already got hold of the badges (and t-shirts) for sale tonight. the badges (small black ones – red ones not on sale) were so much in demand during our church’s vigil (on 15 sept) that all were sold out within a few minutes!

i got hold of the red badge many months ago through my colleague, who got it from dr. jeyakumar, MP for sg. petani. i had been wearing it all along when i am out in the streets/shopping. i usually got stares from people and so far have not met anyone wearing it. well but yesterday, when i was in the bus, a young man on the bus approached me to ask me where i got the badge from as he said he wants one too. this is a good sign! shows that now there are people who support the call for the abolishment of ISA.

ok before i end, i have something to share – a reflection from fr. fabian dicom, which appears in this sunday’s church bulletin. fr. fabian was the one who preside over the candlelight vigil mass we had on 15 sept. the following is his say:

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STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!

Are our hopes all snuffed out, like the candles that are no longer burning?  Have we lost our momentum? Is it part of human nature to be all worked up for a moment, only to have our fire burn out when we see some positive beginnings, or conversely in discouragement, when we feel that our efforts are in vain?

Jesus’ whole purpose of coming to earth was to free men and women from the bondage of evil. The ISA is evil, it is a bondage, it violates even the most basic of human rights thereby derogating human dignity, it makes a mockery of our claim to be a free and democratic society. What can we say of a regime that propagates this?

Edmund Burke wrote, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing". It may well be good to ponder on that as we go about our everyday lives.

We may be tempted to say “It does not concern us directly” But if we think of everyone who goes under the ISA as one of our loved ones, we will not be complacent. We may wonder what can one person do.. 10..200.. or even 10,000…what is that but an anthill when pitched against the powerful?

We MUST  believe in the power of the ordinary person. When ordinary individuals care enough about a cause, an injustice, and come together to exert pressure, the little ripples that they create will eventually create a wave. What we want is a massive tidal wave of dissent that sends a strong ‘NO’ to the ISA and not rest until the government has no choice but to sit up and act and Malaysia is freed from this instrument of evil.

A place in our church grounds has been set aside as a reminder for all of us to pray for the abolishment of the ISA and for the release all detainees. Burn a candle and pray.

The colour purple has liturgical significance in the Church (Lent and Advent) … a reminder to have greater introspection of one’s life, a call to prayer, to practice self-denial which is basically reaching out to others with love especially the downtrodden which includes those detained under the ISA and their families, as well as to wait in joyful anticipation of a new beginning. It was thus suggested by a parishioner that purple ribbons be worn until the ISA is abolished and all detainees are released. Wear a purple ribbon today.

You can also…

    * bravely show your support by sporting the anti ISA badge
    * attend candlelight vigils every Friday at 9.30pm (half an hour) in front of Dewan Sri Pinang organised by the NGOs in Penang
    * do your bit to bring the awareness of the evils of the ISA in your workplace
    * read alternative media on the net such as Malaysiakini and other blogs to increase your awareness

Always ask ourselves, “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?”