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INTERVIEWS VIEWS CONVERSATIONS
theSUN: You are perceived as a rebel,
activist, poet and painter. How do you see
yourself?
I am a professional drifter, a super poseur, a
fake quasi wanderer and a wannabe of too
many things. I am still studying in universe,
majoring on life.
Why such a low opinion of yourself?
I am not putting myself down. We often parody
others and the situation around us. Sometimes,
we must learn to parody ourselves.
Most artists have messages that they want to
impart in their work. What is yours?
My message is simple. It is to open up
imagination. The poet Sylvia Plath said the
scariest thing in life is the death of imagination
and I think this country is suffering from lack of
imagination.
But your critics say your works are critical of
the country and government. They say you
hate your country. Is it true?
There are so many things about this country I
love. But some greedy businessmen and some
people in power are screwing up this country.
Bakun Dam is one good example. People who
got the contract did not have any background in
building dams but were timber businessmen.
In the end the project didn’t become a reality
but the forest is gone. The forests have existed
since the time of dinosaurs and look at what
we have done to these forests? We should be
leaving the forests to the next generation.
I cannot understand it when people say that
it is people like me who hate this country. But
I am not the one who caused this destruction.
People also say that I hate this country because
I do not support ISA (the Internal Security Act).
But how can I support detaining people without
a fair trial. Having said this, I must admit that I
am also a contributor in destroying my country
in a small way.
So how are you destroying your country?
For example, I smoke so I am polluting the
air. I produce rubbish so I am polluting the
environment. Of course my destruction is
nowhere compared to some of the destruction
that has been happening (Both of us laugh).
Do you think artists should change the
country and the world they live in?
It is not only the artists who should change
the country and the world that they live in.
It is everybody’s responsibility. The first
step is to open up imagination. The political
system created by the political elites that
have ruled Malaysia for 51 years has affected
every domain of our lives. So we must get
out from their influences and create our own
imagination. But how many of us have really
come out from the vicious circles?
Recently you led a demonstration to
Putrajaya just to give a pillow to our prime
Dream free, dream true
RAHMAT HARON WEARS MANY HATS – POET, PAINTER, ACTIVIST AND REBEL.
HIS WORKS ARE CUTTING-EDGE, CONTROVERSIAL AND PROVOCATIVE. IN HIS
HOME CUM STUDIO, THE PORTRAIT OF A PAST LEADER STANDS OUT. IT HAS
TINY FANGS AND THE WORD “KULA” ATTACHED TO THE LEADER’S NAME.
“I THINK MY WORKS SAY WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME MORE THAN WHAT IS
WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY,” HE SAYS WITH A TOUCH OF HUMOUR.
THE 31-YEAR-OLD ARTIST TALKS TO BISSME S ON ISSUES RANGING FROM
THE INTERNAL SECURITY ACT TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT.
minister. Is that true?
Yes, this took place just before the election.
But it wasn’t a demonstration and I was not
leading it. It was the collaborative effort of a
few young people who wanted to meet our
prime minister and hand him a pillow.
Why a pillow?
When Pak Lah took over the prime minister’s
post, he made a lot of promises and gave us a
lot of hope. So far he has not fulfilled them. So
the pillow is a message to him – he can finally
wake up and fulfil his promises.
What do you think of Datuk Seri Najib
Abdul Razak as the next prime minister and
Umno in general?
When he was defence minister, Najib seemed
to have an obsession for weapons. He loved
buying them.
Umno has become too arrogant for its own
good. The slogan (Dulu, kini dan selamanya)
(Yesterday, today and forever) is a good
example of its arrogance. As Muslims, we
cannot predict what is going to happen and the
future is in God’s hands. It appears Umno can
predict the future. They see themselves ruling
Malaysia forever. So they are playing God,
aren’t they? If that is not arrogant then what is?
So you prefer Anwar Ibrahim to be the prime
minister and the Opposition to take over the
government?
I am not a big fan of Anwar. I am choosing
Anwar, out of desperation. We do not have
many choices. All these years … the Opposition
has been saying that it does not have the power
to make the necessary changes. So let us give
it the power. I would like to see if it can really
keep its promise. I would like to see how
it deals with power. I would like to test its
credibility. But honestly, it is not about giving
power to the Opposition or to any politician. It
is about giving the power back to the people.
Every citizen should have the freedom
of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of
assembly. Every citizen should have political
and civil rights.
Do you think what you talk of is possible in
this country? Don’t you think you are being
too idealistic?
Why not? It is not a big thing. For the sake of
hope, I believe this dream can be a reality. It
is better to have dreams. It is better to have
hopes. This is my dream. This is my hope. At
least, I have an imagination.
Having freedom of the press, freedom of
speech, freedom of assembly is very important
in a society. We have to ask ourselves why do
some people become suicide bombers. Because
they do not have avenues to voice their
grievances.
You paint a picture that Malaysia is a
terrible country to live in. Is it really?
I would not deny that we are in a better
situation if you compare Malaysia to a few
Third World countries. But we must always
strive to be better. We should not settle for less.
We can become a better nation if people in
power do their duty and the wealthy just share
one per cent of their wealth.
Some people say the New Economic Policy
is not fair to every race and should be
abolished. What is your view?
The New Economic Policy doesn’t benefit
all the Malays. Any policy should help the
marginalised regardless of race, religion and
sex. Of course the poorest should get more
help. But in this country the rich seem to get
more help. Look at how the RM5 billion from
the EPF is used to save the share market. But
theSun | THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27 2008
who benefits from the share market
... the rich.
Since we are not an overpopulated
country, I believe everyone should
be given land. Instead, we are giving
hundreds of thousands of acres to one
particular individual.
I do not have problems with
people who want to be rich. But I
have problems with their method of
becoming rich. Are they becoming
rich through corruption? Are they
becoming rich through the misery of
others?
What is the biggest single change
you like to see in the country?
Everyone should be entitled to free
education at any time and at any age
from kindergarten to university.
Is it possible to give free education
to everyone?
Why not? If the government can
spend millions on weapons, then
the government can certainly invest
in education and give it free to
everyone. This can be done if there
is a will. This can be done if there is
honesty. In this country, people treat
education as a privilege. That should
not be the case. We do not have a
very good education system but every
Malaysian should get it for free.
Why do you say our education
system is not good?
I am not the only one saying so.
Not so long so ago, Royal Professor
Ungku Aziz said that our universities
have become like factories that
produce graduates. That is enough
to say something is wrong with our
education system.
What is wrong with our education
system?
Our education system doesn’t make
us human. If we were human
enough, we would have abolished the
ISA a long time ago.
People say the ISA is necessary to
maintain stability.
It is because people like you buy
whatever the government tells you.
It is propaganda. We should ask for
whom is the ISA providing stability?
Do you notice whenever there is a
crisis in Umno, there is a rise in the
use of ISA?
Some may say that your suggestion
to give land to everyone and
provide free education is ridiculous.
What is your comment?
We always talk about a caring society.
But caring in what sense? Do we
really care? Are we just interested
to make profit? Obviously, we are
not so poor compared to some poor
countries. We can do this. Like I said
earlier, if the people in power do
their duty and the rich share one per
cent of their wealth, our country can
become a better nation.
Speaking of education, you never
completed your bachelor’s degree