Monday, November 8th,2005

Siapa Sudi - Terasing

Siapa sudi dengar cerita dariku ini,
Dari kamar titbesi menjadi jendelaku,
Bersama dosa-dosa bibit kedukaanku,
Masa dan hari menjadi permainainku,

Ooo...

Hari berganti hari aku terus menunggu,
Memikirkan dikan mengking kehidupanku,
Tetapi bila ku dah menuggu,
Di dalam kamr it menjadi kamar setiaku,

C/o

Tuhan,
Hanya satu ku pinta,
Ampunkanlah dosaku,
Dari hamba Mu yang hina ini,

Tuhan... Ooo...
Temukanlah hamba Mu,
Dari insan yang amat rindu,
Sebelumku bertemu Mu,

Wahai teman wahai saudara,
Dengarlah rintihanku ini,
Gelak tawamu itu kubawa bersama,
Selangkahku dari kamar sepi,
Maafkanlah diriku ini.

Before you read further, I beg you to closely read the lyric above. I sat in front of the TV listening to every words came out and I jot down all of them, just to give chance for us to think, a muhasabah (reflection to self) tonight.

At first I wanted to ask you to guess what the song is about. Maybe I want to go further by asking you who the singer might be. But I guess I can't wait to tell you. Believe me or not, the song above was written by a prisoner and sang by an all-prisoner band called 'Terasing' from Taiping Prison, Perak. I was watching a documentary about them called 'Dari Kubu Batu' or something like it. Its about the people celebrating Eid in the prison, the prisoner itself and those warder on duty.

'Tersisih di kubu batu...'

That's a bit of lyric from their other song from them. The band was established by the prison management as a form of rehabilitation for those prisoners. It was really sad to look at them. Being separated from the world for mistake made in their life. More importantly, it's not only them who have to bare the pain. Everybody else related to them were also somehow effected. The family especially, how they have to go thru life without their loved ones, like a wife shown in the documentary, carried the children along while visiting the husband. I looked in the eyes of the boy, he seemed not to understand a single thing happening around him. Why he have to go so far to meet his daddy when his other friends have their dad at home? Why is mom crying?Isn't it a happy day? it's Eid, right, eveyone wears nice cloth and enjoyig themselves. Why there was a thick glass in the middle of them, not allowing him to shake and kiss his father's hand on the holy day? Why mom got to use telephone to talk to dad even he is just in front of his eyes? Why dad wasn't wearing 'Baju Melayu' like him? All these questions left unanswered. He was clueless. Until when would he be in that condition? Wondering why things are not the same for him compared to his surrounding world? No one knows.

As my mind flies, I suddenly recall one headline on a tabloid at a mamak stall 2 weeks ago. Sounds something like 'Saya Rindu Ayah' (I miss my dad) - and the name of the boy was written there. I managed to read the earlier part of the article. I was about a group of people appealing to the Prime Minister of Malaysia cum Minister of Internal Affairs to release their family members that were currently held under the Internal Security Act (ISA). These people were held for more than 4 years and the court has just approved to extend their detention for the next 2 years. The article proclaims that these people have been detained without reason and up until today there was no charge being put on them.

I don't want to go on the details, but the part that I want us to think about is, if those prisons that have already know why and how long they are going to be in prison feels the pain of being detained, how would these people in the condition where they are not certain on what's gonna happen to them would feel? I guess it would be so much more than the earlier group...

Well, I leave if for you to decide...