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The campaign: In pictures and words

by Mahen Bala· April 29, 2013· in Field report: GE13, Photo Essays, Photo Series· 0 comments tags: anwar ibrahim, ceramah, demirakyat, documentary, elections, ge13, jelajah merdeka, Malaysia, pakatanrakyat, photo, photography, photojournalism, pkr, pr, pru13
[caption id="attachment_237" align="aligncenter" width="450"]With every chant, the call for change grows ever louder. The march towards Putrajaya, the administrative capital of the nation, appears closer by the day. For most Malaysians, it is a refreshing experience to attend ceramahs and not be bombarded with speeches inciting hate, racism and discord among fellow Malaysians. Gone are the days where the middle class would hide quietly at home, warning their children against attending such events. Today, it is the older generation who are more eager to go out on the streets and in most cases, urging their children and neighbours to tag along. Anwar and all the other PR leaders and candidates present facts and reiterate their stand against corruption and racial politics that has been ingrained in us for far too long as the norm. Change is imminent. With every chant, the call for change grows ever louder. The march towards Putrajaya, the administrative capital of the nation, appears closer by the day. For most Malaysians, it is a refreshing experience to attend ceramahs and not be bombarded with speeches inciting hate, racism and discord among fellow Malaysians. Gone are the days where the middle class would hide quietly at home, warning their children against attending such events. Today, it is the older generation who are more eager to go out on the streets and in most cases, urging their children and neighbours to tag along. Anwar and all the other PR leaders and candidates present facts and reiterate their stand against corruption and racial politics that has been ingrained in us for far too long as the norm. Change is imminent.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_236" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Lacking any other form of media, social media has played an integral role in popularising the opposition in the hearts and minds of the Malaysian masses. Even today, as the GE13 campaign is underway, the battle is clearly won, at least on the Internet, by the opposition. BN has spent hundreds of millions on buying up ad space and paying social sites like YouTube and Twitter for promotion but no amount of money can buy the motivation for people to share the truth and propagate information among their circle of influence. People want their voice to be heard and for most us, sharing information relevant to your stand is the way to say something without saying anything at all. Without access to traditional forms of media, social media has played an integral role in popularising the opposition in the hearts and minds of the Malaysian masses. Even today, as the GE13 campaign is underway, the battle is clearly won, at least on the Internet, by the opposition. BN has spent hundreds of millions on buying up ad space and paying social sites like YouTube and Twitter for promotion but no amount of money can buy the motivation for people to share the truth and propagate information among their circle of influence. People want their voice to be heard and for most us, sharing information relevant to your stand is the way to say something without saying anything at all.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_233" align="aligncenter" width="450"]The Parti Keadilan Rakyat logo was designed by Syed Ahmad Jamal as a reference to the 'black eye incident' where Anwar was seen appearing with a black eye on his way to court in 1998. He was beaten in prison by Inspector General of Police at the time, Rahim Noor. The Parti Keadilan Rakyat logo was designed by Syed Ahmad Jamal as a reference to the 'black eye incident' where Anwar was seen appearing with a black eye on his way to court in 1998. He was beaten in prison by the Inspector General of Police at the time, Tan Sri Rahim Noor.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_234" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Regardless of weather, people of all races will brave the elements to hear this man speak. Regardless of weather, people of all races will brave the elements to hear PR leaders speak. Even with offers of free food and other goodies, the people are shying away from grand events organized by the ruling coalition, even when the venues are fully equipped with chairs, fans and tents. They would rather soak their feet in mud, walk the distance and stand under the rain just to feel the winds of change and for once in this country, truly feel like a Malaysian. At such ceramahs, look to your left and right, and you will be greeted with a smiling face, acknowledging each other's solidarity in the struggle to reclaim our rights as citizens against an oppressive regime.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_232" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Unbeknownst to many, Anwar Ibrahim has a very strong passion for singing. Regardless of how tired he may be after a full day of events, he would sit quietly in his own little world and sing at the top of his lungs. Among his favourites are the classics from the 50's from Elvis, Paul Anka, Nat King Cole and also Malay, Indonesian and even Hindi classics. If you're lucky enough you might be able to catch him singing 'Tanya Sama Najib' at one his speeches around the country. Unbeknownst to many, Anwar Ibrahim has a very strong passion for singing. Regardless of how tired he may be after a full day of events, he would sit quietly in his own little world and sing at the top of his lungs. Among his favourites are the classics from the 50's from Elvis, Paul Anka, Nat King Cole and also Malay, Indonesian and even Hindi classics. If you're lucky enough you might be able to catch him singing 'Tanya Sama Najib' at one his speeches around the country.[/caption]
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The Anwar Ibrahim campaign trail: Nomination day and campaign kick-off

by Mahen Bala· April 21, 2013· in Field report: GE13, Uncategorized· 0 comments tags: anwar ibrahim, documentary, elections, exclusive, ge13, jelajah merdeka, kepala batas, Malaysia, pakatan rakyat, penang, photography, photojournalism, pkr, portraits, pr, pru13
21st April 2013, 1:36am: The dorm where most of us were holed up previously is now very still. Only a handful of us are still around with the Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) on his way back to KL with his team. With so many things happening in such quick successions, it’s very easy for one to lose track of time and place. After the relatively quiet nomination process, DSAI had a special briefing session for the party election machinery in preparing for the upcoming campaign season. Right after, he kicked off the campaigning with a prayer session at the mosque before conducting ceramahs in 3 places, Machang Bubuk, Nibong Tebal and Kepala Batas. The ceramah at Machang Bubuk was held in front of a row of shoplots with a huge gathering of mainly Chinese locals spilling onto the streets. In marked contrast, he spoke to a 2,000 strong crowd of mainly Malay youths in Kepala Batas. While touching on the usual points against the present government, he reiterated his stand against wastage, cronyism, dirty politics and corruption.   At the end of his last ceramah he hopped onto the Jelajah Merdeka bus and belted out some classic Malay, English and […]
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The end of a very long chapter

by Mahen Bala· March 01, 2013· in Photo Essays· 1 comments tags: coffeeshop, documentary, food, heritage, history, kuala lumpur, mahen bala, Malaysia, nostalgia, photography, photojournalism, restaurants, sin seng nam, stories
On the 28th of February 2013, the one coffeeshop I’ve always loved visiting in Kuala Lumpur, Sin Seng Nam, goes into retirement after 85 years of operation. I arrived relatively late, 8.30am to be exact, to find most of the seats already filled with the regulars. I found an empty table upstairs and made camp with a cup of kopi-o (black coffee), roti bakar (toasted bread with coconut jam spread) and my girlfirend for company. Only days before I had promised to bring her to my favourite coffeeshop but we found it closed, on a weekday. Who would’ve guessed that her first meal here would be her last.       After the breakfast crowded died down, I had the pleasure of Mr. Yuen, a lecturer and expert in typography for company. We both ‘reserved’ a plate of chicken chop at 10.30am with a promise to have it delivered at 2pm. That was how limited the food supply was for the day. This was a stark contrast to how things were only a few months ago. Sitting at the bar area downstairs, with high stools meant for those who prefer the company of their newspaper than an empty chair, one […]
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The Apprentice 学徒 (HD)

by Mahen Bala· November 26, 2012· in Short Films· 0 comments tags: documentary, film, film festival, guanajuato, japan, mercy malaysia, petaling, photography, photojournalism, portraits, short film, short shorts
By Mahen Bala The Apprentice 学徒 (HD) The Apprentice marked the beginning of a collaboration between myself and a close friend, John W.J. Cho in the world of documentary and fictional filmmaking. What started out as a passion project eventually turned into a minor success which brought us across the globe to film festivals and opened doors for future projects. I chanced upon Mr.Low, the owner of Pak Tai Photo Studio as I scoured around town for someone who could process black and white medium format film. Perched in top of a pet shop, I found his old studio, complete with creaking wooden staircase and fading signboards. He guarded his studio with a rusty, steel gate and all dealings were to be done through it. I passed him my roll of film and came back 2 days later to pick it up. This continued for many months before I brought up the idea of doing a feature on him. Even when I did, he was slightly reluctant but he agreed to meet on a Sunday. That Sunday I brought my friend John along and another friend who would conduct the interview in Cantonese. Fingers crossed. Much to my surprise he […]
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