Of Spooks and the ISA

Honestly, I do not know how to begin this entry. Perhaps, we shall begin with the only TV series I bother to watch for quite sometime now; Spooks.

A word of caution though for TV fans who may think this spy series is full of action - it is not! Its pure drama with very well written script and set in situations which at times, mirror real life crisis of the world, particularly those affecting the UK.

I don't how and exactly when I got hooked to this show, but for the past 12 months or so, there has been nothing but reruns of the 2nd season. Finally a week or 2 ago, Hallmark channel began screening the 3rd season which is what the scanned section of The Star is all about. Its a wonderful series, one that thus far I've watched, does not stereotype non-whites or most importantly, Muslims, as the big bad wolf. In fact, I was told the series once faced flaks from Christians in UK for showing the ugly side of Christian Evangelism and Militants! No, not that I applaud such a thing but it perhaps underline the producers want to put on a show which is based on real life and much unlike Hollywood gungho or Bollywood fantasy movies and series.

Now, to the more serious part, one which I still have no idea how to begin. Perhaps, I should begin with the meet I had with bro Mat Salo when he was last in town. We met in a coffee shop nearby my house and our conversation soon touched on the ISA and how the government will soon use it against some bloggers. I then confided in him that if such thing is true, then I too may face the same thing. No, not for my blog, which is not worth anyone's spit, but for my activities on the net. And no, I do not think I am crying wolf, though I pray I am.

Over the past 3-4 years, I have been sending out political news to various e-groups in Malaysia. Per night, I found out recently while preparing a paper for a certain person, the potential readership I send to is in the range of 100,000 people. It got to such, that I've had 2 email addresses hijacked and later deleted by Yahoo! It was that same email which I received brickbats and so on, including threats by people whom I can only think as the SB. In a way, alhamdulillah, I am happy to begin with a newer email address. But that also meant starting from scratch again, having to rejoin the various e-groups, and several other hassles.

My reason for writing this is because I think my emails have been touching nerves again. Now, here's what I normally do each night: I would go through all the political blogs especially those at readscentral, and combine 2 piece of news together for a desired effect - sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. And it was this particular email which may land me somewhere near Taiping, when I combined a piece of news from Harakahdaily.net and Blackinkorea. Now, normally its not that I do not, but simply I just could not care what happen to the news I send so long as I know it reach and may be read by at least 10% or 10,000 people - I have no way of knowing. But this particular email, it seem to do the trick as it was reported in the Sun and was reproduced in BERSIH (para 4). Still, there is now way of saying whether the particular email is the one I sent. I am however, taking precautions.

It may seem silly to put up my precautionary matters here on this blog for I am quite sure those goons do give it a look-see every now and then, more especially with the News You May Have Missed now somehow linked to several major news websites. And I am not crying "Hey! Bring them on!", as that would be a pretty foolish dare to do. To the readers of my blog, especially my friends who are kind enough to entertain me with their comments, what I want to say is just this:

"Should you ever find my blog not updated for a period longer than a week, than there is a very great possibility that you may find me cringing in a dirty cell somewhere in Malaysia, subjected to various humiliating punishment and torture methods such as those written from personal experience by Abu Urwah, the present Ketua Penerangan PAS Selangor. If this which I do fear happen, please take it upon yourself to contact and inform Abu Urwah and Ahmad Lutfi of Harakah. And do have a heart to call upon my emak and ask of her wellbeing.

I know I sound like an utterly bloody fool putting this down here for everyone to read, most especially if nothing ever happens. But I'll be a bigger fool not to do so! For certain it is not fame that I do what I do, insyAllah, for the names that I use are not even mine. I do it in the name of Allah s.w.t., and that if ever I do disappear, than know too that my action is just another voice fighting for justice and freedom, which the authorities fear."

Hmm...having written that and feeling every inch the fool I must be even right now, I feel sort of relieved. Maybe, with the grace of Allah, this entry would act something like a purloined letter, preventing that which I dread, insyAllah.