Aiman tak kisah...

Tune in to ERA.fm and you will hear the voice of Aiman, a 5-year-old kid talking about his 5-year-old friend, Arif. Arif was H I V+ (it was not mentioned how he got it). Aiman was totally okay about it - "Aiman tak kisah".. He played with Arif.. helped him.. hang out with him.. etc etc. Such a wonderful kid, this Aiman. What an exemplary act for one so young.

Okay.. so let's get real here. Honestly, how many 5-year-old kids out there know what H I V is all about? I can just imagine the parents explaining to their children about H I V.

"Look, son (or daughter).. H I V stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which is basically a virus that attacks and breaks down the body's immune system - the 'internal defense force' that fights off infections and disease. When the immune system becomes weak, we lose our protection against illness and can develop serious, often life-threatening, infections and cancers. Basically it's dangerous.. but you will not get infected even if you played with your friend who is H I V+."

Wow.. imagine that!!

The second part of the "community service" was a male adult blabbing about A I D S.. which does not spread through touch. If a small kid like Aiman does not discriminate his friend who was H I V+, then why should you?

Okay.. so the idea is good, and I applaud ERA.fm for promoting an awareness on H I V and A I D S. But the thing I don't like about this particular "community service" is that it is talking about 2 (two!) separate issues, which, if you think about it, can cause a big misunderstanding to the community. The impact can be quite devastating. What issues, you might ask. Aren't H I V and A I D S the same? Surprise surprise.. they are not. Just look at their definitions:

H I V: Human Immunodeficiency Virus
A I D S: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

It's pretty clear that H I V is a virus, and A I D S is a disease. They are related, yes but they are NOT the same. People who are H I V+ can still live a healthy lifestyle. Much like people who have Hepatitis B virus can still live like normal healthy people. If an H I V+ person does not take good care of himself, then there's a high probability that he will get A I D S.

And that is how they are related (you may correct me if I'm wrong here).

So how devastating can this misleading "community service" be?

Imagine you are H I V+. You have been educated that even though you are positive, it's nothing to worry about, as long as you take good care of yourself. Lead a healthy lifestyle.. watch what you eat.. exercise.. etc etc. Then you hang out with people. Accidentally, some of them found out you are H I V+. Words will get around and more people will know. If these people are misinformed about H I V / A I D S, it's highly likely that you will be shunned, discriminated against, even bullied by these people. How would you feel then? This will definitely affect your job, your self-esteem, and eventually, your life.

Now, is that devastating enough or not?

What does that say, then, about our uniformed forces?

I was talking with some friends the other night and one of the topics that came up was on our firemen. It seems that our rescue rangers are more than meets the eye. Sad but true.

The bungalow of my friend's uncle was caught on fire about a week before Chinese New Year. The whole family was lucky enough to escape unscathed, thanks to some Indonesians who were doing renovation work on the house next door. The firemen finally came and naturally, they were the first to get into the house before anyone else once the fire was extinguished.

To make the story short, one of them was caught red-handed pocketing the uncle's Rolex!! He denied it when confronted, but after some persuasions, he finally relented to return the watch on the condition that he was to be given some "compensation" in return.

Unbelievable, is it not? True, though, and apparently this is a common enough occurrence among policemen and firemen that people actually expect them to happen.

What does that say, then, about our uniformed forces?

We read in the papers about how the image of the police force was tarnished because of some incidents. About how the big people in the force made comments and promises that these should not have happened, and that they will be investigated and solved as soon as possible, and that a commission will be set up to handle this case or that case.. but in the end, it's just one of the typical things we see among Malaysians: all talk and no decisive action. I wonder what actually happened to all those commissions. Still investigating? Inactive? Dead? Too bad there's no weekly report that the general public can see to keep track of their progress.

It's lot of work to gain back the trust of the people, and as far as I can see, it's not going to happen. Ask around and you will hear all sorts of stories. Logically, it has to start from within. They will have to clean up their acts, get rid of the staff with bad records and negative influence, be professionals, be fully committed to their work and most important of all, to hold sacred the trust given by the people.

Still, the question remains: Dare we trust them anymore?

Wow! I'm actually mixed!

So yeah.. I'm actually mixed. And all this while I've thought of myself as pure Brunei (as in race, not nationality). Not that it's such a big deal, mind you.. but it's kinda nice to know that you're other than something you always believed your were. Hehehehe.. When I went back to my hometown over the last Christmas weekend, my brother told me that we actually have Bajau in our blood. Quite a surprise, actually.

Oh, in case you have not figured it out, I'm originally from Sabah. Brunei, Bajau and others like Kadazan, Dusun, Murut, Bidayuh and Bisaya are just some of the ethnic races (or what we call "bumiputra") native to Sabah. Indigenous, if you like. Which is probably why I don't look quite the normal Malay. But then, a lot of Malays are not pure-blooded anymore :)

Anyway.. I got my Brunei and Bajau blood from both of my parents. Brunei mostly from my grandfather (my dad's dad) - Pengiran Badaruddin Pengiran Matusin. Bajau from my dad's mom (Dayang Muarna) and my mom's dad (Haji Sarail bin Tarip). I forgot their full names. Hehehehe..

I've been wondering about the family tree for a long time now and I finally got my wish when my dad showed us the diagram. It's still incomplete but enough to show the key persons along the family line. And it was quite a revelation when I discovered that my mom is actually my second cousin. Hehehehe.. Apparently Dayang Muarna and Tarip are siblings. It's not uncommon that people got married within the family, some intentionally, some not. Although, according to my dad, it was my mom who first flirted with him.. sending him letters, food and stuff. Hahahahahaha.. I just loved it when my dad teased my mom about that in front of the family :) Oh, incidentally, last Christmas was their 34th wedding anniversary.

You might be wondering why I'm sort of fixated with this family thing. As I said, it's no big deal. I'm just curious because my dad told me that we are ultimately related to the royal family of Brunei. Now that's something, isn't it? :)

Oh, incidentally, if you have information on Pengiran Maulana Abdul Mumin, please get in touch with me.