Time to go Fishing

'Pa'Me' (pr. Mei)
It is time to take the Sampan out and lay the Nets across the receding tide to catch whatever is left of the fishes that used to frequent these waters around the Penanag Island on the Northwest coast of the Malay Peninsular in the Andaman Seas surrounded by the Burmese and Thai coastal lines in the North and the tip of the Northern Indonesian Island of Sumatra to the Southern end. These part of the seas used to be home to such huge varieties of marine life, but today is declining rapidly due to poor fishing practices and mismanagement of the environment and last but not least;  poor economics.
The Malays had mostly been fisherment on the Island, they mostly lived on coastal ares like Batu Uban, Gertak Sanggol, Telok Cempedaak, Teluk Bahang, Tanjung Bungah and Batu Ferringi till Tanjung To'Kong Area. Their livlihood was from fishing, they loved fishing and its way of life that had been the guiding line for theuir daily practices; that kept their sanity after Islam; their Religion. I grew up in the 59s-60s being born in 1949, before I was being moved to the East Coast of the Peninsular to live live with my immediate family; Terengganu. In my mind I can still feel the pristine beauty of the fishing villages as I visited them with friends and families and the beauty of the collective spirit of the villagers especially if there was wedding or a funeral. We know people by where they came from, 'orang Tajung Tokong', Tanjung Tokong boy, 'Orang Balik Pulau', Balik Pulau family, man, girl etc. Samseng Sungai Pinang, Sungai Pinang gang: today, this spirit in the  Penang Malays have almost vanished, and this is the first victim of Progress and Development right up to Globalization in this era of Information Technology. The Penang Malays are slowlly being deprived of their sense of identity and as an example, today for Friday prayer the mosque at Masjid Jamaek Sungai Pinang the mosque was half full or half empty and from what I have learned almost eighty percent of the congregation on Fridays were foreign workers like Indonesians, Bangladeshis and others. This is a serious indicator for those who are being aware of the effects of changes in the life of a society; its physical as well as spiritual; this is the 'Quality of Life', indicator. If your psychiatric wards are empty or your mental homes are not fully booked, there is no drug problems or one too many teenage pregnancy of or suicide cases, then your society is well balanced and healthy.otherwise it is time to look closer and act local when you make it global, the plans for the future is in the Now; it starts from the bottom on up, from the roots, the soil, the human soul, the spirit; that which is called Being, (human-being), or (being-human).

"If religon is a thing that money can buy, then the Rich would live and the poor would die...All my trials Lord, soon be over...Too late my brothers, too late, but never mind... All my trials Lord, soon be over.".
Peter Paul and Mary-or Joan Baez
I grew up when going to market at Kuantan Road, a short walk from where I was born was a treat and I looked foreword to these morning walks and exploration going to market with my grandmother. As a child I was blessed to be able to witness, smelled, and blown away with the amount of fish being sold at the market, not to mention other departments or meats and veggies. it was what fed my subconscious mind and today is expressed in my sketching. There were lots and varieties of fishes during the fifties and sixties so much so that a foot long Ikan Terubok cost hardly twenty cents and I had to practically drag it home. Today a kilo for fresh Ikan Terubuk can fetch you almost one hundred ringgit depending where it came from and one can hardly find this fich in the waters in and around the Island; ask any fisherman about this.Many such similar species are becoming scarce and expensive these days. A fellow kampung friend of mine who spent most of his life as a fisherman in Penang told me once that in order to make a good catch in these waters one has go at least six nautical miles away from the coast of the island. In another incident a childhood friend who was working at the Penang Aquarium in the seventies at Gelugor, Marive Village, told me that three of the huge tanks of large fishes were lost due to the contamination in the water and from then on they had to six nautical miles away from the island to collect sea water for the remaining tanks and that was years ago. The sea is a dumping ground for the Island as more and more structure are put up to fill the skyline. Hundreds upon thousands of home in all shapes and forms are being erected to not fulfill the needs of the residents but to make more money for the industries and their stake holders. Everyone in it has to have his share from the CM to the back hoe driver and the Bangladeshi laborer. Where do the Penang Malays fits in all these? While more and more are calling Penang their second or third homes, the Penang Malays will end up being the homeless in Penang.
I used to joke about how the Malays will keep building fishermen shacks over the water further and further out into the sea thile the Chinese will keep on building higher and higher till the is no more room up there. Their will come a time when the Penang Malays will either awaken to their desperate reality and act accordingly or they will become servants to Chinese or Indian bosses
 or even gardeners in their yards, it has already been taking place I am told. Penang Malays  and Penang Mamak Muslims are two different entities, the later are more self sufficient and their communities will survive the tides of change as the y are more unified and proactive in their actions towards securing a permanent niche in Penang. The Money Changers, the Jewelry stores, the Nasi Kandar Restaurants among other industries are mostly theirs. As a political entity they are moe stronger if numbers than the Malays overall and more active and voice their demands allot more so then the Malays.
Where is justice for the fishermen? It is out there six nautical miles off the coast of the Island where fishing is still a healthy trade and on good days one might make a good catch to cover the cost and have some extra left to subsist on with the rest of the family. The Penang Malays are resilient in some cases and they have been able to diversify and adopt to their present roles making a livelihood for themselves it trades that was not commonly part of their upbringing; they become more like the Chinese when trading. These new breed are growing in number and has evolved slowly into what will be the future generation of Penang Malays and it is these that needs to become a driving force to make sure that their fellow Penang Malays is not left out in the Andaman Sea or the Straits of Malacca. seeking a livelihood while the rest of the world moves into the planetary age. Rich Malays got to help the poor, smart ones help out with the dummies. Become more aware of where or why and when of their fellow Malays and find ways and means for them to better their lives, get involved, touch them in their lives by helping them make right decisions and point them to their ways. Become less self serving and act out of pure care and compassion, it is the Islam thing to do for your fellow Muslim; their survival depend on it! 
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