Elizabeth Wong at Women’s Political Participation Summit in City University of Hong Kong

Who knew I’d hear about this thing from another mummy and mummy blog it?

Wise men say, “Better to remain quiet and seem stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Obviously they haven’t met bloggers (like me). In fact, I hope I sound totally stupid – all you dirty tactics, harassing political crazies take note: I have no bloody clue regarding politics so you can just leave me alone to my cute pictures of my son.

Talk is cheap. And I am a Malaysian who, after a decade in Singapore (studied there 5 years, then was bonded min 3 years per the Singapore government tuition grant I accepted) and coming on 7 years in Hong Kong after the hot husband got a job offer here, thinks I don’t get to talk much even. (I then lost my Singapore PR because I didn’t work there anymore – last thing I was told is I’ll get it back if I go back there to work which I guess is fair – not working there want PR for what?)

Decisions are made by those who show up. By those who stayed behind.

Since I haven’t lived in Malaysia for almost 2 decades (but can’t quite bring myself to give up citizenship just yet), I feel obliged to strive for at least equal oblivious-ness regarding the politics in every other country. But it’s the least I can do to give up a Saturday to go hear Elizabeth Wong speak.

For the non-Malaysians reading my blog, Elizabeth Wong is a widely respected human rights and environment activist who, in the wake of the scandal of pictures her then boyfriend is alleged to have released of her (some of which are nude, some of which many people believe to also have been doctored) that was then politicized, resigned from all posts. Some of those posts were won with landslide margins and she was then reinstated after repeated demonstrations by her constituents and appeals by the NGOs.

Almost 2 decades living abroad, I’d barely heard of her (despite her huge popularity in Malaysia – yes I know, shame on me) until on one of my weekly calls home my mum told me about the pictures scandal.

That is the thing terrorists and the people who take cheap shots will never understand – that they serve the very cause of those they choose to stifle, in doing things like capitalizing on pictures. Because they come up so stinky from the bad behavior a lot more people don’t want to stand near them. So thank you, nude picture posting internet crazies – it’s your fault I will be giving up a Saturday to go to this place I have never been to in Kowloon just to hear her speak after finding out she has been invited to Hong Kong.

Because when you don’t succeed in stifling someone, you just piss them off with your bad behavior so much they get even more determined. And this time lots more people who weren’t paying attention in the first place suddenly realize damn, Ms Wong must really be something. (Hi there, have we met?)

If I knew just one thing about her, it is the strength and determination she demonstrated in choosing to carry on despite the horrible things people have tried to do to her. Please notice I said tried. She is like a poster child for Malaysians living abroad because she is one of those who chose to stay back and try to make it better. And she got hit by the truck we all fear and she’s still going. You betcha it’s the very least I can do to show up.

Wouldn’t her haters just die that she turned the crap they threw at her into fertilizer for the very causes they were trying to stifle her out of championing?

And I’d like to see the nude picture posting crazies keep at it if it happened to them. Oh wait, no one knows who they all are?

Well then how the hell can anyone expect to win “good people” over if they do cheap stuff? (Maybe there were a few people left who didn’t know they had taken cheap shots? Can’t be a lotta fun wondering when they’ll find out.)

Btw Ms Wong, I never looked at the pictures. (What for, already decided it’s a cheap shot, go and see for what?) I actually have no idea how bad (or not) they are. Bet I wasn’t the only one. Didn’t the villagers stay indoors when that lady rode naked on horseback through the streets of Coventry? And then the one guy who just had to take a peek was rendered blind? Or was it dead?

Shut up. So what if that was legend. I’m going to hear her speak, aren’t I?

Ps: Please tell me I dug deep to bring the stupid – because IQ is hereditary and I’m still a mummy.

The second Women’s Political Participation Summit – Challenges and Opportunities, co-organized by the Network for Women in Politics, The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and the Department of Asian and International Studies of the City University of Hong Kong will be held on March 26, 2011 Saturday at Lecture Theatre 14 Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon – 1:30pm – 6pm.

Topics will include: “Pushing for women’s participation within a male dominated structure”, ‘A look at obstacles faced by women both within the legislature and executive’, ‘Hong Kong Media and the Gender Perspective’, ‘Women’s Participation in Public Affairs – A Cultural Perspective’ as well as a comparative look at the Cambodian and Malaysian experiences as well.