speak no ill

of one who hath just passed on

to a better place

for we must think of what good he/she hath done

in a life of a constant struggle to be human,

all too human

lay not the cause for his/her death to his conviction

and stand against this or that point of view -

for death hath come to him/her

and life hath come but as a reminder

of what a man/woman can do

against all odds

against the grain

against the wind

to make us understand better

what ails us

and who hath diseased society

and who hath tried to cure it

and heal the wounds thenafter

and so the story goes

in this life like a river flows

those who speak up for many

who holds a mirror to our history

may come

most often too

not from souls borne out of

the race or religion you are born into

but from souls that knows not

what Man is

by the confines of his/her bigotry

nor the the limitations he/she imposes

on true dignity

not from these men

but from Man

the transcendental Man

in all his/her glory

of being human

all too human

REST IN PEACE, KARPAL SINGH

a good soul you are

DR AZLY RAHMAN, born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in four areas: Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored four books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), and the latest Dark Spring: Ideological Roots of Malaysia's GE-13 (2013). He currently resides in the United States. Twitter , blog .