I told you already

of the fate of this country

that has moved so fast

and now we have another Bersih rally

yellow mellow what will it be like tomorrow?

we all won’t know until we wear yellow

I have advised the country already

to go to the national square and treat it like a samba party

why aggravate the authorities when they too wish to join in the party?

they are all lonely and want to be clean and happy

in their hearts they powers that be want to be corrupt-free

what then must we do

for a yellow mellow hot potato tomorrow?

i am into cultural parties and sports events aplenty

so - Bersih people let us do things differently

wake up very early

brush your teeth and eat capati and mutton curry

get your yellow mellow -shirt and hide it in your bag together with your Rolling Stones CD

out of the house you shall march and march and march quietly

march and march on your own quietly to the station LRT

don’t let anybody see your yellow tee and your lunch pack of mutton curry

the authorities will want some of it but don't give your capati to anybody

ride the LRT quietly

when folks ask you where you’re going

tell them you’re visiting a sick auntie

a white clean lie goes well with the spirit of a BersihH rally

when you reach your destiny... oops... destination i mean seriously

wait till you see people suspiciously carrying a backpack of capati and mutton curry

these are your brothers and sisters in arms and legs and limbs aplenty

when all eyes locked in unspoken camaraderie

jump up and down and sing hip hip hooray and do a bit of funky chicken dance to release some

Bersih energy or the Africans call it honouring the ‘good chi’

mind you folks the authorities don’t want you to march or rally

especially if you stiill have that capati and a plastic bag of mutton curry

but here is what the organisers can do to make it a smooth sailing sit-in party...

Now take your yellow mellow hot potato tee

wear it with pride and unquestionable dignity

it might smell a bit of capati and mutton curry - but what me worry?

get in groups of twenty

we will have a three hour sports and cultural party

do the samba

dance the rhumba

sing ‘honga honga’

do the tai chi

put away the capati

do the yoga

wear a yellow toga

perform the malay silat

be careful of the flying lalats

do the breakdance

make sure those over sixty just sit and watch quietly if they can

sing the a capella

singing praises of the global listing of Felda

dance the zapin

remember it doesn’t go with the songs of led zeppelin

ahhaa... don’t forget the dance poco-poco

banned in perak and 13 states more to go...

this is the time in this yellow mellow sports and cultural sit-in rodeo

for those poor perak folks to overdose on the poco-poco

those with a guitar or a sitar or an avatar of the sitar and sitar

sing the blues and the jazz tunes praising the beauty of perak’s left and right bota

johoreans can sing the ghazal

accompanied by Perkasa performers from silat pulut sambal

pahang folks can do the joget pahang

dancers imported from telok bahang

i’d like to join the indian classical dancers

the bharat nadyam i think is a cool dance that provides life’s difficult answers

ahhha... we must not forget the shaolin dance

inspired by ancient chinese buddhist monks always in trance

yellow mellow kung fu hot potatoes

- not that’s a shaolin training laced with ‘Ohm-mi-to-fu’ as verses fit for budding Shaolin heroes

i can go on and on and on and on

suggesting how a yellow mellow clean rally can be Malaysia’s open big samba party

so big that both the proper and improper authorities can see the beauty and possibilities of a peaceful rally

even the world’s royalty can join in the yellow party

since they all wear yellow outfit daily

they will save on Bersih yellow tee...

Malaysians I honour and respect thee

Rallies need not be ugly

Sit-ins need not be a time to get angry

A regime change is a possibility in any democracy

A gentlemanly and lady-like act to relinquish power held for centuries

Deep in the heart of any regime

is the cry to repent from all its sins

and to take a break from doing the work of devils and djinns

Yellow mellow hot potatoes

Yellow mellow sweet potatoes

We shall all see a better tomorrow

Adios amigos...

DR AZLY RAHMAN grew up in Johor Baru, Malaysia and holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He will be pursuing his fifth Masters in Fine Arts, specialising in Fiction and Poetry Writing. He has taught more than 50 courses in six different departments and has written more than 350 analyses/essays on Malaysia. His 25 years of 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 six 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), Dark Spring: Essays on the Ideological Roots of Malaysia's General Elections-13 (2013), a first Malay publication Kalimah Allah Milik Siapa?: Renungan dan Nukilan Tentang Malaysia di Era Pancaroba (2014), and Controlled Chaos: Essays on Mahathirism, Multimedia Super Corridor and Malaysia’s ‘New Politics’ (2014). He currently resides in the United States where he teaches courses in Education, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Political Science, and American Studies. His forthcoming book, One Malaysia, under God, Bipolar, a joint project between Gerakbudaya and World Wise Books of New Jersey, USA, is his seventh compilation of essays on Malaysian Cultural, Creative, and Critical Studies. He is currently working on his eighth book, on Gifted and Talented Education in Malaysia, honouring a prominent educator. Twitter , blog .