Living in the Puasa Zone

Brave New World (The Star)
12 August 2010

What once was ordinary has now become bizarre and mind bending, and just when you think you have a grasp of what they are, the air shimmers, changes, and they become something else.

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THE caffeine withdrawal has kicked in and things around me have taken a surreal turn. What once was ordinary has now become bizarre and mind bending.
The low blood sugar level in my body does not help as I cling to my sanity, waiting for a time when I can have that first sip of rose syrup which would take me safely through the Puasa Zone.
Cue music
It is a town unlike any other. Purpose built to act as a grandiose statement of one man’s ambition, it houses the machinery of government. But recently another machine has been seen stalking it’s corridors of power.
It is a strange creation, both charming and yet disturbing. Speaking in a high squeaky voice it walks around followed by an irritating boy in shorts and spectacles. The boy complains and whines when in fact he should be the happiest boy in the world.
How can one not be happy when one’s best friend is a blue robot cat from the future? A robot cat who has magical powers. And these powers are truly mind blowing; from a special pouch on his tummy, our magical blue robot cat can produce anything that you may want. Things that were not there moments before can suddenly appear, making life so much easier and happier for you.
Is this true and have things been appearing out of thin air? Or perhaps this is just my imagination as I watch the clock ticking, in the Puasa Zone.
Cue music
What once was considered to be a simple political alliance has now become something far more sinister and dangerous. It has taken on powers that the most mighty of magicians can only dream about.
Behold Pakatan Rakyat. They may appear to be a simple coalition between three political parties who for the longest time have been in the opposition. But when joined together they become a stronger more potent political force.
But is this truly all that they are? No, I am afraid not, for they have mastered an art which is so difficult that the most skilled of sorcerers would give their beards to possess. Pakatan has learnt the art of being two different things at the same time.
It bends the mind, confuses and confounds for you look at this creature called Pakatan and just when you think you have a grasp of what they are, the air shimmers, changes, and they become something else.
To some, if Pakatan sinks its claws into political power, then we will be ruled by a Chinese party. And yet to others if it comes to power, we will be ruled by a Muslim party. They warn us about the dangers of Pakatan but the dangers shift and change depending on who talks, in the Puasa Zone.
Cue Music
It is a special month. To many it has deep spiritual significance being a time for quiet contemplation amid strict discipline and physical deprivation that bring about greater understanding and appreciation of life’s blessings.
Yet, to others, it is a time to use what should be a time where one rises above the worldly, to campaign for cheap political mileage.
But perhaps one should just take a deep breath and turn away for a moment. Do not get drawn into anger and bitterness.
For just once a year, is it too much to ask of oneself to be more measured than usual, to keep that temper in check, no matter how idiotic the world may seem to be, for only once a year, one finds oneself living, in the Puasa Zone.