Thesun 2008-11-27 Page16 Dream Free Dream True Pt2

theSun

17

| THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27 2008

INTERVIEWS VIEWS

in economics. You left on your last semester. Why? I think it is an ego thing. I felt I was much better than the lecturers (laughs). I have a big problem with our education system. There was a Reformasi movement going on and some of the economic theories were outdated. The quest of knowledge was static. You are not encouraged to have a discussion. The lecturers want you to read and follow. To an extent you were becoming the voice of the government. University should be a place where you have discussions about everything. But that was not happening. At that time, my extracurricular activities were more interesting. I was involved in UBU (University Bangsar Utama). It is not a real university. We had forums, discussions and demonstrations. We even conducted free education classes for poor urban children. We did theatre. I also read many books. One book that changed my life was Syed Husin Ali’s Dua Wajah, tahanan tanpa bicara. It talked about ISA, student movements and changes. So one day, I just stopped going for my classes. Looking back, seven years later, do you have any regrets not getting your degree? For the first two years, the university kept sending me letters, asking me to continue my last semester and get my bachelor’s degree. But I didn’t take up the offer. I could not stand my life there. I was

CONVERSATIONS

ten children. She was an industrialist – she was one of the earliest factory workers (laughs). She was tough and independent. My parents divorced a long time ago, and then my father died. I didn’t know much about him. When you left the university, your mother must have been disappointed. Did you feel bad, breaking her heart? Yes, I contributed to her sadness and disappointment. Me stopping my studies was not the worst thing to happen in her life. She had faced far worst sadness.

Dare to imagine ... Rahmat wants to give power back to the people

becoming disillusioned. I felt I was becoming an alien. I was young. It should have been an interesting period in my life but the university didn’t offer me that. Without me going through this kind of process, I would not have become what I am today. If I had followed the “common road”, I would have become a boring person. I have no regrets.

– you study hard, you get a good education, you get a good job with a good salary, and you get a wife and start a family. When you live a comfortable life, your life will be contented and you live happily ever after. But I do not think that is how things work in life.

There are many people who do not get a chance to enter university. But you wasted your opportunity. What is your comment? I got into the university on merit. I didn’t get any supporting letter from people in power. So it is my choice if I wanted to stop my studies.

Some people feel you are not Muslim enough because you have tattoos and draw portraits. Then we should not follow the modern economy that the nonMuslims have created. Then we should not have cars and buildings too. Religion should be a personal relationship between you and your maker. Do not let politics creep into religion.

What did your family say? Obviously they did not like it. They wanted me to have the same dream the majority have

Who is the one great influence in your life? My mother. She was a single mother who had raised

If the government can spend millions on weapons, then the government can certainly invest in education and give it free to everyone. This can be done if there is a will. This can be done if there is honesty.”

Tell me something about your early years? I was naughty in school. Nearing the SPM examinations, I was expelled from school. I went to work in a market, helping a butcher. I thought that would be my world. Later a friend convinced me to resume my studies. Surprisingly, I passed my exams. I even went on to Form Six and passed my STPM with distinction. Then I applied to Universiti Malaya and did Economics. I thought I would be working in a bank. I was ready to change from a naughty teen to a working class urban male. But that didn’t take place Did you ever get into trouble over your art? May be the authorities didn’t know what was going on in the art world. But if they wanted to give me trouble, they could

have. The worst trouble I ever got was when a Malay tabloid carried a front-page story attacking a Malay artist with tattoos and who was free in his thinking. Of course the paper did not mention my name. I am lucky in the sense that I have not really got into any trouble with the authorities. You like to call yourself anak semua bangsa di bumi manusia. Why? My favourite author is Pramoedya Ananta Toer (the famous Indonesian novelist). Among his many books are Anak Semua Bangsa and Bumi Manusia. I combined both titles. A big problem in this country is people define themselves by looking at another person’s race. One will define himself as Malay by looking at the Chinese, one will define himself as Chinese by looking at the Malay, one will define himself as Indian by looking at other races and the list goes on. But that should not be the way how we define our existence. We all are anak semua bangsa. What is the biggest obstacle you face as an artist? Artists should not be restricted by obstacles. Pramoedya wrote some of his best novels in prison. Fyodor Dostoevsky (a Russian novelist) spent four years in a prison camp in Siberia doing hard labour and yet he produced some of the best works in the literature world.