Yes, the Koboi is back! And this time his return takes me to the heart of the Southeast Asian art machine – just landed yesterday in Singapore. I am presenting at the Singapore Biannale 2016 which opens at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) on the 26th of October. My very first gig here was in 1995 when I spoke at the ‘ASEAN Workshops, Exhibition and Symposium on Aesthetics’, which was also heald at SAM. I delivered a paper titled ‘Beyond Art History’ which proposed a new methodology for the contemporary art of the region, one that priviĺlleges social history and traditional aesthetics over the recieved norms of art history and criticism… anyway, I digress … the point of this post is to say that my work preceeded me by a couple of weeks and has been installed by the brilliant crew at the Singapore Art Museum. I get my first peek shortly as we finalize the installation.

Image from https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1398362306858328&id=100000537162995

Members of the Gitxsan First Nation who are opposed to pipeline development are outraged that nine of their unelected hereditary chiefs are working  with the province to develop a natural gas pipeline to the Northern Coast of BC. This pipeline will deliver the supply of gas that will enable Pacific NorthWest LNG to realize its project on Lelu Island. While some in the community may approve, there  are detractors who see in this cooperation a complicity with oppression and a betrayal of native interests. The proposed 900-kilometre pipeline will connect Hudson’s Hope to Lelu Island. Chief Gordon Sebastian, one of the consenting Gitxsan chief,  said that they consented to the engagement  based on strict conditions and under the jurisdiction of Gitxisan law. Still, as the CBC correctly notes, some of the uncertainty in the community stems from “the complex leadership system of the Gitxsan, which involves dozens of hereditary chiefs and multiple house leaders, as well as elected officials.” Indeed, it is this ‘complexity’ that characterizes, nay defines, the relationship of Canada  with the many indegenous nations that are struggling to reclaim some semblance of autonomy and justice within the greater nation state.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/anti-pipeline-gitxsan-angry-over-province-s-deal-with-unelected-band-chiefs-1.3813060

Proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG plant on Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert, B.C.

On 18th October, Petronas-owned Pacific NorthWest LNG was granted a 40-year licence to export natural gas the National Energy Board. The licence will allow the company to export a maximum 34.62 billion cubic meters annually from its proposed terminal on Lelu Island. The previous approval for a 25-year licence seems to have been superseded by the Boards the recent decision seems to have been taken in the light of legislative amendments under the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act. This massive concession to the need of the economy, follows on the heels of the Federal Liberal approval of the project and puts into perspective their commitment to the environment and to indigenous interests. As Chief Yahaan, who is leading the occupation of Lelu island in opposition to the terminal, had said on CBC Radio upon hearing of the Federal Governments approval of the project, “my feelings as a First Nations person were that we were really slapped in the face by the announcement.”

Image from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/trudeau-indigenous-promises-1.3788876

Two of my works from the Koboi Project – Koboi Balik Lagi and Kedualan Si Koboi have been selected for the Singapore Biennale 2016: An Atlas of Mirrors.  The two works which are comprised of total of 14 images will be installed along two appropriated movie soundtracks and a terracotta Hindu icon from the early 20th century. This icon, pictured above, represents the Puranic myth in which Lord Ganesha wins a miraculous mango from his brother Lord Murugan by recognizing that his parents Lord Shiva and Mother Parvathy were not just a part of his universe but, also all of it. In my installation, this icon occupies a highly liminal space between sacred icon, museum artifact and contemporary art work, as it articulates the metonymic  underpinnings of my work.

It has been 4 months since my last post. A time in which I have been busy preparing for my participation in the Singapore Biennale 2016. While I have been preoccupied with the production and presentation of my work at this major art event, the Lax Kw’alaams/Petronas  conflagration has been on a slow boil   … simmering as we awaited a federal government decision on the mega-project. On Tuesday the 4th of October Justin Trudeau’s government gave its approval. This YES! has not come as surprise to those who understand the power of the LNG lobby, especially no surprise to those who acknowledge the Canadian economy’s dependence on resource extraction. This hard-nosed  economic turn by Trudeau underscores the end of the young premier’s romance of ‘sunny ways’… particularly with regard to native imperatives. With his Haida tattoo presumably still on his youthful arm, our premier has waved ahoy to the Petronas Corpration and its controversial LNG investment in the face of significant, if patchy, native opposition. While we wait to see if the economics of this project warrants speedy implementation, Petronas has swiftly thwarted speculation in the news that they might sell their share in the venture. In this realm of the media however, the BC natives have seized their moment… their crowning image so to speak. Taking the opportunity of the spotlight brought by the visit of their Royal Highnesses the princess and princess of Wales, members the Haida Nation wore bright blue t-shirts during an official ceremonial event; t-shirts that sent a clear message to the Feds, to BC, to Petronas and to the world – NO LNG!

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/the-royals-tour-b-c-pipeline-t-shirts-worn-as-silent-protest-on-haida-gwaii

As the contradictory affectations of hubris (Malaysia Boleh!) and dread (Splendor sine occasu) subside in me, the complexities of the merging of my two worlds on either side of the Pacific Ocean, have became a compelling subject of interest for me. Beyond the political, economic and environmental outcomes, what draws me to this global complex of resources, capital, culture and power is the epistemological dimension. Within this expanse of personal, provincial, national and international concerns,  I seek to connect contemporary discourses from Malaysia and BC. Can contemporary modes of communication be used to construct a transnational, transpacific community of contestation and accord? While contemporary information flows are as global as capital movements, true knowledge, remains immobile in what one might call local epistemes. While the internet has delivered on its promise of ubiquitous information, its solipsistic social media and marketing interfaces have contributed to this near paradox of local knowledge from global information . Can the peoples of democratic nations find ways to mix or merge their native epistemes across the solipsistic internet interfaces, to create new meaning and understanding. This is an important question given that such meanings are vital for the survival of democratic processes in an increasingly transnational and corporate world order. Indeed, there seems to be so much information in the contemporary media about the emerging situations in Malaysia and British Columbia, but conversely, so little interest and understanding across what I would call epestemic ghettos.These are the stirrings behind the 12 posts that comprise the ‘A Malaysian in BC’ essay and also the underlying motivation for this Koboi Kembara Lagi Blog.

In November 2015, I submitted an earlier version of  ‘A Malaysian in BC’ to the editors of two leading Malaysian alternative news portals – Free Malaysia Today and the recently defunct Malaysian Insider. To my great disappointment this article, titled ‘Malaysian Cash is King in Canada!’, was not published. This could have been because of the style or quality of my writing, or rather the lack of it. Nevertheless, I was left wondering if it was my topic. Were Malaysian news portals too partisan and involved in domestic issues to raise their eyes over the horizon? Are Malaysians uninterested in the impacts of their  nations corporate interventions abroad? I have so many questions … Would materialistic Malaysians not be interested in the the Lax Kw’Alaams,  who seem willing to sacrifice  cash benefits for ecological,  cultural and spiritual balance? As a people accustomed to native mastery (ketuanan) of the land (bumi), surely Malaysians must hear the call for native land rights British Columbia! Do British Columbians in turn, understand, as BC Premier Christie Clarke claims to understand, the Malaysian way – when asked, in an interview, about the implications of the ongoing 1MDB scandal for the future engagement with Petronas, she is reported to have said ” it’s just a different way of doing business, I guess…”. BC alternative media insinuations of corruption aside, the ‘Malaysian way’ is today the subject of scrutiny and investigation, both at home and abroad, and Malaysians themselves do not know where they stand. Does the premier really know what she is getting us into. Image from The Tyee.

As a Malaysian living in BC, I was initially thrilled about of Malaysia`s entry into our LNG economy. It was a sign of Malaysian corporate prowess, our province as would benefit and and even the First Nations seemed potential  beneficiaries. Since the 2013 however, the global LNG markets have slumped to record lows and it is even suggested by the Carbon Tracker Initiative that, given prevailing market conditions, supply from the PETRONAS’ Pacific NorthWest project will not be needed in the 2015 to 2035 period. In August 2015, Malaysian online business portal KINIBIZ was asking, “Why is PETRONAS pressing on with its controversial RM123 billion Canadian LNG project when it has admitted to having cash flow difficulties that could last indefinitely?” Concurrently, it is has being argued in BC, that the Provincial Liberals’ claims for LNG are unrealizable. These promises include 100,000 jobs, a CAD 100 billion Prosperity Fund, 150 years of gas supply, minimal water table impacts and an overall reduction of greenhouse gas emission. The bottom line here is that the much-heralded PETRONAS deal is so poor from the BC governments perspective, that it would add only about CAD 0.2 billion per year to the B.C. budget’s CAD 46 billion in revenues and total provincial debt of CAD 43 billion. This is because In hard negotiations with Petronas BC Liberals dropped export taxes from 7 per cent to 1.5 per cent. As Damien Gillis explains, ”I was in the room when Shamsul Abbas, then-CEO of Petronas, wagged a finger at British Columbians, threatening to pull up stakes if we didn’t slash public benefits and cut environmental ‘red tape’.” While this looks like a bad deal for BC, it also seems to be a deal that, given LNG market conditions,  PETRONAS also may be unwilling to peruse at this time. As we wait for the Federal Governments decision on this project, I cant help thinking, ultimately it will come down to the bottom-line, you know, the money. Like old man Mahathir keeps saying of Malaysia … Cash is King! Sadly, I must agree, Malaysia or BC, clean or dirty … Cash is King! … Cash is King! Image from The Tyee

https://vid.me/m0JT

Above is a video update  on the active tensions of the Lelu stand-off. These confrontations or mini stand-offs are occurring regularly in the run-up to the environmental report and Federal government decision that will be significant in the way things unfold. In the meanwhile, on May 17, the authority and locus standi of Donald Wesley or Chief Yahaan in this engagement, has been questioned by the Ts’msyen hereditary chiefs, matrons, elders and hereditary leaders of the Nine Tribes of Lax Kw’alaams. They have  issued a statement about Donald Wesley, declaring that he is not a hereditary chief and demanding that he and his band of illegal protesters stop their occupation of Lelu island immediately. This seems very damaging to Mr.Wesley`s credibility and is potentially a determining factor in this brittle stand-off. Regardless of their position on Mr. Wesley`s status and occupation of Lelu, leaders of the Nine Tribes agree with him on the following propositions –

1. That there had been secret and unauthorized negotiations by their elected representative  about the project without consulting the elders, leaders or the community.
2. That there was massive opposition from the community to the project.

Still, the bottom line is that they want everyone off the island, leaving us with a standoff- within a stand-off!!

Internet rumours about enmeshment with Malaysian Government debt aside, Petronas has in the face of a severe downturn in oil and gas prices, announced an $11.4-billion reduction in capital spending over the next four years. What this means for a long term LNG investment like the Lelu Island LNG terminal is unclear but it was reported on April 29 that Petronas owned Progress Energy, had named Adnan Zainal Abidin, a senior Petronas official, to lead the construction phase of their Pacific NorthWest project. Adnan Zainal Abidin,  is vice-president global LNG for Petronas. At the same time, Petronas executive vice-president and CEO upstream Anuar Taib  was named chairman of the board of Pacific NorthWest LNG and Progress Energy. These high level appointments appear to index a high level of commitment to the Lelu Island project. It may however just be a feint or bluff in this tense stand-off. Although Petronas has made a massive investment in this project to date, their boffins must have figured out the financial bottom line past which it will be unprofitable to keep going. The next move will have to come from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency whose seemingly nervous delay puts their report’s release date in June. Image from Mindcontrol.