The Koboi Project is a photo-performative instantiation of identity across the discontinuities of a multi-generational diasporic experience.
carik carik bulu ayam
Don’t be misled by the contemporary democratic/ parliamentary frame of reference. This is a post-traditional return to the heyday of the Malay Sultanates (Kesultanan Melayu) – rebutan kuasa di antara pemimpin Melayu sekeluarga, diatas dan keatas Tanah Melayu! Itu sahaja …
PS Sabah Sarawak is not included in this reading … but that is a different feudal narrative!
Pakatan| Muhyiddin
Interim Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared that he now the backing of Pakatan Harapan to form the new government. This is breaking news on Malaysiakini website! Anwar is still in the game but standing behind Mahathir for now!
https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/koboiproject.com/15743
– Anwar | Muhyiddin –
– The Good | the Bad and the Ugly! –
– The Malaysian Standoff –
In the 5 days that have passed the external event has occurred the external event that sets off the Mexican or Malaysian Standoff into motion has occurred. According to the Straits Times the speaker of the House, has intervened against Mahathir’s call for a special session of parliament on March 2nd, and the action has started to unfurl – in slow motion of course!
Mahathir has fallen away to be replaced by Bersatu’s Muhyiddin Yassin, possibly his proxy, who seems to now have the upperhand in the fight. Muhyiddin has the support of Umno and PAS, who were not previously behind Mahathir. According to another Straits Times, “coupled with Bersatu’s 36 MPs, the former deputy premier will have the support of 93 parliamentarians,” thereby getting ahead of Anwar, who had 92 supporters on the last count.
The standoff now seems to be back down to a duel between two – Anwar and Muhyiddin.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to reiterate his promise to make way for Anwar Ibrahim to take the reins of Power in Malaysia. Malaysiakini reports that he said, “I have made a promise and we keep our promises. … but if a candidate is rejected by the Dewan Rakyat, he … cannot become prime minister” When asked whether he would consider serving out a full term if support from the Dewan Rakyat increases, Mahathir is supposed to have smiled and said, “I don’t know”.
This interview with Najwa Shihab is my favourite of those given by Dr M in recent years. Whether you like him or not, you can not deny that Mahathir’s clarity and incisiveness are beyond compare … see how simply he explains the mechanics and ethos of his political alignment with Anwar, subtly indexing the political realities of the the post victory scenario,” … kita perlu bersatu untuk jatuhkan Najib dan itu sudah tercapai”. (minute 16:05) Indeed, regardless of second tier electoral promises, the primary aim of the initial alignment has been achieved, and the central promise delivered. With Najib’s fall, a new evaluation must be made of the alignment, to ascertain if the need to continue is mutual … perfectly natural, perhaps even ethical in the realm of politics!
The Dari Pusat Tasek exhibition will run at Percha Artspace, Lumut Waterfront till 19 Jan 2020
Hijau ke Jingga?
Pauh bumi, pauh pendatang,
ada juga pauh kacukan!
Pauh harum yang manis manisan,
siapakah menjadi pewaris harapan?
Sometimes the quirks of life provide better expressions of truth then the constructs of the best artist. The job of the artist in such instances is to read and re-present these signs. The above image is a crop/edit from a larger image in the mass media that has been seen, by those who believe that the ruling party pulls the levers of the supposedly independent Elections Commision, as a counter productive attempt by Barisan to supress the images of the two main opposition leaders in the coming elections. Regardless of the independanceof the commision, I would take this analysis further in a most objective fashion – the excision of one of the leaders of the opposition from a hoarding turns the resulting lacuna into an image of both of them. Further, in this instance (and from this angle) it gives the public an image of the sky which carries all the possible connotations of ‘Hope’ or Harapan! I really do not think there will be many more instances of official iconoclasm of this kind ,if the government does indeed have a grip on the Elections Commision (and assuming, of course, that the party knows what it is doing)!
https://koboikembaralagi.wordpress.com/2018/04/26/superstar-cutouts/
As the May 8th polling date approaches in Malaysia, there has been an interesting turn of events with regard to the use of images. According to the Straits Times of Singapore, the Election Commission just issued new guidelines stipulating that, other than the photograph of the candidate standing for election in a given constituency, the only other photographs can be used on campaign materials are photos of the candidate’s party president and deputy president. This effectively removes images of Dr Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim from the iconography of the campaign. Reflecting on the power of images in the contemporary media, and the interdiction against images in Islam in this context might be quite enlightening ……. as might pondering on the Superstar Cutouts that populate the box-office and polling landscapes of Asia!
Image composite from : https://aliran.com/thinking-allowed-online/2011-ta-online/najibs-larger-than-life-thaipusam-appearance/ and https://malaysianaccess.com/batu-caves-12-metre-cutout-anwar-ibrahim-standing-tall-p5831/
The Koboi Project 
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