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Newsflash!!

Ex-DPM Anwar Ibrahim has been officially released from prison. What a glorious day for the Malaysian justice system but until the government releases all the remaining ISA detainees and formally charge them in court (and abolish the draconian ISA at the same time), this unprecedented decision will only remain as a minor victory--nothing more, nothing less. Still, kudos to the two judges who dare to defy the powers-that-be, and with their fearless independence and clear-eyed approach managed to cut through the web of lies and the smokescreen of disinformation laid out by the government these past six years. Still, a very, very happy day for all Malaysians who have been dreaming for this fateful event and for the day that the judiciary will finally assert its independence from the Executive branch.

The rumor mills have been whirring on about the secret deal made between Pak Lah and Anwar, and this is just a part of a diabolical scheme to further elevate Pak Lah's stature among the Malays and to solidify his camp within UMNO to better fend off any future challenges for the party presidency from the more popular Najib Tun Razak. Meanwhile, as to what Anwar's role is in this whole scheme of things will still remain to be seen.

Is this the harbinger of all the good things to come in Malaysia? What's next? Abolish ISA? More transparency in all of the government's decision-making process? A real separation of powers between the Judiciary and the Executive branches? Will Samy Vellu, Rafidah Aziz and all those corrupted-to-the-bones dinosaurs be fired from their Cabinet posts? One can only hope!

Back to regular programming:

Today's the first day of school. Nothing special really. One class--my "Ethnicity, Religion and Race in American Politics" course--has all the makings of a sure-fire A. The one course that seems destined to be the bane of my academic existence this semester will be "The Methods of Political Research." You know that a course just spells bad news when there's a "Caveat" paragraph in the syllabus that's filled with all the "Don'ts" and "Required Tos" and ended with the sentence "I know all the excuses, so please don't test me." Bitchy! It's a 4 credit hour course (including 1 credit hour of lab time) and an A (or a D) in this class will make a huge difference in my GPA. The other classes seem more subdued and less intense (maybe I spoke too soon for my yet-to-be-attended "Constitutional Law - Government Powers and Federalism" class but most of the time the title merely packs more bark than bite.)

On the side-note: I've been back on the stateside for almost a week now and have been slowly easing myself back into the groove of things. I decided to crash at Syed Hasan's place in DC last weekend (Thanks so much, bro) before driving up to Milwaukee last Monday. Talk about a long and lonely drive with no end seems to be in sight!

The first five hours of the drive was liberating and awe-inspiring. I've always wanted to venture on the scenic I-68 National Freeway (as opposed to taking the much shorter yet more treacherous I-70/76 Pennsylvania Turnpike) and finally did it this time. The drive was breathtaking as the two-lane freeway snakes through the majestic Appalachian range dotted with various mountain-side communities resplendent under the glow of the evening sun. But the latter two-third of the leg was simply torturous. Not even my trusty iPod can pull me out of the utter desolation and gripping boredom--much less fatigue and exhaustion.

I stopped twice along the way to get a quick shuteye at the rest area--once in the outskirts of Toledo, OH and the other one in South Bend, IN (about an hour-and-a-half away from Chicago.) The light at the end of the proverbial tunnel looked mighty visible as I entered Chicago, the last leg of my journey. I thought to myself, "Yes, this unbearably long trip is almost over" but the joy soon proved to be short-lived as my worst nightmare reared its ugly monstrous head--the notorious Chicago's traffic jam! Obviously getting to Chicago in the wee hours of 7 in the morning was not early enough to escape the deluge of vehicles pouring in and out of the greater Chicago area. Getting caught in the gridlock for over 2 hours on a four-lane wide highway was not fun at all; the thought of making an impromptu excursion into downtown Chicago and take a scenic drive along the gorgeous Lake Shore Drive while waiting out the morning rush hour did cross my mind but then the van had to be returned back in a few hours and there were still plenty of shit to do once I get to Milwaukee.

As of now I'm crashing at Bobo's place on a nicely-made bed in the living room. At least I don't have to get out of the bed to watch TV. Bobo is currently looking for a four-bedroom apartment or house that has a garage (a top priority for a house full of car fanatics who spend their every waking hours tinkering with their rides) and I sure hope he finds one soon. This is a household where the cars outnumber the people (six--soon to be seven--cars to four people, which consists of Bobo, Oza, Omie and me.) Anyway, other than a few minor cosmetic changes, Milwaukee is relatively still the same place I left three years ago. Two of the major streets have been changed from one- to two-way, which is a total drag, since now I have to re-learn my driving habits in the city. Rochambo now is a bright shiny happy coffeeshop, complete with new eye-blinding paint job, flashy artwork on the wall, and a quasi-balcony right smack in the middle of the second floor. It's a thinly-veiled attempt by the owners to ward off all those depressing goth kids and emo crowd from the premise! The only thing to do now is to offer a WiFi service (which it'll do in a couple of months) and all those damn yuppies will start pouring in.

Well, it's good to be back here in Milwaukee but I do miss Malaysia quite a bit though.