Thousands of Malaysian throng the causeways(Tambak Johor) everyday to work in Singapore. Very little are reported of their bitter sweet struggle to earn the Sing Dollar. This blog hopes to share my encounters with many fellow kaki tambak. Hopefully there will be more social recognition for these unsung heroes who breathes life to both cities on either side of the causeway.
Checkpoint traffic jams(vehicles or humans) on Friday evenings are usually the worst in the week.
Yesterday was no different. I reach Woodlands at 6.30pm. The motorbike que had already reached the bottom of the viaduct. I was only able to clear Woodlands checkpoint around 7.40pm. Betul-betul stuck dari siang sampai malam.
After queing for 20 mins, the checkpoint was still so far.
On the bright side a lot of tambak riders shut off their engine yesterday because the weather was cloudy and not hot. Lucky no rain in spite of the dark clouds. Or else I would be really crying in the rain.
For those of you who do not know what Freedom Film Festival(FFF), it is actually an annual film festival organized by an NGO named KOMAS.
Their original site freedomfilmfest.komas.org has been taken down due to heavy bombardment by B-End cybertroopers. So I guess they are pretty independent. All is not lost, as they have created a new blog quickly to replace the original site.
KOMAS basically uses video and media creatively to narrate the different aspects of issues that do not get the any significant coverages in the mainstream media. Undercurrent issues that we must confront in order for our society to move beyond modernization and material development.
Hey I know this blog isn't trafically buzzing. Nonetheless I hope this post can somehow reach some in JB and Singapore. This film screening would definitely be a refreshing experience.
I would like to especially invite Singaporeans to come over check it out. It will be slightly different from the film fest that you have Singapore. In Singapore, the focus is more on the arty side. Singapore is home to a vibrant arts circle but it relies too heavily on govt and corporate support(esp GLCs). I am not saying there are some sort of direct control over media freedom or independence in Singapore. Its just that there isn't that much of a space to work on.
Hopefully FFF2009 can give a more independent take on some topics that are made controversial by our mainstream media.
After queing for 20 mins, the checkpoint was still so far.
