Firstly, a lot of people have dragged Alvin's mother into the equation. I think one should leave her alone as she has nothing to do with what her son has done (note that Alvin spent most of his formative years as a scholar in Singapore, away from her in KL) - but allow me to deal with the people who claim that he is 'betraying' her by running away to America. If he had stayed in Malaysia, he would undoubtedly go to jail (for quite a long time). Let me ask you this question: what good would a son in jail do for old Mrs Tan? So she can have the 'privilege' of visiting her son in jail for the next few years? What kind of mother would want that kind of 'privilege'? No mother in the world would want that.
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| What mother would want to see her son in jail? |
So if we were to put these options to Mrs Tan: auntie, which would you prefer your son for his future?
A) Rot in a Malaysian jail, then come out of jail after having been broken by the long jail sentence, facing a very, very bleak future in Malaysia as an ex-criminal with a bad reputation
B) Start a new life in America, where he can wipe the slate clean and have a chance to start all over again
Clearly, any sane, logical mother would choose option B over A. It is pretty obvious. Why would any mother choose option A over option B? Only a vindictive hater would want to see Alvin pick the worse of the two options presented above because they simply want to see him suffer for what he has done. Personally, I don't approve of what he has done (with regards to the Bak Kut Teh episode) but I am not going to nag at Alvin about it. I'm sure hindsight is 2020 and he would have realized that he had gotten himself into a lot of trouble over that whole Bak Kut Teh incident. But at this point, we're not going to split hairs over what he should have done given that we can't go back and change the past. At this point, it is all about making the best of a bad situation - both for Alvin as well as for his parents. Such is life, stuff your morals and principles: you do what you have to do when you are presented a difficult situation with no easy options. And in this case, the best option was for Alvin to leave - the opportunity presented itself when he was allowed to travel to Singapore for the filming of a documentary and he took it. I say, good for him for having the balls to do so.
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| Alvin chose to flee, Vivian chose to stay. |
I am sure Alvin's parents can appreciate that they have absolutely nothing to gain by letting their son rot in a Malaysian prison for many years. The police may question them to try to find out how much they knew about Alvin's plans but at the end of the day, they didn't do anything wrong and the police cannot continue to harass them forever. Oh and they always have the option of visiting Alvin in America if they so wish to - by that token, they are no different from Malaysian parents with children working overseas and that is fairly common in Malaysia.
I have no idea what lies ahead for Alvin Tan in America once his asylum application comes through and he can get on with establishing a career for himself in America. Maybe he will be successful, maybe he will be ordinary and boring - who knows? But one thing I do know for sure, is that any kind of future for him in Malaysia would be extremely bleak. Some people make a big deal about his mother losing her 20,000 RM (S$7817, £3775) bond when Alvin failed to return from Singapore - that's an extremely short sighted view of the situation. With Alvin rotting in jail for a long jail sentence, the projected loss in earnings for Alvin would be a much bigger figure. At least with Alvin as a free man in America, he can easily earn that 20,000 RM back in a matter of months and repay his mother in a relatively short space of time. Relax, she will get her money back from Alvin in due course. Do the maths people, Mrs Tan clearly has.
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| I have no doubt Alvin will earn that 20,000 RM back pretty quickly. |
What about these haters then - why are they so upset that Alvin didn't end up in jail? I suppose their point of view stems from being in a society where they have given up certain privileges by following the rules and being obedient. Thus they expect someone like Alvin to be punished for breaking the rules and if he doesn't - then it turns their world upside down because it questions this whole concept of right and wrong. I have actually talked about this issue before in a Singaporean context and you can read about it here. Well hopefully, this episode may actually help some of the haters grow up and learn a thing or two about the real world. Funny how life sends messengers like Alvin Tan to teach some of you some hard truths about the world we live in.
So that's it from me on this issue. I am going to write another piece soon on looking at the wider picture in Asia - tying together different threads: comparing what is happening in Malaysia over this case with the very tense situation in Hong Kong, the blatant misreporting of the 'heckling' incident by the corrupt press in Singapore, Let's look at the bigger picture and see if there is anything we can learn from the situation. I could have spent the whole weekend blogging but I have quite a lot to do at the moment and now it's Monday already, damn! Hopefully I will be a bit more free in the coming week. As usual feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think, thank you very much for reading.
Alvin is a grown man with grown-up problems. His mother is the least of his concerns at this moment. While I feel for her, he has to take care for himself from now on. Even if she were bed-ridden and dying, what could he do for her? Gosh, that's what my mil would want my husband to do.: be by her side and hold her hand while his life rots away.
ReplyDeleteThe point is, she has maintained a stance of "I don't know, don't ask me, my son doesn't tell me anything, stop harassing me" when being questioned by the police and press - which is the right thing to do, as she doesn't want to be dragged into all this. And I say fair enough, leave her out of it and stop harassing the old lady please. If you were to ask her, "auntie - would you rather visit your son in America or in jail?" You know what her answer will be - America. That's why it pisses me off when people try to speak on her behalf - leave her alone!!
DeleteHow is he "betraying" her by going to America?! People are so stupid. You are right. How good a son is he by staying and rotting in a Malaysian jail? As for the mom, of course she shouldn't say anything. I am beginning to think idiots are running amok in this world.
DeleteYou can't be expecting her to say she knows anything right?
DeleteIf it's a short jail term of up to 1+2 mths Max it might be better for him to get lock up for a while. Learn a lesson he'll hopefully remember. At the end of the day it's Malaysia they're not going to stone him for his stupid comments.
By fleeing to USA he will never be able to return home. If anyone feels vengeful his and his extended family would be affected by his stupidity.
What If the neighborhood mat rempit decided to be a " proper religious guy" that very day?
The fact is Jason, we don't know how long he will be jailed for. You claim it is 1 - 2 months, it could be much longer. For Sedition alone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_(Malaysia) he can get 3 years - but with the way that Bak Kut Teh incident happened + his porno background, they can throw the book at him and let him rot in jail for much, much longer than 3 years not so much to punish him, but because it will please some voters who hate Alvin.
DeleteIn any case, in case you didn't read his interview - he HATES Malaysia and has no intention of returning, ever. (However, he likes Singapore but that's another story for another day.)
As for a revenge attack on his family, who knows? Given everything that has transpired thus far - Alvivi porn, bak kut teh etc - he has been offending Malaysians since 2012, if someone wanted to harm his family, they would have already done so and personally, no one has given his parents more sleepless nights than Alvin himself with his behaviour. They should worry about what he gets up to next, rather than some random stranger.
I honestly do not understand why he likes Singapore.
DeleteHe doesn't fit in. In fact Singaporeans are more wary about racial/ religious comments. His actions so far hasn't exactly endeared him to Singaporeans.
Assuming he hates Malaysia with the average same motivations as your next " ambitious young CHINESE Malaysian "
DeleteCutting ties off is a little to premature.
Like every other antic he does it then "regrets " it when people can object and hurt him.
USA is more PC compared to Malaysia. God knows what he'll get into. He should go for Europe and pretend to be those fringe artist extremist wanting to push human senses to the next avant garde level.
He's supposed to be a scholar... Why is he so immature in his actions?
And really whatever antics he did to cause distress. Would still pale in comparison to some local crazy splashing you with acid.
I don't know him personally but his remarks on corruption was really offensive. How Malaysia is better because you can offer a $50rm bribe and solve issues.
Delete1. Singapore paid for his secondary, pre-university and his incompleted degree - he says he feels a debt of gratitude to the people of Singapore for the many scholarships that he has benefited from in the past. So that relationship is based on gratitude for the money, rather than any kind of 'popularity contest'. He is under no illusions about his 'popularity' in Singapore.
Delete2. It's pointless to talk about "cutting ties off is a little too premature" - he has reached the point of no return with Malaysia, with everything he has done so far, there's absolutely no way he can say, "oh I'm sorry can I come back and work something out?" No, the point of no return has gone - a long, long time ago.
3. Local crazies can be found in any city, anywhere in the world - the bottom line is to be careful not to offend too many people.
4. As for corruption in Malaysia, I'll let Alvin comment on that as he's the Malaysian. He's entitled to his opinion.
i dont follow this saga nor any idea how many people are harassing his mother, but with regards to this particular entry all i have to say is this (reposted from my TRS reply)
ReplyDeleteRacism aside, truth is a law was broken in a country you reside in, whether you approve of it is irrelevant. You keep asking people to look at "the bigger picture" and yet you yourself fail to see what you are endorsing. You are openly endorsing all criminals, including murderers and kidnappers to make a run for it because that is "the best choice for each individual" and "such is life". Its the principle that matters, not the severity. I dont despite that is the "best choice for him", heck, the best choice for many people might involve killing or stealing, does that make that acceptable? way to go man...
Zhao Guai, I fear you lack the ability to judge each case independently on its merits. I present you the case of http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27433241 Meriam Ibrahim - who made headlines around the world when she was sentenced to death for marrying a Christian man when she was 8 months pregnant. That's right, the Sudanese authorities were prepared to execute her and her unborn child because she was born a Muslim (her birth father was Muslim) - but her Muslim father deserted her family and she was raised a Christian. But oh no, according to the law in Sudan, she is still classified as a Muslim hence she broke the apostasy law in Sudan.
DeleteMany people then reacted very angrily to their decision to sentence a heavily pregnant woman to death like that - but would you then say, oh no, she broke the law in Sudan, the country she is living in, therefore she and her unborn child must pay the price and DIE - accept the ruling and DIE, whether or not you approve or like it is irrelevant. Would you insist that Meriam Ibrahim and her unborn child should be executed just so you can uphold the law in Sudan?
Use your brain to think a little, please - the law can get it wrong at times. And whilst I think what Alvin did was wrong, I reserve judgement on the way the case was dealt with in the Malaysian system.
Thank you for your concern but my judgement is perfectly fine, it is yours i am worried about.
DeleteLet me make the point clearer for you incase you didnt pick it up. I have specifically worded my comment to refer to the escape from the court of law as something not to be endorsed. Whether the ruling itself is legitimate is an entirely separate discussion. What you brought up is an example where a particular ruling is considered barbaric to the rest of the world. It is the ruling itself that is disputed.
Fortunately, you do see the problem on the last line of your comment, which had not been reflected in your article that was literally making excuses for his actions. Personally, i dont follow this guy nor care about the case. It is the open endorsement of a principle that i am bothered about.
Something that is the law does not always make it right. Alvin broke the law, but the law was stupid. Why are people so hungry for blood from a foolish young man and yet allow the government to get away with so much atrocities? Get your priorities straight, Malaysians!
DeleteFirstly I'm not a Muslim
DeleteBut given the need for the ruling party to repeatedly use Islam as a tool. I honestly do not see anything wrong with the law he broke. Malaysia is not multicultural. People speak Malay. The majority are Muslims.
Despite him growing up in Malaysia long enough to understand he needs run off.
And his tendencies to challenge " the other side "
I am not quite sure USA is suitable for him. Even now he's Photoshopping pig snouts onto you know who's faces.
As for the Sudanese case . It's culturally totally different from Malaysia. It's a more violent place. The laws of the land reflect the people staying there.
We're against the execution because our current values are different from that area. While we may disagree, the locals might agree and strongly support killing someone who sullied the name of their god. Do you want to suggest Bombing them to stop the execution then?
Just like you don't think he's wrong to have fled. Many others want collective punishment. This isn't a think and it'll be OK situation. We're talking about values, morals and beliefs. Things you carry over from your childhood. You obviously have your own beliefs on how things should be. But a large number of Muslims don't think so.
The best thing now is to hope you don't get some crazy kid who wants to avenge his people and find out where the mother lives
Age of consent is 13 in Spain. Since you want to bring up the difference between Sudan and wherever you're at. Should all places lower the age of consent to 13 then?
DeleteSo many comments. Allow me to reply you one by one please.
Delete1. Zi Zhao Guai
Let me be clear: I do think that Alvin was foolish to have gotten himself into so much trouble over the whole Bak Kut Teh incident in the first place. If he wanted to leave Malaysia for America, he could have done so in a far less painful manner (for himself, most of all). However, given the circumstances that he found himself in, the question was: would he face a fair trial? The answer is no, probably not, but this is a hypothetical question since he fled Malaysia and will not stand for trial there as long as he remains in USA.
But more to the point, you seem to think that one must accept the rule of authority regardless of whether or not it is 'fair' or 'legitimate' - just look at what is happening in Hong Kong at the moment with thousands protesting against the government in the street. You think they are wrong to stand up to the authority when they think the authority got it wrong?
You remind me of my mother - I have talk about this before: the 'benevolent egg' that can't be shattered in your head. http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/singapores-benevolent-egg.html
Di Talasi: I agree, there are far more important issues in Malaysia but they love having a scapegoat like that to create a sideshow to distract the people from more pressing issues.
Jason Soh: In the Sudanese case, diplomatic pressure from the international community not only managed to free the woman from jail but she is now living in America with her husband.
I don't see how the age of consent in Spain is relevant to this case - I did say that Alvin should not have acted foolishly and gotten himself into trouble in the first place, given that he should have known what the law is in Malaysia. I brought up Sudan because Zi Zhao Guai insists that the rule of law must be obeyed regardless of the situation and I wanted to bring up an extreme case where obeying the rule of law would have meant executing a woman who was 8 months pregnant. It was a carefully chosen example to prove to him that the law can be ludicrous, barbaric and plain wrong at times and that we should exercise judgement rather than blindly obeying it. This is why so many people, thousands of HKers are protesting in the streets of HK now because they are thinking and exercising their judgement and they do not accept what the Beijing government is trying to impose on HK.