Have been reviewing a few things, and thinking about the direction of my writing programme. I have started here and there doing some stuff in a small way, but decided that I should now focus more of my energy and shift the gear higher. The giving up of certain commitments will actually allow me more time to concentrate on more challenging writing tasks ahead rather than reverting to the comfort zone. It's a big and dangerous world out there, but I will arm myself as well as I can. Wish me luck!
A few announcements are in order to clear things up.
This article that was written at jalantelawi.com under a different name was actually written by me. Perhaps the choice of that particular pseudonym have been miscontrued as my way of undermining religions (and the hegemony of Islam in Malaysia). Firstly, I would like to say that a name has no religious affiliations. Just because it happens to be a name that came from a race where a majority of the people are muslims, it does not mean anything. I could very well use Mohamad, Ali, Yusuf, Mariam etc, and proclaim my sentiments about anything under the sun (though I have to be careful that I do not sound like I am talking through my arse), it should not be read out of context. The reason why I chose this name is because I want to use a name that is seldom used by non-Malay members of the race in Malaysia, especially since I am a Malaysian. I've been asked as to why I am "Clarissa Lee" since I am not white instead of some local name. Well darlings, firstly, I do not believe in limiting myself to anything and I am sick and tired of superficial nationalism. I damn well can call myself with some name in an unpronouncable tongue to most people in this region if I wish to. And I damn well am proud of my race and heritage (I never am "racist" but the conditions around has left me high and dry), and my name in no way detracts from the fact that I am C-H-I-N-E-S-E in every imaginable permutation even if I've been told that I don't always look THAT Chinese (and yes, my parents DID give me a Chinese name). How should a Chinese look since the nation is made up of a very mixed race and culture. Perhaps they mean I don't look very Han (the race of many southern Chinese originating from China). I can't say I like the way some Chinese have become, but we do have a strong heritage that we can be proud of in many ways. And I really dislike the ethno-centric, small-minded, and short-term thinking that do still permeate the Chinese culture of today (and of yesteryears). Anyway, I digress.
Whatever I choose has long-term implications for me and I am now too old to make choices and change directions on whim. So, one day, I decided to write using a Javanese pen-name and hence I am interpreted as an anarchic atheist. Hello, God belongs to everyone. And I never intend to be a plain jane when I write, regardless of how I might look physically. And to return to that article above, I truly believe in everything I wrote in there, even if you feel that I have mistaken notions about things. Write back and scold me with your own views and take. At worse, we can agree to disagree.
Anyway, I will be discontinuing my writing in a few places and will be concentrating on some new stuff that I have been working at developing. Firstly, I won't be writing for jalantelawi.com for now since I need all that free time I can muster. So to those who have followed my writing there (even if there were just 10 of you or less, don't miss me too much, ya? ;P). And I am also changing direction in the kind of publications I write for, as I intend to develop new platforms and maybe experiment in other places. I'll keep my faithful readers abreast of what I am up to. I welcome all forms of constructive criticism, you can even tell me you hate my style, and why (I am learning to develop a thicker skin over time and also to be even more self-critical). You can even say that you do not like the way I overuse parentheses, asides and appositives. :D
That's what I left the comment boxes for. You can even drop me emails should you not wish for others to see them. (:
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