“I blushed thinking that it was love at first sight because I’m far too cynical for things like that.”

[In character] I’m Sylvia Graham, I write for the Times Newspaper in London which is why I came over to Malaya. Well it must have been a few days ago now. You see I have this marvelous idea for an article, and I beg the newspaper to let me travel over here and write it. I was hoping it would be the article of my career to tell you the truth. But then I went to this rally, I was convinced that I missed the elections, but I hadn’t. Something marvelous happened in fact. I met a man. A man called Raj Veerasamy. 

  I blushed thinking that it was love at first sight because I’m far too cynical for things like that. But I don’t know, it took me by surprise. It was one of those things that you never really expected. I traveled six thousand miles for my career essentially. And then I realized, there was no point in that anymore. My life has found a new meaning. And I was supposed to, I guess to go over whoever that bought me here, to build him up, to make sure that he could lead the party, the MIC in the best way possible. And I would support that through writing speeches. Which is what happened. 

  The relationship was good for a while, I think there were some tiny issues, but then culture comes into it. We both make sacrifices, one after the other. From the types of food, we like the type of friends we make. Things are rather different. You see love is a complicated thing, sometimes your emotions rule your head and then other times, your brain takes over. And I realized I wasn’t really using mine. And I was so full of ambition that I put everything on hold, for a man, and when he couldn’t give me what I wanted I thought, “I sacrificed everything and I want more.” Unnecessarily he wanted more too. And it’s a quite sad ending though. We didn’t work out. As a result, I fled, move back to London to write for the paper. To reclaim what was once mine. 

  I tried my best to fit in. Honestly, I did. I sampled the food, I even wore the clothes as they were. But it wasn’t enough somehow. I was always an outsider you see. I did try my best but people sometimes when they look, they look pass. I guess what’s staring them at the face. And I think I was very much the same, some parts. And probably held a lot of prejudice too. 

  My advice to all the girls out there is, don’t be scared. If you want to do something and your heart says to do it, then just go for it with no regrets. 

MALAYA RELIVED

The second installment of Liver & Lung of immersive musical series, which seeks to unveil the cultural challenges our ancestors had to overcome in their fight for Malayan independence. 

“Everyone looked at me as if I was in denial, and I lost my friends and family because of that.”

[In character] I’m Raj Veerasamy, the Deputy state leader of the Selangor Malayan Indian Congress (MIC). It was a long and hard struggle to get to that point. My position is given by the community who truly place their trust in their leaders. It was a hard struggle accompanied by a swell of ground support, which put me just below the state leader of the MIC. 

  I believed during that time I was fighting for a new Malaya, a new federation without any interference of foreign governance. And I believed that every race that had been in Malaya were to be given equal opportunities, standings and rights, because they were all there at the same point of time. They were all brought up in Malaya in different ways as a result of the racial and cultural split made by the foreign governments so I think it is in the best interest of the people of Malaya that this new federation looks at everyone from similar standing, at the very start.

  As for my love life, it has been two years since my wife’s passing, which ultimately led me to dive deeper into my work. That is all I can think about. I have been working closely with this Times journalist who came from London. I thought she was a male at first because of her initials, ‘S.I.D Abraham’. But all of that changed as soon as I met her, with this whole swell of emotions coming out of me. I wondered to myself, “Who is this? I’ve never seen this beauty before.” And we did share a moment for a while there. She is very different from everyone else I’ve met. And she slowly, yet persistently gained my trust and confidence until I finally let go, opening my heart, which I have been locking up for so long. All because I thought I finally found someone who knows and understands my struggle and she is putting her career at stake just for me. This made me fall in love with her. And for that, I tried to give her everything. 

  But being an Indian in Malaya and having a relationship with a foreigner creates this stigma of, “Why, is there no one else here that good enough for you?” 

Someone even said to me that I was a freedom fighter who was supposed to fight for independence and yet I gave all of that away by having a relationship with a white woman – a person whose country I was expected to fight against. Everyone looked at me as if I was in denial, and I lost my friends and family because of that. But I didn’t care because at the end of the day what I wanted was her and I love her. I made a lot of sacrifices just to be with her. Although in the end, she penned a goodbye letter to me, in the middle of my speech at Padang Merdeka. I then decided that I did not want this anymore, because of everything that has already happened. Whether or not I’m here, it’s not going to make a big difference. So, I let all of this go and went after my dream, which was to be with Sylvia. But sadly, it was too late. When I said goodbye to Kuala Lumpur, she too waved her goodbye at me and left for London.

MALAYA RELIVED

The second installment of Liver & Lung of immersive musical series, which seeks to unveil the cultural challenges our ancestors had to overcome in their fight for Malayan independence. 

Edited by Sydrah M.

“We have to stay strong, because these people just lost everything in a blink of an eye.”

What was your most challenging experience so far as a firefighter?

(On the right)

“It was during Ramadan so we were fasting, and didn’t have the usual stamina to fight the fire but had to summon all our energy as people were crying and telling of how their books are gone, their homes, how the victims are wondering what’ll they do for upcoming Raya.

“We have to stay strong, because these people just lost everything in a blink of an eye. Yes we are firefighters, but we are also women.

“It was also a squatter settlement and those structures can be fire hazards and the cramped illegally constructed buildings allow the fire to spread quickly”.

“Also, we undergo the same specialized training as men. We even wear the same uniform, so its a bit of a problem. The equipment come from the United States, so its all big. The coat, the boots…and I remember falling down once!”

(On the left)

“It was a 6-hour fight with a fire in a clubhouse, where everything was closed, no doors, so the condition is right for the fire to spread easily because there’s no air going inside.

“So we were trying to figure out how can we find a way to bring in some air to help kill the fire.

“In the end, we had to force open the roof using the TTL (the big fire truck with the crane-like ladder extension) and used the chainsaw to open up the roof. We didn’t eat, drink, and was just at it for 6 hours starting from 6am till 1pm.

“It started from the kitchen when they were cooking water and then it exploded. Someone probably forgot they left it there, and it was just small fire. but because there was no big gusts of wind or air, it became bigger and bigger. Thank god there wasn’t many people in it.

“Being a firefighter is very adventurous, and there many challenges. We were afraid at first but after training it becomes automatic and we aren’t afraid anymore.”