They say that Patience is a Virtue, and Jecyrina Nagarajah is certainly a virtuous woman. The 28-year-old has dedicated her life to providing support, and currently, her focus is children with special needs. Her interest in this sector was sparked when she first encountered children with learning difficulties, at an event in 2005. She had never met children with special needs before, and being curious, she visited a children’s home, and witnessed young residents shackled to pillars and chairs. Instantly, it dawned upon her that her path in life is to share the love of God with and make a difference in these children’s lives.

Jecyrina used to wonder about God’s plan for children with special needs, and after working with them for awhile, she realised that they are here to make us better people. It takes a lot of passion, perseverance, patience, and dedication to work them, and Jecyrina has the utmost respect for their parents. In fact, Jecyrina knew she was doing something right when she received a card from a parent, expressing her appreciation for all that she had done for her child.

Currently working with Malaysian Care as a Community Staff member, Jecyrina feels that the last thing these children need from the public is sympathy. “What they need is opportunity and acceptance. We need to get out of this "charity" mindset and see them as our "equals" because they can contribute to society as they grow into adults too,” stresses Jecyrina. It is also crucial that parents play an active role in their children’s lives, and Jecyrina advises, “If you think or have a hunch that your child may not be developing in tandem with his/her peers, start acting on it and do something about it. Seek help or support from the right places.” It can be very taxing to raise a child with special needs, so Jecyrina encourages parents to join a support group to share their experiences, and hopefully learn from one another.

Being the strong and positive-minded person that she is, Jecyrina feels that with the right moves, we can incorporate people with special needs into our society. “Everyone can start by being their friend,” she says.

To find out more about Malaysian Care and what they do, visit the non-profit organisation’s official website at www.malaysiancare.org.

Nalini Elumalai took the first step towards becoming a human rights activist by getting involved in the student movement during her university days. Part of the Student Welfare Committee, which focused on grassroots communities like plantation workers and factory workers, the experience made her realise that change was needed. “I felt really passionately about being involved in the human rights movement,” shares Nalini. Not long after her graduation, the political science graduate landed a job as the campaign coordinator at human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), where she was introduced to the Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) or Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI), a campaign for the abolition of laws that allow detention without trial. Since then, Nalini has been at the forefront of the campaign, lobbying for local and international support whilst raising public awareness on the draconian act.

One would think that the current political situation would dampen Nalini’s spirits; instead it’s presenting activists with more avenues to create awareness and advocate for policy change. In fact, a typical day for Nalini is filled with cases that require her to be out of the office most of the time. And while human rights activism in Malaysia is, without a doubt, an uphill task, Nalini – with the support of family, friends and fellow comrades – remains optimistic and hopeful for social justice and equality. “I always believe that if we stand up and fight, we will see the change.” So are there any disadvantages to being labelled “an activist” in this country? Nalini says no. “There are changes of attitude amongst the people towards activism in Malaysia. People used to view us as troublemakers. But now, they are changing and they are giving us a chance to help and guide them.” Nalini hopes to see a continuous change of attitude among Malaysians; it’s a step that’s crucial not just for us, but for the generations to come. “We have more to do, so let’s stand up and fight for our rights!”

To find out more about the Abolish ISA Movement and other human rights activism work in Malaysia, log on to www.suaram.net.

The lawyer and legal activist, Puspawati Rosman, is no stranger to us. Last year, she was one of five lawyers from the KL Legal Aid Centre who were arrested after trying to meet clients who had been detained at the Brickfields Police Station; this year, she is one of the lawyers representing the family of cop-killed teenager Aminulrasyid Amzah (you might have seen her speak about the case on web talk programme The Fairly Current Show).

A litigation lawyer by trade and human rights activist since her university days, Puspawati is one of the Selangor Legal Aid Centre’s (LAC) most visible members. “The LAC gives free legal representation to those who can’t afford one,” Puspawati explains.

“One of our other objectives is to create legal awareness among the public,” she continues. “So we do a lot of ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops: your rights when you get arrested, children’s rights, labour rights, housing rights, the rights of migrant workers and refugees, and more.” The LAC also hits the streets — during, say, street demonstrations — to give free legal advice on the spot.

“Most Malaysians are not aware of their legal and constitutional rights,” Puspawati reveals. “People still ask me basic questions like: ‘Is it okay if a police officer wants to conduct a body search on me?’ or ‘Does the government have the right to acquit my land because they want to build a highway on it?’” She believes that this ignorance stems from the lack of available education on such matters, as well as the public’s blasé attitudes.

“Most people think that these rights do not concern them directly,” she says. “They think it’s only for lawyers — and when the time comes, they will seek a lawyer’s advice. But how many of us can afford to retain lawyers, actually?”

So what can we do? “Be issues-literate,” Puspawati says. “Use all means to gain information and express your views. Be active in your neighbourhood or circle of friends. When there are matters which concern the public, react collectively.” Most of all, do not be afraid. “Laws can always be amended or be abolished, but not humanity.”

Visit www.malaysianbar.org.my for a list of Legal Aid Centres. Puspawati Rosman is also a founding member of Lawyers for Liberty (lawyersforliberty.org), a human rights and law reform initiative.

There is a local saying, “Berjuang Mati-Matian”, and that phrase can be applied to Nurolhuda Nasir, a Field Biologist who is based in Setiu. Nurolhuda, who lives by the motto, “Never Give Up”, works under the Terengganu Turtle Conservation Project. It is a well-known fact that the locals steal turtle eggs for their own consumption and for illegal sale, and as a result, turtle numbers have dropped drastically and they are listed as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). It was then Nurolhuda felt the need to foster change in the locals’ mentality, and revive turtle conservation efforts.

Nurolhuda has succeeded in educating the local community about the importance of sustaining wildlife, and the community now works closely with Nurolhuda, WWF, and the Department of Fisheries (DoF). Before this, Nurolhuda faced an uphill battle in convincing locals to take the initiative to save their national heritage, before the turtles become extinct. In fact, Nurolhuda says, “I would like to see the local community assuming the role of guardian to the turtles instead of outsiders.” Now, the villagers assist them as hatchery workers, rangers, and licensed egg collectors; and provide useful information about illegal trade and turtle deaths.

The biggest achievement so far that Nurolhuda is proud of, is the building of two turtle hatcheries under WWF and DoF in Setiu: one for turtles and the other for the painted terrapin, which is critically endangered. Thanks to consistent care and good handling of the turtle and terrapin eggs, they have recorded at least a 70% success rate of turtle hatching, and 80% success rate of terrapin hatching.

A typical day at work for Nurolhuda entails monitoring turtle egg collections by rangers and licensed egg collectors, patrolling the beach and relocating eggs during the peak nesting season, and monitoring hatchery works. She unwinds by reading books and watching the television, and she enjoys the outdoors. This animal lover owns seven cats, of which two are her constant travelling companions as she commutes between her home in Selangor and Terengganu, where she is based.

She is determined to carry on working with wildlife, as this is what she enjoys doing best. In the future, she might work with snakes, as she loves reptiles, but currently, her focus is turtles and terrapins. The community, however, can do their part saving endangered wildlife by volunteering on the ground to conduct scientific research, or simply by attending awareness programmes on turtle conservation at public events.

Visit www.wwf.org.my for more information about how you can play a part in wildlife conservation in Malaysia.

According to the National Economic Advisory Council, education is one of the main areas that need to be revamped to produce a more capable workforce so that Malaysia can rise above the middle-income trap. One of the main hurdles within our Malaysian education system is the University and University College Act (UUCA). It’s a touchy subject – students are not supposed to participate in politics, amongst other activities – and yet it’s a prime concern that one of our Blue Chilli Awards 2010 awardees keeps close to her heart. In 2004, KL-born, former Universiti Sains Malaysia student leader, Soh Sook Hwa, was fined RM200 for allegedly campaigning during the March general election. In her defence, Sook Hwa took up a case against the government in 2005, making her the first person to challenge the legality of UUCA in this country. And although the case is still pending in court, Sook Hwa has been advocating for change tirelessly. “Basically, UUCA is an act not much different from the Internal Security Act (ISA); both victimise those who are vocal. I hope that my action can maintain the momentum of the movement itself. Eventually, I want this act to be changed and stop being used to victimised student activists,” she says.

Sook Hwa’s aware that there are a lot of people who have tried to do what she’s doing but she firmly believes in one thing: everyone can do something to speed up the process. She also believes that real change starts from the grassroots level and it should involve every single person. “When we put all the little actions on the track, we are heading to a better tomorrow.” In 2009, Sook Hwa directed Kayuh, a short film that chronicles the 16-day journey of a contingent of cyclists who rode from Alor Setar to Johor Bahru in order to address six major concerns of marginalised groups in Malaysia. The short film didn’t go unnoticed. At the 6th Freedom Film Fest last year, Kayuh won the Justin Louis Prize, the Most Outstanding Human Rights Documentary and a RM5,000 grant.

Currently, Sook Hwa runs an organic farm in Penang and is an active member of Parti Socialist Malaysia (PSM).

Extraordinary People Impacting Community (E.P.I.C.) has roots in the religious community, but its current goal, under a project called Voice Your Choice (VYC), is quite secular: the registration of two million Malaysian voters, out of five million eligible but as-yet unregistered citizens, by the end of 2010. “Hitting that target would be sweet,” says John-Son Oei, E.P.I.C.’s 23-year-old coordinator.

Why did Oei decide to get involved with socio-political issues? “I realised that, in order to make long-term changes in our community, people need to be in touch with political issues,” he explains.

“Everything that affects us is political,” Oei continues. “Many people can relate with feeding the poor, saving trees, or helping orphans — but deliberately stay away from political issues. They don’t realise that many of the challenges our society faces are intertwined with the policies and laws that govern us.”

Oei (who moonlights as a fitness trainer, an English-language tuition teacher to high-school kids, and a part-time model) reveals that he used to believe young people in Malaysia were stereotypically apathetic. “I’ve found this isn’t true,” Oei says. “All Malaysians care about their country, but the reason they fail to do anything is because they feel alone.” E.P.I.C.’s modus operandi, therefore, is to make youths realise that there are “plenty of people who are just like them, who would be willing to work together positively for the betterment of our community.”

Oei and E.P.I.C. seem to be on their way: since VYC’s launch in March, they have managed to get 22,000 new voters registered from four different Peninsular states — the most successful non-partisan voter-registration drive to date. But Voice Your Choice still needs volunteers, especially in opening more registration booths. “It is extremely idiot-proof,” Oei stresses. “Everything that a volunteer needs to know is up on our website.”

“If we do hit our two-million-voter target, that will make VYC the biggest citizen movement of our generation,” Oei says. “Be sure of an epic party.”

Interested? Register to volunteer at www.dosomethingepic.net!

Enlightening the masses is the aim of the Pekan Frinjan series of events. Zulhabri Supian, one of the founding members of Frinjan, was motivated to initiate Pekan Frinjan as he felt that there was a need for arts to be available to all people regardless of background. There is a huge misconception about what arts is all about, and Zulhabri wants to set things straight by raising awareness among the public that art isn’t just to entertain, but it makes you more inclined to understand culture. Art without barriers, that’s what Pekan Frinjan is all about.

By bringing fringe and indie acts and programmes to the fore, the masses can be exposed to elements they have not experienced before, and Zulhabri is delighted that the youth are inspired to be more critical, creative, and independent, or as he puts it, “The most refreshing thing is knowing that they are not easily fooled by the media and politicians anymore.” Indeed, Pekan Frinjan is an excellent entity that could bridge the gap in our education system that puts too much emphasis on scoring good grades. If he could have it his way, Zulhabri would change our flawed education system and promote more activities that would cultivate critical thinking abilities and survival skills.

Even though he loves KL and its metropolitan way of life, it saddens him that the youth here lack a creative mind and a thirst for knowledge. However, that is all about to change with Pekan Frinjan, and Frinjan’s tagline, “Bukan Independen tapi Interdependen” reflects their concept of working with the community, and co-operation is essential. With emerging indie artists, Zulhabri hopes that not only will the mass learn to be more creative, but also a healthy competition is forged so that the artists and musicians themselves strive to be better.

With high hopes, Zulhabri aims to give the community a voice they never had before, and he plans to spread the word to all the districts in Selangor and the Klang Valley, before moving on to other states in Malaysia. Pekan Frinjan just enjoyed their twelfth event, themed “Efek Rumah Hijau”. Every Pekan Frinkan has a different theme, ranging from anti-racism, to one dedicated to the indigenous tribes of Malaysia. It’s really simple to get involved. Just ask Zulhabri! “Join us virtually on Facebook or attend our events. We could meet at the mamak and just talk about anything – from arts to politics and what not. One thing’s for sure, we really want to broaden our horizons and we need you guys to be involved. Evolution is the way to go!”

Visit www.frinjan.net, follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/frinjan, or join their Facebook fanpage by searching for “Frinjan”.

At 19, Shobana Nair Saseedharan has a lot on her plate. In 2009, she had the honour of representing Malaysia at the 1st Microsoft Innovative Students’ Forum in KL, before heading to London as a representative for online youth community TakingITGlobal at the Youth Engagement Summit 2009. This year alone, Shobana’s schedule has not only included mentoring at the 2nd Microsoft Innovative Students’ Forum, but also speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative University Meeting, as a result of a personal invitation from former US President, Bill Clinton.

Shobana cut her activist teeth at the 1st Microsoft Innovative Students’ Forum in 2009. It was at this forum that she and four others from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, came up with Children Behind Us, a campaign that provides basic literacy skills to underprivileged children in this region. “Education has always been very important to me and the rest of the team, which is why we came up with the idea,” explains Shobana. Since its inception, the campaign has been running projects in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. But it hasn’t always been an easy task. She explains: “some people are sceptical that anyone my age can really do something, and so it is quite difficult to find people who are willing to help out.” Thankfully, age doesn’t deter Shobana from fighting for the cause!

When Shobana doesn’t have her elbows deep in activism work, she’s busy pursuing her foundation studies at Multimedia University in Cyberjaya. Shobana admits it’s not easy juggling studies, family and activism work but she does take a step back to ensure that she does right to each and every project. “For me personally, if you have a passion for something, you will make time for it.” When asked what motivates her, Shobana says it’s as simple as knowing that others are motivated by her work. “Knowing that I’ve inspired someone is really an awesome feeling and just makes me want to keep going no matter how hard things get.”

Drop Shobana an email at shobana2@gmail.com if you’re interested in lending Children Behind Us a hand.

To 21-year-old artist and arts activist Tan Zi Hao, art functions as a reaction, relevant to contemporary issues. His practice reflects this attitude. Currently, Tan is working on a performance piece titled Your Neighbour Shares the Same Rubbish, part of a series of pieces that “questions the sense of community, responsibility and social insecurity” in Sri Kembangan.

Many of Tan’s projects are set in this township, and designed to interact with its inhabitants. In late 2008, Tan was involved in Projek Semai, a series of talks and workshops in the neighbourhood, meant to introduce locals (kids, especially) to fine art. “The alienation of art is due to a lack of art education,” Tan explains. “There is a lack of exposure, awareness and understanding.”

Tan decided to pursue fine art after seeing a print of Sir John Everett Millais’s “Ophelia” in a book. “I was 15 when I started to read about art history,” Tan says. “It wasn’t until Form Four that I realised Malaysia has an art scene — and I felt extremely excited.” In college, he had Marion D’Cruz and Mark Teh (both Five Arts Centre members) as lecturers. “They forced us to rethink our identity, history, and our social conditioning.”

Later, he met visual artist Chu Yuan, a fellow Serdang-ite, and worked with her for Entry Points, a contemporary arts project that saw artists “moving out of the gallery and taking art to the people”.

Tan’s continuing work in evangelising visual art among the general public is a two-way street. “It’s challenging to move beyond an arts space,” he explains. “The concerns shift: from exhibiting to presenting, from explaining to negotiating.”

Tan considers this process, in which art has to adjust to its intended audience, as more meaningful: “The people learn from me — and vice versa.”

Interested in helping Tan Zi Hao out? Email him at zihao_tan@hotmail.com — but Tan says: “It’s better if they can initiate their own projects!”

Browsing through the Malaysia Design Archive (MDA) is addictive. A collection of graphic design works from 1850 to just after Merdeka, the website is chock-full of cool stuff: stamps from the Japanese Occupation, commemorating the fall of Singapore; an F&N signboard from 1910; an advertisement for freckle cream in a 1955 edition of the Straits Times.

Graphic designer Ezrena Marwan, who helms MDA, says her project aims to map the development of graphic design in Malaysian history, document our “endangered” design legacy, and create a rich resource of design work. It is also meant to be an argument on the importance of archiving. “It’s a way to protect and preserve our own visual history, so we can truly claim authorship of ‘Malaysian design’.”

“Currently, we have no archive that focuses on visual history,” Ezrena says. She believes that the history of design is another point of view to the story of our nation. “The visual narratives that accompany everyday life have not been fully considered and documented,” she continues. “Malaysian graphic design needs to have a history that delves deeper than the keris and batik prints.”

The MDA has attracted a fair bit of attention. Design Observer, an international design website that pushes for education and critical thinking within the discipline, has taken notice of this modest Malaysian project. “Design magazines and bloggers from all over the world are noting our design works,” Ezrena points out. “They are looking at our very own typography, colours, and patterns, and embedding them into their websites. “

But, to Ezrena, a bigger achievement is the support she’s getting from the local design community. “It’s really very encouraging when the project receives such collaborative and generous energy.” This has allowed the MDA to evolve beyond being just a repository of images. “We are building a collection of essays and articles on Malaysian design history, by designers, architects and educators.”

Got a visual artefact from Malaysian days of yore? Visit the Malaysia Design Archive at www.malaysiadesignarchive.org!