The idea or concept for the proposal for the Singapore Bienalle is about waiting.

The ambient will look like a waiting room in a clinic. The clinic symbolise something personal to transwomen. We feel discomfort going to the government hospital and clinic and choose to selfmedicate and rather going to the pharmacy to buy the medicine. Often in Hospital and clinic they call by our I.C./I.D. names which is a male name but a peson whos being called usually look more like Jane than James. The whole of our lives were waiting for something. Be it from acceptance (Self-acceptance, family acceptance, society accpetance), waiting for customers (for those who are doing sex work), opportunity, waiting for love, waiting for court hearing (after being arrested by the religious officers), waiting for job applications reply, even waiting for inclusivity within the community, healing (after surgery like breast augmentation, nose job or sexual re-assignment surgery or SRS) and also waiting for bad laws that criminalize us like the syariah law in all the Malaysian states which simply stopping us from simply being honest with ourselves. Inside here, i try to portray transwoman in naked because were constantly being judged by the society or the heteronormatives or in other words we often take the beatings all the time while sitting/waiting is part of our process in many different scenarios in our lives. This visual also is an ongoing experiment because i believe there are more that i havent thought of and this is just what i can think of so far. Here i would like to thank the curators, the people and SAM for involving me in this event. For me its also a chance, an outlet to spread the awareness of the state of transpeople not just in Malaysia but also outside in South East Asia and maybe the world as well. Thank you.

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Dear TV3, After viewing the talkshow Wanita Hari Ini Pondan Ancaman Wanita on 4th October 2011, I was utterly disgusted in the way your station has portrayed women and transsexuals in Malaysia. Not only has the programme stereotyped women as only working as Makeup Artists or Wedding Planners, but also suggested that women are weak and whiny when faced with the competitive working industry. It is very unprofessional for the hosts themselves to be not educated in the area of discussion before the show. What you are showing on television confuses everyone about the issue and incite hate towards the prejudiced. The term Pondan and MakNyah are 2 very different classes of gender expression. Pondan refers to effeminate MEN, which are Lelaki Lembut. Whereas MakNyah refers to Transsexuals which are males that desire to be totally female, usually undergoing surgery to alter the body. Pondan or Lelaki Lembut are usually flamboyant men that IDENTIFY themselves as MEN/LELAKI. A point that was brought forward in the show was, women are threatened because the pondans are monopolizing the makeup industry. This is wrong as Culinary Arts, Makeup and Hairstyling industries are dominated by men. Masculine men in fact. The title instead should be Lelaki Ancaman Wanita, because these men are doing what used to be thought as womens job. We have come a long way to recognize that women no longer are subjected to careers in beauty only, but also very capable in previously male-dominated careers like police force, entrepreneurship, civil engineering... etc. Equal career opportunities are given and the best person gets the job, there is no grounds for women in complaining that their work is being taken from them. This violates the Malaysian Constitution that guarantees equality and non-discrimination on the basis of gender. I am also appalled when pondan/maknyah are accused of stealing the husbands from women. Blaming others of the unfaithfulness of ones husband is very childish and illogical. Happiness and trust between man and wife requires more than just sex and food, there is so much more to marriage. Both sides should seek family counselors when faced with cheating, instead of putting the blame on some innocent person. It is the husband that is cheating, not the transsexual, and so she does not deserve to be held responsible for the mens actions. Equally inappropriate are the panel for discussion. Fatin Sarjat, a university student; Dr. Edward Chan, who is an unqualified psychologist; and Azwan Ali, who is a crossdresser. I have checked with Dr. Alvin Ng, President of Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology (MSCP), that Dr. Edward Chan is not a registered clinical psychologist and is NOT QUALIFIED to explain the situation to the mass public. Hes views on transsexualism may not be calibrated with the worlds standard and thus cannot be used as a reference on the topic. Azwan Ali, is a crossdresser. He is a Pondan in all its definition - a soft BOY/effeminate MEN. Crossdressers are people that dress up as the opposite sex for the thrills of it, but is totally comfortable with their sexual organs. He cannot represent the maknyah community because he never had the need to be a woman. He was having fun being flamboyant, which he still is adorning large rings and bracelets on the show. Cik Fatin Sarjat is included i believe for the views from the younger generation, but it is not appropriate for her to tell her views about religion on this issue, when she herself is not being religious. Her hair is let loose, and dyed golden, whilst commenting on how pondan is wrong in the words of the Quran - foolish! I would like to remind your station, that all citizens of Malaysia are protected under the Federal Constitution and Defamation Act 1957. Under no circumstances may any discrimination or defamation be broadcast to incite hate towards Malaysians, regardless of gender. I hereby insist that your station release a press statement to apologize for the slanderous broadcast made to enact fear and hatred towards the transsexual community in Malaysia. -:: Jellene Eva :: Musician | Artist | Geek | Woman Attitude is no substitute for competence. - Eric S. Raymond

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STOP THE VIOLENCE AND PERSECUTION TOWARDS US Press Statement by the Mak Nyah Community of Malaysia Date: 30 November 2010 We are the Mak Nyah community and we are being persecuted by Section 66 on Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Negeri Sembilan) 1992 (please refer to this section and similar sections in other states in Malaysia in Appendix 1). We have suffered mental distress, physical violence and even sexual molestation at the hands of the religious officers who enforce these laws. We are stripped of a life of dignity and deprived of our personal liberty, and we fear for our lives. We are unable to step out of our homes without the fear of getting harassed, abused or arrested. We are no longer able to go out or to eat and drink in public without the fear of harassment and abuse from the religious officers who enforce these laws. We demand that the religious authorities of the State of Negeri Sembilan and all its officers stop harassing, victimising and persecuting us for who we are. In Negeri Sembilan where we live, we are forced to walk around without our brassieres as it is used as evidence against us upon arrest. We are advised by the religious officers to just wear t-shirts, track bottoms or mens shorts. Despite following these instructions, we are still arrested on the basis that we physically look like women. We are sexually molested or our breasts are groped when the religious officers who enforce these laws insist on checking if we are wearing brassieres. We are sometimes made to change our clothes in full view of the religious officers. We are instructed to plead Guilty by the religious officers and even by the states Legal Aid Bureau. Without proper legal advice, we plead guilty and as a result we are sentenced with heavy fines and sometimes we even face imprisonment. Under such laws, it is impossible for us to live and earn a living. Sometimes, we are also compelled to attend mandatory religious counseling sessions. We are Mak Nyahs. No amount of counseling or coercion can ever change that. All we ask is to be left alone and for respect of our personal and private lives. Such mandatory counseling we consider to be an infringement of our personal liberty. We also suffer hardships in obtaining employment as we are discriminated against by employers on the basis of who we are. We suffer rejection in schools and in some institutions of higher learning. At the latter, we are sometimes required to attend boot camps in order to make us more manly. As Mak Nyahs, we have the right to live with dignity like all citizens in Malaysia. We have the right to our identity, the right to self-expression in our dress and mannerisms, the right to respect for our personal and private life and the right to livelihood as other citizens in Malaysia. These are our fundamental liberties as enshrined in Articles 5, 8 and 10 of the Federal Constitution, the supreme law of the land. Any law that violates our rights arbitrarily is no longer good law. These are also violations of our human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Jogjakarta Principles on human rights relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. We ask the Legislative assemblypersons of Negeri Sembilan, the Negeri Sembilan Religious Department Directors and all other Malaysian elected representatives and leaders to stop the violence and persecution that has been targeted against our Mak Nyah community. We appeal to all who believe in freedom under the Federal Constitution, human rights, non-discrimination and equality, to stand with us and join us in our call for the stop of the targeted persecution and violence towards our Mak Nyah community in Malaysia.

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Appendix 1 Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment of other states in Malaysia which have been used to persecute the Mak Nyah community ENAKMEN 4 TAHUN 1992 ENAKMEN JENAYAH SYARIAH NEGERI SEMBILAN 1992 BAHAGIAN IV - KESALAHAN Darihal kesalahan mengenai kehormatan diri Seksyen 66. Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan. Mana-mana orang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan atau berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awam adalah melakukan satu kesalahan dan hendaklah apabila disabitkan dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya. ENAKMEN 9 TAHUN 1988 ENAKMEN KANUN JENAYAH SYARIAH 1988 (NEGERI KEDAH) BAHAGIAN II - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN Seksyen 7. Pondan. Mana-mana orang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awam adalah bersalah atas suatu kesalahan dan boleh, apabila disabitkan, dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya. ENAKMEN 2 TAHUN 1985 ENAKMEN KANUN JENAYAH SYARIAH 1985 (NEGERI KELANTAN) BAHAGIAN II - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN Seksyen 7. Pondan. Seseorang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awam adalah bersalah atas suatu kesalahan dan boleh, apabila disabitkan, dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya. ENAKMEN 6 TAHUN 1991 ENAKMEN KESALAHAN SYARIAH (NEGERI MELAKA) 1991 BAHAGIAN IV - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN LAIN Seksyen 72. Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan. Seseorang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan dan berlagak seperti perempuan di mana-mana tempat awam tanpa alasan yang munasabah adalah merupakan suatu kesalahan dan apabila disabitkan kesalahan boleh dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau dipenjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau kedua-duanya sekali. ENAKMEN 4 TAHUN 1993 ENAKMEN JENAYAH DALAM SYARAK 1991 (NEGERI PERLIS) BAHAGIAN II - KESALAHAN-KESALAHAN Seksyen 7. Pondan. (1) Mana-mana orang lelaki yang berlagak seperti perempuan (tasyabbuh) di mana-mana tempat awam adalah bersalah atas suatu kesalahan dan boleh, apabila disabitkan, dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi lima ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi tiga tahun atau kedua-duanya. ENAKMEN 3 TAHUN 1995 ENAKMEN KESALAHAN JENAYAH SYARIAH 1995 (NEGERI SABAH) BAHAGIAN IV - KESALAHAN Seksyen 92. Lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan atau sebaliknya. Seseorang lelaki yang memakai pakaian perempuan atau berlagak seperti perempuan atau sebaliknya di mana-mana tempat awam adalah bersalah atas suatu kesalahan dan boleh, apabila disabitkan dikenakan hukuman denda tidak melebihi satu ribu ringgit atau penjara selama tempoh tidak melebihi enam bulan atau keduaduanya sekali.

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Change is good

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shiekoreto@yahoo.com http://shiekoreto1.blogspot.com