As you can see in the picture above, a letter has been sent to The Star daily to protest a new blanket policy on short hair in Bukit Mertajam, or even Penang.
Here the clincher: "Botak Boy" is me. Me, Terence Wang of Jit Sin High School.
(Note: I did not choose that pseudonym. I guess The Star wanted to protect my identity. Thank you, but it's unnecessary.)
I've wanted to write it for a long time. Make that ever since they came up with this silly policy. At first, I tried to get the grown-ups to write it. Adults have more authority, yes? When they write one, people will st up and notice, yes? And they're supposed to be more courageous and willing to speak up for us, the victims, their children, yes?
No.
So what's a guy gotta do when his good-looking hair is taken away from him? Or, to be more precise, when he isn't allowed to keep his hair?
Why, he takes the most gentlemanly and amicable solution available, of course. He writes a letter to the most widely-read English daily in Malaysia.
Something that has constantly frustrated me is that we Malaysians in general have never been brave enough to stand up for what we believe for. To speak up when something isn't write, or to fight for our ideals.
Well, if no one, none of 1800 male students in my school or the 10000+ in Bukit Mertajam or the 100000+ in Penang was brave enough to speak up, I would. I have to. So that's how the letter came to be.
Here, I want to extend a big 'thank you' to The Star for publishing my letter. If they decided to keep quiet and stay clear of any controversy, a lot of issues would not have been able to be raised and/or highlighted.
I now await for a reply from the education department. Hopefully they would even read it in the first place.
