Trust Me, Okay?

The White Mask

"Good morning..." Master Amir cynically wishes Ghaafar Lee who just got conscious from being knocked out. He is now lying on the floor in a room in the same house. His hands and legs got tied up thus he cannot move at all, even an inch.

Surrounding him are the lads he met at the railway station during the assault against that British aristocrat. The fierce looks in their eyes horrify him. There is now way these men are good and nice men! Murderers, rapists, terrorists and related-description are best-suited to describe the horrifying looks in their eyes. But between the men, there is this one woman with a pair of beautiful eyes. Her glares amuses him.

"Let him off," Master Amir nods his head to one of the men while giving instruction. It takes just a few seconds for Ghaafar Lee to be untied. The ropes tied on his hands and legs were so tight that there were little bruise marks on them that could be seen. "This young man right here tried to kill me yesterday," Master Amir chuckles a bit, "Unfortunately..." Master Amir tries to hold his laughter. "-he got knocked out by this old man." Ghaafar Lee's face turned pure red, ashamed of the incident.

"Don't worry, we are not going to kill you," said the only woman among them. She smiles, although very cynically. "Not a weak man like you, at least." Now, the woman chuckles, teasing Ghaafar Lee.

"Who are you all?!" Ghaafar Lee asks, almost hysterically but in a controlled manner. He does not want to end up getting beaten again. It is very shameful when he got beaten by an old man yesterday, now, a woman? There is no way he would let that happen!

"I am Suri Kenanga." That only woman introduces herself. "That old man who knocked you out is Master Amir, technically our leader." Master slightly nods his head upon being introduced by Suri Kenanga. "And they are all the members of our group. The one that were there at the railway station the other day-"

"Murdering that white man..." Ghaafar Lee cut her before she even managed to finish her so-introductory statement to the former. Her face expression then clearly shows a sign of annoyance due to his interception while she was speaking.

"Listen, if you ever dreamt of being buried here in the forest far away from your family and they would never know, then you may proceed with that kind of manner!" One of the men then warns him, probably feeling quite embarrassed from seeing such manners being displayed by a well-grown man.

"I apologize," Ghaafar Lee drops his head down, discouraged to look at their faces.

"So, here is the case." Suri Kenanga proceeds with her then interrupted-explanation. "That Englishman you saw lying dead on the ground in front of the station was Mr. Alkin, a rich British who has not one but many rubber plantations here across Malaya." She is very enthusiastic in presenting her explanation. "There is one reason why working with him is called working with a demon. He never pays a living wage nor does he provide any benefit to any of his labourers. His labourers even do not have the privilege to take even a day off. They work everyday, every week, and every month, for generations!" She starts to get emotional now explaining the situation. "No medical attention was given to them! Many died from severe diseases! Yet, what did he do to tackle the issues?! NOTHING! Nothing, absolutely nothing..." Her voice tone is now lowered, disappointed with the reality.

"But there must be other way to bring justice instead of murdering?" Ghaafar Lee tries to argue. He totally disagree with the idea of murdering the abusers of the public. "What makes you different from him then?" He questions them again.

"One kills to fulfil the greed of humanity while the other kills to serve justice for the benefit of the others..." Master Amir suddenly joined in and presented his argument against what Ghaafar Lee had just said.

"You could have brought him to the court of justice, that's the right place for justice to be served!" Ghaafar Lee is still dissatisfied with the cause of their doings. "There, everyone's doings are justified fairly without prejudice," Ghaafar Lee resumed.

"What do you mean fairly without prejudice?" Suri Kenanga asked rhetorically. "Look at the Malayans who got punished with death penalty by the courts! Yes, they committed a capital crime but the British did the same. Why are they not punished then? Why only us? Not just that they are not punished, they weren't even brought upon the so-called court of justice. Tell me now, how is that fair? Are those colonizers divine-being?" Suri Kenanga now rhetorically arguing repeatedly, giving no chance for Ghaafar Lee to intercept and argue further. "Why? Why are we being treated this way? Does ruling over us, on our land, mean that they could abuse us all they want?" Now, tears appear in her eyes. The reality of the Malayans living under British Colonial rule is very saddening.

Ghaafar Lee's mouth is now shut. He now could not argue further. Suri Kenanga's argument was relevant and logical to one's mind. Master Amir and the rest also just keep nodding and listening to Suri Kenanga. One could never deny the fact of those abused and struggling to live on their own native land. The struggle is real.

"Now you understand the cause of our fight, right?" Suri Kenanga continues. "I will never be able to convince anyone to the fullest as convince is not given but done by the one being convinced upon," She said.

"Understood..." Ghaafar Lee replies slowly. There is nothing else for him to argue over. She clearly managed to change his stand regarding this matter. She opened his mind to a new perspective, from those of the commoners. He had never viewed it from that perspective due to his surroundings since birth. Being born in a quite privileged family, he has always looked up to the Colonial Government.

"I apologize..." There is nothing else that Ghaafar Lee could do than to apologize for his view that differed much from them. As a man brought up with manners, that is the least he could provide them.

"You haven't told us your name, young man," Master Amir interrupted, with the intention to get rid of the elephant in the room.

"Ghaafar Lee, sir. That's my name..."