Interview with Maximum Rock and Roll
[if !supportLists][endif]When did you start your NGO and how did you start it?
At first, at 94 we started a collective called United Front, after we finished high school we decided to make it a legal collective, but they didn’t know how and we left it over , but we were a still the same group of kids who wanted to do something to the community, So we used to gather kids from all over Malaysia to meet us up, we play skate board and music, we still had the same dream of being registered band and not being hinder from playing our gigs, but it was hard for us so we still left it over, after college I worked in many companies, like banking, coffee industries, marketing and sales, eventually i found a job in education line in some institution, so I got more skills, ideas and conscious about this path and considered myself ready to do something serious and bigger.
I was working in schools there, I went to a college and they needed a student to study there, so I was going to school, and I asked the teacher hey, do you have any students who are dropping off students who have bad grades or does not want to study SO GIVE IT ME
then the teacher said okay but you to do something, you need to have a program, so i started to do something, and I was good at talking about anti-drugs and about straight edge so i started to just create my own model, slides and presentations and started to present and lots of students started to come for me, and began to study, and I got lots of students, but the poor thing is that the company the college i work for didn’t want to pay me, so I’ve got lots of students, and lots of money was involved, so got sponsored, and they did not pay me, so I quit, I studies association, and i go to the governments to sign up, and from there I started the association and I called few artists and few musicians, to be part of my community, part of my members, and they agree and we started the association at 2011, after one or two years i have been doing my work, so yeah I got the first association at 2011, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good start, because of the not committed members in the assoction, so it’s was like not everyone not following my vision, and not into the vision of what I have, so everyone, just come and go, and until now I work alone, so maybe some people wants to volunteer, we welcome them, and some of them wanted to help from far they wire line doing events from other sides, and they can use the name, and I prefer that way, but i wanted it to be a movement, i did not want it to be serious like do this and do that, and lots of documents and stuff i wanted them to run themselves, so I am here to help with the documents like a profile, like a bank statements, most of the college kids started coming to me and ask me how to do a music event and start, that’s where i partner with them and tell them you need a little bit of awareness and put some videos, and now lots of kids started reach me we partner we big a big festival, and lots of music events and stuff like that, yeah the purposes to get message out and to get people to know more about the drug free, so if you have a problem with drugs you can just come to drug free youth, and talk about it, now lots of kids had been contacting regarding drugs, she of them wanted to stop drugs but they dot know how so they need support, and there is no one to talk to no one to hear them, so I just talk to them so you have to do this and that, you have to stay with us and communicate and stuff like that, so it’s a working only that i need more support of this, yeah.
[if !supportLists][endif]What inspired you to start a group that envisions a drug free youth?
20 years ago, my situation was really bad and I stumbled and struggled into life, I’ve witnessed many of my friends died because of drugs, I used to get shamed in my neighborhood because my brother used to consume drugs, at one point I decided that I had enough, I started to realize that I have to do something about it, so instead of flowing with the negative surroundings I tried really hard to create something positive out of it. At the age of 14, every person has the desire and curiosity to experiment and try everything, it was crucial for me to not fall into the same path and start chiming for change since lots of my friends were already in the dark side, I chose to stand out and take the positive side, So I thought if I was able to do it, I’ll also be capable of changing the community around me and ultimately make the world free of drugs, and what encouraged me more to make this change was the music I listened to and the books I read that even had higher ambitions like stopping the war, racism, and discrimination.
[if !supportLists][endif]How bands inspired you to change the world?
I used to listen to Greenday, NFOX, Rain Seed, and most of them inspired me to change the world, change the community, and stop being a slave to my own personal desires, the song’s lyrics were promoting a good lifestyle and a good environment.
I imagined them talking right to me so I choose to believe them and their words, till I came across a band called Minor Threat, they were also promoting a positive lifestyle, they pushed me more into being positive than I already was, they empowered me more to change myself and become more environmentally conscious, Minor Threat has always prompted this notion of being young and not consume the things that you don't need and to take care of the environment and the world surrounding you, So when I listened to their songs I got this desire to be like them, Other bands also inspired me to do other things like loving animals, being a vegetarian which I eventually became in 2004 after I had a food poisoning, and others promoted this healthy lifestyle of not consuming drugs and drinking alcohol, so I wanted to challenge myself and become this kind of person, and thankfully I did become a conscious person who is fully aware of what is going on with the world around him, and that’s all because of the music I listened to, it helped me change and music always helps those who want to express how they feel about what’s happening around them. Some people rebel without a cause, rebelling against the government, or against their parents, they were just rebelling because it’s in their nature, So I think it’s a good thing if you’re channeling that against a system that destroys you, that’s how I used to rebel, against what will eventually harm me, instead of rebelling without a purpose, I rebelled against the bigger system that controls us and the minor system inside me which was dragging me down each time I wanted to be good, the greed, and the desire to do whatever I want, so I used this approach to inspire other people, I went to the kids in my area, I told them to listen to this music and watched them get inspired the same way I was, this surprisingly worked and some became like me, Straight Edge, so it makes me happy to see some follow my path. And ever since the movement started, 6 Straight Edge bands in Klang Valley were created, we started with Second Combat but after that lots of bands started to follow such as Channel X , Neverend, Last minute, Home Run, and Kids On The Move. But my dream was bigger and I wanted Straight Edge culture to reach areas other than Malaysia, these kids who follow this lifestyle started to create campaigns and merchandise to support the bands, so they are more of a movement than just a systematic NGOs.
[if !supportLists] [endif]How did you start Your band Second Combat?
When I was in high school I used to skateboard and play in a band, then One of my friends introduced me to Punk Rock and Hardcore, usually I used to listen to the mainstream bands on the radio like Greenday, but that new genre got my attention, after I finished high school I started a Punk Rock band and called it “Second Combat“, at first we weren’t straight Edge, but in 1999 we became the first Straight Edge band in Malaysia, since then we stopped smoking, doing drugs, and drinking alcohol, my journey then began to inspire more people to become straight edge and fight drugs.
[if !supportLists] [endif]How did you meet second combat member?
Well, Most of the band members were my friends who used to skateboard with me, we had the same passion for music and same interests. As some of them were also from my previous band, we decided we need to be serious we are not going to be like most of the bands which don't have albums and have their fame for some time and then they fade, we were determined to have albums, do lots of shows and tour around the world.
[if !supportLists] [endif]When you and your band decided that its time to be Straight Edge band?
We had an incident that one of our band members was using drugs before shows, he was always absent from the rehearsals, and he was always high, and we had another band member who was also a drug addicted, but at some point we had enough of that, we kicked them out.Not only that but most of the band had problems with drugs in their lives, My brother was also on drugs and made me suffer in my childhood and by coincidence one of the band members had also the same problem with his brother, So we started to wonder why people are always on drugs and why the percentage of drug addicts is high in our city, since that, we only quite smoking and doing drugs till we were first introduced to “Minor Threat” band which we found very cool, as they are Punk bands and they are promoting Anti-Drug healthy lifestyle, later we heard about Straight Edge and we were surprised to see some of the fans and audience were also living in the straight edge way, Subsequently we thought its so cool and we wanted to try, I said “why not? we won’t lose a thing after all” , so we took the step and thankfully we are Straight Edge till this day since 1999.
[if !supportLists][endif]What is Straight Edge for Second Combat?
For some people, Straight Edge is like a personal purpose to avoid alcohol and stop poising themselves, but for us it is our war with world surrounding us; it is our Purpose.
[if !supportLists][endif]What is the relation between Punk music and Drugs?
Well, not all Punk Rock music promotes the positive lifestyle, but in Punk rock, we are promoting choices that we all must respect, we have to respect that some people are still smoking, or drinking its their own choices, but at the same time we wanted to promote our life style, our choice to everyone and specially for those who still have the chance to change and be Straight Edge like us, so the relationship between Punk Rock and Drugs is like a family relation actually, because Punk Rock is all about rebelling and showing the anger toward the stuff we don’t like, we are about shouting at the things that are destroying us and destroying our world, its about being environmentally conscious, and we got the Straight Edge which is about discipline , about not taking more Poison into our bodies, so you have the choice to be whatever you want in Punk Rock, there is no set of rules, no law, we set the laws by our selves.
[if !supportLists][endif]What is the Achievements of Second Combat so far?
As for Our achievements, we have almost 10 releases, we were the first Malaysian band to tour in Europe, and also in many asian places, and we have been interviewed many times, in the radio, on TV and in magazines, But eventually we are not aiming for Grammy’s, nor the best band in the world, all we want is for our idea to be spread all over the world, so that’s simply what we are aiming for, that’s what we achieved and will continue on achieving, I personally believe we’ve had great achievements, however, we still half way there to the ultimate goal of being fully heard, I just need to represent my self and talk to the mainstream about my idea and struggle more to spread this lifestyle my band is promoting.
[if !supportLists][endif]What about your personal achievements?
Well my personal achievements were quiet good, I have been to TV interviews, I talked in TedX, though I still need more support for me to grow up and become that somebody that people would believe and follow his path.
I am also the Malaysian ambassador of Untoxicated Youth Australia, Malaysia Anti-Doping Association, Parental Clothing from Bandung Indonesia, and Amnesty International.
My story has been showed in Our better World Singapore Foundation, and I’ve previewed in Telecom Tv Ads.
[if !supportLists][endif]Who are your most admired musicians, and what’s the reason behind this admiration?
I’ve always been into musicians who sing for a cause, and Toby Morse is one of my role models , he invested his time for spreading the message of Drug Free life, he went to schools, universities and tried to reach major part of people to spread his message, so he inspired me to like him to spread my own message. Immortal Technique is a hip hop band which I find them very interesting because of their political lyrics they feed what I need to listen to.
Also The Cranberries and Anti Flag contributed in making me hate the war and grow up dreaming of stoping it and spreading the message of peace, but all of this was before Minor Threat entered my life and made this huge shift for me transforming into a Straight Edge.
[if !supportLists][endif]Does the NGO has any successful international corporations?
One of my most successful international corporations was with Australian movement called Untoxicated Youth from Australia, from 3 ago, the starter of untoxicated youth contacted me and he was interested in my work and he wanted us to produce a module together, so he came specially to meet up with me and create this module and a proposal together, and we successfully tried them out in two schools in Malaysia and we began to go to other schools, but unfortunately since we are not business men, we stopped this program, but whenever I have the chance I promote this module and I am looking forward to present this module to every company, I am looking forward to make this project as a social enterprise, so we don't waste a lot of time asking for money from here and there, I want to sustain this work to benefit my community.
[if !supportLists][endif]What the achievements of the NGO so far? And what is your ultimate goal?
So far I can call our milestone is not only taking money, but also we earned members and earned very good bands, but the achievement I appreciate the most is the impact of the movement itself, because now thankfully our notions are now embraced by many people, now they believe in me, you will find many kids who run their own shows and events and promote the notions that taught them, they even started to embrace the Straight Edge lifestyle and all of this makes me proud so far of what i’ve made, but I still need more support in order to achieve and impact more, probably I achieved 20% of my dream, If I got the proper help, I will achieve 80% or 70% which is awesome.
[if !supportLists][endif]What is your greatest weakness?
Most probably my greatest weakness is handling human relations, I am kind of not good with arranging people together, I am not the one who usually starts the idea of going out, I just go with the flow.
and on the other hand, in conflicts, I am not that good at settling them, people might understand me wrong for being ego and stubborn person due to my oblivion to how to handle such situations, and in some situations when people make mistakes, I become so honest and I tell them what they did wrong, but unfortunately people don't really fear me so they fight back without a reason, at the end I am the one who feels guilty cause I am a very soft spoken person, so low profile, so usually I am always taken for granted, I am used by people and even my friends.
I am also a very straight forward person, I don't know how to maneuvers and manipulate, search behind people, search about their background, i just trust them and I don't see the problems, and all of this creates problems when I do business, because I initially don’t investigate too well, I always need someone to guide me when it comes to people relations.
[if !supportLists][endif]How did handle problems happening within Second combat ?
Mostly, we expect people leaving, for whatever reasons are happening, they leave, and the problem is, I am not that kind of a person who goes to them and ask why do you want to leave? that’s the stubborn part of me, but at the end, I need to make the positive thoughts dominate any bad situation, I always expect that there will be a replacement, and thankfully this happens each time.
After all, our aim is to be a serious band and spread our purpose, so we should not let these unfortunate situation control us.
[if !supportLists][endif]How do you balance between your NGO work and other commitments?
Well, thankfully my work in the NGO depends mainly on the presence of money, so I have the time for my family, and if not, I try my best to make them time, Because I believe in family values since in my childhood my family got torn because of my brother’s addiction, so now, I try my best to provide the most proper life for my wife and daughter.
And since my wife also owns an NGO, so she understands and appreciates my message and tries her best to help me so we can rise together.
What is your toughest experience so far?
At most, the toughest thing happened to me, was losing my brother; all this fight with drugs and at the work I had been doing was mainly to help him in having a better life, all I wanted was to help him but unfortunately he always failed because of his environment, though he had a good life and a good wife who always took care of him, it seems like he hadn’t had the enough courage for his war, all of this broke me so hard, and on the other hand, some friends and people tried to put me down because they are pro-drugs, they started to boycott my movement and spread hoax and try their best to destroy my work, at the end, tis work is not easy, by the time you gain enemies than you gain friends, and takes time to coup with all of these hard times, and as they say “ a smooth sea will never make a skilful sailor “
What were the challenges you faced to make your NGO grow?
As I said, lots of people tried to suppress me by boycotting and spreading bad reputation about the movement because they were pro-drugs, in addition to this, I received threats, people had lots of conflicts with me, some financial issues due to in-sustainability, people are also not that committed to work, they might come volunteer for a while and then they go, so all of this are obstacles that I am facing, but at the end, all of this makes me want to achieve more, struggle more, and rebel more; I am a rebeller, I am a fighter, and this war is mine, even they wanted to suppress my movement, they cannot stop me, they need to wait until my death, and then they might be able, but at this time I know My message will be in every corner, and they cannot kill a notion.
and now, when they see me successful, they become silent, because I have achieved something they thought it would never happen.
What keeps you going?
Well, I am not good at business, I am not good at corporate stuff, So my credibility, my motivation skills are my powers, what keeps me going is that I want to be better, I want to polish myself, maybe in Malaysia there is one me, maybe I am the only one who can be able to do this job and influence others through music, I am consular, I work to push people to go further, I want my work to be in a professional way, I wan to stop asking for money, I need to sustain myself.
In addition, what also keeps me going, is that we still have people who haven’t heard of the lifestyle I am promoting, I still want to reach them, educate them, save their lives, encourage them to do something to their community, I still believe that I can make the world a better place.
What’s your message to new straight edge embracers?
Straight edge is not just being a drug free and alcohol free, I’ts about standing for your community, even in the smallest stuff, You need to have clear conscious to the world, you need to have more courage to focus on helping our world and helping yourself; you need to be a catalyst, activist about your world rights.
Maybe in other countries like Europe, straight edge is more of a community work, they cooperate with PETA and other organizations, but here in Malaysia its pretty new, so we need to educate them more about this lifestyle, but first, they need to pass the obstacle of being a drug free.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?
I see myself as the ambassador of the Malaysian drug free community, I see people more world conscious, fighting for their right to live in this world, I see more kids becoming straight edge and trying to inspire more and more of them, i see myself training more bands and helping people world wide, I see myself talking about my message around every corner in this planet, I see a drug free youth centre in every state and in international scope.
