Changing Cultures

by: I-Vonne Lim

 

Touchscreens. I see them everywhere. Gatherings, cafes, malls; anywhere with people. It seems as if touchscreens are man’s new spouse. Agree?

 

Alright, coming from a typical Chinese family, I meet my extended family members usually once a year – Chinese New Year. It is commonly the reunion saturated with lots of food, warm hospitality, snippets of “wow, you’ve grown so much” topic, and some rounds of games like mahjong, cho tai ti, and card games, motivated by a practice of gambling, to raise competitive spirits, and to add to the fun of the whole game.

My last Chinese New Year was rather different compared to previous years, as if it is taking on a revolutionary trend. Guess what? This ‘revolutionary trend’ is initiated by touchscreens.My uncle and family (with two children aged 14 and 11) owns three iPads, and two iPhones.

 

During the last ‘revolutionary trend’ CNY reunion, the whole family was in the living room of the home, all engaged in a game of the touchscreen gadgets. It was a rather phenomenal sight to witness in a I-only-meet-them-once-a-year family reunion. Not only that, walk into restaurants and cafes, and you’ll see families dining, while their kids engaged with Angry Birds, and the youths, Temple Run.

 

I personally feel that touchscreens have made people antisocials. It is undeniable that a whole new phenomenal alleviation of lives has occurred through the penetration of culture by Androids, iPhones and iPads that provide an inarguable limitless convenient access to any piece of information or entertainment.

 

However, an overindulgence in these technologies take your attention off people, and into the virtual world.Some people may say that applications like Whatsapp, Viber and other bridges of communication keep people close. Yes, certainly they do, without doubt.

 

Sometimes, I do feel that an extreme convenience of communication lowers the significance and importance of our conversations. For example, which among these do you appreciate most on your birthday – a wish on your Facebook wall, a text message, a call, a mail to your residence?

 

Notice that I’ve arranged the four options in hierarchy of convenience levels, from the most convenient to the least. The more effort is takes for you to communicate with someone, the more sincere you are, and the more important the other is to you.

 

I believe that these make real relationships – relationships that last. In my opinion, the foundation of a good life lies in the person’s relationships and connections with others. I mean, real relationships.

 

Everybody belongs to a community and society. Why not engage with people, and not our technologies? I believe it is utterly not wrong to add spices of entertainment and great access to information through our handy tech gadgets, but I also believe that there is a time and place to do so.

 

It should take our personal time, not during reunions, dinners, and gatherings, because it simply compromises the chance of us advancing not only our lives, but the lives of others who surround us, whereby a simple encouraging, mind-opening conversation could make such a difference in their lives.

 

That’s what they call, engaging people. It all boils down to living in moderation. That is, to utilize them moderately, hence to have a balanced level of input in our beings, at the same time, using the inputs to make a difference in people, and in the world. It is evident that the new generation are captivated by games on tech gadgets, where games come first before friends. It is sad that these virtual avenues are such  antisocial makers of the young kids today.

 

I wish to not imagine what would become of them in the future. Yes, they would be extremely informed. But perhaps, from the Dinosaurs, to the Ice Age, to the 20th Century, to the Silent World, where the eyes see only one thing – the screen in hand.

 

I look forward to my next CNY reunion, seeing the “silent world” subtly creeping into my family.

Have Faith, for A Better Us.

by Azrina Azman

Few days ago, a friend of mine went to TwtUpIpoh; an event which was held specifically to gather everybody in the community who owns a Twitter account. It was a full blast I heard – just imagine a sea of youth together with live gigs one after another, DJs strutting their stuff at the turntable alongside a number of booths with interesting activities to get your hands on.

Pretty dope if you asked me.

No entrance fee was charged and the foods were complimentary to visitors. In short, the event was really meant for people to have a good time and enjoy themselves.

 

The official poster for TwtUpIpoh which took place at Port Ipoh

However, the event was purposely organized on the same day Bersih 3.0 was held. Reminiscing those days when Bersih 2.0 was held, large number of people took part in the controversial street demonstration including students from various institutions of higher education a.k.a our youths of today. Some of them were severely injured because of major physical violence that came from every angle of their surroundings. TwtUpIpoh is on with the hope that youngsters will opt for the former than Bersih 3.0.

 

The much anticipated rally.

As a token of remembrance from TwtUpIpoh, I received some flyers and postcards consisting images of our late political figures and a few of our home-grown indie rock bands. Upon running through all of these magnificent print-outs, my eyes were captivated by a gold and black flyer which sets out as a small booklet that contains articles about the need to change the nation by a group called Have Faith l Yakin Malaysia. Little did I know, this happens to be their first issue entitled Prejudice.

 

The image of a hand symbolizes our late Tunku Abdul Rahman’s when he shouted that one wonder word, Merdeka!

Have Faith l Yakin Malaysia refers themselves as Nation Builders, aiming to create a society driven by positivity and optimism. They believe in approaching just about anything and everything with maturity and wisdom. Their goal is to seek, unite and nurture nation builders with substance and that they strongly feel our beloved country has suffered enough from negativity, pessimism and cynicism. It is time to revolutionise the mindset of Malaysians to be reasonable and ethical.

Regarding the colours used in this flyer, a lot of people had misguided it as something that is in conjunction with the rally, because of the gold colour, which is similar to yellow. Rest assured, Have Faith l Yakin Malaysia does not have any Bersih 3.0 influences let alone the essence of any political parties, be it from the government or opposition. It is an independent body that was built from the minds of youngsters in voicing out their opinions and perspectives regarding the issues that had arose in the nation.

Their booklet flyer, alongside with poetic yet energetic words; is used as a medium to put out their views regarding specific matters as a way of expression that youngsters too, do care about the future of our nation, national issues on media, and the future of our next generation.

With no pressure from either sides of politics, this body is truly what we can call as ‘the epitome of neutral’ as it is neither presided as a sub-division of the government side nor the opposition side.

They may not possess the imperative experience, exposure or knowledge in identifying who is right or wrong. Yet, when they attempt, they tend to seek only the data that would satisfy our pre-determined conclusion. Without acting profoundly, they scrutinize superficially for the sake of acceptance among our factions.

As the two powerful words in their bid to restore our belief for this country outlined; HAVE FAITH!

*Kindly visit their facebook page at Have Faith l Yakin for more updates. Spread the word.

Twitter – A Virtual Battlefield?

 

 

 

 

By Amira Masri

Of all types and kinds of social networking sites which have been mushrooming into our virtual world, I still think Twitter is the most powerful tool for instant and immediate news. In fact, it has such a prominent position amongst Internet users alongside Facebook. Almost every award-winning organization opts for Twitter as a social medium between them and their users today.

I personally rely on Twitter to know the latest whereabouts and topics to be shared during dinner. There’s always things to talk about on Twitter, thanks to the ‘trending topics’ one often sees at the side of his Twitter homepage. A while back, Twitter has a lot to contribute to the Bersih 2.0 rally, which became the number one trending topic in Malaysia on July 9^th 2011. Malaysia also created a name in Twitter history when #InMalaysia made it to the worldwide trending topic, where Malaysians and non-Malaysians tweeted about what Malaysia has (or lacks of). Just a couple of days ago, a guy by the name of Elmi made it to the local trending topics due to the accusations made by a certain royal prince against him. News can be spread as fast as mere minutes on Twitter. The chain is easy – Twitter user A talks about the latest sale in a particular store, and Twitter user B will probably ‘retweet’ his tweet. Twitter user C reads the tweet and hurries to the particular store and snapped a photo of his cheap purchases to be shared on this micro blogging site, and this chain continues.

All things put aside, Twitter which was originally a one-way communication device evolves into a two-way communication platform. Twitter users only need to use ‘mentions’ to notify a particular user that the tweet is directed to him. Albeit this convenience developed by Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, some Twitter users tend to use their Twitter accounts in another direction, somewhat unlikeable to some parties.

Jack Dorsey, creator of Twitter

What ‘other directions’, you say? The older and more ‘experienced’ generation of Twitter users would be familiar with the way Twitter works as a platform for mocking (without names mentioned) and cyber bullying activities. A person I followed once (which I unfollowed eventually much to my annoyance) had most of his tweets mocking, degrading or making fun of certain people he dislikes. Normally, these bullies would resolve in mocking someone on his Twitter account in such crude ways but not having his name mentioned.

Talking on the victim’s point of view, of course he will be offended and this can go a long way. Well, who wouldn’t be offended when he reads tweets like these:

You’re so fat & annoying, y do I have to c your face every day? Btw, ur bright red shoes r ugly. – @IHateEverybody

No one cares about you, #foreveralone much? – @MeanGirl

YAY THAT SCUMBAG’S NOT LIVING WITH US ANYMORE!! – @IgnorantRoommate

Of course, one would say “Why get offended over tweets like that? He’s not talking about you anyway,” Regardless of whomever the spiteful tweets are meant for, I don’t think it’s anywhere near pleasing to have that on your timeline. Besides, some of those ‘mean tweets’ can be personal attacks to a particular person, too personal until he couldn’t help but feel offended. Based on most cases, the offended would probably come up with a statement as intelligent and as hateful, and then it starts – The Virtual Battlefield, where hateful comments were exchanged between one another, and the worst victim will be third parties who happen to follow both of them.

Crude messages can go such a long way

Using Twitter is basically expressing our thoughts in literal terms in the World Wide Web. It’s only natural when we feel something unpleasant or furious about a thing, and we need a medium to let it all out. I understand how some of the people I’m following tend to tweet things they were not happy about once in a while because it’s only natural to do that. However, imagine seeing ten of those kind of tweets lingering in your timeline by the same person. Don’t think he’s having those ‘occasional bad thoughts’ moments anymore, no?

Nadia Elliza, also known as Adinda Evans was once virtually tormented via Twitter

Sometime last year, the microblogging site once made a history in a certain fourteen year old girl’s life who goes by the name of ‘Adinda Evans’. What happened to be a rather foolish and immature blog post became the most talked about topic amongst Malaysian Twitter users, making Adinda Evans the number one trending topic in Malaysia as of that day.

I would not comment on her blog post (that would require another entry), but let’s concentrate on what other Twitter users did to her. What she did and eventually posted online was wrong, that is true. However, that does not make the actions of mocking her crudely right. Some of the words said by a number of Twitter users were very unruly. Honestly, I pity her as a fourteen year old, having to face such things at a very tender age. She had people who she didn’t personally know personally attacking her as though she had done something bad in their favour.

Now, imagine being in her shoes. Would you like it if someone simply points out your mistake and does not try to help you in improving yourself at all? Would you find it pleasurable if someone starts saying the meanest of words to you virtually and publicly for the whole world to see? In fact, would you find it pleasing to be bullied in the first place, regardless of it being virtual or not.

There was a saying I read in Twitter which goes somewhat like this – don’t venture yourself into Twitter if you’re not mentally prepared. Whoever said that was right anyway. Twitter is building up its name, catching up to the ever popular Facebook. More and more people sign up for an account, and I think it’s time for a calling to the people who use their Twitter accounts as a medium to virtually bully others.

Twitter made YOLO (You Only Live Once) famous anyway, so why don’t you stick by it and spread love instead of hate? Life’s too short to be hating or crying on certain things. Tweet about something useful instead – quotes, sayings, news, events, or even how happy you felt today. People do not follow you to read your endless hateful rambles on a certain person.

*All tweethandles in this article are purely fictitious, and any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Step By Wicked Step: The Malaysian Context

 

 

 

 

 by Ellsee

Elsee writes about her take on the current Form 5 novel for KBSM Literature Component; Step By Wicked Step and she analyzes whether the book is suitable in comparative to the previously-used The Pearl.

To me, there is this defining feature about literature, which is that it is like a treasure chest.  In good and proper literature, there are always these little hints and clues hidden within the lines that the reader is supposed to catch in order to grasp a deeper dimension of the story, and which in turn forms the core of literary analysis.  Call them secrets between author and reader, if you will; things that the protagonists themselves are completely unaware of.  Step By Wicked Step had precious few of these moments for me.  If anything, it seemed to have swung to the other extreme. My reading of it came across as too shallow, transparent and linear, despite all the flashbacks.

Indeed, what makes the story (I can hardly call it a novel) so firmly wedged within the Preteen category – apart from the age of the protagonists themselves – is the tendency of fiction meant for younger audiences to give things away before the reader has come to that part of the story.  My guess is that writers feel younger readers would be too shocked at or be unable to catch certain plot developments if they were not gently “eased” into it right from the start.

Take for example, at the beginning of Richard Clayton Harwick’s narrative, he writes “He was dressed black as a bat, and (I’ll say fearlessly, now he has done his best to beat fear out of me) he was no more welcome…”  This being a story about step-parents, it is all too obvious that this “he” would become Richard’s stepfather before too long.  At least, it was very, very obvious to me, despite the fact that it shocked me, because he just (literally) shot out of nowhere, and the next moment I am being told as plain as day that Richard will suffer under him as a victimised stepson.

Before I move on, I would like to point out some other things that annoyed me about the story, though I may really be splitting hairs here because most of these complaints are simply common characteristics of preteen fiction.  First of all, there is the deliberate glossing over of Reverend Coldstone’s wickedness.  Believe me, it is mild.  Compare it with Charlotte Brontë’s description of Jane Eyre’s suffering under the Reed family and you will see what I mean.

Charlotte Brontë’s description of Jane Eyre’s suffering under the Reed family 

By the way, there is one discrepancy in the story that I cannot seem to reconcile.  Why was “Master Richard” living in a “small tower room” even before his real father died and Coldstone had had any control over the household?  Even if his room had not been camouflaged during his lifetime, it still does not make sense.

Then there is the unrealistically transparent names.

Mr Digby the (digging) gardener, Reverend Coldstone and the worst of the lot: Mordanger School (more danger?!).  These are value judgment names that decide for the reader ahead of time what something is or whether something is good or bad.  Again, this practice is most prevalent in children and preteen fiction.  A character is either an angel or a devil, unless some metamorphosis from good to bad or bad to good is the whole point of the story.

As Roald Dahl once said about writing for children, “if you want to do bad, do over-the-top bad” or something to that effect.  I am not questioning the need or decision to make things so morally black and white for children.  Maybe they need it for their own moral development, but anyone else reading it would find it just plain tacky.

So Step By Wicked Step is a preteen story and as such has many of the genre’s typical flaws, including coming across as rather preachy at times.  Is there a problem then?  Yes.  The problem is that this story is being read by every single Form Five student in the country as model literature.  In some ways, it is an appropriate choice, but in others, they could not have picked a worst book.

While not being outrightly supernatural, there are some supernatural elements, in keeping with Malaysian teens’ current obsession with Harry Potter and Twilight, so I assume they are trying to keep our youngsters’ interests in mind.  Also, the six-stories-in-one format is a suitable compromise for the majority of students who are (sadly) not used to reading novel-length books.  The issue of step-parents might even be becoming more and more relevant as divorce rates are on the rise.

On the other hand, do you think that students will not realise that the story is meant for kids?

Surely everyone knows that seventeen is an age where teens are very touchy about being treated any younger than they really are.  People might say that Malaysian students had little in common with Kino and Juana in The Pearl, but neither can they relate to American elementary grade school kids on much deeper a level.  These are kids who spend the whole night huddled on one bed telling stories without feeling the least bit uncomfortable that there are boys or girls around, and do not bat an eyelid about pregnant Flora not being married to Ralph’s father.  Both issues are not depicted negatively in any way whatsoever because that is probably the author’s own standpoint.  No weddings are mentioned, you notice.  It is kind of odd that the story got past the board, really.

Anyhow, the story points out all the difficulties of having chopped-up families clearly enough, but it is depicted as a way of life and something that you just have to accept, because this is from a kid’s point of view.  They are hardly in the position to question the morality of their parents’ actions or to wonder too much about the ‘why’.  So the story is not really tackling the issue of divorce; it is just offering comfort and guidance on how to live with it as a powerless victim.  But if they’re not going to directly address the issue, why have our students read it at all?

Besides, the story is couched in so many cultural references I am sure almost all students would not get.

I can almost imagine a student reading the second page and asking “What is ‘cripes’?” and feeling rather let down when they cannot find it in the dictionary.  Would they know that ‘munchkin’ is not just some disgusting lover’s nickname but the name of a group of people in The Wizard of Oz and that it is meant to conjure up the image of chubby innocence (yes, revolting)?

What was the author really trying to imply about Annabel’s talk about auras?

I understand that it is really hard to find good, solid, mainstream literature simple enough for our Malaysian students to understand and find interesting.  In most cases, either you take an original children’s story, or you abridge an adult’s story, in which case it loses all its flavor.

But the fact remains that our youth are not interested in literature, and offering a children’s book is not going to change that, even if you want to call it literature.  The problem stems much deeper than that.  Nonexistent reading habits, growing immaturity and the whole social atmosphere of our generation are sucking a slow death out of literature, both classic and modern.

All in all, I have to admit that Step By Wicked Step is a better choice than The Pearl, but only because The Pearl flew over the students’ heads when it should not have done so.  There are problems, and while I do not have the solutions, I know that this story is not meant for our Form Five students both age-wise and culture-wise.  If I am wrong and the students really do love it, all I can say is that it would be a very sad thing indeed.

The Plight of the Hijabi

By: Amira Masri

Hijab has become a natural occurrence in today’s fashion wheel. What was once deemed as a headpiece to cover certain areas of a Muslim lady has taken a twist in the vast fashion cycle. Back in my time, the ‘tudung bawal’ was a very famous hijab. Pin it around your head and you’re ready to go! It lasted a while before an easier alternative emerged – the slip-on hijab, or what they call ‘tudung Indonesia’. As if on impulse, Hijabis began donning their creativity hat (or creativity hijab – what a hopeless pun) and the world got to see more styles. This Hijab cycle took an accelerated turn when Hijabi ‘idols’ start to make their fame – Yuna, Hana Tajima and ‘The Scarflets’ for instance.

However, let’s take a look at the definition of hijab in the guidelines of Islam. Hijab, in literal Arabic terms means barrier or partition. In Islam, it is deemed as the principal of modesty and includes behavior as well as dress for both males and females. Relating to this and the ‘Muslimah fashion’ as coined in various fashion blog sites, there is bound to be conflict in this statement. Some Muslims believe that being a hijabi is all about modesty, and the splash of colours and vibrant styles most fashion-conscious hijabis are slipping on today are too revealing for them. On the other hand, there are the less ‘conservative’ Muslims who take it in a more positive light – to them, let the hijabis nowadays start slow, and adjust to their changes well. At the end of the day, the hijab is a sign of devotion to Allah s.w.t. and what matters the most is your honesty in wearing it.

“Becoming a better Muslim does not happen overnight.

It takes gradual and constant baby steps,”

In my opinion, there is no need to criticize any parties here from the way the hijab is worn. Fine, maybe you are uncomfortable with the way a certain person wears a headpiece and skinny jeans. The fact that she took the initiative to start wearing the hijab is already a courageous act. Instead, try investing in educating her the correct ways of wearing the ‘real hijab’. Show and guide her throughout the whole process, with advice (without being cynical of course).

 

Imagine you’re trying something new (which is obviously for the better) and you find people criticizing and rejecting you for it. Isn’t it degrading?

Yuna was once criticized for the heavy resemblance of her hijab to a nun’s headpiece.

Remember how the issue of Yuna’s hijab came to light once upon a time? She had eccentric style for an awards show and people started the smear of her imititating a nun’s headpiece. In short, people are saying it is not permissible for Muslimahs nowadays to don this style. Some of the radical Muslims coined it as haraam or forbidden.

Why?

“Because it reflects the style of the Jews and Christians,”

Please, allow me a moment to laugh at this statement.

I would agree if someone points out that this is not the best way to wear a hijab, but think again.

What makes this style unappealing or as they said it, haraam?  Is it because it follows the style of the nuns in churches? Nowadays, having the young ladies to even approach modesty in clothing is indeed a challenge, as we’re in a world where people believe less is more in clothing.

New fashion styles we see in the mass media nowadays are viewed as a tool to attract these kinds of people to the way of Islam.

Wouldn’t you feel blessed if you see your sisters trying out the various styles in wearing the veil?

Wouldn’t you feel the slightest bit of happiness when you see your wife slowly approaching the rightful ways of wearing a hijab? Then, try to tell them the style they’re putting on is of resemblance to a nun, and that it is haraam. Now, would you think they would have the initiative to put the hijab back on?

Some days ago, there was a group of Malays in veils who were up for presentations for an assignment. In an instant, a few students began shutting down without the slightest care to listen to their presentation. I’ve encountered these kind of situations countless times. I even dared myself to ask the reason behind their actions once.

“Oh, her English’s not that good anyway,”

“She’s a kampong girl, she’s not trained to talk publicly,”

Although it’s obvious they did not state the reason (because I am a hijabi myself), I knew they were clearly relating it to them being a hijabi. I dare say that throughout my years, I was judged as a ‘kampung’ girl, I was illiterate in English, I came from a religiously binding family, and I do not know how to ‘style’ myself. The most common reaction I get from non-hijabis is usually the shocked expressions when I converse in English.

You speak fluent English! Bet you lived overseas for a very long time… Oh my, you’re very intelligent!

Wearing a hijab on your head does not oppress you from the outside world. Wearing the hijab does not make the wrong right, and otherwise. How often do we get to see highly intellectual hijabis? These women deserve an award, in my opinion. They choose decency through a huge leap of faith. They proved to the world that showing your ultimate devotion to Allah S.W.T. as a Muslim woman does not impede you from being who you want to be. They choose to be like Saidatina Aisha r.a. and Hafsah, the daughter of Saidina Umar, the wives of the Prophet with high levels of intellect. But, the most important fact is that they choose to ignore what other people might negatively think about them, and choose their rightful path.

Dear Muslimahs of the world, take this as a calling and a challenge for you. Don’t let the negative judgement of others consume you. Don’t let yourself be what others want you to be. Stay strong, show the world what you’re capable of, and remember that Allah S.W.T. is always on your side.

Playing it Fair; JPA Scholarship.

“A total of 559 candidates obtained the A+ and 10,803 scored straight A’s in the subjects they sat for in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination in 2011, Education Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Ghafar Mahmud said.”

Statistics on SPM results have never been disappointing, in fact, it may be the only showing some positive signs in our plummeting national arena, be it in politics, economics or..social issues. The reality is more students are getting straight A’s year after year, and perhaps the staggering number of students being exceptional may be the reason why Muhyiddin suddenly came out with the theory of our education system being better than of the US and UK.

Ah, how wonderful seeing parents being so happy over their children’s results.

“Of course I do, my son has never scored an A in Additional Mathematics, Physics, and Chemisty and praise to Lord, he nailed a straight A’s!”

What a happy ending, and I bet everyone is expecting our education excellence tale to continue being so. Hold on, our beloved Prime Minister just reversed his policy of giving JPA scholarships not only to 9A+ students, but also to those getting 8A+. How generous!

Malaysians, for the sake of our country, wake up please!

Isn’t it alarming that our education statistics are showing rapid rise and nothing else for the past 10 years? In the past, there seemed to be more recognition to high-scorers than how it is now. However, a trend of skepticism is that scholarship interviewers and employees began to question the credibility of these exceptional students, as how their SPM qualifications say it.

What exactly does this rise in numbers entail?

Are our students getting smarter, thanks to their dedicated teachers and students’ undivided attention in class?

Or are they simply more prepared due to the many generic practice questions available in bookstores and tuition centers?

And are there possibilities of the system being more lenient compared to years ago?

These are the issues that must be taken account especially in gauging excellence, for public money being invested for these apparent exceptional students is just mind-blowing.

Yes, these students do work hard and it’s timely for us to reward them with scholarships to ensure continuity of success as they are our human capitals in building a modern Malaysia. There’s no denial to that and I’m not being unpragmatic as it sounds, but the issue here involves billions of public money outflow, therefore it’s also fair to evaluate if every SPM high scorer should be rewarded solely on the basis of SPM results.

Let’s take the year 2007 as for example, 1800 students were being sent overseas to complete their tertiary education. Averaging RM 500,000 per person, that’s almost RM 900 million for that batch alone. Say if the trend continues as of 2012, isn’t that a whooping RM 3.5 billion? The public has the right to question the justification of spending so much especially when majority of these students are not even enrolled in the world’s Top 20 universities.

Throughout the years, they’ve been cases of JPA scholars (the so-called SPM high scorers) flunking their preparatory examinations i.e A-Levels, Canadian Pre-U, South Australian Matriculation, and it’s a strong indication of the policy being ineffective to gauge the expected excellence, simply because SPM achievements doesn’t necessarily equate to world-standard educational requirements.

Isn’t it contradictory of the policy that our best students aren’t being exceptional to be the best among the best? In fact, it’s  prevalent that privately-funded students have better admission rate to Ivy and Oxbridge (as to name a few).

So look who’s having the last laugh now.

In the UK and US, there are certain universities of large Malaysian admission annually to an extent that they’re only mingling among themselves. Don’t be surprised therefore to meet Malaysian graduates from such tertiary institutions who can’t even speak proper English! Does it mean that JPA has already set its expectations low that ‘unqualified’ or averagely-fared Malaysians will always be bound to a particular university, as long as it’s overseas?

Not so long ago, the Government initiated a new policy for JPA scholarships to be awarded only to exceptional students upon acceptance to top universities. Years have passed since the announcement, and the time is ripe to re-define the definition of ‘top university’. Singapore for instance, will only sponsor crème de la crème to top institutions while retaining the rest locally.

Possible changes:

• Reserving scholarship spots for top scorers at university-entry level
• Small bursaries for SPM-level students for pre-university courses
• The pre-university courses would include STPM, matriculation and A-levels

Other issues mooted:

• Due to O-level results being a poor indicator of A-level performance, it is not an excellent idea to award the scholarships to SPM level students.
• Key to the policy change is to award scholarships to students with very good results and a place at top universities.
• Process of awarding the scholarships must also be “fair and balanced” in order to make sure that all communities in Malaysia reap the benefit from it.

Source: JPA

JPA’s over-emphasis on overseas education is among the factors that cause our local institutions to plummet in rankings due to the lack of quality human capital. Lackluster of quality is what making the atmosphere less competitive, hence the lack of initiatives to reach a better standard. Look no further, speaking English itself is already a bane, what more a continuous independent research and development progress.

How saddening, though, that the trickle-down effects are bastardizing our own efforts to improve local institutions.

Whatever happens to reviving the glory days of University Malaya when the Government themselves are letting this exodus of our brightest, while the less undeserving ones grapple for locally available spots?

Whoever rules the Government in future times, JPA overseas scholarship policy must be revised imminently.Straight A’s in SPM alone don’t equate to the excellence deserving of golden (yes, it’s that expensive) opportunities abroad. Overseas institutions too, aren’t defined as ‘exceptional’ just because it’s located in the US or UK where institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Oxford are at. More importantly, a more refined approach will ensure meritocracy at its best, while improving the standard of our local institutions with the billions saved and a better pool of students to choose from.

The 19th Safest Country in the World; Malaysia.

Surprise. Surprise.

Mainstream publications were quick to sensationalize Malaysia’s latest ranking in Global Peace Index as reported by Institute of Economics and Peace. Ranked 19th among 153 countries, Malaysia is ‘safest in South East Asia, 2nd best in Asia, and among the top 20 in the World’.

Yes, there hasn’t been any physical racial conflicts.

Nor did the public fear terrorists threats on the street.

Military deposition of the government? Never in our Malaysian history. Unless if you consider Al-Maunah as one.

If these were the criterias taken into consideration to come out with a ‘safety ranking’, obviously Malaysia will rank higher than some of the safest countries as we’re socio-geographically in terror-free area.

Clearly the imposition of safety by Global Peace Index isn’t reflective as to how safe Malaysia really is. However, our Malaysian authority wasted no time to acclaim the credit particularly in relating its success to Government Transformation Program in reducing crime rates.

The 22 safety indicators used for this analysis are barely relevant to Malaysia’s standard of concern. Issues on ‘weaponry, military capabilities, terrorists acts, relations with neighboring countries’ are rarely a subject of paranoia since Independence, in fact most Malaysians don’t even see the need for military muscles when diplomacy is already working at its best to settle disputes.

Suspected church bombers in Indonesia by radical Islamists.

Malaysia is blessed not to be in the fear of internal terror as how Indonesia is to its radical jihadists (who believe that bombing pubs and tourist-frequented hotels is the way to save the Ummah), or the Southern Thai’s sporadic violence by the separatists insurgence. Even South Korea isn’t considered ‘safe’ due to constant nuclear threat by its next-door neighbour; North Korea, as well as the growing military force of antagonistic China.

Yes, we can pull a smiling face to claim Malaysia as a safe-haven, wonderful, peaceful face of Asia as how our Tourism Ministry says it on the billboards across the World.

True, Malaysia is indeed a harmonious multi-racial country if violence is how you gauge ‘harmony and peace’.

Despite some policy and Governmental flaws, we’ve never gone through racial genoicides (or as claimed) such as the likes of Ku Klux Klan, Uighur massacre by the communist China in Xinjiang province, and least to say in conflictive regions of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India.

Ku Klux Klan’s white supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds.

13th May 1969? Blame the politics for fanning the racial sentiments. Even that one and only black mark in our multi-racial history wouldn’t be out of proportion if we didn’t have certain vicious individuals who hated the idea of living under one roof.

“Malaysia is 19th safest in the World!”

Now as most Malaysians may begin to ponder, are we really that safe to deserve such global recognition?

What are the odds of me being in danger along the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh & etc? We’re safer than Singapore, aren’t we?

I grew up in a once crime-free neighbourhood.

A carefree 9-year old me didn’t think of lurking danger when I went to cycle around the housing area with my then two besties. Maghrib ‘azan’ was our home-calling siren to avoid getting ‘rotan’ beatings, not because it was getting dark where the ‘bad people’ might just come from behind and kidnap you.

As I began pondering how different life is for the growing kids nowadays, I happened to hear a conversation between mom and my recently turned 9-year old twin brothers asking for permission to cycle around together.

“Who are you going with? How many of you guys?”

“Don’t go alone, it’s dangerous out there”

“Make sure you ONLY cycle til the end of the junction (which is like 500 meters from our house)”

“Lock the gate before you leave.”

I wouldn’t blame my mom for such paranoia.

Despite increasing police paroles in the neighborhood and whatever statistics have proven, the fact that Malaysians are no more feeling safe is something to be heeded by our authority.

Try and have a look at most of middle-income housing areas in Klang Valley, most (if not all by now) are beginning to embrace a gated and guarded community.

Security guards are everywhere!

Who’s to blame when you can’t anymore trust the society?

Is it their fault to build a 7-foot concrete fences a la Berlin Wall, secluding themselves from the majority when their safety is of utmost concern?

Yes? You must’ve forgotten Sharlinie.

“Another young girl has gone missing after playing at a playground near her flats in Taman Dato Harun on Wednesday at 11am. 5-year-old Sharlinie Mohd Nashar went to the playground with her 8-year-old sister, Sharliena, but half an hour later when they decided to return home, Sharlinie was nowhere to be found.

This incident comes just after a 6-year-old girl was abducted by a motorcyclist on Monday in Kampung Sepakat, Taman Medan, but was later found wandering in Wangsa Maju, Setapak. Police did not rule out the possibility that the “Kampung Baru molester” is the one responsible for these two cases, which occurred within 2km of each other.”

Recent gruesome murder of the 5-year old Nurul Nadhirah has again sparked fear among the public. Criminal cases involving minors are beginning to be a worrying trend year after year, something unfounded when I was a little kid (as much as you once were). Yes there are no terrorists bombing our Twin Tower, but I’m more worried if I can’t draw a safe line for the present and future generation to live their life without constant fear of being abducted and killed by the person next door!

How innocent of her to be horrendously killed!

“The charred remains found on Thursday at an oil palm plantation here at Nusa Damai in Masai has been confirmed as five year-old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah

“The charred remains were found on Thursday in the plantation, about 20KM away from the Seri Delima four-storey walk-up flats at Bandar Seri Alam here, where Dirang stayed with her mother, brother, step-sister, grandmother and her aunt.

Dirang was reported missing on March 1 by her mother. Roselyn had given Dirang RM4 to buy eggs and two packets of instant noodles at the grocery store located at the ground floor of the block next door.”

The question here remains, who’s at fault? The authority or the society we’re living in?

Hands down, the measures taken to reduce crime rates is laudable especially when you’ve the numbers to prove it, but that doesn’t mean that the society is no more vulnerable to crime threats.

Where else is safe for us and the future generation then?

Parents can’t help but to concede that the same person who killed Nurin Jazlin might after all be around the neighborhood, paedophilically keeping an eye on the next one.

Nurin is found dead in a gymnasium bag.

“The eight-year-old girl was reported missing after she had gone to a wet market near her house to buy a hair clip on the night of August 20th, 2007, in Kuala Lumpur. What seemed like a simple task took a turn for the worst as Nurin was discovered dead in a gym bag on the morning of September 17th, 2007. She was found naked, curled up in a fetal position with a cucumber and a brinjal stuffed inside her genitals. Investigations have been carried out, but until now, her killer remains on the loose.”

Oh, parents should be responsible over their children. It’s their fault for letting them out without guardians where anything can happen. Right. Thanks for the advice, PDRM.

Now try having a stroll in the park, and you might be the next snatch theft victim.

“A 24-year-old private hospital nurse, believed to be a victim of snatch theft cum hit-and-run accident, died along a busy road here yesterday.

 G.Malathi from Gelugor was believed to be a victim of snatch theft as her personal belongings were missing after the accident.”

Walking alone to the basement car park after a busy day at work?

Think again, Canny Ong wouldn’t have done that if she knew how ruthless our society has been.

The charred remains of Canny Ong.

“Canny was abducted at knife-point from the shopping complex’s parking lot. Subsequently, she was raped, stabbed, strangled then dumped into a manhole. Her assailant, Ahmad Najib Aris, returned a day later to set her corpse on fire. Her murderer has been sentenced to hang at the gallows.”

Oh yes, only in the 19th safest country in the world.

Roman’s Falling Chelski

I was 12 when I started appreciating English Premier Football. Its coveted crown was once mainly a two-horse race; one an almost French-team led by a French captain (as well as French manager), and another the dubbed golden generation of Manchester. As always, Liverpool fans kept wishing that it may eventually be their season of revival, but it obviously never happened after 20 years (and counting) despite much anticipation. It was also a faltering phase for hopeful Leeds United, whose manager Glenn Hoddle mismanaged financial rationals that it had to start seeking capitals by selling their best players, something that loyalists Paul Robinson, Alan Smith and Mark Viduka never saw coming as Leeds hit the relegation sack barely seasons after reaching semi-final of Champions League.

Then came Roman Abramovich and his vast wealth, acquiring a West London side whose last championship was half a century ago. Chelsea’s then manager, Claudio Ranieri, knew time wasn’t a friend as his subsequent predecessors should’ve expected. Unforeseen just alike Abramovich’s arrival, Ranieri is suddenly put in a heavy burden of being the elite of Europe. ‘The Tinkerman’ —as nicknamed— spent close to £100 milion on players past their prime like Crespo, Mutu and Makelele as to name a few.

Ranieri was first to be sacked. Subsequent removal of 4 managers costed Chelsea an amazing £40 million.

10 years have passed, with 7 managers warming the hot seat as Abramovich’s persistence and patience never got along well with the football world.

3 times in Champions League semi-finals, twice to winning it and only three Barclays Premiership titles to brag seems inadequate for Abramovich to create the glorious image as he had wish.

Unprecedented losses against newly promoted teams, internal dissatisfactions, Abramovich’s ultimatum over controversial transfers of Shevchenko and Torres, Mourinho’s trickle-down effect and frequent managerial changes are rather more prevalent in today’s headlines instead.

The main contention is no more about the managerial, players or the rivals anymore. Chelsea’s (or rather, Chelski) fall is duly to Abramovich’s inconsistency in setting the club’s policy direction to glory as supposed to be. His main intention was to create a fearsome Chelsea while establishing itself among the elites of Europe’s. In fact, he has made it clear that it’s the Champions League trophy that he’s longing for. However, Abramovich also envisions a Chelsea Youth Academy that produces the likes of Manchester’s greats though his approach seems to be less conventional; by offering huge amounts of money for youngsters to train at Cobham (Chelsea’s training ground) rather than developing its youth system from the fundamentals.

Then Taiwo and his Leeds United academy team-mate Michael Woods were the subject of a wrangle between Leeds and Chelsea over ‘tapping up’ that led to a court case. Chelsea agreed to pay Leeds £5million in the end. 

I feel moved to have a say on my beloved football club as Abramovich’s drive for instant successes began to be the impetus to Chelsea’s instability. Mourinho was twice close to winning Champions League, in fact with 4 other trophies under his belt, the chase for European glory is suddenly shifted to Abramovich’s unnecessary tight budgeting. At times when Barcelona’s revival costed no less than Chelsea’s with the arrivals of Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic and Deco, Abramovich absent-mindedly enforced his ‘self-sustaining policy’, resorting to Mourinho desperately resorting to desperate acquisitions of mediocre Tal Ben Haim and Steve Sidwell.

Chelsea fared averagely halfway to the season, and the victimised Mourinho was sacked for playing ‘unattractive football’.

It’s apparent that Abramovich is always in search for potential managers with glorious CV when he no more feels secure with one at the helm, despite them doing fairly alright. (Chelsea has never failed to qualify to Champions League Quarter-Finals since Abramovich started investing)

Avram Grant, who successfully steered Chelsea to finish only a point behind the then English Champion (after a dismal start under Mourinho) and Champions League Final, is replaced by the untested Luiz Felipe Scolari, just to be taken over by another of his favorite; Guus Hiddink, seven months later. Carlo Ancelotti meanwhile get booted out a season after winning two domestic trophies, only to be replaced by Mourinho’s apprentice from Porto, Andre Villas-Boas.

World Cup Winner; Luiz Felipe Scolari got the sacking only after seven months.

The questions again underline the basic philosophies of football whom Abramovich wanted, to our confusion..unfortunately.

If he knew Chelsea had lost to Manchester United merely on spot kicks in the Champions League Final, why not appoint Avram Grant permanently and let him spend for Chelsea to come out stronger the next season?

Why even consider Luiz Felipe Scolari when everyone knew the fact that he has never coached in Europe? A contradiction to Abramovich’s European glory chase eh?

If he really wanted ‘attractive football’ to begin with, why hire a manager known for his tactical play (and an Italian to top) like Carlo Ancelotti?

Abramovich’s lust for Champions League glory became more evident when Villas-Boas; known for his European exploits in a quadruple season with Porto, transferred to Chelsea in a £13 million deal. High expectations are on Villas-Boas to deliver despite his lack of experience for he’s likened to be the next ‘Mourinho’, more so after just winning the Europa League with Porto —a similar feat achieved by the young Mourinho—.

Andre Villas-Boas (far right), after winning his fourth trophy of the season; the Europa League (formerly known as UEFA Cup).

Shouldered with the responsibility for European glory, Villas-Boas’ “three-year project” includes revitalizing Chelsea’s ageing squad, especially when the former is still shadowed by ‘Mourinho-Return Syndrome’, something Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and John Terry often enticed with. Abramovich made it clear that it’s now time for a new generation of Chelsea with sufficient funds promised, what more when McEachran seems to be the only player born from the expensively-assembled Chelsea Youth Academy.

Villas-Boas also faces a daunting task of eliminating certain quarters’ dominance in dressing room whose influence has led to removal of managers in the past.

Certain players seem to enjoy privileges of close relationship with Abramovich.

The same problem persists as Villas-Boas’ tactical considerations often backfire as he galvanizes effort to give a new breath to Chelsea’s style of play, fitting in more of the younger ones in positions Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Cole, Essien & Anelka used to immortalise. Things are getting from bad to worse given how Villas-Boas manages players almost-of-his-age, and it doesn’t help when the senior players are always in the thought that it’s only a matter of time before the exodus of players who are still shadowed by Mourinho. The media is not at fault in the portrayal of cracks appearing as Abramovich’s constant persistence for instant successes kinda made it look that perhaps, Villas-Boas isn’t The Man for it after all.

Now how deep is the problem?

It’s no more between internal conflicts of Team A and Team B, but the belief in oneness of team spirit behind the manager. The Seniors can have a guess how influential their media resentments can favour them, come on just look at what Scolari and Grant endured!

Chelsea needs more time to mature as a potential threat, and this season may not be the one for Villas-Boas to make it progress exponentially. Take a look at a bigger picture, every position is ripened with pre-mature potentials, the likes of Sturridge, Cahill, Luiz, Ramires, Romeu, Cortis, Lukaku, and Kakuta need a figurehead to trust rather than another hefty change of management.

Abramovich gave Villas-Boas 3 years to prove himself and he should stop taking moves only to the faltering of Chelsea, especially when Villas-Boas is the 3rd manager in 2 years for them to adapt to.

Drogba & Co. have had their takes to shine under 5 different managers..hence the axe-fall is probably best for them this time around if the Champions League trophy is what really matters.

PS: And no! Not Rafa Benitez only for him to be replaced by Guus Hiddink halfway through!

9 January 2012; The Acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim.

Such is a personality that he continues making headlines despite countless of allegations hurled at him & family, or more accurately – anyone who can be closely affiliated to him. For a progressive democratic nation, the Sodomy II is deemed weak, uncalled upon, and dubious in the eyes of truth-seeking public. In fact, this latest political setback has been more of a concern to majority Malaysians of late than perturbing economical issues.

9 January 2012′s verdict holds much significance as many predicted that upcoming election may be the Opposition pact’s only chance of taking Putrajaya. The turnarounds of 2008′s political tsunami has made the public more courageous to question Government’s unpopular moves. The once impossible coalition pact of Chinese-dominant DAP and Islamist PAS, together with PKR is beginning to portray the new image of Malaysia’s political landscape, calling for the ruling party of Barisan Nasional to liberate the public as the roars are beginning to extend to rural constituencies.

I was fortunate to be one of the thousands witnessing Anwar’s acquittal of the Sodomy II allegation.

Why fortunate? What’s so special of witnessing just another person coming out of court?

Anwar’s case is probably the last of such in the history of Malaysia’s judiciary. Having said that, the last (and first) Sodomy case recorded was also one involving Anwar and his personal aid, in which the later eventually confessed -in an undated video recording- of him being forced to concede to lies of politically-malicious intent. This verdict also bears weight to Malaysia’s future political landscape as the next General Election looms nearer. Anwar is said to be the unifying force of Opposition’s Coalition and it’s usually uncalled for political parties of different ideologies agreeing to one as their potential Prime Minister. However, the image of a sodomiser Anwar works more harm than good for a formidable Opposition force, especially when the connotation of Anwar being one is a major catch-word for the 150,000 daily readers of mainstream newspapers.

So..why was I there?

Having my political freedom restricted by AUKU (though not of the case here), it’s the usual wish for conventional parents not wanting their children to be affiliated to politics (especially Anwar) before the about time. It was the least of expectation for me to be part of the atmosphere, nevertheless one can always change his fortune of life, and unrelatedly – I did mine by doing my legal attachment at RamRais & Partners on 6 January 2012.

Syahredzan Johan, a partner of RamRais & Partners whom I was with.

Coincidentally, I was tasked on an immigration case (on my first day of work) handled by Syahredzan Johan and it happened that its case trial will be on the 9th at Jalan Duta Court Complex; the very place where Anwar’s verdict is to be released at.

I was walking behind Justice Bao.

Contrary to the previous rallies, the PDRM was surprisingly co-operative and non-violent to the public. Traffic towards the complex didn’t turn out to be as horrendous as many had anticipated, in fact, there were no road-blocks leading to the Court Complex despite the sporadic presence of PDRM. The amassing crowd started chanting as early as 8 in the morning, followed by speeches of Pakatan Rakyat’s politicians. (Fuziah of Kuantan and Nizar were the few I managed to listen to).

One of the common sights during the rally.

By 830, I had to get moving from the speech-platform and squeezed myself through the impatient, unnerving crowd as chants to release Anwar and reformation continues reverberating just outside the main entrance.

“HIDUP HIDUP! HIDUP ANWAR!”

“REFORMASI REFORMASI REFORMASI”

What happened inside the Court Complex?

It’s work as usual for the BlackandWhites inside the Court Complex, though a commotion can be obviously seen at the far-end of Level 5, mostly lawyers and journalists. As the case on immigration was postponed to 11am, Syahredzan and I waited along the corridor-approximately 20 metres away from the commotion- for the verdict on Anwar to be released.

*A BBM notification to Syahredzan verifies Anwar’s acquittal from the sodomy allegation.

Both of us were startled of this verdict, which led to the checking of Twitter updates to verify the information.

“YEAH YEAH BETUL LAH TU, EVERYONE IS SAYING SO”

Merely seconds after, a thundering roar erupted from the Court Complex’s parking place vicinity as Anwar’s supporters rejoiced at this triumphant verdict.

The actual atmosphere (from the ground) after verdict is out.

From the look at it, most lawyers (from the commotion) looked relieved as the jubilant crowd celebrated this emphatic win. A lady who later engaged into a conversation with Syahredzan said:

“I don’t care about Anwar or Najib, I’m just glad Anwar’s family doesn’t have to go through this suffering any longer”

Minutes later, Anway and his envoys came out from the verdict chamber, happily waving to the photographers. Meanwhile outside, most of Anwar’s supporters have started making their way home, leaving the few hundreds faithful ones by the Court Complex’s main entrance.

Selangor Menteri Besar, Khalid Ibrahim was the most exuberant as he walked out of the chamber, being among the earliest to give out interviews to info-hungry reporters. Khalid gleefully walked past us, and started lauding the victory to recognizable individuals as “A NEW START. THIS IS A NEW START”.

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That was my short account of the much-hyped 9 January 2012 and I feel compelled to share my fortunate experience as I’m sure many would have longed for such opportunity. Likewise, let’s hope that this case won’t be prolonged & taken to the Court of Appeal as the judge had already made it clear by saying that he could not rely on controversial DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution in the case lodged by Anwar’s aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

“The court is always reluctant to convict on sexual offences without corroborative evidence. Therefore, the accused is acquitted and discharged,” were the final words uttered in the verdict chamber. Malaysians are generally tired of this dirty politicking and enough is enough.