Tuesday 28 August 2012

WHERE TO STUDY ?

Students always asked themselves where should they further their studies after graduating from primary or secondary school ? If they graduated from primary school , they might be divided between studying at full boarding school , premier non boarding school or just the national school . As for the secondary school graduates , they will be in a deep state of dilemma as they have to make an even tougher choice . This situation can become stickier especially if you are offered a place in polytechnic , matriculation college , university or even a scholarship to foreign university .

Did you ever get into that kind of confusing circumstances ? If you are , do not worry . Sometimes in life , everyone of us had to make difficult decisions . The degree of hardness will increase as you grew older . Still remember when you get your UPSR or PMR result slip and an offer letter from a boarding school was sent to your doorstep ? Do you need to reply to it ? If you are the type of person who are still dependent on your parent and siblings in managing your own life , then I suggest you do not go  to boarding school . I think it is better for you to go to premier non boarding or conventional school where you can still travel back and forth from your home .

Now , choosing the right place to study can be a tricky affair especially when you are the " lalang " type of person . What I am trying to say is that you are easily influenced by the external factors eg parents , friends and relatives who claimed this college and courses as such and such etcera . Now , the solution for this problem is simple . What I wanted you to do is to close your eye and ask what your heart wanted you to be ? If you are talented in singing , playing musical instruments , then why do not you sign up for music college such as ICOM , Berkeley etcera . You do not have to be shy to pursue musical courses which are deemed by certain parties as worthless and irrelevant to the job market . Just follow your heartbeat and everything will be just fine .

One of my friends once told me that if you pursue something which is not your cup of tea , it will eat you up from inside . Honestly , he is absolutely correct . If you are inclined toward liberal art courses like me , but choosing engineering courses as your subject just for the prestige and respect by your loved ones , then you are just digging your own grave . I can bet you that you will fail at the end of the semester , crying yourself in the bed ," why is this happening to me ? I should have done liberal arts . If that moment arrived , you have reached a point of no return .

In conclusion , you should know your inclination and talents . The world is your studying place . You do not have to limit your choices . Be clear minded and have a firm stand . Then , I can guarantee you that you will pursuit the beauty of happiness .

NOTE : THE AUTHOR WISHES THE VERY BEST OF LUCK TO FRIENDS , RELATIVES AND ALL MALAYSIANS WHO ARE GOING TO PURSUE THEIR DREAM IN LOCAL PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES THIS EARLY SEPTEMBER

Monday 27 August 2012

STEREOTYPE INCORPORATED

Have you ever encountered a situation where you are being labelled as such and such by your friends , the whole neighbourhood only because you are different from them ? The kind of difference that I am talking about is your skin colour , race , creed , belief , place of origins , etcera.. ? If you had been through this sticky situation , then I would like to welcome you to STEREOTYPE INC, a company which had been founded by me .

Now , I might surprise or provoke big bussinessmen if I say that if all of the companies including Apple , Microsoft , and so on were combined into a gargantuan consortium , their effort will come to waste . Why ? Because my company is more powerful , more stable and employed 7 billions people on this planet . Some might asked , " Is it true ? " Nah , I am just joking . I do not own any companies . I had just created the term stated above as an analogy to describe how stereotype had been a nasty cancer in among human race . By the way , if you search it on Forbes 500 , you can only find nothing . You have been fooled , HAHA !

By the way , stereotype is a common problem in this multicultural , multireligious country like Malaysia . Everyone of us are so prejudice of each other that we had blinded ourselves of the beauty in diversity and differences in among us , Malaysians . We are often ignorant of the fact that a people 's act does not represent the whole community .

Let me give you an example . Let say I saw a Malay couple kissing in the park . Does it sounds right if I say that all Malay couples like to display public affection ? Of course no . It is only the couple 's act , not the Malay act . They deserve the punishment , not the race . The second example , if I see a Chinese girl wearing an extra tight miniskirt and tight sleeveless shirt, looking  like a whore , sitting next to me in a bus . Is it fair for the Chinese if I say that all Chinese girl are sluts ?Of course no . Not all Chinese girls are like that .

I can talk about many other cases involving stereotypes which I had previously experienced . Now for the second part of this drama . I want to expose something even more heartbreaking , and you might want to punch my face . Be prepared for the truth . The truth is STEREOTYPE INC did exist . It had firmly consolidated in our minds and souls that only death can do us part from that impression .

When I was small , I had frequently heard that if I act naughty , some Indian guys will come and catch me . I grew up with that statement and I had to say that it was a complete myth as I mixed with them . I think they are just like me and I always think that if a guy wants to kidnap you , the guy does not have to be Indian . He can be anyone .I also heard that many Indians are drunkers . Well , this statement is not true either . I have seen many Indians who had not touch any liquors and beers even when being offered by friends and colleagues .

The second case , some people said that all Chinese are rich , greedy and liars . They also said that all Chinese can do business and are excellent in Maths . Now , let me correct the above statement . Not all Chinese are rich . Many of them are just like us , average income earners . As for the greedy part , I know of many Chinese businessmen who donated their properties to charities and like to share their fortune with the people . I also know of many Chinese who are honest and does not take anything that is not theirs . As for the Maths and bussiness part , I always believe that anyone can be a Maths prodigy if you worked hard by revision and full class attention . Let me remind you , not all Chinese do bussiness . Many of them are civil and private servants and they had no interest or skills in doing the business transactions .

As for the Malays , they said that Malays are lazy and like to depend on the Government on almost anything . Let me correct this , I personally know a lot of hardworking , workaholic Malays and they can afford to sent their childrens to colleges , buy expensive houses and cars without any special discount or assistance from the Government . Some parties said that Malay students are unable to converse well in English and are not doing well in Science and Maths . Well , this is not true . There are many Malay students who can spoke English fluently , which can be compared to foreign Western expatriates who lives in Malaysia . These students are also smart and they are able to score well in Physics , Maths and so on .

As for the non - Malay bumiputeras living in Peninsular Malaysia , Sabah and Sarawak , some people thinked that these people are still living in the forest , animisme believers and are illiterate . If you had  a friend who had this type of stigma , I suggest you smack him in the head and take him for a tour . Let him witness the truth . Orang Asli , Dayak , Kadazandusun , Murut and so on are now enjoying a high standard of living and many of them are successful professionals and businessmens . Many of them are devout Christians and they can write , read and speak better English and Malay than us . By the way , they do not live in the jungle . Many of them had moved out and lived in cities . Some of them also builded huge , rambling house for their families in the kampung .

As for me , many Malaysians thought that all Siamese came from Thailand . This is also a huge lie . For your information , there are around 70,000 Siamese people in Malaysia and many of them are concentrated in Kedah , Perlis , Kelantan and Hulu Perak . There is also a sizeable minority of Siamese community in Penang . Like all Malaysians , we are granted full citizenship and are considered as bumiputeras under the Federal Constituition . Now , I think I had made the point .

In coclusion , do not judge a book by its covers . Just remeber that we shall not treat other people the way we do not want to be treated . Eliminate all the prejudice and stigmas , and I am sure that STEREOTYPE INC will be out of business . 

SATU HATI SATU JIWA SATU BANGSA
SATU MALAYSIA
PEACE NO WAR


THE NEXT BIG THING IN PARLIAMENT

Let just imagine that you are a politician and you are currently a Member of Parliment for your constituency . Now , let say that the election period had arrived and you were elected as a candidate for the second time in the same constituency . Now , all you have to do is to put some RM100K as your financial capital for the campaign , plus some extra cash , maybe RM5K as your betting money . The only way to get back your RM5K is by getting at least 1/8 of the total voters who voted on the election day .

Now , for the interesting part of this article . Just imagine that a publicity booth and a grand stage had been set up in the public field , which belongs to the municipial council . At night , there were hundreds of people come to your speech . You will be only giving the speech on the grand stage and the booth will do the rest for you . It will distribute free refreshments , some souvenirs and registering new members of your party .

Your job of the night is only to give speech and that is all . So , what kind of speech will you be giving ? Is it about promising the citizens of your area that each and every one of them will get free fuel refill for a day , that is the day after the election should you win ? Or you will be using this oppurtunity to slam either Government or Opposition ' s policies , depending on which side you are , when your own policies are worse ? How about spreading the mega plan ; to take over the nation 's capital when you are on the losing side ?

My question is , should you tell the people by using any of the statement above ? Of course no . You are a politician , not a lawyer . You do not make a living by " cheating " on the people like the way lawyers does . When you are giving your political speech , make sure that your contents are based on reliable , accurate source . Do not simply jumble up everything from the Internet , copy paste here and there and expect the people to believe in every words you says .

When it comes to making promises , do not make empty , illogical assurance to your constituency ' s people . If your party or the government itself cannot afford to bring down the car price in Malaysia , do not promise that ! Just make a vow to the people that you will serve the people during disaster times . Just promise to the people that you will bring down corruption in your area . Make a personal guarantee that your office will be like a open house , where people can come in and tell their problems to the people . Or maybe you can set up an special day in a week ,  let say Wednesday night where you can personally listen to their arguments about the problems in the constituency .

Just remember that people do not choose you only because you are good looking or super rich billionaires . They elected you so that you will be their voice in the Parliment , a guy who can speak up for the constituency ' s interest . This is what every politicians ( MPs ) should say .

Now , do not you think that your every vote is important and that you cannot elect someone who is in jail because he or she is involved in crimes . Make your choice wisely . Good night

SAYA PILIH MALAYSIA


Sunday 26 August 2012

SOW THE SEED OF HATRED , REAP THE FRUIT OF DISASTER

Wise man said , " You reap what you sow " . As for me , I truly believe in that statement . I truly believe that if we give the input , we will reap the output . The output can be either positive or negative . If you spread love , you will reap peace . If you plant hatred , you will get a disaster . The concept is very much similar to law of karma . What goes around , comes around .

The reason why I am writing this article is that I had came across several " farmers " who tried to clear the wilderness of " diversity and peace " and turn it into an rubber estate of " anarchy ". What am I trying to say ? I want to use this analogy as a reminder to everyone of you who had been exposed to outside influence especially from any form of electronic and printed medias . I just want you to be careful of these " farmers " who tried to invade and destroy the fabrics which had been mended by our forefathers to form the wilderness of " peace and diversity " that we are living in to this day . 

The million dolar question , " Who are these farmers and how they disguise themselves ? " . These " farmers " can be " anyone . They can be politicians , ministers , officers , even teachers . They disguise themselves under the name of freedom , justice and meritocracy . They are usually vocal speakers for their group , voicing their discontent over any issues regarding their community through social medias such as Facebook , Twitter , Myspace and so on . They even had a blog dedicated for their cause .

These people especially politicians and activists are now moving in a new direction . What is the direction ? Their direction is to win the hearts of many Malaysian especially the youth by  publishing anti - statement about the Government . By this way , they hope of winning more seats in the next general election . I am not saying that all of their anti - Government 's statements are wrong . It is just that many of their claims are baseless and lies . In fact , I would actually support them if they voiced their protest over certain education issues such as JPA scholarships , Matriculation placements and the usage of Bahasa Malaysia in Maths and Science . Sadly , most of these " farmers " overlooked this issues . They are more interested in attacking the Government for the wrong cause at the wrong time in a wrong situation .

I would like to remind all of you who are reading this post , to study their claims and facts in depth . Look out for any websites , blogs and medias who had different opinions on the issue . After reading  on both sides , make your own judgement . If you think that neither sides are correct , then close the book . Do not try to spread any further rumours on the issue . Just think of how many minds you have corrupted if you spread it .   Do not let these " farmers " planted the seed of destruction .

SATU HATI , SATU JIWA , SATU BANGSA
HIDUP MALAYSIA
SALAM KEMERDEKAAN KE 55


Saturday 25 August 2012

WHAT DO YOU WANT ?

Personally , I am a human but I do not understand one of the most despicable human nature ; complains and grumble . Just take the college students for example . I mean , how many of you know of a college guy who never complained about anything ? He or she will not complain about the canteen food , will not complain about the dull condition of the dormitory rooms , will not complain about anything in the college even when the college itself needs some criticisms ? Can you find one ?

As for me , I had not find any of those guys . I feel that these people are " goddess " . They are not so foolish to step down on earth and mix with " devils " like us .  They are up there ,in the heaven , giggling to themselves as they watched us compaining non -stop like in one of those stand-up comedy acts . So what should we do ? I know the answer . The answer is we should stop our grumblish act and put ourselves in the shoes of the college management .

Let say all of us are in the college management team . When some idiots complained about the food being untasty , how can we explain to them that the food is free of charge and green veggies are good for them ? When these pundits complained that the assignments and exams are too hard and numerous , how can we explain to them that they had a lot of challenges  needs to be accomplished in order for them to graduate as a profesional ? When they grumbled that the dormitory looked rather dull and creepy , like something from the Frankenstein classic settings , how can we make them understand that they only have to pay a meagre sum for accomodation and that electricity and water bills are borne by college ?

Now , do not you think that we should ask what we can do to improve our college instead of asking what the college can give us ? Do not be a greedy person . Just accept whatever is offered to you . I am sure , your college life is going to be a nice one .

NOTE : Author wishes the very best luck to friends and students across Malaysia who got the admission into public and private universities this coming September and October .

SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY

Today is Sunday and I am pretty the traffic leading to Kuala Lumpur and other big cities in Malaysia is going at a snail pace . But if you are the one who got stucked in the traffic madness , do not worry . You are just one of the thousand Malaysians who are vying for a  traffic space in which you can speed up your car and get back home as quickly as possible . The festive mood is going to be turned off by midnight and the usual hectic schedule will continue to bother us until the next festive celebration .

However , this had nothing to do with our topic today . Our topic of the day is " SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY " . You see , people are so fixated and obsessed when it comes to reaching the destination or goal , that they sometimes forget something behind ; the journey itself . It is in every human nature that we could not care less about our surrounding and the situation we are in . For everyone of us , the end justifies the mean . This is a wrong concept . For me , we must take it easy , enjoy the journey and try to achieve the goal in a harmless way .

Let me give you an example . Let say that I , Manop will be travelling from Penang to Johor Baru . Now , do you think that I can drive the car whichever I wants , even to the extent of endangering other road users and the passangers inside my car . Do you think it is a proper thing to do ? Of course no . By the way , I am on a vacation in Johor and I do not see any need for reckless , speed driving in which it would lead me into accidents or being caught in a speed trap . Instead , I will drive at a reasonable speed , stop at any rest stations whenever I feel tired , enjoy the the road scenery , maybe even giggling myself to the funny advertisement banner set up along the highway . Now , that is what a travel is all about .

The concept " SLOW IT DOWN , ENJOY THE JOURNEY " can also be applied in our daily life . Take Pandalela Rinong and Datuk Lee Chong Wei for example . Where were we when they are suffering setbacks in the diving pool or badminton competition ? Where were we when they are crying out loud when the supporters said they are just good-for-nothing athletes ? Where were we when they are training like there is no tommorrow for years ?  Sadly , we are only there when they achieved their goals . We are busy cheering for their Olympic medals as if the medals just fell from the sky .

My personal opinion is that we had overlooked the agonising pain they had endured in their journey to Olympic fame . I think that maybe we should slow down and look back closely on their story . Their story is like a journey on a highway . Sometimes , the car broke down . Sometimes , they feel tired . Sometimes , they feel like giving up when they almost reached the end of the journey . Had they been a " reckless car driver " , I do not think they can achieve their destination .

If you are reading this , please remember that the most beautiful part of the journey is not the destination ; it is the journey itself . THANK YOU for reading this .

LOYALTY TO THE PARTY FIRST

Happy Saturday for all of you who are reading this post . It had been a busy but exhilarating day for me .  A lot of things happened today . But however , I do not want to talk about my day . It is simply irrelevant . What I want to talk today is loyalty to the party .

Question is , which party am I talking about ? BN ? PKR ? DAP ? PAS ? No , I am not talking about any of these major Malaysian political parties . Instead , I want to talk about the Chinese Communist Party . Yes , I am talking about the party which controlled the most populous nation in the world and also the second largest economy , People ' s Republic Of China . For your information , the China as we know today was founded in 1949 by the Communist Party of China ( CPC ) . The first chairman and president of China was Mao Zedong who became the head of the state from 1949 to his demise in 1976 .

Furthermore , as the modern Chinese government adopted the ideology of communisme , the state had also adopted a secular , communist constituition . Now , this is the interesting part of the story . Under the the China constituition , in order to be a Communist Party member , one has to forego his or her religious identity . This rule applies to all Chinese citizens , be it a Buddhist , Taoist , Christian , even Muslim . This means that a Muslim cannot observe the fasting month of Ramadan , the Buddhist cannot observe the Wesak day and so on . However , if he or she is not a Communist Party member , he or she can observe and practise own religious belief freely as guaranteed under the China ' s constituition . Now from here , can you understand my main point ? The Communist Party expected each and every party member to put their priority on the organisation first .

On one side , it is a good thing . The communist policy tried to shatter the religious and creed differences in among different ethnics in China by treating them equally once they are the Communist member . The government wants the citizens who are members of the Party to put their heart and soul to defend the communist ideology against the forces of democracy and capitalism . In addition ,  since China is a single party state like the former Soviet Union , no other parties other than the Communist Party  are allowed to exist .

On the other side , the Chinese government tried to promote atheisme among the member of the party . The communist philosophy believes that loyalty to the state is more important than loyalty to their respective ethnics and religions as stated in the ideology . The idea of atheisme and not being able to practise own religion once you are in the party will not work in any democracies be it Malaysia , US and so on . Not for religious person like me .

Nevertheless , I had truly admired the Chinese Communist Party ' s effort in eliminating the religious and racial difference in among its citizens by unifying them under one common ideology that is communisme . After all , they live in one big family that is China . In conclusion , I think that every Malaysians should be united under one common ideology and forego any religious nor racial difference between us . We do not have to be communists but I am certain that we can achieve that goal in our distinctive Malaysian way .

Thank you for reading this . By the way , my religion is democracy .