File 40 : What's the difference between 5+2 and 2+5?

What is the difference between 5 plus 2 and 2 plus 5? As far as mathematics is concern, 5+2=7 and 2+5=7 too. The difference that may exist is the way a particular person get the answer. Some may use the calculator, some may use the 'sempoa' while some just count in mind [congak]. But the outcome is still the same, 7.

Now, compare to this situation. A leader of a state found guilty for money politics in a party [or some called it as breached of party ethics, where in my opinion, whatever names you called it, it is still of the same nature] was barred from contesting the deputy president post of that party. On the other hand, a young leader who found guilty for the same offence just get away with a warning. The reason given was that the young leader's offence was different in the way the offence took place.

Applying the mathematics formula given above, 5+2 is the the offence. 2+5 is also the offence. As in Mathematics, the way/ the nature the offence took place is different. And as 5+2=7 and 2+5=7, still the outcome of the offence is money politics. So, why the different in the punishment?

I try not to be biased. I have no qualms whatsoever with any political party in this country. But is it just and is it a good sign when a person tainted with money politics easily get away with it and became a youth leader. Didn't they had enough from us last year?

Or do they want more signs from us?

File 39: Anarchy

an⋅ar⋅chy - (ān'ər-kē)

–noun
1. a state of society without government or law.
2. political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control: The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
3. a theory that regards the absence of all direct or coercive government as a political ideal and that proposes the cooperative and voluntary association of individuals and groups as the principal mode of organized society.
4. confusion; chaos; disorder: Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.

anarchy. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved March 08, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anarchy

-----

Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah was quoted as saying, "A lawless system breeds a lawless culture" [NST, 28th February 2009 - Frontpage]. I couldn't agree more with his views. He is absolutely right. Laws are the fundamentals of peace. There will be no peace without laws. Subsequently, without peace, a nation will collapse. Literally.

I still remember when I was a kid, there was a comic column in a comic known as KAWAN. The name of the column was, 'Kalaulah... [If...]'. Once, the issue for the column was 'Kalaulah tak ada undang-undang..[If law does not exist...]'. There was this one mother in an emergency. She went to the public phones only to find out that all the phones had been vandalised. Another strip in the column showed this one tough guy, loitering around the street with a baseball bat in his hand, extorting money from the people. Two policemen saw him but they couldn't do more. Because law did not governed the people.

The situation in Malaysia currently is towards the situation in the comic. To a state known as anarchy. A state where there are no laws to govern the people. Even if there is law, the people do not obey it.

Just look at the situation in school now; bully, gangsterism, they are getting from bad to worse. They put the course of law in their own hands. They do not resort to the authorities to lodge a report whatsoever. Are we going to let the authorities get their salaries paid for nothing? Oya just settled their problem and now, a new problem arised in Tok Janggut. What is happening to the young generations?

Politis; a lot more probelems. They think they are powerful as they are the law makers and they are well-versed with the law [do they?]. As if law is above them all. They said that court's judgment can be disobeyed as the judgment made was a bad judgment. Then, what is the purpose of having a justice system? What is the purpose of the courts in the first place. It is admitted that sometimes, courts do made decisions which were bad in law. But they can appeal to it.

In short, it is disheartening to see the situation today. The situation shows that justice and law is decreasing in value. Everybody wants to interprate law by themselves.

Headache~...

Are we moving towards the state of anarchy??? Hopefully not!

P/s: If this country does not follow the rule of law, how am I suppose to work later? =p No one is above the law!

File 38 : Pro - Aspirasi & Pro - Mahasiswa...

[Photo courtesy of: aniswahab.blogspot.com and pro-am-unitar.blogspot.com]

These two groups are famous in UM, UPM, UIAM, and some other IPTAs [public universities] in Malaysia. Studying in UiTM, these two groups are rarely being heard of. From my readings, what I know is that Pro-Aspirasi is a group linked or associated with the university administrators thus they are said to be pro-government. On the other hand, Pro-Mahasiswa, albeit always associated with the opposition, is said to be the group fighting for the students.

It does not matter whether the perception is true or not. In my opinion, the existance of these two groups as well as other groups [such as the PPIM in UIAM] during campus election is something healthy. Yes, you heard it. H-E-A-L-T-H-Y...

Maybe some will disagree and they will claim that the existence of such groups will divide the unity among the students. But to have all these groups will let the students know that this is the reality that they will face in real politics.

Universities are preparation centres, to prepare the graduates before they storm into the real world full of challenges. And in the real world, there is the government and the opposition. That is the ideology of democracy. A government without an opposition will not and never be a democratic country as powers are concentrated to a party per se. The concept of a government with an opposition is to ensure that there is check and balance in the administration. This check and balance doctrine is to prevent concentration of power as to establish a CAT government [as in Penang's Clean, Accountable, and Transparent]. - [[ I borrow your tagline Mr. Lim Guan Eng... =) ]]

In UiTM, campus election is just a mere competition of certain individuals to win two chairs allocated to each faculties. There is no thrill in the election. No ideology to be promulgated, no teams, no Pro-Aspirasi, no Pro-Mahasiswa, no public speaking, no speakers' corner. Even the face of the candidates were hard to be seen during campaign period. It's the individual for himself [and with the help of certain close friends from that particular batch whose candidates are from]. Nothing more.

Maybe this situation need to be changed. Will Pro-Mahasiswa exist in UiTM one day? Will UiTM students brave enough to say that the university belongs to the students, not the Vice-Chancellor's? Only time can change this. Let us just wait and see...

File 37 : Politics...

Politics. Sick with it. Sick as in eating four pieces of Original Recipe 'Kentaki' Fried Chicken [read: KFC]. Why do I feel that way?

Simple. Because Malaysian political scenario is as same as people who has eaten one large bucket of KFC but still order it again and again. Do not know when to stop.

Other people in other countries involve in politics too. Even during Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] time, he had established the Syura Council where parties in the council will have meetings, discussions, consultations what not with regards to the political situation.

But his involvement in political activities was not 24/7. Not at all.

Politics is good. It is the fundamental ground for a good administration of a nation as well as any other institutions. But over-politics will cause disruption to the country. Will the country be productive if the leaders still play political games every seconds in every minutes?

Please...think wisely...

p/s: Just concern if young generations like my peers had lost interest in politics. What will happen then to the future of this beloved nation?

File 36 : Refrain from evil and mischief on the earth...

I am very disappointed after reading the statement made by the Works Minister in The Star dated 15th February 2009 [front page – Hillside projects to go on ~ We need lands for development]. What is happening to Malaysia? Where are all those open plains land? Does development means we have to build projects on hillside?

Landslides did not happen in Malaysia once or twice. And it is not one or two persons who died due to landslides. Landslides and Malaysia are like best friends. For the sake of development, we sacrifice Mother Nature. Highland Towers, Bukit Antarabangsa, what is next?

I’m sick.

I am not blaming the property owners for buying their houses on hillside or buying the hillside lands to build their houses. Yes, maybe they are ‘not too clever’ for buying their assets [or is it now a liability?] there. They can afford it and the government consented to it. Are they wrong? Will they build their houses there if the government does not approve the projects?

AP News after Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy, 6th December 2008 [searched in cbsnews.com] – “the Malaysia government will ban [Malay word: mengHARAMkan] all hillside projects…” But now? There is a Malay proverb which says, “Lembu berpegang pada tali, manusia berpegang pada janji” loosely translated as “Cows depend on rope [to move on] but humans depend on their promises.” Is it so? Oh… I forgot. It is just a mere statement. Not a promise. There is no legal obligation to follow what had been said earlier.

In Islam, the word “human” rooted from the word an-Nas which means “the forgotten”. It is to say that humans always forget many things. It is true. Allah has reminded all human beings to take care of Mother Nature, His earth, but yet, nothing is done on our part. The land is over developed especially the hillsides.

I hope that our leaders, especially those responsible for granting hillside projects, to remember what Allah has says in the Holy Quran in Surah Al-A’raaf [The Purgatory] verse 74 [7:74] :

Bismillah…



74: “And remember how He made you inheritors after the ‘Ad people and gave you habitations in the land: ye build for yourselves palaces and castles in [open] plains, and care out homes in the mountains; so bring to remembrance the benefits [ye have received] from Allah, and refrain from evil and mischief on the earth.

p/s: Just reminding before it is too late…

File 35 : Gaza attack - a sad chapter...

It's almost 2 months since I last updated this blog. I want to update it earlier but this semester, there are loads of works to do especially when we are required to finish our Honours project paper before the end of the semester.

Anyway, yesterday I watched Majalah 3 on TV3 where they highlighted on the issue of the attacks on Gaza. I was so sad to see many kids died because of the attack. I was further touched to see young teenagers sacrificed their life to defend their country from Israelis attack. While our adolescents are busy partying here and there, enjoying every moment of their life, Palestinian teenagers are ready every second to defend their beloved country.

Just look at the photo. Innocent kids who do not know anything became the victim. They were not given the chance to enjoy their life in this world just because there are people who think that they are the greatest race in this world.

To say that the attack on Gaza City was a self-defense is the most stupid reason I have ever had. Hamas will not attack Israel if Israel did not occupied their land! Furthermore, to attack Gaza massively was just unjust. Tanks vs Guns, it just doesn't make sense.

Maybe this is the right time to promote the effort of Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War. War is about killing... Massive killing... War must be criminalised! There are other means in settling disputes. Let's not sacrifice the future of the children by letting them die because of war. Sign the petition! And help create a better world to live in...

File 34 : Youthsays.com

While I was reading a friend's blog, I found about a website named Youthsays. The website is dubbed as Malaysia's Largest Youth Opinion Community.

Well, I have registered as a member and I recommend all readers to do the same because the portal is so great. Besides earning some money (like a part time job..hehe), we can also voice out our opinions, as what other contributors had done in this blog.

They are going to organize an event known as Youth 09' at PWTC next year. So click here to check it out...

File 33 : National keADILan Congress...

Those who want to watch Live! coverage of the 5th National Keadilan Congress 2008, held at Shah Alam Malawati Stadium, watch it here...

File 32 : My one cent thought...

Wanita UMNO is busy arguing over whether Shahrizat should contest the party election next year or follow the transition plan planned earlier.

I think they should not argue on this small matter. It's better for Shahrizat to contest for the Ketua Wanita post. Rafidah had been in that position too long. She should just resign from the post. After all, the transition for the top post i.e the President will be done on March. Wanita should follow lead.

If Rafidah is to retain the position and hand it over to Shahrizat on June, for three years there will be no deputy for Wanita and Rafidah will be the acting Ketua Wanita with limited power. But how if Rafidah is to retain the position and she does not want to hand it over to Shahrizat?

Power is something that humans always want. They thirst for power. Once they are in power, they will think that it is theirs till death.

In short, Rafidah should forget her plan to contest as Ketua Wanita UMNO. It's time for the next generation to lead. Other major parties had handed over powers to the new generation of leaders.

But Wanita UMNO?

File 31 : Math and Science in English, anyone?

This is a hot issue that is being debated up until today. Many people are still confused, be it students, teachers, academicians, and even laymen like me. We are confused as this issue had been debated for such a long time and there had been no concrete stand on the issue. In what language shall Math and Science be taught in schools? Should it be in English, in Malay, or in the mother tongue of respective vernacular schools?

As a product of national education system [this is the problem when we have many education systems in such a small country like Malaysia – everything got messed up easily], I am of the opinion that Math and Science shall be taught like before, in Malay and in Mandarin or Tamil – IF the purpose of having the two subjects being taught in English is to improve the command of English among students.

Learning these two subjects in English is not the answer to level up the proficiency of English among students. As the president of Translation and Creative Writing Association [PERSPEKTIF], Goh Hin San said “It is like operating on the leg when someone is having stomach problems”. I could not agree more on his view. He is absolutely right.

Math and Science are important subjects that would help develop Malaysia towards achieving its goal to become a developed country. Both subjects are crucial subjects and having it taught in a language which the students and the teachers could not fully understand would hamper the learning process of the subjects. It is true that English is a widely spoken language internationally but to have a good command in English does not necessarily means that we have to learn Math and Science in English.

My parents, my relatives, my teachers, and my friends learned Math and Science in Malay. So do I. But we could speak and write in English properly because the teachers always emphasise the importance of English during English classes. We had extra classes for English. We spoke English during English classes and even after classes. But the situation is different today. English is not more than just a subject to be learned in school. Teachers do not make it fun to learn English. Maybe the teachers should use the tagline that was used during my schooldays: ‘English is fun!’

In conclusion, English is not the answer if the government’s purpose of having Math and Science to be taught in English is to master the language. There are many other ways to do so. Don’t make a mistake that would be regretted later. This is for the future of Malaysia and our future depends on the policy.

p/s: Politics and educations are two different things. Maybe politicians shall be barred from being involved in policy making of the education system. Besides, by doing so, we can ensure that education will not be politicised.