IE meetings

I find that I just have to release this. Otherwise keeping it inside me will corrode me instead.

Why do you bring a puppy to uni? Is it just for the fun of it? If it is, please rethink. I doubt it's any fun. Instead, it saps your time and your energy just to keep it happy. And it distracts the formality of a meeting. It is VERY frustrating to keep an eye on the puppy AND listen to what the vice president is discussing. Not to mention the shrieks when your puppy disturbs other committee members during the meeting breaks up any decent train of thought.



Now I feel better getting that out of my system.

One of those days...

... when you look at yourself, and go "what the fuck have I done with my life so far?"

Regarding the policy reversal

[Disclaimer: the author is a product of the Malaysian education system. Any comments he makes here are true and not embellished in any way.]

After 6 years of implementation, 6 long years, now the policy has been reversed. I will tell you the same thing proponents of the policy say: Don't waste our money on changing plans back and forth. And now a quick shoutout to all those blithering idiots supporting the reversal.

To the Malay nationalists:

No, teaching Science and Maths in English is a good concept. It will not weaken the position of Malay, seeing that the standard of SPM Bahasa Malaysia questions are extremely high compared to the parody of an exam you call the SPM English 1119 paper. And there are already so many subjects taught in Malay, so there is no need to teach every non-language subject in Malay.

To the Chinese traditionalists:

If you enjoy Chinese so much, go. Just leave Malaysia. I have seen with my eyes how the Chinese in Australia adapt to using English in schools. Yes, I know they are forced to do it because of the system. But they are adapting to the system, not forcing the system to change every few years. Besides, Chinese students have been beating the crap out of the Malaysian education system, consistently scoring many A1's in SPM. So if our students have been able to do it when the mode of instruction was in Malay, and they did it again when Science and Maths were taught in English, why not let them continue? Why the resistance? Why can't we prove that the Chinese are flexible? Besides, why do you even support Malay at secondary school levels? Shouldn't you campaign for Chinese education to be available at all levels?

Mixed feelings over switch, eh? Go screw yourself, says the wise one

Yet another change to the education system, yet another way of wasting taxpayers' money.

Define "mother tongue". Is it:

a) the language you first spoke at home?
or
b) the language of your race?

I remember some of us trying to debate this question with a lecturer last year. Sadly, to some people, as long as:

a) you aren't white,
b) you don't have a white parent,
c) you weren't born in an English speaking country, and lived there for more than 3 weeks,

you automatically don't qualify to say English is your mother tongue. Which is really unfair for those of us who've spoken English more than any other language since young. Hey, in case anyone high up reads blogs from the masses, understand this: we demand our rights too. Don't leave us out just because we aren't the majority. Our parents still pay you taxes, and I simply hate to see their hard-earned money going down the drain caused by the government changing plans every decade or so.

And why do the politicians need to come out to welcome the move? This seems like a sign that political pressures still rule this country of ours, that students are just pawns in the chess game of politics. So, in future, if you really want to change the lives of people, don't be an engineer or architect or scientist. Go and be a POLITICIAN. Even though you'll be cursed by everyone for failing them, you get to see your stuff implemented. You'll be happy, your supporters will be happy, your enemies will be happy, it's all a win-win situation, eh?

English is, and will be, the language for disseminating information throughout the world. General English is for communication purposes only. If you can't read and write technical terms in English, don't dream of going to any white man's land. Stay at home. Do your degree locally, feed the local education industry, earn lots of ringgit and make Malaysia proud. UTAR needs students. UiTM needs students. Go make them happy. Stay at home and make more champs. Then at international meetings, the only Malaysians you'll be seeing will be those who fit any one of these categories:

a) went to international schools
b) were born overseas, educated overseas since young
c) were through some distant relative, linked back to Malaysia

In short, the ones who will make us proud are the ones who ran away from the hopelessly failing education system. They will carry our flag, hidden in the shadows of another bigger flag.


To Muhyiddin, I don't know whether you enjoy this switch, but have fun facing criticism. To the Cabinet ministers who voted "Nay" to the change, I'm with you. To those who voted "Aye" for the change, I hope that your next trip in a bus ends up over a cliff. Hopefully while your contingent goes up to Genting, your driver fucks up. Good luck with facing rotten eggs anyway. Don't forget, the ones who understand more will end up with the world. Like Jesus, Moses, Muhammad, Buddha. Not politicians.

Math and Science back to Bahasa, mother tongues

The Star
Published: Wednesday July 8, 2009 MYT 2:42:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday July 8, 2009 MYT 3:55:24 PM
Math and Science back to Bahasa, mother tongues

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012 onwards.

The reversal of the Teaching of Math and Science in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday.

He however added that there will be greater emphasis on learning the English language.

English literature will be re-introduced, as will subjects on grammar and composition.

Beginning 2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and Form One and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

The change will not affect those in Form Six and Matriculation.

The two subjects will be taught in two languages until 2014 for other students, he said.

“The gap between rural and urban students has widened since PPSMI started.

“Only 19.2% of secondary teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers were sufficiently proficient in English,” he said, explaining the Government’s decision to revert to the old system.

On efforts to emphasise the learning of English, the number of English teachers would be increased by 13,933 -- retirees would be hired, as well as foreigners if need be.

Primary schools will also increase English classes by 90 minutes a week.

There have been calls from various groups for the policy to revert to before 2003, when the subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and either in Chinese or Tamil in national-type schools.

The issue has seen a rare alliance between Malay and Chinese educationists, who are against the switch, although there are also calls by many parents and entrepreneurs for English to be maintained.

Thank goodness my brother and sister escape the horrors of reverting to BM and mother tongues for Science and Maths. They're just one year ahead of this epic reversal stunt pulled off by the Cabinet.

Let's look at something I find interesting:

The issue has seen a rare alliance between Malay and Chinese educationists, who are against the switch...

Do you really think that they are allied against the teaching of Science and Maths in English for the same reasons? I don't think so. The two groups may be allied in their stand, but one thing has been clear from the start: They each have their own agendas. As far as I understand [and this understanding may be biased or flawed], the Malays feel that the "superiority" of their language is being threatened by English. On the other hand, the Chinese educationists believe that the majority of Chinese students are not making much headway with Science and Maths taught in English. It's basically two different groups of people, with different reasons for uniting against a common problem. What they plan after that is another point entirely. Which worries me. Will another different group of people demand something else again later on? And how will the Cabinet decide this time round?

Conspiracy theories aside, all I can say regarding this piece of news is that the education system in Malaysia is just another step towards generating failures. "Malaysisa", one of the most common spelling mistakes for "Malaysia", might soon become fact rather than fiction, if we keep spewing out "sisa" like the person writing the letter in the post below this.

Star Wars fan fiction

There's a reason why I stopped reading Star Wars fan fiction once I'd read Jedi Eclipse. It just got overly boring. I mean, there's only so much death and destruction that you can take. Don't tell me that the galaxy is only that big. Come on, there have to be better scenarios than genocidal aliens coming in to eradicate every sentient being.

Having said that, I still find that fan fiction spawns some of the more intriguing stuff. Like Kyp, for example. Hotshot Jedi, he doesn't always play by the rules. And he makes his own rules, I guess, like me. Haha.

EPIC PHAIL of the Malaysian education system

The Star, Malaysia
Thursday June 4, 2009
Why 10 subjects is enough for SPM

KUALA LUMPUR: There are many positive reasons to limit the number of SPM subjects to 10, including the fact that it could overcome the shortage of teachers, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He said statistics showed that almost 90% of students took 10 subjects anyway.

“It all comes down to how we want to manage our education system so that we can produce students who are capable and not only in exams,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Asked whether opposition to the idea would lead to the proposal being shelved, he said:

“There are many who agree and they come from the education system.”

Muhyiddin said by limiting the subjects, the students could focus on core subjects as well as participate in other activities that would open up their minds.

“Apart from this, it can help teachers. With the reduced number of subjects, their energy can be focused on core subjects and the shortage of manpower could be somewhat overcome.”

Muhyiddin said that students also pursued more subjects just to add a few more As to their score.

“There are 111 electives, and some of these are not taught in school but require tuition outside of school. This means only those who can afford the tuition will benefit,” he said.

Producing students who are capable, not only in exams is a dream. As long as you retain the current ailing and failing syllabus, you won't be getting anywhere near achieving that dream of yours.

And what the hell are core subjects anyway? Look at the stuff we get fed in Malay. Your literature has a long history of being good, yes I agree with that. But it doesn't encourage lateral thinking.

"Patutkah Hang Jebat menderhaka terhadap Sultan Melaka?"

When the day comes when we students can say "Patut, seratus peratus patut!" to that question, then only will I say there is an improvement in anything you suggest.

And when you look subjectively at Moral Ed, think. Just think. And I'll prove that you will fail, Muhyiddin. You will bloody well fail if we asked you to take the Moral Ed exam for SPM. Civics is another subject which has practically nil value. How in the world are you supposed to teach patriotism and civic duty when the newspaper is full of stories of corruption and lawlessness? Don't think that students nowadays are so into games and studies that they neglect to look at current affairs. How are you supposed to teach good values when there are so many out there who don't practise what they preach?

And what sort of "other activities" will help to open up their minds? I will not be shocked or surprised to know that 90% of your students have parents who invest in piano education for their children. I have yet to see adequate proof that playing music is good for the mind. Sure, I have close friends who play the piano and consistently get good grades in exams and such. But there are those who don't play any music instruments and still get better grades. And talking about open minds, what counts? Does participating in political rallies count as "open minds"? Does participating in F1 research count? Does being national champion for Under-18 golf tourneys count? Does emerging as the runners-up in SEA DotA championship count?

Gah. And to think that I came from this sort of education system. I'm only lucky that I read outside of the syllabus for enjoyment, or life would be a constant torment.

Engineering

We are the slackers united. How is it possible that compared to the psych students, the commerce and the science students, we seem to have so much time on our hands before exam time? And we thought we were stressed. I have my doubts about uni now. Who actually judges whether a course is difficult or easy? Students or public opinion?

Oh well. Maybe I should enjoy while it lasts.

Bumi vs Non bumi

Taylor's open day this year is relatively boring. However, I guess the spectre of economic recession is not an obstacle for next year's students. It is actually quite enlightening to be a flyer distributor. You get to know what goes on in people's minds when they approach you or ignore you. So I can conclude this:

#1. Indian parents are most concerned about their children's future, hence they will always try to get their kids to go overseas to study.
#2. Chinese parents are also quite concerned about their children's future. But they will try to save money, so when you ask them whether they want to get their kids to study overseas, they will usually say no. After that they will cross the road and go into IDP.

Unfortunately I have to segregate the people by race. Otherwise how would I show this situation in M'sia? Everyone would think that Chinese and Indians studying overseas are from rich families, just like what Mahathir said on Al Jazeera. Rather, these people persevere like crazy. They work overtime. They work 3/4 day on weekends. They work on Sundays. Compare this to "normal" bumis. They work 9 to 5, but from 9 to 10 they have breakfast in the office, and at certain times throughout the day they go for prayers, and they have 4 to 5 for tea before going home. They have the luxury of working half-day on Saturdays. They can rest on Sundays. Why? All because the government takes care of them. More quota in the local universities. More scholarships to go overseas. [Some of them actually take very long to finish an UNDERgrad course.]
I'm not saying all bumis are lazy. Some are hardworking. But most aren't. When we complain about lazy civil servants, the image that comes to mind is usually the tudung-clad lady.

Oh well, such is my country. That's why most of us non-bumis go to private colleges. Then we go overseas for further studies. All because the opportunities locally are very limited. Bloody sad.

oil, oil and more petrol

I think many of us don't like the current trade minister Shahrir. What with lower world crude oil prices and possible economic problems, he is suggesting a FLOOR price for petrol in M'sia. Bloody hell. Others are thinking of a CEILING price and he suggests a FLOOR price, what nonsense is this? Anyway, when has the petrol price ever reflected accurately the current trading price for petrol? When the world price was high, the price here was low. Now that the world price is dropping like mad, the price of petrol here is still massively high.

Only here, can we find such idiocity. How sad it must be for us. No wonder so many of us flee the country as fast as we can. No wonder also that the ministers send their children overseas quickly to spare them from the hell we face here.

may God save us

I believe that many dumb people still stay in Malaysia. God help us, but FOMCA is the best example. Floor price of RM 3 for petrol? That's ridiculous. Yoga being unislamic and can erode faith in Islam? That's another round of hogwash. Although some Christians actually think the same way as the current fatwa council. But never mind them.

Well, let's start to turn this rubbish around. I have a theory that goes like this: Ignoring all previous theories already in place, we can usually find a new idea/theory.
So I thought I'd try it out with my theory regarding the clumpiness of the universe, ie: why the mass in the universe is not evenly distributed.
1. A black hole was formed during the start of the universe.
2. Particle-antiparticle formation led to the black hole losing mass.
3. Asymmetrical particle-antiparticle formation caused more particles to be formed than antiparticles.
4. Thus causing the uneven distribution of mass and gravitational centres in the universe.
5. The black hole evaporated soon after, possibly leading to the big bang.

I'm not sure if this is true, because most of the theories may not be satisfied by this phenomenon. Anyway, I hope somebody appreciates this. Because I doubt the local standard comes near it.

fuel floor price

This is absolutely ridiculous. Everywhere in the world you hear of crude oil prices coming DOWN, and only in Malaysia, an oil PRODUCING country, does one hear of a floor price for petrol. Something is wrong, and it is very wrong. I personally feel that there are some parties interested in keeping a floor price for petrol to line their own pockets. Suspicion immediately falls on the Petronas gang, but I doubt it. Someone else is behind this floor price idea. Not the petrol station owners, not the ministry, but someone else very high up.

views of a slacker during the exams

I will not be commenting too much on the ongoing SAM '08 finals, since any views published now will be biased. Rather, the ongoing fiascoes in the country seem to be more interesting to discuss. So, here goes.
The PAC has cleared the government of any wrongdoing in the Eurocopter deal. I wonder whether the ACA will come out with a similar report. If they do, there are 2 distinct possibilities, one of which is the truth:
#1. The present government is squeaky clean. All the ministers involved in the decision are not at fault for making the [expensive] decision.

OR

#2. Someone very high up instructed the PAC to report that nothing was amiss.
I can tell you that any thinking Malaysian will know which is the truth.

***

Recently some people did a survey of our school children to find out whether they support teaching Science and Maths in English. From what I read, I am inclined to suggest to the Education Minister to continue the program. There is no use going back on the decision, especially if it only benefits him politically. Unfortunately, our people are disunited. Some Chinese quarters want mother tongue [Chinese], most Malays would like it to be in Malay [for unity purposes they say] and some Indians would like it to be in Tamil. So there is no win-win situation. Unless we continue teaching Maths and Science in English, there will NEVER be a win-win situation.

Ok, now back to studying Physics. Must stop ranting on about this [unstable] country. The only thing to thank God is that we are not Zimbabwe.

-There are 2 things in life that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe.- [slightly paraphrased, Einstein]

perpetually slacking

What do you do when the exams are only 5 days away and nothing much has been done?

Simple: do more studying. But what if there IS nothing else to study? What if there IS nothing more to do?

Even simpler: slack.

So that's what I seem to be doing now. LOLOLOLLOL.

Except that I am busy. Tomorrow I need to teach maths. The day after is majlis perpisahan at Catholic High, so I shall go to see and take part in the "merriment". Then after that I have an appointment to visit Matthew for a study trip to his house. Technically, this is NOT slacking.

But I seem to be doing nothing much at home either. Either I am DotA-ing, or else RO-ing, or else doing physics past year, or else spec maths past year, or else... nothing else.

I'm just bored. Every time a major exam draws near, I find that I get too bored too easily.




How damn sad. Someone help me from this chasm of depression please.

Can't wait for November 21st. At least it will be sweet release, pure heaven.

two things plaguing me now

#1. Music
#2. Social contract

Lets look at #1 first. Somehow, some psychologists have tied musical influence to creativity and better academic performance. I beg to differ. Does it really mean that if you learn to play the piano you will be inclined to better performance? I really have to disagree on that. Although my classmates will disagree with me, I think most of the ability comes from innate ability, then perseverance.
A second question I have is somewhat simpler. Why is the piano the favoured instrument for most music learners? Why not drums or guitar, especially when you take into account the cost of a piano compared to a guitar or drum set? It doesn't really make sense to me.

Now to the social contract. This is actually a very complicated issue, made worse by the government's various interpretation of the said contract. It is known that the initial contract said that the Chinese and Indians would be given citizenship in M'sia, but that they must respect the Malay special rights. The crux of the problem is that this is enshrined in the Constitution, and most of the younger generation live in bliss ignorance of any contract. So we wouldn't know if the government decided to amend the Constitution. Besides, the social contract should be renegotiated. Times have changed a lot since the 60's.
To those people who dislike historical facts, are we going to consider all history to be seditious? Because the fact remains that the same event will give one party happiness and another party will be unhappy. Are we going to deny our younger generation the right to know the truth? It doesn't make any sense.

Quote: The truth hurts, doesn't it?

maths is hell

Why must we make formula sheets for maths? Granted, it reduces our mental stress. But Spec Maths shows that even with formula sheets we manage to struggle like hell.

Conclusion: Formula sheets may not solve all our problems.

[This IS meant to be short. Why else not, when you are studying maths?]

badawi of s4

What a lousy afternoon. First I prep to go back to eat, before coming back to college for another class. I mean, ESL, what the hell. So I do exactly that to go FTZ for Kane's Wrath. Guess what happens? KC decides that he won't go and play. Fine, I mean we need to eat, right? But couldn't you tell me that before I call home? Last minute you tell me that you don't want to go. Worse, not only KC won't go, Jun Jen, Matthew and Andrew won't go either. It's a bloody domino effect. Anyone who doesn't stand firm is a Badawi. Can I say KC is a Badawi? For now, yes. Because of him, I got a short lashing from Ms. Ting. Even a simple excuse of urgent business won't hold with her anymore. Ah, what the hell. To hell with such problems. Tomorrow I shall seek my revenge. So I'm off to practise Kane's Wrath. Shut the hell up.

immigrants

Ahmad "Immigrant Chinese!" Said is on the news again. Not to apologise or what, but to reiterate the rubbish he has in his mind.
"I am not going to apologise."
What a bloody Malay he is. Let's us look at a historical parallel, since he likes his history so much:

America: White immigrants came and took the land from the Indians.
Malaysia: Indonesian immigrants came and took the land away from the orang asli.

America: White immigrants call themselves Americans, after the country they took over.
Malaysia: Original Indonesian immigrants [circa 1400] call themselves Malays after taking over most of the country.

America: The Indians are a suppressed minority in their country, but are given some rights.
Malaysia: The orang asli are a minority in their country, but enjoy bumi status.

America: Other immigrants are assimilated into the country.
Malaysia: Other immigrants are assimilated into the country, but reluctantly.

Do you see where I'm going with this? If not, then I'll put it clearly. The Malays are a mixed lot, with Indonesian blood, Javanese blood, Bugis blood, even Arab blood, Indian blood and Chinese blood. There is no such race as the Malay race, because there is no Malay blood. If there is a Malay race, then the current Indonesians will also be considered as Malays.
Don't call me intolerant or insensitive. Don't ask for me to be charged under the Sedition Act either. The politicians say this sort of stuff "in a personal capacity", but at a public gathering. So, this is a public blog, but I will also say this in a personal capacity. And if you want to bandy historical facts, I have my Sejarah Tingkatan 1-5 textbooks to use as reference to clearly point out my points to you.
I'd rather wish that all of us could set aside our differences and try to help the country, but the fact is that the politicians aren't helping much. Dammit.