M.I.A. --------------> Revival

Hi friends, I'm back! Finally found some internet access. My cousin disconnected his internet service before he went to Malaysia for Chinese New Year, so when he came back there wasn't any access for us guests. Oh well. So now I'm blogging from the Uni of Melbourne.
Well, I know I've been M.I.A. for 2 weeks now, so it's time for an update on what I've been doing so far. Basically I've been preparing for uni. Packing, making arrangements, saying goodbyes... the list goes on and on and on. Besides that, I've also been finishing off my last days at work. Kinda fun, the whole process. A little annoying, though. And frustrating as well. But it's all part and parcel of moving to a new place, as well as moving on from an old place.
I know some people have asked about my Valentine's Day celebrations, whether anything special happened. Well, the answer is the same - nothing new. Just sitting in the office for the last official day at work, finishing up the records for the annual reports. That's what I did on that Saturday.
Melbourne is a fine city. A bit cold at times, although I'm getting used to it. The clear blue sky, the lack of clouds, bright yellow sunshine even at the tail end of summer, all fun. It's different, totally different from home. At least I'm away from the miserable politics of home.

random things

#1. I strongly dislike Pos Malaysia. Why are there 30 sen postal charges, but no 30 sen stamps?

#2. I'm bored at work.

#3. Someone has asked me to watch Hetalia, whatever that is.

#4. IDP and my office are often mixed up by mailmen, although the offices are 5 blocks apart.

#5. The guy next to me is counselling a student over the phone.

MAS is overrated again

What does it mean by competitive fares? To MAS Airlines, it simply means this:

"How can we surpass all the other regional airlines and make the most profit this quarter?"

Lousy crooks. I mean, MAS has the most expensive total fares in the region. Even Singapore Airlines is cheaper than MAS. And they fly a slightly longer distance to Australia [stopover in Changi compared to MAS's direct flight].

Better still, MAS is also a real con-job. They tell you that you pay less for the fuel surcharges and taxes and stuff like that. However, they backstab you and raise your fares. So in the end, MAS wins. Hands down.

Yet why does everyone still support MAS? Half of my classmates flying to Australia fly MAS, even though they're being cheated epically of their money. The Malaysian mind boggles.


Malaysia is the Land of Boleh.
Yes, under Mahathir corrupt people could murder and get away with it, in a manner of speaking. BOLEH indeed.

Under Badawi you can sleep in front of him and he won't know it.
BOLEH indeed.

Under Badawi you can also literally murder and get away with it.
BOLEH indeed.

We memang BOLEH. BOLEH EPIC PHAIL.

countdown begins again

In about 16 days I'll be leaving this "fair" land to pursue greener pastures. Haha.

Anyway, a simple checklist looks like this:

• Passport renewed? Check.
• Visa granted? Check.
  
• Clothes bought? Check.
• Luggage ready? Check.
• Uni stuff prepared? Check.
• Air ticket? On its way...
  
• Mind intact? I don't think so...

Oh well. Watch for more lunacy from Melbourne as I've mentioned before. It might not compare to the lunatics over here, but it'll be interesting.

Regarding the lunatics here, its all a load of mind games. Anwar and Badawi. I guess Badawi may not be able to stand this. But then the rakyat is being pushed too far. Either plan may backfire, at least that's what I foresee. It's only a matter of time now.

CNY and Kugan

I had a good balik kampung experience this year. Taiping, Penang, both my stops in this country to collect angpau. Steamboat makan for both stops. I must comment that for some reason I am closer to my mother's side relatives compared to my father's side relatives.

On to Kugan's case. Why do you need to bring in the FRU to keep order outside UMMC? I must say that the security guards there can do a good job. Maybe better than the FRU themselves. I don't think that the crowd supports a criminal. They're just protesting against the unfair treatment of criminals in police custody. I mean, if the police think that they can do it against criminals, what about innocent people in police custody? Wouldn't the innocent be hurt, or worse, killed? Not good at all. Such is the situation in this crazy country. How sad.

respect / time

I guess this afternoon told me a lot about the way a boss or leader should be like. You see, I work in an education agency. With the coming Chinese new year, of course, we all start cleaning up. Most other bosses will just tell the cleaning lady to clean up the place, but no, not where I work. The boss actually came down personally to clean up. Yes, clean up. With a broom and dustpan. So, leadership by example is an important aspect if anybody wants to be an inspiring leader. I guess that's why my boss is quite respected by my colleagues.

Next, time is relative. Always.

Whenever you are doing something that you either like or dislike, the flow of time is distorted by one's perception. If you like that something, you'll feel that time passes extremely fast while you enjoy yourself. If you dislike something, then you'll feel that time passes slower than usual. In either case, you'll feel that someone is cheating you of your time. For some unknown reason. Oh well, it's all a feature of the space-time continuum.



-When a pretty girl sits in your lap, an hour feels like a minute. But when an old crone sits in your lap, a minute feels like an hour.- From Einstein's biography

random updates

I think I have found a long holiday break analogous to the Aussie long Christmas break. It is known as the long Malaysian Chinese New Year break. Well, it isn't exactly that long in comparison. But then look at our festivities. We celebrate Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali.... and the list goes on and on. So maybe their long Christmas breaks aren't as long as ours in comparison.

It's good that the Pakatan have won over Kuala Terengganu. But they now have a long way to go in convincing me that they are the way forward. Yes, I haven't lost faith in them yet. But that faith is slowly fading away. So, the first thing they need to do is to stop arguing over hudud implementation. Just present a united front, and the BN will have to back down on the hudud issue. So guys, just stand firm, and fight like the Spartans.

Work is now getting quite hectic, what with students' last minute applications, and last minute cancellations, and also not to forget those students with last minute course changes. You know who you are, don't be afraid to admit it. I know I'm one of them, due to my age. [Aussie visa requirements want students under 18 to have a student guardian, and most states haven't been able to solve this problem yet]

Oh well, another update, another post for the count.

a real update

I think I lack the crucial factor required to be a good salesman. After spending most of last week trying to sell my SAM textbooks, I am bloody well tired out. I hate bargainers and hard-drivers and rip-offs. How can you sell calculators for almost 50% off? It's a freaking rip-off. But never mind that.

Melbourne here I come this February. Be prepared to see some insanity and lunacy in the campus of the University of Melbourne. Hopefully some interesting developments will come out from me over there.

That's all for now. I'll be busy for quite some time until February, so this site will be quiet for quite a while.

updates...finally

the Gaza Strip issue

Shout all you like, but shouting alone won't solve the issue.
Demonstrate all you like, in the end all you'll be doing is wasting your breath. Plus, you'll get a nice tan or sunburn.

Then why are all those people do this unwanted things? Is it race, religion, or human rights? I can't tell you now. I'm still thinking.

What I do know is that the Israelis are playing right into the hands of the Hamas. The more Palestinian civilians are killed, the more anti-Israeli propaganda the Hamas gets. And also the more worldwide sympathy is generated for the Palestinians. The only obstacle left in the way of the UN is the US.

New Year wishes

Here are my New Year wishes [not resolutions, I'm lazy to stick to my resolutions]:

Either Anwar takes over, or Najib steps down.
May there be a freer blogosphere. And stop flaming my Cbox please. I don't need a flame war on my blog.
We need better interreligious and interfaith understanding.
I hope I can cure my addiction to coffee, the casual drug.
I need to get off my arse and start studying again.
I need to sell off my old textbooks.
I need to rearrange my eating times.
I need to figure out how to live on my own in Melbourne.


To all the blog readers and bloggers out there and in here,

Have a good time celebrating the entrance of 2009!

religion in this country

There are some people advocating that Malay versions/translations of the Bible should be allowed in our country. I think I agree with them. It would promote better understanding among the different races and religions. Especially if the Malays read the Bible, they would understand the Christians slightly better. It isn't that we don't want to understand you guys, it's just that it's harder for us to coexist if you don't understand us as well as we understand you.

While on the topic of religion, let's look at another interesting development. Feng shui is a mainly Chinese practice, involving changing one's environment to better suit one's luck. [Yes, I believe in this as well] Lately, a lot of people of other races have started practising feng shui as well. The Indians have a similar practice called Vasthu Sasthra. [not sure if the spelling is correct, correct me if I'm wrong]
Now, does practising feng shui erode a Muslim's faith? I wouldn't know for sure, since I'm not one. Yet another good question for the Fatwa Council to answer.


-Revelations 21:6 - I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him that thirsts.- Fallout 3 quote

our problem in the world

I see my Cbox has been filled with comments regarding my idea on cosplaying. I have not much of a stand, since I'm not really into cosplaying or manga or anime myself. I just want to get a rough idea of the situation our country and its people are in now.

Where else in the world do prices rise and fall, oblivious to the global market?

Where else in the world do coalition members disagree with each others?

Where else in the world are we involved in disagreeing to disagree?

Where else in the world are opposition leaders considered to be more influential in the global scene?

I think the answer to all the questions above are the same.

I rest my case.

just wondering aloud

I went to Comic Fiesta in Sunway Pyramid yesterday. Now as it is, cosplaying is very popular around here. I think I saw many Malays around there cosplaying.

Question: Islam says you cannot worship anyone else but Allah. Is cosplaying considered worshipping other idols?

[No offense meant to cosplayers at all]

SAM results out

I still hate TM dial up for denying me fast news. Press one button, and it takes the page a minute to load. So it took me half an hour just to find my results on the SACE page. Bloody hell.

Anyway, ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is pure heaven. I got a TER of 99.65. It simply means that I got a result above 99.65% of students sitting for SAM finals '08. Being in the top .35% isn't too much special. You can't differentiate these students on the road if you meet them.
At least I got an A for English, which is better than my trial result.

Oh well, now I've secured a place to university. Now to cure my DotA problem. This Sunday's gathering won't help it too much. Never mind that then.

thoughts on work so far

Work is simple. Tire yourself out, at the end of the day/week/month you get paid. Then again, its tiring when you have to do data entry and read other people's pathetic handwriting. I found that there are some Malaysians who can't read a simple form properly. My favourite example should be this:

Where did you hear about us from?
[ ] Friends/relatives


[ /] Others - _friends_

So much for coming to an education fair.
At least one thing I enjoy about work is the entire experience. Having colleagues who treat you decently is a bonus. Now I'm considering working as a student ambassador for SAM next year, when the term starts.

Science and Maths in English

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/15922/84/

This page above suggests the miserable state of our education. We worry about our students, whether they can do Science and Maths in English, and worldwide, others are worrying about whether their students are performing well amongst their global peers. And the Chinese are just as bad as others, infighting over whether Chinese or English is better for Science and Maths. [I'm sorry, I'm Chinese too.]

I guess the single school system suggestion is overdue, although many parties are against it for their own reasons.

Malays: Against single school system.
Why: Not sure, but so many of them are shouting about Mukhriz. Most likely reason: They don't want to lose their "superiority" when the non-Bumis come in and take over everything their students had.

Chinese: Against single school system.
Why: Apparently single school system will erode the Chinese culture. Yeah, like it hasn't been damaged enough with the national school system.

Indians: Not sure.
Why: Cos they haven't been talking loudly enough to be heard.

Ok then. One of the first reasons why the national schools are not widely liked is because of the policies in place. Some of us fear that the national schools are slowly being Islamised. You have all sorts of complaints coming from non-Bumis in national schools.
But there is another reason why not many of us like the national schools. I once joined a maths competition back in primary school. My school team made it all the way to the finals of the district level. Now, the four schools which made it that far were 3 SJK(C) schools and 1 national school.
Ranking after finals:
#1. My school team [SJK(C)]
#2. Some other SJK(C)
#3. Another SJK(C)
#4. The only national school

Guess which school team made it to the next round.



Surprise of surprises, it was the national school team!

I don't remember the reason given, but it was something along the lines of some policy. [don't ask me what] But it shows the miserably poor state of our students from the national schools. How sad.

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.

national schools vs. vernacular schools

Mukhriz suggests that we abolish vernacular schools. Most likely this means that he wants national schools to be the only schools available, besides private schools. Now, most of us don't actually trust those schools enough to send our children to such schools.
Commonly held notions of national schools:
#1. Malay schools
#2. Overemphasis on Islam, for example reciting Quranic verses.
#3. Little emphasis on Pupils' Own Languages, eg: Chinese, Tamil.
#4. Favouritism/bias towards Malays

So, if the general public believes this, then they should send their children to national schools to learn, so that the true story of national schools emerges. From my experience with my college classmates, the average national school student has more exposure to a multiracial society. Although I must note that national schools don't actually have a dazzling reputation for academic achievements.

Now today he comes out to say that Malay will be the main language of instruction in his ideal school system. Damn, he just lost his status in my eyes. Why doesn't anyone want to emulate the Singaporeans and use English as the language of instruction? Oh yeah, the inferiority complex comes out. Damn, should have thought of that earlier.

Ah, what the hell. Screw those who can't think straight to save a nation from suffering. Screw those who can't think right to think of a systematic way to help the nation's graduates. No wonder the education system here is going down.