It has been awhile since this blog was updated.
Apologies for that. It is the exam season after all in KYUEM. You know us, we students just tune off to reality when exams strike.
Anyway, we have elected a new board of directors for the next term. Yay! The juniors would be taking over from us and organise a fabulous farewell luncheon for us. =)
Maybe I should put up like the list of outgoing and incoming board.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia.
Let's imagine, shall we?
You are married.
It's a normal marriage. The man married in his late 20s, early 30s. The bride is of the same age, if not slightly younger. It's a straight marriage in which you marry one of the opposite sex. It's a marriage based on mutual love, affection and decision of spending the rest of your lives with one another - not a marriage yang macam you go home one day and your mother sits you down and says, "Ahmad.., you've reached that point in life where you should take the next logical step. (Cheekily) And anak dara Pak Mat tu baik orangnya. Dahla lawa, pandai masak pulak tu". (Pak Mat's daughter is a fine maiden. She's pretty and she can cook.) No. Not an arranged marriage because Lat has addressed this in his 70s or was that 80s book entitled 'Mat Som' by telling his mother "zaman mikrocip sekarang ni mana ada orang kawin paksa" (in this microchip age, nobody has an arranged marriage).
It's a normal marriage. One which produces children. One which witnesses arguments, disagreements, disappointments, and fights. One which witnesses the beauty of love and of living together as a family.
A normal marriage where you complete each other and your worlds revolve around each other. Your major decisions are influenced by one another.
Are you with me? Imagine it properly.
One day, your spouse does something terrible that shakes the very foundation of your marriage. One that is bound to freak you out as well as everyone else related to you. I'll speak in the first person now. My wife did something terrible like quitting Islam or having an affair or doing whatever that is usually the cause for splits and seperations and ultimately divorce.
But of course I couldn't divorce her. We have kids, remember? I know many kids with broken homes and I don't fancy the life they lead. Yes, I respect them for being strong individuals but I ask every single one of you, if you had a choice, would you let that happen to your child? I won't. Or at least I'd try my best not to let that happen. I don't want my child to have to face downwards, lose his/her smile and grimly say "my parents are divorced". Ever. So now the marriage is tainted in that the only thing that's binding us together is the blood ties through the children.
And here's the thing that fucks everything up ever worse. I go see her parents. Her PARENTS. And what do they say? I'm a Muslim and they go and say something like "oh... She's a Catholic? Apsal tak tukar Protestant? (why doesn't she convert to a Protestant?) Why didn't she look into Scientology or something?" or even "she's sleeping with that guy? Anak Tan Sri tu kan interested in her? (That Lord's son is interested in her!) Can naikkan (increase) her reputation what?".
And then everyone else says acts as if nothing has happened.
Right now you may be thinking any of the following:
+ "Where did you get this idea, wei? Kau nak ke rumahtangga kau jadi camni nanti?" (You want your household to be like this?)
+ "Apasal perempuan tu jahat gila, tapi kau macamla baik sangat?" (Why is teh girl so evil, and you so angelic?) if you are a girl.
+ "You've got issues"
Everyone else spoke Malay, so of course I wanted to jugak - a consensual marriage.
A marriage with fights and arguments and disagreements - I say things like "nanti aku call kau" (I'll call you later).
A marriage that produces chidren - think of the things you can do with BM and how life in Malaysia would be without it.
My wife did something terrible like adultery - BM uses words like 'famili' when there's already 'keluarga'. 'She' wants another man when padahal she gets the same thing.
Her parents don't think it's bad enough, and they want it worse - Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the Language and Publications Hall, akin to Bank of English) do nothing about the deteriorating standards but introduce (or rather steal) words like 'infotainmen' and 'bajet'.
Like it or not, Malay is the way things are done here in Malaysia. Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung. I will continue to speak, write and spell in Malay correctly and in proper tatabahasa. But at the rate of word-borrowing, you begin to lose the language's identity. It's like globalization of the language. Sure English borrows, too. Three Malay words have been adopted - sarong, parang and amok (amuk). There are also some from French like coup d'etat or repondez s'il vous plait. But those French phrases are the used in any other language anyway.
The Way I See it, BM is nothing more to me than a disappointing spouse
You are married.
It's a normal marriage. The man married in his late 20s, early 30s. The bride is of the same age, if not slightly younger. It's a straight marriage in which you marry one of the opposite sex. It's a marriage based on mutual love, affection and decision of spending the rest of your lives with one another - not a marriage yang macam you go home one day and your mother sits you down and says, "Ahmad.., you've reached that point in life where you should take the next logical step. (Cheekily) And anak dara Pak Mat tu baik orangnya. Dahla lawa, pandai masak pulak tu". (Pak Mat's daughter is a fine maiden. She's pretty and she can cook.) No. Not an arranged marriage because Lat has addressed this in his 70s or was that 80s book entitled 'Mat Som' by telling his mother "zaman mikrocip sekarang ni mana ada orang kawin paksa" (in this microchip age, nobody has an arranged marriage).
It's a normal marriage. One which produces children. One which witnesses arguments, disagreements, disappointments, and fights. One which witnesses the beauty of love and of living together as a family.
A normal marriage where you complete each other and your worlds revolve around each other. Your major decisions are influenced by one another.
Are you with me? Imagine it properly.
One day, your spouse does something terrible that shakes the very foundation of your marriage. One that is bound to freak you out as well as everyone else related to you. I'll speak in the first person now. My wife did something terrible like quitting Islam or having an affair or doing whatever that is usually the cause for splits and seperations and ultimately divorce.
But of course I couldn't divorce her. We have kids, remember? I know many kids with broken homes and I don't fancy the life they lead. Yes, I respect them for being strong individuals but I ask every single one of you, if you had a choice, would you let that happen to your child? I won't. Or at least I'd try my best not to let that happen. I don't want my child to have to face downwards, lose his/her smile and grimly say "my parents are divorced". Ever. So now the marriage is tainted in that the only thing that's binding us together is the blood ties through the children.
And here's the thing that fucks everything up ever worse. I go see her parents. Her PARENTS. And what do they say? I'm a Muslim and they go and say something like "oh... She's a Catholic? Apsal tak tukar Protestant? (why doesn't she convert to a Protestant?) Why didn't she look into Scientology or something?" or even "she's sleeping with that guy? Anak Tan Sri tu kan interested in her? (That Lord's son is interested in her!) Can naikkan (increase) her reputation what?".
And then everyone else says acts as if nothing has happened.
Right now you may be thinking any of the following:
+ "Where did you get this idea, wei? Kau nak ke rumahtangga kau jadi camni nanti?" (You want your household to be like this?)
+ "Apasal perempuan tu jahat gila, tapi kau macamla baik sangat?" (Why is teh girl so evil, and you so angelic?) if you are a girl.
+ "You've got issues"
Everyone else spoke Malay, so of course I wanted to jugak - a consensual marriage.
A marriage with fights and arguments and disagreements - I say things like "nanti aku call kau" (I'll call you later).
A marriage that produces chidren - think of the things you can do with BM and how life in Malaysia would be without it.
My wife did something terrible like adultery - BM uses words like 'famili' when there's already 'keluarga'. 'She' wants another man when padahal she gets the same thing.
Her parents don't think it's bad enough, and they want it worse - Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the Language and Publications Hall, akin to Bank of English) do nothing about the deteriorating standards but introduce (or rather steal) words like 'infotainmen' and 'bajet'.
Like it or not, Malay is the way things are done here in Malaysia. Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung. I will continue to speak, write and spell in Malay correctly and in proper tatabahasa. But at the rate of word-borrowing, you begin to lose the language's identity. It's like globalization of the language. Sure English borrows, too. Three Malay words have been adopted - sarong, parang and amok (amuk). There are also some from French like coup d'etat or repondez s'il vous plait. But those French phrases are the used in any other language anyway.
The Way I See it, BM is nothing more to me than a disappointing spouse
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Elections
To the general student community in Malaysia, politics are never a concern to them. First of all, the vast majority of them do not bother registering themselves to vote let alone read up on issues their representatives are advocating.
Anyhow, the elections are only a week away from now. This weekend, I shall attempt to get some pictures on how the city would be decorated with election posters (and dirtied no doubt!) amid the hustle bustle.
Democracy rules! Well, not really in Malaysia.
Anyhow, the elections are only a week away from now. This weekend, I shall attempt to get some pictures on how the city would be decorated with election posters (and dirtied no doubt!) amid the hustle bustle.
Democracy rules! Well, not really in Malaysia.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Purpoise Alert!
Anyway, a purpoise means a small dolphin. I just couldn't resist seeing how cute and adorable the dolphin was! It captured my heart :)
It is quite a rarity. Although the article in the link above begs to differ. But still, to be able to take a photo of it in such a gaiety mood (well, it looks like it's smiling, ain't it) is something.
Chinese New Year- What Malaysians did and what they do. (Read at your own risk)
It’s Chinese New Year again. You can see red lanterns everywhere in the shopping malls, God of Wealth (not the real one though) making public appearances- giving ang pau to kids (and sometimes adults), people (not just Chinese) eating mandarin oranges, lion dances and dragon dances being performed and the list goes on and on.
But these are the typical things that we usually do whenever it’s CNY; there are things that we don’t do anymore though they were practiced. I can still remember how my grandparents celebrated CNY when I was young. And now that I am to compare it with the recent CNY, which was mainly dominated by my parents’ generation, I can tell that there are things that the older generations did and are not inherited by our parents. And trust me, our generation will be even worse, judging from the fact that most Chinese in my college didn’t know that Chap Goh Meh is not the Chinese Valentine’s Day (7th of 7th Lunar Month is), it simply shows how ignorance young people these days are (which in a way, can be a good thing. =p)
Let us just make a comparison between Malaysians (the Chinese community, in particular) in the past and present.
Past: They’ll NEVER ever sweep the floor on the first day of CNY.
Present: They DO sweep the floor on the first day of CNY. Hygiene comes first, beliefs next.
Past: CNY Reunion Dinner is the dinner where EVERYONE sits at a round table and has their meals together.
Present: CNY Reunion Dinner seems to be just another normal dinner where you eat at your own pace and leave the table after eating. You can eat first if you are hungry, or later if you don’t like the crowd.
Past: People (Adults and children) stay back after CNY Reunion Dinner and play mahjong, or at least chitchat if they don’t gamble.
Present: Kids will be busy surfing Internets or glue their eyes to the TV screens after meals. Parents will just switch on their laptops and continue with their business plans or proposals.
Past: Ang Pau was given to show that someone has grown. Money wasn’t that important, the red packet was.
Present: The amount in the red packet seems to matter the most. It doesn’t matter if you put the money in an envelope instead of a red packet, as long as the money goes into one’s pocket.
Past: Lots of paper money will be burnt. Paper houses (the traditional ones) will also be burnt to our ancestors to show our respect.
Present: Version 1: Save the environment. No open burning is allowed, therefore no burning of paper money.
Version 2: They still burn, but no more paper houses, they burn paper hand phones, paper MP3s, paper Toyota VIOS…
And I’m sure you can think of more differences between the past and present. I’m not saying that Chinese in Malaysia do not appreciate the culture. But get real, the world is constantly changing and we Malaysians do change as well. What I have mentioned may not be representative enough to show the whole Chinese community in Malaysia (as I’m sure people in Penang and Ipoh still practice lots of the traditional practices), but even if it is only parts of Malaysian Chinese, it’s still something that we experienced, isn’t it? Do not take it seriously if you do not agree with what I mentioned, but sometimes, such changes are necessary to make things better~
--Lim Boon Seong--
But these are the typical things that we usually do whenever it’s CNY; there are things that we don’t do anymore though they were practiced. I can still remember how my grandparents celebrated CNY when I was young. And now that I am to compare it with the recent CNY, which was mainly dominated by my parents’ generation, I can tell that there are things that the older generations did and are not inherited by our parents. And trust me, our generation will be even worse, judging from the fact that most Chinese in my college didn’t know that Chap Goh Meh is not the Chinese Valentine’s Day (7th of 7th Lunar Month is), it simply shows how ignorance young people these days are (which in a way, can be a good thing. =p)
Let us just make a comparison between Malaysians (the Chinese community, in particular) in the past and present.
Past: They’ll NEVER ever sweep the floor on the first day of CNY.
Present: They DO sweep the floor on the first day of CNY. Hygiene comes first, beliefs next.
Past: CNY Reunion Dinner is the dinner where EVERYONE sits at a round table and has their meals together.
Present: CNY Reunion Dinner seems to be just another normal dinner where you eat at your own pace and leave the table after eating. You can eat first if you are hungry, or later if you don’t like the crowd.
Past: People (Adults and children) stay back after CNY Reunion Dinner and play mahjong, or at least chitchat if they don’t gamble.
Present: Kids will be busy surfing Internets or glue their eyes to the TV screens after meals. Parents will just switch on their laptops and continue with their business plans or proposals.
Past: Ang Pau was given to show that someone has grown. Money wasn’t that important, the red packet was.
Present: The amount in the red packet seems to matter the most. It doesn’t matter if you put the money in an envelope instead of a red packet, as long as the money goes into one’s pocket.
Past: Lots of paper money will be burnt. Paper houses (the traditional ones) will also be burnt to our ancestors to show our respect.
Present: Version 1: Save the environment. No open burning is allowed, therefore no burning of paper money.
Version 2: They still burn, but no more paper houses, they burn paper hand phones, paper MP3s, paper Toyota VIOS…
And I’m sure you can think of more differences between the past and present. I’m not saying that Chinese in Malaysia do not appreciate the culture. But get real, the world is constantly changing and we Malaysians do change as well. What I have mentioned may not be representative enough to show the whole Chinese community in Malaysia (as I’m sure people in Penang and Ipoh still practice lots of the traditional practices), but even if it is only parts of Malaysian Chinese, it’s still something that we experienced, isn’t it? Do not take it seriously if you do not agree with what I mentioned, but sometimes, such changes are necessary to make things better~
--Lim Boon Seong--
Chinese New Year Celebration cum Global Warming Awareness Event
Well, people were supposed to be dressed in green to celebrate the Global Awareness Week (organised by our very own Rotaract Club..Yipee!) held this week in our college. Judging by the photos, most people didn't quite adhered to it. But we had fun! :)
Friday, February 15, 2008
Brief History on Malaysia
But anyway, I kinda wrote this for a presentation. So, here it is. It gives people a general idea of how Malaysia is anyway, for those who have absolutely no inkling!
_________________________________________________________________________
In 2007, the economy of
Reference;
Charles Hirschman, "Review of John H. Drabble, An Economic History of
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