Sunday, August 30, 2009

Malaysia's 52th Merdeka

It's 0032hr August 31, 2009.

It's been 52 years since Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted "Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!" Since then, our country has been trying our best to be on the same level as other developed countries. We are yet to be recognized as one, but I think we are not that bad, although we are still developing. We are better than some countries that gained their independence earlier than us, don't you think?

Anyway, despite the celebration of our independence, it's sad to see that the difference between races is still apparent in our country. We are like speaking different languages although we are Malaysians. I partly blame this on the social order (? I believe there's another better suited word, but I cannot think of any right now) that the British set up when they brought the Chinese and Indian into Malaya, but I mainly blame this on our education system.

Yep, our education system. The education system that segregates us since our tender age of seven. The education system that basically teaches us about racism. The education system that doesn't unite us as one at all.

I read an article on this in the newspaper this morning, written by Dr. Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah. He is a Muslim Chinese, who sends his kids to SRJK(C), the head of PIBG of a SMK, and a lecturer at an IPT, so he has a wide view on this issue.

I got this article here, but I think I'll just copy and paste it here for easy reading.

Do read the article and think, dimanakah jati diri kita sebagai anak Malaysia?

Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan yang ke-52.

Merdekakan pendidikan perkauman

Pendidikan adalah merupakan salah satu elemen penting dalam pembentukan sebuah negara bangsa. Bentuk pendidikan yang lahir akan menentukan sama ada agenda nasional dapat dicapai atau tidak. Jika sistem pendidikan berbentuk perkauman, maka perkaumanlah penyudahnya.

Setakat ini, hanya Malaysia adalah satu-satunya negara di dunia ini yang mempunyai pendidikan pelbagai mengikut kaum atau vernakular. Inilah yang selalu dicanangkan oleh golongan tertentu sebagai salah satu kekuatan Malaysia. Ya, dari satu sudut ia memang satu kekuatan. Tetapi dari sudut yang lain, kita lihat bila ada ura-ura kerajaan untuk menyeragamkan sistem pendidikan berasaskan konsep 1Malaysia, tanpa menafikan hak-hak kaum lain mendapat pendidikan ibunda mereka, serta-merta golongan ini akan membuat laporan polis dan menuduh kerajaan yang bukan-bukan.

Saya amat menyanjungi sikap bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak selaku pribumi, kerana mereka tidak menuntut sekolah berasaskan kaum. Jika tidak, saya tidak tahu ke manakah hala tuju pendidikan negara?

Ini tolak ansur yang mesti dihargai. Orang Melayu dan bumiputera tidak ada sekolah mereka sendiri. Yang ada ialah sekolah kebangsaan untuk semua. Sistem inilah yang dipraktikkan di seantero dunia. Jika adapun sistem pendidikan perkauman, ia telah lama dihapuskan. Semua bentuk pendidikan diseragamkan demi mencapai matlamat nasional. Contohnya, Thailand, Indonesia dan negara-negara maju yang lain.

Kita perlu berfikir jauh ke hadapan walaupun pahit untuk diterima. Setelah 52 tahun merdeka, sistem pendidikan kita masih belum merdeka dan terbelenggu. Setiap kaum masih leka dalam kepompong sistem pendidikan masing-masing. Orang Melayu masih percaya kepada sistem pendidikan kebangsaan untuk semua, tetapi tetap dengan sistem perkauman, India dengan cara India dan Cina dengan cara Cina. Kehidupan kita sebenarnya semakin jauh dan terasing.

Sebagai permulaan, biarlah saya mulakan dengan kajian yang telah saya lakukan terhadap sistem pendidikan Cina khususnya, selaku majoriti kedua terbesar. Secara umumnya, orang Cina terbahagi kepada dua kumpulan. Satu kumpulan dikenali sebagai Hua Ch'iao (orang Cina seberang laut) yang masih berwarga negara China. Satu lagi ialah Ma Hua, menganggap diri mereka sebagai Malayan Chinese, kebanyakan lahir di Tanah Melayu menganggap Tanah Melayu adalah negara mereka.

Wang Gungwu (1970), membahagikan orang Cina Malaysia kepada tiga kumpulan iaitu A, B dan C. Kumpulan A boleh dikategorikan dalam kumpulan minoriti berbanding dengan kumpulan lain. Mereka masih mengekalkan hubungan dengan politik di China, sama ada secara langsung atau tidak, serta masih mengambil berat akan masa depan negara China. Kumpulan ini tidak sedominan kumpulan B dan C.

Kumpulan B pula terdiri dari kalangan yang keras kepala. Majoriti bersikap realistik dan yang secara tidak langsung mengambil berat soal politik perniagaan dan pertubuhan komuniti. Kebanyakan mereka amat aktif dalam pertubuhan-pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO).

Pengaruh mereka amat mendalam dalam komuniti masyarakat Cina, malahan kerap memberikan tekanan kepada kerajaan. Inilah kumpulan ultra kiasu yang selalu saya sebut. Kumpulan ini berada dalam pertubuhan pendidikan (NGO), politik dan persuratkhabaran.

Kumpulan C pula, mereka menunjukkan minat yang mendalam serta aktif dalam politik negara. Wang Gungwu yang meletakkan mereka dalam kategori orang yang tidak pasti tentang identiti mereka sendiri tetapi secara umumnya mempunyai ketaatan kepada negara.

Pendapat Gungwu turut dikongsi oleh Rita Sim dan F.K. Soong, daripada Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP). Menurut mereka, terdapat dua jenis kumpulan Cina daripada keseluruhan berjumlah 6.5 juta.

Kumpulan pertama, mewakili 85-90 peratus orang Cina, berlatar belakangkan perkauman Cina, berpegang kepada tiga rukun, menyertai pertubuhan-pertubuhan Cina, bersekolah Cina dan membaca/mendengar/menonton media Cina. Manakala, selebihnya mewakili kumpulan kedua 10-15 peratus, adalah English- speaking group atau kumpulan yang mendapat pendidikan Inggeris, yang tidak mendapat pendidikan Cina. Kebanyakan mereka ada yang beragama Kristian, Cina Peranakan dan menyertai kelab Lions dan Rotary.

Pengkategorian ini sudah cukup untuk membuktikan kajian Yew Yeok Kim (1973, 1982) dan Leo Suryadinata (1989) mengenai sikap mereka yang mendapat pendidikan Cina dan bukan aliran Cina. Pelajar Cina yang mendapat pendidikan Inggeris (termasuk pendidikan kebangsaan) kurang identiti kecinaannya, lebih mudah bergaul dengan kaum lain dan memudahkan proses integrasi nasional. Manakala, mereka yang mendapat pendidikan sekolah Cina adalah bersikap sebaliknya.

Semua bukti ini jelas menunjukkan kedudukan dan polarisasi masyarakat di negara kita akibat sistem pendidikan yang wujud sekian lama. Sistem ini yang telah mewarnai kehidupan kita hari ini. Akibatnya, lahirlah golongan yang meletakkan kepentingan kaum di hadapan berbanding kepentingan nasional. Bahasa kaum sendiri lebih didaulatkan berbanding bahasa kebangsaan.

Kita ambil contoh kedudukan bahasa Melayu di sekolah jenis kebangsaan. Bahasa Melayu hanya diajar tiga kali seminggu berbanding dengan bahasa Cina yang diajar setiap hari. Ini tidak termasuk matapelajaran lain seperti Matematik, Sains, Kemahiran Hidup, Pendidikan Moral, Sivik dan Kajian Tempatan yang turut diajar dalam bahasa yang sama. Saya ingin mencadangkan Kementerian Pelajaran menambahkan waktu pembelajaran matapelajaran bahasa Melayu, sekurang-kurang sama waktunya dengan mata pelajaran bahasa Cina. Jika tidak, kedudukan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan tidak ada ertinya.

Saya berkongsi pandangan ini kerana saya mempunyai pengalaman yang agak luas berinteraksi dengan sekolah Cina. Boleh dikatakan kesemua anak saya mendapat pendidikan rendah di sekolah Cina. Secara kebetulan, saya juga adalah Yang Dipertua, Persatuan Ibubapa dan guru (PIBG), di salah sebuah sekolah menengah yang majoriti pelajar-pelajar Cina yang datang dari sekolah rendah Cina (SJKC). Keadaan ini menjadikan saya lebih faham mengenai masalah bangsa saya sendiri, terutama dalam soal penguasaan bahasa Melayu dan pendidikan ibunda.

Melalui pengalaman dan pemerhatian, secara umumnya, tahap penguasaan bahasa Melayu di kalangan pelajar-pelajar Cina adalah rendah. Dengan sebab itu, kelas peralihan terpaksa diwujudkan apabila mereka melanjutkan pelajaran ke peringkat menengah. Bagi mereka yang berada di kelas bukan peralihan pun, itu bukan bermakna penguasaan bahasa Melayunya baik. Bahasa Melayu lebih sekadar hafalan untuk menghadapi peperiksaan berbanding bagi tujuan interaksi dan pemahaman sebagai bahasa kebangsaan. Inilah dilema sistem pendidikan kebangsaan hari ini.

Kadangkala saya amat hairan kenapa setiap kali kerajaan cuba untuk menyeragamkan sistem pendidikan tanpa menafikan hak setiap kaum terhadap pendidikan mereka, mendapat tentangan yang begitu hebat. Mereka mempunyai prasangka bahawa ia adalah agenda kerajaan untuk menghapuskan sekolah Cina secara terancang. Inilah bentuk pemikiran yang telah bertapak setelah 52 tahun kita merdeka.

Kini, kedudukan pendidikan Cina tidak pernah tergugat, malah semakin kuat, termasuk kedudukan kewangannya. Di SJKC tempat anak saya belajar, penyata kewangan berakhir setiap tahun melebihi RM1 juta. Ini menunjukkan bahawa sokongan yang ditunjukkan oleh orang Cina terhadap pendidikan mereka semakin padu dan jitu. Manakala pendidikan kebangsaan semakin tergugat dan terhakis. Walaupun pelbagai usaha cuba dilakukan oleh kerajaan untuk mengadakan sistem satu sekolah dengan tidak mengenepikan hak kaum lain untuk mempelajari bahasa ibunda, namun ia tetap ditolak.

Pada hemat saya, jika inilah bentuk pendidikan yang lahir, kita masih belum merdeka dalam erti kata yang sebenar. Pemikiran kita masih dibelenggu dengan pemikiran perkauman. Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke-52.

Dr. Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah ialah Pensyarah Kanan, Universiti

Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Kartika's caning

I would say Kartika's issue is one of the country's current hottest issues, and it has caught the attention of a lot of international media as well. Some say it is unreasonable for someone to be caned for drinking, while others support the court's decision. Personally, I think we should just keep quite about this thing as we should respect the court's decision. In addition to that, Kartina wants it anyway. Although we may question the motive behind her making a press conference and all on this, o well, just cane her already.

Here I want to share a blog entry about the punishment for drinking for the muslim. It's a long entry, but read it anyway; it's worth the time.

p/s: Really, Islam is simple, yet it is broad. So broad that I think I only know about 1% of it, although I am a muslim myself. Shame.

Ne...???

A friend of mine, Jeny, introduced me to this video. I thought it was interesting, so I want to share it with you guys. I personally think they should send the video to tv3 or something; it would make a great tv commercial for Merdeka. Anyway, watch it, enjoy it. Owh, don't forget to stand up straight when watching it. Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke-52. I love you, Malaysia.


Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Motivations

On my graduation day, I had this dream of becoming an honorable scientist who would do good for the environment.

When I think back, my motivation at that time was none other than wanting to learn more, to know more, and to contribute more. Money was not my first nor second priority. My first priority was to learn more about environmental biotechnology, and second was to prepare myself to become an excellent academician; so that I could educate the young generation of Malaysia, so that the future Malaysia would be a better place. And the third was the money; so that I could live a comfortable life without having to think too much about money, so that I could help my parents and also provide my future kids with a comfortable life.

It was a noble way of thinking, don't you think?

However, with the current situation, I cannot hang on if I was to hold on to only my previous motivation. The current situation has forced me to find a new motivation to keep me from falling off this program. Hence I was looking for a purpose to stay.

And I think I have found it.

Here are my new motivations:
1. To wear that graduation robe, to get that diploma, and to get flowers. Lots of them.
2. To get a promotion and a higher salary. Money, money, money.
3. To not lose the job, as jobs are scarce

They are superficial and not noble at all--I know--but I need it anyway as without them, I think I could write and send my resignation letter right away. It is sad to think how the situation has changed my motivation that way. People might say that it's my fault for not trying to adapt, but trust me, I have tried, but I failed. The situation is just too disappointing to be accepted. And I know that I am not the only one to feel this way.

Putting my other half aside, I think am not happy with my current life.

Monday, August 17, 2009

a cute killer

I love cats. I know some of us don't, but I am pretty sure most of us do. I can't remember the first time I held a cat, since cats have been in our house for as long as I can remember. I even have a picture of me with a cat when the cat and I were almost the same size. Hahaha.

Anyway, as I remember, my cats rarely kill, although they do sometimes. I remember when I was small, there was a time when my kittens always got eaten by one of the adult cats. Until now I am not sure who ate them, was it the mom, or the alpha male. Then there was another cat who caught small chicken occasionally to eat them. Other common animals that they sometimes kill are geckos and cockroaches. However, all the animals that they kill are usually small..hardly reach the size of a small squirrel..

But this morning..

*jengjengjeng* *drum rolls*

there was a dead chicken at our door step..and the chicken was quite big.

(picture will be uploaded later)

p/s: I will get my cat a collar with a bell if she ever kills again. huhu

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Updates

I've been wanting to write in this blog..but somehow I did not find a time to write. O well~

Anyway, here are some update on what has been going on for the past couple of weeks..

Bye-bye Tokmak!

Last week's Tuesday (August 4, 2009) was the day for my family to grieve. My grandmom passed away at 6:40pm due to pneumonia with cold aglution (?) disease. It was a very sad event for all of us. Tokmak had always been a very good mother and grandmother. She was soft spoken, and rarely..or more to never, nags. She did all the housework patiently. I had never heard her complaining about having to do all the housework alone. She was a good person.

The next day, everyone came for her funeral. All of us had the chance to kiss her goodbye for the last time. I saw her face for the first time after she breathed her last breath. I couldn't help from feeling sad, and tears started to gather in my eyes. I kissed her forehead. She was cold, and hard, like a ceramic. After kissing her, I walked to the kitchen, trying to find a place where I can be alone and cry. I never thought that I would cry that hard that day. The thought of not having her around always bring me to tears, even until now. I miss her.

p/s: That night when she passed away, I went to bed thinking of her. Then I felt like I was hugged from behind while I was sleeping. I am sure that it wasn't anyone else. I am pretty sure it was her.

Group presentation

Last Monday, we had to do group presentation for our class. I was the group leader (self-claimed since there was no one else volunteered to take charge), and at the last minute, I learned that one of the students who was supposed to present fell sick and was asked to stay at home. As a good leader (?!) I volunteered myself to replace her.

So there I was, presenting in front of the class. Holding the microphone..listening my own voice coming out from the speaker. It was a good presentation, I think, and everything went well. After the class, a few people came up to me complimented me on my presentation. I was like, "Owh, thanks. Hehe"

Have I ever mentioned that I enjoy talking in front of people? I don't know why, but somehow it gives me satisfaction. And I also enjoy organizing events or something. It is satisfying to see something that I have been working on going as planned. Or even if it is not going too well, at least I know that I have tried my best. Maybe it's the adrenaline..

p/s: Maybe I should consider changing my job from being a tutor to being a motivator. hehehe..

Grad school

With the owh-so-dissapointing classes, I was seriously thinking about finding a grad school overseas. However, I was called in by the dean today, and he told (or more to forced) me to convert my Master program to a PhD program by at least next semester, and to finish my PhD within 3 years. And there it goes, my hope of finding a better place to do my grad school. I guess I have no choice but to finish my PhD as soon as possible here. I hope I will survive this grad school.

O well, I think I should just focus on finishing it as soon as possible. At least, after getting my PhD, I don't have to think about this thing anymore, and I can be pretty well happy with my pay at that time..haha

p/s: have.to.accept.the.fact.have.to.accept.the.fact.have.to.accept.the.fact.

Hmm..that's it I think. Hmm..that's quite boring, although I swear I have more things to write about, but being me, I forgot most of them. Haha. Till my brain finds back all those lost thoughts. Have a nice day, people! :)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

7 wasiat raja Melayu

I found this link when I logged in to Facebook this morning. I don't know what's there with the kings and sultans, but I honestly respect and look up to them. Hahah I'm such a loyal citizen, I know.. Anyway, I'll just post this up, since I had never heard about this, so I bet some of us don't know about this as well. So here it is, people. I copy and paste this from here.

7 wasiat raja Melayu

KUALA LUMPUR 6 Ogos - Raja Muda Perak, Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah hari ini mengingatkan rakyat khususnya orang Melayu mengenai tujuh wasiat raja-raja Melayu yang menjanjikan kesejahteraan, kedamaian dan keamanan jika mereka bersatu dan berpegang teguh kepadanya.

Wasiat yang disampaikan semasa raja-raja Melayu menurunkan tandatangan persetujuan pembentukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu pada 5 Ogos 1957 itu ialah:

  • Kami namakan dan kami panggil akan dia, bumi yang kamu pijak dan langit yang kamu junjung Persekutuan Tanah Melayu (sekarang dikenali dengan nama Malaysia).
  • Kami isytiharkan dan kami simpan untuk kamu dan kami benarkan kamu isytihar dan simpan untuk anak cucu kamu, selain gunung-ganang, tasik dan hutan simpan, Tanah simpanan Melayu sehingga nisbah 50 peratus, selebihnya kamu rebutlah bersama-sama kaum lain.
  • Bagi menjaga kamu dan bagi melindungi anak cucu kami serta harta milik kamu, kami tubuhkan Rejiman Askar Melayu selain untuk membanteras kekacauan dalam negara dan ancaman dari luar negara.
  • Kami kekalkan dan kami jamin kerajaan dan kedaulatan raja-raja Melayu memerintah negara ini.
  • Kami isytiharkan Islam adalah agama Persekutuan.
  • Kami tetapkan bahasa kebangsaan ialah bahasa Melayu.
  • Kami amanahkan dan kami pertanggungjawabkan kepada raja-raja Melayu untuk melindungi kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan kepentingan sah kaum-kaum lain (kemudian ditambah kedudukan istimewa anak negeri Sabah dan Sarawak).