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Padan muka is all I can say...

Pakistani Court Orders 2 Men's Noses, Ears Cut Off - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

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Death to chain (e)mails

I do not like fowarded chain (e)mails.
They start with such a beautiful message on love or friendship and end with a mean, spiteful curse.
Such hypocrisy.
Stop including me in your the list of 10 or 15 or 20 people you must forward the mail to so that you can receive amazing news or find your one true love at precisely 12.34pm and subject me to certain death or dilapidating disease or whateverr.
Please.
Pretty please.

Despicable!

Read this in the Sky News today and well, words failed me. Here is a family who genuinely want to care for a boy in need and instead of doing everything in their power to help make this happen, the powers that be were more engrossed in denouncing their responsibility over the child.
Not only do the two councils play ping-pong with the boy in regards over who will grant fostering care for the child, none of the councils even want to back the parents application for a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), which would allow them to make decisions for the boy, who has a major heart operation coming up.
Can't sign consent form, the boy can't have the operation, get it? Sad.
Where is the compassion? Lost in the paperwork I suppose? In the words of Daffy Duck, "you're despicable!"
Read the story and see if you don't shake your head in disbelief. The story can be found here...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091211/tuk-judge-s-fury-over-council-s-care-of-45dbed5.html

International Animal Rights Day!

It's International Animal Rights Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was signed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 and so similarly, the date, Dec 10, has been adopted to promote understanding for all living things and to advocate and "persuade humanity that kindness and respect is due to all sentient creatures." (http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iard.htm)

So from this day onwards (if not already), some do's and don't's I think we should follow:



Do's...
Love your pet.
Love thy neighbour's pet.
Adopt a pet.
Learn from nature.
Feed strays.
Preserve the animal's natural home.


Dont's...
Don't run over anybody's pet.
Don't abandon your pets.
Don't abuse your pets.
Don't buy anything that will support the illegal wildlife trade (no exotic meat, pet, pelt)
Don't hunt for sport.

Adopt: All animals have the as much right as any human to a chance at a happy life.

Excuse me, I think you dropped your manners

How rude!

So I (and this hardly ever happens to me) found myself with a few extra hours to kill yesterday and I thought what better way to spend those precious few hours than to browse through rows and rows of books at leisure, looking for a bargain, or a long forgotten author from my childhood years, or potential xmas and birthday presents. Right?

Wrong.

I've been to my share of book sales, so I know how crowded it can get and how kiasu people are and I have come to expect that I would be shoved around a bit...but people always smiled at other fellow nerds (like me) and said their pleases, excuse mes and thank yous. The only interesting thing that ever happens to me at a book sale was actually finding the book I was looking for. Seriously, that's like winning the lottery.

Yesterday, however, was a whole different game of chongak. I mean, you hardly expect bookworms to act like a pack a hyenas, each trying to scavenge a meal. People pushed past me like I was an annoying curtain in their path or placed their huge cardboard boxes right on top the rows of books you were browsing through. Some even used their boxes as battering rams, to poke and bulldoze their way through. No sorrys, no excuse me pleases, nothing. Not even a guilty glance in my direction. Then you have kids running around, stepping on my feet trying to get to mummy and daddy (or as I strongly suspect, away from mummy and daddy).

Worst, it would seem everyone decided to bring their babies, in their huge prams, while book shopping. Now, I am not saying parents with pram-bound children are expected to stay home but I am sure it is as irritating for the child as it is for the rest of us. I mean the place is dusty with all those books brought out from storage and the dirt kicked up by frantic shoppers. The poor child would be thirsty, bored and at permanent risk of developing an allergy to dust, a cold or obtaining a paper cut collection. Meanwhile we find ourselves having to constantly squeeze against the tables or back track all the way because there is no space to move once the baby pram comes down the aisle, not to mention the gridlock that causes. And no thank yous too, for all those times I moved out of the way when I see someone coming with a pram or a heavy box of books with no place to move. Hmph. So much for being considerate.

And I thought reading was a peaceful hobby. Not if these violent new-age readers with viking-esque we-must conquer-this-book-sale attitude are anything to go by.

I spy with my lil' eyes, something beginning with...B

As in 'Baby on an overcrowded motorcycle without a helmet'!

Again driving to work and almost rammed into an extremely slow motorcycle which appeared out of nowhere in front of my car as I was making a turn.

Having successfully avoided running over anyone, I glanced at my review mirror to get a good look at the nimrod-with-a-suicide-wish only to see a chubby lil face starring back.

That chubby lil face belonged to lil boy probably only a year or two old the most, who was being squeezed to death in between mommy and daddy on one little motorcycle.

Now I know cars are expensive and many families must make do with a motorbike. Nothing against that, I have. In fact, I have always wanted to learn how to ride a motorbike, but given the fact I only learnt how to ride a bicycle a few years ago and that my feet would most probably not touch the ground anyway, figured that would not be such a good idea.

But cool they may be, motorcycles just do not strike me as stable vehicles, especially when there is only place for two and even more so when you then try to squeeze three individuals on board, regardless if lucky number three is an infant. It is not safe.

In the least equip your child with a helmet, if you insist on transporting the whole nucleus family on your two-wheeled contraption of death.

But no, papa had a helmet on, mamma had a helmet on but junior's bald, soft and very extremely vulnerable head was enjoying the breeze.

What would have happened had I slammed into the bike? It's one thing if you do not care about your child's welfare but must you, yes you papa rider, turn me into a murderer as well? And really, have you heard of the term child endangerment?

Grow a brain will ya?

You want freedom of Speech? Then you have to earn it.

Freedom of speech at the hands of the ignorant becomes just another commercialised tripe. Sadly, common sense and respect took a back seat today. The hurtful effects of words uttered, penned or typed are far reaching and cannot be simply removed by an eraser or the click of a delete button. I can only hope one takes responsibility for one's own action, apologise where need be or in the very least learn from mistakes.
What is wrong is wrong and where humankind seemed to be making steps forward in terms of unity, understanding and tolerance, today I witnessed it taking 10 steps back. It is easier to accept such hurtful words from a stranger. That person does not know us, therefore he cannot understand us. It doesn't make it right, but easier to accept. Yet words take on extra meaning and its significance become ten-fold when uttered or penned by one considered to be a friend. Then words become pins and each damning sentence is a prick on the trust and respect built between you and that person. Because surely a friend should know better? Surely a person who knows you would take pain and effort to understand a situation which affects you before making assumptions or evil generalisation? Ignorance is no excuse. Not at all.
Stop hating, stop being defensive and listen. We live in a multiracial, multicultural, multi-ethnic, diverse world whether we like it or not. It is time we make it work. Surely everyone deserves respect, happiness and a fair shot at life irrespective of where you were born, the colour of skin, wealth or whichever label we choose to give. Indeed, if humans can create labels for each other, we can remove it. I read a saying once, "just because it had always been done that way, does not mean it isn't incredibly stupid."
Atticus Finch (To kill a mocking bird, 1960, Harper Lee) once said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” So I say this, stop hate in its tracks. Don't spread it, change its form or mutate it into a version that's easier to swallow. Those who do so anyway, then I put this tag on thee...hypocrite. Why condemn the Nazis, and the Khmer rouge but say nothing when our friends are insulted. Why salute Mahatma Gandhi and all he stood and died for, but maintain an Asian cannot marry a white man? Why spout ideals on 1Malaysia and write hurtful things on blogs or any other medium in the public sphere.
I pray that those who have become hurt by such words before or in future do not make the same mistake by spreading hate, generalising or jumping to conclusions. The actions of one person is just that, one person and not of a group. We have the knowledge to beat stereotype and lies but if we choose to blame everyone for the ignorance or stupidity of another...there will never be change. When will it then end?
Writing can be a soothing balm to calm the mind or ease the pain of the writer, but should such comfort come at the expense of others? I think not.
Please.

Equality, Justice and Atticus Finch

Equality. A topic Malaysians are familiar with, but many would say they rarely experience. It may be said we do not have a choice, all humans are different, unique in looks and behaviour and intelligence and therefore not equal. I concur. I feel we need it even, this inequality. It weeds out the bums from the hardworking, sieves the brave from the meek and the leaders from the followers. Like an ant colony, it creates structure in our world with the workers, the leaders, the kings, children, teachers and lawyers and miners and ... in short, inequality by nature ensures everyone has their place and in that we are all equal. We all have our task, a life to lead and see through to the end. But in this post I am not talking about God-created inequalities but of man-made ones.

This inequality, perhaps it can be said, is a worldwide plague. Yet it’s a disease hard to cure for we ourselves fuel its spread, and every time it seems the plaque, in some form or another, is close to being eradicated, we humans find a way to help it grow again, for our own selfish reasons. We all do it, some in small ways while others blatant for they are wrapped snug with the knowledge they have the money or majority. We differentiate the colour of skin, height, material possessions, political preference, size, religion, culture, gender, country of origin, clan, race, age...an endless list. There will always be someone happy to add to that list, for these man-made inequalities are turned into fodder for bias, prejudice and stereotype which in turn creates chaos and hurt, resulting in unequal rights being accorded.

Malaysia, it would seem to me right now, is chronically ill, infected with inequalities in varying doses. Ugly words are uttered in the news each day – religious tension, racial bias, money politics, political persecution, cronyism and others. Our nation's political scenario, for example, has become a free-for-all mud fight, during a wrestling match, held in a boxing ring. It's below the belt, dirty and if you believe in everything you're told, it would seem everyone has their hand in the cookie jar. And while some accusations are so nonsensical even B-Grade scriptwriters keep away from such lines, some are disturbing, especially when it concerns inequalities influencing our country’s governance. Those are downright scary.

But I was recently reminded by a friend of a book, one of my favourite. One that I have read so many times, it’s all I can do to keep the pages from falling into pieces. It is a book as relevant today as it was the day it was first published, as it was during the period of which it was written. I have vowed that my children will be given a copy of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee to read as soon as they know how and it is my humble opinion all parents should do the same.

But this post is not a book review. I want to quote a speech from said marvellous book. Written of a time when whites and blacks do not eat at the same table, the book, in part, tells of a white lawyer, Atticus Finch (my hero), who defends a black man accused of raping a white girl. And in his closing statement, as he pleads for justice for his client, that the jury does not let prejudice and bias get in the way of common sense, he said this:

“Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch in Washington are fond of hurling at us. There is a tendency in this year of grace, 1935, for certain people to use this phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions. The most ridiculous example I can think of is that the people who run public education promote the stupid and idle along with the industrious – because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind will suffer terrible feelings of inferiority. We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe – some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they’re born with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others – some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men.
But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal – there is one human institution that makes a pauper the equal of a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution, gentlemen, is a court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United States or the humblest J.P. court in the land, or this honourable court which you serve. Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levellers, and in our courts all men are created equal...Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up...,”

Atticus, we hope things have not changed since 1935. And while Malaysia no longer uses the jury system, the folds of Atticus’s speech can be extended to include judge and lawyers too and I think one does not have to be American to appreciate what he says. He speaks of an ideal every citizen of every nation demands from the justice system in their country. In Malaysia, we demand it not just from our courts, but Inquiries and Royal Commissions that have been taking place for when justice and equality are the same, truth prevails. Fingers crossed.

- We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light- Plato

I spy with my lil' eyes, something beginning with...M

As in 'Moron cycling in the middle of a busy street with his back towards traffic'!

Yes, nothing surprising, got up late and was on the cusp of being late for work and so was not in the mood for any delays.

Yet rounding the corner, there he was. In the middle of the road, cycling at a speed only matched by crawling babies, at the very point where traffic from Old Klang Road was merging with motorists (like me) coming out of OUG.

Was he on a suicide mission?

Maybe he simply did not care or, and this I strongly suspect, it was his little private joke to get back at not being able to own a car. I can imagine behind his serene little smile, he was thinking "HAHAHAHAHA, think you all are so great huh, with your shiny little cars, while people like me must cycle everywhere...see now I make you late for work. What you want to move into the left lane? Oops, I must cycle really slowly now, guess you have to wait."

Or perhaps he was making a point that Malaysian roads lack suitable pedestrian and cycling lanes. Hey in which case, the man's got a point.

English - BM - BM - English

So it's back to Bahasa Malaysia. Sigh. While it is great news that our government decided to, finally, focus more time and attention to the teaching of English, I feel as though the little flame of hope in my mind has been snuffed out.

I taught English for a few months at a popular Primary girl's school in PJ, following my Form 6 stint back in 2001/2002.

The school at the time was known for churning out gals with high English proficiency, or so I thought.

What I encountered was this:

1) Of the four classes I taught (standard four), there were students, not merely from the two weaker classes, that DID NOT know English. When I say did not know, I mean they could not say "Excuse me Ms Darshini, may I go to the toilet?".

I had to mark exam papers written in complete and utter gibberish...eg "Ping pong paing kolam, gety ..."

I actually thought the poor child was trying to write in telugu/tamil or some other language or dialect but calm as can be, the other senior English teachers set me straight. No, I was told, the girl merely does not know English, so she writes any word that comes to her head.

The disconcerting part, she may not know what she was writing about, but clearly in her head, she had an idea, for her "essay" had paragraphs and punctuation marks.

Another student would copy down the question as her answer in the hope she alone figured out my trick.

2) I was teaching English in BM - Fill in the blanks, class isi tempat kosong.

3) I was asked, "Excuse me Ms Darshini, what is is-land?" I had written island.

4) Only one girl in the whole standard four had read Harry Potter. One. Forget Enid Blyton.

5) UPSR essay questions consisted of a string of pictures (normally no more than four) with words underneath as a guide. Eg - picture: Boy crying near stairs. Words under picture: Boy-fell-stairs-cry. There was no "begin the story with On my holiday..., or "Tell us in 100 words what you did during the school holidays" or others essays that I remembered having to do as homework when I was in primary school.

When I tried to spice things up, by including an additional box with a question mark in it with the instructions "create your own ending", I was told I could not do so. Because the students would not know how to answer the essay. Because parents would bang the door down seeking my blood. Okay I exaggerate, parents won't ask for my blood, just an explanation as to why I decided to challenge the "syllabus" and dare their daughters to think out of the box.

Standard four???? Two years away from UPSR and they could not ask to go to the toilet? They could not string a sentence together? They needed pictures and words to help them. They could not even be asked to write just one sentence on their own? And all this from an urban primary school, then what was it like in rural schools?

Perhaps I am just one person, not even a teacher for one-full year but these are my suggestions - make English compulsory. If one does not pass English in any standard or form, they do not progress to the next level. Do the same for BM if you (the government) fear students will lose interest in the national language.

Baby steps - Start with Standard one. The longer children are allowed to go up the education ladder without mastering English, the bigger the divide would get and the harder it would be for them to catch up.

Mastering English and mastering Science in English are two different things. I know because in Form 6, I was asked to take an Australian Chemistry Quiz, in English of course, and it was not easy, despite having a good command of both Chemistry and English at the time. Ensure then that while the subjects are being taught in BM, students are also taught English terminologies to aid them in University later on.

Make them read read read! In Primary school, we were allowed to go to the school library and borrow books at any time, English and BM ones, and the student with the highest number of book reviews submitted each month would win a prize.

I understand the argument the sudden introduction of Maths and Science in English made it hard for students to cope (true) but I fail to see where this erodes the love and proficiency for our national language, if there is equal emphasis paid towards the development of both languages. Parents should instead be made to see what an advantage it would be for their child to be able to converse in more than one language fluently and how this can be used as a selling point for his/her career advancement in the future, not just here but internationally. Children can see more things, meet more people, learn more, experience more. It is not a burden if done right.