Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Absolutely, indescribable nonsense...

It's been going on for some time. Not a particularly new topic in any case, but the fact that parents and teachers and the Education Ministry are still at each other's throats for the changing of the medium of language in schools to Malay from English then to English again only to be changed back to Malay once again. It's pathetic really. What 'some' people don't seem to see is the quality of English in the country is, like, totally bad. I'm not saying that Malaysian's are totally incompetent when it comes to speaking in English but the fact that we seem to overlook the small errors when speaking to each other is fascinating.

Malaysian's are famous for their adapted version of English, Manglish and like the Singaporeans with their Singlish? Which begs you to wonder, does the Indian version become Inglish? Anyway, the Manglish is a fine way to communicate amongst fellow Malaysian's but PLEASE guy's don't use it when in a place of business or  when talking to a foreign person. Its hard enough for a person to understand a foreigner let alone him not understanding you. With all the 'lah's and got o' not and sure wan ah, it is one sure fire way of leaving a person not familiar to the creole to be left in a daze wondering what in the name of blue blazes were you talking about in the first place. But see, the fact still remains that despite the creole being there at all, other people have actually learned to write in English properly.

Many people will argue that National Pride is absent in me. I am promoting the language of the conquerors that have suppressed the fine progress of the country by conquering it and then looting it. My dear mugwumps, English is the most widely spoken language in the world. Why are we being so blinded by the 'pride' of our own language that we forget to look beyond. The lingua fanca olden days was in fact Bahasa Malaysia but realise, that we are not anymore during the 10th century where the Malacca sultanate was at its prime. That was years ago people. Thing's change. we should learn to go with the flow of things. English is top, so learn it. How do we expect the country to flourish if we don't grasp the medium to which we can communicate, which is perhaps the most vital thing in the world. Even sign language is based on a LANGUAGE. Can we really expect people who trade with us to learn BM when other's are more than happy to learn English.

 The standard of English levels is amazingly low.Me being a school leaver not more than a year now, I can without a doubt say that English test's in this country has a standard so low its frightening. In total contrast BM is tough and it is a compulsory subject to pass whereas English is not. There are questions that my little cousin who is 9 can answer and we are talking Form Five exams here. Yet, amazingly, there are a lot of people who can not even manage to get a 'B' for the exams. These people are mostly the lot who come from schools of different mediums. Chinese schools, Tamil schools, religious schools have educations systems that base their syllabus on their mother-tongue (Chinese and Tamil medium). I can't say about religious schools. Never been to one. I am all for learning your mother tongue, I can speak my own and hopefully once I get the time I can start to write. But when you are learning English, set the bar high and TEACH the student's to reach that bar. What is the use of a teacher if he/she is not dedicated to helping a student reach a high bar. I know its not easy and as for the students, buck up you useless lot and learn on your own. Don't expect to be spoon fed.

There...I said it...




Monday, 30 May 2011

Nephrotic Syndrome

Dear all,

I have an announcement to make. I have nephrotic syndrome. What is it? Well, its a disease that affects the kidneys and causes protein to be expelled from the body instead of being retained. In contrast, water that should be expelled will be retained in the body causing me to bloat up like a baloon filled with water. So, what does that look like? Imagine me right? All handsome and good looking as I am, and then, imagine me with my eyes puffy, my stomach bloated, unsmiling (not normal innit). That is the effects. If you want me to explain more, I can't. I don't want to get too detailed.

I've been suffering (not much) from the early age of 1 year and 3 months. The only available medication is steroids, prednisilone, which has cause some rather funny effects on my anatomy. For one, I have a rounded profile, I am hairy, shorter than normal. So, if you think that I am a person that has an indefinite passion for food, your not entirely wrong. Its just that most of my, um, rounded physique is not entirely food begotten. I am not trying to get sympathy, just letting you know. Jokes about me is perfectly fine. I am happy to have inherited my families diverse sense of humor...

So for you future doctor's out there, get a remedy quick. You could name it after me.
 

The Art to be a student...

Everything is artsy...how you drive, talk, walk, write, bite and so on. So what is the reason that  being a student of something cant be an art? Especially if you are that of a law student like myself. Though I doubt that I qualify in the category as my way of doing things may more often than not cause chagrin in the eyes of more hardworking people. Yes, I am not a fan of hard work. I get urges, drives if you may, to do something but that usually lasts for about, I dunno, 4-5 months depending on how I fuel that passion. Which is probably why I can't really, honestly tell you that Law would be the career choice that I had planned ages ago. Its not that I can't, more of a I like it but not a 100% sure.

But then again, being a student is the more 'exciting' time that one goes trough. I dunno about those of you that study abroad that may come across this, but in Malaysia, the same routine applies to all students in general (save the few that just have to do thing the other way). Waking up time if your a primary lil' tot is about say 6-6.30. Now remember that I am basing this on my own experience and usually it is the most common way. Then, with the feeling of dread that I am sure all of us have felt, we trudge towards freshening up and having breakfast. See, this was a staple in my house, growing up. My mother would not let me or my sister (when she came along) to go to school on an empty stomach, and I am most thankful for it. THIS IS THE ART I'm talking about.

See, most commonly, a lot of students, don't take breakfast before going to school and it takes its toll on them. So usually during assembly period solid 'thump's' can be heard in all directions. So, imagine this. Assembly, singing the national anthem, dude raising flag, hasn't had breakfast, his head is pointed upwards and theeeennnn....Kederplonk...He's on the ground. The best part is that all the teachers are all so used to things like this that if someone does fall, they're like, "Oh, there goes another one"...PE was a time almost equivalent to that of being on drugs, but minus the negative effects and you also get a work out. I can say that I wasn't the most fit person in the school. I regret that I didn't force myself to become fitter as I grew up. I always found excuses to not exercise or play football with my friends and when eventually I did, it was too late. So, anyway...Football, the staple game for all male students in school no matter what age or form, they would literally go crazy at the sight of a rubbery, bouncy, spherical shaped item that caused endless moments of pleasure till the period bell rang....(to be continued)