Ramai guru sakit jiwa

Profesion perguruan terdedah kepada risiko tinggi untuk mengalami tekanan
mental.

Itu antara topik dalam Kosmo, Ahad 22 March 2009. Na'uzubillah. Baca disini.

Medan - Lake Toba - Berastagi

SPM Results - A few stories to share

I overheard a statement from yesterday's news, which said something like this “those who flopped from universities actually have good SPM results”. Well, I did see some of my friends flopped even though they were once considered “cream of the cream” by our sponsor. Reasons?? Culture shock? “Too much play makes Jim a dull boy?” Language (don’t get me started on PPSMI)?? Turns out that they dislike the course they’ve chosen??

They will give you loads of reasons if you really ask from the subject matter. But, what I want to discuss here is choosing the right course that suits you. Once upon a time, I thought I want to be a doctor. And, when I was in form four and form five, I always have better biology marks than physics or chemistry. But later on, I changed my decision. It happened during a school semester break in 1995 when we was sent to a motivational course that combined 3 SBPs – Faris, SESMA and SMACH. One of the sessions that they had in that course is …. To have us in a hospital and follow the doctor making his/her rounds. Dee, Olie and I are quite relieved when we found out that we’re going to follow the doctor in an ENT ward (Ear, Nose and Throat). We thought that they would have only simple cases in that ward. Ye laa… Ear nose and throat .. setakat sakit telinga, sakit hidung, sakit tekak .. apa la sangat kan? But, it turns out that there were also accident patients there. The first patient that the doctor visited was injured in the face because of a road accident. I can still vividly recall the swollen face, with mouth open, sunken eyes, bruises and stains of blood here and there. He looked awful and painful. Dee had already turned her face from looking at him. Even though I was thinking about doing the same, I was stubborn at the same time. I wanted to see what the doctor would do about him. The doctor wore his glove and has pressed his fingers against the patient’s tongue. The tongue was also swollen. And he asked “Sakit tak?” . Urghh … I was retaliating for the man. Of course he is in pain! (Tapi, dalam hati je la .. haha). The man can only signal his ‘yes’ or ‘no’ through gestures because he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t close his mouth. The doctor said that his mouth and throat were infected. I took the courage to ask the doctor why he pressed the patient’s tongue. He justified that, it is a must for the doctor to know which spot is actually in pain. I couldn’t look at the patient any longer. The three of us decided not to become a doctor there and then. And now Dee is a legal exec for DiGi and Olie is an engineer. And me, even though I did score my biology paper, no, I don't have the guts to pursue my studies in medical field because I know I can’t stand looking at swelling skin, bruises, wounds, and etc. I thanked God for opening my eyes before I made the wrong decision (wondering what will happen if I did? stopped halfway? hmm ..). And my bestfriend whose SPM results was not a single unit aggregates (too many health issues back then), managed to become a doctor because she is passionate about medical field since she was in secondary school. And, she worked really hard to make it happen. That is what I call determination and I salute her for that. Because of her passion for this career, I strongly believe that she will be a good doctor. Friends , including me..hehe, turned to her whenever we have health-related problems.

There’s also a story of a friend who wants to be a doctor but was made to study engineering by his parents because of the scholarship. Yes, when it comes to financial matter, anything can happen. I understand the parents’ concern because the scholarship really means a lot, a guaranteed all-paid-for engineering course plus an almost ‘guaranteed job’ as well. But, even though scoring a lot of As in SPM, he couldn’t excel because he is not interested. He didn’t flop though, but he is not excellent.

Another friend pursued her studies in engineering for two years before she decided to quit and enroll to another university in animation course. And, yes, she excel in this new course because she loves it. She managed to get part-time job even before graduating because her animation works are superb. And she graduated with a starting salary twice as much as an engineer’s starting salary. Kudos to my housemate JJ.

And here’s a link to my uni-mate who has become a millionaire http://blog.saifulnang.net/?p=651. So, students.. go figure what are your interests and what are you passionate about. When you do something that you’re interested in, you won’t get bored doing it and insyaAllah, you will certainly excel at it.

A new experience in motherhood

After being a mother for five years, I had to face this new experience which was indeed stressful physically and mentally. Neither Syazwan nor Aisyah had been admitted to a ward before. But, after being feverish for three days, Syazwan became lethargic. He was so weak because of dehydration (he was vomitting and defecate watery faeces) . I have no choice but to send him to the nearest ER. The doctor found that he need to be dripped with intravenous fluid to replace the loss of water in his body. When the doctor injected him, he didn't let out a cry or even frowned. Maybe he was too weak to respond to the pain. He was admitted to the ward diagnosed with A.G.E (I found later from the internet that it is acute gastroenteritis).

After a few hours lying there, he became furious. He usually sleeps at 1 pm and wake up at 4 pm. But today, he couldn't. He felt uneasy with the drip and the heat ( it was so hot in that ward). I felt so sorry for not being able to do anything. Eventhough he's covered with insurance to be at a private centre, the nearest one is too far for me to drive alone. So, there I was, accompanying a fussy child in an uncomfortable surroundings. Takde rezeki namanya.

The next day, he stopped vomitting. So, the doctor discontinued his intravenous fluids. As a result, he wanted to drink his milk once again, and water intake has increased tremendously. So, being very confident with his progress, I asked to be discharged from the hospital. He is still weak though, but, I thought if he is more comfortable, he will have speedy recovery. That's why I took him home.

Then, after consulting a paed (luckily, there's one here in Banting), he agreed that Syazwan has progressed miraculously and there's no need to be hospitalized (that's only after two bottles of intravenous fluids). But, I still have to ensure that he took plenty of fluids because he still have watery diarrhea. And, I am so thankful to Allah for that. There are children younger than Syazwan who have spent almost two weeks in the ward because of AGE. I'm so thankful that it didn't happen to my Syazwan. Alhamdulillah.

Teacher's Domain

I just found this website and feels like sharing it with my fellow friends... (sharing is caring, rite?). This website, http://www.teachersdomain.org/ , is very useful and helpful for us teachers. There are a lot of teaching aids/BBM especially in Science and Maths. But, to download the videos or flash files, you need to register first. And, the registration is free. So, folks ...come and join this community. I've just downloaded a video which is very informative and interesting on Physics' Force and Motion topic. And, trust me. I've searched and googled elsewhere, and that kind of video is hardly available even on YouTube. So... go figure!!

Jakarta

This is a long due post on my Jakarta trip. In overall, Jakarta is a shopping heaven for me. Went to Tanah Abang Blok A twice, and Mangga Dua ITC once. We can only visit one place a day because the kids 'udah capek'. While the mommies were on a shopping spree (me and mak itam), the kids were bored to death. I was lucky that I manage to distract Aisyah with Nintendo DS. But, Syazwan? Hmmm... the only thing that will keep him quiet are 'sweets'! Habis rosak gigi dia dek penangan mentos.
Some of the things that we hunt in Tanah Abang were telekungs, lace (very cheap.. you can even get 40k rupiah per meter ..and that's rm12), embroidered cloth for baju kurung/kebaya and japanese cotton. Blok A of Tanah Abang consists of 13 floors and we only manage to cover only 2 floors in two days, that is B1 and B2. TA really turned me crazy. It is one of the biggest pusat grosir in Jakarta. Grosir means wholesale. So, they'll give you grosir price if you buy in bulk. Most of them put a minimum of three purchase to give you a wholesale price.

If it wasn't because I'm running out of cash, maybe I would stay there longer regardless of how tired I was. Things are very cheap.. one of the reason is because their Rupiah is getting weaker against RM. I was thinking of a business opportunity when I was in Jakarta (seeing how cheap the cloth are), but, since my weight limit for AA flight is only 45kgs, the idea was put on hold.

But, when I re-read about Jakarta, Blok A, is still considered pricey than Blok F. Oh?? Where's Blok F? Behind Blok A. There's also Metro Tanah Abang. Oh my! I couldn't even cover Blok A after being there for two days..so, how am I going to cover Blok F and Metro? And Pasar Tasik in Blok F? Does it mean that I have to go there again? Haha ... I loiiikee!!

Then, on the third day, we went to Mangga Dua ITC. Bought two gowns for Aisyah and paid rm50 for them (so, RM25 each). I believe that it is very cheap, cheaper than the ones that we bought in HCMC. Then, found a textile shop in Mangga Dua that made me crazy because the Japanese Cotton that we found there is half the price of Japanese Cotton that I bought in Tanah Abang. Maybe at that time, we were to tired to bargain in Tanah Abang. So, the keyword is..bargain! When you were called "Bunda...belanja bunda" ... try your best to get the best bargain, by asking around first. But, if you're aiming to buy at a certain shop, please request for their namecard. It is very easy to get lost there. the place is huge and crowded, especially in Tanah Abang.

Mangga Dua ITC

Japanese cotton, Katun Paris and batiks

Now, it's time for kids to have fun. I'm done on my part (shopping le..;))

Oh Bandung!

This one week of CNY holiday is a true blessing to me. Alhamdulillah. I was in dire need of a holiday .. and here comes CNY holiday, and the best part is.. I was able to spend it with my husband in Indonesia. ;)

I wasn't able to do a lot of homework about Indonesia because I was bogged down with work. And, because of that, we also ends up with a quite expensive hotel package in Bandung because most of the hotels in Bandung are fully booked. It is a long weekend (2 days plus 1 day for CNY), so, many Jakartans also fled to Bandung untuk berlibur .. lantas, macet banget jadinya Bandung.
Walaupun macet (maksudnya traffic jam) , walaupun ramai org here and there, I still love Bandung, especially the food and the ambience. Actually, if you plan it carefully, you can get a very cheap package plus cheap flights (including those of KLM or MAS with 20kg luggage limit and seat numbers were given. I have to book for Express Boarding most of the time because I'm travelling with my kids. So, there are extra bucks spent there).

Eventho Bandung is so famous for its lots and lots of factory Outlets, we are not so keen to venture into the outlets because of the following reasons:- too many people, nothing much of my size (hihi), we've already stock up on our kids' garments, and things seem pretty much the same. Urgh..enough ramblings. I'm gonna share my Bandung-Jakarta experience, so it might be helpful to some people out there.

Itenary
Day 1
- Using the tips from Forum Cari and friends, we ride Argo Gede Eksekutif coach fr. Jakarta to Bandung. It costs us only 45k rupiah (RM30) to and fro. Very cheap and you can avoid the macet. Departs from Stasion Gambir at 9.30 am.

- Arrive at 1.00 pm in Bandung. Check-in Papandayan.

- Mkn di Dapur Sangkuriang, located off Jalan Setia Budi. Spent approx. 50 ringgit for sup ikan gurame, ayam masak asam manis, ikan goreng, and sayur campur, Jus alpokat, air kelapa n air buah campur (That is 3 adults and two kids eating!). Very nice ambience with tasty food at a very cheap price. Puas hati banget! None of us has ever been to Bandung, and our only guidance is .. it is located nearby Jalan Setiabudi. And, luckily, the taxi driver manage to find it for us. So, even if this is your first time here, a supir won't be that necessary for the first half day spent in Bandung.

-Walk (yes! walk... even my kids can walk because it is very near) to the nearby Donatello Shoes house, Natural FO and the infamous Rumah Mode FO (pronounced as MO THE). There're too many people in Rumah Mode, and it was raining, so we're stucked there. When we manage to get out of Mode, there was no Taxi and it seems that it might start raining once again. So, we hopped on Angkutan Kota, which looks like a van with bench-like seats (renovated to carry a lot of people, I guess). It costs only 2000 rupiah per pax (so, times 3 adults = 6000 rupiah or rm2).

- Next, we went Grande FO di Jln Dago. There are arrays of FO in Jalan Dago. We end up having dinner at Grande's cafe. And, the old saying is true. Don't judge a book by it's cover. It seems pretty dull with only 2 people sitting there. But it turns out to be bes banget. We had 1 nasi ayam bkr, 1 nasi goreng special, 1 serving of pisang keju (that is only 1 banana), batagor (BAso TAuhu GOReng), 4 glasses of juices, plus tapau 2 nasik goreng n 1 coke - the total is 86k rupiah or lebih kurang m30. Murah tapi sedap wooo. Jus strawberi yg pekat dan sedap dia baru 7k rupiah , which is only rm2.30. Sedap sgt. Batagor nya sedap, and Pisang Keju is very yummy!! The banana is fried with sugar (I guess), and it had a topping of shredded cheese and chocolate. Served hot and it is so delicious! Menyesal giler tak repeat makan dekat situ. I didn't find the same Pisang Keju in Jakarta. :(

Day 2
-Bergerak ke Tangkuban perahu with our supir, Pak Kiki. 8.15 am from Papandayan and arrived at approx. 9.30am. Agak macet. Rate for supir+avanza+gas+parkir for 8 hours is 450k rupiah. (Avanza is actually reserved for 12 hours, so, if you need extra hours for Pak Supir, just pay some additional charges). Mount Tangkuban Perahu has the volcanic craters..and one of them is Kawah Ratu. You can smell the sulphurous steam released from the crater.

Hammocks, anyone?

- Sightseeing and by 10.30, we left Tangkuban Perahu.
- Arrive at kg. Daun for lunch. Very unique eating experience. Mkn bersila sambil menikmati scenery waterfall. Spent rm100 for 5 pax.
- Went to Pasar Baru (I try not to buy anything here because I knew that I will spend more days to visit Tanah Abang in Jakarta, which is suppose to offer more discounted prices), Heritage FO, Terminal Tas (lotsa bags, but I didn't even go in because of time constraint), Kartika Sari (they're famous for Pisang Bolen and Brownies Kukus. I didn't expect such a huge crowd for a bakery. Bought both Bronies Kukus and Pisang Bolen. Enak!!!) and Grande FO. Bought only 1 box of Brownies Kukus and the kids finished them up in Jakarta. I thought I could find Kartika Sari in jakarta... but to no avail. Sedihnyaa.. Hanya di Bandung ma!

- Lastly, we dined at Sierra Cafe . Very nice scenery, overlooking bandung at night (it is located at a hillside, overlooking a valley). Spent rm100 for 5 pax. Food is not as good as those we have tried before. I had Indonesian food - Nasi Ayam Betutu and it is below expectation for a cafe with a very exclusive look. However, it is still considered very cheap as compared to KL. But, Aisyah whom ordered Chicken Steak (Chicken Chop here) is very satisfied. I guess they're good with western food.

Day 3
- Aisyah is feverish because of yesterday's rain. So, papa volunteered to stay with her in our hotel room. Another reason is he is tired of the whole affair. So, the three of us (Mak Itam, Me and Wawan) went to Cihampelas, a road famous for jeans. I didn't find any jeans for me, but i saw cheap cotton bandung tshirts costs only 15k rupiah each. It is much cheaper than pasar baru, bcoz for XL size, Pasar Baru's price is 25k. So, apalagi.. beli la! Then, Mak Itam bought Brownies Kukus Amanda (this is also a famous brand in Bandung), which is very delicious and cheap. I couldn't concentrate on shopping because Syazwan was hooked to Ultraman's gigantic replica. In Cihampelas here .. or Ciwalk .. there are a lot of Cartoon Replicas.

- Then, by 2.30 pm, we hopped on Argo Gede to Jakarta. The view is marvellous. Let the pictures do the talking. Enough said about Bandung. I'll continue some other time on Jakarta.

Chaotic January

Life seems pretty chaotic for me these days. 26 periods of a whole new syllabus of everything except for ICTL. And loads of other sidekicks of being a teacher. So, my conclusion is.. no blog, nor embroidery, no bla bla bla .. until I adapt myself to this new challenges of 2009. And .. when will it be? Who knows?

Moving On

It's about time that I move all my posts tagged as personal into another blog. When I went back to Kelantan.. it seems that my cousins and my sis did read my blog too. So, I'm assuming that they would expect more from me. But, my mistake is, I have this blog's URL published in the school's website. My bad .. haha. So, it would be inappropriate to discuss personal matters on something declared as official, rite?

Luckily... there's an 'IMPORT BLOG" and 'EXPORT BLOG' option in blogger. So, I am able to maintain all my old posts under a new domain. So, for CAPITT ONLINE ... i will maintain this one as my official blog (and does that means formal?? Erkk!!), and the new blog for my personal ramblings.

So.. what will I write in an official blog? Hmmmm...

Bullion rose vs Bead flower

Once upon a time (well... last few months I guess..) I'm so in love with gardening. Now, I have come to another phase of obsession, or craze ... bullion roses. What are bullion roses? How do I grow them? Haha... it's totally off topic from gardening. It's embroidery. Malay call it 'bunga tahi ulat'. My MIL has learned on how to embroider it a long time ago. It was a trend in yesteryear and now it has made a comeback. So, taking some guide from my MIL and the internet (http://www.needlenthread.com/ and http://cheq-sue.com/blog/2008/11/30/teknik-sulaman-benang/), I have started it... and I have fun doing it. This is another way of refurbishing my old tudungs. So, here goes my first attempt ...

Beading on the other hand.. is progressing slowly. Because, I have a hard time to keep it neat. Hmm... so, the easiest solution is, have it made by Kak Z, whose work is extremely neat and creative. Seriously.. I really adores her work. ;)

Photoshoot & Photoshop

I'm being 'darat' today.. a.k.a 'jakun', or some people say 'peghak'. I just realised that there is a digital macro function in our digital camera. So, today's activity with aisyah is .. shoot some flowers or bugs around our house, and I photoshop them afterwards for more professional-like pics. Well.... not-so professional yet. But, I'm proud with my works, and so do Aisyah ..

The orchids from the pics above and below are from the same plant, but different phase I suppose. It first blooms as a red flower, then, changed to orange (the above colour) ..and soon, turn out to be yellow.

This ladybird is on a Kangkung leaf. I didn't photoshop this one.

This is Honey Dew's flower.

____________________________________

And the following are Aisyah's work.

And here's the photographer of the day

Itadakimasu

Wondering what does it mean by 'Itadakimasu'? Hehe.. it means, let's eat in japanese. We went to Jusco yesterday, and hubby insists to buy sushi starter kit. I believe that I might find the necessary s0-called guide to sushi making in the net, so I agreed with his idea on having our own home made sushi. But, the guide that I got is better than what I'm asking for. The starter kit comes together with a "Fun With Sushi" DVD. Haha, we never realised that until we reached home. And trust me, sushi making is simple and fun. So, without wasting time ... here goes my first sushi project.

And, how does it taste, you say? Japanese would say .. ""GOCHISOOSAMA" (and that means yummy!!! haha).

1 Elit - Class of 2008

Should old acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind ?Should
old acquaintance be forgot,and old lang syne ?

For auld lang
syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Enjoy the pics ... ;). I'm wishing you all the best for your future undertaking.

Tinggal memori ...
Ya ampunn.. sapa la jadik cameraman ni?

Kontrol hensem

Year-end Teacher's Meeting

Our year-end Teacher's Meeting this year was held on Saturday, and this time around, we already got our next year's timetable. I was quite relieved when I found out that my timetable is only 26 periods per week, far lesser than this year's 30 periods per week timetable. Alhamdulillah. Most of the afternoon teachers are grateful for this. 30 periods per week are killing us. Well... killing me..hehe. The difference of 4 periods is translated to 2 hours, or, roughly, one free period per day. And that means a lot. Thank you ....

On another note, I was quite impressed with all the powerpoint presentation by the administrators. It shows that our admins are very good with ICT. Bravo!! (clap3x). SMKTPG Boleh!

And.. the quote of the day is .."Apa yang penting?? KERJASAMA"... Waaa...Wonderpets manage to capture our hearts, regardless of our age. Haha.

Last but not least, I am so impressed with Bangladesh Proverbs highlighted by K. Rahimah, PK Koko , which is as follows :-

"Hanya pokok mangga yang berbuah sahaja yang menerima kayu dan batu"

Isn't that brilliant?

Tips to travellers

I have been wanting to share this idea for months .. but, most of the time, I forget about it. However, since the school holidays are approaching, I believe that there are a few friends out there who might travel abroad (there's one teacher friend who flew to Paris today..). So, here's a tip on how to make an easy currency converter table like this. (This is actually my MIL's idea). This is especially helpful if you really want to go to the foreign country to shop.




1. Open a blank MS Excel worksheet
2. Type in the title of your table and it's respective column's name (i.e: RM, VND)
3. Type in the value of RM that you want to convert to .. say, RM 1, 3, 5, 10 ..etc in cloumn RM (or column A in the above example)
4. Go to www.oanda.com to get the currency exchange rate. But, bear in mind, sometimes the rates stated in Oanda can be higher than the actual rate. Like last week, my auntie went to Indonesia and she got Rp3,600 for RM1. But, in Oanda, it states RM1 equals to Rp2,800 only. This is because it uses RM to USD first, then, USD to Rp.
5. When you got the rate, let say, for my RM to VND table , RM1 = VND 5152. So, type in both values first in cell 'A4' and 'B4'.
6. Then, in cell 'B5' , type in this formula '=A5*$B$4' . Then, you just have to drag down the formula to the rest of the Rows to get the value for other RM values as well. The '$' sign is to ensure that it always sticks to that particular cell, which is B4, the rate of conversion.

Then, do print it and make sure the size fits your wallet. By doing so, you won't be frowning over the unfamiliar price tags in front of you. It helps me a lot, so, I hope that it will help you too! ;)

English Must Stay

If you're captivated by the above title, then I would like to suggest you to click HERE. It was an open letter from Datin Freida Datuk Mohd Pilus, the chairman of Cempaka private schools, which was published on The Star yesterday (26/10/08).

Still on PPSMI

Posting kali ini akan ditulis di dalam bahasa melayu semata-mata kerana kali ini saya akan menulis sebagai seorang anak jati melayu yang sayangkan bangsanya, tidak ingin melihat bangsanya hanyut di arus globalisasi, mahupun tumbang di buminya sendiri.

Terkejut tatkala dihulurkan majalah Pendidik oleh PK1, Tn Hj Jumiran. Banyak mengupas isu PPSMI katanya. Oh… ada pembaca rupanya blog saya yang tak seberapa ini. ;)

Setelah membelek-belek majalah yang sarat dengan pelbagai hujah untuk tidak meneruskan PPSMI, saya tetap tidak berganjak dengan hujah saya agar janganlah PPSMI dimansuhkan. Sebab utama saya adalah, untuk ‘survival melayu’ itu sendiri. Maaf sekiranya posting kali ini berbaur agak perkauman, tapi, saya tidak boleh menidakkan kemelayuan saya. Justeru, saya harus memberi pandangan sekiranya saya rasa sesuatu perkara itu memberi kesan kepada bangsa saya.

PPSMI menyediakan pelajar untuk bersaing dalam arus globalisasi dikatakan sebagai hujah rapuh kerana banyak lagi negara yang tidak mengamalkan PPSMI berjaya berdiri sebagai sebuah negara maju. Betul, banyak negara maju tanpa PPSMI dan contoh yang diberi adalah Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Jerman, Perancis, China, Jepun, Korea, Luxemborg, Itali, Belgium, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Sepanyol dan Rusia. Soalan saya adalah, apakah kelebihan negara-negara maju yang disebutkan itu berbanding Malaysia? Banyak antara mereka sudah mempunyai teknologi yang diiktiraf dunia, dipasarkan keseluruh dunia. Contohnya, Finland (Nokia) , Sweden (Ericsson), Denmark(Lego, Carlsberg), Jerman (Daimler, Volkswagen, Allianze, Siemens,etc) , Perancis (Negara besar yg pernah menjadi penjajah, Alcatel) , China (Hwa Wei, ), Jepun (Sony, Nintendo, Honda, Nissan, etc), Korea (Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo,etc), Switzerland (Swiss watches,), Portugal, Sepanyol (Negara besar yg pernah menjadi penjajah), dan Rusia (teknologi Aerospace, military equipments, Sukhoi). Jadi, wajarkah Malaysia dibandingkan dengan negara-negara ini yang GDPnya antara yang tertinggi di dunia? Mereka sudah established. Malaysia baru mengecap 51 tahun kemerdekaannya dan masih digolongkan dalam developing country, bukan developed country. Jadi, arus globalisasi yang mengenai negara kita 'lebih bergelora dan mencabar' berbanding dgn negara mereka.

Soalan kedua…..Adakah mereka multi-racial country seperti negara kita? Bangsa melayu berada di dalam ‘comfort zone’ apabila semuanya diajar didalam Bahasa Melayu. Padahalnya, etnik lain seperti orang cina dan India perlua mempelajari sekurang-kurangnya 2 bahasa untuk survive di Malaysia, iaitu bahasa cina & melayu, atau bahasa tamil dan melayu. Itupun, ramai di kalangan bangsa cina dan India di bandar sangat menguasai bahasa inggeris kerana bahasa itu juga turut dijadikan bahasa perantaraan di rumah mereka. And, let me remind you, berapa ramaikah bangsa cina yang menetap di Bandar jika dibandingkan dengan bangsa melayu? Natijah daripada kepenjajahan British yang telah mengamalkan dasar Pecah & Perintah menyebabkan pengasingan kependudukan orang melayu di kampung2 dan orang cina di Bandar-bandar. Jadi, persoalannya, siapakah yang tidak menguasai bahasa inggeris sekarang? Orang kampong bukan? Siapa yang mendominasi populasi di kampong? Orang Melayu, bukan? Jadi, orang melayu seharusnya berterima kasih apabila PPSMI dilaksanakan, kerana sekurang-kurangnya guru-guru, pelajar dan ibubapa mula sedar mengenai kepentingan Bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa teknologi. Kalau tidak masakan tadika2 yang menjadikan bahasa inggeris sebagai medium utama menjadi rebutan kepada golongan ibubapa seperti Smart Reader’s Kids, C.E.C, Montessori-based kindergartens, hatta Tadika EEman di Taman Seri Telok Datok sekalipun? Bila tidak dipaksa pembelajaran Sains & Matematik didlm BI, org-org kita menjadi lalai. Selesa dalam comfort zone tersendiri sehingga menafikan yang terdapatnya competition among the races to survive in this developing country of ours. Sebagai anak jati melayu, saya tahu, saya juga harus mempertahankan keunggulan bahasa ibunda saya. Tetapi, bercakap diatas dasar anak jati melayu juga.. saya tidak mahu melihat generasi melayu akan datang dipinggirkan di bumi sendiri kerana tidak fasih berbahasa Inggeris. GLC-GLC seperti TM, Petronas, TNB dll juga memerlukan eksekutif2 yang mampu berbahasa Inggeris, apatah lagi syarikat Multinasional yg beroperasi di dalam negara seperti Shell, ExxonMobil, Ericsson, Alcatel, Nokia, Dell, HSBC, dll? Kerajaan juga senantiasa menguji bahasa inggeris semasa menemuduga pegawai2 kerajaan. Jadi, tidakkah akan terpinggir org-org melayu yang tidak mahir berbahasa inggeris?

Ada cadangan supaya silibus BI dikaji apabila mempelajari BI selama 11 tahunpun, tidak mampu meningkatkan penguasaan BI. Memang betul, kerana, penguasaan bahasa melibatkan penggunaan bahasa tersebut, samada secara oral atau menulis. Pada pendapat saya, apabila sesuatu bahasa diajar dalam matapelajaran tersebut sahaja, ianya tidak holistic. Ia berhenti di dalam kelas itu sahaja. Oleh itu, apabila PPSMI diadakan, sekurang-kurangnya, lebih ‘bahasa inggeris’ di terima oleh pelajar. Sekurang-kurangnya, mereka lebih terbiasa dengan bahasa tersebut. Dek kerana penangan PPSMI jugalah, ramai ibubapa yang mula risau dengan tahap penguasaan BI anak2. Bukankah itu satu perkembangan yang positif?

Pada pendapat saya, adalah terlalu awal untuk melihat keberkesanan PPSMI. Mungkin kerajaan boleh memanjangkan tempoh percubaannya, kerana, tempoh pelaksanaan PPSMI belum pun matang. But then again, this is only my two cents worth. Karangan saya yang panjang ini mungkin tidak memberi kesan langsung kepada keputusan kerajaan. Tapi, tak salah mencuba untuk didengar menerusi blog dizaman ICT ini, bukan? MAKE YOURSELF HEARD. That’s the point.

PPSMI 'membunuh' Bahasa Melayu??

That is a title of a letter in readers' column (Berita Harian, yesterday's issue). Do you think so? From my humble opinion, PPSMI does not kill Bahasa Melayu, nor B. Cina or B.Tamil. It is inline with globalisation. English is the main language spoken across the globe. We have to be fluent in English to compete with other nation. If we don't expose the students to English in Science n Maths, will they be able to withstand the challenges of globalisation?

Yes, it's true that Japan and Korea don't need English in establishing their countries as the developed countries. But, they are way ahead of us. They built their own technology. We, on the other hand, still depend a lot on foreign countries. Like in Telecommunication industry, the local players like Celcom, Maxis and DiGi need people who can converse in English because all the technologies used are from overseas. The vendors like Ericsson (Sweden), Nokia(Finland), Motorola(US), Lucent(US), Hwa Wei(China), etc, are from foreign countries, so the medium of communication is English. That is an example in engineering industry. In medic, does they teach medical courses in BM? Hmm.. I don't think so. What about IT? I teach ICTL form one and the syllabus is in English because the language used in Microsoft Office and Windows operating system is English. So, need I say more about English being the language of technology?

I have faced the hardship of not being able to speak english fluently, so, I will not let it happen to my kids as well. I still remember my former boss who resist to send his child to a Gred A boarding school because he was afraid that his child won't be able to be good in English. He believes that if his daughter sticks with her normal SMK, she will mix around with other races, hence converse in English better. For him, staying in boarding school with huge population of malay students will weaken his daughter's eagerness to speak in English. And, let me remind you that my former boss graduated from the States. So, maybe (I'm assuming here .. hehe) he faced the difficulties in his tertiary level studies because of English.

Jangan risau. We will remember our roots.Siapa yang akan lupa usul-asal mereka? As for me, I will never forget my roots. I'm always ready to kecek kelate whenever feasible. Saya cuma beriya-iya menulis di dalam bahasa inggeris kerana saya ingin memperbaiki kelemahan bahasa inggeris saya. Bukan menidakkan keindahan dan kepentingan Bahasa Melayu. Di peringkat PMR pun, bukan BM dilupakan terus. Hanya 3 daripada 8 subjek teras diajar dlm BI, iaitu Science, Maths & English. Terkilan rasanya bila ramai yang ingin PPSMI dihentikan. Tidak dinafikan, memang susah mempelajari Sains & Matematik dalam BI. Tetapi, kalau tidak bersusah-susah sekarang, macam mana nak bersenang-senang kemudian? Org jepun pun dah mula mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris. Profesor lama saya, Ryoichi Komiya, sudah berumur lebih 50 tahun, tetapi masih mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris kerana ingin diterima diperingkat global, bukan sekadar di Jepun sahaja. Jadi, adakah kita wajar mengorbankan pelaburan berjuta ringgit (i believe so :- textbooks, laptops, LCDs, coursewares) yang telah dibelanjakan untuk mengendalikan PPSMI kerana menganggap susahnya belajar dlm bahasa inggeris, ataupun kerana menganggap PPSMI membunuh bahasa ibunda, Bahasa Melayu? Think again. Di zaman kolonial inggeris pun, ramai nenek2 dan mak2 kita yang belajar di English Medium Schools, and they survived. Most of them holds various positions in private or government sectors. Masa tu lagi laa.. mana ada cybercafe, astro, loads of books? TV pun hardly seen in their house. Boleh jer survive. Tak hilang melayunya pun. However, this is only my 2 cents worth. So, what say you?

Facebook promo ...

The old saying says ‘procrastination is the thief of time’. Hmm.. that is true. But, what happens in my own little small world today is .. internet is the thief of time. Really? Yes, really, really. I think that I’ve been spending too much time on the computer. No wonder our electricity bills are always 'high'. One reason is, I need to use Skype to communicate with my dearest hubby. Secondly, I have a blog and fotopage to update. Thirdly, I sometimes need to attend to our school’s Joomla-based portal. Fourthly, I love to read Forum Cari, be it on the Current Issues thread, Gossips, or Home and Gardening thread. Next, I love to shop online. Currently, since hubby is in the states, I should have utilise ebay rite? Then, now.. comes facebook. Ohhh.. this is really a thief of time. I don’t have much time to gather with my friends, especially when I changed job. In my previous job, some of my friends are my uni coursemates, and I even have a friend who has been in the same boat with me since we were in Form One. So, we always manage to share stories about our friends from time to time. But now, I lost track on everyone unless I called my friends, texted them through YM or email them. With facebook, getting connected is so much fun. I never thought that I would be able to communicate with my long-lost highschool friends through facebook. I always feel that I’m too old for myspace and friendster. But facebook .. I love it. You should try it too! :)

Hatiku berbunga ...

Flowers are blooming everywhere. Wohooo... besnyer. I love looking at those flowers. I have been ignoring them since Raya, but, today ... as I was walking to open the gate, I saw a lot of flowers. Lotsa them, in variety of colours. Yeehaa!!






But.. One of the Japanese Rose plant has been attacked by bug. Bena putih bug. I put it in isolation, far from others, and sprayed it with Ridsect H2O. I'm not sure whether it will survive or not. Let's hope that it will. Sob3x...




Sedutan ... gambar dibawah menunjukkan kakak memaksa adik berposing di pagi raya.