A plantation Child

Enjoy:

A Plantation Child

Mist greeted her every morn when she woke
to the crowing of roosters ushering in a new day
A sleepy-eyed child became awake
beholding her mother’s face, fey, her hair grey.

Tenderly, step by step, they tottered through the twilight
Towards a small wash-house, dimly-lit by a single 40 watt bulb
Lovingly she prepared her child to greet a new day that await
Her gentle maiden, her life and soul, her golden cherub.

Garbed in her blue checkered baju kurung, her eyes gleaming,
Two red-ribbonned pony tails, a dab of talc, and time ticked on fast.
Later, humming to herself, she sat on a stool patiently waiting
on her mother as she went about preparing their morning repast.

The obedient old Honda waited to transport her with speed
Her Abah, a fine salt and pepper of a man, was her chauffeur
Onward Ho! The Prim Princess rode on her trustworthy steed
The wind ruffled her hair and in her wake the scent of flower.

Her chariot dropped her off in the shade of a bower
Her lithe little feet bounced her up to her daycare
He eyed her meandering her way up to her white tower
His was a silent prayer - may she prosper – may she be fair.

Up in her tower the little girl looked around, in time
To see her father remount his faithful old Honda.
Fare thee well Abah, a hero, unsung, past his prime
His essence however, for her a supreme grandeur

There was that permanent smell all about her: That pungent smell
of dried latex that refused to wash off all that the village could contrive
She didn't mind, not in the least; for she associated with that aroma well
It was the scent of well-being; the fragrance of hope; the bouquet of life.


Lambert
16/04/2015

Thank God There is someone who remembers Sejarah and its implications

I copied this from a friend's FB entry (TQ Che Noe) who shared this writer's FB post:



Bila orang CINA yang FAHAM menulis....



Tai Zee Kin



Reposting an Old Blog of mine. suddenly just felt like doing so


Bumputra, for the non-Bumiputra


when the constitution was drafted, all malayan thought that was the best compromise. The chinese and indian immigrants were only there for at most 2 generations (excluding the minority peranakan (chinese) or Chitty Peranakan (indian) who stayed since 1400s).

first i invite you to imagine this scenario. Imagine in 8 years time, the second generations of the 6-8 millions bangladeshis, Indonesians, and Nepalese, started to demand for citizenship, citing that they are born bred in malaysia, speaks BETTER MALAY than many of the malaysians, and live the lifestyle of a Malaysian.

my first question is, in what way would you grant MASS citizenship to them?
my grandmother told me, the situation back then was the same. She was a MCA member back then since Tan Cheng Lock. The chinese has No where to cling to. China was in war with Japan and Communist practiced Close door policy. Taiwanese regarded malaysian chinese as “HUA QIAO”, and technically labelled us as if we have perpetually migrated away, like those in US or European chinese
.
with that in mind, the only way to settle, was to ASK the then government, british, for mass citizenship, citing contributions to the development to then Malaya/Federation of malay land, and swearing loyalty. HOWEVER, the native (concept of native was very simple back then, either you are a Nusantarian (from nusantara), or you are NOT nusantarian.

the british were Prepared to Grant mass citizenship to these Chinese people through the Malayan Union Charter, which was intended to make all three : straits settlements (penang melaka singapore), Federated malay states, and non federated malay states, into CROWN COLONIES.

UMNO was then formed to rally the nusantarians (malay) to oppose the Malayan Union charter. Like it or not, they are NOT prepared to allow the british colonial master to GRANT mass citizenship to the then Immigrants who doesn’t intergrate/assimilate into their culture. (i use their, because the racial line back then was VERY clear. no chinese speaks malay!)

British have to succumb to the pressure of UMNO. so were the Chinese. and Tunku was then tasked to find out a grand compromise between the Malays/nusantarians and the Immigrant chinese/indians.

the grand compromise, that convinced the then local Malays, to accord these 1st and second generation chinese immigrants MASS citizneship, was that their need to be treated “special”, hence the Reid Commission’s drafting of “special position” in educaiton and economic sectors.

the Chinese back then agreed to it.

my father asked me, when then, this notion and consequences from the grand compromise ends?

I reckoned that the MAIN premise that causes the grand compromise for mass citizenship, is because of the maintainence of “chineseness” of our grandparents. they started chinese school, insist on communicating in the chinese language, live the life style of chinese. technically, building another chinese state/province outside china. teaching the values of chinese, reading books from china (pre-cultural revolution) etc. there is no sense of integration whatsoever. This “MAIN PREMISE” attracts retaliation, which is the “SECONDARY PREMISE” of bumiputra-hood.

if you study the concept of bumiputra carefully, you would have realised it’s not sooo much on “protecting the interest of natives”. the ideology and philosophy of bumiputra concept entails two big aspect.

The first aspect is to curb the “chineseness”. Chinese merchants back then, were close to the british rulers. you have peranakans who wear Kerongsang bearing Queen Victoria’s image. you also have chinese chambers of commerce who have british patrons. it shows that apart of foreign control of our economy (Professor Shamsul Amri said, almost 50-60%), the CHinese controlled almost 70% of whats left.

technically speaking, the native Nusantarians has no economic power at all. They were of the view, that if these minority immigrants, after holding such immence economical power, attempts to seize political power, would crush their existence. you can’t blame them for having that thoughts. it’s a sentiment that is common almost among absolute majority of them. that’s where they need extra assurance if they were to agree to grant mass citizenship.

The second aspect, is the “emotional” insecurity of the existence of large population of “chinese immigrants” and “indian immigrants”. There is fear of these two large immigrants group (back then), who REFUSE to integrate/assimilate (i know it’s a harsh word to use, but that was exactly the reason), would unite against the native nusantarians (mostly malays) and kill of their religion and culture. This emotion actual DETERS the nusantarians back then to even AGREE on granting mass citizenship to the 1st and 2nd generation of Immigrants.

with these two aspects in mind, the then leader Tunku, will have to find out a way to move forward. he can either refuse chinese and indian’s mass citizenship request, forcing them to either leaving malayan in stage, or he can find a grand compromise between both.

he then, adviced the Reid Commission, to draft the BIGGEST contract ever between the Nusantarians and 1st/2nd generation Immigrants, which is known as article 153 of the Federal COnsituttion.

With the Introduction of Article 153 in the Federal Constitution, the Nusantarians decided that they can do away with both aspect of fearing the intrusion of “chineseness” and “insecurity sentiment” in economical and educational aspect. because their position of NOT being affected by chineseness, and NOT being economically compromised, is protected in the constiution.

Our grand/great grand parents, who were first and second generation immigrants, too, were happy with this grand compromise, in exchange for Mass citizenship.
It’s almost impossible, for a country with native people that shares common/ or near common lifestyle, to grant MASS citizneship to 1st/2nd generation immigrant groups who DOES NOT shares their lifesytle/near common lifestyle. Chinese and INdian refuse to integrate and refuse to assimilate, but are demanding citizenship. The Nusantarian natives of course were against it and they have the numbers to say NO.
CHinese and indian 1st & 2nd generation immigrant then realise it’s “WORTH” entering into such contract, knowing that they have no where else to go.

The second best scenario, would be to stay as permanent residents, and NOT being able to gain full citizenship by the native nusantarians. NOT GOOD ENOUGH! they said. they wanted citizenship!

If you bear this historical facts in mind, you can then apply to my first case scenario.
you try to imagine, the second/third generation of bangladeshis and nepaliese and indonesians, who make up of 6-9 millions of malaysian population, is demanding the rights of a citizen in malaysia. that includes benefits, fundings, education, healthcares, and also RIGHT TO VOTE.

they claimed that they have been paying TAX, contributed to the country, and helped the economic (which is true, look at all the construction workers who put our country into pieces).

they also claimed that they are born bred in malaysia and they want MASS citizneship (not individual application, but MASS granting of 6-9 million citizenship).

WHAT DOES IT TAKE, FOR YOU TO GRANT THEM MASS CITIZNESHIP OF 9000000 CITIZENS TO THEM?

the Nusantarians were satisfied to grant mass citzienship, as long as they have guarenteed position in educaiton economics whatnot as per Article 153.

how about you?
put it back into this situation.

TO answer my fathers question, when is this BUMIPUTRA’s concept going to end?
I told him, as long as the aspect of “CHINESENESS” and “INSECURITY” no longer haunts the Nusantarians.

Till now, there are more NUsantarians who found their common grounds with the Chinese and others non – bumi. that’s why you see there are more Malays who are prepared (not alot, but more than last time) to give up the bumiputra status.
But still, the common ground are not strong. Look at the Chinese guy who got punch by KFC. he hold a press conference. this guy, cannot SPEAK english and Malay.
and i can tell you, there are HELL LOTS of chinese like that in malaysia. Genevieve Bois and Dimishtra Sittampalam can vouch. they said there are Hell lots of urban chinese who stays in PPR, cannot speak english or malay. Many of my friends back in Kedah too are like that.

These chinese went to chinese primary, CHinese independant, and went to Taiwan/china for their tertiary.

or some went to signapore

or Europe / US.

THey never did cross path with the Native Nusantarians.

They don’t know what is khutbah jumaat.
they don’t know why FEMALE malay from Kelantan is called MEK Farhana Roslan
They don’t know why MALE malay from PERAK is called YOB Amir Fareed Rahim
They don’t know Malay people don’t go to “register” their marriage.
They don’t UNDERSTAND the malays’ thoughts and lifestyle.
in essence, they refuse to integrate or refuse to find a common ground with the Malays.

EVEN in mamak, chinese are sitting with chinese, malay are sitting with malay.
Only a FEW, Minority occasions where three races have no barrier.

Not enough!

Not enough to tell the massive nusantarians, that they can feel secure now about the “CHINESENESS” effect. not enough to tell the massive nusantarians, that they can “survive” and “feel secure” about their interest in economy and education.
Till that happens, till chinese in malaysia decide to tone down our “chineseness” (*not getting rid, just tone down), we cannot do away withbumiputra policies. it’s too dangerous.

The exit clause of the Federal Constitution Contract is clear.

1.) Either we honour it until time immemorial if we are still carrying our ancestors’ legacy (chinese school, chinese language, chinese chamber of commerce, the word “chinese” trumpts over malaysian in education and economical aspect)

or

2.) We assimilate into the Nusantarians. IE, become a malay.
That’s the exit clause.

But to put the contract to an “END”, we need to find MORE common grounds with the nusantarians.

I Turned Three and Twenty Today!

I turned twenty-three today
Again, for the twenty-third time,
I turned twenty-three today
Persisting; in that there is no crime!

Lulled I am by my own design
Three and twenty the number benign
That age I be for as long as I can
Till summoned I be to the Promised Land.

Lambert
(02/06/2011)

Of Perspective and Reality

Good, substantial, meaningful poems do have a way of jumping out of the page. This one caught my eyes as I was browsing a literature textbook to while the time away invigilating my students sitting for their mid-year exam: Very poignant I think – it’s a poem about a whole lot of things, but mostly, IMHO, it is about perspective and reality. Enjoy:

ETHICS
(Linda Pastan)

In ethics class so many years ago
our teacher asked this question every fall:
if there were a fire in a museum
which would you save, a Rembrandt painting
or an old woman who hadn’t many
years left anyhow? Restless on hard chairs
caring little for pictures or old age
we’d opt one year for life, the next for art
and always half-heartedly. Sometimes
the woman borrowed my grandmother’s face
leaving her usual kitchen to wander
some drafty, half-imagined museum.
One year, feeling clever, I replied
why not let the woman decide herself?
Linda, the teacher would report, eschews
the burdens of responsibility.
This fall in a real museum, I stand
before a real Rembrandt, old woman,
or nearly so, myself. The colors
within this frame are darker than autumn,
darker even than winter – the browns of earth,
though earth’s most radiant elements burn
through the canvas. I know now that woman
and painting and season are almost one
and all beyond saving by children.

A Teacher's New Paradigm

Happy Teachers' Day! I have been mulling about this for a while now. So most probably this is an idea that I picked up along the way, somewhere.

On this special occassion, I call upon all teachers to embark on a paradigm shift. Let us change the perspective, regardless of how quaint or noble it may sound, that we and the people at large hold about our profession.

We have all this while been deemed as a candle that sacrifices itself to enlighten others. Are we really that? Do we want to be so? What is noble about this profession is the enlightening part, not the commiting suicide part. Upholding this edict means that we join this profession with a death wish - let us slowly burn ourselves so that others may prosper. I think such un-Machivallian attitude has no place in the present education scenario.

Don't we teachers love ourselves? Has our profession demeaned us so much that we see ourselves, as other people do, as a mere block of wax with a lighted wick, a mere instrument for the benefit of others? How can we live with that? Have we not a life? Can we not 'die' in doing what we are to do? Can we not have a profession that allows us to bloom along with those whom we prosper? Can we, at least, not be deemed 'expendable'?

So I say,my fellow teachers and educators, swap the 'candle' with 'flourescence lamp'. Let us convert the outdated edict to one that is life preserving. One that allows us to remain who we are and still do the noble job of enlightening our pupils. One that gives us more dignity!

Enjoy this vid which I found on youtube. Teachers - there are more to you than meets the eye.
.

Selamat Hari Guru!

In Defence of PPSMI

“Vindicating PPSMI”

The Honourable Education Minister’s announcement on the 8th of July, 2009 of the government’s decision to reverse the policy on PPSMI (the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in English) sealed the policy’s fate to an early and untimely demise. PPSMI, envisioned by the country’s fourth prime minister as a means of propelling Malaysia and its people towards achieving the aims of Vision 2020, is now proverbially laid in its coffin, awaiting for the lid to finally shut in 2014, when it shall be interred and assigned to oblivion. It is being replaced by another policy that reinstates Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction for the two subjects and this new policy seeks to fortify the inculcation of the English language as well.

The decision to terminate an education policy that had only been in place for six years came as a surprise to many. This is so despite the foreshadowing of numerous allegations, riots and demonstrations by the policy’s detractors. Educated justification was believed to be in the offing as round table after round table was conducted to evaluate its merits and demerits. Holding on to the desire to witness the country standing at par with other developed nations; the policy’s supporters felt that it only required some adjustment and/or improvement (Azmi, 2009). Such optimism was fueled by the announcement made at the end of the fifth and final round table meeting on PPSMI in December 2008 of the suggestions made by participants to the conferences with regards to the fate of the policy that culminated into these seven options for the government to appraise (Haika Khazi, 2008):
1. Continue with PPSMI as is;
2. Use Bahasa Malaysia or the vernacular during the primary years and proceed with PPSMI during the secondary years;
3. Begin PPSMI during Primary Four through to the secondary years;
4. Use Bahasa Malaysia or the vernacular during the primary through to the secondary years;
5. Allow schools to decide on the language to be used as the medium of instruction for the teaching of Science and Mathematics;
6. Use Bahasa Malaysia or the vernacular during Primary One to Three, bilingual during Primary Four to Six and English during the secondary years; and
7. Abolish the Science subject during Primary One to Three but teach the subject matter by incorporating it in other subjects.

The government’s decision on Option 4 is made based on its concern over the inability of a majority of the country’s students mastering the English language while learning the two subjects if PPSMI was not abolished (Mingguan Malaysia, August 9th 2009). For the opponents of the policy the announcement justified their views, opinions and findings that it served the country and her people little purpose academically (see Isahak, Abdul Latif, Md. Nasir, Abdul Halim and Mariam, 2008; Johari, Nor Hasniza & Meor Ibrahim, 2006; Zaidi, 2003; Aziz, 2005). For another group of the policy’s detractor who viewed it as an attempt at unseating Bahasa Malaysia from its pedestal and thereby snubbing its consequentiality and potentially causing rifts in the nation (Nor Hashimah, 2009; Utusan Malaysia, July 19th, 2009), the announcement signaled a victory in its fight to preserve the sanctity of the national language.

The decision had been reached and there is of course no questioning the government’s prerogative. But, is PPSMI such a blunder it was made out to be? Is the policy’s ‘fault’ due to its design or is it ‘faulty’ by design? This article shall attempt to explain, from the academic standpoint, the reasons why PPSMI should not be blamed for its purported non-performance in order to dispel some fundamental misconstructions about it.

It is an oft heard statement – “learners fail to master English by learning Science and Mathematics in English”. Judging from the frequency that statement was made or quoted, it had come to be understood that PPSMI was conceived primarily to improve learners’ mastery of English, therefore when examinations results showed not so significant increase in such, the policy was denounced as having failed to fulfill its objective and thus the calls for its discontinuance.

In order to judge whether such disapproval of PPSMI carries merit, it is necessary to examine what were its objectives. As stated in a circular send to all schools announcing the implementation of the policy dated November 27th, 2002, it is mentioned that:

“Dasar ini digubal berasaskan hakikat bahawa Sains dan Matematik adalah bidang ilmu yang sangat dinamik dengan pelbagai penemuan baru dan sebahagian besar maklumat yang berkaitan dengannya terdapat dalam bahasa Inggeris. Matlamat akhir dasar ini adalah membolehkan murid mengakses maklumat yang berkaitan melalui pelbagai media supaya mereka mampu menguasai ilmu Sains dan Matematik dan lebih berdaya saing di peringkat antarabangsa di samping melahirkan generasi yang kukuh dalam penggunaan bahasa Inggeris.”
(Jemaah Nazir Sekolah, 2006, p.13)

From the citation above, it is apparent that by the utilization of a variety of media to access information, PPSMI’s objectives were to:
i) Enable learners master Science and Mathematics;
ii) Prepare the learners so that they become more competitive internationally; and
iii) Engender a generation of learners who are well-versed in the English language.

As it perhaps served their purpose of immediacy, the detractors to the policy made the third objective their focus and as it turned out to be, it became one of the main bases why the decision to discontinue the teaching and learning approach was made - a majority of the country’s students has been determined as being incapable of mastering English while learning the two subjects. However, it ought to be noted that the English being used in PPSMI classrooms was not meant to fortify the English language lessons. Rather, the medium of instruction was to increase the learners’ competency in English for Science and Technology. Terminologies, instructions, data collection, problem-solving strategies, methodology and reporting were emphasized on and less prominence was given to language accuracy. English as a language could, and should only, be mastered via proper instructions in a language classroom. The English of PPSMI would probably more accurately described as a tool or a means to get the lesson material across and by doing so in the language in which a good part of the body of knowledge is available in, allows for Malaysia’s new generations to acquire knowledge without having to rely on having the required information go through the hands of translators which carry with it the inherent danger of the knowledge being altered or lost during the process of language rendering.

The lesser emphasis on the first two objectives by the detractors of the policy in their bid the end it was understandable perhaps by reason of them requiring a much longer time to prove or disprove. For example, although the result of Sijil Peperiksaan Malaysia (SPM), one of the country’s major public examinations, showed a rise in 2007 (Farik, 2008), the increase was insufficient and inconclusive evidence that the learners, who were the first batch of secondary students under PPSMI and they had learned Science and Mathematics subjects in English since Secondary One in 2002, were able to master the subjects through the medium of English. The data to support such claim need to come from several batches of exam-takers for the conclusion to be more reliable. Needless to say, the second objective would require for the learners to have completed their studies under PPSMI and joined the workforce in order to gauge their level of competitiveness globally, a datum that would only become available years to come.

After all, although it is more properly perhaps if discussed by a semanticist, it ought to be noted that considering the three objectives of PPSMI as of equal importance may be faulty. This is as, in reference to the quotation above, the conjunction ‘dan’ and the preposition ‘di samping’ would indicate a difference in the degree of importance placed on each of the three statements of objectives. ‘Dan’ which literally translates as ‘and’ denotes that the first two statements have equal weight or importance. ‘Di samping’ or ‘besides’, meanwhile, relegates the importance of the third objective comparative to the former two. In other words, the objective to ‘melahirkan generasi yang kukuh dalam penggunaan bahasa Inggeris’ is actually only a derived benefit from the execution of the policy, not the main reason why the policy is planned for in the first place, which are the first and second objectives. It is improper to base criticism and decision-making on a statement that embodies not the desired outcome but rather a ‘fringe’ benefit of the PPSMI policy.

The annulment of PPSMI also carries with it the inherent risk Malaysians losing their competitive edge in the era of globalization. In a borderless world’s occupation market, where job-seekers have the freedom to ‘sell’ their skills in any country, one guarantee a potential employee has, besides having the right qualification, is to be conversant in the language universally spoken and understood. For the present the English language serves that particular purpose. Not only it fulfills the communicative purpose, the workers would also share a universal set of work-related terminologies and rubrics. In such light, therefore, true to the ideal of the second objective of PPSMI, it would be ideal for Malaysians, if they want to be able to ply their wares in other places beside their own country, to be familiar with the language spoken the world over. An early exposure to the language of Science and Technology, which is an opportunity accorded by PPSMI, is a step in the right direction to enable the citizens of this country to become “a scientific and progressive society” (Mahathir, 1997, para. 15). By becoming such, Malaysians would not only be on the correct path to achieve Vision 2020, but also make themselves marketable as they seek their fortunes on the global job market.

The earlier mentioned decision to reverse the policy of PPSMI came about due to the government’s concern that 3 million students would lag behind in English language proficiency if the policy were to carry on. The fear was that those students would fail to master English while learning Mathematics and Science subjects in the said language (Mingguan Malaysia, August 9th 2009). The merit of PPSMI being used to teach the language has been discussed earlier. There is a need to point out here that oral and academic language proficiency could only be attained after a considerable number of years of specialized instruction in ESL (English as the Second Language) or bilingual education. In fact, even in a language environment that is predominantly English, it was found that the former proficiency requires 3 to 5 years, while the latter needs 4 to 7 years to develop (Hakuta, Butler and Witt, 2000). In Malaysia where English has less prominence, those durations might be a little longer. Therefore, even if, say for argument’s sake, PPSMI was meant to teach English to the learners of Mathematics and Science, six years (the policy came into being in 2003, annulled in 2009) is too short a time for learners to attain oral, let alone academic proficiency in the language. Furthermore, PPSMI was devoid of the features of a specialized language instruction which include, for example, the teaching of the four language skills, namely reading, writing, listening and speaking. The policy was not for the teaching of English but rather it was designed for the learning and mastery of the subjects of Mathematics and Science as well as acquainting the learners with English for Science and Technology necessary for their survival in years to come.

In reference to teachers’ preparedness to teach under the PPSMI policy, Mohd. Rasdi (2003), from Isahak et al. (2008), found that 78% of teachers whom were his study subjects reported having low proficiency in the English language especially in speaking and writing. Rohana’s (2002), from Isahak et al. (2008), also reported that there existed a high percentage of her subjects: primary and secondary Science and Mathematics teachers, Form Six teachers teaching the same two subjects as well as Matriculation Centres lecturers, that had low proficiency in the said language. These studies were conducted on teachers who were still very much shell-shocked by becoming the first batch of educators, whom prior to that were complacent and comfortable with years of teaching Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia, to have to teach the two subjects in English. Added to the surprise was perhaps the fact that they were educated during their trainee days in Bahasa Malaysia. It is of little wonder that that the study reflected their sense of inadequacy. Perhaps it would more appropriate to find out how teachers who were yet to be mainstreamed into the education system were prepared for the eventuality of teaching under PPSMI policy as these were the educators tailored to the needs of PPSMI.

Teachers training also had moved in tandem with the birth of PPSMI. These teachers-to-be were groomed to teach the subjects in English. They were well aware of the trial that awaited them upon their graduation. An indication of this is a study by Cheah, Ng and Tai (2004) which showed that although a little apprehensive about the prospect of having to teach under the PPSMI policy, teacher trainees showed moderate to positive attitude about doing so and they also expressed their willingness to rise up to the forthcoming challenges. Aziz (2005) meanwhile, reminded teachers of the need to come up with the best teaching strategies and guidance to ensure maximum benefit to their learners. Both studies indicated that teachers were being made ready and they were prepared to teach their learners Mathematics and Science using English as the medium of instruction. In view of such therefore, it may be said that teachers’ preparedness was not much of, and should not have made into, an issue with regards to the success or failure of the policy.

In 2007 a research, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2007), was conducted by the Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Massachusetts, USA on 14 year-olds in 59 countries including Malaysia. While it bore little connection to PPSMI, its results were quoted as proof of PPSMI’s ‘failure’ (NST, February 10th, 2009). This is because there was a marked drop in Malaysian students’ achievements and the country’s placing internationally between results for the year 2003 and the said year. There are 2 facts that may disprove the contention of the ‘failure’. The first is that the study was conducted on 14 year-olds, which means that in the Malaysian Education system, those involved as subjects in the study were in Form Two. It is important to note that, those students were from a batch that had only been inducted into PPSMI the year before (that is when they were in Form One). They had never learned the English and Mathematics in English when they were in their primary years. As such, it may be argued that having only just slight more than a year’s worth of instructions in the two subjects through the English medium meant that they were still in the process of coming to terms with the new ‘paradigm’ of the teaching and learning. It was their unfamiliarity that may have contributed towards their poor performance.

Secondly, teachers of the two subjects acknowledge the fact that the lesson contents have been reduced and ‘watered down’ compared to the pre-PPSMI syllabuses. It is their opinion that the ‘old’ syllabus was more compact and informative. The same opinion is also voiced on the questions or exercises given to learners – pre-PPSMI’s questions were more challenging as well. By such revelation it is not difficult to understand why 2007 Form Two students performed relatively poorer than their counterparts of 2003 – they learned less material and they tackled less challenging exercises. The policy to teach Mathematics and Science in English did not cause the students’ performance to decrease; it was due to the syllabuses that had been ‘shortened and simplified’ to cater for a smooth transition of learners into the new teaching and learning approach.

Much had been written about how PPSMI victimized learners from the rural areas as they are not as proficient in English as the urbanites (Mingguan Malaysia, July 19th, 2009; Nor Hashimah, 2009; Isahak et al., 2008; Nor Hashimah, 2003). PKPIM (The Union of Malaysian Islamic Students) alleges that PPSMI would widen the rural-urban rift as the latter would greatly benefit from the education policy while the former will drift farther backward socially and economically. All these effects culminated from the assumption that urban students have better mastery of English and as such stand to gain more comparatively from PPSMI. The union further contends that PPSMI was unfair to the rural students as the use of English in their classrooms had denied them quality education (PKPIM, 2008). In a research into languages and Mathematics achievement conducted on Primary Four students from urban and rural areas, Arba (2009) found that rural students’ mean score in a non-moderated (English only) test is not statistically significant from the mean scores attained in a moderated (English/Bahasa Malaysia) test. This means that for students from the rural area, whichever language is used to teach Mathematics mattered little to them – their achievement will not vary by much. The bottom line is that their score was low, indicating that they were in fact weak in content knowledge. Data from urban students indicated that they did benefit significantly from the use of Bahasa Malaysia moderation and while their scores were consistently higher than the rural students’, the scores did not show that the pupils had mastered the subject well either. They too, were weak in content knowledge.

Has English hindered their achievement or for that matter their ability to master the subject matter? ‘No’ on both counts for rural students according to the study above. Since their achievements are ‘similar’ in both the non-moderated and moderated tests, it may be inferred that their ability to learn the content material would also be similar when they are taught using either English or English/Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction. The use of English in the inculcation of Science and Mathematics should not be made the culprit in justifying the lower achievement of rural students comparative to urban students. What the students (both rural and urban) need to improve on is their mastery of the subject matter.

A majority of students who were tutored under the PPSMI policy would be contented to continue learning Mathematics and Science in English. That is one phenomenon that should have been taken into consideration in the decision to reverse PPSMI. Those learners have become accustomed to the use of English in the learning of the two subjects, especially those who began their Primary One in 2003 – what about them? Won’t they be deprived of ‘quality’ education when they need to suddenly switch to learning them in Bahasa Malaysia? Imagine the toils they would have to through due to the ‘conversion’. What if some portion of them fail to successfully do so? Then the country would witness another set of students suffering due to a policy change. In this instance, their number would probably well surpass the three million whom would be saved by the reversal of PPSMI (Mingguan Malaysia, August 9th, 2009). The questions then are who would ‘save’ them and how do we minimize the casualties of the policy change?

PPSMI has been accused of decreasing learners’ interest in Science and Mathematics, causing a rural and urban rift, and risking the future of millions of students among other things. All these allegations were made under one assumption – that all the cogs and wheels of the policy’s machinery run smoothly without flaws. Is that really so? One instance that hints at the machinery’s fault was when teachers had the impression that Mathematics and Science classroom instructions were to be executed one hundred percent in English. Even after attending a series of English for the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (ETeMS) courses, very few actually had the proficiency and the capability to do so. That was not so surprising after all considering that so few of them had been privileged to have learned or have been taught to teach the subjects in English. Therefore, circumstances such as reported by Rohana (2002) and Mohd. Rasdi (2003) occurred and many relied heavily on translation while some forwent translation approach altogether and taught the subjects in the learners’ mother tongue. What mattered was that the learners understood the lessons well. As such, the execution of PPSMI had only been able to realize its first objective, which is to inculcate learners Mathematics and Science. It was questionable whether learners are being prepared to be competitive globally and the third and final objective of the policy, as least important as it was made to be from the above discussion, where the learners were supposed to become familiar with the English for Science and Technology could never materialize.

Is there a methodology by which the first and the third policy may be attained and thereby making the second objective of PPSMI a plausible reality? The is no need to look far for the answer as it may well be contained in the pedagogical approach advocated by the Malaysian education system – the integrated curriculum for primary and secondary school (KBSR and KBSM). Perhaps it was in the fervent desire to see the policy through that it was overlooked or bypassed.

As most Malaysian learners are English language learners (ELLs) , one promising instructional approach that integrates language and content instructions is to use the Sheltered English Approach. Watson, Northcutt and Rydell (2002) mentioned that this approach has dual goals, namely:
i) To assist learners learn the academic content of a subject; and
ii) To help them master a second language.

It would be useful at this juncture to explain this approach so that the resemblance between it and KBSR/KBSM becomes apparent. This approach does not assume English fluency (Freeman & Freeman, 1988) but rather the teacher relies of physical activities, visual aids and whichever means possible to help learners understand the subject matter and learn the language of instruction as well. Watson et al. (2002) outlined several strategies for teachers utilizing this approach. Among these are:
i) Increase the comprehensibility of the lesson by incorporating second language acquisition principles with traditional teaching methodology;
ii) Adjust the language demands of the lesson – modify speech rate and tone, use contextual clues and models;
iii) Relate instructions to learners’ experiences;
iv) Utilize analogies and avoid idiomatic expressions;
v) Bridge the gap between the teacher’s language ability and the learners’ listening skills;
vi) Use the same lesson format repeatedly so that learners may easily decipher how a new information is presented;
vii) Use visual aids, experiments, realia and animations to illustrate concepts;
viii) Increase learners’ interaction by using small group cooperative learning;
ix) Minimize lectures;
x) Increase wait-time to allow learners sufficient time to formulate their replies; and
xi) Instruct learners in study skills.

Furthermore, as this approach utilizes Vyogsky’s theories of cooperative learning and Zone of Proximal Development, and expounds on Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences it becomes all the more apparent that the methodology and strategies of the Sheltered English Approach are quite familiar to teachers who had their pedagogical training in Malaysian Teacher Training colleges. As a matter of fact, except for the first strategy which is perhaps more relevant to language teaching, the other strategies as well as Vyogsky’s and Gardner’s theories are elementary features of KBSR/KBSM used in all Malaysian schools. Many teachers have overlooked these strategies during the execution of PPSMI policy to the detriment of the its objectives.

Another important feature of The Sheltered English Approach is that the content of the lesson is not made easier compared to one that is taught to native speakers of English (or in Malaysia’s scenario one that was taught prior to PPSMI when the subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia). As had been discussed earlier, some teachers of Science and Mathematics opined that PPSMI’s syllabus had been truncated and ‘watered down’. Since this was the case, learners who had been able to master the lessons material had actually learned less than what their counterparts did several years earlier when they studied the same topics in Bahasa Malaysia. In short, the syllabus that catered for PPSMI had undermined learners’ achievement and shown disrespect for their potentials and abilities. The policy would have been more successful if the previous syllabus was retained and only the change only happened to the medium of instruction while the teachers adhered to the Sheltered English Approach, which essentially is KBSR/KBSM in essence.

Finally, in defence of PPSMI, recall the nation’s aspiration to achieve ‘Internationalism’ (Asmah, 1994). Malaysia aims to achieve the developed nation status by the year 2020. It was this aim that brought forth the policy in the first place – the desire to co-exist with the other developed nations of the world with ‘dignity and honour’ (Mahathir, 1997, para 4). As such, a pragmatic move (Musa, 2002) was made to provide the nation a boost on its path towards the fulfillment of Vision 2020. Such ‘leap of faith’ is consistent with ‘Nationism’ (Asmah, 1994). Its ‘followers’ understand the need for the policy to exist.

They were met head on by those who favoured ‘Nationalism’ (Asmah, 1994). This group favours Bahasa Malaysia which is deemed important in uniting Malaysia’s multiracial communities. Furthermore, it is the accorded with the national language status and is believed to be the ‘final bastion’ that the Malays intend to keep undefiled (Muhamad Normujahid, 2009). It was this tussle between the forces of ‘Nationism’ and ‘Nationalism’ that we witnessed since 2003 when PPSMI was launched. With the announcement of the reversal of PPSMI, the battle seems to side with the latter. Such fight might be spectacular sights, but sadly, the war is making victims of our learners. PPSMI would not have been side-lined if it were not for such narcissistic reasons and if Vision 2020 remains as the nation’s ultimate aim.

In conclusion, it may be said that PPSMI as a policy did not fail. The fact that it had prevailed for six years before being rescinded and during all those years have produced respectable results in examinations prove that the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English performed admirably under the circumstances. In the final analysis, hindrances that took the forms of misinterpretation, misrepresentations, misguided pride and misdirected fervor had rendered it unviable.


REFERENCES

Arba Abdul Rahman (2009). Languages and Mathematics Achievements among Rural and Urban Primary Four Pupils. (Masters Dissertation, Universiti Teknologi MARA)
Asmah Hj. Omar (1994). Nationism and exoglossia: The case of English in Malaysia. In Chan, S. H. & Tan, H. (2006) English for Mathematics and Science: Current Malaysian Language-in-education Policies and Practices. Language and Education, v20 n4 2006 (p306-321). Retrieved September 5th, 2008 from http://web.ebscohost. com.
Aziz Nordin (2005). Students’ Perception On Teaching And Learning Mathematics in English. Retrieved February 23rd, 2008 from http://eprints.utm.my/1507/1 /KERTASINT.pdf
Azmi Abdullah (2009). PPSMI Hanya Perlu Penambahbaikan. Utusan Malaysia. Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009.
Farik Zolkepli (2008). Official: Use of English not a Hindrance. The Star. Friday March 14th, 2008.
Freeman, D. & Freeman, Y. (1988). Sheltered English Instruction. ERIC Digest. Retrieved September 15th, 2009 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ ericdocs2sql/ content_storage_
Haika Khazi (2008). 7 Pilihan Ajar Sains, Matematik. Berita Harian. Wednesday, December, 17th, 2008.
Hakuta, K., Butler, Y.G., Witt, D. (2000). How Long Does it Take English Learners to Attain Proficiency. Retrieved September 16th, 2008 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/16/51/ab.pdf
Isahak Haron, Abdul Latif Hj. Gapor, Md Nasir Masran, Abdul Halim Ibrahim & Mariam Mohamed Nor (2008). Kesan Dasar Pengajaran Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Inggeris di Sekolah Rendah. Retrieved September 14th, 2008 from http:// www.nst. com.my/ Current_News /NST/PDF/Math-Science%20Report
Jemaah Nazir Sekolah (2006). Info PPSMI Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris Edisi 2. Putrajaya: AS Printer.
Johari Surif , Nor Hasniza Ibrahim and Meor Ibrahim Kamaruddin (2006). Masalah Pembelajaran Matematik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris Di Kalangan Pelajar Tingkatan 2 Luar Bandar. In: Annual Conference on Teacher Education, 6-8 Sept 2006, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. (Unpublished) Retrieved February 22nd, 2008 from http://eprints.utm.my/2228 /1/3_9.pdf
Mahathir Mohamad (1997). Vision2020: The Way Forward. Retrieved February 25th, 2009 from http://mgv.mim.edu.my/MMR/9706/970602.Htm
Mingguan Malaysia (August 9th,2009). 3j Murid Rugi Jika Teruskan PPSMI.
Mingguan Malaysia (July 19th, 2009). PPSMI Satu Kesilapan.
Mohd Rasdi Saamah, (2003). Kesediaan guru-guru sekolah rendah melaksanakan perubahan bahasa pengantar mata pelajaran Sains dan Matematik. In Isahak Haron, Abdul Latif Hj. Gapor, Md Nasir Masran, Abdul Halim Ibrahim & Mariam Mohamed Nor (2008). Kesan Dasar Pengajaran Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Inggeris di Sekolah Rendah. Retrieved September 14th, 2008 from http:// www.nst. com.my/ Current_News /NST/PDF/Math-Science%20Report
Muhamad Normujahid Muhamad Yusof (2009). Kenapa PPSMI Perlu Diteruskan? Retrieved September, 15th, 2009 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/9642094/KENAPA-PPSMI-PERLU-DITERUSKAN
Musa Muhamad (2002). ). Reconstruction of education. In Chan, S. H. & Tan, H. (2006) English for Mathematics and Science: Current Malaysian Language-in-education Policies and Practices. Language and Education, v20 n4 2006 (p306-321). Retrieved September 5th, 2008 from http://web.ebscohost. com.
Nik Safiah Karim, Farid M. Onn, Hashim Hj. Musa & Abdul Hamid Mahmood (2008). Tatabahasa Dewan Edisi Ketiga. Kuala Lumpur. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin (2009). Why PPSMI Reversal Makes Sense. New Sunday Times. Sunday July 19th, 2009.
Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin, (2003). Penerimaan Sains dan Matematik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris di Kalangan Pelajar dan Guru. In Isahak Haron, Abdul Latif Hj. Gapor, Md Nasir Masran, Abdul Halim Ibrahim & Mariam Mohamed Nor (2008). Kesan Dasar Pengajaran Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Inggeris di Sekolah Rendah. Retrieved September 14th, 2008 from http:// www.nst.com.my/Current_ News/NST/PDF/Math-Science%20 Report
NST Online, (February, 10th, 2009). Union: English Policy a Failure. Retrieved March 3rd, 2009 from http://nst.com.my/ Current_News/NST/ Sunday/Frontpage
PKPIM (2008). Menolak Usaha Meneruskan Pengajaran, Sains, Matematik dan Teknologi dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI) di Peringkat Sekolah Hingga ke IPT. Retreived September 15th, 2009 from http://www.pkpim.net/v2/info/memorandum/72-menolok-usaha-meneruskan-ppsmi.html
Rohana Man, (2002). Sains, Matematik: Kementerian sedia skrip mengajar dalam Bahasa Inggeris. In Isahak Haron, Abdul Latif Hj. Gapor, Md Nasir Masran, Abdul Halim Ibrahim & Mariam Mohamed Nor (2008). Kesan Dasar Pengajaran Matematik dan Sains dalam Bahasa Inggeris di Sekolah Rendah. Retrieved September 14th, 2008 from http:// www.nst. com.my/ Current_News /NST/PDF/Math-Science%20Report
Watson, ID., Notrhcutt, L. & Rydell, L. (2002). Teaching Bilingual Students Successfully. Retrieved September 15th, 2009 from http://content.ebscohost.com.newdc.oum.edu.my/ pdf9/pdf/1989/EDL
Zaidi Yazid (2003). Support for Science and Mathematics Teachers in The Implementation of PPSMI: Challenges Ahead and Strategies to Sustain The Momentum. Retrieved May 13th, 2008 from eltcm.org/eltc/Download/conferences/ 8_parallel paper_28.pdf


Note:
1. This was written a few days before, during and after Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 2009.
2. It is a rather yet to be polished piece of work. My kind supervisor, Dr. Parmjit Singh a/l Aperapar Singh of UiTM Seksyen 17, Shah Alam, Malaysia, is the person on whom I am relying to transform this piece from what it is to something more educational and hopefully, publishable.

RIP PPSMI

My knee-jerk reaction to these news is "I thought the inculcation of English through the policy is (was) deemed incidental - it is not the policy's main objective, unfortunately, that is turned into the prime justification for its murder." I will write more on this when I have mourned its passing sufficiently.


Science And Maths In BM And Mother Tongue In 2012

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 (Bernama) -- The teaching and learning of science and mathematics in national schools will revert to the Malay language effective 2012.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the teaching and learning of the two subjects in Chinese and Tamil national-type schools would be carried out in their respective mother tongue.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said the cabinet today approved the suggestion by the ministry to empower the Malay language and strengthen the teaching and learning of the English language at all levels of schooling.

"This strategy was drawn up based on the study and monitoring carried out by the Education Ministry on the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English since the policy was implemented in 2003," he said when making the announcement at the Education Ministry, here on Wednesday.

The first group of students who studied science and mathematics in the English language since Year One sat for their Ujian Penilian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) last year.

Muhyiddin said the implementation of the policy of using the Malay language in the teaching of the two subjects would be carried out in stages in Year One and Year Four in the primary school and Form One and Form Four in the secondary school beginning in 2012.

However, he said, the change would not involve students in Form Six and matriculation class.

He said in order to ensure that the implementation of the new strategy did not affect the achievement of students who were taught the two subjects in English, the teaching of and examination for the two subjects would be conducted in both languages until the last batch of students who were taught in English completed in 2014.

He said the government made the decision after scrutinising the outcome of studies and surveys carried out on the teaching and learning of the two subjects in English which showed that it could not be implemented as desired.

"What is implemented is the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English/Malay languages," he said.

Muhyiddin said monitoring by the ministry last year found that only a small group of teachers were using English language fully in the teaching of science and mathematics.

"On the average, the percentage of English usage is between 53 and 58 per cent out of the total time allotted for science and mathematics," he said.

In addition, he said, only a small group of mathematics and science teachers in secondary and primary schools who took the English language Proficiency Level Evaluation test last year achieved the proficiency level.

He said the precentage of students who scored grades A, B, and C for the science subject in the UPSR last year had dropped from 85.1 per cent to 82.5 per cent for the urban schools and from 83.2 per cent to 79.7 per cent for rural schools.

"For mathematics, the achievement of urban schools dropped from 84.8 per cent to 80.9 per cent while the achievement of rural students dropped from 80.9 per cent to 77 per cent," he said.

He said the gap in achievement between urban and rural schools in science and mathematics was becoming wider when the PPSMI (teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English) was implemented.

Muhyiddin said the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study 2007 also stated that the position of Malaysian students in the science subject had deteriorated from the 20th spot in 2003 to the 21st spot in 2007.

"For mathematics, the position of our students deteriorated from the 10th spot in 2003 to 20th spot in 2007," he said.

He said studies by local universities revealed that the level of improvement in the command of the English language by students was nominal, that is, not more than three per cent throughout the implementation of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English.

"The command of the English language among students, particularly in the rural areas, was still low making it difficult for them to understand the teaching of mathematics and science in English," Muhyiddin said.

Based on this observation, he said, the government was convinced that science and mathematics must be taught in the language that could be easily understood by the students, namely Bahasa Malaysia in the national schools, Chinese in the national-type Chinese schools and Tamil in the national-type Tamil schools.

-- BERNAMA



Scrapping Of Math, Science In English Not Easy - Hishammuddin

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 (Bernama) -- Former Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Wednesday the scrapping of the policy on the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English was not an easy decision.

Hishammuddin, who is now the Home Minister, said the decision, however, was supported by the majority who saw it as most appropriate based on studies which saw less than encouraging examination results among students.

"It was not an easy decision and it is impossible to satisfy everyone," he told a news conference after chairing a post-cabinet meeting at his ministry today.

The government today decided to revert the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics to the Malay language, effective 2012.

Hishammuddin said all quarters should accept the decision with an open heart as it had gone through a comprehensive process, from roundtable discussions to obtaining feedback at the grassroots level.

"I would also like to congratulate Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who is Education Minister for putting forward a convincing argument on the matter based on facts," he said.

He said the decision was made after a sufficient time was given to interact with all the interested parties.

-- BERNAMA

Two News That Caught My Eyes Today!

2009/04/20
NST Online

'Varsity students are adults'

KUALA LUMPUR: Stop treating university students as if they were still in school.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who said this, added that it was important for these students to be treated as adults since there was a stark contrast between university and secondary school."The first difference is their age. According to law, 18 is the age of maturity. So if the person commits a crime, he or she can be charged. And some students are already 21 and eligible to vote. "So, I urge for them to be acknowledged as adults and not treated like schoolchildren," he said at the Kolej Teknologi Yayasan Pendidikan Cheras-iTWEB fifth convocation ceremony yesterday.Saifuddin said university students could think and decide on their own as they were groomed to become intellectuals.

"I hope the university's student affairs department can understand the amendments made to the Universities and University Colleges Act."We are still receiving complaints that students are not allowed to do things permitted by the act just because the universities are worried. This is an old way of thinking."



"All because of a curious puppy"

KUALA LUMPUR: First, they strangled a four-month-old puppy to death, then they threatened its owner.

A puppy named Maya, belonging to Indonesian national Sri Indria, was killed on Friday after it entered a neighbour's house in Kampung Padang Lalang, Langkawi. The incident took a dramatic twist when the neighbour's son, who had killed the pet, came to Sri's house on Saturday armed with a metal pipe and spoiling for a fight.Sri called the New Straits Times to say she had returned from the pasar malam at 7pm on Friday to find Maya missing. "I was only away for about an hour. I knew something was terribly wrong when I didn't see her," she said in the telephone interview.

After a futile search around the kampung, her neighbour, who lives about 50m from her house, told Sri very angrily that her puppy had entered her house.When Sri asked for Maya, her neighbour brazenly told her "we have killed it".Sri turned back to enlist her sister's help before returning to the neighbour's house to look for Maya's carcass.They found the dead puppy in the undergrowth with a wire noose around its neck."They watched my sister and I look for my puppy. They were still scolding me as we carried the carcass home."

Sri, whose Malaysian husband runs a travel agency, did not lodge a police report initially as she took partial responsibility for the puppy's disappearance.She was forced to lodge a report after the neighbour's son threatened her the next day.A distressed Sri rang the NST to say that he had come to her house armed with a metal pipe, shouting for her and her husband. He was angry that the incident had reached the ears of the media. "I'm so scared. I'm home alone and I'm pregnant," she cried. A friend later took her to the police station to lodge a report and there Sri and her neighbour settled matters."I've made peace with them. What they did was wrong but I understand why they did it. It's the culture and religious beliefs."

Written in Response to Kugan’s Death in Police Custody 2009

It is an open secret that torture has a place in soliciting information from suspects. To those of us who had never experienced what it is like being a guest in the interrogation chamber, we can only imagine the horrors that await there. Kugan’s death revealed the truth to the public of the extent to which information extraction process could go. This must stop! There must be some other means, more humane, more professional manner of intelligence. The end must never justify the means.

The late Kugan was not yet proven guilty; we cannot and should not label him a criminal. He was not a hero either. Neither was he a martyr. What he was, he was a victim, of fate, of circumstances, of overzealousness. Let us not idolize him, not for the life he chose to live, not for the way he had to die. But let us remember him for what he brought to the fore.

His family’s loss taught us of the needs to be deferential of others despite their callings. His passing had reminded us that the law of the jungle has no place in this society. He left us with an overwhelming desire for forbearance, for respect, for faith, for trust, for peace.

So let him rest in peace. Let those suspected of causing his untimely demise answer for their deeds. Let us persevere to rid this country of pestilence, bigotry and intolerance.

Note: Sent as a response to Malay Mail Online wrt the topic on 05032009.

Colours and Me

I read one of my friends' Facebook entry last night about whether a person is just single-coloured or multi-colored. Personality-wise I think, not the chameleon-type skin colour mind you. Although I have never thought of myself as being a very colour-coordinated person, as a matter of fact my choice for colour is lousy, they do mean certain things and carry certain messages. These are two poems that I wrote during my Maktab days. See if you can tell what the colours mean.


THE LIVING COLOURS

The concept : Torquise on red
And red on maroon
The feature’s divine.
I see green all systems go
No amber light, no holds barred
I am coming for you
Ready or not.
The concept : Deeper red on red
Red on blue.


Lambert
(27/07/1990)



LIVING COLOURS II

Pretty in pink
And back in black
Sugar-laced purple cloak
White doves flew overhead.

Back in black
Pink shaded by blue tint
Red heat and a twist of green
A final gurgle in the toilet sink.

Lambert
(15/05/1991)

An Act of Revenge

Seven years ago she hurt me. Her dumping me after our three and a half years relationship caused me emotional traumas. How could a person, after making countless promises, whispering millions of sweet-nothings, do such a thing? My whole existence became dreary drags that I had to suffer through. My self-esteem was deflated, dwindling to near nothing. All my dreams were shattered. My life was ruined.

After our final telephone conversation, I suffered the pain of separation in silence. Pieces of the telephone set strewn all over the floor, after I threw it against the wall in my initial rage of the news, were witness to my loss. They saw me crumpled like a piece of soiled serviette. No tears came. I was too shocked to cry. I sat on the floor; my back against the wall, staring into the nothingness which my life would be without her.

I pent the pain inside me for a long time. I tried my best to hide the fact from my family and friends. Being good people they were, most of them noticed that something had gone wrong for me. Perhaps my brooding, my senseless shying away from them, and the broken telephone set gave me away. A few of them approached to coax the reason out of me. However, I am a man with many excuses; I blamed the unfavourable weather, the poor performance of the stock market, and even my poor, innocent students at my school. I made a lot of things, a lot of people scapegoats to avoid detection. Eventually, the questioning ceased. Those good people around me, very likely suspected a worse cause as the reason for my evident transformation, understood that I wished to be left alone. Still, I suffered in silence.

After a three and a half year relationship, a lot of her stuffs were in my keeping; mementos from places we visited, photographs snapped at those locations, books we loved to read together, a jacket and clothing items left behind from her long gone visits, and of course those intimate letters from her. Perhaps out of my attempt to breathe life into the dead ember of our union I kept those things where they were; on the window sill, draped over the lazy chair, scattered on my study desk, in the cupboard, and under my pillow. Perhaps she would return to me and finding those items as when they were left would help us proceed as if the break-up never happened.

I contemplated going over to her place and having things out with her. It never took place. The distance was too great. She was living three states away and with her parents. In my need to assuage my pain, I thought of sending goons over to bang her around a bit, break her leg, hang her. They never occurred. I am a law-abiding citizen and whatever was the reason she did what she did, it wasn’t excuse enough to maim her.

I needed a way to vent all that was bottled-up inside. There were people around me who cared about me and needed my reciprocating the attention. I had pushed them aside while mulling over my loss. I made up my mind. I would have my revenge and do away with her forever. My revenge would take the form of removing all evidence of her existence. Erasing her from my memory would be justice enough for her evil deed. Wiping her off the plane of reality would serve me a new lease of life. I loved her too much to be physically abusive.

Eight months after the fact, I put aside all her things. I arranged the photographs in an album, wrapped the dolls and small trinkets with tissue papers, washed, dried and neatly folded her jackets and dresses, wiped dust off the book covers and read and re-read her letter. I put all her things inside a cardboard carton.

I brought the box to my backyard. As I poured a liter of diesel liberally over and inside it, images of what could have been between the two of us swirled in my mind eyes. Striking a match reminded me of the candles on her birthday cake we celebrated together at this very spot and countless other intimate moments we shared. Touching the flame to the diesel soaked box of memories, I said a silent prayer, wishing safe journeys for us, former companions, on our now separate paths of life.

Note: Another sappy stuff from my university days. A piece of creative writing it is, but fictional it is not! Enjoy!

Satu Pemerhatian Dari Sudut Kiri Kafetaria

Aku perhatikan lenggok langkahmu, gemalai, aturan kiri kanan tersusun rapi. Baju kurung, sutera di mataku, dengan lorekan warna kuning, merah jambu dan biru laut terlalu cocok dengan perawakan timurmu. Tiga butiran mutiara berkait, berayun di hujung tabir tudung litup. Ayu.

Orangmu langsing, bertubuh datar, lekuk pinggangmu bagaikan surihan biola. Termanggu aku, longgar lututku, seperti sendi mekanikal yang tercabut skrunya.

Wajah bujur sirih, bibir merekah merah delima, tampak anggun bila ditarik hujung-hujungnya oleh senyuman. Sepasang butiran mata galak, bebolanya hitam pekat, kerdipan bintangpun tidak seseri kilasan jelinganmu. Dua garisan kening lentik bercantum dengan jambatan hidung. Tanda lahir penyeri muka tertitik di pipi.

Dudukmu duduk puteri. Sopan santun ketimuran. Aku perhatikan jemari runcing halusmu menyuap santapan. Perlahan-lahan kau temukan geraham atas dan bawahmu menghancurkan juadah dan aku bayangkan rengkungmu membayang apabila kau menelan.

Padaku kau sempurna.

Aku lihat jua tutur bualmu dengan teman sebelahan. Tata bicara yang aku kurang periksa biji-butirannya. Namun begitu pada tanggapanku, melalui gaya mimik muka bersahaja, juihan bibirmu dan tunduk kepalamu kepada komentar jiran itu, bincanganmu adalah berkisar kepada hal-hal kehatian ataupun mungkin ia sedang bercerita tentang sorotanku ini. Biarkanlah.

Konsentrasiku dibunuh. “Mat, beri api.”

Abang senior minta api rokok. Aku nyalakan sumber inspirasi dan sumber karsinorgennya. Baru aku sedar yang nasi di pingganku telah kedinginan, tangan kananku berkerak dengan sisa-sisa dan ais di dalam gelas Nescafe ‘O’ Beng aku telah habis cair, mentawarkan minuman kegemaranku itu. Detik waktu terhenti dalam aku menelaahmu. Aku geleng kepala.

Dari jarak 17 kaki yang memisahkan kita, aku lihatkau bangun menuju ke sinki mencuci tangan, kembali ke meja menjemput rakan setiamu. Berangkatlah kamu kembali ke istana diiringi dayang-dayang. Lenggok-langkahmu tetap gemalai, tarian kaki kiri-kananmu tetap teratur, wajahmu tetap sempurna.

Aku puji tuhan kerana mencipta makhluk sepertimu, bidadari dunia bagiku, mampu membunuh waktuku untuk memujamu.

Kau tetap sempurna.

x.x.1990

This was written when I was in the 1st sem of my Maktab days as an exercise of descriptive writing in BM. Though meant as an exercise, the event was real and the characters were non-fictional.

Most probably a BM teacher would butcher my language to bits. I cringe, too, reading it again after it had lain hidden after all this time. Sappy it may be, but please do enjoy this very rare occassion when I answered the Muse's call in BM.

A SMIRKING CHESHIRE CAT

How to smite two souls,
To bond, to fuse them.
Whence,
The lovemonger, the nuncio of Cupid,
The betwixter,
Finds his joy corpulent,
In untying their Gordian knots!

Once,
In a white dishonesty
Wishful of an honest contingent,
I felt gratified
Besmirching a little more
My fully saturated blotter.

Lambert
(24/09/1992)

** Dedicated to Putera & Farah – St. Thomas, Kuantan 1992 **

This poem was penned towards the end of my practicum days at Sekolah Rendah St. Thomas, Kuantan.  Here's thinking of my flatmates; Sivakumar, Putera and Tee Meng Eong.  Salad days were they then eh, Mates?  We should get together some time! 

Weekenders!

Weekends are generally not the best of times that you can expect ordinary folks to be on the net. By ordinary I mean people who have decent 5-day a week jobs as opposed to me who, in some folks eyes are on a ’permanent’ vacation. Not that I don’t have work to do. I have tons of it, up to my ears even sometimes. The difference being, I don’t go to an office, working the stipulated hours of 9-5 (to 9 for some folks I know).

I work at my rented house, in the library, or at the faculty’s gazebo. Whichever place suits my mood at the time. Being a full-time student allows me that privilege I suppose. However, having too much independence could be counterproductive as well. I am at liberty to while my time away. Not that I don’t have work to do, I have tons of it. It is just that while I am in the middle of writing something, while I am mulling certain idea, while I am waiting for a certain theory to make sense, while I am trying to make two concepts gel, I gaze too much at the laptop screen. During those times, the mind becomes a wanderer: it could go back in time, it could fly forward, or it could become wishful.

But I digress. Let’s get back to weekends not being the best of times to catch people on the net. Unlike me, who puts equal value on every day of the week (not because I don’t cherish them – unlucky me, I have to work 7 days a week), these other folks consider their Saturdays and Sundays as precious, priceless These are the 2 days when they manage to shake off their shackles and enjoy - freedom. Not the time to sit in front of a mundane monitor, clicking on the mouse buttons, punching senselessly on the keyboard scouring the virtual world. This time is better spent in the real world.

Weekend is the time best spent in either of two ways, or a combination thereof, whichever suits the purpose. Either you spend time being yourself or you spend the time for yourself. Not much difference between the two choices but let me explain. The former choice is like when every weekend you put on your dancing shoes and be Fred Astaire. Or perhaps, a more down to earth example, you stay at home and play mummy or daddy, whichever one is your preference. Get up in the morning and get breakfast ready; the aroma of steaming home prepared nasi lemak wafting throughout the house is almost enough to make the wait for weekend worth it. Watching the kids and hubby / wifey (or your brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, if you are not married, or your cats if you can’t bother entertaining people) go heartily through the repast is a pay-off itself that no corporate manager can outmatch. So you go on through the weekend doing things only available to be done on weekends – go to the zoo, bring the children for a picnic, visit grandma and grandpa, wash the kids’ school shoes. Anything that you do, that you think you do for other people, but are actually doing it because you are being yourself.

The latter choice entails that upon hearing the alarm clock going off, picking it up and smashing it up against the wall (too dramatic!) and going back to bed for a snooze until midday. Forget the rest of the world; this is the day you reserve for yourself – a day of self-indulgence. Go dye your hair, go hang-gliding, loaf and laze around the house, whatever pleases you. Fulfillment that is only available on weekends.

As for the combination of the two; I leave it to your imagination. I could give you a hint though. Turn off the alarm clock, lock the bedroom door and now there is only you and your partner. Should I say more? The kids can wait for breakfast while watching the telly, a little longer wait will make them eat heartier! And the rest of the world just sails on by.

I did tell you that my mind sometimes wanders far off, didn’t I?

So come on back Monday. The two days I am without their chatters and presence are the two longest I’ve ever known. Let these folks here return to their computer terminals at their offices where with a click of a button they can discover the Internet again. Allow them the opportunity to enter the realm of the net. Let them discover me again –I who cannot be myself and cannot do things for myself because I am missing out on weekends. Let me not be alone again in cyber-space.

My Love Story

DI KAMAR INI

Di kamar ini aku kesepian
Jasadmu tidak bersamaku
Di kamar ini aku kesunyian
Bicaramu tidak menemaniku
Di kamar ini aku kerinduan
Ujudmu terkadang di sisiku.

Di kamar sepi ini kauelus kewujudanku
Di kamar sunyi ini aku bayangkan kau bersamaku
Di kamar rindu ini tuturmu riang di benakku.

Dalam kejauhan ini, kita kekal satu
Dalam kamar hati ini, kau tetap ratu
Dalam cerita cinta ini, cuma engkau dan aku.


Lambert
(15/09/1995)


... and I miss you so much!

Note : This poem is dedicated to my dearest wife, whom I on many occassions had left behind in my pursuit of self-actualization!

With Regards to the Feline Species

Recently one of my friends had a bad accident happenned to the family's cat - Snowy. I hope he pulls through. What prompts this entry is the last remark my friend made on his blog regarding that accident - "Why did the cat have to cross the road?" or something similar to that effect. I have cats too, and I understand that they can be difficult creatures to predict or understand. I shared with him this poem I wrote relating to the complicated kind of relationship a cat may have with its human owner. Enjoy!

The company I keep

A breath of fresh air came near me
As I sat, tooling with my pen, stumped
Studying my mien, leaping on my knees
Nuzzling my chin, asking for a kiss.

I declined. She reclined.
I resisted. She persisted.

Perhaps when I feel more sociable
Your presence I’d greet.
Still baffled, both wishing to be rapt
I turned to my paper, she coiled at my feet.

Lambert (04/08/2000)


This I did not share with him. It won't do the family's morale much good reading this. But if he happens to check this blog, I hope he finds it interesting too. Snowy lives still, Mate. It is a piece of creative writing I shared with my class a few years back. Enjoy!


My Unforgettable Aloysius

I shed tears, of happiness and of sadness, when I think back of my friend, Aloysius. He is not with us anymore, God bless him. He had given me many memorable moments to cherish in what short time he was with me.

Aloysius came to me one dark starlit night when I was woken up by a scratching at our front door. My husband, being such a cautious creature that he is, had a baseball bat with him as he flung open the door, fully expecting to see a monster. Alas, it wasn’t, it was to be our friend – our Aloysius. Shivering, as it was a cold night, mewling of hunger, the little creature rubbed its body against my leg. I melted when I looked down and saw those big blue eyes.

We adopted him. Or Aloysius adopted us. We became very close, every member of my family, from our little Emma to the gruffly Allen, our first born, took to him immediately. He quickly became one of the family, never to be left out from all activities or events.

He was there, weaving between our legs as we went about our chores around the house, loudly screaming should we forget to feed him, disdainful at times in his treatment towards us. We loved him nonetheless. When little Emma barked her shin running up the stairs, Aloysius provided comfort for the girl. Cunningly grabbing the girl’s attention by jumping onto her lap, he dried her tears by cocking his head and staring into her wet teary eyes as if he was incomprehensible of her cry. He nuzzled her, the girl’s tears eventually dwindled, and her sobs soon turned to laughter as the little creature successfully made her forget the mishap that befell her.

That was but one example how he had brightened up our lives. He was always there, most of the time undemanding and somewhat submissive, but always attentive to our mood. He was as bright as the stars that lit the night when he came to us.

Sadly, he wasn’t long with us. His playfulness proved to be his undoing. Chasing a butterfly that fateful day, he strayed into the path of traffic as I watched in horror. The scream stopped in my throat as I heard the thud of the car’s bumper knocking into him. He was thrown into the air and landed near my feet. Our Aloysius died after having been with us for a short eight months.

The whole family grieved his passing. Mostly, the emotion showed in tears, and suggestions of adopting other pets. The latter was vehemently snubbed for fear of another loss. Nothing will ever replace Aloysius.

To this day, Aloysius is very near to my heart. His time with us will always be cherished; the thought of him makes me understand how valuable companionship is.

My Version of the Hidden Curriculum

Reservation


Some trees stand with leaves unstirred
And, yet some bow, some broke
A trial of the plants’ pulp makeup
The saplings are more fragile than the oak.

The green of shoots, the yellow of foliage
Pre-programmed at Nature’s discretion
The brown mulch’s food, the cannibals tower
Lilac tinged stance carnivorously fashioned.

Sun-soaked soil, some trees still want to stand
Water-parched dirt, some trees still want to stand
Spayed barren earth, some trees still want to stand
Entrenched, anchored, unalienable.

The prevailing wind rules this land
The pungent air that wafts on jaundiced wings
The sturdier ones conditioned, the shrubs hedged
The reservation is at its best while the air stinks.


Lambert
(26/01/2000)

What is, is not what it should be!

I suppose the truth had finally dawned on me. If a few yesterdays ago, I, with very little commitment would voice out, “Oh, I lost RM400 every month because I went and furthered my studies!” now painful realization makes its presence felt. That RM400 every month would help a long way to make my life more comfortable and worse, that RM400 is mine! I’ve been robbed blind.

Needless for me to paint the picture, it’s been drawn for you by the media and the huge cries from the public, especially those in the DG41 schemes who felt shortchanged by the system, this is about the discrepancy in the remuneration system, this is about some upper echelon people, whose decision would decide the fate of many, failing to do their homework.

There are two parts to my story. The first is ‘funny’, the second is tragic. So it is a kind of a Tragicomedy.

Chapter 1:

I started my profession as a teacher in the early ‘90s, fresh from the Teachers Training College with a salary of – pittance, I didn’t mind that. I got to do what I had always wanted to do – teach. I enjoyed those earlier years, working with the children, watching them grow. I got myself a wife and was overjoyed when she joined a maktab to become a teacher like me. What could be better than two people sharing their lives and professions?

Several years later I joined a university and earned a degree. My wife couldn’t join my venture because of several juniors had by then joined us at home and needed lots of TLC. Thank you Wife for your sacrifices and understandings. I could never repay you enough for willingly undertaking them.

I returned to teaching three years later and was ‘promoted’ to DGA41 (Pegawai Perkhidmatan Pendidikan SISWAZAH). The capitalization and the colonization are mine to express the import of the words. Work got a bit more tedious as my new audiences are now semi-adults – lots of whims, lots of scenes. I coped, as I had enough tutelage at both the maktab and university to cater for and counter those antics.

This year, a salary hike was announced. All Public sector workers would benefit. A degree holder like me would get 15% increase; my wife a non-degree holder gets 25%. Thank you, thank you, bloody generous of you! Yay! Jubilation! Celebration! Exultation!

Then, came the ‘Crunch’. We sat down one night and studied the ‘new’ salary tables recently released by the relevant authority, joyfully thinking of what we could do with the extra income. Putting the tables side by side, mine a DGA41, my wife’s, a DGA32, suddenly we found out that under the new salary scheme, the difference in our monthly salary is a mere RM6.00 (Yes a mere SIX Ringgit). We looked at each other and burst out laughing. The mirth most probably was due to disbelieve and shock. Why on earth did I bother to bust my arse going to university for an advantage in income of only such a miniscule amount over a person, who not only is a non-graduate, but is also several years my junior in length of service?

Oh, come now, quit whining! It’s funny, please laugh! Don’t worry, I won’t feel offended if you do. The joke is on me! It is a RM6.00 worth of a joke.

End of Chapter One.


Chapter 2

I couldn’t remember exactly, but I believe there 30 of us in that class at the maktab, way way back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. I had lost touch with most of them, but for sure, one, for love of academia, got her masters degree, one for love of money, quitted and started a business in logistic, one for being independent and self-respecting, lost his job, and the rest, me included, for the love of imparting knowledge, remain what we are – teachers.

At this juncture, I think I should clarify something. A teacher is not a bloody cylinder of wax with a wick in the middle to be burnt and discarded when melted. That is a misconception that was introduced to idolize the teaching profession. Maybe it was necessary and relevant to do so in the days of old when teachers didn’t require substantial monetary reward for existence and subsistence. When pupils humbled themselves and ‘served’ the ‘idols’ in place of Ringgit and Sen. I do not feel that teachers want adoration and idolization any more these days. They are now professionals wishing only for justifiable remuneration for duties duly performed. It is as simple and as mercenary as that.

OK, got that out of the way, good. Let’s get on then.

Many among us, at least those with whom I am still in touch with, for his or her own reason never ventured to university. I am sure complacency is not an excuse any of us would use to justify that. Perhaps opportunity forgone or inopportunity would be better explanations for remaining as non-grads. Which is fine as they still get to do want they want to do and get paid for doing it. As time went on and jobs performance was good, so up went their salaries and in due time, with all the accompanying brouhahas, found themselves promoted to the DGA32 scale. Good for them.

I, on the other hand, took the road less traveled by. And by God, did I have to pay for doing that. I busted my brain, my arse and myself to earn that degree. I lost half my pay for three years while I was at the university, at the same time too, I forwent my seniority, and I ended up owing tons of money to make it through it all. All in the name of answering the call for teachers to better themselves academically ( and financially, I assumed at that time.) After all it wouldn’t make sense at all that the paper chase is not accompanied by monetary gain, would it?

So I ended up as a DG41 teacher, what could be so bad about that? For one, the night before I sat down and studied the salary tables, curious to know what would I be making if I hadn’t embarked on that self-bettering journey. I gasped when I found out out that I could have been RM400 richer every month had I sat on my arse and let the world roll by while the grass grew under my feet. Man, I felt like the rug had been pulled from underneath me. This must have been the slickest scam ever pulled on anybody. So, despite all my and my family’s sacrifices, despite all the hard work that I put into getting that piece of paper, despite all the financial strain I put on my family, it ended up stabbing me in the back. I felt so cheated. How could this happen? Why do you people up there allow this to happen? All that trouble just to get poorer.

Note:

In a letter to the editor in a Malaysian daily today : an idiot who goes by the penname ‘Guru Kampong, Temerloh’ wrote something about teachers when they join the teaching profession should not think about getting rich through this profession. This profession is about “derived satisfaction”. Your students succeed; your reward is your satisfaction. I’d say feed your family then with that ‘derived satisfaction’, pay your monthly bills then with that ‘derived satisfaction’, put a roof over your head with that ‘derived satisfaction’. You must be from a kampong indeed if you are still deluded by the thought that your ‘sacrifice’ means a hoot to anybody. Grow up please! Wake up! This is not about getting rich, this is about getting what is mine (or what should / could have been mine)

Chapter 2 ends.

2 years later - Teachers are still not happy about this as evidenced by this letter to the editor:

Guru DG29/41 terus gigit jari
http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Monday/Surat/20080915001247/Article (15/09/2008) Berita Harian Online

SEJAK akhir-akhir ini, suara Guru DG29/41 yang tidak mendapat DGA32 sudah semakin sepi dan seakan mereka terpaksa menerima hakikat walaupun sangat pahit untuk ditelan. Segala luahan dan keluhan mereka di media tidak didengar dan perjuangan melalui kesatuan guru tidak memberi hasil diharapkan. Kesatuan guru adalah saluran yang betul bagi guru DG29/41 untuk membela nasib mereka tetapi apa yang berlaku cukup mengecewakan, terutama bagi guru DG29/41 yang baru dilantik ke DG41 dari DG29 tanpa mendapat DGA32 yang belum mencapai tujuh tahun dalam DG41. Sebagai contoh mudah, guru A dari DG29/41 yang sudah berkhidmat selama lima tahun dalam DG41 dari DG29 (sembilan tahun) hanya berada pada P1T9, dengan gaji pokok RM2,419.45. Tetapi guru B dari DG29/32/41 sekarang sudah bergaji RM2,871.70 pada P1T14 daripada lantikan DG32 (empat tahun) yang juga dari lantikan DG29 (10 tahun).
Perbezaan gaji mereka ialah RM452.25 atau lima tahun berkhidmat, pada hal guru ini sama tempoh perkhidmatannya iaitu 14 tahun dalam bidang dan bawah bumbung sama. Walaupun rundingan demi rundingan dibuat antara kesatuan guru dengan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam dan Kementerian Pelajaran, ia terlalu umum dan tidak diperhalusi dengan betul yang dikhususkan untuk membela nasib guru DG29/41. Akibatnya, keputusan yang dicapai tetap merugikan guru DG29/41 malah menjarakkan lagi 'jurang' dengan DG29/32/41 kerana keputusan tetap lebih menguntungkan guru DG29/32/34/38/41 yang sudah banyak mendapat faedah yang sangat besar sebelum ini tanpa berjuang seperti DG29/41.
Dalam situasi ini, hanya kesatuan saja menjadi harapan tunggal guru DG29/41 untuk dibela nasib mereka.

CIKGU PRIHATIN, Kuantan, Pahang.

For God's sake MOE/JPA/whomever it might concern, do something about this please. What does it take to make you people move your collective heavy asses - a revolution or something?

The Driftwood

If all material things
Of substance belong to land,
The piece of driftwood I spied must
Be covetous of the four
Frolicking souls on the sand.

So near and yet still far
Beckon home the tantalizing sands.
Yet unrealeased it was,
Grappling with the ocean’s
Jealous, protective hands.

What dread is that driftwood’s life.
Its heart must have come burst.
To and fro, see and saw. It could have
Been crying, for we heard
It wailing above the surf.

There it swirled amidst
The flotsam and the jetsam
Imbibing the sea: A watery hell,
Its home and prison; A lost soul
Breakers caged, disowned and damned.


Lambert.
12/01/2001

Note: This poem was written / created while on an outing with 3 very close friends in 2001 at Batu Ferinnghi in Penang.

MovieLand Vs. BolehLand CSI

One must really hand it to the CSI Series for portraying an ideal state of affairs. Bruckheimer must have made the connection to what the public wishes from the Police – undying devotion and dedication to serve a single end – solving crimes by letting or making evidence(s) speak the truth.

Such public wish remains unfulfilled wish here in BolehLand. Here those who dare rule. It may sound anarchical, but when one feels that one cannot feel safe in one’s surrounding due to some quarter having absolute freedom to impose its will on others, how can not that be. It must be said that some types of evidence has little value here. In a country where every individual is fingerprinted as a matter of record at the tender age of 12, it is a crying shame that such a valuable resource as those individualized records is overlooked and not given a chance to serve at least one of the purposes for which they are kept – identification.

Cars have been broken into lately in my neighbourhood. One of those was mine. I woke up one morning to find the driver’s side glass had been smashed and the louts, perhaps frustrated by the design of my cars stereo system, had successfully damaged it when they tried to wrench it out of the dashboard. I have the radio still, but I might as well have it stolen. It is now a piece of junk at the foot of my bed.

So, this grieved citizen, sullied by having his property defiled right in the sanctity of his own courtyard, called the ‘Cepat, Cekap, Betul’ people for assistance. The helpful person on the other side of the phone inform me that I was supposed to come to the Police Station to report the incidence – fine. And then this CSI addict and at the same time, a starry-eyed idealist, asked the RM64 question – “Will you be sending people here to get fingerprints from my messed-up car?”

The answer –“No! Bring the car here to the station.” Wait a sec – that would not be what the CSI would say.

I was expecting something like – “Give me your address, Sir. We’ll despatch a team right over. In the meantime, please keep your hands off the car, lest you taint valuable evidence.”

A RM128 question was asked – “What should I do? I can’t drive the car with broken glass all over the seat.”

The friendly person was heard talking to his colleagues, “It is alright isn’t it if the car is cleaned up for it to be driven to the station?”

“Tak apa, boleh. Cuci dulu nanti datang report.”

The truth dawned on me then. Finding out who the criminals are, is of the least interest to them and I was but an addition to the statistics. Whatever hope I have of assisting the Force to apprehend the criminals was dashed as soon as I compromise the evidence – I’ve watched too many CSI series and understood the implication of such action.

To say the least, I found all my conceptions of these ‘To Serve and To Protect’ people of BolehLand dashed to pieces. Bruckheimer had deceived me into hoping that my case is dealt with by the same and equally dedicated teams of BolehLand CSI. Shame on you Bruckheimer!

I cleaned my car, replaced the windscreen and never bothered to go to the station to report the incident. Wait, before you go and accuse me of perpetuating and/or suppoting a crime because I did not report it, think of the purpose of such action. Why report a crime? (This is a RM256 question – it gets more expensive you see with deeper or more profound revelation). Is it for you to end up a statistic or for you to be (or at least feel) protected?

If you choose the former – fine, go report, and have a nice day. But if your choice is the latter, go report – do you feel protected now?

The second choice, besides having the Force keep order and peace in the society, entails the generation of the feelings of security amongst the citizens of this nation. The Force cannot shoulder such huge responsibility alone. The onus is on us, the person walking the street, as well. Let us contribute in whatever little ways we can. More importantly, make us feel that our contributions matter.

How can I feel secure when I was forced to forgo of an opportunity to contribute to the preservation of such security? I cannot say that I feel secure tonight while the perps who defiled my property yesterday still walk free, secure in the the knowledge that their identities remain unknown, thanks to the dedication of BolehLand CSI.

Some may opine that the fingerprints won’t mean hoot. Very few criminals are successfully charged of their crimes based on evidence of fingerprints. But the keyword here is the feeling of security. Security for the lay people and insecurity for the criminals. The Force’s presence embodies both. Its refusal to be present at scenes of crimes may send the wrong signal – go ahead, do what you will, we are not coming for you. Lost then is the deterring influence the Force has over unlawful activities. Lost then the peace of mind the public has.

The least that the search for fingerprints at crime scenes would do is to put the fear that their identities might be known into these criminals. With the fear of such revelation, these thugs would not be so smug and cocky as they go about their business. That would be the death of the state of anarchy, in my area at least. Then of course the criminals may opt to wear gloves, but that’s another story.

I, your #1 fan, curse you Bruckheimer for making me wish for a different state of existence. Ban CSI series on BolehLand TV! Oh yeah – and May the Force be With You!