Online Post

http://blog.thestar.com.my/default.asp?cat=26

I have this blog published on the star online, with title "Toon Army March On" under the name solesurvivor_13, anyone interested in football can go read :)

Hope

I was sitting in a dark room, on a wooden bed that usually feel so comfortable for an afternoon nap, coupled with the cool breeze of the air-cond, a luxury that eluded me in my life back in KL. However this was a different day, sitting down for even a minute proved to be difficult, not to mention actually taking a nap itself. The cold breeze sends shiver down my spine, even with the sun blazing hot outside. Ah... I did let the nervousness creep into my mind, or rather the fear itself. Its 4.15 p.m. , the result should be here by this time. And suddenly the phone rang, fearing for the worst, I take a quick peek at it, hmm... no, its not the dreaded call I expected, the voice at the other end is a familiar one, saying "hey the result out d oo, how did u do?" The truth is I can wait to check, but reality is playing a twisted joke on me, the line has been exceptional throughout the day, all the way till 4 p.m. when it decide that its time to throw a tantrum and play a prank on me... So yes, I am in a desperate situation where I wasn't able to do anything except to crumble to my nerves, did I deserve such treatment? hmm...probably yes?


So with the line probably not gonna come back soon, I let my mind wonder into a region I never thought myself would be in, a region filled with "what if" question..


" what if what awaiting me is a bad news"


" what if my greatest fear come true?"


" what if I need to return to KL earlier then expected?"


" what if, I actually need to study everything I did again?"


" what if I let my parents down?"


"what if..."

I got so deeply engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't realize what happen around me. I am sure its not something that developed in a day, its something that hide deeply in our subconscious mind for quite some time( not just mine, but some others as well ), something like a crouching tiger waiting to purge at the right moment, when someone is helpless and vulnerable, its not just about me, its never about me, I realize right after I got the result ( I will explain it later ). I did feel like jumping up and down, banging my head on the wall, pulling my hair off, or just buy a ticket back to KL to get it immediately, the fact that I am sweating in a air-cond room said everything.


That's the moment I decided I had enough, enough is enough, there is no way I am going to let something I cannot change manipulate my mind this way, no, no way, I am going to do something. I phoned someone, asking them to check for me...No... this is not the time to talk about pride, its time a time to limit the misery, a time to come out of the shell and face the harsh reality. While waiting for the answer, despite betting against it, I secretly harbour hope that I will survive, saying a little prayer despite knowing that this is against the real meaning of praying. And the message came, only one word caught my eye, "PASSED". It suddenly felt like anything else doesn't matter, I just felt like screaming in joy, but in a split second, something stopped me from doing that...


Like I say earlier, its not about me, suddenly the images of our preparation for exam came flying back into my mind. I can see every single one of us working hard, the determination in everyone's eyes, with only one goal in them. Yes, passing might not be everyone's aim, some might have wanted more, some might have more believe due to their more superior knowledge, but one thing I can be sure, the effort everyone put in is beyond doubt. No one can say we did not put in effort, the black eyes, constant crowding of library proves everything. So if the exam is based on effort, no one deserve to fail. Even if its based on knowledge, I do not feel it really reflect one's knowledge, one might studied everything but still didn't make it, just as some might be lacking in knowledge but possess enough quality to pass. Of course this might not apply to those who passed in flying colours, but just look at the effort everyone put in, everyone deserve a credit for all the work they put in, all the sleepless night. Not everyone can do this, not everyone can endure the moment when you feel physically and mentally exhausted but you mind do not allow you to sleep, not everyone can endure to huge pressure on their shoulder and still fight on. Just based on that, if I were a patient, I would not hesitate to put my life in their hands. It shows nothing come easy, make us can't help but look at all the pharmacists and doctors out there wondering, " wow, they must have gone through hell to come to this position today".

Despite us celebrating our passing achievement( to be honest I don't really care bout my marks, or wanting to see them ), like I say its not just about us, everyone put in great effort and if they fail, definitely is not due to lack of effort or even knowledge, I definitely feel lucky to get through and praying for those having retake to get through is definitely something on my mind. I took some time imagining myself in their shoes, it was torrid and scary, they have done nothing to deserve this and I hope their inner strength will get them through this challenge. P1/07 started with bout 117 students, who came with a dream to serve, and I hope we will end up at 117 as well, well equipped both in terms of knowledge and mentality to serve. Lets give them the encouragement to get through as some of us ( definitely including me ) would have easily gone into their situation if not due to some luck and would need the same support they needed.

Political Turmoil

I would recommend this book in conjunction of the historical appointment of Barack Obama as the first ever African-American President. I bought it weeks before the election and found it a joy to read. As an avid supporter, of course I am delighted with the change, but we must bear in mind that with all the problems America and the world is facing, the economic downturn, not to mention to hugely debated war in Iraq and Afghan, it would take time for the new president to exert his Midas touch, so lets give this guy some time and see what happens.

But back to our own beloved country, it wasn't surprising that the historic win brought up the issue among us that " in Malaysia, can a non-Malay be a prime minister". Just as things are starting to heat up, our prime minister step up with a statement "anyone can be the prime minister", which for me is vague and unconvincing. I got engaged in a conversation with my dad on this and due to some poor historical knowledge, am unable to be sure on whether there is a law fixed right before Merdeka that the seat is only reserved for Bumiputras. 20 years ago people would just laugh you off if you come out with a statement of a possible black president in US, but again the win prove anything is possible but in our country, I just do not see it happen, yet, at least for the next few years or even longer. And this has nothing to do with racial issues, but human nature of reluctance to change and fear of the consequences of change, might just play a big part in this.

Well I didn't say this for no reason, it has something to do with the fact that the election system of both countries are extremely different. In America, an individual represents the party, but in here, the party's fate in election will determine the presidency, or rather the prime minister-dency. In the States, each state will be allocated votes based on population density instead of state size, with a winner-take-all policy, but in our country, each party will battle it out in each districts and parlimentary seats, which means big states like Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang and Johor playing a huge part regardless of population, and this, clearly determines the outcome of our previous election. And the prime minister always come from the winning party, never fails to be Barisan, and never fails to come from UMNO, in our entire short 50 plus year history, will they change the system anytime soon? Not likely...

But lets have a virtual situation where we are adopting a system of current US election, which means states like Penang, Selangor, Perak will definitely get more say than states like Sabah based on population, the outcome might actually change due to the fact that all 3 of these states actually fell to the hand of opposition, in a winner-takes-all system. Just like how McCain lose out to Obama despite winning almost more states and painted the map red in bigger portion than blue. But is it fair? It will be up for people to judge. Another interesting fact is that each party will have to nominate a candidate to run for the top job, and lets say with Mr. N from the governing party up against Mr. A from the opposition,(which you know who I am talking about) it promises to produce an explosive affair, something that I feel our nation is not prepared to face.

One thing I felt is unfair to the non-Bumis is in fact, the questions of our loyalty towards this country. With no doubt, we are citizens born in Malaysia, with Malaysian blood in us, and it would be ridiculous of branding us as outsiders planning to steal the country away, outsiders that always prepare to turn our back against our country in favour of our native country. Just ask anyone, Indian or Chinese, and they would tell you without hesitating that they love Malaysia more than they ever did to China or India. And I wrote this without the intention of hurting the feelings of any race.

Another thing that is really hurting our country, in terms of image and resident's trust, is none other than our own parliament. Branding our parliament as a disgrace is a huge understatement, its way worse than that. Compared to the Taiwanese parliament who saw members rising and punching each other, we are not much better. Vulgar words and hateful comments flying all over make it look like a bad joke, more like a backstreet fighting ground for gangsters rather than a place which actually represents the citizens' voice. Without being bias here, it happens not only with the opposition but also shockingly with some big names in the governing party, throwing their image aside and let rage and hatred take over their soul. How would you feel staying in a country with people whose words filled with " Bab%, F^&*, Sh#$" representing you. Honestly I don't see the parliament doing its job effectively at the moment and with the Speaker of the House condoning such behaviour instead of banning rude, egoistic, self-centered bas$%%^s ( oh did i just sweared?) from the Hall, just make things worse.

This world is in a turmoil, and it has come to the stage where everyone basically just stand up and say" I want a change!!" but took no action to change it. Lets hope things will get better, which based on current situation, looks very unlikely...

Warning

You know, when I first elected as Social Concerns Rep, there is one part of my Standard Operating Procedure saying I am in charge of taking care of students safety, I was wondering what should I do bout it, but after today, the perspective change...

People used to have this perception that studying in IMU is really safe. Well not really, there are a few things you need to look out, for example, TAXI DRIVERS. I mean, its not hard to find taxis around, but some of them are just....erm....just look at the example below:

Plat Number: HWC 9230
Driver Name: Ngan Jin Goung
Crime: Extremely overcharging, smoking while driving, driving reckelessly (including heavy speeding, sudden break and came close of hitting something or someone), swearing continously, threatening to beat up, rape or kill passengers when they refuse to pay his asking price, declare himself as just out from prison, frequently involved in fights, not scared of police and know a gang of gangsters

Hey, I am not kidding here, few of our students suffered from this driver (name shall not be revealed as its confidential) and I seriously urge everyone not to take the taxi for your own safety.

I wonder if taxi drivers read blogs, if he does come across this post, will he come after me, will he send his gang to beat me up or something. But I am not really afraid, coz I am just speaking the truth and for others own good. If there is anything I can say to him, I will say" mister, please think of the consequneces of your behaviour, how much they will affect innocent students life, before you actually do it"

Belief

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. " ~ Barack Obama ~

This guy, to me, is a true leader, charming, charismatic, convincing, he has the 3 C's other leaders don't have and yes, if you want me to use a phrase to express my political stand, no hesistation, its "Barack Obama "

Well, back to the quote, we human generally are reluctant to change. To change is like dragging you out from your comfort zone and place you in a dark room, leaving you to explore and find your own comfort zone again. The same thing happened to me throughout my life.....

When I started as SRC Social Concerns rep, things didn't exactly goes well for me... The first buddy system I organized kinda sucked, I went into batches asking for volunteers for Santa Jerome's Home but call for help turned into deaf ears, I tried to make name tags for SRC members but the quality was bad and most of the tags broke (though I still keep mine properly)

The change of lifestyle didn't suit me as well...I struggled to adapt with a busier life, struggled to balance between study and work, it was a stressful period for me, I even accidentally yelled at my friends coz of lack of sleep and fatigue...thats how bad it gets.

But the most important thing is I hang on and didn't give up... The belief that one day I will adapt is always there, and looking at the situation now, the one day is getting closer and closer, which is a good news!! The aim, the goal, is always to make life better for IMU students, and for that the hardwork shall go on.... I have learned that when you set your mind on the goal, don't stray away from it, you get more motivation... And the support I got, it gave me a lot of self-belief, which is vital for me to get past this transition period and move on.. (so thanks, and yes, you know who you are and why I thank you)

So here are few things I manage to complete in my first 2 months of service:

Leadership Camp in Genting

I assisted our counsellor Miss Nicole in organising a very meaningful camp and learned a lot from it, and hopefully, since its co-organised by IMU Amigoo Club, this can be a stepping stone for the resurgence of the club (the club is abolished half a year ago due to non-activities) and I will do whatever I can to help it come back to the fray again.

Santa Jerome's Home Tutorial System

With the lack of support I initially received, I turned to my batchmates of P1/07 and of course my beloved p1/08 juniors for help and we managed to keep the tutor system alive.. I believe a leader should lead by example and if possible, I will follow the team to the home every Saturday and monitor the progress...I am really glad the new health sciences and Bpharm batches has 40 people volunteered as tutor, I shall make good use of those help :)

Umbrella Project

I am a frequent victim of getting wet and sick in rain and I believe IMU students need umbrellas, currently I placed 13 umbrellas from lost and found in lower car park for needy students and hopefully I will be able to ask for permission to place in at main entrance soon enough for convenience of the students

Notice Board

Thanks to all my friends I have my own notice board in atrium and hopefully it will provide sufficient information about social events and most importantly its entertaining as well!!

Extension numbers

I have requested hepdesk to place lecturer's extension numbers in I drive so that students can have access to them easily, hopefully its there

Social Clubs

Am still trying to establish a good relationship with all social clubs in IMU and understand what kind of help they need, hopefully as time goes by, they will stand out just as much as sports and cultural clubs

There are still quite a number of stuff in my manifesto which I haven't really done...But promises are promises and they need to be fulfilled, so the only thing I can say is I will try my best and there will be more to come.....

IMU Friendship Day

We have IMU cup, the colaboration of all sports, we have Merdeka Day celebration, a colaboration by all Cultural and Religious Clubs, so hopefully we will have a day where all social clubs get to work with each other... ( of course I will need support from all the clubs)

Interbatch Speed Dating

Its a really interesting activity proposed to be done on third week of September, right after IMU cup...I really hope it will work, we will wait and see

Right, thats about it, I hope I don't bore you with this lengthy reports... Always belief in yourself, nothing is unachievable, its all up to how much you want it... And trust me, when human want something REALLY bad, there are unstoppable...

Revival

It has been real real long since I last update this blog, and in case you are wondering, no its not dead, its just hibernating and now its awake, again.. The initial reason I start this blog is coz I am campaigning for SRC and I am using it as one of my move to convince. But now, it will work as a mean of communication, between me and IMU students, and hopefully, number of readers will again increase with time and through this blog people knows what I am doing and of course, I get to know the concerns of the people...(which is part of my job)

Communication, of course is important. so is information... And to achieve both at the same time, I have set up a Social Concerns Notice Board in atrium, and the board will be updated weekly... It provides information of social events, call for help for the needy and of course, some means of relaxation like music, movies and games, as I believe life in IMU is not just bout study..

So here is the board, try to have a look at it in atrium and let me know what you think k? If you like it, we will be really motivated to continue and improve on it... And of course really thanks to my team of creative directors (Ning, Jeannette, Ching Yik, Chun Wai) for staying with me in SRC till 11 or 12 night to finish up the board every week.... So if the board is nice, credit to their hardwork....

I will be promoting this blog on the board as well soon, with expectation on more suggestions on how I can improve my social concerns job to come :)

And oh ya.... Recently a hamster sneaked into Ning's house and now they are taking care of it... Really hope it would survive and live well, its cute, isn't it?

The Result Is....

OUT. Yup our result is finally out after a frantic + nerve-wrecking + making people wanna burn AAD wait. But I am not really happy, not coz of the result is bad (oh ya, I passed, in not so flying colours in case you are wondering). I mean I expected the result to be not that good, coz I didn't really study well, in fact I expected worse. So resultwise, I am pretty satisfied. The thing that managed dampen the celebration is some of my classmates didn't make it through and had to go for retake, which IMU did not provide enough time to study for it. It makes me pretty worried and of course, will pray that I will have most of my classmates back for sem 4.

Lets pray for them together k?