Quick post

To do justice to this perpetually banal, inactive page, here are some recent pictures taken:

A 'bridge' at the shore of Kuala SelangorJesmond, my cell member and Jonathan at his house in Kajang.
The MCF booth during CNS week.Cheeky Josh Evans, who asked that the picture be taken like this
The infamous Mat Cemerlangs during a BN ceramah at my housing area.

I must add that the crowd increased dramatically by 4-5 times during the next night, at the opposition ceramah for Elizabeth Wong from PKR.

A quick look at the Five Immediate Actions she would take once elected (for the uninitiated, she won the Bukit Lanjan seat), which were presented that night:

1)The initiation of the Private Member Bill, which will ensure freedom of information for the residents
2)No more demolition of places of worship
3)The Sungai Buloh Forest Reserve to be re-gazetted
4)The crime rate to be worked at and reduced
5)Local council elections to be held

(Thoughts on these in next post, due to entirely different nature of subject and time)

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"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day"


There couldn't be a better place to be in, I still believe. There is much to be glad about. There is much to appreciate...our leaders, our advisors, our companions, our privileges. There is much to hope for.

Do have a good week, everyone.

The national dream

Long have I desired to write something to this effect, after watching the many hands raised up when I asked the Form 2 students while teaching as a temporary teacher, "Who plans to leave Malaysia when you grow up?", after observing the response I got (and still get) for wanting to "study and stay in Malaysia if I can and God wills", after hearing my contemporaries scheming and planning to attain PRs in other countries as soon as they can, and after listening to so many snide remarks about our nation's incompetence, uttered not out of concern for the disadvantaged or underprivileged, but out of pure disdain for this place.

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My national dream is to see a renewed love for this land.

Days ago, the nation went to the ballot boxes and cemented their decisions on paper. The sentiment for change was in the air, we were gearing towards a democratic revolution, we pushed against the walls of oppression and then...The walls came, crashing down. 

Of all of the enormous, ambitious and repeatedly mentioned hopes that have been re-birthed along with the political awakening of my fellow Malaysians, there is a national dream that has yet been realized- one that threatens to destroy the very foundations of this country should it prevail, and more importantly, one that plagues my generation.

How many times has it been said time and time again, that we were fooled to love! We were trained to lift our right hands up to recite the national oath every week, we were made to stand to sing the national anthem every Monday of our schooling years, we were indoctrinated with ideals and notions of the country in our very textbooks, we were encouraged to proudly swing the “Jalur Gemilang” on the National Day; we were taught to love this land, even made to as it seems. But soon after, my generation grew up, and growing up, we saw more.

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Untainted by the doctrine of nationalism and unbiased to certain ideals, the higher education we pursued opened our eyes to the ugliness of our home. The more we saw, the more we hated, and the more we hated, the more resolved we became, "to leave this screwed up place as soon as I can and get a better life where my race will not be discriminated and my privileges will not be based on the colour of my skin". Like grapes dried by the sun, we became as prunes - tired and cynical of the system, eager to escape a desert of injustice, incompetence and corruption.

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And so I ask, what good is change in the system if our hearts can't love a nation whose rulers would inevitably rise and fall with time? If our patriotism depends on the names of the leaders who govern this land, it could very well waver in a matter of 4 years.

Hence, my dream for a renewed love for this nation. Not a tolerance for corruption, nor a liking for sin, but a steadfast, stubborn choice to stand for this place and the insistence that 'where my destiny began is where my destiny lies'. A renewed love for this nation, which, isn't dependent on the abilities of its rulers or the times, rather a willingness to be counted as one of its citizens, and if so be, mocked at for being 'patriotic for a lost cause' when all others have lost faith in it.

It is the firm idealistic stand that beauty is not to be a reason for love- because Malaysia may very well be 'ugly' in many ways. It is the appreciation of a new, unbiased view of the country and the choice to love despite what one sees. Most importantly, it is the passion for our birthplace and identity. Sure, we were taught to love this place, and even indoctrinated to, as some may say,

but if we, who realize all these things and can now see for ourselves...

if we, who know the shortcomings of this land and no longer recite oaths or sing songs ignorantly…

…knowing that love is a choice to be made, not a passion to be forced - love anyway, then change has truly come to Malaysia.

Lose to gain

If time could be seen in a line, and just, through some form of miracle one could walk down that line of time, and see, how the hardship, struggles and pain of his present circumstances helped chart out the path which eventually led to his future; if he could for a moment meet his 'past' self, and stir, shake and encourage him to toil on just because he knows his present glory began in that moment in time of difficulty, just because it began in the past and he knows how the story would end...the possibilities are endless.

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And yet, faith is hoping in something yet unseen because life was fashioned such that one would only be able to look back - down the line of time - after he had traversed it before. In this way he will only know 'too late', in celebration of the right thing done, or in despair and regret for mistakes in the past.

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If there were no struggles, how could 'happily ever after' be appreciated or even realized? Beauty would be born in a palace, the Beast would have never been cursed and the story of "Beauty and the Beast" would be a one-page bore. If there were no tears, how would the struggle of Wilberforce and the abolition of the slavetrade inspire people bent on making a difference? If there were no toil and turmoil, how would Gandhi's tale serve as a testimony of human perseverance and hope?

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Needs serve to remind us that we can't do it alone. Perhaps our generation has been too caught up with making our lives comfortable, not realizing we have made ourselves unable to appreciate it all. We have made ourselves numb, in pursuit of happiness. How ironic, that our self-sustenance has backfired.
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.Before the appreciation of a met need is felt, there must be a need to be met. Thank God for needs. They remind us we're only mortal.

On teaching and such (pictures)

Firstly, a heartfelt thanks for the great, great farewell, cards and gifts! In reply to the messages in the chatbox: Thanks Min Ern, Gary, Chanel, Heidy and Justin Wong. I will try to stop by whenever I can. Thank you all for the appreciation, for almost making me cry (keyword being 'almost' ;P), for being the great students any teacher could ask for and for the well wishes. I know, as my holidays come to a close and as the new semester in university begins the time spent teaching temporarily in school was not to waste. Some pictures to remember...

(click to enlarge)

With the other temporary teachers, (from left) Tysern, Meng Kuan, Chong Xian and Patrick for supper.The boys of 2 Keruing during recess.

At the field with the students having P.E.

The boys in the SMDJ Christian Fellowship whom I spoke to on the 15th of Feb, in conjunction with Valentine's Day

2 Batai and the farewell they put up.

There are many more pictures, in fact, but alas, I have to rush for time...

"To everything there is a season. A time for every purpose under heaven"

May you find yours. Have a week week to all!

Penang

Here's hoping you had a good CNY break.. Just some pictures taken during the trip up north, with my new camera (which my sister thinks seems to follow me everywhere I go now ;>). I'll let the pictures do the talking

Queens Bay

My cousin, Gavin, with Claudia and I

Abby, who enjoyed her time tremendously (eating & swimming)

Blowing the candles on my twentieth birthday cake, with the rest of the family members behind the camera.

Family time is indeed, always a good time. A little note of appreciation for all the birthday wishes and greetings. With possibly more than a quarter of my life passed (and that is if my life extends that long) I am more than convinced many things in life are temporal and superficial, and how men in all their folly and frailty have always chased what they could never keep- and lost what they ought to keep, yet God, in His grace has always been waiting at the other end. There is much to do...

...and much to arrive at.

Have a good week- back to school and work ;>

For the SMDJ-ians

Some may know that for the past three weeks, I have been teaching as a temporary English teacher in five Form 2 classes and one Form 1 class (for Moral) in SMDJ. To say that the job is interesting would be an understatement; it has opened my eyes to several things, made me understand what MY teachers went through to educate me, created doors for me to speak into younger peoples' lives, shown me the rewards of coming to a class awaiting not just a session of academic learning but one eager to know more about the world that awaits them outside...and has reinforced in me: how humble and 'mediocre' jobs such as the teaching profession has more meaning than most of the jobs we have been made to, or have ourselves been dreaming about. With down to about one and a half weeks more of working as a temporary teacher before the university semester resumes, I know I WILL miss these people. For all their enthusiasm, humour, freshness and laughter.
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Anyway, this post is for the students who read the blog- and find nothing interesting/relevant to read, or like one student complained, "Teacher, I don't understand what you write in your blog!".
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One day while teaching at a form 2 class, I asked each of the students to write something secretive/interesting/personal about themselves on a piece of paper, anonymously. I wanted to prove a point that people do not seem to be how they appear to be always, and more often than not, are just 'putting up a show' and have many things to hide. And so we had a "classroom-'PostSecret'-session". Below are some of the statements written on those pieces of paper:
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"I tell my brother my secrets before I go to bed."
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"I sometimes feel as if I'm too inadequate to live up to my siblings."
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"I used to play princess and prince with a guy and I still wish I could do that."
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"I'm sick of being nerdy-looking."
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"I want people to be fair and not always give everything to popular kids when they don't deserve it."
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"I play computer games without permission when my parents are out."
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"Accept me in your Friendster please!" (This one made me really amused)
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"I don't like the prefectorial board a lot."
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Just some pictures of some of the familiar characters in the stories I've been telling in classes:

From left: Ian ( "Follow the trail"), Lit Rong, Myself, Satchid (Car Hijacker), Ernest, Guang Yu and Han Sheng (and his trademark pose).
From left: Joshua ('steel chair and lift' story) and myself.

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Here's an upcoming event at my church this Saturday. Do let me know if you're interested to come and check it out... it can be arranged


Also on the subject of Valentine's Day, I will be speaking at the SMDJ CF (Christian Fellowship Society) on the 15th of February (Friday), on "Love" (it's one day after Valentine's Day as you know). Incidentally it will be my last day of teaching, so do come to CF if you're around. Would be great to have you guys around. =)


Keep enjoying school! Have a great week ahead.

When all is said and done

There. Is. More.

..To this beauty, glory, youth, acknowledgment, prominence, excellence, image, wealth, health, happiness, laughter, peace, prosperity, comfort, luxury that we enjoy

..To this chase for more of what we don't really need, to this amassing of more of what we cannot keep.


Just to be simply... unimpressed, sometimes. How we need to learn how to live again!