From Zero to Hero

Remember Martin Palermo? Well for you avid football fans out there, you surely must have known him from his past & present exploits on the field, be it a club level or with the international team. For you who are not & need some introduction, here is an interesting one for you; Martin Palermo missed three penalties for Argentina in a single game in 1999.

That sends him into the record book. Not a normal one – Guiness Book of World Records. Now, that is surely not something you want to be proud of.

Anyway, after a 10-year exile he was recently called back into the national team, much to everyone’s surprise. Surely he looks forward to make amends for his decade-old error, don’t you think? Make amends he did, scoring arguably the most important goal for his national team this year in the dying stages of last night’s World Cup qualifying match. That keeps Argentina hope of reaching South Africa in next year alive.

People would not forget about those three missed penalties. But if Argentina goes through, whenever Martin Palermo’s name is uttered in the future, people would also recall that famous goal which saved the nation from embarrassment.

Destinasi: Kuala Kangsar

Belok kanan, jalan terus sampailah ke Kuala Kangsar.

Bandar diraja, bumi seribu cerita. Di sini cita-cita ditanam, di sini dicorak masa depan.

Hujan renyai-renyai menyambut ketibaan. Nota kecil dipegang, kononnya mahu dicatit segala pengalaman. Kalaulah dapat diambil segala teladan, disimpan kemas dalam fikiran. Kalaulah dapat direkodkan segala ragam manusia yang ditemukan. Kalaulah dapat digambarkan keindahan alam di seluruh tempat kaki ini telah sampai. Kalaulah boleh diambil selangkah ke belakang, supaya lebih jelas langkah ke depan. Kalaulah.. Hujan berhenti.

Lelah dek perjalanan yang panjang, duduk-duduk sebentar di tepi Sungai Perak menghirup udara nyaman. Nyaman sekali angin Kuala sepoi-sepoi bahasa datang membalut badan. Sungai Perak mungkin tak sehandal Sungai Piedra, tapi nyamannya, tenangnya tetap mendamaikan fikiran.

Tiba malam, siren keretapi memecah kesunyian. Berpuluh tahun, keretapi berkarat ini masih setia singgah ke Kuala mengambil penumpang. Aku hirup kopi pahit di kedai berdekatan stesen, duduk semeja dengan Pak Lebai. Apa cerita terbaru Kuala Kangsar pak? Tiada cerita baru, semua masih seperti dulu. Selaju mana arus kemodenan, sekuat mana pengaruh seberang lautan, Kuala Kangsar tetap tenang dan aman. Oh, Cikgu Yop Zain anak jati pekan dah berhijrah, kamu tahu?

Belok kanan, jalan terus sampailah ke Kuala Kangsar. Bunyinya macam jauh, namun jangan mengeluh, kata orang perjalanan itu penting bagi menimba pengalaman.

Pressure

A friend hurt his knee in a basketball game last year. He could neither walk nor stand up, so the ambulance had to carry him off to the nearby hospital. He had to scrape together hundreds of dollars to pay for the ambulance because his health insurance would not provide cover. After he was out, it was clear that he was under intense pressure. The pain was killing him, and the substantial loss in money drove him crazy. He told me that he felt like going back right away from where we were. He wanted to take a 16-hour train alone that would cost him another hundred or so dollars, which was foolish since there were plenty of cheap flights available. Everyone convinced him not to go with the idea, but he could not care less. Perhaps, he just felt that it was the right decision and doing it would help him stave off the pressure.

Men resort to doing the unthinkable when they come under pressure. Whether it is the pain from losing in a soccer game, or failing to put some food on the table, or getting shitty result in an exam, or being dumped by a girlfriend, no one likes the feeling of being under pressure. Some are strong enough to stand through it, but others reach the tipping point easily and decide to pull the trigger. It is a small wonder that we are seeing crazy things in the world today in huge numbers – all stemmed from men losing the battle and choosing to do the latter.

But you cannot put complete blame on them can you? Some are just born weak, while others face a pressure so big that they wilt. Sometimes the ball just is not falling when you want it to and pressure robs those unlucky men of their souls. You cannot simply pass on judgments unless you yourselves have gone through a similar battle.

Biar Miskin

He might be a mere construction worker in Indonesia, but his lesson resonates through every corner of the world.

I am trying to find the source of this wonderful picture. If any of you have seen it before and know where the origin is, please do share it with me. Thanks.

One In A Million

In his world-famous book, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman wrote:

“In China, where there are 1.3 billion people and the universities are just starting to crack the top ranks, the competition for top spots is ferocious. The math/science salmon that swims upstream in China and gets itself admitted to a top Chinese university or hired by a foreign company is one smart fish. The folks of Microsoft have a saying about their research center in Beijing, which, for scientists and engineers, is one of the most sought-after places to work in all of China. ‘Remember, in China when you are one in a million – there are thirteen hundred other people just like you.’ ”

Tentang PPSMI

There certainly had been a steady stream of grouses against PPSMI since its inception in 2003. Many feel that the prolonged use of English as the medium in Science and Mathematics at school threatens the very existence of Malay language in the country. I would not say that I totally disagree with this group of people; they certainly have a point and I spare nothing but respect for their passion. Events of the past few months, however, have arguably brought this disagreement to a totally new level. In the latest development, there is a planned gathering in KL today for 100 thousand people who are against this implementation (though I very much that they will ever reach that figure, but let’s not focus on that).

My question is, why now? Why didn’t they voice out their dissent when the program was first implemented six years back? Yeah there had been similar concern, but I do not recall it being as strong as it is now. Surely if similar efforts were put in place back then, they could have made a huge difference. Perhaps more important, why do the government even consider reverting back to using Malay language as the medium only after six years of implementation? It seems that for each step forward that we take, we anxiously take a look back and constantly think about reversing two steps.

This reminds me a lot to another local body that is going nowhere, the FAM. First they decided to do away with foreign imports in our national football leagues, and after only a few years they made a complete U-turn to that decision. This year they decided to do it all over again, getting rid of the foreigners for the new season. Haven’t they learnt any lesson from that first effort? Look at the state of our national team; they are fast moving in downwards direction. I dread to think about the fate of our students facing a similar situation.

I am no expert in our education system, but I can tell with confidence that six years is not enough to gauge the effectiveness of PPSMI. Even the first batch that sat for Science and Mathematics in English are still juggling their ways in universities. Wait until after a decade or two for the result - look at the level of English competency amongst fresh graduates, the rate of employment, and the level of progress we have made in science and technology field. If, God forbids, the picture by that time is not all pretty and rosy, then only we should seriously consider taking a step in a new direction. As of now, there is just no way of telling that the implementation is going to bring us nowhere. In fact, if the recent results of PMR and SPM are to give us any indication, the future actually looks bright and there is no harm done along the way.

Of course cynics will argue that it is best if we overturn a bad decision before things get worse. After all, why wait until storm when we could have run away or build a shelter early on? Choosing to wait until after a decade or so is a sheer waste of time, especially if the end result proves to be disastrous. I understand this predicament, but as I said there are just no hard facts to support the notion that PPSMI does not work. If one can come out with a strong, convincing argument backed by facts to revert back to the use of Malay language as the medium, I am sure that everyone will be willing to listen.

I do realize, though, that the main concern of anti-PPMSI groups is that it will only downgrade the Malay language. The problem is that this is a subjective matter; there is just no way to see the effect of PPSMI on Malay language, no hard facts it to back it up. If my sheer thought alone can provide any consolation, I do not think that PPSMI will be detrimental. We still hold our daily conversation with peers in Malay language, and we can still perfectly understand Berita Harian. However, I might be wrong altogether. Their worst fear is that our national language will creep away from the society slowly, and it might be gone even before we realize it, before we can do something about it. We might still speak in Malay language, but English words are incorporated in our sentences more and more. We have no problem reading Berita Harian, but we choose to buy The Star. This is the unseen impact of PPSMI that they believe to exist.

Now if we can just hold on for a sec and examine our options – where do we go from here? Our main aim is two-pronged – we want to produce students who are highly competent in English especially in Science and Mathematics, but at the same time we also want to preserve the national language. We can go back to where we were, using Malay language as the tool in Science and Mathematics and then think about ways to beef up the English level. Unless serious attempts are made at this, this does not pose much difference from our previous situation and does not look promising. Or we can continue with the current system, and throw serious efforts in maintaining the Malay language. This looks more doable since we already have the system in place, and the fact that Malay language is still very much in makes things easier and more assuring. On one hand we have an option which needs us to make our way back and still does not guarantee that we will ever get anywhere. On the other, the option poses some challenges but there is a promise that we can fulfil both aims.

Time and again people will come and say that PPSMI will not work, that the whole system must be changed. But why change the entire system when you can work on improving the implementations? Your newly-bought car breaks down in the middle of the road, do you trade it in and purchase a new one straight-away or do you send it to mechanics to fix the broken part? I have not gone through the part where a change in our system will cost us significantly in the publication of new textbooks, the need to provide new guidelines to our teachers, the disposal of exam papers already printed in English and so forth. In this gloomy period for the world economics, the last thing we want to hear is the government proposing millions of dollars of new incentive to change to the face of a system that has not proven to be negative.

The other part of the problem is the charge that we are making life difficult for students in the rural area who are already struggling with scientific concepts and mathematical theories, now having to deal with them altogether in English. Again, this can be well improved by a more proper execution. Extra teachers can be put in place to assist, and perhaps efforts can be made to expose these students to English at a younger age. Thousands of others come from families who speak no English, read no English, yet they blossom when Science and Mathematics are being taught in this language. Some even secured scholarships and gained entrance to prestigious universities. So, no excuse, okay? Besides, we are not doing them any favour by retracting back to Malay language. Surely progress cannot be achieved if all we do is pamper these students and remove their struggles. How long more are we going to make life easy for the children?

My worst fear is that this matter is being used by opportunists for their own political gains. We are seeing it today, and I fret to think of the fate of the future generations if this trend continues.

Jebat Must Die wrote a good piece on this. On a different note, Saharil Hasrin Sanin penned a wonderful essay on the fate of our national language in New Malaysian Essays 1 and his thought on healing it. I could not find this essay anywhere on the net – I am afraid the only way for you to read it is to buy the book yourself, which I guarantee will be worth every penny.

God Give Him Strength

My father just got hospitalized a couple of nights back, only 24 hours after I got back in Sydney. He had been complaining about having a chest pain to my mom since the past few months after doing seemingly simple household routines, going up and down the stairs for instance. On Thursday night, he passed out while performing the Maghrib prayer at the nearby surau, causing horror to the fellow jemaah who were there. He got sent to Selangor Medical Centre in Shah Alam immediately by mom, before being transferred to IJN because the former is not a panel for his health insurance.

The last time I checked, he was already moved to Day Care Unit at IJN, though that is still under CCU, so I was told. This Monday they are going to have a medical procedure called angiogram conducted to check for clogged heart arteries. My mom had constantly tried to assure me not to worry, but how could I not when father is lying on a hospital bed and I am thousands of miles away? Luckily my eldest sister, the only other member of the family who is away had decided to skip class and come back all the way from Kuantan; I hope that can provide some comfort to my father, seeing the kids around. In the meantime all I can do is keep my fingers crossed and pray that nothing bad will ever happen to him, that his health will improve. If you guys can recite a bit of prayers for him, too, I would really appreciate that.