Foundation programme is coming to an end?

The year is coming to a close, the third semester is coming to an end, my foundation programme is about to complete. So what now ? Final Examination. Yes, I repeat. FINAL EXAMINATION. As this is my last post, I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect on my journey through these 12 months course.


Just like others, there have been good days and bad days for me too. I mean c'mon, what is life if it's not cruel, right? But what matters is that how you endure every obstacles that come your way and stop you from progressing when there's every possible chance. Sometimes, I wish I was still at school, sometimes I wish I was still a child just so that I didn't have to face so much pain and drama at college. But at the same time, I thank god for giving me strength to pull through every challenging path I come across. From examination, assignments, presentations to handling lecturers, friends and homesick. I feel strong than before.


I'm glad through out the course, I made new friends from the other department, got closer to my own classmates and batch mates, created good impression towards my lecturers, and most importantly, learned a lot of new things and gained adequate knowledge to pass my exams with flying colours and also to prepare for my degree course. Yes, I've made up my mind to persue my degree in Tesl at Help :')


My first semester seemed pretty easy and manageable, second semester was a little tough but again I pull through with enough motivation and study time. Now, I'm in my last and final week of study before the finals, and the amount of assignments and presentation I had to submit and do respectively was massive.! Like literally so many that I barely had enough time for myself. #lifeasastudent.

But all in all, this foundation programme has been really beneficial to me and it definitely serves as a foundation for my future studies and also career. Even though I had uncountable assignments and projects to complete, it was indeed fun to carry out with my classmates. They have really helped me through completing difficult tasks and have been there to cheer me up when I was feeling down. Our lecturers were amazing, friendly and also helpful through out this course. I'll sure miss my lecturers and also my fellow classmates.

Thank you Tesl Foundation & cheers to the new chapter of my life. Life of a degree student. :)

Public Service Announcement Project.

OFFICIAL PSA MOVIE - Girls. They deserve to be two things : Who they want to be and what they want to be, whenever they want. :)

It was a project done for the New Media in Tesl subject. Well, what can I say? It was more than fun to have worked with such sporting and adventurous friends. Daniel, being the only thorn among the roses tolerated our nuisance pretty well and contributed many ideas.Shannen, on the other hand came up with the most random jokes to be used in our script and as for Fara and Lalisha, the pulled off their acting skills quite well. Last but the not the least, Chanelle, our photographer and editor who did a tremendous job into putting the scenes all together and producing a wonderful piece what I call a 'short film'.




Do sit back, relax and enjoy our production :)

YANOMAMO Tribe.

Sitting Bull, the tribal chief of Hunkpapa Lakota noted that “I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle’, before he was shot dead for defending his tribe’s sovereignty and dignity Just like this tribe, there are other tribes all over the world fighting for their heritage. However, some tribes have decided to remain isolated and have no contact with the outside world or even other indigenous peoples. Their decision not to maintain contact with other tribes and outsiders is almost certainly a result of previous disastrous encounters, ongoing invasion and destruction of their forest home. In conjunction to this, I’m going to talk about a tribe that probably not many of you have heard of. A tribe that is struggling through criminal invasions, attacks and disease. A tribe that is facing extinction. And finally a tribe that I fancy. Yes, they are called the “Yanomamo.”

Who is keen in anthropology? Who enjoys studies of tribal and culture? Who sees art from a different perspective? My speech will surely be of special interest to them. Firstly, The Yanomamo are well known for being one of the few tribes in the world whose existence was unknown until some recent decades. The Yanomamo fall into the category of Tropical Forest Indians called ‘foot people.’ There are just about 20,000 people living in some 200–250 villages in the Amazon rain forests on the border between Venezuela and Brazil. The entire village lives under a common roof called the shabono. They are of the Shamanism religion and speak Yanomaman languages. Besides, The Yanomami heavily depend on rain forest resources thus, they are known as fishers and hunters. Their common game animals are wild pigs, monkeys, tapirs, armadillos, birds and rodents. Not forgetting, they’re also horticulturists. The women cultivate plantains in gardens as their main crops while men do the heavy work of clearing areas of forest for the gardens. However, it is devastating to discover that their lives are currently threatened. Gold minors have invaded their lands, destroyed many villages and spread deadly diseases by which many Yanomamos died.

Nevertheless, I’m quite fascinated about their way of life. I always thought that tribal people were mostly peaceful. Little did I know that war was a nearly constant state of affairs for the Yanomamo that shaped every aspect of their lives and culture. Well, I believed that even when tribes did fight, the battles were rooted in conflicts over material resources, only after having some researches done, I was informed that the Yanomamo’s wars were almost entirely over women. Not only that, and while I had believed that all tribal people were highly egalitarian, I found that Yanomamo men were in fact very concerned about status and that there were several ways for a man to elevate himself above his village peers. Quite interesting, isn’t it ? Well, let us take a moment to study their way of life.

For your information, one of the most salient features of their social environment is the threat of attack from neighbors. According to a statistic, 45% of these tribesmen had slain at least one other man leading to a lost a member of their immediate family due to violence. However, populations of tribesmen believed to be still growing by reproduction of offspring regardless of the many people dying and fighting with each other that leads to the high number of death. If you were surprised to find that the Yanomamo were not the peace-loving noble savages you had expected, you should be equally surprise to learn the cause of their constant conflict. 

As we all know, tribesman go to war over material resources. So just like other primitive people, Yanomamo did indeed fight over a scarce resource ; Land, food, oil, water, wealth? No. Women. Yes, they fight over women. Their conflicts were almost entirely rooted in reproductive competition. This phenomena is completely out of the norm for civilized people, whereas it is a mean of survival in the tribal world. Nevertheless, I have to agree on this note, ‘women have always been the most valuable single resource that men fight for and defend.

Yet the Yanomamo’s desire to obtain a woman isn't primarily for reproductive competition which takes us to the third surprise ; the tribesmen’s desire for status and honor. It is found that Yanomamo men were more prominent and given more deference than others. First, the men with the most kin and the largest patrilineage enjoyed higher status, mostly the political leaders. Besides, this higher status comes with an advantage. For instance, the more male relatives a young man had, the easier it is for him to successfully find a wife. Other than that, the Yanomamo practices polygyny. Every Yanomamo man hoped to have multiple wives which consequently creates scarcity in women, thus become the one resource worth fighting over. At a worse scenario, men may attack and raid other villages and bring back some of their woman causing the men from the raided villages to plan a counterattack that sets a constant war and fear of attack.

In a nutshell, these are some interesting background information on some of the possible origins of masculine culture and honor. As far as I’m concerned, this way of life provides a fascinating look at how and why the basic code of masculine honor, as defined by stoic courage, originally developed. And as I mentioned at the start, what stuck out to me is that the lives of Yanomamo men, while incredibly far removed from that of us moderns, still have faint echoes today. Learning about the Yanomamo gave me a dozen random insights that I feel relate to the state of modern men which includes Yanomamo’ desire for women, desire for honor and status, and their constant war that shapes their lives. Nevertheless, I think this is an interesting tribe that you may be keen to know more. Feel free to research on this and believe me you’ll be amazed.

  

My opinion towards the Foundation Programme.

Well, Daniel and I were put into a group to do a presentation for Principles of ESL Teaching and Learning, one of the very last tasks for this week. Th topic for our presentation was basically a discussion on aspects of the teaching-learning on the Tesl Foundation Programme which are good and aspects which could be improved. 

Some of the good aspects we spoke about were the lecturers' personality and attitude. We find that almost all of the lecturers from the Tesl Department are very ENTHUSIASTIC, COMPASSIONATE and EMPHATIC by nature.

How is a student motivated to attend to the subject matter?

• Teachers allowing themselves to convey the true zest for learning that we feel
• Teachers are fascinated by our subject matter or they wouldn't be teaching it!
• Teachers developed a habit of allowing a maximal voice projection.
• Teachers use the tools of eye contact, facial expression, gestures and postural changes. 
• Teachers provide encouragement all the time.
• Teachers are very genuine and smile like they mean it.
• Teachers allow students to take ownership of their learning and let them make their own decisions.
• Teacher's expectations are be aligned with our needs.

So, all these scenarios are associated with attracting and holding our attention and we're pretty much tuned in with the exciting materials that they're about to hand out which facilitates better learning.

On the other hand, we pointed out some aspects that could be improved for a better teaching-learning in our programme.

LONG HOUR CLASSES and WORK LOAD.

We have classes stretch from 8am to 6.30pm with only an hour lunch break. I find this time of classes quite intolerable as each lesson are a duration of 3 and a half hour. Sometimes, due to long and lengthy hours of lectures, we experience lethargy and sometimes boring topic and get spaced out in class just waiting to go home. Some students have to catch their train home while some are obliged to drive home in the massive traffic jam.

We suggest that the Eng Department could make the necessary arrangement to shorten the duration of classes as well as set the time according to the convenience of both the lecturers and students.

Besides, the work load that we have to endure is crazy. QUIZZES, PRESENTATION, ASSIGNMENT, PROJECTS, TESTS, EXAMINATION and the list goes on. We totally understand this is basically the perks of being a college student but we deserve to get our rest time, extracurricular time and on study time too. It's already the 24th of November 2014 which marks the last week of study before our finals. NIGHTMARE. So many assignments to submit and other presentations to do that come clashing in with our study time. So how am I suppose to focus all at one time? So do I complete the assignment? Or do I prepare my slides for my presentation? Or do I start revising for the finals?

It's alright to get to us to do a lot of tasks as they're beneficial to us as well as help us with our future. Nevertheless, I suggest the department could provide a course schedule that is more manageable for us? 

Lastly, we totally understand that The HOD and also the other members of the department are having a hard time with the constant moving from building to building. Thus, leads us to problems like insufficient classroom, constant cancellation of classes and changes in the class venue. However, I have to say that we have to tolerate and let the changes take place as they are for good reasons. The department is making every possible way to provide us with a quality teaching-learning environment.

College is a reward.

One thing that I promised myself before I came to Help University College, before I even graduated from high school, was to not procrastinate with my assignments, readings, work obligations, projects and any other daily activity you can imagine. Now, I'm about to complete my foundation and pursue into my first year as a degree student, I have realized that this goal is easier said than done.

One would imagine that I might have settled into an all-too-familiar daily routine of a usual 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. schedule consisting of attending classes, study time, break time and extracurricular activities by now, correct? The answer is completely and entirely correct. Back in the first and second semester, my typical day is roughly made up of about 30% free time, 5% eating, 20% doing homework, 25% extracurricular activities and personal activities (sports, clothes shopping, own study, etc.), and 20% of my time is going to class. Now, it's the total opposite. I barely have time for myself, thus always seeing myself run up and down, back and forth for classes. Based on these numbers I have discovered that my biggest challenge I faced with is finding the motivation to be the productive, studious and organized student that I promised my younger self I would be.

Although Help is a fairly small campus, the people that you meet are like no other. The sense of community that everyone brings to the table is a blessing and a burden. I say this because I have experienced the reward of finding close friends who I forfeit my sleep for just to squeeze in a few more laughs before we all return to our rooms; the extra free time I long for to catch lunch or tea with batch mates and other senior students on the other hand the close-knit and cordial atmosphere distracts you from focusing on the actual reason for being at the college. There is no doubt that fun is one of the most sought out activities in college and sometimes, I don’t even feel like I am at school because the amount of time that I spend on my own and with friends is ridiculously fun.

Now I don’t mean to sound like those guidance counselors, adults, teachers and parents of friends who preached about the importance of prioritizing school and family above all else. Although I will emphasize how right they were about choosing friends that share the same values as you. My closest friends who I have only known for about third quarter of a year are the reason why my college experience will keep me going for the rest of my education journey.

Occasionally I tend to remind myself that I have a purpose to fulfill even though the temptation to have a little more fun pushes its way from the back of my mind and transforms into eventual action. Although these thoughts are more frequent than I would prefer, I find comfort in the fact that I am not alone in this struggle. In actuality, no one is ever completely alone in his or her personal struggles. The key to succeeding in college, in my opinion, is finding people just like you who are fighting similar battles and who encourage you to study more often. However, indeed I should say that this is a good start of something new.

Help's Deepavali Night '14

Hi there, there was a Deepavali celebration organised by the Human Resource and Indian Cultural Society of Help University at Mainblock on the 31st of October 2014. 

There were lots of performances by Help students and also by local artists such as the singer, Neroshan and the upcoming dance crew, Te Amo. I also had the privilege to do a folk dance performance with my sister that night. It was quite difficult to rehearse my dance due to time constrain. Managing my anxiety and nervousness before my performance and during my performance was indeed challenging. Thanks to the committee for this opportunity. 

The admission was free and dinner was also served free, thus I invite a few friends over to join us. Our Help Komander, Mr Anthonysamy was very entertaining, regardless of his tight schedule and time, he made an initiative to give us wonderful performances. Not forgetting, Daathry and Zack, the MCs' for the night. They were amazing and hilarious on stage. All those attended the event especially the students were the best audience. They laughed, cheered and danced along all night long. 

Lastly, the dance floor was the bomb. The event went on till 1am and the songs that were played were amazing. It was an honour to have met a lot of new people that night. It was indeed an amazing event. I am looking forward for next year's Help's Deepavali celebration.

World Mental Health Day 2014

World Mental Health Event 2014 Day by CPCS 

of 

Help University.

It is an honor and a privilege to be invited to participate in the World Mental Health Day Event by the Psychology and Counseling Department of Help University. The theme that Center for Psychological and Counseling Services (CPCS) is featuring this year is Breaking Stigma, Bridging Lives. The aim of this event is to raise awareness about Schizophrenia and other related mental health issues. It was held for 3 days from the 8th of October till the 10th of October 2014, from 10am to 4pm. There were audio and video simulations related to mental illness, communication activities, dance, expressive art, stress-relief crafts, and mindfulness activities from the experiential rooms across all three days. Sadly, I was unable to attend all 3 days of the event due to tight class schedule and time constraint, thus only attended the last two days and participated in a few activities and event highlights that were arranged for the participants. 

This year’s health concern is on the psychological disease called Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia refers to a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. The first experiential room that I was introduced to is called ‘Breaking Stigma’. I was informed on the seriousness of Schizophrenia as there have been several suicide cases reported due to this mental disorder. However, little did I know that Schizophrenia is common for men and women in their late 20s, Previously, I thought it was only common among children. The truth is that it's quite uncommon for children to be diagnosed with Schizophrenia and also rare for those older than 45.

Not just that, I was also told that Schizophrenia symptoms vary from person to person. Some of the symptoms of Schizophrenia that we ought to know include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and abnormal motor behaviour. However, it is quite difficult to recognize Schizophrenia symptoms in teenagers as this may also be just a part of typical teen development. I startled upon hearing that the symptoms among teenagers are withdrawal from friends and family, drop in performance at school, trouble sleeping, irritability or depressed mood and lack of motivation as I’m pretty much encountering some of these currently. I hope it is not what I think it is. As for treating this illness, the medical management of Schizophrenia often requires a combination of antipsychotic, antidepressant, and antianxiety medication. Unfortunately, most people will discontinue their use of medications, especially ones where the side effects are difficult to tolerate. This is devastating because lifelong treatment is needed for victims of Schizophrenia.

Secondly, we then moved on to the next phase called ‘Empathy Lab’. This was my most favourite part of the tour. I was asked to listen to some sound clips and do a crossword puzzle at the same time. Throughout the sound clips, I heard gory sound effects and voices that mentioned negative comments like “You’re worthless. You should die. You’re stupid.” These discouraging words were very disturbing and not pleasing to the ears. I was unable to concentrate on completing the crossword puzzle. It is undoubtedly true that people with Schizophrenia face delusions because they hear voices that other people don’t hear. Thus, these negative voices they hear lead them to suicidal thoughts and abnormal behaviour. Besides, I also watched a video clipping on how a Schizophrenic runs his daily routines. He sees, hears, smells, or feels things that no one else can. He believes things that are not true. For example, a person may believe that people on the radio and television are talking directly to him or her. Sometimes people believe that they are in danger, thinking that other people are trying to hurt them. How terrifying can life get?

The next experiential room is called the ‘Dance Expression’, where we were taught on how to do the Cha Cha Cha dance. Basically, this is a form of a dance therapy that is able to make people happy and joyful. Hence, dancing is used to treat Schizophrenia. However, otherwise, I think I should still practice dancing as I believe it is an uplifting activity and can also be taken up as a hobby during my leisure time. The last phase is called ‘Bridging Lives’. Here, we were notified on some of the ways to seek for professional help. Honestly, I refused to help anybody with mental illness because I don’t quite know the right approach or procedure to find them a solution. Not only that, I also fear for rejection. Therefore, I normally keep a distance from people with mental illness or depression. However, after being briefed on how we can reach out to help victims of mental disorder, I feel relieved and pledge to try my best to help them in anyway possible. 

I always had a wrong perception towards people with mental disorder until I attended this event. Just like everybody else, I thought Schizophrenia was a split personality or multiple personality. However, then I learned that the word "schizophrenia" doesn’t mean "split mind," but it refers to a disruption of the usual balance of emotions and thinking. I also learned that besides medical treatment, family therapy is the key factor in minimizing the detrimental effects on a patient’s life. If I happen to encounter any of my family members with any kind of mental illness, I must give them the encouragement and support needed to help them function normally in their everyday life. However, there is no need to be extra nice or be given extra care or concern. This is because Schizophrenic patients or anybody at all with mental disorder dislike special approach or treatment. Therefore, I’m allowed to interact with them normally but at the same time be sure to keep my communications simple and brief when speaking with the patient.

Other than that, I signed up for one of the event highlights called ‘Group Mandala Drawing’. Mandala drawing is a form of an art therapy and a guided meditation used as a tool for self-reflection and mindfulness. We were asked to draw a circle and decorate it. The shapes and colors we create supposedly reflect our inner self at the time of creation. So, whatever I was feeling at that time, whatever emotions were coming through, would be represented in my mandala art therapy. As far as I’m concerned, I was happy at that moment of time thus expressed my joy by drawing pretty flowers on my mandala. I somewhat did not gain much benefit from this activity besides discovering a hidden drawing talent in me.

Lastly, I participated in the ‘Mindfulness Exercise’ on the 3rd and final day of the event. We were introduced to 6 different breathing exercises. These brief breathing exercises are meant to help with cultivating physical and mental relaxation. I felt very lightened, relieved and calm after the breathing session. If I were to practice these breathing exercises regularly, I ought to find myself feeling very energetic and relaxed. In a nutshell, I find this event very interesting yet beneficial to me. I wouldn't have known so much about Schizophrenia or other mental health issues, be it the symptoms, the treatments available or even on how to reach out to help the victims if it wasn’t for this event. From now on, I pledge to have the courtesy and patience to listen to my friends’ problem, also help them seek doctor’s or counselor’s help and provide them with necessary encouragement and care to overcome their depression or mental illness. I am looking forward to be apart of any other events organized by the CPCS. Thank you for this opportunity.

The spoken word.

Title : Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid.

Some things are better left unsaid.
Some things are even better forgotten.
Never be thought;
Never be remembered;
Never be written down.

We could be masters of the unsaid words,
But slaves to those we let slip out.
This is probably something I've wanted to express because I care,
Something unsaid; that I needed to share.

Someone once told me,
That a girl didn't have anything to live for thus chose death.
She cried day and night,
Ask me why? There was nobody to hold her tight.

At nine, her mother died, she cried.
At eleven, she shed the bitterest tears seeing her father with another woman in bed.
When she was twelve, her father left her stranded.

Drugs, drinking, smoking were her source of comfort,
It wasn't as much a choice as it was life.
Neither did she stay in school,
Because she thought that'll be cool.

Then? Brothel took charge of her life.
Two cents she earned was on bread and pie.
It was life. Her life.

She ran, ran away when she couldn't stand.
At sixteen, she had a baby with a man.
Never was there anyone more pure and sincere,
Whom she despised.
Not for being born,
But for being alive.

It shouldn't have stopped then,
But what is life if not cruel?
Her father came by and took her gem.

She couldn't stand how cruel life was to her,
That she cried daily.
She thought there was nothing else to live for; as she beg God to take away her life.
Eventually time showed her mercy and gave her to death.

Her life was a story of suffering;
Tragedy;
Destruction;
that serves as a perfect example that :

Some things are should never be spoken;
Never be thought;
Never be written down.
However, this thing should never be left unsaid.

"Understanding Sedition Act and Freedom of Speech in Malaysia"

We were required to do a presentation on the topic below for Cultural, Arts and Politics subject under the HMC Department. This is our report.

Our sub-topics are as below :-


a) Definition of freedom of speech and sedition act.
b) Chronology : Sedition Act 1948
c) Rules of Sedition Act
d) Seditious Tendency and Punishments
e) Pros and Cons
f) Relation between Freedom of Speech and Sedition Act

Understanding Sedition Act and Freedom of Speech in Malaysia

Every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression, so do Malaysians. However, it is becoming more difficult to freely express ideas in Malaysia when compared to the rest of the world. The rights to express one’s ideas or opinions is not constricted through only speech but can also be expressed through writing and other forms of communication. But it is a devastating truth that freedom of speech has been abused to the extent that critics believe they have the license to say whatever they want about the government whereas the reverse never applies. If it happens and the government takes action, these critics will claim that they are being robbed of their right to express themselves. What we fail to understand is that, while democracy allows freedom of speech, citizens must exercise this right responsibly because they cannot say anything, anywhere they like at any time. This applies to all citizens regardless of rank, status, class, race, gender. Not just that, another common medium is the Internet by which the netizens hurl all kinds of criticisms and rumours at victims, including the Ruler or the Prime Minister. Therefore, Sedition Act that was previously enacted by the British was amended to place limitations on freedom of speech and making it illegal to raise sensitive issues by questioning the sovereignty of the Rulers.

Much of modern-day Malaysia was born out of British colonialism. Britain’s interest in Malaya throughout the 18th and 19th centuries was primarily economic, revolving around rich natural resources and agriculture. However, in 1941, the British lost Malaya to the Japanese and eventually shifted away from colonialism. British then returned to Malaya and created the Malayan Union, which was opposed by the Malays and triggered the formation of UMNO. Due to this strong opposition, in 1948, the British abandoned the Malayan Union and created the Federation of Malaya. Nevertheless, while the nationalist Malays accepted this, the more radical Malays plus the Socialists and Communists opposed it. To stifle this dissent, the British introduced the Sedition Act (1948) and those opposed to the British and to the formation of the Federation of Malaya took to the jungles to continue their opposition as an armed struggle. In 1957, the Malaysian achieved their goal of de jure independence from British rule, although they were ill-prepared to exist as a completely sovereign nation. After that, the majority of the British military stationed in the area had left, a lack of internal control and racial tensions propagated by the overall constitutional bias decisively in the favour of the Malays led to communal racial rioting on the 13th May 1969 that led to at least 200 deaths, thus the government amended the Sedition Act and imposed restrictions to freedom of speech.

Constitution have been criticized by human rights advocates, who charge that "under the Malaysian Constitution, the test is not whether or not the restriction is necessarily but the much lower standard of whether or not Parliament deems the restrictions necessary or even expedient. There is no objective requirement that the restriction is actually necessary or expedient and the latter standard is much lower than that of necessity (sedition act, 2006).

Section 4 of the Sedition Act specifies that anyone who "does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or conspires with any person to do" an act with seditious tendency, such as uttering seditious words, or printing, publishing or importing seditious literature, is guilty of sedition. It is also a crime to possess a seditious publication without a "lawful excuse". The act defines sedition itself as anything which "when applied or used in respect of any act, speech, words, publication or other thing qualifies the act, speech, words, publication or other thing as having a seditious tendency"(sedition act, 2006).

Those acts defined as having a seditious tendency are acts with a tendency. Examples are to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against any Ruler or against any Government. Next, to bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against the administration of justice in Malaysia or in any State. Other than that, to promote feelings of ill will and hostility between different races or classes of the population of Malaysia (sedition act, 2006).

Section 3(3) goes on to state that "the intention of the person charged at the time he did or attempted (a seditious act) shall be deemed to be irrelevant if in fact the act had, or would, if done, have had, or the words, publication or thing had a seditious tendency". This latter provision has been criticized for overruling means, a legal principle stating that a person cannot be guilty of a crime if he did not have the intent to commit a crime. A person found guilty of sedition may be sentenced to three years in jail, a RM5,000 fine, or both (sedition act, 2006).

No person shall be prosecuted for an offence under section 4 without the written consent of the Public Prosecutor. In such written consent the Public Prosecutor may designate any court within Malaysia to be the court of trial (sedition act, 2006).

There are various pros and cons to the Sedition Act of 1948. One of the importance of this law is to preserve the sovereignty of our country. This law helps to protect the status of our Yang di-Pertuan Agong and our Prime Minister that they are the rightful rulers of the country. As such, no one in any way is allowed to hypocrite that they are not the rightful rulers of our country. Besides, this act helps to protect the rights of the many races in our country. Islam as the religion of the nation or the status of Malay as the sole official and national language is also protected by this Act. Any kind of seditious comments will result as a breach of this law. In all means, the Sedition Act 1948 is enforced to avoid disrespect to various parties with seditious comments or remarks.

Some of the problems of the Sedition Act 1948 are how it contradicts with our constitution that envisages a democratic polity that respects the freedom of expression. “A democratic way of life” is also one of the five cherished goals of our national charter, the Rukun Negara. Our national vision, Wawasan 2020, also speaks of fostering a mature democracy as one of our nine strategic challenges. In other words, freedom of speech cannot be practiced at its fullest extent. Moreover, critics of the colonial-era law have said that the Act defines sedition too broadly and requires little proof for seditious “tendencies”.

According to Dictionary.com (2014) the meaning of freedom of speech is the right to speak without censorship or restraint by the government. Freedom of speech in a way relates to sedition act. If sedition act has been implemented in the law then the art of freedom of speech is demolished. If sedition act is implemented, the citizens now have to analyze what they have to say first than say it. This means that sedition act looks at how we speak, what we speak and to whom we speak to; even the slightest mishap of criticism might lead to anyone to be jailed from up to 10 weeks to three years. Many have been arrested, to be questioned or even jailed because of the sedition act, for example, Adam Ali, Dalbinder Singh and the famous Alvin Tan whom had fled to the America for asylum. All of them have been charged for sedition act and it is either for speaking publicly through social media and speeches. All of this people who have been charged are said to have criticized the government for their job or specifically the prime minister. This law affects citizens because sometimes certain criticism from the nation cannot be accepted and if someone says the wrong thing at the wrong time, that person can be caught because of the sedition act. Freedom of speech might cease to exist in Malaysia because of this law. In other words, Malaysian’s today have to watch what they say and instead of giving harsh criticism that might hurt the government’s feelings, Malaysians now have to give constructive criticism based on facts and evidence. Sedition act affects the freedom of speech in Malaysia and Malaysians are not free to talk so lowly of the higher ups anymore.

In conclusion, sedition act has long been in the law books but is now being revised. There are pros and cons towards this law as stated. The law itself is quite strict. If the sedition act of 1948 is implemented in the Malaysian law, freedom of speech amongst the nation is restricted to by a huge extend. Hopefully this Sedition Act can be revised to another more constructive, precise and concise law for a better chance for Malaysians to voice out their opinions in this democratic country.




References:

Sedition Act (Malaysia). (2006, January 1). Retrieved October 6, 2014

The Sedition Act 1948. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2014.

Sedition Act runs counter to the spirit of the Malaysian Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2014.

Malaysia. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2014.

Freedom of speech. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2014.

Good teacher vs Bad teacher

“Good Teacher and Bad Teacher.”

All students have had hundreds of teachers in their lifetimes. We as students may have at least one inspirational teacher who opened our minds to learning and is remembered as being exceptionally good. On the other hand, there are other teachers who made our learning experience an ordeal, one forever associated with memories we’d rather forget. These teachers are known for their dull and uninspiring teachings and lessons. Their lecture would drone on and on, and before long, it’s a struggle just to stay awake in their classes. In respect to this, what makes a teacher good or bad ? What are the qualities that combine to create an excellent, memorable teacher or the vice versa? Why do some teachers inspire students to work three times harder than they normally would, while others inspire students to skip class? Also, why do students learn more from some teachers than others? Nevertheless, it is every student’s hope that all their teachers strive to be excellent, effective teachers. However, education is just like any other profession. There are those who work extremely hard at their craft getting better on a daily basis while there are those that are just simply there never striving to improve. Although this type of teacher is in the minority, these bad teachers contribute significantly to making all teachers look ineffective. It is a disappointing yet frustrating reality in education that bad teachers exist. 

I have an inspirational teacher too. He is the best History teacher ever. As far as I’m concerned, many of the people who don't like history and think it is boring have been subjected to horrible teachers and boring books. I remember hating history in school, until I had one great teacher. He made history fun and interesting. Suddenly, I realized how much I loved history, because a good teacher turned it from a boring, dusty book subject to a living story of the past that resonates today. His best feature was his sense of humor. He always did silly things in class that helped us store important information in perspective. I enjoyed his teaching style by which he normally picks a concept then nicely shapes a lesson that will be unique and engaging. Even though he was always funny, silly and fooling around, he never failed to deliver his lessons and complete the objective of the day accurately as he was able to recognize the appropriate times to have a good laugh and help shift the atmosphere of the classroom to a more cheerful one when he finds us losing concentration or feeling drained out. Making an “A” in his class was easy.

Besides, I also had an English lecturer once who so inspired me that I spent time in the library expanding my knowledge of the literature we were discussing. Unlike the school teachers, my lecturer rarely spoon fed us with answers and expected us to look out for the solutions ourselves. But, this did not mean she lacked content of knowledge, in fact she is a certified holder of a Master’s degree in English Literature and is also compassionate about teaching Literature to her students. However, she provided us with limited yet efficient notes and only taught us the necessary techniques needed to understand the matter of subject. There is a saying, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me how to fish and I eat for a lifetime." Consequently, I realize that I became more independent and soon discovered a new learning style self-directed learning. Honestly, it was indeed challenging to cope in her class as she set high expectations for her students greatly which eventually affected our achievement. However, she knew that students generally give to teachers as much or as little as is expected of them. Nevertheless, my lecturer constantly motivated us by saying “We’ll all do this together,”to help us build confidence and interest to master difficult materials. Thus, she spends maximum amount of time necessary to do her job arriving early or staying late to clarify our mistakes and doubts. She was indeed an expert in her field.

Well, on the other hand, we can’t just simply get rid of bad teachers though. It is a norm to blame the teachers if we had poor grades. So is in my case. My Physic lessons during my senior year back at high school was a tragic.I was a poor in calculation and I needed a great teacher to reach me, to go that extra mile and say to me “You are great. Everything you do is wonderful.” But he did not do that. He merely taught. The question is, how did he teach me? He definitely lacked professionalism. Everything was just improper - from personal appearance to organizational skills and preparedness for each day. Little did he put an effort to dress well, to deliver lessons to the students in an appropriate manner or to even come on time. Undeniably, teaching is a gift and should be conducted professionally. But sadly, he did not respect his profession nor the students in the class. Half the time, I saw no point in learning because he seldom worked hard to make his materials relevant. In my opinion, knowledge is worthless unless it is delivered to the students in a form they can understand. Now tell me, if he was such a great teacher, how come I failed?

Not only that, I encountered another practical teacher who taught me Mathematics for short period of time during my primary school days. Her lessons were dreadful. Not just my classmates and I feared for her but the entire school did. Her fearful and arrogant look scared us to death thus, ‘Monster’ was what we called her. I suppose she was a newbie that realized she did not want to be a teacher until it was too late. In any case, this type of teacher is not doing herself, her students, or the profession any favors by hanging on just to draw a pay check. I realized, she had poor people skills. She seldom dealt with people including the parents, students and even the staff members in an inappropriate manner. I believe good communication skill is essential to maintain a good teacher-student or teacher-parent relationship. Unfortunately, she lacked this skill and would constantly be rude and impolite to everyone. Besides, another reason why we feared her was because she had no self -control. Screaming away and behaving like the macaque in class sure did keep her students stay within the boundaries but this definitely was not the right way to attain golden silence. Even till the end, my teacher failed to recognize the reality. She probably goes home thinking that she had managed well by her screams and act of terrorism that at times made one or two of my classmates cry while the other students were quietly listening away, but the truth is while she screams all her energies away, we hide in our little dream world and space out in class. 

For many students especially the young learners assume that a great teacher was someone who provided classroom entertainment and gave very little homework. However, that’s not it. There’s more to becoming a great teacher. Firstly, a good teacher should obtain certification within a specific subject area that they’re teaching. The materials, methods and techniques used to conduct lessons should be appropriate and fit each child as everyone has a different style of learning. Secondly, good teaching also requires the teacher to have the necessary skills to convey the knowledge. It is about doing your best to keep on top of your field, reading sources, inside and outside of your areas of expertise, bridging the gap between theory and practice and being at the leading edge as often as possible to help your students understand the matter of subject. Next on the list, is to have the ability to make the material you are teaching interesting and relevant. Therefore, sense of humor and creativity play an important role to bring joy and understanding into the class. Lastly, good teachers should have a deep-seated respect for the students in the classroom. Teachers who have good time management, well organized schedule, portray a healthy self image, monitor students’progress and recognize their weakness show that they are concern for the children’s education. With all these four qualities, good teachers and good teaching will exist.

"Tonight I Can Write" by Pablo Neruda !

I selected the poem "Tonight I can write" by Pablo Neruda because I have interest for love poems and that I can relate to the poet's lost of love and loneliness. Therefore, I chose to present this poem for Introduction to Literature class. We shall now take a look at the poem and analyse the meaning of each line.

"TONIGHT I CAN WRITE" 

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example, 'The night is starry
and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is starry and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

My sight tries to find her as though to bring her closer.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Another's. She will be another's. As she was before my kisses.
Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her.

Pablo Neruda.

SHA SQUARED.FM

New Media in TESL is a new subject that was introduced to the English Department Foundation students in this semester.

It is quite an interesting subject because it requires us to utilize technology as a medium of education.

We also learnt an audio recording editing tool called Audacity.

Assignment - PODCAST.

It is a pair work. Shannan & Teesha.

Aim - To produce a radio show that is made up of 3 segments.

1) Game show.

2) Emergency news report.

3) Advertisement.

Instruction:

1. Audacity and LAME Mp3 encoder

2. Main functions and feature

3. Setting up your microphone

4. Basic editing feature

       5.  In the project she wants us to include fade in and fade out, amplify and noise removal

6. Export your file

References :

1. youtube.com

2. sounddogs.com

3.Mp3skull.com

Do enjoy listening to our podcast :)

My Persuasive Speech :)

Students of Presentation Skills class are required to give a speech on a persuasive topic. Therefore, I chose the topic, skin cancer to present to my class. It was quite a challenging yet an interesting experience. This is because we are obliged to use the 'Secrets of Persuasion' and 'Maslow Hierarchy of Needs' as guidelines while giving our speech.

Before I started my speech, I asked the audience a few questions to give them a glimpse of my topic and to see their response.
Questions are as below :
1)Who enjoys sunny days?
2)How does the sun benefit us ?

Persuasive Speech on 'Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer.'

Well if it wasn't for you all today, I'd be alone here. So, first of all, met me thank you all or being here today. A very warm good evening to the wonderful ladies and gentlemen, my speech will be of special interest to those who are concern about their health. I stand here today with a speech entitled 'Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer.' Thus, I want to encourage you to protect yourself from the ugliness, pain, and even death that can result from Malignant Melanoma or better known as skin cancer. Did any of you know that the sunburn you received yesterday, today and throughout this week may take twenty years for you to suffer from skin cancer? I have researched about this subject because I have a friend who suffered from this disease. Puvan Raj had everything to live fr, he just didn't. He was a runner, footballer, good-looking, but also a victim of skin cancer. He loved sports as much as he loved his life and would spend all day in the field practicing for tournaments. Little did he know he had cancer - brutally sudden death sentence due to over exposure of the sun's rays. You better believe that since then, I thought twice about leaving the house without sunscreen.

To think about it, we actually are aware that too much exposure of sunlight is harmful for our skin. We all know it's dangerous, but why only a few are protecting themselves? Staying outside in the sun all day without protection is not only bad for your health, it's simply irresponsible. I don;t understand this logic. We consider to use sunscreen while at the beach or by the pool. But the bitter truth is, the sun doesn't care where you are! Though harmful rays do greater damage on sunny days, they are always present through the clouds and even windshields. Therefore, everyone is at risk for developing skin cancer. This is crucial for everybody to know. Skin cancer can occur anywhere on your body - the face, neck, hands and arms. Respect to this, sunlight is the main source of ultra violet radiation, which is known to damage skin and cause cancer. Well, on the contrary, excessive exposure to UV radiation is not only the leading factor known to cause skin cancer. Those who have fair skin complexion, a history of skin cancer in their family and for those who experienced severe sunburns as a child are also at risk for skin cancer. So, if you are someone who has a greater risk of skin cancer, you should take the necessary precautions to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer.

Of course it is impossible to completely avoid sunlight, but there are ways you can limit your amount of ultraviolet exposure and reduce your chance of skin cancer. The simplest step i to reduce time of being exposed to sun. Look out for shades when walking on a sunny day or waiting directly under he sun. Another step is to cover up with long sleeves or use a hat or sunglasses that block UV rays when you're out. Not only that, wearing sunscreen also another step in significantly reducing the risk of sunburn. However, it's not just about applying but also doing it right. For your information, sunscreen should be applied thirty minutes prior to sun exposure and to be reapplied frequently. As there are various kinds of sunscreen products available at the store, it is advisable for you to consult the pharmacist to buy the one that suits your needs. Lastly, do skin checkups regularly and look out for symptoms like itchiness, pain, bleeding, age prematurely that will silently develop into skin cancer.

Now imagine how much would change if people actually followed through with sunburn prevention. If you didn't know, skim cancer is not the only the number one form of cancer, it is also the kind that is the most preventable. Why want to cure when you van prevent? Why want to spend masses of money on skin cancer surgeries when the simple steps like limiting direct sun exposure and covering up are cost-less? Considering the economic state of our nation, being deprived of affordable medicines is a matter of life and death, and will cost many lives. So now, lets be practical. Might as well, spend five bucks on a bottle of sunscreen from the nearest convenience store that will not only save five thousand on your medical expenses but maybe also add five years to your life. If you protect yourself now, in twenty years, you may have youthful akin, you may be cancer free and mostly importantly, you may be alive. You make your decisions now. Ladies and gentlemen, you are informed, check your skin, wear sunscreen and use sun glasses before it's too late.Thank you for listening.

Secrets of Persuasion

Secrets of Persuasion.

Persuasion simply means the action or fact of convincing someone or of being convinced to do or believe something.In other words, factors that influence us to say YES !
There is a science behind this. When making decisions, it'll be nice to think that people gather all the relevant information available in order to guide their thinking.



6 universal shortcuts or secrets that guide human behavior.

1. RECIPROCITY
2. SCARCITY
3. AUTHORITY
4. CONSISTENCY
5. LIKING
6. CONSENSUS

Poem : Elements of Poetry

WHAT MAKES A GOOD POEM? 

A good poet.
No doubt, a good poet makes a good poem. However, there are certain recipes that contribute to a poem.
I learned :
That a poem has a theme - usually talks about something/gives a gist of the message that the poet wants to convey to the readers. It can sometimes tell us a story or sometimes leaves us fogbound. Word association may not seem logical to you, thus it's not necessary for you to understand all of its content completely.


Poems meant to be heard. There are some interesting sound devices :-
Rhyme
Repetition
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia

• Rhyme - certain words/syllables/sounds of the lines may match each other is some forms. 

Example :

Sometimes I know the way	a
You walk, up over the bay;	a
It is a wind from that far sea	b
That blows the fragrance of your hair to me.	b

• Repetition - poets repeat words, phrases or sentences to emphasize the idea and to strengthen feelings and mood in a poem.

• Alliteration -  the repetition of initial sounds (consonant) on the same line or stanza. Example : "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".

• Onomatopoeia - words that sound like that which poet describes. (actual sound)
  Example : Boom! Quack! Moo! Tick Tock!

Imagery - the use of words that stimulates reader's imagination. Details about smells, sounds and colours that appeals to the five senses.
[smell, sight, hearing, taste, touch]

• Figure of speech :-

1. Similes
2. Metaphors
3. Personification

• Similes - mostly introduced by "like" & "as".
  Example : My love is like a red rose.
                 An emerald is as green as grass.

• Metaphors - compares two things without using words "like" or "as".Example : Her voice is music to his ears.             
                 Time is a thief.

• Personification - gives human traits and feelings to describe objects or non-living things.
  Example : Wind whispered many truths to me.
                  The thunder grumbled like an old man.

• Lines & Stanzas - smaller units or groups of lines and acts as a paragraph.

• Voice - poet/human character/object/animal as a speaker.