PIBG rocks...

I attended the PIBG meeting in school last Saturday. I apparently was appointed to "mewakili kaun Cina" as the AJK Guru.

Usul yang dibahaskan:

Memandang masalah disiplin pelajar semakin tidak boleh dikawal... Menurut pemimpin kita dan Islam Hadari... Sekolah kerajaan harus dijadikan sekolah satu jantina.

If this motion gets through the school level, they're going to bring it to the kementerian.

I went right up to the microphone with an opening question:

"Selepas membaca usul ini, apa yang saya hendak tahu ialah... Apakah justifikasi kenyataan yang sedemikian? Apakah peratus masalah disiplin di sekolah yang berpunca daripada interaksi lelaki dengan perempuan?"

Tuan Pengerusi:

Ada kes di sekolah ini yang pernah berlaku... Saya tahu sejarah sekolah ini... Pelajar lelaki dan perempuan boleh bergaul dengan cara yang tidak sesuai... Kalau pelajar bukan Islam buat kepada pelajar Islam, itu sebenarnya haram.

Well... Just because a few historical cases have happened before, we want to push for single-sex schools? Kes buli and gangsterism are even more serious. Forget about Kempen Anti-Buli and Rakan Cop then. Why not abolish public schools and push for home schooling?

If Muslim students do not want to be touched, then they will not be touched! Is it an unavoidable, involuntary act of the will? Men should be taught to respect women. Women should be taught to say no. You can't teach them anything if you just put them in seclusion. The first chance of contact they get, they will... Unleash!

If you wanna ban co-ed schools, then to what end? The ban should not stop at secondary schools. It should be done in universities too! Youth at their twenties are even more ready, willing and able of immoral conduct, compared to curious teens. What's next... Single-sex office buildings to avoid sexual harassment?

I went up to the microphone again. The gist of what I said:

Izinkan saya berbahasa Inggeris, kerana saya kurang fasih dalam Bahasa Melayu. Saya akan bercakap dalam Bahasa Inggeris, kemudian saya akan terjemahkan sendiri kepada Bahasa Melayu.

*The following things are said bilingually*

Men cannot be men without women. Women cannot be women without men. Widening the divide is not the answer. If we separate them, how will the men learn responsiblity and chivalrous behaviour? How will the women learn to understand men? Men will become increasingly chauvinistic, and the women will become more and more inferior.

If they interact with one another in schools, teachers can teach them how to properly deal with the opposite sex. I'll give you one real example. Dalam kelas saya, 2 Krypton... Seorang pelajar lelaki memaki hamun seorang perempuan... Sampai perempuan itu menangis. Selepas lesson saya, saya deal with the problem. Saya panggil budak lelaki itu.

"Apasal you marah-marah kat dia?"

"Dia yang mula dulu, saya tambah saja..."

"Kamu budak lelaki. Kamu tidak boleh jerit macam itu kepada perempuan."

"Tapi dia yang mula dulu..."

"Kalau kamu lelaki, kamu tidak akan memaki hamun perempuan macam itu. Kalau dia tampar kamu pun, you tak boleh tampar balik. You jadi lelaki. Faham tak? Tak adil, kan? Ya, memang tak adil. Tapi syarat alam memang begini. You jadilah lelaki sejati. Jangan buat balik."

Dia terus diam.

We have to teach the men to be strong. Mengapa banyak rumah tangga sekarang porak perandah? Kerana lelaki dan perempuan tidak tahu differences mereka dan peranan mereka. We have to solve this at the school level. Kalau tidak, macam manalah mereka boleh selesaikan problem mereka sendiri nanti.

No voice from the proposing side of the house.

The Pengerusi called the house to a vote.
Those in favour of single-sex schools: 4 votes.
Those in opposition of the motion: The rest of the house.
Oposition leader wins by landslide victory.

It astonishes me what kind of ideas people have in their heads nowadays. I don't mean any disrespect for the religion of Islam. But I cannot allow unjustifiable statements to be passed like that. Such policies do not help, but they make the situation worse! Even religious groups are having problems trying to cope with divorces and broken families. How can anyone with a sane mind ever conceive the idea that separation and seclusion is the solution?

When something bad happens, is it reasonable to just blame it on male-female interactions? Such interactions are not the root of all evil.

I came into the AJK PIBG, kicking and screaming. Initially, I was not too happy with the idea. I felt like this was another case of exploitation of "new, young, single, Chinese teachers". Other teachers say it is a "penghormatan" to be in PIBG. When they themselves laugh at the "much coveted postion".

But whatever it is, after my first meeting, I've decided to stay. For as long as it is possible.

If my appointment into the PIBG was a case of exploitation, those who put me there have something new to think about. When you put a lion in the council, you do not expect it to mew.

He will roar.