I asked a few graduating USMers this question: "So, what are your plans now?"
A says she's headed for Singapore. Quantity surveyor. She says she has to start working somehow. I say yeah, you can't expect to land an ideal job as your first job. Pragmatic. Good.
I realized that language students are usually put on a spot. It's hard to decide what you want to do if you have linguistics under your belt.
For example, B's plan is to marry a millionaire who is 98 years old.
C says, he's not sure. Maybe he's gonna continue with Masters.
2 more guys from an older generation, D and E, did the same thing. They continued with Masters.
Hmmm... Maybe it's the nature of employment in our country. Jobs don't come by easy for linguists. And it's not easy to decide what you want to do with a language degree. Yes, the options may be really wide. But you got to get creative with your options to come up with a job you'll be happy with.
Compared to language students, I think tech graduates, finance graduates and communication-based graduates have it easy. You more or less know what you're being shaped out for from the very start. After you've got your paper qualification, you can pull out a hit list and start going through them one by one.
It may not be true for everyone. But I guess generally, it is.
There are also those who did not graduate with an education degree, but they want to go into teaching. Well, F and G... Here's my advice to you. Real advice.
Number 1. Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. Schools vary from place to place. You may have grown up in a good school. You may have even taught temporarily in many schools, but all in the same vicinity. Based on that, you may think that all schools are generally the same. You may start to believe that it ain't so bad to be a teacher.
Many people have fallen prey to that line of reasoning. They start to regret by the time they start practical training. They say they never knew students (or schools) can be that bad.
Number 2. Make sure you have what it takes to stay in there. A majority of mental patients in psychiatric wards consist of school teachers. I can't quote you the stats. But it's true. I've read about it a few times already at several places.
Here's why. You walk into classes of 35+ students each. You have to face 3 or 4 such populations each day. That makes an average of 123 "clients" a day.
You must remember that you don't get commission for each "client" you meet. There's no motivation for taking more "clients".
You can't meet them one by one. You have to meet allof them at once.
You cannot turn down your "clients". You don't have the privilege of choosing to make do with less "clients". You must take them all.
Your "clients" may not like you. You have to see them. Your "clients" have no interest in your product. You have to see them. Your "clients" may give you trouble. And you have to see them. Your "clients" may mock you or irritate you or publicly defy you. And you still have to see them.
You can't deal harshly with your "clients". If you go one inch too far, you'll get into trouble. If your "client" comes from a rich background, you'll have a lawsuit coming after you. If your "client" comes from a poor background, you'll have vandals coming after your property.
Do you have what it takes to face your "clients" and be indiscriminate about them, every working day?
Number 3. Make sure you can face yourself. You will feel that you are getting older, but you are not getting any smarter. Your intellect is limited to the sphere of a 17-year old kid.
No matter how good you are (or think you are) in your job, you may feel that what you do doesn't matter to anyone anyway.
You know that's not true. But your feelings will tell you otherwise. Be ready to feel constantly unappreciated and undervalued.
Number 4. Make sure you can live that way for the next 30 years. Can you live by the bell?
No flexibility here. You wake up like the schoolboy. You go to work like the schoolboy. You have your breaks like the schoolboy. You have to wear proper attire like a schoolboy. You have to do the same things over and over again. Like a schoolboy.
Number 5. Make sure you can be steadfast. If not, turn back while you still can.
What is the initial reason that inspired you to take this road? Freeze that memory in your mind. Because doe-eyed moments don't come every day.
There will be good days. There will be bad days. But you must stay the same. Because you are the cikgu. Like it or not, people still come to you for answers. You must not, cannot, and should not, betray them. No matter how much you may not like them.
* * * * * * * * * *
Anyway, of all the people I asked, this guy's answer is the most interesting...
H is one of those Math guys. Or is it Physics. And he says he wants to be...
A piano tuner.
He wants to travel around Malaysia, tuning pianos.
Chinese taxi driver robbed by a parang-wielding Indian man. That was on Tuesday, 11th March, 1:30 pm. The robbers were picked up by the taxi man at Taman Wahyu, Selayang. For full story, click here.
On the same day, at 9:00 pm, another case of taxi robbers. This time, involving three men. The police spotted them at Sungai Mas, Jalan Ipoh. Very close to Selayang.
The police also recovered another taxi that was stolen by the same trio. The taxi was found at the Selayang wholesale market. For full story, click here.
Spot the similarities in all 3 cases. All of them involved taxis. And all of them happened in, or very near, Selayang. Selayangku sayang.
Every single colleague of mine has a thief/robber-personal-encounter-story to tell. I wonder when my turn will come.
* * * * * * * * * *
Anyway, here's a sight worth mentioning...
A Chinese girl's car got stalled at USM's Yeap Chor Ee entrance. Two young Malay guys, complete with songkok and kain sarong, got down from their motorbike to help.
That's something I'm sure everyone would like to see more.
My first assignment as a church retreat speaker ended on Monday. Theme was on "Unity in Christ".
Unity... Ironically, it's one of the trickiest things to deal with among Christians. But I'm glad how things went, message-wise. I think it was something the young people really needed to hear. I thank God for the privilege of putting me in the correct position in the right time. Glory be to Him!
With that over with, I have the luxury of time to fully immerse myself in DAP island.
Unity has been, still is, and will always be something very tricky to deal with. In the spiritual sense, and also in the racial sense.
When I first heard the election results for Penang, I was still at church. There were rumours of riots going to break out. I had a paranoid feeling as I drove home. It was a scary moment. The streets of Penang have never been so deserted!
I fell asleep in the hall sofa, in front of the TV, with a calculator in hand, watching the opposition deny the government a two-third majority inch by inch. Or rather, decimal point by decimal point.
All eyes will be on Penang now. Penang will be a model of how Rocketland will look like. A blogger will be running it! Blogger sakti!
Penangites are dangerous people. They are sensitive, unpredictable and decisive. They may love you one day. They may dump you the next. And during the silence in between, you will not know what will hit you... Until it hits you!
Don't believe? You don't have to ask Koh Tsu Khoon. Just ask the koay teow man.
When the koay teow man does something wrong, you just wait and see. It does not even have to be something wrong.Maybe it's just something that is not preferable. Half the state will boycott the stall within a week.
Oh well. I don't know if it's warranted to feel this way. But I do feel safer in Penang. I feel very, very much less likely to be robbed on the streets. I can stroll Gurney Drive on foot late at night, and feel as though nothing will or can happen to me.
Is it because of the majority-minority mentality? You feel safer when you are a majority. You feel insecure when you are a minority. Deep inside, you feel that every thief or robber won't rob their own kind. The minority is less likely to rob the majority because he is less likely to make it. You feel that the hidden racist inside every man works in your favour.
Racial polarization is bad. I'm not justifying it. But I can't deny that it happens.
The Malay taxi man in Batu Caves says he won't pick up Indian passengers when it is late at night. He says they will rob him. He's been robbed by Indian passengers a few times already. His hard-earned money for the whole day goes down the drain in exchange for his life.
The Malay robber who robbed a cyber cafe near my school lines up his victims in two rows. Malays are lined up in one row. Non-Malays are lined up in another row. All the non-Malays are emptied of their pockets.
The Chinese man who works in a private college systematically decreases scholarship allocations to bumiputeras. He turns Malay inquirers away whenever he has a chance. He says it is a righteous thing to do. He sees it as his mandate to champion the cause of the Chinese. He feels that if he doesn't do it, who will?
I've had bad personal experiences too. The mother of a tuition student who won't pay up fees. She says one thing but I know she means another. One night, the boy and his friends happened to turn up at a mamak stall where I was eating dinner. He acted as though he never knew me.
There's a hidden racist in all of us. We try to suppress it. We try to change. It is ideal to be colour blind. Sometimes, we believe that we are. But, being human, the situation is not made any easier when we are hit by bad encounters of our own. Just when the wounds are healing, you get a gash in the same spot that makes it worse.
So, how do we solve the problem? Let everyone become Christians. (Now I'm being a spiritual racist :P)
We can each do our part. We can't solve it. But we can help by not aggravating it.
Treat your neighbour well, especially those of a different colour. Hope that he will remember it. And that one day, he will do the same to others.
Give him not a reason to harbour racial bitterness. If a small boy carries his bitterness into adulthood, he may do exactly what we don't want him to do when he has the capacity to do great things. We may never know who that small boy is.
When we are hit right in the center of an old wound... Pray that we will be able to turn the other cheek. A scar in both cheeks may look like dimples.
Investment advice from a guru... Real wan... (guru sekolah)
If you are a normal wage earner, you don't have a lump sum of cash on your lap, and you don't play shares... You may find this investment advice useful.
Number one. Invest in fixed deposits.
Put RM1k (minimum deposit) into any bank's fixed deposit. The interest rate is at 3.70% per annum. Put it in a 12-month tenure. Your 3.70% will come at exactly one year later.
Repeat this every month for 12 months. At exactly 1 year from now...
You will have 12 fixed deposit certificates, one for each month.
You will enjoy 3.70% (RM37) of interest every month.
You have the flexibility of taking out RM1k worth of fixed deposit every month.
It's better than dumping in RM12k into fixed deposits in one lump sum. You don't have a lump sum of RM12k anyway. If you're a normal wage earner, it won't happen. At least, not too early in your working life.
Staggering it over 12 months will be more strategic because...
You get to liquidate your fixed deposit during a rainy day in any month. Assets that cannot be easily liquidated is almost the same as not having them at all.
You don't have to forfeit your 3.70% interest if you liquidate your fixed deposit before maturity. Sometimes, you don't need RM12k. It will be a waste to liquidate RM12k if you only needed RM1k.
You can't withdraw RM12k in one go. It helps you to not be spendrift.
Number two, invest in oil.
No oil mine in your back yard? Never mind.
Go here.
Pump RM30. Take the receipt. Staple it on the contest form. Drop it in the box. Then, wait for the magic.
If you're lucky, you may get RM25k. That's equivalent to an interest rate of 83,333% per week!
If you're not so lucky, you may get RM1k! That's an interest of 3,333% per week.
Beats any fixed deposit or unit trust. Even the stock market can't come close! Hehehe...
The Shell contest period just ended on 2nd March.
Never mind. If no Shell...
Go here.
Pump RM20. Swipe your Mesra card. This one's easier. No need to fill in form. Just wait for the magic.
If you are lucky, you will win a brand new car! That's like dunno how many percent already! *faint*
If you're not so lucky, you may still win RM1k.
In a nutshell, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify, diversify, diversify. And think outside the box! :)
1.Traditional method. Sally forth to the mall. Use the "thick skin, old clothes" maneuver.
2. Play doctor. Ask your friends if they have unwanted or spare handphones that are not too old or terminally ill. They may not want to repair it. But it may be worthwhile to you if the handphone is a fancy one, its market price is way above your budget, but the repair costs the same as a brand new "cheapest off the shelf" handphone.
3. Bank method. Put RM6k into AmBank for 2 years. The interest rate is at 8.9+ per annum. And you get a new Sony Ericson, Cybershot, 2 megapixel camera phone worth more than RM800. Free gift.
4. Celcom method. Bring a friend who uses a Celcom line to a Celcom store. You get to buy a handphone at a significant discount. If I'm not mistaken, my handphone can be bought at RM118.
My phone's screen went blank again. This time, it is really dead. Brain dead. Microchip dead. LCD dead. Whatever you call it. Cannot be resuscitated anymore.
I went to Digital Mall and got this.
Nokia 1200.
How did I arrive at making this purchase?
Very simple.
Wear shorts, slippers and and a t-shirt. Enter the mall. Locate handphone shop. Ask, "How much is your cheapest Nokia handphone?" Repeat question at every shop. Skin must be thick, clothes must be old.
Seems that when it comes to shopping, my theory is correct. The nearer the shop is to the ground floor, the more expensive it is.
It's the mall's strategy. Shops on lower floors have more customer traffic. You want more customer traffic? You pay higher rent. Hence, you hike up your products' prices too.
Here's the proof. The lower floors are selling the Nokia 1200 at RM150. The highest floor with handphones sells it at RM129.
Here's a tip. If you want a price slash, say you're paying by cash. Then, ask how much discount they can give. It works most of the time.
For the less informed on why paying by cash is sometimes more advantageous...
If you pay my credit card, three parties are involved in the transaction: You, the shop owner, and the credit card company. If the product costs RM100, the shop owner must pay the credit card company a small percentage from that RM100. That's how the credit card company gets its cut.
It's no gain for the shop owner, no gain for you. It's all good for the credit card company.
If you pay by cash, only two parties are involved in the transaction: The shop owner and you. The shop owner may be willing to settle for less if he deals directly with you. The "discount" he gives to you is actually the credit card company's cut. Instead of giving the small percentage from RM100 to the credit card company (if you pay by credit card), he marks down the price for you.
It's still no gain for the shop owner. But it's gain for you! And the shop owner still wants to make the sale anyway.
I got the phone and a hard handphone cover for RM130.
So, be wise. Jadilah pengguna yang kiam siap. I mean, bijak.
4th March.Taman Templer's "bakal wakil rakyat", Dato' Subahan Kamal from Bee Ann, will be coming to my neighbouring school. There will be a ceremony there to give away "sijil bantuan KPM" the students. No, not the "wang bantuan KPM". Just the certs.
The students who are supposed to receive the monetary aid are already qualified for the monetary aid. The ceremony will be held so that Bee Ann's Dato' Subahan Kamal can be there to give away the certs. To signify that the students will be getting the monetary aid.
This is a very important. Because, if you don't give certs to students that are supposed to get the monetary aid, they may not actually know that they will be getting the money. So, it's good to spend just a little more money to create certs and to hold a lavish ceremony. Or else, people may not know. Or worse still, they may forget.
5th March. High tea at my school. Bee Ann's candidates, teachers, parents and teachers are invited to attend. It is not appropriate for the school to host anything politically motivated. But it's ok if we do it under the PIBG's banner. Because, you see, the PIBG and the school are two separate entities.
The price is set at RM10 per head. Who's going to pay for the high tea? Not the school. Not the PIBG. The PIBG endorses it. Bee Ann pays.
When all the Bee Ann candidates come and see the condition of the school, it is with this hope that they will pour in tens of thousands worth of funds for upgrading purposes.
29th March. My school's PIBG AGM. Bee Ann's "bakal wakil rakyat" should be "wakil rakyat" by now. He will officiate the AGM.
22nd March. There will be a special PIBG meeting one week before the PIBG AGM to finalize AGM plans. I wonder if Bee Ann's "bakal wakil rakyat" will still officiate the AGM if things don't work out as planned. But it probably won't happen. Because he is already invited.
A colleague, En. A, comes to school and distributes Bee Ann's pens and Bee Ann's t-shirts. It is ok for a government servant to be active in politics on the bureau level. As long as you give the Headmaster a letter to inform her about it. En. A is often found sleeping in the staffroom during this exciting period.
I heard that Bee Ann is pouring in 20 million into election campaigns. It is indeed a very fair move, because every tax-payer's money will be used to help people make better choices. Every tax-payer will benefit from this indiscriminately. Regardless of race, religion, or political inclination.
"Wah, banyaknya funding untuk buat semua ini?"
"Of course. We are the government," Said En. A.
Upon the dissolution of the parliament, the Prime Minister is still called the Prime Minister. The Deputy Prime Minister is still called the Deputy Prime Minister. It seems that all ministers are still retaining their titles although the parliament is no longer ruling.
It will be confusing for the rakyat if the ministers shed their titles, only to take them up again after 13 days, isn't it? Imagine how it feels like if you suddenly don't have a PM or a DPM. The rakyat should not be left to feel abandoned during these 13 days. Bee Ann has always been there, and will always be there for them.
Is is true that many people are still quite ignorant about politics. That's why the rakyat should be educated about it. Starting in schools.
My handphone is now running the final lap of its last mile. The screen's image is gone. Can't receive calls sometimes. No more alarm clock in the mornings.
Time to get a new phone. But the question is... What kind of phone?
Have been secretly eyeing a camera phone. Imagine the novelty of:
Having a camera device in your pocket.
Getting to snap a picture whenever "the moment" comes. You can't possibly carry a real camera with you all the time, rite?
Getting to post more pictures on my blog.
Getting to snap a picture when the separuh iblis are up to mischief, and show it to the Rotan Man.
Not having to remember the exact spot where your car is parked anymore.
But that novelty will also mean...
Splashing more than half a grand on a camera phone. If you want to get a camera phone, may as well get a good camera phone, rite? No point buying the cheapest camera phone off the shelf if the picture quality is so bad, you don't even want to look at it or use it.
Risking it getting stolen. More people will be eyeing your handphone now.
Risking it getting spoiled. Drop it, and it's gone.
If I stick to my prinsip hidup and get the most basic handphone for what it's fundamentally supposed to be for...
I won't have to splash half of half a grand on it. A little over a hundred bucks will do.
No fear of thieves. They may as well steal my students' handphones. Don't bother with mine.
No fear of spoilage. If it drops, explodes and scatters... Just pick up the pieces and fix them back. No pain.
Many people who used to share the same prinsip hidup as I... Has strayed away... To the dark side... And bought camera phones... Ha ha ha ha! Meowlisa... Li Ean... Thou art apostates...
Still, it's very tempting. Imagine rite... Camera phone... You can actually see the face of the person calling you... It's not really that expensive what... I mean... I deserve it, don't I? I have always been thrifty and responsible... I do earn my own keep now... There's nothing wrong about it, rite... It's not like I'm gonna buy the most expensive phone on the planet... Just a simple camera phone... Not too teruk, but not too canggih... I'm sure it should be ok mah... But then again...
Oh, LOOK!! The screen is back!!
Yay. End of dilemma. End of conflict.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. But Nokia is faithful. It will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, it will also provide a way out and make the screen come back on it." (1 Nokiatians 10:13)
...when your girlfriend hilang until election day?
You cook.
Warning... Super boring post ahead...
Do you know what is the cheapest, 1L milk in the market? Marigold UHT milk. It's a record. Only RM3.19!
Do you know that for RM3.99, you can make an asparagus dish for three times? How much is one asparagus dish outside? And how many strands of asparagus do you get in it?
Do you know that Al-Fatimah cili giling (the type of chilli paste you buy in a small plastic container) is not spicy? It just looks red.
Do you know that the red jambu (the type that you buy along the highway's resthouses, where all the auntie suddenly come out and say "leng chai leng chai") costs only RM3.98 for 6 of them? And to think you pay RM2 at those resthouses for only, I think... 1.5 of them?
Do you know that any cooked chicken (the type that they display on the counter, half bird or whole bird) in Giant is dead chicken? I mean... It's like corpse meat. You put it in the fridge, after a few days, you can smell dead chicken.
Do you know that Jasmine rice is the best rice to buy? It's the second cheapest one. Don't buy the cheapest one. That one, it will take you longer to wash the rice. You must do at least 5 washes to get rid of the murkiness. Jasmine, good. Jalaludin Hassan say wan. Must be good la.
Do you know that a Jusco card must be renewed every year at RM12? It's actually worth it. Because you get 5% discounts on J-card days, and you get free parking.
Do you know why women (generally, not all of them) are good at multi-tasking? Because you must be good at multi-tasking in the kitchen. Or else, it will take you a short eternity to prepare a meal.
You must plan ahead. What do you need? Make sure everything you need is chopped, sliced, diced, and put near the stove before you start. Make sure all your equipment are in order too. You don't want to go scrambling for your kicap or your corn starch when your food is over the fire.
You must think strategically. If you do all the fast things first, then you must wait like a dongkoi for the slow things to cook. Then your fast things will turn cold.
If you do all the slow things first, then you don't have to wait for your fast things to cook. You save time, and you get to enjoy a warm meal.
Do the rice first (it takes the longest to cook). Then, heat up whatever meat you want to heat up in the microwave (you can leave whatever's inside in the microwave. It won't get cold). After that, you do the vegetables. Then, you boil the soup. While you're waiting for the soup, cut the fruits.
If you got it timed just right, you will hear the microwave "ting" first, then the rice cooker "click", then the soup sizzling last. Turn off the gas, scoop out the rice, then take out the meat from the microwave. Perfection! Timing is everything.
On a good day, it takes no longer than 15 minutes flat.
If the election campaigning period takes 30 days, imagine what a "see lai" I will become.
1st year anniversary as an "official" teacher in a public school.
Reflections for the past one year...
How do you feel after 1 year of teaching?
I feel like... I keep forgetting that I am a grown up. When you have to keep going to school every day, sometimes it makes you forget that you are an adult.
You'll still think about, "Should I cut class at 10:45 am?"
You still ask yourself, "Can I not go to school today?"
You still wonder, "Hmmm, what should I have in the canteen afterwards..."
It's like high school never ends!
What do you like about teaching life?
Well... You get to be king most of the time.
You get to think about what you want to do after school. And zoom off to do it as soon as the bell rings!
What do you dislike about teaching life?
Having to go to the bottom classes after 10:45 pm. That's when the monkeys have had their glucose boost.
What do you fear most about teaching life?
That I will get bored of it one day. I think I am getting bored about it already! I'm getting bored of Math... *gasp!* What is your biggest achievement so far?
I think I've come up with a really good way to explain intersection and union. You remember the topic about Sets, where you see the (A ∩ B) and (A U B) stuff? The "∩" in (A ∩ B) means gunshot.
Imagine you had a gun with only one bullet. The bullet can penetrate anything. Where do you shoot so that A and B will get hit in one shot? The "U" in (A U B) means bombshell.
Imagine you have a bomb. You want to blow up A and B. You just blacken off A and B. The whole thing. No need to think so much. Just blacken the whole thing. A and B. That's right.
It works every time. How would you describe the pinnacle of your career?
Hmmm...
After doing some soul searching...
I can't believe it...
I realized...
My childhood dream is still there!
I still want to be...
Headmaster of Penang Free School.
The SOS (save our school) syndrome is still there. Hidden inside of me.
Maybe I'm still naive enough to believe that it is possible by merit alone.
Or, maybe it's true... That I haven't really grown up :)
When you've got a big windfall, and you know you can't keep it with you forever, what do you do with it?
You send it on ahead to a place where you can keep it.
Where is that place?
That place is not here. You store it in heaven. How do you store it in heaven?
By giving it away on earth.
Doesn't that sound silly or radical? Or isn't that just plain stupid?
But that is exactly what Jesus taught.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal" (Matthew 7:19)
Even if we stop hoarding treasures on earth and start stockpiling treasures in heaven, aren't we still stuck with the mentality of accumulating things? The problem of obsession with treasure isn't really dealt with. We did not vanquish the obsession itself. We merely transferred its destination. Isn't it selfish to be thinking about treasures in heaven all the time?
Nope. Jesus Himself said, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:20)
Note that He said, "Lay up for yourselves." Not "Lay up for someone else," or even "Lay up for God". Selfishness is gain at the expense of someone else. Laying up treasures in heaven comes at nobody's expense. In fact, it comes at everybody else's gain.
Won't this attitude make me bitter towards God? How can I find pleasure in Him and His kingdom, if I have to give my treasures away, instead of keep them?
Nope. Jesus goes on to say, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21). In whichever place you put your money, your heart will follow it. Your interest will go there, and you will find pleasure there too. The pleasure is not lost. Why do you think you check the stock market everyday if your money is in stocks?
Test Him on this. Put your money in Saudi Arabia.
See if you will still remain disinterested about Saudi Arabia. You will scramble for every piece of news to update yourself about Saudi Arabia. The next time a Christian is martyred in Saudi Arabia, or the next time a Christian meeting place is burnt there, see if your heart won't get wrenched over it.
If your money is in Saudi Arabia, you will want to know how your investment is doing in Saudi Arabia. You will want to know if your money is reaching the target group effectively in Saudi Arabia. You will want to know if you have been wise in giving to Saudi Arabia. You will want to know everything about the advancement of your Ringgit in helping God's people in Saudi Arabia.
You will find yourself praying for Saudi Arabia. You will find yourself worrying about Saudi Arabia. You will find yourself worked up about Saudi Arabia. You will smile or you will cry over Saudi Arabia. Your mind will be constantly preoccupied with Saudi Arabia.
You won't feel much about Saudi Arabia if you have not given much to Saudi Arabia. If you put a chunk of your treasure there... There your heart will be also.
I believe that the Lord is leading me to give to Barnabas Aid on a frequent basis. Being placed in an area that is predominantly Muslim, I believe God has been trying to tell me something.
He is showing me things that I would not have seen if I was placed elsewhere. My exposure to a predominantly Muslim society have increased my understanding of Islam. And along with it, my sensitivity towards the plight of suffering Christians.
1 in every 10 Christians live with persecution. No, it's not the "My mum won't let me go to church" type of persecution. It's the kind of persecution that violates basic human rights. It is a matter of life or death.
If you are reading this, you are the other nine.
Do you want to start stockpiling in the right place?
Have you ever toyed with the idea of running for the elections? Let's see if you can. Say, if you want to run as an independent candidate...
If you're an independent, you must have the dough for the deposits.
RM15k, at least. Can just do a bank loan. No problem...
You must be over 21 and of sound mind, not an un-discharged bankrupt, and not have been convicted of an offence by court and jailed for more than a year or fined more than RM2,000 and have not received a free pardon (invalid after five years).
Age? Checked. Sound mind? Checked. Bankrupt before? Close, but not yet. Convicted in court, jailed, or fined more than RM2,000? My parking summons don't amount up to that much. Ok so far...
A person who is a citizen of a country outside Malaysia, and a person convicted of offences in connection with the elections is not eligible.
Malaysian? Checked. Did anything wrong during elections? Nope...
You need a proposer and a seconder; they must reside in the constituency where you are contesting.
Easy only. Just call Ah Goo, Ah Kau...
Next, you have to obtain the nomination forms from the EC...
Isi borang! I like...
... All filled out in triplicate.
Lagi, I like!
If you’re an independent, you get to pick your symbol from a list of 20 approved ones. Sorry, you can’t come up with your own symbol.
Very ugly lah, the approved symbols. Never mind. Still can...
You can appoint an election agent (one), canvassers (more than one); polling agents (who will help observe whether voting goes according to the rules on polling day at each polling station); and counting agents (who must verify the votes cast for spoilt ones) at the counting centres.
If you are planning on campaigning, then come up with some manifestos or issues that make up your platform. No problem. Can start writing right away...
Anyone in the public service sector – namely, civil service, armed forces, police, judicial and legal service, railway service and the education service – is disqualified.
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (James 2:14-17)
It is shocking for me to discover how many Christian votes will be going down the gutter.
Here is the thing. When Christians don't vote in the upcoming elections, we are forfeiting more than our right as a citizen of Malaysia. We are forfeiting our right as a child of God to pray for Malaysia for the next 5 years.
We say, "I wish you well, Malaysia. Be a better place to live in." We are liars if we say that we care, and yet we don't vote. The Bible says such faith is dead. It will be better if we said "I don't care at all." At least, we won't be lying.
We should not have "Light Up Our Nation" campaigns anymore. We should cease having all-night prayer meetings to ask God for revival in our country. Our prayers for the Malaysia will not be heard for the next 5 years. Because God knows we are lying.
Picture this. Many young adults either have not registered, or are not going to vote. That leaves the "old voters" to do the voting, while the young ones remain silent.
"Old voters" are already set in their political inclinations. They probably won't change their vote.
So if young voters stay away, and "old voters" continue to vote... Mathematically speaking, should we expect any change in the result? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.
Some say "It doesn't matter whether or not I vote. The voting system is flawed. We only have a perceived democracy. But actually, it isn't".
If it is true that there are phantom voters, the only way to beat phantom voters is by sheer volume. How are you an answer to that?
If it is true that we don't have real democracy, then we have to change perceived democracy into real democracy.How are you an answer to that?
Some say, "I will vote when the government is not anti-Chinese."
If that is true, show me the logic of how your silence going to make the government less racial. How are you an answer to that?
Some say, "The government is corrupt. I will not vote."
If that is true, how much less injustice must there be before it is the right time to vote? (I feel really weird trying to reason this way, for this argument and also the previous one) Spare me the logic of how the government can get less corrupt when we don't cast our vote. How are you an answer to that?
Some even have the audacity to give a holy answer. "I don't intend to vote. But I will pray. Because I believe God's plan will be revealed."
Ok. Something is fundamentally wrong here. God is sovereign, right? There is nothing we can do to change God's will on the election results, right? God is in control of what will happen to Malaysia for the next 5 years, right? So, why vote.
Along the same line of reasoning... If God is all powerful, and He already knows all things, even of our needs before we ask Him... Then, why pray at all.
We say we believe that God is sovereign over all things. Including our lives. But we do not submit to Him in prayer. We believe He is God, yet we don't treat Him as God. That is the irony.
James says, such faith is dead. We may as well have no faith at all. It will be no different.
Ask anyone of any religion. Anyone who believes in any god will tell you that the one thing you must do for that god is to pray to it.
But Christians know better. Christians say we don't have to pray.
Ask anyone who does not believe in any god. Especially the ones who think that they are gods. They will tell you that the future is in their hands. They can make things happen if they want them to happen. They hold their destiny in their own hands.
But Christians know better. Christians say we don't have to do anything, and yet things will happen.
If this is the popular view of Christians, I am ashamed to be identified as one of them.
Every single thing we do, or don't do, has an eternal impact on eternity. When we face Christ one day, He will ask us what we think of the country He put us in.
We will go on and on about how bad it is, if that is how we really feel. Time will not be a problem. We have all eternity.
The next question He will ask is, "What did you do about Malaysia."
No need to explain why evading taxes was better than giving money to the wrong hands. No need to justify about why it was ok to accumulate as much wealth as we could from the soil which we believe should also belong to us. No need to explain about how our righteous anger was justifiable when we countered racial injustice blow for blow. Those are the questionable things that He had not asked us to do.
The least we could have done is vote.
Even if we are not that long-sighted to think eternity-wise, let's be a little short-sighted for now. Let's just think about the next 5 years.
Remember God's continual call to remember the fatherless, to defend the widows, and to help the alien, the poor and the weak? Remember what God said about impartiality, be it to Jews or Greeks, slaves or free? Remember justice and equality?
Our inaction to vote makes us guilty of not heeding those calls. We can't pray about those things too, because God knows we are not sincere. At least for the next 5 years.
Note that I did not say "vote for who." All I'm saying is, vote. It is our responsibility. To ourselves, to our nation, to God.
By not voting, we are already doing the wrong thing by default. "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." (James 4:17)
Another thing that conspired in my mind during Chinese New Year... Operasi upgrade to Masters.
My maternal uncle told me this during our reunion dinner:
"Tua hoo tiok buey siew tua hai. Ah si loo si say hoo... Siang ka lay hoo, thor sat... boh huat lah, tiok buey siew say hai. Tua hoo eng kai siew tua hai. Ah see eh khee, tiok buey support hor ee khee mah."
Translation:
"Big fish must swim in big sea. If you are small fish, like lay hoo (still can't figure out what that is) or thor sat (catfish), then no choice la, must swim in small sea / river. But big fish should swim in big sea. If can go up, should support until can go up mah."
Coincidentally, a day after, Aiching said she dreamt I was doing an MPA. She asked me if it meant anything to me.
I said it must be Male Pessimist Award. I had no idea what it was.
Then, Mei Yee told me there is actually such a thing as MPA! Masters in Public Administration.
Hmmm... So I started toying with the idea....
In the end, operasi tak jadi again. Why?
Because if I ask my father to support me to get a Masters, I know his logic well enough. He'd ask me to take a loan and pay it off as I work. "It's not much mah. Just a few hundred bucks per month..."
Like I'm so willing to get into another debt. If a Masters degree costs approximately RM8k per year, I'm looking at an RM24k loan over three years. That's equivalent of the car loan that I took from Bank Rakyat. With a Masters degree, I'll be paying off something similar to two car loans every month, and drive only one. Not very smart for a Master's degree holder, is it?
Furthermore, promotions and increments in my vocation do not depend on how many paper qualifications you have. Promotions up the salary scale depend on how many Guru Cemerlang awards you win, and how fast you pass your PTK (Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan) exams. Why would I need an MPA for that?
Even if I set my eyes on switching to an administrative position with an MPA, here's the reality: It's not about what you know. It's about who you know. It's not about merit. It's about colour.
If I aim for advancement with an MPA, I'll get even more frustrated when I don't get it. So, why work myself up for an impending frustration? And later, make myself work harder to pay off a debt for something that did not serve its purpose?
"Why not get a Masters in something else, and switch to the corporate sector?"
The thing is, that is not what I want to do. I want to stay in public schools and be a school teacher. If I can gain advancement, I'd still want to stay in the area of education and make an impact at a different level. My motivation to get a Masters is to go up in the same field, not to get sidetracked into another field.
But if I know for certain that a Masters degree won't propel me in that direction anyway... Why bother.
After all, it's not as though I can comfortably afford to get another piece of paper qualification.
Even if the day comes when I can afford to do a Masters degree, I'll let Mei Yee do it. She's the nerdy one. I only look smart on the outside. But actually ah, bluff wan :)
One of the things that conspired in my mind during Chinese New Year... Operasi beli rumah.
A church member who lives in Kepong is migrating to US. He is selling his house for a little over RM200k.
I have been toying with the idea of staying in Kepong. First of all, it's very near my church. Secondly, it's midway between Selayang and Taman Paramount, so I won't have to travel so far to meet Mei Yee. Thirdly, I may have a stronger chance to get myself transferred out of SMK Selayang Bharu. Fourthly, I have a feeling that Kepong is a safer neighbourhood to be in. Fifthly, non-kosher food abounds.
Since I've been thinking about shifting there... Why not buy a house there?
No way I can buy it on my own. I'm not entitled to get a government housing loan yet. Even if I am, I can't afford to pay off more than a grand every month on house installments alone.
Talked to my father about it. We hit a great idea: He buys half the house, I buy half the house. He buys as an investment, I buy to stay. When the price of the house appreciates, we sell it and split it 50-50. It's better for him to put the money in a house than in fixed deposits.
It all sounded pretty fine and dandy. But after thinking about it one sleepless night, I realized it's not such a good idea after all.
My father's motivation and mine are different. He's buying to invest. I'm buying to stay. Let's say he wants to sell it after 5 years. I have to move. If I don't, my father will be cheated.
That means, from the moment I step into my new house, I have to start thinking of acquiring a new one. I have to be continuously saving up for that bigger, better house. So when the time comes, I can sell it and move. Where is the peace in that?
Eventually, when I do get a bigger, better house... That will also mean I'll have bigger debts to pay off until an older age. Where is the sense in that?
And while I'm staying in that bigger, better house, I'll have to pay installments for two houses. Until I can find someone to buy my "old" house from me. How long is that going to take?
For a person of my vocation, what does buying a house in Kepong mean?
Getting that house in Kepong will mean putting a lot of attention into acquiring wealth, only to move to another new house, and plunge myself into a deeper debt. Surely I have to find a lot of side income to keep my head above the installments. Whatever extra income I may earn no longer becomes a bonus. It becomes a need. I have to keep working harder and harder. I won't own the house. The house owns me.
I fail to see the logic in that.
So, operasi tak jadi.
Calculator in hand, fast-forwarding myself into the future. To spare you the calculations, here is the result: I won't be able to afford a RM200k house on my own. I can only hit the RM100k-ish bracket. You're not looking at freehold, landed property in that kind of bracket. You're looking at an apartment. A small one.
What can I do until I can buy that small apartment?
Continue renting a flat for RM350 a month.
"If you're gonna be paying RM350 for a flat, it won't be too much to pay an additional RM250 for a RM600/month installment for an apartment of your own, isn't it? Why pay rental to other people, when you can be paying installments for your own place?"
Of course it won't be too much. If I accumulate the amount of rental I would have paid over 3 years, I would have enough to make an initial payment for an RM100k apartment. But where am I going to stay for the next 3 years?
Hence, the necessary evil of renting a place instead of buying one.
Since I'm at it, I may as well toy with the idea of never owning my own place. Why?
Because there are people who actually get by that way. They may not have their own house. But they are not in debt like those who do. They are not enslaved by the very thing they stay in.
By the way, this world is not my home. Why should I be so preoccupied with making my home here, when it isn't? I would rather be found busy in the house of the Lord, than to be caught struggling to maintain a house I can't comfortably afford. And thus pierce myself with many griefs.
Instead of asking God for a house in this world, I'd rather ask Him to continually remind me not to love it. If I can shift my paradigm, I can shift my goals. If I shift my perspective, I shift the place where I want to build my home.
Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, "Who is the Lord?" Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:7-9)
What I realize I missed most when I went home for Chinese New Year...
Waking up to find food on the table. Really good food, still warm, in huge amounts! It's a rarity in my part of the world.
Meeting familiar people and hearing familiar languages, even if I don't understand them. I may not understand what they are saying, but it gives me the feeling that I am home.
Knowing that my parents still love me a lot. My mum bends over backwards to make all my favourite food. She has been doing that since I was Joshua kecik.... Until I am Joshua besar.
Moral of the story...
Good things cannot be realized as long as they are taken for granted.
What I learned most during Chinese New Year...
When traveling towards KL after the holidays, the traffic is the same. Be it 1:30 am or 1:30 pm. I can testify for the 1:30 a.m. part.
Moral of the story...
Travel with somebody in the car. So something bad won't happen and you won't add to the jam.
What I learned most about my mental self during Chinese New Year...
I cannot do nothing for too long. Or be in a state of mental inactivity. I will get brain freeze, stoned, or irritable. Gimme an idea to think about. Or something to dream about. Even if it's just wishful thinking, or a plan to build a castle in the air. It keeps me excited, it keeps me occupied, it gets me going.
Moral of the story...
During gong xi fa cai, take steps to ward off the gong gong feeling. It comes easily when you've finally had enough rest.
What I learned most about my physical self during Chinese New Year...
Something is seriously wrong with my posture. I can't stay on my feet for prolonged hours. I get lower back pains. And I'm hardly 30.
Moral of the story...
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Before difficult days come by... When you have to put a lumbar support in your car seat, and vocalize an exhaling sound whenever you sit down.
This is my favourite Petronas Chinese New Year advertisement. Because I don't need to read the subtitles for this one :)
... A Muslim cleric queried me in an old blog post, Do Christian Evolutionists Exist. Old enough to feel like it was a blast from the past!
He said he finds it ironic that Christians believe in a transcendent God, who is a higher determinant, who cannot be part of what is being determined. Because Christians say that Jesus is God, whenhe is provenly the "being determined" for he walked on Earth, was a historical figure, was a part of creation, therefore a non-transcendent.
I am reminded once again of my initial purpose of starting this blog. Which is to minister to all who read it. Hence, the name Hasten Ministries.
I am encouraged by the fact that my writings can reach just about anybody, anywhere in the world. I realize that there are many silent readers, whom I could have affected with strokes on a keyboard, without knowing it.
I am inspired again to see my blogging as a ministry.
A lot of my blogging energy has been channeled to my church's Young Adults blog. You can read about what was preached over the pulpit every Sunday.
Reflections, thoughts, opinions, and spin-off discussions are hoped to spring off from there. Sunday sermons should be more than a one-off weekend thing. It should be a message that is discussed, meditated upon, and practised throughout the week. It is with this hope that the Kepong Gospel Chapel blog has taken this new direction.
No, it's not Rumble in the Bronx. It's the local version. It is... Rombak in Gombak.
The school time table will be reshuffled again. Rombak lagi. It's the third time already this year. "Not enough teachers" is the reason. 9 teachers are leaving.
Just when we thought we can have 24 periods per week... It's going up again.
Pn. P says she'll leave next year. By hook or by crook. If that happens, that means... I will have more Add Math classes to teach! And less periods with kelas-kelas separuh iblis! Hooray!
* * * * * * * * * *
Speaking of kelas-kelas separuh iblis... There was this separuh iblis in my 4 Neptune class last year. I heard during the Mesyuarat Lembaga Disiplin that apparently, this separuh iblis has Indon parents. Both his parents ran back to Indonesia. He's left with the whatever-whoever-Indons to look after him.
No wonder he became delinquent...
* * * * * * * * * *
More on the Mesyuarat Lembaga disiplin. I'm not given the kuasa merotan yet. Yet. Har har har. Imagine when that day comes...
Robocop by day. Dark Justice by night. You can run. But you can't hide.
* * * * * * * * * *
Hard core cases were discussed during the meeting. To help teachers keep track of the hard core students, we tried to find out which classes they are in this year. Guess what.
Of all the Malay boys mentioned...
All of them...
Are in my class.
Robocop or not?
* * * * * * * * * *
In my own name list, there are 45 people in my class.
In the official name list, I have 37 people in my class.
That means, 8 of them are pendatang haram.
They find their hard core friends. They see my class got a lot. They come in. They sit down. They say they baru masuk my class.
Robocop or not?
* * * * * * * * * *
I asked the Penolong Kanan HEM. What do I do the next time I come across our own students taking drugs outside the school?
The answer I got was... Call police. Or take their photo with my handphone.
If the Lembaga Disiplin can sponsor a camera phone, I will Robocop lah.
* * * * * * * * * *
Tactics from the crypt. You know how they trick students?
They come to you and offer a job.
First month, they pay you RM200 as agreed.
Second month, they pay you RM200 as agreed.
Third month, they pay you RM150. Or RM100.
Fourth month, they give you a handphone. Canggih wan. They say the handphone costs more than their monthly pay. The student takes the handphone.
Now, the student has to work for months and months and months, till late at night, to earn back how much the handphone was worth.
Student gets "stuck" with the handphone. Student goes to work because of the handphone. Student doesn't get cash because of the handphone. Student gets trapped because of the handphone. Student gets enslaved. Student becomes desperate. Student turns delinquent.
If it's a girl, they use a handphone as bait. If it's a boy, they use a motorbike.
Needless to say, the handphones and motorbikes are stolen stuff.
* * * * * * * * * *
Selayang needs a Saviour.
Don't look at me. I'm just... Errr... Math teacher.
