Three days two nights

I just returned from a 3 days 2 nights kursus at Hotel Seri Malaysia Bagan Lalang, Sepang. The kursus entitled Kursus Kepimpinan Pelajar involved the 21 student representatives or Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar, but one of our friends here did not turn up dued to some personal problem.


Setting out for the location early last Friday morning, we did not know what was in store for us. A hint given by our ustaz was quite positive. His opinion was that we are going to enjoy this trip and it's going to an enlightening one. But we thought otherwise. Considering the years we know our 'lovely' ustaz, we anticipated nothing more than a boring course, or a full-course ceramah and speeches from the top for three-full days.


We set off for Sepang after receiving an 'amanat' or blessing from our deputy director, Mr Yong. The journey took more or less 2 hours along winding and hilly roads. When I woke up, we had reached at our hotel already.


After checking into our own room, we had our first morning seminar. It was about the mission and vision of IPBA. Besides being entertained with the boring fact of IPBA's vision and mission, there was something else prepared for us. Something that requires us to think reflectively. The presentation that morning questioned our or particularly my personal vision and mission. With the help of some graphics in the presentation, i was asked, 'Imagine 20 years from now - you are surrounded by the most important people in your life. Who are they and what are you doing?' I will be 43 yo by then. and i will either be a well-known lecturer at one private college, or a hotelier who owns plenty of resorts and hotels. Not sure if it will turn out to be a success or not, but in the meantime, this is my vision to continue develop more knowledge, skills and expertise.


Perhaps, 20 yrs are too far ahead, what about five yrs from now, your local paper does a story about you and they want to interview three people... a parent, a brother or sister, and a friend. What would you want them to say about you? That's the question we were asked. It's surprising to see that though we have a vision distant away, it is good for us to be realistic about our goal or mission. And one good way is to ask ourselves this question. To me, i want those who were interviewed to say that i am a person who has gone through the ups and the downs moments in life; a fighter who never gives up; a do-er who turns plans into action; and more inspiringly, they will tell stories of when and how i have stood up from failure.


On Saturday evening, all of us went to the beach nearby. The beach is just a walk away from the hotel. It wasn't really a commercialized beach, but it's starting to gain attention from people. why? because of its name. I was stunned when i first heard its name: Sepang Gold Coast! Gold Coast? imitating Australia's most commercialized beach? tat's a long way to go man.


The beach is beautiful. But i despise the sea-water. Not only is it dirty and yellowishly-brown in colour, my legs and my feets became itchy after stepping into the water. Now, i regretted for stepping inside the water. We all did some physical activities there, while most girls took most of their time taking pictures.

a time to relax and smile

a time to play touch-rugby

When it's time for everyone to leave, i excused myself to stay for a little longer on the beach. It was 6 something in the evening, and slowly, i watched the sun setting behind huge patches of clouds. It was as though night came but there was still a ray of sunshine radiating from behind those clouds. I found myself a spot to sit down and enjoy the sea breeze and the sound of the wave breaking against the shore. There came a total peace in my heart, a feeling of calmness watching some making their ways down the water and splashing in the water.

us

sunset at Sepang Gold Coast

That night, after our last session at 11pm, some of us went to the beach. I was one of them. It was low tide, hence we were able to walk on ground that was covered by water evening ago. During the way there, we saw thousands and thousands of small crabs sideways away from us. My friends and i managed to catch a few of them and played them on our hands. It was great but we didn't get to take photos of it. The night turned out to be a lovely night out as that was the last night we stayed in Sepang, and that was the night that we don't have any curfew to abide by.

Sunday came and morning came, we all gathered in meeting room for our last two session. We learnt about SWOT - Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat - in relation to ourselves, MPP, and IPBA. As i was trying to figure out my weaknesses in relation to the many things i dared not do, i realized that i lacked of confidence to stand up in some situations, especially when it comes to voicing issues with the authority. This is just one of my weaknesses. Indeed, there are others too.

a time to work

Reflecting on this three days two nights trip, i think i dare say it has been an enlightening experience for me. It was beyond my imagination and thinking to know that i have learnt more than i have expected: having a vision and mission, proactivepassion and action, teamwork, trust, faith, strategist, smart, creative, critical, accountable, dedication, commitment, and most importantly, having the confidence in me to realize that nothing is impossible for me to achieve!

What i need now to constantly and continuously review what i am doing and to always remember my goals, mission and vision. Failure after all is a test for me to grow stronger and more persistent in my actions.

a time to pose

Malaysian Students are getting smarter

Malaysian Students are getting smarter. What is the main objective of the STPM; is it just to pass people?

How do you explain the fact that 87% of the students passed the examinations of the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) recently?

When during your grandfather's time only 10% would have passed?
Are students getting smarter? Or are STPM questions getting easier?

Let me put things in their proper perspective.

During your grandfather's time, they would ask exam questions like:
In what year did Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka ?
The correct answer was "1402", and they found that only 10% of the students managed to answer the question correctly. This didn't go down too well with the authorities, because the o bjective of the exams was to pass people.
I mean, what's the point of having exams if people fail?

So later, they found another way to ask the same question:
Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year:
(a) 2001
(b) 2004
(c) 1986
(d) 1975
(e) 1402
Tick the correct answer.

The results were better in that 20% of the students passed. But it was still not good enough, so the authorities tried a different tact a few years later.

Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year1402. True or false?

Well, half of the students guessed "True" and the other half guessed "False".
Fully 50% passed. The results were getting pretty acceptable by now.

Most other countries would be satisfied with a 50% passing rate, but not us.We are a better country, because we are a 'Boleh' country.

The authorities then cracked their heads and then came out with this one: Read the following sentence carefully.

"Parameswara, the cousin of Proton-Iswara, founded the kingdom ofMelaka in the year 1402."
Underline the name of the person who founded Melaka.
60% underlined "Parameswara", 30% u nderlined "Proton-Iswara" and 10% underlined "1402". Hooiyoh......60% managed to pass! So krever!

But for some reason, the authorities were still not contented. So last year, they came out with this :

One day in the year 1402, Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka . Then he went home to have dinner. What did he eat?

13% handed in blank answers, 57% wrote "Maggi Mee", and 10% wrote"Kentucky Fried Chicken", and 20% wrote "Tree bark".

The official answer was "Food" of course!

Upon marking completion, it was found that 87% of the students had passed. 87%............now that's pretty impressive!

So it's true. The students are indeed getting smarter.

cough

I have been coughing badly for almost three weeks now. Having tried three to four types of different medication, I thought it would subside. But that wasn't the case. It seemed like the moment i swallowed the syrup, i coughed even more badly. For almost 2 weeks, this has caused a great uncomfort and inconvenience for me. I attended my Majlis MPP with a non-stop cough, talked to my friends with a hand closing my mouth and had a husky voice everytime i talked.

Really, this cough in which i never experienced before has drained my confidence in doing anything. Sometimes i would feel headache when forcing myself to think too much. Sleeping is the hardest thing to do during this few weeks. Very often, i would have unstoppable cough for around 3o minutes before i sleep. And i don't like it at all. as a result, i ended up not doing anything. Thank God, last week, I didn't have to hand up any assignment which requires a lot of brain working.

Then on Thursday, after a tiring day of Kejohanan Olaraga Tahunan IPBA, after a tablespoon of cough syrup plus an afternoon nap, I coughed badly. As usual, the cough was dry and frequent. Then, my nightmare daunt on me that I suspected myself of having a Tuberculosis (TB). I asked my roommate, and he suggested me to go for a checkup. Immediately, i went to my fren's room to find out more about TB is on Wikipedia. The possible symptoms of TB which are relatively similar to mine are chest pain, chill, night sweat, 2-3 weeks of cough. BADDDDDDD!!!

(Doreen & I)

I called upon my junior, Ashes who has always been there to help me whenever i have trouble, to get a bike. He got a bike, but couldn't accompany me. Instead, Nigel, another junior of mine, accompanied me there. Arriving there, the nurses told me to come the next day as the clinic is closed in the afternoon. That night, my mind was filled with the idea that i am having TB, and my time might be up soon as dreamt. :p Some friends asked me what sickness i had, and i 'cleverly' told them that i am having a TB. Their faces immediately changed, with expression of disbelief or shock or even worried.

(Ashes and me)
On early Friday morning, as it was a cuti peristiwa, I brought along Nigel to UM hospital to teman me. He agreed. The process to get a doctor took around 1 hour. Then, i had my x-ray which caused me to wait for another hour. After a long 4-hour in the hospital, the x-ray result was out. My lung is alright, my throat is clear, my blood pressure is normal and most importantly, I DON'T HAVE TUBERCULOSIS! thank God!

so what has happened to me? apparently, it's something to do with the flu i had in me which remained inside me which result in allergy. It's something like there's fluid or liquid or phlegm inside my nose dripping down my lung and irritates my lung. This in effect causes my lung to react and cough. What's wrong with my cough syrup? there's nothing wrong with my medicine. It's just that the medicine has not effect on the allergy. therefore, i see no effect upon drinking the syrup.

Now that i am feeling much better, i have to thank Nigel and Ashes for being so helpful to accompany me to UM hospital. Not only that, they have helped me got a bike which made my journey there way more convenient, without having to take taxi or bus. Also, i have to thank all my friends who have showed much concern for me. Your messages are very much appreciated.

Of all my friends i have told, i didn't inform her about my suspicion of getting a TB. It questioned me at first whether i should or should not tell her about this. After having to consider the factor of her being busy and concentrate in her studies, i decided not to tell her. Not only was i not sure i am getting a TB, i don't want her to feel worried about me which might lower her concentration. But, she is well informed of it now.

Now that i am gradually getting better, she on the other hand is suffering from cough and cold. I know it's going to be hard on her. Overcoming it is not going to be easy, especially when it can have an psychological effect on one person. I hope she's doing fine there. hopefully and prayfully, she is recovering in great speed ('speedy recovery' she called it). And God will heal her cough quickly and give her the strength to work on what she has to accomplish. Amen!