Polywj's Space

Of summer and blogging

2009-09-15T12:37:00.013+08:00

This is the kind of title that you'll see when I attempt to combine two topics that are supposed to be discrete... I'm just too lazy to create two separate posts instead of one. Nevertheless, they're somehow related for me to weave them into one post. Read on.

My blog is half dead

I realised that there are many many broken promises on my blog - from my assurance to update more frequently and to my pledge to provide more follow-up posts. Ironically， the music I'm currently playing on my blog is 约定 ("Promise") by Michael Wong. I should've posted more updates especially during the summer holidays, which is about to end by the way. Close to four months... yet only four updates during this period (not including this post). What am I doing?

My (and maybe some others') interest in blogging has probably declined since using Facebook. Being on Facebook has sapped much of the time available for me to be active in blogging. With Facebook, I can keep up with updates from bloggers and non-bloggers alike, on one single website - convenient eh? No need to go blog-hopping and waiting for (some painfully slow) blogs to load. Naturally, updating my status on Facebook is much easier than writing a full-length blog post.

So why am I still writing this? I should've ditched this blog long ago! Actually, not a chance. Here are my five reasons:

This blog can be designed the way I like it.
Freedom to write as long as I want. Status updates are for short updates.
Facebook Notes? Limited capabilities. Here I can include pictures, Flash animations, CSS, Javascript, Java applets, even ActiveX in my posts if I know how to use it.
Facebook Photos? Again limited. I can write a photo story here instead of displaying my photos album-style.
Unlimited stuff that I can include here, unlike my plain old Facebook profile.

So Facebook or blogging? Hopefully both, if I have the time. In fact, I've just added a Facebook badge at my blog's sidebar to keep this blog updated with my Facebook status. This way, my blog will never be dead!

Summer summary

OK, so you know I didn't spend my summer writing lengthy articles on who-knows-what (I didn't even bother to think about what articles to write). I'll classify the happenings in summer in two categories - good and bad.

The good:

Visited Indonesia for the first time.
Earned some money.
Got an external hard drive.
My house is now a Wi-Fi zone.
Bought myself a new handphone (more about this later).
Played DotA with my cousin. He's getting better than me!
Met some old friends, both during work and late-night mamak sessions.

The bad:

Didn't do as much as I planned to do.
My external hard drive suffered a fall. It's still working, but not without minor glitches (more about this later).
My grandfather in Penang had a stroke, still recovering. Will see him next week.
Broke my laptop, due to me leaving it on for insanely long hours. (Or rather, it broke on me.) Come on, it's only slightly more than a years' old and a day is only 24 hours at maximum. So this is the lifespan of my laptop made by DELL (more about this later).

Notice the fancy bullets I used when writing out my list. This will never be possible on Facebook. So fellow bloggers, keep on blogging. Rest assured, I'll be monitoring your blogs through my blogroll on the right. Keep your blog updated to stay on top!

P.S.: If I missed out any of your blogs, feel free to shout at me in my Shoutbox.

Last day at TMpoint Melaka

2009-08-22T01:15:00.006+08:00

One and a half months... and my part-time job as a HP Broadband PC (BBPC) promoter had ultimately came to an end yesterday. There are lots of things that happened during that time that will serve as perfect blogging material, but due to tiredness (just had a game of DotA and it's late), I'll let the pictures do the talking first.

TMpoint Melaka at Gajah Berang.

My HP BBPC booth.

Me with TMpoint counter staff. From left: Kak Siti, Kak Akmar, Kak Nane and Kak Ramlah. Thanks for helping me with new BBPC applications!

Posing with Encik Yussaini, Customer Service Consultant.

Me with (from left) SME Consultant Kak Su and TM trainees Kila and Nani.

Last but not least...

TMpoint Team Leader Encik Firdaus and myself.

Nice working with you guys and happy fasting!

P.S.: Hope to get another update on my job posted soon...

Streamyx free PC promotion

2009-08-02T00:03:00.008+08:00

Packages

All packages include Streamyx 1.0 Mbps unlimited access and a modem.

Desktop Package


Compaq Presario CQ2035d Desktop PC	UPGRADE: Compaq Presario CQ3060d Desktop PC
Intel® ATOM™ 330 Processor (1.60 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB) Genuine Window Vista® Home Basic 1GB DDR2 SDRAM; 160GB Hard Disk DVD+/- RW Drive with LightScibe Technology Compaq 15” Wide LCD Monitor (Upgrade to HP w18.5" Wide LCD Monitor for only RM6/month)	Intel® Core^TM 2 Duo Processor E7400 (2.80 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066 MHz) Genuine Window Vista® Home Basic 3GB DDR2 SDRAM; 320GB Hard Disk DVD+/- RW Drive with LightScibe Technology Integrated Wireless & LAN Compaq 18.5” Wide LCD Monitor
RM99.00 per month	RM128.90 per month

Notebook Package


Compaq Presario CQ40-518TU Notebook PC	UPGRADE: Compaq Presario CQ40-510TU Notebook PC
Intel® Pentium ® Processor T4300 (2.10GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) Genuine Window Vista® Home Premium 1GB DDR2 SDRAM Memory; 250GB Hard Disk DVD +/- RW Drive Integrated Wireless LAN 802.11b/g Integrated Webcam 14.1” WXGA TFT High Definition Wide Screen Free Carrying Case	Intel® Core^TM 2 Duo Processor T6500 (2.10GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB) Genuine Window Vista® Home Premium 2GB DDR2 SDRAM Memory; 320GB Hard Disk DVD +/- RW Drive Integrated Bluetooth & Wireless LAN 802.11b/g Integrated Webcam 14.1” WXGA TFT High Definition Wide Screen Free Carrying Case
RM139.00 per month	RM158.90 per month

Comparison with Streamyx Combo 1 Mbps

	Combo	Desktop Package	Desktop Upgrade	Notebook Package	Notebook Upgrade
Speed	1 Mbps	1 Mbps	1 Mbps	1 Mbps	1 Mbps
Monthly price	RM110	RM99	RM128.90	RM139	RM158.90
Phone Rental	FREE	RM25	RM25	RM25	RM25
Total price per month	RM110	RM124	RM153.90	RM164	RM183.90
Contract period	12 months	24 months	24 months	24 months	24 months
Total price over 2 years	RM2640	RM2976	RM3693.60	RM3936	RM4413.60
Extra (when compared to Combo)	-	RM336	RM1053.60	RM1296	RM1773.60

FAQ

Is the PC really free?
Yes, because when comparing the standard Streamyx 1 Mbps package with the desktop package above, the price of both is RM99/month and comes with a modem. The difference is the desktop package also comes with a PC.

What's the catch?
The monthly payment must be made through credit card from any of the following banks:
AmBank • Citibank • EON Bank Group • HSBC Bank • Bank Islam • Maybank • OCBC Bank • RHB Bank
The contract period for these packages is 2 years.

Interested?

For more details, contact me at .

Note: All details are correct at the time of publishing.
Last update: 2 August 2009

Summer

2009-06-30T14:38:00.005+08:00

It's summer time in the Northern Hemisphere, did anyone notice? I think not. Nobody cares by the way, since it's summer whole year round in Malaysia, nothing special. I personally wouldn't care less, except that this is the time where my university has its longest holiday in a year - the summer holiday - which lasts for about 4 months.

"Four months???"

That was the reaction of my friends who have never heard of summer holidays before. I can see why. No college or university in Malaysia (except maybe the foreign ones) have such a long holiday at one go. Their holidays are no different in quantity, but rather scattered throughout the academic calendar.

I'm now already more than one month into the holidays, and yet I've not accomplished much that I originally planned to do. Here are my plans:

1. Relax

When is a good time to relax except for the holidays? At the beginning of June I went to Jakarta and Yogyakarta with my family. Jakarta has nothing much, but Yogyakarta is a nice place to visit with many awesome attractions - I visited Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple and Mount Merapi - all of them can never be seen in Malaysia. I will post some photos as soon as I got them uploaded. Also, saying at home is considered a form of relaxation, except that it's sometimes boring...

2. Earn some money

I was recently hired by HP to promote their Broadband PC package. Basically, you can own a PC plus a 1.0 Mbps Streamyx connection at just RM99/month for 24 months. I'll be going to KL for training next week, after which I'll work near my home in Malacca. After my training I'm going to post more details on the benefits of this package, so make sure you give your support! In addition, I'm answering questions on Mahalo Answers, which offers at least a 25 Mahalo cents (≈ 19 US cents) tip if my answer is considered the best. Not much, but still something...

3. Get a new handphone

Partially the reason to get a job. I'm currently eying touchscreen-based Google Android-powered phones, like the HTC Magic.

HTC Magic

Although I'll get enough money after working for 2 months, but still I'm wondering whether it's a tad too much to spend on a phone.

4. Learn something new

A way to ensure that the mind doesn't get rusty. There are many things I would like to learn, but sometimes I'm just too lazy to get things started...

5. Hang out with family and friends

After spending a year at Semenyih, now it's the time to be with my family and hang out with old Malaccan friends. Fancy a cup of coffee anyone?

Have a nice summer everybody!

Goodbye, Foundation

2009-05-26T03:22:00.006+08:00

Yet another post after a long silence. This time, the silence is 2 months long. Those days where I can keep my blog updated at least once a week seem unaccomplishable looking back from now. Simply put, I've been busy with so many things that I've neglected my blog.

With a bit of luck, this blog could be up and running at full steam once again since I'm now on a 4-month long summer break. Yes, 4-months long! Despite celebrating the fact that I'll be free for 4 long months, an unexplainable feeling of sadness has crept over me, knowing that I'll be progressing to another stage of my life, that is from Foundation to Undergraduate.

Time Flies

Time flies like and arrow, always in the forward direction, never backwards. I could still remember as vivid as yesterday the time when I was exploring and getting to know people around the campus of the University of Nottingham. Sometimes I feel one year is too short to fully familiarise ourselves with the environment here. There are still many people here who had been in the same class as me whom I do not know. Even in my last semester, I finally got to know the names of some of the people I've met once too many. At times, this short time period may fail to create strong friendship bonds, especially with the summer break where fellow course-mates are separated by distance for 4 long months.

Foundation Life

Life in Foundation is a major change from secondary school life. Learning to live without parents, spending more time with friends instead of family, greater freedom... I would say I'm pretty much used to this life already, although I find myself lazy and preferring to rely on parents when I'm back home. Meeting friends after class has never been easier with friends living within metres of each other. Weekends are usually spent going out or having the occasional DotA party.

Thoughts on Studies

Much of the time spent in Foundation is about studies, assignments and studies. The lecturers were OK, each with their own distinctive style of teaching. When it comes to marking tests and exams, their grading criteria can range from extremely lenient to awfully picky. On one occasion, a lecturer gave me extra marks for my Maths quiz when I went to see him, even though I was careless when answering the question. Yet another lecturer deducted points for another quiz simply because my answers were not presented in one line. "Your answers are scattered everywhere," she said (or something to that effect; I forgot the exact words). "I did underline the answers though...," was my reply. No point arguing.

Speaking about Maths, the Maths modules are the ones I love to hate. Firstly, I've always enjoyed a love-hate relationship with Maths - love because it is an essential part of Physics and Engineering and hate when things get too complicated. Come on, do we really have to differentiate an expression with powers here and there and then simplify them? I bet a real-life engineer wouldn't encounter such an expression to differentiate while doing his job; even if he does, there's such a thing called a computer that will gladly churn out the answer in a mere milliseconds with near 100% accuracy (taking into account the fact that computers can have bugs too). Can't risk a human error here.

Overall, I had learnt quite a lot (and forgotten most of them too) during my Foundation course. But sometimes I think a blending of social science subjects like economics into the course would be useful...

To all my Nottingham Foundation friends, we shall meet again as fellow undergraduates in September.

UPDATE: A section of this post has been deleted due to reasons I would not discuss here.

Assignment: Virtual reality poster

2009-03-21T00:30:00.000+08:00

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Illustrations Virtual Reality Poster

This is the poster I created for Digital Media's Assignment 1, with lots of input from my groupmates of course.

Busy final semester

2009-03-15T18:47:00.003+08:00

Before I knew it, I'm now in the last semester of my Foundation studies in Nottingham University – not to mention that I'm halfway through it already. Two semesters seem to be a long time, but yet less than 9 months has passed since I started my course here. If I were to say the 9 months is short, it's not either. Much has happened since the day I got here that made the 9 months seem much longer. It's probably the departure from school life that made the days here feel more packed, hence 'longer' because much more has been done each day.

It's impossible to find another busier time to update my blog other than the middle of the semester, but if you hadn't noticed my blog hasn't been updated for 3 weeks. Besides, I haven't been providing any updates related to this semester. Although it has been only been 6 weeks, much has been done that can be filled into several blog posts. But sadly, all of these occupied my time until I've no time for blogging. The first week of this semester, I already went hiking up Bukit Lalang (Broga Hill) early in the morning at 5 am – and that was done during a weekday where I have an English class at 11 am. I've some photos of the scenery that I took which I’d like to post here if I'd time. The rest of the weeks were not devoid of other activities; my friends and I celebrated the birthdays of 5 friends – Esdelyn’s during the third week, Rod's and Hwa Siang's during the fourth week, and just recently Weng King's and Hui Yen's. During this semester I also joined two clubs that I’m interested in: Robotics and Tai Chi.

Moving on and as per the convention, I'm going to give a brief overview of the modules I’m taking this semester.

Foundation Mathematics (HG1 FND)

Lecturers: Mr. Balrama, Dr. Rohaizan, Ms. Thong
Tutor: Ms. Grace Yap
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
This module continues from last semester, which means that everything including topics and marks will be carried over to this semester. Most of the topics to be covered this semester are calculus-based, from applications of differentiation to integration. This is the first time I'm having a Malay lecturer. Mr. Balrama is no stranger to us, having taught us since the first semester.

Applied Algebra for Engineers (HG1 M02)

Lecturers: Dr. Harikrishnan, Ms. Thong, Dr. Rafi
Tutor: Ms. Grace Yap
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
Another maths-based module. Nothing much to say here because it's also well, about mathematics, with topics from matrices, vectors to 3-D geometry. Dr. Rafi is another Malay lecturer here, but so far it hasn't been his turn to teach us yet.

Electricity and Magnetism B (EN0 EMB)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Lim
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
The only science-based module in this semester. Pretty disappointing because the previous semesters we had three. The topics involved which are magnetism, inductance and alternating current are not really my favourite. However, we're glad to have Mr. Lim from Semester 0's Basic Engineering Mechanics A back as our lecturer.

Digital Media (XXA C04)

Lecturer & Tutor: Ms. Geetha
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
Ms. Geetha is also a lecturer from Semester 0. She taught us Information Technology & Design then. For the first few weeks of this semester we learned about multimedia, namely audio, video and 3-D animation. The problem is nothing practical was taught, and we were expected to produce edited versions of audio and video by ourselves. For our group assignment, we have to produce a poster and a short 3-D animation. Our lessons now are about JavaScript – not a problem since I’m quite familiar with it already.

Communication Technology (XXA C05)

Lecturer & Tutor: Ms. Yong
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of tutorial class per week
For an tech-enthusiast like me, anything that has a whiff of the letters "I" and "T" should spark an interest. Despite that, what was taught in this module is plain boring – I guess even technology has a boring side. I would say it's good to know how a network operates, but learning about types of cables and network topologies has no practical value. They're either forgotten quickly, obsolete after 5 years or couldn't be bothered by people unless they're network technicians. And I hate memorizing.

English Language and Study Skills B (EN0 ELB)

Lecturer: Mr. Emmet Whelan (Profile)
Duration: 4 hours per week
This module is not so much about English as were previous English modules. 60% of our marks will come from our group assignment – and that's a big project. We have to do a research – not the usual getting-information-off-the-internet kind of research – but much more. We have to get the data ourselves by conducting a survey; that means distributing questionnaires to people and analyzing the data. My lecturer is the same as last semester's, and we got to know quite a lot about him already.

Lab

Supervisor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours per week
As usual. The difference is that we have only 3 experiments, thanks to reduction in science-based modules.

Finally, no government compulsory subjects this semester.

Writing such a long blog post surely takes a lot of time and effort. You should see why I’m sort of regretting it when you see my to-do list:

Digital Media Assignment – I'd done the poster (will post it here sometime this week), but we seem to have trouble with the animation.
English Assignment – We haven't done the research yet. Hopefully you guys can help me fill in the questionnaire.
Communication Technology Assignment – Practically untouched.

Apart from that, there're mid-term tests, maths quizzes and homework coming our way. Very busy, that is.

Cameron Highlands Trip 2009

2009-02-22T00:43:00.002+08:00

After the visit to Kek Lok Tong during the Chinese New Year holidays, my extended family and I continued our journey to Cameron Highlands. For 3 days and 2 nights, we stayed at an apartment in Carnation Park.

View from our apartment.

Mini-cactuses in cute pots at a plant nursery.

Part of the Boh tea plantation at Sungai Palas.

Workers collecting tea leaves.

Family photo! (Taken by Ying Ying)

These photos are basically the main highlights of the trip. Looking forward to the next family trip to Java, Indonesia...

A visit to Kek Lok Tong

2009-02-09T01:20:00.006+08:00

One of the key aspects of Chinese New Year is family reunion. During the Chinese New Year holidays, my family and I went together on a trip to Cameron Highlands together with my aunt's and uncle's families, not forgetting my grandmother too. There are five families altogether, though one of the members was missing due to study commitments (Don't fret, I'll be posting photos of the trip)...

Before going up the winding roads of Cameron Highlands, we stopped by Kek Lok Tong (极乐洞), a natural cave in Ipoh being used as a temple.

Limestone hills surrounding the entrance to Kek Lok Tong.

The entrance to Kek Lok Tong.

Can you feel the enormousness of the cave?

See how tiny are the people down there...

View of the cave entrance from inside.

Paradise on the other side of the cave.

Kek Lok Tong is only one of the many wonderful caves that can be found in Perak. Sadly, most of them are only known to locals. Maybe the new BN government in Perak formed courtesy of jumping frogs can help popularize these tourist destinations.

Next stop: Cameron Highlands

The Year of the Ox

2009-01-25T19:45:00.004+08:00

在这牛年里，希望你能够：
In this "niu" (ox) year, I hope that you can:

穿“牛”衣、
Wear "niu" clothes,

买“牛”鞋、
Buy "niu" shoes,

驾“牛”车、
Drive a "niu" car,

做“牛”人、
Be a "niu" person,

住“牛”屋。。。
Live in a "niu" house...

最重要的是，小心别踏上牛“金”！
Most importantly, careful not to step on bull shit!

祝大家新年进步、万事如意
WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

The REAL Cloud

2009-01-16T12:51:00.010+08:00

The last time I tried to guess the identity of Cloud was an unmitigated disaster. Not only did I wrongfully implicated that person, but because of this our friendship was put to test. Luckily it all ended well. Since then all the leads that I had were exhausted, so I have nothing else to do except to stow away my CSI hat; it seems that Cloud is destined to remain anonymous until he decides to reveal his identity.

Not that I'm desperate to know his identity, but something happened this morning that made me want to put that hat on again. While browsing through blogs by fellow Nottingham University Foundation students, I stumbled upon a blog with the following URL: http://cloudcws.blogspot.com/. Now since the blog owner is the only person from Nottingham University Foundation using the pseudonym "Cloud", there is a high chance that the Cloud person commenting here is the same person as Cloud the blogger.

To prove this connection means finding out whether Cloud the blogger is someone I know (or rather, someone who knows me). The "cws" in his blog URL seems pretty much like the person's initials. As there are hundreds of students in Foundation, recalling someone's name based on his initials is a somewhat difficult task. Truly enough, CWS did not ring a bell to me. Still, there is an whole mine of information I can glean from his blog. I found out that he is [EDIT: Cloud has requested that his identity be preserved]. Case closed.

To Cloud a.k.a. CWS: Good job! I'm surprised that you managed to evade the radar screens of mine and others guessing your identity all this while...

P.S.: If I'm wrong again then I'm going to retire from this CSI business - permanently.

被Alex点了 (Tagged by Alex)

2009-01-07T02:11:00.012+08:00

I know that English is THE language that all my blog readers would understand, but sometimes using another language in my blog posts is inevitable... especially when I was tagged by someone using Chinese.

Although this will probably alienate some of my blog readers, I take this as a chance to halt the decay of my Chinese proficiency (now inching towards its half-life). As a matter of fact, the last time I wrote a paragraph in Chinese was during my SPM a year ago. Who knows, this might be the start of the "Chinification" of this blog... (Just kidding!)

For your information, there's a great tool out there called Google Translate that can convert web pages between dozens of language pairs, including between English and Chinese. Just be aware that the translations might be inaccurate, so don't sue me if the translator spewed out something that I didn't mean to say.

Click here to translate this post into English. (UPDATE: The translation sucks.)

Rules #1: 被点者请在自己的BLOG写下答案。
Rules #2: 请传给另外其他人。(至少3个)
Rules #3: 传阅人请在这时个人的留言板中，告知他/她已被点名了。
Rules #4: 这些被点名者，被点的会得到幸福，愿望立刻实现。
“幸福套餐”开始咯......

幸福套餐1
01 你的绰号:没有
02 年龄: 18岁
03 生日: 7月12日
04 星座: 巨蟹痤
05 兴趣: 上网，出外旅行，阅读，写博客，打羽毛球
06 专长: （不必炫耀）

幸福套餐2
01 你有没有喜欢的人: 可以说有
02 是否在交往: 简单朋友而已
03 现在幸福吗: 怎么会？人生的路途还很长呢。。。
04 如果上天给你勇气，你最想做的事是: （只有勇气而已吗？）
05 如果有一天你爱的人跟你告白，你会: 让我也向妳告白吧！

幸福套餐3
01 点你的人是: Alex曾庆坚（没写错吧？）
02 他是你的: 朋友
03 他的个性: 友善
04 认识他多久: 中学开始
05 你觉得他怎样: （好久不见，做不出评论。）
06 你想对他说什么: 希望你尽早能够找到心目中的人。。。

幸福套餐4
01 最爱的节目: MacGyver
02 最爱的音乐: Can I Have This Dance - HSM3，Crush - David Archuleta，退后 - 周杰伦
03 最爱的季节: 春天吧。。。（拜托，马来西亚没有所谓的季节！）
04 最爱的卡通: Kung Fu Panda　
05 最爱的人　: 家人，朋友
06 最爱的颜色: 橙色
07 最爱的国家: 美国（科技一流）
08 最爱的天气: 阴天

幸福套餐5
01 如果上天给你3个愿望：我会许:1)身体健康 2)心想事成　3)无忧无虑
02 你是个专一的人吗: 差不多
03 最深刻的回忆: 学驾车
04 你是个很有信心的人吗: 看情况
05 你很爱微笑吗: 喜欢
06 如果要你放弃现在的生活，你愿意吗: （新生活会更好吗？）
07 妄想什么样的生活: 幸福快乐的生活
08 是否横刀夺爱才是爱: 应该相反才对。。。

问卷到此结束，点人者请至于被点者的留言板。
现在，我要把幸福套餐送给。。。
会华语的人

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T00:52:00.004+08:00

Things I look forward to this year:

January

Chinese New Year.
Possibly a trip to Cameron Highlands.

February

Start of the last semester of my foundation studies.

March

Launch of NASA's Kepler Mission in search of extrasolar planets.

April

April Fool's Day.
This blog turns one.

May

Start of long Summer holidays.
Possibly a trip to Thailand.

June

Getting a part-time job.
Hopefully will earn enough to buy a new handphone.

July

My 19th birthday (getting old?).
Screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

August

Rotting at home.

September

Becoming an undergraduate (another sign of getting old).

October

Launching of China's first Mars probe.

November

New version of Windows?

December

Another end of the year.

Moral Studies presentation video

2008-12-25T03:02:00.015+08:00

For my Moral Studies this semester, my group was required to prepare a presentation on the topic "Homosexuality". Our group decided to create a video depicting the life of a gay - and how it ended in tragedy.

To most of my course-mates in Nottingham University, this might be something you'd seen before, but bear with me because I finally managed to upload this video on YouTube. Hopefully this quality production from us would be worth watching again... and again...

The Video

A word of advice before watching: Due to the lack of narration during the movie, you might not understand what is going on. Feel free to pause the movie and check out the synopsis in the section below before continuing.

The Story

Drew (Kelvin Hiu) was not an ordinary guy. You've guessed it - he was a gay. He even has a boyfriend (Roderick). The story starts with Drew's boyfriend singing in front of his grave, reminiscing the events that led to his death.

Drew's boyfriend is so in love with Drew that he rejected the advances of others, including girls interested in him. Not long after rejecting a girl (Esdelyn), he went to find Drew in his bedroom to have some fun together. Unfortunately, their act was discovered by Drew's father (me).

Drew's parents were concerned about this and went to talk to him in his bedroom, but he was more interested in throwing a tantrum. Over tea, his mother (Sang Huey) asked him whether he is gay. When he didn't answer, his parents decided to bring him to see a priest in a local church.

The pastor (Wei Ping) talked to him and gave him some advice, but this only increases his frustration towards the people around him. The final straw came when he was beaten up by a duo (Sze Wei and Hon Xing) for being gay. He then decided to end his life. Before jumping off a building, he sent a message to his boyfriend, didn't wait for him to arrive.

The story ends with friends and family members visiting Drew's grave. His father hugs Drew's boyfriend, together mourning the death of someone they both love.

Behind the Scenes

Below is another video showing behind-the-scenes footage and the bestowing of self-created awards.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we had a great time making this movie. It would have been better if I wasn't smiling throughout the video... and my voice seem to be drowned by background noise.

As for my opinion on the main issue being discussed, I think homosexuals have the right to live their own private lives. However, they should be mindful of their acts in public as people may find their behavior offensive.

What Others Say

These are blog posts by others involved in the production of this video:

Of instant stardom and Big, Retarded baby =D by Vivien (Editor)

Of Homosexuality and Morality by Sze Wei

UPDATE (20/1/2008): Part II (Behind the Scenes) of the video has been removed from YouTube due to copyright issues. It has been reuploaded to Dailymotion.

Cloud, you are busted!

2008-12-13T00:43:00.015+08:00

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The person implicated in this post has vehemently denied involvement in this matter. Without complicating matters, I urge everyone to end speculation on this issue. Give all parties involved a break, lest feelings will be hurt. Also, before making any judgements, do take into account the implicated person's view in the comments section.

UPDATE 2: Here is another attempt at guessing Cloud's identity.

A mysterious person has been commenting in my Shoutbox under the pseudonym 'Cloud' for quite some time. All the while I was wondering about his (might be her) true identity when the name Cloud appeared.

The first time Cloud appeared was during the end of August.

Cloud I am new to here.I heard other people talked about your blog and so paid a visit. (2008-08-29 2:24 AM)

When asked who he was the first time, Cloud replied:

Cloud Ah ha.Cloud will pass by.See when I will reveal myself.Haha.Just kidding.Maybe some time I will tell you. (2008-09-01 1:14 PM)

Oh, he wants to keep it a secret... So fine, I left it at that. Cloud did not appear in my Shoutbox again... until last week.

Cloud Yaya.You haven't been updating for a long time.. (2008-12-01 11:50 PM)

Before that, I thought that Cloud had lost interest in my blog. When asked of his true identity the second time, he said:

Cloud Still haven't reach the time yet.By the way,chatting with a person you seem not to know.Doesn't it feels better?Though I know a little bit about you, (2008-12-02 5:10 PM)
Cloud I enjoy talking like this to you.Haha.Close yet far.. (2008-12-02 5:10 PM)

Then I asked: When is 'the time'? He replied:

Cloud haha.i also dunno..jz enjoy lo.not bad ma like this.. (2008-12-06 4:51 PM)

This guy really got me burning with curiosity. A la CSI, I found out that this guy is definitely from Nottingham University. Also, I assumed that this person has not commented on my blog using his real name before. And based on the way he speaks, I seriously considered him to be a girl. This got me racking my brains: Which girl in Nottingham reads my blog but never commented using her real name before? The result: Too many possibilities. I can't know each and everyone who visits my blog.

Then on Wednesday Sze Wei asked me via MSN whether I would like to know who is Cloud. 'Sure,' I said. She gave me two suspects; both of them seem absurd at first, as I haven't considered them before. Then she mentioned that the second person had done the same thing on her blog before. This got me down working. Based on the multiple visits of Cloud to my blog, the pattern corresponds exactly to that person!

Armed with that information, I can say with 99.98% surety (0.02% error in respect of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle) that Cloud is...

SPOILER WARNING: Click to reveal

P.S.: Thanks to Sze Wei for the lead!

End of the year, end of the semester

2008-12-08T19:39:00.010+08:00

It's approaching the end of the year, but this year, it just doesn't feel like it. For the past 18 years, year end equals to long holidays and long holidays equal to year end. This year is different.

End of the Semester Rush

Although my semester finals are in January, this time is practically the end of the semester where classes end. Yet, mid-term examinations are still ongoing with me having Electricity & Magnetism and Moral Studies exams next week. This means that for some modules, we won't be learning much between these two exams. There is, however, Christmas break between them, before we face the 'ultimate' exam covering all the stuff we learned in this semester.

The end of the semester is also the time where assignments are due. I still have English, IT and Moral Studies assignments to complete, and I'm starting to wonder why do I have to do all these at the last minute. Well, I'm quite used to this kind of situations given my tendency to procrastinate, but I just hope that the current situation permits me to hand up my assignments on time without affecting my exams.

The Weather

Studying in a UK university is no fun without experiencing UK's weather. But in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, I'm glad to say that I'm experiencing it partially. Take a look at this week's weather forecast for Kajang (the nearest major town):

Source: AOL Weather

I couldn't find a website which offers weather for Semenyih, but I can assure you that the weather here is colder, though not as cold as in Nottingham, UK which is snowing. But then again, we have the equivalent of snow at the Malaysia campus:

(Where did the faraway hills go? Compare it with the last photo in this post.)

Those photos were taken at 7 am two weeks ago. This place could be a resort if without the mounting pressure...

Oral Presentation: SpaceShipOne

2008-12-02T17:50:00.006+08:00

Publish at Scribd or explore others: spaceshipone

Those were the PowerPoint slides I used in my oral presentation about "an exciting new invention" yesterday during my English class.

I know I had left this blog idle for more than half a month, so hopefully I can provide you with more updates during this long weekend. We will have an extra holiday this Friday to commemorate the death of one of our fellow students from Nottingham University - he was brutally assaulted by a group of parang-wielding men just a few kilometers away from our campus (read more here). May his soul rest in peace.

Tagged by YY

2008-11-16T02:13:00.005+08:00

How you do the Letter Meme:
Dear (the last person who left a comment on your blog).
I don't really know how to tell you this, but ___1___.I think I realized it when ___2______3___ and I saw you ___4___ ___5___. I'm sure you're ___6___ enough to understand ___7___. I'm returning ___8___ to you, but I'll keep ___9___ as a memory. You should also know that I ___10___ ___11___.___12___.
Loves;-
Your name-
P/S: You are so lifeless, ___13___, -The name of the person that tagged you-.

1. What's the color of your shirt?
Blue - Our romance is over
Red - Our affair is over
White - I'll join the monastery
Black - I dislike you
Green - Our horoscope doesn't match
Grey - You're a pervert
Yellow - I'm selling myself
Pink - Your nostrils are insulting
Brown - The mafia wants you
No shirt - You're a loser
Other - I'm in love with your sister

2. Which is your birth month?
January - That night
February - Last year
March - your dwarf bit me
April - I tripped on sesame seeds
May - First of May
June - you put cuffs on me
July - I threw up
August - I saw the shrunken head
September - we skinny dipped
October - I quoted Santa
November - your dog ran amok
December - I changed tennis shoes

3. Which food do you prefer?
Tacos - In your apartment
Pizza - In your camping car
Pasta - Outside of Chicago
Hamburgers - Under the bus
Salad - As you ate enchilada
Chicken - In your closet
Kebab - With Paris Hilton
Fish - In women's clothing
Sandwiches - At the Hare Krishna graduation
Lasagna - At the mental hospital
Hot dog - Under a state of trance
None of the above - With George Bush and his wife

4. What's the color of your socks?
Yellow - Hit on
Red - Insult
Black - Ignore
Blue - Knock out
Purple - Pour syrup on
White - Carve your initials into
Grey - Pull the clothes off
Brown - Put leeches on
Orange - Castrate
Pink - Pull the toupee off
Barefoot - Sit on
Other - Drive out

5. What's the color of your underwear?
Black - My best friend
White - My father
Grey - Bill Clinton
Brown - My fart balloon
Purple - My mustard soufflé
Red - Donald Duck
Blue - My avocado plant
Yellow - My penpal in Ghana
Orange - My Kid Rock-collection
Pink - Manchester United's goalkeeper
None - My John F. Kennedy-statue
Other - The crazy monk

6. What do you prefer to watch on TV?
Scrubs - Man
O.C. - Emotional
One Tree Hill - Open
Heroes - Frostbitten
Lost - Scarred
Simpsons - Cowardly
The news - Mongolic
American Idol - Masochistic
Family Guy - Senile
Top Model - Middle-class
None of the above - Ashamed

7. Your mood right now?
Happy - How awful I've felt
Sad - How boring you are
Bored - That Santa doesn't exist
Angry - That your pimples are at the last stage
Depressed - That we're cousins
Excited - That there is no solution to this
Nervous - The middle-east
Worried - That your Honda sucks
Apathetic - That I did a sex-change
Ashamed - That I'm allergic to your hamster
Cuddly - That I get turned on by garbage men
Overjoyous - That I'm open
Other - That Extreme Home Makeover sucks

8. What's the color of your walls in your bedroom?
White - Your ring
Yellow - Your love letters
Red - Your Darth Vader
Black - Your tame stone
Blue - The couch cushions
Green - The pictures from
LAOrange - Your false teeth
Brown - Your contact book
Grey - Our matching snoopy-bibs
Purple - Your old lottery coupons
Pink - The cut toenails
Other - Your memories from the military service

9. The first letter of your first name?
A/B - Your photo
C/D - The oil stocks
E/F - Your neighbour Martin
G/H - My virginity
I/J - The results of your blood-sample
K/L - Your left ear
M/N - Your suicide note
O/P - My common sense
Q/R - Your mom
S/T - Your collection of butterflies
U/V - Your criminal record
W/X - David's tricot outfits
Y/Z - Your grades from college

10. The last letter in your last name?
A/B - Always will remember
C/D - Never will forget
E/F - Always wanted to break
G/H - Never openly mocked
I/J - Always have felt dirty before
K/L - Will tell the authorities about
M/N - Told in my confession today about
O/P - Was interviewed by the Times about
Q/R - Told my psychiatrist about
S/T - Get sick when I think of
U/V - Always will try to forget
W/X - Am better off without
Y/Z - Never liked

11. What do you prefer to drink?
Water- Our friendship
Beer - Senility
Soft drink - A new life as a clone
Soda - The incarnation as an eskimo
Milk - The apartment building
Wine - Cocaine abuse
Cider - A passionate interest for mice
Juice - Oprah Winfrey imitations
Mineral water - Embarrassing rash
Hot chocolate - Eggplant-fetishism
Whisky - To ruin the second world war
Other - To hate the Boston Celtics

12. To which country would you prefer to go on a vacation?
Thailand - Warm regards
USA - Best regards
England - Good luck on your short-term leave from jail
Spain - Go and drown yourself
China - Disgusting regards
Germany - With ease
Japan - Go burn
Greece - Your everlasting enemy
Australia - Greetings to your frog Leonard
Egypt - Fuck off now
France - In pain
Other - Greetings to your freaky family

13. What is your favorite activities when hanging out with mates?
Gathering for drinks - Ugly pig
Foosball - Silly duck
Shopping - French kisser
Dulging for food - Cranky banana
Movies - Smelly armpits
Snacks - Horny wolf
Snooker - Tiny nipples
Bowling - Sexy grandmother
Outdoor activities - Vain pot
Having a long talk - Nose plucker
Taking pictures - Dumb bitch
Other - Burn yourself

Dear ryanne,
I don't really know how to tell you this, but our romance is over (1). I think I realized it when I threw up (2) in your camping car (3) and I saw you ignore (4) my avocado plant (5). I'm sure you're ashamed (6) enough to understand that Santa doesn't exist (7). I'm returning your ring (8) to you, but I'll keep your left ear (9) as a memory. You should also know that I told in my confession today about (10) Oprah Winfrey imitations (11). Greetings to your frog Leonard (12).

Loves;-
WJ
P/S: You are so lifeless, cranky banana (13), YY.

Tag Victims:
Sze Wei
Vivien

Historic week - Obama and DotA

2008-11-09T03:53:00.012+08:00

What does DotA has to do with Obama? Both are related through just one word: History.

Change has come to America

The victory of Barack Obama as the first black president of the US is a historic moment for the US. Many would agree that this was a positive development in the eradication of discrimination throughout the world. His message of change and hope reverberated throughout the globe, capturing the imagination of world citizens. This once again proves that America is still the land of opportunity - leading the world in terms of democracy, citizen rights and free speech.

Obama addressing the crowd following his election victory. (Photo by Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images)

Thinking of my beloved home country Malaysia (although I'm not a first class 'privilaged' citizen here), I wonder when change will finally come to Malaysia. The issues of race and religion that politicians keep harping on is downright unproductive. Enough said. If I were to get really fed up of all this in the future, then maybe migrating to the US will be an option, but I would rather have the US culture of democracy be brought to Malaysia instead.

The day I got hooked on DotA

This was some sort of historic moment in my personal history. It was just last week that I officially became a DotA player, albeit a latecomer in the DotA scene. Many of my friends started playing DotA when they were in Form 4. I remained largely unaffected by that trend, probably because I don't go to cybercafes, so I had little or no clue of what DotA is all about. Like the Malay proverb, you can't love something if you don't know it (tak kenal maka tak cinta).

For those who have no idea about DotA at all, let me give a short introduction. DotA is not a game on its own, but a modification (mod) of Warcraft III's gameplay. In DotA, you will only get to control a hero, while the rest is taken care of by AI. DotA stands for Defense of the Ancients, which pretty much sums up the objective of this game: defend your 'ancient' and destroy your enemy's. An ancient is just a useless (it does nothing) structure that must be defended at all costs. There are two teams - Sentinal and Scourge, each with their own unique 'ancient'. During gameplay, you can level up your hero, learn new spells and not forgetting buying stuff to enhance your hero's power.

Since DotA is a mod of Warcraft III, it can be classified as a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game. I used to be a great RTS fan, starting from the days of Red Alert and moving on (in no definite sequence; might miss out a few) to Red Alert 2, Age of Empires, Age of Empires II and Rise of Nations. However, I'd been playing few RTS games lately, the latest being Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, but then I stopped playing after two weeks or so. This is because RTS games have become too homogeneous, i.e. they have many things in common: build a base, defend it, create an army and then overwhelm your enemy. Each game can be said to be different in terms of units and storyline only. DotA brought a new concept into the RTS line, and I can say that I'm finally experiencing the thrill of playing RTS games once again.

How did it all started? I first played DotA when I got a copy of it from Kelvin a few months back. At that time, I didn't really have a clue on what I should be doing in the game. With no training mode, I moved my selected hero round the map, killed some creeps, get killed, finally declaring this game 'moderately interesting' and I never touched it again until last week. That day was Monday, when Soon Yin came to my room to finish up his lab report (we were doing the same experiment). I'd finished it already so since I don't have much to do at that time, I fired up DotA and had him as my 'war adviser'. Once I knew the basics, the fun has begun and there's no turning back.

On Tuesday, Soon Yin together with Kelvin, Wei Ping and I had a 'DotA Nite' together in our unit. Soon Yin appeared as early as 8 pm and we played three rounds altogether until it was past 11 pm (talk about wasting time). Worse, Wei Ping and I had a test the following day, luckily it was just an English test... The next day we had another 'DotA Nite', this time at the computer lab, but we played only one round. Our next 'DotA Nite' is scheduled on Monday, because we except Soon Yin were going back on Thursday.

To master this game, it does take quite a lot of effort like familiarising yourself with the 90+ heroes and various items used in the game. I'm starting to wonder how this is going to affect my studies.

Change has come to America and to my daily routine. The former is beneficial, but the latter?

Tagged by Sze Wei

2008-11-04T16:55:00.017+08:00

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Well, now I know her true colours...

2. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?
Get rich.

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?
John McCain (US elections today; I support Obama).

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Put in a deposit account. At 5% per year, I can get 50 million a year, which is equivalent to 4.2 million a month! Then I will buy stuff, invest, buy stuff, donate, travel...

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Maybe... Love is blind?

6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?
Both.

7. Do you intend to wait for someone you really love?
Why not?

8. If the person you secretly like is already attached, what would you do?
There's nothing I can do...

9. Is there anything that has made you extremely happy?
Happy? Yes. Extremely happy? I will be if I get one billion dollars... Then I can put the money into the bank, and then...

10. What takes you down the fastest?
Stress. Young's modulus too low perhaps.

11. How would you see yourself in ten years time?
An engineer contributing to the advancement of humankind.

12. Who is currently the most important people to you?
My family and friends.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
Although I don't know her very well, but she seems to be quite a well-rounded person.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
Depends on how poor is poor or how rich is rich. Also, life is constantly changing so I'm unlikely to be stuck in either situations.

15. (a)What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
Bathe. (Boring, huh?)
15(b)What is your mood now?
Tired.

16. (a)Your favourite weather is?
Cloudy.
16.(b) Would you give all in a relationship?
Most but not all, unfortunately.

17. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously, who would you pick?
Simple: The one I love most.

18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing the someone has done?
I forgive but not forget, because I can't erase my own memory...

19. Would you suffer now and enjoy later or the opposite?
Life is a cycle of suffering and enjoying; but I do love it when it's my time to enjoy!

20. Who are u planning to tag next?
YY (In return for the latest tag).

Life in 2nd semester

2008-10-27T11:48:00.013+08:00

Wishing all Hindus a Happy Deepavali!

Time flies... It was just July - summer in the UK - when I first started a whole new journey in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Now it's the end of October - autumn, approaching winter - and 3 weeks into my second semester, known as Semester 1 here. Pardon me for not keeping you guys outside Nottingham updated.

Despite the fact that I've grown very accustomed to life here, a new semester still brings its own very unique challenges. For one thing, the campus is now a lot more livelier (crowded I shall say) now that all the students from foundation to postgraduate levels are back from their holidays. In my unit at Pangkor Hall where there used to be an empty room, there is an addition of an African from... well... Africa. I can't even recall his name by the way. Given the influx of so many students, one can imagine how packed the common areas in the university are, namely the student association building (cafeteria and some shops inside), computer labs and sports center. The campus is no doubt quite big, but most of it is made up of empty spaces. In other words, the buildings here are quite small and sparse.

The arrival of students new and old has changed the way things are going on here compared to my first semester. Heck, this is how university life should be, as one of my friend remarked. Clubs and societies are now active with each of them having their respective AGMs. But what is disappointing is that there are not many engineering-related clubs around, so in the end I opted to join the Outdoor Club (only). This club essentially organizes activities which are (obviously) outdoor-based, like camping, cave-exploring, paintball, etc. However fun these activities sound, they do not come cheap. A 2-day camping cum water-rafting trip costs RM200... Apart from clubs and societies, the university is also busy organizing events like "Understanding the Birds and the Bees" last week. Euphemism away, this event is basically about sex education. I didn't attend any of the programmes held, but I heard from my friends that the people there were giving out free... guess what? Condoms. Plus a pack of lubricant. Cool huh? The subject of comdoms became the hot topic of the day. Some even set their own target (not seriouslly) of when and how they're going to use it (must use before the expiry date)!

Academic-wise, the number of modules I'm studying are still the same, albeit harder, because the knowledge from secondary school can only take us that far... Below is an overview of modules I'll be taking this semester.

English Language & Study Skills A (EN0 ELA)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Emmet Whelan (Profile)
Duration: 4 hours per week
Time: Monday, 9 – 11 am; Wednesday, 11 am – 1 pm
This semester is the first time in my life where I have an ang mo (Caucasian) as a lecturer. He is from Ireland and has taught in Taiwan before, so he can understand Mandarin. Apart from the change in lecturer, this module is somewhat similar to ELI in Semester 0, but this time there will be an assessment based on oral presentation. I'd already chosen the topic of SpaceShipOne (I thought of using Nintendo Wii as my topic, but someone has already done it last year).

Light Waves & Electrons B (EN0 LWB)

Lecturer & Tutor: Dr. Khiew
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 11 am – 1 pm; Thursday, 1 - 2 pm (Example class)
The lecturer for this module is the same as LWA last semester. He is the only lecturer who is known to visit student's blog (including mine). This module is getting a whole lot tougher, with Dr. Khiew cautioning us at the beginning of the semester that there are over 80 formulas to memorize. The Physics in this module is mostly about the quantum realm of nature, with stuff like the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, Compton effect and the Pauli exclusion principle during the last week. This is where the limits of Form 5 knowledge is reached I'm afraid.

Basic Engineering Mechanics B (EN0 BMB)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 2 – 5 pm
We have a new Mechanics lecturer, who was previously our lab supervisor last semester. Unfortunately most students have trouble understanding his lecture, especially after the second week. This module takes us deeper into the field of mechanics, starting from circular motion and ending at oscillations.

Foundation Mathematics (HG1 FND)

Lecturers: Dr. Natanael (Profile), Ms. Grace Yap, Mr. Balrama
Tutor: Ms. Grace Yap
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Tuesday, 9 – 11 pm; Friday, 9 – 10 am (Example class)
This module differs from others in terms of its organization because it runs for 2 semesters. In this semester itself, we have 3 lecturers, each one teaching us for an average of 3 weeks. So far I'd been taught by Mr. Natanael on the topic of trigonometry. He claims to be the cutest lecturer on campus (you can see his photo on his profile page).

Electronic Information – WWW (XXA C01)

Lecturer & Tutor: Ms. Reginamary
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Tuesday, 2 – 5 pm
This module is basically about the internet - how it works and how to create web pages using HTML. Creating HTML pages is pretty basic for me (I started learning it during primary school), but still there are tons of internet jargon (e.g. TCP/IP, DNS, ICANN) which I've to know the exact meaning, although I'd already have a rough idea of what they mean.

Electricity and Magnetism A (EN0 EMA)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Terence Wong
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Wednesday, 2 – 5 pm
This is the module where we learn about electric circuits, manipulating current, voltage and resistance. My lecturer is also the Director of Studies for the Engineering Foundation Programme. He is the only Physics lecturer who doesn't use PowerPoint, but rather talk and chalk (this phrase is a little too outdated, because I haven't had the chance to catch a glimpse of chalk after I left school). However, I prefer his style because he starts everything from ground-up, making sure we understand everything that he is teaching.

Moral Studies (MPW2153)

Lecturer: Dr. Tew
Duration: 5 hours per week in one day
Time: Friday, 12 – 5 pm
Many people have the the misconception that Moral Studies will be like what we do for SPM, memorizing all those moral values. I can assure you that this is totally different, in fact, even more mind-boggling. We have to learn a new branch of knowledge called philosophy, which literally means "love of wisdom". We have to study the various theories that are supposed to help us determine what is morally right or wrong. But what is morally right or wrong is so subjective that each theory presents its own flaws. For example, one such theory is utilitarianism, which states that whether an action is morally right is solely determined by the overall happiness brought by it among people. This is quite understandable, but when it comes to a situation where killing someone brings a lot more happiness, then is the action considered morally right? This is something debatable. Anyhow there is nothing absolute when it comes to the issue of ethics and morality. In his exercises given so far, we are expected to list out the flaws in each theory, which means more memorizing...

Lab

Supervisor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours per week
Time: Tuesday, 11 am – 1 pm
This slot is more or less the same as in the first semester, except that the time and experiments are different.

The arrangement of my timetable is in such a way that for Monday and Tuesday it's all packed. Thursday is the most relaxing day with only 1 hour of class. Friday is supposed to be a day where I can wake up late, but because of the Maths example class, I'm forced to wake up early...

I hope you have taken your time reading this long post, because such long posts filled with text like this are hard to come by in this blog once things get busier.

Postcards from Nottingham (Part III)

2008-10-19T01:08:00.004+08:00

The following is a continuation from Part II.

This will be the last batch of photos that I took in Semester 0 of my foundation year in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

The UNMC administration building opposite the lake at night.

A closer view of the administration building.

View from across the pedestrian bridge.

More photos are expected to follow, but the bad news is I haven't taken any new photos since those I'd already posted here!

Coming up next: A tour of campus facilities

When a Man Loves a Woman (Tagged by Benjamin)

2008-10-05T02:54:00.004+08:00

I can't believe I took half a month to get this tag posted! Sorry Ben. The reason is simple: I don't have enough songs in my laptop to do this tag! Nevertheless, I find this tag interesting, so I got a CD which has a collection of English songs I downloaded in 2005 from home just to get this thing done. I wonder what songs would appear...

RULES:
1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, ETC on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Put this on your journal.

1. If someone says, "Is this okay?" You say?
Only You - Cliff Richards & Sarah Brightman (Only you are okay. I'm not okay. Neither is this.)

2. How would you describe yourself?
Endless Love - Lionel Ritchie & Diana Ross (I love everyone endlessly...)

3. What do you like in a gal?
Words - Bee Gees (I like the way she talks... and writes...)

4. How do you feel today?
Strangers In The Night - Frank Sinatra (I'm scared...)

5. What is your life's purpose?
Every Woman in the World - Air Supply (Own every woman in the world... HAHAHA!)

6. What is your motto?
Wedding Song - Tracy Chapman (Yeah... own and marry every woman!)

7. What do your friends think of you?
Silent Night, Holy Night - Frank Sinatra (I slept too soundly, is it?)

8. What do your parents think of you?
Colours of the Wind - Vanessa Williams (I'm great!)

9. What do you think about very often?
For Your Eyes Only - Sheena Easton (Only you can see what I'm thinking...)

10. What is 2 + 2?
All I Have to Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers (I can count while sleeping.)

11. What do you think of your best friend?
The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkle (He is quiet but loud...)

12. What do you think of the person you like?
You're The One That I Want - Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta (Yes... I want you!)

13. What is your life story?
Amazing Grace - Celine Dion (Very high class one...)

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Unbreak My Heart - Whitney Houston (My heart is too broken... Unbreak my heart first...)

15. What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Have I Told You Lately that I Love You - Rod Stewart (I hope I didn't forget!)

16. What will you dance to at your wedding?
Grease is the Word - Bee Gees (Slip sliding on the dance floor...)

17. What will they play at your funeral?
Save Your Kisses For Me - Natasha Thomas (Kiss me goodbye!)

18. What is your hobby/interest?
Enchanted - The Platters (I love daydreaming...)

19. What is your biggest fear?
The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis (How true!)

20. What is your biggest secret?
Total Eclipse of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler (My heart is eclipsed... All my secrets are hidden!)

21. What do you think of your friends?
Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Elton John (A little too romantic...)

22. What will you post this as?
When a Man Loves a Woman - Rod Stewart (Hey! This post has nothing to do with human sexuality!)

23. What song would you play during your first time having sex?
Picture - Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow (Take photos!)

24. You tag?
Under the Boardwalk - Drifters (Hey there... those under the broadwalk... you're tagged!)

Postcards from Nottingham (Part II)

2008-09-29T13:25:00.008+08:00

The following is a continuation from Part I.

After showing the place where I live, it's time to take a look around the campus of the Universiity of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC)...

This photo shows the features of all University of Nottingham campuses - a white building, a clock tower and a lake. The white building is the administration block.

A closer view of the administration building.

The back of the administration building, viewed from the Academic Plaza.

The Academic Plaza is enclosed by the main academic buildings and incorporates a fountain and an amphitheatre.

Panoramic view of the Academic Plaza from the administration building (The Brits surely know a good place to position their offices).

The university park where there is a jogging track.

Sometimes ducks can be seen in and around the lake, but I didn't manage to capture that photo. Maybe next time.

Coming up next: Night scenes

Nominations by Sze Wei

2008-09-24T13:25:00.016+08:00


1. Put the logo on your blog. 2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you. 3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. 4. Add links to these blogs on your blog. 5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.	Rules of the award: 1. The winner may put the logo on her blog. 2. Put a link to the person you got the award from. 3. Nominate 5 blogs. 4. Put links to the blogs. 5. Leave a message for your nominees.
I nominate: Touché by YY The Way by Loo Han @lex's LiFe by Alex THE RED ROLLER COASTER by Sonia Legend by Kelvin 无情人部落格 by Zheng Koon Me n Myself by Sang Huey	I nominate: Touché by YY THE RED ROLLER COASTER by Sonia Appreciate People Around You by Jia Wei There is PURPOSE to life. We just got to keep looking for it. by Vivien noryK eeL by Khuan Yew

Hope this won't take too much of your time...

Postcards from Nottingham (Part I)

2008-09-22T13:06:00.001+08:00

Finally, after spending two months at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) and completing a semester, the photos I promised are here... Enjoy!

My room, my second home.

The unit where I live - consisting of 5 single rooms and one bathroom. My room is the one with the door open.

View from the window of my unit. The faraway hills makes this place look like a resort.

Coming up next: Around the campus

Tagged by Sze Wei

2008-09-21T01:28:00.000+08:00

Rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

Starting time: 12.43 pm
Name: WJ
Sisters: No
Brothers: 1
Shoe size: 11 (inches?)
Height: 180+ cm
Where do you live: Melaka (Home), University of Nottingham campus (Study).

Favourite drinks: Fruit juice.
Favourite breakfast: Dim sum.
Have you ever Been on a plane: Few times (only recently).
Swam in the ocean: Ocean? No. Sea, yes.
Fallen asleep at school: Definitely.
Broken some one's heart: Maybe.
Fell off your chair: Can't remember...
Saved e-mails: E-mail storage is big nowadays... I delete only spam.
What is your room like: Normal room.
What's right beside you: My laptop.
What is the last thing you ate: Potato bread.

Ever Had

Chicken pox: Never. I'd been vaccinated!
Sore throat: Of course... and it can cause me fever...
Stitches: Looks like no.
Broken nose: Never.

Do you Believe in love at first sight: Who knows?
Like picnics: Love it.
Who was/were the last person You danced with: I don't dance.
Last made you smile: I smile with just about anybody.

Today did you

Talk to someone you like: No.
Kissed anyone: No.
Get sick: No.
Talk to an ex: No ex.
Miss someone: My friends.
Eat: I eat everyday.

Best feeling in the world: Achievement
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: What would people think?
What's under your bed: Air
Who do you really hate: I forgive and forget.
What time is it now: 1.06 am

Random

Is there a person who is on your mind now: The one who tagged me (thinking why she tagged me with all these dumb questions...)
Do you have any siblings: That was in the beginning section...
Do you want children: Why not?
Do you smile often: Quite.
Do you like your hand-writing: Hope you can read it.
Are your toe nails painted: You'll never see me do it.
Whose bed other than yours would you rather sleep in: My bed is the best.
What color shirt are you wearing now: Light yellow.
What were you doing at 7:00 p.m. yesterday: Bathing.
When did you cry last: (Secret)
Are you a friendly person: Usually.
Do you have any pets: No. My parents don't like.
Where is the person you have feelings for right now: Heaven knows.
Did you hold hands with the person who means anything to you now: No because nobody...
Do you sleep with the TV on: A few times.
What are you doing right now: Doing this.
Have you ever crawled through a window: I don't think so... Windows here are mostly grilled... And I don't want to risk my life.
Can you handle the truth: Nothing more important than the truth.
Are you too forgiving: Maybe.
Are you closer to your mother or father: Equal.
Who was the last person you cried in front of: My parents.
How many people can you say you've really loved: My family.
Do you eat healthy: Tried to.
Do you still have pictures of you & your ex: No ex.
Have you ever cried because of something someone said to you: No.
Are you loud or quiet most of the time: You should know.
Are you confident: Most of the time, but not arrogant.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago
Kids stuff.

5 things on my to-do list
Lots of stuff.

5 snacks I enjoy
1. Kit Kat
2. Twisties
3. Pringles
4. Potato wedges
5. French fries

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire
1. Travel to space
2. Invest
3. Buy big house and car
4. Buy cool stuff
5. Donate!

5 of my bad habits
No need to talk about that.

5 places I have lived in:
1. My mother's womb
2. Melaka
3. University of Nottingham campus
4. My grandmother's house in Penang
5. Many hotels

5 jobs I've had
1. Student
2. Blogger
3. Brother
4. Car washer (at home)
5. Painter (at home)

I Tag

Dead people (those that haven't updated their blogs for a long time):
Hou Ket
Han Way
Wei Di
++ Lazy to mention those who are beyond dead

For heavan's sake, update your blogs!

Government on detaining spree

2008-09-13T02:31:00.014+08:00

Another Ops Lalang?

(From left) DAP's Teresa Kok, Raja Petra and Sin Chew reporter Tan Hoon Cheng were arrested Friday under the ISA. (Photo by The Star)

Less than 3 hours ago, Teresa Kok was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). Earlier in the same day, Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng were arrested under the same act while three Malaysian newspapers - Sin Chew Daily, The Sun and Suara Keadilan - were issued show cause letters by the Home Ministry. These actions by the BN led government is reminiscent of what happened in 1987 (though I don't even exist at that time), where 106 persons under the ISA and the publishing licenses of two dailies, The Star and the Sin Chew Jit Poh and two weeklies, The Sunday Star and Watan were revoked. Whether these latest events are the prelude to Ops Lalang II remains to be seen in the coming days.

What concerns me that made me sacrifice some of my time (tests are around the corner) to blog about this is the way justice is served. What did these three people do that warrant such treatment? Firstly, let's look at the sections of the legislation that are related to the ISA:

Section 73(1) Internal Security Act 1960: "Any police officer may without warrant arrest and detain pending enquiries any person in respect of whom he has reason to believe that there are grounds which would justify his detention under section 8; and that he has acted or is about to act or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to maintenance of essential services therein or to the economic life thereof."

Section 8 ISA: Power to order detention or restriction of persons. "(i) If the Minister is satisfied that the detention of any person is necessary with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the maintenance of essential services therein or the economic life thereof, he may make an order (hereinafter referred to as a detention order) directing that that person be detained for any period not exceeding two years."

In short, a person must be a threat to national security in order to be detained under the ISA. Are these three individuals really a threat to security?

Raja Petra

Those who read Malaysia Today would surely know that Raja Petra is known for his "no holds barred" criticism of the government. Yes, his articles published in Malaysia Today are certainly the cause of his detention.

Just a week ago, the Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar said (link) Raja Petra could be charged under the Internal Security Act for comments allegedly insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad in an article entitled "I promise to be a good, non-hypocritical Muslim".

The million-dollar question: How can insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad be a threat to national security?

Tan Hoon Cheng

I'm surprised and shocked that a reporter who is merely doing her job is arrested under the same act. She is apparently arrested over her report on alleged racist remarks by Datuk Ahmad Ismail.

A reporter's job is to cover events happening in the country, and Tan as a reporter has every right to do this. If she is negligent in her job e.g. misquoted Ahmad Ismail, then it's up to Ahmad Ismail to take legal action against her. In fact, it was reported (link) that UMNO Penang was appointing a lawyer to sue her. It seems that the government thinks that the courts are not to be trusted and decided to take matters into their own hands.

The million-dollar question: Who is more of a threat to national security? An unrepentant leader continuing making racist remarks even after the reported event or a reporter just doing her job?

Teresa Kok

Yet again, there is no concrete reason for Teresa Kok's arrest. Teresa Kok has been accused of disallowing azan (calls for prayers) from sounding in mosques in Puchong and Kota Damansara.

The accuser was none other than former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, who in an Utusan report, urged the opposition Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government not to concede to purported moves by “a certain party” to disallow azan emanating from loudspeakers of mosques in Puchong and Kota Damansara (link). The government decided to take the word of Mohd Khir as gospel truth while disregarding the accounts of Kota Raja member of parliament Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud of PAS (link) and even the mosque involved (link). The person who is a threat to national security should be the accuser who has distorted facts.

The million-dollar question: Who is Dr Mohd Khir Toyo?

Conclusion: The case studies above show that the ISA can be interpreted and manipulated to the whims and fancies of the present BN-led government.

Tagged by YY

2008-08-31T13:50:00.007+08:00

Since this post is posted on 31st August a.k.a. Merdeka Day, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all MalaysiansHappy Merdeka!
Do take note that the fight for independance did not end on August 31st, 1957. The freedom and rights of the people is still under threat from corruption, cronyism and racism. Together we shall fight for a true Merdeka!

People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any questions that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Tag 8 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse.These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by. Continue this game by sending it to other people.

1 ) Are you allowed to have a bf/gf?
Probably yes... but is the time right?

2 ) Describe urself in one word.
Serious. What do you think?

3 ) Who would you pick, someone who really loves you, or the one you love?
It takes both hands to clap.

4) Have you ever loved someone BEFORE but never had the courage to tell him/her?
Not really. That isn't real love anyway, so don't bother.

5 ) Does it feel good to love?
What's life without love?

6 ) What's the best thing to do with the one you love?
Depends on who.

7) What will you say to someone who doesn't want to believe you??
Go to heaven.

8 ) Was ever a time that you tried to learn to love someone?
I guess not.

9 ) What's your opinion about someone who's jealous?
Life's like that.

10 ) What would yo say to playboys/playgirls?
You live your life and I live mine.

[[ * PART 2 * ]]

1 ) Best place to cry?
Home.

2) Who do you love the most?
My family.

3 ) Tell us about ur dream last night?
I slept soundly.

4) Ever hated someone so bad?
Yes.

5 )The biggest & most hurtful lie you heard?
No idea.

The last person..
-you had a beer with?
My family.

-you went to the movies with?
My family. Watched The Chronicles or Narnia: Prince Caspian.

-you talked on the cell phone with?
My mum.

-you hugged?
My pillow.

-you yelled at?
My brother (yeah, a long time ago).

In the last week have you..
~Kissed someone?
Nope.

~Danced crazy?
Never.

Think of the last time u were angry, why were u angry?
Can't remember.

If you could do anything OR wish anything, wad would it be?
Live this life to the fullest.

If you could have an all expense paid trip, where will you go?
A trip to everywhere.

Would you or have you ever blackmailed someone?
No reasons for that.

Are you old fashioned?
Sometimes old is gold.

What would be harder for you, to tell someone you love them or that you do not love them back?
Both.

What thing would be the hardest thing for you to give up on?
My computer.

5 Facts About Me:
Friendly
Forgetful
Open minded
Lazy
Thoughtful

5 Things that Scares Me:
Nothing scares me.. except my wild imaginations.

7 Songs Playing in My Head Lately:
Lazy to get songs to listen... If you want to know, listen to the music playing on my blog.

7 Words/Things I Always Use:
"Huh?"
"OK"
"Errr..."
"Uh huh"
"Really?"
"Wa..."
"Eh..."

I tag...

Introducing Foundation bloggers @ Nottingham:

Kelvin (2nd time I tagged)
Benjamin
Zheng Koon
Sang Huey
Vivien
Sze Wei
Jessie
Who else? Zhi Yang has a blog, but looks dead.

Thousand apologies to those that I've missed out. Do drop me a line if you want to get your blog noticed, especially by Dr. Khiew!

To old friends... I haven't forgotten you! You sure kena the next tag if there is one!

My lecturer visited my blog

2008-08-23T01:24:00.009+08:00

Roughly 3 weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “No easy life in Nottingham” with the sole purpose of keeping my friends informed about life in the University of Nottingham. I chose to tell about academic life here, so naturally my topic revolves around classes and lecturers. Because my friends are currently pursuing their studies taking different routes like Form 6, A-Levels and Foundation, I felt that it was informative to include comparisons between here and elsewhere.

On Thursday, I was surprised that my lecturer for the Light, Waves and Electron module, Dr. Khiew, left some comments in my Shoutbox regarding what I’ve written in that post.

PSkhiew Thanks for the comment. I understand that you are one of most smart student I have and seems like the module is abit easy for you...
PSkhiew Please remember that we need to deal with many types of students that came in with different entry qualification.
PSkhiew Hence, the structures of "A" modules have been designed that they only cover revision on the subjects you have learned in SPM or O-level.
PSkhiew Correct, I seldom discuss about the formula derivation during my class.
PSkhiew This is due to the reason that engineering and physics are two different contexts eventhough they are inter-related to each other.
PSkhiew Engineering is the extension of the fundamental theories to the application.
PSkhiew You are an engineering student, we should train you to use equations to solve research problem.
PSkhiew Due to the time constraint in the class, instead of using the limited time for formula derivation,
PSkhiew I would rather to use it for explaining more on solving problem using the equation/formula.
PSkhiew Mr. Wee is your physics lecturer, the way of teaching physics of course will be abit different compare to mine.
PSkhiew Nevertheless, if you believe that formula derivation is important and you are interested to learn about it,
PSkhiew I would be happy to have the discussion with you after the class.

Firstly, to Dr. Khiew. I would like to thank him for spending time reading my blog, commenting, and saying that it’s OK to have a discussion with me after class. I truly appreciate that. Regarding his comments, I would like to clarify that what I’d written was not a formal complain – it was just a way of me informing readers that the situation here it’s like that and what I think about it – whether it’s a good or bad thing, I leave it up to them to decide. The issue of derivation of formulas may be trivial to many; I brought up this issue only because I feel that the derivation of formulas is an important part in learning Physics. Some may agree and some may not. I don’t blame Dr. Khiew for not teaching derivations, since he already gave his reasons about time constrain during class. In my blog post I’m actually telling my friends that in Form 6 or A-Levels that there is more depth in subject matter compared to Foundation here. As for his comment about me finding his module easy, I would like to say that each module has its own challenges; I wouldn’t dare to say that I know everything about Light, Waves and Electrons. I’m still in the process of learning, and I’m fortunate to have Dr. Khiew as my lecturer because he can explain the subject matter well, hence I find it easy to understand.

Secondly, my post dated August 1 comes at a time when I’m still adjusting to life here in Nottingham. Like they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. Things may have changed, and my thoughts and opinions may be different now. I’m sorry if any other lecturer became the victim of my excessive comparison between here and elsewhere. Like what Dr. Khiew mentioned, each lecturer has his/her own teaching style, so he/she cannot satisfy the needs of everybody. I would cooperate with any lecturer regardless of my personal opinion towards that person. All in all, I’m generally quite satisfied with the quality of teaching here in Nottingham and have no intention to leave this place until I get my degree.

Lastly, I would like to stress that I’m a person that deals with issues, and I have nothing personal against anybody unless somebody gets personal with me – and I really don’t want that to happen.

Assignment: Computer concept map

2008-08-17T17:59:00.005+08:00

Computer concept map - Upload a Document to Scribd

What is this? From time to time, I'll be posting the assignments I did here at the University of Nottingham in my blog just to share with everybody my work instead of just showing it to my lecturer, so that my efforts seem more worth it. However, no warranties are provided, except that my lecturer has gone through it. But then again, the only result from passing up our assignments to her are a few ticks here and there...

No easy life in Nottingham

2008-08-01T23:18:00.029+08:00

This is the end of my third week in the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. You may notice that my blog hasn’t been updated for about 2 weeks. Why? The short answer is in the title of this post, while a more detailed answer will follow as you continue to read this post.

Although my short stint in Malacca High School seems like a distant memory to me now, but I still can remember what the teachers there used “brainwash” Form 6 students about how you can have an easy life in college. They say, “If you want an easy life, go college lah! In Form 6, you must be prepared to slog!” (Although I’m technically a university student, but I still categorize myself as a college student, because saying that I’m a university student would give the impression that I’m an undergraduate.) No doubt that life is a little easier here, but in no way that I’m passing my days as if each day is a holiday. To let you have a “feel” of my life in Nottingham, I’ll start off with writing about the subjects (they call it modules) I’m currently taking in Sem 0 of my Foundation in Engineering course.

Light, Waves and Electron A (EN0 LWA)

Lecturer & Tutor: Dr. Khiew
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 2 – 5 pm
This is basically a Physics-related module where we learn about mostly light and waves, for example lenses, interference of waves and so on. Dr. Khiew is my only lecturer with a PhD. We have 2 hours of lecture where he lectures while showing PowerPoint slides and another hour of doing exercises. His lessons are quite easy to understand, but what I don’t like about his lessons is that he refuses to derive some of the formulas we encounter, like the lens formulas. He would say that we are engineering students, so it’s enough to know how to apply these formulas... I wonder what Mr. Wee will say about this.

Basic Mathematical Techniques (HG1 BMT)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Balrama
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Monday, 9 – 11 am; Thursday, 11 am – 12 pm (Example class)
This module is taught by a quite experienced-looking man, though I'm feeling that we're moving too slowly. What we learn here is basically what we learn before in Form 4 and Form 5, like indices, inequalities, progression and so on. But the questions given can be quite tricky in such a way that befits our age. It’s like a tougher form of the SPM Mathematics syllabus.

Properties of Materials (EN0 POM)

Lecturer & Tutor: Mr. Chiang
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Tuesday, 2 – 5 pm
Fondly (the opposite is true) known as POM. The lecturer of this module claims to be the funniest lecturer in the University, and true enough, he likes to crack jokes. He has something funny to say every few minutes or so, but then some are not so funny… Anyway, this module is a mixture of Chemistry and Physics, but it’s still more related to Chemistry than Physics. Examples of topics covered are atoms, bonding, crystals and gases. And even worse than Chemistry in secondary school, this module requires a lot of memorizing. Well, we’re supposed to know about the properties of materials, and the only way is to memorize them.

Basic Engineering Mechanics A (EN0 BMA)

Lecturer: Mr. Lim
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Wednesday, 2 – 5 pm
This is another Physics-related module that everybody who studied Physics before is familiar with. Topics covered in this module are usually discussed at the beginning chapters of most Physics textbooks. It includes physical quantities, vectors, kinematics, Newton’s Laws up to work and power.

English Language and Study Skills Introductory (EN0 ELI)

Lecturer: Ms. Cecily
Duration: 4 hours per week
Time: Tuesday, 11 am – 1 pm; Thursday, 9 – 11 am
English lessons again… the most boring and useless (the study skills part) subject (that’s what I think). The difference is that we’re learning academic English, not the story-telling kind of English but English based on cold hard facts (my emphasis). I can't deny that I learned something more about the English language especially the grammar part, but there’s nothing more to that. And this module is supposed to teach us study skills, which I doubt it will reach its objective. In order to “teach” us study skills, this module requires us to submit a so-called study diary to our lecturer each week. And my lecturer is going on very slowly, so I wouldn’t learn much actually.

IT and Design A (XX0 C02)

Lecturer: Ms. Geetha
Duration: 2 hours lecture, 1 hour of example class per week
Time: Thursday, 2 – 5 pm
The lecturer for this module has the easiest time. A Masters Degree holder currently pursuing her PhD in my university, she spends the least time with us. Her class ends at 3.30 pm at most (so far) and she leaves us doing the exercise she gave us. For the past lessons, the exercises given involved finding information about IT-related stuff. We have to arrange the information we found in a folio, and we have to hand it in the following week.

Malaysian Studies (MPW2133)

Lecturer: Ms. Evans
Duration: 5 hours per week in one day (!)
Time: Friday, 12 – 5 pm
It’s Sejarah all over again during Malaysian Studies. Not everything is about History though, because we also will learn about the Malaysian parliament, government and its policies, kind of like Paper 1 of Pengajian Am in Form 6 if I’m not mistaken. Ms. Evans, a Masters Degree holder too, is a part-time lecturer at Nottingham and she’s the best History teacher I’ve ever had (because my previous ones suck). She knows the history of Malaysia like the back of her hand. It’s quite interesting learning about the history of Malaysia actually, but I shudder at the thought of squeezing all these facts into my head again to sit for tests.

Lab

Supervisor: Mr. Tan
Duration: 2 hours per week
Time: Wednesday, 10 – 11 am
This is not a module on its own, but just a slot in our timetable where we carry out Physics and Chemistry experiments. I can’t comment much here because lab sessions are only on next week.

Now you can see what my coursemates and I have to go through each week. According to our timetable, we have an average of 5.2 hours of classes per day, sort of like the time spent for classes in school if you’re in Form 6. And this does not include breaks. But of course, Form 6 students will have lots of extra classes, and some of my lecturers are “kind” enough to give early dismissals.

Phew, what a long post I’ve written. However, it won't end just yet. Proves that I’ve a lot of free time right? Nah, this is just to compensate for the drought of updates in my blog for the past two weeks. If you don’t believe me, let me show you why my hands are not empty.

Malaysian Studies assignment about Home Ministry – 10 pages worth of research to be done by the end of this semester.
Malaysian Studies presentation – my group is planning to do a video about the Malaysian Parliament. If all goes well, it may be uploaded on YouTube.
Tests! Next week I have English, Malaysian Studies and POM tests. And I’ve been to Form 6 long enough to know that their monthly tests also fall on August. Proves that we’re moving at a very fast pace (not exactly, just joking). Yesterday I just had my BMT quiz, a small test that was over in 20 minutes. All of these tests will contribute to my final results.

One more thing, for the very first time, I’ll be spending my weekend at Nottingham. I still haven’t thought of what to do over the weekend. Living full-time in Nottingham can be described as living like a frog underneath a well; the only contact with the outside world is through the phone, internet, newspapers or taking a bus ride out of this “well”.

P.S.: The JPA scholarship results for 9A students are out, and I was offered a scholarship even though I stated my institution as Nottingham. Moreover, the ever-you-know-what JPA still keeps people guessing about the details of this scholarship. If they sponsor foundation students like me too, don’t you think that it’s better to do foundation here at a prestigious (again my emphasis) university like mine fully-sponsored rather than studying Form 6?

P.S. 2: A big salute to those who managed to read each and every word of my 1000-plus-words post.

P.S. 3: To those who want to see photos, I would say this: Since a picture is worth a thousand words, therefore I've just posted a very clear picture of Nottingham, don't you think? OK, OK, I'll try to get some photos during this weekend. But then when I'll be posting these photos will be another unknown...

UPDATE: To avoid any misunderstandings especially regarding my comments on classes and lecturers, please check out my follow up to this post.

New HP number

2008-07-18T23:26:00.005+08:00

Just to let you guys know that I’ll be switching from DiGi Prepaid to Maxis Postpaid supplementary line. Too bad I can’t keep my phone number. My new number will be as follows:

012-3512XXX

where XXX comes from my previous phone number.

I decided not to post my full number here out of security concerns. If anybody here wants my full number, do contact me by whatever means you have, be it MSN, e-mail or whatever way you can think of – or simply ask somebody who knows.

Anyway here is, just for old time’s sake, an evolution of my handphone number:
016-6977811 (expired in 2006) >> 016-6492XXX >> 012-3512XXX (now)

P.S.: Today is Friday (although it's late)! Like my Form 6 counterparts, I do not have classes over the weekends, so school's out and yay, I'm back in my home sweet home.

A Freshman’s Guide to the UNMC

2008-07-13T00:02:00.018+08:00

The writer of this guide is currently an Engineering Foundation freshman who has only spent one night at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

A Brief Introduction to UNMC

The University of Nottingham traces its origins to the founding of an adult education school in 1798. The foundation stone of the original University College Nottingham on Shakespeare Street was laid in 1877, with a speech by former UK prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone. This building was formally opened in 1881 by Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.

A large gift of land allowed University College Nottingham to move to a new campus in 1928. This development was supported by an endowment fund and public contributions. The transfer was made possible by the generosity of Sir Jesse Boot, who presented 35 acres to the City of Nottingham in 1921. In 1948, University College Nottingham received its Royal Charter, which gave it the title of “university” and the power to confer degrees. The name changed from University College Nottingham to The University of Nottingham. Previously, the institution’s students received their degrees from the University of London.

The Malaysia Campus of University of Nottingham, at that time occupying the MISC Building in Jalan Conlay, welcomed its first students in September 2000. The Semenyih Campus built later sits on a 101 acre site, 30 km from Kuala Lumpur and 3 km from Semenyih town. It opened in August 2005 and teaching began in September 2005. It is the first purpose built campus of a British university outside the UK.

The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 70 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and Times Higher (THES) World University Rankings.

Location Map

View Larger Map

Location map of the Semenyih campus.

Campus Map

Pangkor and Kapas Halls (new buildings) are not shown in this outdated photo.

Facilities

Broadband access
24 hours' access to computer facilities
Computer Laboratories
Language Laboratories
Science/Engineering Laboratories
State of the art learning and teaching facilities
Library
Study Area
Health Centre
Purpose built sports facility including gym, basketball, squash, tennis courts
Jogging Tracks
Swimming pool

Accomodation

University-arranged accommodation choices are the on-campus Halls of Residence (Tioman, Langkawi, Redang, Pangkor and Kapas Halls) or off campus at TTS2, TTS4 and TTS5. The University has appointed Pioneer Century Sdn. Bhd. to manage all university-arranged accommodation. Rental rates range from RM330 to RM850 per month. Cleaning services are provided.

Students can also rent rooms or whole houses independently from nearby housing estates.

Food

The nearest place to find food is at the cafeteria in the Student Association building. Food there is usually given low ratings by students and therefore they only eat there when there are no other choices.

One alternative is catering food from outside where they will deliver food to the campus. Another alternative is to travel to Broga or Semenyih town to find food personally.

Laundry Services

Coin operated machines for washing and drying (at RM3 per usage) are located at the end of Langkawi and Redang Halls.

There is also a laundry operator that provides services of washing and ironing.

Internet Access

Most campus buildings except the Halls of Residence have wireless access points for connection to the internet. Internet access via the university network is filtered so chatting and P2P applications may not function correctly.

Students living in the Halls of Residence are provided internet access there if they subscribe to the Student Network Services (SNS) at RM252 for one semester. Chatting applications are supported by the SNS, but P2P traffic remains blocked.

Consumer internet services like Maxis Broadband and Celcom Broadband may be available in some areas. TM Net hotspots can also be found in many parts on campus except at the Halls of Residence.

End note: The writer does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity and quality of this guide. However, comments are most welcomed. More information about the UNMC can be found at the UNMC website.

From the University of Nottingham

2008-07-10T22:59:00.014+08:00

This will be a short post because the writer is freezing inside the university's computer lab.

Today I'll be spending my first night at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC).

This morning, I went together with Kee Weng in his parent's car to the campus for registration. Quite a number of Malaccans were there getting registered, some of them whom I know through Mr. Lim's Chinese tuition. Also met Isaac Chin there and we had lunch together with his group of friends.

The evening was rather boring. Isaac invited me to play badminton at the sports complex but the 2 badminton courts were occupied. Moreover, I didn't bring my badminton racquet...

Just now, about 4 hours ago, I went together with Isaac's group of friends to Broga to have dinner. One of his friends has a car. Anyway, five dishes of Chinese food and adding a few bowls of rice and the bill turns up to be only RM58 (for 6 people), so RM10 for each one. Quite cheap for a very filling meal if you ask me.

After dinner, I went to, and this is where I am now, the computer lab to try the university's internet connection. My hostel has no internet connection unless I cough up more than RM50 per month, so naturally I would rather not do so. The connection is quite fast, I would say faster than my Streamyx connection at home at optimum performance. By optimum performance, I mean when not many people are using it. Even with mostly Foundation students currently residing in the University now, I am experiencing occasional slowdowns... YouTube failed to load a moment ago. And the university blocks P2P traffic like BitTorrent, so I cannot fully take advantage of its speed.

OK, signing off here because it's cold here [rubs both hands together] and it's late. Expect more about the UNMC after the induction session and when I get home tomorrow.

Farewell, Form 6 and MHS

2008-07-04T13:05:00.006+08:00

From 13th of May until 3rd of July (yesterday); more than one and a half months. Those were the days I was a student in Malacca High School (MHS). Finally, I had to leave MHS in search of greener pastures at the University of Nottingham, thus opening a new chapter in my life. Imagine the changing of lifestyle that I’ve grown so much accustomed for the past 11 years: Waking up early in the morning to go to school and coming back home later in the afternoon. No, this is definitely not the way of life in university. And I too am not quite sure what university life would be like.

Whatever the life in university, there are things in Form 6 that I think I would sorely miss there:

School life
School uniform (hey, they actually look smart)
Mr. Wee, first class physics teacher
PA and Chemistry lessons
Many friends from SFI

Come to think of it again, it actually despised school life when I first entered MHS (see my Form 6: Malacca High School post). But given the uncertainties ahead, I would be inclined to stick to my old way of life. I’ve also read Jia Wei’s F6 (Wise Choice or Bad Choice) post, and of course I agree with him on some points about the advantages in studying Form 6. Speaking about friends, I would like to say more than 95% of students in the foundation course that I’ll be taking will be strangers. This is far different from Form 6 at MHS where you get a significant population of ex-SFI students.

Enough said about school life. I’m sure I would manage to get over it. Hey, some people even went to Russia and Australia after Form 5. For me, it’s just a 2-hour journey from there to home. What is more pressing would be the quality of teaching and the stuff that I would be learning there. Surely, I would not find lectures as experienced and dedicated as Form 6 teachers in MHS. How I wish the teachers in Form 6 (especially Mr. Wee) would continue teaching me there in a less exam-oriented fashion. And yes, there will be no PA lessons, so I would be losing out in knowledge about the workings of our country. As for Chemistry lessons, it will only be offered to students taking Chemical Engineering next year - other students are not given the chance to take it.

However, no matter what comes out to be in the future, I think I would still be a Form 6 student at heart, at least while I’m still in pre-u. To those in Form 6, I would like to say that since you’ve decided to stay, then by all means have no regrets. Form 6 life can actually be enjoyable if you have a positive attitude. Who knows, I may be regretting soon that I've not continued studying in Form 6. And yeah, to Loo Han, Jia Wei, Nicholas and other Form 6 bloggers, do continue to provide updates about life in Form 6… make me regret that I wasn’t there!

Once again, I bid farewell to Form 6 and MHS. To everybody there slogging towards STPM, I wish you good luck! And I'm sorry I cannot be with you fighting the STPM war...

Tagged by Loo Han

2008-06-25T23:40:00.005+08:00

LAYER 1 : ON THE OUTSIDE
Name : WJ
Birth Date : 12 July 1990
Current Status : Single
Eye Colour : Not sure
Righty or lefty : Righty

LAYER 2 : ON THE INSIDE
My Heritage : Malaysian Chinese Hokkien
My Fears : The future, extreme heights
My Weaknesses : Unable to overcome my weakness
My Perfect Pizza : Any pizza + xtra cheese

LAYER 3 : YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW
My thoughts first waking up : Another day...
My bedtime : 11pm - 2am
My most missed memory : Primary and secondary school days

LAYER 4 : MY PICK
Pepsi or Coke : I would rather avoid them
McDonald or Burger King : Burger King's burgers are the best!
Single or grouped dates : Single
Adidas or Nike : Any brand would do... Quality + comfort matters
Tea or Nestea : What's the difference?
Chocolate or Vanilla : Chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee : Cappuccino sounds nicer, but haven't tasted before

LAYER 5 : DO YOU...
Smoke : Smoking is bad for health
Curse : Occasionally
Take a shower : Who doesn't?
Have a crush : Yes
Think you've been in love : Not really
Go to school : I'm going to a UNIVERSITY! Currently wasting time at MHS.
Want to get married : Why not?
Believe in yourself : Most of the time

LAYER 6 : IN THE PAST
Alcohol : Occasionally
Gone to the mall : I don't live in a kampung
Been on stage : Yes
Eaten sushi : Yes
Dyed your hair : Never thought of trying

LAYER 7 : HAVE YOU EVER
Played a stripping game : Never
Changed who you were to fit in : Depends

LAYER 8 : AGE YOU'RE HOPING...
To be married : 28 to 30

LAYER 9 : IN A GIRL...
Best eye colour : Brown
Best hair colour : Natural
Short hair or long hair : Moderately long
Best height : Hard to find one taller than me
Attitude : Supportive, not too overly ambitious

LAYER10 : WHAT WERE YOU DOING...
A minute ago : Reflecting about myself
Hour ago : Surfing the internet
4.5 hours ago : Eating dinner
1 month ago : Form 6 Orientation
Year ago : Enjoying Form 5

LAYER 11 : FINISH THE SENTENCES...
I love : This world
I feel : Worried about my future
I hate : Lies
I hide : My secrets
I miss : My secondary school days
I need : To learn to be an adult

LAYER 12 : TAGGING 5 PEOPLE
Those that haven't responded to tags - Wei Di, Kee Weng, Khuan Yew, Jude (I hope he hasn't given up blogging).
Plus: YY

My stance on BN and PR

2008-06-23T01:00:00.007+08:00

Last week, I posted a documentary on Anwar's trial and at the same time dropped in some of my own comments about the documentary as well. Judging from the response from Sonia on what I'd written, it seems like I'd given the perception that I'm a hardcore supporter of the Pakaran Rakyat. Her response raised so many questions that I think would be appropriate to be clarified and addressed in a "long" way, that's through a blog post.

So that's about what I'd written. However, nobody commented about or gave an indication that they had watched the documentary, which was supposed to be the main feature of that post. I guess the idea of watching a one-hour documentary turns almost everyone off.

Some Clarifications

First, some clarifications on some of the statements/comments that I'd made.

"Watch the sinister campaign of Mahathir and UMNO to oust the person who dared to fight corruption" (on the documentary)
Made Anwar sound like a hero right? Actually this was the description given on YouTube about this video. I copied it to make the documentary sound more exciting in order to entice people to watch it. Also, the transcript was also copied from the ABC's website, so I'm not responsible for its contents.

"I think the BN government back then - even now - is rotten"
Why is BN rotten? One reason I gave was that the PM a.k.a President of BN-UMNO is given too much power until dictatorship had and will have a chance to rear its ugly head in this democratic country. No doubt that getting rid of Anwar was Mahathir's personal agenda, but the thing is, the other BN leaders are either too weak or too complacent to put a stop to this blatant abuse of power. UMNO members can't do anything to prevent their deputy president from being sacked, while BN component parties can't do anything to prevent this or else they will be accused of meddling in UMNO's internal affairs. Hence there's something wrong ("rotten" as I described it) in the BN coalition that allowed all this to happen.

"BN is too lethargic under the leadership of Abdullah"
PM Abdullah is not a man of his words. Neither is he what he portrays himself to be. When he first came into power he promised many things that are close to the people's heart, like corruption eradication, empowering the judiciary, improving government transparency etc. The resounding victory he got in the 2004 General Election means that he struck the right chord. Sadly, many of his pledges weren't fulfilled. Calls of placing the ACA under the supervision of the Parliament fell on deaf ears with lame excuses given. Government refuses to reveal their contracts with the toll concessionaires when a minister promised to do so.

The 2008 General Election disaster jolted our PM into a considerable amount of action, but everything is still moving too slowly. He proposed that the ACA become a “full-fledged” Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption (MCAC), but this is not due until year end. His promise to step down is even more elusive. At the same time the Pakatan Rakyat promised swift reforms touching on the same issues, but who's more believable? Given the BN government's poor record of keeping promises, I'm inclined to believe the Pakatan Rakyat. At least they are more serious in listening to the needs of the people.

Questions, Answers & Replies

Now, I would like to answer questions posed by Sonia.

Are you going guarantee that Anwar would be a better PM? He is quite a racist if you had seen his previous records.
I'm not going to guarantee that he's going to be a better PM. But many people including me give him the benefit of the doubt. So far he has been, like what political commentators say, "pushing the right buttons". And his party was given the mandate by all races to continue what he's doing. He's unlikely to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. As to his previous record as a racist, I have nothing to say about that. What I can say is since PKN was formed ten years ago he had been championing the rights of all races. Some call him a chameleon, but the reality is politicians have to be constantly attuned to the people's needs in order to be a wakil rakyat.

The ideology for DAP, PKR and PAS are different. Don't you realise?
Actually I don't see any difference in ideologies between DAP and PKR. Both are secular, champion issues like corruption, accountability and so on, essentially putting power in the people's hands. PAS also champions the same thing under the Pakatan Rakyat banner but I agree that their Islamic agenda poses a problem. It depends on how they implement their Islamic agenda and whether it's acceptable by the majority of Malaysians. Even the Sultan is unhappy with their religion fanaticism. If the majority of Malaysians especially Malays are unenthusiastic about their Islamic agenda, then they have to drop it sooner or later.

Don't condemn BN till so teruk larr... they deserve some credits. Many changes have been done.
BN has been ruling this country since independence, and I don't dispute the fact that they managed this country quite well - well in the sense that everything is peaceful, the economy is flourishing steadily and everybody is pretty satisfied. But this is when you look at a bottle as half-full instead of half-empty. Imagine that all Malaysians have equal opportunities on this land. Imagine that the separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial is still intact. Wouldn't Malaysia be on par with Singapore and Hong Kong now if BN is truly efficient? Remember, we were on par with them a few decades ago.

Change of Government

A change of government doesn't necessary mean everything is for the better. But for Malaysia where one party is dominant for so long, it's certainly a breath of fresh air. If all's well, a two-party system will emerge that will change the political landscape of Malaysia - no party or politician can afford to be arrogant lest they lose the voter's confidence.

Another thing I don't quite understand is some people's fear of riots when Pakatan Rakyat finally takes over the federal government. Why should this be any different from Pakatan Rakyat taking over 4 state governments? There will surely be no racial riots like in 1969 because those effecting these changes are from all races. In a multi-racial society, people rarely clash with their own race in the bloody sense. There will probably be minor riots orchestrated by BN-UMNO supporters, but anybody with a right-thinking mind will certainly stay away from this. Therefore I don't expect our lives to be endangered like in 1969.

Final Wrap-up

So why not support Pakatan Rakyat just this once to let them have a hand in our country's future? Like Sonia said, it might be better or for worst; we'll never know if we never try. Allowing the Pakatan Rakyat to win will also show that the people is serious about ending racial politics in Malaysia and make BN change their divide-and-rule style of politics. We should risk short term instability for long term stability and progress of our country.

My first laptop

2008-06-17T23:43:00.011+08:00

This post is supposed to be about politics, but then out of the excitement of receiving my new laptop today, politics will have to wait (sorry Sonia).

I placed an order for a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop on Dell's website last Wednesday, because I need a laptop when I study in the University of Nottingham. Dell's unique ordering system allows buyers to easily customise their order to suit their personal needs. Once they received the customer's order, then only the ordered product is manufactured - just in time. So I was informed that from processing my order to having my laptop delivered takes about 1-2 weeks. Here is a summary of the technical specifications of the laptop I ordered, if you're interested:

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2.0 Ghz)
RAM	2GB
LCD Screen	14.1"
HDD	160GB
Operating System	Windows Vista Home Basic

Compared to other manufactures, I find that the Dell Inspiron range offers one of best laptops in terms price-to-performance ratio in market. That means a lower price for a more powerful computer. Aesthetically speaking however, the Inspiron line of laptops are nothing special, unlike what you get with a Dell XPS or Sony Vaio. But I don't mind; it's the inside that counts.

Barely a week passed, and today I found the laptop delivered at my doorstep after school. Here I would like to share with you the excitement of getting a new laptop.

The unopened box.

Open sesame! I see the notebook bag.

A smaller box labelled "INSPIRON". Is my laptop inside?

No... but no doubt they are essential items.

Another box made of polystyrene underneath.

The main thing.

The Espresso Brown exterior.

Ready to roll.

Anwar's sodomy trial

2008-06-14T01:17:00.018+08:00

Back in 1998, Anwar was sacked from the post of Deputy Prime Minister by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad. People of my age were only in lower primary school at that time, so we couldn't understand what was going on except that Anwar was no longer DPM. He was replaced by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 1999. What actually happened then that caused his fall from power?

Fast forward 10 years. We're now young adults old enough to vote in the next General Election. As a future intelligent voter, we should know the background of leaders to know their trustworthiness, sincerity and naturally their weaknesses. This weekend (or later), spare some time to see this documentary about the trial of Anwar - the star of Malaysian politics today - in 1999. Watch the sinister campaign of Mahathir and UMNO to oust the person who dared to fight corruption. This documentary was broadcasted by ABC Television in 2000 (more info) .

Malaysia - Trial of Anwar Ibrahim

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Transcript

After an extensive investigation in Malaysia, featuring candid interviews with highly placed insiders, Foreign Correspondent presents compelling evidence that the trial of Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was based on fabricated charges resulting from a deliberate high-level conspiracy to oust him from office.

He was the bright, shining star of Malaysian politics, a leader in waiting. Now he languishes in a prison cell, serving a long sentence for crimes he and his supporters claim were contrived to destroy him politically and personally.

Reporter Evan Williams and Producer Virginia Moncrieff have new evidence and first-hand accounts of an elaborate conspiracy against Anwar and the dark and profoundly cynical effort to make a sham case stick.

Among a number of key players speaking publicly for the first time, a former official in the ruling UMNO party, Raja Kamarrudin, links the conspiracy to destroy Anwar directly to inner sanctum of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed.

"My duty is to give propaganda to speak to the UMNO people that Anwar is not fit to be the Prime Minister," says Kamarudin.

Foreign Correspondent reveals how Malaysian officials, as far away as the United States, tried bribing witnesses to testify against Anwar.

Also speaking for the first time, in a powerful, program-length special, are relatives and associates of Anwar who claim to have been repeatedly stripped and brutalised by Malaysian police as part of a program of intimidation designed to draw false confessions that they had been sodomised by Anwar.

"They want to punch me, they want to slap me and they're very angry, at the time I cannot even say the words 'what do you want from me'. I just feel cold, I feel ashamed because I'm naked then I cried and just stood there," Sukma Darmawan.

In an explosive letter to Foreign Correspondent, from solitary confinement, Anwar accuses Mahathir personally of orchestrating the conspiracy against him to protect his cronies and family.

"Corruption was endemic. On . critical issues like democracy, corruption, my views were well articulated. I was his nemesis and he was terrified that I may pose a challenge to his leadership in the party," Anwar Ibrahim.

After watching this documentary, what conclusion can you make? I think the BN government back then - even now - is rotten, because the PM is given too much power until dictatorship had and will have a chance to rear its ugly head in this democratic country. Therefore, drastic reforms has to be introduced which is promised by Anwar and the Pakatan Rakyat. BN is too lethargic under the leadership of Abdullah. We need reforms to be fast-tracked for the benefit of this country. Hopefully they can take over the leadership of this country come Sept 16. Anwar for PM!

Form 6: Malacca High School (Part II)

2008-06-04T01:31:00.014+08:00

The following is a continuation from Part I.

This will most probably be the last post I'll be writing about Malacca High School (MHS) I think, because I've firmly decided to study Foundation in Engineering at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). Since I promised a Part II for my article on MHS, then I shall finish what I've left off, though I must admit that most interesting stuff I know about and experienced in MHS had been told in Part I. Therefore, you can expect this post (Part II) a little shorter and perhaps less interesting compared to Part I.

Orientation Week

The orientation week starts on March 12. Basically orientation week was about getting to know this school and Form 6, sometimes beyond. We listened to talks by counselors, the library teacher, senior assistants, a few teachers and the principal... Most of them are rather boring. Apart from that, the school had invited some ex-Form 6 MHS students to brief us freshies about life during Form 6 and after - like how study, cope with examination pressure and finally entrance into public universities. And there was also a talk by a professor from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore about the university's science programmes. Nothing much too - his main aim was to promote his faculty and university.

Besides listening and listening to endless talks, there are also some activities in store for us. On the first day, the Form 6 Union and student association did organize some games and at the same time divided the freshies into groups, but that was what I heard, because I didn't go to school on that day. That was the only time the freshies got to play games. The next group activity was composing a sketch (Theme: Expected life in Form 6) to be presented on Thursday. The best 2 would get to perform on Teacher's Day (Friday). My group was the first to present, chosen by lot, so imagine how "lucky"! But it was over quite fast, and so I could relax and watch the other groups perform. A few bits that were hilarious were guys acting like pondans, girls fighting like there's no tomorrow and of course, Jude imitating the antics of our discipline master during orientation week. Quite a perfect imitation, so that's why I recommended whoever who wants to see how "pleasant" our discipline master is to find him. His group won by the way, and I would love to see the discipline master's face if the scene was not cut on Teacher's Day (I didn't attend school on that day too).

Class

By Thursday afternoon, we were already sorted into our respective classes. I was placed in Lower 6 Alpha, the first class in the Science (Physics) stream. Only a maximum of 15 students are in my class, so it can be rather quiet at times, at least initially. The students in my class (as of now) are:
(Hazel) Cheong Sze Kit (IJC) >> Monitor
Yee Zi Shan (STPM) >> Asst. Monitor
(Hannah) Low Tze Fui (IJC) >> Ex-monitor (she quitted)
Lew Shuk Ling (CCS)
Lee Yuin Kuan (IJC)
Suah Jin May (IJC)
Hiu Kee Weng (SFI)
Jude Ng (SFI)
Loo Han (SFI)
Kong Teck Lee (SFI)
Lee Ming Yuen (MHS)

and of course me.

Kin Wee and Wong from NS and Sunway respectively will probably be joining this class too.

Teachers

Most Form 6 teachers of my class are a hardworking lot. Mr. Wee, our Physics teacher gave us notes and exercises on his first lesson. My Chemistry teacher (forgot her name) drilled us on oxidation numbers also on her first lesson. And Mr. Khoo, our Maths T teacher, already gave 2 extra classes during the holidays, although I only attended one of them. The Maths G teacher took a different approach during her first lesson by showing us the courseware (using computer) provided by the Ministry of Education. It was the most "exciting" lesson ever, until Kee Weng described it in his MSN Messenger personal message as "the best maths lesson ever, until I can sleep"!

Probably due to the teachers' obsessiveness with preparing us for scoring good grades in STPM, their lessons can hardly be considered interesting. Chemistry especially. All the lessons so far were about drilling, drilling (during her second lesson, we tried balancing equations). No doubt that she was getting us ready for STPM, but her teaching method made me rather dread her lessons, because my brain just couldn't stand this intense drilling due to months of lack of use. I wish the teachers had come up with something lighter to get our brains oiled before getting into this STPM business.

Conclusion

Studying Form 6 at MHS is actually not bad, considering that it is one of the top schools in the country in terms of STPM results. I feel a little sad having to leave this school, but then again I have stronger reasons to justify my choice, which may be the topic of my next post. In the meantime, I won't be leaving MHS too soon, because the next intake for foundation at UNMC is in July.

PSD offers additional sponsorship

2008-06-01T01:16:00.014+08:00

After trying to discern from media reports (here and here) information about the new scholarship scheme by the PSD, an official announcement regarding this matter is finally available.

Iklan Penajaan Tambahan Pelajar Lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia 2007 - Upload a doc

PENAJAAN TAMBAHAN PELAJAR LEPASAN SIJIL PELAJARAN MALAYSIA 2007 1. Mulai tahun 2008, Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam akan menawarkan penajaan tambahan untuk pelajar–pelajar yang cemerlang bagi mengikuti pengajian di dalam dan luar negara. Permohonan adalah dipelawa daripada calon-calon untuk mendapatkan tajaan JPA seperti berikut: a. Program Luar Negara i) Pelajar-pelajar yang sedang atau mendapat tawaran untuk mengikuti pengajian Tahun I peringkat ijazah pertama di universiti-universiti Ivy League atau setara. b. Program Dalam Negara i) Pelajar-pelajar SPM 2007 yang mendapat 9A dan ke atas yang sedang mengikuti pengajian di Tingkatan 6 di Sekolah Bantuan Penuh Kerajaan, Pusat Matrikulasi di bawah Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, Pusat Asasi Sains Universiti Malaya dan Universiti Islam Antarabangsa atau Pusat Matrikulasi / Asasi Sains lain di bawah Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam; Pelajar-pelajar yang sedang atau mendapat tawaran untuk mengikuti pengajian Tahun I peringkat ijazah pertama yang diiktiraf oleh Kerajaan Malaysia di kampus cawangan University of Nottingham, Monash University, Swinburne University dan Curtin University of Technology di Malaysia; ii) 1 2. Program dan institusi-institusi yang ditaja adalah seperti berikut: PROGRAM Tingkatan 6 INSTITUSI Sekolah-Sekolah Bantuan Penuh Kerajaan Pusat-Pusat Matrikulasi di bawah Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia i) Pusat Asasi Sains UM (PASUM) ii) Pusat Asasi Undang-undang UiTM iii) Pusat Asasi UIA iv) Pusat Asasi Farmasi UiTM v) Pusat Asasi Sains UiTM vi) Pusat Asasi TESL UiTM vii) Pusat Asasi Sains Pertanian UPM viii) Pusat Tamhidi USIM Matrikulasi Asasi Sains Ijazah Pertama i) ii) iii) iv) Nottingham University Monash University Curtin University of Technology Swinburne University Ijazah Pertama Ivy League Univesities i) Brown University ii) Cornell University iii) Columbia University iv) Dartmouth University v) Harvard University vi) Yale University vii) Princeton University viii) University of Pennsylvania Ijazah Pertama British Top Universities i) ii) iii) iv) v) Cambridge University Oxford University Imperial College London London School of Economics University College London JPA hanya akan menaja bidang-bidang yang diiktiraf oleh Kerajaan Malaysia sahaja. 2 3. SYARAT-SYARAT PERMOHONAN (a) (i) (ii) (iii) Syarat-syarat Asas Warganegara Malaysia; Umur tidak melebihi 20 tahun pada 31 Disember 2008; Mendapat sekurang-kurangnya gred 2A dalam Bahasa Melayu,Sejarah dan Pendidikan Islam/ Pendidikan Al-Quran dan As-Sunnah / Pendidikan Syariah Islamiah / Pendidikan Moral serta mana-mana 6 matapelajaran berikut; Fizik, Kimia, Biologi, Matematik Tambahan, Bahasa Inggerís, Matematik, Prinsip Akaun, Perdagangan, Pengajian Keusahawanan, Ekonomi Asas, EST, Geografi, Teknologi Maklumat, Bahasa Arab Tinggi, Bahasa Arab Komunikasi, Tasawur Islam, Pendidikan Seni; (iii) Mempunyai kesihatan yang baik dan tidak mengidap penyakitpenyakit kritikal seperti Hepatitis, Aids, HIV dan sebagainya; Mendapat tempat ke Tingkatan 6 atau Pusat Matrikulasi di bawah Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia atau Pusat Asasi Universiti Malaya atau Pusat Matrikulasi / Asasi Sains lain di bawah Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam atau University of Nottingham, Monash University, Swinburne University dan Curtin University of Technology di Malaysia atau universiti-universiti Ivy League di Amerika Syarikat dan universiti-universiti terkemuka di United Kingdom atau setara; (iv) (b) Syarat Khusus Bagi Permohonan Program Ijazah Pertama di Nottingham University, Monash University, Curtin University of Technology dan Swinburne University, Program Ivy League Universities dan setara (i) Calon-calon yang menerima tawaran di 4 kampus cawangan di Malaysia disyaratkan memperolehi keputusan seperti berikut: Kelayakan A-Level South Australian Matriculatin (SAM) Australian Matriculation (AUSMAT) International Baccalaureate (IB) Keputusan 12 Mata 90 % 90 % 33 mata 3 ii) Calon-calon yang menerima tawaran ke universiti Ivy League disyaratkan memperolehi keputusan Scholastic Aptitude Test I (SAT I) sekurang-kurangnya 1,400 mata bagi Critical Reading dan Matematik, dan markah TOEFL sekurang-kurangnya 105 (Internet Base Test). Calon-calon yang menerima tawaran ke universiti terkemuka United Kingdom disyaratkan memperolehi Gred A dalam sekurang-kurangnya 3 matapelajaran dalam peperiksaan ALevel, atau 40 mata dalam peperiksaan International Baccalaureate (IB), dan markah IELTS sekurang-kurangnya 7.0. iii) 4. BIDANG TAJAAN BIL. BIDANG CONTOH 1. 2. 3. Perubatan Sains Tulen Sains Gunaan Perubatan, Pergigian, Farmasi, Perubatan Veterinar Fizik, Kimia, Biologi, Matematik, Sains Hayat Pertanian, Perhutanan, Bioteknologi/ Sains Makanan, Perikanan/Sains Samudera, Alam Sekitar, Teknologi Maklumat Kejuruteraan, Teknologi Industri, Seni Bina, Ukur Bahan/Tanah, Perancangan Bandar dan Wilayah Sastera Dan Sains Sosial, Pengajian Islam/Syariah/Usuluddin, Kemanusiaan/ Kemasyarakatan, Komunikasi, Bahasa, Sains Pembangunan Ekonomi/Perniagaan Tani, Pengurusan Perniagaan/Pentadbiran Awam, Perakaunan, Undang-undang, Pengajian Kuantitatif, Pengurusan, Sains Perpustakaan dan Maklumat 4. Teknologi 5. Sastera 6. Sastera Ikhtisas 4 5. CALON-CALON YANG TIDAK LAYAK MEMOHON (i) Pelajar-pelajar yang tidak memenuhi asas dan khusus yang ditetapkan. syarat-syarat kelayakan (ii) Pelajar-pelajar yang telah mendapat penajaan lain untuk melanjutkan pengajian. 6. TEMPOH KONTRAK Pemohon yang menerima tawaran biasiswa tajaan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam dikehendaki berkhidmat dengan kerajaan dan sekiranya enggan, tuntutan ganti rugi akan dikenakan. Tempoh berkhidmat dengan Kerajaan dan amaun tuntutan ganti rugi adalah seperti di bawah: PERINGKAT/TEMPOH PENGAJIAN TEMPOH BERKHIDMAT DENGAN KERAJAAN AMAUN GANTI RUGI (RM) Kursus Bukan Profesional Kursus Profesional* IPTA IPTS Peringkat Ijazah: 4 tahun atau kurang Lebih dari 4 tahun Kursus Perubatan dan Pergigian 4 5 6 7 10 110,000 130,000 250,000 ) Kos ) sebenar ) - *Catatan: Kursus profesional meliputi kursus-kursus seperti perubatan, pergigian, farmasi, perubatan veterinar, kejuruteraan, seni bina, perakaunan, kejururawatan, undang-undang, penilaian harta, ukur bahan dan ukur tanah. 5 7. CARA MEMOHON Permohonan boleh dibuat secara dalam talian (on-line) sahaja. Permohonan adalah percuma. Cara memohon adalah seperti berikut: (i) pemohon hendaklah mendaftar untuk mendapatkan kata laluan percuma melalui talian di http://esila.jpa.gov.my mulai tarikh iklan dikeluarkan; pemohon yang telah berdaftar boleh mengemukakan permohonan mulai tarikh iklan dikeluarkan. Untuk mendapatkan maklumat lanjut, sila layari http://esila.jpa.gov.my atau http://www.jpa.gov.my.; pemohon dibenarkan menghantar satu permohonan sahaja tetapi dibenarkan mengakses untuk mengemaskini atau meminda sebelum tarikh tutup permohonan. Hanya permohonan yang terkini sahaja diambil kira sebagai penerimaan permohonan; borang permohonan dalam talian yang dimuat turun, dicetak dan dihantar melalui pos tidak akan diproses; permohonan secara dalam talian tidak memerlukan penghantaran salinan sijil-sijil, kecuali dinyatakan dalam “Slip Pemohonan Penajaan Tambahan SPM 2007”; pemohon hendaklah memastikan proses permohonan telah sempurna dengan mencetak “Slip Pemohonan Penajaan Tambahan SPM 2007” sebagai bukti permohonan telah dibuat; pertanyaan mengenai masalah teknikal semasa mengisi borang permohonan dalam talian boleh dibuat dengan menghubungi talian 038885 3550. Talian ini dibuka setiap hari dari jam 8.00 pagi hingga 5.00 petang (Isnin – Jumaat); dan pertanyaan mengenai program tajaan boleh dibuat dengan menghubungi talian 03-8885 3049 (10 talian) pada setiap hari bekerja mulai jam 8.00 pagi hingga 5.00 petang atau e-mel di alamat esila@jpa.gov.my. (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) vi) (vii) (viii) 8. TARIKH TUTUP PERMOHONAN Tarikh tutup permohonan ialah pada 14 Jun 2008. Permohonan yang diterima selepas tarikh tersebut tidak akan dilayan. TAMAT 6

To apply, visit the JPA eSILA website.

From the above advertisement (as they call it), they say they will be sponsoring Form 6 students who got 9As and above in their SPM, but in what aspect are they going to sponsor? School fees? Books? Food? Not to mention that there'll be at least a 4-year bond.

Unless they come out with an attractive scheme, I'm sticking with studying foundation (soon) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

Shout! Make some noise!

2008-05-27T01:09:00.013+08:00

I've just added a Shoutmix box to my blog. Earlier, I resisted adding a shoutbox to my blog because I thought the Blogger commenting system is sufficient to obtain feedback from readers like you. Response has been poor however with only one post receiving comments, although I'm sure that many people have seen/read more than one of my posts, so this is probably due to the clunky Blogger commenting system. I find it hard to continue writing without knowing the reaction from readers i.e. one way communication.

Other reasons why I don't favour a shoutbox:

Limited message length.
Older messages will be deleted if storage quota is reached.
It's easy to impersonate another person.

But since a shoutbox is much easier to use, doesn't require an account and facilitates off-topic discussion, I've finally added it to my blog. It's up to readers to choose between the Blogger commenting system or Shoutmix to get their voices heard. I would prefer if readers use the Blogger commenting system while responding to articles, so that any comments will remain permanently together with the article written.

P.S.: Be the first to leave a message in my shoutbox (it's sort of empty) to secure a place in the Polywj's Book of Records! Sold in major bookstores and retail outlets.

Form 6: Malacca High School (Part I)

2008-05-23T22:43:00.016+08:00

Two weeks into Form 6 at Malacca High School (MHS). Not full attendance though, because I ponteng (skipped) school on Monday and Friday last week to take the JPJ test for car and motorcycle respectively. In a moment I'll be telling all that I've learned about this school within this time frame.

School Background

MHS was founded in 1826, said to be the oldest government English school in Malaysia. The school motto is Meliora hic sequamur, which is Latin for "Malacca High School"... or so I thought. I didn't even realise it was the school motto when I first saw this phrase on the school crest (left). Only later I found out the meaning of these three foreign words: "Here we strive for better things". It is amazing that these three Latin words when translated into English become a sentence which is 6 words long, double the amount of words. But this is not my first encounter with a Latin school motto. In my previous school, the motto is Age Quod Agis, which when translated into English becomes "Whatever you do, do it well", also double the original amount of words. So my conclusion from above is that Latin is a rather compact language...

Much more information about MHS can be found in the Wikipedia article about this school here, so I will not go beyond providing a few important background information about MHS, or I may as well copy and paste the whole Wikipedia article here. Another thing worth mentioning about MHS is its school song. From the Wikipedia article and some research, I realised that the melody for the school song is called "Materna" composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882. What makes it more intriguing is that the melody for MHS' school song is also the same as an American patriotic song called "America the Beautiful" written in 1904. So during the school assembly, imagine somebody singing "America the Beautiful" instead of the school song, which are both of the same tune. In place of "Sekolah Tinggi, Sekolah Tinggi" it would be "America, America"! The following is the lyrics for the MHS school song and "America the Beautiful", side by side for comparison. Below the lyrics is a small player that will play "Materna".

MHS School Song	America the Beautiful
Sekolah Tinggi Melaka keseluruh negara Beramai-ramai kita dukung rukun negara Satu padu bertenaga majukan negara Prinsip hidup progresif amalan sekolah kita Sejak lapan belas dua puluh enam namamu terbina Sepanjang masa kemuka mulia dan bahagia Sekolah Tinggi, Sekolah Tinggi, tempatmu berbakti Perpaduan, bercahaya, kekalan abadi.	O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain; For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, From sea to shining sea. O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine. O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam, Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self control, Thy liberty in law.

MHS School Song

America the Beautiful

Sekolah Tinggi Melaka
keseluruh negara
Beramai-ramai kita
dukung rukun negara
Satu padu bertenaga
majukan negara
Prinsip hidup progresif
amalan sekolah kita

Sejak lapan belas dua puluh enam
namamu terbina
Sepanjang masa kemuka
mulia dan bahagia
Sekolah Tinggi, Sekolah Tinggi,
tempatmu berbakti
Perpaduan, bercahaya,
kekalan abadi.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain;
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self control,
Thy liberty in law.

First Impressions

I've never imagined when I first arrived that studying Form 6 in MHS would be a world of difference compared to my counterparts in college. One thing for sure is that we have to don the school uniform (like ever before) although this year's uniform for Lower Sixes at MHS is different compared to other students, that is a combination of black and white (excluding purple and green necktie we have to wear full-time).

My first day there was last Tuesday and it was orientation week held in the school hall. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Mustafa, the discipline master, for a briefing (on discipline of course!). He can be described as anything but nice, but this is still based on my first impression of him, as always. Although it was the second day of school for us, he made a fuss out of those not sporting a complete school uniform. He proceeded to call those without a school badge OR tie to stand at the side of the hall and those without school badge AND tie to stand on the stage [Sweat]. Of course I (and among many others) have none of those, so I went up the stage, only to be called down a minute later because it was my first day in school [Sweat again]. After a lecture on school attire was everybody allowed to sit down again. What a pure waste of time. He went on to say that handphones are not allowed in school, and asked those who brought handphones to stand up. I was one of the few who admitted bringing along a handphone, though I'm sure there should be more. But he took no further action. Later, he demonstrated that he is someone not to be messed easily by throwing a chair ('jika tidak, kerusi ini akan layang'). Those who have trouble imagining it can find Jude for a rendition of this scene (Why Jude? More about that later). These happenings really brought me back to reality that as Form 6 students, we are still ordinary schoolchildren just like those in Form 1 to Form 5. What is special about us is only our uniform, which didn't translate into any "special" privilages...

Other first impressions of this school were gained before school starts and during recess. Every morning, we have to assemble at the Form 6 Quad to sing the school song and hear somebody recite the doa. Both are new to me, so I guess that this only happens in schools controlled by the Malays (all MHS principals since 1985 are Malays). And then there are the toilets. The toilets are definitely a far cry compared to my former school's toilets. In short, they stink. For girls, toilet woes abound! MHS, being a predominantly boy's school, has only a toilet (if I'm not mistaken) for around 250 girls to share. So expect a long queue during "peak" hours at the girl's toilet. The situation is so bad that a female teacher actually advised girls during the orientation to drink less water, in contradiction to the usual doctor's advice...

The above gives another impression that funds channelled to this school is not well managed. As a fully government-aided school, one can expect good facilities for the students, but contrary to my belief, this is not so. Not only the regarding the toilets actually, but also the library. Amazingly, the library has less books compared to, again, my former school, a mission school. Oh, did I forgot to mention that the principal drives a Mercedes and sits on a brand new plush sofa during assembly?

To be continued...
Next in Part II: Not everything is bleak - more on orientation week, my class and teachers.

Follow up on PSD scholarships for students with 9As

2008-05-07T22:48:00.012+08:00

The New Straits Times did a follow-up report today on scholarships that the PSD is planning to offer to all students with at least 9As in their 2007 SPM.

Info on scholarships to be out next week

PUTRAJAYA: Parents seeking information on the government scholarships for students who scored at least 9As in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia can find it in major newspapers by the middle of the month.

The Public Service Department said it would take out advertisements with detailed information on the government scholarships.

A PSD official said those who had already started Form Six or matriculation could still apply for them.

"Students can also apply on-line but at the moment, the Internet forms are not ready.

"Information on how to apply online will also be mentioned in the newspaper advertisements.

Last Friday, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan announced that the government had decided to increase the number of scholarships.

Since then, parents have bombarded the NST with phone calls seeking more information.

Some asked whether their their children studying in private universities and colleges were also eligible.

The initial announcement said those eligible were students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 SPM examination, regardless of economic background.

I hope they would provide more details on this as soon as possible, so that students can make an informed decision on whether it is worthwhile to study in government or private institutions.

PSD To Sponsor All Students Obtaining 9As?

2008-05-03T12:25:00.025+08:00

I saw a news article in The Star today entitled "PSD to offer scholarships to all SPM students with 9As". Can't you believe it? A lot of people I know obtained at least 9As in their 2007 SPM. But what's the catch? Here is what was reported by The Star and other media organisations:

The Star

PSD scholarships for SPM students with 9As

PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) will offer scholarships to all students who scored 9As in their SPM examinations last year, regardless of background, to study Form Six in fully-aided schools.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said students who do matriculation, including those in Universiti Malaya’s Science Preparatory Centre and International Islamic University’s matriculation programme, would also be offered scholarships.

These students will also be sponsored for their first degree if they do it in a local university, he said in a statement yesterday.

Sidek said the PSD would also sponsor such students if they obtained places in an Ivy League or equivalent university.

Top-scoring students who get a place in a Malaysian branch of a foreign university such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne Unversity will also be offered scholarships.

On top of this, Sidek said the PSD would offer scholarships to 2,000 students for overseas studies and a further 10,000 for studies in local universities.

He said the scholarships were being offered in line with the Government’s efforts to develop human capital.

He said the Government was aware that the number of high achievers is growing every year. Yet, not every student would have a chance to get Government sponsorship.

“The Government realises that high achievers are assets.

“As such, it has introduced the initiative to increase the number of scholarships where students of any background will be offered as long as they satisfy the SPM 9A score condition,” he said.

The move, Sidek added, would indirectly encourage these high achievers to further their education in local universities.

The New Straits Times (NST)

Govt scholarships for all with at least 9As in SPM

KUALA LUMPUR: Students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination will be sponsored up to their bachelor's degrees at local universities.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said the government had decided to increase the number of scholarships because outstanding students were the nation's future assets.

"The number of students who obtain excellent results in all SPM subjects is rising every year but not all of them are able to obtain scholarships as the number is limited.

"Realising that these outstanding students are the nation's assets, the government has taken the initiative to provide scholarships to all students with at least 9As, regardless of background," he said yesterday.

"This move will indirectly attract good students to further their studies at local universities, which will also help to raise the standard of higher education in Malaysia."

Those furthering their studies to Form Six at government-assisted schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, including the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science at Universiti Malaya and the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa matriculation programme, will stand to benefit from the offer.

"Students who have obtained places in Ivy League-standard foreign universities and local campuses of foreign institutions such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University will also be sponsored," said Sidek.

The measures, he said, were consistent with government initiatives to develop skilled human capital.

The government will be sponsoring 2,000 students under its Overseas Degree Programme this year and another 10,000 students at public universities under the Domestic Degree Programme.

Both reports are very vague and confusing in their reporting. Do students have to take Form Six, matriculation and other programmes by the Government in order to qualify for this scholarship? What about those already studying in local private colleges and universities like Nottingham and Curtin in Malaysian campuses? They did mention ALL students! A report by Bernama on this subject is better in the sense that it clears up these issues.

Bernama

PSD To Sponsor All Students Obtaining 9As In 2007 SPM

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 (Bernama) -- The Public Service Department (PSD) will sponsor all students who obtained 9As or better in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

This is in addition to the 2,000 students under the Overseas Degree Programme and 10,000 under the Local Degree Programme, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan says in a statement.

The sponsorship will be given to students undergoing Form Six at government schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, Universiti Malaya's Pre-Science Centre and International Islamic University Malaysia's Matriculation.

It will continue up to the first degree-level at local universities and extended to those who have obtained seats at Ivy League universities overseas and foreign university campuses in Malaysia like Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University.

Based on the above report (and my interpretation of it), the sponsorship will be given to students who will be undergoing Pre-U studies at government schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, Universiti Malaya's Pre-Science Centre and International Islamic University Malaysia's Matriculation this year (yeah, that's the catch). After completing their studies, the scholarship will continue for those taking first degree-level at local universities and foreign university campuses in Malaysia like Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University. Moreover, those who have obtained seats at Ivy League universities overseas will be also sponsored.

There are other questions that remain unanswered like "What is it meant by 'sponsor'?", "Is it a full scholarship?", "How are students going to know whether they are given this scholarship?" and "Do students need to apply for it or they will get it automatically?". I think these questions will be answered in due time. The most important thing the government is trying to do now is to get students to study in government-aided schools and institutions.

For 2007 From 5 students, it is another hard time rethinking whether they should continue into Form Six (and others mentioned) or study at a private university or college. Many have already decided on this before the announcement by PSD. Are they willing to sacrifice the luxury of studying in private institutions in order to gain this scholarship? And for those already planning to study From Six, they have to think of the increased competition they have to face when entering the universities covered by this scholarship after getting their STPM results.

Where are my classmates?

2008-04-26T14:01:00.036+08:00

For the past few days I was deliberating whether to go Form 6 or some private college/university. So I decided to do a survey on what my classmates are doing/planning to do after Form 5. Together with Jia Wei, I compiled a list of study choices and those who are currently pursuing/planning to pursue them. (For this purpose, I have included myself as one who is going Form 6.)

Here are the results of my survey:

**Study Choices of 2007 SFI 5H Students After Form 5**
Study Choice	Names of Students	Number
Form 6 (STPM)	Science: Chun Yian, Kin Wee, Jia Wei, Nicholas, Loo Han, Lem, Han Wei, Au Yong, Jordan, Heng, Soon Heng, Beng Choon, Teck Lee, Yeong Sheng Arts: Eugene	15
A-Levels	Bhavik (KTJ), Ong Yi (KTJ), Kai Zong (Singapore), Philip (Singapore), Chi Lim (INTI), Jude (INTEC), Agil, Andrew	8
Programmes in Local Private Universities & Colleges (ex. A-Levels)	Hui Kit (Foundation in Engineering @ MMU), James (Foundation in Engineering @ MMU), Chia Cheng (Foundation in Engineering @ MMU), Khuan Yew (Foundation in Computing @ Taylor's), Isaac Chin (Foundation in Engineering @ Nottingham), Kee Weng (Foundation in Engineering @ Nottingham), Tzong Meng (Foundation in Science @ UCSI), Teng Quan (ADTP @ INTI), Alex (CAT @ Sunway), Han Seng (CAT @ Sunway), Wong (CAT @ Sunway), Wei Di (Foundation in Engineering @ UTP), Kalai (Foundation in Business @ Taylor's), Daniel, Amin, Manoj, Me (Foundation in Engineering @ Nottingham)	17
Foundation & Diploma Overseas	Isaac Pang (Australia), Jeng Yit (Australia), Hou Ket (Australia), Yang Xin (Russia), Boon Hock (Dip. in Mechanical Engineering @ Singapore)	5
Total		45

Form 6 (STPM)		33.33%
A-Levels		17.78%
Programmes in Local Private Universities & Colleges (ex. A-Levels)		37.78%
Foundation & Diploma Overseas		11.11%

The data above is based on the information that Jia Wei and I have in hand, so I cannot guarantee its accuracy. Also, some people might change their mind at the last minute to take a different study route.

Of course, I'll gladly update the data presented above to correct errors and reflect current changes. Those who would like to provide additional information (especially on our "missing" comrades whose study choices are unknown) can do so by posting a comment.

UPDATE (29/4/08): Chi Lim decided to take A-Levels instead of Form 6.

UPDATE (4/5/08): Latest news from Jordan and Teng Quan.

UPDATE (8/5/08): Heng is going Form 6.

UPDATE (12/5/08): Soon Heng is going Form 6, not A-Levels.

UPDATE (12/5/08): Removed Chia Cheng, Boon Hock, Beng Choon and Teck Lee from the "Unknown" category. There are no longer any "missing" comrades, thanks to Heng!

UPDATE (4/6/08): Major changes: Jude, Kalai, Wei Di, Yeong Sheng, Me

Introduction to this blog

2008-04-23T12:08:00.014+08:00

Yep, I've started a blog. But in no way I'm new to blogging. Previously, I've created blogs like Polywj's Photos (to showcase my photos) and Malaysia News Archive (a collection of news articles that I find significant). I've also a private blog named Polywj's Diary - private in the sense that many people wouldn't have access to it... sorry.

However, I would certainly like to share certain happenings in my life with those concerned about me, so I'm looking forward to Blogger implementing a feature that would allow a certain blog entry to be either public or private. In other words, if Blogger comes to implement this, certain entries from my diary will be "declassified" for public scrutiny... while others will remain protected under my version of the OSA.

Since I have at least 3 blogs, what I'm going to do with this blog? Rest assured, there will be no overlapping of content. Each blog will have its own unique content. In this blog, I plan to write about my opinions, discoveries and anything that interests me, hence this blog's motto "What matters to me." I haven't decided what I would write on my next post, but I'm determined to share with everyone the things I promised earlier as soon as inspiration strikes.

While thinking of what to write, I will continue to improve on the design of this blog. For those interested to know, the design of this blog is an adapted form of Invention by SD Workz (thanks to you and OSWD).

That's all for now.