Desa Mentari Voluntary Tuition Project -the First Test

the kids looked nervous...they were given 11/2 hour to answer all questions, science, math, english and bm...as we were marking the papers, as much as we tried to be professional and serious in marking, we couldn't help ourselves but laughed hysterically at the the creative answers given by some of the kids..the question was:-

"lengkapkan ayat berikut dengan memberikan sebab:-

1) pencuri itu ditangkap polis kerana ___________________________

some answered:

*kerana dia telah mencuri barang kemas
*kerana dia telah melakukan jenayah

and the most interesting answer was:

*kerana pencuri itu tidak melaksanakan tugasnya dengan baik!

tutors' comments -grammatically correct, morally disturbing, creatively thinking out of the box!

2) Leftenan Adnan adalah seorang wira kerana ________________________

some answered:

* kerana beliau telah berkorban untuk negara
* kerana beliau berperang untuk negara

and the most interesting answer was:

* kerana beliau terjun dari bangunan

my comment-it was suicidal!hence no mark for that!

and one of them answered

*leftenan adnan adalah seorang wira kerana beliau melakonkan watak seorang wira

comments: fairly sarcastic and grammatically correct-we couldn't stop laughing...:)

Saturday,22/03/2008-2.30pm-. After being absent for almost a month from tutoring, far and me resumed our roles as tutors at Desa Mentari last Saturday. I really missed the kids. Like usual, far and me would be teaching english and sometimes science. And when it comes to mathematics, we leave it to the engineers…like I always tell people, when I see numbers, I get nervous!

After a brief meeting with Cikgu Mawarni, the founder of this voluntary tuition project, it was so good to know that there is a future plan to expand this project as there are individuals who are interested to replicate this project. All that we need right now is more volunteers who are willing to dedicate 2 hours of their time on Saturday, tutoring and facilitating the project. Interested anyone? Kindly email me if you are!

The idea of the whole project is to encourage the students to explore their thinking ability and learn academic subjects in a more fun way. Believe me, sometimes the session is so much fun that the tutors seem to enjoy themselves as much as the kids do!

Last Saturday, for my english session, I printed out lyrics of a song, played it, sang the song with the kids, went through the lyrics, asked them the meaning of certain words in the song, the meaning or the interpretation of the song. The song that I chose was “ we are the world” by Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonders and Lionel Richie. The feeling was so pleasantly beautiful, as we were singing along, over and over again.

“There comes a time
When we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one

There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change

We are all a part of
World's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me”

930pm- it was sasha’s birthday party, law 20 get-together, everyone was in purple but the birthday girl! -happy birthday sha!

Sunday, 23/03/2008-1.30pm, off to Skudai with Kak Laila and Nurul for GMI(Gerakan Mansukhkan ISA) campaign program. We talked about a lot of things along the journey, particularly her real experience being the wife of an ISA detainee who has been detained for almost 6 years.

i'm glad to see that more people are aware of ISA issue, and i'm so proud to see the conviction to fight this cause transcends racial boundaries.i'm glad that every one has pledged in the name of conscience and humanity to stand together and fight this cause.

the program went well and i got to give a talk on the legal aspect of ISA. it was a great experience and i cant wait to see what's coming in the near future. it's a blessing.

I have to admit that she is a very strong woman, relentlessly fighting for the abolition of ISA and the release of all the detainees.

Everyone knows what ISA is. But not everyone realizes why denial of a fair trial is such a gross and cruel sin a human being is capable of committing hence the strong condemnation by various human rights organization such as Amnesty International, SUHAKAM and also IHRC (Islamic Human Rights Commission). The violation of human rights is one aspect to it, but the effect of such violation is so grave. It’s beyond words.

The trauma that the family members have to go through every single day, thinking about the indefinite time of detention that may take forever. The trauma that the children have to go through thinking why on earth their fathers are being detained. The trauma that the wives would have to go through thinking for how long they have to wait for their dearest husbands to come home. The love that would sometimes turn into hate whenever the kid misses his father so much that he hates the fact that he has to miss him so much knowing that he would never see his father.

Now I understand why God says that it is HARAM (unlawful) and ZALIM (cruel) to detain a soul without trial.

A friend of mine, Alfian once said “Ultimately, I would argue that the highest morality remains the morality of the process and not the results”.

God, please guide us through the way.

*WISDOM by Bob Marley*

The lips of the righteous teach many,
But fools die for want of wisdom.
The rich man wealth is in his city;
Do you hear, do you hear, can you understa-and?!

Destruction of the poor, is poverty;
Destruction of the soul, is vanity.
The righteous' wealth is in his Holy Pla-ace.
do you hear?

Those who have eyes, to see will see!

Dear Mar and family,

my heartfelt condolences to Mar & Family.be strong for Allah is the best Protector.our prayers are always with you.

"Lo! we are Allah's and lo! unto Him we are returning" (2:156)

THE RAKYAT HAS SPOKEN!

in the name of democracy and people's power, it has always been my ardent hope to see political change in Malaysia.this 12th G.E has witnessed a tremendous political swing from national front coalition (BN) to the BARISAN RAKYAT.

The Rakyat has spoken and their voices are loud enough to be heard by every living soul. I'm extremely overwhelmed. it is the victory of the people and it is responsibility of the Barisan Rakyat to serve the people.

it is overwhelmingly unbelievable to be part of this change.

i still remember agreeing to nurul izzah to volunteer for her campaign and be part of her campaign team. it was a good experience and something new to learn. i still remember going to bilik gerakan together with puspa, sasha and farhana, getting ready with our leaflets, going back and forth to suaram office, distributing leaflets on declaration of human rights for the 12th G.E, distributing leaflets on ISA, meeting the people, identifying local issues among the squatters and the downtrodden. it was extremely tiring, but the experience trumps everything.

the winning part was great. the next action plan is crucial. far, sha, puspa and I have decided to list down the next action plans for our new YB (Yang Berkhidmat) to take into action.

to far, sasha, and puspa-let's celebrate!chilis+karaoke!

.of power, discretion, conscience, courtesy and compassion.

Assertive, powerful and nice words, aren’t they? . To what extent these words are applied in our daily lives is very much questionable.

I always believe in standing for what is right. To stand my ground no matter what it takes.

What happened today in Court was really getting on my nerve. All I need was to get a short mention date for pending settlement instead of going on with the trial as the lawyer for the Defendants needed time to finalize a few things with his client. All parties are agreeable to that.

But it seemed like the magistrate was not happy with it, he refused to give the mention date for settlement and insisted on going on. He didn’t even give me the opportunity to explain the situation. He stood down the matter. I remained seated and God knows how upsetting the situation was.

I don’t have any problems with other court judges when it comes to settlement process. They are more than happy to ask you to negotiate settlement instead of proceeding with trials which are gonna take forever.

I went out, called the Defendant’s lawyer up and explained the situation. It has been our intention to withdraw the matter today due to some technicalities, but the Defendant lawyer asked us to give them some time to come up with a mandate.

While waiting outside, I saw a friend of mine, holding tonnes of files, shivering and kept saying that she was so scared of appearing before the magistrate because of her previous experience with the magistrate.

I told her to get into the Court and asked the magistrate to listen to what you have to say. Just because you’re sitting up there does not make you superior than every one else. We are all officers of the Court and it is our duty to facilitate the administration of justice.

Obviously listening skill is out of question.

I called up my boss and explained the situation and she asked me to stand my ground and hold on to my judgment.

Then my matter was called up for the second time, and he asked me what was the status.

M: so how counsel?

Me: Tuan, memandangkan tuan tidak benarkan tarikh sebutan untuk penyelesaian, saya mohon untuk menarik balik kes dengan kebebasan memfailkan semula

He looked shocked.

M: Bukan saya tak boleh bagi tarikh sebutan, tapi kenapa tak settle sebelum tarikh harini. Kenapa sekarang…and kept going on and on and cutting me off..and I said:

Me: dengan izin tuan, boleh berikan saya peluang untuk memberi penjelasan?

He kept quiet and said yes.

I explained the situation and suddenly he interrupted

M: why does it take this long?

Me: tuan, what happens between the Defendant’s lawyer and his client is beyond my control. My client is agreeable to settlement outside court and the last thing that lawyers want to do is delay court’s process. Tuan, delays wouldn’t do anyone any good.

M: tapi saya juga ada power not to allow mention date for pending settlement.

Me: yes, I respect the fact that you have the power to do so, and I have the right to withdraw this matter for you leave me with no choice.

He was stunned.

I said, the izin tuan, saya mohon kes ditarik balik dengan kebebasan untuk memfailkan semula.

M: perintah seperti dipohon.

As I was walking out of the Court, I could feel my whole body was shivering. Geram.that was the only word that I could think of.

At the same time I was so proud of myself that I had the courage to ask him to listen to what I have to say. Excuse me for not condoning blind submissiveness for I am oblivious to that.

..Grrr..still geram!

And while I was driving back from Court, I came up with a quote:

“ If you think that I would beg for my/people’s right, you’re dead wrong, because I’m gonna fight for it”!

The Holy Prophet said: "A moment of justice is better than seventy years of worship in which you keep fasts and pass the nights in offering prayers and worship to Allah". (Jami'us Sa'adat, vol. II, p. 223)

Imam Ali said: "Justice is the essence of the people's welfare as well as the adherence to the Divine path".

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election?promises?manifesto?election?promises?manifesto?same old same old some would say.it's part of the process i would say.democratic process. hence the conversation:

p: politik, politik (smiling)
me: yup!
p: what IF opposition menang and they dont keep to their words?
me: i'll lead the protest!

it's simple and objective.it's the process, backed by sacred fundamental principle of justice.putting things in their right places.

sometimes it's easy to be armchair critics. and it's far more easier to ignore.well, it's also part of the process.

sometimes people ask why do i do things that i do and why do i say things that i say.well, it's a little hard to explain, i guess we do things that we wanted to, and all we need is a reason and a little faith.

Group warns on Malaysia elections (CNN News)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- An international human rights group said Wednesday it fears Malaysians will not get a fair vote in this week's general elections because of an uneven playing field favoring the ruling National Front coalition.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Malaysia to eradicate bias from the electoral process. Opposition and activist groups say the process is rife with irregularities.

Malaysian law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz denied the allegations, accusing Human Rights Watch of discrediting the elections because "they know the National Front will win."

"To me, Human Rights Watch is biased. They are not important at all. It's only their opinion," he told The Associated Press.

----------------------------------------
i quote :

"Malaysian law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz denied the allegations, accusing Human Rights Watch of discrediting the elections because "they know the National Front will win."

Dear Mr Minister dan yang seangkatan dengannya,

IF BN will win, somehow or rather, why are you so afraid of having a fair and free election?

all that people want is a free and fair election.

if you may ask who gives the people the right to demand a free and fair election? perhaps for a start, you can start googling the word ''democracy'' on the internet.good luck Mr Minister!

*Fake tales of San Fransisco?nope, rather fake tales of Lembah Pantai/Bangsar*

Last night, as we stopped by Shell Petrol station in Bangsar, being happily cheerful and friendly for no apparent reason, a conversation took place between us (far, sasha,puspa and me) and one pakcik who was pumping petrol for us:

Pakcik : Mengundi tak?

Us : Mengundi, pakcik?

Pakcik : Mengundi.

Us : Mengundi apa?heheh.

Pakcik : Undi adalah rahsia.

Us : Betul tu, undilah dengan bijak!

Pakcik : Mesti. Rumah saya dah kena roboh, bertahun2 saya tinggal kat situ, kerajaan janji nak bagi rumah baru, dah tiga tahun tak dapat lagi.saya dah tak ada rumah.

There you go, same old same old. Bangsar is known to be a place for the elite group, the rich and famous. That has always been the common perception of the people for ‘this side of Bangsar’ where the rich and famous live. And there is also ‘the other side of Bangsar’ which we barely know of.

Squatter houses, rumah panjang (yup, we still have people living in rumah panjang somewhere in Bangsar, and seriously, it’s not cool or highly cultural to still preserve this, particularly when there are actually people living in there. I can understand the importance of having rumah panjang in Taman Mini Malaysia where all of us can go and pay a visit, step into the rumah panjang, take a few pictures, wonder how people can live in there back then, how time changes everything, and to what extent the country has progressed.

Take for instance, in Sarawak, from rumah panjang to titanically gigantic mansion by the Sarawak River, with the privilege of having a stretch of wooden shack with real people living in it as the scenery. ironic, isn't it. It doesn’t take a genius to comprehend how imbalanced things have become.

It just takes a little conscience to concede to this fact.