Bukalah minda

Sebelum korang baca, aku nak minta maaf dulu kalau kata2 aku akan menyinggung beberapa pihak. Kalau korang nak nilai aku, nilai la. Tapi dah sampai peringkat ak rasa kene bgtau..

Kalau aku tengok berita Malaysia, aku meluat. Kadang2 tengok mentaliti kebanyakan orang yang sewarna kulit dengan aku, ak meluat. Nak tau sebab apa. Sebab lagi aku tengok benda tu x rasional, lagi aku rasa satu perkara tu sangat pelik. Sepertimana aku pernah bagitau dalam post facebook ak, ''There's too much paradox''.

1. Kita dididik supaya mengamalkan satu cara di mana hak semua orang dihormati. X kesah lah, orang tu Muslim ke Buddhist ke, Melayu  ke, Kadazan ke. Tapi semakin hari, semakin minda orang Malaysia tertutup. Semakin taksub kita dengan satu pendapat, contohnya politik, tokoh agama atau dakyah2 dari youtube sampai jadi x rasional. Setiap hari, semakin banyak kata2 berunsur perkauman yang keluar, bukan setakat di Facebook atau Youtube, malahan juga di akhbar tempatan dan sekolah. Contohnya, kenyataan ni : ''Orang Islam yang mengucap selamat hari natal kepada orang kristian dianggap menerima Nabi Isa sebagai anak Tuhan''. Mereka mengeluarkan kata2 ni, tanpa fikir apa orang lain ak merasa. Pada pendapat saya juga, kenyataan itu kurang tepat. Semua benda tu ada niat. Contohnya dalam tema melihat wanita. Kalau orang tu pandang wanita dengan nafsu, memang x betul, tapi kalau orang tu pandang wanita sebab nak berurusan secara telus dan profesional , dosa kah? Jikalau begitu, baik kita haramkan terus perempuan dari masuk dalam bidang profesional.

2. Malaysia terdiri daripada masyarakat yang harmoni dan berbilang kaum. Majoriti tetap majoriti dan minoriti pun wajib dijaga hak mereka. Itu nama dia demokrasi. Kini banyak perkara dipolitikkan oleh orang2 politik. Bendera Malaysia lah, malah sistem pendidikan kita dicemari oleh orang2 yang berkepentingan. Ada segelintir guru yang mengajar anak2 murid supaya membenci kaum lain, bercerita politik kepada anak2 muda yang ingin ke sekolah untuk menuntut ilmu semata-mata. Contohnya di tadika adik saya di Johor Bahru, guru melarang seorang pelajar cina untuk mengambil mee dengan tangan, walhal pelajar2 melayu lain boleh dengan menyatakan tangan mereka tidak bersih. Perkara ini diceritakan oleh adik saya kepada ibu saya yang kemudia diceritakan kepada saya. Cuba bayangkan, idea pasal perkauman sudah ditanam ke anak2 muda kita. Kemudian kami dipaksa menulis karangan ''cara memupuk intergrasi kaum''. Sangat paradox di situ.

3. Semua manusia sama di sisi manusia. Itulah kenyataan yang patut kita pupukkan. Tapi dia Malaysia, ada satu trend pemikiran yang nama dia, ''racial and religous superiority''. Satu cara berfikir yang mengatakan bahawa bangsa mereka adalah bangsa yang bersih, dan agama mereka je yang wujud di bumi ini. Sejarah sudah berulang kali mengatakan bahawa satu sistem yang ada kaitan dengan perasaan takbur dan assabiyah sesuatu kaum tidak akan bertahan lama. Ideologi nazisma di Jerman adalah satu contoh yang amat diketahui ramai. Ideologi ini menyebabkan kemusnahan kota2 mereka. Kini di Jerman bangunan lama dia bandar2 besar tidak sebegitu kelihatan kerana dibom pada masa perang. Aset2 sebuah negara boleh musnah dalam sekelip mata sahaja apabila dilanda bukan sahaja perang, malahan juga perang saudara.

4. Semestinya ajaran agama kita harus dipraktikkan, bukan diubah. Mungkin ada sesetengah pihak akan melabel saya ''pluralis''. Saya bukan pluralis. Ajaran agama masing2 wajib ditegakkan, tetapi anasir2 yang menggalakkan kekacauan harus dikawal. Sejarah mengatakan bahawa Malaysia sebuah negara yang aman, dan sudah lama tidak dilanda perang atau perang saudara. Pada pendapat saya, generasi saya sekarang tidak begitu bersyukur tentang kedamaian yang mereka miliki sejar mereka lahir. Mereka tidak fikir tentang kesan kata2 mereka yang boleh menyebabkan keseimbangan sosial tumbang dalam sekelip mata. Kini generasi saya diguna oleh ramai orang berkepentingan untuk merealisasikan agenda mereka. Kini IT membolehkan maklumat senang dicari, dan membolehkan terdapatnya beribu-ribu maklumat di internet. Tetapi kini, maklumat boleh tersebar dengan cepat. Bukan setakat maklumat betul, tetapi juga maklumat yang salah. Dan anak2 muda yang sememangnya sibuk dengan kerja dan pembelajaran mereka hanya akan merujuk kepada 'maklumat tersebar' ini untuk 'mengetahui'. Pada pendapat saya itu merupakan manipulasi pemikiran dalam satu gelombang yang besar.

5. Globalisasi sedang berlaku dalam kadar yang sangat cepat. Ramai syarikat asing sudah berkubu di Malaysia, dan sebaliknya. Pembangunan dalam bidang IT dan logistik memainkan peranan yang sangat besar. Semakin hari semakin banyak kita akan berurusan dengan bermacam-macam jenis manusia dari berbagai-bagai pelusuk dunia. Jika kita belum lagi mampu untuk mengintergrasikan negara kita sendiri, bagaimana kami nak mengintergrasikan diri kita dengan masyarakat dunia? Lama-kelamaan negara kita akan ketinggalan dalam arus globalisasi dan akan terus memegang taraf 'negara membangun' untuk masa yang sangat lama. Negara yang maju bukan sahaja negara yang ekonominya sangat kukuh; negara maju ialah satu negara di mana rakyatnya matang, inovatif, terbuka dan produktif. Malaysia mempunyai petroleum, minyak sawit, getah, elektrik, beras dll. Tapi kami masih belum maju. Negara barat dan asia timur tidak mempunyai bahan mentah sebegini, tetapi mereka masih tinggi dari segi mentaliti dan disiplin. Walaupun mereka mengamalkan budaya yang tetap ada buruknya, kita patut menjadi lebih terbuka. Terbuka bukan bermaksud menerima semua perkara dalam sesuatu budaya; Terbuka bermaksud menerima kekuatan satu budaya dalam masa yang sama menolak kelemahan yang mereka ada.

6. Banyak lagi topik aku nak sentuh, tapi setakat ni je la. Nanti akan disambung
 

Something to think about

Now, my exams are mostly finished. I just need to settle a few minor things before I settle down in Schönau. Next semester is another big semester. 10 hours a day in the company from Monday to Thursday. Thursday evening I travel to Offenburg and the following day, which is Friday are classes from morning till evening. Saturday travel back to Schönau (3.5 Hours by train), and relax. Sunday relax, and Monday, another cycle begins.

I  think it will take a while for me to get used to this new pace. Rushing here, rushing there. Not to mention my research, my thesis, my lab work etc.. etc..etc. Fuu, life is tough. I hope my hard work pays off one day. My contract with the company finishes at the end of August, which is also my deadline for my thesis, and I have to start searching for universities to further my studies to Masters by then.

But at the end of the day, I feel that this hectic really shaped me. It made me into someone versatile, more flexible and assertive. Day by day I know more and more people who mostly I respect because they have qualities which I can learn from. Between January 2009 and January 2012... 3 years.. so many things I've seen, experienced, felt and endured. I felt the world and had a few German acquaintances which grew into a friendship like no other I have ever felt.

Readers. My advice to you: Not only have an open mind, but also an open heart when doing anything. Be it meeting new people, working or even studying. Because opening yourselves makes you open to all types of experiences, all in which teaches you things that books or words from others could never teach you. To learn is to feel and experience it first hand and to engrave that knowledge in your hearts. Knowledge is not just there for exams. It is what shapes you, shapes yourself, shapes your personality, and awakens the greatness that lies dormant inside your hearts. That is what being an academic is all about.

At the end of our studies, we get certificates. (Degrees, Diplomas, SPM etc) . But to tell you the truth, that piece of paper doesn't determine who you are. What determines who you are are your experiences in obtaining that worthless piece of paper. It's a waste of money when we have worthless pieces of paper (certificates), but end up not knowing anything.

That is why I have a few critics of the Malaysia curriculum. It seems as though the main target of studying in the curriculum, is only to have a worthless piece of paper with letters that signify how well one does in their exams. Students neither feel nor appreciate the knowledge. They only study for exams for those worthless letters, so as to make their school proud. Teachers in Malaysia also work hard only to maintain the standards of their school, which is defined as ''how many worthless letters'', their students achieve in the state exams. The school that gets the highest ''quality'' of worthless letters, are given a good name, and for me, that is impractical.

This system incriminates academics and cheaters, but discriminates non academic people like technicians, musicians etc. In the industry we are dependent on both sides, the academics and the non-academics. So I hope that schools in Malaysia not only give birth to academically talented students, but also doers, thinkers and leaders. That is for me the ultimate zeal of education.  

Re-opening of my blog

I took a break from blogging these past few months. Well, my workload was getting to much, and my blogging mind became mostly irrational back then. Now it's ok... My exams are halfway done, my projects, reports, practicals, etc2.. Almost all finished.

This semester i made 2 big presentations in German. How frightening. My management subject and my industry project. All went unexpectedly good. Thank God. Then there was laboratory work, study groups, discussions, preparation for lab work, reports, all of them which my team completed with understanding, quality and precision.

Team work is something I learned alot in 2011. There was practical at my company, group works this semester, study groups, discussions etc2. The work culture in German is top class. At first I complained, but now, I feel very comfortable working here. Work is always done in teams here. The experience here is priceless. Honestly I salute how the people here tackle problems. Very proffessional. Aggresive but proffesional. At the end of the work, the outcome is always perfection.

Now, thank God I received a research grant where I could finish my Bachelor Thesis at. It's a company producing and researching stationary combustion engines. The pay is so to say good which also comes with an offer if I could work there as an engineer after I graduate. Well, if my government doesn't need german graduates, i may consider working there for a few years.

Sometimes we could never control our fates. Whatever God has planned for us, there is always a hidden bonus. It may seem painful and hard to accept at first, but in the long run, God knows what's best for all of us. Sometimes what we want, we don't get, because God wants to show us that not everything we want is what we need and not everything we want is what we can handle.