Sordid and Sensational Politics

ABC's Foreign Correspondent report features familiar characters and interviews with some of them: Najib, Abdullah, Rosmah, Anwar, Raja Petra, Marina, Saiful, Teresa Kok, Bala and Altantuya. Parts two and three below.

Watch videos depicting the way our glorious government deals with dissentors, how humane they are.....

My BTN Pictures

Biro Tata Negara (BTN)

Well, in about four days' time, me and my other colleagues will be undergoing a BTN course at Kundasang, Sabah. I have come across this "Letter of Recommendation" from our honourable Lim Kit Siang of the DAP regarding this programme that should become fruit for our thoughts in these precarious post March 8 era......

Call on Abdullah to disband BTN - Trojan Horse to subvert Bangsa Malaysia

The Biro Tatanegara (BTN) should be disbanded as it is a Trojan Horse in the Prime Minister’s Department which undermines and subverts the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s National Day message of national unity and solidarity and Vision 2020 objective of Bangsa Malaysia.

In his 51st National Day message last Saturday, Abdullah said united citizens were a bulwark against any threat, either from within or outside the country.

He said solidarity was the cornerstone of the country’s political stability, social harmony and economic competitiveness.

However, in the bosom of the Prime Minister’s Department, the BTN had been assaulting the national “bulwark” and chipping away the Malaysian “cornerstone” in the past quarter of a century, with its unrelenting and unashamed purveying of racist poison among government servants, JPA scholars, university students and youths – using public funds running into RM76.3 million last year and RM 72 million next year to destroy the public policy of creating a Bangsa Malaysia out of the diverse peoples of Malaysia.

All Cabinet Ministers, whether Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and the Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional who had served for the past quarter of a century should explain why they had closed their eyes and shut their ears to complaints that BTN had been conducting divisive and racist indoctrination courses for JPA scholars, government servants, university students and youths right under their noses?

Even more more important, what is the stand of the present batch of Barisan Nasional Ministers and leaders from Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and the BN component parties from Sarawak and Sabah?

Yesterday, I had blogged about a letter from an outraged parent at the trauma his daughter underwent in one such BTN indoctrination course for JPA scholars and the blog had evoked a firestorm of complaints and protests about the rank racism of the BTN.

One poster referred to a BTN indoctrination course for university students at UiTM in Shah Alam on 6th July 2008, where one BTN speaker, under the pretext of giving a talk on “Pendidikan”, launched into a racist harangue, criticising the Bar Council forum on social contract, accusing one of the forum speakers Farish A. Noor as a traitor of the Malay race and making disparaging remarks against Karpal Singh.

Among the “atrocious” things this speaker said were:

• “Kalau ular dengan India depan mata, ketuk India dulu.”

• That the Malays aren’t racist but ”others are racist towards us”.

• Bangsa Malaysia does not exist, neither does Malaysian Chinese and Indians, only in the strict sense Malay, Chinese and Indians.

• Bahasa Malaysia does not exist, it is Bahasa Melayu.

• Nothing wrong with waving the Keris.

• Bumiputra hanya 55% di Malaysia, give birth to more people!

• The University and University Colleges Act was partly made to ensure a Malay Vice-Chancellor in Universities which should be the way.

• Blogs are “berdosa” or sinful.

• That the Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states are all going down the drain - “this is what you get if you vote for the opposition!”

• Criticism of Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat.

As the BTN is under the direct jurisdiction of the Prime Minister, Abdullah should explain why BTN is allowed to conduct such divisive and racist indoctrination courses, which are compulsory for JPA scholars and government officials but which are also held for selected university students and youths – like the BTN course in UiTM Shah Alam on 6th July 2008.

Practicum

Practicum was one exhilarating experience! It was full of ups and down. I enjoyed teaching my pupils as they were all outspoken. What I dreaded most were the observations by my supervisors. I was so nervous every time they came to observe me....anyway all this is over by now.

Pre Practicum Update

Hi there!! Sorry for not updating this site for quite some time....it has been more than three months since I've done so. Anyway, a lot has happened since then. Right now, I'm about to enter the next phase of my teaching training program....the practicum. Nothing much to say here but I just wanna post pictures of my time during the School Based Experience project as well as the Uniformed Group Camping which I have attended recently.

School Based Experience




Uniformed Group Camping

The 12th Malaysian General Elections

Sorry for not posting anything on for February....I was too darn busy to do that....anyway, most of us are going to be heading towards our respective polling stations this Saturday (8 March 2008) to exercise our rights as voters in this 'esteemed' country of ours to elect in a 'fresh' government. So it is apt for me to mention a thing or two about the political situation within this beloved country of ours. Well, I've come across this article from Aliran Monthly's online website. Enjoy:

"A just government will treat all its citizens justly. It will not discriminate neither will it punish them for voting in an opposition politician. After all, in the electoral process such a choice is made available to the voters. This is what democracy is all about.

But, unfortunately, the BN is no respecter of the democratic process. It withholds development and facilities and punishes the voters for electing an opposition member as their representative.

We have witnessed this shameful conduct for many decades in this country. When Pas captured Trengganu in 1999, the BN stopped giving the state government the petroleum royalty that was due to the state and which had been given to the previous BN state government without fail. This had been the case for as long as the BN was running the state government in Trengganu.

Again, when the voters of Ipoh Timur elected Lim Kit Siang as their MP in 2004, the flood mitigation project came to a standstill.

According to the defeated MCA candidate who was the previous MP, there were plans for a flood mitigation project in Ipoh Garden South and Kampung Simee. He had requested for a RM10 million allocation for the project, but as he was not re-elected, the allocation fell through.

Should a BN government that prides itself as being imbued with Islamic values of justice and fairness behave in such an un-Islamic way and punish innocent citizens unjustly?

These are just two shameful examples of the BN acting unfairly and undemocratically. We must not allow this bullying conduct of the BN to continue unpunished. They have been punishing the voters in the past. It is time for the voters to punish the BN for acting in such a high-handed fashion.

The BN must be made to realise that it is an obligation of any government worth its salt to provide facilities and amenities for the welfare of its citizens. It does not come with a price. It is our right to expect these facilities. After all, the money for development does not come from the private funds of the political parties. It is the wealth of the nation that is used for development purposes and citizens have a share in that wealth.

We cannot condone this practice. We cannot any longer tolerate the double standards practised by this undemocratic government.

Should such a government deserve your support?"

Well, you decide for yourself...as for me, I have already decided for myself on whom to vote for....

Writer's Block

Below is an article on Writer's Block that I would like to share with all of you precisely because I am suffering from this malicious disease that befalls many writers, even the great Stephen King himself. By the way, the month of February has been kind to me so far. I've survived 7.5 kms of jungle trekking and water rafting adventure....ha ha ha....they can't get rid of me yet heh! It's Chinese New Year 2008 so here's wishing all a Happy Chinese New Year, have a prosperous one yourself....(you may be asking yourself why the heck is this guy babbling about jungle trekking and water rafting what not, actually I have just joined the KPLI programme to be trained as a teacher and part of the training had me jungle trekking and water rafting....duh). Anyway, try to enjoy the article below. Good night, sleep tight, don't let Writer's Block bite!

Writer's block can be closely related to depression and anxiety^[1] two mood disorders that reflect environmentally caused or spontaneous changes in the brain's frontal lobe. This is in contrast to hypergraphia, more closely linked to mania, in which the changes occur primarily in the temporal lobe. These processes, and their implications for treatment, are described in neurologist Alice Flaherty's book The Midnight Disease.

However, another interpretation of writer's block, sometimes confused with scant output, is given in the book Silences, by Tillie Olsen, who argues that historically many women and working-class writers have been unable to devote themselves to, or concentrate on, their writing because their social and economic circumstances prevent them from doing so.

It is widely thought that writer's block is part of a natural ebb and flow in the creative process. Author Justina Headley explains in keynote speeches that for her it comes from losing touch with the characters about whom she is writing; and that by discovering who they are again, the block disintegrates.

Arthur Hermansen's view

Author Arthur Hermansen argues that writer's block is actually non-existent. He suggests that what occurs is the time lapse between "when a creative problem is posed or suggested to the subconscious parts of the creative process in human thinking, and when the problem is solved and the solution becomes appearant to conscious mental awareness". He goes on to describe the conditions contributing to this misunderstanding as social expectations and a person's own lack of trust in the subtle and hidden subconscious processes involved in creative thinking.

This can often be mistaken for writer's block, when in fact the problem is just not recognized consciously during the time the solution is worked on in the subconscious. This is because part of the creative process happens to reside in the subconscious mind, where conscious recognition is not present. No neural pathways for conscious monitoring of these parts of the subconscious creative process exist. Since such pathways are not necessary for successful creative cognitive process output it may never be developed in the evolutionary sense.

Some aspects of the creative process work subconsciously to their own timetable, and often take a great deal of time. There is the perception that if something is not working out right away, the creator is to blame, instead of the creator incorrectly diagnosing how creativity works as a cognitive process. Hermansen suggests that maintaining conscious recognition of every step in the creative process is not the way to understant the creative process.

Given that the subconscious mind rarely forgets anything, it continues to deal with the creative problem it has been working on the solution to all along. It is possible that while regarded as some sort of comprehensive creative dysfunction, subconscious creativity continues to function. However long the elapsed time may be, whether nanoseconds or years, the subconscious mind is involved in the creative challenge. Hermansen states this is due to a lack of practical awareness of, and trust in, the ability to utilize our genetically endowed creative capabilities and capacities without trying to control them by rigid conscious monitoring. He asserts this misinterpretation can work against specific creative solutions individually, and the creative process generally.

Hermansen states this idea is based on assertions that creativity itself is simply defined as problem solving, and the fact the subconscious mind is multiple times more intelligent than the waking, conscious self. Thus, it can administer its own processes without one having to be directly and consciously aware of, accountable to, or understanding how, these processes operate. This is similar to other instances of "knowing" without understanding the process such as falling in love.

He states these reactions and labels are due to a fundamental lack of trust in the creative process because at this state of awareness in our civilization with respect to creativity, it is not entirely understood in clear and simply described terms. This lack of trusting what cannot be explained, sabotaging the creative process through doubt or lack of understanding. For Hermansen, generally a convenience-oriented society has unfairly discredited time and resource-consuming mental processes one cannot prove with the senses. This way the creative process is not helped due to the individual's misunderstanding of creative cognition as well as from (Western) society's impatience with a often subtle, delicate and complex thinking process.

As a solution, the author offers a contiguous creative "flow" process. Hermansen suggests setting more achievable sub-goals applied to whatever medium the creative is working in and applies to symbolism, images or software code.

The time gap between these cycles is almost imperceptible in one part due to their short length in elapsed time for the majority of solution achieving functions. In the other part their purpose in the creative process to begin with - that being to solve problems - renders them low priority in this process's relative purpose and subsequently insignificant in importance to warrant conscious notice. He suggests similar to the the short breaths we take when exercising our body; so does the mind when exercising thought; it just so happens thought is faster so we hardly recognize it consciously. This approach builds from small increments towards a total outcome, rather than the person being overwhelmed by the overall aim.

At the other end of the scale he suggests that more sophisticated, original or difficult creative problems may bury themselves in the subconscious for solution processing for long periods of time, even years. When this elapsed time becomes quite long, the common misinterpretation of writer's block is asserted by the conscious self and society because of a lack of understanding of how time and the creative problem solving process are inextricably linked. This is more evident when the task is complex.

Results oriented thinking is in contrast to creativity as a cognitive process where instant outcomes are not a priority because the creative cognitive faculty is aware this is generally not the method to a completely satisfying solution. Of Mice And Men took ten years to write. Being a realist, it is likely he was more aware of the literary process than non-writers and gave it all the time it took to complete.

Likewise it is important that for every Eureka! moment there has been a long and hidden process of working consciously or subconsciously on a problem therefore realistically recognizing this can help to maintain mental discipline.

Apart from those aspects of writer's block there may be psychiatric or psychological cognitive challenges. What might be seen as a writing problem may be a psychological or mental health problem that responds to proper treatment. The exception to this is people who write when suffering mentally. Others channel the anxiety or depression into expression in their writing. Hermansen argues that writer's block can also be blamed for lack of work or ability ("undermanifestation"). He also relates it to a challenge for the creative to take their efforts to another level.

Writer's block as a chronic problem

There have been cases where writer's block has lasted for years or decades. The most notable example of this in modern literary history was Henry Roth's writer's block which persisted for sixty years and was caused by a combination of depression, political problems, and an unwillingness to confront past problems. This kind of writer's block seems to be quite rare, and most writer's block lasts for shorter periods or simply a particular sitting. Writer's block has caused problems for writers using the serial form, such as Stephen King's The Green Mile.

New Year Resolutions

New Year 2008 had so far been kind to me....I have resigned from my job as Quality Assurance Executive in one of the lousiest college ever to exist in Malaysia and will be joining up with the Federal Government as one of the many KPLI trainees nationwide to be trained as school teachers. Time to put this nightmare on elm street behind me and ride off towards the sunset.....oops, that might be wishful thinking as time will tell whether my decision to join the Ministry of Education is a wise one or otherwise. I'm just taking things one at a time now...savouring everything good that comes my way and hopefully I will be resilient enough to weather the storms ahead....

Anyway, talk about resolutions for this year, I have been doing a little checking up on the internet and have found some interesting bits of information to share with all of you. Now, this might sound like old and recycled stuff but just bear with me awhile as I present to you some "Tips for Making Good New Year's Resolutions":

"There is a right way and wrong way to make a New Year's resolution. Here are a few expert tips to see that your resolution actually makes a difference:

1. Create a plan

Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you that a) what to do next and b) what are all of the steps to complete the goal.

2. Create your plan IMMEDIATELY

If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely. It is imperative you begin creating your plan immediately.

3. Write down your resolution and plan

Commit your resolution and plan to writing somplace, such as a journal or notebook.

4. Think "Year Round" and not just the "New Year"

Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan. And finally....

5. Remain flexible

Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognise partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it is accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come."

Wow....amazing but simple advice. All of the above do sound logical right? But how many of us bother to do exactly as recommended? I do admit that I myself have difficulty sticking to the resolutions that I have made over the years. Heck, I can't even recall what they were anyway....as for my resolutions this year? Simple, they are:

a) Put the nightmare of working and getting stuck in perhaps one of the worst colleges ever to exist in Malaysia totally behind me (how is it one of the worst colleges in Malaysia, I don't want to discuss it here now lest I get another headache just thinking about thinking of it....ugh!!!!)

b) Concentrate on becoming healthier and fitter than I have ever been for the past 30 years (you know, coming down to my ideal weight of 58 kgs, maintaining normal blood pressure without drugs and becoming more physically active this year than all the previous years combined)

c) To jump start my teaching career

Oh well, cheers and I will see you all around. To all my colleagues who are still stuck in the worst college in Sabah (you know which one anyway), just hang on awhile longer and I'm sure you will find better opportunities to better your lives...good luck and godspeed.