R.E.C.Y.C.L.E

Assalamualaikum...

Alhamdulillah, I've found a recycling center just outside of Uda. I know recycling bins are around but unfortunately, there are still some people who treat them as rubbish bins and toss in their trash in with the recyclable goods. This makes the recycling procedure more lengthy and more resources have to be used up. More time is spent in separating and sorting the items and more labor is needed to clean and process them.

So, I'm taking my recyclable goods straight to the center. This way, i can help to reduce the load that is contaminated by the rubbish and I am certain that my 'throw-aways' will have a second life as another product.

Now that i think about, sometimes the weirdest things make me happy. I spent three hours at a bank the other day, opening another current account as well as a fixed savings account and signed up for two SSP's (Sijil Simpanan Premium). After three long hours of form filling, going things over with the financial adviser, asking questions and queuing, i walked out with a smile as if I've made a home run =) Even though my convent teammates weren't there to high-five me but i felt good about myself, knowing that I'm investing my money and putting it to good use.

I felt equally happy today. It took a while to find the recycling factory but it was worth it. There were piles of cardboard stacked to the ceiling, shredded paper compacted into cubes and neatly lined, there was a mountain of cans in one corner, bags of recycled wire, bits and bobs of electrical machines, a heap of of old screws, bolts and nuts, a mound of printers, a trailer filled with plastic bags, a big box full of discarded CD's, a corner of old iron rods and scrap metal and a section for other plastic products like old mobile phone covers and damaged plastic casings.
I was in awe 0.0 I thought to myself, "This is soooo COOL!". I mean, we've all seen images of recycling centers on TV and we have a rough idea of what the process is like, but to see it in action was amazing (to me at least, hehe).

After unloading my things, a worker separated everything, weighed it and gave me a receipt to cash in at the counter. I'm pleased enough to know that i can help in saving the environment, but getting paid to do so, i was like "Where my money at? Give me those bills lady!", haha. Those 'surat khabar lama' lorries tu, i da biasa da, but they only collect newspapers and plastic bottles. The stuff they don't take in, i used to throw in the bin guiltily. I know most of the stuff have potential to be reused or recycled tapi nak buat macam mana, tak kan nak simpan je, so to the trash heap it went. BUT NOW I CAN....

AND..

recycle, recycle, recycle, recycle more, more and MORE and visit the recycling center MORE!!! Me happy >_< ngeee..



Assalamualaikum...

A penny's worth..

Assalamualaikum..


I recycled a total weight of 32.8kg of goods today and i got RM6.60 for it. Honestly, I'm more excited about the fact that i can recycle rather than about the earnings, they were just icing on the cake for me.


Then, i remembered those people on the streets we see scavenging for cans in rubbish bins. Imagine how its like for them. An empty can only weighs a few grams, they have to collect at least a hundred just to get 1 kg of cans which is sold at a price of 20 cents.

Take a look at this man. He must at least have a few hundred cans in there and may be a couple hundred of bottles. From the way he's pulling at the cart, it sure does look heavy. Rationally estimating, let's say he has 150 kg. That's about the equivalent of two men sitting on that cart, just think of it as a rickshaw ride. Yeah, that would be logically possible. More than 150 kg, would be a challenge even for the most experienced rickshaw men. Now, for 150 kg, this man would get RM30.


Contemplate..



How did you earn and spend your last RM30?


If you're reading this, it means you have internet access, which is a luxury. From this, i assume you're not scavenging in the streets.

A reminder to myself before others, be thankful that you have an education. Be thankful that you might have better job prospects, InsyaAllah. Be thankful that you have parents or other family members that work hard and give you money. No matter how much they earn, they still work, so that you don't have to work as hard as the man in the picture.


Assalamualaikum...

Why so serious?

Assalamualaikum...



Have a break, have a Billy Burger XD

Enjoy!

Assalamualaikum..

Religious education..

Assalamualaikum..

Alhamdulillah, Malaysia has a higher religious tolerance rate as compared to other countries in the world. Its one of the main reasons why i enjoy being here. Some Malaysians pandang rendah kat negara sendiri maybe because they don't know any better. They always see other countries blooming and developing, with tall sky scrapers, wide streets, flashing lights and all the glamor on telly, that they sometimes forget to appreciate what they have in the country. As a result, we end up complaining to each other about all the shortcomings Malaysia and skipping all the good parts about it. I've gotta admit, i used to do that too and still do once in a while, but now that I'm older, i can really weigh the goods and bad much more clearly.

When i first came back to Malaysia, all i saw was the bad. I compared everything to the experiences i had in England and never understood why certain things are the way they are here. Alhamdulillah, i'm getting a better understanding of things and can really appreciate what Malaysia has to offer. Like i said, once in a while i still talk about what our country lacks, but now, i say it because i know Malaysia can do and be better, not out of spite anymore. If my emotions get the better of me and i start feeling angry again, i usually try to stop talking about it and just change the subject. (if i forget, please do remind me yea)

InsyaAllah, any comparison i make in my posts about Malaysia and England, remind us all that we should want to improve and be better for our country. Take the constructive ideologies from other nations and disregard the not-so-sesuai ones. For those who are in a position or who have the opportunity to make a change, make it a positive one.

Religious Education (RE) was one of the subjects in Junior school. Unlike the subject Agama/Moral in Malaysia, we weren't separated into groups based on our religion. We sat as a class, learning eachothers cultural and religious beliefs. For example, in week 1 we would learn the basic beliefs and traditions of Muslims, in week 2 we would learn about Christianity. Once in a while we would even visit each others places of worship for example we went to a Gurdwara. By not segregating us, we got to know each other more and learn to respect one another regardless of our beliefs. We felt open enough to ask questions and discuss such a sensitive issue at a young age, yet we know when to agree to disagree and let each other do what they need to do according to their religion. There is religious tolerance because the kids have religious understanding through religious education lessons.

However, religious tolerance have been decreasing nowadays and it seems like a growing trend. The cause and effects of this would be a whole different post, if you know what i mean 0.0

The issue I'm addressing now is on Malaysia's religious understanding. We have a good sense of religious tolerance here, but what surprised me was how little Malaysians knew about beliefs other than their own. For example, how many of you (Malaysians) knew that Gurdwara's are the place of worship for Sikhs?

I know I'm taking a bit of a risk by putting a poll but i can't put my finger on it exactly or give a clear simple example of how and why i think Malaysians have a lower degree of religious understanding. I can see it and feel it and experience it bit by bit the longer i stay in Malaysia but i can't describe it to you in words how i sense this or give you a specific event. I'm sorry but i hope my little poll will speak for itself though. Please vote =) thank you..







Moving on, i think it would be a good idea if we were taught RE in Malaysia for sekolah rendah kids. If its not for all the 6 years, we can do it for just one year, lets say, darjah 5 maybe. Some people may worry that it would shake the faith of a child from his/her original religion that they were born into. But actually, it would encourage the sekolah-sekolah agama, church groups and etc to improve their way of teaching, find and try different methods to reinforce faith among the believers. Since I'm Muslim, I gotta say InsyaAllah, if we are sincere in what we do, which is our amalan and we are sincere in our dakwah and keeping the ummah together, InsyaAllah, things will only improve.

Other than this, religious understanding would encourage children to get to know other cultures and beliefs. Understand why some people pray 5 times a day or go to church on Sundays or give offerings to their ancestors. Sometimes, by investigating other peoples actions, it may reinforce our viewpoint and outlook for what we stand up for and why we believe in our religion (bukan buta-buta ikut je) and it may even give us a boost to lebih mendalami our religion. It can also instill the value of respect in our children, promote healthy discussions and give them confidence to discover and explore whatever interests them.

Agree? What do you think?


Assalamualaikum...

Homo flowers?

Assalamualaikum..

A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose (flower) and rose (past tense of "rise"), or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms. Homophones that are spelled differently are also called heterographs. The term "homophone" may also apply to units longer or shorter than words, such as phrases, letters or groups of letters that are pronounced the same as another phrase, letter or group of letters.

Okay, now that we all know what homophones are, can you think of any?

Go ahead, i'll give you some time..




.....








.....



Nada?




....





...





Need some help? hm, okay.


Well, lets see, from the top of my head....



This...

and this!

For the last time people, flour is pronounced as flower! not 'fleeeeuuurr', 'flaaaarrr' or 'flaaaaaaaaauu'....

Grrrrrrr..




Assalamualaikum =)

Laugh and learn..

Assalamualaikum..

Alhamdulillah, I've had the opportunity to spend my childhood in England. I moved there in 1994 and returned to motherland, Malaysia, in 2001. I've gotta say, it was a blast. It wasn't all that exciting, it was a pretty normal childhood; sleepovers, walks in the park, mengaji kat surau kecik, sitting in shopping carts, not being able to ride the cool rides at the theme park, swinging upside down on monkey bars, etc. Oh, the innocent times... You can have such experiences in Malaysia too and in any suburban area for that matter, but one of the main differences i noticed straight away when i came back to Malaysia was the learning environment for kids here. It's so secularized, dead boring and tense, as compared to the experience i had in England. I'm not saying that everything in Malaysia is bad and everything in England is great and much better. In actual fact, I'm thankful that i returned home and i don't have the urge to leave or migrate to England or any other country. Tapi kalau pergi cuti-cuti tu nak lah jugak, hehe.

To sum up the learning environment in England in a few simple words is that its makes learning interesting and fun.

Here are just some examples of the things that made Junior school (sekolah rendah) cool:

• Writers introduction in year 5. Published authors came to the school (i forgot their names) and taught us how to improve our writing skills. They taught us ways to use adjectives effectively and everyone got a free storybook. We also had to write a story  and everyone had one-to-one time with the authors. They would go through each of our tales and would point out ways on how to tweak our storyline and give a punch to it.
• Parachute preparedness, in year 4 i think. Even though our cheeks didn't flap like a pit bull putting his head out of a fast moving car, from any free-falling but we were introduced on how to use a parachute. They showed us how it worked and we played a game using an opened parachute.
• Swimming and tennis lessons. Its compulsory for junior school children to learn these two skills. We would go once a week for a set period of time (can't remember how many terms it was and what year though).
• Monday assemblies, all the classes would take turns to do a performance or demonstration of what they learned, for example class A in week 1 and class B in week 2. It goes on throughout the year, for all the years (the term 'year' here means darjah/tingkatan in Malay. Kalau guna grade pon boleh tapi most of the public schools use year. eg: year 4 = darjah 4, year 8 = form 2). The performance can be as simple as a demonstration on how to make a paper snow flake or it can be a mini theater production with costumes and characters.
• We made our own pizza's in year 4. The dough was already made for us but we rolled it out and chose our own toppings. Mine was topped with mushrooms, a lil' bit of chicken and cheese =) Plenty of cheeeeessseeee.. Mmm... Instructions on the temperature of the oven, how to use the oven properly, which utensils to use and safety precautions were given, but we were entrusted to do everything ourselves. Of course the teacher was there supervising, helping out here and there and checking on every single detail but at least we were given a chance to explore, have the self confidence to use the utensils correctly, try new tastes, figure out which combination of flavors worked best together, pop the lil' beauty's in the oven ourselves and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We also created and baked our own biscuits in year 5.
• We had a trip to an old water and wind mill that was used to grind flour (flower!!). That trip was wicked awesome though. I can remember every nook and cranny of the place and how the mills were designed. We also had a trip to a castle, in year 6  and even managed to go in the dungeons!
• We had Music as a subject. Examples of some of the lessons: design and construct our own musical instruments from scratch (in groups), bring your favorite CD to school, play a song you like but you have to justify your reasons (eg: did you like it just for the beat or the lyrics or was it because of the cultural elements in the song, etc), learned about other unique instruments like the nose flute, why and how its used, etc.

There are lots more things like home dinners, family photo sessions, PE, RE, technology as a subject, how the playground was set up, lockers and trays for the kids and helpers for the teachers, but I'll save them for other posts where I'll go in detail on the advantages, disadvantages, positive effects, administration and execution.

All these activities were not small courses or ideas that my school had and implemented by themselves, it is actually integrated as a part of Junior school curriculum and education system. This allows every child to benefit, not just the kids from private schools or schools that are financially better-off or supported. Every child has the opportunity to be exposed to more ideas, skills and thoughts, discover and learn not just from books but by do-it-yourself methods and 'get your fingers stuck in it' attitude. The British have a nack for such simplicity in their ideology of teaching and how to get it done effectively and efficiently. Less paper work, hierarchical structure and processes, more communication and discussion among students and teachers and more hands on activities. Even during the activities, children have to strategise for themselves or give new things a try and outline every experiment to what they think is appropriate, which promotes critical thinking. Kalau tak tepat pon tak apa, you are encouraged to try again.

The word 'wrong' was never used, just 'maybe this method would work better' or 'if you try this, maybe this would be the result'. We aren't told what is right and wrong in black or white, but we learned through trying, discovering, making mistakes, adjusting and making improvements. Some may worry about such an open way of teaching but having this approach for this age group raises a child's self-esteem and problem solving becomes a habit for them. They are less shy to ask questions or to suggest new ideas and they have a wider range of basic knowledge and general understanding. Yet rules are still enforced wherever needed and they are reprimanded firmly. There is such balance in the English system and every action is meant for a specific reaction (every activity/experiment/trip/game/lesson teaches the child a new skill/method/ideology/fact/knowledge).

Mannn, i can go on forever about this issue 0.0 Penat aku type, phuhh...

I guess this post will be continued.

My main point here is that Malaysia should take what is good from other education systems and leave the bad. Adapt it an a way to suit our culture in Malaysia, keep things simple and make learning fun for kids in school.

Don't kill the buzz.

Assalamualaikum..

Oh, ikan bilis..

Assalamualaikum..

Since i've returned to Malaysia, i have tasted so many flavors i never knew existed. We are blessed with such a variety of food here; mainly the Malay, Indian and Chinese cuisines. Even in each of these cuisines, there are sub-culture cuisines such as the Northern and Southern Indian foods, the Javanese (saya orang jawa!), the Cantonese cuisine and many more. A dish can also be prepared in different ways and it varies from each state or province. For example, laksa Johor and laksa Penang. Oh so many flavors and tastes! MashaAllah..

However, among such an assortment of food, sometimes, its the simplest of flavors that hit the spot.


Oh, ikan bilis...

Digoreng rangup dengan bawang yang manis dan cili padi kecil yang comel-comel tu. Dihidang panas dan dinikmati dengan nasi dan kicap manis. Oh sedap nyerrrr... =)


Assalamualaikum..

Bag the bag..

Assalamualaikum.

Ireland pathed the way in Europe, taxing plastic bags in 2002 and have now reduce plastic bag consumption by 90%.

Australia closely followed, by charging 10 cents for plastic bags from supermarkets and retail outlets.

China has banned free plastic bags.

In 2005, Rwanda banned plastic bags.

Bangladesh has banned plastic bags.

On March 27th 2007, San Fransisco became the first U.S state to ban the use of plastic bags. Oakland and Boston are considering a ban.

Israel, Canada, western India, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Taiwan have also banned or are moving toward banning the plastic bag.

Malaysia?

"KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 -- The Government does not intend to impose charges for plastic bags from supermarkets or retail outlets although it recognizes that these bags pose a threat to the environment and hamper efforts to inculcate the recycling mentality among the people" - Bernama

Haa, i know what are all the Malaysians thinking now. It goes something a bit like this:

"Tu la Government Malaysia ni, da tahu benda tu tak bagus untuk environment tapi tak buat apa-apa pon leii. Tengok la negara-negara lain, even third world countries macam Rwanda pon dah ban plastic bags tau. Huh." - in classic rojak style ofcourse >_<

Now before all of us go around high-five-ing eachother, think again. Do we really need to wait for a ban?

It starts with us.

Kalau pergi pasar tu, bawak la beg siap-siap. Whenever we plan to go shopping for anything, anywhere, just bring along a bag with you. And for us girls, most of us already have handbags, casually chilling on our shoulders. I have a reusable and fold-able bag in my handbag and also tucked away in a hidden zipped pocket, i have a spare plastic bag for whenever i need it.

Even if you've forgotten to bring one with you, try to reduce the number of plastic bags you use by not asking for another when purchasing your next item. Now, I've done this more than a couple of times. However, whenever i refuse any sort of packaging, the counter staff or salesperson looks at me and either give a little chuckle or ask me why i don't want a plastic bag. Most of the time, after i give them a short one sentence response, they nod their heads and comply to my request, all the while still sniggering. These instances did tick me off at first, but now I've become accustomed to it and usually leave without a second thought. Unfortunately, not all my encounters end in such ways.

I was paying for a take-away lunch at the counter of a restaurant i frequently visit and a conversation took place between the Pakcik and I, it went something like this:

Pakcik was reaching for a plastic bag behind his counter.
Me: Oh, tak apa la pakcik. tak payah plastic.
Pakcik: Ha. Kenapa tak nak? *surprised expression with eyebrows raised*
Me: tak apa lah pakcik, saya tak nak.
Pakcik: Ha. Tak apa pulak, amek je la. Nah...

He proceeded to put my packed lunch in a plastic bag, giving a little chuckle and shaking his head. I wasn't in best of moods that day and i thought to myself, "Were u just born yesterday? Macam la tak tahu kenapa.", but i just smiled and tried to stop him as best i could while being polite.
Me: Tak apa lah pakcik, saya tak perlu.
Pakcik: Tak perlu? Kan lebih senang nak bawak.
Me: Tak apa, saya pegang je. Saya boleh bawak.
Pakcik: Haha. Kesian awak nanti. Apa lah awak ni. Haha.

I tried to not to get irritated but other thoughts crept into my mind, "Kesian? Kalau orang cacat tu boleh la kesian. Do i look that retarded to you?". I just continued to smile and reached for my packed lunch from within the plastic bag, leaving the plastic on the table.
Pakcik: Nanti kalau terlepas kang, ha, nasi beterabuh kat tengah jalan nanti, heh. *his chuckle not so little anymore*
Me: tak apa, saya pegang guna dua tangan.

I tried to leave but he seemed determined to diss me.
Pakcik: Kalau terjatuh nanti?
"Kalau jatuh tu, nasib la. Sapa suruh tak berjaga-jaga. Kalau jatuh masuk longkang tergolek-golek pon, nasi tu tak akan terselamat kalau dalam plastic beg pon.", i thought to myself.
Me: InsyaAllah tak jatuh.

I walked away but i could feel his eyes on me and heard him dissing me behind my back to his workers.


Be patient with those who are ignorant or act ignorant. Start with yourself first and hope that others will follow. We can't stop the world from producing plastic bags, but we can reduce the demand for it. Just do what we can, save a lil' here, save a lil' there, whenever you can.

Assalamualaikum...

Plastic troubles..

Assalamualaikum..

The plastic bag. We can get them when we purchase something, anything. May it be a cup of corn from the side road stall or a classic Jimmy Choo heel from the trendiest mall. Some are plain, some are colourful, some are big and some are small. Some are cleverly made for high-end branding while some are specially designed just to take out the trash. The plastic bag is an efficient way to carry goods. It is hygienic, light in weight yet considerably strong.

But what happens to the plastic bag after we’ve put on our heels?

Most likely, they’ll go in the bin. Even for those who are thriftier will only reuse the bag a couple of times. After a little wear and tear, the bag loses its value and is disposed of. Most of them make it to the rubbish dump and are buried underground. Some make it out to the seas and dance with the waves. While others fly freely going wherever the wind takes them.

The affect?

This...

Plastic bags pollute the earth. They have been found roaming the harsh lands of the Article circle, up North and they have also been found drifting in the Falkland Islands, down South. In between these two distant lands, plastic bags stir up havoc.

Plastic bags do not decompose, they photo degrade. Over time, they break down into smaller, more toxic petro-polymers. It takes 1000 years for one plastic bag to completely photo degrade. Even when they do, they contaminate the soil.

Plastic bags kill wildlife. Nearly 200 different sea life including whales, dolphins, seals and turtles die due to plastic bags. They die after ingesting plastic bags which they mistake for food. Birds get entangled in the plastic bag and die a slow and painful death.

Plastic bags litter our streets and are scattered throughout our forests. They clog drains and natural water pathways and cause floods.

Plastic bags are made from crude oil. This black goo is precious and limited. Crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the earth's surface. It takes thousands of years for all these molecules and compounds to gel and make such a magical liquid that the world currently depends on. Such a prized resource. Approximately 60 - 100 million barrels of oil are required to make the world’s plastic bags each year. The manufacture of plastic bags add tonnes of carbon emissions into the air annually. Between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year.

1 trillion? Hang on a sec. How much is that again?

1 trillion is one million million million. That’s the number 1, followed by 18 zero’s!

Think twice when you use a plastic bag. Look at the bigger picture of things.

Reduce your use of the plastic bag.

Assalamualaikum..

The Beginnings..

Assalaamualaikum and Hello everyone,

Just thought I'd try something new. i know blogging is not anything new for most of my friends, but its new for me.

Hopes for this space:
- a medium for me to share my 'theories' (my high school friends should remember this, hehe)
- a way to discuss topics that interest me (eg: religion, the green movement, education, etc)
- means for me to keep in touch with my friends (personal entries will be privatized)
- share information (events, facts, polls)

InsyaAllah (God willing), this space will carry a positive message =)

Just like this song by Baz Lurhmann, a 90's one-hit-wonder.



I first heard this song when i was still in England and it caught my ear straight away. Simple rythm, simple beat and a simple concept, yet so wise and meaningful.

Wear sunscreen ;)

Assalaamualaikum..