*Cikgu Yang*

That is what my mum is called till this very day. Even after 35 years her former students still remember Cikgu Yang. She is remembered as the disciplinarian even though the concept of “guru disiplin” was yet to be invented back then.

Yet she is also the one credited for the very person that they are today. If they could, they would want the very same “cikgu garang” to teach their own children. The respect that they have for her last till this very day though of course with having thousands of students in her career, it is the students who normally remember the teacher most of the time.

Cikgu Yang dished out her fair share of punishments back in the day. Standing on the chair or table were just a sample of penalties for stepping out of line. These of course were swift actions which sadly have been outlawed lately and the quality of students have deteriorated which comes as no surprise.

So few share the patience and dedication to the profession and most importantly to the students as Cikgu Yang and her peers back in the 60's, 70’s and 80’s. The love and care to the students was as if they were their own.

I had the pleasure of taking my mum to meet up with her primary 4 students she had almost 30 years ago over the past weekend. I can’t help but feel proud to know that my very own mum had helped to shape such successful lives and only He knows the struggle that she went through way back then.

It was such a pleasure to see how her former students surrounded her as they try to recall their time and experiences they shared with her. Looking at some of the guys, me and the wife couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of some of the now grown men and fathers and wonder just how naughty they were when my mum ruled the roost. She was so strict that even the mentioned of her name or Cikgu Yang walking by the classroom would send the decibels down to zero.

How things have changed indeed. Just today I read an article that says that caning will not be allowed in schools anymore. It seems parents these days can see no wrong in their children no matter how wrong they are in the first place. The minute a teacher raises his or her voice or lays a finger on their children, lawsuits come forth from every direction.

Believe me, the canning, slapping, ear pulling, table or chair standing, running around the school field, push ups, sit ups and the ever popular “cubit” kept me and so many of my friends out of jail and delinquencies to be where we are today. The last thing we dared to do was to come home to complain about our punishments for what awaits is not sympathy but additional tongue lashing and punishments.

Back in the old days parents used to present a “rotan” to the teacher as a symbol that means “punish my child if he/she is wrong or lazy or naughty” and how ironic that such a symbol is outlawed today. Do all these limitations and restrictions mean that teachers today have no choice but to not care unlike their predecessors ? Only God knows and that is for sure a topic for another post.

Cikgu Yang’s career of almost 35 years spans accordingly:

1957 to 1959 = Graduated from the Day Training College (DTC), Penang
1960 to 1961 = SR Sultan Badlishah, Kulim, Kedah
1961 to 1969 = SRK Perempuan Merbau, Kota Baru, Kelantan
1970 to 1971 = SRK Parit Jamil, Muar, Johor
1972 to 1975 = SRK Temenggung Ibrahim or Temenggung Ibrahim Primary School (TIPS), Batu Pahat, Johor
1976 to 1980 = SRK Jalan Selangor, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
1980 to 1981 = SRJK(C) Chung Hwa, Sungai Nibong, Penang
1982 to 1990 = SRK Bukit Gelugor, Penang
1990 to 1995 = SRK St. Theresa II, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

If you happen to be once a student of Cikgu Yang, drop me an email if you would like to contact her aights ;)

Cheers!!! :D

Translations:

Cikgu = Teacher
Guru Disiplin = Discipline Teacher
Garang = Fierce
Cubit = Pinch
Rotan = A cane made out of bamboo
SR/SRK = Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan is Malay for primary school in Malaysia

*Music Connector*

Nothing takes you to another place than music. Forget about virtual holidays where one can browse their destination of choice without having to move an inch from their couch. When it hits the right emotions and pulls at the heart strings, music is the best way to transport you anywhere you want to go.

Music can also help to bring back those memories both good and bad. So many of us associate some of the most important events in our lives with music. The music that was played during our graduation, when we lost our first love, when our favorite football team won and even music played during the wedding.

Music connects the human being with its soul which conjures up the memories in our brains. For those who is a student of music, it helps at times to share the same insights that the writer had in mind without even knowing the creator of the sound itself.

The music genre is as diverse as the numerous types of people and personalities that walk this earth. Music joins souls but at the same time differentiates one from another. Music can unite a group of unique individuals but at the same time divide people that are so similar.

Those with the gift of creating such masterful works of art are few and far between. Uniqueness and originality so often is drowned by the quest to appeal to the masses and to feed the bottom line of everyone that wants a piece of the pie. Music can be so meaningful but at times can be just a combination of piecemeal junk that it can be pathetic.

Honestly I’m thankful for His gift to value the sounds the he hears. To be able to read in between the lines or spot a hastily conjured demo with out of key instruments is something that I cherish a lot. At the same time it can be quite annoying to be honest especially when everywhere you tune into is just not good enough.

Actually hyelbaine is essentially a music lover who loves to be in the industry but reality requires me to be more practical and source for a more stable income that puts food on the table everyday. How I would love to be writing, mastering and engineering music so that it sounds rich, complete and most importantly just right to the people.

Here’s a salute to all those fighting the good fight in coming out good work.

Cheers!!! :D

*Turn To*

Who do you turn to when life isn’t going exactly the way you want it to be? Most turn to God, to friends, to their hobbies and when we were all much younger, our parents were the place we go to vent and when we want something.

Sadly when we are much older we can’t really turn to our parents when life’s getting the better of us. That of course would not only weird but almost unfair to them when they should be enjoying their golden age rather than having to worry about their grown up children.

Some prefer to turn to God to seek His divine intervention. Most always turn to Him when all other avenues are exhausted. We pray to Him and wish that He would grant our best wishes and desires after working so hard towards that dream that we’re hoping for.

Some of course turn to music in order to find inspiration and maybe draw some hope in the lyrics or in the melody. So many turn to music when life gets hard to find some solace from life’s hectic pace.

Some turn to their friends or their significant other to find the motivation and gain some form of sympathy when life decides to twist the cards it deals. Either just as an ear to listen or gaining some feedback that reinforces the belief that things will turn for the better rather than spiral down into the abyss.

Sometimes we’re reminded that even when things don’t go our way that there will always be someone, somewhere out there who’s having an even worse time. Well of course that’s always true but then again using the same “excuse” over and over again can actually be a more negative influence rather than a positive one.

As for Hyelbaine, he’s not to sure what he turns to at times. He’s been on a constant roller-coaster for a good 10 years now with no end in sight to this one hell of a ride. Like everyone he too hopes that things would just fall into place as quick as it takes for someone to say be lucky for there are others far worse off than you are.

I leave you to ponder who do you turn to when thing’s don’t go according to your plans. Is it your God, your friends, your siblings, your husband/wife or maybe even your cat?

Cheers!!! :D

*Different Opposites*

How opposites attract indeed when it comes to life. Examples are all around wherever you look if you pay enough attention to it. Couples are sometimes are made up by 2 polar opposite personalities and yet they gel together like glue.

The many different things in life are really the ingredients that add the spice into our lives. Imagine how the world would be if everyone had the same likes or dislikes and the same personality. Don’t you think life would be a tad bit too predictable and boring?

Of course our differences that make us unique can also be the main reason that causes so many conflicts in this world. Each one has its own way to do things and different methods to achieve their own goals.

Handling these differences which so many times contribute to conflicts can be difficult at best. Sometimes the situation calls for it to be handled with care while others require nothing more than a bulldozer to pave the way to find a compromise or a solution.

Sometimes the best solution to resolve conflicts caused by opposites is compromise, sacrifice and understanding. All of which is given by Him in the form of the human mind and such a gift could only be tested by the very feature that He has created. Ironic isn’t it?

So whether it is work, your friends or even family remember that the mind is one of His greatest gifts to navigate through what is can be such a complicated life. Life is all the more vibrant because of our differences and our opposites in our lives. What a crime indeed to blame Him for not creating life’s things to be otherwise.

So let’s celebrate our differences and our opposites rather than look at it as a bane in our lives. He has created us so uniquely different so that we would scour the earth to learn and understand each other for the common good of all.

Here’s to life’s great diversity ;)

Cheers!!! :D

*An A for English in SPM? You Must Be Joking*

A colleague of mine at work approached me for some help with his brother’s college assignment the other day. It was a piece about the role of managers and bosses in guiding fresh graduates in working life.

Now I’m not really going to sugar coat my words but the English that I saw from that paper was a load of rubbish at best. The student in question of course is studying in a private tertiary institution that is known among many KL’ites.

As I read through the 3 paged paper I couldn’t stand it anymore and so I asked my colleague some background on his brother. Not wanting to sound snobbish or the like I delicately posed my questions and after awhile he caught my drift and spoke frankly.

He says that his brother graduated from high school with excellent grades and is looking for opportunities to further his studies in UK. I asked him again how much his brother scored for his English subject in his SPM and my colleague said he scored an “A”.

Ladies and gentlemen, if the quality of English that was given to me was to be good enough for the country to score top marks in an English examination than how far and low our standards have dropped. I cannot fathom how such a thing can happen but sadly it is happening.

My mom is a teacher and if she were to read the paper her reaction would be horrendous. Safe to say, she would deem that the paper was written by a 13 year old rather than a university student that would one day lead this country in the future.

I do not claim to have good writing skills but I’m pretty sure at a similar age back then, I was a wee bit better than my colleague's brother is. Having said that, I would definitely struggle writing something in Malay now as this post might suggest. Is it the teacher or the school or the parents to be blamed?

How about all of it? The teacher for not sharing the same type of commitment that my mom and her fellow teachers did 20 or 30 years ago, the education system for generations upon generations of memorizing Malaysians rather than those who understand and apply knowledge while at the same time lowering the standards to look good in the press and the parents for not giving a care about their own children’s education and just leaving the responsibility to the school.

I told my colleague that his brother needs a lot of help in the near future if he has to have any hope of pursuing his dreams. I apologized for prodding about his brother but got a thank you instead for pointing out the obvious truth. As for the content of the paper, let me just say things didn’t get any better on that front too.

Cheers!!! :D

*Macam Pelita*

That was the reaction that the Mrs. gave me as we made our journey from JB to KL last Sunday around midnight. Pelita is of course lanterns perched on bamboo sticks that lit up the area during the Aidil Fitri celebrations. Of course this time what she was referring to was in fact headlights dotted for miles upon miles on the highways.

Which brings me somewhat to the point of how much time that we Malaysians waste getting stuck in traffic jams. Most KL’ians easily spend up to 10 hours a week behind the wheel, not moving anywhere while at the same time burn a big hole in their pockets to replenish the “black gold”.

I smirk at some radio ads by Shell that says smart drivers planned their routes and times to avoid traffic thus saving fuel all at the same time. Ironic that it is actually much harder to achieve don’t you think? If your only option to work is the constantly chocked LDP or Federal Highway, it takes out the route planning option out of the game plan.

What can be done about the traffic snarl in KL and Malaysia in general? None. Why? Because the concept of city or urban planning is something that is totally alien to people running this country. So often a newly paved road is dug up because someone forgot to lay cables or realized that the man-holes were buried under the new think layer of tar. A 2 lane highway is built despite knowing that a 5 year old could point out it needs 4 lanes.

With the public transport being as dependable as politicians actually caring for the people, who dares to risk their rice bowls on a service that is hopeless at best. Every time we are all entertained with numerous talk about resolving the issues but so little is done to disappoint the people.

Does banning cars is the solution? It isn’t but imposing extremely high taxes on motorcycles would be a step in a right direction to reduce the mess on our roads. I bet that if motorcycles were removed from the roads in Malaysia, more than 50% of the accidents can be avoided. You can bet your depreciating Shringgit on that.

I dare not comprehend the amount of time, money, energy or resources that I have wasted in my short lifetime being stuck behind a wheel of a car. Quantifying that would seriously put a damper on the spirits of anyone.

Cheers!!! :D

*Selamat Hari Raya 2008*

Sorry I'm a bit late in posting my Raya greetings this year. It's been a rather different and quite hectic Raya this year having my own family and al but it was fun none the less. This year of course marks my first year celebrating Raya with my wife and I'm glad I was able to keep my promise to my mum.

This year is the 4th Raya that we'll be celebrating without my late father. I still miss him a lot and as I learn more and more about life, there is just so much that I want to know and I want to ask of him. Al-Fatihah goes to him and to all those who have left us living on this earth.

Ramadhan has come and gone and one can only hope that the people who have astrayed from the His path would somehow find it in their hearts to come back to the one true path.

So during this time of forgiveness I beg the same from you my humble friends, readers and visitors if any of my previous actions, comments or posts have hurt or angered you in anyway what so ever.

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin :)

Cheers!!! :D