One of the reasons why I decided to blog is because I want my voice to be heard. My blog has became my major channel for expressing my views, thoughts, opinions and off course, my grievances [Though I don’t think I have achieved my objectives of blogging as I doubt my voice or the voices of the younger generation in general actually matter to those who were (or are going to be) in power and those current state assemblymen who aspire to be members of the House of Representatives too as part of their strategy to be able to fight for the peoples’ rights in the two August Houses [well, that is what they say, but to me, these people are just selfish and power-hungry. Take Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the incumbent for the Bintulu parliamentary seat, for example; did he need to be members of the State Legislative Assembly and House of Representatives to bring up the gangsterism problem that have been plaguing Sarawak?? The answer is no, he only brought it up in parliament and the next thing we knew, actions were taken].
Okay, I am thankful that I am able to air my opinions at home. The tradition that dictates that the elders knows best and hence, have the final say does not really appear at home. I can engage in debates about anything with my father anytime [though I often emerge as the loser... (Thanks sis for correcting me... I am really a loser..)].
Unfortunately, in the Malaysian education system which I went through since Primary 1 to Upper 6 in 2004, students were (and still are) merely taught to absorb facts and figures. When I was in Form 5, my Pendidikan Moral teacher even “forced” us to memorize definition of the moral values verbatim for the sake of passing the Moral paper in SPM. We were trained to be obedient followers since we were taught to meekly obey instructions and anyone who questioned decisions was branded as “no respect for the authorities”.
The higher authorities have failed to understand that youths today cannot accept explanations and excuses blindly as we are now more well-educated, mature and analytical in our thinking. I am sure that if our suggestions and opinions are taken into considerations, Malaysian youths would definitely be more sensitive and aware of the nation’s development issues.
I feel lucky because in College, the learning process was different. We were taught to think for ourselves. All my lecturers gave me the opportunity to give my two cents worth on the topic at hand. At diploma level, we were all encouraged to formulate our own opinions and express them. My Production Management lecturer even went to the extent of making it compulsory for everyone to express their opinions in hope of getting those quiet students to speak out. Some lecturers: my 3 marketing gurus in particular, became my mental sparring partner in business strategies, marketing techniques. and any topic that I wished to debate on. They taught me not to be ashamed to ask questions to seek clarifications. There should be a desire to know more to have a better understanding of the subject. Thus, I am thankful to all my lecturers for giving me the opportunity to interact with them, discussing and engaging in intellectual discourse without fear of being wrong. They taught me that it was okay to disagree in a civil manner. I took that to heart and since have always said to myself never to take anything at face value. My lecturers never mind me (or if they did, they never showed it physically, so I never cared) challenging ideas for the betterment of the idea itself, though sometimes I may decide to be mischievous and start challenging ideas for the sake of arguing! To them, I give my gratitude.
The fear of castigations through the various legislations eg: the University and University Colleges Act, Communications and Multimedia Act 1988 and Internal Security Act (ISA) have curbed me (and many Malaysians) from speaking out publicly. The omnipresence of cyber-patrollers has made me wary that I cannot express my views freely through my blog or any discussion boards. Blogger Nathaniel Tan was detained on 13th July, 2007 over an offence said to be committed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). Therefore, I usually settle for those highly animated discussions with my family members.
Meanwhile, from today until 5pm on 8th March, 2008, we are sort of assured that our grievances would be listened to since the future of those aspiring MPs and assemblymen are now in our hands. So for those of you Malaysians, who are registered voters, please try your very best to head out on Saturday, 8th March 2008 to cast your votes. Exercise your rights and make a difference. If you do not exercise your rights, you are not standing up for what you believe in. This is because if you do not participate in the process of selecting who will legislate and administer the country on your behalf, you have given up your rights to criticize the manner on how they will subsequently govern you. So VOTE or KEEP QUIET. Even if you do not like any of the candidates in your constituency, just vote for the slightly better one. So good luck and happy voting on 8th March!!!
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