July 2013 - Terengganu

I S SU E 10
A PUBLICATION OF
APB UITM TERENGGANU
J UL Y— S EPT
2 013
LANGUAGE bulletin
My Travel Trivia #3: MYSTERY OF THE THRONE CHAIR
By ROSZAINORA SETIA
V
enice is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world, situated at northern Italy. People
dream of taking strolls at this lovely city on water. It
is the only pedestrian city in the world and is virtually the
same as it was 600 years ago- a sanctuary on a lagoon. It
existed before year 800.
To me, Venice has a very fascinating character,
though it is now crowded with tourists. The architecture is
beyond marvelous. Venice is like a museum itself (as
many people will tell you) and obviously it is a solid evidence of Roman Civilization. There are so many facades
of interesting and magnificent architecture. Even a layman
like me is intrigued.
I always make a point to scrutinize, review and
reflect on the most interesting sights along my journey,
this time it is no different. Sometimes it was only an innocent observation, sometimes it was naïve, sometimes it
was silly, sometimes it was an eye opener…and there
were times also, nothing made sense.
Today, I just want to talk about the astounding Basilica Di
San Pietro.
The original Saint Peter's Basilica was said to be
built in 326. Building of the more elaborate basilica started
during the early Renaissance in 1506 and was completed
roughly 120 years later. Its history is equally impressive
Did you know that the throne chair inside the Basilica Di San Pietro was made
from a Muslim funeral stele? It is even
inscribed with lines from the Quran?
*Funeral stele/marker stone = grave
monument standing upright with an inscription or sculpted picture on it
Image on right: St Peter’s Throne Chair
with most of Italy’s greatest artists like Bramante, Raphael,
Perruzi, Bernini as well as Michelangelo who strived to
complete it. For those who are not familiar with the names,
those were Italy’s and Roman Civilization’s great sculptors, painters and architects.
The throne chair with intricately carved stone back
is referred to as ‘St Peter’s Throne’. A far- fetched statement was even made “According to one of Venice’s many
architectural urban legends, the impressive chair was
used by the Apostle Peter in Antioch, and the Holy Grail
was
later
hidden
in
it”
(source:
http://
www.lonelyplanet.com/venice/sights).
Quite interesting, isn’t it? So who is actually St.
Peter? I did some research and this is the result. I did not
attempt to translate anything for fear of misusing any theology terms.
“Dari sudut pandang Muslim, dan para pentafsir Islam,
Peter dipercayai merupakan salah seorang dari 12 para
Hawari Nabi Isa a.s.. Walaupun, beliau merupakan tulus
pedamping kepada Nabi Allah Isa a.s., namun menurut
teologi Muslim, beliau tidaklah memainkan peranan yang
utama dalam perkembangan syiar Islam seperti yang dibawa oleh Rasul dan Nabi-nabi yang lain.
Peter merupakan salah seorang ahli yang tergolong dalam kumpulan hawari yang telah Allah khabarkan didalam Kitab Suci Al-Quran. Peter digambarkan,
khususnya menurut teologi Syiah, bahawa beliau ialah
orang yang penting kerana beliau umumnya dirujuk sebagai Imam pertama selepas Nabi Isa a.s, dan dalam pada
itu masyarakat Kristian memandang Peter sebagai
"Putera Rasul-rasul".
(source: http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki Pandangan_Islam_mengenai_Peter)
Isn’t traveling great? It makes you think and wonder and question. It definitely has trained my eyes to appreciate many things more. It also makes you ponder how
Islamic Civilization has been adapted by and shaped others… ■
"Reti Base" dalam Masyarakat Pantai Timur
Dear Friends,
T
hose who travel appreciate how travel pushes our
boundaries. I, for one,
learn so much about others and
about myself along the way.
There are traits about myself
that I wish I do not have (sigh).
There are attributes I am proud
of and there are things that I try
to improve. At the same time, I
am released and I am free. Nobody cares whether I have
checked and signed any documents, let alone vetting
exam papers! When travelling, we open ourselves to
possibilities and flexibilities. The passion of seeing
places that my late dad instilled in me since I was little
has never stopped to become a marvelous thrill. That's
what I am sharing with my son now. We always look forward to hit the road together and sometimes become
restless if we don't go anywhere for quite some time! You
can say that we always have the urge to travel.
Together we have ventured into the unknown. Carrying
his baby stroller up and down 300 staircases in Lisbon,
holding his hand when he first stepped into a gondola,
watching him smeared his small round face with chocolate in Bern, gelato in Tuscany and apple sauce in The
Black Forest of Baden-Württemberg, touching snow with
his small bare hands in the Alps, laughing while scattering nuts and dried figs in our Istanbul hotel room, chasing
after a furry cat on the Charles Bridge in Prague, smudging fresh blueberries on the duvet in Edinburgh, spilling
his milk on an immigration officer… aah such fond
bulletin
EDITORIAL
LANGUAGE
editor’s note
E
memories. Even though we were not
that excited when it was going on but the
memories become priceless as time goes
on ;) We learn about each other in the process and we
learn to respect others more. We appreciate the diversities and the differences. The same principles could be
applied here at our workplace. We accept that sometimes things do not go as planned, people screw up, being flexible is encouraged, plan B and sometimes C and
even D are needed, try to see the best in other people,
be adventurous but at the same time do not ever sacrifice our own values. At times we accidentally ventured
into unknown places, cursing our bad planning and bad
luck (?) only to discover later that this was the place that
has become our favorite? We also learn that even if others also have come to the same city as ours, the way
they perceive and experience the city differ tremendously
from us. A tiled fountain might be a great deal to you but
not to others. Embrace and appreciate the differences at
the workplace.
Be considerate, be ready, be creative. See things positively, and believe me, life will be much more easier.
p/s: Your help may go unnoticed, be helpful anyway…
very Raya Aidilfitri I hear couples
arguing about whose hometown to
celebrate Eid at, the husband’s or
the wife’s. What is supposed to be a joyous
occasion filled with forgiveness and celebrated with family turn to be a miserable
holiday.
Fortunately, my husband and I have
decided early on before we got married that
we would take turns each year, starting with
Kuching in our first year and Selangor the
next and Kuching again this year. With that
arrangement, it has somehow lessened our
sadness for being unable to celebrate Raya
with our respective family, although both of
us being used to be away from our family
for long periods of time helped a lot too. I
Patrons
Advisor
Chief Editor & Layout
Editors
Love,
Roszainora
Advisor
pray that we would never have to squabble
to decide whose ‘kampong’ to go back to
because after all, isn’t his family mine too?
This issue has family stories
abound; our jet-setting advisor recounted
her memorable trips around the world with
her beloved son (Letter from the Advisor)
while Wan Najmiyyah showed us her father’s personal letter (page 4-5) for her first
mountain hike, which reminded me so much
of the language in my old English textbooks,
in a good way.
I wish everyone a safe journey back
home and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilftiri in
advance!
Chief Editor
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdol Samad bin Nawi , Assoc. Prof. Dr. Baharom Abdul Rahman
Roszainora Setia
Aileen Farida Mohd Adam
Nor Ashikin Mohd Yusof, Norhayati Husin, Shamshad Begham Othman, Nurhafizah Ali
Questions or Comments? Email them to [email protected]
2 Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
aileen
OLEH PROF. MADYA DR. AZMAN CHE MAT
Dalam dialek Terengganu dan Kelantan, istilah "reti base" atau "reti
baso" merujuk kepada kematangan,
pandai berfikir, sopan dan sudah
cerdik. Selalunya pengujar akan
menyebut "nampok nyer anak
mung reti basa doh" (nampaknya
anakmu sudah pandai/cerdik) untuk
memuji atau menghargai. Sekiranya
pengujar merujuk kepada tidak
puas hati atau marah, kata [tidak]
akan disertakan dalam ujaran
seperti "budok ni memang dok reti
base sungguh" (budak ni memang
tidak cerdik/ kurang ajar). Menurut
adat kebiasaan, kanak- kanak yang
berusia sekitar tiga hingga lima tahun sudah boleh bertutur dalam
bahasa ibunda masing-masing.
Dalam tempoh ini, kanak-kanak
yang boleh bertutur, walaupun dengan pelat yang tebal akan dipuji
sebagai pandai.
Melihat istilah ini dari sudut
leksikal, "reti" merujuk kepada
mengerti, memahami, memahami
dan "base" pula ialah bahasa.
"Mengerti bahasa" ialah kolokasi.
Hal ini kerana gabungan dua perkataan yang memberi satu makna
khusus, disebut sebagai kolokasi.
Kolokasi merupakan fenomena bahasa yang terhasil daripada penggunaan bahasa oleh penuturnya.
Dalam bahasa Melayu banyak pola
kolokasi yang boleh kita kenali
seperti makan angin, tumbuk rusuk
dan sebagainya. Bahkan pembentukan kolokasi juga merupakan
salah satu perkembangan bahasa.
Oleh kerana dialek ini merupakan ranting bahasa Melayu,
maka adalah benar untuk menyatakan bahawa struktur dialek ini me-
mang terikat dengan bahasa Melayu baku. Perbezaannya mungkin
pada pemilihan leksikal yang
digunakan sahaja untuk menyatakan sesuatu yang sama. Tidak
mustahil kemungkinan juga latar
belakang
masyarakat
penutur
dialek ini mempunyai budaya ilmiah
yang unik dan tinggi.
Dari sudut penelitian ilmu,
menguasai bahasa merupakan satu
ciri yang hanya ada pada manusia.
Disebabkan itu, manusia juga dikenali dalam ilmu mantiq (ilmu logika)
sebagai “haywan natiq”, iaitu haiwan yang boleh bertutur dan berfikir
menggunakan bahasa. Hal ini
ditegaskan sendiri dalam pandangan alam Islam. Penguasaan sesuatu bahasa merupakan keistimewaan, malah utusan para rasul sejak dahulu adalah mengikut bangsa
dan bahasa sesuatu kaum itu
sendiri.
Malah menguasai bahasa
juga merupakan satu kelebihan.
Perkara ini sebenarnya disebut
dalam Islam, menerusi sabda Nabi
s.a.w bahawa sesiapa yang menguasai bahasa sesuatu bangsa,
nescaya dia akan terselamat daripada tipu daya bangsa itu. Kerana
itu, Islam sendiri mengajar dan
menggalakkan umatnya mempelajari dan menguasai bahasa. Melalui
bahasa, pemikiran dan budaya dapat dibentuk dan diterapkan.
Menguasai bahasa juga
merupakan satu nikmat. Kisah Nabi
Sulaiman memahami bahasa kaum
semut merupakan kisah benar.
Rentetan daripada peristiwa perbualan semut dengan kaumnya,
Nabi Sulaiman terus memanjatkan
doa kepada Allah agar meletakkan
dalam dirinya rasa syukur dan menempatkan dirinya dalam kalangan
orang yang soleh. Begitu juga
memiliki bahasa sendiri seperti bahasa Melayu merupakan satu anugerah dan nikmat yang wajar disyukuri dengan memastikan ia terus
dilestarikan penggunannya dari
generasi ke generasi.
Jika kita melihat realiti hari
ini juga, menjadi individu yang bilingual adalah satu kelebihan apa lagi
multilingual. Untuk menjadi manusia
global, pengetahuan lebih daripada
satu bahasa adalah satu kemestian.
Malah dalam sektor pekerjaan, keutamaan diberikan kepada calon
yang menguasai lebih daripada
satu bahasa. Meskipun begitu,
menurut Professor Abdullah Hassan adalah sesuatu yang mustahil
untuk memandaikan sesebuah
masyarakat dengan bahasa asing
secara keseluruhannya. Sebaliknya
kita percaya bahawa sesuatu
kelompok atau masyarakat itu boleh
ditingkatkan
penguasaan
bahasanya sendiri untuk tujuan pendidikan, pentadbiran dan urusan
kehidupan mereka.
Kembali kepada istilah "reti
bahasa", jelas menunjukkan bahawa penutur yang menggunakan
dialek ini mempunyai satu kebudayaan yang tinggi, kalau pun ia
tidak dijelmakan dalam bentuk pembangunan material. Akal budi yang
tinggi sahaja mampu melahirkan
istilah-istilah yang besar, yang
akhirnya
juga
mencerminkan
pengertian dan mesej yang sarat
dengan pengajaran dan latar ilmu
yang mendalam. ■
Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
3
A NOTE FROM MY FATHER
A note to my daughter who wishes to climb her 1st mountain.
By WAN NAJMIYYAH WAN MD ADNAN & WAN MD ADNAN WAN ISMAIL
Mountain climbing
If ever one intends to scale a mountain, one needs to prepare a simple table that encompasses the hours to be taken or
at least the times of the day.
I
f you told me a year ago that I would be addicted to
mountain climbing, I would have laughed at the impossible (and crazy) idea. I was never a sportswoman, and outdoor activities seemed to be so farfetched in my simple mind. Ask my family or my close
friends and they would attest to the fact that I was probably the laziest person on earth when it comes to sports. I
was the one who would normally spend most of my free
time in front of a laptop, watching the latest movie or a
favourite episode of a Korean drama. The rest of the time
would be spent on eating, crafting and sleeping. Yes, my
life used to be a bit monotonous. It wasn’t until mid of
2012 that I decided that I should step out of my comfort
zone, and try something new. When Hiking & Adventure
Club of UiTM Terengganu asked whether I’d be interested to join them for the Kinabalu Climb in 2013, I said
yes without giving much thought to it. Nevertheless, it
was the “yes” that changed everything.
that. I would be the one stacking the books in the corners
of the bookshelves, to make way for my literature novels,
and the one cleaning up the mess my father made after
his recent trips to certain islands somewhere.
My father used to be a very active hiker. He is a nature
lover and loves everything related to outdoor activities.
Our shelves at home are full of books on mountaineering,
scuba diving, kayaking etc – you name it, he has it. The
storage area at the back of the house is full of bags, mess
tins, foldable chairs, tents, ropes, portable cookers and
maybe hundreds of torch lights. He’s a retiree now, but
he still gives lectures and training to young hikers and
outdoor lovers (which was how the Hiking Club members got to know him). On the contrary, I wasn’t any of
When I was about to climb my first mountain (Mount Irau
in Cameron Highland) in preparation for the Kinabalu
Climb, I was super nervous, and I didn’t even have a clue
on what to expect. A short stint at Kem Gemia for Kursus
Pemantapan Staf Baru surely didn’t help much. My father
was the one who prepared everything – from bags to torch
lights. Knowing how nervous I was, he prepared a 3-page
letter, with details from what to do to what to eat. The letter
brought me to tears that I thought I should share on the next
page...
I struggled to start exercising – a walk or a jog around the
neighbourhood had left me panting for air. It took me two
months to be able to jog around the park without stopping,
and another month to finally climb Bukit Besar on a weekly
basis. I was also on the verge of being overweight (blame it
on glorious Terengganu delicacies) and had to start controlling what I eat. I guess I was lucky to get moral support
from my family and friends. A good friend of mine introduced me to a phone application that could count calories of
my favourite food. A few others introduced me to netball
and badminton. Some even became my gym partners. Even
my non-sporty friends helped me shopped for the prettiest
sports attire.
Day 1: Base camp
This is where you start your journey or bunk in for the evening.
If you need to sleep, you need shelter, foods, drinks and simple bathing facilities. Before going for a good night’s sleep,
double check that only those you need to carry in your backpack need to be in the relevant bag. Stow the rest in your
transport.
A bag has to be comfortable to be carried with straps at your waist line. Perhaps another strap at the chest level.
What to carry:
Your rations throughout the climbs and your breakfast the following day, lunch and perhaps dinner.
Day 2: The Climb
This is where you need a good pair of seasoned shoes to fit your 2 socks per foot. A pair of pants baggy enough to air
your legs and thighs with a good flat belt to tuck in your stomach muscles. A cotton T-shirt and other muhrim fittings
should be in your trains of thought. Need not bring your normal praying clothings. The one on your back is sufficient to
pray with.
Cooking utensils should be of the lightest aluminium mess tins, a gas stove, lightings for the whole perimeter and a reliable torch light.
Foodstuffs to be carried should be calculated on weight system. Do not be ambitious to consume fried mee tiau or a
slurping nasi beriani. Go for instant mee with egg and vegetables.
For dinner I always suggest white rice, vege soup and egg cooked in coconut milk with added chilly and salt to taste.
Get 3 in 1 drink packets. Hot water plus a lavish sunquick mix really give you a superb culinary uplift.
To sleep, a sleeping bag is a must.
It remains a constant reminder if one chooses to sleep near the summit. Then the descent should be on the 3rd day.
Put your backpack in a plastic bag and leave it outside your tent. Same goes to your shoes. Tents are for participants to
sleep in.
Leeches do exist at 5000 feet above sea level but it is okay to have one or two on your legs.
Dried fruits should help to keep you munchy all the way up and down. 500ml of 100 plus is heaven sent.
LEFT: Me, on top of Mount Irau
TOP: With the Hiking & Adventures Club, UiTM Terengganu.
RIGHT: The original letter
4 Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
It became my mantra and I kept it close to me during the It made everything I went through worth it. The first thing I
whole journey to Mount Irau.
did when I reached the top was giving my father a call he’d
been waiting for, with my cracked voice and dramatic tears.
Mount Irau was the complete opposite from what I had
imagined. I let out gasps of disbelief when I saw mountains I would still need a few unsung heroes to pull me up when I
of rocks to climb, or roots to cling to. Most of the time, I have difficulties in climbing and porters to carry my backtried to mentally compose myself but there were also times packs. I would still be the one hiking at the end of the pack
when I thought I should give it all up and turn around. The and reach the summit last. I would still suffer from dust aljourney felt endless and tiring. I was of course, always at the lergy and would get a few scars due to my sensitive skin.
end of the pack. It took me another hour or two to reach our My legs would probably get cramps, and my knees would
camping ground (at 6666 ft) and was among the last to get swollen. Hiking mountains wasn’t an easy feat for me,
reach the summit. The moment I arrived at the summit, it all but I would gladly do it, a thousand times over.
felt like a dream. Being on top of a mountain gave a boost
of confidence I never thought I could experience. It’s like The best part of it all? I can now say that I am truly my fa“Hey, I’ve conquered a mountain, what else can I not do?” ther’s daughter. ■
Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
5
THE DEVELOPMENT OF SINGAPORE WOMEN’S FICTION WRITING IN ENGLISH
BY MAZNI MUSLIM
Introduction
S
ingapore is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern
tip of the Peninsular of Malaysia. According to George
Hamlin Fitcall (1913), “Of all the places in the Orient, the
most cosmopolitan is Singapore, the gateway to the Far East;
the one city which everyone encircling the globe is forced to
visit, at least for a day” (Manley, 2010: 1). In June 2011 statistics, it is shown that the cosmopolitan city-state has a total
population of approximately 5.18 million people (“Statistics
Singapore – Key annual indicators,” 2012). In his 2007 speech,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said these: “We are tiny, multicultural, multi-religious, one little red dot out of so many
little dots, in the middle of Southeast Asia, we lack of land,
airspace, sea space, water....” (Lily Zubaidah, 2010: 6). However, despite lacking in resources, land and even sand and
granite, Singapore’s rapid ascent from Third World to First
World status has been widely applauded.
Historically, Singapore used to belong in the Federation
of Malaysia for two years since 1963 until 1965. Unfortunately, due to political differences, “Singapore had independence thrust upon it” (Wicks, 1998: 2; Vadaketh, 2012: 30).
Wicks (1998) writes that “a sombre Tunku told the Malaysian
Federal Parliament on 9 August 1965, that there could only be
one Prime Minister for the nation, so the best course we can
take is to allow Lee Kuan Yew to be the Prime Minister of an
Independent Singapore” (p. 2). In his memoir Lee Kuan Yew
(2000) narrates these: “Some countries are born independent.
Some achieve independence. Singapore had independence
thrust upon it” (Vadaketh, 2012: 31). The split was basically
“due to the product of a single, fundamental dispute as the
nationalistic Malay leaders in Malaysia wanted to create a proMalay state while Chinese leaders in Singapore wanted to create a race-neutral state” (Vadaketh, 2012: 30). Commenting
on this issue, in his blog, Tun Mahathir Mohamad said that
Malaysians did not vote for the People’s Action Party (PAP) in
the 1964 elections demonstrated their belief in the concept of
sharing espoused by the Alliance. By only winning one seat,
PAP and its Singaporean chauvinist meritocrats had to leave
Malaysia (2013). Since its divorce from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, Singapore has had a massive increase in wealth
and becomes one of the Four Asian Tigers alongside Hong
Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. Philip Jeyaretnam (2004) offers the following opinion regarding Singapore’s progress and
development since Independence:
How has Singapore changed since Independence? We
have progressed from teh tarik to cappuccino, from colonial style to skyscrapers that would not look out of
place in Chicago or Manhattan, from lighters plying a
noisy, dirty trade between godown, chandlers’ shops
and moored vessels to the smooth hydraulics of container ports where shipment is processed electronically.
No more barefoot kids in dusty kampong compounds
whiling away the hours with fighting spiders and fisticuffs. Instead they throng the air-conditioned bowling
alleys and arcades, honing their skills in close-quarter
electronic combat. (pp. 392 – 393)
Meanwhile, Lily Zubaidah (2010) observes that
6 Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
the city-state holds the eight largest foreign exchange
reserves and has the highest foreign reserves in per capita terms, manages the world’s busiest port, is ranked as
one of the freest and most globalised economies, and is
repeatedly rated by Transparency International’s index
on corruption as the least corrupt country in Asia.
Changi International Airport and Singapore Airlines have
also been classed as amongst the best in the world. In
2007, the World Bank and its private sector arm, International Finance Cooperation, rated Singapore as the
best place to do business. (p. 3)
Economy-wise Singapore is better than its Southeast
Asian neighbours. Even the former Prime Minister of Malaysia
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad acknowledges Singapore’s economic growth and importance in his 1970’s seminal work The
Malay Dilemma (Lily Zubaidah, 2010: 121). Besides its strategic location and entrepot function as claimed by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the island nation’s economic growth could
be the result of his workaholic people. According to the International Labour Organization’s Global Wage Report Update
2009, it reveals that Singaporeans work the longest hours in
the world (Ho et al, 2011: 6). At the time of independence in
1965, Singapore’s GDP per capita was US$512 and by 2011,
that had grown to US$35,163 (Vadaketh, 2012: 127). Presently, it has the world’s third highest GDP PPP per capita of
US$59,936, making the island republic as one of the world’s
wealthiest countries (“Singapore economy,” 2012). Economically and developmentally, “Singapore had planted itself firmly
in the rich man’s club” (Vadaketh, 2012: 127). Due to Singapore’s rapid development in economy, there has been tremendous positive change in women’s development in the island nation as well. It is believed that things have changed for
the better for the Singapore women. They have experienced
great improvement in economic status, including growing female labour force participation rate and entry into professional, technical, administrative and managerial occupations.
In terms of literacy and education, female constitutes 94.1% as
of 2011 (“Statistics Singapore – Key annual indicators,” 2012).
The female participation in the Singapore labour force has
risen significantly over the years. As of 2011, female constitutes 51% of Singapore’s workforce (“Women in Singapore
labour force,” 2011). In terms of female participation and representation in the Singapore politics, since the 1990s, the
number of women participating in politics has progressively
increased. Currently, there are 18 elected women parliamentarians out of 84 elected members; 17 from the ruling PAP and
one from the Workers’ Party (“Women in Singapore politics,”
2012). Because of that, it is believed that Singapore women
are equally represented in the fiction too.
Language Policy in Singapore
There are four major language groups in Singapore: English,
Chinese, Malay and Tamil. All these four are considered as
official and dominant languages in the city-state. This is in accordance with the language policy and remarks of then Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew in an event on 23 October 1965 with
the Tanglin PAP (People’s Action Party) Branch when he said
these: “Our state is a free one, and you may use of any one of
the [official] languages” (Seow, 2010: 212). According to
Vadaketh (2012), “In Singapore, no preference were afforded
to any group; there was a clear separation of state from any
religion; and four official languages were established – English,
Malay, Mandarin and Tamil” (p. 31). This language policy is
acknowledged in Catherine Lim’s novel Following the Wrong
God Home (2001) in the following sentence: “Every day she
stood silently on the spot where the boy had died beside four
placards mounted on wooden stands, in the four official languages of Singapore, appealing for witnesses to the accident” (p. 112). In another gathering with the Liquor Retailer’s
Association on 3 October 1965, Lee Kuan Yew uttered these:
Why have we to accept Malay as our national language? For, on principle, that is correct. Why must we
have four languages, and, at the same time, let them
have an equal position? The reason is: this is good for
our country. We can be a model, not only for the whole
of Southeast Asia to see, but also for the Afro-Asians
countries to see. (Seow, 2010: 219)
In acknowledging Malay as one of the four national
languages, Lee Kuan Yew also stresses on the importance of
Chinese and English education because he wishes his people to
be bilingual and ideally multilingual because “if you are bilingual, you have binocular vision; then you see the world in 3D” (Seow, 2010: 213). He, himself, is illiterate in Chinese as his
mother tongue is English, thus, he took the effort to learn Chinese language in 1955 at the age of 32 (“Lee Kuan Yew: Family
background,” 2012). The first Prime Minister of Singapore who
later became the Senior Minister in Goh Chok Tong’s government in 1990 and then appointed as the Minister Mentor in his
son Lee Hsien Loong’s cabinet in 2004 thinks that “a person,
who is a monolinguist, competent only in one language, is a
problem to himself and his society” (Seow, 2010: 212).
As for English language it has a special place in the
republic. Lee Kuan Yew believes in the importance of English
language maybe due to his education background and speaking
English as his native tongue. He used to study in England;
briefly at the London School of Economics and then reading
Law at the Cambridge University (“Lee Kuan Yew: Family background,” 2012). Lee once said during his speech at the Singapore Press Club on November 15, 1972 that if “a person is educated in the English language, he has a window open to another world” (Seow, 2010: 212). Thus, from the very beginning,
English language was picked as the language of the government, law and social discourse (Loh, 1994). English language
becomes “the predominant linguistic medium in a city-state
committed to modernisation, economic growth and social integration” (Wicks, 2003: 1). English acts as Singapore’s ‘working
language,’ as well as an important bridge between its Chinese,
Malay, Indian and Eurasian populations for Singapore’s political
elite (Lim, 1989: 39; Wicks, 2003: 1). This is because English is a
neutral language, acceptable to all ethnic groups since it did
not imply the language and culture dominance of any group
(Lim, 1989: 39). In addition, according to Ho Wah Kam (1998),
English is the medium of instruction in education (schools,
polytechnics and universities), the language of administration,
the courts, commerce and industry (p. 19). It is one of the objectives of the education system of the city-state for all students to master two languages, English and the mother tongue
(Ho, 1998: 19). A mastery of English language is deemed essential for economic success and social mobility in Singapore.
Shirley Lim (1989) argues that although the government sup-
ports a policy of education in the three so-called mother
tongues (Tamil, Mandarin and Malay), these primary schools
and even the powerful Chinese Nanyang University lose enrolment drastically (p. 39). And even though Malay is officially the
national language, it is diminishing in importance after Singapore’s split from Malaysia in 1965. English becomes the language of dominance. ■
REFERENCES
Ho, V. et al. (eds.) (2011). Singapore at random. Singapore:
Editions Didier Millet.
Ho, W. K. (1998). English language teaching in Southeast Asia:
Continuity and change. Asian Englishes: An International
Journal of the Sociolinguistics of English in Asia/Pacific, 1
(1), 5-30.
Jeyaretnam, P. (2004). Tiger city or how Singapore writers can
earn their stripes. In Tigers in paradise: The collected
works of Philip Jeyaretnam. Singapore: Times Editions.
Lee Kuan Yew: Family background. (2012). Retrieved October
16,
2012
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Lee_Kuan_Yew
Lily Zubaidah Rahim. (2010). Singapore in the Malay world:
Building and breaching regional bridges. Oxon: Routledge
Lim, S. G. L. (1989). Finding a native voice – Singapore literature
in English. The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 24 (1)
(March), 30-48. Retrieved November 2, 2011 from
jcl.sagepub.com/content/24/1/114.full.pdf
Lim, S. G. L. (1989). The English-language writer in Singapore. In
M. A. Quayum & P. Wicks (eds.), Singaporean literature in
English: A critical reader. Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia Press.
Lim, S. G. L. (2001). Following the wrong god home. London:
Orion.
Loh, M. C. K. (1994). Style, strategy and structure in the Singaporean short story in English. Unpublished master’s thesis,
National University of Singapore.
Mahathir Mohamad. (2013). Sharing. Retrieved May 15, 2013
from http://mahathir-mohamad.blogspot.com
Manley, I. (2010). Tales of old Singapore: The glorious past of
Asia’s greatest emporium. Hong Kong: Earnshaw Books.
Seow, F. T. (2010). Confucius confounded: The analects of Lee
Kuan Yew. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing.
Singapore economy. (2012). Retrieved May 22, 2012 from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore
Statistics Singapore – Key annual indicators. (2012). Retrieved
May 7, 2012 from http://www.singstat.gov.sg
Vadaketh, S. T. (2012). Floating on a Malayan breeze: Travels in
Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press.
Wicks, P. (1998). Singapore, literature and identity. Asian Cultural Quarterly, 26 (1), 1-8. Retrieved October 13, 2011
from eprints.usq.edu.au/4343
Wicks, P. (2003). Emergent voices in Singaporean fiction in English: Darren Shiau, Alfian Sa’at, Claire Tham, Hwee Hwee
Tan. A paper prepared for the Third International Convention of Asian Scholars, August 2003. Retrieved November
6,
2012
from
eprints.usq.edu.au/2362/1/
Wicks_Tham1.pdf
Women in Singapore labour force. (2011). Retrieved May 8,
2012
from
http://www.wom.gov.sg/FOREIGNMANPOWER/Pages/women.aspx
Women in Singapore politics. (2012). Retrieved May 27, 2012
from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Women_in_Singapore_politics
Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
7
The Roles of University
BAHASA MELAYU
In Promoting Good Ethics
By NURHAFIZAH BINTI ALI
U
niversities are major driving force for sustainable development in knowledge and information. Besides
simultaneously contributing to economic, cultural and
social development of the human capital, the universities must
also addressthe importance of achieving and promoting ethics
to the public and generations worldwide.
Moral principle (or ethics) is an important aspect to
increase cross-culture understanding, thus helping us to create
a positive reception of others’ beliefs, customs and practices in
general. Hans Kung, a German theologian makes an advance
distinction between ethic and ethics. In his opinion - “ethic
denotes the basic moral attitude of the individual or group
while ethics means the philosophical or theological theory of
moral values, norms and attitudes”. In general, ethics attempts
to clarify the super value or the ethical value called goodness,
from which the norms of good and bad behaviour in relation to
totality of life are derived.
In facing a complex reality of the societies nowadays,
the concern should be addressed towards understanding the
value systems of each social group. Therefore, education plays
its fundamental construct here, in which it does not only give
us the facts about other people, but it also helps us to appreciate what these facts means to their lives.1
Education and science (including technology) have important roles to play in broadening our understanding of
the situation we are in, and the common future we would
like to create; as well as of the contributions other people can make and the most appropriate ways forward.
(Ginkel, 2008)
The form and pace of globalization have rapidly
changed the nature of ethics. The value of solidarity2 which
infuses the individual’s social behaviour no longer outweighs
the importance of material success in this competitive world. In
reality, we are fully occupied with never-ending economic
strife, and the struggle for prestige which have accelerated political tension and conflicts worldwide.
The advent of globalization in the 1960s marked the beginning of an effort to narrow down the economic gap
between the nations of prosperous West or North, and
the poorer East or South. Instead of narrowing the economic gap, as a result of this, the world has experienced
many problems – poverty and starvation, trade imbalances, wars and refugees, crimes, diseases, drug problems, AIDS, etc.
(Ismail Ibrahim, 2008)
In other words, although globalization has opened up
considerable opportunities for the improvement of humanity, it
also implies an increased competition and a high level of technological preparedness for which many nations and people are
not prepared. Thus, as a result, its benefits are unevenly scattered hence leading to glaring inequalities among a large number of nations.
In relation to this, the damage towards social integration is inevitable. On the other hand, the weakening of religious belief, parallel to the weakening of traditional ethics has
resulted in the disturbing decrease in moral standards. Hence,
human’s personal conscience is left without a stable frame of
reference. This, as a result, has promoted greed, war, terrorism,
oppression, and other social problems such as drug addiction,
homeless, and violence within a family institution.3
8 Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
The need to uphold universal ethics, in the era of science and technology, is transparent and it is due to these various reasons and justifications. The idea of ‘global ethics’
which focuses on central themes such as justice, tolerance, culture of non-violence, respect for life is significantly helpful in
the struggle to assemble people of different civilizations together. Despite the fact that every civilization is a unique entity, there are certain similarities in those characters of one’s
civilization which belong to the same social order.
We believe that un-integrated and selfishly detached
values are the factors which account for the chaotic state of
modern cultural life. Therefore, in bridging civilizations, the
challenge that these universities should undertake is to reinforce these similarities, regardless of one’s differences.
In order to do this, universities must be able to bind its
members through universal norms and values which will provide them with goals, aspirations and guides for their life. In
addition, the universities must also be able to integrate different
values and characters of civilizations, which in turn results in
strengthening the social relations among the nations, and states
worldwide.
1
‘We need for example, not only to know facts about people,
but also appreciate what these facts mean to their lives. Movies, literature, and personal experience can help us to imagine
the place of another.’ Gensler, HJ on Formal Ethics.
2
The value of solidarity manifests itself in such features, such
as friendship, love, sympathy, co-operation, loyalty, sentiments of justice.
3
Toshihiko Izutsu in his work The Structure of the Ethical
Terms in the Koran gives us an insight into the revolution in
ethical terms in Arabic society with the introduction to the
Islamic value system. Izutsu shows how, in introducing the
religious values of awe, of fear and trembling before God,
into the old Arabic culture, in which the values of personal
courage, pride, honour and exacting vengeance, had been
uppermost, Muhammad introduced a set of key terms denoting the religious attitude. Islam itself means humble submission. Taqwa, religious fear, denotes the basic mood of his
religion. Tawakkul denotes the basic reliance upon the goodness of God.
- Alishjabana, 1966 on the importance of religion in providing
human with ethical frame of reference. ■
Bibliography & References
Gensler, HJ.1996. Formal Ethics. New York: Routledge
Ginkel, H. 2008. Our Common Future: Roles of Universities
in Broadening Understanding to Promote Global Peace
and Sustainable Development. Paper presented at ICHE,
August 2008.
Ismail Ibrahim, 2008. Global Ethics and Our Common Future. Paper presented at ICHE, August 2008.
Palous, R. 1995. The Social and Political Vocation of the
University in Global Age: In Changing the University.
edited by Schuller, T. Buckingham. The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.
S. Takdir Alisjahbana. 1966. Values as Integrating Forces in Personality, Society and Culture. Kuala Lumpur: University of
Malaya Press.
PROSES PENGAUDITAN BAHASA: APA YANG DIAUDIT? MENGAPA?
Oleh DR. GHANI ISMAIL
S
emasa Majlis Pelancaran
Sambutan Bulan Bahasa
Kebangsaan (BBK) 2012
yang lalu, Timbalan Perdana
Menteri telah memberikan kuasa
sepenuhnya kepada pihak Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP)
untuk melaksanakan proses pengauditan penggunaan bahasa
Melayu dalam kalangan jabatanjabatan kerajaan dan badanbadan berkanun. Ekoran itu,
DBP
telah
melaksanakan
amanah tersebut dengan menjalankan proses pengauditan,
terutama sekali di jabatanjabatan kerajaan. Pengumuman
oleh YBhg. Dato’ Dr. Awang Sariyan, Ketua Pengarah DBP barubaru ini bahawa pihaknya telah
selesai menjalankan pengauditan
bahasa di jabatan-jabatan kerajaan dan akan diteruskan pula di
badan-badan berkanun, terutamanya pihak berkuasa tempatan
merupakan satu usaha yang
patut dipuji oleh semua pihak.
Sebagai pengguna bahasa, sewajarnya sekalung tahniah diucapkan kepada pihak DBP yang
bersungguh-sungguh memartabatkan bahasa Melayu sesuai
dengan kedudukannya sebagai
bahasa kebangsaan dan bahasa
rasmi negara.
Bagi sesetengah pihak, tiada apa
yang perlu dirisaukan dalam
proses pengauditan bahasa. Memang benar, proses pengauditan
bahasa ini merupakan penarafan
yang diberikan kepada pihakpihak tertentu dalam penggunaan
bahasa Melayu. Namun, dari segi
yang lain, pengauditan bahasa ini
memberikan gambaran yang
menyeluruh terhadap sikap yang
ditunjukkan oleh pihak-pihak tertentu
dalam
memartabatkan
penggunaan bahasa Melayu,
apatah lagi mematuhi arahan pihak kerajaan yang telah tersiar
dalam Pekeliling Perkhidmatan.
Dalam proses pengauditan bahasa, apa yang perlu diaudit?
Inilah yang menjadi persoalannya
kerana bahasa sesuatu yang
subjektif serta mempunyai bidang
yang sangat luas. Secara umumnya bolehlah dikatakan bahawa
pengauditan bahasa bermakna
pengauditan korpus bahasa itu
sendiri. Menurut ahli-ahli bahasa,
korpus sesuatu bahasa terdiri
daripada komponen-komponen
seperti tatabahasa, ejaan, kosa
kata, sebutan, istilah, aksara dan
ungkapan.
Jika pengauditan
dibuat secara menyeluruh, maka
kesemua komponen ini perlu diaudit,
yakni
dilihat
penggunaannya oleh pengguna bahasa tanpa menyimpang daripada peraturan yang telah
ditetapkan dalam sistem bahasa
berkenaan.
Kita sedia maklum bahawa adalah
mustahil bagi DBP atau sesiapa
sahaja untuk menjalankan proses
pengauditan keseluruhan korpus
bahasa dalam masa yang singkat.
Namun, menjadi tidak mustahil
pula
sekiranya
komponenkomponen tertentu yang dipilih
menjadi fokus atau tema pengauditan mengikut masa tertentu.
Lebih mudah lagi pelaksanaan
pengauditan ini sekiranya sudah
ada garis panduan atau peraturan
yang perlu dipatuhi. Dalam konteks ini,
Arahan Perkhidmatan
berkaitan penggunaan bahasa Melayu oleh jabatan-jabatan kerajaan
yang sedang berkuat kuasa menjadi rujukan dalam pemberian taraf
penggunaan bahasa Melayu jabatan berkenaan. Tahap keakuran
dan ketidakakuran jabatan berkenaan terhadap surat pekeliling/
arahan perkhidmatan perlu diberikan perhatian yang serius oleh
ketua jabatan masing-masing agar
penggunaan bahasa Melayu dapat
diaplikasikan sepenuhnya demi
menjaga kedudukan bahasa Melayu dalam Perlembagaan Negara.
Polemik tentang kekhilafan penggunaan bahasa dalam kalangan
premis perniagaan bukan sesuatu
yang baru. Oleh itu, pengauditan
bahasa terhadap pihak berkuasa
tempatan sewajarnya dilaksanakan
secara menyeluruh demi kelangsungan penggunaan bahasa Melayu yang betul. Hal ini kerana peranan yang dimainkan oleh pihak
berkuasa tempatan amat penting
bagi memastikan tahap penggunaan bahasa Melayu yang betul
dalam kalangan masyarakat. Betapa tidaknya,
pihak berkuasa
tempatanlah yang bertanggungjawab meluluskan papan tanda
perniagaan atau iklan-iklan perniagaan di premis perniagaan dalam
kawasan masing-masing. Jika papan tanda atau iklan perniagaan
tersebut menggunakan bahasa
Melayu yang betul,
maka
masyarakat akan sentiasa membaca dan melihat yang betul. Namun jika sebaliknya berlaku, sesuatu malang akan menimpa bahasa Melayu.
Secara keseluruhannya, pelaksanaan proses pengauditan bahasa memberikan petanda yang
baik terhadap status bahasa Melayu di negara ini. Aspek mana
atau komponen mana yang hendak
diaudit bukanlah menjadi soal. Apa
yang penting, semua pihak sewajarnya memberikan kerjasama
kepada auditor agar proses tersebut dapat dilaksanakan dengan
jayanya. Apa yang diharapkan,
proses pengauditan ini dilaksanakan tanpa tempoh masa tertentu
dan melibatkan semua pihak,
sama ada jabatan kerajaan, pihak
swasta dan juga premis-premis
perniagaan. ■
Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
9
华语角落 | MANDARIN CORNER
‫ | العربية‬AL-ARABIYAH
MY EXPERIENCE PART VII(a): SPEAKING MANDARIN
Macam Sama tapi Berbeza
Oleh NOOR SHAIFURA MUSLIHAT
T
erdapat lebih kurang 28 huruf bahasa Arab yang perlu diketahui apabila mempelajari bahasa ini.
Setiap satu daripada huruf-huruf ini membawa sebutan yang tersendiri di samping memberi makna
yang berbeza apabila dibentuk menjadi suatu kalimah atau perkataan. Begitu juga dengan penggunaan harakatt atau baris dan vokal panjang dan pendek dalam sesuatu perkataan bahasa Arab , walaupun
sebutannya seakan-akan sama, tetapi ia tetap berbeza maksud dan penggunaannya.
i) Huruf yang mempunyai sebutan yang hampir sama
‫َم ْعنَى ال َكلِ َمة‬
‫ال َكلِ َمة‬
‫الح ُروف‬
ُ
Ma’na al-
al-
al-hurūf
kalimatt
Cita-cita
kalimatt
pekerjaan
‫َع َمل‬
‫ع‬
surah
‫ورة‬
َ ‫ُس‬
‫ورة‬
ُ
َ‫ص‬
‫س‬
gambar
Buah tin
lumpur
serigala
butang
pen
percakapan
‫أ ََمل‬
‫أ‬
‫ص‬
‫تِْين‬
‫ِط ْ ن‬
‫ي‬
‫ت‬
ِ
‫بن‬
ُ ْ‫ذئ‬
‫ِزرن‬
‫ذ‬
‫ز‬
‫قَلَمن‬
‫ق‬
‫َكلَم‬
‫ط‬
‫ك‬
ii) Vokal panjang dan pendek
Vokal Panjang
Vokal Pendek
‫ا‬
_‫ََن‬
‫َج َمال‬
‫َج َمل‬
‫ي‬
_‫َِن‬
‫أَلِْيف‬
‫أَلِف‬
kecantikan
١
٢
٣
٤
٥
unta
jinak
alpha
‫و‬
_‫َُن‬
‫عُود‬
‫عُد‬
Kecapi/seruling
١
٢
٣
kembali
Justeru itu, seseorang perlu menyebut sesuatu perkataan atau ungkapan dalam bahasa Arab dengan
sebutan yang jelas dan tepat supaya tidak mempengaruhi maksud perkataan tersebut seterusnya memberikan pengertian yang kurang tepat kepada penerima atau pendengar.
About a week ago, I came across an Internet advise column that told me how to eliminate the paperwork clutter on my
desk. GREAT!
So I printed out the five pages of how-to instructions, and placed them on top of the rest of the stuff on my desk. Now I
can't find them.
Taken from: http://www.teach-nology.com/jokes/clutter.html
H
ow can we speak Mandarin within a short
period of time? This is a question that has
been playing on the learners’ heads whenever they enrolled for this course.
As we all know, language learning is a long process that requires four basic skills, listening skill, speaking skill, reading skill and writing skill. When I speak of
listening, it is in fact listening and understanding what
one hears. More often than not, we are not aware of
how complex the process of learning our first language
as we have acquired all the skills and knowledge as we
grow up. We often overlook the complexity of learning a
third language. It requires patience, diligence, courage,
endurance and perseverance. Before acquiring communication skill, you need to understand what one says,
hence, at times, a setback makes one flinch.
There are many incidents where I met my students on my way to class, they greeted me politely and
surely I was pleased. Many times, to my astonishment,
as I proceed with the conversation further, they were
found to hum and haw, and soon the whole conversation turn haywire. Then I realized, overcoming the
stress incurred on the speaker is essential. As a new
learner, the more you want to express yourself, you often find yourself losing control of words. Many times I
discovered students who are playful and talkative tend
to perform better when not in class. At times, the ways
they maneuver their speech can be very encouraging
and motivating to their friends! I, too, discovered the
amazing fact of speaking your mind freely, messing
around with your vocabulary, is another quick way of
mastering your speaking ability. If we look at young children, when they start to babble on in certain language,
without us realising it, they are already on the right track
to picking up a new language!
I vividly remember one day immediately after my
class, I was clearing my table before moving on to another class. A male student, slowly approaching me,
whispered music to my ears. I was stunned for a moment, what on earth was he
doing, I thought. When I
looked up and I saw his earnest eyes, I knew he was in
quest of an answer. I smiled
at him and waited for his response. “Have you heard of
this song?” he asked timidly
and shyly. I was struggling to
By YEE LEONG YENG
figure out what he was up to. I politely asked him to sing
to me again. Amazingly, he turned himself from a shy
boy to a super singer! I truly enjoyed that moment of
relaxation. But again, I was curious to unearth the truth
on how a new learner made Mandarin possible for him.
I coaxed him to talk and discovered his thirst for knowledge made him able to sing a song in Mandarin without
any guidance from anyone at all. The boy was a new
learner, with a gusto for songs. Wow, he was amazing!
That was back in 1987; I have not seen any students
like him since then.
The English idiom ‘Rome was not built in one
day’ holds true for language learning. Back to the story
of the boy who sang to me, was a living proof to those
who wish to be well versed in any language. He took a
few weeks to learn the song without comprehending the
meaning until he accepted my assistance. He was invited to show his hidden talent on Mandarin Night organized by Mandarin Unit. Due to his keen interest in
language learning, he was speaking quite fluently in
Mandarin after 4 semesters of studying. Don’t get me
wrong, not all learners love to sing, some just enjoy the
music but refuse to sing. Try not to push them too hard
if they refuse, when everyone in the class starts to sing,
I believe, they will sing along too. Anyhow, there are a
handful of uncooperative learners who turn away, but
soon they will slowly join in the group in order not to be
left out. As time goes by, unnoticeably the melody of the
song will assist them to build up their interest in the language. A song, I believe, can act as a catalyst and a
wake-up call to language learning. A song by
Adele ,”Rolling in the Deep” has reportedly woken up a
7-year-old girl, suffering from brain haemorrhage, from
a week long coma.
When a song is introduced in teaching a third
language, it does not necessarily have to be a pop
song. It is preferably a children’s song which is easier to
memorise and to sing along. There are a few popular
children song that I am fond of and they come in handy.
Songs like “Kèrén lái” (A Guest is Here), “Hóng píngguǒ” (The Red Apple), “Xiăo Máo lǘ” (The Little Donkey), “Sānzhī lăohǔ” (The Three Tigers), The Red Indian song in Chinese version and many more that I
have used for my classes and they all work well.
From what I observed, the new learners enjoyed
themselves and when they asked for more songs to be
sung, in fact, the mission to induce language learning
has been achieved. ■
10 Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
Language Bulletin July-Sept 2013
11
Reading Disability: Why does it matter?
By NORASHIKIN BINTI MOHD MOKHTAR
I
have a sister who was identified as having a reading
disability or also called with term ‘Dyslexia’. She could
not read even she was already in standard 4 and her
teachers have placed her in the special class. In class,
teachers gave attention personally to the kids and my sister began to perform better. She faced the same problem
again in secondary school and a teacher there tried to get
her kicked out of school as her results were not on par
with the minimum as the school is a prestige school. However, she was lucky because there were always good people to help her out.
It has always been a problem for students to make
reading as a habit. This is because it starts from home.
Parents should model this behavior first because children
will mimic what they see. Why are parents great influences
to the child? It is because the child grows up in his or her
parents surrounding. Whatever their parents do will be the
first thing the children will follow and it becomes routine.
When we do something regularly, it becomes a habit and
we will not think of it as a burden because it has changed
into pleasure.
Sometimes, there are kids who struggle with reading. This is not their fault or anyone’s fault. This reading
problem can be caught early if we start making reading as
a habit at home. If we find anything wrong with the kids in
terms of how they read and difficulty to understand words,
they see numbers in a reversed or backwards way, diffi-
Anak Merdeka Moden
Nukilan oleh MASLIZA BINTI MAT ZALI
Dikala arus modenisasi menongkah arusnya
Aku, anak merdeka mengayuh dengan lemah longlai ke
destinasi impian
Semuanya tersedia di hadapanku..semuanya
ada..semuanya mudah..
Namun..apa bisa aku tegar mencari haluanku di kala dunia
dicemari pelbagai anasir melalaikan
Ku susuri perjalananku dengan pelbagai rintangan dan liku
-liku kehidupan..
Tanpa diundang..pelbagai gajet canggih telah ku temui
Semuanya hebat dan buatkan aku lemah tersungkur..Smartphone, tablet, android memang mengujakan
Diriku terasa sangat ‘up-to-date’ hingga tanggungjawabku
menjadi ‘out-to date’
Ku asyik melayari pentas Facebook,Twitter, We Chat, Instagram, blogwalking
Berminit-minit, berjam-jam hingga berhari-hari tanpa kenal
culty in pronouncing the words, the rhyming is different,
difficulty in learning numbers, colors and shapes, these
are symptoms that they might have reading disability. It
has been researched and stated in a book of Preventing
Difficulties in Young Children that “ if a student shows consistent problems with several milestones, then you may
want to have him or her evaluated for possible learning or
reading disabilities” (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
It is difficult to diagnose whether the students
have disability towards reading because they are just slow
in terms of understanding and learning. They struggle to
read but no one knows that they actually have disability in
reading. In learning, we need to read to understand and to
get knowledge. So, if the child has problems in reading,
he or she will have problems in learning too. This learning
disability has nothing to do with intelligence but it is a psychological problem.
In short, reading difficulties, reading disability and
learning disability are all related. It is our responsibility as
a family, teachers and government (federal law) to diagnose and try to come up with the best solution on how to
educate and help the kids who have the reading and
learning problems such as The Education Program (IEP)
and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). ■
Article reviewed
article/639/
from:
http://www.readingrockets.org/
erti puas
Lantas aku alpa siapa diriku..apa matlamatku..mana destinasiku..yang kucari hanyalah keseronokan dan keindahan
dunia tanpa sedar aku mempersia-siakan masa, tenaga
dan kemampuanku
Aku yang lemas dalam lautan teknologi, tercungap-cungap
mencari tempat berpaut
Tatkala nasibku jatuh di timpa tangga..tersepak batu tersungkur.
Di saat itu barulah penyesalan menjelma, mengundang
seribu keinsafan
Bait-bait kata nasihat ayah bonda tergiang-giang di telinga
Baru ku sedar aku hanyut dalam lautan modenisasi hingga
terlepas nilai-nilai yang kupegang selama ini..
Baru ku sedar masa itu emas, masa yang pergi tiada
ganti..
Kini aku bangkit..aku bukan lagi mangsa teknologi, bukannya mangsa modenisasi
Kini aku tetap anak merdeka tapi anak merdeka moden
yang punya jatidiri yang utuh
Itulah aku….ANAK MERDEKA MODEN.