Last week Kudus called and asked if I'd like to attend an UMNO Divisional gathering, to start at 8.30 p.m. I said I'll try to make it. I told the wife about it, saying I'm not keen to go, but she said Kudus had taken the trouble, I should go, so I went. I wish I didn't. This one was still the old UMNO.
UMNO should go for substance and deal frankly with the current issues that bother the people. Not still talk about internal bickering. Not still go on about "courses" which are nothing but indoctrination, and not even subtly done. A one-day plenary session with a Supreme Council memeber would be helpful to both the participants and the HQ people. At my age I'm not going to some Bina Semangat camp with people half my age and rough it up, taking with my own toiletries and prayer mat. Who says these camps are a must to-day ? Are those instructed to conduct them the best people to instill whatever is deemed missing from ordinary UMNO members ?
When UMNO leaders speak on the podium, they can't just let go as if they are with a group of close friends. They got away with it before 2008. There is a certain decorum in public speaking that UMNO must practice to turn away from the damaging diatribe-slinging speeches of the past. This is one behaviour that is disliked by the public now.
A divisional head, when he speaks in public, can no longer do so as if his audience is compelled to listen to his words when they contain the unacceptible, and self-serving words and emotional rantings are not acceptible. He has to show some degree of professionalism and some standard of leadership. The dislike for UMNO now is because of its leaders who behave like this. This has to change.
An Exco member who passed by my table at the golf club many months ago and stopped to speak to me, because we know each other, passed a cruel remark about a Minister, his former boss, without caring to know if at the table everyone would stomach his utterance. It so happened that one of us was a serving Petronas officer. When the Exco member left, perhaps feeling proud that he had so bravely "hentam" the Minister, behind his back, the Petronas fellow said " this is what I hate about UMNO."
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Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
I should've known it - you're on your own.
I had that fall from my motorcycle on 13th. July, and received a Police traffics summons on 20th. October for failing to report an accident, under Section 52 (2)Road Transport Act 1987 (Failure to / not reporting an accident within 24 hours). The faint copy of the Police summons AH 037258 was hardly readable as to the Court appearance regarding which court and what date. So, having a daughter and a daughter-in-law who are lawyers, I thought this was "kacang". I couldn't have been more mistaken. I should've known it - you're on your own !
I asked Dek Na to check the matter with her sister-in-law and her collegues, and happily waited for the good news. And waited. And waited.
On 3rd. November I finally realized my predicament and telephoned the Chief Inspector who signed the notice. I explained that I was hospitalized after being brought unconscious from the site of the accident by a passing Police Officer. At no time after regaining consciousness did the Officer tell me, either at the Hospital when he waited at the ward, and later in my house when he came to visit several days later, that I have to make a Police report, I added. The good Inspector told me that's the law, but the offence could be compounded, which meant I didn't have to go to Court after all. So that very morning I went to the Police Station in Seremban 2 and paid RM 300, the maximum fine. The notice on the payment window said that after October 2009, all fines must be paid in full. If I had acted immediately by myself after receiving that notice, I would have saved RM 150.
Just now Dek Na called to ask about more details on the original summons, thinking the matter was still pending. What was my response ?
"I've settled it ! I thought having a daughter who is a lawyer would be helpful !"
"I'm not familiar with the case."
"Enough !"
"OK".
The call ended.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I asked Dek Na to check the matter with her sister-in-law and her collegues, and happily waited for the good news. And waited. And waited.
On 3rd. November I finally realized my predicament and telephoned the Chief Inspector who signed the notice. I explained that I was hospitalized after being brought unconscious from the site of the accident by a passing Police Officer. At no time after regaining consciousness did the Officer tell me, either at the Hospital when he waited at the ward, and later in my house when he came to visit several days later, that I have to make a Police report, I added. The good Inspector told me that's the law, but the offence could be compounded, which meant I didn't have to go to Court after all. So that very morning I went to the Police Station in Seremban 2 and paid RM 300, the maximum fine. The notice on the payment window said that after October 2009, all fines must be paid in full. If I had acted immediately by myself after receiving that notice, I would have saved RM 150.
Just now Dek Na called to ask about more details on the original summons, thinking the matter was still pending. What was my response ?
"I've settled it ! I thought having a daughter who is a lawyer would be helpful !"
"I'm not familiar with the case."
"Enough !"
"OK".
The call ended.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, November 9, 2009
Malaysian driving.
First and formost, I'm also one of these Malaysian drivers and am as guilty as the rest about what I'm about to say here.
The first time that I took the wheels of a car was way back in 1964, before I sat for my HSC. Makcik Rahmah's husband was at that time a taxi driver who plied mainly the Kuala Pilah-Seremban route. Those were the days when all sorts of cars were used as taxis, but passengers always looked out for the Mercedes. Makcik's husband's taxis changed models - there was the Austin Cambridge, and the Vauxhall, but the one that I drove was one of those Mercedes 200 diesels. This was on the way back from Jerantut after sending some personal belongings of the late Taufik Ismail, our neighbour Mail Godang's son, who was on transfer to Jerantut as OCPD. To this day I don't know if the fare was ever paid, because none was paid at Jerantut because Taufik was nowhere around, and the goods were left at the Police Station. Poat Calit could find out from Makcik Rose, perhaps. Poat is my youngest brother who eventually married Makcik Rose's daughter. Makcik Rose is the widow of Taufik. Small world.
In Brunei in 1966 while doing a Geography practical we were assigned some powerful Austin cars, never seen in Malaysia. The undergraduates who had driver's licences enjoyed themselves. I was tempted to offer to drive, but didn't because I didn't have my licence. In fact when I bought my first brand new car in 1968, an Austin Mini 850, for $5,300 (eat your heart out, you guys), I still didn't have a valid licence. I only went for my driving test at Temiang, Seremban, later in the month. After the oral test, during the test drive, when the Chinese tester heard from me that I was the ADO of Alor Gajah, Melaka, he seemed to decide that I deserve a driving licence there and then, because he asked me to turn back to the JPJ compound and later got the department to issue a brand new licence to match my new car. Let me assure you that in the 41 years since I became a legally qualified driver, I have not had any accident except in 1996 when I momentarily lost control of my car in front of the Ulu Bendul school and drifted to the right of the road and hit a road-sign post that dented my right front wheel. I didn't hit anyone else because, fortunately there were no cars behind me nor any coming from the opposite direction, which was fortunate, because that was, and is, a semi-blind downhill corner on the Kuala Pilah to Seremban direction.
A police friend told me recently that the police is thinking of putting up a screen when there is an accident on the Plus highway. This is so that the nosy Malaysian drivers from the opposite side don't slow down and gawk, and cause unnecessary traffic jams and more accidents. In fact Zainal Pak Itam and I saw this afternoon, driving back from Nilai, that they are already using the screen. We saw the jam in front and suspected, as was true enough, an accident. And there was the jam on the opposite side. Then we saw the orange screen. But obviously it failed miserably in hiding the view of the accident, and in fact there was another car that had fallen down to the left road embankment on the opposite highway, obviously an accident because the idiot was distracted to watch the other accident. Firstly, the screen was not large enough. Secondly, the highway is downslope to the site of the accident, and no amount of cover-up would do its job at all.
The second problem is the way we drive in this country. We may be university graduates, but the moment we are behind the steering wheels we're all uneducated maniacs. We drive at our own speed - too fast when we should slow down , too slow when we should speed up , we do everything we shouldn't do - talk on the phone, or worse still, text on the phone, look for pimples on the rear-view mirror, but not at the road, don't give way, but force our way , tailgate and cut in, don't signal, or give the wrong signal, turn without warning, stop without warning, park dangerously and block traffic, and everything else we shouldn't do while driving. Worse, be especially wary of the mousedeer (kancil-lah) driven by a dear, a young lady who thinks she is answerable to no one.
The other problem is there are far to many vehicles on the roads. There is in place a good system of roads, serving the towns and throughout the states, perhaps less so in Sabah and Sarawak. The standard of the Federal roads as late as the 70's was far below what exists now, not taking into account what is being built. I remember getting extra mileage claim for East Coast roads, and spending every single cent,and more, to put the car back in shape, because of the really poor roads back then. Yet, this road improvement has not kept up to the multifold increase in vehicular volume. The car per capita is worth calculating. But what is needed is probably a drastic improvement of public transport so that people are encouraged to use it much more than private transportation. This is done in other bigger, richer countries. That maybe a long way off. The trains are overloaded and always late. The buses are always late and never stick to their routes. The taxis are driven by daylight robbers and hooligans. We have no choice but try to and kill each other in our own cars.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first time that I took the wheels of a car was way back in 1964, before I sat for my HSC. Makcik Rahmah's husband was at that time a taxi driver who plied mainly the Kuala Pilah-Seremban route. Those were the days when all sorts of cars were used as taxis, but passengers always looked out for the Mercedes. Makcik's husband's taxis changed models - there was the Austin Cambridge, and the Vauxhall, but the one that I drove was one of those Mercedes 200 diesels. This was on the way back from Jerantut after sending some personal belongings of the late Taufik Ismail, our neighbour Mail Godang's son, who was on transfer to Jerantut as OCPD. To this day I don't know if the fare was ever paid, because none was paid at Jerantut because Taufik was nowhere around, and the goods were left at the Police Station. Poat Calit could find out from Makcik Rose, perhaps. Poat is my youngest brother who eventually married Makcik Rose's daughter. Makcik Rose is the widow of Taufik. Small world.
In Brunei in 1966 while doing a Geography practical we were assigned some powerful Austin cars, never seen in Malaysia. The undergraduates who had driver's licences enjoyed themselves. I was tempted to offer to drive, but didn't because I didn't have my licence. In fact when I bought my first brand new car in 1968, an Austin Mini 850, for $5,300 (eat your heart out, you guys), I still didn't have a valid licence. I only went for my driving test at Temiang, Seremban, later in the month. After the oral test, during the test drive, when the Chinese tester heard from me that I was the ADO of Alor Gajah, Melaka, he seemed to decide that I deserve a driving licence there and then, because he asked me to turn back to the JPJ compound and later got the department to issue a brand new licence to match my new car. Let me assure you that in the 41 years since I became a legally qualified driver, I have not had any accident except in 1996 when I momentarily lost control of my car in front of the Ulu Bendul school and drifted to the right of the road and hit a road-sign post that dented my right front wheel. I didn't hit anyone else because, fortunately there were no cars behind me nor any coming from the opposite direction, which was fortunate, because that was, and is, a semi-blind downhill corner on the Kuala Pilah to Seremban direction.
A police friend told me recently that the police is thinking of putting up a screen when there is an accident on the Plus highway. This is so that the nosy Malaysian drivers from the opposite side don't slow down and gawk, and cause unnecessary traffic jams and more accidents. In fact Zainal Pak Itam and I saw this afternoon, driving back from Nilai, that they are already using the screen. We saw the jam in front and suspected, as was true enough, an accident. And there was the jam on the opposite side. Then we saw the orange screen. But obviously it failed miserably in hiding the view of the accident, and in fact there was another car that had fallen down to the left road embankment on the opposite highway, obviously an accident because the idiot was distracted to watch the other accident. Firstly, the screen was not large enough. Secondly, the highway is downslope to the site of the accident, and no amount of cover-up would do its job at all.
The second problem is the way we drive in this country. We may be university graduates, but the moment we are behind the steering wheels we're all uneducated maniacs. We drive at our own speed - too fast when we should slow down , too slow when we should speed up , we do everything we shouldn't do - talk on the phone, or worse still, text on the phone, look for pimples on the rear-view mirror, but not at the road, don't give way, but force our way , tailgate and cut in, don't signal, or give the wrong signal, turn without warning, stop without warning, park dangerously and block traffic, and everything else we shouldn't do while driving. Worse, be especially wary of the mousedeer (kancil-lah) driven by a dear, a young lady who thinks she is answerable to no one.
The other problem is there are far to many vehicles on the roads. There is in place a good system of roads, serving the towns and throughout the states, perhaps less so in Sabah and Sarawak. The standard of the Federal roads as late as the 70's was far below what exists now, not taking into account what is being built. I remember getting extra mileage claim for East Coast roads, and spending every single cent,and more, to put the car back in shape, because of the really poor roads back then. Yet, this road improvement has not kept up to the multifold increase in vehicular volume. The car per capita is worth calculating. But what is needed is probably a drastic improvement of public transport so that people are encouraged to use it much more than private transportation. This is done in other bigger, richer countries. That maybe a long way off. The trains are overloaded and always late. The buses are always late and never stick to their routes. The taxis are driven by daylight robbers and hooligans. We have no choice but try to and kill each other in our own cars.
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Friday, November 6, 2009
Public perceptions & reality.
You have to read ( add "see") the news and NOT draw your conclusions. They are reported by, well, reporters, who have many constraints - deadline, space & time limitations, editorial slant, favourite & personal spin - plus the knowledge of the subject matter by both the writer and the reader(add "audience").
One local news that broke on many front pages a few days ago was the ex-Mufti of Perlis' case. Many of my Chinese acquaintances have asked if this is related to deviant teaching. Many Muslim Malays are already taking sides.
Internationally, the two main areas of newsmaking have been the continuing debates on the western designs for Afghanistan and Palestine, and that shoot-out involving the apparently Muslim US trooper.
The underlining commonality for both geographical locations of the news is that they involve something Islamic. The immediate reaction is predictable - Islam is troublesome. Unfortunately, that, like all generalizations, is erroneous.
In the Malaysian case, the Federal Constitution says that, inter alia, the Head of the Islamic Religion, which is also the Federal Religion but not the official religion, is the State Ruler. In the case of a State without a Ruler, including the Federal Territory, it's the Agong. All Syari'ah Laws come under the auspices of the State Ruler. The teaching and dissimination of Islamic knowledge come under the State's control, and since there are 14 states and territories, there must be 14 different authorizations. The case is apparently purely technical, but hey, it's the Constitutional Law.
In the international cases, the arguements are old and long, and the labelling against Islam comes only out of ignorance.
The illegality of the occupation of Palestine is there to see. The hypocricy and ambivalence of the pro-Israel western nations can best be described by the latest statement of the US State Secretary, that the Jewish settlements on the West Bank be part of the new (again) negotiations, after having gone on record saying they must stop.
When the USSR occupied Afghanistan the US supplied the arms to the Afghans to fight them and eventually drive them out. The Afghans could do no wrong. Now the US and its allies are making a mess of Afghanistan, the Afghans can do no right.
The US trooper may well be Muslim, but Islam is not guilty in this case, just as Christianity is never guilty in Northern Ireland and in all the murders committed by people of Christian faith.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Automative Policy.
I'm asking some friends to support me in sending a protest letter to the PM regarding the proposed ban on cars 16 years and older.
Firstly, what sin has been committed by the cars ?
As it is, Malaysia ia already the second most expensive country to own and run cars in the world. (Singapore takes the cup.) The price is already ridiculously high. The insurance keeps getting higher every year. The road tax is high - some Asian neighbours, not to mention developed western countries, don't even charge road tax. The price of imported cars is beyond everybody but the truly rich. The highway tolls are high and, unstopped, will break all ceilings. And still you want to take away my innocent, old car ?
So you want to promote the national car industry. Then why allow easy entry of foreign cars ? Even USA has import limitations.
What about the kampong folks with their old but running jalopies. They have no choice but to create new debts to buy new cars now ? How do they move around , with the public transport being what it was since pre-Merdeka days ?
Old is sinful now ? How many old cars driven by old men are involved in car accidents in the last one year ? How many are young men in new cars ? Shouldn't you ban them instead ?
Has the Minister concerned made a study and asked opinions before opening his mouth ?
Is this matter a top priority for the government ? This is the wish of the people ?
If the BN government proceeds with the implementation of this automative policy, you can put down my vote for the opposition for the next general elections.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Firstly, what sin has been committed by the cars ?
As it is, Malaysia ia already the second most expensive country to own and run cars in the world. (Singapore takes the cup.) The price is already ridiculously high. The insurance keeps getting higher every year. The road tax is high - some Asian neighbours, not to mention developed western countries, don't even charge road tax. The price of imported cars is beyond everybody but the truly rich. The highway tolls are high and, unstopped, will break all ceilings. And still you want to take away my innocent, old car ?
So you want to promote the national car industry. Then why allow easy entry of foreign cars ? Even USA has import limitations.
What about the kampong folks with their old but running jalopies. They have no choice but to create new debts to buy new cars now ? How do they move around , with the public transport being what it was since pre-Merdeka days ?
Old is sinful now ? How many old cars driven by old men are involved in car accidents in the last one year ? How many are young men in new cars ? Shouldn't you ban them instead ?
Has the Minister concerned made a study and asked opinions before opening his mouth ?
Is this matter a top priority for the government ? This is the wish of the people ?
If the BN government proceeds with the implementation of this automative policy, you can put down my vote for the opposition for the next general elections.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More on KL War Crimes Tribunal.
I took the 6.15 commuter train from Seremban to make it to PWTC on Saturday and made it by 8. Thinking there was plenty of time before the 9 o'clock commencement of the second and last day of the Tribunal at Dewan Tun Hussein, I stopped at McDonalds for tea & pancakes (they renamed them "hotcakes"). I needn't have, because when I came to the Dewan they had put up a large spread of food & drinks the length of the immediate corridor. So I helped myself for the whole duration of the day's proceedings, through morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.
While having a break in mid-morning, two of the participants joined me at the stand-up table where I'd parked my tea and cakes, and asked what organization I come from. They were surprisingly surprised that I represented myself.
"You are interested in all this ?" came the surprising question.
By way of answering I replied "which organization do you represent ?". The two mentioned different organizations.
"You wouldn't come on your own ?" I quizzed. The answer was "no".
"What do you do, to be interested ?" came the counter-question.
"We should all be interested, because wars are crimes against humanity."
"Do you think all these deliberations will have any effect ?"
"Immediately, no. Malaysia is too small, too weak and has short reach to have real impact. But we should all support this, because we have to start somewhere. The school children who came for the Conference - that was a good start, so that they are exposed, and they can spread the word in future."
The 7 - strong Tribunal delivered the Opinion sought by the KL War Crimes Commission on "whether a Head of State and/or Government can unilaterally exempt itself from complying with any provisions of any International Treaties/Conventions (such as the Geneva Conventions) duly ratified by the State without first abrogating the relevant treaty/convention" - a unanimous "No". There was no surprise in that. But the presentations were, to me, properly conducted, and the arguements both from the petitioners and the presiding Justices were professionally made, the Bench even stopping the petitioners many times to insist that they stayed on path to the pertinent submission, and not stray to unrelated monologues of generalized reporting.
This, to me, was acting out the conscience of the people gathered in KL for the 4-day proceedings, to say to the world as loudly as possible that at least here in KL people are making civil protestation to the manner in which many countries in our modern and civilised world are conducting their political agenda. This is a call to account, even in the face of the obviously out-manuvered UN. This is to say clearly that USA cannot be allowed to get away with, literally, murder. Its citizens must be made to realize this so that they can call their government to account. The 4-day Conference, small and weak it may be in comparison to what the UN and USA can conduct, has produced sufficient evidence to support this call for accounting.
A few important allegations must be put on record here.
(1) Democracy is only possible at the national level. Even the loudest champion of democracy, USA, does not practice it fully within its borders, or at all outside them. Pushing for democracy is surely quite different from killing or going to war or lying for democracy. That happened with Iraq. That's happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and these are only the latest examples.
(2) The UN is undemocratic. The Security Council is anything but democratic.
(3) The Iraq war was an illegal invasion of a sovereign nation, waged on false pretences, and outrageously rationalised by otherwise intelligent, sane and civilised personalities in the US, UK, Australia and many in the western governments.
(4) The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Towers of New York should be fully re- investigated. A number of facts must be examined:
(i) How can the two large airlcrafts be so precise in executing the sharp turns into the towers if the people accused had minimal training ?
(ii) How can the two modern towers completely and symmiterically collapse in less than two hours merely from the pennetration of the two unarmed aircrafts ?
(iii) Why was Bush, on live tv, totally unsurprised when the "news" were broken to him ?
(iv) Why was the report made on the disaster so quickly "completed" ?
(v) Is there truth in the early rumours that Israel personnel working in the buildings were told earlier not to come to work on the day of the attack ?
(vi) Is there truth in the statement made that a US news reporter televised live said that a third building had also collapsed, when in fact the building, shown live on the background, only started to collapse after the statement was made ?
There is a lot to be answered on the obvious fraud and hypocracy exhibited by the the US. That it boasts as the leader of the world and the champion of justice looks in dire need of proof right now. KL has so far been a lone and quite helpless voice. The world needs to listen anyway.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While having a break in mid-morning, two of the participants joined me at the stand-up table where I'd parked my tea and cakes, and asked what organization I come from. They were surprisingly surprised that I represented myself.
"You are interested in all this ?" came the surprising question.
By way of answering I replied "which organization do you represent ?". The two mentioned different organizations.
"You wouldn't come on your own ?" I quizzed. The answer was "no".
"What do you do, to be interested ?" came the counter-question.
"We should all be interested, because wars are crimes against humanity."
"Do you think all these deliberations will have any effect ?"
"Immediately, no. Malaysia is too small, too weak and has short reach to have real impact. But we should all support this, because we have to start somewhere. The school children who came for the Conference - that was a good start, so that they are exposed, and they can spread the word in future."
The 7 - strong Tribunal delivered the Opinion sought by the KL War Crimes Commission on "whether a Head of State and/or Government can unilaterally exempt itself from complying with any provisions of any International Treaties/Conventions (such as the Geneva Conventions) duly ratified by the State without first abrogating the relevant treaty/convention" - a unanimous "No". There was no surprise in that. But the presentations were, to me, properly conducted, and the arguements both from the petitioners and the presiding Justices were professionally made, the Bench even stopping the petitioners many times to insist that they stayed on path to the pertinent submission, and not stray to unrelated monologues of generalized reporting.
This, to me, was acting out the conscience of the people gathered in KL for the 4-day proceedings, to say to the world as loudly as possible that at least here in KL people are making civil protestation to the manner in which many countries in our modern and civilised world are conducting their political agenda. This is a call to account, even in the face of the obviously out-manuvered UN. This is to say clearly that USA cannot be allowed to get away with, literally, murder. Its citizens must be made to realize this so that they can call their government to account. The 4-day Conference, small and weak it may be in comparison to what the UN and USA can conduct, has produced sufficient evidence to support this call for accounting.
A few important allegations must be put on record here.
(1) Democracy is only possible at the national level. Even the loudest champion of democracy, USA, does not practice it fully within its borders, or at all outside them. Pushing for democracy is surely quite different from killing or going to war or lying for democracy. That happened with Iraq. That's happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and these are only the latest examples.
(2) The UN is undemocratic. The Security Council is anything but democratic.
(3) The Iraq war was an illegal invasion of a sovereign nation, waged on false pretences, and outrageously rationalised by otherwise intelligent, sane and civilised personalities in the US, UK, Australia and many in the western governments.
(4) The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Towers of New York should be fully re- investigated. A number of facts must be examined:
(i) How can the two large airlcrafts be so precise in executing the sharp turns into the towers if the people accused had minimal training ?
(ii) How can the two modern towers completely and symmiterically collapse in less than two hours merely from the pennetration of the two unarmed aircrafts ?
(iii) Why was Bush, on live tv, totally unsurprised when the "news" were broken to him ?
(iv) Why was the report made on the disaster so quickly "completed" ?
(v) Is there truth in the early rumours that Israel personnel working in the buildings were told earlier not to come to work on the day of the attack ?
(vi) Is there truth in the statement made that a US news reporter televised live said that a third building had also collapsed, when in fact the building, shown live on the background, only started to collapse after the statement was made ?
There is a lot to be answered on the obvious fraud and hypocracy exhibited by the the US. That it boasts as the leader of the world and the champion of justice looks in dire need of proof right now. KL has so far been a lone and quite helpless voice. The world needs to listen anyway.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 30, 2009
CONVOCATION TREND.
Yesterday I posted a letter to the VC of UiTM, taking exception to what happened Tuesday.
I attended a covocation at that university on Tuesday. Check that word "convoke". It's to call out, summon.
What I saw was incredible.
Graduands silently walking across the stage to silently take their certificates of graduation from the silent VC. No names are called, except if you receive a VCA. Only the names quickly scroll silently across on three giant screens above the stage. They don't always match the graduands underneath. My daughter comes under someone else's name, that's how I know.
I counted maybe 150 people, parents mostly, sitting with me INSIDE the hall. That's because we came early (at least 90 minutes before the start of the "convocation") and stood in a line outside the hall entrance. The majority of the proud parents were seated OUTSIDE in tents and other rooms, but supplied also with giant tv screens. I doubt if "pride" came to their minds.
What's happening here ?
Why bother with the whole ceremony, with the parading of the fancifully attired academia behind the the three Malay warriors in leather shoes carrying symbolic keris and two wooden spears, with the accompaniment of the ancient "nobat", the graduands overdressed in their bulky gowns and motar-boards with tassles tossing, and later everyone solemnly standing to the Negaraku ?
Next time just post the damn degree.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I attended a covocation at that university on Tuesday. Check that word "convoke". It's to call out, summon.
What I saw was incredible.
Graduands silently walking across the stage to silently take their certificates of graduation from the silent VC. No names are called, except if you receive a VCA. Only the names quickly scroll silently across on three giant screens above the stage. They don't always match the graduands underneath. My daughter comes under someone else's name, that's how I know.
I counted maybe 150 people, parents mostly, sitting with me INSIDE the hall. That's because we came early (at least 90 minutes before the start of the "convocation") and stood in a line outside the hall entrance. The majority of the proud parents were seated OUTSIDE in tents and other rooms, but supplied also with giant tv screens. I doubt if "pride" came to their minds.
What's happening here ?
Why bother with the whole ceremony, with the parading of the fancifully attired academia behind the the three Malay warriors in leather shoes carrying symbolic keris and two wooden spears, with the accompaniment of the ancient "nobat", the graduands overdressed in their bulky gowns and motar-boards with tassles tossing, and later everyone solemnly standing to the Negaraku ?
Next time just post the damn degree.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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