OutSyed The Box |
- Education Issues 1 - LINUS Children
- The Indonesian Confrontation By Zam
- Majlis Peluncuran Kapal Tenggelam PKR
- Clarifying JPJ's Statistics
| Education Issues 1 - LINUS Children Posted: 27 Aug 2012 02:44 AM PDT Here is a news report from today :
The last line is the best - there are no more students in this LINUS program in SK Pekan Ranau. Meaning all Year 3 students have the basic 3Rs, can count change, tell the time and know some weights and measures. But the same is not the case in the rest of the country. In every school there are usually the half dozen kids (even up to Year 6) who simply cannot read and write. I know this because my good wife has been a volunteer teacher handling these LINUS kids (pronounced Lee-nus) for six years now. There are other issues involved. These kids are a minority in each school but if you add them all up they are quite a few. I think a more concerted effort can be undertaken to overcome their problems. Here are some of the reasons why they cannot read and write. These are real cases : i. they could be dyslexic (dyslexia). These kids are actually super intelligent but they have learning problems, they cannot focus and cant read or write. People call them stupid but what they need is specialised training methods (action based). They are not stupid. ii. they could be hyper active children (due to some medical anomaly). They cannot sit still and just cannot focus on anything for more than a second. Medication can help 'calm down' these children so that they can sit down and focus their attention. iii. the kids could be non-Malays with absolutely no knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia. Hence everyday in school is just Greek to them. They cannot learn anything because of zero or very poor Malay language skills in a Government school. My wife has met a few of these kids. Government schools set aside classrooms for these LINUS kids. But what is lacking are teachers specially trained to understand them and special equipment. Often teachers just shout at these kids, call them stupid and make them cry. School becomes a worse nightmare for the kids. The solution is not easy. Since there are just a few of them in EVERY school, I feel that at least in the urban areas these LINUS kids are quickly identified (latest by Year 2) and then gathered in special locations (a school, part of a school or on a university campus) where our very limited resources (specially trained teachers, special equipment and different teaching methods) can be concentrated on them. Like all children the LINUS kids respond wonderfully to special attention. Once they can catch up on the reading, writing, counting and other basic skills (say by Year 4), they can be sent back to the normal schools. It is good if the parents can chip in to help (as suggested by the news report) but lets be realistic - not every parent has the skills, time or capacity to handle a special child. That is why we have the Government. There is no need for billion Ringgit contracts or Budgets. Just a reallocation and some reorganisation of existing resources should achieve a lot more.   |
| The Indonesian Confrontation By Zam Posted: 26 Aug 2012 11:47 PM PDT If you are below 50 years of age, please read these links very carefully. It is a quick eyewitness account by the eminent journalist Zam (Tan Sri Zainuddin Mydin) of the four year war which Indonesia launched against Malaysia from 1962 to 1966. Peninsula Malaysia saw the landing of some Indonesian saboteurs and infiltrators in Johor and elsewhere who were all captured. Nothing much really happened on the Peninsula. It was a different story in Sarawak (and Sabah) where for four years there was real shooting along the border between our boys and the Indonesians. The British SAS Regiment earned their "colours" in Sarawak during this time as well. What is more interesting (and quite terrifying 50 years ago) was that these Indonesian infiltrators were welcomed by Fifth Columnists or 'musuh dalam selimut' who existed in Malaysia at that time. Zam says they included PAS supporters. It was a complicated time. 50 years ago there was a significant number of people who saw our future tied to Indonesia. When I was in lower secondary school in the early 1970s some of my friends spoke about this. Obviously they were repeating what they heard in their homes. In primary school during the 1960s another friend had lost his brother (who was in the Army) in the Indonesian Confrontation. He always had a frown on his face. Here is a picture of President Sukarno of Indonesia. He was a great womaniser. Here he is with Marilyn Monroe. The story also goes that the Russians once filmed Sukarno in bed with a white woman. They wanted to use the film to blackmail Sukarno. To their chagrin, Sukarno offered to play the film in movie theatres throughout Indonesia - to show how great Bapak really was.  Although he launched a war against Malaysia, there is no doubt that Sukarno was a great man. We cannot deny Sukarno his greatness in winning freedom for a 100 million Indonesians and giving them a sense of pride and nationhood that persists until today. That itself is a great achievement. The red and white UMNO flag is modelled after the 'Sang Merah Putih' or Bendera Negara Indonesia which itself reflects the ancient flags of Majapahit, Kediri, Aceh, the Batak lands and other empires in the Nusantara. Here is the link which I strongly recommend for your quick reading. SAAT PALING MENDEBARKAN DALAM KONFRANTASI   |
| Majlis Peluncuran Kapal Tenggelam PKR Posted: 26 Aug 2012 08:11 PM PDT I say friends, this is something quite funny. When Anwar Ibrahim was Minister of Finance, no one could understand his Budget speeches. One guy said, 'dia sendiri tak faham apa dia cakap'. Here is a poster of a 'majlis peluncuran buku' (book launching) by none other than 'have you seen my Omega watch' himself. Has anyone of you been to a 'majlis peluncuran buku' before? Usually it is called 'majlis pelancaran buku'. Oh well.  Before we go further Anwar Ibrahim's friends are now beginning to plan for his retirement from life. Anwar to quit politics after PRU13 if he fails to get Putrajaya If you read Rocky's Blog here, Anwar Ibrahim's friends are suggesting that he take up a career teaching in the Universities after the next general elections. Folks these are his ardent supporters who are suggesting this. Bukan saya cakap. Jangan marah saya ok. Read Rocky's Blog and follow the links from there. Teach in the university? What can he teach? The economic advisor to the State of Selangor may not know the back end of a cheque (known as a cheque butt) from his own butt. That may have serious fiduciary consequences. Transferring money from one account to another is not exactly economic expertise. Can he teach Malay studies? With a 40 year old bachelor's degree? Anyway this is not the first time I am hearing these "ura-ura" or whispers about Anwar Ibrahim's retirement after the next general elections. Many people inside PKR and Pakatan are beginning to see that between DAP, PAS and PKR it is most likely that the DAP will win the most number of seats in the next elections. PAS will be a close second but there may be surprises - they may get beaten up as well. The consensus is that the PKR will be wiped out or reduced substantially. Their end is nigh. Remember the time when Wan Azizah was the sole MP from PKR? Maybe something like that will happen again. Noorul Izzah and a couple more people may be the PKR MPs in Parliament. The PKR is losing serious Malay support. You can see this clearly in 'Malay only' PKR functions like the 'Majlis Berbuka Puasa & Peluncuran Buku' mentioned above. This is taken from the rocking and rolling Blog "The Unspinners". The 'Peluncuran Buku' was held in no less than the Menteri Besar's official residence in Shah Alam on 14th August. Look at the pictures. There are about 40 people in attendance. In Shah Alam? For 'Buka Puasa' with free food provided? And the posters had been put up all over town with the words 'Semua Di Jemput Hadir'. What happened to the thousands upon thousands of roaring supporters? Where have they gone? They should have just invited the Chinese too for the Buka Puasa. The crowd would have easily doubled up - yup maybe another 40 people.  In the other Blogs, PKR cybertroopers say that when these pictures were taken not all the guests had arrived yet. Pi dah mabuk. In the picture above you can see Anwar Ibrahim has already started his boring, repetitive, unimaginative, no substance speeches again. Takkan Tuan Rumah sudah mula berucap bila para jemputan belum sampai lagi? Here is a close up of the same picture. There are about 30 people from this angle. You can see for yourselves. This is the level of support for Anwar Ibrahim now in Selangor Daulah Al Baytul Urut  In the next picture it is the Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's turn to speak. There is a projector that has been turned on, meaning the program for the evening is well under way. Still no people, no supporters. Where are all the supporters 'lined up wall to wall' ? In this picture, minus Khalid, Anwar and Kadir Sheikh Fadzir there are only about 30 people as well.  To the PKR supporters there is something even more significant in these pictures. It is the people who are NOT in the picture. The VIPs who are missing. Where are all your hulubalang and panglima PKR? Why are they not in the picture? Some of them even live in Shah Alam. I can name fingers and point names too tapi takpe lah. Anwar Ibrahim buat "Peluncuran Buku" tapi panglima dan hulubalang PKR sendiri tak datang. Pemimpin PAS pun tak nampak - seorang pun takde. Wakil PAS pun tak nampak - semua kepala hitam saja. Ketayap putih dua tiga orang saja - kaki surau local dari Shah Alam. Majlis Peluncuran Kapal Tenggelam PKR. Siapa bodoh mai.   |
| Posted: 26 Aug 2012 05:16 PM PDT During the recent Ops Selamat the JPJ tested bus drivers for drugs. The JPJ said 46 bus drivers were detected for drug abuse. However there has been some clarification on the matter from other folks like the Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK) as well as SPAD. I received this in the mail : "JPJ recently issued a statement saying that 46 bus drivers were urine tested positive for drug use. Later upon further enquiries with JPJ Enforcement Division, it was discovered that the numbers were inaccurate. Even Agensi Anti-Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK) confirmed it was only 4 bus drivers involved throughout the period of Ops Selamat. Contrary to the initial statement from JPJ, the actual number of bus drivers that tested positive during the first stage drug screening was four (4) people. One (1) was actually on medication. This grossly disproportionate information has set the media into a frenzy induced by a dry spell for news during this festive season. Even with press statements issued by SPAD, the incorrect statistics were quoted. The JPJ statement has created another negative view of public transportation which will require a lot of effort to clean up. It created an unnecessary sense of uneasiness amongst the public that our Expresses Buses are unsafe. Hope you can assist to publish this news in your Blog." And here is a short Press Statement from SPAD over the matter : SPAD Memandang Serius Pemandu Bas Dikesan Positif Mengambil Dadah Ketika Ops SelamatWednesday, 22 August 2012 KUALA LUMPUR (22 Ogos 2012): Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) mengambil serius dakwaan terdapatnya pemandu bas yang dikesan positif mengambil dadah ketika Ops Selamat pada musim perayaan Aidilfitri baru-baru ini. Maklumat terkini yang diperolehi SPAD menyatakan bahawa daripada jumlah keseluruhan pemandu bas yang diarahkan menjalani ujian air kencing, hanya empat (4) individu didapati positif sebagai telah mengambil dadah. Satu (1) daripadanya adalah kerana mengambil ubat preskripsi doktor. SPAD akan mengadakan temusiasat bersama pemandu dan syarikat bas yang terbabit dalam jangkamasa terdekat. Sekiranya didapati bersalah tindakan sewajarnya akan diambil. Malah berdasarkan kepada jumlah dan berat kesalahan dilakukan pemandu, permit syarikat pengendali bas terlibat boleh digantung. SPAD juga boleh mengesyorkan kepada JPJ bagi menggantung lesen memandu komersial (PSV) dan lesen memandu individu terbabit. Syarikat pengendali bas diingatkan bahawa mereka perlu memastikan pemandu bas mereka mempunyai rekod keselamatan yang bersih dan bebas daripada mempunyai rekod jenayah. Ini merupakan antara syarat Lesen Pengendali dimana perlakuan salah pemandu adalah menjadi tanggungan syarikat pengendali. Keselamatan penumpang dan orang awam adalah kepentingan paling utama dan menjadi tanggungjawab bersama semua pihak terlibat. SPAD akan sentiasa berkerjasama dengan agensi-agensi penguatkuasaan lain seperti JPJ dan PDRM bagi tujuan menjamin keselamatan penumpang, orang awam dan juga pemandu."  Here are my comments : It is good that everyone is up and about over road safety during this holiday season. It is a good thing to check on drug abuse amongst express bus drivers. It is just that 46 is more than 11 times bigger than four. It would definitely alarm the public if a random check shows that 46 bus drivers were on drugs when the actual numbers were much smaller. The AADK (Dadah) and SPAD have confirmed that only four drivers tested positive for drugs. Folks, yesterday at Sunday breakfast an astute person said we also have to compare all these numbers with the total number of people, cars and buses that are involved in the Balik Kampong rush for Hari Raya. The number is in the millions and hundreds of thousands. Millions of people travel and reach their homes safely. Hundreds of thousands of cars and buses also ply the routes home. Let us all be careful and good drivers, let us all reach our destinations safely. Thank you to all the working people whose job it is to monitor and watch over our roads and drivers. Let us do good. If the statistics are disputed, quick clarifications will settle the matter in a jiffy.   |
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