posted a new entry at Gelanggang. cheers.

no thanx. i got a lot on my mind.

you should know that i bleed blue.

although the vein never speaks, doesn't mean it can't.

that middle finger solves crisis better than guns.

end. and i don't give a damn.

look up. and close your eyes. don't ask why.

few more days to go. three more days to be precise. time flies. i do not know the speed though. it depends. people say that if you enjoy staying at a place, then time flies very fast. but not if you hate staying there. sigh. perhaps there is some truth to that and i could agree with. i'll be leaving this land of pharoahs in a few days time. back to my malaysia truly asia homeland. most importantly as a citizen who views his country in a different way from now on. at least in the near future. because life in ejeep have thought me lotsa things. things that i wouldnt and couldnt find just by living in malaysia. ya. that i have to admit. how fortunate. but again, people change. that you have to agree with me.

life is like a game of chess; even the pawns can checkmate you. - Junkenstein

generosity does not come with sincerity. but it comes with judgmentality. -Junkenstein

politico scienceo. sounds fancy. but fancy that comes with a price. and certainly not a cheap one. sigh. i find it a tough subject to me. not that it is unachievable. just tough. because to me, i find it unfair for one to study a field that one is good at. it could lead to boredom. but there is one exception - that one is truthfully interested in that field, then its ok. therefore until now, i have a problem of deciding on this issue. damn. linguistico. or politico scienceo. i don't know.

at this point, i find myself in an alien land (altho it is still filled with humans and not aliens). but somehow, it made me realised that living in a new place where the people does not speak your language is not an easy thing to accomplished. damn. it is about being alone. not so much of being independent. i can stand on my own feet. god's willing. but i cannot yet bear the thought that i am alone on this land. at my own place, things were so different. i have everyone to talk with. especially my fam and my hunn. but not now. therefore i can say that i am struggling with my daily rutin over here. it is hard. but it's worth trying. one will not learn if one does not try. simple rule. therefore, learn. and try.

ps2 - lucky i brought her smell with me. cheers.

Republished from Gelanggang Puitis

Bila orang kata cinta itu buta

when they say cinta itu buta
i’m confused;
is it blind because it cannot see
or because it failed to see
- tak tau yang mana satu
or perhaps
love is blind
because you love someone
not through the eyes
but through your heart
..mungkin macam ni.

apa pun, i’m still confused.

cold war is the worst of all wars. and star wars is the best of all wars. hahah. *face palm*

reggae. hayatae. kembalae. (Malique feat DJ Fuzz - cerita kedai kopi)

there are times when i just feel like doing nothing. i'm sure it doesn't sound weird rite? perhaps everybody must have been in my shoe as well. or perhaps i was in everybody else's shoe. senget. heh. i'm trying to unwind as mush as i can during my short break before i leave for my internship. it's gonna be a tough one i pressume. damn. tapi tak pe. not for long. perhaps my life after that would be much tougherr. i look forwards (haha) to my postgrad studies soon after i return home. permanent head damage. ya. that's right. although to some extent, my future career would be much on the academia sector, i still think that i can go further than that. i don't know why or how yet. but i will, soon. cheers.

i used to think myself as Ernest Hemingway or Oscar Wilde or Rudyard Kipling. lol. then i realised that these people were to fancy for my age. lol again. but it's ok. so i thought, these days people are writing in a totally different way. you can actually tell between a normal Anglo American poet (or writer) and one from today's generation. ya. i guess it's not our fault (assuming that i come from today's generation..hahah). nevertheless, below are some of my writings which i think were influenced or shaped by the wave of globalisation and nationalisation. again, i won't blame myself for this. thank you.

Bila aku teringat the first time i met you

i was looking behind me
when suddenly i saw you
i could hear nothing else
only the sound of your voice
and i told myself,
inikah dia yang aku cari
setelah lama aku menanti;
i remembered it was a red top
and grey sleek leggings
dan kasut ballerina
rasa macam baru semalam

and now,
after seasons changed
i know i was right that time
sebab that pretty girl i saw
is sitting next to me
dengan senyum lebarnya
until today and
hopefully forever

Aku, Single dan Loser

when asked about love
i would say its crap
then people ask, tapi kenapa?
then i would say, because i pun crap
then they say;
kalau macam tu,
it’s not fair if you say
love is crap;
because you’re the problem,
not love

so they asked me again
what is love;
cuba teka what i answered
- love is still crap. thank you

Bila Nafasku tak cukup panjang (kerana oksigen dah kurang di bumi)

aku lihat jam; dan dia cemuh aku
oh. terima kasih jam
perhaps when all this is over
aku bulih kembali ke pangkal jalan
(yang aku sendiri tak tau mana pangkalnya)
sigh
or perhaps i could go for a
permanent head damage - chantek. sangat.
pakcik, mana opium saya ni? dah lama saya order

Tipikal

i remembered that date;
we had a great lunch
and some jalan-jalan at the mall
when suddenly
ada mamat (sualan) text message you
and you know i hate it when that happens
you’re holding my hand on one side
and tangan sebelah lagi reply text message mamat (sualan)
dan moments later - kita gaduh. tipikal
you ask for apology
then me being stubborn (thank you)
after 1 hour - kita lepak setar_buks
having caramel frappe like nothing happen
oh - tipikal



picture credits: deviantart.com

in life, i believe that everything is possible provided we have the thought of it being possible. - Junkenstein

when i see my other half laughing hilariously for a minimum of 3 minutes (without any sound in between!), then only will i say that i can have a good nite sleep.

i realize how lucky am i to actually have the privilege to breathe until this very moment.
God bless us all.

my current playlist: the fugees - killin me softly. uncle kracker - smile. fort minor - remember the name. zee avi - no christmas for me. mcr - i don't love you. zee avi - honeybee. eminem - beautiful. disagree - the tiniest moment.








picture credits: Google Image

Awesome Picture Credits: deviantart.com

its eleven minutes past one a.m.

somehow, Disagree: To Prevent the Earth from Moving with You entirely filled up my compact-reddish-hemo room. i like it this way. don't ask why.

i can picture the face on my dad's look if he's looking at me now from up there. heh. cheers dad. u're the BESTEST. tq.

oh. two more weeks of boredom to go. then the suffering is over. no, wait. i still have the project paper. damn.

and i miss the smell of your hair.







*curtains close*

this published entry was submitted as a partial requirement for the blogger's course.

Constructing Identity: To be heard as a Malaysian

When discussing the notion of constructing one’s identity, it would be much more practical to see the issue through examples drawn from the current situation surrounding us which would eventually helped us to evaluate in a manner where we have tangible examples and evidence in the discussed notion. Therefore, for the purpose of this paper, our group have chosen to see the construction of national identity in the proposal of the current Prime Minster of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, of 1Malaysia. It is still a debatable notion in a sense that the concept is still at its infant stage therefore it welcomes constructive discussions to make it more ‘matured’, for that matter.

When the concept of 1Malaysia was first announced by the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, it brought up many perceptions not forgetting assumptions along; be it from the citizens of Malaysia itself or from others reciting in Malaysia. Some say it was just a slogan, while some described it as a new termed coined from other previous ones, and others say that 1Malaysia was also seen as a concept which brings about more complications in the racial unity spaghetti of this country rather than unravelling them. Somehow, 1Malaysia may have opened the formal path for the construction of a shared Malaysian identity, but on another tangent, it was also seen as a removal of the defensive mechanism from the majority race in this country to make them equal amongst others, so to speak. 1Malaysia does not only cater for closer integration amongst all races in this country, but also for equality in terms of the economic jargon as well. It strives to reduce the income disparities amongst all, which through this lense, it is also expected to make all citizens of Malaysia unite and come together.

The foundation of 1Malaysia is indeed a concept to achieve equality amongst and not between all races in this country, but for some obvious yet subtle reason , not each and every citizen or rather every race in Malaysia would agree to this; especially for those who had been enjoying the 'benefit' (which is less controversial than 'privilege') of being the majority race in this country for more than fifty years now.

The identity that were ought to be constructed by this concept is founded on the theme that citizens come first, where at the same time, the nation's achievements are also the top priority. This is how equality should be perceived or at least 'seen as' - the fact that the citizens' interest; not only closer integration per se, but also in terms of economic integration, to work hand in hand for the prosperous future of this country. For this matter, integration has always been present in this country, also dubbed 'unity in diversity' by the Prime Minister himself, and it is important that this integration should be preserved (not as preservatives though) but to be prolonged and continued as generations passed on. This is also one of the reasons why 1Malaysia came into 'force'. Therefore it is insignificant to question why it was only brought up today and not years before, or rather it is 'replica idea', but it is more practical to question, how it could help foster (in a much better way than years before) the values it proposed to, at least for integration and equality to come closer amongst its citizens.

When constructing identities, whether at the individual level or the national or regional level, certainly one has to consider which would work better; a federalist or a functionalist approach, or both simultaneously, to address the practicality of 1Malaysia. These two approaches were considered simply because it would be less complicated to define between a top-down and a bottom-up methodology for the construction of an identity i.e. 1Malaysia. While we have witnessed so far that it has been rather a top-down approach where the elites of the government have taken charge of the concept of 1Malaysia rather than the citizens itself, it is never wrong but actually has always been the case. A transformation or rather reformation in the integration architecture of Malaysia will not only involve the amendments of several government policies, but also making at par the benefits shared amongst all races in this country is not a task which can be initiated by the people but more of the government's role, in this case. But certainly, this process of constructing identity could be further developed through a bottom-up approach where the active participation of the citizens becomes the major component for progress.

Eventually, we would realise that, to be heard as a Malaysian, is actually not an easy task at all. The paragraphs above have described the pre-process of constructing a national identity, and the complications that follows as well. It is again crucial to remember that - to be heard as a Malaysian, or rather to amplify the identity constructed within us to others (who do not belong to the same 'group', so to say), is certainly not a two-minutes task but it works the other way round; consists of the continuous effort to sustain the constructed identity perceived by others, providing them the opportunity to have a clear notion of the identity that has been constructed.

Some graphs and figures for your eyes:
Najib at 100 days: Strong Job Approval Rating on Economic Measures

for some reason(s), humans have the tendency to put themselves in a group. it is a way of telling others that i, me, you, they and we; belong somewhere. and the beauty of this is that, these groups or categories (pronounced as ke\te/go-ris\) were given birth by the humans themselves. they set up a group, then other humans join in and when you know it - they call themselves 'a' group. a klassikal example is an ethnic. just because you were born with a certain colour of skin, that does not truthfully mean that you belong to a certain ethnic group. i'm white, therefore i'm this, i'm not so white, there i'm this one, i'm less white and more to black, this means i am this ethnic. is that so? is that how the world works? or is that how HUMANS made the world worked? fruitful thinking friends. fruitful thinking.

now, comes the real piece of story - to be heard as a....lets make it.... 'Junkens'. How is it possible to tell others that you're a 'Junken'? to be seen as a Junken would less complicate things as you could focus on tangible assets around you to prove them that you are indeed one of the Junkens; you have your physical attributes i.e colour of your skin, or perhaps your attitude as in your daily norms, the way you 'sepak' (i mean speak) each other, also relating to the language used by all the Junkens. the simplest thing you could do is to show someone your money. perhaps the Junken money. but again, this suggestion is not so strong because others as in foreginers could have exchange their currency for yours therefore having with them your Junken money as well. just an example. OK. now that was an easy task right? to let others know (who are and who are not Junkens) whether you're one of them or not.

what about the earlier notion posted? - to be heard as a Junken? one suggestion is that, you and all other Junkens hold the same ideology, if you will. perhaps 1Junken for example. with this ideology in mind, we all strive for something in common, maybe to achieve harmony in a multi-coloured society or rather multi-religious society. but here is where the absolute problem lies; that none of us can have one similiar ideology amongst all. different ideologies would appear and they mushroomed against time. this is to tell us that it is not as simple as we think it would be - to get everyone to agree on the same ideology i.e notion, or theme, or even anything. hence, the next best thing to do, is to sort of these new ideologies before we could consider which is the best one to proposed to others or rather for us ourselves to hold upon.

secondly, after having all the options lined-up, perhaps we should have some check and balance system where we could evaluate these set of ideologies. ok. to cut short, lets just say that we picked one. one which appears to be the highest level a democracy could be (if and only if democracy was the chosen one). so, what's next?

it was already bright when Azreel woke up that day. and Naddy (or nadiyah in her i.d card) wasn't by his side anymore. i must have overslept. ah. who cares. he went to the bathroom, did the usual hygenic rutin (ya right) in the semi-mornings, then later went downstairs. he had to passed through the living room first, where he sees his housemate, Shukor on top of Naddy, doing her. he ignored them and went on to the kitchen. naddy, no coffee today? shouted him from the kitchen. just a moment baby, replied nadd. he sat there and waited... ya. the usual overslept sundays after a drunk-night-out and blast of lust-making session. he lit his cigarette for fresh air...

with all the recent picto-posts in my blog, some would say that i'm the "not-so-much-with-the-words" species of bloggers. well, it could be true to some extent. but the truth is, its been an effing-sunken-level days for me, until at one moment i said to myself: i'mjustsofuc*ingdepressed (thanx Marshall for your beautiful song). nevertheless, life has to go on (and i hate this very cliche.damn) - therefore i'm trying my best to stay alive on this peaceful yet not so violent planet clap.clap.

seriously superb.

picture credits: Google.com

picture credits: Google
tribute to the great MJ. love.

my point is that: please try to see things in a different manner or angle, so to speak. its worth trying. by all means. please. just take these guys as an example - how hard is it to reanimate?? will power fellas. will power.

(This article was written as a response to the Bologna Process and the realization of the European Higher Education Area[EHEA] by 2010 based on the EUROSTAT Statistical Books 2009 Edition retrieved from eurostudent.eu)

Introduction

When it first began in 1998, the Bologna process (also known as the Bologna-Prague-Berlin Process) started up with the participation of the Ministers of 4 countries namely France, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy) and as it is today, the number of signatories to the Bologna Agreement has already reached 46. It can be described as a succesful revolution for the Europe higher education sector and one that can be proven to be as succesful as the European Economic Integration. The deepening of the Bologna process has gone a long way through a number of ministerial meetings, declarations and policy documents. Nevertheless, it is not only a top-down process but from time to time it has also result to a bottom-up cooperation.

While Europe has been a model of Regional and Economic Integration for other regions in the world, the EHEA (through the Bologna process) should also be taken into consideration as one of the education reforms in these other regions. After more than 10 years from the Bologna Declaration which aims to create a European Higher Education reform through the understanding and common interest of the signatory countries (not merely imposed upon them) has certainly reached a promising stage concerning the "social-dimension" of the Bologna Process:

We share the societal aspiration that the student body entering, participating in and completing higher education at all levels should reflect the diversity of our populations. We reaffirm the importance of students being able to complete their studies without obstacles related to their social and economic background. (London Communiqué 2007, 2.18)


The Bologna Process: Objectives

As mentioned earlier, the Bologna Process is an effort to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, where students are able to benefit from the wide range of higher education courses - through the transparent and smoother recognition process of the respective degrees. It is done with the vision of creating a more competitive Higher Education Area beginning at the intraregional level. There are three key priorities in the Bologna process which consists of i) the introduction of the three cycle system (bachelor/master/doctorate), ii) quality assurance of the higher education system, and iii) recognition of qualifications and periods of study. These main objectives was later made detail through several reform tools to addressed the implementation of the Bologna reforms. The main features of the tools for the Bologna reform was through the transparent system based on the three cycle element in the plan since Berlin (2003). There was also the introduction of a credit transfer and accumulation system (the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS) which was induced to remove barriers pertaining to students' mobility and clearer recognition of qualifications. A uniform outline containing the context, nature, status and level of the studies that were undertaken by the respective graduate was also widely used known as the Diploma Supplement.

The Realization

Previously, it was mentioned that the Bologna process was not only a top-down approach beginning at the ministerial level but it has developed to be a bottom-up process as well. It explains that the nature of the whole reform for the EHEA is decentralized as it has involved in 46 sovereign countries (EUROSTAT Statistical Books 2009 Edition) with no country as the leader. Each and every signatories drafts their own guidelines based on the Bologna Declaration themselves. This portrays the main element of the EHEA where Europe is in the reform phase of its higher education system - to become involved in forming a more diverse and adaptable system. The more visible changes in the higher education system of every country varies such as new degree structures, medium of language and many more.

Traditionally, matters related to higher education has been addressed solely at the national level and by respective ministries to handle this issue with limited discussion and cooperation among other countries in the region. However, the Bologna process through the ratified Bologna Declaration has made visible and can be pronounced as a more 'legitimate' pledge of all the member countries to reform the structures of their higher education system in a convergent way. It is made for these countries to engage in coordinating their policies. Again, the Bologna process seeks to modify and made better this position by addressing the (Higher Education) issue more internationally rather than just at the national level. The removal of barriers for students' mobility, smoother and more transparent recognition of degree certificates was chosen as amongst the main objective due to the fact that these are the factors that can create a common interest among all the member countries.

However, in the pursuit of academic mobility within the EHEA, this calls for a comprehensive measures not only in the reform tools but in the wide range of communicative skills by everyone involved in the process especially students and the academic staff. These significant issues is more of an 'embedded' one as it was not mentioned relatively in the Bologna Declaration. They include:

i) A different medium of instruction (language) in classes and academic materials.
ii) International communication skills

In other words, one has to be aware of the linguistic and communicative demands of this new system. Another issue that needs to be alerted amongst the spill-over effect of this reform is the cultural assimilation process that students or academic staff undergo. However, this particular issues should ot be seen on the negative aspect as we all now that culture is a dynamic process and it is never wrong to learn new ones from time to time (refer Culture Contact as A Dynamic Process). In fact, this was among the widely recognized strength of the Bologna Process where higher learning institutions that are involved in the program is known as melting pot for the exchange students for example Vi's-a-vis the Erasmus Program. The Erasmus Program is an effort by the European Union (EU) to facilitate the Bologna Process through funds and scholarships which is also part of the EU's flagship programme for worldwide academic cooperation, Erasmus Mundus.

As mentioned by Reichert and Tauch (2003),

“Preparing graduates for the European labour market is regarded as one of the three most prominent driving forces of the Bologna Process. Together with the enhancement of academic quality, this constitutes the most frequently mentioned force behind the Bologna Process, according to the representatives of ministries, rectors’ conferences and higher education institutions. Student associations also regard this as the most important driving force, together with the competitiveness of the national HE systems.”

To reflect on this, the Bologna process also aimed at a higher vision not only for European Higher Education Area but also, it works in line with the European Economic Integration to make Europe more advanced in both its economy and labour market. It is about the creation of a knowledge-based economy (k-economy), parallel with the recently-ratified Reform Treaty (also known as the Lisbon Agenda). There has been numerous effort done by the European Union and other institutions in Europe to strenghten the region and their relationship with other regions.

Freedom of Movement

"Mobility ...is one of the core elements of the Bologna Process, creating opportunities for personal growth, developing international cooperation between individuals and institutions, enhancing the quality of higher education and research, and giving substance to the European dimension" - London Communique, p. 2

The Bologna process which one of its main objective is to smoothen the mobility of students and academic staff in the region has significantly developed to create a single mrke for the higher education sector in Europe. This allies together with the European single market area to improve and reduce the gap between the rich and less richer nations in the region. The refor has witnessed measures taken by institutions of higher educatio to restructure their degree courses (bachelor/masters/doctorate) to become more competitive and meet the international standard. This in return will help to facilitate the recognition process of the students degrees thus accomplishing one of the main objctives of the Bologna reform.

Apart than this, it can be observed that more and more universities have widen their door to foreign staff (Jan Fiegel, 2009). Despite this benefitial new development as a result of the reform, the academic staff was alerted with other new rising matters. Although there are more oppurtunities for working abroad (intraregion) some academic staff discovered complications due to practicality issues. Matters such as pensions, access to health and social services and re-entry issues have been one of the main complications. Besides that, some countries do not recognise lecturers as being of equal status to those who are born-citizens of the country.

Demand for English

Despite all these rising issues, the Bologna process have seen and increased in its participation rather significantly. More and more countries have join the ally for this higher education reform and some other regions has taken measures to make the Bologna process as reference point to restructure their higher education market and them more competitive to the global market. When matters are becoming global, certainly there are other issues that would also arise - for example, the medium of instruction to serve the purpose of the Bologna reform.

There are increasing signs that more institutions of higher education are producing more English-based module for their degree courses. (Emma Gatti, 2008) Paul Bennet, the senior national offical at the University and College Union (UCU) also mentioned that institutions of higher education in Nordic countries and the Netherlands have rapidly increased their offer of master's degrees - in mainly disciplines that are taught in English while other EU member states are considering to undertake the same measure. As the Bologna reform is to also stimulate academic exchange, this whole range of new courses in English have created the demand for more English-speaking academicians/academic staff. This is one of the spill-over effects of the reform where the higher education industry is shifting towards the use of English. Although in the Bologna Declaration (1999) did not mention anywhere regarding the compulsory use of English language for its reform process, there seemed to be a common understanding among the participating countries.

The growing use of English and the preference for this particular language over the home-language of a country has always been an on-going issue in the EU. An excerpt on history - since the 2004 enlargement process, the EU has witnessed an increased from 11 to 20 working languages. Some might call this a "linguistic diversity" but this phenomena, so to speak, had later changed from time to time. A single language has (over time) superceeded the use of other working languages in the EU; which is English. Having said this, one of the growing compications in relation with the Bologna reform is about the same notion on language. For exaple in the Erasmus program by the Eurpean Union, students that are on exchange period tend to use English over their home-language when meeting up with students from other countires (retrived from the movie "Potluck"; based on the true experience of an Erasmus student).

Robert Phillipson working together with his wife, Tove Skutnabb-Kangas introduced the theory of “Linguistic Imperialism” in his book Linguistic Imperialism (1992). He discussed in detail the tendency of local languages and literatures being ‘neglected’ with the presence of the English language in that particular land. Recently, he proposed the notion of English being either a lingua franca or lingua frankensteinia ; how local languages are marginalized with the development and dominance of the English languages - resulting in changes made by the government with regards to their language policies (Phillipson, 2003).

(to be resumed...)

ahh..the year is twenty ten. sounds good to me. hopefully more good things to come. whatever the so-called "new year" resolution is, always hang on to this rule - be persistent. and you shall find what you seek.