Pathetically funny Scribbles.

The most dreaded days are here. Finally.

The days you wish them to come quicker, and wish them to move further away at the same time.

They are here. The battlefields are prepared right before you, no matter how prepared you are.

Sometimes, exams season can be funny as well, but pathetically. I find out about this when I happen to chat with some friends back in Malaysia.

#Conversation 1

A: Hey, have you done with your exams?
Me: Err..nope. I will only begin a few days later.
A: I thought the last time we chat you said you will be having exams soon?
Me: Yea. haha (Laughed bitterly because the last time was the beginning of April.>.<)

#Conversation 2

B: How's your exam going?
Me: For god sake, I haven't even started man! But I will be re-taking SPM this summer.
B: Oh. That means it's easy for you la.
Me: Nope. I am not talking bout the level of the exam. It's the number of the subjects.

#Conversation 3

C: How come your course has so many subjects wan?
Me: Yea, I am wondering too. Haiz. Must be I did something wrong in my past life. Kena punished.
C: HAHAAHAHA.


Good luck peeps! May the force and luck be with us. :D

Gambling with exam

As how we view it, the doomsday is looming around.

The nightmare, which you don't want to meet up with, is right at the corner. T_T

Some choose not to study, because they want to try their lucks; while some try their best to study, because they are putting their future as their chips.

A piece of paper, with some scribbles on it, determines your lives and partially your dreams. As much as you want to run away from it, that's the amount of courage you are required to put in.

As one of my favourite quotes say, "The best lesson that we can learn from children fictions is, dragon exists and we can kill it, as long as we don't give up.

So, let's remember the pain, keep the perseverance, and put your best bet forward.

Luck will only come when you believe in yourself.

All the best, fellow readers! :)

甲与乙的对话-爱国

编按(Editor Note):由于最近爱国课题被炒得沸沸扬扬，甲与乙，也打算谈一谈。

在嘛嘛档里。

甲说：“到底那些人是不是爱国的？读了书，做了工，就要移民。摒弃抚养自己的泥土，成何体统？”

乙说：“那，如果他们都在海外闯出名声，让别人认识我们的国家，不好吗？”

甲补上：“那些寂寂无名的呢？把钱丢给别的国家用而已。“

乙又说：”别忘记，有句话说，父母在，不远游。能够在自己的国家，受到平等的待遇，又有谁愿意离乡背井？“

甲：”那，就从自己改变啊。“

乙：”哪里可能要求所有人都成为国家斗士？就算有人想做，反对他的人，也仍然在大多数。支持他的呢？不是安静，就是躲在背后议论纷纷。有人会放弃家庭，放弃工作，与他并肩作战？一个不小心，进了监牢。除了同情，还有谁会去帮助他呢？“

甲说：”那总要有人，站出来啊！“

乙：”对。那些肯站出来的，我们打从心底佩服，给予我们能够给的支持。但是，不做国家斗士的，我们也不能责怪。“

甲：”为什么不能责怪？国家是大家的。“

乙：”很简单，你，做不做？讲道理是没用的。“

甲低下头，一句话也说不出。

偶然，看到一位清道夫，在街上扫地。

甲说：”这些人，浪费资源。有些还是学院生。给外国人看到，不懂有多羞耻。“

后来，有位游客经过，拍拍那清道夫的肩膀：”You have done a great job. You keep the street clean."

乙补上：“贡献，再小，也是贡献；道理再大，也只是道理。”

甲安静。点头。

甲与乙的对话-帮助

乙问：“喂，看那在街道上拿着罐子的老先生。多么可怜。要给他少许的钱吗？”

甲说：“算了吧。或许有集团在背后操纵。别浪费你的同情心。”

乙说：“我觉得多少也给他吧。我又没什么损失。至少，我的同情心，也值得那几分钱。就算被利用了，也是那几分钱。”

甲没有说什么。然后，雨水，倾盆而下。

一个小孩，走上前去，手上拿着雨伞，为那老先生遮风挡雨，一句话也没说，还满脸笑容。

甲与乙安静，点头。

甲与乙的对话-笼子里的鸟

甲问：”你说，在笼子里的鸟，还是自由飞翔的鸟比较好？“

乙答：”其实，也没有什么好不好的。你把它们想成是你自己，就可以了。“

甲问：”怎么说呢？“

乙说：”为了所谓的未来，你每天都在啃书。吃前啃，吃后也啃；睡觉前读，睡醒后也读。结果，你眼巴巴看着外面的朋友在嬉戏中，满是羡慕。你说，我是只在笼子里的鸟。没有自由。”

乙继续：”然后有一天，那自由翱翔的鸟，得到了自由，生活却潦倒，每天都在烦。而你，有着舒适的生活，想去哪里就哪里。非常自由。没有框子，就好比没有规划。”

甲安静。点头。

甲与乙的对话-做梦与做事

甲问：“你说，做梦还是做事比较实际？”

乙答：“什么是实际？”

甲答：“就是能帮到你生活的。”

乙答：“嗯。如果只是做事，那你和牛与马有什么分别？如果只是做梦，那你和乞丐、赌鬼、酒鬼有什么分别？”

甲安静。点头。

真善美

有时候，老人家说的话，也不是没有道理的。

不听老人言，吃亏在眼前。这句话，到有必要时，也要听进去。

举个例子-“真善美”。

读者们，你们有想过，为何那次序是如此，而不是美真善，抑或是其他排列方式吗？

就是要去了解真相，那最真实，最不想面对；最虚伪，最不好意思的真相。然后，心存善意，以一个善良的心思去包容和祈求。

最后，相信美好未来，相信美丽，相信人与人之间，那最可贵的美德。

若倒转回来念，“美善真”，就是，

那太天真的相信，那太过善良的心意，遇到最为可怕的真实后，崩溃之余，所有信仰也在一夜之间，化为乌有。

因为看了一些太过乐观的想法，所以有所感触。

有时候，以现实的眼角看世界，不仅保护了自己，也能够好好地展望未来。因为你认清了那最恐怖的真相，你才知道如何去创造美好。

Tell me when you need me- A Sceptical Patriotism

It was not until lately that I realise there are actually many young, budding patriots existing in our society. Some are my friends, some are acquaintances, and some are just strangers. But they all carry the same hearts, the same thoughts and the same mission to contribute and to save our beloved nation.

We, the 20-year-olds, have come to an important juncture in our lives. Either we are highly educated or we aren’t; either we are doing great in lives or we aren’t, we all share the same responsibility and the same task — we have to play a part in nation-building, sooner or later.

Or, at least these are what we have been told all this while.

What appears to me is otherwise.

The government has no intention to take you in. They will forbid you, rather than giving you the chance to contribute towards the progress and advancement of the nation. Of course, people will say, things have changed. We have the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Talentcorp. The government is now ready to bring back the talents who have reluctantly bid goodbye to their homeland, which has forsaken them long time ago. Our leaders are serious in transforming our country.

And yet we hear some radical racists and disrespectful remarks are made, from time to time. The mind and the body do not move at the same pace. We boast to the world about our multiracial and multicultural heritage, yet every race is singing a different tune.

I still remember when I was 17, I was a young writer and full of ambitious ideas for the country. I penned the dissatisfaction and the anger on newspapers like Sinchew Daily and Malaysiakini. It used to be my dream to voice out through the power of words. From here as well, I have made friends with many people with the same aim and the same hope.

What we want is just a better future for the country.

And it wasn’t long that I realised, voicing out through words, is a dangerous act in the country. As quoted by a famous columnist, “Being a journalist in Malaysia is like being a performer in the circus, who is walking on a tightrope. If you are not careful enough, you will fall into pieces.”

Soon, I heard about the empowerment of the youth. I took part in Malaysian Student Leaders Summit (MSLS) and met many like-minded people around my age. From that event, I knew there are many out there who still decide to give our country a chance. And thus, the burning passion reignites. I interacted with the students around, exchanging ideas on how to help our country, as well as involving myself in some inspiring discourses. This brought me to join the United Kingdom and Eire Council of Malaysian Students (UKEC) in London.

We invited prominent speakers to discuss recent happenings in the country. We have held activities to raise political awareness among the students. We believe that no matter how little the significance of our efforts, we have achieved something at least — to plant the seeds of hope in the younger generation.

The positive things are done, but what are the changes?

Many may comment, we are paving the way for the next generation if we couldn’t make it this time. The effect will manifest itself in a subtle way. But after so many years, what we can observe is that we have been doing so much, but the leaders are not listening.

When the students are not going back to serve the country, we scold them because they are selfish and they betray the trust given by the taxpayers. How is it that, by pursuing self-improvement is a bad thing? Many will argue that the country needs the talents right now, to drive the nation forward. However, when we take a look carefully, famous figures like Professor Dr Danny Quah and KS Pua, the first USB flash drive inventor, if they did not leave the country and move on to pursue better lives for themselves, how can they possess the skills that our nation needs for development right now?

Plus, how much are they worth in the government’s eyes? This is an important point to ponder as well.

The age-old proverb says, “If you can’t beat them, join them”. Many political veterans, I believe, when they entered the political arena back then, had great ideas and strong spirit. Nevertheless, judging from the situation right now, many have joined the crippled system. How sure are we, that we can beat them? And when we think about Beng Hock’s sacrifice, how many of us are still so firm in changing the current system, by exchanging our families, our friends and most importantly our lives?

After so many years, we are still fighting for our rights, we are still debating about racial issues and we are still quarrelling on religious matters; a vicious cycle that we have had enough.

This is not a post to whine and to complain about the situation in the country, or to extinguish the passion and the courage put forward by the young Malaysians out there. It is just a friendly reminder for the younger generation out there, including myself, to sit down and think seriously, how can we help our nation, when all else has failed?

Not just with passion and ambition, but with real skills and actions.

Enough of optimism. Be realistic.

So, Malaysia, tell me when you are ready.

Tell me when you need me. I will definitely be back in time.

Published on the 9th of May 2011. @ The Malaysia Insider.

Link: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/tell-me-when-you-need-me-a-sceptical-patriotism-peter-phang/

大选前夕的心态

到了国外，交到了一些新加坡朋友，也就因此，感受到新加坡大选的气氛。自从308大选后，然后再加上获得某政府机构的奖学金，答应自己要遵守信条和诺言，不理会政治的事情。

可是，在大家高谈阔论当中，似乎看见了自己以前，那血气方刚的少年。

反风大吹，看来连隔壁的岛国，也泛起了一股 “倒李”的气势。

因为李光耀的一句，不投PAP，新加坡人民将后悔5年。话说得那么绝，看起来，反对的浪潮，也让开国工臣，老羞成怒了。

这句话，非但没有凑效，反之，还让反对党得逞。这句话，惹怒了某些新加坡人，而愿意投反对票。

理由很简单。因为反对而反对。因为要发泄而反对。因为要改变而反对。荒唐之余，也非常幼稚。

他们，也许看漏了一点。新国的政府，和我国的政府，在执行能力方面，南轩北侧。

当你要改变，照常理来说，是从不好到好。可是，如果那东西是好的，你又要改变去什么呢？

听友人说，在朝当中，有位很能干的部长，George Yeo. 不仅为人正直，办事能力，也绝不输人。可是，却面对一个非常强的对手。

改变声浪在即，新国人民，真的需要善用手中的那一票。

思想成熟，却也变得更难去相信。怀疑的心态，抹杀了那股洒血般的热情。

看着最近许多朋友都陆续刊登爱国宣言，也不禁想，我也曾经利用文笔，为友人与自己争取奖学金。

也利用过文笔，批判政府。刊登后，受了稿费。一场激情过后，就像青楼的女子般，奉献了却被人视为糟蹋后的脏物，什么也没有留下。

是现实改变了那为国请命的年轻思维？还是，道德课里的爱国情操，从来都不曾存在过？