of walking ahead of others and always being a follower…

i haven’t been reading the news lately. i have only been hearing rumours about influenza a cases being here and there in the compounds of the university. though, not all are rumours. some are in fact, true. pharmacy school was closed down for a week because of the fear of h1n1. better be safe than sorry. and, i’m running out of my topic today.

anyway, i just read that the teaching of science and mathematics is going to be reverted back into bahasa malaysia in 2012, which makes me wonder, if we are really taking a step further into the future or are we making a fool of ourselves, subjecting ourselves to be second-best. to be a follower.

i’m not saying that being fluent in bahasa malaysia is a bad thing. it is important to remember your own roots. to respect your own self. to know what we are made of. this is one thing i will not argue with. i believe, no matter how far or how high you are in your path of reaching your life goal, you need to be humble. you need to know what made you the way you are today. bad influences too. it fuels the desire to be successful. so, no influences are bad, i guess.

politicians are always playing political games. with the malays not being able to trust umno, it is unbelievably hard to satisfy them. but, is it right to jeopardise the future of your own future leaders? why make them suffer for your desire to be on the top?

no matter how you argue or debate about it, the usage of english in the teaching of science and mathematics is beneficial. it helps to increase the understanding of mathematical and scientific terms. it helps to increase the usage of english in class. one important factor why university students nowadays can’t speak english is because of they do not speak english in class. they have never felt the need to do it. hence, the reluctance or in some cases, the lack of courage to speak in a foreign language.

i am not here to say what is right or wrong with the decisions of our cabinet. it’s not as if i have the power to do anything about it. it’s just some rant by a ‘depressed’ and homesick student. i am what they call an english educated student in university. to chinese educated university students, people that come from sekolah kebangsaan are called english ed. don’t ask me why. and i have encountered a lot of them that are shy to use the language. just like i am shy of my own proficiency in mandarin speaking. there is no confidence in them to speak in english. i have no confidence speaking in mandarin. it seriously is like a foreign language to me even though i’m chinese. and for this, i am ashamed. yes, i do feel that way sometimes. but, not anymore. i’m learning to be shameless and converse more in mandarin. and i believe i’ll be fine. no more banana.

love,
natalie
15072009/6.49pm