Of Parenting...

I was at the Cash Converter shop at Ampang Point. This shop buy used good and resell it. It a place where one could convert those house-whole items that they no longer need and turn it into ready cash. The shop then sell these goods to those who want second-hand good to use. It sort of a win win situation for folks. From time to time I would visit this shop. Not that I really would buy things but I love to browse along and look at all that are for sale. On one fine day on impulse I bought a bicycle. As I was going out of the shop with the bicycle a young woman talk to me and said that she too was looking for a bicycle for her kid. And say that had I not bought it she would most likely would.  Soon we got into talking into subjects that just pop up from our minds. I eventually found that she is a working mother with one of her kids in a boarding school. Since I never subscribed to the idea of a boarding school for kids at any early age I told her that it was not wise from my point of view to put kids in a boarding school at too early an age. In this case most boarding school in this country takes in kids at an early age of twelve years old. She said her kid is thirteen and that mean it already in the second year. To me kids should goes to school from their loving home where they get to learn the valuable norms and value of life at home which is almost impossible to learn in boarding school. Living in a hostel is not the same like living in a home. Kids should not be raise in a hostel’s environment but in a home full of love where the parents and kids bonding would remain strong. I told her I did not put any of my kids in boarding school. They all went to schools from home. They all turn out well; in fact beyond my expectation. I at time wonder why especially the middle class Malay still want to send their kids to boarding school when all our non-boarding school are as good. I found that so. I believe parenting would never be the same when the kids are not living in their own home. The parents and kids bonding would never be the same again.  It is different if the kids come from the urban or rural poor where living condition in their home are not as good. But for the middle class parents I believe it is not wise to put their kids in a boarding school at such an early age. Once the kids go to a boarding school at 12 years old he or she would only be back to the home after they had completed their college education. And at that time they would normally be around 24 years old. So to me parents who send their kids to boarding school at 12 years of age would soon lost 12 years of parenting. By the time they end their college education they would be adult already and no longer kids. I believe some folks do not want to hear this. But then it is their choice and not mine. I am sharing these thoughts so that parents may give some thought on what I had said.  Remember you the parents lost 12 years of good parenting time during the prime period of the kid’s life. And that the parenting aspect is lost for that period of time. I believe the kids too miss those wonderful years of been close with their parent where they could learn the norms and value of good living culture. They may get excellent academic result living in a boarding school though but academic result alone does not really help in the development of those young kids into a matured human being. Well that is my 2 cents. 

Have a nice day.

[The image green in this posting show a healthy growth when nurtured with care]

Of the date 11-12-13...

Well someone mentioned on Facebook that today December 11, 2013 is a special day. It is 11-12-13 and that it only happened once in 823 years. Well it is not always we get these numbers coming along like that. When I was in school there was a date that I remember well indeed. It was May 5, 1955 and we wrote happily in our excise book as 5-5-55.  Well it was one of those days in our lives and could easily be remembered. I was then fifteen years old and was in Form three and still enjoying my schools days oblivious of the happening in the real world. In 1957 I took the most important examination in my school life and that was the Cambridge School Certificate. In 1958 with the Form V certificate I start to work in the government service as a clerk. In those days not many talk about going to the university so it was natural that kids like us went to work eager to start making money on our own. That folks start my journey of life as an adult. 

Have a nice day.

Reminising - Cultural shock...

Today is the last Saturday of March 2013. It is a beautiful day. I decided to clean the patio and my little garden. After that had breakfast and then surf the Internet and start blogging; Nothing much just reminiscing these thoughts of mine.... In April 1971 I was send to Australia to attend a course under the Colombo Plan. It was the first time I had ever gone overseas and this trip excites me. At that time not many Malaysian goes overseas thus we were delighted to have been selected to go overseas; Australia. I was in my early thirty working in Malacca with two small kids. My spouse at that time was working at the Telecom Department there. It was difficult to leave the young kids and their mother but attending the course is very important to my career. I had no choice but to go for the three month course in Australia.  So with heavy heart I went. Three of us young officers arrived at the Perth Airport in the early dark morning. The weather was cold and the smell of the atmosphere was different. We are indeed in a strange place that personally I had never dream of been but here am I in Australia, a white man land. While waiting for the local representative to take us to the hotel we sat to have coffee. I look at the board at the back of the counter and saw they have Black Coffee and White Coffee. Not sure what a White Coffee is we decided to be on the safe-side by ordering Black Coffee. I notice that all the shopkeepers are white man and more white man are seen sweeping the floor, collecting trash and one even open the door for us. I was shock to see the white man doing all these things since back home during the colonial era they were the Tuan [Boss] and this is the first time I saw the white doing any manual works. I was shock to see the white or  MatSaleh were doing works just like us back home. Four hundred years of colonialism did that to our mindset; thinking that all white-man are Boss or Tuan. That was the first time I went overseas thus my reaction to that happening at the Airport. Anyway after spending three months in Australia I learned that we are after all are the same except of the knowledge we have. So it teaches me a very important lesson that knowledge is very important for us to stay independent and progress likes those in the west. At the course I learn as much as I could of how the Australian handle their rural youth. And of course while there I saw the developed country with modern  amenities at close range and that I learn too. On my return I use that knowledge I learned to introduce new Youth programme for the benefit of our young in the rural area. During the period of the course we were taken to almost all the cities in Australia.  The image on the left show us on a street in Melbourne, Australia.

Have a nice day.

The Binary code...

It the school holiday; our eldest grandson [16 years] is redecorating his room. He had painted the room and decorating the wall his way. I went to have a look and he shows me what he has painted on one of the wall. I was surprised seeing it for the first time. It takes lots of planning and ingenuity to get that binary code on the wall. Above is what I saw on his wall. I ask him to translate that binary code onto a language that I could understand. He smile and said that it is his name. He then explains of what each line mean. Yes from the age of 2 years he has been interested in computer and its technology and now every time I get stuck with my computer I would turn to him for help. I am glad that at least one of our own is going into studying the IT [Information Technology]. The IT industry is in its infancy and there are move developments to come. It would be great to see this generation of Malaysian get involved in the invention and innovation of new IT products in the not too distance future.  

Have a nice day.

Sharing my thoughts....

Last Monday I received an email from a stranger; a foreign student from a local college who is in the process of collecting material for his Master's thesis. He request for a meeting and without wasting time I wrote back saying that I am willing to meet him any time since I am always free. Been a retiree time is always on my side thus I am always happy to give a helping hand to those in need especially to student. I give him my cell phone number and he call saying that he was happy with my respond and ask me when we could meet. I told him that I am free and we could meet any day. He request that if it is possible we meet on Wednesday. I told him it is all right with me and that we could meet at the Coffee Club at the Kinokuniya book store at KLCC [Petronas Twin Towers]; a favourite place of mine. We eventually agreed to meet on Wednesday at ten thirty in the morning. 

So just before ten in that beautiful Wednesday morning I drove the Honda to the parking lot of the KLCC and then went to have a drink and a snack before the meeting for I somehow knew that it's going to be a long session. While having my drink at the RASA food court I got an SMS from him saying that he is on the way and told me just to take it easy. I replied saying the same and continue with my morning snack and drink. After that I went for a walk to the book store nearby and browse along the many books. As I was mesmerized with the collections of new books there I got another SMS saying that he is already at the Coffee Club. So without much ado I proceed to the club and there for the first time met this young man, greeting me with a smile. We then move to find a table to sit and chat along; stranger no more. 

I love the Coffee Club at Kino because it is cosy and not that busy. WiFi is always available making surfing the Net easy. I always carry along my net-book so the WiFi make it easier to surf the Net and keep in touch with friends on Facebook. We then ordered some refreshment and continue to chat. There was so much to talk about and I share my thoughts freely on subjects that he wanted to know. He begins by showing me his university Identity-card and said that he is from Bandung, Indonesia. He did his first degree in Sydney Australia and now doing his Master program at the Taylor's college here in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. He wanted to do a thesis on the role of senior citizen in the society. That is why he had me in mind. He has read my blog and found that it contain wealth of information there and intrigue with the caption on the wall of my blog "I believe that strangers are friends that we have yet to meet”. Inspired by that he decided to meet me in person. So the meeting today is for him to gather more materials which would be the basis of his thesis. He told me that he has been living in Malaysia for some years already, working as well studying at the Taylor College. That young man is Sofyan Amin from the generation of my kids. There was so much to talk about and I share my thoughts freely on subjects that he wanted to know. As usual in a situation like this time passes by fast indeed and soon it was lunch time. I am getting hungry and I believe he is too. So we ordered some foods and continue to talk as we enjoy our meals. We end the meeting just after two in the afternoon with a promise to meet again. I did enjoy that meeting of the minds.

At this age I felt what better thing to do than to share my thoughts with the society. Thus I blog or give talk whenever I am invited to do so or to take part in discussion on Facebook or share it as in this meeting with this young student. In a way it is my way of giving back to the society. With a hope that in a small way it would benefit the society; making this world of ours a better place to live and enjoy life.

Have a nice day.