"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"... *COUGH* I HATE CLICHES *COUGH*

Wow... GYLC is finally over. I can't believe it :'(. We had TONS of fun - it was basically a big MUN, but with people from all over.


Outside the UN! We made so many UN jokes (like "What is the best part about the UN? The comfy chairs and air-conditioning" and "Who are the smartest people in the UN? The security guards" XD). And yes... we are huge cynics.

With Yelmaz (the future Prez of Pakistan) and "Ban Ki Moon" XD

At our farewell cruise. WE MADE IT RAIN!

Roomies in DC - Miss Jamaica (Anisha) and Miss Colombia (Maria - but there were literally 8 Colombian Marias at the conference =P)

WE SO COOL THAT WE HELD THE GROUP UP TO TAKE PICTURES (:

At the Washington Monument... WOOHOO

Our multi-cultural (India, UK, Malaysia, Pakistan, USA, Australia, Namibia) Greek lunch (:

Damn, I can't believe it's over.

Anyway, we're still in NY for the rest of the week so we went to see South Pacific... it was great (:

Woohoo... 4th of July tomorrow. Awesomeeeee.

OMG. RIP FARRAH FAWCETT AND MICHEAL JACKSON. <3

WOOHOO!

SUCCESS!

Okay... not quite, but I'm pretty happy with my SAT Math Level II... 790? Not too bad lah, considering my EX-roommate got 800 :P

So anyway, I'm at this student conference in DC and it's DA BOMB (: Which means I'll be MIA for the next few days because Internet connection is hard to get at and we are so damn busy.
Ne'ways... cheers <3

Taken from The Star, June 17 2009

DPM: Students must improve command of English
By KAREN CHAPMAN and PRIYA KULASAGARAN


KUALA LUMPUR: The Govern-ment recognises the need to improve students’ command of English to ensure they can compete globally.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said students must be proficient in the language and have other skills to interact with the global community and tap into knowledge.

“Equity of access must be demonstrated in the provision of the knowledge and skills that will facilitate this access,” he said when delivering his welcome remarks before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak opened the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

“While we are aware of the importance of mother tongue instruction in the early years of childhood education, we also need to address the future needs of our youth,” he said.

Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said Malaysia has always believed in the sharing of experience and knowledge through partnerships with each other in the region and beyond to attain Unesco’s Education for All goals.

As lack of resources often limits access to universal education, all stakeholders including governments, donors and the people must act to overcome it.

He said Malaysia was working with its Seameo, Asean and Unesco partners to make Education for All a reality.

The conference, which was also the golden jubilee celebration of the first Commonwealth Education Ministers’ Meeting in Oxford in 1959, was an ideal platform to minimise the impact of the global economic crisis on the education system of member states, he added.

Speaking to reporters later, Muhyiddin said the Government was close to making a decision on the language of instruction for Mathematics and Science.

“I will be briefing the Prime Minister soon.”

The Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English policy was introduced in stages, starting with Year One, Form One and Lower Six students, in 2003.
_________________________________________________________

So, first the government recognizes the importance of English and decides to switch Maths and Science into English. And now, barely a decade later, the government is caving into pressure and wants to revert back to the old system, but still declares that "ENGLISH IS IMPORTANT".

Dear Ministry of Education and Malaysian government, stop sending us mixed messages and choose a stance for once - you need to decide whether it is more important to please everyone or whether it is more important to give Malaysian students a competitive edge in this global society.

Coming Clean by We Are Scientists.

I've been waiting to go
Thirty seconds and slowly counting
Everything that I know I'm doubting
It's so...

Check ignition and drive
There must be something that I've forgotten
Everything that I've ever wanted
Was so...

If I was wrong (if I was wrong)
Then I was wrong
But I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
Whatever that means

I guess I did it again (I guess I did it again)
I put all of my friends behind me
How the hell will they ever find me
It's so...

Was I out of my mind (was I out of my mind)
I'm not sure what I'm trying to do here
All I know is no sign of movement
It's old...

If I was wrong then I was wrong
But I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
Whatever that means

Just because I didn't understand
Doesn't mean that it's not wrong
I'll call it if it's wrong

If I was wrong (if I was wrong)
Then I was wrong
But I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
I'm coming clean
Whatever that means
Whatever that means
Whatever that means

Inilah pihak polis negaraku yang begitu "maju" and "bertoleransi"; mereka yang sepatutnya melindungi institusi "justice" (not that there is much of an equivalent of the word in Malay) negara kita sebaliknya menganiayai rakyat. The first video is of some police officers interrogating (at least I think that's what they were doing... the audio is very poor) and openly intimidating two Indian men who stole a car tyre or something. The second is of a Malay man who groped someone's wife.





How could we allow this to happen?

5 things that disturb/perplex me...

1. How there are "morning-after pill" adverts on Neopets (I happened to go to the site the other day, okay)
2. How people can start out refusing to be dunked into pools, but after being dunked, indulge in dunking their dry friends who also hate being dunked (thus, the numbers of dunk-ees increases exponentially. Okay, sorry - Math final tomorrow =.= )
3. How someone can sleep in an airless, stuffy room and block any attempt to open windows/doors
4. How people will go to great lengths to make sure they are not dumped into a kiddy pool (like sitting at the other end of the field, etc.)
5. How some people could possibly choose Brown Hall over yesterday's BBQ! :)

UPDATE: Pictures up. Le click.