Zire 71 Photo of the day!
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wTuesday, May 23, 2006 |
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Call her Anggun 1
Call her Anggun 2
Call her Anggun 3
Call her Anggun 4
I asked Nani yesterday if she wants Emma Anggun (I shall call her Anggun from now on), to be educated in Singapore. She said no. She wants Anggun to be educated in Malaysia. So how? Right now I'm genuinely worried about her already. I don't mind if she goes to a private school, but to a public school? While working on a special project for the organization I'm working with, I've gotten the chance to visit a few leading 'sekolah asrama penuh' in Kelantan and Terengganu. These schools are supposed to be the premier boarding schools in Malaysia, yet, their facilities cannot even match the most jinjang secondary schools in Singapore (if there are any, lah). I saw their libraries and I thought no wonder these kids hate reading. They simply have nothing to read! Please don't get me started with their IT facilities. I shuddered when I discovered that these schools only accept Bumiputra students!
I think I should somehow create an education fund so that Anggun could go to Sayfol International School. Okay, I'm being silly here. I can't even feed Tipah and Taib properly. Seven years down the road, she could end up studying at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Jinjang Selatan and I have to bite my knuckle.
I told Nani that she's is a smart kid. She has my genes after all. I don't want her to go through what I have to go through while studying in JB. I love studying in JB, but I was kinda lost in the system. I didn't really do well in school (okaylah, I got my A's, but it was effordless). After my mom received complains from my teachers about my poor conducts (they actually bitched about me in the teacher's lounge), I had somehow gotten myself transferred to Singapore and within a few months, I went up to the stage to receive prizes for Best Student, if I'm not mistaken, in five subjects. So, I managed to prove a point there and then.
To keep the story short, while in JB, I was ostracized for being an outspoken student. The word 'kurang ajar' was used freely to describe me. I had my exercise book thrown out of the class in front of my class mates once (that's how fucked up the teachers are in this country). They made me feel stupid and worthless. I came to a point where I cannot 'tahan' any longer and I wanted to study in Singapore at all costs (and because my best friend Michael Yoong went to Singapore to study, along with a few other smart non-Malay kids. It was fashionable for one to study in Singapore, then. I don't know if it's the same now).
To tell you the truth, I wasn't really happy in Singapore. The education system was rigorous. I had to burn the midnight oil just to make sure I get A's for my subjects. But in the end, I found teachers who had respected my views, nurtured my thoughts, and made me the person I am today.
What I missed most while studying in JB were the boys. But I hated the education system, third rate school facilities and the poorly trained teachers.
Exams sucks big time in Singapore, but studying was both fun and challenging. It was in Singapore where I began to nurture my interest in reading and writing. They have great libraries with volumes of books to be read. Nothing could make a somewhat precocious teenager like me happier than to spend time in these libraries.
posted by Nizam Zakaria
at 9:28 AM |
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