I blogged here before on US Global Undergraduate Exchange Program before.
And today, I got a pleasant surprise. A fellow ReComer from my alma mater also, Jit Sin High School shared with me the good news of being selected for the program above. His/her twin sister was also selected!
Very happy to hear that they were both offered to spend 1 year in US fully under scholarship. While they do not find out the info from my blog, nevertheless I'm happy that they got it! Congrats!
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
US Global Undergraduate Exchange Program
Brand's Sudoku Asia Pacific Open
I would be in Singapore on 12th July 2008.... I know that's another 2 more months, and it is not my 1st trip there. So, what's the fuss?...
Nothing big, but it is going to be my first real competition outside of Malaysia for an interesting Math games, called...... Sudoku... Guess, many of you have been playing Sudoku a lot too, so if you are around Singapore, do come by ViVoCity on 12th July afternoon 2pm to 6pm.
It is the Brand's Asia Pacific Sudoku Open. It is going to be a tall order for me to win anything, but guess, I am trying my very best!
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Monday, May 12, 2008
《Carlsberg华总教育基金》免息贷学金 办“你的未来不是梦” 大专升学讲座会 (11-05-2008)
《Carlsberg华总教育基金》免息贷学金 办"你的未来不是梦" 大专升学讲座会 (11-05-2008) 别让大专生涯留白，规划精彩校园生活！
配合《Carlsberg华总教育基金》免息贷学金的开放申请及大专院校的开学期，由Carlsberg华总教育基金主办，各州中华大会堂协办的"你的未来不是梦"全国大专升学讲座会将于本月11日起至6月8日举行。讲座会主题为"规划精彩校园生活"及"大专乐活小技巧"，特邀国内资深升学辅导讲师、活跃大专生领袖、全国大专升学辅导组等主讲，欢迎所有即将进入国内外大专院校的学生、在籍大专生及中六生、教师及家长踊跃出席。
以下是《Carlsberg华总教育基金》"你的未来不是梦"首3场讲座的详情：
讲题：
• 规划精彩校园生涯
• 大专"乐活"小技巧
• 《Carlsberg华总教育基金》免息贷学金及全国大专升学辅导组咨询
| 日期 | 时间 | 地点 |
| 5月11日 （日） | 上午11时正 | 霹雳怡保三德中学 |
| 5月14日 （三） | 晚上7时半 | 槟州华人大会堂 |
| 5月17日 （六） | 晚上7时正 | 彭亨关丹丽苑大酒楼 |
主讲"规划精彩校园生活"的丁国亮毕业自马来亚大学文学与社会科学学院，主修媒体研究，副修国际关系与战略研究，目前是理科大学传播学院硕士生, 多家报章的特约作者及记者，也是多场大专交流会的主讲人。他曾是马大华文学会主席，并获槟城州政府颁发槟城杰出大专生荣誉奖。
丁国亮将以大专生涯规划为讲题主线，从区分中学与大学的生活为开始，解释大专校园生活的特质，并以他本身精彩的校园经验，分享如何度过个人所意属的校园生活。
主讲"大专乐活小技巧"的谢庆存医师是合格自然疗法师、营养及饮食顾问，拥有医疗经验逾十年。谢医师除了分享本身求学的经验,例如搞好英文及打工的酸甜苦辣外，也会传授各种舒解压力的小技巧，让大家把学业、生活及人际关系处理得更得心应手。
《Carlsberg华总教育基金》是一项供国内外大专生申请的免息贷学金。会场除了提供《Carlsberg华总教育基金》的咨询服务外，全国大专升学辅导组的代表也将于现场提供其他升学及入学咨询服务。讲座会备有茶点及小礼品。
欲知更多有关《Carlsberg华总教育基金》及大专升学讲座的详情，可浏览 http://www.carlsbergeducationfund.com.my ，或致电华总03-22734008，或电邮至info@carlsbergeducationfund.com.my。
Congrats to ReComers who get JPA Scholarships!
Congrats to all the fellow ReComers who have successfully gotten JPA Scholarships! Happy for you all, but I would like to really request that all of you, do come back to share at ReCom.org! I am not sure whether any of you benefit from what you learn through ReCom.org, but I really hope that you could help to contribute towards the sharing within ReCom.org! This would help other students in learning, especially for future years! Do definitely hope to see more ReComers to key in their particulars at ReCom Scholarship InfoBase , so that other students can benefit from it.
The list of ReComers who get JPA Scholarships (I only manage to go through the threads from Page 52 to 88).
abyssesour
ah_seng (dentistry)
ainin (architechture)
aitheng (quantity surveying)
anderson (pharmacy)
annarina (medicine)
artistic1412 (biotech)
blursylvia (dentistry)
castle (engineering)
cawei (medicine)
Chang Ai Theng
Charlotte.JL (pure science)
chen622 (Actuarial Science)
chunkeng (medicine)
clep (biotech)
CX3 (dentistry)
cuteranger (accountancy)
dya_me
tie.... (Science)
ernc (pergigian)
ev3rspriNg
eve3
GunbladerQ (engineering)
herm (dentistry)
jace (dentistry)
Jasa (medicine)
jessylicious
jun (Germany engineering)
jun_mei (medicine)
kaera (IT/CS)
kongchiahan (germany engineering)
matchgirl
minic00per
nana90 (dentistry)
ntyf (economics)
passOUT
phoenix1892
powerleakin
qwerkie
shakira (accountancy)
shawn_paul (dentistry)
sherenesheep
shuxian (medicine/applied science)
skyrainbow
smile! (actuarial science)
sopie
starleton (humanities)
vaanbalthier
Vidthiya (Actuarial Science)
vimal06
yenkee (medicine)
yummyummylicious (dentistry)
yvonne90 (medicine)
zhannaC (law)
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Past Year SPM Trial Exams
For those of you who are looking for past year SPM Trial Exams throughout the country (including MRSM etc), Edoovel has provided a platform for students to share and download those past year papers. It would be useful for all of you who are looking for those resources!
And if you have any trial papers, do submit to them, so that it could be shared with others. This is consistent with the sharing and learning culture, we have been promoting through ReCom.org - The Worldwide Malaysian Students Network
For those of you who are not taking SPM, maybe you can share this link with your others who might need!
To all of you who are preparing for SPM, good luck!
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
JPA Overseas Scholarships SPM 2007 Batch
2008 JPA Scholarships for SPM 2007 has been announced late 10th May 2008 (Saturday).
There have been a lot of students who have managed to lay their hands on the 2,000 JPA Overseas Scholarships.
Congrats to all of you who have managed to do so!
Do go to ReCom.org - The Worldwide Malaysian Students Network on the updated results by many fellow ReComers.
To all those who didn't get, do try your best to appeal!
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Postgradasialive! 2008
28 & 29 June 2008
postgradasialive! 2008
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
Exhibition opening hours: 12:00 - 6:00pm
(Hourly talks begin at 12:30pm)
Take off at postgradasialive! 2008 this 28 and 29 June at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Visit the fair to discover a host of local and foreign universities offering a diverse range of postgraduate programmes, and find out how you can fund your studies. Don't miss it!
Local and foreign postgraduate course providers
Country representatives to give advice about studying abroad
Five talk sessions a day on various postgraduate study topics
Information on postgraduate scholarships and funding
FREE postgradasia edition 2008/9 publication given to every registered visitor
Register online - and receive a bonus door gift when you attend the fair! Click Here To Register
Thank you.
doctorjob - undergrad courses, advice, resources
postgradasialive! - your launch pad to postgraduate study
GRADAsia - Jobs, careers information and advice for students and graduates
Saturday, May 10, 2008
MACEE-AMCHAM Scholarships to Study in US
Thanks to Megatfais from ReCom.org - The Worldwide Malaysian Students Network for highlighting about this scholarship to study in US.
To know more about US Education, do go to USA For Students - US Education Fair , which is going to be held on 14th June 2008 at Wisma MCA.
If you are US Universities alumni/current students, we definitely hope that you would be willing to sign up as facilitators to share on your experience. Do sign up here at the Register Tab.
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American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE) are pleased to announce the competition for the AMCHAM-MACEE 2008 Scholarship. AMCHAM created a scholarship endowment program in 1998 to benefit deserving Malaysian students seeking to pursue their undergraduate studies in the United States. The AMCHAM-MACEE 2008 Scholarship annually awards a US$20,000 scholarship, covering four years of undergraduate study in the United States. The scholarship is open to qualified Malaysian students who are accepted to an accredited university in the United States for four years of study culminating in a Bachelors degree. The student must be accepted for Fall semester, 2008.
please visit:
here
dateline:
30th May 2008
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Korean Government Scholarship Program for Graduate Students
Thanks to Eng Han from Tin Kosong for sending me this!
This could be an alternative for those who wish to further studies abroad!
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Korean Government Scholarship Program for Graduate Students
The Government of the Republic of Korea is providing scholarship in master’s degree and doctorate degree for 30 Malaysian students to study in Korea. The scholarship serves to promote education exchanges and mutual friendship between Malaysia and Korea as well as to help them keep pursuing their higher education.
The scholarship duration covers two years for master’s degree program and three years for a doctor’s degree program (excluding a 1-year or less Korean language course). Scholarship holders are required to take a preparatory Korean language training course before taking a degree course.
Benefits of the scholarship include roundtrip airfare, monthly allowances (about RM2,800), tuition fees, research allowance, dissertation printing cost, settlement and repatriation allowance, medical insurance as well as full Korean language training expenses for one year.
The applicants must be under 40 years of age as of 1 September 2008. Applicants for degree program must have already finished or expected to finish a bachelor’s degree prior to 31 August 2008 in order to apply for a master’s degree program or a master’s degree prior to 31 August 2008 in order to apply for doctoral degree program. Applicants should also possess Grade Point Average (GPA) of above ‘B’ level.
The due date for all the scholarship application is 18 June 2008. To obtain further information and an application form, please refer to the website of the Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur ( http://mys.mofat.go.kr/eng/index.jsp ).
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Center for Public Policy Studies E-Library
ASLI's Center for Public Policy Studies has been striving their best to provide independent source of information for Malaysians.
It just sets up an E-Library. The descriptions of it is as follow:-
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Contributing to the CPPS E-Library
The CPPS is proud to bring to you its new E-Library, which comprises policy related material that was instrumental in creating our Elections 2008 Policy Factsheets, and consequently formulating policy proposals. The material includes key socioeconomic indicators, national and international reports, and other collated studies.
The Centre takes seriously the need to provide such valuable information to the public, where opinions should be shaped and informed based on rigorous research and data. Ideally, any member of the public wanting to obtain information on Malaysia could direct themselves to the CPPS website. We have an extensive list of topics (Crime, Corruption, Environment, Economics, Education, Human Rights, etc.) and this can easily be expanded according to your needs.
Help us ensure up-to-date material!
As any library, our library needs to be continuously updated to remain relevant to current issues and developments. Therefore we would like to invite you to contribute to our E-Library. Simply contact us, send any material you/your organisation think is relevant, and we will update our E-Library accordingly. This includes reports, academic articles, papers, indicators and any other material specific to Malaysia.
Please send the material directly to cpps@cpps.org.my and state the following
- Your name
- Organization if applicable
- Topic of the material
- The source of the information
- The material (if the size allows you to send it)
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Do check it out CPPS and goes to the E-Library! Do submit info to it too!
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
JPA Scholarships Statistic - 2004 - 2007
This is regarding JPA Scholarships. Thanks to my blog reader for submitting this!
Prime Minister, YAB Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi shared on the full statistics for JPA Scholars.
From the statistic that we have seen below, I would analyze it as follow:-
1. Average number of JPA Scholarships to study abroad per year = 6,084/4 = 1,521.
2. % of JPA Scholarships who study abroad are Bumiputeras = 4,540/6,084 = 74.62%
3. Similarly, non-Bumiputeras consist of 25.38%.
This defuses those earlier "statistic" that some people have been blogging about or commenting that non-bumiputera consists of 20% among those who got scholarships. It is not the case. I won't want to go into the debate/discussion on whether 25% is an appropriate number, but again, I would like to really invite my blog readers to look at it from our national perspectives, rather than from the skin colours. I know that my analysis above does again fall within racial lines, but it is my hope to reduce the misconception that each side has on the other side. And to those who are insisting on looking at racial line, do note that the number of non-bumiputeras who get have been increasing every year. So, if we really look at 2007 statistics, it would be more than 25%.
In terms of JPA Scholarships to study locally, there are 5,759 students who get the scholarships each year. Of which, 87.23% are bumiputera. This would mean 12.77% are non-bumiputera.
Good Luck to all my blog readers who are waiting anxiously for JPA Scholarships results to be out next week. To discuss more on JPA Scholarships, do go to ReCom.org - The Worldwide Malaysian Students Network . It has the best collection of JPA Scholarships information!
Below are the full quotations from the articles in NST
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BETWEEN 2004 and 2007, a total of 6,084 Malaysian students were offered full scholarships by the Public Service Department to pursue their studies abroad, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
He said 4,540 students were Bumiputeras and 1,544 students were non-Bumiputeras.
Abdullah said 23,038 students were offered scholarships by the department to pursue their studies locally.
Of this total, 20,096 were Bumiputeras and 2,942 students were non-Bumiputera.
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Potential Career at MRW & Associates, Inc.
Received this job posting from a mailing list. This could be those who want to work on "Green" stuff!
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My firm is a small energy consulting firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have openings for consultants with an interest in energy markets, policy and regulation. If you have a mechanism for sharing job postings with students or colleagues in your program, I would greatly appreciate you forwarding our job announcement.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Heather Mehta
Principal
MRW & Associates, Inc.
1814 Franklin Street, Suite 720
Oakland, CA 94612
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MRW & Associates (www.mrwassoc.com ) works at the intersection of energy markets, regulation, and policy. We combine an in-depth knowledge of electric power and natural gas markets with rigorous economic and technical analysis to help clients assess market opportunities, develop business strategies, evaluate market developments, analyze policy implications, and address regulatory issues.
Our work spans many areas, including energy project finance, renewable energy, regulatory and litigation support, energy policy, and utility rate design. Typical projects include the following:
· Analysis of policy, regulatory, and market developments
· Financial due diligence of power projects
· Expert witness testimony for regulatory or legal proceedings
· Forecasts of electricity rates or rate elements
· Research related to energy rates, markets, policies, or regulations
· Development of spreadsheet models, memoranda, reports, and presentations
As a consultant with MRW, you will have a significant role in a wide variety of projects. MRW also encourages each consultant to directly contribute to the development and growth of the firm.
MRW is interested in hiring people with the skills and qualities that lead to success as a consultant in our field: intelligence, enthusiasm for the subject matter, and integrity. Our professionals have outstanding verbal and written communication skills, know their way around spreadsheets, can delve into numbers or large data sets with ease, enjoy working on challenging assignments where priorities and deadlines routinely change, and work well independently as well as in teams. These are the qualities that we are most interested in. Previous experience with energy markets or regulation is preferred but not required. Both entry-level and mid-career candidates are encouraged to apply.
MRW places a high value on employee work-life balance. We also offer a competitive salary and exceptional benefits, including comprehensive medical and dental insurance, generous vacation and sick leave allowances, charitable contribution matching, and pre-tax payment programs for commuting and health care costs. Our office is located in downtown Oakland and is readily accessible by BART and bus.
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to jobs@mrwassoc.com.
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
World Vision Responds: Myanmar Cyclone
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Dear World Vision Donor/Sponsor,
Cyclone Nargis has wreaked major devastation on the Irrawaddy Delta region and Yangon city of Myanmar.
According to state news reports more than 22,000 people were killed and over 1 million have lost their homes. The cyclone is the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in recent history. The government has declared a state of emergency in five provinces, and has invited World Vision to assist in relief efforts.
World Vision is distributing relief items and has sent assessment teams to the worst hit areas.
For updates, please visit http://www.wvasiapacific.org/
To contribute towards relief efforts undertaken by World Vision, please click here.
To those who have responded, we thank you for your contributions.
Note: World Vision Malaysia's project in Myanmar was not affected as it is situated in the northern region.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
亲爱的捐款者/助养人，
您或许已经听闻有关热带风暴"纳尔吉斯" 严重破坏缅甸的伊洛瓦底三角洲及首都仰光的新闻。
根据缅甸官方媒体报导，这场风灾夺走了22,000人的性命，造成逾一百万人流离失所。这场热带风暴是缅甸历史上最严重的天灾。缅甸军政府已宣布5个受重创的省份进入紧急状态，并邀请世界宣明会协助展开紧急救援工作。
目前世界宣明会已开始分派救援物资，也委派了考察团队到最严重的灾区进行调查。
欲知最新情报，请浏览http://www.wvasiapacific.org/
任何有心捐款支持世界宣明会在当地进行救援工作的善心人士,请击此处。谢谢。
我们非常感谢所有热心捐献者的回应。
备注：由于位置偏北，马来西亚世界宣明会在缅甸的社区发展计划并没有受到这次风暴的影响。
Thursday, May 08, 2008
National Geographic Glimpse: Correspondents Program Fall 2008
Thanks to my blog reader for highlighting this!
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Are you studying abroad between August and December this year? Do you have experience in writing, photography, or video? Here's your chance to make use of your experiences and skills - and become famous internationally.
National Geographic has launched the Glimpse Correspondents Program, whereby students aged 18-30 who are studying abroad for at least 10 weeks will be able to tell their stories of their experiences for publication in the National Geographic Glimpse magazine. Selected participants will also receive a $600 stipend and a professional editor to help them through the process.
Applications open mid-May, but you can sign up to express your interest.Fashion Fusion in aid of GOLD(Generating Opportunity for the Learning Disabled) of SMK Bandar Sunway
Copied this from ReCom.org - The Worldwide Malaysian Students Network . Thanks to joe_keng who posted there.
To sign up, just go to the link above and post it at ReCom.org !
Below is his post.
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Fashion Fusion is the name of the event. It is going to be held in Zouk Mainroom, KL on the 27th June 2008. With the theme on "A Blend of Art & Style", there will be lotsa breathtaking performance and not to mention gorgeous looking models. This event is in aid of GOLD(Generating Opportunity for the Learning Disabled) of SMK Bandar Sunway. The ticket price for the event is RM35. It is organized by students of Diploma in Events Management of Sunway University College. For more info, you can leave a message here and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Ticket reservations can be done through me. Thanks.
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Help Needed for Myanmar Cyclone
Thanks to Sally who is helping out World Vision in the fund raising and aid for Myanmar Cyclone!
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World Vision Malaysia's web address: www.worldvision.com.myMYANMAR CYCLONE: WV RESPONDS
Cyclone Nargis has killed at least 22,000 and rendered tens of thousands homeless.
World Vision has been working in Myanmar for the past 40 years and has begun a rapid response to the affected.
For updates, please visit: http://www.wvasiapacific.org/
For those who would like to contribute towards relief efforts undertaken by World Vision, please make your cheque/postal order out to "World Vision Malaysia Berhad". Kindly write "Myanmar Cyclone" at the back of the cheque. Thank you.
To contribute towards relief efforts undertaken by World Vision, please click here. Thank you.
JPA Scholarships Info Out Next Week
Thanks a lot to my blog reader for highlighting this. I have blogged on this topic earlier here .
Hopefully, the new development would be good.
The article fully quoted from NST is here
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Info on scholarships to be out next week
PUTRAJAYA: Parents seeking information on the government scholarships for students who scored at least 9As in last year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia can find it in major newspapers by the middle of the month.
The Public Service Department said it would take out advertisements with detailed information on the government scholarships.
A PSD official said those who had already started Form Six or matriculation could still apply for them.
"Students can also apply on-line but at the moment, the Internet forms are not ready.
"Information on how to apply online will also be mentioned in the newspaper advertisements.
Last Friday, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan announced that the government had decided to increase the number of scholarships.
Since then, parents have bombarded the NST with phone calls seeking more information.
Some asked whether their their children studying in private universities and colleges were also eligible.
The initial announcement said those eligible were students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 SPM examination, regardless of economic background.
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Malaysian Writer on Road Show in US
Thanks to Eng Han for highlighting this. She would be having her book promotion at various areas in US, including New York City, Columbia University, Harvard University, Rochester, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This is definitely a spirit of Malaysia Boleh!
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Dear all,
Preeta Samarasan, a new and upcoming Malaysian writer, will be hitting a destination near you soon to promote her book, Evening is the Whole Day. Do go to her events to show your support! She'll be in NYC this weekend and Boston the coming week!
Cheers,
Eng Han
U.S. Book tour, May 2008
Fri, May 9th, 7pm: Asian American Writers' Workshop, 16 West 32nd Street, 10th Floor, NYC (joint reading with Jen Sookfong Lee)
Sat, May 10th, 12:30pm: Columbia University Bookstore, 2922 Broadway at West 115th Street, Alfred J. Lerner Hall, Lower Level, NYC. Organised by the Columbia University Southeast Asian League (SEAL) and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Mon, May 12th, 7pm: McNally Robinson Booksellers, 52 Prince Street, NYC (Author/Editor event, with Anjali Singh).
Tue, May 13th, 7pm: Harvard Bookstore, 1256, Massachussetts Avenue, Boston (Joint reading/signing with V.V. Ganeshananthan, followed by a conversation on political identity). Co-sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Sat, May 17th, 6pm: Rochester Contemporary Art Center, 137 East Avenue, Rochester, NY. Reading and reception sponsored by Greenwood Books
Mon, May 19th, 7:30pm: Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 South Main Street, Seattle
Thu, May 22nd, 6pm (note changed time & location!): Book Passage, San Francisco Store, 1 Ferry Building, #42, San Francisco, CA
Tue, May 27th, 7:30pm: Barnes & Noble - The Grove, 189 The Grove Dr., Los Angeles, CA
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Click here to read more of Chen Chow's posts
Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Seminar for Lifelong Learning Reading Club
This would be an interesting talk to sign up! I will be there too!
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Greetings from Centre for Extension Education, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Thank you in registering for the talk entitled “Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing & Succeeding Under Any Conditions" and your support for our continuing effort to promote awareness of Lifelong Learning Reading Club among Malaysians.
"Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing & Succeeding Under Any Conditions" is a book written by Professor John P. Kotter, a world-renowed expert on Leadership and Change Management from Harvard Business School. This book talks about how organisations and individuals can effect positive change under any conditions with the right strategy. The talk will benefit managers who find it difficult to effect change at workplace. It is also for the staff member who can't understand how and why change takes place in corporate organisations.
Details of the talk are as follows:
Title : Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing & Succeeding Under Any Conditions
(programme information enclosed)
Date : 24 May 2008 (Saturday)
Time : 9.45am to 12.00 noon
Venue : Centre for Extension Education
UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
11 Jalan 13/6
46200 Petaling Jaya
Kindly contact Ms Eileen / Mr Ooi at 03-79555181 / 03-79572818 ext 8666 / 8611 for enquiries.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Frustrated with Quality of iZZi
After being very frustrated with iZZi over a long period of time, I really feel that I should be grumpy, and blog very negatively about it.
The internet quality is just very unbearable. I have wasted more than 1 hour trying to open my Gmail, and even though I shut down all browsers, except for Gmail, it is still loading so slow, and often after getting into inbox, I can't go anywhere.
Very sorry for those who have emailed me, as I am really suffering through this horrendous internet quality from iZZi.
This doesn't happen just today. I have been very patient with them. Making tons of complaints to them, but nothing gets corrected. They are very good at shutting their call center at night, so people like me, who used internet at night, cannot call them.
I have been trying to load my blog, and that also takes ages. It is just horrendous and very unreliable internet services.
Unfortunately, a stupid me have paid them one year in advance, so they are happily reaping the rewards.
I know that at some places, the quality of iZZi is bearable, but at a lot of buildings, the internet quality is unbearable. At Bricksfield, my internet is practically not working at all. It is so slow that it frustrates me a lot.
I tried to download and guess what the downloading speed is like 500 per second. You think it is kb. Nope..... It is byte. It is what age already, and iZZi is delivering such horrendous speed.
Its internal indicator is showing tons of fictitious speed, but the point is I can't even surf internet.
It has been 1.5 hours already. I have just managed to open and see my 1st email. Posting this blog post also has been taking forever!!!!!!!!!!
So, to all of you who are considering iZZi, do really make sure you try iZZi at where you are going to use internet, and not get cheated by them at trying the connections at those areas outside the road.
To iZZi, if you are seeing this and you do not believe the quality of internet is horrendous, please contact me and I'll show you! (I have made a number of complaints at your call center and they have promised tons of times to contact me back, but till today, I have not gotten any call from iZZi)
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Ordering Malaysian Groceries in US
I came across this Malaysian food groceries online website in US, where it would deliver groceries to all Malaysians staying in US. I had a quick glimpse of the website, and it seems to carry quite a bit of Malaysian product.
I have never dealt with this website, so I would encourage you to check it out and decide whether you want to order from there.
Do check out at Asian Supermarket 365.com
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Article on NST on Scholarships for above 9As
Thanks to my blog reader for submitting this article to me.
It is a reaction in NST on the proposed scholarship by the government.
The full article quoted is as follow:-
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Scholarships for the brightest 'long overdue'
KUALA LUMPUR: Parents and students alike welcomed the government announcement on Friday on the provision of scholarships to outstanding students but some raised concerns, which they felt must be addressed in black and white.
Some parents found the announcement sketchy on details and called the New Straits Times seeking clarification.
Among the questions asked were whether the scholarships were also open to outstanding students at private local universities and colleges.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan on Friday announced that all students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination would be sponsored up to their bachelor's degrees at local universities, regardless of their backgrounds.
The announcement said that the sponsorship covered students furthering their studies to Form Six at government-assisted schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry including the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science at Universiti Malaya and the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa matriculation programme.
Students who had obtained places in Ivy League-standard foreign universities and local campuses of foreign institutions such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University would also be sponsored.
Single mother of five Pat Budin, 44, said only outstanding students from underprivileged families should be given scholarships.
"Give it (scholarships) only to poor students. The rich can afford the fees. Giving it to rich kids only means they're taking up a poor kid's opportunity."
Pat, however, described the move as "long overdue". "There are many smart students who are not able to further their studies because their parents can't afford it. The government must make sure action needs to be followed and not just talk."
Fay Vallauthan, 42, said priority should be given to underprivileged students and recipients should be free to choose their field of study without having to restrict themselves to those on a shortlist.
She also called on the government to improve the standard of local universities, which she said were not up to par.
"Our graduates from universities overseas and foreign universities with local campuses come out as well-rounded individuals. They speak better and think differently. Their mentality is unlike those from local universities," the mother of three said.
An English-language teacher, who requested anonymity, felt this was a positive measure and hoped that the government could implement it without marginalising anyone.
"Ideally, the offer must be open to everyone regardless of race and status."
She then enquired: "Would a student who sat for the SPM last year and is now taking her foundation from a local private institution be entitled?"
Former SMK Ibrahim, Sungai Petani student Chong Yong Yan who obtained 11As and 1B in the examination was "extremely relieved" with the announcement.
"I was very worried for a long time even though I got 11As. I could only pray for a scholarship," Chong said, explaining that her plans for higher education in accountancy were shaky because she knew her father, a construction worker, could not afford the university fees.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Undergraduate Scholarships at Western Kentucky University
Thanks to my blog reader for highlighting this.
This is quoted directly from The Star
WESTERN Kentucky University, a state university in Kentucky in the United States has appointed ATCEN as its official Southeast Asian representative.
ATCEN, a people and brand development specialist, will be responsible for promoting the university’s undergraduate and graduate degree courses across the region. ATCEN's chief operating officer, Jeremy Lee, said that they are proud to represent the American university.
“The state-funded Western Kentucky University has an excellent track record in American education. The programmes that they offer are very popular,” said Lee.
“We are happy to collaborate with them and look forward to taking Malaysian students over to their campus to truly experience US tertiary education at its best,” Lee added.
The Western Kentucky University, located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, currently has about 19,000 students enrolled in a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
To seal its partnership with ATCEN, the university is offering 12 undergraduate scholarships to students for courses at its campus.
For details, call 03-77283708 or log on to www.atcen.com.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
University of Portsmouth Business School MBA Scholarship
Thanks to my blog reader for highlighting this.
This is quoted directly from The Star
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THE University of Portsmouth Business School in the United Kingdom is offering scholarships to students keen to pursue its full-time MBA (International) programme.
The programme, introduced in 2001, received accreditation from the globally-recognised Association of MBAs last year.
Innovative features of the MBA course include the chance to attend a one-week conference in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
This gives participants the chance to network with practising managers in the United Kingdom from the MBA Executive programme and also help them gain a European perspective on management styles.
Four scholarships of £3,000 each (RM18,637) will be awarded to successful applicants based on previous management experience and academic achievement.
The university is also offering a 10% bursary in the form of a discount on the course fee of £14,000 (RM86,972) for self-funding, international students.
Closing date for the scholarships is May 15.
For details, contact the university’s Southeast Asia Regional Office (SEARO) at searo@port.ac.uk, or call +603 26920472.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Malaysian Sudoku Society in NST
This is for Malaysian Sudoku Society which I am part of the founding committee. To join the group, do contact 03-7877-0936. Do join the Google Group of Malaysia Sudoku Society .
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A group of Sudoku-crazy individuals have decided to feed their addiction further by setting up a society for people similarly hooked to the numbers puzzle, writes CHOK SUAT LING.
KUALA LUMPUR: Their day is not complete without attempting at least one puzzle. Hours and even days are spent poring over sets of diabolical numbers. They gather to discuss, dissect, strategise, plan and even write books on Sudoku. So much so, that one such group decided to take their "addiction" a little further. They set up the Malaysia Sudoku Society (MSS) last year.
The society was officially launched on Dec 15 with an elected committee of six members.
MSS secretary Lee Yee Dian says he and a group of friends who shared the same interest in Sudoku decided to set up the society to serve as a platform for enthusiasts to interact.
Lee's interest in Sudoku comes as no surprise. He is part of the Malaysian Mensa Society, a high-IQ organisation whose members are known to be extremely adept in logical thinking and consequently, puzzle solving. Most of the other MSS founding members are also from Mensa.
But MSS is not a society open only to Mensans. It welcomes members over the age of seven irrespective of background, with only one condition: he or she must be crazy over Sudoku. It also does not matter whether the individual is just an average puzzle solver or Sudoku champion.
Lee, 49, is heartened to see burgeoning interest among Malaysians in Sudoku.
"When we went to register the society, the officer at the Registrar of Societies did not know what Sudoku was. She was suspicious and thought we were trying to set up a religious society as the word sounds obscure and mysterious. I showed her clippings of the Sudoku contest in the New Straits Times and she allowed our application," Lee smiles.
The aim of Sudoku is to enter a numerical digit from 1 to 9 in each cell of a 9x9 grid made up of 3x3 sub-grids. Various numbers are already given in some cells. Each row, column and box must contain only one instance of each numeral.
Sounds tough but not so for Lee: "I can solve quite complex Sudoku now but sometimes I still get stumped. Now with MSS, we hold organised monthly meetings with talks and clinics on puzzle-solving techniques and the different Sudoku variations.
"In future, we hope to hold more social activities, and reach out to students and senior citizens via clinics and workshops."
He says Sudoku can encourage analytical and critical thinking in students and help keep the brain cells of senior citizens active.
MSS president Ismail Omar says more senior citizens should be encouraged to take up Sudoku.
"In Malaysia, interest is now skewed more towards the younger generation. In Japan, the profile of the buyer of Sudoku books is over 60 years old. Here, senior citizens are not so aware."
Ismail, 69, has always been interested in puzzles and was naturally inclined towards Sudoku. The engineer is also with Mensa and Toastmasters International.
"I sometimes go online and print out the puzzles there. I enjoy doing the easier ones that's why I like the ones published in the NST."
MSS has two Sudoku authors among its members. Lim Teck Guan and Jeff H.S. Keow have both written well-received books on puzzle solving techniques.
Lim, who goes by the pen name TeeGee, is a retired electrical engineer who was introduced to Sudoku three years ago.
"I had wanted to take it easy after retirement but my family urged me to participate in the NST Sudoku competition.
Even though I did not win, I became hooked after attempting the puzzles on a daily basis," says Lim, 62.
In time, Lim decided to share his techniques. "Friends asked me how I solved the puzzles and when I gave them a brief outline, they urged me to come up with a guidebook. That was how "Art of Sudoku: A Step By Step Solution" came to be published. I translated it into Bahasa Malaysia recently."
Keow, 65, says he can solve all puzzles with his technique - KHS Formula 3 Plus 2.
"Each puzzle has one solution and it can be solved using 100 per cent logic. If a puzzle has more than one solution, then it is not a good one." He says Sudoku "purists" do not like to use guesswork to solve a puzzle.
Keow was introduced to Sudoku in 2005 by his daughter and wife. "When I saw it for the first time, I was transfixed. I wanted to learn how to solve all puzzles and eventually did using a principle-centred and process-oriented methodology."
Keow later wrote "Think Out of the Block with Sudoku".
He believes that Sudoku can have a positive psychological influence on the solver's attitude and temperament if played consistently and regularly.
Lim and Keow have new books in the pipeline. "Can you imagine people our age writing books? It is quite an achievement," Lim notes.
MSS plans to organise an annual National Sudoku Championship soon, from which winners will be sent to take part in the World Sudoku Championship.
It also hopes to set up a website, and is aiming for a membership of 1,000 from across the country. Those with further inquiries about the society can call 03-7877-0936.
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JPA or PSD Scholarships for SPM 2007 Candidates
As a follow up of what I posted earlier on JPA Scholarships for SPM 2007 Candidates.
In this article, fully-aided schools is cited as government-assisted schools , which means SMJK is included. Which one is the right situation?
Below is full citation from NST .
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Govt scholarships for all with at least 9As in SPM
KUALA LUMPUR: Students who scored 9As and above in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination will be sponsored up to their bachelor's degrees at local universities.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said the government had decided to increase the number of scholarships because outstanding students were the nation's future assets.
"The number of students who obtain excellent results in all SPM subjects is rising every year but not all of them are able to obtain scholarships as the number is limited.
"Realising that these outstanding students are the nation's assets, the government has taken the initiative to provide scholarships to all students with at least 9As, regardless of background," he said yesterday.
"This move will indirectly attract good students to further their studies at local universities, which will also help to raise the standard of higher education in Malaysia."
Those furthering their studies to Form Six at government-assisted schools and matriculation centres under the Education Ministry, including the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science at Universiti Malaya and the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa matriculation programme, will stand to benefit from the offer.
"Students who have obtained places in Ivy League-standard foreign universities and local campuses of foreign institutions such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne University will also be sponsored," said Sidek.
The measures, he said, were consistent with government initiatives to develop skilled human capital.
The government will be sponsoring 2,000 students under its Overseas Degree Programme this year and another 10,000 students at public universities under the Domestic Degree Programme.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
JPA or PSD Scholarships for SPM 2007 Candidates
Public Service Department has announced new initiatives for SPM 2007 candidates.
As long as they get above 9As in their SPM, they would be guaranteed JPA or PSD scholarships to study in Form 6 in Fully Aided Schools .
Those in Universiti Malaya’s Science Preparatory Centre and International Islamic University’s matriculation programme, would also be offered scholarships.
If these students decide to do their degree in local university, they would be offered scholarships as well. These local universities include Malaysian branch of a foreign university such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne Unversity.
If these students get admission into Ivy League or equivalent university, they would be offered scholarships as well.
My personal thought on this is that it is quite a good move, as it would help to retain the top students within our country, but I think such scholarship, their details would need to be clearer. On studying at fully aided schools, these might need to be highlighted, as all those SMJK, which are traditionally top STPM schools are partially aided. So, they would not be part of this deal.
This is the details of the scholarship, as highlighted by The Star
Full quotation of it is as follow:-
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PSD scholarships for SPM students with 9As
PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) will offer scholarships to all students who scored 9As in their SPM examinations last year, regardless of background, to study Form Six in fully-aided schools.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan said students who do matriculation, including those in Universiti Malaya’s Science Preparatory Centre and International Islamic University’s matriculation programme, would also be offered scholarships.
These students will also be sponsored for their first degree if they do it in a local university, he said in a statement yesterday.
Sidek said the PSD would also sponsor such students if they obtained places in an Ivy League or equivalent university.
Top-scoring students who get a place in a Malaysian branch of a foreign university such as Monash University, Nottingham University, Curtin University of Technology and Swinburne Unversity will also be offered scholarships.
On top of this, Sidek said the PSD would offer scholarships to 2,000 students for overseas studies and a further 10,000 for studies in local universities.
He said the scholarships were being offered in line with the Government’s efforts to develop human capital.
He said the Government was aware that the number of high achievers is growing every year. Yet, not every student would have a chance to get Government sponsorship.
“The Government realises that high achievers are assets.
“As such, it has introduced the initiative to increase the number of scholarships where students of any background will be offered as long as they satisfy the SPM 9A score condition,” he said.
The move, Sidek added, would indirectly encourage these high achievers to further their education in local universities.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
YB Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting's Speech on 30th April
President of MCA, YB Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting's speech in Parliament on the 30th April 2008. This is a very daring and forward-looking speech.
I am quoting entire version of the speech in Mandarin for my blog readers' consumption. It is quoted from Ong Ka Ting's Website
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前言：人民的声音
3月8日刚过的大选，全民各族利用宪法赋予的权力选出222位令人尊敬的人民代议士。我首先要恭喜全场中选的国会议员，我希望大家都能以负责任、真诚的心态和良好的行为操守履行任务，这也是最高元首在施政御词中所交代的。
3月8日，人民选择国阵继续领导国家迈进，然而人民同时也通过选票传达他们重要的声音。大家必须关心和重视人民在大选中传达的讯息。人民希望改善国家的管理制度，和纠正政府的缺失。人民也希望，政治人物和各级政府官员清廉、有效率、开明、真诚和照顾全民。
这意味着，贪污、滥权、朋党等问题应获得具体的改善。为了这片国土的美好明天，我们一定要努力奋斗，聆听民意和积极改变。
A）肃贪
诚如最高元首在施政御词中所说的，如果贪污滥权继续横行，我国目前为此的经济成就将变得毫无意义。
首相拿督斯里阿都拉于2008年4月21日宣布将在年底前把反贪污局改革成马来西亚反贪污委员会、成立国会防止贪污委员会和独立的防止贪污谘询局。这些无疑是令人欢迎的宣布。
贪污是我国首号敌人。虽然我国已做出数项肃贪的努力，例如于2003年12月9日签署《联合国反腐败公约》、于2003年11月5日成立廉正学院（IIM）和确保反贪污局执行任务等，但整体成效未臻理想。
除了上述的反贪努力，为了更有效打击贪污，政府也应该同时实施以下措施：
1 无论是中央还是地方政府，都应设定各项申请的处理期限。政府机构应制定一套清楚和透明的处理申请程序。凡是在期限内无法完成或遵循处理程序的人士一定要给予合理的解释。这主要是为了避免任何人士寻找藉口拖延处理程序，以乘机向申请者要求不合法的交易。
2 情报提供者在贪污案件调查的过程中扮演着至关重要的角色。遗憾地是，目前为此情报提供者并没有获得任何特别的保护。为了鼓励更多社会人士提供情报，保护 “吹哨者”及证人的机制应通过法律途径加以落实。
3 马来西亚在 2007年国际透明组织公布的贪污印象指数排行榜中排名第 43，相较往年呈现上升的趋势。我希望我国在这排行榜有持续进步的排名。有鉴于此，无论职位高低，私人或政府领域，一旦涉及贪污，其刑罚都应该被加重。贪污是绝对不能容忍的，我国应该效仿香港的廉正公署和新加坡的反贪调查局，以严刑峻法对付贪污。
一旦发现任何政府官员涉及贪污，其退休金应该被取消。这样的步骤将能有效地阻吓任何人士涉及贪污。
我十分认同政府做出增加反贪局人手至5000人的决定。
除此之外，反贪污委员会应该直接向涉嫌贪污的人士采取行动。反之，若通过总检查署采取行动，这将会影响肃贪的成效。
全力肃贪应成为国家当前主要的工作。政府必须以坚定的信念和严厉的行动打击贪污，这才能符合人民对于清廉政府的期待。
任何反贪的努力最重要的还是要看到成效。涉及贪污的人士常常都是一些滥权、私吞公款的政治人物。我们应记得，无论是马来人、华人、印度人、卡达山人、伊班人或其他种族，我国仍有不少在生活线上苦苦生存的低收入家庭。他们可能是渔夫、司机、小贩、建筑工人、工厂员工等一群默默为国家付出的人。他们需要政府更大的关注和协助，以克服现实生活的压力。
挥霍巨款、滥权舞弊是令人难以接受的，尤其对于贫困的他们。
我国应实施一套照顾低或中低收入家庭的方案。他们都希望，纳税人的钱能获得良好和合理的使用。我国不应出现，一边有人在等待救济，另一边则出现有人正任意挥霍人民的钱。这是相当讽刺的现象。
无疑地，人民对政府的形象存在一些负面的看法。政府有些时候做出数项积极性的宣布，但最后却没有有效地执行。因此，为了消除人民对于政府的负面印象和恢复人民的信心，政府必须以实际的行动和坚定的信念贯彻这数项改革反贪的计划。
B）成立独立司法委员会与司法改革
我完全认同，国家最高元首施政御词中所提到的改善国家司法制度。我也全力支持首相于今年4月17日宣布的司法改革计划。
成立独立的司法委员会和调整法官的薪资是合时且应该的。这有助于我国建立透明独立的法官委任和升迁制度，以恢复国际和公众对我国司法制度的信心。许多英联邦国家都采用这样的机制遴选法官，所以我国的司法制度应该与时并进。
司法委员会主要是协助首相鉴定和推荐法官的人选。首相接着咨询马来统治者会议，然后向国家元首推荐法官人选。换言之，当首相征询联邦法院首席大法官他推荐的法官人选，其人选一定是委员会推荐的人选。
我建议，首相向国家元首和马来统治者会议推荐的法官人选一定要来自司法委员会仔细鉴定后的人选（calon-calon）。若首相推荐的人选是不受已仔细鉴定人选的委员会所认同，司法改革将变得毫无意义，似乎等于在走回头路。
司法委员会成员必须是由德高望重、形象良好、清廉的人士组成。任何政党都应严禁干预司法委员会成员的遴选。我希望司法委员一旦成立后能考虑下列事项：
1 制定一套详细且明确的法官人选评估准则，以鉴定真正有能力胜任的人选，而不是与特定人士关系良好的人。
若以目前的机制，短期性委任司法专员，这有可能导致司法专员效忠联邦法院首席大法官，因为联邦法院首席大法官有权推荐高庭法官的人选。如果要维持目前的机制，就应该由独立的司法委员会决定人选，而不是如现今阐明在联邦宪法122AB条文一样，由司法专员向最高元首推荐人选。
2 司法委员会应获准委任推事和初庭法官。目前司法和法律服务委员会（Judicial and Legal Services Commission）负责委任推事和初庭法官。总检察长是司法和法律服务委员会的成员，司法和法律服务委员会也是总检察长的行政执行单位，同时司法和法律委员会里的成员也可能会成为检察长作为主控官的案子的法官。
现阶段总检察长可以决定推事和初庭法官的升迁。如果继续由总检察长成为其成员的司法和法律服务委员会决定推事和初庭法官的升迁或委任，推事和初庭法官将会被公众视为不独立运作。因此，推事和初庭法官的升迁和委任应由独立的司法委员会决定。
印象而言，现有的法官比率并不能反映我国多元种族的面貌。我们也不能否认，法官也是人，他们希望自己被视作独立与公正的象征。然而，法官的宗教、种族和文化背景都可能影响他们原本自由与理性的思维。因此，为了给予更正面的印象，我国应该拥有多元种族的法官比率。
我并非建议说司法委任制里需要种族配额固打。理所当然的，法官的委任必须基于能力、才干、独立、公正、诚实和勤奋等更重要的因素来作出决定，而决不以种族或性别为考量。
我们也一定要纠正公众认为法官无法在宗教敏感问题上做出公平及公正裁决的主观印象。所以，我建议重新沿用以前的制度，让非常严重的案件由陪审团审判。
在此，我要欢迎政府决心致力推动司法改革，为人民和国家美好司法前景，做了一个正确的决定。
C）非穆斯林的宗教信仰
在过去的三年里，发生了许多牵涉非穆斯林的宗教事端，引发了涉及联邦宪法的争议，这些争端包括了Moorthy事件，Lina Joy事件，Gan Eng Hor，Shamala和Subashini事件等等。
本月初，就有数项修改联邦直辖区回教法令以保护穆斯林与非穆斯林的建议。回教法不能够用在非穆斯林身上，当非穆斯林遇到民事法庭与回教法庭权限有所冲突或重叠的案件时，将以民事法庭为最后仲裁单位。我们希望政府能够在处理这一类案件时能够展现充分的透明度，以免争端一再发生。
同时，我们支持1994年Tan Soong Mooi案件获得最高法院一致通过的决定，任何人改信回教过后，不影响他们履行在民事婚姻之下的法律责任与义务，若他们想要取消在民事法底下通过与承认的婚姻，就只能根据民事法行事。
在父母其中一人改信回教的个案中，孩子的宗教必需是由父母双方都同意的情况下决定，倘若父母未达共识而出现争议，孩子的宗教应该保持现状，直到孩子长大到了十八岁的法定年龄后让他自行决定本身的宗教信仰。
D）两性课题
联邦宪法第8条文阐明，“全所有人民在法律的保护下，应受到同等的待遇”，因此政府应严格遵守此条文。2008年4月25日，《新海峡时报》刊登了一位大马妇女的来信。信中透露在现有政策之下，其孩子因出生在国外，因此被否决其拥有大马公民权的权利。
联邦宪法第8（2）条文中提及，“不可因个人的出生地及其性别而产生歧视的情况”。换言之，大马妇女的子女应被赋予大马公民权，不计其婚姻状况或居住处。因此否决其孩子应享有的权利，是不公及违宪的做法。
E）教育
母语教育与半津学校
母语教育是我国的重要资产，多元语文社会更是我国的特色之一。虽然如此，我们仍需确保孩子掌握国语及英语，以便在全球化的趋势下，得以有效地互相交流及沟通。
政府应根据家长及社区的需求，为国小、华小、淡小、人民宗教学校及教会学校等提供各方面的援助，而非等到公众施加压力方才做出反应。根据联邦宪法第152条文阐明，每个国民都有学习母语的权利，因此政府必须在鉴定了地区的需求后，依需求增建各源流小学。
在第9大马计划之下，政府将拨出380亿令吉发展教育领域，因此政府应善用该款项惠及所有的学校。在此我建议教育部依地区的需求制度化增建华小及淡小，尤其是人口密集的地区如巴生谷、南柔、近打谷及槟城。
为了显示政府对母语教育的重视，我建议在大选前所宣布的6所新华小及13所搬迁华小的所有建筑费用，均由政府负责。
最近教育部长表示他将考虑重新启用旧白小建筑物的申请，我欢迎这项决定，并希望他可以在近期内批准。
除此之外，华小、淡小及人民宗教学校也迫切地需要政府的关注及援助。长久以来，教育部把各源流的小学划分成全津贴与半津贴2种学校，造成我国多元社会的诸多不满。
我们时常可以听到半津贴学校的董事部及家教协会的埋怨及投诉，纵然学校因年久失修而迫切地需要发展及维修经费，但是却在申请拨款时面对难题。有时候教育部拨给半津贴小学的行政费用甚至不足够应付水电费，导致董事部及家教协会必须向家长筹款。
现在是时候我们挣脱旧思维的枷锁，我们应该废除全津贴与半津贴学校之间的不平等待遇。在这个政府致力于发展人力资本的时代，我国人民已经无法接受“政府无法帮助半津贴学校”的说法。
如果教育部一视同仁，在发展和行政上全面支持所有源流的小学，所有人都会因此得益。这也是一个人民乐于见到的教育改革。
根据统计，2007年的华小共有643,679名学生、淡小则有103,284人，两者占了340万名总小学生人数的22%，占了学生总数的显著比例。因此，在我国栽培育高素质人力资本的过程中，有效地善用学校拨款发展软硬体设施是非常重要的。
华小师资不足的问题
华小师资不足是数十年来的老问题，直到现在仍不能妥善解决。到目前为止，华小共缺乏3500名老师，而在小学老师的比例从1.5提高至1.7之后，缺乏的教师总数将进一步增加，因此教育部有必要采用新的方法解决华小师资的问题。由于教育部的师资及培训人数的统计数据不精确，以致无法全面反映学校对师资的需求。
我吁请教育部必须认真统计师资及预算培训人数，并迅速采取行动解决师资问题。教育部聘请临教以及退休老师也是短期内应付师资短缺的方法之一。
作为一个长期的解决方案，教育部必须通过增加大学日间师训班, 大学在职培训班、教育学士课程等方式录取足够的老师人数。师训学院的副修科目必须弹性处理，而那些已经关闭中文系的师训学院，尤其是雪隆一带的师训学院，必须重新开放中文系。
英文教数理
2003年开始实行的“英文教数理”必须尽快进行检讨。以中学为例，社会对中学继续以英文教数理的反应是正面的。
至于小学方面，我欢迎政府之前宣布，在今年的小六检定考试后才决定英语教数理的去留。在2008年4月18日，教育部长也提出在中小学教授英文文学的建议，进一步提升英语水平。
我要重申，华社觉得华小的英语教数理制度应该废除，华小的数理科必须以母语教授，因为7岁至12岁的学生比较容易吸收以母语教学的课程。与此同时，华社也赞成加强小学生掌握英语的能力，包括从小学1年级开始学习英文
F）教会学校
除了国小、华小及淡小，我们也必须承认教会学校对国家教育的贡献良多。从19世纪开始，教会学校就开始培育无数来自各阶层、且品学兼优的学生。
教会学校、国小及华淡小同样不分种族、宗教及背景地公开给各族群的学生就读。这些教会学校在培养孩子爱心的同时，也向学生灌输爱国及对国家忠诚的意识。我国许多著名的领袖同样来自教会学校。
在226所的教会学校当中，其中的53所已有百年历史，这些学校都需要财务援助。这些被纳为半津贴学校的师生，时常涉及筹款活动。教育部应提供更多的财务援助，以提升学校的设备及学习水平。
G）经济
2008年是针对第9大马计划中期检讨的年份。与往年一样，这时候我们需要重新探讨及整理那些在此计划下还未达致的目标。第9大马计划是一份详细和全面的计划，因此我促请政府解决一切挑战，以完成那些此计划所仍未达致的目标。我们有必要进行明显的革新，提出创新的政策，以兑现政府的承诺，如良好管理、透明与快捷有效的公共传递系统等。
占了国内生产总值（GDP）31.9%的制造业，原定目标是在2005年至2010年间达到6.2%的平均增长率，但在这期间制造业的增长率却下降至1.8%。制造品出口也没有取得大幅增进，即从2006年的4517亿5千万令吉增加到2007年的4524亿8千万令吉。政府必须非常关注这个新的发展，因为如果有关趋势持续下去，相关业者以及他们的承包商与供应商将难以维持他们的生意。
除此之外，我们也必须认同经济发展走廊的成功，必须仰赖中小型企业的关键性作用。日前已易名为马来西亚伊斯干达（Iskandar Malaysia）的伊斯干达发展特区，就是政府其中一项吸引了200亿令吉外国直接投资的努力。国家元首在施政御词中指出，大马伊斯干达将在房地产、旅游业等领域吸引330亿令吉的投资，我对此表示欢迎。大马伊斯干达涵盖柔佛南部达2217平方公里的区域，概括努沙再也、新山市中心、士乃——士古来、西部区域与东部区域等5个主要地区。无论如何，我们担心本地商业社群无法有效参与大马伊斯干达的商机，因为主要的知名企业仅集中于努沙再也。
在2005年，零售与批发业、酒店与餐馆等领域赚取了384亿令吉的收入，预料在2010年这个数字将达到534亿令吉。目前，大马拥有超过550家购物中心、超过30万个商店单位以及约90家霸级市场。我们也拥有涵盖东南亚区域、中国及台湾的稳定特许经营系统。分销业则涵盖超过1000种领域，包括饮食、服装、饰品、餐馆、酒店、五金等。
配合国家元首有关分销业必须保持开放与自由的呼吁，某些政策如“外资分销业指南”绝对不能执行，因为它将给国内的零售业以及其供应网和旅游业带来严重影响。尤有甚者，此政策也将导致外资撤离大马，进而损害国家经济。
我们欢迎贸工部将通过清真工业发展公司（Halal Development Corporation, HDC）划一发出清真准证的程序，因为此举将提高颁发准证及其它相关手续的效率。这项划一措施也将带来更透明的政策执行，并确保有关领域保持亲商。
我也支持国家元首关于私人领域投资必须成为国家经济发展主要动力的御词，因为这对于确保政府维持低赤字，以及有效处理赤字是关键的策略。政府设下的私人领域投资目标是从2005年的2159亿令吉提高到2010年的3404亿令吉，也就是从占国内生产总值（GDP）43.7%提高到47.1%。目前，私人领域投资仅达2311亿令吉，换句话说已无法达到第9大马计划的中期预算。
为了确保达到第9大马计划所列下的目标，我希望政府必须推出以下数个开明自由的经商政策，以提高私人领域的投资：
a) 政府必须以公开招标的方式进行采购。 除了减少政府的运作开销，公开招标也可提高竞争力，更可以避免耗费300令吉购买螺丝转、10700令吉购买1套技术书籍、花费42.8令吉购买塑胶花盆等事件重演。政府须重新审视这个政策，不分种族地针对所有政府采购进行公开招标
b) 联邦政府应扮演火车头的角色，推动及提升农业生产力，创造财富及负责国内的粮食供应。但是，我们必须解决累积已久的土地问题。
目前我国有数千名耕作了几十年的农民，却仍然无法获得短期或长期的土地租约等保障。我吁请中央政府通过国家土地理事会，制定政策协助这些农民。
我建议政府应提供更多的奖掖、简易贷款、牙兰(Geran)给国内的农业，让这个行业继续为国家经济及粮食生产作出更巨大的贡献。
每年大马进口的粮食占了国内粮食消费的82%，总额达199亿令吉。在第9大马计划下，我们希望可以在2010年达到粮食自供自给的目的。由于我们的粮食供给问题开始恶化，因此若政府肯定要达到此目标，我们必须从现在就开始展开行动。
与其他国家一样，马来西亚现在也同样面对粮食与燃油危机，这也造成了物价上涨，造成了人民受苦的状况。由于长期干旱、洪水泛滥、温室效应及水源枯竭等环球问题，我们现在也可能同样面对这些因天气而带来的危机。
我们已经察觉，库存、津贴及控制物价再也不是一个良好的解决方案，因为我们必须面对造成低效率的体制及政策，而它们包括了准证(AP)、各种垄断、以及层叠的官僚制度。我们应移除这些限制与体制，让自由市场通过供应与需求的自然关系，决定货品的出售价格。
与此同时，我们必须提升现有福利制度的工作效率，确保那些老弱妇孺及有需要的人士可以适时地获得足够的援助。我们应把协助的重点放在帮助那些需要基本住宿、衣物、营养、教育及培训的人士，协助他们掌握一技之长，为社会做出贡献。政府也需特别关注边缘少年、单亲妈妈、被遗弃的孩子、年老、残障人士，我们绝对不允许这些弱势族群被边缘化。
由于城市化的步伐加快，城市贫穷问题于是也成正比地提高了。有鉴于此，政府应该提供更多经费给房屋及地方政府部所推动的消除城市贫穷计划，让该计划全面发挥作用，协助那些有需要的人士。政府也必须重视西马及东马的郊区贫穷人士，协助他们摆脱贫穷。
H）社会治安
政府应该透明化地公布大马皇家警察委员会所提出的125项改革建议的执行进度，以便打造一个有效率、负责任、正直、清廉、专业、杜绝贪污和维护人权的警队。此外，警队必须拿出决心和勇气做出具体的改变，落实独立警队投诉与行为不检委员会(IPCMC)的建议。
根据数据显示，过去4年国内的罪案率飙高了45%，导致警队打击罪案的效率受到民众的质疑。单在去年（2007），国内罪案竟然高达224，298宗，与2003年的156，315宗形成强烈对比。罪案指数已冲破200，000宗的水平，包括强奸案攀升2倍，从2003年的平均每天4个女受害者，上升至去年的平均每天8.5名受害者。这是一个非常严重的数据，我们可以想象民众对国内的治安感到多么的担忧和恐惧。
现今的国内治安每日愈下，人民期望警方可以更有效率地打击罪犯，包括威胁公众生命安危的强奸犯、强匪和攫夺匪。同时，执法者的贪污行为依然显著。
因此，我促请政府重新考虑成立皇家警察调查委员会的建议。
总结：公平社会和国家福利
我们不要一个以社会主义为主的福利国，我们要的是一个以经济开放为主要导向的民主自由国家。这也是3大民族先贤创立国阵时的主要基础。
涵盖5大原则的国家原则是依据民主自由而设，并非建筑在不能促进生产力及征收高税务的福利国原则之上。社会公义和人权必须在民主自由的大原则下加以落实。
国家原则的目标包括维护种族和谐、维护民主的生活方式，以及建立一个公平社会，确保各族公平共享国家财富和经济发展。国家原则也提供朝向维护多元文化的社会特征，以及建立一个资讯工艺便利的文明社会。
国家原则是我国的建国基础，它必须有效地灌输在象征国家未来栋梁的年轻一辈。国家原则是国家建设的一个重要指标，应该受到各方的尊重，它也是国家团结的宏愿，因此我们必须时时维护和贯彻国家原则里的5大原则。
我坚信，如果马来西亚国民可以恪守国家原则、尊崇国家宪法原则及精神、贯彻马来西亚精神团结一致建设国家，我们一定可以迈开脚步向前进，共同打造一个更强盛、更有活力及进步的马来西亚。
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Should Income be considered for JPA Scholarships
There has been a lot of talks on whether income should be taken into account for JPA Scholarships to study abroad. Today, family income below Rm5k would give the students 10 points, between RM5k and RM10k, would be 5 points and more than RM10k would be 0 point.
Some of the richer ones are arguing that this might be unfairly penalizing on them, whereas some others are saying that this is fair.
Some of my opinion as alternative to current method is:-
1. Take income outside of consideration of scholarship giving, but parents would be required to contribute a portion of income towards the scholarship amount. This method might mean that parents have to contribute 10% (this % would need further analysis) of their annual income towards their child's studies abroad. The remaining portion would be funded through scholarships. In this case, it would be fair to all students, and it can help government to save some cost and send more students too. The downside is that in earlier years of implementation, government might find it harder to predict the total cost. And some parents might start to cheat on income tax (but come on, do enforce on income tax surveillance and bring them to book for cheating on income tax).
2. This method also would suggest take out income component from the scholarships determination. But parents can choose to contribute a certain amount to reduce the number of years of bonds for the students. So, for instance, for every RM50k or RM100k (again arbitrary figure), it would reduce 1 year of bond. So, effectively, the student would get the title of being a government scholar, and yet having shorter bond (This would help government to reduce wastage too, if they are not using the scholars in civil service). Maybe a minimum of 2 years of bond or 3 years be set and a cap of maximum parents' paying of RM300k or RM400k etc. (More analysis needed for the figure).
3. Set up separate scholarships quota for poorer family. Today, those who earn at least 10A1s and below RM1,500 would automatically get the scholarships. Perhaps this could be enhanced on this aspect. Perhaps this figure of income could be increased to say RM3,000 (again arbitrary number here), and set aside say 300 or 500 (again arbitrary number) scholarships for them. This would ensure the needs of the poor and rich are taken care of.
What do you think of the opinion above? Do point out what is right or what is not right on the opinion above. Maybe if we can come out with a bunch of good suggestions for JPA.
You can discuss it further here, or more interestingly at ReCom.org - The Worldwide Malaysian Students Network
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Friday, May 02, 2008
John Lee and Nathaniel Tan's New Book
John Lee and Nathaniel Tan have co-edited a book called Religion Under Siege - Lina Joy, The Islamic State and Freedom of Faith.
Nathaniel Tan would be giving a talk there on 4th May 4pm at Central Market Annexe and sign the book too. For more info, go to here . It is part of KL Alternative Book Fair.
For more info of the Book Fair, go to here . It would be there on 3rd and 4th May from Noon to 6pm.
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20-Day Interest Free for Credit Cards To Be Removed
Haven't read about this yet in any mainstream media.
SM Mohamed Idris, President of Consumer Association of Penang highlighted over a letter to Malaysiakini on the removal of 20-day of interest free period for Credit Cards, if users do not pay up the previous month of bill in full.
I would look into this from various angles.
To the banks/credit card issuers, it would mean less risk, and make people to pay back earlier. This would also mean that there might be a lot more people would default, as they can't afford to pay for the outstanding debts with more compounded interest.
To the consumer, it would be good to build up this habit of paying up earlier, but for those who have the habit of just paying up in partial or just the minimum RM50 or 5%, this would mean more interest.
To just take a look at how much this would mean for extra cost. RM1,000 for 15% would mean RM150 a year of interest. So, for 20 days, it would be 20 days out of 365 days, and it would mean RM8.22 extra a month.
The impact would be significant, if say a consumer keeps this practice of not paying up the credit card bill in full every month and charges RM1,000 a month. This would mean RM8.22 a month or RM98.64 a year. That's a lot!
I am wriitng this, based on my lay man understanding of how this calculation works. Am happy to be corrected, if anyone knows that what I share is wrong.
Full article quoted from Malaysiakini link above is as follow:-
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No interest-free period means more card debts
SM Mohamed Idris | Apr 29, 08 4:27pm
Credit card debts will increase when the 20-day interest free period (the grace period where purchasers will not be charged interest) will no longer be automatically enjoyed by all cardholders.
Cardholders have been informed that from July 1, 2008 (for one bank it is May 1, 2008) only those who make full payment of the previous month’s outstanding balance before the due date will get to enjoy the 20-day interest free period.
For those who make only partial or minimum payment on the previous month’s outstanding balance, interest will be charged on the day the new purchases are posted to the card accounts.
For example, Mr Tan’s July 2008 card statement shows an outstanding balance of RM2,000 but he repays only RM1,000. On Aug 15, 2008, he makes a RM800 purchase which is eventually posted to his card account on August18, 2008. Since he does not settle the July statement in full, interest will be charged on the RM800 transaction from the posting date ie, from August 18, 2008.
Thus, if the new ruling on the interest-free period comes into effect, cardholders will lose out.
For the banks it will mean another source of easy income as on average, only one-third of cardholders settle their outstanding amount in full every month.
Bank Negara must not allow the banks to implement the new ruling. It must revert to the status quo and make the 20-day interest free period available to all irrespective of whether there is any outstanding balance the previous statement.
The writer is president, Consumers Association of Penang.
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SM Nasimuddin SM Amin passed away
SM Nasimuddin SM Amin, Naza Group boss, passed away today at US due to lung cancer.
News source - Malaysiakini .
Condolence to his family.
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
How my blog does in April
It's May 2008 already. Time really flies... Happy Labour Day to everyone!!!
Since it is another month goes by, I guess I should share here on how my blog progresses. Thanks a lot to everyone for having visiting my blog. Am always surprised when a lot of my friends, whom I haven't told them about my blog, do know about it.... Amazed by how the information spreaded.
Thanks to a lot of friends for putting my link at your site.
My main reason of blogging, guess as you can see, is about sharing on various events/activities that I know is happening, and perhaps also on certain news/information. Would stay focused to areas of my interest - education, youth, charity, and perhaps a sprinkler of stuff in Malaysian politics and economy. Also on various organizations that I am involved in. :) and also for my employer lar. :)
The growth of my blog has consistently amazed me... I know that for May, it is gonna to be tough for me to get more people to come over to read my blog, since guess a lot of my friends do know about my blog already. :)
Total Visits:-
Dec 2007 - 1391
Jan 2008 - 2149 (up 54%)
Feb 2008 - 3181 (up 48%)
Mar 2008 - 4290 (up 35%)
Apr 2008 - 5283 (up 23%)
If goes by magnitude wise, it is going up by about 1,000 a month. So, guess for me to continue the trend, I would have to bring total visits to about 6,200. That's a hefty 200 visits a day.... My April figure is also brought up by early April, when a lot of people been scanning my blog for updates on US Universities Admission news.
Total Hits:-
Dec 2007 - 2244
Jan 2008 - 3267 (up 46%)
Feb 2008 - 4642 (up 42%)
Mar 2008 - 6658 (up 43%)
Apr 2008 - 8182 (up 23%)
Hits/Visit:-
Dec 2007 - 1.61
Jan 2008 - 1.52
Feb 2008 - 1.46
Mar 2008 - 1.55
Apr 2008 - 1.55
Guess can safely say that it is gonna hovers around 1.5 lar.
Again, thanks everyone for visiting my blog. I know that this stat does not mean much, but it is a motivation for me to keep on blogging!
Do feel free to leave feedback for me!
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For
People have been talking about what is a good company to work for, and I just found this article (nope, it is not an article, bur rather a list of company names) at Fortune . It is the 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Guess what? 1st Place..... Goes to Google..hahaha... as if, no one in the world does not know that Google is the best place to work on earth... Guess Jeremy, Carolyn, Min Li etc are enjoying there!
No.3 is interesting! Wegmens.... hahaha, the place where I used to get my Maggi Mee supply. :) Goldman Sachs is no. 9, BCG is 11 etc. Look at the article above for full list lar.
They have other rankings too .. Pay, Bonus, Benefits etc. Do check it out!
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Thursday, May 01, 2008
Sudoku Clinic by Jeff Keow
This could be a good Sudoku clinic for everyone to attend! It is by Jeff Keow from Malaysia Sudoku Society!
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Hi Malaysian Sudoku Society Members,
I am pleased to let you know that one of our members, Mr Jeff Keow,
will be conducting a Sudoku Clinic this Sunday. Details as follows:
Time : 3.00pm
Date : 4th May, 2008 (Sunday)
Venue : MPH Mid Valley Megamall
Topic : Solving 5-Star Sudokus
As many of you are already aware, in 2006 Jeff authored a powerful
book on how to solve Sudoku puzzles, entitled 'THINK OUT OF THE
BLOCK WITH SUDOKU'. This Sunday's talk is based on this book.
You are welcome to bring any Sudoku puzzles that you cannot solve,
and have them solved during or after the clinic.
By the way, if you are aware of any Sudoku event in town, please
drop me a line, and I can then make an announcement to all
members vis email.
Best regards,
Lee Yee Dian
Secretary
Malaysia Sudoku Society
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Malaysian Mensa Society 24th Anniversary Dinner
Malaysian Mensa Society 24th Anniversary Dinner
Date:- 21st June 2008 (Saturday)
Time:- 7:30pm
Venue:- President's Room (1st Floor, next to Ballroom), Royal Selangor Club (Dataran Merdeka) http://rscweb.org.my/
Cost:- RM35 Nett (Mensan) RM45 Nett (Non-Mensan)
Dress Code:- Smart Casual
Maximum Capacity:- 50 People (Priority given to Mensans if sign up by 3rd May)
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Tun Dr. Mahathir launched his blog
After many politicians have gone into the blogging world, our former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir has launched his blog Chedet.com at 1am on 1st of May 2008.
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Accenture Hiring in India
My former employer, Accenture, has been doing very well in India, ramping up thousands and thousands of employees.
Business Week wrote about them here
Full quotation of the article below
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The Analysis: Learning from Accenture
The author of Talent on Demand talks about what the consulting company did right in ramping up in India, and what it could have done better
Accenture's story is important in a lot of ways. Having to go to a new country or a new market and ramp up very quickly is something that a lot of companies are facing today. Sometimes it happens because you go to a new market where you haven't been before. Having to go to a new country or a new market and make changes to your talent pool is something a lot of companies are facing today.
This is different from 20 years or so ago, when demand was quite predictable. Then, you could more or less forecast 10 years out and determine what you were going to need on the talent side. Now these things change very quickly, and companies have to ramp up very quickly and scale back very quickly. It places huge demands on forecasting.
I think Accenture did a good job of getting up to speed very quickly in India. They did a lot of things right: They reached out to the community in various ways in terms of branding. They created their own human resources academy—a way to get the infrastructure necessary to get a lot of people in quickly and move them up. And they centralized their operations to get some scale economies and avoid duplications. All that is good.
The Cost of Being Wrong
There are some other things companies can think about. The first is to think about the difficulty in making these forecasts. These are huge bets and the human capital issues are a big part of it. Rather than just guessing and saying, "I think our best estimate is going to be we need this many people," a good idea is to develop some scenarios; some alternative versions of what we think we're really going to need. Often, we're guessing. We don't know for sure what demand is going to be. How many people do we think we're going to need? What are the odds of getting this many people? What happens if this assumption is wrong or that assumption is wrong? You end up tracing out something like a probability distribution, and saying, "Here are the odds it will be this much or that much." As a result, you get a much better sense of what the real demands will be, and you're less likely to make big mistakes.
The other way is one that comes directly out of supply chains. This is what I've been working on with my book, Talent on Demand. This is thinking about things like the cost of being wrong. Think about what happens if we have too many workers. What happens if we don't have enough? There are costs on both sides, and you want to try to minimize both of those.
I think another thing Accenture did that's interesting and that all companies need to focus on is different ways of attracting employees. They focused more on hiring people, but there are other approaches to getting employees which are more inspired by "just-in-time" supply chain logistics. It's more expensive per unit, but it helps you reduce the uncertainty. Relying on temporary workers and contract workers can help you close the gap with a little less risk.
Managing Bottlenecks
Another part of this is not just bringing people on—it's also getting that many people up to speed once you bring them in and developing them inside the company. Centralizing here is a good approach. Often companies have different units that are each hiring, and each unit makes mistakes. Maybe this unit has too many people or this one has too few people. If you're centralizing all this, you can use a portfolio approach. Some have too many, some have not enough. It cancels out.
I think there's another supply chain issue as well—managing bottlenecks. How many people can we actually bring on at one time? One of the ways companies can get better at this is to try to smooth out the process of bringing people in rather than hiring everyone all at once, say, right at graduation time. To do that, you need a huge capacity of onboarding for helping people get up to speed with the company's culture and for training and developing them. If you could hire even twice a year, then you need only half the capacity, half the training positions, half the supervisory time. Thinking about talent management like a supply chain, and bringing in some of a supply chain's lessons, can apply to moving people in and out of an organization.
Peter Cappelli is the author of Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty, published by Harvard Business Press. He is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources.
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What you guys think of the policy of Accenture hiring in India? Do you think they hire fast enough? or they hire too fast? What would be the impact if there is a slowdown there? What is the best way to mitigate?
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John Lee's Article on American Education
John Lee has written an interesting article to highlight on American Education in Malaysiakini .
It would be able to help you to know a little more about American Education.
For those of you who would like to know more about American Education, do go to USA For Students - an American Universities Education Fair . It would be held on 14th June 2008 (Saturday) 10am to 4pm. Do sign up here .
Below are John's full article quoted from Malaysiakini .
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Sponsored higher education - think America
John Lee | Apr 30, 08 4:08pm
I note with disappointment the recent controversy here regarding the disbursement of government scholarships and placement in university courses. I believe the policy solutions to these problems are clear enough - any discrimination in university admissions or scholarships ought to be on the basis of income and access to educational opportunities, not race.
The bumiputra may be severely disadvantaged - Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak claimed in 1997 that only 5% of public university students would be Malays if the quota system were to be completely repealed - but this only strengthens the case for discriminating on the basis of actual disadvantages, rather than race, when clearly many bumiputera are not wanting for any opportunities economically or educationally.
However, barring a sudden turnaround in government policy or a wholesale change in the composition of the federal government, it is crucial that individual students be aware of other opportunities available to them should the public purse be unable or unwilling to assist them in their education. Private scholarships are a common form of assistance which many rely on to study, either at local private colleges or in foreign universities.
In spite of this, not many know about private scholarships offered by universities in the United States. Eight American universities, including half of the Ivy League (Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth) will fund the education of any applicant who is admitted, inclusive of tuition, living expenses, etc. Although they require a separate financial aid application, they will not consider ability to pay when making admissions decisions, meaning applicants will be evaluated purely on scholastic merit. All admitted students who choose to attend receive financial aid, mostly scholarships, in proportion to their ability to pay the fees.
Furthermore, many other American universities also offer financial aid to students. However, because they generally do not have the large endowments of other institutions, financial need is a factor in admission, meaning poorer applicants must make up for their inability to pay in academic accomplishments. In spite of this, once the student is admitted, many of these institutions commit to funding their education as much as possible.
I write about this because I have noticed that most students do not even consider the US when deciding where to attend university. Although there are disadvantages with the US system - most universities only offer four-year programmess, and American law degrees are not recognised locally - there is no reason to automatically exclude it from contention. If anything, American universities offer much more affordable educations because of their extensive financial aid programmes for the needy.
There are two main barriers to a good education. The first is intellectual and academic - if you cannot make the cut, you will never get into Harvard or Cambridge. The second is financial - how on earth can you pay for Harvard or Cambridge? Many Malaysians are not wanting for brains, but desperately need financial assistance for their higher education. As someone currently benefiting from financial aid at an American university, I believe this is an opportunity which too many bright Malaysians are passing up. Even if you do not think you can get into Harvard, there is no point in not trying - most universities will even waive the application fees if you can demonstrate financial need - and there are so many other lesser-known but equally great institutions eager to help qualified and talented students obtain a higher education.
I strongly urge all parents, students and educational counselors to re-examine the US university system and the opportunities it offers for bright but economically disadvantaged students. Malaysia has no deficit of intellect, but it is squandering its most promising minds through unequal disbursement of scholarships and placement in university courses. Until we rectify this policy problem, individual Malaysians must find our own way, and one route which is often overlooked is that which lies across the Pacific in the US.
For the past three years, concerned students and alumni have helped organise an annual education fair meant to highlight the educational opportunities available in the US. This year, the fair - USA For Students - is being sponsored by the American Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and will be held this June.
Even if you are unable to attend the fair, the Internet offers many more ways to gather information. Recom , an online forum set up by students, is devoted entirely to educational problems many Malaysians face, from scholarship interviews to applying for placement in local or foreign programmes. Individual university websites also provide a wealth of information on how to apply for financial assistance.
It is not enough for us to rely on the government to spoonfeed us, either in money or education - we must be proactive and learn to help ourselves, if the government is unable to. Malaysia needs all the talent it can get, and we owe it not just to ourselves as individuals, but to ourselves as a nation, to get the best education we can, and to make the most out of ourselves so we can serve our country.
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Yahoogroup for ATU4 and ATU5
In an initiative to bring together ATU4 and ATU5 students (i.e. my batch at OPP/PPLN) in 2000/2001, I have started a Yahoogroup .
Do join it and help to spread the words around!
It would be a great networking for all of us!
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
RealAcad Venture Management Program
Each year RealAcad Venture Management Program carefully selects top students and young professionals from around the world to take part in a one week camp with an international team of leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and top management consultants.
RealAcad's mission is to "train every future global leader." One of the ways it connects to these leaders is by making scholarship funds available to select organizations whose members are accepted into the program.
RealAcad has decided to provide a USD500 discount for ReComers who are interested to take part. If you are interested to take part, do let me know, so that I can submit your name to them.
For more info, go to RealAcad .
Personally, it seems very beneficial. The only thing is that it is quite costly. USD2,750 for a week of program or USD4,000 for 2 weeks of program. Even with USD500 of discount, that's still USD2,250 for a week of program or USD3,500 for 2 weeks of program.
But looking at the credentials of the trainers, it might be worth it. 2 Malaysians have been there. Goh Jing Pei and Chong Joon Chye. As of now, 107 people have been to the camp or are faculty there! You can have your face here too!
Do look at the credentials of the advisors and trainers too! here
The upcoming camp dates:-
2008 Program Calendar
Location Duration Dates Theme
Singapore 1 week 30 June - 05 July Create a Global Venture
Boston 1 week 28 July - 02 Aug Challenge Your Limits
Stanford 1 week 11 Aug - 16 Aug Venture Deep into Silicon Valley
Singapore 1 week 08 Dec - 13 Dec Realize the Impossible
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Would encourage any of my blog readers to share with me any event that you come across. As long as the event/activity/initiative is education/charity/youth oriented and is not-for-profit, I would be more than happy to post it to share!
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