Movies

Almost everybody loves going to the movies. Watching movies in a comfortable cineplex have become a popular choice of pastime for many of us nowadays. What makes the movie such a desired activity? I believe the secret lies in the magic of the silver screen: action, romance, comedy, tragedy and so on.
Sometimes, we will wonder how movies can be so captivating. They are realistic and agreeable; logical but sometimes can make no sense at all; coldly harsh yet compassionate at other times. Whatever the reason is, we just cannot help but to return to the cozy dark cinema and enjoy another movie.
Creating a movie is a big and laborious production. Many people are involved in the making of a movie. For instead, there are actors and actresses, a producer, a director, a writer, an editor and many more. This makes me appreciate a movie even more.
When we are enjoying a movie, we allow ourselves to immerse in the story of the movie. The visual and audio stimulation bombard our senses, making our imagination go wild. We can even imagine ourselves as one of the characters in the movie and it is certainly an intense feeling to have. In other words, watching movies is like an escape from reality. It is a healthy pastime that only costs a few ringgit. What more can we ask for?

The dos and don’ts of language learning

Learning English is fun but a lot of people do not like it because they find that English is hard. Actually learning English can be easy if you know the correct way.
First of all, we must use the languages often. Try to speak English with your friend. Don’t be afraid of making mistake. Besides that, we should take part in the English speaking activities which will make us braver and import our English too. Not only that, we also should read more English books and magazines in our spare time. Reading can help us to import our English too. On the other hand, there are also many don’ts that must keep in mind while learning English. Do not only read textbooks because it will not be enough. Also remember not to give up easily because learning a language is a lengthy and time consuming process. So we must be patient In order to be in good at it.
Finally, do not hesitate to ask for guidance. If you are willing to learn, they will be many people who are happy to help. As a conclusion, learning English will no longer be a problem if you remember all the do's and don’ts.

Ways of spending leisure time usefully

Nowadays, people are getting busier and busier every day. We can hardly find time to relax and unwind but when we do, there are plenty of ways to spend our leisure usefully.
First of all, doing exercise is one of the beneficial things we can do when we are free. When we exercise, we can maintain our health and strength. Therefore, we will not come sick and tired easily.
Besides that, we can use our leisure time to read. Reading is a good habit because we can increase knowledge and improve our language. We became more confident from reading.
In addition to this, we can try gardening during our free time. Gardening can calm our nerves and beautify our living surrounding. Therefore, our home can look more beautiful and natural which will further enhance our sense of pleasure.
Finally, doing house chores is also one of the beneficial ways to spend our leisure time. We get to understand the hard work and effort needed to maintain appreciate our parents who have been working hard maintaining our home to the tip top condition. As a conclusion, time is precious, let alone leisure time which are hard to get for some people. Therefore, we must use our time wisely and beneficial so we will not waste our life away.

My school

My school is my pride. It is a private Chinese school which means that it is the pillar of achievement from years of the local communal effort in preserving Chinese education in this country.
Tsun Jin High School is located along Jalan Loke Yew. It was built before the Second World War yet it still stands until today with many other additional structures to meet the current needs. Over two thousand students and hundreds of teachers consider Tsun Jin as their second home.
I first came to Tsun Jin High School in 2005. As a freshman, I found the school to be overbearing with many strict rules and regulations. There were many subjects to handle and I was facing a lot of stress. However, I realized that they were only a test of character and I soon prevailed. In fact, I became a better student because of studying in Tsun Jin.
Tsun Jin High School makes me a more intelligent and disciplined student. It gives me more confidence as I grow older. Furthermore, being a student of this school gives me a purpose in life because I know that I must put in a lot of effort in order to achieve my dreams. As a conclusion, I am proud of my school because it provides me with the highest quality in education. In return, I shall vom to be an excellent student to make my school proud.

The pros and cons of the Internet

The world has become smaller because of internet. The internet is a huge network linking to all kinds of information. This technology has made a great different to the world, changing the way we think, the way we do everything and also the way we communicate with each other. However, everything that is good may have its bad sides too. Hence, we must be wise to tell the difference between the pros and cons of internet.
Internet has many benefits. One of the benefits of internet is to provide us with lots of information. Through the internet, we can satisfy our hunger for knowledge because anything can be found in the internet by just a simple click. From secret cooking recipe to astronomy, the internet has them all.
Besides that, internet can help us “travel” around the world. We can understand the geographic and cultural sides of a country. As an example, we do not need to travel all the way to Paris just to see the Eifel Tower in Paris. Instead, we can view the many photos of the tower and read up on information base on it on the internet too.
On the other hand, the cons of internet include negative information reaching younger and impressionable group of internet users. For instance, youngsters are exposed to unnecessarily violence and pornography. Their minds will be polluted by such negative elements and thus they will behave negatively.
Other than that, the internet can be quite addictive. People can be so fascinated by the contents of the internet and therefore they forget about their responsibility. Take people like youngster for example, they will spend whole day being in front of the computer and forget all about their homework. In a nutshell, the internet offers many pros as well as cons. Therefore, we must be wise when we use it.

The advantages & disadvantages of the internet

The term internet has become the most recognized word for the young and the old. Everyone seems to know what internet is for and where to get it. The thing is, internet is the greatest invention of the 20th century for it holds all the information that human beings can possibly supply. With a click of button and keyboard strokes, we are connected to the world of information.
However useful the internet is it still poses several risks and disadvantage which we shall discuss later. Let us first lay out the advantages of using the internet. First of all, by exploring the net, we can increase our knowledge ranging from secret to nuclear physics. We can find almost anything on the worldwide web because it is a great network where people actually share information in the name of knowledge.
Besides that, internet is where we can obtain the updated news from every corner of the world. No matter where we are, as long as we get an internet connection, reading the latest news is simply a click away.
On the other hand, the disadvantages of internet include exposure to negative information such as pornography, violence, discrimination, propaganda and so on. This is even more damaging if young generation come to read negative information thus believing everything they read. Then our world may become an unpleasant place in the future.
In addition to this, spending too much time on the internet means that we are indoor and in front of the computer for long hours. This is actually not a healthy habit for us as we may develop health problems such as lethargy, heart disease, muscle aches and so on. Generally speaking, the internet can offer both pros and cons so it is up to us to use the internet wisely. Therefore we will not put ourselves in harm’s way by misusing this human invention. In fact, we also bear the responsibility to put the internet in use of a greater purpose, that is, to make this world a better place to be.

How to be a smart consumer?

We are all consumers when we buy a product or pay for a service. However, it is important for us to know how to be a smart consumer because money is not easily obtained. Therefore every sen counts and everything that we buy should be reasonable and in good quality.
To be a smart consumer, it is important to have a budget. A good budget keeps track of our spending; therefore we must set a limit and spend within our means. Besides that, we should buy only essential goods. Whenever we choose the things that we buy, we must never fall for any sales gimmicks.
Instead of shopping in the supermarket we can shop at the local market which offers more cheap and fresh items. We must always compare the price before we buy something. We should also learn how to bargain and choose items at lower price.
Being a good consumer is not only about buying things but also choosing products that are good for us. One way of doing so is to eat healthy. We must always buy fresh fruits of nutritious value and avoid junk food. To maintain our health, we should also cut down on preserved food and fruits too.
Not only that, we must also be well aware of our rights as consumers. Always, check for the expiry dates when we buy something. We have the right to get reliable and good services, check for warranty for goods and family go where prices are reasonable. In the nutshell, a smart consumer will benefit more so we should all learn how to be smart shoppers. Then, the money that we spend will be spent wisely so we can become happy consumers.

Watching television is a waste of time. Do you agree?

Nowadays, television has become a major part of our lives. Almost every home has a television. In fact, even restaurants, grocery shop, clinics and also mamak stores have televisions as a way to attract customers. We are now a television nation but this is not something that we should be proud of because television is not a vital necessity in our lives. Furthermore, too much television is eating our life away.
Watching television is a waste of time. When we watch television, we give it our visual and audio attention and there is very little we can do while watching television. We may enjoy a snack or two but that only ad up to the television does not allow us to do something else beneficial.
A television maybe a source of information but not all that it shows consists of useful information. We will find more beneficial knowledge from books and other resources compared to television, things like sobe opera, telecommersial, entertainment programs are obviously junk but many of us seem to enjoy feeding on it every day.
Besides that, people like students tend to spend too much time on television and forget that they have other responsibility. They will not be a good student when television time has occupied most of their time. Consequently, they will have home works not done, revisions forgotten, project incomplete and soon their great will decline.
As a conclusion, watching television maybe a good way to relax our mind but it is never a good thing to overdo the habit. If we spend too much time on television, we will only end up missing out on other good things in life one day. Therefore it is time to switch off the television and start doing something else instead.
Ways of spending leisure time usefully
Nowadays, people are getting busier and busier every day. We can hardly find time to relax and unwind but when we do, there are plenty of ways to spend our leisure usefully.
First of all, doing exercise is one of the beneficial things we can do when we are free. When we exercise, we can maintain our health and strength. Therefore, we will not come sick and tired easily.
Besides that, we can use our leisure time to read. Reading is a good habit because we can increase knowledge and improve our language. We became more confident from reading.
In addition to this, we can try gardening during our free time. Gardening can calm our nerves and beautify our living surrounding. Therefore, our home can look more beautiful and natural which will further enhance our sense of pleasure.
Finally, doing house chores is also one of the beneficial ways to spend our leisure time. We get to understand the hard work and effort needed to maintain appreciate our parents who have been working hard maintaining our home to the tip top condition.
As a conclusion, time is precious, let alone leisure time which are hard to get for some people. Therefore, we must use our time wisely and beneficial so we will not waste our life away.

Going to the mall

Whenever we have a little spare time on our hands, we may think about going to the mall. It has become a popular activity especially for a family in the city because this is the best way to tighten the family ties.
Personally, I enjoy going to the malls with my family too. There are many things we can do in the shopping mall. For instance, shopping for groceries together teaches the children how to spend wisely as well as understanding how parents manage the household necessity.
Besides that, we can also dine in the many restaurant found at the mall. Usually this is a mother’s holiday because she does not need to prepare meal for the whole family.
Typically, a mall offers various entertainment choices. We can watch a movie at the Cineplex; play a game of bowling, sings karaoke at the lounge and so on. The mall becomes the best place for us to relieve our stress.
Finally, a mall is not a mall if it does not sell trendy items such as clothes, bags, shoes, watches, glasses and so on. Young people are attracted to a mall because of the glitters and glamour’s of the mall. In a nutshell, a visit to the mall is very interesting. One can never get enough of a mall because it is always changing itself to meet the needs of the people.

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Sports

Anyone knows how much I am into sports. I am a member of the school athlete team since primary school. In fact, my greatest passion is in sprint race.
It is the reason why I believe that sports be introduced into everyone’s life because this passion of mine can bring many benefits to all of us. Not only will we become healthier by participating in sports, we get to live longer too.
Sports have many kinds of variety such as tracks, basketball, volleyball, badminton and so on. These options provide us a chance to choose the best kind of sports that suits us the most. Of course, we must also consider other factors such as age, stamina and physical ability.
Competitive sports have recently become a profitable activity. Many sports events are sponsored by major companies so people get to win many attractive prizes by taking part in the events. In fact, excellent athletes such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are now rich and famous celebrities because they have great achievement in sports.

In a nutshell, sports should be made ad a national past time so that a stringer nation will lead a better country.

Living in Kuala Lumpur

Living in Kuala Lumpur is a blissful thing. It is a city that never sleeps but this vibrant city has become a comfortable haven for many who call it home. Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia. It is a fusion of modern and traditional elements. Being the capital of the country, Kuala Lumpur attracts many people from all around the country as well as the world. This is the place to understand the essence of multiracial society, where different cultures, fashion, food and languages blend into the lifestyle of Kuala Lumpur. If you are in town, you had better get used to the temperate weather here. It could be not and sunny for one minute, the wet and cool in the next. Many people who come unprepared will certainly form a love and hate relationship with this city. One of the ups of living in Kuala Lumpur is the high standard of living that people can enjoy here. We have everything we need in terms of basic facilities, daily necessities employment opportunities as well as entertainment and pleasure seeking activities. Furthermore, the city offers one of the lowest living costs in the world so we get to enjoy life without having to pay through our noses. In a nutshell, living in Kuala Lumpur offers numerous advantages. Anyone who gets the chance of being here will very likely want to stay in this lovely city forever. What can you ask from a city like Kuala Lumpur?

A working woman makes a useless mother. State your view.

To say that a working woman makes a useless mother is a chauvinistic statement. We are currently living in a gender-equal society. It is therefore unfair and unfathomable to see that same people still believe women should stay at home instead of working or that women cannot do both.

If working women makes useless mothers, are we saying that prominent female figures such as President of Germany, Horst Koehler, President Arroyo from the Philippines and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from United Kingdom are all terrible monsters? If they are, how can they lead the nation? It goes to show that women are capable of managing thief cancer and family at the same time.

Besides that, working women are more rational, tolerant and patient. In fact, they are more knowledgeable too. Working in a challenging environment enables women to become more versatile. That helps tremendously for women to handle the challenges faced at home.

Moreover, working mothers are more understanding. They are more eager to listen to their children because they have less time to spend with the young ones. They appreciate more of the quality time that they get to spend with the family. In other words, working mothers can become good if not better mothers.

In addition to this, working mothers are more confident. They are financially independent so they can support themselves and the family instead of depending entirely on the husbands. Therefore, working mothers are also a good role model for thief children because of their confidence and independence.

Not only that, working women posses the ability to maintain a happy household if only the husband is willing to share the responsibility. In fact, if working mothers are really not doing their job right, then the fathers ought to share the blame. Marriage is a partnership between husband and wife. Therefore, if the husband is the only bread winner and the wife is left at home taking care of the household, it is not much of the partnership at all.

Finally, working women learn to multitask which is an important skill to be applied while managing their home. It is not an easy skill but most working women seem to be able to pull it through. We must salute these magnificent women for trying so hard in doing so much.

All in all, working women can be great mothers. Their hard work and effort should be acknowledged and appreciated for they are the mothers of our children and with their caring and motherly hands, they shape the future of our life.

How to lead a healthy lifestyle

What is a healthy lifestyle? One may ask. A healthy lifestyle is having a lifestyle filled with good and positive things in many aspects such as mental, physical and emotional well-being. One needs to maintain his health so that he is able to function normally in life.

To live a healthy lifestyle, we must always have a balanced diet. A balanced diet consists of all seven classes of food on their tight proportions including carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats fibre and water. If we do not abide by this rule, we may get sick easily. In other words, we need to eat right in order to stay healthy.

Besides that, we must also do regular exercise for at least three days a week. Exercise help in improving one’s stamina, physical strength and agility. During exercise, our body will be able to take in more oxygen and increasing metabolism for healthier cells. Therefore, we can maintain our health by exercising more often.

Not only that, we must have enough rest and sleep after we have done something strenuous. Enough rest and sleep for as long as eight hours will help us to recover energy that we have lost during the day. In fact, once we recharge through enough rest and sleep, we can do our job or carry out daily routine vigorously.

In addition to this, we should also get a hobby such as reading, playing chess, listening music, surfing the internet, watching television and so on. We need to have a hobby for us to spend our time more productively instead of wasting time aimlessly. With hobbies, we can even find common grounds with our friends to share and enjoy together.

Furthermore, we must have a healthy social life. We can improve our social life by having friends to talk to spend our time with. If we face any problems, we can have a friend to lean on. Get someone to talk to when you are under a lot stress and surely you can relieve your pressure that way more effectively than other way.

Finally, we must also stay away from negative habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs. It is important to know that such habits can harm our health and may even lead to our death. Life is precious so we should not waste it on negative lifestyle.

As a conclusion, practicing a healthy life will bring us more benefits than we think. Those who live a healthy lifestyle, tend to enjoy a longer and happier life. We can too if we start to follow the right steps towards healthy lifestyle today.

Speech - Crime Prevention

Good morning to the principal, teachers and students of Tsun Jin High Schools. I am Chief inspector Lai of Pudu district. I have been invited by your school today to talk about the crimes that are committed by youths and ways to overcome the rising crime rate. Has anyone of you been inflicted by any forms of crime?
Has your family been the victim of crime? I believe that some of you may be encountered crime first hand or even heard about it from someone you know. Therefore, we can see that the crime rate in recent days has increased tremendously and unfortunately some of them involve youth the same age as you are. It is an alarming issue hence it is time for us to scrutinize upon the issue and figure out ways to tackle it.
Currently, statistics show that youth involve in crime like vandalism, fights, illegal racing, extortion, thief and so on. They are against the law so if anyone gets caught, he or she will be apprehended and prosecuted in the court of law. If they are found to be guilty, youth may be sent to juvenile correction center. Certainly, no one wants to be sent a juvenile correction center, will you?
In order to overcome this issue, parents play important role to prevent youth from being involved in crimes. Parent should keep a close eye on thief children and make sure behave themselves. They must be aware of the type of company that their children are involved with. Only then, parents can help to prevent thief children from going astray.
Besides that, schools are also just as responsible in curbing the problem of crime among youth. Discipline, counseling and education can help guide the youth on the right path instead of learning towards negative behavior. Teachers should also keep a close eye on student in case their deviate from their normal realize.
As a conclusion, we are all responsible in the crime fighting effort to prevent and cut down the rate of crime involving youth. We must know that youth are the future leaders of the country so you should all stay away from crime and focus on your study. Remember, the nation depends on you.
Thank you.

Speech - Safety for Students

Greetings to the principal of SMK Datok Lokman, Puan Hajah Norrizan binti Bahari, teachers and my fellow friends. As the president, I am here on behalf of the Crime Prevention Club to give a speech entitled ‘Safety for Students’.

As a student, we need to be cautious and beware of our surrounding that we can maintain our safety. Nowadays, many crime cases are overlooked because we think they do not concern us. The truth of the matter is we cannot ignore the crime cases that is happening around us because the more we ignore, the more serious it will become. So the key question to ask is, how do we deal with crime and learn to protect ourselves?

First of all, prevention is better than cure. When we have to travel, we must always travel in pairs or in groups. That way, we will not become an easy target for the criminals. If anything has happen, at least one member of the group may have chance to escape and call for help.
Besides that, we should never take short cuts when we go to school or return home. Usually short cuts are located at remote areas where there are very few people. If someone chooses to attack you in such place, you will less likely to escape safety. Therefore, we should stay away from such area at all time.

Not only that, we must keep in mind that we should never accept anything from strangers. If we do not know these people, why in the world would they give anything to us? Their intention are questionable so we cannot trust them at all. Otherwise, we may fall into their traps and become victims of crime.

At night, if we happen to walk alone in the streets and we realize that someone is following us, we must remember one important thing: keep walking if a strange vehicle or individual approaches you. Do not let them know that you are aware of their presence. Then, make sure you head over to a crowded place which will be safer. Perhaps that will be best time to call for help.

In addition to this, if you see a suspicious character hanging around the school or its entrance, please inform your teacher. Teachers are responsible for your safety in the school compound. So they will take necessary steps to deal with the suspicious by informing the authority.

Last but not least, one must remember not to play or stand in the street while waiting for your transport home. Criminals will target you on the street with the intention of kidnapping or robbing you so you should not give them the chance to harm you.

As a conclusion, we must pay attention to our surroundings at all time. Stay alert and you will never fall as the victims of crime. Do not forget pass this message and useful tips to your friends and family so they get protected too.

Thank you.

The dangers of smoking

Nowadays, the number of smoking has increased tremendously because of its addictiveness and the vigorous advertising effort from the cigarette manufacturer. Many anti-smoking campaigns have been by the authority but they fail to bring much effect. At the end of the day, it all boils down to whether or not we truly understand the danger of smoking in order to decrease the number of smokers effectively.

One of the most damaging effects of smoking is the health problems caused by such nasty habit. Short term effects include shortness of breath, yellowing of teeth, bad breath and skin and so on. Long term effects are cancer, emphysema, asthma, bronchitis and so on. Ultimately, you die younger and more painfully than usual if you smoke.

In addition to this, smoking can cause second hand smoke. Second hand smoke occurs when someone smokes a cigarette among the non-smokers in the same room. As they breathe the same air, they are sharing the same contaminated air. Therefore, the non-smokers are going to face the same health hazards as mentioned before.

Besides that, when one is smoking and exhale the chemically filled smoke into the air. It will linger in the air especially in the close place such as restaurant, toilet, cinema, shopping center and so on. As such, it can cause air pollution that will threaten the health of others. In fact, many public areas have been declared as non-smoking zones to protect the well-being of the non-smokers.

Not only that, once the smokers light up his cigarette the fire hazards increase a lot more than usual depending on the surroundings and how the smoker deals with the cigarette. If one chooses to flick the cigarette butt carelessly without putting out the fire first, then the fire can turn into a huge flame if it comes across any flammable things.

Finally, if you care about your social life, then you should stay away from the terrible habit of smoking. One of the reasons is that smoking can cause bad mouth, yellowing of teeth, bad skin and lowering the overall image of the person. Who wants to befriend with somebody like that?

In a nutshell, anyone who is concern about his or her health and image, must never try smoking at all. Every puff you take out of a cigarette is a step closer to self-destruction. Perhaps today will be the day we learn about how dangerous it is to smoke. Thus we will be more determined to say ‘No” to smoking from today onwards.

Helping the Poor

Good morning to our beloved teacher and fellow friends. It is an honour for me to be here and the topic that I would like to share with you today is entitled: “Helping the Poor”.

Sometimes it is easy for us to forget how lucky we are with our family always by our side, making sure that we live a comfortable life and getting formal education. We often take things for granted because we do not have to worry about basic necessity unlike many people who are not as fortunate as we are. Many people, for example, the community living in Kampong Tupai who is living below the poverty line, have to go through their daily lives from hand to mouth. Since Kampong Tupai is a typical rural area, there are very little job opportunities for the community there. Those who are lucky enough to secure a job will still have to work on a minimum wage as they make ends meet. In fact, majority of the residents of Kampong Tupai cannot even afford to seek medical treatment. Worst yet, most of them have to live in a deplorable and unhygienic condition because they are unable to improve their standard of living.

We should be aware that there are many more places around the country like Kampong Tupai, where people do not have much to defend themselves from the problems of poverty. They desperately need our help and assistance but you may wonder: what can you do to help the poor? The answer is simple. You may start a local charity drive in our school or even local residential area. Get people to gather various forms of aid such as groceries, medicine as well as cash aid.

Besides that, schools can definitely help by having welfare and service clubs that are like any other co-curricular activities. The only difference is that such student bodies will focus on community service and get the whole school to be involved in helping the needy people. Furthermore, students can be encouraged to participate in school organised trips to visit local orphanages and old people’s home. Through such noble effort, students can become more understanding and giving in charity work.

All in all, in line with the effort of creating a caring society, we should all be involved in social work and serve the community voluntarily. By helping others, we do not only bring happiness to strangers but we are also sowing the seed of love in the lives of those who are living in hopelessness and sorrow.

Drugs

Ever since human started dabbling in the field of medicine, people have learnt many uses of drug with great medicinal value. However useful they are, drugs should only be taken after consultation with a doctor. Otherwise, it will lead to addiction and cause great harm to the user if the drug is taken habitually.

Our country has been battling the problem of drug abuse for many years. It is the nation’s number one enemy because it will lead to various social problems. When the problem concerns youth of the country, it becomes a more distressing issue for all. This is because we cannot foresee our country being led by future generation with drug problem.

Besides that, people who are addicted to drug are often associated with crimes because drugs will impair their sense of judgment. Therefore, they will go to the extend of stealing, lying and even killing just to satisfy their addiction. They become a menace to the society and their behaviour poses a great threat towards the peace and orderly of our community.

Furthermore, being depended on drugs causes one to lose his or her ability to function normally. In other words, drug abusers cannot work like a healthy living being and without work, they lose financial independence. That means they do not have money to support themselves as well as their terrible habit. Hence they will once again resort to crimes in order to maintain their intoxicated lifestyle.

Moreover, drugs are lethal because people will die of drug overdose. Abusing drugs can also expose the users to the deadly AIDS virus if they share syringes with another drug addicts with AIDS. Therefore, either way we look at it, a drug addict will still die of a horrible death.

As a closure. It is important that we become more aware of the dangerous effects of drug abuse. That way, we will learn to say no to drugs in every possible situation. By staying away from drugs, we will assure ourselves a healthy and fulfilling life.

The Setting of The Return

In the novel “The Return” by K.S. Maniam, there are two types of settings which are social setting and physical setting. Social setting refers to the time or period when the story is set in and physical setting refers to place where the story takes place.

In terms of social setting, the story is set between 1940 until 1962, from the pre-independence era of Malaya that is also known as the British colonial period in Malaya; to the Japanese occupation of Malaya; to the independence of Malaya; even until the time of emergency, when curfew hours were imposed due to the activities of the communists. The story is also set in a small town of Bedong, Kedah where most of the action takes place in the “lines” which is known as Bedong Group Hospital.

The novel deals with life of the Indian immigrants from lower social strata or rather labourers. They are the Tamils who had very little education worked in the district hospital and in the rubber estates. They included Kannan and his neighbours. On the other hand, there are also the educated Indians, like CD (Ayah), Mrs. CD and the Justice of the Peace (JP), who held more responsible positions and looked down upon the working class. They keep to themselves and constantly look down upon as well as discriminate the labourers. Meanwhile, there are also the British, who ran the country and held the top posts and they were feared and held in awe. Despite the differences in social ranks, the Indian community in Bedong does share similar cultural values. The Tamils observed Hindu festivals such as Deepavali, Thaipusam and Ponggal. They lived their lives according to mainly Hindu customs.

In terms of Physical settings, there is Bedong which is the place where Kannan’s family lives specifically beside the Hindu cemetery where Periathai puts up the first shelter in the most undeveloped part of the town. It is also the same place where Periathai dies of cancer. Besides that, there is the long house or better known as ‘the lines” which is the place where Ravi is introduced to formal Tamil education at first. In addition to this, there is the hospital compound where CD sneers at the Ravi and tells him he is fit only to wash other people’s dirty clothes. As Kannan’s business prospers, we witness the opening of the laundry shop in Bedong town. However, as the story spiral downwards for Kannan after the death of Periathai, the setting slowly changes to beside the river where Kannan’s tragic death occurs there.

Bedong is also where Ravi used to live in - the “lines” which are houses with little basic amenities. The lines is the place where most conflicts and values systems affect him. He goes to school around the area and it is where Miss Nancy influence him by providing him with hopes, a place for him escape poverty and oppression and that draws him away from life at the “lines”.

On the other hand, a different setting took place at Sungai Petani which is where Ravi goes to school and later returns to this place to teach. At the same place, we see Ravi gaining a place in the English school. At the end, Sungai Petani is also the same place where Ravi starts work as a qualified teacher.

Other less significant physical setting includes Gurun and Merbok where Kannan opens two laundry shops were here. Not forgetting England where Ravi goes to for two years for teaching training

As a conclusion, we see Kannan and Periathai being affected by their environment. They try very hard to establish roots in Malaya as well as to own their piece of land. However they both fail as we witness Periathai dies of cancer without achieving her dream whereas Kannan dies in a fire. Ravi, though saddened by the tragic lost, finds his own way out of the difficult life in Bedong and changes his fate through means of education.

The effects of pollution

Pollution has become a happening issue which many of us would not have welcomed. It is a distressing problem because as we are discussing the topic now, our mother earth is also slowly being eaten away by the problem of pollution. The question is what are the devastating effects of pollution if we continue to allow it to happen?

First of all, greenhouse effect is considered as the worst ever problem which the earth has ever come across with. Due to the excessive emission of global warming gases, our mother earth is now surrounded by an extra layer of greenhouse gases and this causes heat to be trapped inside the atmosphere. This will lead to the increase of temperature, uncertain weather and the melting of ice caps at the poles.

Besides that, due to the pollution of water, we face a possible loss of clean fresh water source. If we cannot have the supply of natural clean water simply because we ruined it, we may have to pay a huge price just for a glass of drinkable water.

Not only that, the pollution of air and water has also caused the extinction of flora and fauna. They cannot continue to live if there is no clean air and water. In fact, the whole ecosystem will lose its balance once pollution becomes out of control.

In addition to this, humans cannot escape the terrible effect of pollution either. Due to pollution, we are exposed to all kinds of pollution-related diseases. Hence, the more we pollute the earth, the sicker we become. In other words, our longevity will be greatly shortened because of pollution.

Finally, when worse comes to worst, we will witness the total annihilation of the human race one day due to pollution. Perhaps some may not believe it, but it is highly possible especially when people cannot control the rate of pollution.

Simply put, we may think that we are intelligent and superior beings, taking charge of the world but we are wrong. The balance of nature has been disturbed and if we do not step on the break on development now, it may be too late. Hence, it is vital time for us to step up and protect our mother earth from further destruction.

Computers

Nowadays, you would be a hopeless hermit if you have never heard of the word “computers”. Computers are so common among modern households that they are practically found in every home. Thus we cannot ignore the powerful influence that computers has had over our life.

Computers can bring a lot of benefits to us. First of all, computers help us manage complicated datas and present them in an easier format. Charts, tables, reports, presentations and so on will not be possible without a computer.

Besides that, computers also help us to get information on different topic such as world views and sports items. This is because a normal computer can be connected to the internet which is a world of information.

In addition to this, computers have since evolved into an entertainment centre. We can play games, listen to music, chatting with friends all over the world and so on by just using a computer. This means that in the near future, we do not need to buy all kinds of entertainment equipment because a computer would have been enough.

Finally, we also use a computer to carry out chores. We can pay our bills online, book airs tickets or movie tickets online as shopping online. All these are made possible with the use of computer.

As a conclusion, our lives are now much easier because we have computers. However, we need to understand that a computer is still a tool so it cannot replace our basic ability as a human being.

A happy family

QUESTION: What, in your opinion, makes a happy family?

A family is a social unit that consists of parents, children and sometimes extended family members such as grandparents, cousins and so on. A society is not complete if it is without families. Although a lot of people will come up with different opinions in terms of what makes a happy family.

Everybody craves for a positively charged family. An individual who grows up in a happy family tends to become a well-rounded person. Therefore they key factor to a happy family is love and understanding. Family members may have different personalities that sometimes clash or cause conflicts. However, if everyone practices a little sense of understanding, love can conquer any problems.

Besides that, a loving family must be a forgiving family. To err is human so we must know how to forgive and forget. It is very important in a family to practice forgiveness because we can cut down a lot of unnecessary disputes. That way, we can also say that a forgiving family allows room for an individual to learn from the mistakes.

Communication is also as important as other values brought up before this. A family that never communicates with each other will face disastrous consequences. This is because the lack of communication means the less understanding between family members. If we try to keep communication line, open for our family, we are embracing them and allowing them to enter our circle. That way, they will be just as willing as to open up to us so that we get to share our ups and downs as well as resolving problems together.

Having humour within the family is like adding salt and pepper to your favorite dish. If we learn to not take everything too seriously, we can see life a little differently than everyone else. Laughter is the best medicine so who else can we share our joy and happiness if not for our family? In fact, humour can lift our spirit and encourage more positive thinking. Therefore by being humorous, we can influence our family to be happier.

All in all, family is precious to all of us. If we adapt a more positive outlook on life, we should always include our family within. As such, it is vital that we try our best to create a happy family the best that we can.

War

From the beginning of time, men have fought each other for money, power and many more reasons. However, war between men should not have any justification at all because war does not bring any benefits to us but destruction. The bottom line is, war kills many lives and religious of all society never condones such murderous act.

The outbreak of war is the beginning of infinite tragedies. People involved in wars will lose their homes, friends and loved ones. We see soldiers trained to be merciless and cruel in order to obtain victory. Although is it really victorious for a country to win a war when millions and millions of lives are being sacrificed aimlessly.

Through the pages of history, we get to wishes the damage of war towards human civilization. We may be living in a modernized world, yet every time there is a war, we degenerate a few centuries back. This is due to the reconstruction work needed to build the society that has been afflicted by war.

Most of the war began because of the most selfish reason one can think of. Take the war in Darfur for instance. Innocent people are being slaughtered for the control of land and diamond mines. Even neighboring countries helped subsidized the war by supplying weapons and soldiers just because they can gain some profit from the war. Such senseless act must be condemned by the world instead of keeping mum about it.

Wars are often associated with dictators. People with moral decay like Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, George W.Bush and so on are just few of the many war criminals who believe that starting a war can help them achieve political agendas. In fact, some of these war criminals also profited tremendously from playing war games. Therefore, we should ask ourselves is it really worth to support dictators in the pursuit of their personal wealth and glory?

Simply put, life is precious so we should not waste it on wars. The peace movement will be an on-going struggle for human kind as long as the-power-to-be or the people with power are those with selfish thoughts. Let us decide who should govern our future and may it be a future without war.

Smoking

Smoking is a terrible habit yet many people do it. In fact, the number of smokers in the country has risen in the recent years. Despite the many efforts made by the authority to curb smoking habit among the nation, the effort seems to fail to show any positive results. The million dollar question is, why do people smoke and what are the side-effects of smoking?

As we all know, smoking do not bring any benefits to us but it does expose us to numerous health hazards. Diseases such as bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, nasal cancer and so on so forth are simply few of the many outcome of smoking. Therefore, before you light up another cigarette, think about which hospital bed you want to lay on in the next 5 to 10 years.

Besides that, smokes do not only harm themselves but they also harm others by producing the problem of second-hand smoke. The damaging effects of carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar and carcinogens are just as bad being inhaled by non-smokers. This is almost like act of murder in the second degree but the blood is in the hands of the smokers.

Moreover, the habit of smoking is a wasteful thing to do. Since one can become addicted to cigarette smoking easily due to nicotine, therefore he or she will go back to the habit of smoking. Moreover the price of a packet of cigarette is not cheap so in the long run, smoking is an expensive habit.

In addiction to this, smoking is not good for one’s image. A smoker is easily identified by his poor complexion on the face, yellow teeth and bad breath. He is definitely not an ideal person to befriend with or going out on a date with.

As a closure, smoking do more harm than good so we must stay away from such insidious habit. Only then can we assure ourselves a healthy and fulfilling life.

Food

Many people have this love and hate relationship when it comes to food. I, for one, love food. Food has become one of my passions in life since I was a young and curious child.

My father shares the same passion for food as I do. He used to bring me out to the end of the world just to enjoy every sort of exotic food ranging from durians to Hokaido’s famous hairy crabs. I guess my adventurous taste buds must have been inherited from my dear father.

Food is almost like an ambassador of a country. For example, when one tastes the wonderful freshness of sushi, he will definitely think of Japan. The sour and spicy food from Thailand represents the passionate friendliness of the Thais. This is the great influence of food.

Besides that, food has the magical touch of bringing up happy memories. When we bite on a slice of cake or a bar of chocolate, the great taste reminds us of past experience in our childhood. Such feeling is something that money cannot buy.

In a nutshell, food is not only something that we need to satisfy our hunger or supply us with nutrients that we need. Food is also something that feed our soul and our minds. This is why I love food so much.

by

LHS

National Service

Question: how has the national service helped in fostering racial harmony among the different races in the country?

As we all know, National Service has been introduced to the nation by the Malaysian government in 2002 and the program has slowly received acceptance from the people over the time. Despite the overall general acceptance by the Malaysian public, however, some are still sceptical about the effectiveness of National Service.

Those who have doubts fail to see how a program like National Service is able to put together a stronger and more united nation. They constantly criticise the program for wasting time, effort, money and energy. Yet if they give something new a chance and look at the issue from afar, we can then understand the bigger picture in the idea behind National Service.

The thing is, when youth nowadays with all the development and privilege they enjoy, are showing signs of losing touch with history of how the country was built in the first place. They allow their petty differences get ahead of themselves. These young and the restless Malaysians tend to become impatient, less tolerant, discriminate, prejudiced and worst of all, divided.

A country will not stand strong if their youth cannot live harmoniously together. Therefore it is important that the Malaysian youth be given the opportunity to be trained in a regimented program with solid objectives and beneficial learning modules. Our future leaders of the country can then be taught the true values that Malaysians have upheld ever since the independence of Malaysia.

Unlike the drafting service implemented by our neighbouring country, the Malaysian National Service basically enlist selected group of young Malaysians who are 18 years old to be trained in programs consisting of 20 % military style of physical training which does not involve combat training at all. In fact, the trainees also undergo various training modules that serve the main objectives of fostering interracial understanding and harmony.

In other words, when Malaysian youths of different races are gathered together to execute a series of training programs which requires team work and cooperation, they will be able to bond and form stronger relationships. They get to learn about each other’s differences through ethnic and cultural modules, they can see the lifestyle and religious practices carried out by different races and most important of all, they understand each other a lot better than before. Such opportunity rarely gets to be experienced by all Malaysians if not given the right time and the right place.

All in all, we must acknowledge the good intentions of implementing National Service for our young Malaysians. After going through the thick and thin with other fellow trainees, certainly they will learn to appreciate each other more. Furthermore, they may then proceed to the next chapter of their life with stronger conviction that national unity can never be compromised or forgotten lightly.

Mobile phone: Friend or Foe?

Mobile phone has become a fashionable trend especially among the younger generation. Nowadays, the function of a mobile telephone is no longer limited to just a communication tool but more. We get to use it to send text messages, play games, take photographs, play music, record sound and videos and so on. The list goes on and on with the help of software and technology. In fact, it is believed that mobile phones will continue to evolve and become an inseparable part of our life in the near future.

The use of mobile phones among students, however, has raised a lot of questions and debate among society. Many believe that students should not be using mobile phones because it causes distraction and students will lose track of their responsibilities. Students who frequently use mobile phone will not be focusing in their study thus their grades will slip tremendously. Although such belief has yet to be proven statistically, life of a student who has plenty of tasks to juggle with already, should not be further complicated anymore with the use of a mobile phone.

Students who often use mobile telephone with its many features tend to misuse the gadget if they are not properly guided. They may send or forward useless messages when they are bored, take pointless photographs for fun, play meaningless games on the phone just to kill time and basically defeat the whole purpose of owning a phone in the first place. Parents usually are willing to purchase a mobile phone for their school-going children just to keep in contact but if they realise that the phone is going to be misused in such a manner, perhaps parents would think twice before doing so.

Besides that, there are also concerns over health hazards caused by the use of mobile phones. Possible outcomes believed to be connected to the use of mobile phone include cancer, brain tumor, migraine, lowering of immunity level and so on. Scientific studies have been conducted numerous times to prove the statement but so far the result has been inconclusive. Nevertheless, we should all be careful with the excessive use of mobile phone because we can never be too careful when it comes to our health and safety.

All in all, technology like mobile phone should not be treated as a threat but a convenience. However such convenience must never be misused or it could bring upon negative consequences. Students, especially, ought to practice moderation and self discipline when it comes to the use of mobile phone because they should be aware that their responsibility should never be taken over by any form of over indulgence.

My Favourite Travel Spot

When one travels to a foreign place, the ultimate pleasure is obtained from experiencing numerous wonders and beauty. I personally had once such memorable experience before and the magnificent land of wonders is Tokyo, Japan.

I have always wanted to visit Japan for I have seen and heard so much about it from the main stream media. Although when I was told by my dear parents that we would be visiting the land of the rising sun last year, I was completely dumbfounded for it all came as a surprise. In addition to this, we would be visiting Tokyo during the winter. As a frequent traveler, I would still be excited by the idea of seeing snow in the metropolitan of Tokyo.

Tokyo is a full-bloomed metropolitan because of the efficiency of almost everything despite the high population living in it. My family and I were travelling around the beautiful city on foot, via subway and tour buses. What an experience it was! Being on a Tokyo subway, I could see the crowds of people coming in and out of the carriages systematically. It was like the Japanese have conformed to the system so well that they do not need signs or verbal reminder to tell them to squeeze in further without getting anyone hurt. My family dared not take the chance of squeezing along with the locals during rush hours so sometimes we resorted to waiting for the next train instead.

The best experience being in Tokyo would be the culinary trip we had there. I got to try many Japanese cuisines such as sushi, sashimi, ramen, udon, caviar, local confectionery, chocolates and so much more. I fell in love with the food there because Japanese are famous for their articulacy and detailed attention put in their food. I could almost taste love in the food that they make.

I definitely underwent some cultural shock while interacting with the locals. People there are extremely polite and organized. I could see books and mobile phone as their loyal companions no matter where they go. There was not much opportunity to befriend any Japanese of my age although I was very curious to find out what would be in their minds.

Tokyo is a must-see place for any avid travelers. Although there are a lot more magnificent sights offered in other parts of Japan, I would not mind visiting Tokyo again because I do not believe I have explored the city completely yet. I love Tokyo and it will always have a special place in my heart because of its modern features, exotic cultures and most important of all, delicious food.