Highlights | Exclusive Interview | The Observer | Motivation Articles | Aspiration | Quickies

Published by the Counseling and Students Development Unit, SSSD Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS

Eighth Edition | September 2010 TheInspirer ____________________________________________________________________________

SURVIVING THE FUTURE: JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF ONE

THE X FACTOR: HAVE YOU GOT IT?

A CULTURAL PHENOMENON

_____________________________

_____________________________

AWARENESS AWARENESS

TheInspirer ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

ADVISOR Haji Abdul Jalil Abdullah

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Mohd. Ashraf bin Nor Azrol

SECTION EDITORS `Arif Amin bin Ahmad Puzi

Nor Nadia bt. Jamal Abd Nasir Lim Camille

Muhammad bin Hasan Azhari

PROMOTION EDITOR Devashne Selvanathan

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Wong Aun Chyi Nur Izyan Izzati Abd Halim Ahmad Fikry Mohd Anwar

Editor’s Note

In Pakistan, over 200, 000 people died in one of the most catastrophic flood in history and half a million people in Haiti are homeless after a mighty earthquake hit their capital. Should we be concerned about them? No, because none of those two incidences are directly affecting our lives. However, we should rethink our ignorance and look into what we have become. One day when disaster hits us, will there be anyone to help us?

Individualism has been ripe in this university, building upon academic performance and social activities. Yet in terms of humanity and consciousness, we are like rats trapped in the cheese jar. Nothing else matters because we already have everything, so why bother about the problems of others? Although there are events and programmes that have tried to raise such awareness, the response in them can hardly fill in a lecture room of 30. The reception among students is low and demoralizing. Despite the fact that we are going to live in the outside world once we graduate, many of us do not see their role in the society.

In this edition, we explore the idea of students’ role in the society and the future that they are going to live in outside of this campus. Under the theme ‘Awareness’, we bring to you insights and the importance of inculcating awareness among students in this university. We should change this ‘I-don’t-care’ attitude to ‘I-do-care’ if we are to become well-rounded students. After all, we only spend at most five years in this university, but there are many more years to come in this real and unforgiving world.

Ashraf Wassalam

Mohd. Ashraf b. Nor Azrol

1 

Highlights | 2

Exclusive Interview: Dr. Azrai | 3

The Observer: Awareness | 5

Motivation Article: The X Factor | 7

Aspiration: A Cultural Phenomenon | 9

Quickies | 11

C o n t e n t __________________________________

TheIn

spire

r | Se

ptem

ber 2

010

2 Highlights

Awareness. Awareness? Awareness! What about it? Well people, some parts of your somewhat hectic varsity life, filled with pretty much chaos and excitement, how often have you stop to ponder, about environmental issues, HIV/AIDS, green house effect, sickening actions of teenagers, or maybe politics and world economy? These are the problems repeatedly being debated across the nation and as university students, you and I should probably develop our conscience, and be more sensitive towards our surroundings. We are not little children anymore, we are future leaders. If we take it for granted, I do not even dare to imagine what will happen to our world by the time we were to lead its development. Scary huh? But nevertheless, let’s just forget about that for a while, because I’m not going to write anything about the rising world temperature, or AIDS, or cleanliness. But rather oddly, I’m going to write about family this time around as awareness can only begin there.

Lift your right hand and put it on your heart, here meaning the left of your chest, because you can’t literally touch your heart. Put it there and ask yourself, how long has it been since you called home? How long has it been since you last heard from your parents? Don’t say it out loud, just keep your little secret between you and your whispering heart. Yes I know, you’re busy, I’m busy too, and in fact who isn’t. But do you think the word “busy” should really be the reason for being distant with your beloved family back in your hometown?

For now, reminisce while you’re reading this. Do you still remember the times when you were three? The times when your mom used to hold you everywhere she went in her arms, talking to the neighbors, making you your milk, buying vegetables, sometimes even to occasions like wedding dinners in her beautiful dress, only to have you puke on it, but still, she patiently cleaned you up before herself although you made her ugly and stinky? Do you still remember on your birthday when your mom and dad blew out the candles with you and you smiled goofily with your coconut hairstyle? Can you still feel the warmth of their voices, telling you to change after school and go have your lunch? Can you still feel the touch of the rough palm that used to hold yours snug and tight, leading you across the road, and almost everywhere you went?

But slowly, we were not that little child in mom’s and dad’s arms anymore. We all grew up, we went to school, we met friends of our own, and soon became best friends with them and told them all our secrets, just like the way we used to with our parents. Eventually, we all had our dreams and goals, we moved on. We left for college, we worked extra hard to achieve our targets, and we eventually got busier and busier. We have a life of our own now. But what about mom and dad? Yes, we are considered an adult now, but in our parents’ eyes, we are always their little princes and princesses. Parents, they have never let go of us, their love have never gotten any lesser from the day we were born. Trust me, just a five minutes call is more than enough to make their day, and an “I love you” will totally melt their heart, like an ice cream melting down the cone on a hot sunny day.

If parents can love us unconditionally, regardless of how naughty we used to be, despite how rebellious we were to them, why can’t we do the same? They were the one who raised us up, taught us how to read and write, fed us, dressed us, and showered us with all the love they had. And if there are any persons on earth that deserves our love the most, they are our parents. They had sacrificed a lot for us, and without them, we wouldn’t be here, and you wouldn’t probably be sitting down in your chair right now, reading this article without needing to worry about food or shelter, like the unfortunate do. Well people, let’s make the smile in the family portrait a reality, rather than just a commanded action to make the picture looks better. Cherish your old folks with love and respect; make their lives perfect by having you as their greatest success.

By: Lim Camille (ME, 1st Year 1st Semester)

TI

TheInspirer | September 2010

3 Th

eInsp

irer |

Sept

embe

r 201

0

1. Why should students not be reduced to ‘bookworms’?

Students nowadays are not what they used to be like back in the old days. They are active in many other things and for me that is what makes a person’s character. Years ago, we did not have the internet but now we do, so the ‘bookworm’ habit should also include those who sit in front of their computers. This should not happen. You and your computer do not make the society. Communication needs to be there to gain the trust from the society. Students need to start networking, in reality rather than online, and hope to have many friends even from different countries. I myself am still in contact with my American dorm mate even though we have not seen each other for more than 20 years. Previously, networking was a business thing but today, it has gone to a more personal level. Most importantly, this creates an avenue for us to handle

Exclusive Interview

Surviving The Future: A Jack of All Trades, Master of One

By : Mohd Ashraf bin Nor Azrol (PE, 2nd Year 2nd Semester)

directly or indirectly any of our future dealings like a business or job. Sometimes, the indirect way or friend-of-a-friend relationship helps to move things along faster. Thus, I feel that being a ‘bookworm’ has not worked before in the past, thus it will not work in the future too. 2. What other skills besides technical knowledge are important? Technical knowledge alone will not be enough. There must be other complements to accompany the knowledge such as attitude and manner. Be humble and there is nothing to lose. In the past we did not have to teach things like this but today we have to embed them into the curriculum. Actually, it depends on the individual. We might teach, let’s say leadership skills, but students may not become good leaders. Students should be able to adapt their behaviours and manners with any situation. For me, that is what I did. I will be different when I am teaching in my class compared to when I am having high level meetings.

lose-mindedness in the university have been worrying educators for years. The vision of having a well-rounded student is unachievable as long as open mindedness is not inculcated. The Inspirer seeks to find out the truth about

this matter and we interviewed one of the most open-minded individuals in UTP, Dr Azrai b. Hj. Abdullah, Head of Management and Humanities Department of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. When he was a teenager, he ventured into selling imported calculator from Singapore to changing academic streams for his undergraduate, post-graduate and doctorate studies. He is indeed the one person you want to talk to about being open to all possibilities and muster the courage to realise your dreams. The Inspirer was glad to be able to meet him in person. Let’s check out the interview.

C

______________________________________________

4 TheInspirer | Septem

ber 2010

The Y generation mostly like to ‘bulldoze’ their way – sometimes impolite and rude in terms of their behaviour towards others. Certain things that are rude to us might be considered normal to them. That is not good especially when it is the first meeting, as a good first impression is always vital because it will determine whether the relationship or rapport will last or not. 3. Relating to the courses that your department offers how is inculcating awareness among students on subjects beyond their field of study essential? In reality, you will work within your core; let’s say engineering, for mostly about 5 years. After that, people will move to management. That is why we have electives in management here offered by my department so that when our students move to the management level, there would be less problems for them. Even before you move to management, what happens if let’s say your boss asks you to do the budget for your team project. How you go about doing it is one thing but communicating it to others is another. That soft skill is what our department offers to students. In the end, everyone has a degree but what makes you better is when you have these skills such as communication skills and critical thinking. So far UTP students are well accepted by the industry because they recognize our students to have better skills. More than 85% of them were employed within 6 months while the remaining few are not jobless but they either work independently or chose to pursue higher degrees. Why do companies prefer our graduate? That will be partly the job of my department to think about. Previously the thinking was a ‘Jack of all trades, a master of none’. We need to be specialized experts in some field of study and be very good at it. However, nowadays we need to be able to multi-task. A company would not want to spend on more employees if one employee is able to do many tasks. Thus, the current thinking is a ‘Jack of all trades, a master of ONE’ which means we must have one core specialty be it engineering, technology or finance but we must be great in other things as well. This is what makes people excel in their career. 4. How exactly is working life like? What factors contrib-ute to a happy and productive working life? The question is what makes people satisfied? Is it money, environment or passion? Different people have different requirements as to what they term as a happy working life. For me, it is when you work in something you are passionate in. Money will never be enough. If you earn a high salary, but the work is so stressful, it may not bring happiness.

The indication is simple. If you wake up every morning and start to whine when you think of work, then you are not happy. We must consider two scenarios: Whether the working environment fits us or we fit into our working environment. It has to work either way. If not, consider choosing another career because the most important thing is that you are happy in what you do. This is a borderless world and you can go almost anywhere to find the most suitable job. 5. What should university students do to become more competitive in the job market?

The problem is some do not mix with others. They must mix because only then will they become conscious and alert about the surrounding. They will be able to know the facts of whatever that is happening around them. Not too long ago Malaysia signed an international agreement called the Washington Accord. This allows our engineers to work in member signatory nations without repeating the process of gaining new licence as qualified engineers required under the law of those states. The question is when the avenue is there, what is stopping students now? Some are branching out from their own field of studies after a few years because they are venturing into things that they want to do. A degree is just grounding so that if you fail in something you want to do, you can always fall back to your core. TI

DR. AZRAI B. HJ. ABDULLAH Management & Humanities Department Specialization: Economics Finance Qualification:

Doctor of Philosophy in South East Asian Studies, University of Hull, UK

Masters of Science in Corporate Finance, The University of Salford

Bachelor of Science, University of Southern New Hampshire, USA Research: From Natural Economy to Capitalism: The State and

Economic Transformation in Perak, Malaysia c.1800-2000. A Behavioral Study on PETRONAS Carigali Baronia Offshore

Platform Personnel at SKO, Sarawak. Assessment of Pre-Selection Program (PSP) for PETRONAS

Dagangan Berhad. Organizational Communication Climate and

Communication Conflict: Their Impact on Organizational Commitment.

Development of a Prototype for a 3D Virtual Reality in Teaching Technical Communication.

Entrepreneurial Development and Small Business Management of TEKUN Micro Borrowers.

PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad - Selection Process for Potential Dealers.

A degree is just grounding so that if you fail in something you want to do, you can always fall back to your core

5 

Awareness. We hear it all the time; awareness on health, protection of environment, global warming,

social issues and many more. But the question is how aware are we living in this massive society?

According to Sheikh Abdullah Adhami, The 'best awareness [ma'rifa] is for a man to have self-awareness. And the best knowledge ['ilm] is for a man to stop at the limit of his knowledge.' . Thus, is awareness a common practice in today’s world? This is something for us to take into consideration seriously about things happening around us. As a student, the most essential awareness that I think we should have is self-awareness. What is this all about? Self awareness is attained by reflecting on our intentions and our actions. It is being aware of our own emotions and channelling them in order to achieve what we want from life. I am sure that many of us overreact towards our lives. Some people feel that when they are very busy with loads of works; they cannot enjoy their lives. Some even feel that they have no life when they had to stumble upon too much of problems in life. Hence, self-awareness comes into the picture. It enables us to be proactive and more in control of our life. Self-awareness commences from reflection, on trying to understand what we do and how we might do it differently to accomplish greater success.

Besides that, self-awareness involves self knowledge. Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian philosopher once said that “A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.” As we identify ourselves, we learn to believe in ourselves and rely on our own judgment rather than the judgment of others. To develop self-awareness, we need to take the time to think things through. In today’s world, the key dilemma is that we get so caught up in the everyday happenings of our lives that we just do not take the time to reflect.

Nevertheless, it is imperative for us to take a break at times to reflect, to look back over the happenings of our lives in an attempt to discover how we have become the person we are.

Based on the research done by Carl Rogers who had developed person-centred counselling, in order to develop a person’s full potential, everyone needs to develop a positive self concept. Positive concept assembles once we replicate ourselves. The positivity and negativity in us will be reflected and then self knowledge will help us to work around our weakness and build up our positivity.

The Observer

Self-awareness..Trying to un-derstand what we do and how

we might do it differently to ac-complish greater success

By: Devashne Salvanathan (ICT, 1st Year 2nd Semester)

TheIn

spire

r | Se

ptem

ber 2

010

6

There are several techniques of creating self-awareness. George Sheehan, an American physician stressed that the mind’s first step to self-awareness must go through the body. So, over our thinking process and tries to correct one perfect way would be by doing yoga or meditation. It is a spiritual way of self-awareness which revolves the mind and soul. Christians, Muslims and many other religions recognize the advantages of meditation. Meditation leads to greater self knowledge, control our thoughts. Besides that, we can also rediscover ourselves. How? This is through our own self observation. Take a piece

of paper, and write down all your thoughts, chart your progress and decide what you see as important. When you make your mind up about what is important in your life then you have an initiative of what you value. Knowing what you value in life is a vital tool in self awareness and success. When we know what our values are, then it is much easier to visual a path in life. In doing so, you clearly see what is important in life. TI

Write, chart your progress, decide what is important

“The world is not a problem; the problem is your unawareness.”

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990 )

“Every human has 4 endowments—self awareness, conscience, inde-pendent will and creative imagination. These give us ultimate human

freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.”

Stephen R. Covey (October 24, 1932 , age 78)

TheInspirer | September 2010

“Man who is created alone should be aware that he will also die alone. Yet during his life, he lives almost addicted to possessions... The only assets one can take with him when one dies is one's belief

or disbelief “

Harun Yahya (2 February 1956, age 54)

7 

There are a few old-fashioned expressions to soothe fear. We usually hear of:

“There is nothing to be afraid of” “It is only your imagination” “Do not worry”

These expressions may relieve you for only a short period of time but the fact is these ‘medicines’ do not really cure fear. It is because these phrases are actually telling you that fear does not exist. The reality is, fear does exist and it must be conquered. Fear has its enemy: confidence. You build your confidence when you conquer your fear. How can we actually conquer fear?

HAVE YOU GOT IT?

1. SELF-TALK What we say repeatedly gets etched into our subconscious mind. That is why we have heard that ‘you become what you think’. So, it is a good idea to do positive self-talk. From now on, in anything you do, try a few affirmative phrases such as:

I can do this. I will beat those defenders. I am confident.

As Henry Ford said“If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right”. To shape your thinking, say it out. Check out the commercial video ‘Nike-make a difference-The Pledge’. See how those players do self-talk.

iving in a contemporary society, we cannot run away from watching and measuring people. Some people thrive in anything they do while some stumbles or just playing it safe. Are you aware of the difference between successful

people and average people? What is behind the victory of an individual? What is the factor that makes him/her to succeed? In my observation, the factor is ‘No Fear’ attitude or having sky-high confidence easily said. ‘No Fear’ is the X factor that separates excellent achievers from the mediocre ones. Fear can be an encourager, and can also be a hold-backer. Fear may or may not work for one’s advantage. It either helps someone exert greater effort or prevent him/her seizing an opportunity. Therefore, it is very important to manage our fear accordingly.

The X Factor:

Motivation Articles

L

By: Muhammad b. Hasan Azhari (ME, 1st Year 2nd Semester)

TheIn

spire

r | Se

ptem

ber 2

010

8 

2. PLAY MENTAL MOVIES

‘Imagination is better than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.’ (Albert Einstein)

One of the best capabilities of human being is to imagine. To see what the eyes can’t see, to feel what is not there at the present time. So, let us use this gift. Picture ourselves in our mind as what we want to be. Say, you want to be a great striker, imagine yourself playing like David Villa. If you wish to be a great orator, picture yourself giving speeches like Soekarno. Play this mental picture as often as you can. The best time is before you sleep.

3. TAKE ACTION, NOW Procrastination and indecision fertilize fear. The more you delay, the stronger the fear inside you grows. The best way is to take action when the opportunity comes. When you face a problem or a choice, make the best decision and take action immediately. After a while, you’ll gain more confidence and lose your fear. Look at Nike’s motto, simply: ‘JUST DO IT’.

These tips may look simple but believe me, these is enough to transform you into ‘fearless’ and confident person. Anyone can have the X factor. GIVE IT A TRY, NOW. TI

TheInspirer | September 2010

9 

A CULTURAL PHENOMENON

here is on the understanding itself. If you understand people’s background, you will know the reasons why they are doing a certain act and of course when you understand how somebody can do something wrong, in time you will learn to forgive them and you will try to seek more understanding from those people. I think right now, this is widely done in UTP. From the actions of the Student Representative Council (MPP) and the International Student Council (ISC) especially, you can see that every part of UTP is cooperating in trying to make this culture a norm. So the culture norm for me in UTP firstly has to be about understanding. 3. In your opinion, does a significant difference exist between our cultures that hinders understanding and communicating between people of different nationalities? As I told you in the beginning, culture is about beauty. When you look at one picture, a person may say that the picture is beautiful while at the same time another person deems it weird. It is the same thing that happens with culture. Here in UTP, you may face a culture that you have never seen or experienced before so once you face it you say, “This is wrong. This is weird.” because you do not have a good understanding or you do not understand the background. You are not able to see the hidden beauty inside that culture. But once you see it of course you would understand.

eing students, engineering and technology students at that, it would be a rare find to locate

someone qualified enough to address the more common awareness issues of health awareness and environmental awareness. With that in mind, The Inspirer selected the topic ‘Cultural Awareness/Awareness on Culture Norms’ as this is an experience that every individual goes through. Sharing his opinions relating to this topic is none other than the President of the International Student Council, Mr. Sermphon Klaiseengern.

1. How do you define ‘culture’ and how significant is it in a graduate’s life?

I define culture as the beauty and the diversity which each peoples have cultivated from their background, the long history of their own country and from the society that the people have grown up in. A norm refers to the normal practice which is done by the people in a community. So the cultural norm here in UTP, which I am going to refer to as the ‘UTP culture’, should be widely adopted by all UTP students regardless of their background. They are here, they are UTP students, they are in a multicultural community and they have to believe that we can stay together as one. Everybody should accept this culture norm of UTP. It is a must that everybody abides by and accepts this culture norm so that we can stay together in harmony and in peace. Of course, no matter what the society, as long as it is in peace and harmony, the development can obviously be seen. 2. You mentioned the ‘UTP culture’ but what does that imply? The UTP culture is the culture of respect and understanding. In UTP right now, we have students from more than 33 countries all around the world which come to study in this university and in the future I could see the number of these countries will expand alongside the quality and reputation of the university which is spread by our current and graduating students all around the world. The key point is that in this multicultural society we need to stay together with respect and understanding; No matter where you are from, we are now in UTP; we are UTP-ians. Of course, misunderstandings have happened in the past. I will not give an example as I feel it is not important to mention one but the most important thing that I would like to emphasize

By: `ARIF AMIN BIN AHMAD PUZI (PG, 2nd Year 2nd Semester)

Aspiration

B

No matter where you are from, we are now in UTP; we

are UTP-ians

TheIn

spire

r | Se

ptem

ber 2

010

104. Is there anything the students, local or international, should do to further understand different cultures and how does ISC help in bridging this gap? Of course we try to bridge this gap. In this year alone, we collaborated with the MPP to organize the International Culture Night and we do try to organize a lot of events supporting this cause. For your information, even though the ISC is the main body for international students, our objective is not to only focus on international students. We do believe that the international students here have the potential to contribute back to the university and to play an important role in promoting the reputation of this university. In terms of culture, what we do is we organize International Culture Night which all o f UTP students can come and experience. In only one night, you can see the cultures from all around the world. So we do hope that the students can receive the hidden message that we try to pass to them. Even if the performances, the performers, the colours and the outfits are different, if you appreciate it you would see its beauty. You must not only be there but you must try to understand it. If you are not there, you will not see. Comparing to everyday situation, if you see a situation happen and you feel that it is wrong but you do not try to experience or talk and approach the people involved, how are you going to know him? In the end, you misinterpret people and that is why misunderstandings happen. 5. Would you say that the lack of awareness of cultures and cultural differences creates a problem for locals and internationals to gel together in classes, sports and such? I think the people in UTP already have the awareness but of course when we stay in a multicultural society, conflicts can easily happen. I would not blame the awareness of the people towards culture. To me, the reason behind that is more to misunderstanding. The conflicts which happen for instance in the football games or something like that can happen everywhere even between the people from the same nation. So with that, I will not blame anything on cultural awareness. I feel that this community, this family already has it; we just need to enhance it. 6. Can you comment on the Malaysian culture? Anything that is to your liking or not so much your cup of tea and how maybe the locals can help the internationals in adapting to the Malaysian society? Sure. I will give an easy example that some of the international students, including myself, felt weird and rude seeing for the first time: The way some people call each other by clicking their mouths. Please do not take this example seriously but it is an easy example to give that can enable everybody to see the difference of culture. That is small thing actually but if you look into certain countries, making those sounds is the way to call a dog or a cat. Some international students do not understand it. They think “Why do you call

me like that?” but once they accept it as a difference in cultures, things smoothen out. For international students, it takes time to learn and in the meantime we may do something wrong because we do not know. It is then that we need the local students to explain. Forgiveness must also be present. Fortunately, I am from Thailand and there is not that much difference between Thailand and Malaysia especially the hospitality of the people. I did not have that many problems in adapting to the society but students from the other regions may have some difficulties. Since I have a similar background to the Malaysian culture its easier for me to adapt. But what I want to request to the UTP community is to realize that certain students are from far away and the culture there is totally different. Hence, it takes longer time for them to learn and understand the Malaysian culture but of course, once they do, they will feel very appreciative towards it. 7. How did UTP do in the recently held International Students Sports Carnival? In the beginning, ISC did not expect that this plan would

come to fruition. Last year, we went to the Ministry of Higher Education to present it and the ministry offered us the chance to be the organizer of this event. With the full cooperation from the Rector and the management,

the plan became a reality. This event truly exhibited the unity and the potential of UTP students. Why I say unity? For your information, in this competition, the athletes in each team consisted of international students from various countries as well as the local students. There were seven sports played with 11 gold medals up for grabs. The eleven sports are: volleyball, futsal, netball, tug-of-war, basketball, sepak raga, and campus relay. From the eleven gold medals, UTP managed to win 5 gold medals and 3 silver medals. UTP also became the overall champion of the sports carnival. This success serves to prove that if we are together as one here in UTP, no matter what challenges come our way, we can achieve our goals. And it is further proof of the tagline of both organizations which have been created to symbolize UTP students: United contributions generate excellence (tagline for ISC) and pursuing togetherness (tagline for MPP). 8. Finally, what are your hopes for the future of UTP’s multicultural society? For the future, I just hope that we stay together as one. I want to see the UTP students where ever they come from be it Thailand, Malaysia, or anywhere else come together here as a family; to consider each and every one of us as brothers and sisters. To stay together as one by understanding and respecting each other’s culture. If that happens UTP is going to be one of the greatest places to live in. TI

I want to see the UTP students where ever they come from come together

here as a family

TheInspirer | September 2010

11  Quickies

Cow Sense Eh Po Nim spends her tertiary years in Melbourne. One day she was at the cafeteria with her boyfriend, Ah Loong and her boyfriend’s cousin. Ah Loong : This is Ah Teck, my aunty’s son. Eh Po Nim,

my girlfriend. Ah Teck : Call me David. Ah Loong : Wah, you’ve got a Christian name now? I

thought people from cowboy town don’t have Christian names. (He jabbed Ah Teck in the ribs)

Ah Teck : Raub is not a small town okay? Just then, Eh Po Nim’s housemate an Australian girl named Gail walked into the cafeteria. Eh Po Nim waved her over. Eh Po Nim : Hello Gail, come join us. She pulled up a chair and Eh Po Nim introduced her to the boys. After the introduction was over, David nodded towards Eh Po Nim and commented. David : Ah Loong you sure know how to tackle a

pretty girl. Gail : What sports did you play with Ah Loong,

Eh Po Nim? Eh Po Nim : None. Tackle is not a move you make in

sports, Gail. It’s a Manglish word for courting. To woo. Manglish is Malaysian English.

David : Excuse me, I have to do my business. (David got up from his seat and looked around for the toilet) Ah Loong : The loo is over there!(Ah long pointed to a

door on his left) Gail :What business is he in? I thought he’s a

student like us? Eh Po Nim : He’s gone to ease himself. Shortly after David returned to the table, they finished their drinks and left the cafeteria together. They took a leisurely stroll back to their lodgings. David : This is a nice weather for walking. Back in

Malaysia, we’d be sweating like a pig already.

David steps down from the pavement and prances on the road.

Ah Loong :Careful, David. This is not your grandfather’s road-ah!

Eh Po Nim noticed a quizzical look on Gail’s face Eh Po Nim : He doesn’t mean it literally. David’s behaving as

if he owns the road, but of course he doesn’t. David skipped to the pavement David : It is safer up here. If someone with

a kopi-o-license comes along, I’m a dead duck. Eh Po Nim : A driver with such a license doesn’t know how to

drive properly because he obtained his license through bribery.

Gail : But, this is Australia. There aren’t drivers with kopi-o-license around, Eh Po Nim, you must teach me more Manglish words. Manglish is fascinating. What’s the meaning of kopi-O?

Eh Po Nim :It’s black coffee literally but kopi-o-money means bribery.

David : I can teach you Manglish! It’s very easy. Only people with no cow sense can’t understand it. That means stupid like a cow. Sorry, I don’t mean you-ah.

David gave Gail an apologetic salute. Taken from ‘Do You Wear Suspenders?-The Wordy Tales of Eh Po Nim’ by Lydia Teh.

A cigarette shortens

your life by 2 min

A beer shortens your life

by 4 min

A working day shortens your

life by 8 hours

Quick Thoughts

TheIn

spire

r | Se

ptem

ber 2

010

Articles chosen by: Nor Nadia bt. Jamal Abd Nasir (BIS, 1st Year 2nd Semester)

Counseling Services: 1. Face-to-face (See us at Pocket D)

2. Hotline— Hj. Abdul Jalil Abdullah :05-3688438/019-9591978 / Mrs. Maznah Ramli : 05-3688430 3. Online (utpcounselor@gmail.com)

4. TheInspirer Blogspot : theinspirerutp.blogspot.com