Transcending mere tolerance

by Rosalind Yang Misieng
June 16, 2010, Wednesday

ON my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, I had an interesting experience that sparked off some thought on the much talked about, lauded, criticised and debated 1Malaysia concept.At one point, my fellow travellers needed to call for two taxis for a trip to the airport and for this we requested our regular taxi man, a Mr Lee* to call for one of his taxi driver friends to provide the additional taxi. It seemed very natural for us to expect a Mr Lai or a Mr Lim to appear with the second taxi, but instead we got a Mr Maniam*. It was a pleasant surprise.

Knowing how competitive the taxi service in the national capital could be, and knowing that trips to the airport are often coveted by taxi service providers, one can surmise that Mr Lee and Mr Maniam must be really good friends to be able to work together. It didn’t matter that Mr Lee spoke English with a mild Chinese accent and that Mr Maniam’s Bahasa Malaysia was tinted heavily with an Indian one. They worked well with each other. It also didn’t matter that we spoke Bahasa Malaysia with a heavy Sarawak Malay accent and, we couldn’t immediately get used to Mr Maniam’s accent — they were happy to provide us service with extra smiles. Such a casual incident makes you think about being Malaysian.

In one of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s recent speeches on 1Malaysia, he called for society’s “total acceptance” of Malaysia’s diversity. He stressed that Malaysians should not merely tolerate each other’s different cultures but accept them if true social harmony and unity is expected.

This shift from “mere tolerance” to something that’s more substantial such as embracing others’ different cultures is more crucial than many Malaysians may think.

Rhetoric aside, the Prime Minister’s statement actually represents a significant progress in attitude and conviction for Malaysia – on which the future security and prosperity of Malaysians may hinge on heavily especially when economic survival and progress may prove to be insufficient to hold a society together in challenging times. As such, it is wise that the people, regardless of their backgrounds, be at least united in acknowledging and championing this conviction.

Sarawakians today are fairly confident that as a people, we have always been ahead of most other states in accepting others’ differences; that most of us see ourselves as Sarawakians first, before we see each other as Ibans, Malays, Bidayuhs, Chinese, and so forth. This is today. How about 10 years from now or even five years from now? Are we confident that we can maintain our harmonious co-existence and even seamless assimilation far into the future?

Are there any cracks in social harmony among the younger generation, especially at home and in schools? Are parents and teachers vigilant enough to make sure that young Sarawakians are inclined towards respecting and accepting others’ different values rather than the other way round? Do today’s parents and teachers even care?

At the state level, much effort has been put into securing long-term social harmony particularly through the five yearly state-level Cultural Symposiums (introduced about 25 years ago) which uphold the ideal of “confluence of cultures”.

More recent exemplary actions could be seen at the recent state-level Tilawah al-Quran in Kuching, where the organising chairmanship was shared by a Muslim and a non-Muslim senior government officer, while the closing ceremony was officiated at by a non-Muslim deputy chief minister. A friend remarked that this sort of harmony seems only readily possible in Sarawak. No stress, no fuss. This demonstrates that we are able to transcend above matters of less significance because our common goals are larger and more noble – religious development for one of our communities, the Muslims, and the healthy overall social development of our entire society.

A traditional festival such as the recent Gawai Dayak is also a good time to reflect and count our blessings as a multi-ethnic community. It should be a time for us to renew our commitment to not only preserve our local traditions but also as a unifying factor, a symbol of pride and dignity as a multiracial society.

In the past, Malaysians have mainly tolerated others instead of appreciated, which does not make a very sound foundation for long-term social solidarity. Thus, it is refreshing to hear the Prime Minister calling for the shift from mere tolerance to full acceptance. He said, “if we accept this totally, we would have moved to a higher level. To build a harmonious nation, Malaysians could not leave it to chance but should be serious in their deeds. Such actions must be on a basis that ‘what is good for my community is good for all communities’.” These are words that could bring Malaysia out of unhealthy social discord, but can Malaysians rise to the occasion?

*Names have been changed.

Rosalind Yang Misieng is Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (AZAM) general manager. 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by AZAM and Sarawak Development Institute (SDI).

Let’s talk and walk DevCom

by Rosalind Wong and Sim Ah Hua
May 19, 2010, Wednesday

A STUDY cum training visit on Enhancing Governance through Development Communication at the University of Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), the Philippines last December showcased the very idea of talking and walking development communication (DevCom). The programme was a mixture of lectures and visits to relevant organisations on the subject of DevCom.The UPLB DevCom experts stated that communication is part and parcel of any development project. Empathy and caring, they pointed out are the most important elements in conveying messages and making them more believable compared to elements such as commitment, openness, and competence.

This was very much reflected in the advocacy work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community organisations such as Masipag (Advocacy and Networking on Sustainable Agriculture) and Local Governance and Technology Promotion: Eco-waste Processing Centre in Timugan, Los Banos, which we had the opportunity to visit and network with.

All stakeholders in the programmes of these NGOs and community organisations were made to understand and accept the need to work together to achieve the desired goals. They were able to contribute and participate in the projects as they were well-informed and equipped with the right knowledge and know-how. They complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses and created the trust and commitment that were vital to the success of the programmes.

The United Nations defines communication for development as a process that “allows communities to speak out, express their aspirations and concerns, and participate in the decisions that relate to their development” (General Assembly Resolution 51/172, Article 6). This fundamental principle in DevCom is the key to fulfilling a number of the Millennium Development Goals and ensures sustainable development is practised through the empowerment of affected communities.

This is not something new. In any project management, this is the crucial aspect which will determine the success or failure of any project. The community projects visited in the Philippines owed much of their success to the adoption of this DevCom principle, knowingly or unknowingly. It is like a bloodline or a vein that gives life to the projects and their sustainability. It is not something that can be plucked out and studied in isolation. The World Congress on Communication for Development, 2006 in fact arrived at the consensus that DevCom is central to any development initiatives from the beginning.

While emphasising the critical role of communication for development, political will is also crucial to push for change and to support any development initiative.

A case example is the Eco Waste Management programme run by the municipality of Los Banos. The political will to pass a legislation to support the implementation of waste disposal was a key to its success.

In just three years, the municipality of Los Banos was able to ban the use of plastic bags, segregate domestic waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes and promote effective recycling as well as composting. The availability of compost for their farms for the 21,000 households of Los Banos, who are mostly farmers, was an incentive for them to recycle their wastes.

The municipality of Los Banos is turning the plastic wastes into construction materials such as building blocks, tables and roofing. They are able to achieve this remarkable feat although they are only utilising local technology.

The machines for shredding are built from cast off metals and the moulds for the blocks, table and roofing materials are simple and ‘crudely’ made. Sarawak definitely can adopt a similar waste management approach to reduce the biodegradable wastes that are filling the dump sites at the moment. Think of how much members of the rural community could save if they are able to use these recycled materials to build their houses and longhouses. Imagine how clean our environment could be.

To start, the local authority must dangle the right carrots as well as implement the supporting legislation.

Although we do not want to create a ‘fine’ society that is only responsive to a ‘stick’, looking at the success of the Los Banos municipality, it works to apply both approaches to achieve the results that they now enjoy. This is where we go back to DevCom principles to engage local communities.

The most pressing challenge for Sarawak is to have the right champion that is able to facilitate this consultative process to engage the stakeholders in order to achieve a common goal together. This, no doubt, requires long-term planning and political will as well as in-depth understanding of the development communi-cation needs. But this is the only way to go forward.

Rosalind Wong, Conference Division head, and Sim Ah Hua, general manager, are with the Sarawak Development Institute (SDI). The 3rd Voice, initiated by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) and SDI is published fortnightly.

A byte a day keeps the ignorance away

by Mark Nyambang May 5, 2010, Wednesday

AS I was reading a pull-out from a newspaper recently, I noticed that half of it was filled with advertisements and the other half, with reviews on IT products and services. I browsed through the latest prices for laptops, computer parts and all the snippets on the latest technologies offered by international and local service providers.How time flies, I thought to myself, with all these hard-to-keep-up-with technologies that keep on emerging every single day. This scenario is a far cry from what we used to experience in the mid-90s. At that time, the word ‘computer’ itself could imply the financial status of a family because of its price tag.

Well, fast forward to 2010, now the computer has become affordable and is a must-have for each household. Almost every single home has at least one personal computer or a laptop nowadays. The information technology sector has grown tremendously and has moulded our state into a very competitive ICT (Information and Communication Technology) player in the country.

International microchip producers and computer memory manufacturers have long supplied us with job opportunities, by setting up their factories here and directly boosting our economic growth. Internet services are also getting affordable and have erased endless boundaries for young entrepreneurs who use web services as their marketing tools.

We know about the iPad, Blackberry and all those high-tech gadgets because the media feeds us with the latest updates almost every single day. But still, the media’s reporting of our local ICT developments is still under par if compared with those in neighbouring countries. What we can see, hear and read today is only coverage on ICT events or extracts from speeches, gadget promotions and also reviews of ICT happenings from international papers.

The benefits and challenges of utilising ICT faced by the community, especially people in rural areas — these are the things that should be highlighted as well, on a regular basis. It would be most interesting to know how ICT influences or impacts the people’s lives today.

We would like to know whether our Tuai Rumah use spreadsheets to record any deaths or births in their longhouses? If not, how can we help to change that, so they will have a proper profile of their villagers? And what is the progress of participants of the RIGHT programme, which was started by Sains a few years back,? Did they succeed in helping their own circle of community? Or how would we know if our local kek lapis entrepreneur from Petra Jaya or handicraft craftsman from Bau are maximising the ability of the Internet to market their products? If they are, perhaps sharing their experiences would serve as eye-openers or inspirations to others. The mass media would play a most useful role here.

Success stories are not the only ones that should be shared. We also need to address the challenges faced by those who are still being left out in terms of enjoying the fruits of ICT development in the state. There should be a measuring tool or some kind of benchmark for people to know how much we have achieved in ICT and the local media could become the medium to provide the rakyat much needed information.

By now, ICT should not be regarded as an intimidating subject for media practitioners with all the jargon and difficult translations. It should be a daily subject, a norm, just like how we anticipate political and entertainment news in our media.

The reporting on ICT should be able to get readers excited about ICT updates, just like the excitement created when England’s soccer team qualified for the 2010 World Cup. ICT news should be the catalyst to move our society to be more knowledgeable and to steer them on the right track to a K-economy based society.

This year, Sains and Azam, together with Unimas are setting up a ‘virtual’ network to link media practitioners, focusing on those who are interested in covering ICT development and its impact on our communities in Sarawak. This network will provide them with the necessary up-to-date information and related activities for them to help enhance reporting on ICT development in our local media.

With this network, we hope that more news on ICT development around the state will be highlighted in our media. Maybe by doing this, not only will our society have a much better understanding of ICT, but hopefully it will elevate their skills and the further use of those skills to make a better living.

Mark Nyambang is a communication officer with Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (Azam). The 3rd Voice, initiated by Azam and the Sarawak Development Institute (SDI) is published fortnightly.

‘Great Expectations’

by Deborah Sian
April 21, 2010, Wednesday

LET’S sit and imagine this — you have just graduated and you’re in job-hunting mode. You applied for a job and then there you got it! But wait, you have no idea how your workplace is going to be and what awaits you.Suddenly you are lost and become clueless in a sea of work, your employer’s expectations, your colleagues’ expectations and your own as well.

The initial expectations were perhaps just a matter of getting experience. However, most graduates would be rather clueless on how competitive things are out there.

What most fresh graduates may be unaware of is that the workplace is beyond a certain job scope and the physical setting itself.

What they fail to know and realise in the first place are the hard facts on how to manage their time and their tasks, how to manage their employers and superiors, how to apply their skills accordingly, how to solve problems which are beyond their control and how to think out of the box.

Currently, most courses offered in our local colleges and varsities provide industrial training and internship stints with companies and organisations, but how effective are such trainings in developing our undergraduates towards real life demands?

How much have undergraduates who have gone through internships adopted from their training period?

It seems that many graduates have failed to perform as expected and some are still unemployed. What could have brought us to this scenario?

Looking at current trends, there are some agencies, companies or employers which have offered internship placements for undergraduates seemingly for nothing.

The interns or trainees were assigned to do clerical or mundane tasks such as serving coffee, photocopying papers, data entry, when they could have been assigned tasks relevant to their respective field or discipline.

Consequently, on whom shall we put the blame — the employers or the current graduates themselves?

Has our own society lost faith in our own ‘products’? Or has our society lost the capability of producing quality graduates?

Could it be that everyone is at fault?

All our lives, we have been delivering based on standards and expectations set by our parents, our teachers, the institutions and society at large.

Living up to others’ expectations is normal and we tend to set expectations ourselves as well.

When graduates are out there, they are expected to blend in — to adjust to the working environment.

In the working world, graduates need to be more discerning and analytical to meet society’s high expectations.

Therefore, ensuring that one is equipped and driven to face whatever challenges may come, should be instilled constantly.

For a start, having soft and hard skills would come in pretty handy because most employers today are looking for versatile individuals and good thinkers who ‘may likely think unalike’.

For graduates, remaining unemployed could be one of the lowest points of life.

They may feel they do not have what it takes to fit in the working world.

This should not be the only concern.

What needs to be emphasised more is ensuring that graduates set a high standard for themselves.

This is to ensure that they are sufficiently prepared mentally and emotionally for the real world — the working world, that is.

In the mean time, graduates should just keep on absorbing whatever they can, keep on learning whenever they can.

Perhaps it is not about the system or society.

It could just be about graduates continuing to grow and not to be ignorant about what happens around them.

There is not much time to linger on the same spot. Having said all this, as much as graduates should learn how to adjust and adapt to expectations quickly, society at large should also have some faith in them as well.

Deborah Sian is a communication officer with the Communication and Knowledge Management Unit of AZAM. The 3rd Voice, initiated by Azam and SDI is published fortnightly.

Our precious gems

by Marcella Gider March 24, 2010, Wednesday

THE United Nations Children’s Fund or Unicef champions the protection of children’s rights by drawing on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Its paramount challenge is to continue on the achieved progress in which they strengthen their outreach to children who are still being denied their rights to survival, development, education, gender equality protection and participation.Although the Convention has been in existence for more than 20 years, Unicef reported that children’s welfare is far from assured. Worldwide, millions of children are further deprived of food, shelter as well as clean water and are prone to be affected by diseases such as pneumonia, malaria and measles. They also lack protection against violence, abuse, exploitation, discrimination and neglect. Despite the fact that fewer children are dying and more are entering schools, I am sure the staggering number does not sit well with most of us.

We don’t have to look far and beyond to realise our children are under-protected. Take for example, what is happening in our own backyard of late.

Children have been making headlines in newspapers and on televisions. A local newspaper highlighted the poverty-stricken family of 11-year-old Angela. The innocent-looking image of this cherub got me thinking constantly about her unfortunate life. Then there was news about a dead baby found floating at Stutong community market as well as little K Hareswarra and Syafiah Humairah Sahari who both died due to injuries allegedly caused by abusive caretakers. These heart-wrenching stories made me all misty-eyed and emotional.

And who could forget the recent attack that took place in Muar, where kindergarten children were mercilessly and physically assaulted by a man suspected to be of unsound mind? Not so long ago, the country was rudely awakened by the news of missing Sharlinie Mohd Nashar and Nurin Jazlin Jazimin. The former has been missing since 2007.

What has become of our society? Why, despite urbanisation and progress taking place all over this world, are children still underprivileged and not safe from these predators that make us sick to the stomach?

Each and every one of us can play our roles to make a difference in the lives of our children. Here in our state, different measures are being taken to ensure the well-being of our children.

Under the 10th Malaysia Plan, our state will embark on a ‘zero squatter’ target where existing squatters will be moved into decent housing areas. Affordable homes will be built not only for the hardcore poor but also for low and medium income earners. This is one of the steps taken to shelter our destitute and disadvantaged children. Providing comfortable living conditions would hopefully encourage the healthy growth of these children.

Where education is concerned, a meeting held by the Sarawak Women and Family Council (SWFC) early this year discussed giving focus to Early Childhood Education (ECE) to ensure every child is given equal access to ECE in our state.

This move is seen as crucial as ECE plays a key role in contributing to the success of the individual, building excellent youth and future leaders of tomorrow. At a dialogue with Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and our youth last month, Taib spoke on the importance of compulsory preschool education. Amidst a lot of inequality in our society, he hopes to achieve an equitable policy that would reach every corner of our society.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin echoed the same sentiment. In the ‘State of the World’s Children Special Edition’ report, he said education is no longer a distant dream in Malaysia but a promise we have made to every child.

March 7 saw the celebration of the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting, where children were given the opportunity to utilise the media to express their views on a myriad of issues. Long viewed as having the power to affect change, the mass media is in a prime position to shape attitudes towards children’s rights. The aforementioned convention itself encourages the media to disseminate proper information that is of social and cultural benefit to children.

I know of people who would prefer to take care of animals instead of children. I guess, to each his own. But envisage how silent the world would be without their honest laughter, smiles and giggles. I can’t. I would rather have the disability to imagine.

Marcella Gider is an assistant manager, Conference Division of Sarawak Development Institute (SDI). 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) and SDI.

Curbing crime the holistic way

by Archbishop John Ha
March 3, 2010, Wednesday

WHILE it is frightening that the crime rate in Sarawak has increased over the years, it is heartening to know that the state government and relevant authorities (especially the police) are looking into ways to fight crime and reduce its rate.The path to success is not straight and unending.

We are dealing with the ‘underworld’, with people who are either pushed to crime by forces beyond their control — forces from within and from without — or people whose consciences are so hardened that they no longer make any distinction between moral good and moral evil, or people who are simply thrilled by war with enforcement authorities.

And even as authorities have broken some syndicates and think they have worked out good strategies to score greater victory, the ‘underworld’ is also working hard to fight back — and to come up with better strategies and tactics.

On these grounds, we cannot take things for granted and we should embark on a broader strategy that takes into account certain important realities.

Importance of integrity

The very basic attitudes authorities must adopt are honesty, courage and strong will.

Honesty must be shown in the catching and handling of criminals — regardless of their race, status and position.

Bringing these criminals to the court of law of the country without fear or favour is vital to the fight against crime.

Resisting the temptation to accept bribes offered to have crime covered up is part of the honesty that must be shown.

Obviously, courage and the will to pursue every case till it is solved must also prevail.

Such attitudes will lend credibility to the powers that be and this will in its own way contribute to the reduction of crime.

Equal opportunities for all

In all honesty, we must admit that there is a strong perception that citizens are treated and given opportunities differently — depending on race, religion, family, economic and social class, etc.

There is a very big gap between the rich minority and the great majority who are of the lower income group.

It is not that all those of the latter group are not hard working.

The impression is that some are not given the same opportunities as their fellow Sarawakians who have made it in life.

It is not surprising that some of the very poor yield to the temptation to get rich through illegal or even immoral ways.

Perhaps, not having access to opportunities in many cases is due to lack of qualifications — and generally it is educational qualifications.

As such there is a need to address this gap.

The importance of religion and spiritual life

It is encouraging to see progress in our country and state. Progress seems to focus solely on economic and technological fields.

But progress, to be holistic must also be achieved in the religious and spiritual dimension of man’s life.

The crime rate will be substantially reduced if people are God-fearing.

Students must be taught their religions from young.

Young people who grow up not having a deep faith in and strong relationship with God become easy prey to promiscuity, drug addiction, gambling and undesirable behaviour.

Also, many are so drawn towards money — that money is no longer their servant but god. And when money becomes god, the consequences are horrific.

A crime-free society has for its prerequisite in deep belief and commitment to God.

Globalisation

Information technology has made the whole world a global village.

This has brought great advantages to all humanity.

But there is also damage.

The undesirable values young children are drowned with — some of which are even sub-cultural if not totally anti-cultural — are shocking.

They have distorted if not perverted some citizens and led them to crime.

There is no way that the authorities will be able to control or prevent the impact of globalisation on citizens.

Mounting police vigilance is impossible. One indispensable alternative to vigilance is to build up the religious sense and moral conscience of citizens.

The family

Efforts must be expended in order to build up good healthy families.

Children of broken homes are vulnerable to crime.

It is good to see the government trying to foster family health through the five-day working week — allowing the weekends for family activities.

But even this positive step will not be effective unless parents spend time with their children.

Good families will form good citizens — again, another way to reduce the crime rate.

National Service

While the intention is good, implementing it for students who have just finished their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) may be a little late in the day.

It could still be of value — but should come in as the ‘crown’ of the entire character formation and patriotism programme implemented already from Primary 1.

Some churches have school holiday camps for their followers.

Unfortunately, not many children attend them.

The government could work with various religious groups in the state to get such programmes going.

Archbishop John Ha leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching. The 3rd Voice, initiated by AZAM and SDI is published fortnightly.

Dream big

by Mark Nyambang
February 3, 2010, Wednesday

I WAS fortunate to be able to accompany a good friend of mine to an innovation competition held in one of the local universities in Selangor recently.In that competition, she won the Gold Medal in the Innovation Category. There were some 400 participants competing for diamond, gold, silver and bronze medals. My friend received some extraordinary reviews on her innovative product from the judges, who were from the industry itself. One of the judges said that she was puzzled how Sarawa­kians could be so innovative and able to send a big team every year to this competi­tion compared to other univer­sity branches.

This year is the Year of Innovation and Creativity or Malaysia Innovative 2010 (MI2010), as mentioned by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation earlier this year.

In his speech during the launching, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak emphasised that the right ecosystem – where the family and education sys­tem, private and public sectors and the grassroots work as one – must be created to allow ideas and creativity to grow.

It is not fair to compare our country, what more to say to compare our state’s innovation development and progress to that of Silicon Valley. But at the same time, we just cannot be by­standers, watching other countries enjoy the wealth from the innovations sector.

ICT developments such as our daily Facebook, updating software like Twitter, the ever popular search engine Google and the much awaited iPad by Apple are some of the successful examples of innovative products.

Where are we on the innovation map? How much have we done to promote local innovations? Do we have enough platforms to showcase our products?

I feel that we are still way behind in terms of promo­ting innovations in our own country. Besides univer­sities and schools, it is diffi­cult to find innovation com­petitions carried out to challenge the youth to think creatively. There are not many public platforms for our youth to really share their ideas.

Yes, we do have a lot of those ICT exhibitions and PC fairs. However, those are either exhibitions by the industry players, or profit based ICT fairs.

Innovation programmes should not be restricted only to those in universities and schools. Most of my friends said that there should be open yet secure platforms for the public to showcase their talents. Proper plat­forms should even have ‘industry mat­ching’ ses­sions between industry players and innova­tors. Just imagine these sce­narios: an ordinary mecha-nic may create an innova-tive ‘smokeless ex­haust system’ and a farmer disco­vers methods or techniques to produce odourless durian. Where do they go to? Where can they sell these innovations? It would be such a waste not to see these innovations in the market.

With emerging low cost technologies, free software and higher speed of broadband provided by service providers in the country, I say it’s about time for all, including the local community, service provi­ders, government agencies and the corporate sector to really get involved in research and develop­ment (R&D) efforts, not only in universities, but encourage home-based R&D, in your own home garage or even your own room.

Family members, espe­cially parents, should give their full support not only by giving financial support but also by motivating their children to think outside the box over certain problems.

In my three years as a multimedia lecturer in a local college, sometime back, I could detect some hidden talents and some great ideas in our younger generation and they showed signs of creativity in problem-solving. Some of their final projects were really marketable at that time. Why can’t we have our own version of Bill Gates from Saratok? Or our own social network software such as Sarawak Facebook created by a 16-year-old programmer from Miri? I have a strong feeling that the next big thing in innovation will come from our state. It might sound as a big personal dream, but why not just give ourselves a try at inventing things?

It is never a sin to dream big, but it sure is a blessing to share wealth through your innovation.

Mark Nyambang is a communication officer with Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (Azam).The 3rd Voice, initiated by Azam and the Sarawak Development Institute (SDI) is published fortnightly.

Sarawak ... truly 1Malaysia

by Roland Duncan Klabu
January 13, 2010, Wednesday

Amidst the public debate that has taken place in coffee shops, kampungs, longhouses and villages as to whether Malaysia Day should be celebrated on Sept 16 in place of Merdeka Day (Independence Day) on Aug 31 every year because the Federation of Malaysia was formed with the merger of Malaya, Sarawak and Sabah on Sept 16, 1963, the inaugural Malaysia Day celebration was eventually held on Oct 10, 2009 in Kuching.When Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took over as Prime Minister from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, one of the noblest things he did was to declare Sept 16, Malaysia Day, as a public holiday.

In retrospect, Oct 10, 2009 saw some 15,000 people from all walks of life from far and near converge at Padang Merdeka in Kuching, transforming it into a sea of flags and colourful costumes of hundreds of dancers and performers in total pomp and pageantry.

The colourful presentations and cultural performances by artistes from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak depicted the concept of 1Malaysia.

It also reflected the multi-ethnic composition of the country.

Padang Merdeka vibrated with the thunderous dance performances Selamat Datang 1Malaysia 1Semangat, 1Tekad, 1Aspirasi welcoming the VVIPS including Head of State Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Muhammad Salahuddin and his wife Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Norkiah; Najib and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor; Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud; Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Husin; and Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim, Deputy Chief Ministers Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam and Datuk Painggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang as well as state and federal ministers.

Najib urged for more efforts to promote Malaysia Day so that the succeeding generations would know the historical significance of events that took place on Sept 16, 1963.

Malaysia Day means a lot because that was when Sabah and Sarawak agreed to achieve independence through the formation of Malaysia.

The leaders at that the time decided that Sarawak and Sabah would prosper and become secure as part of Malaysia.

Peninsular Malaysia is undeniably leading in terms of physical development but in terms of unity, many agree that Sabah and Sarawak are ahead as the multi-ethnic communities in the two states have been living in peace and harmony, which reflects the true spirit of the 1Malaysia concept and they are examples of 1Malaysia.

Malaysians should continue to uphold the spirit of 1Malaysia with sincerity that transcends political gimmicks, misinterpretations and dry humour wholeheartedly to preserve social harmony and to foster goodwill, understanding and tolerance among the various races.

Concerted efforts should be enhanced to instil a sense of belonging among the people of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

It is better to use the term Malaysia instead of East and West Malaysia.

It is noted that, there are still incidences where people from either Sabah or Sarawak visiting Peninsular Malaysia are greeted with the words ‘Welcome to Malaysia’.

The celebration of Malaysia Day should remind Malaysians of our heroes’ battles and struggles to achieve independence for, without the leadership and determination of past leaders, Malaysia would not be what it is today.

Hence it is very fitting that 10 Malaysians, three each from Sarawak and Sabah and four from Peninsular Malaysia were picked to receive awards not only as tokens of appreciation but recognition for their excellent contributions to the nation.

We are indeed proud and salute three Anak Sarawak as Tokoh Kemerdekaan in the persons of Tan Sri Datuk Amar Bujang Mohd Nor — former State Secretary; Dato Sri Philomena Tra Zehnder — Sarwak’s first woman Member of Council Negeri and founder of Serakup Indu Dayak Sarawak (SIDS); and veteran Bidayuh politician Dato Sri Dominic Dagok Randen.

Malaysians must carry on the 1Malaysia spirit taking the nation in the direction for continued socioeconomic progress and prosperity, goodwill, understanding, peace and harmony and not to be unduly influenced by religious, ethnic and cultural extremism and fanaticism.

United we stand and divided we fall. Salam 1Malaysia.

Roland Duncan Klabu is the Special Coordinator for Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (AZAM). 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by AZAM and SDI.

I am on Facebook, therefore I am?

by Marcella Gider and Rosalind Yang
December 2, 2009, Wednesday

OK. This is a youth talking. If you ain’t got no Facebook account, go live in a cave. With more than 200 million strong followers worldwide and still counting, Facebook has and continue to entice just about any men and women, old or young, working adults or even school children. Currently ranked as the leading social networking site, Facebook is a force to be reckoned with.What is so compelling about Facebook is its entertaining Features that offers everything under the sun.

Feel the need to proclaim your love to someone today? Status Update is just what you need.

Long to reunite with your high school clique? Then invite them for a spanking good night out through Events.

Want to share some Kodak moments with your distant relatives or long lost friends? Uploading yesteryears or current photos into Photos would be both nostalgic and fun at the same time.

You know those games Applications? I’m not averse to all those. I don’t get the whole brouhaha about people’s fascinations for these Applications.

Are you one of those games addicts who are guilty as charged? Squander all your time on harvesting, levelling up or feeding, getting completely engrossed with the adventure that these games have to offer?

There’s FarmVille for the failed farmer gone awry.

There’s also Mafia Wars. No, we’re not talking about the first high-profile conflict between Mafia clans in post-war Italy. We’re talking games that offer inspiring Mafia to play Don Vito Corleone at the comfort of their home or workplace.

For those with ultra deep motherly instinct, Baby Adopter trains you to become a good mother in the future. We do hope virtual training helps.

Apart from the youth, the Facebook community today includes professionals, politicians, celebrities, businesses, and just about any sector of the society.

The plus points are that constituents are getting more connected with their Yang Berhormats, as so are fans with their favourite Idols, students with their teachers and, clients with their service providers. It’s also been amazing to witness old schoolmates who have been out of touch for decades suddenly updating each other on just about any aspect of their lives; cousins who barely had the time of day for each other in real life suddenly have tonnes to say to each other. The possibilities seem endless.

These are all acceptable and within the norms of Facebooking. But what happens when Facebookers, particularly as employees, cross the boundary of work ethics conventions?

Addiction to social networking has never been so pronounced. It is the cutting-edge kind of addiction, if I could put it that way that has caused the enslavement of our society, so much so that for many, everything but Facebook has taken a back seat in their lives. People are spending less quality time with their family and friends; forget how important it is to socialise outside of the virtual world, neglecting outdoor activities and worse still, paying less attention to work.

England’s top Catholic bishop once issued a warning on the downsides of social networking sites. It could lead to the decrease in work productivity, damage relationships between family members and friends.

The challenge at the workplace is that we have two personas. One is our personal persona and the other, a work persona. Managing this in online networking is tricky.

While some establishments banned ‘Facebooking’ at the workplace, there are those who chose to invest in the positive potentials of the facility for larger and longer term goals of the organisation. The issue is whether the staff has the integrity to ensure that the facility is utilised to create added value to the work of the organisation. After having taken the position to allow online networking at the workplace, employers cannot entertain the illusion that it will be used for work-related activities 100 per cent of the time. While employers need to exercise some flexibility, the onus is on each employee to ensure that the trust given is justified through at least high work productivity.

Ultimately Facebook may follow Friendster, and other early online social networks that have become saturated and stale. Whatever the next new thing may be, the rules of engagement will remain similar and there will always be pitfalls. Although online networks and their influence on the modern society are here to stay, genuine happiness cannot be pursued through such networking alone. I’m sure too much Face

booking can leave one feeling jaded and lethargic. So, be smart in managing your virtual life, and get in touch with reality. Get a life already!

Marcella Gider and Rosalind Yang M. of SDI and AZAM respectively are assistant manager, Conference Division of Sarawak Development Institute (SDI) and general manager, Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (AZAM). 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by AZAM and SDI.

YOUTH – We are the ones!

by Emmanuel David
October 21, 2009, Wednesday

IN my high school days, if you had talked to me about the things happening around me, this is what I would have in my mind:Government = Corrupt, bad, think they ‘own’ the people.

People = Same old, same old.

Education = Get scholarship, an opportunity to go away from here!

Arts = Who cares? What use does it have?

Wishes = Get out of here! Study abroad and live abroad!

Politicians = Corrupt, focus ONLY on their own needs and satisfaction.

Marketplace = Yeah?

Well, that was me back then. But now, I as a youth indeed have a big responsibility here in my own city and to my own people.

Youth today are creative, innovative, and very talented. We will not easily give up; will strive to get what is best for our own lives, will take calculated risks; and we are strong and young!

The reason why we always think that we are not so good and capable is that the more ‘mature’ generation often puts us down as they consider us still too young.

YOUTH = YOUNG (immature mind, no experience).

Today’s youth are totally DIFFERENT from the youth of yesteryears. Both you and I know that when someone asks us to do certain tasks or duties, we will definitely think twice about whether we should do it for people and follow their methods of doing things or not. We will definitely have second thoughts on projects or ideas. I am not saying that the ‘mature’ generation is not practical and their ideas are not good. It is how we execute the work and handle those who work with us that are important. We may have our own opinions and they may not be relevant to the older generation. But that doesn’t mean they should just shrug us off. They should explain to us and see how we can combine ideas and come to an agreement. To us, at least the older generation should want to discuss with us and be willing to accept ideas and opinions. LISTENING is the key word.

I can strongly say that the youth are full of talent which can be made use of. There is no limit to creativity. If we dare to express ourselves, we will be a success and an asset to the community. From a simple act to share our talents, many will benefit. We must realise our full potential and dare to dream BIG by trusting what we can do as youth. Let us focus on what we can contribute and not fear to take any risks, for without risk, we cannot achieve anything.

We should always be righteous in our journey to our goals. Being righteous, we will know what the best roads to take are. And there will be no turning back, but we will keep pressing on towards our goals. When others put us down, we may fall BUT let’s make sure we get right back up and become youth of excellent stature.

People always say that we are the ‘NEXT GENERATION’. We are shrugging that off and telling ourselves “We are not only the ‘next generation, we are set to finish what we are assigned to do in this world, complete our duty to the people, and finish the race so that we can pass the ‘BATON’ to our younger generation so that they can finish their race too.

I am of the opinion that today’s youth are a confident generation – that they will stand up for righteousness and have the power to start and finish strong in every aspect of their lives. In this fastpaced and ever changing world that we live in, where the youth are often forgotten, we need to keep striving for the best and prove not only to ourselves but also to others that we are capable of doing things that matter so as to contribute to the betterment of our society. Be a generation that will faithfully RUN THE RACE of your lives and fulfill your goals and destinies

Let us not be selfish with our talents and ideas; let us share them and work together. Can we use all that we have to help others? The answer is YES, because ‘We are the Ones’! I believe many of our young people out there go along with me in ‘saying our piece’.

Emmanuel David is an assistant officer with the Conference Division, Sarawak Development Institute (SDI). 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by AZAM and SDI.

Time to end senseless loss of lives

by Roland Duncan Klabu
October 9, 2009, Friday

WITH every festive season the police and relevant authorities would launch a nationwide road safety exercise aimed at reducing the alarmingly high rates of traffic accidents and fatalities.The exercise known as ‘Ops Sikap’ is basically to change the attitude of all road users to obey traffic rules while on the road. Now that Ops Sikap 2009 which was launched before Hari Raya Aidilfitri on September 13 has ended, the results or statistics showed an increase in death tolls and this should be seen as a wake up call to all road users in the country.

The exercise registered 238 fatalities and the overwhelming number of victims were motorcyclists.

Here, in Sarawak the report released by the state traffic police indicated Ops Sikap 2009 as seeing fewer road deaths. Although this report serves as a source of comfort in terms of fewer human lives lost, the fact remains that the overall high road accidents in Sarawak is very worrying.

No matter how we look at the figures, there is no denying that they tell a grim story, and it continues unabated.

There are three key elements in traffic safety: the road users (drivers, pedestrians, and motorcyclists), the road, and the vehicle.

According to Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) there are four listed variables to better road safety: educa-tion, engineering, enforcement, and the environment.

Certainly, attention to these factors would enhance overall road safety and reduce accident rates. The dominant factors here are indifferent attitude to basic traffic rules and regulations and the infamous bad habits on the road.

Awareness campaigns on road safety through various media such as the electronic media, public service announcements and billboards are simply taken for granted. Reminders such as ‘Be careful!’, ‘Be considerate!’, ‘Be patient!’ and ‘Use your seat belt!’ are usually unheeded.

Drivers should be constantly reminded on what should be obvious driving courtesy such as keeping a safe distance between their cars and the one immediately ahead of them if they are going at a designated speed limit. The drivers should also be taught on entering merging traffic and in avoiding distractions, as in using hand phones.

A main tragedy in the loss of precious lives and bodies maimed in road accidents is that the victims are often healthy and young people, often in the prime of their life. Common bad driving habits and a frequent source of accidents such as entering merging traffic without the proper signalling and courtesy are also rampant.

Distractions caused by using handphone while driving are also common. Consequently each and every one of us – the road users must play our part to prevent such incidents and certainly Sarawak cannot afford such losses any longer.

Roland Duncan Klabu is the Special Projects Coordinator for Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak (AZAM). 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by AZAM and SDI.

The Facelift of unity

by Marcella Gider
September 24, 2009, Thursday

IS it just me or lately, the 1Malaysia concept has thrown most Malaysians into a frenzy?

Since its introduction, there seems to be endless talk on the concept. Like a nagging shadow, I hear and read about it from every corner possible.

There’s the gentle and persistent greeting that is Salam Satu Malaysia on the RTM channel. There’s the new tagline on NTV7 that goes We Feel Good as 1Malaysia. Last month, in conjunction with the Merdeka celebration, a song contest was organised to pick the best 1Malaysia song and Astro launched a series of programmes called the Best of 1Malaysia. If you invest in unit trust, you would probably know the existence of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia. And soon, Malaysia will have its very own 1Malaysia F1 team.

Everyone seems so eager to jump on the 1Malaysia bandwagon. Yet, I’m unfazed and will remain so until I find the concept promoted and studied with honesty and integrity.

A dear friend posed me these questions – Why the scepticism? What am I disagreeing on?

In my defence, I said, it is not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing. It is a matter of labelling unity or rebranding unity, if you must, that bothers me. It is the current hype that I cannot comprehend.

Let’s face it. The concept is as old as time. Only thing is, back then, we did not have a name for it. For as long as I’ve lived, I’ve practised the concept and all its teachings. Even without a label, Sarawakians in particular, have gotten along so well with others from different backgrounds, regardless of ethnicity and their beliefs.

It is worth mentioning that in spite of my reluctance, I must say it is a noble concept. It serves to unite Malaysians and further cement the existing bond among us, emphasises on accepting the uniqueness of each individual and demands mutual respect from all ethnic groups so as to enable us to live together as one nation.

By now, we should all be familiar with slogans like Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah, Malaysia Boleh, Gemilang, Cemerlang, Terbilang and what have you. Slogan after slogan, we seem to be rebranding ourselves quite often. Rebranding is not so much an issue to me, but I do have a problem with people who sing its praises and yet do not walk the talk. I still wake up to worrying news that touches on race and religion almost every single day.

I would like to take us all back to the infamous ‘cow head’ incident that puts our country in the headlines for all the wrong reason. To add salt to the wound, the atrocious incident is also on YouTube for the world to see. I was especially disturbed to see young children taking to the streets with those pompous men. Little do they know that they are the victims of the adults’ own selfish agenda and animosity.

1Malaysia? Oh, the irony! We, as Malaysians, have come a long way since Independence and should have known better than to treat religion as a laughing matter.

The truth of the matter is, as a Sarawakian, I do not wish to be reminded of the concept at every angle. Being labeled as the most tolerant people in Malaysia, we have been living in peace and harmony all the while without having to follow a concept.

Despite our many differences, we share similarities. We are alike in our values and aspirations – that we want to see the end of racial conflicts, we want equal opportunities for all and we want to continue to see our children playing freely with any Idris, Ah Chai, Muthu, Mary and Ben.

The onus is on every Malaysian to value and respect the ethnic identities of every community in Malaysia. Being different does not make us any less important than the other. Instead, our differences should be regarded as assets to be proud of.

I liken life to music. To achieve perfect harmony, we require the fundamental notes from C to A, we need an even pitch, the right rhythm, a uniform dynamics and of course, a good singer. Until we reach the harmony that is second to none, 1Malaysia will continue to be very little beyond mere concept.

Marcella Gider is an assistant manager, Conference Division of Sarawak Development Institute (SDI). 3rd Voice is published fortnightly and was initiated by AZAM and SDI.