Ada Apa Dengan 21

My 21^st birthday went by quietly. There was no fancy dinner and surprise party; it was me who bought the cake and I had a small celebration at home. My brothers and I were born in February, so it’s quite convenient to have one celebration for the three of us.

I know this post is long overdue. I blame it on myself who constantly gives excuses whenever my heart asked me to update this blog, partly because I was involved with many things so I was looking for the right time to start writing back.

Being 21 is just a number as what matters is the journey itself. The journey that you take upon yourself in discovering who you are is a lot more meaningful and often offers best lessons that no book can give.

Different people have different motivation and goal in life. I’d like to think that motivation and goal are realised once you are 21 as you have a clearer thought on what you want to do in life (partly because you are in a university so you start contemplating on several options).

In short, you learn to prioritise. I spent my entire first semester just to observe things that happened in my university (and beyond the UKM gate).

My observation is definitely startling. Some of us chose to express themselves on street. Some chose to take their ideas to debating room. Some chose to live a normal life. Nevertheless, majority decides to become ignorant and that is something that we all need to afraid of.

I maybe wrong but if we live in ignorance, we might think that everything so far is all fine. That is the danger if we allow our comfort zone to set in as we will start losing our focus.

Why we need to be focus? I risk myself sounding like I know everything but focus is the first thing that we need to have as we set out to achieve our goal.

Once we have it, then we will start eliminating distraction and hurdles that may stand in our way. Coming back to my 21^st birthday, my birthday wish is simple; I just want to be more focus and I want this year to be my year.

I believe if my birthday wish is fulfilled, I will be smiling throughout the year knowing that even though I am on the losing side one day, determination and focus will save me.

Mini Reunion in March

Last weekend was very productive (productive here means that I do not spend time sleeping in my room ha ha) as I decided to reserve the whole weekend just to catch up with friends (young and old ones). 

Previous weekends were mostly spent for debate practices, so I decided to take a break by meeting up them. It's important for us to run away from something for a while, otherwise we will be stuck doing the same thing and you start ignoring certain things that used to matter very much to you.

I was actually very happy to see them. The topic for every conversation is always the same. It's about our life as a university student, what are we up to for now or what we want to achieve later on.

No matter how ambitious and serious the topic was, being budak koleq, you cannot run away from sharing the same denominator; that is your memories during your MCKK days.

Since me, Ed, Anding and Lutfi were in the same class in 2008 (5 Science 3) except Apek and Ungku, we could not stop talking about the teachers and even the desk arrangement in our class ha ha. Or how Anding and Javad ended up fighting with each other just because of one of the compasses from the Physics lab went missing!

Boys will always be boys. No matter how far the journey is or even if you are in the most unknown place like Nusajaya (ha ha Anding is living there), we will always fall back to each other to share the same stories just to get a temporary escape from life that is getting more complicated.

All five of them that I met are now in a relationship, leaving me alone as the most eligible bachelor so far ha ha. So, should I want to meet them again next time, I must prepare myself facing the risk of cancelling the outing plan since according to them girlfriend comes first ha ha.

A New Journey

Several important events took place last week. One of the highlights would be the Academy Awards. For every victory in each category, the joy and tears burst each time the winner was announced signified the hard work of every single party working in the Hollywod.

Far across the seas and thousand miles from Los Angeles, in the small town of Gambang on the same date, there was another group sharing the same joy just like their friends who just won the Oscar.

My debating team was very fortunate to be chosen as the new champion of Debat Perdana Integriti 2012. The job was finally done and the team can now climb another mountain in order to start a new journey.

The victory was personal to me in many respects. My decision to make a comeback had surprised many people especially after I decided early on not to debate anymore.

In every new scenario, there will be time when you reconsider your decision and the same thing happened to me. After going through several options, I finally decided to debate again. The reasons why I did what I did will remain close to my heart.

It has been a humbling experience so far. The debate at university level is completely different than what I had during my MCKK days. The expectation from the judges will go higher as you proceed further.

University debaters cannot go into debate without equipping themselves with the right knowledge and facts. I was struggling in the beginning in order to get grip with the reality, but once you set your eyes on something, you will never look back.

In that respect, I am glad that my friends and alumni provided assistance that I desperately needed. We worked as a team and for that reason, that explains why we won.

I believe that victory shall only be granted to those who are ready to win. As debate is never about one man’s show, collective effort shall then be the determining factor.

I missed this year’s Oscar but I suppose what I had on the same day itself was not less different than what Meryl Streep had as she received her Best Actress award. As our names were announced as the winner, that was my moment and I felt very good about it.

The only difference was that we could not deliver our acceptance speeches unlike those who won Oscar. Hence, in this little space that I have, I just want to thank everyone for seeing me through and be there each time I need a hand to clasp on.

The new journey is yet to begin but I can assure you that all of us will continue to soldier on no matter what may stand in our way.

“Who’s the judge?”

“The judge is God”

“Why is he God”

“Because he decides who wins or loses. Not my opponent”

“Who is your opponent? “

“ He does not exist. “

“Why does he not exist? “

“Because he is a mere dissenting voice of the truth I speak!”

The Appeal

Surprisingly, beyond everyone's expectation, the prosecution finally filed an appeal against the acquittal of DSAI.

When everyone thought that 901 will be the point where we all could move on, the appeal shatters our hopes to focus on more pressing issues.

Ah well, that is life. We can only pray to God that what does not kill us will only make us stronger.

Kengkawan

I am in the midst of exam season with one paper left. I know I should be studying but the thoughts that I have in mind sometimes need an immediate translation on a piece of writing. So, please bear with me readers, this is another post for this week.

I met some of my MCKK friends last month. I was very glad to see them. Sometimes, you need to run to someone just for a distraction (and that’s what I always do when I desperately need a company.)

I met Fido who came back from Australia for a short break. While I was prepared to see any changes in his character, Fido is still the very same person that I knew since my day one in MCKK (okay, aku tipu, I only got to know him better when he moved in to my dorm from Dorm F ha ha).

As usual, Fido being Fido will ask many questions and I relentlessly answered them with my best answers. He updated me on so many things on what he is doing in Australia and what he plans to do for the next few years.

We even made a point to drive down to Malacca for a day trip. I joked to him that should I go to the UK to study, I would never have a chance to meet him for few years to come as we both have different academic calendar.

I actually never wrote anything about him despite his kindness to me especially during my 2 years stay in Kuala Lumpur, but if you are looking for someone who is perfectionist and hardworking, he will be the one.

I did not say goodbye to him when he went to Australia since I was admitted into a hospital for a minor surgery, but God certainly knew better. We met again last month and I was happy that it was not difficult for us to re-ignite that friendship again.

Good luck Fido. I pray for your success and may you do wonders to the world.

Ada Apa Dengan 901

Life in general is full with drama. We are the actors and our life is the plot that completes a story. For me, the closest thing that depicts what life is all about would be politics. Politics in this country often bring negative connotation. Many people find it dirty, but I suppose that perception is true as it mirrors the state of politics in this country.

My first encounter with something political (so to speak) was Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s first trial. I was 7 year old and barely understood what was going on; what more to understand the charge made against him ( I did ask my mom what the charge meant which she refused to answer). I believe that case sparked my interest in politics. From that day, I constantly read newspaper. I never understood what was reported, but there was one thing that I was always good at; I could remember the names of each minister in the entire Malaysian Cabinet.

I suppose that ‘gift’ remains with me until today. My thirst for more insights in politics grew even more. I watch video, I listen to speeches, I read more books and sometimes I attend political forums.

Many friends asked me about my obsession with politics. I don’t really have a proper explanation for that particular question. I suppose I just love what politics offer to you. If the power is used wisely, we will be able to bring about changes to this nation. Our nation is now at a crossroad. The path that lies ahead offers more challenges than opportunities. Therefore, anyone who posses power must use it for the benefits of the people.

9 January 2012 heralds the new future for Malaysia (at least for me). The unexpected verdict of the second trial of DSAI surprised the nation once more. The tears and cheers on that day testified for hope of many Malaysians that this episode should be the closure for one of the most painful chapters that this nation has ever go through.

I wish to see Malaysian politics to become more matured. Although many are still doubtful with 901’s verdict, but one must continue to become hopeful that one day, this nation shall rise to where it deserves to be.

The Bigger Heart

Like any other ordinary man or woman, new year will be the best time to make a wish list. This is the time when everyone will try to replace what was lost or to replicate dreams to become real.

I was very close to conclude 2011 as “Annus Horribilis”. A series of events that happened for the past one year proved to be quite difficult for me to handle. I actually don’t quite prefer to willlow in self pity, but to do some reflection is a must. Otherwise, we all will stuck in reverse.

Sometimes, I wonder whether the world moves too fast or people just find it easy to move on. But I do feel that my surrounding has changed, the people have moved on and life offers more challenges.

Lessons learnt from 2011 are plenty. The most precious one to me is that one must have a bigger heart than others. You need a bigger heart for you to accept your own failure. You need a bigger heart if you believe in your conviction. You need a bigger heart for you to let go certain things graciously.

2012 opens new horizon. What lies ahead remains uncertain. As for now, it is already half of the month. Time flies these days.

Should the world turn around one more time, would you still be at the same place? If you choose to move on, you need a bigger heart too.