Kurikulum Transformasi

One site that I visit regularly is Puan Ainon Mohd’s blog (she’s the chairperson of PTS group). Last week, she mentioned that Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM) will introduce Kurikulum Transformasi to replace KBSR and KBSM. Full blogpost below:

Kementerian Pelajaran akan Menamatkan Kurikulum KBSR dan KBSM yang Ada Sekarang

Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM) akan memperkenalkan "Kurikulum Transformasi" bagi menggantikan Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah (KBSR) dan Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Menengah (KBSM) yang digunakan sekarang. Kenyataan itu disampaikan oleh Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran, Tan Sri Alimudddin, kepada para penerbit buku pada suatu majlis taklimat baru-baru ini.

Perbezaan yang paling besar antara KBSR & KBSM dengan Kurikulum Transformasi adalah pada isu peperiksaan. Dalam Kurikulum Transformasi, tekanan pada peperiksaan akan dikurangkan. Ini bermakna, bagi para penerbit, apabila Kurikulum Transformasi dilaksanakan, mereka akan kehilangan bisnes menerbitkan buku-buku teks dan buku-buku ulangkaji peperiksaan.

Sebaliknya, permintaan bagi buku-buku pengkayaan pelbagai subjek akan meningkat. Maksudnya, sekolah akan memerlukan buku-buku sains, matematik dan lain-lain, yang ditulis bukan sebagai buku teks, tetapi sebagai buku rujukan, buku bacaan umum dan juga dalam bentuk buku-buku cerita.

While I am grateful that the new curriculum will not be named Kurikulum 1Malaysia, the name Kurikulum Transformasi still makes me cringe! Makes me think of Transformers immediately. What good news it is that this curriculum will not be as exam-oriented, isn’t it? (haha how ironic that I just posted a 'good luck for SPM' post two days ago) But what is the implementation plan? When will the new curriculum be introduced? I hope it’ll be introduced in time for Munief, who will be in Standard 1 in… 2013. In fact, I think a good year to introduce this new curriculum would be in 2012 when PPSMI will be fully reversed. Then, change management could be optimised, for example we’d need to change textbooks only once.

When googling, I found a paper written by the Pengarah of Bahagian Perkembangan Kurikulum, dated 2008, on Kurikulum Transformasi. Below is an excerpt.

KONVENSYEN NASIONAL PIPP KEDUA (2008)
MEMBANGUN MODAL INSAN
Tn. Hj. Ali bin Ab. Ghani (A.M.N.)
Pengarah
Bahagian Perkembangan Kurikulum
Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia

...
Ke arah itu, satu bentuk pengubahsuaian sedang dijalankan bagi mengatasi masalah ini. Dari aspek kurikulum sekolah, Bahagian Pembangunan Kurikulum (BPK) sedang berusaha membangunkan satu bentuk kurikulum baru yang lebih berpusatkan murid, lebih memberikan peluang kepada murid untuk meneroka bidang ilmu tersebut dengan lebih mendalam, dan kurikulum yang menyeronokkan dan tidak berorientasikan peperiksaan. Berdasarkan keperluan ini, BPK membangunkan konsep Transformasi Kurikulum Kebangsaan yang membawa cadangan perubahan kepada konsep, bentuk, struktur dan operasi kurikulum persekolahan kebangsaan.

Struktur kurikulum baru KBSR memperkenalkan konsep tunjang – satu bentuk pengklasifikasian bidang ilmu, kemahiran dan nilai yang berfokus kepada pembentukan modal insan seimbang dari segi jasmani, emosi, rohani dan inteleknya. Enam tunjang dikenalpasti mewakili bidang ilmu, kemahiran dan nilai yang menjadi asas kepada pembangunan insan yang dihasratkan seperti yang ditunjukkan dalam rajah di bawah.

(sorry, too 'lazy' to printscreen the chart)

The 6 pillars mentioned are:

Komunikasi (termasuk penguasaan bahasa)
Kerohanian, Sikap dan Nilai
Kemanusiaan
Keterampilan Diri
Fizikal & Estetika
Literasi Sains dan Matematik

I’m not sure whether this is a proposal or a plan, but I think it’s likely to be the former. With parents especially criticising the current system regularly, this would be a good time to give suggestions and ideas, isn’t it? I’m not sure whether they will accept or even read our suggestions, but there’s no harm trying. Let’s! Here are KPM’s contact details that I got from their website.

Portal rasmi Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia
http://www.moe.gov.my/
03-77237070
kpkpm@moe.gov.my

When browsing their website, I read the notice that there is weekly show Secara Langsung Bersama KPM every Saturday morning from 11.05 to 11.30 am from 3 Oct to 26 Dec on RTM1.

So, what do I want to see being introduced in school? Just a brief recollection, I think of 3 things:
1) show and tell – each student in a class have to take turn giving a short presentation on whatever topics they’d like, with or without supporting objects or materials
2) science fair – let students form an independent group and choose liberally a science project that they genuinely feel interested in
3) research – let students do research on any topic that they are interested in and encourage them to use both the traditional and digital resources to come up with a presentation in any format they like (printed booklet, power point presentation, manila card, etc)

As I wrote the above, I notice that what I’m advocating are ownership (by letting them choose their own topic) and independence (by not limiting their method of research/work/presentation).

One thing that is not related to curriculum that I would like to support (because I’m sure it have been and is being proposed) is to increase the salary of teachers!

Anyway, back to the topic of curriculum, what do you want to see being included in the new curriculum?

All the best for SPM

Some time ago, I found a copy of a letter I wrote to several youngsters way back in 2001. The youngsters (I wonder how they're doing, we've lost touch) were in my group, in a motivational camp I had participated in as a facilitator. It is rare to find a surviving record of something I wrote when I was younger, let alone one with hints of what my values and beliefs were, so this is quite a treat. I didn't change anything except to switch 'Kak Mynie' to 'akak' when addressing myself. I'm sharing it here in correlation with SPM which is to begin tomorrow, with best wishes to all sitting for it, especially to my brother #6 and my sister-in-law. All the best!


Assalamualaikum Adik,

Harapnya Adik sihat-sihat sejahtera dan sedang sibuk mengulangkaji pelajaran; SPM dah tak lama ni. Walaupun SPM tinggal lagi sebulan, jangan ingat dah terlambat nak buat apa-apa. Tidak sekali-kali. Walaupun dua hari pun dapat dimanfaatkan. Seperti yang akak pernah tekankan dulu, yang penting bukannya kita dapat mencapai sesuatu target yang mungkin agak tinggi untuk kita, tetapi yang lebih penting ialah dapat memperbaiki diri, sentiasa berusaha memajukan diri. Setapak ke depan akan lebih menghampirkan diri kita kepada kejayaan. Tapi ini taklah pula bermakna tak perlu target tinggi-tinggi sebab bak kata orang: If you aim for the stars, you may fall on the roof; but if you aim for the ceiling, you may fall on the floor. Jika kita ingin mencapai bintang, kita mungkin kan jatuh ke atas bumbung; tapi jika kita ingin mencapai siling, kita mungkin kan jatuh ke atas lantai. Dan tentunya bumbung lebih tinggi daripada lantai, kan?

Usaha datang dari dalam diri kita sendiri. Payah untuk orang lain yang menyuruh kita. You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t force it to drink. Kita boleh bawa seekor kuda kepada air, tapi kita tak boleh memaksanya minum. Self-will atau keinginan diri inilah yang akan mendorong kita untuk berusaha ke arah apa yang kita mahukan. Akak percaya jika kita benar-benar inginkan sesuatu, pasti kita akan sungguh-sungguh cuba mendapatkannya, insyaAllah. Lagi satu petua penting bagi diri akak ialah memohon pertolongan daripada Tuhan. Usaha biarlah disertai dengan doa yang tulus dan solat hajat sekerap mungkin. Yakinlah dengan pertolongan yang mampu diberikan oleh Allah – sesungguhnya Allah suka apabila kita memohon sesuatu daripadaNya dengan penuh rendah diri, ikhlas dan yakin. Selalu juga akak rasakan bila tengah menduduki peperiksaan dan tak pasti jawapan, muncul ilham entah dari mana.

Hari peperiksaan itu sendiri sangat penting. Dah dua tahun kita belajar untuk menghadapi peperiksaan SPM ni, kita tentulah mahukan badan dan minda kita berada dalam keadaan yang paling baik sebab kita hendak menghasilkan yang terbaik yang mampu kita lakukan. Sila teliti perbezaan – yang terbaik yang mampu kita lakukan bukannya yang terbaik, noktah. Jaga kesihatan: bayangkan terpaksa mengambil peperiksaan sewaktu demam – kan tak best? Terutama sekali hari sebelum peperiksaan, dapatkan rehat dan tidur yang mencukupi. Kita nak otak kita fresh pada waktu peperiksaan, tak nak lah pulak berasa letih dan mengantuk. Kalau Adik rasa gementar atau nervous, itu memang normal. Tarik nafas dalam-dalam dan cuba tenangkan diri Adik. Cuba fikir: Adik dah cuba menyediakan diri dan sekaranglah masanya untuk mencuba yang terbaik yang mampu Adik lakukan. Bahaya juga kalau terlalu gementar, takut kalau-kalau idea pun tak keluar. Cuba bertenang dan ingat pada Allah. Yakinlah bahawa nasib Adik di tanganNya, dan segala apa yang Allah beri kita harus terima dengan redha bahawa Allah tahu apa yang terbaik untuk kita. Waktu periksa, jangan sekali-kali tinggalkan jawapan kosong. Itu memang pantang nombor satu. Walaupun tak tahu jawapan sebenar, hentam sahaja – manalah tahu ada yang dapat markah. Bagi setiap kertas, tulis je apa-apa yang terlintas bila rasa buntu. Pantang nombor dua ialah keluar awal – jangan sekali-kali keluar awal walau seminit dua. Seperti yang akak dah tulis di atas – kalau tak tau letak je jawapan apa-apa. Kalau dah siapa pulak, semaklah sesemak-semaknya. Ingatlah – kita dah belajar dua tahun, dan kita nak dinilai waktu periksa ni, maka hargailah setiap mint yang kita ada – manfaatkanlah. Try your very best!

Setelah selesai periksa, jangan berhenti berdoa pada Allah – waktu ni lah pemeriksa tengah periksa kertas dan mana tahu diringankan hatinya nak beri markah pada Adik. Cuti yang panjang manfaatkanlah sebaik-baiknya contohnya tolong mak ayah atau cari kerja – boleh dapat duit. Dan apa yang penting sekali fikirlah masa depan, what next after SPM? Lepas SPM nak buat apa? Seboleh-bolehnya akak sangat-sangatlah mengalakkan Adik teruskan belajar takat mana yang boleh. Kalau dapat masuk matrikulasi (untuk masuk universiti) Alhamdulillah, kalau tak dapat mungkin ada kolej-kolej atau institusi-institusi lain yang tawarkan diploma ke, atau kursus kemahiran ke, sijil perguruan dan sebagainya. Fikirlah jauh ke depan. Walau pun boleh kerja terus dan dapat gaji, tapi kalau dikorban mungkin tiga empat tahun lagi untuk lanjutkan pelajaran, insyaAllah Adik akan dapat pekerjaan yang lebih baik. Belajar itu satu pelaburan, dan pulangannya pasti berbaloi.

Tapi jangan silap faham. Kejayaan dalam hidup bukanlah (malah tidak sekali-kali) diukur dengan ijazah, tetapi sebenarnya kepada nilai-nilai diri kita sebagai insan. Sejauh mana kita menjalankan tanggungjawab kita sebagai hamba Allah dan sedar bahawa kita harus mengejar keredhaanNya. Sesungguhnya kejayaan di akhirat itu lebih penting daripada kejayaan di dunia. Segalanya di dunia tidak kekal, malahan kita akan mati entah bila, tapi alam akhirat itulah yang kekal abadi. Sejauh mana pula kita dapat berdikari dan mampu menjadi insan yang dapat menjaga diri dan seboleh mungkin meringankan beban ibu bapa dan adik beradik. Alangkah kagumnya akak mendengar cerita mereka yang berjaya hasil usaha sendiri – mungkin dalam berniaga atau berbakti pada tanah. Mereka yang ada wawasan dan ada semangat yang tinggi untuk mencapai wawasan tersebut. Atau disebut dengan kata lain, kita patut berusaha untuk menjadi orang yang menyenangkan orang lain bukan menyusahkan orang lain. Bahagia bukanlah terletak pada benda-benda fizikal (material) contohnya duit tetapi pada benda-benda spititual (kemanisan iman) dan emosional. Kata pakar psikologi, kebijaksanaan emosi lebih penting daripada kebijaksanaan intelek. Bila kita bijak dalam pertimbangan diri, diberi apa situasi sekali pun kita dapat bertindak dengan wajar.

Akak rasa dah panjang sangat membebel ni. Jika sedikit pun dapat diambil daripda bebelan ini, akak dah cukup gembira. Minta maaf atas segala yang tersilap dan tersalah. Akan mendoakan dan mengharapkan yang terbaik untuk Adik. All the best!

Salam sayang,
Kak Mynie
21 September 2001

New products: Jubah bersulam & new tshirt

I’m pleased to introduce 2 new products for Simplisiti. The first is a jubah bersulam collection. They come in 6 colours: pink, maroon, dark brown, turquoise, dark blue, and black. Each colour (same material, same colour) comes in 2 designs, one (on the top) has horizontal embroidery and (decorative) sashes, and the other one (on the bottom) has slanting embroidery and pleats. Comes in 5 sizes: S to XXL. The picture above doesn’t do justice to the jubah, actually. I fell in love with them the moment I saw and hold them. The embroidery is exquisite, see photo below. The bonus-point about this jubah is they have 10-inch zip in front, making it convenient for nursing mothers! (Yay!) Each jubah costs RM120.

The other new product is a new muslimah tshirt collection, which coincidentally has similar theme – embroidered and sweet. The comfy cotton tshirt comes in 6 colours: pink, cream/orange, blue, light pink, purple, and yellow. Comes in 6 sizes: S to XXXL. Each tshirt costs RM38.


Like them? Visit Simplisiti to order one! :)

Also, I’d like to draw your attention to the links of mumpreneurs I have listed on the right column of this blog, underneath the Follower widget, the latest of which is Kak Najah’s www.quranonline2u.com. Let me know if you’d like me to link up your business (not that this blog has many readers lah, hehe ;p).

On another matter, I still need to look for a free file hosting web though. My salesblog looks so ugly now with the template images previously hosted in Geocities gone. Well, actually the content doesn’t looks so bad with white background, it’s just the absent header makes it so obvious that something is wrong that the blog owner hasn’t fixed yet (yeah I know, bad impression). Any suggestion? I’ve tried 4shared but the image didn’t appear (maybe I didn’t do it right). In addition, I don’t quite like their condition that I have to login at least once a month, else my account gets deleted. In other words, I’m looking for a file hosting service provider that is free, easy to use and manage (for kayu-IT people like me), and has no hidden catch!

Vote in World Challenge

Now in its fifth year, World Challenge 09 is a global competition run by BBC World News and Newsweek and supported by Shell, seeking to reward projects and businesses which bring economic, social and environmental benefits to local communities through grassroots solutions. The winner will receive a US$ 20,000 grant from Shell to invest in their project, and the two runners-up will each receive US$ 10,000.

Voting ends 13 November, so do go and vote. I have! I copied a brief description for each of the 12 finalists here below, but the videos and photos are even more interesting – check them out at the official website.

If I were to nominate a project from Malaysia (and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t), I’d nominate Yayasan Pembangunan Nur Hikmah. They use creative entrepreneurship ideas like Mangkuk Tingkat (they now have menu for ibu berpantang) and Tudung Myza (a collaboration with Myza Worldwide) and act as the link between the group in need of income (single mothers etc) and consumers to create win-win situations.

SOLAR SISTERS - INDIA
Barefoot Women Solar Engineers of Africa
These Barefoot Solar Engineers are bringing solar power to Africa’s countryside, lighting up the bush.
“They come as women, and they go back as tigers – they are so confident – oozing with confidence” Bunker Roy, Barefoot College

It’s hard to imagine that in parts of Africa south of the Sahara as little as 2% of the villages have access to electricity – that means no TVs, no microwaves, no fridges, and no electric light at night. Now the Barefoot College in India is training a small cadre of women to install solar panels in areas far away from any electricity grid. And Bunker Roy, the man behind the project, sees the engineers he has trained spreading the know-how across the continent. Roy is not satisfied with just brining light to Africa - he now wants to bring women from Latin America to his college for training.

EMISSION CONTROL - UNITED KINGDOM
Mootral
Our global addiction to meat is now influencing the climate, yet in Wales a new feed technology could help lead to a more sustainable meat industry.
“It’s simple, it’s scalable, it’s sustainable – so that’s why we believe Mootral is is a winner.” Michael Mathres, Mootral

The escalating world demand for meat and livestock products is contributing to potentially catastrophic climate change, especially in the fast-growing beef industry. The figures are not exact, depending on car usage, but it seems that a cow produces roughly the same amount of harmful greenhouse gases as an average car user – surprising when one considers there are twice as many cows in the world as cars. Now researchers in Cardiff have turned to nature, and the magical health properties of the humble garlic bulb, to develop a new feed additive that cuts the methane gas produced by the animals in half.

FUEL CELL - KENYA
Biogas as an alternative source of energy
A prison in Kenya is using inmate’s waste to power the kitchens and heating, reducing energy costs and improving the health of the prisoners.
“Since we got Biogasthere’s been a difference – there’s plenty of heat, but there’s no the smoke that there was before” Prisoner, Meru Prison

Meru prison in Kenya holds 9 times more prisoners than it was designed for. It is cramped, dirty and full of smoke from cooking fires. According to The World Health Organisation smoke from stoves and fires in homes causes around 1.6 million deaths per year worldwide. But a new biogas project, which uses the prisoners waste to power cooking and heating, has helped fix this problem – and it’s not just the prison inmates who are benefitting from this technology. Wherever there is a dense population of humans such as in, say a school or a hospital, biogas becomes economic. Skylink Innovators is a Kenyan company with big ambitions to stop the resource going to waste and saving, in the bargain, Kenya’s remaining woodland.

JIKO RESCUE - the Democratic Republic of Congo
Stoves for Survival
The endangered Mountain Gorilla population is getting a helping hand from a fuel-efficient ‘Jiko’ stove.
“Charcoal is a commodity that everybody needs, especially poor households, because there’s nothing else, and unfortunately 90% of Charcoal being used in Goma and Rwanda comes from Virunga National Park” Emmanuel de Merode, Virunga National Park

There are only 380 the Mountain Gorillas left in Central Africa, and their habitat is shrinking fast: one of their last refuges is Virunga National Park, but the Park and surrounding areas are rapidly losing their forest cover. The wood is used to supply towns like Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo -- swelled by a refugee population -- with charcoal for cooking. To lessen the demand for charcoal, fuel efficient stoves are being manufactured locally and given to the people. It’s all part of a new approach to conservation which aims to show that conservation can benefit the poor as much as wildlife.

NO BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH - NAMIBIA
Cheetah Conservation Fund Bush Project
Namibian farmers, once the main threat to the Cheetah population, are now becoming their main protectors
“We’ve taken a problem and turned it around into a multitude of solutions” Laurie Marker, Cheetah Conservation Fund

Namibia is one of the last refuges of the remaining world Cheetah population. A quarter of all the remaining cats are found in Nambia. It is estimated their numbers globally have declined by over 90% in the last 100 years. A local thorn bush species is invading the savannah in the country, causing over US$90 million each year in lost revenue to Namibian farmers, whilst also destroying the native habitat of the fastest of the cats. Now the Cheetah Conservation Fund has pioneered a scheme to clear the thorn bush and turn it into cheap fuel briquettes. The project is creating jobs at the same time as helping to restore the hunting ground of the endangered cheetah.

FUNGI TOWN - UNITED STATES
BTTR Ventures
This innovative business turns the waste from coffee grounds into the ideal medium for growing gourmet mushrooms
“All the hard work starts paying off – you can see the mushrooms literally popping out of the substrate of the coffee” Nikhil Arora, BTTR Ventures

Did you know that less than 1% of all the coffee harvested each year ends up in your cup? Most of the coffee grounds finish as landfill. Two business school graduates in California, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, have spotted a money-making opportunity: instead of the grounds going direct to the tip, they collect the ‘waste’ and grow gourmet oyster mushrooms on pods in a humid warehouse. As Nikhil notes, “America is addicted to coffee” and around the world over seven million tonnes are produced every year – that’s a lot of waste. After the grounds are used up, they become compost for organic urban farms in the San Francisco area. Now the business looks set to expand as the health food superstore, 'Whole Foods' has begun to sell the gourmet mushrooms.

OLD SCHOOL THAI - THAILAND
Andaman Discoveries
The most genuine tourist experience possible in Thailand? Become a Thai villager for the week…
“I’ve been to Thailand many times and I’ve enjoyed their culture and their way of life and now it’s time I started giving back to them“ Jeannine Curd, Andaman Discoveries

The devastation of the December 2004 Tsunami killed nearly 300,000 people and caused $15 billion in damages. Over a million people were displaced from their homes. In Thailand, the tourist industry, which sees over 5 million visitors a year and over $7 billion come into the country is was badly affected. Andaman Discoveries has been working with local villages to bring tourists in to help with restoration. Some even take the option to do a ‘home stay’, living and eating with local families, to help with the reconstruction. It’s a new approach to tourism which places most emphasis on channelling goodwill and resources to protecting the local cultures, which so far have been unscathed by mass, package-holiday tourism.

LOVE 'N HAITI - HAITI
South-South Cooperation's Project
Could recycling waste and cleaning streets be the simple answer to Haiti’s massive social problems?
“We have moved from cutting down trees to transformation of waste into fuel briquettes“ Jean-Yves Jason, Mayor, Port-au-Prince

Haiti is an unfolding tragedy. The first independent country in the Caribbean is now the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Many decades of mismanagement and bad governance have left over seven million Haitians with little hope that things will improve. But from the most unlikely place -- the crime- ridden and poverty stricken area of Carrefour Feuilles in the capital, Port-au-Prince – is an initiative that is cleaning up the streets and giving hope to the embattled citizens. A local action force is turning the waste littering the countryside into cheap fuel, at a stroke it’s bringing a kind of normality to the slum as well as meeting local energy needs.

NOTHING WASTED - INDONESIA
Danamon Go Green, Danamon Peduli Foundation
The traditional markets of Indonesia are getting a face-lift, and the organic fertiliser they now produce is giving farming in the area huge boost.
“The programme is very simple and easy – it uses simple technology, the raw material is here, available in the market, so it’s very cost-effective” Risa Bhinekawati, Danamon Go Green

Indonesia’s traditional markets are bustling and dirty, just as full of raw waste and rats as they are of store-holders and food. But the thousands of tonnes of waste generated in the markets contains nearly 90% vegetable materials and now, thanks to Danamon ‘Go Green’, they are being cleaned up and the waste turned into an organic fertiliser that is boosting local yields by over 30%. Not only do the local farmers benefit, but the levels of disease from spoiled produce are down and, most importantly, the markets are getting a long-awaited facelift.

A BRIGHT IDEA - SRI LANKA
Safe Bottle Lamp Project
One man’s mission to stop the horrific, and totally avoidable, injuries caused by unsafe kerosene lamps in Sri Lanka.
“If I win the World Challenge I can make and distribute 40,000 of these lamps, protecting over 80,000 people from these horrific burn injuries” Dr Wijaya Godakumbura, Safe Bottle Lamp Project

Despite an electrification programme, over 6 million people in Sri Lanka, nearly one third of the population, don’t have power. Many families rely on improvised lamps made from bottles to light their homes at night, but these can often spill and cause horrific injuries – figures suggest 300,000 people around the world die from accidental kerosene burns every year. Dr Wijaya Godakumbura, a surgeon who witnessed the terrible results of these accidents has designed a safe Lamp that can't roll over and cause a fire. To date, his small foundation has handed out about 775 thousand of the safe lamps.

OFF GRID AID - ISRAEL-PALESTINE
Comet-ME
Two Israeli physicists are helping Palestinian villages in the West Bank generate their own cheap renewable energy.
“The need was obvious – every household you go into, every person you meet, the need cries out to you“ Elad Orian, Comet-ME

In the politically volatile area of the occupied territories in the West bank are communities of Palestinian shanty towns - communities that live in darkness because for them an electricity grid is an impossible dream. But renewable technology such as solar and wind power could change that. Israel is one of the world leaders in solar power and two Israeli physicists, Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, are hoping to bring power to the desert by installing wind and solar technologies to help run lights and fridges for these impoverished people. Through their work developing sustainable power sources on the West Bank they are giving a light of hope, quite literally, to these off-the-grid neighbourhoods.

PATTERNS OF CHANGE - AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Hands
How the American high-end fashion business is creating a design for a better life for the widows of the decades of conflict in Afghanistan.
“The first time I bought them in they were shocked by the sheerness of these things… and they were shaking their heads, saying ‘These Americans – I don’t know what they want!’”
The conflicts in Afghanistan over the last 30 years have caused up to 2 million deaths – creating a generation of widows and orphans in the country. But Matin Maulawizada, whose own family escaped to the USA during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, has returned to the country of his birth to help some of these widows. Arriving from the US bearing designs commissioned by a niche-market fashion house, his company, Afghan Hands, capitalizes on the skill of these women with a needle and thread and is now not only earning them an income, but teaching them literacy and numeracy as well.

Who wants to be a policeman

On my drive to work this morning, I saw a police truck. In it - a group of boys (ok - young men) in white t-shirts, each holding a senapang (Hmm what’s the English word for senapang? Shotgun?). I tried to read their expressions but couldn't.

My thoughts:
I wonder, what are the motivations (and reasons) for individuals to apply to become a policeman in this country?
Put in another way, what kind of people actually apply and become a policeman (in this country)?
And another way, if one day Munief comes and tell me he wants to be a policeman (when he’s 16 or 17, say, if he’s 6 or 7 it doesn’t count), how would I feel?

I won a book!

Yay – I won a Book Xcess blog weekly contest! It’s my first win after three or four tries, starting with this attempt. I recognise that this contest is a marketing activity aimed to achieve these two objectives: firstly, to increase traffic (and retain) to the blog site and secondly, to get people (winners) to visit the bookstore (winners have to pick up the prize there). Once there, it’s unlikely that the people (winners) will stop at picking their prize (book/s), they’ll surely end up with more books! In fact, if I were the person responsible to select winners (some contest are like lucky draws because the answers to the quizzes were easy to find on the internet), I would select those that haven’t won before. Anyway, the prize (‘Tis by Frank McCourt) is good enough to warrant me a trip there, probably on one fine Friday lunch. In the meantime, I’ll keep on trying out for their weekly contests because, to be honest, they could be quite fun! =)

Milk intake increases risk of breast cancer?

October is breast cancer awareness month; and it may or may not because of this that my father shared an email about Professor Jane Plant who claims that consuming (too much?) dairy products can lead to breast or prostrate cancer.

This link contains the full article that I read, but to summarize:

Professor Jane Plant was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and started to actively look for a cure. When her husband, also a scientist, came back from a working trip to China, they found that far less women in China got breast cancer (1 in 10,000 compared to 1 in 12 in Britain). After doing some research, they noticed the major difference in dietary intake in terms which is dairy products, and in fact breast cancer was called ‘Rich People’s Disease’ because it affected the group of people who adopted a western lifestyle more than the others. So, Jane Plant dropped dairy from her diet and got better in several weeks time! She has stressed however, that it is not just dairy-free diets that has saved her from cancer, but she actually followed other changes (10 in total if I'm not mistaken) in diets and lifestyles as well, which she wrote about in her book Your Life in Your Hands.

Why? There’s no hard eveidence, but the theory is that this effect is caused by the complex chemical makeup of cow’s milk, including insulin growth factor IGF-1, which causes cells to divide and reproduce as well as the hormone oestrogen. This link (same as the one before) explains in more details.

It was hard for me to conceive that something as pure as milk could lead to cancer. The idea seemed blasphemous! Now, I’m at neither end of spectrum of belief nor disbelief. I’m still open to both possibilities. I’m not going on a dairy-free diet just yet, but I’ll probably try to watch that I (and my family) don’t consume too much dairy, which is not something difficult to do given the high price of dairy products in this country. And if I know someone afflicted with breast cancer, I’ll probably share with her this article - perhaps she’d like to try going dairy-free, see if it would bring improvements.

When I talked to my father about this, I moaned, “What about our calcium intake?” But really, I was thinking of the yummy indulgent food: icecream, milkshakes, chocolates, yoghurt, cheese, fresh milk. (Oh, I do love dairy products!) I challenged: why isn’t there a conclusive research or more widespread awareness? Afterall, it has been more than 10 years since Professor Jane Plant came up with this theory. My father’s conspiracy theory is that, there is too much at stake for the dairy industry for this to become acknowledged scientifically. That aside, other sources of calcium includes: soybeans, tofu, dark leafy vegetables and orange juice.

And then, I remembered - there’s mentions of milk in the Qur’an, wasn’t there? What does it say again? A simple search on ‘milk’ from this site produces these ayats (Yusuf Ali’s translation):

016.066
And verily in cattle (too) will ye find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies between excretions and blood, We produce, for your drink, milk, pure and agreeable to those who drink it.

023.021
And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: from within their bodies We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat;

Now, that’s quite clear, isn’t it? Perhaps then, moderation is the keyword.

Random words

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I just noticed today that the words akad and akidah have the same roots. Beautiful.

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A useful word to introduce to a toddler is konon-konon (pretend). My kids and I would sometimes pretend to grab and eat the image of food items in books, and I would say 'konon-konon kita makan'. It helps to explain when they ask questions like below.
Q: Kenapa pokok tu (lukisan dalam buku) ada mata dengan mulut?
A: Sebenarnya pokok takde mata dan mulut, cuma lukis konon-konon je.
Q: Kenapa binatang boleh cakap (dalam kartun tv)?
A: Sebenarnya kita tak faham binatang cakap, tapi dia buat cerita konon-konon binatang bercakap.
Q: Kenapa mainan boleh bercakap (tengok Toy Story)?
A: Sebenarnya mainan tak boleh bercakap, tapi dia buat cerita ni konon-konon mainan boleh cakap.
And since Munief understands the concept of 'pretend', the explanation suffice. Most of the times, at least.

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We have too many kacang in our vocabs, I think. Earlier today, I was chopping kacang panjang when Afiefah asked, "Apa tu?" "Kacang," I said. She looked a bit perplexed. The 'kacang' that she knows looks different (kacang tanah). "Kacang panjang," I tried again. "Kacang panjang," she repeated. Phew.
Not only the nuts and beans families are both kacang, some vegetables are also kacang. Not to mention the use of kacang as a slang to mean easy!

4-day work week

Interesting concept! When I first read the term ‘4-day work week’ (before clicking to read the short article), I thought it meant 4 by 8 hours-day with equivalent pay cut (like one I'm looking for but haven't been successful so far), but what they did was to introduce 4 by 10 hours-day as opposed to 5 by 8 hours-day. So that means coming to work at 8, say, and then leave at... 7. Would you choose this option if it is available to you?

About a year ago Utah Governor Jon Hunstman introduced the 4 day work week, and it has proven to be a success. The Working 4 Utah initiative put 17,000 out of 24,000 executive branch employees on a 10 hour a day, four day work week, with a three day weekend, and it seems the employees are liking the change.

Not only are the workers able to avoid rush hour, but it seems the four day work week also lead to energy savings. State officers in Utah reported that Fridays at home cuts state energy use by 13%. Utah also saved $1,8 million in operational
costs.

Other states, among them Texas and Florida, are in the process of
introducing similar programs.

Credit to Nik Nazmi for the news/link (via FB).

Strong personal foundation

The following article is taken from the eHomemaker's website.

Top 10 Tools For A Strong Personal Foundation

Coaching is about living great lives. It’s about living lives based on our values, our priorities and our choices. And, as in building a great building, it takes a very strong foundation. In fact, the more spectacular the visible parts of the building are going to be, the more time and precision has to go into preparing the supporting structures and systems underneath. But one of the most difficult things in life is spending the necessary time on the foundations.

Most of us are eager to build, to start living the life of our dreams, and the temptation is always to neglect the details of a strong personal foundation. Here are my Top 10 Tools for creating the foundation that will support whatever else you want in your life:

1. Get plenty of sleep. I know, that wasn’t on the list when I was younger either, but as Vince Lombardi noted, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." Tired people are cranky, they miss opportunities and make careless decisions. And, getting plenty of sleep suggests a fairly regular pattern to your day, some structure and orderliness, and that’s a good thing!

2. Eat well. Yeah, I know, another boring one. But the body needs good stuff to keep it sharp and ready to serve you. Some people go a long way on this, carefully nurturing their bodies with organic fruits and vegetables. I don’t have that discipline, but replacing potato chips with carrot sticks, sure does seem to help. Cut down on fat, drink more water and fruit juice, and see what happens!

3. Exercise. Even a walk around the block does wonders to clear the head! At least 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week, and more if you enjoy it. Work up a sweat, huff and puff a bit. They say you’ll live longer. I know it gets me out of the office, away from the phone and computer for a few minutes, and my dog loves the chance to run! Enjoy it.

4. Read a lot. Read magazines and history, read biographies and cheap novels, but read. Follow politics and the economy, keep up with current films and take a moment to follow sports and those funny short stories in Reader’s Digest. It gives you perspective, broadens your point of view, and, like exercise, it gets you away from the phone and computer for a few minutes. It may even make you wiser!

5. Meditate. Keep a journal, or pray. Develop your own style and preferences for making peace with your world, and do it every day. Find the time and place that works best for you, sit quietly, settle into your routine, and take time to notice. Stuff will come up. You’ll have ideas, you’ll fall asleep, you’ll remember what’s really important. Whatever happens, be at peace with it.

6. Eliminate tolerations. Keep your nest clean! There’s no excuse to be tripping over the same clutter every day. It slows you down, and it wears you out. Some people are "neater" than others, and this isn’t about having a clean desk, unless that’s important to you. This is about eliminating those annoying frustrations that come up every week. Get a housekeeper, a bookkeeper, a gardener, and at least have your car washed! If it annoys you, deal with it.

7. Keep relationships clean. It’s not possible to be best friends with everyone, and some relationships do end, but that’s not as expensive as having a strained relationship that drains you every day. If you have "friendships" that need to end, take care of it. If you have an intimate partner with whom you need to spend more time, schedule it tonight. Stay on good terms with those you can, and end those relationships that are never going to support you. Just do it.

8. Do work you love. Doing a job you dislike is exhausting. I often talk with folks who are eager to change careers "as soon as…." They usually finish the sentence with something that will happen in a few years. Why wait? Life is too short! I suspect the time lost is a greater risk than making the change right now! Do what you love!

9. Laugh a lot! Humor and warm friendships, love and laughter go further to maintain "balance" than all the programs I’ve ever tried. Life is either a wonderful, strange and funny dance…or it’s too scary to think about. Either way, laugh all the way through!

10. Develop your "Daily 10". Have a regular pattern of 10 wonderful things you do every day for your own vibrant personal foundation. Find your own little rituals that just make you feel good! Every day, do 10 simple things that remind you how special, powerful, alive and wonderful you are! Delight in them!

Here's to you, and to building a strong, deep and lasting foundation that will support you for many years to come!

Written by Dr. Philip E. Humbert, writer, speaker and success coach. Dr. Humbert has over 300 free articles, tools and resources for your success, including a great newsletter! It's all on his website at: http://www.philiphumbert.com