52th Merdeka...CELEBRATION OF EXCITEMENT!!!..

Malaysia as we know it today is a thriving developing country, often considered a “role model” by its Southeast Asian neighbours for its economic and political stability, multicultural harmony and steady progress. 31st August 2009 marks the 50th year of this country's independence from British colonialism and the day the joyful, triumphant shouts of “Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!” resonated throughout the nation as Malaya's first Prime Minister, Allahyarham Tunku Abdul Rahman stood on a podium at Merdeka Square doing the same.

The name Malaya was then changed to Malaysia when the country was officially made a federation of 13 states including Sabah and Sarawak. Article 1(1) of the Federal Constitution states that "The federation shall be known, in Malay and English, as Malaysia". Although Singapore broke away and became a nation of its own in 1965, the rest of the states have remained firmly together, combining to make Malaysia the harmonious melting pot of cultures it is today.

As for me, I do buy the flags... as its the symbol of Malaysia's sovereignty anyway. I do put up the jalur gemilang at home & on my car (as Malaysians who love to). But I don't think attending Merdeka concerts or parades will do any good to me. So i will just stay at home, see glimpse of fireworks from outside of my house. I even participate in merdeka celebration by putting fireworks at my house a few years back. It's good enough to take some time to think about the meaning of Merdeka and appreciate life in Malaysia. Things could be alot worse elsewhere.

With all our strengths and weaknesses as a nation, we have gained a lot but we have to catch up lots more. Nevertherless, I'm 100% proud to call myself Malaysian. Happy 52th birthday Malaysia

Violence & Child Abuse

FORMS OF ABUSE

The cases cited here, nevertheless, gave a good indication on the types of abuses that are commonly linked to child abuse, a blanket term for mistreating a child. It went to show that a child could be subjected to many forms of abuses, ranging from physical, sexual, emotional to neglect. The abused incidence of children in this country were commited by people known to the children including their parents.

"Children who have been abused would also be neglected and for some children that are abandoned, chances are during the period of abandonment, someone might have abused the child."

Some parents may turn and say they never abused their child. But when you leave your child neglected on the street or at home alone and the male relatives or a neighbour has taken advantage of your child, that in itself constitutes neglect and it is a form of child abuse as you have failed to provide safety for your child.

DIFFERENT REACTION

According to research by child psychologist, different child showed different reaction after he or she had been abused. Some, would be more aggresive, others would be more withdrawn, or display anti-social behaviour. Still, there were abused children who at the end of the traumatic experience, did not show any effects at all.

"There are several factors that would influence how the abused children behave. Like, how young they are when they are abused and how long the abuse has been going on. Obviously, if it is only for a short period of time, it is not very damaging compared to if the child is consistently being abused for many years."

"Other factors include who has been abusing the child. If the abuse is a one time thing and done by a stranger, it would not affect them as much compared to if the abuser is the child's own father."

The personality of the child also played an important factor that would determine the extend of the abuse had on the child. Some children, were more resilient and they could go through the abuse and came out of it like there was nothing happening at all. Social support was also another factor that was crucial to abused children. Early intervention and counselling help a lot.

Train & Place Programme

Ministry of Human Resource has launched a program called Train and Place. It is a free program and participants will be paid allowances. Apart from those who were retrenched, graduates who are finding life difficult to land a job are also encouraged to participate.

Through the program, candidates can choose a wide variety of re-skilling programs available according to their interest such as accounting, business & entrepreneurship, hospitality, food and beverage, fashion, graphic, modeling, human resources, technical & engineering, wealth planning and so on.

The job seekers will also be certified once they complete this program. It is only a 3 months full –time program. It will act as the one-stop centre for labor market information for the public.

Advantages

This is a pilot initiative program collaborating with the Ministry of Human Resource & Industry partners to provide 3 months paid learning on industry required soft-skill to the applicants and place them to the industry. This is to better prepare the individual for better employment. The role of selected intuition is to train and place approved applicant to the industry partners after they have completed their 3 months training. Industry (Potential Employer) will come and conduct interview during your 3 months training.

The main objective of the system is to improve the mobilization of the nation's human resources and to ensure that manpower utilization is optimized through the systematic matching of job seekers to job vacancies.

Train & Place program matches job seekers seeking suitable jobs with employers. All the services provided by this program are free and made publicly available through the facilities of the Ministry of Human Resources. Under this programme, the job seekers would also be paid an allowance of about RM500 per month which is given for the usage of travel & meal expenses. Lodging is provided for outstation applicant. Free industry required soft-skill training. Job placement to industries after 3 months training. The Jobseekers will be more marketable after the 3 months learning (this is the 1st pilot to assist career seeker to enhance and be competitive in job market).

Disadvantages

No doubt there are numerous advantages through this “Train & Place” programme, however, there are a couple of disadvantages such as low amount of allowance & long theory hours.

The factor of receiving RM500 per month is not sufficient because some of the candidate could be having a lot of commitment, which the amount of RM500 wouldn’t be able to help out & won’t be a motivational aspect for them to attend the programme. This is because the duration of the course is 3 months & the jobseekers with a lot of financial commitments would expect for a fast result in getting a placement rather than attending a classroom studies. So it would be a great news & beneficial for the job seekers if the ministry would to increase the amount of allowance.

And the second aspect of disadvantages would be long theory hours or in another word, classroom lecturers. This should be taken in consideration as at times it effect the mind set of the candidates whom are not mentally ready to commit themselves in long lecturers. So it adviseable to have a shorter lecturer hours & join in with more practical activities in order to boost the energy of the candidates, as all are those who were retrenched or graduates. As both these group were already spended their life in either long lecturer hours or practical job in the industry & their mind set would be more towards getting a job which will sustain their individual needs, rather than attending theory course for a duration of 3 months with a low allowance rate..

Conclusion

The government's main concern was to ensure minimal job loss and for companies to continue operating. "However, economic conditions are such that we sometimes have no choice but to cut back on employment to keep afloat ." So through the "Train & Place" programme the job seekers may be retrained to acquire new skills or improve on existing skills. This is to improve the mobilization of the nation's human resources and to ensure that manpower utilization is optimized through the systematic matching of job seekers to job vacancies. "Train & Place Program" provides facilities for job seekers to seek suitable jobs and for employers to get their right candidates.

Explore Redang Island

Redang Island, locally known as Pulau Redang or just "Redang" is one of the largest islands off the east coast of Malaysia. It is a popular holiday island for Malaysians, most of whom come on package deals to one of the resorts. Redang is one of nine islands, which form a marine park, and which offer snorkeling and diving opportunities. Access is from Merang or Kuala Terengganu on boats operated by the resorts; there is also a small airport with services operated by Berjaya Air from Singapore (Seletar Airport) and Kuala Lumpur (Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport). The island is also an important conservation site for sea turtles. Previously, the indiscriminate economic exploitation of turtle eggs had caused fewer turtles returning to nest on the island. This has led the Terengganu state government to set up the Koperasi Setiajaya Pulau Redang in 1989, a cooperative aiming to develop and manage socio-economic programmes that could improve the livelihood of Pulau Redang locals without endangering its natural resources.[citation needed] The waters around Pulau Redang also contain two historic shipwrecks: HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. The ships were sunk here at the start of World War II, setting the stage for the Japanese occupation of Malaya. The Pulau Redang archipelago comprises Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang. Pulau Redang is the biggest of all the islands in the Marine Park, measuring about 7 km long and 6 km wide. Its highest peak is Bukit Besar at 359 metres above sea level. The boundary of the Pulau Redang Marine Park is established by a line linking all points 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) from the shores of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu and Pulau Pinang. The other nearby islands of Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Kapas and Pulau Susu Dara are also gazetted and protected as Marine Parks. Today, only the bigger islands like Redang, Lang Tengah, Perhentian and Kapas have resort facilities for visitors. The management of Marine Parks primarily involves protection of the sensitive marine and terrestrial ecosystems by controlling the impact from human activities. These include waste & pollution management and conservation of coral reefs and terrestrial habitats. The 2000 film, Summer Holiday was filmed on the Laguna Redang resort, and a replica of the tea house now serves as the resort's gift shop.


Exotic Fishes At The Marine Park in Pulau Redang, Malaysia