To my friend, please don't call me a terrorist

How would you feel if you were being likened to a terrorist? A friend - who was making his point to support the teaching of Math and Science in English - wrote in his blog recently that during his pre-university years he was in the 'minority' group of students who speak and think in English. The rest of the students, i.e. those who can't speak and think in English, were to him, a group of 'terrorist'.

Wow, that's a huge blow for me for I was in the latter group. Never have I thought that I'd be labelled a terrorist in my own country, by my own people...

Well my friend, I feel for you because you have absolutely no clue how it was like living in an English-challenge environment growing up.

As a mother (who used to be a working citizen), I totally understand the importance of English and I absolutely agree that we need to beef up English proficiency amongst our students from young. They must master the language not just to move ahead of the competition but also as a tool to succeed. No argument there.

My children only read in English and I speak to them in a mix of Bahasa and English at home. In fact, my sons are better in English than in Bahasa subject at school. My 8-year old son can even tell me that his English teacher speaks broken English at school. I enrolled my daughter in a kindergarten where even the cleaner speaks in English.

I, on the other hand, come from a family who didn't speak a single word of English. My mom married my dad at the age of 16. She went to sekolah Melayu until the age of 15. My dad was a primary school teacher until he retired 15 years ago. He is now an Imam. I went to a primary school where even the English subject was taught in Bahasa. My husband grew up in a Felda settlement. English was taught in Bahasa too there.

So my friend, if you knew where we were coming from, you can surely empathize with us. We didn't hate the language then, we simply didn't have the privileges like you had when you were growing up in the city.

Slowly, we began to embrace the language and proudly we, the 'terrorist', have evolved into successful men and women at par with people like you in the 'minority' group, if not better. We might still think in our mother tounge, but we are no less sucessful than you.

Anyway, being a nosey mom that I am, I say if the government is serious about tackling this issue, they should:

• Train the teachers well. This needs to be done properly over a reasonable period of time, not hastily like what happened at the beginning of the implementation. My close relative who is a teacher in a secondary school in Selangor once said "key the door" when she meant "please lock the door." Another close relative said she can't scold her students anymore simply because she can't do it in English. I think I need not elaborate further on this point. How can the students learn when the teachers can't even express themselves in the language?
• Improve the standard of English through intensive English class instead of focusing on teaching the language through the teaching of Math and Science. Perhaps we could have 2 English classes instead of 1.
• Instead of Math and Science, perhaps we could teach less important subjects like moral studies, physical education and arts in English as a start. Thorough implementation can start once all teachers have undergone intensive English course and are QUALIFIED to teach in English.
• Have special English class for students in rural areas.
• All English teachers (both in primary and secondary schools), including those sent to rural areas must have TESL qualification.

The above suggestion is made based on my own experience as a kampung girl from Alor Setar, Kedah and an overseas graduate mother living in a nice sub-urban neighbourhood.

I think I make a pretty good point here. Don't you think so?

Opps he did it again!

I can't believe it...KJ has done it again! How is it possible for someone who was found guilty of money politics, got away with just a warning and won the top post? I am absolutely and completely baffled. He has indeed proven that he is the most important person in the country. I hope I won't get arrested because of this entry. To the government, if you are monitoring this, this article is not about slandering, it's just my humble opinion as a citizen in the silent majority group.

In the beginning of his career I actually admired him (can you believe it?). He was a reflection of the new generation of leaders - young, highly educated, outspoken, energetic and fearless. Another Tun M in the making. But he chose to take a short cut in his career and for that he lost my admiration. Should he chose to make his way up the conventional way, I for one, would be his supporter.

Rafidah, the woman who was responsible for bringing in so many foreign investments into the country - I salute her for being what she is, had a bitter taste of losing to her deputy. To me this is merely a test of popularity, not a leadership contest. An outspoken lady of steel against one that appears to be soft hearted, don't seem to make a fair contest. But then again, I don't know what's actually going in the party.

I wonder what would happen if the no. 1 post is up for contest. It'd surely be an interesting battle. I would like to see Muhyiddin up against Najib.

But who am I to judge those people, I am just a nosey homemaker with 4 kids under my care. Heck, I don't even need to contribute to the income tax this year. I say hurray to that!

For the record, I am a free agent - a party-less momma.

p/s: I can't help to ponder whether all the rumors I heard were true. One thing for sure, God knows best.

Mrs. Diciplinarian vs Mr. Popular

Have you ever wondered how would you fare as a parent if you were appraised by your own children? I for one, think that I might not do well in this particular department simply because I am the disciplinarian in the family - a general who’s responsible to ensure that the kids eat a dose of healthy food, do their homework, go to bed on time, watch just enough TV, play just enough games and etc. I even have my own set of rules in the house which everyone must adhere to.

My husband on the other hand, loves to spoil the kids. He is the one who always buy them toys and junk food, let them watch TV till late, bend the rules (that I set) and always give in to the kids’ demand. I am pretty sure my kids love their papa so much more than me. If we were appraised by the kids, he’ll most likely be an outstanding performer and I, a poor performer. He would definitely win the popular contest. Sad but true.

I remember when I was a kid, I never liked my dad so much. He was the disciplinarian and my mom was the opposite. I hated him for not allowing me to watch my favourite Chinese drama series in the evening, hated him because he always ensured that I never missed my prayers, ate my apples with skin intact, drink my soy bean milk, took my cod liver oil and etc. I love my mom because she was very accommodating, even until today.

When I became a parent myself, I understood why my dad made me follow his rules. He has successfully shaped me into the person I am today. And I am thankful for that.

Fortunately (or unfortunately?), he is still a disciplinarian till today. However, he has since given up asking me to cover my head. I said in one of my entries before that I am always a rebel at heart, this is one example.

Despite knowing the consequences of being a disciplinarian, I still believe in being one because I understand the importance of it - we simply can't have 2 parents who spoil the kids most of the time. I believe in molding my children to be the adult that I would like them to be one day – a person with integrity, beriman, berilmu dan bertaqwa. I hope and I pray that I shall succeed. In the meantime, I have to endure being the least likable parent in the house…

My sweet Pea and her new high chair

My Sophie has graduated to sitting on a high chair! She's now in her 6th month. Oh my, time flies so fast...before you'll know it she'll be walking, going to school, college and leave home for good. I'm so not ready for that!!

Anyway, last Sunday when I mentioned to my hubby about buying a high chair for Sophie, he immediately brought me to Ikea. The huge crowd at Ikea (where did those people come from anyway?) didn't dampen his spirit on getting a high chair for his baby. There were so many people that it was almost impossible to push the trolley around (what economic crisis??? people were shopping like there was no tomorrow! Unbelievable). I managed to grab one in a hurry (and grabbed a few other unnecessary stuffs as well...why did it always happen when we go to Ikea? Their clever arrangement makes people want to buy everything on display!).

Here is my 6-months old little sweet Pea sitting comfortably on her high chair. My hubby would be grinning when he sees these pictures from Hanoi...

The quest for a slimmer waist

I finally did it...I bought the Osim Uzap belt in my quest for a slimmer waist.

Having gone through both normal delivery and c-section, I came to a conclusion that losing weight is a lot more difficult with the latter, particularly around the waist. Why? I don't have a clue. I could only guess that it was because we went against nature, hence, we have to work much harder against it. I'm not proud to say that after 6 months of delivery, my tummy is still 'thick'.

On top of that, after 5 days of splurging on food last week, I was beginning to look like 3 months pregger! All 2.5kg went to the tummy. So, I needed to take some very drastic action (the type that takes minimal effort that is). What better way than buying a machine that, hopefully, will make me lose the extra fat without having to do anything.

So on Saturday, off I went to the mall and bought it. It's so easy to use, I only need to wrap it around my tummy, plug it to the power socket and it'll automatically massage my tummy for 10 minutes of a pre-programmed rhythmic motion. I'm even using it as I'm penning this article. Oh I love technology! They claimed that I could see visible result only after 3 weeks. Well, let's see. I hope it's not just some unproven marketing gimmick...

A peaceful Saturday

My 3 older kids are with my sister for the day. She's treating them for a movie outing. What a relief. The house seems so peaceful at the moment. I can only hear my water fall, no screaming, crying and loud TV volume. Sophie is taking her afternoon nap, quite longer than usual due to lack of distraction.

Last night I was already planning my day for today. I wanted to go to Pavilion KL. Nonetheless, this morning the plan changed to Ikea and now we are thinking of going to Subang Parade instead. The nearest to home plus I need to stock up some chicken. Being a 'good' mom, I only feed my children skinless antibiotic-free chicken. I can only get them at Jaya Jusco and Cold Storage. But as of now, we are still at home...hmmm and hubby is also taking a nap. This Monday he's leaving again, this time to Vietnam for a week.

I was chatting with a friend via FB this morning. He was showing me the pictures of his twin girls. It reminded me of the twin I was carrying when I was pregnant with Ariana. I forgot to write about this in "A Mother's Story." Yes, I was carrying twins for the first 1.5months. The foetus didn't develop beyond that and the heartbeat stopped. So, Ariana actually has an unborn twin. I was at risk of a miscarriage when the foetus 'died' in my womb. Alhamdulillah, Ariana survived. She is a fighter.

I just posted some pictures of my kids in my FB and realised that we don't have a decent family photo. Unbelievable. Heck, I don't even have a picture of all my 4 kids in 1 photo. This calls for some drastic action - I need to arrange for a photo shoot! Any mothers with more than 2 kids (if you have only 2, you don't qualify for this) know that it is a huge challenge to get the kids to cooperate. It's much easier to take individual photo or a 2-in-1 photo. It needs careful planning and the timing must be right. Otherwise, you'll face a hard time trying to get them to smile. I hope to get this done this week and post it here.

Well, Sophie is up and crying for mommy. Time for motherly duty... Supermomma is coming darling.

Batu Feringgi - a nature's heaven it's NOT!!

My family and I were in Penang for a short vacation this week. The kids had been asking to play at the beach for months. So, on our way back from Alor Setar, we made a pit stop there. We decided to stay at a hotel in Batu Feringgi because of its close vicinity to the beach.

Off we went to the beach in the evening. Luckily, the weather was on our side, it was cloudy but no rain. Hence, the heat wasn't too much for us.

I have not been to Batu Feringgi beach in ages. So I didn't know what to expect. The moment we stepped our feet on the beach, we were approached by a few business operators who harassed us into purchasing their products, i.e. the water sport activities. And they won't move until you say yes. Muah, being a protective mother said NO to their face with my leave-us-alone look. Despite the look, they have the guts to stand less than 2 feet away for a good 10 minutes in hope that I will change my mind and say yes. I felt like punching the guy's face and bite his ears into pieces!! Don't play play, this is a one very fierce mother.

There were way too many commercial activities going on there - para sailing, banana boat, speed boat ride, horse ride, ATC and jet ski. All these at the expense of people who just want to swim and play at the beach. It was too dangerous for kids to be there. I had to run for my life twice coz the people who were para sailing almost landed on me (this is serious stuff, please don't laugh). On top of this, the beach smells like CO2!! I can smell the diesel emission from afar. Hey, I don't need to go all the way to Penang for that. I can smell plenty of CO2 in KL.

So, the next day we decided to check out early and took the kids to Teluk Bahang instead. It was a picture perfect place. Not so many people, clean beach, cloudy weather and calm water. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car and was too lazy to go and get it. So no picture was taken while the kids were playing in the sand. Yours trully forgot to pack her swimming gear (I personally ensured that everyone's gear is packed but forgot to pack mine - very mind boggling), so I stayed away from the water.

The moral of the story is, if you longed for a peaceful walk along the beach in Penang, don't ever go to Batu Feringgi. Find other secluded beaches like Teluk Bahang, Miami Beach (the one in Penang, not the US of A) etc. Just drive along the coastline and you'll surely find the one you like. East Coast beaches are still the best...