1 Malaysia

This article caught my eyes this morning amidst the rest of the 'news clutter'..interesting how this issue hasn't been brought to rest since like, forever? Malaysia's effort to '1 Malaysian-ized' us may not be working full-frontal, as they had hope it would. Still, you can give 'em kudos for trying, can't you?

I've never had problems befriending anyone from any race or religion, for that I'm happy. But I guess, everyone has their own justifications and reasons...and situations as well as the environment that they were brought up in plays a role as well. Personally, I don't think we'll ever be '1 Malaysian-ized'..BUT, I do believe that we could all be more helpful, understanding and sensitive towards other race/religions that exists in this country. A lil respect goes a long, long way....

An article from The Star Online News:

PETALING JAYA: When will we be colour blind and see ourselves as Malaysians instead of Malay, Chinese and Indian?

This question hit home and earned the team from the Penang Chinese Girls’ High School the top prize in the Mag Inc 2010 contest finals held yesterday.

It was organised by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) programme and Pizza Hut.

Aptly called The Questioners, the four 16-year-old girls presented an engaging depiction of race and identity issues to emerge winners in the upper secondary category.

Creative thinkers: (Back row, from left) The Questioners, SMK Bukit Mewah principal Wong Piew Kam, Yeoh, Asariah, Jamaludin and teachers from the winning teams posing for a group picture at the contest finals in Petaling Jaya yesterday. Also celebrating are winners in the primary and lower secondary categories, Team Solar Champs (middle row, yellow caps) and Team Aspirers.

Their efforts earned them the grand prize of a four-day, three-night visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia, worth RM2,000 and RM100,000 worth of scholarships from Taylor’s Univer sity.

“We decided to tackle this topic for our entry because we observed that people in our country like to categorise people according to race when in fact we are all Malaysians,” said Amanda Ng Yann Chwen, one of The Questioners.

The winners in the lower secondary and primary categories were from Seremban, Team Aspirers from SMK Bukit Mewah and Team Solar Champs from SJK(C) Chung Hua, respectively.

These winning teams will join The Questioners on the trip to Siem Reap, flight tickets courtesy of AirAsia.

The runners-up, SK Convent Green Lane, Penang, SMK Damansara Jaya, Selangor and SMK Muhibbah, Sabah earned a three-day, two-night stay at Resorts World Genting, courtesy of Resorts World Genting.

Titled “A Better Life”, Mag Inc 2010 saw students in teams of four or five producing a three-paged mini-magazine which explored ideas and topics that could bring about a better quality of life.

A total of 40,000 entries were received.

The guest of honour, Education deputy director-general (Teacher Development Professionalism Sector) Datuk Asariah Mior Shaharuddin, said the theme of the competition was cleverly chosen to reflect the current needs of the society and country.

“What better way to do that than to ask the young to churn out ideas that would fit the bill?” she said when delivering her welcoming address to the students.

QSR Brands Bhd managing director Jamaludin Md Ali said Pizza Hut would continue supporting efforts to help students improve their proficiency in the English language.

The Star’s deputy group chief editor (1) David Yeoh praised the students for their effort in preparing for the competition.

“Judging from the quality of the entries submitted, the students have clearly used their critical and creative thinking skills to formulate ideas on how to create ‘A Better Life’,” he said.

For more on the contest, please see the StarEducation pullout on Sunday.