This is the entry I submitted for the 'My BMT Experience' essay competition. I don't even know why I even bothered submitting the entry, since it's so full of politically incorrect statements. At least it'll make for a good laugh to those people censoring it. And it makes for another great blog post.
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Forbidden Files #06 - My BMT Experience
An exposé by Seraphim
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The first time I noticed the SAF 7 Core Values along the stretch at SFT was when I was being wheeled off on a stretcher to CGH. My eyes lingered on the last one; care for soldiers, and I knew right then that the SAF stuck true to its word. Then I took a glance at another value; fighting spirit, and it is because of this value that I return to BMTC as a recoursee.
Unlike most recruits, I have a more interesting BMT tale to tell due to my extended stay there. After one year of enlistment, I have heard accounts by my peers of POP to commissioning, from leadership batch and PTP batch, from commanders and men alike. Disappointingly, BMT held no more surprises for me. So what stops me from describing my BMT experience as 'sian' or its other synonyms? For me the answer lies in the motto of BMTC - Excel Through Basics.
There is a generalisation that those of the JC leadership batch are a protected lot, naive to the delinquency beyond their own bubble. What people do not realise is that there are also subtle discrepancies among them. One can quickly spot this when the recruits are brought back to their basics, that is to be rid of their civilian clothes and have their hair 'botak'. Suddenly the recruits reveal what they are truly like inside - a hidden 'garang' expression behind those spectacles or a scared look behind those heavy fringes. Seeing this first transformation again reminds me of the individuality of every person, and that it is the people who makes each BMT experience unique.
Like in a class, every platoon is never complete without its stereotypes. There are the clowns, the jocks, the pipsqueaks, the weirdoes, and since this is the army, there are also the 'wayang', the 'kilat' and the 'chao keng'. To be honest, my platoon was hardly the best performing platoon in the company. After numerous attempts, we still could not align our basha tents or be the first to fall in. Despite our shortcomings, we nonetheless displayed an audacity to persevere and continue until the end. Slowly but surely we overcame our flaws, and use them to our advantage. During my time as platoon IC, I recall bringing this up to the platoon. Since we insisted on walking and talking everywhere, I proposed that we stuck to it. And just like that, we out-walked and out-sang the other platoons during our march to the SITEST site, much to my ironic amusement. The commanders are also no different; each having their own quirks. Regardless, their consistent top-notch quality proves them true to their ranks. All of us shaped the platoon the way it is, and we would never have asked anyone else to replace us.
Of all the trying times in BMT, nothing came close to field camp. Six days of unclean uniforms, unchanged underwears, unbrushed teeth and uncleared bowels made up field camp. Top it up with the 'tekan' sessions and the heat and it tops the list of challenging things in BMT. That was when we were introduced to the art of digging a shell scrape. My section will never forget our digging experience, where we got frustrated not because of the exhaustion, but because of the futility of our digging. Everybody else seemed to have dug a better shell scrape than ours. Back at home my mother informed me, to my surprise and horror, that our shell scrape site used to be her 'kampung', and that it was a granite hill. That explains why we saw sparks when we struck our shell scrape. Besides this trial, there were other events which made field camp a highlight. Our commanders' demonstration of the battle course and a convoy ambush were a sight to behold, impressing us with the pyrotechnics and their professionalism. The thrill of urban operations, the early morning artillery drill turnout, the gruelling crawl through the BIC grounds and having the platoon sing my birthday song in 'knock it down' position all made field camp a memorable experience.
The 'lau jiao' all say that army is when you wait to rush and rush to wait. This anecdote brings about some phenomena, like the race of the food ICs before meals to 'chop' a place for the platoon, the race to the toilet after breakfast to get the seated cubicle for the morning excretion and the race to the front of the platoon before marches to avoid the constant running. Then there are also the SAF core values #08 and #09 - you can do anything but do not get caught and if you get caught, act blur. Recruits particularly adhere to this when they are apprehended for contraband, like chargers or PSPs, and especially when commanders give conflicting orders, letting them shoulder the blame instead. The 'lau jiao' also say that the food now is much better than back in the days when there were NSF cooks. From the compliments that my non-Muslim counterparts continually shower over my food, that is probably true. But what is treasured most during meal times is the boisterous light talk that cools us down, freshening us up for the next volley of fire from our commanders. I have come to recognise these idiosyncrasies as the defining points of NS life, taking its queerness as what makes military life different and enjoyable.
On the fast craft back to Tekong, you can always spot a common expression that asks 'why are we doing this?'. That is a question that will cross every NSF's mind at some point in time. One PC's answer was to protect our families back home. Another told me that it is to protect our comrades, to keep the people around us alive in times of war. I personally like one captain's answer - to protect the 'chio bu' on mainland. As a descendant of the very island I train on, I truly understand why NS exists. Singapore has endured and invested too much to ever resign our sovereignty. She has become our home, where we return to our loved ones. The medics' motto reads 'So They May Live'. I couldn't agree more.
Having been at both Ladang Camp and Rocky Hill Camp, designed the company t-shirt, parodied a platoon sergeant, took a shot at company best shot, swam for games day and seen two dud grenades detonate, I can honestly say that my BMT experience is complete. When the moment comes when I hear the words 'presenting our trained soldiers', I am confident that BMTC has equipped me with the qualities and skills needed to face future military life. Through trials and tribulations, BMTC has proven that the strength of the SAF lies not just in the abilities of the individual, but the combined strength of every son of Singapore. As I take my last fast craft ride back, I will look around and say that the people around me are those who I am glad to defend and trust as brothers in arms. These are the comrades who have learnt to excel through basics with me, on our journey to strive to be the best in the SAF.
Showing posts with label Forbidden Files. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forbidden Files. Show all posts
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Forbidden Files #04 - Behind the Eagle Dragon's Roar
Happy new year guys! It's been too long since I blogged, and longer still since my last exposé. So I thought of kicking off the year with one, and also something that pertains a little closer to me. There you have it, enjoy.
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Forbidden Files #04 - Behind the Eagle Dragon's Roar
An exposé by Seraphim
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On the morning of 3rd January 2006, I awoke with very blurred vision after not waking up so early in the morning for months. That day I wore my colour of blue, without the glitter and silk, though how I missed those on me. The atmosphere outside was just as how I remembered it the last time I went out to school. It was a little colder this time, with the frequent rain. Along the way, I met my brothers in blue, heading towards others of our colour. It was a new year, a new term at school, and all was like how it used to be.
That is not entirely true though. While those whom I met in blue were heading off to one destination, I was off to another. In the same colour, I bore a different badge. One shining with a mythical creature with the body of a dragon, eagle's wings and the head of a lion. A creature belonging to a family with a most proud heritage. That, was the badge I bore.
When one walks through the grounds underneath the red, yellow and blue banner, one can tell the proud history that accumulated at the school. As honourable as it is, the students there seem to take on a different image in the eyes of the outsiders. If you know what I'm talking about, you should know what they are called. If you don't, gee get a brain and look around for the good JCs. To put it simply, students there are known as arrogant snobs.
Is that even true? After having some first hand experience there myself, I don't see how that can be so. Okay, maybe that's a little true. Slightly more. Okay okay, it's a quite true... On a more serious note, it's surprising how such a rumour even sprouted. Shocking, but true.
The school's history stands proud with a very impressive CCA record, in the achievement of sports, excellence of performing arts and reputation of the clubs and societies. Overall, the school has a positive front to the public.
Perhaps this rumour sprouted from jealousy, as what I have found the seniors to claim. Not jealousy of the school's achievements, as that would have obviously made them arrogant anyway, but of the school's spirit. There, there is a very strong sense of culture and identity amongst the students. A sense of belonging so strong it is like an everylasting flame in the hearts of every students. None is shameful to bear the badge and shout the school's name. That is the fiery passion they have for the school.
Personally, I would really dismiss the rumour. I can't think of another explaination or excuse to it. That is just the only reason for it, nothing else. It's as simple as that.
Maybe the rumour is true, or maybe not. That is up to you.
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I hope that's a good enough article to start off the year and continue my 'highly acclaimed' Forbidden Files series. For those in JCs, hope you guys had a wonderful orientation. For those not, SUCK-ERS!
Oh, and my OG ROCKS!!!! We are gonna send a probe to Uranus!
Andalite, Carnsir, the WORLD. ACSperience, you've got to have it!
Btw, here's my personality disorders:
Paranoid? So true... Narcissist? HAHA! YES!!!
Seer
The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla
Ooh, I like this one...
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Forbidden Files #04 - Behind the Eagle Dragon's Roar
An exposé by Seraphim
**********************************************************************
On the morning of 3rd January 2006, I awoke with very blurred vision after not waking up so early in the morning for months. That day I wore my colour of blue, without the glitter and silk, though how I missed those on me. The atmosphere outside was just as how I remembered it the last time I went out to school. It was a little colder this time, with the frequent rain. Along the way, I met my brothers in blue, heading towards others of our colour. It was a new year, a new term at school, and all was like how it used to be.
That is not entirely true though. While those whom I met in blue were heading off to one destination, I was off to another. In the same colour, I bore a different badge. One shining with a mythical creature with the body of a dragon, eagle's wings and the head of a lion. A creature belonging to a family with a most proud heritage. That, was the badge I bore.
When one walks through the grounds underneath the red, yellow and blue banner, one can tell the proud history that accumulated at the school. As honourable as it is, the students there seem to take on a different image in the eyes of the outsiders. If you know what I'm talking about, you should know what they are called. If you don't, gee get a brain and look around for the good JCs. To put it simply, students there are known as arrogant snobs.
Is that even true? After having some first hand experience there myself, I don't see how that can be so. Okay, maybe that's a little true. Slightly more. Okay okay, it's a quite true... On a more serious note, it's surprising how such a rumour even sprouted. Shocking, but true.
The school's history stands proud with a very impressive CCA record, in the achievement of sports, excellence of performing arts and reputation of the clubs and societies. Overall, the school has a positive front to the public.
Perhaps this rumour sprouted from jealousy, as what I have found the seniors to claim. Not jealousy of the school's achievements, as that would have obviously made them arrogant anyway, but of the school's spirit. There, there is a very strong sense of culture and identity amongst the students. A sense of belonging so strong it is like an everylasting flame in the hearts of every students. None is shameful to bear the badge and shout the school's name. That is the fiery passion they have for the school.
Personally, I would really dismiss the rumour. I can't think of another explaination or excuse to it. That is just the only reason for it, nothing else. It's as simple as that.
Maybe the rumour is true, or maybe not. That is up to you.
**********************************************************************
I hope that's a good enough article to start off the year and continue my 'highly acclaimed' Forbidden Files series. For those in JCs, hope you guys had a wonderful orientation. For those not, SUCK-ERS!
Oh, and my OG ROCKS!!!! We are gonna send a probe to Uranus!
Andalite, Carnsir, the WORLD. ACSperience, you've got to have it!
Btw, here's my personality disorders:
| Disorder | Rating |
| Paranoid Disorder: | High |
| Schizoid Disorder: | Low |
| Schizotypal Disorder: | Moderate |
| Antisocial Disorder: | Moderate |
| Borderline Disorder: | Low |
| Histrionic Disorder: | Moderate |
| Narcissistic Disorder: | High |
| Avoidant Disorder: | Low |
| Dependent Disorder: | Low |
| Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: | Moderate |
Paranoid? So true... Narcissist? HAHA! YES!!!
Seer
The ULTIMATE personality test
brought to you by Quizilla
Ooh, I like this one...
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Forbidden Files #03 - A Rainbow in Black and White
Finally, I'm back. Oh, it's Farhan here. You want to make sure? Ok, ask me a personal question. What's my hobby? Blogging!!! I know Rafahn's been taking over, so if you want to make sure just ask him a personal question. Ok, that was lame. Anyway, I'm trying to come back with a blast here with the third Forbidden Files entry. I hope you'll enjoy it, so here goes!
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Forbidden Files #03 - A Rainbow in Black and White
An exposé by Seraphim
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Not more than five decades ago, Singapore was a much different place. Besides the difference in infrastructure and culture, there was one major element that was missing: racial tolerance. That's barely racial harmony, just racial tolerance. No, I'm not really going too deep into Racial Harmony Day here, but my intention is to arise the fact that not too long ago, the difference in race was a reason for riot in Singapore.
Readers might want to note on the difference between racial harmony and racial tolerance at this point of time as it will play an integral part in this article.
After the nation's claim over its liberty, four decades have passed since the riots took place. Soon, Singapore will be celebrating fourty years of independance. On the mark of four decades of independance, one might ask what has been achieved over all those years?
Achievements in technology and economics are nothing to the face of the world, where competition holds the likes of Japan and United States. A more significant achievement would be to overcome the challenges of the past. That brings us to the point: Have forty years really diminished racial differences? Or is racial intolerance still at large but done in more discreet manners?
Allow me to tackle on my eternal grudge with the government. The effort that the government has put in to propagandize racial harmony into the minds of every living soul in Singapore is admirable. The phrase "racial harmony" has been drilled into the minds of every Singaporean since birth. The education system is overflowing with lessons that educate students on the practices and beliefs of the different races in Singapore. By the time a student reaches adulthood, racial tolerance is no more a conscious effort, but an integral part of their living.
All these, I must admit, are not to be deemed sins of the powerful as it did, to an extent, achieve what it was meant to do. But as we all know, nothing can go against the force of will. And what exactly are the wills of those who carry the boiling blood of the intolerant people of the past?
Wake up fellow Singaporeans. Racial intolerance is still at large out here. Examples are lying out there naked for all to see. Put together forty people from mixed races into a class and see how the first cliques are formed. No doubt they would first be separated by race. How many of us still ask ourselves of a person's race when judging the person, for whatever reasons you can think of. The point here is that Singaporeans still ask this basic racist question, "What's his/her race?"
There may be a rainbow of races in Singapore that co-exist harmoniously on the surface, but they are nonetheless viewed as either black or white.
Let me paint a sharper picture with specific examples.
Being the dominant race, the Chinese are rarely the target of discrimination since they are the ones who discriminate. With that as a fact, I regretfully admit that I can barely recall any example against them. But then again, who do they think they are to take over the former Malay grounds of Singapura? Let's face it, they actually took over the country. From the all-powerful Lee Organisation to the lowering of university requirements to favour the Chinese (this is too good, you have to check this out yourself, there were reports that MENDAKI was furious).
Next comes the Malays. It would be good for you to read my first Forbidden Files entry for a deeper scoop on this. Let's see now, where to begin discriminating... Starting off with the sad fact that they take up a higher proportion of juvenile crimes, abortion and divorce to the ridiculously 'trendy' Mats and Minahs. I love the latter, they walk around flashing as if they're trying to get a bargain for a brain. They might be the bumiputras but what have they done? Let's see... try nothing. Compared to the other races they barely have any significant achievement. And that's a singular on "achievement".
If the Malays are easy to discriminate, nothing would be easier to discriminate than the Indians. Racist Indian jokes are a school commodity. When was the last time you heard a racist Indian joke? Last month, last week or yesterday? Invisible Indians in the dark are a classic. Fact: they're black, they're ugly and they stink. Literally. I mean, the worst case scenario in Singapore would be to get stuck in a lift with an Indian. Enough said before I die of laughter.
As you can see ladies and gentlemen (or megalomaniac Chinese, Mats and Minahs or invisible Indians), we're still a long way from racial harmony. Call me racist, I think I've deserved it.
My point for mentioning all of the above is not to arouse anger in the races amongst themselves, though that might be unavoidable, but to make everyone realise that they've got to stop taking races into consideration. Completely. Period. No strings attached. For harmony is the ignorance of its counterparts, not its remembrance.
Only then can there be a hope of true racial harmony.
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Phew, glad that one's over. Now, comments people! Comments!!!
**********************************************************************
Forbidden Files #03 - A Rainbow in Black and White
An exposé by Seraphim
**********************************************************************
Not more than five decades ago, Singapore was a much different place. Besides the difference in infrastructure and culture, there was one major element that was missing: racial tolerance. That's barely racial harmony, just racial tolerance. No, I'm not really going too deep into Racial Harmony Day here, but my intention is to arise the fact that not too long ago, the difference in race was a reason for riot in Singapore.
Readers might want to note on the difference between racial harmony and racial tolerance at this point of time as it will play an integral part in this article.
After the nation's claim over its liberty, four decades have passed since the riots took place. Soon, Singapore will be celebrating fourty years of independance. On the mark of four decades of independance, one might ask what has been achieved over all those years?
Achievements in technology and economics are nothing to the face of the world, where competition holds the likes of Japan and United States. A more significant achievement would be to overcome the challenges of the past. That brings us to the point: Have forty years really diminished racial differences? Or is racial intolerance still at large but done in more discreet manners?
Allow me to tackle on my eternal grudge with the government. The effort that the government has put in to propagandize racial harmony into the minds of every living soul in Singapore is admirable. The phrase "racial harmony" has been drilled into the minds of every Singaporean since birth. The education system is overflowing with lessons that educate students on the practices and beliefs of the different races in Singapore. By the time a student reaches adulthood, racial tolerance is no more a conscious effort, but an integral part of their living.
All these, I must admit, are not to be deemed sins of the powerful as it did, to an extent, achieve what it was meant to do. But as we all know, nothing can go against the force of will. And what exactly are the wills of those who carry the boiling blood of the intolerant people of the past?
Wake up fellow Singaporeans. Racial intolerance is still at large out here. Examples are lying out there naked for all to see. Put together forty people from mixed races into a class and see how the first cliques are formed. No doubt they would first be separated by race. How many of us still ask ourselves of a person's race when judging the person, for whatever reasons you can think of. The point here is that Singaporeans still ask this basic racist question, "What's his/her race?"
There may be a rainbow of races in Singapore that co-exist harmoniously on the surface, but they are nonetheless viewed as either black or white.
Let me paint a sharper picture with specific examples.
Being the dominant race, the Chinese are rarely the target of discrimination since they are the ones who discriminate. With that as a fact, I regretfully admit that I can barely recall any example against them. But then again, who do they think they are to take over the former Malay grounds of Singapura? Let's face it, they actually took over the country. From the all-powerful Lee Organisation to the lowering of university requirements to favour the Chinese (this is too good, you have to check this out yourself, there were reports that MENDAKI was furious).
Next comes the Malays. It would be good for you to read my first Forbidden Files entry for a deeper scoop on this. Let's see now, where to begin discriminating... Starting off with the sad fact that they take up a higher proportion of juvenile crimes, abortion and divorce to the ridiculously 'trendy' Mats and Minahs. I love the latter, they walk around flashing as if they're trying to get a bargain for a brain. They might be the bumiputras but what have they done? Let's see... try nothing. Compared to the other races they barely have any significant achievement. And that's a singular on "achievement".
If the Malays are easy to discriminate, nothing would be easier to discriminate than the Indians. Racist Indian jokes are a school commodity. When was the last time you heard a racist Indian joke? Last month, last week or yesterday? Invisible Indians in the dark are a classic. Fact: they're black, they're ugly and they stink. Literally. I mean, the worst case scenario in Singapore would be to get stuck in a lift with an Indian. Enough said before I die of laughter.
As you can see ladies and gentlemen (or megalomaniac Chinese, Mats and Minahs or invisible Indians), we're still a long way from racial harmony. Call me racist, I think I've deserved it.
My point for mentioning all of the above is not to arouse anger in the races amongst themselves, though that might be unavoidable, but to make everyone realise that they've got to stop taking races into consideration. Completely. Period. No strings attached. For harmony is the ignorance of its counterparts, not its remembrance.
Only then can there be a hope of true racial harmony.
**********************************************************************
Phew, glad that one's over. Now, comments people! Comments!!!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Forbidden Files #02 - Picking the Brain
Sorry to keep all of you guys waiting so long for this exposé. No one regrets this wait more than I do, believe me. You’ll be glad to know that this one will be a worthy read, or so I hope.
For this exposé, I’ll try to hit more for the wow factor than the controversy factor. It’s a topic hitting closer to home, or the graduating batch specifically. What I’m talking about here is the Adam Khoo workshop, what is formally known as the ‘I am GIFTED, so are YOU’ program. For others who did not attend it or don’t even know about it, don’t worry. I’m writing a full introduction and explanation for it.
Before you continue reading this, remember that the objective of this specific exposé is to reveal to readers what they had missed, not to spark a controversy like all the others. The inferences below are based on personal analysis and research and are open for arguments. With that, I hope that you confine your disagreements within this blog community.
This may be a bit lengthy, since it is a full analysis, so do be patient and take your time. So guys, the wait is over. Enjoy and be amazed (and comment on the tagboard!)
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Forbidden Files #02 - Picking the Brain
An exposé by Seraphim
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[1] Over the course of three weeks before the March holidays, the whole of the graduating batch of students from my school went for three day program titled ‘I am GIFTED, so are YOU’ by the Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group.
[2] A little background info on the program. The whole program is one of the many motivational programs that Adam Khoo and his collegues has created to cater to different needs. Being one of the top five most influential speakers in Asia, he and his team of highly qualified trainers have been changing the lives of many for most parts of their lives. When I say highly qualified, I mean these guys who trained us are damned qualified. One of the trainers, R****h, has won numerous speaking competitions internationally and another trainer, G**y, is a master practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming (whatever that means, it just sounds difficult).
(identity disclosed due to privacy policy)
[3] The aim of the program is to make the attendees better students and ultimately become a success. Realize that these people mean to really CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES within 78 hours. Unbelievable? Believe it. That’s where I come in. There is a reason for everything done in the program. Now I’ll be sharing with you what they were and how it affected the attendees.
[4] In a nutshell, they achieved this with the successful integration of psychological techniques with teaching skills. In short, it is like brainwashing. The only difference is that this is willing change of thinking instead of forcibly doing it.
[5] What makes this program more effective than others is that it is delivered to the audience through multiple senses; sight, hearing and touch, along with appeal. This method of delivery was done throughout the entire program, which I will be elaborating in the later part of this exposé.
Day 1
[6] The first day was meant to be a very light one. In whole, the entire day was filled with extremely funny jokes that left everyone in uncontrollable fits of laughter at one point or another. It might seem insensible, but as I’ve said, there is significance.
[7] To make all the attendees motivated to succeed, it was important that everyone believed that all of them can be successful, which was no lie. The method to achieve this however, was full of lies. For half of the first day, attendees were told of stories, some true and some false, of how some initial failures ended up becoming winners at the end of the day. To deepen the effect, they used personal examples to have a personal touch with everyone, which also doubles up as a method to bond with the attendees through the sharing of personal experiences.
[8] By lunchtime, the mindset of attendees would have turned optimistic. With that change in mindset, the trainers then set out to permanently imprint that belief by reinforcing methods of achieving the success. Let’s sidetrack a bit. During my speech at the end of the program, I mentioned that the trainers did not teach us anything new, and that is indeed true. The methods that were ‘taught’ to achieve that success are in fact old methods re-taught to us and enforced by the power of belief.
[9] How many here know about mind maps to help revision and association to improve memory? I bet most of you do, but do any of you really hold on to these ideas to help improve studies? No. These are the two main techniques ‘taught’ during the workshop, and in truth they are very effective methods. To imbue belief into these techniques, they gave us unbelievable but real examples of how these techniques could be put to use. For mind maps, they showed us how a one-page detailed summary of a 30 page chapter could be done and how they could effectively memorize a series of random words in consecutive order. Cool right? And to think that anyone is capable of doing such things.
[10] For the later part of the day, the trainers went into more intense activities. They went into increasing productivity and rate of learning by teaching us how to maximize brain capacity and quickly pick out information. We were told that typical methods of revision only used up small amounts of brainpower, which is not absorbed well by the memory. By teaching us how to maximize brain capacity, more efficient memory is resulted. Also to help quicken word processing, they taught us the wonders of speed reading, that is the quickened ability to absorb information from text.
Day 2
[11] If the first day was about opening our minds, the second day would be to drill things in. This part of the program is the most intense. Read on to find out.
[12] The first day explored the possibility of success actually becoming a reality. The second day started with making that closer to reality. All of us are bound by the limitations of time, thus to achieve everything, we must work our way around it. The trainers introduced to us the ten step study plan, which is a comprehensive yet easy enough to follow guide which formulates our successes. Then they revealed to us the timetable that we’re supposed to follow to keep the lessons taught to us locked up in our heads. Oh yeah, I apologize if the descriptions are a little ambiguous, but I still need to abide the copyright laws of the contents of the AKLTG programs.
[13] The possibility of actually following the study plan is then enforced with the next segment, which was back to increasing productivity. The previous day, the trainers showed us how the techniques could be put to use, this time, they showed us exactly how it was done. They revealed to us the exact methods of how to imprint data and long strings of information onto our memory and how to unlock the full capacity of the brain.
[14] After lunch, the mood began to turn down a bit as the trainer was setting up the mind for the climax of the program. At this point of time, the trainer opened to us the realization that life does not end at secondary school, that once O levels are over, an enormous possibility unfolds. Also, through discreet means, the trainer made us spill out some of our guilty feelings that we had towards things in general.
[15] Now this part is my favourite: the climax. In order for the attendees to change their academic performance, everything has to change, including their environment. This includes changing our perception that we had for our family. Unfortunately, most of us do not value this as much as we are supposed to, making this part a little painful. So they had to make us appreciate our families like we are supposed to, so let me tell you how it was done.
[16] The upbringing of appreciation was done rather forcefully, with regret and sadness being the main tool here. For a human mind to feel extreme sadness, it has to first experience extreme happiness. That was the purpose of the abundance of jokes from the previous day. This part began with a thorough scolding. Don’t get me wrong, this is no lenient scolding. It was done with pure anger, violence and a loose mouth, if you catch my drift. The scolding part was to arouse the sense of initial regret for not taking the program seriously, not appreciating our parents enough, etc. Well, you should know how a real scolding feels like. But that was only the beginning; now let’s get on to the real part.
[17] With the regret part already brought up, now the sadness has to come in. By now, the mind would have been prepared to fall from that feeling of extreme happiness to extreme sadness. Nonetheless, the use of environment for this part further strengthens the arousal of sadness. To create the atmosphere of sadness, the lights were dimmed, the music played changed to a sad one, and the attendees were asked to close and cover their eyes and sit in a crouched position. All of this leads to the preparation of the mind and body to become sad. Then came the trickiest part.
[18] Through the power of words and mental visualization, the trainer made the attendees realize that the most important and closest person to us is none other than ourselves. Then they moved on to facing the vision of our mothers. The trainer articulated the appreciation our mothers have towards us, how proud they were for having us, how they had taken the trouble of bearing and raising us and the things they regretted doing that might have contributed to our current state of development. From here, you can tell that our regret was surfaced by the revealing of our parents’ regrets. From here we moved on to the vision of our fathers. Again, the same thing was done, with the inclusion of how our fathers regretted not being as close as they wanted to and how they could not appear as sensitive due to being the head of the family. By now, the feeling of empathy we have for our parents’ regret would have become our regrets too.
[19] To enforce this, the trainer then shifted the state of mind to shock by realistically articulating the death of our parents. If the previous feeling of regret was from empathy, the sense of regret that developed now would have been purely ours. The impact of this image is so powerful, the mind actually simulates our actual thoughts and feelings of how things would be when our parents would really die. Throughout this part, almost all attendees would have come to tears but this part brought wails of crying. Readers, I cannot emphasize further the power of words here.
[20] Making the attendees cry here is not for sadistic fun, it was to bring about the sense of appreciation that we are supposed to have for our parents. Other than that, crying is one of the body’s natural ways of releasing guilt and regret, something that most people rarely do. Despite the effectiveness of the trainers, I can classify three groups of people who would not have been affected. The first one are the veterans, those who have at one point of time or another felt this sense of sadness before. The second one are the innocents, those who do not have enough guilt or regret to bring about this extreme sadness. But majority of those who did not cry belong to the third one, the brainless. These are the people who were tipped off about the crying part and did all they could to distract themselves to avoid this or just don’t have enough intellect to comprehend sadness.
[21] All in all, that part was a success. We were then sent off for a silent toilet break and came back to write a letter to ourselves and another to our parents telling them of this encounter and new vows.
[22] Before, we have been realized the possibility of options after secondary school life. Now the trainers made us realize that we have a whole lifetime ahead of us, and what happens then depends on what we plan now. With the confidence that we could become successful at the beginning of the day, the trainer then guided us into setting our long term goals for ourselves, including our JC and university life and our careers. The day ended with further perfecting our speed reading skills.
Day 3
[23] For the whole morning until mid-afternoon for the third day, we were perfecting our ability to study smart with all the techniques taught to us. Oh yeah, our speed reading record was 1800++ words/min, that was how much words we could process, in just a minute. By the end of it we were able to create detailed mind maps of our own and were fully prepared for studying effectively.
[24] The time after that was spent fine tuning our time management schedules, from day to day schedules to monthly revision schedule. Then we moved on to fine tuning our long term goals. It was similar to a career/education consultation session as we got to ask questions about the career paths that we were interested in. By the end of it, we knew exactly what we would be doing from now till 20 years down the road, having planned an achievable and ideal goal for ourselves.
[25] Fast forward to the evening, which was the parents session and closing ceremony. The parents were first briefed on what their kids have been doing the past two days and what they have learnt. It also included advice on how to treat their kids better and some of the things they ought not to do.
[26] The most-awaited part of the closing ceremony was the speech part. The attendees were asked to volunteer themselves to go up on stage to make a speech on whatever they wanted. From this session, the personal lives of many of our friends were revealed; their personal problems, family problems, suicide attempts, private emotions, hopes and dreams, among other things. I myself made a speech (of course). It was a very brief yet made an impact and touching enough to bring people to tears, that also included an advertisement for the event management business that I aim for twenty years later. It ended with us giving our parents the letter we wrote the previous day and with a renewed sense of purpose, belonging and motivation in all of us.
**********************************************************************
I guess I would just like to stop here for now. Basically, the whole thing has so much to explore that I could barely organize my thoughts to write this recap. This recap of the day to day events itself took five full pages in MS Word! Apparently, there is more to be said of the program, thus I will continue in another entry. For the next one, I plan to do a breakdown of all the techniques used that are yet to be revealed.
I know that the recap above is not complete or might have errors, so do inform me by commenting on the entry.
Until then, be content with this entry, please, if you’re not then I don’t know how long I’m supposed to write to satisfy you…
For this exposé, I’ll try to hit more for the wow factor than the controversy factor. It’s a topic hitting closer to home, or the graduating batch specifically. What I’m talking about here is the Adam Khoo workshop, what is formally known as the ‘I am GIFTED, so are YOU’ program. For others who did not attend it or don’t even know about it, don’t worry. I’m writing a full introduction and explanation for it.
Before you continue reading this, remember that the objective of this specific exposé is to reveal to readers what they had missed, not to spark a controversy like all the others. The inferences below are based on personal analysis and research and are open for arguments. With that, I hope that you confine your disagreements within this blog community.
This may be a bit lengthy, since it is a full analysis, so do be patient and take your time. So guys, the wait is over. Enjoy and be amazed (and comment on the tagboard!)
**********************************************************************
Forbidden Files #02 - Picking the Brain
An exposé by Seraphim
**********************************************************************
[1] Over the course of three weeks before the March holidays, the whole of the graduating batch of students from my school went for three day program titled ‘I am GIFTED, so are YOU’ by the Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group.
[2] A little background info on the program. The whole program is one of the many motivational programs that Adam Khoo and his collegues has created to cater to different needs. Being one of the top five most influential speakers in Asia, he and his team of highly qualified trainers have been changing the lives of many for most parts of their lives. When I say highly qualified, I mean these guys who trained us are damned qualified. One of the trainers, R****h, has won numerous speaking competitions internationally and another trainer, G**y, is a master practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming (whatever that means, it just sounds difficult).
(identity disclosed due to privacy policy)
[3] The aim of the program is to make the attendees better students and ultimately become a success. Realize that these people mean to really CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES within 78 hours. Unbelievable? Believe it. That’s where I come in. There is a reason for everything done in the program. Now I’ll be sharing with you what they were and how it affected the attendees.
[4] In a nutshell, they achieved this with the successful integration of psychological techniques with teaching skills. In short, it is like brainwashing. The only difference is that this is willing change of thinking instead of forcibly doing it.
[5] What makes this program more effective than others is that it is delivered to the audience through multiple senses; sight, hearing and touch, along with appeal. This method of delivery was done throughout the entire program, which I will be elaborating in the later part of this exposé.
Day 1
[6] The first day was meant to be a very light one. In whole, the entire day was filled with extremely funny jokes that left everyone in uncontrollable fits of laughter at one point or another. It might seem insensible, but as I’ve said, there is significance.
[7] To make all the attendees motivated to succeed, it was important that everyone believed that all of them can be successful, which was no lie. The method to achieve this however, was full of lies. For half of the first day, attendees were told of stories, some true and some false, of how some initial failures ended up becoming winners at the end of the day. To deepen the effect, they used personal examples to have a personal touch with everyone, which also doubles up as a method to bond with the attendees through the sharing of personal experiences.
[8] By lunchtime, the mindset of attendees would have turned optimistic. With that change in mindset, the trainers then set out to permanently imprint that belief by reinforcing methods of achieving the success. Let’s sidetrack a bit. During my speech at the end of the program, I mentioned that the trainers did not teach us anything new, and that is indeed true. The methods that were ‘taught’ to achieve that success are in fact old methods re-taught to us and enforced by the power of belief.
[9] How many here know about mind maps to help revision and association to improve memory? I bet most of you do, but do any of you really hold on to these ideas to help improve studies? No. These are the two main techniques ‘taught’ during the workshop, and in truth they are very effective methods. To imbue belief into these techniques, they gave us unbelievable but real examples of how these techniques could be put to use. For mind maps, they showed us how a one-page detailed summary of a 30 page chapter could be done and how they could effectively memorize a series of random words in consecutive order. Cool right? And to think that anyone is capable of doing such things.
[10] For the later part of the day, the trainers went into more intense activities. They went into increasing productivity and rate of learning by teaching us how to maximize brain capacity and quickly pick out information. We were told that typical methods of revision only used up small amounts of brainpower, which is not absorbed well by the memory. By teaching us how to maximize brain capacity, more efficient memory is resulted. Also to help quicken word processing, they taught us the wonders of speed reading, that is the quickened ability to absorb information from text.
Day 2
[11] If the first day was about opening our minds, the second day would be to drill things in. This part of the program is the most intense. Read on to find out.
[12] The first day explored the possibility of success actually becoming a reality. The second day started with making that closer to reality. All of us are bound by the limitations of time, thus to achieve everything, we must work our way around it. The trainers introduced to us the ten step study plan, which is a comprehensive yet easy enough to follow guide which formulates our successes. Then they revealed to us the timetable that we’re supposed to follow to keep the lessons taught to us locked up in our heads. Oh yeah, I apologize if the descriptions are a little ambiguous, but I still need to abide the copyright laws of the contents of the AKLTG programs.
[13] The possibility of actually following the study plan is then enforced with the next segment, which was back to increasing productivity. The previous day, the trainers showed us how the techniques could be put to use, this time, they showed us exactly how it was done. They revealed to us the exact methods of how to imprint data and long strings of information onto our memory and how to unlock the full capacity of the brain.
[14] After lunch, the mood began to turn down a bit as the trainer was setting up the mind for the climax of the program. At this point of time, the trainer opened to us the realization that life does not end at secondary school, that once O levels are over, an enormous possibility unfolds. Also, through discreet means, the trainer made us spill out some of our guilty feelings that we had towards things in general.
[15] Now this part is my favourite: the climax. In order for the attendees to change their academic performance, everything has to change, including their environment. This includes changing our perception that we had for our family. Unfortunately, most of us do not value this as much as we are supposed to, making this part a little painful. So they had to make us appreciate our families like we are supposed to, so let me tell you how it was done.
[16] The upbringing of appreciation was done rather forcefully, with regret and sadness being the main tool here. For a human mind to feel extreme sadness, it has to first experience extreme happiness. That was the purpose of the abundance of jokes from the previous day. This part began with a thorough scolding. Don’t get me wrong, this is no lenient scolding. It was done with pure anger, violence and a loose mouth, if you catch my drift. The scolding part was to arouse the sense of initial regret for not taking the program seriously, not appreciating our parents enough, etc. Well, you should know how a real scolding feels like. But that was only the beginning; now let’s get on to the real part.
[17] With the regret part already brought up, now the sadness has to come in. By now, the mind would have been prepared to fall from that feeling of extreme happiness to extreme sadness. Nonetheless, the use of environment for this part further strengthens the arousal of sadness. To create the atmosphere of sadness, the lights were dimmed, the music played changed to a sad one, and the attendees were asked to close and cover their eyes and sit in a crouched position. All of this leads to the preparation of the mind and body to become sad. Then came the trickiest part.
[18] Through the power of words and mental visualization, the trainer made the attendees realize that the most important and closest person to us is none other than ourselves. Then they moved on to facing the vision of our mothers. The trainer articulated the appreciation our mothers have towards us, how proud they were for having us, how they had taken the trouble of bearing and raising us and the things they regretted doing that might have contributed to our current state of development. From here, you can tell that our regret was surfaced by the revealing of our parents’ regrets. From here we moved on to the vision of our fathers. Again, the same thing was done, with the inclusion of how our fathers regretted not being as close as they wanted to and how they could not appear as sensitive due to being the head of the family. By now, the feeling of empathy we have for our parents’ regret would have become our regrets too.
[19] To enforce this, the trainer then shifted the state of mind to shock by realistically articulating the death of our parents. If the previous feeling of regret was from empathy, the sense of regret that developed now would have been purely ours. The impact of this image is so powerful, the mind actually simulates our actual thoughts and feelings of how things would be when our parents would really die. Throughout this part, almost all attendees would have come to tears but this part brought wails of crying. Readers, I cannot emphasize further the power of words here.
[20] Making the attendees cry here is not for sadistic fun, it was to bring about the sense of appreciation that we are supposed to have for our parents. Other than that, crying is one of the body’s natural ways of releasing guilt and regret, something that most people rarely do. Despite the effectiveness of the trainers, I can classify three groups of people who would not have been affected. The first one are the veterans, those who have at one point of time or another felt this sense of sadness before. The second one are the innocents, those who do not have enough guilt or regret to bring about this extreme sadness. But majority of those who did not cry belong to the third one, the brainless. These are the people who were tipped off about the crying part and did all they could to distract themselves to avoid this or just don’t have enough intellect to comprehend sadness.
[21] All in all, that part was a success. We were then sent off for a silent toilet break and came back to write a letter to ourselves and another to our parents telling them of this encounter and new vows.
[22] Before, we have been realized the possibility of options after secondary school life. Now the trainers made us realize that we have a whole lifetime ahead of us, and what happens then depends on what we plan now. With the confidence that we could become successful at the beginning of the day, the trainer then guided us into setting our long term goals for ourselves, including our JC and university life and our careers. The day ended with further perfecting our speed reading skills.
Day 3
[23] For the whole morning until mid-afternoon for the third day, we were perfecting our ability to study smart with all the techniques taught to us. Oh yeah, our speed reading record was 1800++ words/min, that was how much words we could process, in just a minute. By the end of it we were able to create detailed mind maps of our own and were fully prepared for studying effectively.
[24] The time after that was spent fine tuning our time management schedules, from day to day schedules to monthly revision schedule. Then we moved on to fine tuning our long term goals. It was similar to a career/education consultation session as we got to ask questions about the career paths that we were interested in. By the end of it, we knew exactly what we would be doing from now till 20 years down the road, having planned an achievable and ideal goal for ourselves.
[25] Fast forward to the evening, which was the parents session and closing ceremony. The parents were first briefed on what their kids have been doing the past two days and what they have learnt. It also included advice on how to treat their kids better and some of the things they ought not to do.
[26] The most-awaited part of the closing ceremony was the speech part. The attendees were asked to volunteer themselves to go up on stage to make a speech on whatever they wanted. From this session, the personal lives of many of our friends were revealed; their personal problems, family problems, suicide attempts, private emotions, hopes and dreams, among other things. I myself made a speech (of course). It was a very brief yet made an impact and touching enough to bring people to tears, that also included an advertisement for the event management business that I aim for twenty years later. It ended with us giving our parents the letter we wrote the previous day and with a renewed sense of purpose, belonging and motivation in all of us.
**********************************************************************
I guess I would just like to stop here for now. Basically, the whole thing has so much to explore that I could barely organize my thoughts to write this recap. This recap of the day to day events itself took five full pages in MS Word! Apparently, there is more to be said of the program, thus I will continue in another entry. For the next one, I plan to do a breakdown of all the techniques used that are yet to be revealed.
I know that the recap above is not complete or might have errors, so do inform me by commenting on the entry.
Until then, be content with this entry, please, if you’re not then I don’t know how long I’m supposed to write to satisfy you…
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Forbidden Files #01 - To be swept away
As promised, I am coming up with an argument on a very politically fragile topic, one that has been close to my heart and dying to write about. What is it? Read on below. I hope that this will be a feature of interest to readers, so please do hint me comments on possible topics that might be of your interest in the tagboard.
For those who is reading this for the first time, please check out the previous entry for an introduction and heed the warning above the Harry Potter advertisement.
**********************************************************************
Forbidden Files #01 - To be swept away
An exposé by Seraphim
**********************************************************************
The Malays in Singapore make up the second largest proportion of people in the country. Despite once being Malay soil, Singapore has developed into a country dominated by the Chinese and surprisingly the foreigners, a group that makes up Singapore's minority group.
Over the years, the hold that the Malays have on the country as a whole has been slowly slipping away. It all began, of course, with the very founding of Singapore. The moment that the land was handed over from the Malays to the British was the moment that sparked off the Malays' downfall. Of couse, many sees this as a wise choice of the locals to let the higher power mould our beginnings, but what they fail to realise is why this was so.
The real reason the land was lost from the Malays was not because of wisdom, but because of greed. In secrecy, the government has managed to slip this piece of information into all youths without their notice. What I'm talking about here is the fact that lower secondary social studies never fail to emphasize how much MONEY the British paid the Malay Sultan in exchange for control over the land.
Thank God the government has enough mercy to spare the real reason why the Sultan needed the money, for the sake of the Malays. But since this is an exposé article, I'll defy the remaining efforts the Malays have put to save their faces and reveal it anyway. The Sultan needed the money for cock fighting, as in cockerel. Before the days of betting on horse racing, the early locals betted on fighting cockerels. Obviously the Sultan was a big fan of this.
I mean, hey, who in the world with the right mind would hand over an oversized island of a swamp to some guy in tights, weird sideburn and an exaggerated English accent when the land has strategic geographical advantages and an economic potential? If that guy wanted money, he could have just invested in the good old Singapore. Too bad he was desperately in debt.
And that concludes the embarrassing beginning, JUST the beginning.
More than a century has passed since then, yet nothing has been improving. The loss of the land to the British is now emphasized with the loss of control to the Chinese. The crime rate of Malays are way higher than the other races, and that goes for pregnancy, abortion, academics, and all the social problems there is.
To make it worse, the Malays are even associated to terrorism and for a reason that they themselves can’t deny. So far, all the terrorist-related prisoners are all Malays, most of which were in direct relation to J.I. and indirectly, the Al-Qaeda. Heck, Osama bin Laden’s a Muslim, and so are Malays. The relation is undeniable.
We can’t say that the Malays do not realize their mistakes. Some time back, the former prime minister of Malaysia himself made a public announcement about the failure of Malays. If that isn’t publicity of the Malays’ failure, then I don’t know what is. In that announcement, through tears he revealed to the Malaysian Malays their non-productivity despite the special rights that they have been endowed with since their birth and since the beginning of that nation. Even at the cost of the prime minister’s humility the situation is still the same.
Back in Singapore, efforts to publicize all the failures has become an ongoing effort. The latest edition to that effort is the weekly show titled ‘Hanyut’ on Monday nights on Suria. (for those who cared, I assisted in the production of the theme song, the singer is a stupid minah by the way). The name means to be swept away, the inspiration to this article and the focus of this exposé. Every week, the series tells the true life stories of some dysfunctional teenagers, with a different topic each show. The stories could be about anything negative, including gangsters, tattoos, extramarital pregnancies, abortion, smoking, drugs, you get the picture.
Now, to shed light on such negative matters to the community that spawned them could have several effects. The first is the classic ‘learn from your mistakes’. Probably when the producers thought of the show, this was what they had in mind. Though other consequences to producing the show were probably dismissed or probably not even thought of, typically Malay-like.
The second effect is to stereotype everyone’s impression of Malay teens. The irony is that the ‘everyone’ I refer to include Malay parents themselves. How many here can deny that Malay parents, after watching the show, will tell their children to not follow what was shown on TV without realizing that their children were the ones committing those offences themselves. As if failing is not enough, now the Malays just had to ensure that everyone thinks that they are failures.
The third effect is more psychological. Scientific research has proven that what one sees and believes in directly affect the type of person they become. Now let’s theorize what could happen to a Malay teenager who watches the show. I think you can see it already. Heck, just look down at the void deck to get a clearer picture. Now you can see what happened. When we thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, the Malays once again defied that by putting their youths’ future in a vice grip of past failures. They take the saying ‘history repeats itself’ to a whole new level.
What sparked my fury personally was the tone in which the show was delivered. It makes the viewers all seem naïve and innocent, as if the wrong-doers in the series are some bunch of losers from a faraway place. Well that could qualify since their colossal bosoms did originate from their thinking of walking to the bus stop is a marathon (notice that was a metaphor, not a simile).
If they wanted to make a show about how much the Malay community has failed, at least make it like a straight-to-the-head tight slap, like the article I’m writing now. They should produce a show exposing the sick problems that naïve and innocent looking Malays actually face instead of the naked-to-the-eye problems. Retelling the tale of past mistakes is becoming such a cliché. Surfacing newer problems would be such a touché.
Sometimes one would wonder how a disaster at this massive a scale could be kept blissful to the public eye. More importantly one would continue to wonder what could possibly the solution to all this. Day by day, the stakes are getting greater. As the public eye turns towards the direction of the Malays, will we see them scattering about like the filthy rats they are or rise from the ashes to be born anew. Only time can bring the ultimate exposé to that question.
And yes, I am a Malay.
For those who is reading this for the first time, please check out the previous entry for an introduction and heed the warning above the Harry Potter advertisement.
**********************************************************************
Forbidden Files #01 - To be swept away
An exposé by Seraphim
**********************************************************************
The Malays in Singapore make up the second largest proportion of people in the country. Despite once being Malay soil, Singapore has developed into a country dominated by the Chinese and surprisingly the foreigners, a group that makes up Singapore's minority group.
Over the years, the hold that the Malays have on the country as a whole has been slowly slipping away. It all began, of course, with the very founding of Singapore. The moment that the land was handed over from the Malays to the British was the moment that sparked off the Malays' downfall. Of couse, many sees this as a wise choice of the locals to let the higher power mould our beginnings, but what they fail to realise is why this was so.
The real reason the land was lost from the Malays was not because of wisdom, but because of greed. In secrecy, the government has managed to slip this piece of information into all youths without their notice. What I'm talking about here is the fact that lower secondary social studies never fail to emphasize how much MONEY the British paid the Malay Sultan in exchange for control over the land.
Thank God the government has enough mercy to spare the real reason why the Sultan needed the money, for the sake of the Malays. But since this is an exposé article, I'll defy the remaining efforts the Malays have put to save their faces and reveal it anyway. The Sultan needed the money for cock fighting, as in cockerel. Before the days of betting on horse racing, the early locals betted on fighting cockerels. Obviously the Sultan was a big fan of this.
I mean, hey, who in the world with the right mind would hand over an oversized island of a swamp to some guy in tights, weird sideburn and an exaggerated English accent when the land has strategic geographical advantages and an economic potential? If that guy wanted money, he could have just invested in the good old Singapore. Too bad he was desperately in debt.
And that concludes the embarrassing beginning, JUST the beginning.
More than a century has passed since then, yet nothing has been improving. The loss of the land to the British is now emphasized with the loss of control to the Chinese. The crime rate of Malays are way higher than the other races, and that goes for pregnancy, abortion, academics, and all the social problems there is.
To make it worse, the Malays are even associated to terrorism and for a reason that they themselves can’t deny. So far, all the terrorist-related prisoners are all Malays, most of which were in direct relation to J.I. and indirectly, the Al-Qaeda. Heck, Osama bin Laden’s a Muslim, and so are Malays. The relation is undeniable.
We can’t say that the Malays do not realize their mistakes. Some time back, the former prime minister of Malaysia himself made a public announcement about the failure of Malays. If that isn’t publicity of the Malays’ failure, then I don’t know what is. In that announcement, through tears he revealed to the Malaysian Malays their non-productivity despite the special rights that they have been endowed with since their birth and since the beginning of that nation. Even at the cost of the prime minister’s humility the situation is still the same.
Back in Singapore, efforts to publicize all the failures has become an ongoing effort. The latest edition to that effort is the weekly show titled ‘Hanyut’ on Monday nights on Suria. (for those who cared, I assisted in the production of the theme song, the singer is a stupid minah by the way). The name means to be swept away, the inspiration to this article and the focus of this exposé. Every week, the series tells the true life stories of some dysfunctional teenagers, with a different topic each show. The stories could be about anything negative, including gangsters, tattoos, extramarital pregnancies, abortion, smoking, drugs, you get the picture.
Now, to shed light on such negative matters to the community that spawned them could have several effects. The first is the classic ‘learn from your mistakes’. Probably when the producers thought of the show, this was what they had in mind. Though other consequences to producing the show were probably dismissed or probably not even thought of, typically Malay-like.
The second effect is to stereotype everyone’s impression of Malay teens. The irony is that the ‘everyone’ I refer to include Malay parents themselves. How many here can deny that Malay parents, after watching the show, will tell their children to not follow what was shown on TV without realizing that their children were the ones committing those offences themselves. As if failing is not enough, now the Malays just had to ensure that everyone thinks that they are failures.
The third effect is more psychological. Scientific research has proven that what one sees and believes in directly affect the type of person they become. Now let’s theorize what could happen to a Malay teenager who watches the show. I think you can see it already. Heck, just look down at the void deck to get a clearer picture. Now you can see what happened. When we thought the situation couldn’t get any worse, the Malays once again defied that by putting their youths’ future in a vice grip of past failures. They take the saying ‘history repeats itself’ to a whole new level.
What sparked my fury personally was the tone in which the show was delivered. It makes the viewers all seem naïve and innocent, as if the wrong-doers in the series are some bunch of losers from a faraway place. Well that could qualify since their colossal bosoms did originate from their thinking of walking to the bus stop is a marathon (notice that was a metaphor, not a simile).
If they wanted to make a show about how much the Malay community has failed, at least make it like a straight-to-the-head tight slap, like the article I’m writing now. They should produce a show exposing the sick problems that naïve and innocent looking Malays actually face instead of the naked-to-the-eye problems. Retelling the tale of past mistakes is becoming such a cliché. Surfacing newer problems would be such a touché.
Sometimes one would wonder how a disaster at this massive a scale could be kept blissful to the public eye. More importantly one would continue to wonder what could possibly the solution to all this. Day by day, the stakes are getting greater. As the public eye turns towards the direction of the Malays, will we see them scattering about like the filthy rats they are or rise from the ashes to be born anew. Only time can bring the ultimate exposé to that question.
And yes, I am a Malay.
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