Friday, August 15, 2014

出国留学的四大理由

大约在两个月前,我有幸被柔佛北干那那州议员杨敦祥邀请去他选区的一场讲座上分享有关海外留学的经验。在海外漂流长达9年的我,今年1月底在德国顺利毕业后就选择回国工作,并幸运地被槟城研究院录取成为经济小组政策分析员之一。

这不是一般的海外升学辅导讲座,故此我没讲述太多有关申请入学和奖学金技术上的课题。我分享主要目的是要让有意愿到海外升学的在籍中学生和大学生看到留学欧洲生活的一面。

我告诉出席者,行行出状元,只要心中有理想应该勇敢追寻。升学的过程当中难免会要面对抉择,无论是选修的科系、学府地点或教育体系。我认为,若一个人对诸多科系都抱有热忱和兴趣,不需对抉择后而错过的科系感到惋惜遗憾。名义上是为了专修一个科系,但是实际上大学学府是让一个人心智继续成长、自由进取任何知识,以及自由参社的地方,不应只局限在某个专门领域。只怕那人无理想无想法无求知欲,那么去到海外升学也枉然;所以我强调,上大学最重要是学习如何独立思考、待人处事和各种工作和生活技能,不该太过注重文凭和成绩。

我提出,除了学术原因之外,出国留学还有四大理由。

第一,观察他国的社会制度与人文建设。首先最容易做的是观摩该国公共交通的设计和国人使用公路与交通的态度。我特别欣赏德国人,在一个举世闻名的汽车制造国,他们对脚车自由通行便利的坚持。在我曾居住的城市汉诺威,到处可见脚车专道。在远距离城市与城市之间或较近距离地方之间的川行,德国铁路还是占据了非常重要的地位,提供了众人便利。而我居住长达4年的英国伦敦,一个坐拥800万人口的大都市,它的公共交通系统每天要应付高乘客量的需求,依然是居民和游客的首选。在欧洲的道路上,往往是行人优先,接着是脚踏车,最后才轮到其他交通工具。这种尊重行人和脚车骑士的观念根深蒂固在欧洲,所以我每天骑脚车来回上课,也不需对路上安全特别担忧。对比我国,尤其是吉隆坡地区的公共交通系统不全,马路被私家车严重堵塞,道路设计对行人和脚车骑士极不友善,我多么期望我国可以向英德看齐。

第二,入乡随俗,广交异乡朋友。若出国后依然长时间与本国人窝在一起,没去认真体验道地的生活和文化,倒不如不用出国。尤其是到了非英语系的国家如德国,学习当地的语言更是不可或缺。即使到了最后,外语依然说得不太好,但至少我们已尽力地表达友善和交出了诚意,自然会得到当地人的尊重和赞许。三人行必有我师,那么若多几个异乡朋友走在一起,届时互相学习和交流就变得更有趣了,毕竟来自不同文化不同成长经历的人一般上会激荡出不一样的想法。

第三,多参与能自我提升及有意义的活动。课余旅游当然可以包括在内,不过若只懂得吃喝玩乐,而不去深度了解当地习俗风情和历史事迹,就失去了旅行大开眼界的意义。多参与社团活动除了学习,还可找到志同道合的朋友,同时训练组织和领导能力。当年我在英国也参与了多个大议题的示威游行,包括反伊战的大示威,见证了他国公民如何实践真正的民主和发挥民主的意义。

第四,寻找和认同身份本位。纵然近期国人热切关注人才流失的问题,我还是对莘莘学子说,若有机会,我仍鼓励他们出国见识。很多事物在出国前不太关心或不甚了解,直到身在海外的我格外珍惜祖国家园。撇开壮丽的国土景色、山珍海味不说,我更加肯定我国的多元文化、多元种族是我们的特色和优势。经历了海外净选盟运动的洗礼,我也确认我国正因缺少了民主、自由和公平政策的养分,而无法在各方面展翅高飞。

仔细观察了我国与他国的差异,我们应认真反思,深入了解并从中学习他国成功之道,回国以后就可贡献和应用所见所闻所学的知识。即使暂且不考虑回国,海外留学的日子肯定是你其中最闪亮的人生经历。

本文刊登在砂拉越《聯合日報》的《自由言論》版


首次發現我的文章(在佳禮論壇)被‘熱烈’討論,哇哈哈,始料未及。

好人與壞人-- 人治制度的崇拜

可是很多民眾都喜歡人治的制度,過度強調個別領袖的特質和重要性。在這種對民主制度認知匱乏的情況下,談起政治感情用事,用喜惡觀感和直覺來判定政治領袖的好壞,忽略了政黨整體功能和政治的群體和團隊合作方面的重要性,養成了對個別領袖的過度崇拜。

我真的看不出卡立怎能夠在現有缺乏黨支持和各議員和部分民眾質疑的情況下,有效地用自己的品牌來執政。勸他還是與黨再談判,然後有尊嚴地退下吧!他真的不知”時不予我“的意義

BN the clear winner in this Khalid storm

you can't say the downfall and the break up of the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government has nothing to do with BN.

BN engineered and executed it very very well. They exploited the water restructuring issue to create distrust among PKR leadership for Khalid. They used the Malay Bible issue to hold Khalid in ransom. They tendered and passed many UMNO cronies' highway projects to Khalid, make the party observers and public perceive that Pakatan Rakyat endorse such policies on tolled highways and eat their own words in one of the major GE manifesto promises. And then they thwarted Anwar's Kajang move to take damage control of such situation, by the masterstroke -- using judiciary to disqualify his candidacy. They can even make the pro-UMNO unity government faction of PAS work with them to further destabilise the PR coalition government.

Now, Khalid is gone, PR coalition government is in chaos. BN won, by landslide, the scale of 7-1 scoreline.

Khalid is a huge letdown and a betrayal

Personally, I want to apologise to Saifuddin for misinterpreting and blaming his tactic to "name and shame" Khalid in the groundbreaking press conference days ago.

After reading through the Star interview article, I finally can understand what the words mean by “忍辱負重” in chinese, that he took such a difficult job to point fingers at Khalid, his former colleague and comrade, and shouldered so muchblames for the sake of the party intergrity and principle. All the words I read, sound so honest from the bottom of his heart to me. (Even he admitted that the party has 'oversold' Khalid's positive image in the last GE). Saifuddin presented his arguments with straightforward facts and never twist and turn, mince words like the merchant writer called Nat Tan on Khalid's side.

For many detractors out there, if you can counter the facts in Saifuddin's account about Khalid's behaviour and his poor poor party discipline and betrayal, then only I can consider taking your views.

Otherwise, tell me, based on what reasons you can keep on supporting him to remain in the MB seat (until today)? It is so unbearable and untenable to see that happening to a MB i once had so much respect T T

Until that extent, the party had been giving him a gentleman way out, still Khalid was not grateful and refused to take that and admit his own problems.

Now he singlehandedly takes down the whole selangor state government with him (my dear hometown state) and takes away the hope for Ubah for the next general election (doesn't anyone still remember to Selamatkan Malaysia? and our nation will probably be bankrupt in 2019??).

It could be all just because of Khalid's own big EGO and his personality. Even if I also don't like Azmin Ali, Azmin never did something so severely undermining the party, and although he is ambitious he always play by the party rules book.

Khalid let me down and left me heartbroken, it is also equally heavy to see some of my friends disregarding his behaviour and his undoing to the Party, still keep supporting him.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

政黨紀律與服從

加入政黨,因為你相信黨的重要原則和理念,同時你也願意遵守黨規和紀律。你可以獨立思考,但是若要你的新信念納入為大家共同的理念,你就不可以只是獨個兒思考和行動,你必須要有說服力讓黨同志跟你一起行動。

我不覺得,很多政黨不歡迎你提出新看法,只是若你要黨認同,你就得說服各階層的黨同志,同時你也願意遵守規則。一旦你的看法被大部分人否決了,或你挑戰失敗了,不應該發爛砸。政治實踐要靠耐心和團隊精神。若你覺得現在你持有的信念與黨基本理念有衝突,又或許你覺得不值得繼續為你的理念鬥爭下去的時候,你可以考慮退黨。這是結社自由。

我是看不過眼一些人完全不把黨紀律放在眼裡(眼裡只有自己),也看不過眼一些沒有原則理念的人完全盲目地跟隨黨領袖的腳步和規則走(PLP之徒)。一個不講理的政黨你當然可以理直氣壯地指出它哪裡不妥,同樣的政黨也可以與大眾解說某個黨員不合理的地方(但不應該全然只講黨規而已,應著重在道理)。理性是這個社會要有的態度。


我只想說,有時你要看那黨意是如何形成的,有沒有黨內眾多代表支持的意願基礎。如果不是由中委會決定,該延伸至什麼階級的黨員決定?

你如何拿捏個體意願和集體意願的衝突,何者為先?

***

我其實也不喜歡另一種人,那就是自命清高鄙視政治的人。凡是牽涉到政治,他們都一貫地抹黑鄙視看待或誇張地挑剔,彷彿全部政治人物都是壞人辜負了他們,而自己卻好像是聖人皇帝般要政治人物全部符合他的想法。

對於這樣的人,我只想說:你們去火星吧

Monday, August 04, 2014

PR losing momentum




Why do I feel like these words (in the picture above) could easily come from the mouth of Anwar Ibrahim?

It has been really awhile that Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat did not come out with fresh political ideas, even effort to recycle their best vision for the nation stated in the recent past. What is the follow up to the imagination of the Ketuanan Rakyat concept? Buku Jingga and PR manifesto cannot be just merely documents, but politicians should spread and sell the core PR ideas to the ground and implement them as policies in respective states they rule. Since 505 General Election, are PR politicians still actively engaging rakyat on political big pictures and party visions?

Yes, PR easily fall into the trap and is easily distracted by UMNO and BN dirty tactics to divert people's attention, and cannot effectively drive their political discourse and agenda to put pressure to BN to match (Granted, the mainstream media is controlled by BN). But, party eaders should still lead the line and help the PR team to score political goals, rather than passively defend the field.

I agree with Ambiga and many NGO leaders complaining about a (serious) lack of leadership from Pakatan Rakyat side after 505. PR seems rather defensive and sluggish, sometimes totally lost when comes to responding to ever rising and divisive race, religion and royal (3R) issues played by BN. Worse, Hudud overrules and overshadowed anti-GST movement, lost the best opportunity to pit BN to the ground and garner more support.

Do not complain about the mainstream media, even reading on Malaysiakini and TMI news websites I cannot feel and see the direction where PR is heading to.