What mark do you think you should receive for this blog assignment? Please justify your answer.

I should receive at least 7 marks out of 10 because most of my blogs that i have written is my own personal opinion on those matters. By attending critical thinking class, it has given me self belief to voice out my opinion to the public rather than just keeping it within myself. The moment Dr. Carmen mentioned that the final paper is a killer paper, i am already very nervous about it. The only way to score high grade in this subject is by scoring a very high coursework mark. I hope Dr. Carmen will consider my wish of scoring at least 7 marks for this assignment. Thank you.

What was the most important thing you learnt from our class this semester that you plan to apply or use in your daily life? Please explain why it is important and how u plan to use or apply it.

The most important thing that i have learned from this class is to think and read critically rather than just blindly reading and trusting the source. To be honest, I have been such a person where i just read whatever sources and don't do any research about it. After attending this class, I have changed my perspective in reading and thinking, where after reading any sources, i am starting to do some research on it. I also enjoyed the lab class that Dr.Carmen conducted where she gave the ways to find out whether the information on the website is trustworthy. Seriously, I had no idea about checking the validity of those information on websites. Not only that, i am also the type of person that don't ask questions in a class, due to lack of self confidence. By attending this class, I have gained self confidence and ready to ask questions whenever i have doubts.

Which presentation of your classmates had the most impact on you? Please identify the presentation and explain HOW and WHY it impacted you.

The topic Malaysian Prime Minister's power should be limited to two consecutive terms only had really gave me an impact on my thoughts of revolutionizing our country's political system. To be honest, i have never thought about it but i believe if it is implemented in our country, it will bring massive changes to our country. The following are the reasons on why this topic have impacted me.

First, we can see fresh ideas are being implemented from time to time. When a Prime Minister resigns after completing two terms, it will give an opportunity for the upcoming Prime Minister to implement his ideas in making the country progress.

Not only that, the upcoming Prime Minister will definitely tend to perform better than the ex Prime Minister. The pressure on him/her to deliver will be high because he needs to show the citizens of the country that he/she is much more capable of doing a better job than the ex Prime Minister. He/She will definitely try to improve on what is left behind by the ex Prime Minister.

I believe the Prime Minister's power should be limited to two consecutive terms only in our country because it will bring more benefits to the country. Rather than that, it also reduces the burden of the Prime Minister because the task of leading a country is a huge responsibility. If it is limited to two consecutive terms only, it gives an opportunity to fulfill his task efficiently and effectively.

My opinion on Suzanna Tan's case

On June 8, 2015, Suzanna Tan was refused service at an RTD office because she had violated the department's dress code by wearing a skirt that did not extend below her knees, so she was made to wear a sarong before she could be served. She vented her frustrations in Facebook because she was humiliated and her post went viral.

In my opinion, the officials of the Road Transport Department (RTD) could have handled the situation in a better way because they seriously made a blunder by making her wear a sarong. The officials could have handled the matter efficiently by just giving her a warning verbally.

The problem that lies here is the dress code in the government offices. The dress code should be made amendment where if they are dressed decently, they are allowed to enter the office. In Suzanna Tan's case, she did dress decently to the office but were humiliated. After this incident, the government should take appropriate measures to amend the dress code in government offices to prevent this kind of incidents from happening.

Traffic jams

The severity of traffic jams in our country is at an alarming rate. The appropriate measures should be taken to reduce traffic jams in our country. In my opinion, there are several steps that can be taken to reduce traffic jams in our country.

The first step that can be taken is to upgrade the current public transport. The government plays a very important role in upgrading the public transport in order to provide better service to the passengers. As we are all aware that KTM service has been very poor. A major upgrade is essential in KTM service because KTM is regarded as the most important public transport compared to others. The number of people who are using KTM are much more higher compared to other public transport. The scenario that is taking place now is after a train reaches a platform, the next train takes a longer time to reach the platform. This has caused a lot of consequences where it has affected a lot of people. To make matters worse, the KTM fare have also been hiked. If the service provided is first class, is is worth it to pay a higher fare but since the service has been poor, it is really unfair to those passengers. The government should take appropriate measures in improving the public transport in order to reduce the severity of traffic jams.

One of the reason of traffic jams is because of increase in the number of cars on the road. Since government has legalized Grab car and Uber, it has caused the number of cars on the road to increase drastically. One way, the government can rectify this situation is by limiting the number of Grab car and Uber driver. The chance of being a Grab car and Uber driver should not be an easy task, where they can just sign up and be a driver under Grab car and Uber. Instead, in order to become a Grab car and Uber driver, they should have to undergo an interview or driving test. Apart from government, a normal individual can also help in reducing traffic jams. A normal individual can help by car pooling. This is also an efficient way in reducing the number of cars on the road.

To conclude, the following that i mentioned above are some of the ways to reduce traffic jams in our country. Action should be taken earlier, in order to prevent traffic jams from getting worse. 

Social media won't change government

In my previous post, I emphasized my opinion on the Fahmi Reza's case. According to him, the reason why he performed such act was to defend his rights to criticize the corrupt rulers. I recently read an article titled "Social media won't change government" which was distributed by my tutor during critical reading and thinking tutorial. After reading the article, I do agree that voicing our dissatisfaction towards the government via social media is not going to solve the problem.

One of the way to voice our our dissatisfaction towards the government is during the election. In our country, we need to be at least 21 years old to register as a voter. In the article, the writer mentioned that many college and university students are not aware that in order to change the government, they need to register and vote during elections. I was surprised by the statement because as a citizen of this country, if we are not aware of those basic procedures, how can we bring changes to the country?

The second way is by protesting. As we are all aware, last year August , Bersih 4.0 took place. The purpose of the protest is to bring the spotlight to the mounting scandals surrounding the Prime Minister and also to send a clear message that 'we will not tolerate nonsense'. Protest like Bersih 4.0 is an eye opener for the government to rectify the current situation.

Comparing the both ways that i mentioned, election is the most efficient way in voicing our dissatisfaction towards the government. Election helps to revolutionize our country's political system in order to lead the country well and progress.

My role as a lawyer in Fahmi Reza's case

During our critical thinking tutorial, each of us were given roles to play involving Fahmi Reza's case. Fahmi Reza is a Malaysian graphic artist who was charged on June 6 for violating multimedia laws by caricaturing Prime Minister Najib Razak as a sinister clown to protest at allegations of massive corruption. So, the role given to me was to be a lawyer for Fahmi Reza. The following are some of the points spoken by me during the role play.

My first point to defend Fahmi Reza’s act was every citizen living in Malaysia are entitled to their own opinion. The reason Fahmi Reza performed such act was because he feels the Prime Minister is guilty. Instead of punishing him, he should be given a chance to confess the reasons why he committed such act. Not only that, I also emphasized the reason why he performed such act is because he sees social media as the best platform for him to attract million of followers. If he wants to present his opinion in a legal manner, there would be higher chance that his opinion will be ignored.

My second point is to abolish Sedition Act. Sedition Act was enacted by the British and have also abolished it. If British who invented Sedition Act and have abolished it, why can’t Malaysia abolish Sedition Act? The Sedition Act is becoming an obstacle for citizens of Malaysia to voice out their opinions or dissatisfaction about the government. If the opinions of the citizens in a country are not taken into consideration, how can a country progress?

In my personal opinion, Sedition Act should be abolished in our country because it gives room for politicians to commit mistakes and not being questioned. I believe an appropriate platform should be created to allow citizens of the country to express their dissatisfaction towards the government.

To conclude, I thoroughly enjoyed my role as a lawyer to defend Fahmi Reza because it gives me experience on how a lawyer would defend their client. Even though, I may have violated the court procedures, but it was an exciting experience.