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.

Critical Reading and Thinking - The Black Sheep

1. Why is it a problem to be honest in Calvino’s story?

The problem of being honest in Calvino’s story would lead to failure in adapting to the society. Consequences of it, the honest man found himself penniless, he had nothing to eat and his house was empty.

2. How did the rich become richer and the poor become poorer?

“ Because he let the others steal everything he had without stealing from anybody, so there was always someone who came home at dawn to find their house untouched, the house he should have robbed. In any event after a while the ones who weren’t being robbed found themselves richer than the others and didn’t want to steal anymore. To make matters worse, the ones who came to steal from the honest man’s house found it was always empty, so they became poor”.

Referring the above evidence from the text, since the honest man allowed the others to steal everything he had without stealing from others, this would cause to someone to gain and the other person lose out. As the cycle continues, the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.

3. Do you think the title The Black Sheep is appropriate? Why/ Why not?

In my opinion, the title Black Sheep is not appropriate because in a society full of thieves and a honest men, it will not change the situation any better. It will only cause the repetition of the norm they have been practicing. Unless, the society is full of honest people and only one thief, then the title Black Sheep would be appropriate.

4. What message do you think the writer is trying to convey?

In my opinion, the message that the writer is trying to convey here is that failure of a person in adapting to a society can lead to many negative implications. Since, the honest man did not steal and allowed others to steal from him, he found himself penniless, nothing to eat and his house was empty. Not only that, he also caused a massive change to the society. Before the honest man arrived at the society, everybody was stealing from each other and lived happily. After he arrived, some people in the society gained because their house was untouched since the honest man did not steal from them and some people lose out because they had nothing to steal from the honest man’s house. This caused the rich to become richer and poor to become poorer

Making a rational choice.

During my critical reading and thinking tutorial, we were assigned a task to choose 8 people from a list of 15 to live in a newly discovered island where there are no human beings but consists of diverse flora and fauna. They will leave there and create a new society without any outside contact for the next 50 years. At first, we need to select the 8 people individually and then we will be assigned in a group to draw up the final conclusion.

The 8 people that i personally selected was Anita Mak - popstar (F,23), Dr.Soekardi - retired navy commander (M,56), Dr.Alice Smithson - graduate who studied sociology and anthropology (F,33), Abdul Kadir - minister (29,M), R.Govinder - paddy farmer (M,41), Mary Lee - socially active school girl (F,16), Tan Sim Yee - Chinese physician (M,65) and Imran Saraswadi - Indonesian construction labor (M,27).

The reason i selected Anita Mak is because i believe she would be essential in providing entertainment. Not only that, she is also a female. Therefore, she would play a significant role in increasing the population of the society. Dr.Soekardi would assist in emergency situation and he is also well equipped with combat skills which he could utilize to provide protection to the society.

Dr.Alice who is a graduate in sociology and anthropology would also be beneficial to the society because she would help in solving conflicts that arises between people. She would also help in forming unity between people in the society. Abdul Kadir possesses leadership qualities which is a very important aspect in a society. Every society needs a leader where we can look up to for inspiration and also guidance.

The importance of food cannot be declined. The people in the society needs food in order to ensure their survival. So, R.Govinder who is a paddy farmer would be very much needed in the society to ensure food production. Next, Mary Lee, a socially active school girl would be needed to increase the population in the society and also her socially active traits would be beneficial in forming unity between people in the society.

If there were to be a situation where people are sick or hurt, it is definitely impossible to obtain modern medicines in the island. Medicines can only be obtained traditional way. So, an expert in herbal medicine would be needed and Tan Sim Yee would be a perfect choice. Although, he is old but he can help to pass his knowledge in herbal medicine to the others. The people in the island would also need shelter. Therefore, Imran Saraswadi who has been working in the construction industry for the past 5 years would be helpful in building homes for the people in the society.

Those are 8 people that i have chosen to live in the newly discovered island. I believe the 8 people would be able to provide significant contribution in forming a well balanced society.

Lessons learned from the movie titled 'EXAM'.

Recently, during my critical reading and thinking lecture, my lecturer decided to play a movie titled 'Exam'. Upon hearing the title, it was already a nervy moment for me because as a student, our worst nightmare will always be an exam. The movie revolves around eight candidates who are competing to obtain a contract of employment. The whole movie took place in a closed room monitored by an armed guard. The room consists of eight tables and eight chairs and at each table there were a printed paper on it. Each paper were printed 'Candidate 1',' Candidate 2' up to 'Candidate 8' respectively.  The guard is responsible to eliminate candidates who have violated the rules of the examination. Before the examination begun, the invigilator came into the room and explained that the exam will last for 80 minutes and consists of only one question and one answer to the question. There are three rules that must be obeyed during the exam, the candidates must not communicate with the invigilator and the guard, spoil the paper provided to them or leave the room. A failure to do so, will result in the candidate being disqualified.

The examination begun in a thrilling manner when one of the candidate was disqualified for violating the rules of the exam. After that, the other candidates cooperated with each other in order to find the question and also the answer to it. Along the process, a series of arguments and also brainstorming took place in order to complete the exam. Candidates that are found guilty of violating the rules, are disqualified. Finally, a candidate managed to find the question and also the answer after the other candidates disqualified themselves from the examination.

Throughout the movie, I have learnt many important lessons that i can utilize in my daily life. One of it, is the importance of teamwork. The candidates brainstormed to obtain the question. In the process of obtaining it, they cooperated and utilized all the resources available to them. The highlight of the brainstorming session was each candidate portrayed their intelligence and each of the candidates opinion are taken into consideration. If we are able to practice teamwork in our daily life, many complications that arises in our daily life can be solved efficiently and effectively.

Next, is the importance of being meticulous. In the movie, the question was already mentioned by the invigilator itself but the candidates were not aware of it. The importance of being meticulous cannot be denied. For example, if we are reading an article in a newspaper, we should not just read the headline and jump to a conclusion. We should pay careful attention to the whole article and then draw up a conclusion. A failure in doing so will only lead to unnecessary complications because we are not sure about what is the article exactly about and leads to false reviews being passed to another party when we share the contents of the article. The same scenario can be applied in an examination as well. Paying careful attention to the question will help us in solving the problem but if we don't do so, it will only lead us to a wrong solution.

Rather than that, the movie also taught me not to discriminate others. There is an element of racism in the movie that we should not practice. In order to make communication easier, one of the candidate started labeling the other candidates as Black, Brown, Blonde and etc. He labelled them based on their physical appearance and hair color. Those racist remarks should be avoided in our daily life in order to live in peace and harmony. In a multi-racial country like Malaysia,Singapore and USA, there are diversity of cultures and traditions being practiced but the citizens there can still live in peace and harmony. If those racist remarks are practiced there, it will definitely be impossible to form unity between the citizens in those countries.

Those are the valuable lessons that i have learned from the movie and wish to practice it in my daily life in order to become a pragmatic and sensible person.