Breakfast Muo style in PJ! Alhamdulillah, semua sedap; sate, lontong, ubi, roti jala, kuih, kopi 434. Retro aesthetics, service tip top! Definitely one of the best breakfast spots in the Klang Valley.
This morning we're at The Global Youth & Peace Conference for Palestine at Mahsa University. Heart wrenching performances children of Palestine and rousing speeches by Khaled Beydoun, Nurul Izzah and others.
It's a really interesting and valid question. Some rather serious answers given were how it taught us breathing techniques, and that it provided us with a nice break from all the studying.
Have to say that I don't actually know what the thinking was behind it, nor can I give you the pedagogical reasons. But probably it was simply to introduce a form of arts appreciation in schools.
Of course, this is one area we've never been good at. In fact, the ARTS has always been seen as the "less intelligent" stream, and that it could never be as important as the other subjects in school.
As such, the thinking has been cultivated from young; that arts and culture have no value to real life, and could never be a real career alternative.
I believe this has led to disastrous consequences to society in more ways than one. Without the appreciation of the arts, there's no appreciation of the artistes. That's why for so long, we've grappled with widespread piracy (cetak rompak). Because people simply do not appreciate the creative process.
Even today in the digital world, there is little respect for intellectual property. People think arts and culture are merely hobbies that have no value. They don't think this as "work" for those who depend on it for their livelihoods.
It doesn't help too that there is no balance in the media when it comes to entertainment, arts and culture. Sure, we all enjoy gossip now and then, but the fascination has always been with the "artis", rather than what's "artistic". Hence, it's all lumped together as just entertainment, and nothing more.
Even deeper than that, the lack of appreciation for the arts, literature and culture has created a society of binary thinkers. A piece of of art can mean different things to different people (there is no right or wrong), but generally our people can't, and won't, agree to disagree, cos the answer to everything is either this or that.
Everything must be on the nose, subtexts are often ignored, and it leaves us with a society that only judges others by what they see on the surface, and material gains.
Oh how I wish we had learned more than just the recorder...
My current obsession: Watching these historically important videos on the FINAS YouTube channel. Seriously, you won't believe how well-produced these are. There are more than 200 videos on the Retrospektif playlist and I urge everyone to watch them.
So much to learn and so much to appreciate about our own history. Thank you Finas for restoring such wonderful and important content for our viewing pleasure.
When I was serving on the bench, what I hated most was juvenile and drugs cases. For such hearings in chambers, you'd usually get family members to attend. And this was always a problem for me.
Especially for juvenile cases, we'd have parents coming in, and most of the time they would have no idea what their children have been up to. Upon reading the facts of the case, I'd usually get annoyed and riled up at the stupid things these kids have been accused of doing.
But the mood would change when the parents are given a chance to speak. Especially the poor old moms, they'd immediately break down and would plead with me, with tears in their eyes and their hearts broken, to give their kids another chance. They'll say that their kids are actually good kids and they didn't know why they've made such bad turns.
Being a person with "jiwa sensitif", I'd usually struggle to hold back my own tears. It's not easy seeing these old folks who have given their heart and soul raising their kids, only to get a phone call from the cops to say that they've been up to mischief and might be sent to some "sekolah budak jahat".
And every time, I could feel the sincerity and hope from the parents to give their child another chance. Of course, being juveniles, we would always give them a second chance to start anew, and release them on bond of good behaviour. But the process was always an emotional one for me.
So kids, behave, stay out of trouble, and think of your parents before doing anything you might regret later.
