Bridging Digital Divide : From Bandar Indra Mahkota to Kg Pancing and Sungai Lembing

Computer Games ..... future IT whiz kid ...

Children &mothers gathered at Bandar Indra Mahkota Library

Filling in research questionnaires

Cyber kid ... getting connected


Full support for knowledge & IT society

Recently I got the opportunity of tagging along my significant half visiting a few rural Telecenters ( TC ) as part of her Bridging Digital Divide Research.

The first TC was located at the Rural Library (RL - Perpustakaan Desa) at Bandar Indra Mahkota about 10 kms from Kuantan. It is quite an organized and big RL with plenty of books and a corner for computers. More the 50 people comprising of children and their mothers gathered at the RL to welcome us. The children were using the computers for their school assignments, playing games, chatting or just surfing the net. The mothers seemed to refrain themselves from using the limited computers in our presence. They participated actively in the research interview and put across their view on the TC effectiveness and relevance. In fact they look forward for more computers to be installed at the TC and more organized activities to enhance their IT skill.

Kg Panching town ........

Small Library ..... knowledge centre

Organised, clean and conducive

Our second stop over was Kampung Panching about 25 kms from Kuantan. It is another Rural Library which is small but well organized and patronized. Unfortunately for us the TC that supposed to be set up at the RL has not been carried out. Apparently it has been delayed due to the recent election. We may have to come again in the future to review the TC. As you can see from the picture I am impressed with the RL and the number of children patronizing it. They all look forward for the TC to be set up but worried about the space constraint they currently facing. 25 kms from Kuantan and they were already facing the real digital divide. Now that the election is over let hope the TC project will resumed speedily.

End of the road .... Sungai Lembing Town

Sg Lembing Library and Telecentre

Sungai Lembing is a small town 40 kms from Kuantan and the road just end at the town. The town was famous for its tin mining activities in the early days. It reminded me of a drama I used to act during my school days “ Lembing Awang Pulang Ke Dayang “ I assumed the story has something to do with the town.

Fully utilised by youngsters

The RL here is small but very organized with both library and multi media on different section of the building. Here it looks like the TC was being patronized more then the library. Most of the users were school children and youngsters. Like the other TC they used the computers for assignments, surfing the net and filling on line applications for college entry and scholarships. It was refreshing to see the youngsters using the IT at this remote dead end town.

Hai kid... learning early ... learning fast

The RL/TC visits gave me a clear picture on the digital divide facing by the rural community. While we are enjoying Wi Fi at our Coffee House and Kopi Tiam, they have to go to the TC to be connected. Sometimes they have to queue for hours to use the limited computers. Worst still when the school levers have to fill their applications forms on line for college entry and scholarships. I believed many have to forgo the applications due to the digital divide.

While the effort of setting up the RL and TC are very good, much have to be done to ensure the effectiveness of the centers. Its includes conducting program on the effective usage of computers and educational contents for on line learning for the community. They must be thought on the usage of computers for their personal development, information intelligence and networking.

The real findings from my significant half on the research may be shared with those who are interested in this areas.

Another TC at Kg Bujang, Kedah

Computer Games ... while waiting for Lion Dance Class

The Lion Head ..... Art & ICT do get along fine

ELECTION RESULT - Whe the Moon and Rocket Meets

9/3 was a long night with full of surprises and changes. Despite expecting the changes the actual result made you forget about sleep and glued to the direct results and comments on the TV Awani & TV3.

The people have spoken and the political landscape changed in 4 states of Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor while Kelantan delivers its fatal blow to BN. The BN achieved its simple majority with 139 seats and lost 5 states to the BA. It has never happened before in the history of Malaysia but the reality was, the Rakyat has delivered its verdicts.

The new challenges now lies with the BA ( PAS, PKR and DAP ) not only to get use to be the ruling parties but most importantly how to ensure their collaborations will not be derailed in the light of the new power given to them by the Rakyat. How are they going to ensure that peace, harmony and prosperity thrive in the early transition of power and the later governance of the states. Everybody is watching closely how they work out the winning formula to rule Perak and Selangor without being suck up with the new power entrusted to them. Definitely the ultimate act of doing and delivering promises is greater then promising itself.

It is our desires to see that the BA use this opportunity given by the Rakyat to proof that they are better alternatives then the BN, otherwise they will receive the same fate as BN when the time come.

Meanwhile the BN has no choice but to reinvent themselves to be relevant for the new dawn and expectations of the Rakyat. The losers and leaders have to be honorable enough to accept responsibility and make way for others to chart the new course.

Posters War & Ground News Here and There

N 26 Bangi State Seat former YB Dato' Dr. Amran was dropped and replaced with Datuk Mohd Fathil Daud. Reason given for the change was due to poor service record but unfortunately the replacement was unknown to the Bangi community. He will be facing PAS candidate Dr. Shafie Abu Bakar former ADUN of Bangi. I welcomed the change of BN candidate but unfortunately the replacement was unknown personality to me …. and hope not another Magician.

I was talking to a Deputy Division Head of UMNO in Johor whose name was slated for this election after serving the Division for more then 20 years. Unfortunately his name was dropped in the last minute intense lobbying or maybe they were giving him false hope all along. I managed to call him and advised him to be patient and take it as a “hikmah dalam perjuangan”. Having known him for more then 3 decades I thought he would make a good YB that really serve the community.

They said Kelantan is hot and BN is hoping to take over the state after 18 years of failures. They hope to bring home thousands of Kelantanese from KL to swing the vote in Kelantan. On the second thought they were worried that the KL Kelantanese will swing the vote further to PAS because of their exposure to the urban issues in KL. A comment from a friend regarding the Kelantanese – They will take anything that you gave and even agreed to your negative comments on PAS but when they reached KB they will still vote for PAS. For all you know BN may win Kelantan if they did not bring the spoiler back from KL.

Selangor MB said that 8 seats in Selangor are vulnerable due to various reasons. Let see if they could overcome the weaknesses in time and win the seats again, but my bet its going to be tough this election especially in urban areas. The quality of candidates will be a major factor for the voters. Fellow voters do your little research on the track records, manifestos, promises and candidates then ……. on 8th March carry out your duty as RESPONSIBLE Citizen of Malaysia.

ELECTION FEVER !!!

Election fever is in the air, it’s like the hay fever pollens swarming the air and getting everybody allergic to it. Here are some of the symptoms of Election Fever for your reference.

SYMPTOMS

1. The missing Yang Berhormat (YB) is now walking the kampung and making appointments to see you and friends.
2. The stock exchange is going bearish and dividends from your savings doubled.
3. The politicians start singing “Your wish is my command …. You to me are everything the sweetest things …. etc …
4. Not only the old pot holes are being repaired but the good road are being resurfaced
5. Promise and sacrifices are the order of the day. I will runs 5km daily despite my old age or stay bachelor despite above 40s ….. all for you Rakyat

MEDICATIONS

1. Make yourself busy instead of seeing the missing YB.
2. Take the dividends and bonus but make sure your vote is secret.
3. You can hear them singing but don’t trust the lyrics. Give them what they deserved based on their performance
4. Called the YB office if they missed your roads.
5. Let them run 100 kms …. if poor record and too old dumped them. If they did not believe in family life would they really look after the people??????????


Please feel free to add on to the SYMPTOMS and MEDICATIONS of the Election Fever for the benefit of Cyber Community.

Tales from the Sea: How Deep is Your Love

Rustam came from a small kampung in the East Coast of Malaysia and his success in getting the scholarship to further his studies in UK was a majestic achievement for the family. He was the calm and most pious among us and kept way from our normal night activities of clubbing and pubs hopping. Normally he will be the one reminding us about prayer and became the Imam. For the first few years in Liverpool and onboard ship he became a vegetarian to avoid the non halal food. I could not help wondering how he is going to cope with the seafaring life where most of the time he will be the only Muslim onboard. I guess his strong faith and inner strength will be the key assets to pull him through.

On his first trip to Far East, Rustam ship called at Cagayan De Oro, Mindanao. The ship was scheduled to stay three days in port loading canned pineapples. The people here were very poor but friendly and happy to see foreigners. After finishing his cargo watch Rustam was given a shore leave along with two other cadets to explore the Cagayan De Oro City. Shore leave has always been the highlight for any port call, its gave the crew the opportunity for sight seeing, shopping and unwinding their stress in whatever way they seemed fit. As Rustam and friends were exploring the city they met with a group of high school girls near the city park. As usual when youngsters met they smiled and giggles at each other and before long became friends. The girls became their tourist guide showing them the city and historic places. Rustam was particularly close with one of the girls named Maria, a beautiful and sweet girl. They parted before sunset and promised to meet again tomorrow afternoon after school. The few days in port gave Rustam and Maria the opportunity to know each other better. Maria was all tears when the ship finally left the port for Singapore while Rustam promised that he will never forget her.

Rustam wrote to Maria from every port and they became very close and attached with each other despite the distance and ocean that separated them apart. At times we shared his happiness when he received parcel from Maria with pages of perfumed letter and tapes of her voice for his ears only. She must be his first love and had become a very important part of his life. In fact after high school Maria wanted to start working to help her family instead of furthering her studies in college. She came from a poor family and could not afford the college fee but Rustam insisted that she pursue her studies and he will support her financially. Without fail every month he sent allotments to Maria to support her studies. This went on for about three years and Maria finally graduated. Their bond and love became stronger then ever and they agreed to get married after getting their family consent. Maria family had no problem to consent their marriage but Rustam family just could not accept it. As the eldest son of the family they expected him to marry a fellow Malay and Muslim. They just could not understand the bond that existed between Rustam and Maria. Being an obedient son Rustam did not want to go against his family and for that he suffered terribly.

He changed drastically from his previous self. He started drinking and enjoyed himself with nightlife that he formally avoided. He became a heavy drinker and this really broke our hearts to see one of our friends melted this way. The worst happened when he decided to marry an English girl named Jane. They got married in UK without informing his family. His marriage with Jane could not bring him back to the path of goodness because she was also a heavy drinker and happy go lucky type. His family was full of sorrow and sadness when they finally knew what has happened to him. They even regretted for not allowing him to marry Maria, but it was all too late. Rustam has two children out his marriage with Jane – Rustam Jr and Rose. He finally decided to work ashore in Malaysia and began to correct his mistakes and lifestyle. He tried very hard to change Jane to be a good wife and Muslim, but then she just could not blend herself with the new environment. His family after realizing their earlier mistakes made all effort to help Jane. However their marriage lasted only for a few years because Jane just could not changed her lifestyle to suit the Malaysian environment. Their differences became further apart and finally Rustam divorced Jane.

He started to pick up the pieces again. He began to give his full devotion to his children and work. By and by his life became more stable with the help from his parents and friends. They helped him to bring up his two children in a proper Muslim way and supported him to come back to his true self. It took a few years for him to finally settle down and married a Malay girl of his choice. They now have three beautiful children.

Like a ship on a voyage, Rustam life took a beating from a heavy storms, but thank God he survived and reached the save port.

2007 Takeaways - Hai 2008

Kuala Terengganu from Heritage

As usual every year we strategize and plan for best performance in terms of works, family and social achievements. Some of us pass with flying colors while others may just scrap through. But one of the most important aspects of the exercise is the lesson learnt and our ability to share it with friends who may benefit from our life experience.

I would like to kick the ball rolling by sharing some of my key takeaways for year 2007 and the lesson learnt from them, hopefully it’s a reminder for me and beneficial to my cyber friends. Further on I will tag three other friends to share their 2007 key takeaways that may be useful for us to navigate the 2008 challenges.

CORPORATE GAME - YOUR MOVE ……
After more then ten years of its inception the company I am working with decided to undertake major reorganization exercise to meet the current and future challenges and expectations. Being a subsidiary of corporate giant and member of the fortune 500 companies the exercise has to go through proper process, procedures and facilitated by the competent person from Holding Company. We spent a few days in Cameron Highlands, Kuala Terengganu and five star hotels in KL to brain storm on the reorganization. There were two school of thoughts on the reorganization, one in favor of putting all company business under one division (option 1) while the other putting it under two divisions (option 2). By putting the business under one division the Head of the Division will certainly get his grade promotion while by having two business divisions the Heads may get their promotion or may not depending on their hay points and accountabilities.

The option 2 will better suit the company for current and future business expansions while giving more opportunities for the young leaders to progress in their career. Of course there were big deliberations and arguments on the two options. Being the proponent of the option 2 it was rather tiring trying to convince what I felt was the logical path to be taken for the future of the company and staff. At last with some modifications option 2 was accepted and named Option 3.

Lesson learnt was that to push through noble ideas we need persistence, intelligence and majority support. You may end up not popular to small quarters but the majority will eventually see your sacrifice and in the years ahead you will be proud of your contributions to the organization. The set back be ready to miss your quick gain/promotion.

TRUE SUCCESS – ME FIRST OR FAMILY FIRST?
It is normal for working couples to strive very hard to ensure their career success at times forgetting that their children also need much attention and support to be successful in their studies and life. The beauty about God creations is that our children may look the same but they are full of differences in terms of their capability, endurance and emotional stability. My first daughter was smart, fast learner and scoring straight A’s is not much of a problem to her but my second daughter is a bit slow in learning. She did not get straight A’s in her UPSR but then worked very hard to ensure she did as well as her sister in PMR. With her determination, hard work and full support from us, especially my wife she scored straight A’s in her PMR. Her success gave a real joy to all in the family.

Lesson learnt we should not quickly give up when our children fail to achieve excellence in fact we must spend more time to assist them. We must help them overcome their weaknesses and sharpened their strength. In the process we will understand each other better. We must also be ready to sacrifice some of our personal success to ensure we could achieve more wholesome success for the family.

GIVING IS BETTER THEN RECEIVING ….. BETTER STILLL GIVE DIRECT TO THE NEEDY.
For many years my family and I have been blessed for being able to give out some Zakat to the less fortunate. The sweetness of giving could only be felt by those blessed being able to give ….. actually the amount doesn’t matter but most importantly the spirit to give, what more to give when our business or financial position was on the decline.

Usually I will give part of my Zakat to “ Pusat Pungutan Zakat” and the rest to less fortunate family members and orphanage centers. In 2006 I have decided to give all my Zakat to the “ Pusat Pungutan Zakat “ and my less fortunate family members only. It was an easier option without going personally to the orphanage centers and most of my payments can be deducted from my income tax. The result was my life was less cheerful and blissful in comparison to the previous years. May be it was just a coincidence or my subjective feelings for the year.

In 2007 I decided to go back to my formal routine and improved on it by giving more to the less fortunate directly. I was also given the opportunity to give to a Madrasah in Myanmar when I met the Principal by coincidence at my in law house. Despite the various challenges and trying times, 2007 has been a wonderful year for my family and me. The good old feeling is back in me, I guess the lesson learnt here is that the more we give direct to the needful the more blessed we are …….. blessed in knowing the real person who received our gift and seeing the light in their eyes.

I hereby cordially invite - Zabs, Elviza & Mat Salo to share their 2007 Key Takeaways to our bloggers friend. Happy New Year & All The Best for 2008 to all my bloggers friends.

Some of the Takeaways 2007 from our bloggers friends. Many thanks for sharing .

http://zainulabs.blogspot.com/2007/12/2007-tag-aways-untuk-2008.html

http://mohdzawi.blogspot.com/2008/01/takeaways-for-2007.html

http://jowopinter.blogspot.com/2008/01/cerita-7-4-3-perkara-pengajarannya.html

http://syanasmaze.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-takeways-for-2007.html

http://pistwist.blogspot.com/2008/01/2007-takeaways-my-take.html

http://matsalo.blogspot.com/2008/01/game-of-tag.html

http://wiseup88.blogspot.com/2008/01/takeaways-071428.html

http://fishyike.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-takeaways.html

http://ritaho.blogspot.com/2008/01/tag-3-takeaways-from-2007.html

Kak Teh & Awang Goneng @ BTS

Isn't it Lovely ... Kak Teh & Awang Goneng

It was a very special occasion for very special friends. Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary to Wan A Hulaimi and Zaharah may the past happiness flourish as the years goes by. Of course to Awang Goneng well done on the success of GUiT, it is an inspirations to other bloggers who may in future follow your footsteps in publishing their exciting entries.

Bowl of Tea .... Bloggers Tea Session

Many thanks to fellow bloggers Zawi, Akmal, Zabs, Mat Salo, Elviza & Luqman, Dr Bubbles, Ancient Mariner, Kak Teh and Awang Goneng who made the meeting possible, full of laughter and memorable. We finally put a face to the virtual names. Many thanks to Kak Teh and Awang Goneng who made the time to be with us beside their hectic scheduled and having to rush for a wedding after that.

Name to a Face, Zabs, Akmal & Zawi

Based on the success of the Bloggers Tea Session ( BTS ) we should try and arrange similar BTS in the future. It’s great to be able to communicate virtually on a regular basis but the meeting will definitely foster higher level of friendship, sharing and comradeship among us.

Mat Salo @ Work

Dr Bubbles in Actionnnn