Mak and the Stars...

I had a date with Mak on the night of 24th February 2007, and she gallantly agreed to be my companion to Pesta Perdana 9. In fact, throughout my career in broadcasting, that dated back to the year 1994, Mak has never step into Caldecott Hill to watch any of my shows, except for the time that she had to send Afzal for Krayon recordings. So here's Mak with just some of the stars for the night.


Mak and two of Singapore's leading ladies, Mastura Ahmad and Seriwahyuni Jaes. Mastura won Best Female Actress in a Supporting Role for her part in Dimensi ke 4. This is Mastura's third trophies having bagged two Best Female Actress in a Leading Role awards previously. Seriwahyuni, another best female actress nominee this year, has already brought home two trophies before. Kasut masih bau baru lagi, cik kaks...



The Best Actor in a Comedy Role landed on Ahmad Stokin's hands this time around. Well, Encik Mad, I sincerely hope it has made your day, a little icing on your tv career thus far and will bring in more offers of future roles for you. And the little lady with the white flower is Linilidia, part-time radio deejay and scriptwriter. First time working with her on Pesta Perdana 9 Ekstra, and I would say, it was great chemistry Lini to have worked with you.



Mak and her old friend from secondary school, the talented Jainon Pari. Her character in Cinta Q does not explore the range of emotions that she had unlike her formidable performance in Rahsia Perkahwinan. For that, I would have given out two awards that year, one for the deserving and winner S Effendi, and another for deserving Jainon Pari.



The all-time favourite comedian, Alias Kadir. Though he lost this year to his comrade Ahmad Stokin, he jolly well knew that he already had three trophies for the Best Comedian/ Best Actor in a Comedy Role, that it will be a feat for another actor to beat him to that. Alias came up to me and said that he would be serious to do some serious roles from now...producers out there, you hear!




The ever witty and talented Mr Suhaimi Yusof. Holding the fort alone for Pesta Perdana 9 this year, did not in any way affected this man or the show. In fact, Suhaimi saved the show during a technical glitch when the music stopped half way during Ismail Haron's performance. Suhaimi came on stage and apologised to Ismail for having stepped on the cable that brought laughter to the theatre and smoothen the tension and flow for the next item. Wit and experience are something that cannot be taught and this is good lesson for new presenters out there. Aspiring presenters out there...do you think you have it like Suhaimi Yusof?

Melayu harus mampu!

Laporan BH hari ini mengatakan bahawa "Melayu semakin sanggup belanja demi pendidikan anak-anak."

Mungkin lebih tepat adalah orang Melayu berkemampuan semakin sanggup belanja demi pendidikan anak-anak. Antara perkara yang dibelanjakan ibu bapa adalah dengan menghantar anak-anak mereka ke kelas-kelas pengayaan (enrichment) sejak anak itu berusia 3 tahun, dan membeli buku-buku tambahan seperti buku-buku latihan prasekolah, atau buku-buku latihan mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggeris dan Matematik.

Ini adalah suatu perkara yang sangat menggalakkan sekiranya secara purata bilangan ibu bapa Melayu yang prihatin tentang pembelajaran anak-anak mereka sudah meningkat.

But let's not rest on our laurels. Sebab ini adalah perkara yang sepatutnya bukan baru malah sudah lumrah ibu bapa bangsa lain. Lagipun, saya masih ingat, semasa saya di sekolah rendah pada tahun 1979, bapa saya sudah membelikan banyak buku-buku latihan. Cuma yang saya tahu saya tidak mempunyai sebarang pengayaan sebelum prasekolah. Itu dulu-dulukan.

Orang Melayu harus berfikir sejenak.

Rata-rata prasekolah yang dikelolakan oleh orang Melayu/Islam atau masjid-masjid di sini semuanya dengan harga yang amat berpatutan. Tetapi ada juga orang Melayu yang kadang kala merungut kerana mereka merasakan bayaran prasekolah PAP agak mahal dan sesetengah prasekolah privet Melayu/ Islam lagi mahal. But there's a price to pay for quality too.

Seorang bapa yang telah saya jumpa di sekolah rendah anak saya mengatakan yang dia amat gembira dan berpuas hati menghantar anaknya ke sebuah prasekolah privet bukan Melayu/Islam yang menelan belanja yang agak mahal. Ini adalah kerana, dia mendapati tahap konfiden and penguasaan bahasa Inggeris anaknya begitu ketara dan baik sekali. Malahan dia agak kagum bahawa antara darmawisata yang dijalankan oleh prasekolah tersebut adalah ke sebuah makmal sains Jerman. Dia menambah lagi bahawa 'graduation ceremony' anaknya diadakan di NUS Cultural Centre. Di sana apabila beliau melihat anaknya beraksi di atas pentas, bulu romanya ternaik dengan kepintasan dan keupayaan anak tersebut yang begitu menakjubkan. Let's just say, he gets what he paid for. He definitely can afford the fees of such a preschool and the benefits were insurmountable to whatever amount he has invested on.

Adakah sikap kiasu itu salah?

Ataupun ianya lebih baik sekiranya kita melihatnya daripada perspektif yang berbeza. Mungkin kita harus memanggilnya fitrah. Kita harus percaya bahawa setiap bayi yang masih lagi di dalam kandungan ibunya mempunyai fitrah, fitrah yang boleh digilapkan lagi oleh ibu bapanya. Jika kita percaya dengan fitrah bayi, kita harus membaca buku atau Al-Quran, menyanyi atau berkomunikasi dengan bayi kita yang masih di dalam kandungan kerana sains menunjukkan bahawa janin yang berusia empat bulan boleh mendengar suara ibunya.

So let's start even early, not just when the child is 3 years old. Sebab ada banyak cara dan pendekatan yang boleh diambil dalam pengayaan seseorang anak itu bukan setakat menghantar anak tersebut ke playgroup sahaja.

Buku latihan memang penting untuk ibu bapa memastikan anak-anak mereka mendapat latihan menulis dan kefahaman dalam sesuatu subjek dengan secukupnya. Tetapi buku-buku latihan hanyalah salah satu cara memastikan anak itu faham dalam sesuatu konsep. Malahan anak-anak kecil lebih memerlukan permainan yang bersifat pendidikan daripada buku-buku latihan. Terutama sekali dalam Matematik. Anak-anak kecil harus diberi peluang memahami sesuatu konsep melalui permainan kerana 'positive appreciation' untuk matematik lebih penting daripada penghafalan formula-formula yang si anak belum tentu faham konsepnya. Permainan boardgames umpamanya dapat menyemai nilai-nilai positif dalam matematik dan mengurangkan kebimbangan yang kerap berlaku kepada anak-anak yang takut dan berasa cemas terhadap monster yang dipanggil Matematik.

Jadi, saya mengesyorkan ibu bapa berbelanja untuk permainan yang berunsur pendidikan bagi menguatkan sesuatu konsep pembelajaran anak-anak. Banyak permainan yang berunsurkan pendidikan ini dapat memupuk nilai-nilai yang positif, minda yang cergas dan cerdas dan boleh membuatkan si anak itu berfikir dan berstrategi lebih mendalam lagi untuk menyelesaikan sesuatu masalah dalam akademik ataupun dalam kehidupan seharian mereka.


Permainan IQ Traffic atau Rush Hour menggalakkan anak-anak berfikir dan berstrategi bagi mencari jalan keluar untuk kereta mereka yang terperangkap di dalam satu trafik jam. Permainan ini mempunyai tahap permulaan sehinggalah ke tahap lanjutan.



Line-Up Four mengajak anak anda berfikir bagaimana menyekat penentangnya daripada mendapatkan empat warna sama dalam satu barisan, baik yang vertical, horizontal atau diagonal. Selain menyekat penentangnya, si anak juga harus mencari strategi untuk mendapatkan empat warna sama dalam barisan beliau.



Permainan yang agak asas adalah untuk si anak kecil mengenal pasti warna dan bentuk. Permainan ini adalah tahap kedua di mana si anak kecil harus mengenalpasti warna dan bentuk dalam satu rekaan tersebut. Ini dapat menyemai sifat tajam daya pemerhatian dan arif menilai sesuatu perkara dengan terperinci lagi yang amat diperlukan apabila mempelajari ilmu sains dan problem-solving dalam matematik.



Lagi satu permainan yang boleh menajamkan daya pemerhatian dan sikap terperinci seseorang anak itu. Ia juga menggalakkan anak-anak lebih fokus. Permainan ini mempunyai dua gambar yang agak sama tetapi mempunyai lima perkara yang berbeza. Ibu bapa boleh menggunakan apa jua bahasa yang disenangi anak-anak mereka tak kira bahasa Inggeris, Melayu atau yang lain-lain. Ini adalah kerana permainan ini boleh juga memupuk kefasihan bertutur dalam anak itu dan pembelajaran kosa kata (vocabulary) yang baru.

Many Malay children do not attend preschools

One of the headlines of yesterday's BH caught my eye. There it goes again, the same issues...'Ramai anak Melayu tidak hadiri prasekolah.'

It was not just about having no money, but for some of these families, it seems that their circumstances are more dire - there are survival issues to think about rather than sending their children for preschool.

Issues like, 'where to sleep for the night?' and 'where to get the next meal?' and 'how am I going to pay for the next bill - utilities and medical.' It looks like they have pressing immediate concerns that they cannot even think about the long term.

So how can this group of people be helped? Or are these group of people simply cannot be bothered and therefore will be the ones falling through the cracks? Are the current assistance schemes really enough or useful or targetting the root of the problems?

For a tongue-in-cheek look at the plight of the Malays, a blogger at http://www.happeepill.com/cartoons/enjetsemut/enjet.htm takes a humorous jab on the plight of the Malays. On the positive side of things, the Malays have a masterplan - their plan is for the Hereafter. But lest I sounded negative, I don't think some of those in need even have any plans, this life or the next.

Maybe I don't know the scope of their problems and if the community self-help groups are really interested in getting this group out of this cycle, something greater than what we have now have to be done.

When a single mother of 33 years old with 5 kids with ages ranging from 6 years to 14 years old do not send her kids to preschool, we know somehow it was not an easy decision if she is aware of the importance of education. First, her life is not an easy one, having to care for 5 kids, with the little income that she makes as a stall helper. Let's forget that she will ever get any form of maintenance from her ex-husband for a while, what do we do then?

It may be easier said than done, and I don't know the family enough to tell them what they need. And I may sound idealistic. But let's say it's a hypothetical family with hypothetical situation as above.

There's Kifas (kindergarten financial assistance scheme) that will pay 75% of the kids preschool education. There's a school grant of $200 for each child from a low income family given out by the government. There's the school pocket money fund from SPH. And I'm sure there are many others.

Every cents count for the family.

Can Mendaki or AMP or the Education Trust Fund or any other groups pay for the balance 25% of the cost of preschool for their children? I know one thing for sure the self-help groups do not want these families to be too reliant and dependent on handouts, as giving them free is as good as giving it easy without working hard for it. Like they say, 'Give them a fish, and they will eat for a day. Teach them how to fish, and they can have fish for the rest of their lives.' However, if it is 100% subsidised, at least the burden of fees is taken away from them. First and foremost, why can't we adopt a socialist stance on preschool education? Why can't preschool education be free for all? If it cannot be free for all, why can't it be free for this group of people?

There are many self help groups that give free schoolbags, stationery and books. That's savings too. With such savings, perhaps these families can then spend the money on other forms of enrichment for their children or themselves. But like it was mentioned in the papers, it's not just about financial issues.

The mom needs to work. So who can look after her children's needs so that she can work properly and maybe earn higher if she can study while working as well?

Instead of preschool help, why not childcare or daycare help? I believe they needed a place where their child will be looked after for most parts of the day while they are at work. In childcare or daycare, at least these kids will learn more rather than putting them in a crash course before starting primary one. They will also be able to socialise with other children and these will help in getting them adapted to primary school, for most of these children are not only academically weak but they lack in social skills as well. Free childcare or daycare assistance scheme is perhaps what they really needed instead of a short term crash course in preschool. It will also help the working single mother to concentrate on her job and perhaps learn another skill to supplement her income.

Motivation and Mindset Change. This is so important. We need good speakers who is able to do homevisits who is able to convince these families of a better life. We need good families who are able to adopt these families and their kids when it comes to showing them the way of a better life with education, a positive mindset and a motivated spirit. We need role models (someone who has been there, someone who was in their shoes before) but managed to get out of it to tell them that it can be done.

We need in depth programmes not a crash course. Haven't we learn that kids do not learn much by cramming everything in a few weeks? It has to be ongoing, it has to be in depth, not the attitude of "we give it to you already so you should be making it on your own." The truth is they still can't.

If hypothetically you have 5 schoolgoing children, and if you are certain that your life will change for the better if your eldest has a university degree, then the mother has to slog for another 10 years before her eldest child of 14 years of age is able to graduate with a general degree. So she needs support for 10 years, ceteris paribus, as her children get older, and their schooling needs get more demanding.

10 years of support for 5 school-going children who will make it...that's a lot of money, time, programmes, tuition, motivation etc etc...that are needed. What the mom earn will go into their meals, their medicines, their clothings, their transport, their utilities, their little "enrichment" and savings for the future and rainy days. And $500,000 for all the programmes for needy Malays is really peanuts, if surely and truely we want to see just one success story. Maybe $500,000 is barely enough to support one family for 10 years before they can truly be on their own.

Between Sepet and Gubra

I was kind of disappointed. Perhaps I have set my expectations too high to the critically acclaimed films especially when Sepet has won the Best Film in the 18th Malaysia's Film Festival and Best Asian Film at the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival. I have never followed the works of Yasmin Ahmad, but having an award-winning contemporary female director, it definitely earned my top must-see list especially when there's so much slapstick movies made these days.

Perhaps it's the director's way of telling the story - the romance of a not-so-typical and yet typical Malay girl to a very Beng-looking and yet not-so-typical Beng. The underlying theme is clear, but the approach is so gentle, too diluted that it is not gripping enough. It does not really stretch the minds, or the OB marker, based on my standards. Perhaps to a very typical Malay audience, some scenes may have sounded the disapproval alarm, especially when Orked's mother and dad were both clad in sarongs. Dad, bared chest and mum, chest high. Another scene had them both sleeping, still sarong clad. This could be one of the reasons that Sepet and Gubra have not been shown on Malaysian tv screens.

Gubra was a bit more daring in her way of stretching the intimacy of Malay couples on screens. We had Orked, this time married to Arif, upset when her husband did not wake her up so that they can shower together. In order to make Orked happy, Arif scooped her off the bed playfully and into the shower. Artistically, the shower episode was not seen but we can hear their delightful screams and wails. It wasn't sexually suggestive but more playful fun, but then again, that's something new in Malay movies. The next scene was in the car, where Orked kissed her husband on his cheek. And I did not count how many times after that, that Arif kissed his screen wife Orked on the forehead or chin. Though there was one angry scene, there was a lot of peluk between them. And after the credits was over, we saw Orked in bed with Jason's brother (can't remember his character name for now), the one with the failed marriage to a Singaporean.

What I liked best about Gubra is perhaps the way Orked confronted her husband's lover. That was admirable, and something most scriptwriters may not have considered. You only knew of how hurt she was during the bedroom scene, but of course, like I mentioned above, it was full of embraced as the husband tried to win her back. There were two plots in the show, totally unrelated to one another, both with differing themes, but one thing for sure, what Yasmin would like you to accept is "do accept others for who they are and their differences is something that we could love". But Gubra looks like someone who wants to ask you to accept too many human's idiosyncracies in one movie, that it looks like it's coming from a disorganised mind after a while.

A multi-racial relationship is nothing unique or queer especially between a Malay and a Chinese in this part of the world. But how a story can be compelling and romantic is another. It was not really diabetically romantic, but then the subtlety is lost. I don't know anything much about Yasmin and her fascination for all men Chinese. Yet one cannot help in figuring it out especially when she also had a scene in Gubra where a Chinese nurse fell for Orked's larger than life Malay domestic helper. Then what is it again that had her made Orked and Jason's brother attracted to each other that Orked had to seek him out and finding them later together on his bed, with Orked's face hiding in his muscular bod. I hope it will not be the start of 'kissing', more daring 'sleeping' and 'embracing' scenes in future Malay movies. Because I was caught by a slight surprise that there was a cheek kissing scene in "Cinta", directed by Khabir Batia, and performed by on screen couple Rashidi (Vanida's husband) on Rita Rudaini. Hmmm, are we seeing more daring moves?

Next on the plate is "Mukhsin", the third sequel to Orked's life, this time flashbacked to the days that she was a young girl. I would still watch it though (because it will be better than all the not-so-kelakar comedy movies), but I hope it will be more engaging and scraping the bottoms of my cerebral, rather than just hovering at the top.

It's becoming a trend?

About three weeks ago, my husband received two invitations from his Malay friends celebrating their respective newborns one month old birthday. This week, he received another invite from another Malay friend, and we are wondering whether this is going to be a trend - a trend of following the Chinese custom of celebrating their newborns first month? We did not attend the first two, therefore we did not know how it was done - whether with the cukur rambut ceremony or not. But what we know is that one of the hubby's friend actually organised his kiddo's little celebration at his void deck - a celebration that is mostly for weddings or engagement ceremonies. So imagine the scale of the celebration? And for both earlier invitations, it was not even their firstborns.

My understanding is that, and pardon me if I am wrong, cukur rambut ceremony usually takes place after the child is 40 days old, usually after the mother has 'lepas hari'. Whatever the cultural or social significance of the cukur rambut ceremony, I am clueless, especially with the need to have the "kelapa muda" and all its other accessories as insisted by MIL during my time but what I understand is that during our Prophet's times, the hair that is shaven from the child is weigh and this weight is to be converted to gold and be used to help their poor. But I don't remember doing this. I don't remember weighing the hair or convert it to cash to help the needy. I only saw it soaked in that kelapa muda, and after that, entah diorang buat apa dengan benda tu? I only remembered the lavish occasion for my son, complete with marhaban and a buffet spread of nasi beriyani (because we had to do it that way, not that we want to do it that way), and furthermore it also coincided with our housewarming.

Maybe it is a happy occasion, one that calls for sharing and spreading one's happiness, but I don't see a need to have such an elaborate one-month old celebration. What's the significance, especially from the Islamic viewpoint except for the spreading of joy? Maybe I'm just selfish, I would rather enjoy my baby and me, with only family and a few close friends celebrating my happiness and joy.