who is supporting you other than yer make belief boyfriends????!!!lol
whether usa is like csi miami or miami vice or not..............whats that got to do with u??i too find this funny!!!LOL :)
ok...naptime...zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Dear All,
Malaysia's PM Najib has just lifted the long standing and dreaded "BUMI BUTRA" regualtions...hurray!
This, if carried out sucessfully, should impose some pressure to Singapore and neighbouring cities, including Hong Kong, as places for Chinese (not limited to China) companies to set up their business. Malaysia finally wakes up a bit.
Will this change the dynamics favoring Singapore?
it means i can go back to spore region and setup factory in JB without asking malay guy to be manager as political policy as in past.cheaper too than oz.
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Dear All,
Malaysia's PM Najib has just lifted the long standing and dreaded "BUMI BUTRA" regualtions...hurray!
This, if carried out sucessfully, should impose some pressure to Singapore and neighbouring cities, including Hong Kong, as places for Chinese (not limited to China) companies to set up their business. Malaysia finally wakes up a bit.
Will this change the dynamics favoring Singapore?
But then, don't forget that they have reverted the teaching of Science and Mathematics back to their mother tongue (Malay). The reason given was that English was too hard and since English was only used as a means, they decide that its easier to teach using Malay.
However, you and I both know that technical terms are very different in different languages. Thus, I view this as a huge step backwards in terms of education in Malaysia, one that would have long-term consequences.
Hi soul_rage,
Yeah...it is their fault in the first place to stress too much of their "Bumi" rights, and not willing to internationalize themselves. They are decades behind. However, I think Najib could be doing the right thing - no point using English and get no where (in terms of educating their children) - by stressing knowledge over language.
Seems this guy is practical. But I am rather ignorant about Malaysian politics, my Malaysian friends (Chinese) seem to like Najib though.
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Hi soul_rage,
Yeah...it is their fault in the first place to stress too much of their "Bumi" rights, and not willing to internationalize themselves. They are decades behind. However, I think Najib could be doing the right thing - no point using English and get no where (in terms of educating their children) - by stressing knowledge over language.
Seems this guy is practical. But I am rather ignorant about Malaysian politics, my Malaysian friends (Chinese) seem to like Najib though.
I strongly doubt its the right thing to do about not using English. It's more being practical about the NOW, than about the future.
English will remain the world's language (due to its simplicity), and not using English to teach will become a future disadvantage.
I tell you, I will never survive in China if I were to converse about my domain in Chinese. I have minimal knowledge of the chinese terminologies of my domain, hence a huge handicap.
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Hi soul_rage,
Yeah...it is their fault in the first place to stress too much of their "Bumi" rights, and not willing to internationalize themselves. They are decades behind. However, I think Najib could be doing the right thing - no point using English and get no where (in terms of educating their children) - by stressing knowledge over language.
Seems this guy is practical. But I am rather ignorant about Malaysian politics, my Malaysian friends (Chinese) seem to like Najib though.
Knowledge is still pretty useless if you can't vocalize it, you would sound like an idiot to your peers if you can't communicate your basic intent to them.
A scientific or mathematical genius could come out of Malaysia, but be handicapped by his inability to write a thesis that could be understood by the world community, so would any advanced theories or experiments.
Knowledge in my opinion, is useless without the grasp of a common language that the global scientific community is using. You would have problems reading their publications, and they would have the same with yours.
Originally posted by soul_rage:I strongly doubt its the right thing to do about not using English. It's more being practical about the NOW, than about the future.
English will remain the world's language (due to its simplicity), and not using English to teach will become a future disadvantage.
I tell you, I will never survive in China if I were to converse about my domain in Chinese. I have minimal knowledge of the chinese terminologies of my domain, hence a huge handicap.
I learnt a little german partly out of interest, it seems to me that English is popular not because it is the offical language of the British Empire but because it is a far more simple language to learn.
It seems like language have a great role to play in creating what we understand as racial quirks (Why Germans always seemed to make such fine engineers, for example)
Hi soul_rage and Stevenson101,
There are no perfect solutions, and running a country is never easy. There is always a balancing act and in this case, lifting domestic capabilities via education vs internaionalization. Both are important to any country. Malaysia, being so far behind, needs to take baby steps to play catch-up. We begin with more emphasis on domestic needs, then more emphasis with the integration, both phases are NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
I totally agree with grasping a language for better access of the world. What I meant was, Malaysia was behind on both fronts - language proficiency and general education (I am making somewhat an assumption here) - and what I found valid in the "knowledge over language" approach is in its practical approach to making native malays (mostly for them) more educated and skilled. It is a practical dometic solution.
Tapping the international market is another matter, and I don't see the need to have them master everything TODAY if they "cannot even add or subtract" (just figuratively speaking). Again, baby steps....
For example, as China was sited, great majority of the country is still inefficient in English (in fact almost zero understanding), and why is the country making waves in the world arena - without English domestically? As long as the "interface" is armed with English (or other international languages) - that requires only a few people with those ability - they can already do business with other countries.
Next, will be domesticating foreign languages, achieving an improved integration of domestic and international markets - where more advanced cities like Shanghai, Beijing are getting themselves into.
No offence to the Malasians in this forum, I am just reading what Najib is doing and have made assumptions to support my argument. Nonetheless, please correct me if I am wrong about Malaysia, I only lived there for three months.
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Hi soul_rage and Stevenson101,
There are no perfect solutions, and running a country is never easy. There is always a balancing act and in this case, lifting domestic capabilities via education vs internaionalization. Both are important to any country. Malaysia, being so far behind, needs to take baby steps to play catch-up. We begin with more emphasis on domestic needs, then more emphasis with the integration, both phases are NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
I totally agree with grasping a language for better access of the world. What I meant was, Malaysia was behind on both fronts - language proficiency and general education (I am making somewhat an assumption here) - and what I found valid in the "knowledge over language" approach is in its practical approach to making native malays (mostly for them) more educated and skilled. It is a practical dometic solution.
Tapping the international market is another matter, and I don't see the need to have them master everything TODAY if they "cannot even add or subtract" (just figuratively speaking). Again, baby steps....
For example, as China was sited, great majority of the country is still inefficient in English (in fact almost zero understanding), and why is the country making waves in the world arena - without English domestically? As long as the "interface" is armed with English (or other international languages) - that requires only a few people with those ability - they can already do business with other countries.
Next, will be domesticating foreign languages, achieving an improved integration of domestic and international markets - where more advanced cities like Shanghai, Beijing are getting themselves into.
No offence to the Malasians in this forum, I am just reading what Najib is doing and have made assumptions to support my argument. Nonetheless, please correct me if I am wrong about Malaysia, I only lived there for three months.
Yea i can understand the baby steps, but the Chinese aren't exposed to English any more than the Malaysians, who has actually been colonized by the British.
The Chinese are actually taking big steps forward in learning English, yet the Malaysians seemed to be taking 2 steps backward. Wonder where they even got the idea in the first place.
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Yea i can understand the baby steps, but the Chinese aren't exposed to English any more than the Malaysians, who has actually been colonized by the British.The Chinese are actually taking big steps forward in learning English, yet the Malaysians seemed to be taking 2 steps backward. Wonder where they even got the idea in the first place.
Think they do know at the top level (whether they care it is a different story).
China and Malaysia are two different countries, with different culture, history, resources, domestic markets, strategies for economic well being.
For China, they actually started way behind Malaysia. You may wanna know that even China also took baby steps, but at a much rapid pace. It is now executing the 11th "5-year plan", but the first 9 "5-year plans" where foundation building for the big "lift off" - that we all see today. Of course, due to its shear numbers, many people are so overwhelmed that they don't see China still has many problems unresolved, and sometimes seen as taking "two steps back". To me, it is just normal in any nation building or development.
But who am I kdding, I have never run a country before!
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Knowledge is still pretty useless if you can't vocalize it, you would sound like an idiot to your peers if you can't communicate your basic intent to them.A scientific or mathematical genius could come out of Malaysia, but be handicapped by his inability to write a thesis that could be understood by the world community, so would any advanced theories or experiments.
Knowledge in my opinion, is useless without the grasp of a common language that the global scientific community is using. You would have problems reading their publications, and they would have the same with yours.
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
I learnt a little german partly out of interest, it seems to me that English is popular not because it is the offical language of the British Empire but because it is a far more simple language to learn.It seems like language have a great role to play in creating what we understand as racial quirks (Why Germans always seemed to make such fine engineers, for example)
Yes, thank you. Couldn't express it any better. All I want to say is, rather than face the crux of the problem, they instead applied a patch (workaround). This patch is very short-term, in my opinion, coz like what you said, there are going to be very negative consequences in the long-run for Malaysia.
English is here to stay, because as you mentioned in your post, its SIMPLE. It's not elegant like Chinese, its not complicated like German (which I heard is one of the more difficult languages, that correct?), therefore it is here to stay for the rest of our lifetime (and more really)
Malaysia will be facing the consequences of its actions within the next 2 decades, when the batches of students graduate into the workforce. That's when you will see the huge reprecussions, and then, what are they going to do? Bring back English because they now see that their graduates are not globally competitive?
Seriously, I thought our Singapore govt was quietly laughing when Malaysia announced this move.
When I was working in Europe, and now in the USA, I have been commended on my excellent grasp of the English language. It's THE fundamental to a global career. Even though I always feel that my English is "can-do" only, the Westerners are pretty impressed with us Singaporeans. We are one of the few Asian countries that have a strong grasp of the English language, relative to other Asian countries.
In this sense, I must concede and credit our govt for choosing English as the 1st language when our country was still young. It was a single decision that positively affect generations of Singaporeans.
Who cares what great ideas you have if you cannot articulate it well or write it down for others to understand?
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Think they do know at the top level (whether they care it is a different story).
China and Malaysia are two different countries, with different culture, history, resources, domestic markets, strategies for economic well being.
For China, they actually started way behind Malaysia. You may wanna know that even China also took baby steps, but at a much rapid pace. It is now executing the 11th "5-year plan", but the first 9 "5-year plans" where foundation building for the big "lift off" - that we all see today. Of course, due to its shear numbers, many people are so overwhelmed that they don't see China still has many problems unresolved, and sometimes seen as taking "two steps back". To me, it is just normal in any nation building or development.
But who am I kdding, I have never run a country before!
Sometimes, the correct pill is the bitter one, and not the sweet one.
Just as what Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix, do you want to take the blue or the red pill? The blue continues to delude you and others around you, while the red allows you to see the truth, however ugly it may be.
Whatever the reasons, Malaysia's decision to remove English IS a step backwards, period. I have discussed this with my Malaysian friends before, they acknowledged that its a step backwards, but then, the other alternative (to employ better English teachers) is also very difficult.
I believe its actually a popularist decision. A decision to score QUICK points for the main party, which had taken a beating in the previous election.
Originally posted by soul_rage:Sometimes, the correct pill is the bitter one, and not the sweet one.
Just as what Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix, do you want to take the blue or the red pill? The blue continues to delude you and others around you, while the red allows you to see the truth, however ugly it may be.
Whatever the reasons, Malaysia's decision to remove English IS a step backwards, period. I have discussed this with my Malaysian friends before, they acknowledged that its a step backwards, but then, the other alternative (to employ better English teachers) is also very difficult.
I believe its actually a popularist decision. A decision to score QUICK points for the main party, which had taken a beating in the previous election.
Well, as Singaporeans, we ought to be happy...?
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Well, as Singaporeans, we ought to be happy...?
Haha, well... I don't know. I know some people who are secretly laughing behind closed doors now.
Anyway, the discussion is from an objective point of view, not as a Singaporean. In short, if you want to initially analyze, Malaysia will somewhat lose its competitiveness, and this bodes well for Singapore. But then again, we are already looking towards high-end jobs (and giving up our manufacturing past), so maybe it isn't that important.
Originally posted by soul_rage:
Haha, well... I don't know. I know some people who are secretly laughing behind closed doors now.Anyway, the discussion is from an objective point of view, not as a Singaporean. In short, if you want to initially analyze, Malaysia will somewhat lose its competitiveness, and this bodes well for Singapore. But then again, we are already looking towards high-end jobs (and giving up our manufacturing past), so maybe it isn't that important.
I can relate to what you have said.
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Well, as Singaporeans, we ought to be happy...?
Hey if we wanna start quoting Matrix here...
Agent Smith: Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization.
Originally posted by soul_rage:
English is here to stay, because as you mentioned in your post, its SIMPLE. It's not elegant like Chinese, its not complicated like German (which I heard is one of the more difficult languages, that correct?), therefore it is here to stay for the rest of our lifetime (and more really)
I only attended a semester for it, but the amount of exceptions for just their "his, her and it" are already quite painful to remember.
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Hey if we wanna start quoting Matrix here...Agent Smith: Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization.
Hello,
You lost me there, what are you trying to say?
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Hello,
You lost me there, what are you trying to say?
I'm sorry, but the intention was to respond to soul_rage's taking examples from the Matrix and at the same time on your comment on Singaporeans being happy.
Perhaps i didn't expressed myself quite as clearly as i'd hoped.
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
I'm sorry, but the intention was to respond to soul_rage's taking examples from the Matrix. Perhaps i didn't expressed myself quite as clearly as i'd hoped.
Hi,
No problem at all. Interesting way to do it though...
Originally posted by Lionoasis:
Hi,No problem at all. Interesting way to do it though...
The Matrix to me personally is a very interesting film with deep concepts of philosophy, and implicit messages about certain things about the world.
There's a reason why Neo, when moving very fast, is shown in slow-mo (other than letting the viewers watch the action better), but I digress.
The statement quoted by Stevenson from the film, to me, looks like taking a dig at communism.
Originally posted by soul_rage:
The Matrix to me personally is a very interesting film with deep concepts of philosophy, and implicit messages about certain things about the world.There's a reason why Neo, when moving very fast, is shown in slow-mo (other than letting the viewers watch the action better), but I digress.
The statement quoted by Stevenson from the film, to me, looks like taking a dig at communism.
I see your point. I also think an "ideal" world is different for all of us, and the film series showed millions of people having their own dreams - "ideal world" where in actial fact they were just lying there, while the matrix is sucking thier essense out of their body. Applying what you trying to tell me, I think we are all caught up in different realities, and which are sometimes called "paper chase", "rate race", "social equality", "government duty"...
Thoughts?
Originally posted by Lionoasis:
I see your point. I also think an "ideal" world is different for all of us, and the film series showed millions of people having their own dreams - "ideal world" where in actial fact they were just lying there, while the matrix is sucking thier essense out of their body. Applying what you trying to tell me, I think we are all caught up in different realities, and which are sometimes called "paper chase", "rate race", "social equality", "government duty"...Thoughts?
Yes somewhat there. The Matrix has some form of Zen/Buddhism influences to it.
If you bring it further, it's almost what Buddhism is trying to convey, that everything is but just a passing cloud and an illusion, that when you look past all of it, it's all empty pursuits anyway.
So what if we work hard and become rich? All will die one day, and the more materials you have, the more difficult it is (or more fearful one becomes) when the day of reckoning draws near.
However, while acknowledging his point, I stand in my belief that we still have to continue with our dreams, because we have only one lifetime, and we must make full use of it to experience life. Buddhism, to the extreme, can be seen as ultra-passive (sitting there and wasting one's life away), but of course, it's how one interpretes the religion.
Anyway, we going quite far from our discussion :D
Originally posted by Lionoasis:Dear All,
Malaysia's PM Najib has just lifted the long standing and dreaded "BUMI BUTRA" regualtions...hurray!
This, if carried out sucessfully, should impose some pressure to Singapore and neighbouring cities, including Hong Kong, as places for Chinese (not limited to China) companies to set up their business. Malaysia finally wakes up a bit.
Will this change the dynamics favoring Singapore?
hi bro or sis,do u think they will willing to give up their 'Rights'--power and money?
u can wait long long and no change.....