Selasa, 26 Julai 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports


FIFA set to open new investigation into Caribbean meeting

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:31 AM PDT

BERNE, July 26 – FIFA are set to open a further investigation into the meeting of Caribbean football officials which resulted in former presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam being banned for life.

Soccer's governing body said that all Caribbean Football Union (CFU) member associations had been given 48 hours to "provide and report all relevant information in their possession" about the meeting in Port of Spain on May 10-11 where Bin Hammam was alleged to have offered votes for cash.

"Following this 48 hour period, the ethics Committee will be asked to open the necessary ethics proceedings," FIFA said in an email today.

"Truthful and complete reporting will be considered in mitigation by the ethics committee when deciding on potential sanctions.

"Any person who has relevant information but does not come forward during this 48 hour period will be subject to the full range of sanctions."

Bin Hammam, alleged to have offered cash for votes at the meeting, was found guilty of bribery on Saturday. – Reuters

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Springbok injury woes mount ahead of ABs test

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:08 AM PDT

South Africa's Springboks react after Australia's Wallabies scored a try during their Tri-Nations rugby union match in Sydney in this file photo of July 23, 2011. Springboks' ranks were further depleted ahead this weekend's clash with the All Blacks after lock Flip van der Merwe and fullback Gio Aplon were sent home. – Reuters pic

SYDNEY, July 26 – South Africa's ranks were further depleted ahead this weekend's clash with the All Blacks after lock Flip van der Merwe and fullback Gio Aplon were sent home and loose forward Heinrich Brussow ruled out of the match today.

Van der Merwe injured a rib cartilage in the 39-20 loss to Australia in the Tri-Nations opener last Saturday, while Brussow is suffering from a hamstring strain.

Livewire fullback Aplon, who suffered back and shoulder injuries after falling awkwardly in the defeat to the Wallabies, failed to train in Sydney today.

Both players would return home tomorrow, a statement from the South African Rugby Union said.

The Springboks squad, already missing more than 20 injured frontline players, was further weakened last week when lock Johann Muller returned to South Africa, also because of a hamstring complaint.

Muller was replaced in the squad by uncapped second row forward Gerhard Mostert but there will be no reinforcements for Aplon and Van der Merwe with coach Peter de Villiers on Saturday quipping that South Africa had "run out of locks". – Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz


‘Margin Call’ with Spacey, Moore and Irons

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:49 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES, July 26 – The first trailer for Margin Call was released on July 25, starring an all-star cast including Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, Jeremy Irons and Stanley Tucci.

The financial thriller premiered at Sundance in January to a positive response. Other stars include Zachary Quinto (Star Trek), Simon Baker (The Devil Wears Prada) and Paul Bettany (Priest), and marks screenwriter J.C. Chandor's directorial debut.

The suspenseful footage follows investment bankers over a 24-hour period in 2008 during the early stages of the financial crisis as they scheme to pull off a questionable transaction in order to save the firm from collapse.

Margin Call's international roll-out begins in late September, with a US release scheduled for October 21.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC3t1hJ6gQk – AFP

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Sarajevo film festival, symbol of resilience and creativity

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:35 AM PDT

German film director Wim Wenders waves from the red carpet at the Bosnian National Theatre during the 3rd night of the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival, in Sarajevo, on July 24, 2011. – AFP pic

SARAJEVO, July 26 – Born as an act of resistance when the Bosnian capital was under siege 16 years ago, Sarajevo's film festival has become a cutting-edge event where young European talent is revealed.

Organisers of the July 22-30 festival say they hope to use the gathering's growing international fame to promote young film-makers from the Balkans.

"Nowadays, people are coming to the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) to meet young authors from Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries in this part of Europe," festival director Mirsad Purivatra told AFP.

"Our goal is to show to the world what is great here," he said.

The festival was created during the siege of the beautiful city, known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans, by the Bosnian Serb forces and opened with a screening of Quentin Tarantino's cult "dark comedy" Pulp Fiction.

The festival instantly became a symbol of the battered city's resilience and of its creative genius.

"Among eight films in the competition, seven are first movies directed by young authors. We are presenting a new generation of authors from our region," Purivatra said.

SFF programme director Elma Tataragic insists that the festival enables "small" films to meet large audiences.

"A space like the SFF, open to these discoveries, to new authors, endowed with a new energy, where we try to open the doors for the bigger festivals, is absolutely necessary," said Tataragic.

The movies to be presented at this year's festival take a "new contemporary look" at society in a region too often defined by its blood-drenched history.

"For the first time, we will have the occasion to look at the stories of a new generation which does not remember the (post-World War II) communist era and relates to the problems of the present. This is a new force," she said.

In one of these works, "Fleke" ("The Spots"), Croatian director Aldo Tardozzi describes the emotional flutterings of a teenager in Zagreb, in a film reflecting on the new Croatian generation's sense of disorientation.

In "Amnesty", Albania's Bujar Alimani weaves a sentimental tale of attraction between a man and a woman who meet during the prison visits to their spouses.

The winner will be chosen by an international jury, presided by the Israeli director Ari Folman, famous for his movie "Waltz with Bashir".

Besides the official competition for the "Heart of Sarajevo" award given to the best movie, 200 films, long and short, are to be screened at the festival, which has now grown to be one of the largest in Europe.

Screenings are scattered over nine theatres, several open-air.

Despite a modest budget (RM5.20 million), the festival boasts a dazzling guest list that includes German film director Wim Wenders, British actress Charlotte Rampling and Danish director Susanne Bier, whose film "In a Better World" won the 2010 Oscar for best foreign film.

The festival opened Friday with Aki Kaurismaki's "Le Havre", a comedy-drama on solidarity between immigrants in a northern French port city.

The great Finnish director and lead actor Andre Wilms of France were in attendance.

The festival wants to resolutely turn towards the future, away from the tragic circumstances of its origins, said its founder and director.

"We always had a spirit that we could not base our success on this symbol of a city in agony and that we must build up on quality, work and vision," Purivatra said. – AFP

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Hong Kong scientists ‘show time travel is impossible’

Posted: 25 Jul 2011 06:46 PM PDT

'Back to the Future' trilogy, 25th anniversary. Time travel, a frequent plot device in movies like 'Back to the Future,' says a group of physicists based in Hong Kong. — AFP pic

HONG KONG, July 26 — Hong Kong physicists say they have proved that a single photon obeys Einstein's theory that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light — demonstrating that outside science fiction, time travel is impossible.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology research team led by Du Shengwang said they had proved that a single photon, or unit of light, "obeys the traffic law of the universe".

"Einstein claimed that the speed of light was the traffic law of the universe or in simple language, nothing can travel faster than light," the university said on its website.

"Professor Du's study demonstrates that a single photon, the fundamental quanta of light, also obeys the traffic law of the universe just like classical EM (electromagnetic) waves."

The possibility of time travel was raised 10 years ago when scientists discovered superluminal — or faster-than-light — propagation of optical pulses in some specific medium, the team said.

It was later found to be a visual effect, but researchers thought it might still be possible for a single photon to exceed light speed.

Du, however, believed Einstein was right and determined to end the debate by measuring the ultimate speed of a single photon, which had not been done before.

"The study, which showed that single photons also obey the speed limit c, confirms Einstein's causality; that is, an effect cannot occur before its cause," the university said.

"By showing that single photons cannot travel faster than the speed of light, our results bring a closure to the debate on the true speed of information carried by a single photon," said Du, assistant professor of physics.

"Our findings will also likely have potential applications by giving scientists a better picture on the transmission of quantum information."

The team's study was published in the US peer-reviewed scientific journal Physical Review Letters. — AFP-Relaxnews


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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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Journalist in UK hacking scandal signs book deal

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 12:31 AM PDT

The last edition of News of the World newspaper goes on sale alongside other British Sunday newspapers in London in this July 9, 2011 file photo. — Reuters pic

NEW YORK, July 26 — The British journalist whose dogged reporting helped uncover phone hacking that has rocked media giant News Corp and its chairman Rupert Murdoch, has agreed to write a book about the scandal, his publisher said yesterday.

Nick Davies, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper of London, broke the story in 2009 that News International, the UK division of News Corp, had paid £1 million (RM4.8 million) to settle legal cases dealing with hacking by staff members at the company's now defunct News of the World tabloid.

Davies spent two more years following the case and tracking down sources who could verify that reporters had illegally tapped into cell phones of celebrities, politicians and even a young murder victim to get private information the News of the World could trumpet in headlines.

The scandal has inflamed passions around the world and spurred investigations into News Corp's other operations. Arrests of top officials have been made, and Murdoch and his son James, chairman of News International, were forced to testify in front of a British parliamentary committee.

Murdoch, the tough-minded businessman who sits at the head of a multibillion-dollar media empire that includes the 20th Century Fox movie studio and Fox TV network, called his appearance "the most humble day of my career".

Davies's book will be titled "HACK ATTACK: How the Truth Caught up with the World's Most Powerful Man", his publisher Faber and Faber Inc, an affiliate of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, said in a statement.

"Davies, author of the bestseller 'Flat Earth News', intends to provide an authoritative account and commentary on the News International scandal, including new revelations," the publisher said. Publication is planned for late 2012. — Reuters

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa


Kesatuan piket Jumaat protes kontrak Presiden KTMB disambung

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:42 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Julai — Kesatuan Pekerja-pekerja Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (RUM) merancang mengadakan piket secara aman di pekarangan ibu pejabat Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTMB) di sini Jumaat ini bagi membantah penyambungan kontrak presiden KTM Dr. Aminuddin Adnan selama dua tahun mulai 1 Ogos ini.

Presidennya, Abdul Razak Md Hassan mendakwa pihaknya telah mendapat kebenaran daripada polis Dang Wangi untuk mengadakan piket itu dan menjangka kira-kira 1,000 pekerja KTMB akan menyertainya mulai 6 petang.

Bercakap pada sidang media di sini, Razak mendakwa penyambungan kontrak Aminuddin menimbulkan rasa kurang senang pihak kesatuan, kerana menurutnya, Aminuddin bersikap negatif terhadap kesatuan.

"Pekerja-pekerja KTMB melahirkan rasa kekecewaan dengan penyambungan kontrak Dr. Aminuddin Adnan sebagai Presiden KTMB selama dua tahun lagi bermula 1 Ogos 2011 sehingga 31 Julai 2013.

"Penyambungan kontrak kini menimbulkan rasa kurang senang kesatuan berikutan perhubungan di antara kesatuan dengan Presiden KTMB telah punah berikutan Presiden KTMB tidak menganggap kesatuan sebagai rakan kongsi, sebaliknya beranggapan kesatuan adalah 'seteru'," kata Razak dalam kenyataan yang diedarkan pada sidang media.

Kata beliau, perhubungan perusahaan adalah elemen penting dalam menjana produktiviti yang baik, kesatuan sebagai rakan kongsi perlu diberi perhatian yang serius dalam membantu membangunkan KTMB dari sebuah syarikat yang tidak produktif kepada sebuah syarikat yang berdaya saing bagi member perkhidmatan yang terbaik kepada rakyat, tindakan membelakangkan kesatuan dan beranggapan kesatuan sebagai "seteru" adalah satu persepsi yang negatif yang perlu dihindarkan kerana boleh mencetuskan pertikaian.

Kata beliau, pihak kesatuan memohon kepada pihak yang bertanggungjawab dalam pelantikan Aminuddin membatalkan atau menamatkan kontraknya serta-merta dan melantik mereka yang lebih layak untuk menerajui KTMB.

"Pihak kesatuan ingin menegaskan bahawa tindakan penyambungan kontrak ini akan menyebabkan dalam tempoh dua tahun yang akan dating akan terus wujud pertikaian seterusnya akan menyebabkan pihak kesatuan mengambil tindakan perusahaan yang berpanjangan sehingga Aminuddin ditamatkan kontrak," kata beliau.

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Susulan isu Wahabi, Asri tulis warkah sentuh tanggungjawab polis

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:18 AM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Julai — Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, yang semalam mendapat perhatian ekoran laporan bahawa menjadi fokus pihak berkuasa berhubung isu Wahabi dan terorisme, hari ini menulis warkah sambil meminta polis dapat mempertahankan keadilan sebaik mungkin agar "dibenci" dan "diragui" rakyat.

Bekas mufti Perlis ini berkata bidang tugas dan kuasa "saudara yang menghalang kezaliman itu, jika disalahgunakan boleh memberikan kesan yang sebaliknya."

"Ia boleh bertukar dari melindungi yang tidak bersalah kepada menginayainya, menghalang yang zalim kepada memberi peluang kepadanya, memberi hak kepada yang berhak kepada merampas hak dari tuannya," kata beliau dalam tulisannya bertajuk "Warkah Buat Saudaraku Anggota Polis", yang bersifat umum, yang diedarkan kepada media hari ini.

Tulisannya tidak merujuk kepada mana-mana kes khusus.

Mengikut laporan media semalam, Majlis Keselamatan Negara telah memutuskan agar agensi agama negeri dan para mufti memantau pergerakan fahaman Wahabi dan dipercayai boleh menjurus kepada aktiviti pengganas.

Asri (gambar) dilaporkan antara nama yang disenaraikan. Turut disenaraikan ialah mufti Perlis Dr Juanda Jaya dan sekitar 40 ulama muda yang menyertai Umno tahun lalu.

Asri dari dulu menafikan beliau mengamalkan fahaman Wahabi.

Hari ini dalam tulisannya, kata Asri, jika keadaan itu berlaku, maka "rosaklah masyarakat, hilanglah neraca keadilan, bermegah si zalim, kesakitanlah yang ditindas."

"Lantas, kebencian akan merebak, kepercayaan akan hilang dan saudaraku polis yang sepatutnya disayangi menjadi pihak dimusuhi, dibenci dan diragui," kata beliau yang tidak merujuk kepada mana-mana kes secara khusus.

Asri, yang dilihat sebagai tokoh agama progresif, banyak memberikan pandangan peribadinya mengenai isu-isu semasa termasuk yang terbaru mengenai perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 yang berlangsung pada 9 Julai.

Pihak polis diberi tanggungjawab menangani perhimpunan 9 Julai, tetapi tindakan mereka disifatkan sebagai terlalu oleh sesetengah pihak dan mengakibatkan mereka berhadapan kritikan dan kecaman.

Pentadbiran Najib mempertahankan tindakan polis.

Asri antara lain berpandangan bahawa rakyat harus diberikan kebebasan bersuara dan berhimpun.

Dalam tulisannya hari ini, Asri juga berkata pasukan polis boleh bertugas kepada sesiapa pun, tetapi jangan lupa tanggungjawab di hadapan Allah.

"Tiada cacatnya menjadi anggota polis. Saudara bukan musuh rakyat. Sebaliknya, saudara diperlukan rakyat.

"Apa yang cacat dan menimbulkan kebencian awam adalah tindakan kita sendiri jika menyalahi prinsip-prinsip keadilan dan keamanan. Jika itu tidak berlaku, sayang dan cinta rakyat tertumpah kepada saudara," kata ahli akademik ini.

"Ingatlah kata-kata Abu Bakar al-Siddiq: 'Benar adalah amanah, bohong adalah khianat'. Jika saudara benar, rakyat sayang, Allah juga sayang. Kedamaian jiwa pun menjelang. Jika saudara bohong rakyat benci, Allah juga benci. Rezeki tidak halal, hidup tidak bahagia," kata Asri lagi sambil menyifatkan tulisan ini sebagai "pandangan seorang rakyat marhaen awam seperti saya."

Katanya, tiada kebencian antara rakyat dan saudara jika keadilan itu tertegak di mana rakyat awam bukan sahaja mahukan keadilan yang ditafsirkan oleh pihak saudara, tetapi keadilan yang dapat difahami oleh semua.

"Bukan sahaja adil dari segi bicaranya, tetapi hendaklah kelihatannya juga adil. Semoga Allah merahmati saudara dan tugas saudara.

"Diberikan rezeki yang halal. Bebas dari kezaliman dan rasuah. Kami akan bersama menyanjungi saudara," katanya lagi.

Asri seterusnya berkata tiada siapa yang dapat menyelamatkan dirinya daripada hukuman Tuhan.

Kata beliau, seseorang mungkin telah melupai orang yang dizaliminya atau si mangsa juga mungkin terlupa ataupun pergi menemui Ilahi terlebih dahulu.

"Namun doanya tetap hidup. Akan ada waktu, ia tetap datang bertandang dalam kehidupan si zalim; meragut kebahagiaannya, ketenteraman hidupnya dan mencampakkan derita dalam pelbagai warna dan rupa.

"Mungkin si zalim ketika itu terpinga dan bertanya 'apakah salah saya?'. Dia terlupa bahawa Tuhan tidak lupa atas kezalimannya, di dunia dan akhirat sana," kata beliau lagi.

Sambil menarik perhatian bahawa dunia ini sementara, kata Asri, setiap "kita akan ada hari akhirnya."

"Akan berakhirlah sebuah kehidupan dan bermulalah mahkamah keadilan Tuhan. Tiada kuasa yang dapat membela, tiada pembesar yang dapat berkata. Semua tunduk menunggu balasan," katanya lagi.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Time to praise Uruguay

Posted: 25 Jul 2011 05:09 PM PDT

JULY 26 — It's been a great few weeks for Uruguayan football, and now it's time for the rest of the world to give them the credit they deserve.

Firstly, Montevideo-based club Penarol came close to being crowned continental champions last month before suffering a narrow 2-1 aggregate defeat to wealthy Brazilian side Santos in the final of Copa Libertadores.

Now Uruguay's national team has gone one better by deservedly becoming South American champions, completing their impressive campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over lacklustre Paraguay in Sunday night's Copa America final.

And, don't forget, this follows on from Uruguay's successful showing in last year's World Cup Finals in South Africa, where they beat the hosts, Mexico, South Korea and Ghana (albeit in controversial circumstances) to reach the semi-finals — progressing further than any other South American nation — before being edged out by three goals to two against the Netherlands.

Despite these achievements, Uruguay remain largely unheralded and underrated, rarely featuring in discussions about the strongest nations in world football and possessing a group of players who fail to attract the fame and fortune routinely bestowed upon their neighbours from Brazil and Argentina.

The close geographical proximity of those two giants of the game, Brazil and Argentina, is probably the biggest reason for Uruguay being so often overlooked.

Although Uruguay can boast a long and glorious footballing history, it's largely in the distant past: they might have won the first ever World Cup Final in 1930 but their last triumph was way back in 1950, while their last victory in Copa America, prior to Sunday, came in 1995. Their relative lack of recent success means they are almost entirely overshadowed by Brazil and Argentina.

They probably don't mind it too much that way: While the rest of us stay fixated on Argentina's gifted but unpredictable superstars and Brazil's supposed samba style (which is actually a thing of the past), Uruguay can quietly get on with their stuff, slowly but steadily developing into the best team in South America.

Diego Forlan has been Uruguay's most inspirational player for the best part of a decade — further adding to his legendary status amongst supporters by netting twice in Sunday's final — even if he is grossly underrated by followers of English football after a markedly unsuccessful stint at Manchester United earlier in his career.

Forlan only managed ten league goals during his two-and-a-half year stay at Old Trafford, but that was a strange aberration to what has otherwise been a magnificent career. He has consistently averaged a goal every other game — largely regarded as the benchmark for top-class strikers — during impressive spells with Independiente in Argentina and Villareal and Atletico Madrid in Spain.

The biggest single factor behind Uruguay's current renaissance is the emergence of Luis Suarez to provide Forlan with a genuinely world class strike partner. Whereas previously opposition defences knew that if they could stop Forlan, they would effectively stop Uruguay, now they have the equally potent threat of Suarez to deal with.

As I stated in my last article, I believe 24-year-old Suarez is a truly excellent player with the potential to become one of the best strikers in world football. He has got every quality you could wish to see in a centre forward: quick, inventive, good in the air, goalscoring instinct and an excellent work ethic.

It's a shame that Suarez is probably still best remembered for his deliberate handball on the goalline to deny Ghana a place in the semi-finals of last year's World Cup Finals, but that will change before too long as the Liverpool striker's goalscoring exploits start to overshadow his role in Uruguay's contentious progression into the last four in South Africa.

Indeed, he took a big step along that road with a series of superb performances in the recently concluded Copa America, which saw him score four goals and earn the player of the tournament award. Much more will surely follow.

But Uruguay's biggest strength — the hugely effective partnership between Forlan and Suarez — also presents their biggest long-term challenge, because Forlan is now 32 years old and unlikely to still be an effective regular starter when the next World Cup Finals roll around in Brazil in 2016.

Replacing a player of Forlan's stature will be an almost impossible task, but a fair amount of expectation is being placed on the shoulders of 24-year-old Edinson Cavani, who finished second-top scorer in Serie A last season after netting 26 goals for Napoli. If Cavani continues to fulfil the potential he showed last season, Uruguay could remain a force on the world stage for a few years to come.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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He has a big?

Posted: 25 Jul 2011 04:58 PM PDT

JULY 26 — On the mahjong paper taped to the board, we asked them to each write a sentence. Today's mission was to form a connection, to build bridges between what they knew to be true and what their friends knew to be true. The theme was family.

The English language, well-spoken, was an elusive entity there. Many had a sketchy idea of vocabulary, some grammar, and some comprehension of good stories, but there were gaping holes where the lack of practise, or indeed lack of knowledge to fill these gaps, left them all wanting.

And then we saw it. One of the sentences on the paper said "My father has a big ??"

A big what? We said. A big house? He shook his head, frustrated. He motioned with his hands. A big bag? A big computer? More frustration. Then finally someone said "A big car?" He froze and turned around and nodded furiously. "Car! Kereta!"

Surely you'd agree that the fact that a normal 11-year-old child cannot come up with a basic sentence in English by himself is worrying.

Whenever thoughts like this enter my head, the same thing always happens. My heart fills with dismay as I realise how this child is not alone, there must be many thousands like him, and there is so much to do to bring all our wonderful Malaysian children up to the right standard of education. My mind rebels against the thought that there is nothing much that can be done about it, and tries desperately to find something I can do to help.

Many people I know fight it by trying to pin the blame on someone. But from personal experience working with these incredible children, I can tell you that it is not what you think it is.

It is not for the lack of teaching – the teachers work tirelessly to try to improve the children's liking for languages, undeterred despite the enormous workload they must have. The government has been generously running teacher training courses and employing skilled trainers to help modify the teaching methods for the English language.

It is not for the lack of interest – the children themselves are hungry to learn, always on time, always obedient and respectful when we tell them things, always ready to try something new, even when they're not very good at it. In them you can see so much resilience, so much courage, that you want to do everything you can to be resilient and courageous yourself, for their sake.

It is not for the lack of parental support – the parents approached us after our workshops, asking if they too could join the workshops, knowing that their child's new interest in the language would require a lot of naturing and honing, and with their command of English being quite shaky themselves, wanted more instruction on how to teach their children better. It was heart wrenching to have to explain to them that we just didn't have the resources to do this for them. Perhaps next year…

There is no something or someone to blame for it. The seeds of change are there, and people are ready to give it a try. We are just going to need a lot more help in making it happen, and a lot more awareness that life is not all rosy for many people out there. While you read this article and scoff at my methods, and comment about the politics involved in education, I want you to realise that many of the young children that I have met in the past week may never be able to develop their skills in the language to be able to understand this simple article, much less be able to communicate their thoughts on the subject as clearly as some of you may be able to.

This makes you fortunate. This makes all of us fortunate, because now that you know, you can reach out and help somebody, whether young or adult, to get better at the international language that may be an important ticket to a different type of life.

The creativity, the ideas, and the thoughts are all there. From the activities we did with the children, from the stories they created, from the things they wrote for us, it was clear to everyone that all they needed was some practice with this new tool that they wanted to use to communicate their thoughts to the rest of the world. There were many moments of frustration when they knew the word in Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin or Tamil but just could not find the right word for it in English; but they always got there in the end. Most of the time they refused help until they were really stuck. Watching them do their best gave us all so much hope.

So hope, for the younger generation of creative and undiscovered talents; for the older generation who have the gift of knowledge to share it; for the nation to know that while there is a long way to go to make a huge difference, everyone is on the same side.

* Angeline Lee is the Director of UKECharisma, a volunteering network that brings students studying at United Kingdom universities and their affiliates together to volunteer in Malaysia for a chosen cause. In this article she refers to Project Education 2011, wherein volunteers taught reading and comprehension, creative writing and literature appreciation as well as speech and drama during after school workshops at a primary school in Kuala Lumpur.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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