1Malaysia? Not at the rate we are going

Recently I participated in the citrawarna 2010 with my school. Now the reason I'm starting of with this is because it was during this that I truly got to understand how oversatured the 1Malaysia campaign is. Everywhere you look it is 1Malaysia. For starters every morning there was a laungan 1Malaysia. I don't know who came up with the idea of shouting 1Malaysia as a form of motivation but apparantly that's what the Government departments do so that's what we do too. I humbly pardoned myself. The thing I couldn't stand is the fact that you could see the 1Malaysia logo plastered everywhere. It's bad enough that they defacated a national monument the Sultan Abdul Samad Building by plastering not one but two 1Malaysia logos on it. Then they changed the theme from 'Colours of Malaysia' to 'Colours of 1Malaysia'. Next thing you know they're going to change the name Malaysia to 1Malaysia.

During one of the finale dances, everyone is supposed to hold hands which is suppose to symbolise unity amongst races EXCEPTION is if the person next to you is of a different gender. And the thing is all the participants are in their teens and older so it's not like we're shy or anything. To me that means we are striving for racial integration but not gender equality. Hmmm?

So personally I feel that this campaign is the best idea our country has seen in decades and I am proud to be part of the generation that gets to move this forward. However if our politicians keep acting the way they do, saying they things they say, and doing the things they do there is no way we are going to move forward. How do you expect to create a Bangsa Malaysia when your Deputy Prime Minister says he is Malay first not Malaysian. And even then UMNO shunned the a Malaysian race concept not once but twice. When Lee Kuan Yew mooted the idea of a Malaysian Malaysia, one with an equal playing field and meritocracy. Meritocracy you say? Isn't that one of the principles in the 1Malaysia concept. Then there was the Malayan Union during post World War 2 colonial rule which suggested making all immigrants and their families Malaysian citizens and at the same time creating a republican style Government which would effectively isolate the individual monarchy of every state which would also remove the enshrinement of Malay special rights which came under the protection of the monarchy. This itself was what got UMNO going to fight the Malayan Union which they eventually succeeded and led to the Malays being given special places in Government scholarships, civil office and etc under Federal Constitution Act 153. And remember during Ops Lalang YB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, then UMNO Youth Leader unsheathed a keris and said so long as there is UMNO there is the NEP . He even went so far as to say that this keris will taste Chinese blood. And now he's the one who is calling for unity. Why the sudden change? Because the Malaysian people have grown up and now when we go to the polls there is another viable box to tick

Now I don't feel good comparing us with Singapore but of you want to see what Malaysia would've been all you need to do is to look South. A Singaporean will always associate themselves as Singaporean first. I honestly believe that there seriously needs to be a change in the mindset of the people who run this country. I can't name names cause I honestly don't know who is running the country. Hopefully the Government will realise that they need to chance before things are going to happen ASAP.

There definitely has and still is racial tension in this country. Now from my observation it wasn't always this way. When my parents tell me stories of living in the city as well as going back to their hometowns and playing with friends. Getting up to mischief in school with friends of different races. But somewhere in the last 40 years there was shift in the way we saw each other especially at a grassroots level. We started seeing each others races and not each other. I am however happy to say that the Internet has broken down some if these walls but I come from a middle class English speaking family. Most of my friends who come from different racial backgrounds still represent the same demographic. The problem as I see it lie in the lower income groups where children get involved in bad hats but generally stick to their own races. A lot of gangs are racial centered. But we don't go around instigating fear and dischord amongst races . We don't go around calling each other pendatang. All it takes is one guy throw the stone and it'll all begin. But throughout all this we must stay united. We must not give in we must stay united and our resilience will shine through.

But you must remember that Malaysians need to proud of our culture. Not ancestral culture but a Malaysian culture. The culture of 24 hour mamak stalls, blatant double parking, how everyone can curse and swear in all major languages here in Malaysia. These are the things the makes us all uniquely Malaysian. This unity, this underlying bond that we share this is what makes us truly. Foreigners come to Malaysian because we symbolise the very essence of Asia. I know it's corny but Malaysia Is Truly Asia. It's either here or Singapore and face it everyone chews gum.

I blog this final entry as a proud Malaysian youth. A Malaysian, not an Indian, not a Malay, not a Chinese, not a Punjabi, not an Orang Asli, not a Eurasian, not Sri Lankan but a MALAYSIAN!!!!

I hope you all have enjoyed reading my posts just as much as I have enjoyed writing them. I especially enjoyed rewriting this post after my initial post which took me 2 hours to write got wiped out. And just to prove how Malaysian I am, I'm typing this out on my iPhone just so I can watch tv and blog at the same since my dad is using the cursed laptop that wiped out my work.

- Posted using BlogPresss from my iPhone

Brands

It can be denied that brand marketing and advertising is all around. The media is run by multinational companies. A huge chunk of athletes and celebrities income come from sponsorships by brands. Personally I could never understand how a Shell decal on a Ferrari F1 car made people use Shell and not Caltex. But like my dad says its all about exposure. Yesterday when I attended Youth '10 Conferences, one of sessions by  pop-violinist Dennis Lau made understand a little better about how all this exposure thing comes about. Like he said you need to brand yourself. And in another by Niki Cheong he spoke on how twitter and social networks serve as effective marketing tools and how everything connects. No pun intended TM. So like how I just linked Niki's blog, if you saw his name on this post and clicked the link you may find his which you wouldn't had I not linked it.

Anyway, I personally feel that wearing branded item is a symbol of conformatism. But then again, if you really liked a particular brand like say Nike, then by wearing which would generally mean buying unless you stole it Nike you're helping to tell the world that I like Nike that's way I'm wearing it. I've never really been a sports person so I don't really need Nike. When talking about wearing brands, I generally prefer brands with cool funky designs that portray a message which I support. So normally I wear t-shirts by local brands and organiztions. Like the shirt I'm wearing now is made by local independent designer. I got it at Youth'10 by the way. I feel that youth look at fashion as an expression of themselves. And I don't think it is so much as the brand but more towards the message it carries. So personally I support many social conscious designers as well as local creative organizations.

Among my favourite brands is Mooks because of their graphic design t-shirts. I also like GrafitTee although I personally haven't bought any of their clothes but I still like their stuff nevertheless. Then you've got Bundaberg

 Bundaberg is an Australian beverage company based out of Queensland. When I was 10 we visited their factory during a holiday. Its very hard to find them hear and the only place I get them from is Jaya Grocer in Jaya 33. The taste of their Ginger Beer sure beats F&N.
Most of the time, we get attracted to things by ads. Be it television, theatre, or print media. Here are some of my favourite commercials.

















I've never really been embarassed about associating myself with a brand that I'd otherwise like. For example I wouldn't like to be seen carrying a pink Hello Kitty bag but I don't even like Hello Kitty so regardless of that I still wouldn't use it.

I know you often hear of stuff like don't drink Coke because of Palestine and whatnot. But I personally don't believe this stuff because well I think that if you say all these major brands support Israel against Palestine they'd probably have won by now which they haven't.

My main source of infomation about products I like as with all the information I get is from the internet. Be it blogs, websites, wikipedia, youtube, etc...

Phat Faves

Over the last month or so when I was supposed to be studying, I've been browsing around online, bookstores, music shops and etc. So here's a bunch of stuff I'd recommend for you guys to check out.

1) Yasmin Ahmad's Muallaf

This is probably my favourite Yasmin Ahmad movie and by far the best local movie I've seen. The movie is blisteringly funny yet dark and poignant at the same time. The symbolism in this movie is very strong and at times very funny. I especially liked the part when Brian is teaching the topic 'Ketidakstabilan Di Perak' because of recent events which took place during filming circa 2009. Its nice to know that the film was censored Malaysian style cause that way you can still make out what is being censored.


2)College Humour
I'm sure some of you are familiar with their popular youtube channel. These guys are seriously funny. The stuff they come up with are simply brilliant. I even downloaded all 538 of their videos from iTunes. I honestly can't enough of these guys. Mind you some of their stuff may be a bit inappropriate but then again it is College humour.

3)The Book of Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley
This is a seriously witty and tongue in cheek comic. The book itself is very hard to find in Malaysia. I've only come across a single copy in Borders@The Gardens. Even then it cost RM72.80. Thank God Borders has a open book policy. If you ever have the chance to rummage around Borders you should look it up.

Must See, Do, Have List 2010

Must See- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

 I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. Me and my friend were the 1st to get copies of Deathly Hallows in KL. We got the special edition for free. I can't wait to see the end result of JK Rowling's hard work.










Must do-Visit Universal Studios,Sentosa

 I guess its time to pay our little neighbour a visit again. If only the entrance fee wasn't RM170!












Must have
1) Playstation Move













2) iPhone HD













Favourite clothes?
As I've said in previous posts, I normally wear whatever I find first and I don't take pictures of myself. So I'm going to you my favourite clothes. They are a pair of black slacks by Renoma and a Mooks TShirt with Obama's face on it.

My favourite gadget has got to be my iPhone 3GS

The reason I love this thing to bits is because of how much I can accomplish on it. I can facebook, tweet, msn, check-in on foursquare, read emails, blog, read blogs, listen to music, take pictures, share pictures, use photoshop, read the news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, The New Straits Times, The Star, Malaysiakini, use wikipedia, watch youtube videos, play games, skype, listen to lectures from Oxford,Cambridge, Harvard etc, get recipes, organize and plan my days. Oh yeah it also makes calls. You see what I mean, I can check all of these things from anywhere in the world. Its fantastic.

i'M Not Here For Your Entertainment

Part 1: TeeVee

I am total TV addict. Be it HBO, National Geography, Nickelodeon, Star World, CNN and dare I say RTM 1. I love TV. Sadly due to syndication issues, and maybe lack of interest, a lot of my favourite shows are not shown in Malaysia. So I have to resort to the God of TV. Piratebay and BitComet. Not only can I find shows not shown in Malaysia, I can download episodes of shows within hours of their broadcast. How awesome is that!. Currently this is what I'm watching right now.

1)GLEE!!! Best show ever! Awesome music, Awesome storyline, Awesome characters and Quinn is so HOT!!!!Normally I download the episodes as they come out and then watch them again on Astro. I admit it I'm a Gleek! Its like a High School Musical reality check

2) Doctor Who! This is a personal favourite. Its one of the longest running sci-fi shows on TV. Seriously, my dad used to watch this show when he was young. The script is witty and funny once you get pass the British accent. The storyline is brilliant! This used to air on BBC Entertainment in 2005 but it got dropped after only 2 seasons so I download this show as well. If you want to find out some more check out it this video.

3) Big Bang Theory. Who knew a comedy about theoretical physicists could be so entertaining. And my dad said there was no way you could support a family as a physicist.

4) Leverage. Finally a show I can actually watch in Malaysia eventhough we're a full season behind. Its like Mission Impossible with more believable tech and wittier scripts.

Part 2: Music and Fashion

Nothing much to say here. I wear what is in my closet and don't put too much fuss into it. As for music my main source of ideas is my dad's CD collection. He's got tonnes of them. I mean we're seriously running out space to keep them. He's into some really classic stuff. I'm not just talking about The Beatles and The BeeGees but stuff like Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Warren Zevon, Pachelbel, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky etc. But I also reciprocate that. Now he likes  Coldplay and OneRepublic.

Part 2.1: Where does all that music come from?

Normally I rip whatever CD's my dad has which are nice. Alternatively, I love to browse around Rock Corner to look for new stuff. Not 'new' as in just released but as in unheard of. You know, well you probably don't know, world music stuff like Prem Joshua, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar and even local artistes like Akasha. Certain stuff I download. Mainly stuff I just want to listen to and not spend money on in cause it turns out like crap.

Part 3: Books

I love reading!!! Books are my passion. Ever since I was little I've been surrounded by bookworms. My whole family loves to read. I love reading books that challenge the mind and change the way you look at things. I also like a lot of factual stuff and stuff that weaves fact and fiction. The 3 most recent books I've read are.

1) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
The first thing that intrigued me about this book is the Masonic Compass and Square on the front. Freemasonry has always been something that piqued my interest. So naturally I had to pick up this book. The book itself is a terrific read. Blisteringly fast and suspenseful. I like how Dan Brown blurs the borders of reality. Because a lot of the basis of the story really exists so the story does seem fairly plausible.

 2) Yasmin Ahmad's Films by Amir Muhammad
The book is a really good companions guide to the movies. Its nice to read the book and remember all the symbolism I picked out when watching the movie first. It really exhibits the movie making process and cinematic genius that is Yasmin Ahmad

3) Twitterature
This is the epitome of nerd humour. The book itself is really funny. Especially the way it turns very poignant lines in humour by twitterfying it.

           "2bornt2b? How does 1 tweet the existence of life"

Part 4: Bed, Bath and Beyond

Most of this stuff I find while browsing the net. Rummaging through bookstores and the sort. Of course once I get hooked there's always wikipedia to help fill me in on what's going on. And if its a TV show or movie, IMDB is the way go. I especially love the trivia segment. It's so hilarious the hidden meaning of things.

The future of pos malaysia = 1Facebook

Being a student in school means most  of friends and I don't have that much cash. So what do we do to communicate? Facebook of course! (Parents pay for internet mah!) Now if we are such a dire emergency that the very continuity of mankind hung on that answer then maybe...just maybe....we'd sms or even call. Now the only problem with Facebook is that the person has to be online so its kinda useless if you're trying to ask your friend where he is in 1Utama. In fact its kinda hard to ask your friend where he is in 1Utama period! Personally the only form of social networking i use is Facebook. Mainly because 1) All my friends are on it and 2) There is no limit unlike Twitter. And the best thing about Facebook are all the pages, groups, and events. Its amazing the amount of stuff you find out on Facebook. Like the tonnes events that you would have never heard if your friend on Facebook's friend's sister whose hosting the event didn't invite you.

Facebook. Life enhancer.

Facebook is by far my most visited website. And it has definitely made my life better. And of course Facebook has expanded bloated my social circle. Thankfully I'm not the kinda guy who randomly adds anyone on Facebook. At least 98% of my Facebook friends I've met in real life. Which is also why I only have 362 friends. That's very small compared to some of my friends. However, I always prefer to meet people for the first time in real life. At least that way you know they're not some kind of stalker/pedophile/alien.

 Personally I've never really seen the point of twitter. (Any tweety birds care to explain). How is it possible to express how you feel in 140 characters. The only benefit I see is that it'll help you in your BM Rumusan and English Summary but that is all.

 This is the future of social networking. An amalgamation of the three most popular social networks on the planet. Imagine watching a youtube video while a ticker updates you with your latest tweets and wall posts.

PS Anyone heading to Youth '10 this weekend

The Internet and Me- A Match Made In Heaven

This is what a map of the internet looks like. It looks like the neuron pathways in the brain doesn't it? Think of the internet as the collective brain of civilization. 26.6% of the world population uses the internet, that's a staggering amount considering the fact that the internet used to reserved for university research project and basement computer hackers. Between the year 2000 and 2009 global internet penetration skyrocketed at whopping 400%. Remember the movie Die Hard 4 and the idea of a fire sale. Well the internet has become the backbone of major governments, systems, utilities and lives of people around the world. In the US there is a wi-fi hotspot at almost every corner of the country.( Can't say the same about Malaysia though)


The internet has become so vital to people that a lot people cannot function without  the internet. Or that everything they do is somehow related to the internet. Like this video







I'd have to admit that the internet is a very vital part of my life. Almost 75% of all the information I get is off the web. Its really reliable *winks*. I mean c'mon everybody uses google nowadays. Its the single most popular website on the internet. Google is like your window to the internet and the internet is your window to the world.

On average I'm online almost 6 hours a day. My computer is online almost 24/7. Thank God for unlimited data! Even if it is mind-blisteringly slow. The one thing I never do when I'm online is to 'go online'. I find instant messaging a nuisance. I'd much rather use facebook. That way I have the option of stalking tracking what my friends are doing while messaging friends. That way I don't even have to add them again on msn.

These are the my most frequented websites. They form a huge chunk of my daily lifestyle. For the most part these sites I head to first when I turn my computer on. But almost half of my internet usage is contributed by my iPhone. I check almost all my news, youtube videos and sometime emails on my phone. So technically you could say that I'm almost online all the time.

Most of time when I'm blogging or writing stuff online I use the pseudonym Dr.S. The reason I do this is so that I'm so exposed to the dangers of the internet compared to if I used my real name. It also kinda sums me up I guess. Plus it is my initials so that kinda fits as well I guess. I generally only meet people I've known for sometime online. But I'm meeting more and more new people through my blog and facebook so normally I do some basic searches on google to find out some background of these people. But i suppose i've grown a kinda trust towards people like bloggers and stuff so I don't really look at them as creeps unless they seriously smell fishy.

My parents haven't really set up any restrictions on my internet usage. In fact my parents enjoy reading some of stuff I put on my blog. My parents normally are cool with me going online as long as I maintain my grades and stuff like that.

Personally though, I feel the internet has allowed to connect more with my friends. Sharing stuff online, discussing youtube videos and stuff like that are some of the stuff me and my friends do and talk about in school. I know its not hard to believe that some people may go online too much to the extent of having no social life.

I remember my teacher telling us once about this student in my school who had a serious addiction to online games. To the extent that one day his parents were trying to get him out of the house to visit some relatives or something and he just wouldn't leave. So the next day his parents unplugged his computer and removed it from his room. The next day he locked himself in his room and electrocuted himself. TRUE STORY. I swear almost all my classmates went offline that day.

Anyway I've got to go now. So check out my next post. More on the rise of networking later.

Careless Little Hamster Goes Online

How many hours do you go online everyday? What do you usually do in the online world?

When I'm really free, roughly 4 or 5 hours. I have a lot of things to do online.

1. Check my blog if there are new comments and messages on my shoutbox.
2. Check my email if there is any important messages. (NOT FACEBOOK RELATED.)
   
3. Go on Facebook and reply comments etc.
4. Go on youthsays to do surveys.
5. Check my Nuffnang earnings. (My favourite part. :D)
   

After doing all that, which is about 1 and a half hours, then I would play some games, or google new photoshop tutorials.

When you go online and interact with other users, do you use any nickname/alias profiles online? Tell us why you use it or don’t use it.

I'll use my name. Or nicknames if it's not MSN. Safety reasons. But for MSN, nobody really talks to me online.. And when they do need to talk to me, it's easier to find me on their friends list. I mean, can you imagine if I put a nickname like dragonslayerzzzzzzzz or cutiepinklips, nobody can find me. Although, putting those names are kinda cute. Haha!

Tell us if your parents monitor what you access online? What do your parents think about you going online all the time?

Yeah they do. In case I sell the house online! HAHA! Joke. They do monitor in case I do stupid things or develop habits etc etc. My folks think I go online too often, I should study more. LOL. Though, they're proud I have created a blog and earning money through youthsays and Nuffnang.

Do you think the online world has made you to become more disconnected with your friends?

A little. But it's kinda balanced. When I'm online, I get to chat with friends too. So, it's a win win situation. LOL!

Khoo Su Ting, 16
http://carelesslittlehamster.com
http://www.facebook.com/SuTingKhoo

Work=Money

Money is to many sad people the most important thing in the world. Thankfully the person above is not me. To me money is just a bunch of overrated pieces of paper. Money has a way of bringing people together and at the same time crumbling nations. To me, I don't see anything wrong if everyone shared everything and there was no need for money. But then, mankind has this thing called ego. And money seems to be the only thing that can fuel this ego. But you know what they say money can't buy happiness.

My parents are basically my only source of money. I get a weekly allowance to cover my lunch and/or breakfast at school and that's about it I guess. Normally I get enough money to save a sizeable portion of it to buy something i want. Normally this is a PS3 game or camera lens. I feel that my generation have a effective work ethic but one that very different from previous generations . So eventhough our parents may criticize us for being lazy or spending to much time online but that is exactly what makes us so resourceful.

I've seen a lot of changes going on during the economic crisis but I never really felt the direct repurcussions. I don't think my parents really lost much. Definitely it made rethink my outlooks on the future as I saw a lot of changes in the demand for jobs.

Speaking of jobs, remember the ads for the Greatest Job on Earth well that was one pretty cool job offer. The other really cool job well its not really a job but he is getting paid is this guy. But I think the best piece of career advice would this piece of information a retired Australian architect told me.

The Best Job In The World Is Being A Retired Schoolboy

Somehow images of obese middle aged men living with their parents keeps popping up. That would a great job if your fathers name was Warren Buffet.

Where I want to be in 5 years.

In the 16 years I've been alive. I think I've achieved a lot but probably haven't seen it as a major achievement. Some of the things I would say I've achieved would be getting straight A's in both UPSR and PMR. I share a Malaysian Record with 5 499 other people which I help set last night. You see last night I took part in the largest Dikir Barat performance in Malaysia during the Citrawarna 2010 event. Besides that I'd say some of my achivements are doing charity through my Leo Club and maybe becoming a prefect. But I've thought my achievements are miniscule compared to those of people like 16 year old, Jessica Watson who sailed around the world while still doing her homework and even blogging almost daily. To me a successful person is not measured has my Prinsip Akaun teacher will always say that one of the principles of Accountancy is Money As A Unit of Measurement, well that is accounts not success. A successful is a person who is happy with what he or she has achieved. So a successful person may not necessarily be a good guy but a person with bad intentions may not necessarily be successful at accomplishing it.

My inspiration will definitely have to be people like Jessica Watson, and local environmental activist Jes Ebrahim who prove that youth have the just as much potential as anyone else so long as we are passionate about it. Other inspirations would be politicians like Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who I think is a man of solidarity and principles.

My ambitions have always been to stand out on the world's stage and travel the world. As my teacher always says make a plan and execute it well to succeed. I remember when I was part of this creative workshop called Cloudbreak, we did a module about ambition and success and we had this excercise were we pretended that the centre of the room was Malaysia and we were asked to position ourselves at different intervals of our lives. I remember that when the facillitator said 25 years old most of us were already far away from the centre of the room. So I see myself getting a degree in International Relations/Poltical Science/Economics from either Oxford or LSE. Then I plan to become a member of the diplomatic corp and later in life enjoy what the world has to offer. Or I could become as what

The F Word

Family

I'm an only child. Lucky me (I don't have to share my stuff). My parents come from relatively small families. My mom has one older brother and my dad has two younger siblings. In total I have 6 first cousins. Of all my cousins I'm the oldest of the lot. So my role in the family is more of a babysitter than anything else. It can be hard to entertain a bunch of kids ranging from ages 6 to 14 but its fun. BTW my parents aren't paying me say this. My family is quite closely knit both in my mom's and dad's side of the family. Both my parents were raised in Ipoh for a significant part of their lives and I grew up there till the age of 6 when my family moved to KL. Education has always been an important part of my family. My maternal grandmother and both my paternal grandparents were teachers. My grandfather was even a principle in various prominent schools in Ipoh and around Perak.

My dad having a degree in Applied Mathematics, wanted to become a physicist but instead took law as well and became a lawyer. Although it would have been cool to have a particle accelerator in my basement. My dad is kind of guy who will tell random facts at the dinner table. For example one day while having dinner my dad asked 'If the universe is ever expanding and so full of stars why is it that its dark at night and white full of stars?'. This is the only guy I know who talk about Einstein's Theory of Relativity while walking down the road to buy char kuey teow. Whether or not it's blessing or a curse that is something that seems to have rubbed of on me.

My mom on the other is somewhat the opposite. For one she always knew she had absolutely positively no interest in Science. She also is the more prudent and isn't very impulsive. Whereas my dad is admittedly the more impulsive and spAontaneous guy. About three years ago, my dad and I decided to shave our heads bald. My dad still goes to the barber to get a shave every two weeks.

As for me people say I have my mom's looks and my dad's intelligence. I never really warmed to way people say I look like my mom. To me it sounds like they're saying I look like a girl. Both my parents love to travel. Mainly to beaches like Bali, Phuket and Australia. My mom and I are both very interested in photography so there is always a lot of photos to bring home. However that doesn't necessarily mean there are many family photographs.

Friends

For some odd reason, I always seem to find it easier to mingle with people older than me rather than people my age. Maybe its because of my interest in topics like politics, economics, foreign affairs and those kind of things. The friends I do have are mainly from different groups. First of there are my friends from my class, then my friends through my Leo club and Editorial Board, then there are my friends from outside school walls. These are friends through acting and creative workshops. These are the fun-er bunch. Mainly cause we share the same interests. Normally I'm labelled the nerd in school because I don't necessarily like the same things as everyone else in my class but I don't mind. Most of friends in school are fun to be around mainly because they're so dumb in a good way. One example is my Indian friend who insists on speaking with the heaviest Chinese accent you've ever heard. Or my NON-GAY friend who is the biggest Adam Lambert fan I know and insists on wearing heavy eyeliner.

When meeting new people I tend to think of omegle. For those of you who don't know what omegle is, click here and follow the instructions. Personally I've always had trouble meeting new people. I tend to warm up to people but I've really been able to go up and talk to some one. But if I were to sum myself up it would be something like 'Daniel, 16. Love politics, school and The Beatles. You?'

I've never really had a strong urge to fit in. I'm not like one of those people who need a sense of belonging. Maybe it's the fact that I'm an only child 'cause I'm quite happy to be myself.  Most of my friends have a very strong sense of individuality and are very proud of our own quirks.

Both my parents come from very open families but are equally steeped in tradition. So religion has never really played a part in choosing friends.

Now as for this next section, please forgive me as I may be a bit offensive and insensitive. I'm in the top class in school and I'm also a prefect. This is gives me and my friends the perfect opportunity to hone our skills at profiling. So first off, one thing I noticed which is particularly evident in weaker classes is the fact that these cliques tend to consist of a group of people who are often of the same race. ( Talk about 1Malaysia eh?).
First off there is the PKBM group. PKBM stands for Pasukan Kadet Bersatu Malaysia. PKBM is a uniformed body which comes under the jurisdiction of the army. This unit is 100% Malay and most off they're members are the rempit kind. The kind that loiter around KLCC and Jalan Imbi on the weekends. They are also the kind whom are very disruptive in class and don't seem to have any educational interests besides maybe in Pendidikan Islam.

Then you've got the basketball gang. These are the Chinese boys who play basketball at opportunity even if they have a class going or have to jump over school wall while evading prefects and teachers. They also tend to dye they're hair the cringiest of orange and have very long hair.

Lastly there is the Indian gang, these are the guys who flirt around with Indian girls very obviously, pick fights with other students.

However the thing that all these groups share in common is the fact that they all smoke behind Block F (which is abandon and supposedly haunted). 1Malaysia memang boleh!

But then you can't forget the group of fun, active students who come from all races and religion no matter what anyone says.

P.S I know should post a lot of photos but I'm just too lazy to find some photos in my pile of 10 000 files.

I'm a youth and proud of it

Now here are a few things you may want to know about me before you continue reading any further. I came into this world 16 years ago. I'm currently in Form 4 and studying in SMK Sultan Abdul Samad. Before I begin I'd just like to mention I tend to have a political view on things. One of passions is photography and NOT being photographed (of the 10 000 pictures on my comp there are 5 with me in them). So the best photo to describe me is this one

 I'm the awesome guy in the background preparing to rule the world. Nobody sees my face and I'd like to keep it that way. That way there's no proof.

To be quite frank, I never really expected to be selected for this project. I mean I never really saw myself as a voice for my generation. You see I've never really been in the 'in' crowd. I don't like to call myself a nerd but I've always liked knowledge, in my dad's words "You have a brain full of pointless facts" to which my response is " One man's trash is another man's treasure". I'm also interested in the performing arts and theatre (not the movie kind). To me a good gauge of a person is the kind of music on his or her computer/iPod/music player etc. A person with a computer full of Top 40 hits (that's the overplayed stuff you get on the radio) is probably the kind of person who likes to fit in. They are also probably suffering from Bieber Fever (H1N1's musical cousin) at the moment. Then you've got the kind of people who have hodge-podge of songs that most people probably haven't heard of. These are the kind of people who aren't really bothered about fitting 'in'. I am proud to be a member of the latter. According to the National Registration Department, I’m different which makes me part of the 1% of Malaysia’s population. If you have a look at my computer you will music ranging from classical music to acapella to acoustica to punk rock to The Beatles to Australian comedy-rock bands. I knowa lot of people who are interested in some of the things I'm in to but it's  hard to find someone interested in photography, politics, global affairs, music, performing arts, writing, public speaking, history, debating and more. Now enough about me and back to task at hand.

What is the best thing about a youth today?

Facebook, Myspace, blogs and the Internet. Admit it you all have at least one social network account be it Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Friendster etc. Youths of my generation have a vast number of outlets to express ourselves. In the past, there has always been a tendency for parents to mold their children into what they wanted their offspring to be. And back then there wasn't much influence towards youths. And youths were never really given a way to express themselves or develop their individuality. So the best thing about being a youth today has got to the freedom to be who we are. I see a very bright future for my generation. In the past there has always been this sense of fight 'The Man' mainly because youths of that era were never really allowed to discover and be themselves. But in the rise the online personae we take on be it through social networking, blogging or even chatting online we are given opportunities to be ourselves. I often hear my friends saying stuff like "That person is so different online than in real life". Like in The Matrix by day Neo is a suit wearing worker by night he is an underground computer hacker. Youths today are able to be the alter egos they were never allowed to be. We also are on the most part very accepting of each other no matter what race, religion, gender or socio-economic background we come from. Plus we aren’t susceptible to propaganda ‘cause youths have brains too.

Does that make us rebellious?

Well yes and no. I find that youth are rebellious in thought and action but not in physical action. We say a lot of things on facebook, blogs etc to rebel but we don't throw molotov cocktails in public squares and stuff like. Although it does sound pretty cool. Obviously we're no angels but we weren't put on this Earth to rebel. An angel is what you call the person who tells his parents that all he wants for Christmas is for the whole world to be happy and that they should donate the money they were going to spend on a his Christmas present to Afghan refugee children. That is just sick.

Are our lives easier than our parents' generation?

Definite Yes! As my dad always says "A child's job is to outdo his parents". Seems to be working so far.

What is my biggest fear?

Hmm… No one really like to admit they’re fears. I know of thugs in my school who are afraid of butterflies and ladybugs. These are the same people who bring parangs and bronze knuckles to school. For me though my biggest fear would probably the unknown. That’s why I’m terrible afraid of dark rooms. I’m not afraid of being outdoors at night though probably ‘cause it’s not pitch  black. But yeah, I’m afraid of not knowing things which why believe people are afraid about death because no one really knows what happens after you go six feet under. I’m feeling depressed L. Next question!

Happiness

Did you know that Bhutan is the 7^th happiest nation in the world (See what I mean by useless facts)? Well it is. Apparently people there are really happy. But there is still a lot of petty crime and poverty. The country is tiny and has next to no resources. So how do you measure happiness? With one of these. Duh?!?!

This as you can see by the words at the bottom is an ad. And what drives ads MONEY of course. Money makes people happy, but people with money are not necessarily happy. So what makes me happy? I don’t know really. I would say I’m a generally happy person but I don’t think there is anything that really makes me happy. The closest thing to happy juice brewer for me would probably be my friends, family and Astro. I am a huge tv addict. I still can’t believe how people can live without Astro. If I became Prime Minister for even one day (Fat chance of that happening), the first thing I would do is equip every house in Malaysia with Astro.

Hurdles?

People always say stuff like oh PMR coming up must be really tough. I don’t think so. PMR seemed like a breeze. I’m still in Form 4 so I can’t really say anything about SPM yet. But I like how when you’re in Form 3 your parents and teachers always say oh this is a big exam, a big year so you better study hard. Then after you get your results they say PMR was nothing the real test is SPM which is probably true but then why all the hype about PMR? So obviously exams have never really been a hurdle for me. The biggest is probably something I’m facing with now which is major lack of time. You see of the 525 600 minutes in a year, 215 000 minutes is spent sleeping which leaves 310 600 minutes for school, tuition, co curricular activities, friends, family and the works. For me the biggest problem I have is being involved in too many things to the extent that I’m having trouble coping. Take for example this week I’ve been involved in CitraWarna rehearsals from 8am to 8pm every day, during that same time I’m busy chasing people from my Leo Club of which I’m the incoming president, and at the same time studying for my exams which start next week. Then there is also 4 other clubs of which I’m a director. I seriously I think I’ve got myself way over my head with this.

To friends or to family. That is the question

Friends are always the people you joke around and have fun. There is no real seniority or protocol with friends. No friendship honour or stuff. But when your with family you always have to watch what you say. You can joke around with your parents but some other relatives may not really like it. And then there is always family honour to maintain. But then you can only tell your friends the silly stuff going on in your family cause telling a relative will spread it like wildfire. So for me family is more important because your family will always be there while your friends may not necessarily be. Ever heard of a frenemy? Of course there times when you have to choose between friends and family and my parents are really open and give me the choice to do what I want. But there’s always the ‘Do what you want but we’d rather you do this’ line which always works on me.

More about me

I like photography but I’m still a noob. I love reading. I love facts. I’m a semi-nerd. I love facebook but not making friends on it. I’m very shy around new people. But once I get to know person I can very funny, charming, amusing and talkative. I love going to new places and travel. I’ve been to 14 countries across 5 continents. I love to hate the Government. I love reading newspapers cause they’re my daily source of humour. And I love school. Not the learning part though. I can't live without my iPhone. And I can't live without the internet. If there was a no internet day like how there is no plastic Saturdays, I would seriously jump of a building.