My View on The Taymun Conference 2009

Life itself has been both hectic and chaotic. There are so many political, economical and social issues happening around the world that it really does make one’s head spin to truly know them in and out. So rather than talk about a current global issue that I am most probably not very familiar with, why not talk about the events in Taylors itself?

I’ll be focusing on one event, mainly the Taymun Conference 2009, as I was present then and can relate to it better.

In Taymun, students from different schools and colleges can sign up and act as delegates discussing different issues of concern around the world. We had candidates from Help, Sri Garden, Inti Nilai, SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 4, Sunway and of course, Taylors itself. The participants were assigned different teams and countries.

Yours truly was the delegate of Argentina who represented the Social, Culture and Humanitarian (SOCHUM) group. Her other fellow Argentina delegate who was in the Disarmament and International Security (DISEC) team is the always-ready-to-pose-for-cool-pictures, Lim Chuan Yang (Class of July 2010) whom I have had the pleasure of knowing beforehand as he was in the same class as me before this.

As I was in the SOCHUM team and spent most of the 3 days of my conference there, I will hence mainly be talking about SOCHUM itself.

The participants of SOCHUM were given two topics which are:

1. Welcoming a global trend towards the abolishment of the death penalty.2. The incorporation of social mobilization in acknowledging gender inequalities in national responses toward HIV/AIDS.

I was particularly interested in the former topic, hence me preparing a proposal with other the other delegates (participants who were acting as representatives of other countries) from India, Australia, Denmark, Brazil and other countries as well.

Most of us were really inexperience, including me, since this conference was our first. Although we were not able to come up with a very solid resolution, we had our fun trying to prepare them. I also made tons of new friends whose ideas were really eye openers for me.

Quotes I particularly remember from the conference were:

“This delegate assumes that all jails have spotlights, wires and CCTVs. A jail without one is called a 5 star hotel!” – The delegate of Australia when asked about the addition of flowers in jails to make it a happier place.

“This delegate agrees to go back to the ice age as long as he gets to keep his suit, house and air conditioner.” – The delegate of Russia when defending his stand upon the abolishment of nuclear power.

“Can the delegate of Canada explain what French fries are? The delegate of India has no idea what French fries are as there are none in India.” – The delegate of India when asking a question regarding an issue that was compared to fries.

All in all, this conference was truly an enlightening one and I had no regrets sacrificing my weekend to attend it. I congratulate the organizers for their hard work and dedication in making all this happen. If there was a Taymun Conference 2010, I would most definitely attend it. :D

By Audrey Tan

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~.~.~

A blaring sound that seemed to come from no where woke me. I struggled to open my eyes and realised it was coming from my mobile phone on a chair nearby. I looked to my left where a clock was sitting on the side table. I squinted to see and the clock read 6.15 a.m. I reached out for my mobile phone and turned off the alarm with a tap on the blinking screen. One of the many features that I am glad was invented for the mobile phone. Living in this century, technology has been a huge part of our lives. You see, I am not a morning person. Table alarm clocks fail to work on me anymore. The only two things that successfully force me out of my bed every morning is the alarm feature on the mobile and my father.

As I lay in bed for another good ten minutes, I ran through today’s agenda mentally. This is a daily ritual I follow every morning to prepare myself for the day. However, I realised today will not be like every other Thursday. Today will be Miss Flo’s last day in Taylor’s. After five months under her guidance, we were definitely going to miss her. That aside, today’s Biology practical would be graded and a Chemistry test tomorrow to study for. Today is going to be quite a day. After checking the clock again, I dragged myself from under my comfy covers and head for the washroom. Half an hour later, my family and I were already caught in the morning traffic, just like every other morning.

The day started off with Mathematics lesson, where at the end of the lesson, we said our goodbyes to our teacher and wished her well for the new path that she will be taking. Class ended with plenty of hugs and photographs. At the end of the next lesson, Chemistry, a fellow classmate fainted as she left her seat. The whole class went, “Claire!!!”, and most of us were paralysed with shock; we simply stood there with disbelief. Thankfully, some of the class acted fast and rushed to lift her from the ground to the chair.

Not long after, we left the classroom and headed for the Biology lab for our practical lesson. Since I was going to be in the lab for two hours, I thought it would be best if I use the toilet first. With a heavy bag and a set of books, I headed to the nearest toilet which was located on the first floor. I walked up to the first floor and headed straight to the toilet. I could see the quiet street nearby from the entrance of the toilet. As I stepped into the place, a gush of wind blew in my direction. Like dancing to the beat of the wind, the trees sway even more as the wind blew stronger causing shadows to prance back n forth in the room.

For the sake of convenience, I decided to leave my bag and books by the sink, something I have never done before but all I had in mind was to get out of the place as fast as I could. Being in a somewhat safe environment, where the guards never fail to check for identification cards as part of their daily duty, I was made to believe in the college’s safety. As safe as the toilet seemed to be, it never fails to cast an eerie feeling upon all who enters. Without wasting a minute, I hurried into the nearest cubicle and shut the door behind me, making sure the lock was secured. After doing what I had to, feeling relieved, I was about to reach for the flush when I heard footsteps in the room. The heavy and fast-paced footsteps echoed through the room. I listened carefully, the footsteps stopped and I heard movement, fast movement. Like a rat scurrying through the streets as if searching for something, the movements grew suspicious when I heard like what seem to be a bag being unzipped.

Without much thought but a little voice in my heart telling me I should leave the place fast, I pulled the flush and swung the door open. Standing in front of me was a figure smiling at me. A smile that sent shivers down my spine. As the sunlight shone, a dark hunched shadow of the figure was formed. Paralysed by shock or fear, I could not decide, I was staring into its eyes. Eyes that seemed to burn with evil unflinchingly returned my gaze, penetrating my soul. The question burning on my mind was, “Where did it come from?” I looked at the figure from its head right to its feet. Strands of hair covering half its face and the reddest lips I have ever seen caught my attention. What really bothered me was when I noticed something was clutched in its left hand. When I looked closer, it was something so familiar and I searched my memory to recall what it was. I realised, it was my mobile phone.

Rage filled my body and adrenaline rushed through my veins when I realised that I had to get back what rightfully belonged to me. I was not going to let anyone or anything rob me. The adrenaline rush must have moved my body so close to it that I was even ready to slam the body against the wall, if I really had to. Of course, violence is not an option for me, unless necessary. The room was silent and all I could hear is our heavy breathing. I stared right into its eyes to make sure that this time, I was not afraid, and instantly reached for my mobile phone, the mobile phone that I relied on every morning to wake me up. I had to use some force to free my property from its fingers. Once the mobile phone was in my hands, I reached for my bag to check for any other missing things. I remembered that I had brought my brand new digital camera to record those precious moments with our Math teacher. Panic overtook my body now. To my relief, nothing else was taken. When I turned to look at the figure, it was gone. It seemed to have disappeared in a blink of an eye.

I stood by the sink for awhile, unsure of what just happened. With eyes closed, I calmed myself down and said a prayer of gratitude. I was truly thankful that I was safe. I glanced at my watch and gathered my belongings and hurried out of the toilet for my Biology class. As I walked away from the place, I turned behind to get one last look of that place. At the corner of my eye, I see a figure lurking along the corridor, watching me leave. Not long after, I saw it disappeared again. Maybe, it had made its way back into the toilet, patiently awaiting its next victim…

By Cheryl Chong

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – Why it Works

I fell in love with Transformers the first day it premiered. Massive didn’t even begin to describe it. It was mind blowing, hilarious and endlessly entertaining. In short – it had Shia LaBeouf. Having Shia’s somewhat ‘interesting’ mix of features, hefty roles don’t come easy. Heck, main roles in summer blockbusters normally don’t go to guys without a six pack and muscles popping ridiculously all over the place. Which was why I was rooting for Shia since he first burst onto the big screen, screaming for all he was worth, trying to save his ass from flying missiles and inevitably, to save the world. Epic.

So after having his star almost certainly next on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, why didn’t Shia manage to save the day from Hollywood’s worst critics? Comments such as “ I’d call it a typical summer blockbuster but then that’d be an insult to summer blockbusters” and ‘ Loud, long and utterly incomprehensible. ‘Revenge of the Fallen’ is an exquisitely painful experience that pummels the senses as it confounds the intellect” don’t exactly praise you to the skies, no?

In truth, it all boils down to Michael’s famous penchant for blowing things up. His once renowned action scenes have almost certainly overstayed their welcome. The scenes in which Michael desperately tries to duplicate the success, which his first film garnered by pitting an army of robots against each other until you couldn’t tell who was fighting who, definitely proves that more isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Also, as a so-called superior alien race, I would expect a certain type of alien ‘behavior’. So robots who can ‘shuck n’ jive’ as well as speak to each other African-American style? So now we are the race to beat… or perhaps these robots of a ‘superior race’ have taken so much to speaking like us that they decide to emulate us whilst trying to save us from our destructive selves.

Next up, an attempt at crude comedy- huge mistake…. disastrous even. In a scene where a monstrous robot tears up one of the pyramids in Egypt, a soldier declares, “ I’m under his balls”. A robot…with balls…. and right on the heels of the last movie centering around the Cube-their life source…It doesn’t get any more dumb than this.

Fortunately, Michael did get one thing right, he identified with the teenage male-and I daresay female-demographic. Shia’s character Sam Witwicky - whose awkward, geeky charm is swoon-worthy if you like the sensitive yet goofy type – is starting his first year in college and is still holding on to his ridiculously hot girlfriend, Mikaela (played by the hotpants-clad Megan Fox).

Take for example, the scene in the Egyptian desert where Mikaela- wearing an oh-so-tiny top- falls over after narrowly escaping getting embedded into the sand by one of the Decepticons. Zooming in onto Megan Fox’s cleavage, I swear, all guys were at the edge of their seats. Another girl joining the babe fest is Alice, a co-ed in Sam’s college who makes advances on him to steal any information he has on the whereabouts of the Sun Harvester-the main reason for all the fuss the Fallen’s making. With 2 such hot girls flaunting their God given assets on screen, it’s no wonder why more than 70% of the people seated alongside me in the cinema were testosterone-fuelled guys under the age of 30. And don’t forget the US military with the adorable Josh Dumahel playing Major William Lennox. Hey, at least they provided eye candy for us girls too.

Putting hot bods, crude jokes, neurotic parents who grate on the nerves, confusing battle scenes all tied together with a plot so full of holes aside, the movie was pretty enjoyable. There was some fantastically funny moments-check out the scene when Sam tries to stop Bumblebee from following him to college. Even if the battle scenes were confusing, you’ve got to admit they were pretty awesome. The film reached its pinnacle in one such action packed-piece that took place in the forest. A brilliantly crafted battle scene between good and evil with arms getting ripped off, ending with Optimus Prime getting impaled through the chest by Megatron.

So if you’re looking for something to really sink your teeth into and give those brain cells a workout, you’re probably better off staring into space. If however, you don’t mind getting your senses pummeled by loud groans and blinding flashes in favour of hot bods and things getting blown to bits in any and every way imaginable, this is the movie for you. As for me, Megan Fox is reason enough. XD

By Rebekah Leong

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Independence

The year is 1957.

The crowd shivers in anticipation. Murmurs. Whispers. They’re impatient. They’ve been waiting for this for over four hundred years. And they can wait a little longer. But just a little.

They’ve waited for this. Suffered for this. Fought for this. Died for this. Blood, sweat, tears and it wasn’t – isn’t, never will be – all in vain. Now, at last they have done it. Now it is here. Right here. Right now. At long last.

Silence flows into the packed stadium, fills the spaces between the people, squeezes into all the empty spaces. Stifles all noise. And then–

“Merdeka!”

“Merdeka!”

“Merdeka!”

***

The little boy is two. His papa and mama are taking him to town. Now they’re joining a huge crowd, one that’s noisy and hot and pressing against him from all directions.

He’s scared. Terrified that he might get lost. Or that horrible bad people might steal him away from his mama and papa. That he’ll never see them again. Everyone is so tall, so huge, so loud. He clutches his mama’s hand tighter and she looks down and smiles reassuringly at him.

Then the crowd starts cheering, screaming, shouting.

“Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!”

He doesn’t understand. He’s scared. He starts to cry and hugs mama’s legs but then papa bends down and picks him up and places him on his shoulders. Now he is tall and now he can see over everyone’s heads and he wonders why everyone is so happy. He’s two and he doesn’t understand. Not yet.

***
The two little girls shriek with laughter as they chase each other around on the tiny patch of Padang Merdeka that isn’t crowded with people. Hair and flags flap in the breeze as they wind their way around the adults and their long legs, looking for their parents.

“Ma!”, “Amma!” they yell and hurl themselves into their mothers' arms. The women laugh, hug their daughters.

“Aiyoh, Mei, what you do to your hair, so messy.”

“Shalini, ma. She pulled it.” She sticks her tongue out at the other girl who returns the gesture. Then she darts out and tugs on her friends braids and they run of shrieking, laughing, being children. Their mothers smile and watch them go.

***
“I hate sejarah. It’s sooooo boringgg… soooo boriiinnggg…”

“Aiyah, it’s just memorize, lah. Just hafal everything.”

“Not everyone has your brain, okay. I’m not a super-genius like you.”

“You’re just lazy. Are you going for the Merdeka celebrations?”

“No. I have to study. The trials start the next day, remember?”

“So? I’m sure you can spend an hour or two to watch the parade.”

“Bo-ring. No thanks.”

“I’m marching. Come, lah. Support our school marching band, lah, you unpatriotic procrastinator.”

“Okay-lah, okay-lah. Maybe I’ll come.”

***

The suitcases are still unpacked. He’s alone in the room, starring at the bed across him that has yet to be filled. He hopes that his roommate won’t arrive anytime soon. He feels like he’d like to be alone these next few days.

Everything is so different. The icy cold air that greeted him as he walked out of the airport. The people with their strange, unpronounceable accents, who never seemed to understand anything he said. The whole freaky strangeness of it. The place is beautiful but it’s not home.

For one thing, his mum isn’t here to scold him for lying down on his bed with his shoes on. And can he cook here? Where’s the laundrette? He knows nothing of this place. He wants to go home.

Independence can be so… painful.

***

“And I really miss the food. Especially nasi lemak and roti canai. And ABC. And the food here is so… un-spicy. I just miss you guys. And your cooking, mum.”

“When you were here you complained about my cooking all the time.”

“Well, I was younger then. Immature.”

“That was two months ago. And the food in London cannot be so bad, right?” Worry colours her voice. “You got eat enough, or not?”

“Yes, mum. So how’s dad? And Mei?”

“You father is fine. He misses you, though he tries not to show it. And Mei misses you too, though she says she enjoys not having you around. She was at the Merdeka parade this morning. Her school’s marching band participated.”

“Cool. We had a small party here, just us Malaysians. There’s this girl, Normah, who cooks great laksa. Gosh, I really, really miss Malaysia. Especially you guys. And the food.”

***

“Eh, cepat! Hurry up. Everyone’s waiting for you. We’ll miss the parade. And I want to show Susan the parade. She’s never seen them before.”

“Ya, ya, I’m coming.”

“You lived in England for five years and you still can’t be punctual? What did they think of you?”

The young man hurries through the front door, almost slipping on the tiled floor with his socked feet. He grabs the doorframe and gives his mother and fiancée an embarrassed smile. “Nothing,” he says, answering his mother’s question. “I was always punctual there.”

The older lady turns to her future daughter-in-law. “Really? Is that true Susan?”

The girl smiles and tucks a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. “Most of the time, Mrs. Fatimah.”


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

(Something like an epilogue)
Where I live, it’s cold. And lonely, with only the birds for company, but they’re not exactly talkative, up at this height and I can’t understand half of what they’re saying anyway.

I kill time by enjoying the view, which is some best in the area. From my home, you can see all around Kuala Lumpur, all the buildings, the trees that surround them, the roads, matchbox cars and the little ant-size people.

They don’t ever talk to me, though I’d like to. But I’m too far up, and most of them just ignore me. They just wander around in Padang Merdeka, snap photos, eat and litter and then wander off again. You’d think that Malaysia’s Jalur Gemilang would have a more interesting life. After all, I attend all their important official junctions, hang from their balconies and flap from their cars, and they even sing abound me! How does that song go again? “Merahmu bara semangat wajar, Putihmu bersih budi pekerti, Kuning berdaulat paying Negara, Biru perpaduan kami semua.”

I’m only remembered once a year, when everyone gathers down on the field below and a listens to speeches. There’s cheering as they celebrate and then my fifteen minutes of annual fame and then all the attention goes to the parades. I have to hang around here doing nothing until next year. Jalur Gemilang? Yeah, riiight.

By Simone Koo

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WeLcOmE!

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Maid Café

“Irashaimasen!” exclaimed a row of strange looking figures clad in psychedelic costumes and vibrant wigs. Friendly faces ushered customers into this surreal dimension of manga, anime and soulful Japanese music. Passersby shot looks of confusion, amusement and recognition at the cosplayers. Those who were curious enough went in.

*

In conjunction with the TUMC Charity Carnival on the 31^st of July 2009, the Taylor’s Anime Society (TAS) organized a Maid Café to raise funds and inject some excitement into the students of Taylor’s University College.

“Well, the idea of Maid Café is very popular in Japan, so we (members of TAS) were very excited about this project,” said Danial, the President of TAS. He adds that the particular venture was inspired by both the manga Ouran Host Club as well as the Maid Café fad which is all the rage in Japan. Wee Liang Mei, an active member of the society was accredited for her effort in pulling in volunteers to play the role of waiters and waitresses.

This bunch of people did not take their task lightly, as there were training sessions held by the more seasoned cosplayers, to ensure that the event would run without any glitches. The members also went through great lengths to rent or purchase their own costumes. The classroom was decorated entirely by the paraphernalia collected over the years by the dedicated members of TAS. Various posters, cards, figurines were on display for the viewing pleasure of the patrons.

One can say that all their work has paid off as the response was better than expected by the members of TAS. Many of the customers who had savoured a taste of this out of this world experience sang praises for the enthusiasm shown by the cosplayers. “They were very much in character,” said an impressed Dave Ng. “5 stars for creativity!” said Arellynn Yeo animatedly.

It would be safe to presume that this event has pacified the high expectations of anime fanatics, as Tan Tzy Wey, an avid anime enthusiast said, “I would definitely come again.”

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Pre-Med Quiz

6^th August - Taylor’s University College

Today might have been uneventful for many students in campus, but not for a select few. Not them at all. They have proven their mettle the day before, facing grueling questions having to do with biology and science in general, and they have emerged as the clear-cut chosen to compete in the final leg of the annual event hosted by the Pre-Medical Society: The Pre-Med Science Quiz. Oh yes, today, five hopefuls will indeed test their true knowledge and only one of them can be the true victor of the competition.

The event began at about 4.00 p.m. today, and the five finalists, Khaw Hawn Juet, Syazwany, Michelle Yip, John Ling, and another individual who wanted to be referred as only Yip, gathered at the front row of Lecture Theater 2 with much anxiety, and of course, nervousness. All of them had, of course, the ambition of becoming doctors in the future. “I want to understand more about the potential of the human brain,” said Syazwani, a demure maiden, soft-spoken and gentle. “Because you see: if we are only using such a little proportion of our brains, who knows how much we can do if we use it all?” Indeed, there is truth in her words.

Khaw Hawn Juet, however, wants to be a cardiologist. When asked about the heats (which commenced on the day previous), Khaw said that they were “terrible”, and that he “should not be here”. According to him, Khaw joined only to gain some additional knowledge he might have not gained from the textbooks. On the other hand, Michelle Yip was surprised to be in the finals at all, confirming Khaw’s words that the heats were absolutely difficult for them.

Before the finals kicked off, the Teacher-Advisor for the Pre-Medical Society was called to make a speech. “I would like to congratulate the finalists,” she said, and stated that this quiz was held to challenge the contestants’ knowledge in biology, as well as other sciences, and to impart other know-how related to biology to them. In her speech, she told all that she hoped that more people would get motivated to pursue a career in medicine, and thanked the committee who made the event so successful. “I also hope that those who join the society will embark a quest in the medicinal field with conscience and integrity,” Miss Ho added before giving the floor to the hosts of the event.

To start off with the quiz, or, as the hosts said, “To warm you guys (finalists) up”, two trick-questions were set, which came as surprises to the finalists. The first of these questions, enquired upon the name of the current head of Mercy Malaysia, which answer none of the finalists got right (The answer was: Dr Ahmad Faizal Perdaus).

All in all, the event went on quite smoothly, despite quite a few hiccoughs. There were also moments in which the finalists provided the most hilarious answers. Among them, was: If you were stung by a venomous insect, what type of shock would you suffer? Two of the answers were “culture” shock and “heart” shock respectively. There was also one rather quirky question involving an X-ray of a left hand with a ring on the ring-finger, and the finalists were asked the significance of it. To this, most of the finalists answered that the person who underwent the X-ray was married, but the judges’ answer was that it was the first X-ray, and the hand belonged to Wilhem Conrad’s wife. There was a minor argument about the answer, but the judge’s decision was final.

When all the 15 questions were answered, the hosts asked the finalists how was the quiz, to which they replied, “Lame” in utter Malaysian style, in miraculous unison. However, they all agreed that the questions were better than those in the heats, and were seconded by the hosts as well.

After much contemplation, the winners were announced, and the prizes were given by both the Chief Judge (the Pre-Med Society President: Nadia) and the co-Teacher Advisor, Mr. Bala. In fourth and fifth places, with a prize of RM 25 each, were John Ling and Syazwani respectively. Coming in third place, was Khaw, winning a prize of RM 50. Yip, ever humorous, was the runner-up for the quiz, walking away with RM 100, while Michelle Yip was the champion, who received the grand prize of RM 150. “It was a good experience,” said Michelle, before leaving in elation.

“I’m surprised that I didn’t get last (place),” John Ling said, while Yip was happy, and was in “good spirits”, and thanked his luck, and his biology teacher.

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