Kemudahan yang disediakan untuk orang kurang upaya (OKU) di Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), membuatkan golongan itu memilih meneruskan pengajian di universiti berkenaan.
Ia tidak terkecuali bagi Khu Li Huang, 26, yang memilih jurusan Sains Kemasyarakatan, walaupun keadaan dirinya yang lumpuh seluruh anggota badan.
Selainnya, dua lagi pelajar OKU iaitu Badrul Hisyam Mokhtar, 22, dan Chang Fah Lee, 20 dan enam lagi warga emas iaitu Maimunah Ibrahim, 61, Tan Chin Huat, 55, Au Yong Mee Yan, 54, Lim Ai Choo, 56, Ismail Omar, 53, dan Abdul Hadi Baba, 51, turut mendaftar di universiti berkenaan, semalam.
Maimunah Ibrahim (kiri) bersalaman dengan Khu Li Huang (berkerusi roda),
Please open the windows after you enter your car and do not turn ON theair-conditioning immediately. According to a research done, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emits Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen- take note of the heated plastic smell in your car). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer may also cause miscarriage.
Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft. A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level... & the people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxins.
It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time forthe interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is very difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.
No Pain No Gain… Accept the Pain, Future will be Fruitful…
The term ‘Dayak’ is historically as old as the existence of the people so named and not coined by the colonial powers
SARAWAK’S rich racial diversity forms a unique backdrop that helps define the state’s character.
Among its 2.4 million people, comprising a total of 27 ethnic tribes and other racial groups, a total of 45 languages and dialects are being spoken.
The state’s indigenous communities form a large chunk of its population with the Iban (700,000) taking the lead, followed by the Bidayuh (197,000), the Orang Ulu and the Melanau (137,000).
Further sub-divided into the Jagoi, Biatah, Bukar-Sadong, Selakau and Lara groups, the Bidayuh were formerly known as Land Dayaks because of their upland inhabiting tendencies while the Iban were named Sea Dayaks because of their inclination towards the coastal regions.
Upriver dwellers refer to the Orang Ulu, a general term covering the Penan, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit and Lun Bawang while the Melanau make up the country’s balance of indigenous people.
The natives (27 ethnic tribes) comprise the group called Dayak. In the 1970s and 80s, there was a suggestion to drop the term. Until that time, the natives found no fault with it and were quite happy to be known as Dayak.
However, after the suggestion was made, hairline fractures began to appear in the unity of the natives who were previously quite content to come under the broad umbrella of the Dayak community.
The issue was brought up time and again with lukewarm response, for the most part. Nonetheless, there was, to a certain degree, a change in mindset when the term Dayak was conspicuously avoided and non-Muslim Bumiputeras was used in its place. The only time the term was widely used was during Gawai, the Harvest Festival.
The issue resurfaced recently following comments, in both local and national print media, by Rural and Development Deputy Minister Datuk Joseph Entulu on dropping of the term, Dayak, citing that it bore connotations that were negative, derogatory, uncouth and low class.
He was also quoted as having further said the term was coined by the colonial powers.
The suggestion received negative feedback from most Dayak leaders and politicians.
Entulu, however, denied making such a suggestion, saying he had been misquoted.
Secretary-general of the Dayak Cultural Foundation and president of Bung Bratak Heritage Association, Datuk Peter Minos, said it should be realised that the term, Dayak, is historically as old as the existence of the people so named.
Since time immemorial, the Bidayuh have referred to themselves as Dayak that literally means people. The notion that the word was coined by anyone, or for that matter, the colonial power, has little basis.
“We can’t run away from history. The word is as old as the history of the Bidayuh people,” said Minos, who has done extensive studies on the subject.
According to him, his researches have taken him to Indonesia, London and Amsterdam where he discovered the written records of the Spaniards who came to the Far East in the 12th century, and of the Dutch who followed suit in 17th century.
Both sets of documents referred to a certain indigenous tribe in the Far East known as Dayak. When the Brookes landed in Sarawak, they borrowed the term from the Spaniards and Dutch and used it to refer to the natives.
Minos’ discovery quashes any allegations or claims that the term was created ‘anyone or any power’, if not the Dayak people themselves.
Author and Bidayuh culture expert, Patrick Rigep Nuek, agrees with Minos on the origin of the term.
“The Dayak people are the original people of this land and have been in existence for centuries,” he said.
According to him, ‘Dayak’ means ‘people’ and does not refer to a particular race or creed.
”It is common to hear the Bidayuh referring to the term, Dayak Cina, which means Chinese people,” Rigep elaborated.
“As far as I can remember, we have been calling ourselves Dayak,” he said, dismissing the allegation that the term was coined by the colonial powers.
The British took the term from the Dayak to generalise all the ethnic tribes, and further categorised them into Sea and Land Dayak based on their respective inclinations, he explained.
“They called the Iban Sea Dayak because they were living along riverine and coastal regions and the Bidayuh Land Dayak because of their inclination towards hilly terrains,” Rigep added.
Here, Minos observed: “The Spaniards came in the 12th century and Dutch in the 17th century. By then, the term Dayak was already being used (based on written records). And that was long before any of the Brookes ever stepped on our land. It is a total absurdity to allege that the colonial powers coined the term.”
Dropping the term would be akin to ‘wiping the people off the face of the Earth’, he surmised.
“There are people on this Earth who are in extinction because of change to their name. And if that is to happen to the term Dayak, all the indigenous people of Sarawak will be extinction.”
Minos emphasised history must be respected because “it is our roots — our culture — for without history, we are a lost people.”
The indigenous people of Sarawak give the country its rich mosaic of traditions and cultures, which are a major lure of foreign tourists. They are the main actors in the play.
Land Development Minister Dato Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, also believes that the colonial powers could not have coined the term Dayak because it was in existence long before they set foot in Sarawak.
“The term used in this context is a generalised term that covers the three main non-Muslim Bumiputeras — Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu.”
In Masing’s view, dropping the term will see the fragmentation of the indigenous people, and he is totally against the idea.
The Iban make up about 40 per cent of the indigenous community with the Bidayuh and Orang Ulu both at eight per cent.
Masing said disintegration would also bring about the non-recognition of the native people because there would then be too many small groups and that, according to him, is a far worse fate.
“It will disrupt the unity of the natives.”
Sharing similar sentiments, Rigep pointed out that Dayak, being a general term of reference for the natives, symbolised their solidarity.
“It is what that binds us together.”
Making an interesting point that is mostly ignored, he said in most official forms, the races indicated were Chinese, Indian and others.
“We are not one of the others,” he stressed.
“The term ‘others’ has adverse connotations — non-existence is one of them. Furthermore, dropping the term (Dayak) that gives the natives their identity will only exacerbate the situation,” he said.
In all fairness, the term (Dayak) should be inserted in all official forms in respect of the Dayak people who, after all, are the people of the land, he added.
The Brookes took the term Dayak to generalise all the Dayak and Rigep sees this as a blessing in disguise, saying “it is given to unite us.”
Minos believes the term gives the natives identity otherwise they will be lumped into ‘others’ as mentioned by Rigep.
He pointed out that the Chinese were also made up of many communities — Foochow, Hakka, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese — and they were generalised as Chinese.
“If you drop the term, Dayak, what then do you want to be,” Minos asked, emphasising that it took centuries for a name or a term to be established and accepted.
A Jew could be an American, European or Russian but he is still a Jew — likewise the Dayaks, he articulated.
A former state minister, Dato Sri Celestine Ujang, puts it simply: “The term Dayak has been widely accepted and established in this country. Whoever suggests that it should be dropped must be crazy.
“The term is just a term and any connotations — negative or positive — are all in the mind.”
This sentiment is shared by Masing, Rigep and Minos.
Rigep chipped in: “As a Bidayuh, if I were to say the term Dayak was uncivilised, uncouth and low class, then I would be suffering from inferiority complex. It shows I am not proud of who I am and what I represent.”
He totally agrees with Tasik Biru state assemblyman, Datuk Peter Nansian Ngusie, a Bidayuh, that being derogatory is what you make of it, not what you are.
“There is nothing derogatory or uncivilized about the term,” he said.
Minos said Malaysia is a democratic country where people were free to have their own perceptions even though he might disagree with them.
“We cannot control the minds and mouths of others but we can control our actions,” he added.
“It is up to the Dayaks themselves to prove the naysayers wrong and they have no reason to be ashamed of themselves for they are the rightful people of the land.”
Minos said he is proud to be a Dayak, even more so because he came from a humble beginning and despite the odds, managed to become what he is today.
Masing also said he is proud to be called a Dayak. Like Minos, he rose from the obscurity of the village to become a high-ranking politician.
“My parents are semi-illiterate and I was a poor kampong boy. Through determination and grit, I am what I am today.”
These two Dayak gentlemen became prominent figures in society through their own hard work.
And clearly, this goes to show that it’s not a term of reference or name that derogates a person but the person behind the name who either makes or breaks his own reputation through both word and deed.
Source Borneo Post
KLANG 26 April – Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) diminta mengkaji semula kaedah bantuan kepada kumpulan sasar kerana orang yang memiliki kereta mungkin berhak menerima bantuan.
Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Senator Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil berkata, pendekatan yang digunakan sekarang seharusnya tidak menyukarkan kumpulan itu untuk mendapatkan bantuan.
Katanya, masalah yang membabitkan kumpulan berkenaan iaitu orang miskin, orang kurang upaya (OKU), warga emas dan pesakit mesti diberi perhatian sewajarnya.
Katanya, bantuan yang disalurkan perlu realistik kerana pada masa ini memiliki televisyen atau peti sejuk bukan lagi boleh dianggap barangan mewah.
Malah katanya, memiliki kereta atau motosikal juga merupakan keperluan dan perlu diambil kira oleh JKM.
“Jadi perkara ini perlu dikaji. JKM pada saya paling mustahak kerana ia mendampingi masyarakat, kalau kita bagus rakyat dapat faedah, kalau kita kurang bagus, kita bakal berhadapan risikonya,” katanya.
Beliau bercakap kepada pemberita selepas menutup Program Jom Mesra Sepakat di Balai Raya Taman Menegun di sini hari ini.
Program itu dianjurkan oleh Majlis Keselamatan Negara Negeri Selangor dan Jiran Wanita Tabika Perpaduan, Belia 4B taman perumahan berkenaan.
Shahrizat memberitahu, program itu aktiviti pertamanya turun padang mendekati rakyat sejak dilantik semula sebagai menteri di kementerian berkenaan pada awal bulan lalu.
Katanya, bagi memastikan sistem bantuan dan penyampaian JKM itu berjalan lancar, beliau akan berada di pejabat untuk memastikan urusan pentadbiran mengikut perancangan.
Shahrizat memberitahu, selebihnya iaitu 90 peratus waktu kerja akan diperuntukkan kepada program turun padang dalam usaha mendampingi rakyat.
Beliau juga, katanya, akan membuat lawatan mengejut ke sesuatu kawasan bagi melihat sendiri kemajuan yang dicapai.
‘‘Ini perlu dilakukan kerana 90 peratus kumpulan sasar berada di peringkat akar umbi,’’ ujarnya.
Secara keseluruhan, katanya, pegawai-pegawai JKM menjalankan tugas dengan baik.
‘‘Cuma banyak orang memerlukan bantuan, tetapi ini tidak harus dijadikan alasan kerana kalau orang perlu bantuan, kita kena bantu mereka,” katanya.
Sumber: Utusan Online
Make a personal reflection about this......
Very interesting, read until the end......
It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7):
'Be not deceived; God is not mocked:
for whatsoever a man sow,
that shall he also reap.
Here are some men and women who mocked God :
John Lennon (Singer):
Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said:
' Chris tianity will end, it will disappear.
I do not have to argue about that. I am certain.
Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him' (1966)..
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Chris t, was shot six times.
Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil ):
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency.
Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died..
Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet):
During A show in Canecio ( Rio de Janeiro ),
while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said:'God, that's for you.'
He died at the age of 32 of LUNG CANCER in a horrible manner.
The man who built the Titanic
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be.
With an ironic tone he said:
'Not even God can sink it'
The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic
Marilyn Monroe (Actress)
She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show.
He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her.
After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said:
'I don't need your Jesus'.
A week later, she was found dead in her apartment
Bon Scott (Singer)
The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang:
'Don't stop me; I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell'..
On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.
Campinas (IN 2005)
In Campinas , Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend.....
The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car:
'My Daughter, Go With God And May He Protect You.'
She responded: 'Only If He (God) Travels In The Trunk, Cause Inside Here.....It's Already Full '
Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died,
the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken .
Chris tine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer)
said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written.
In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.
Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive.
'Jesus'
