Hilman Nordin

Jul 6, 2009

Menjelang Kongres Pertama Rejuvenasi Pendidikan Islam Negara

11 Julai 2009♦Auditorium Muzium Shah Alam♦6 kertas kerja

Dirasmikan oleh Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim

'Rejuvenasi Pendidikan Memartabatkan Insan'

Perjalanan saya bersama Kongres Pertama Rejuvenasi Sistem Pendidikan Islam Negara (KO-SPIN '09) merupakan satu perjalanan memahami suatu yang tidak saya sedari sebelum ini. Hari Sabtu 11 Julai 2009 ini di Auditorium Muzium Shah Alam, bakal berlangsung suatu sejarah yang menjadi hadiah GAMIS kepada negara. Perjalanan menuju destinasi 'hadiah' tersebut merupakan perjalanan yang melibatkan banyak perkongsian dan percambahan idea, muhasabah dan kesedaran dalam diri.

Perjalanan yang bukan milik saya seorang, namun setiap yang bergerak pasti berbeza pengalamannya.

Saya terpaksa melihat semula kuliah kejuruteraan 4 tahun di universiti menggunakan 'tauhidic worldview'. Saya kini mengakui bahawa sesungguhnya Allah memberikan peluang yang sama kepada para hambaNya untuk mendekatkan diri kepadaNya.

Bayangkan sahaja perisian komputer yang bisa menunjukkan aliran pemindahan haba; asalnya dibina dengan menggunakan bahasa pengatucaraan yang melibatkan matematik, berdasarkan eksperimen-eksperimen yang mengaitkan kondisi-kondisi persekitaran aliran pemindahan haba tersebut. Ada hukum-hukumnya yang tertentu.

Sesungguhnya Tuhan kamu ialah Allah yang menciptakan langit dan bumi dalam enam masa lalu Ia bersemayam di atas Arasy; Ia melindungi malam dengan siang yang mengiringinya dengan deras (silih berganti) dan (Ia pula yang menciptakan) matahari dan bulan serta bintang-bintang, (semuanya) tunduk kepada perintahNya. Ingatlah, kepada Allah jualah tertentu urusan menciptakan (sekalian makhluk) dan urusan pemerintahan. Maha Suci Allah yang mencipta dan mentadbirkan sekalian alam. (Al-A'raaf : 54)

Pemindahan haba dalam 'mixer' - Dua aliran masuk, satu aliran keluar

Sebelum ini melihat corak pemindahan haba mampu sahaja membuatkan saya kagum dengan pengatucara dan penemu-penemu kondisi-kondisi persekitaran pemindahan haba yang membawa kepada corak berwarna-warni tersebut.

Sepatutnya, bisa saja saya kagum dengan Allah, pentadbir urus alam semesta, yang mentadbir dari sekecil-kecil zarah sehingga urusan pentadbiran alam semesta yang tak terjangkau manusia. Masakan pentadbiran pemindahan haba dalam kondisi mikro seperti ini tidak ditadbir oleh Allah?

Ketika menemui hakikat ini, saya tersedar, sistem pendidikan di negara ini masih banyak ruang untuk pembaikan. Itu hasil pengalaman saya, saya percaya penggerak-penggerak KO-SPIN '09 masing-masing ada pengalaman-pengalaman mereka yang berharga.

Perjalanan menuju kepada KO-SPIN '09 merupakan perjalanan merendah diri. Masakan tidak, bidang pendidikan bukanlah bidang pembelajaran saya, seperti mana bidang agama bukan bidang saya. Apabila berkali-kali melihat semula kepada objektif kongres menyebabkan saya merasakan banyak lagi perlu dilakukan. KO-SPIN '09 merupakan langkah pemula untuk membetulkan pandang alam terhadap pendidikan agama Islam dalam negara. Pada masa yang sama, tidak dapat mengelak untuk menyentuh soal pensekularan sistem pendidikan.

Sebagai pemula untuk rejuvenasi sistem, perjalanannya masih panjang. Pengalaman yang ada di dalam perjalanannya juga sangat luas. Sokongan kerajaan, ahli-ahli akademik, NGO dan orang awam amat diperlukan. Kalaupun tidak dapat menyokong permulaan, pastikan menjadi penyambut baik kepada penerusan rejuvenasi ini.

Doakan agar usaha ini berterusan dan mendapat pertolongan dan keredhaan dari Allah.

p/s: Details, here (http://kongrespendidikan.blogspot.com)

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Jun 30, 2009

The Letter (Part 5)

It has been long since our last conversation. No reply from you.

I visited you, only to see a place that will remain one of my aspired destination.

I remembered that story, about the man who climbed the tallest coconut tree in the world, each time he climbed, he saw a better view of the world. But soon, after he keep on climbing, he can no longer see the bottom, he only see the stars.

I hope we do not forget our roots, even we at the top of our own trees.

InsyaAllah, I will see you again, and at that time, for real.

I am still waiting for a reply from you, but I know this time I already have what to say to you. I have a no for the answer.

Next time I see you, I will be a better person. If I may, I would like you to pray for me.

p/s: Ya Allah, please guide me through Your plan.

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Jun 27, 2009

Childish Dreams and people who earned "watch this space" award.

UPDATED June 29th:

Some responded (not through the entry's comments) that I shouldn't tell the world that I can help everyone achieve their dream. It was not my intention to imply that, if you too understood this post that way, I am really sorry. I wanted to tell the world that I have many friends with beautiful dreams, some are big thus fall into my definition of childish. And the definition of childish dream meanwhile was not to ridicule their dreams, but to put it into a different light - with the fact that we always dream freely when we were small. But now, after all the years we have been living, we know, to realize our dream we need to plan.

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I asked a few friends of mine, those who were really helpful to discuss serious matters with me on what should I become in later years. I believe its a late planning attempt in my part to direct myself on life as a journey, but despite all that still having faith in the power of planning. Deep in my hearts, I hope Allah have a better plan for me, even larger than I can imagine.

In an attempt to make a 'proposal to myself', I also discover what are the things that are inside my friends' head. To my surprise, they too have a big thinking mindset, but being young and irrational, have yet to plan properly in order to achieve what they want.

I call these as 'childish dreams'. These are the things you really hope to become, but yet, some in circumstances that hold you from achieving it. These dreams are idealistic, but being a 'child' does not stop them to dream big. I see each and every dream as something that can be realized, provided the right opportunity and right attitude is there in the approach.

One friend wants to be a Queen. Another wants to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
One friend wants to be a Professor, another wants to be a host in a TV-show.
One friend wants to penetrate the international market in muslim apparel.
One friend wants to be a movie director, and I said I can give a few good phone numbers to start the journey.

Of course, I shared with them my deepest ambitions. It was not a childhood dream. It was something developed over the years, taking into account the history of mankind, separating what can be done and what couldn't. To share it here would not be strategic, as I would not know your response (your own dreams).

That moment, I realized that, I wanted to help. I wanted them to achieve their dreams, as badly as I want mine to be realized. I imagined a world that is better with these good friends of mine being somebody who believe the world can be a better place.

I am searching for more childish dreams - dreams that are wishful, but those that can really transform the world into a better place.

What's your dream?
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Before this, I read the news on an upcoming debate on unity government between Mr. Dzul Khairi and Mr. Mior Isfandy. The debate was being viewed as a start for the culture of discussing politics intellectually between students by Mr. Syaari.

Seeing these 3 persons, I can't help but start imagining what will they become in the years to come. However, I know that each of them will truly become somebody in the future, if they are still believing in making the world a better place.
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p/s: friends, go ahead and dream. If I can be of assistance, I will try my best to, provided that you want to make the world a better place, not destroying it.
p/p/s: I will update my personal 'watch this space' award quietly. You never know what will happen to the stranger you meet online the same way you never know what will happen to your friends.

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Jun 17, 2009

The Marriage Supermarket

I have a few friends who are already married. Some more had already enganged. Many are currently in a relationship, leaving a little group of 'I don't give a damn about relationship' kind of people. I was not thinking of classifying myself in any of those groups.

In The Logic of Life by Tim Hardford, I was attracted to this concept of Marriage Supermarket. Let's say there are 20 people in the Market. 10 male and 10 female. All of them are equal products, shopping in the market is easy because anyone can take home their spouse. And the value of a marriage is conceptually RM100. Combinations of 10 couples can be obtained, and each of the 10 can cash out RM 100. Possibly, the RM 100 will be shared in a fair amount between the husband and the wife. Each of the 20 people will then receive RM50. This is a regular scenario in the Marriage Supermarket.

Let's say, in another case, there are 19 people in the Market. Sadly, guys are numbered until 9 while their female potential partners are 10. All of the guys and girls will try their best to cash out something at the checkout counter. How does this look like in the marriage supermarket?

The force at work here will be among the women. All 9 of them will compete to get the values from their marriage. We have put the value of marriage at a conceptual RM 100. Therefore, the girls will try to bargain their share of the value by reducing the amount of their share. One of the women must have offered one of the guys to cut her share to RM49 to RM51 for the guy. But of course, the one girl who is risking not being picked will counter-bid to the price, cutting her share even lower.

Transactions in the Supermarket could not escape what economists agree as the law of one price which stated: "In an efficient market all identical goods must have only one price". Remember, the only girl left out will not be having a spouse and nothing to cashout at the checkout counter. Therefore, share price can go as low as 1 cents, for all the married women. All the guys will have RM 99.99 from the transactions they did in the Marriage Supermarket.

Guys in the story have the power of scarcity. The one guy that did not show up for the second scenario might be in jail, "pusat serenti" or 'rempit'ed his life to death - thus giving the other guys better deals from the market.

Girls who try to cut her share down in the Market is doing similar strategies inthe real world. To make themselves a better catch than the other girls, they will go to college, do a makeover, and many other things to make themselves mpore attractive to men. In the Logic of Life, this is how women responded rationally to the shortage of men as pointed out by Harford.

But, men in the real world may decide not to marry at all, even when they are the lesser amount of species. They will firstly rationally weigh the advantage and disadvantages of marriages. That will furher cut down the pool of marriageable men, apart from those in jails, and 'pusat serentis'.

Now the argument about marriage is then put to a bigger picture of reality. Objectives of marriages will be considered. Marriage is not a simple going to the Supermarket where you can choose anyone to live with. Both men and women will weigh in advantages and disadvantages. Rationally not getting married because sex is available with more women armed with contraceptives may be the path for men. Women who before carefully select guys who they sleep with will rationally available to any takers because of the reduced risk of getting pregnant.

In the book, Mr Harford was using the Supermarket analogy as above, applying the conceptual value of marriage in pounds. Society that embraces sex before marriage is available in the Western and Westernized countries. Other than rationally 'berzina' with someone, Mr Harford also put on arguments on rationally comitting crime and rationally get the addiction to drugs and smoke.

We might view the society differently. As a Muslim for example, the men are allowed to take more than one women as his wife. A different model of the Marriage Supermarket can be worked out from the Muslim view of marriage.

Secondly, human rationale have its limits. Therefore, rules and regulations are there to help us. But, of course, given human rationale, they can always change the rules according to their tastes - after laying out all the arguments needed, for example on adultery. If committing it before is very risky because of pregnancy, carefully rationalising the topic with the introduction of contraceptives might help legalising it.

As a Muslim, I believe that the rules and regulations must be referred to Al-Quran. Little that we know back then of the AIDS disease. Rationalising our decisions (per se) for many other things to come might be costly in the future. In this case, God knows best.

Thirdly, ask yourselves, is our country a Western or a Westernized country? If your answer is one of the two, then, expect the same trend to be available in the country, where there are a lot of people fighting behind the masks of 'Human Rights'. If you have a different answer from the two, I will say that, "You are optimistic. Let us pray to God to put our country out of harm's way".

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Jun 11, 2009

Agenda Awani : Wajib Lulus BI Untuk Lulus SPM?

Suhaimi Sulaiman as the host, along with three other panelists.

I had an opportunity to be on-air on ASTRO AWANI (Astro Channel 501) last Tuesday. The recent suggestion by the Minister of Education has been talked about by many. The people of Malaysia was asked to respond to the topic using various channels. "Wajib lulus Bahasa Inggeris untuk lulus SPM?" was the topic in the live talkshow and I was representing Gabungan Mahasiswa Islam Semalaysia (GAMIS) to give some views on the issue.

Thank you Allah for the opportunity to share with a wider audience

I am thankful to many of my friends who responded to me in Facebook and Yahoo Messenger. I was told that the talk will involve the discussions of effective English learning methods. All your suggestions was very good and highlights the importance of English, especially in the age of Internet. Thank you very much!

InsyaAllah, I will update this space with the video after I received it from Astro.

p/s: I brought a low-battery camera to the studio, ruining the chance to get some pictures of the places and celebrities.

p/p/s: Lucky me that my family back home took pictures of the television set! (~ the flickering effect)

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