Monday, August 12, 2013

Hajarul Aswad bukan di Makkah sahaja.


Hajar Aswad di Kaabah, bersalut dengan damar yang berwarna coklat.
kedudukan batu hitam dalam penutup perak.

aku terbaca banyak jurnal perjalanan mengenai penemuan dengan batu hitam atau lebih dikenali sebagai Hajar Aswad,yang terletak di penjuru Kaabah. yang anehnya, serpihan batu hitam ini bukannya ditemui di Makkah, malahan tempat yang terletak ribuan batu dari sana, iaitu di negara Turki, bekas pusat kerajaan Uthmaniyyah. Untuk makluman, batu hitam pernah dipecahkan dan dikeluarkan dari Kaabah oleh Syiah Qaramitah dalam serangan diketuai oleh Abu Thahir, dan dibawa pulang ke al-Ahsa selama 22 tahun. Kaabah bermandi darah, jemaah haji dibunuh beramai2, telaga zamzam disumbat dengan jenazah jemaah yang dibunuh. Itu kisahnya batu hitam ni. Bila dipulangkan kembali, serpihannya dalam bentuk yang ada di Kaabah sekarang.

Tempat yang dimaksudkan dengan kedudukan yang didakwa batu hitam ialah di Istanbul, iaitu di
1. makam Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent di Masjid Sulemaniye
2. Mihrab Masjid Biru @ Masjid Sultan Ahmad (Sultanhamet Camii)
3. di sebuah masjid kecil yang dipanggil Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Mosque

Mari kita lihat gambar disini.




Makam Suleyman the Magnificent
Hadapan Makam Suleyman the Magnificent, nampak batu hitam di atas keystone tingkap.


Kedudukan batu hitam ikut anak panah.

Batu hitam, imej dibesarkan (Makam Suleyman the Magnificent)

Masjid Biru, tarikan popular di Istanbul

 
Dalaman Masjid Biru, kelihatan Mihrab, tempat terletaknya batu hitam.


  


Kedudukan batu hitam di Mihrab Masjid Biru

Salah satu masjid yang dibina di atas permintaan Sokullu Mehmed Pasa terletak dalam kejiranan Kadirga, İstanbul. Ia terletak di Şehit Mehmet Pasa, iaitu di atas bukit antara Masjid Biru dan Little Aya Sofya. Ia dibina pada tahun 1571. Ia dikelilingi oleh dinding yang berukuran kira-kira dua meter. Terdapat tiga pintu masuk yang berlainan untuk halaman, yang mempunyai mata air di tengah-tengah. Dari pancuran ini, anda boleh melihat bilik-bilik di madrasah. Audio dan sistem lampu masjid ini agak baik. Seperti dalam banyak bangunan-bangunan bersejarah, masjid ini dihiasi dengan jubin Iznik dan karya seni buatan tangan. Adalah dipercayai bahawa beberapa kepingan Batu Hitam - juga dikenali sebagai al Hajar ul Aswad, yang terletak di Kaabah, yang asal dipercayai dari zaman Nabi Adam a.s. - tertanam dalam mihrab masjid ini, mimbar dan di bahagian kubah. 

 
Masjid Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Camii di Kadırga

Bahagian dalam masjid, bulatan kuning ialah tempat kepingan batu hitam terletak


serpihan kecil batu hitam



kepingan batu hitam, diletak dalam salutan emas, di bahagian mihrab


close-up kepingan batu hitam



kepingan di atas pintu mimbar khutbah


batu hitam disentuh oleh pengkaji mateorit dari Poland (Polskie Towarzystwo Meteorytowe - Polish Meteoritical Society) (Wadi, Jan Woreczko)


 boleh rujuk di:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suleiman_the_Magnificent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stone
http://www.woreczko.pl/meteorites/travels/Stambul_2010/BlackStone-EN.htm
http://kauscience.k12.hi.us/~ted/Blackstone/hajar-al-aswad.htm
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-234906-the-unknown-charity-of-sokullu-mehmed-pasa.html

Sunday, January 6, 2013

LET'S START 2013 RIGHT: Stop politicizing education!

The 55 years of tinkering with the education policies in the country by UMNO’s armchair education ministers have not accomplished any favour in uplifting the standard of English among Malaysians today. There was a time though – the era before 1970 – when English was taught across the curriculum in schools and that was when Malaysians excelled in the language.
Post-1970 saw the standard drop drastically and now Prime Minister of the country – Najib Abdul Razak – has become so desperate that he is even contemplating of bringing teachers from India to teach English in the national schools.
Blame UMNO for the entire quandary – their flip-flop education policies for the past six decades.
Defeats the purpose of hiring them
So desperate is the Ministry of Education now that they have to import native-speakers of English to teach and make Malaysian students improve their English. But what most these native speakers of English could do is to ‘roll marbles in their mouth’ when teaching.
Apparently, students just could not understand their spoken English because of their accent. This defeats the purpose of hiring them if English is going to be taught for non-functional purposes.
These native speakers may no doubt be proficient in English but they just cannot comprehend why Malaysians are ‘passive’ learners – the inhibition due to cultural factors. Some of these teachers have given up and have complained that students in the Malaysian set up do not speak up. This unique Asian phenomenon is bothering them.
Some of these foreign teachers have complained as to why teachers do need to teach students phonetics at the primary level for them to be able to speak English well. They find this a waste of time but local ‘experts’ feel that it is necessary. Local English teachers themselves are lost when it comes to phonetics for ‘standard’ English.
What they speak is Manglish (another variant of English).  No set of book on Manglish phonetics has yet to be published in this country.
These so-called experts are equally lost when it comes to the phonetical and phonological variants in English. English as spoken in Great Britain – the Irish, Scottish, the Welsh–, the United States, Australia, India, China, Europe, Africa, the Arab lands, Japan, etc.  differ in many ways. Even linguists are lost when it comes to define what ‘standard’ English or phonetics is.
The functional purpose of English
The Ministry insists on ‘British’ English (and phonetics) in Malaysian schools but employing teachers from the US, Australia or India to teach Malaysians British English defeats this purpose. Malaysians generally do not speak ‘British’ English but with their own peculiar accent and inflections alien to those native speakers. In fact Malaysians, more often than not, find it hard to understand English spoken by foreigners.
Don’t talk about ‘Oxford’ or ‘Queen’s English to the Americans, Canadians or Indians. They don’t give a damn about this.  They feel that the English they speak is purposeful or functional enough. It’s again the practical purpose of English that most non-British or non-native speakers of the language are more concerned with.
There are many spoken English variants in Britain and the United States. In this situation even native speakers find it difficult to understand each other’s discourse in their own set-up.
And here in Malaysia the emphasis in the teaching of English is still bogged down with the form of the language, such as ‘standard’ English phonetics and ‘standard’ spoken English rather than the functional purpose of learning the language.  To make Malaysians speak ‘Oxford’ or ‘Queen’s’ English by perusing the phonetics of these variants is almost an impossible task for Malaysians.
Angered many parents
At least the former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad – a doctor by training – was apt enough to advocate that, “Learning Science and Mathematics in English is for functional purposes and not for the purpose of becoming proficient in the language. If one wants to be proficient in English, then study English literature.”
Unfortunately, the present Minister of Education, Muhyuddin Yassin, was not innovative or futuristic enough when he unequivocally stopped the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English, which started in 2003 – much to the chagrin of many parents and students who still want the subjects to be taught in English.  At least the Ministry could have continued with the policy by giving a choice for students to choose which medium they prefer to study these elected subjects in – English or Malay.
This change of policy effective this year has not only affected the functional purpose of learning the Sciences in English but also angered many parents.
Disappointingly, the Ministry does not even know what is going on in the field of English education in schools and universities.  In most cases TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) or TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) diplomas or degrees – both are more oriented towards the pedagogy of teaching language  and not a platform to hone the language proficiency skills of those enrolled in the programme.
Many trainee recruits may not necessarily be competent enough in English.
A report says, there are around 70,000 English teachers in Malaysia and almost 80 percent of them have failed to reach a proficient English level. Over 85 percent of these teachers are incompetent in written English and yet they are teaching English in schools. The lack of communication skills in English among local teachers is just atrocious.
Beyond that, most of these teachers generally speak Manglish or a mixed language when they teach. They cannot be blamed for this. Blame the Ministry for recruiting incompetent graduates to do the pedagogy training and make them teach the language.
Impeding the education process
In some countries only those competent in the language or with a degree in English literature are allowed to undergo training as English teachers but this is not the case in Malaysia. In many rural schools, non-English optionists are roped in to teach students English because of shortage of trained English teachers – a quick-fix approach to the problem.
There are even many incompetent retired teachers who cannot speak and write proper English who are recruited to teach primary school children just because they were former teachers. This is not facilitating the much touted MBMMBI policy (Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia dan Memperkukuhkan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris). The Ministry has not appraised this or assessed the effectiveness of this policy.
How could students be able to speak and write proper English when teachers themselves cannot do the same? The Ministry is practising too much ‘restrictions’ and ‘bureaucracy’ in the recruitment of teachers to teach English in school and this is impeding the education process.
Instead of bringing in foreign ‘experts’ the Ministry should tap on the pool of competent Malaysians in the other sectors who among them have retired, good in spoken and written English to contribute as ‘ancillary’ teachers in schools.  They can be given a crash course in the pedagogy – a formality - before they start engaging the students.
Their hands-on and working experience would give students a new approach to learning English. There are even volunteers among them who would want to engage in teaching and they can be generously recruited.
Studies have shown that only less than 15 percent of students in Malaysians schools are motivated enough to learn English. How much can a normal-trained teacher without any field or work-place experience do when students are not keen to learn the language? This setback can be attributed to too much emphasis on formal and dry approach to the teaching of the language in schools.
The language is not taught as an exciting ‘field’ language but as a subject forced onto students.
Import English teachers from India
The Ministry brought in foreign teachers, including native English speakers from the United States and the United Kingdom. About 75 English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) have been assigned since this year with the collaboration between MACEE (Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange) and the Ministry of Education.
And now is another purported plan to import English teachers from India to teach in national schools. This appears to be meeting some opposition from local educators who doubt the government’s idea will help Malaysian students acquire the language. When students find it tough to understand English spoken with British, American or Australian accents, to understand English spoken by Indians from India would be just as futile.
They will be speaking in an unfamiliar heavily retroflexed accent to the disadvantage of Malaysian students. Indians in India speak their variant of English and though they are functionally competent in the language associated to the subject matters their hefty accent may be quite extraneous for Malaysian students to bear.
Hiring teachers from foreign countries Ito teach Malaysian students English is not going to be an effective measure in the long-run. It’s a waste of public fund which can better be used to upgrade the teaching facilities in schools or pay local competent personnel from the government and private sectors to teach.
Every Malaysian knows that in the Malaysian scenario despite spending billions of ringgit in engaging teachers to teach English in schools, it has not been effective enough for students to acquire the language when taught as a subject. There are three obvious reasons for this predicament: students are not motivated enough to acquire the language, most teachers are not truly competent to handle the subject and English is not taught across the curriculum or for selective subjects.
See the purpose in learning English
It will therefore be more cost-effective and tax-saving if the government were to reintroduce English as the medium of instruction or, at least, for some select subjects.  This is where English can be taught for functional purposes and it will indirectly make students pick up the language in an informal way. Students will then see the purpose in learning English.
And to be functionally competent in English one does not have to be taught by an Oxford or Cambridge trained teacher.  Neither should the Minister of Education go on a mission to find out if these teachers are Oxford or Cambridge trained.
Even local teachers, experienced recruits and volunteers can be trained to be as effective if there are fewer restrictions in the name of bureaucracy in the administration of education in the country.
Malaysia Chronicle

Monday, November 5, 2012

Trivia smartphone TSM T8 vs Galaxy Y. Hampir terpedaya teman.

Lantaran ketiadaaan handset selama seminggu akibat diselamkan ke sinki oleh anakku Muhammad Ikram, berhari-hari aku gi survey usha2 harga dan surf internet to compare specs. Cadang tu nak ambik Samsung Galaxy, Sony Xperia atau mana2 android yang berpadanan harga. Akhirnya, aku pun pergi ke Amanjaya Mall yang baru dibuka di Sungai Petani.


Sejam aku belek2 dan tanya semua kedai yg ada, akhirnya wife tertarik dengan sejenis smartphone yg kononnya buatan Malaysia, TSM T8. Specs pun boleh tahan. Lagipula ada kamera hadapan, sama macam handset kami sebelum ni, senang nak call 3G. (sesama kami video call percuma sahaja, Family 5+1 Plan.) Kamera hadaan banyak HP yang berharga RM1000 ke atas sahaja yanga da sekarang ni. Kalau jenama cokia ja ada kamera hadapan dengan harga murah ni. Ada 2 slot sim card lagi.


General Network GSM  900 / 1800 
Body Dimensions 117 x 61 x 12.5 mm

Weight 100 g
    Touch-sensitive controls
Display Type TFT capacitive touchscreen

Size 480 x 320 pixels, 3.5 inches
  Multitouch Yes
Sound Alert types Vibration, MP3 ringtones

Loudspeaker Yes
  3.5mm jack Yes
Memory Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB
  Internal ROM 256MB , RAM 256MB
Data GPRS Yes

EDGE Yes

WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth Yes

USB Yes
Camera Primary 3 MP , LED flash

Video Yes
  Secondary Yes
Features OS Android OS, v2.3.6

Chipset MEDIA TEK

CPU 850 MHz ARMv7

Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email

Browser HTML

Java Yes

Colors Black , White


MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player


MP4/H.263/H.264 + player


Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
    YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk
Battery   Standard battery, 1400 mAh Li-Ion

Melainkan tiada assisted GPS, yang lainnya tu atas kertas memang kelihatan berbaloi dengan harga RM270 sahaja berbanding beberapa HP yang aku usha seperti Samsung Galaxy Y yang diletak pada harga RM399 (bole kurang ke RM350-370) yang tiada kamera hadapan, Sony Xperia Mini Pro best tapi harganya lebih sikit RM530, Galaxy Ace Plus RM630, dan banyak lagi lah. Banyak kedai pun cakap HP ni bagus dan besh. Aku syak depa ni saja pakat ja kot. (Siap ada kedai kata HP ni clone Galaxy, aku nak gelak ja) Lalu dengan memperjudikan nasib, aku pun ambil dua, terus satu utk aku satu utk wife dengan software macam2 percuma. Test macam2 aku buat semuanya ok. Call, SMS, MMS, usha2 OS dia, lalu dengan konfidennya aku pun bayar.  Lagipun anak aku dah meraung kebosanan tunggu dalam troli. Kesian kat depa. Aku amik kaler putih, wife kaler hitam.


Masuk ja kereta, aku rasa elok test lagi puas2. Tiba-tiba....jeng jeng jeng. aku perasan signal kat HP wife aku sangatlah lemah. bila call je masuk voice mail. Yang agak haru, baru perasan bila aku call ja HP terus gelap, proximity sensor dia terlebih aktif. Pastu kena off-on balik baru nak menyala semula. Nak matikan panggilan x boleh lah mcm ni. Lalu lepas berbincang aku pun berlari meredah hujan dari parking ke dalam mall untuk tanya si pekedai.


Pekedai tu mula2 x mau layan, tapi bila aku suruh jugak check, dia pun tukar dengar HP baru. Aik, sama jugak. Bila call ja terus gelap skrin dia, mmg x boleh press apa2 dah. Habis semua HP TSM t8 tu dia cuba, tetap x boleh. Try kedai sebelah dan kedai depan, pun mcm tu juga. Mula la kata sim card aku masalah la, SD Card rosak la. Aku bertekak lama la jugak , sampai kecoh jap. Last2 aku mintak tukar ke Galaxy Y la kalau mcm ni. Pekedai Cina sorang tu x bagi, tapi bila aku pujuk mamat Melayu sorang lagi ni, dia bagi. Muka depa mencuka habis la. (Ada sorang lg girl Melayu  pakai seksi nampak peha hampir nampak spender, lagi x tahu apa2, pelaris la agaknya tu). Tambah la bebepara ratus lagi. Dia dok ulang yang depa rugi sebab HP kami td jadi HP second hand , aku diam ja malas nak kecoh lagi, yang penting aku cepat dapat blah dari situ. Keluar ja Mall, aik mana payung aku?? Buruk pun ada orang nak sapu. aiseh. Tapi takpa, asalkan aku dah dapat elakkan bala bencana tadi.


Setakat ni, alhamdulillah Galaxy Y ni agak best walau saiz kecil, tak support flash player dan takde kamera hadapan. Ada wifi pun ok dah. Moralnya, jangan percaya HP murah dan tak berjenama. Aku serik. hahaha...  Ingat tu semua....

Friday, August 10, 2012

Kenangan Temuduga Pengesahan Jawatan SPP


 
Sebelum ini semua guru yang baru posting akan dikenali sebagai Guru Sandaran Terlatih (GST)  dan pemegang ijazah akan masuk gred DC41 tak kira apa  jenis Ijazah pun. Tetapi pemansuhan GST bermakna guru baru akan terus ke  Pegawai Perkhidmatan Pendidikan Siswazah (PPPS) untuk gred DG41. Sistem terdahulu ialah dilantik ke jawatan DC41 tetapi mulai tahun 2010 akan terus dilantik jawatan DG41. Proses temuduga bagi pengesahan jawatan oleh SPP dimansuhkan berbanding sebelum ini mesti temuduga sekali lagi untuk pengesahan jawatan macam yang aku dah lalui. Untung la guru2 baru.Masa temuduga SPP ini akan lihat borang penilaian prestasi kita di sekolah. Markah dan komen guru besar pun ada dalam borang itu.

Tanggal 28.5.2009, aku menuju ke Bilik Mawar, Bangunan S/U Kerajaan Ngeri Pulau Pinang, KOMTAR untuk sesi temuduga ini. Surat sampai 2 hari sebelum temuduga, jadi tak banyak persiapan aku lakukan. Masa nak naik tu, aku sempat ushar tajuk2 utama akhbar di kedai mamak. Mana tau kan kot2 kena tanya hal ehwal semasa nanti.

Sampai disana awal, aku menunggu setengah jam sebelum diarah daftar dan dibawa ke tingkat 3. Ah, tempat ini aku pernah pergi dulu, masa temuduga jawatan diploma iaitu Penolong Pegawai Teknologi Makanan tahun 2004 dulu. Pengalaman masa 2004 tu, aku yang ditewaskan oleh sorang calon yang datang sangat lewat, baju lengan pendek, tanpa bertali leher dan sijil yang tak lengkap. (Kes KABEL la tu, aku tahu sebab ada calon lain kenal lelaki itu dan beritahu, kebetulan classmate masa ambik ijazah). Ish, aku beristighfar banyak2....


Ada 3 bilik sedang berlangsung sesi temuduga. Aku berdoa agar tak terkena penemuduga perempuan, bimbang sangat cerewet. Disaat menunggu giliran, ramai guru sedang sibuk menelaah buku2. Buku apa aku pun tak tahu. Tetapi, ada seorang guru perempuan sedang sibuk telefon guru di sekolahnya gara2 tak tahu lagu sekolah setelah ditanya penemuduga. Menyanyi2 la dia sambil menelefon tu. hahaha. Yang keluar muka muram, yang mata merah, yang disuruh balik sebab sijil tak lengkap, yang tersengih sampai telinga, yang melompat bila keluar bilik, macam2 ada pagi tu. Aku rilek2 ja tenangkan hati.

Saat aku dipanggil masuk, aku lega apabila membuka pintu dan mendapati seorang lelaki yang bergelar Dato' menunggu. Malangnya, tiba2 blazer coat pinjam yang aku pakai tiba2 tercabut butang. Alamak... petanda apakah ini,. aku tunduk kutip butang tu dan si Dato' senyum saja.

Dato menjemput aku supaya duduk dan aku memberi salam sambil duduk. Dia melihat tag nama aku dan menyebut "NIZAR...". Dia mulakan dengan soalan "kamu kenal tak siapa ahmad nizar?" 
Aku menjawab "Saya tak tahu, Dato'"
Dato' : takkan kamu tak pernah dengar kot?
Aku : ermm.. ahmad nizar tu memang tak kenal lah siapa
Dato : bagaimana kamu ni, seorang guru tapi nama ahmad nizar tak kenal?
Aku : betul Dato, siapa ya orang tu

Dato (dengan nada marah dan tinggi) : ahmad nizar kan menteri besar perak yang baru hilang jawatan?
Aku : ohh.. itu bukan ahmad nizar Dato, tapi Dato Seri Ir. Muhammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin.
Dato : erk. haaa. betullah tu. saya saja nak uji. (suara rendah kembali). kamu ni nama dah sama, apa pandangan kamu tentang dia?
Aku : saya berpandangan Nizar haruslah mematuhi perintah DYMM Sultan Perak dan berundur dari jawatan menteri besar secara terhormat, memandangkan beliau sudah kehilangan majoriti.
Dato: betulkah, muka kamu macam sokong dia saja? (macam nak perangkap nii...)
Aku : saya tegaskan bahawa undang2 harus didaulatkan dan Nizar wajib patuh pada perlembagaan negeri.
Dato: (senyum sinis)
Dato: baiklah, markah kamu dah tinggi di kertas yang GB kamu isi ni. dulu kerja apa?
Aku: saya bekerja sebagai Eksekutif di GIANT.


Dato' lalu keluarkan carta gambar menteri kabinet. 

Dato' : Oleh sebab kamu ni exec swasta dulu, berikan nama menteri Perdagangan yang baru dan dari mana?
Aku: Datuk Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob dari parlimen Bera

Lepas tu dia tanya beberapa lagi nama menteri dan tugas menteri, syukur aku dapat jawab semuanya. Dato' angguk2 saja, ok la tu kot. Kemudian beralih kepada soalan2 sekolah.

Dato' : kamu mengajar apa sekarang, prasekolahkah?
Aku: saya tak ikut opsyen Dato, sekarang sains dan matematik. 
Dato': boleh ke tak boleh?
Aku: InsyaAllah boleh, lagipun diploma dan ijazah saya aliran sains. tiada masalah.

Dato' : cuba terangkan apa moto sekolah?
Aku: (tiba2 terlupa dan hanya teringat lambang sekolah aku masa sekolah rendah dulu) usaha jaya.
Dato' : oh. kenapa macam biasa dengar. hm. cuba terangkan apakah Pelan Induk Pembangunan Pendidikan?
Aku: bla bla bla..... ( tak ingat aku jawab apa, tp ok sebab dia angguk2)
Dato' : terangkan teras nombor 5?
Aku : bla bla bla..... ( tak ingat aku jawab apa, tp ok sebab dia angguk2)
Dato' : apakah isu utama akhbar sekarang ini?
Aku : isu Chin Peng nak kembali ke Malaysia
Dato' : adakah kamu bersetuju?
Aku : ohh.. semestinya saya membantah. Chin Peng tu musuh negara no 1. ramai akan terguris, terutama pasara tentera yang berjuang menentang PKM. Ayah saya seorang pesara tentera, pasti dia sangat marah membaca berita itu. (aku goreng ja)  
Dato' : sekarang ni ramai anak muda senang terpengaruh dengan propaganda. kami orang2 tua bimbang negara akan tergadai jika anak2 muda tidak sedar perancangan musuh. 

Dato bercerita mengenai pentingnya anak muda sebagai penentu kerajaan dan kemajuan, kenapa kena sokong kerajaan dan bagaimana guru harus mendekati masyarakat. Kira2 10 minit jugak. Aku angguk2 saja, x berani geleng2. Mata aku nampak Dato' tu jadi kecik besar, kecik besar, ngantuk kot..  haha


Dato : baiklah, rasa sampai sini saja. tahniahlah. kamu nantikan saja keputusannya. 

Aku sALAM DAN KELUAR. YESS, LEGA.. Syukur semuanya berjalan lancar. tengok2 jam dekat 45 minit. pergh.. terkejut orang luar sebab lama sangat. hahahaa. yang penting, aku lepas 1 lagi babak penting dalam hidup. 

p/s: gambar masa bawak budak pergi pertandingan English Carnival.