What kind of person who can enter college?

Well, this session I want to discuss about the eligibility of person to enter college. Am I worthy enough to join in this University Life? Until now, this is very bothering me so much before I am going to sleep. When I see the education level diagram (the triangle shape), the education levels are getting narrow in specific areas on top level. It means from time to time, in fact, only certain student who has ‘ability’ can join in this level.

Well, it is like the natural selection. Hence, most of my teachers, my mom as well as my family members always remind me to study smart to persuade me to join in that level. Because they say, “if you are smart, you can easily join in higher education level!”.

Once I entered the University, all that hypothesizes are false! People who are smart, stupid, and lazy can join the University. Then what is the purpose of our study in University? Nothing, University is just the platform to pursue your dream. We can't guarantee to be successful even we join University. Your success in your hand.

Therefore, based on my personal view, these are might be the reasons why you are eligible to continue your studies in the higher level:

1.    Your Family is Rich

It can’t be denied that ‘money can buy everything”. You don’t need to be smart and intelligent enough to enter the college/university. Additionally, commercialization of education is more intensively discussed recently. Previously, they acknowledge that they are lazy and their families are rich.

I have asked for them," What will you do after finishing your bachelor degree?".

Easily, their answer was, “I will continue my master degree, if possible I want to do PhD too, then find a job or else I will just continue my family business". They won't think about the financial burden and job employment. Unfair? I think it is fair enough since we didn't choose in which family we were born. Bill Gates has said, "If you are born poor, it is not your mistake. But if you die poor, it is your mistake".

2.    Passionate

When you know where to go, you are willing to do something. Maybe, I am in this reason. I am not rich and not excessively keen but I am passionate. I have watched one interview in TV program, Ahmad Fuadi was asked, "What are the requirements to join the scholarship?".

Amazingly, his answer was, "You don't need to be smart. You need to be passionate of what you are doing. It is seen when you answer the question in the interview. Either you try to cheat your reason or make craps stories, the interviewers know the shapes of your heart."

It is proven when people are passionate doing something, that people may do several methodologies to complete the tasks. Even though they are not smart enough, but at least, they are not lazy. Maybe I could say "Laziness is the root of all diseases". Though, this dangerous disease sometimes attack me. Many of us have gone through this process. Until now, we are safe and some of us have graduated in the First Class, even people sometimes 'look down on us'.

3.    Intelligent

There is no doubt if people have intelligence in their brain might go to University easily. Many scholarships have offered them. Unexpectedly, some of them are not going to college/University. They prefer working to help their family, lack of scholarship information, and they don’t have passion.  Why do I say this? Because these are what I receive from my friends who I think they are smart. Indeed, I would do the same if I didn't get scholarship that time.

 So, which one?

I was thinking to put lucky as the last point, but I cannot measure the lucky since it is extraordinary thing that we ever had. The lecturers need high salary, therefore, the University should increase the academic cost. By the end of it, the student itself need high salary after graduate in order to claim the fees has been paid in University. This become a strong life cycle of life, everything about money.

The best things are when you are rich, you are smart/intelligent, and you are passionate. But, more or less, you can contribute to the society and be useful for people in need. Other than that, you are nothing as pieces of dust which fly on the air. Last but not least, this post is subjective and everyone has different views.
 

"Poor dignified, richly rewarding", Dahlan Iskan

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Im (just) a Human

I'm (just) a human.

With heart.

With kindness.

With dignity.

With value.

With love.

With respect.

With honesty.

With empathy, to feel, to think, and to get influence by those outside my control.

Therefore, I'm just a human.

With emotion.

With limitation.

With flaws.

With anger.

With tears.

With sins.

And thus, endow me with patience.

Your power,

Your love.

Which are delivered from those who inflict pain, anger and disappointments.

Our LORD,

Keep me away from evil.

Since, I'm just a human.

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Indonesian Disaster: The effects and how should we act

Indonesia is a developing country which has many natural resources in Southeast Asia. The resources include forest, crude oil, natural gas, gold, and so forth. Therefore, there are many ways to take that natural resources in order to satisfy human desire. Thus, human itself sometimes forgets about the effects of their greediness. Recently, Indonesia faces two problems of human greediness, open forest in Riau and mud volcano in East Java, which are caused by company exploration. Therefore, the effects of these problems can cause in term of economic, health, and social.

The first problem that country will face is economic collapse. Due to the open forest, which is happening in Sumatra and Kalimantan, will produce heavy haze until the safety limit visibility only less than five meters. The citizens who usually work in outdoor area will not go to work in order to avoid undesirable consequences such as health problem as well as road accidents. For instance, if the airport is close, then the pilot will not allow to fly or to land. On the other hand, the government will allocate a certain amount to provide maskers to the citizens and to stop the hazard. The government needs to pay a big amount to third party companies which are believed eligible to stop the hazard. Additionally, the resident’s lands are burnt and swept away by mud, still, the government will take responsibility for that by providing temporary house. Therefore, the economy of the country will collapse if a country’s income is unequal, where the outcome is more than income.

The second effect of this hazard could implicate the health problem. The particle in the pollution can increase the risk of respiratory disease, cancer, and could also increase cardiovascular risk. The Air Quality Index (AQI) has increased day by day, whereas the numbers are fluctuating between unhealthy to very unhealthy. The analogy is like the residents, all ages, are smoking twenty-four hours for certain months. On the contrary, the mud eruption could contaminate the soil and the well which are located in the village. Consequently, many residents get poisoned because they still depend on the environment surrounding which already spoiled.

The social effect is obviously having broader than any other effects. It is related to the human cost. Many people have fled the area, which already affected by pollution, to escape the record air pollution levels. Thus, massive urbanization to another place will create another problem in another area where the destination of the migrants is located. Many people will lose their job due to this migration, and it will create culture shift which might cause rejection for the local people. Therefore, the crime will increase as the result of unemployment.

In the conclusion, the major effects of disaster in Indonesia will affect in economic collapse, the health risk problem and social problem. Therefore, there is no other way to solve these problems except from human itself. Start doing reforestation and change our mind to avoid greediness. Everyone on this earth is deserved to live. Do not always blame the government because they fail to do so, but there are many foreign companies who play in it. However, the government should responsible for the safety of its citizens.

References

Choi, C. (2013, July 22). Mud Eruption In Indonesia: Was Disaster Blamed On Drilling. Retrieved from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/22/mud-eruption-indonesia-disaster-drilling-quake_n_3634361.html

McCafferty, G. (2015, September 18). Indonesian haze: Why it's everyone's problem. Retrieved from CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/17/asia/indonesian-haze-southeast-asia-pollution/

Yansen, B. (2010, November 2). Indonesia and the great. Retrieved from The Jakarta Post: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/11/02/indonesia-and-great-challenge-natural-disasters.html

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The Day of Arafat 2015: Food Unifiying

Couple weeks ago, I fasted on the day of Arafat. Fasting on the day of Arafat is Sunnah, it is not compulsory but it should do. Those who are not performing pilgrimage are recommended to fast on 'Arafah day. It is expected that Allah will expiate the small sins committed in the previous two years.

On the way to Library after I had finished all my classes, I met my classmate from Bangladesh, Pinto. He informed me to join breakfasting ceremony, which was held by Arabian Community in UUM. But I was still blur about the location of the ceremony. He just mentioned in Maybank Residential.

Then I remembered about the place that I used to attend the previous ceremony in Ramadan with Abdulrahman. He was the one who introduced me to Yamani food at Dr. Jamal's House last year. I was very infatuated with that food until I was thinking to change all my favorite foods to Arab food.

I went there with Huda because previously, we had an appointment to breakfasting together in the Mosque. Luckily, we went there by motor bike whose belong to my country-mate. Otherwise, with the remaining energy that we had, walking in this huge campus like UUM was a nightmare for us.

The Surau, used for worship and religious instruction similarly with Mosque, is small. But the intimacy between International students from around the world, hush the hierarchy of the education and social stratification inside the community.

Eating together in one plate

We started eating after Maghrib prayer had done, because the Maghrib time was limited. When adzan had reverberated, Huda and I still on the way finding where was the Surau located. 

"You guys are late. hehe" greeted my friend, Gido, "Please you can take milk and date over there. I'm sorry if we provide the simplest meal for you". He smiled

"Thank you Gido. It is more than enough for us. I am really appreciated bro!"

After Maghrib prayer, everyone had folded up their sajadah. They started pulling off the plastic base for about 3-5 meters along the foyer. This plastic was used to collect unexpected rice going out from the plate. As well as, it would be easy to clean the Surau from dirt.

Chicken Mandi Rice

A big plate was seen from the entrance door of my left side with Dr. Jamal carried on it proudly on his shoulder. Then, the rest of the members carried sequentially.

"Here please, you can eat with 4-5 people" he said

But that was not the end of the section. There was a dessert, sweet cake, that could freeze my mind. The taste was totally awesome. In the first bite, my eyes goggled and I looked at Huda.

"Wow, seriously this cake is freezing my brain. It is tasty man!" I told Huda, "come to take a bite".

"Aha, Indeed. It is very tasty!" he giggled, "thou from the appearance is simple, but the tasty is unpredictably amazing. It has milk, very sweet, and little bit coconut inside" he tried to be food examiner like in serial Tv Master Chef.

"Do they still have extra cake? haha" I whispered

"Maybe, me too. I want to take again" he replied

Basbousa Cake

I enjoyed eating in this manner. Surprisingly, not all Muslims are eating in this manner nowadays. But, there are valid reasons why we should eat in this style. Eating together can save food from waste, unity and feelings of unity among people eating from one plate, lastly, it could develop and sense of sharing available resources.

PS: 

• Thank you to the community who organized this event.

• If you eat together, you will forget the amount of the food that you eat. Please be aware for people, especially girls, who always measure food that they eat and try to be slim.

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Mahasiswa: Dipertemukan Oleh Janji

Aku masih ingat pertemuan pertama kami sekitar empat tahun lalu di salah satu kampus bersejarah bernama Albukhary International University. Di tempat itu kami semua dipertemukan dan di tempat itulah cerita suka dan duka kami bermula. Berlatar belakang dan mimpi yang sama meskipun budaya, ras, etnis dan bahasa kami yang berbeda.

Sebagian dari mereka akan lulus tahun ini. Tiba – tiba terlintas untuk mengadakan buka puasa bersama para mahasiswa Indonesia eks AiU. Segera aku berdiskusi dengan teman yang lain untuk menentukan dimana tempat yang cocok.

Rencana awal bertempat di Warung Penyet KL Sentral yang sejak awal aku datang ke kota ingin mencoba masakan disana. Katanya masakannya enak dan khas Indonesia. 

“Eh kalau kita makan disana, kita harus booking tempat dulu”, Roza menyarankan, “biasanya kalau bulan ramadhan, disana sudah tidak ada tempat.”

“Baiklah, besok aku yang akan booking tempat”, Roza menambahkan.

Memang untuk menyatukan cerita lama menjadi satu kembali, jujur saja agak susah. Mungkin karena kesibukan masing – masing dengan tugas dan kelas yang padat, peluang untuk bertemu sangat tipis. Aku hanya berharap semuanya untuk hadir di acara itu. Mungkin saja setelah lulus, aku tidak bisa menemui mereka lagi secara tatap mata.

“Ping!!!” suara bbm masuk dari Dewi.

“Udah penuh nih, ada opsi tempat lain ga?” dia menanyakan kepadaku. Sepertinya dia bertanya pada orang yang salah. Aku memang bukan tinggal di Kuala Lumpur selama kuliah, jadi menanyakan hal itu sangat sulit untuk kujawab secara spontan.

Mengandalkan internet rumahan untuk mencari tempat makan favorit, benar – benar sangat membingungkan. Disamping karena beberapa hal seperti kenyamanan tempatnya dan rasa makanannya yang enak, aku juga harus memperhatikan urusan kantong keuangan mahasiswa rantau yang serba tipis.

“Setauku sih di Pasar Seni de. Soalnya, pernah lihat makanan ada yang serba Indonesia di Food Court-nya”

Grup AiU-Indonesia di Facebook yang sejak pertama sudah ramai membicarakan acara ini sontak setuju dengan tempat yang saya usulkan. Mungkin karena aku satu – satu-nya tamu dari jauh atau memang tidak ada tempat lagi akhirnya mereka menyetujuinya. Entahlah. Yang paling penting adalah terlaksananya acara ini.

Dengungan mesin kendaraan dan asap mengepul sudah menjadi ciri khas ibu kota yang selalu macet. Antrian kendaraan yang sudah memanjang membuat minat untuk menumpang taksi turun drastis. Pengemudi taksi juga tidak akan mau mengambil penumpang disaat macet, membuat mereka rugi karena bahan bakar mereka terbuang sia – sia.

“Sudahlah, kita jalan kaki saja ke stasiun KTM! Taksi juga tidak akan mau naikin penumpang dengan jarak yang dekat”. Aku, Wahyu dan Serina memutuskan untuk jalan sembari bercerita tentang pengalaman masing – masing. Jarak ke Stasiun Serdang sekitar 2 km melalui jalan arteri.

Sungguh indah kejadian masa lalu terulang. Sedih, tawa, canda, suka dan duka entah apapun namanya, mereka sudah seperti keluarga keduaku di negeri rantau. Meski sering dibumbui konflik internal, itu menambah kesan jika pertalian persaudaraan kami masih tetap solid. Hanya hati yang bisa meluluhkan pikiran yang sudah mengeras seperti batu.

Jalan yang kita lewati bukan seperti kompleks perumahan dan bukan juga seperti perkampungan. Warna – warni rumah dan modelnya, bisa di lihat jika rumah hanya ditinggali untuk merebahkan badan. Rumah sebesar itu rata – rata sepi ditinggal para penghuni mencari rezeki di tempat yang super sibuk. Hanya kedai makan yang menyediakan daging babi terlihat seperti pasar karena ramainya pengunjung. Terlihat pria paruh baya sedang menikmati semangkuk sup berwarna oranye.

Beberapa meter dari kedai itu, hanya ada sebuah masjid kecil yang terlihat seperti surau / mushola diapit oleh rumah mewah. Kelihatan miris memang. Masjid ini setiap jumat akan membeludak dipenuhi para jamaah dari berbagai belahan dunia yang mayoritas adalah para ekspatriat yang tinggal di sekitar apartemen temanku itu. Jika sudah membeludak, para jamaah akan sholat diluar tanpa menggunakan alas. Hanya beralaskan aspal hangat jalanan. Bagiku, dengan keterbatasannya, ini yang akan menambah kesan khusuk waktu sholat. Serasa sholat di padang pasir yang beratapkan langit, beralaskan tanah dan pasir, dan bermandikan keringat. Sempurna!

Hanya seingatku sekitar 1.7 Ringgit dari Serdang menuju ke Stasiun KL Sentral dan 1 Ringgit tambahan untuk LRT menuju Stasiun Pasar Seni. Hanya antrian calon penumpang bus dan beberapa kendaraan saja yang nampak. Jalanan sore itu tidak terlalu banyak. Pasar Seni terletak diseberang jalan, dan sudah ada di depan mata.

Teman – teman sudah hadir dan sedang memilih makanan untuk berbuka. Saya lebih memilih menu bakso yang dikombinasi. Aku pun juga tidak bisa menjelaskan bagaimana rasanya. Bakso atau sup atau soto? Entahlah. Hadirnya teman – teman sudah sangat bahagia dan makanan hanya sebagai pelengkap. Hadir sore itu Yazid, Mahara dan Cindy, mereka dari Aceh; Heny dan Ervin, teman angkatan saya dari Surabaya; Wahyu dan Nova + doi, mereka berdua dari Palembang dan Noni, yang seingatku dia mahasiswa Indonesia di UPM (University Putra Malaysia).

Kami menuju ke KLCC tempat dimana menara kembar itu berada. Insting pemudi akan fashion, membuat pemuda di sekitarnya menurut seakan telah di hipnotis oleh dewi yang agung. Ada yang ingin membeli sepatu karena sidang kuliahnya yang sudah dekat, ada yang ber-alibi belum membeli pakaian lebaran. Semua saling membangun argument yang intinya malam itu adalah belanja.

Manusia terus mengalir seperti sungai di sepanjang jalan. Begitu pula dengan uang mereka. Perputaran ekonomi sangat lah kentara. Mata manusia sudah ditutup dengan gemerlap produk brand terkenal dunia. Yang nampak hanya pasang – pasang kaki melintas. Sesekali mencoba, berkaca, dan tersenyum.

“Yang ini bagus tidak? Cocok tidak?” teman saya Serina bertanya. Dia dari tadi sangat antusias mencari sepatu untuk sidang skripsinya yang akan berakhir di tahun ini. Tempat itu bernama Vinnci. Menurutku itu hanya kedai sepatu yang hanya mengubah gaya marketing di kelas menegah ke atas saja.

“Ooh, bagus banget itu!” aku juga tidak tahu harus jawab apa. Yang terpenting membuat dia bangga dan senang, intinya tidak kecewa dengan barang yang sudah dia beli tadi. Secara saya juga awam masalah selera perempuan karena bukan desainer baju sekelas Ivan Gunawan.

“Ini nanti saya pasangin sama baju warna kayak gini trus celana ini!” Dia menjelaskan panjang lebar. Saya hanya memandang dia dan sesekali tersenyum. Apa yang dia bicarakan??

“Oh ya harganya berapa itu tadi?” sontak aku bertanya.

“Aku lupa tidak lihat harga tadi.” Dia tersenyum menunjukan gigi seakan tanpa dosa. Mungkin akibat euphoria karena menemukan sepatu favoritnya. Lupa akan ada tagihan listrik dan apartement. Mungkin pilihan lain adalah nyeduh untuk menekan biaya konsumsi.

Malam semakin larut. KLCC tetap dipenuhi oleh para wisatawan. Kita terlupa jika kereta terakhir berangkat jam 11 malam. Baru pertama kalinya kita ketinggalan dan kehabisan tiket seperti ini. Pilihan lainnya untuk pulang harus berlari mengejar kereta terakhir yang akan menuju ke Stasiun Bukit Jalil.

Malam yang sepi, diterangi oleh sinar bulan dan lampu dari kendaraan yang silih berganti. Sopir taksi yang berkepala botak berada di sampingku bermata sayup tanda dia sudah lelah seharian bekerja. Suara taksi butut yang sudah kehilangan beberapa baut dan dinginnya AC menghipnotis kami. Saya hanyut dalam letih dan bangga, telah bertemu janji dengan teman lama.

(Bersambung)

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