1Toilet policy is based on the 1Malaysia concept

Borrowing the branding of 1Malaysia, the state government of Terengganu recently introduces the ‘1Toilet' policy as a move for both teachers and students (of the same gender) to share toilets to promote a sense of oneness.

“When students share the toilets with the teacher, they (students) will believe that they are on par with academicians and this automatically invokes a sense of being important to an organisation, which, in this case, is the school,” says State Education, Higher Learning, Human Resource, Science and Technology Committee chairman Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman in local daily The Star.

The policy will also extend beyond the loo as teachers are also encouraged to eat at the school’s cafeteria with the students. It is a way for both parties to mingle during recess.

There were mixed reactions from the blogosphere regarding this topic. Some took it as a joke, while others thought it was a positive initiative.

Jeff Ooi, who is a prominent blogger and now a Member of Parliament says:

This time, 1Malaysia's product extension is where you pee.

Life And Ti(m)es Of Liang Seng could not believe that the state government is actually introducing the 1Toilet concept:

I would understand the sharing of canteen part. But to share toilet to instill a sense of belonging and create excellence? Come on. We can do better.

Journalist, blogger and Global Voices author Niki Cheong writes in his personal blog:

Which nutcase came up with this brilliant idea […] I think sharing a toilet with the teacher won’t help a student excel in his or her studies, proper teaching will!

What’s the heck is going on? Are we going to have to start eating 1ton mee after this? Or only listen to 1Buck Short? Or are we going to get people registering names like 1Sharina for birth certificates?

Thots Here And There believes that leaders should walk the talk before implementing any policies:

Why don't we start with the elite groups first before going to the majority? In my school, the upper crust get a special key to their own special toilet […] I know in certain companies in the private sectors there is such a privilege too. I remember a friend being all excited because he had reached that privileged level of having his own key to that special place! Now, if we want to implement such a thing as 1toilet in school - imagine queueing up with the students to use the toilet - let us start with the upper level of administrators first. Leaders talk about 1Malaysia…come on, walk the talk. Show us, leaders of Malaysia that we are one in all ways inclusive in the use of toilet!!!!

Voices Inside My Head explains the positive aspect of the 1Toilet policy:

When I was in school I did wonder the same thing, how come teachers get to pee in seperate toilets. Do they pee differently? Do they have something else we don’t have? I think it should be done across the board, even at work places top management sharing the same toilets! Perhaps even ministers should share the same toilets as other government staff and that’s when I would really say our politicians are walking the talk!

This author, via his personal blog, says:

Teachers should also lead by example and getting the best from their students. If a student is already having an inferiority complex feeling in the classroom, how can he/she invoke a sense of importance with the 1Toilet policy?

Do we have to share the toilet to have a feeling of oneness between students and teachers? Should this solidarity start in the classroom itself?

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says, “We want to streamline this as it will also be an easier way to determine the awarding of scholarships.”

In recent years, however, there are students scoring straight A’s for as many as 17 and up to 20 subjects, prompting many Malaysians to query the grading system as well questioning whether students and parents are merely interested to break the record for having the most A‘s.

AhWee.com summarizes the current education system and comments on the Education Ministry’s recent move:

Maximum subjects will go from unlimited to ten and to compensate for that, core subjects will go from six (Malay, English, Mathematics, Science, History and Islamic Studies/Moral Studies) to four to allow more space for electives. All the four core subjects are yet to be determined […] The fact that a limitation of 10 subjects was introduced in SPM also allows me to think it as an act to limit the intelligence of Malaysian citizens. If a student has the capacity to take 15 subjects and score A in every single one of them (scaled or not), let it be. Why limit their potential to excel academically?

The recent move came weeks after announcing that a local student, Nik Nur Madihah, scored 20 A’s in the SPM Examination 2008. Cyza Sector writes:

If you wonder who she is, let me briefly introduce her. Nik Nur Madihah is a fantastic, brilliant and superb girl who scored 20As in SPM 2008. She’s currently the national record holder for SPM candidate with the highest amount of “A”. She’s the oldest of 4 in a simple and poor family dwelling in Kelantan […] Nik Nur Madihah story of success and the way she lead her life should be an example to everybody, I mean parents and children.

Nik Nur Madihah's Memoir

Vaijanthi: 20 A's! My God! It's almost as if these government exams are becoming meaningless these days. Every other kid is scoring a string of perfect A's. Best part is there aren't enough spots in universities for them all, so I wonder what the point is sometimes.

Pakmet: Before Madihah, there was Nur Amalina, who got 17As (or was it 18? who's keeping count anyway) and she just disappeared. It's a good thing that they're trying to limit the number of subjects now, as these kids have more in them than just studying 24/7.

Alhariesz: She ACHIEVED! Hopefully she won't be having those bad dreams saying “I wish I could have done better,” while end up being a cleaning lady

MySarawak manages to get many viewpoints from Malaysians regarding this recent change in the Education system that will take affect only in 2010:

Teo Eng Hock, a father of three, gave his thumbs up to the move, saying it would benefit the parents as it meant less pressure on the students.“Having less subjects to study will help reduce the pressure and on top of that, can help parents save money as children need not go for additional tuition classes,” he added.

Single mother Catherine Loh, however, felt the move might not augur well for the students as it would deprive children of the opportunity to showcase their talent in their best subjects.With only 10 subjects to take, Loh said some students might have to give up their favourite subjects like Art and Chinese which were not under the compulsory subjects lists.

The Sanctuary questions the purpose of taking more than five subjects:

What do you think? 10 subjects not enough? Pfft. Some people couldn't even get 5 straight As. Yet you want more than 10 subjects? Well, for me taking more than 10 subjects such as Nur Amalina Che Bakri who scored 17 1As in 2004 and Azali Azlan, 21 As in 2007 is rather a personal challenge than to break a record in the country. I mean, 21 subjects? What for? At certain point, 9 As are enough to settle for a scholarship.

Malaysia Rocks agrees with the government decision as it is important for students to understand the subject he/she is studying:

It is time for the education ministry to limit the amount of subject that a person can take in the SPM examination. If swift action is not taken, students might be misled to believe scoring countless of A’s is the key to tetiarary success but the working world has proven it otherwise. I would rather have students scoring 10 A’s who knows and understand what he is studying rather than scoring 50 A’s just to break the previous students record.

Lastly, as scholarships are awarded based on SPM results, Observer thinks it is harder now to award scholarships to the most deserving students:

Let's say you have 2 students, one scored 10 As and another 16As. In the new system, both would score 10A's, does that make it any easier to distiguish one another? Highly questionable in terms of the logic provided.

As the new system will only be implemented starting next year, there will be at least a few students who will be trying to beat Nik Nur Madihah’s record as the top scorer and receive nationwide media attention. As the new system will eliminate the ongoing rife competition among each other, are Malaysian students really ready for the change?

Meet Yuna. You might think Yuna as a typical Malaysian youth, but one check in her diary (or should it be her MySpace calendar?), she has a list full of upcoming performances and she has her debut EP to promote, which is produced under her own recording label, Yuna Room Records. She is the talk of the blogosphere for not only producing great music but also her wholesome image. She causes a stir, in a positive way, in the indie music scene for wearing the tudung, a scarf worn around the head by women in Malaysia. It conceals the hair but not the face. This is similar to the hijab, worn by Muslim women elsewhere, especially the Middle East.

Nat Nat gives the inside scoop on Yuna’s rise to stardom:

Fairly unknown by the rest of the population at first, she then gain widespread attention after her debut track from her demo, Dan Sebenarnya were played at one of the top radio stations in Malaysia. Soon after, majority of the radio stations began to play her song. She has officially become mainstream.

Lin Loves tries to give an objective view on Yuna’s music:

She’s really a great singer, even the guy over the counter said so, and I was really lucky to get like the last copy in the store. You know the first time I listened to her I was like, “Hey this girl is fantastic, I love her voice and her music.” Then I stepped back and wondered if I’m judging her based on the fact that she dons the hijab and I know that there is a great, great possibility that i am biased. So I tried being as objective as possible and I think she great.

Indra is surprised by Yuna’s image but loves Yuna’s Norah Jones-like voice:

I checked out her profile on Myspace and what surprised me was, she wears tudung! She is so unique, with a Norah Jones-like voice I know she can go far (like I know, I just can feel it). Pretty calming, the songs of Yuna's. Try and listen to her songs, her English accent during singing and talking was so different. If she speaks, she sounds so Malay-ish, but when she sings, well that's when she jumbles up her accent and it really make her sounds like an English woman.

The Baju Kurung Adventure salutes Yuna's image and can serve as an inspiration to all:

[Yuna] is an indie singer/songwriter who just launched an EP. Tell you the truth all her songs were really great. Never seen her ‘live’ neither, but I have downloaded her songs and watched her on YouTube and to make my grin bigger, she wears hijab, which is very rare for indie girls, an inspiration. Besides, hijab or not, she is very talented. That's what count most.

Yuna is also well-liked by other races in the country. Tragic. Fairy. Tales. is shocked to find out Yuna's ethnicity:

My sister recommended this new indie singer to me Yuna. I was shocked when I knew she was Malay. (It’s not that I'm racist) Well, I must admit that she did have a great voice even though she's not exactly the prettiest chick and she's not exactly what I expect her to look like. In my opinion, our local music scene need more singers like her.

Her song is so infectious that some bloggers decide to use it as a background music to keep their readers entertained. Boundless Promise writes:

You know the song you've listening here in my blog. It calls Deeper Conversation performed by Indie singer, YUNA. Seriously, she is so talented and all her songs and her voice were like SUPERB!!! And she wrote and composed them all by herself. She's 22 and wearing tudung and currently performing in London.

Will there be a time in the future where people will only be talking about Yuna's music, not her image?