Old & Forward 2 think about

Lets see Earth Hour check, April Fool Day check. Earth Hour 2010 is a huge success worldwide, for instance Brunei recorded 38.5MW of electricity savings compared to the period on last Friday. For that, the Earth thanks you & it meant that you have made a stand against saving our earth & lobbying for our leaders to do the same via a more concrete action plan. Enough of serious talk

On a lighter note, today (April 1^st aka the day this post is written) is April Fool Day. Guess some of you have been prank by your friends. I hope that none is hurt by those pranks. As usual, politicians have also their own April fool jokes. It is not suitable to share it here but if you search in Google, you will be able to find it.  Do you know in France it is not called April fool but April Fish (Malay translation ikan bulan April or ikan jenis April). Without further ado, 2 things to blog for this week: old & forward

Old

I had just completed reading the book ’Chicken Soup for the soul: My Resolution’ that I had bought last December. (Slow right) The last story in the book is titled Lets celebrate the old written by Dayle Allen Shockley. It says a few old related things should be celebrated each year, so the author had their own list & I had mine too. Things in my old list includes

Ÿ         Old shoes - According to some people, if you want to climb a mountain e.g. Mount Kinabalu, do not buy & wear new shoes for you climbing journey. Why? Your kaki will get very sakit after you come back. Instead, wear your trusted old shoe unless you want to go limping everywhere for sometime after you come back. Old shoes should not be thrown away, as the environment, state is bad already. Instead, donate it or keep it in your ‘great shoe museum’. My shoe had travelled thousands of miles for instance the shoe that I am wearing now had travelled to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia and as far as Taiwan. So think twice before throwing old shoes yeah?

Ÿ         Old folks - Yes, warga tua or orang tua! Your grandpa/grandma nini! Recently Astro aired a promo. It was about a college/uni student who did not know much/care about his grandpa. All he knew was study! Later, when he needed his grandpa assistance for an assignment, then this student thought about spending more time with his grandpa. The message of this promo is cherish & learn about your own family roots/history. Don’t wait until it is too late then you will regret! Back to the book, this author said ‘we just idolised the young while the old folks are forgotten’. Old folks have lots of wisdom & stories to share with us that may prevent us from committing the same mistakes as our ancestors as well as steering to the right course. 

Ÿ         Old friends - This is what that should be treasured the most by us the young generation. Sorry to say but I had not really keep in touch with them. So what about you guys?

Ÿ         Old newspapers - My computer clogged with hundreds of copies of the digital PDF editions of newspapers such as Malaysia the Sun, Singapore’s TODAY and Mypaper. They remind you of what happen last year & 2 years back. For instance, the H1N1 pandemic, His Majesty hard-hitting titah on various issues, the death of Michael Jackson, the 308 political tsunami in Malaysia and many more. Did I mention that I had also three stacks of old newspapers that I do not feel like throwing them but instead I had wanted to recycle them? Too bad, there is too little recycling facility in Brunei!

Well that is it for ‘old’ topics; hope that with this posting it will be able to give you an idea of making you ‘old’ things list. Next, its time to look to the front so here comes: ’forward’

Forward

Students you have been back to school (or as I described it battlefield) after a holiday right. Holiday is sure much needed after you were bombarded with so much work & teacher shouting, etc. Well to students in PreU2 or the 2^nd year of your Pre-U course, let me give you an idea of what to expect, from the eyes of a student that had passed through it last year.

Ÿ         Extended class - Since the June AS is getting closer, even though there is still about 2 months but teachers do not think like that. From my experience, if you are so ‘lucky’ to have this kind of hardworking teacher, there is a chance that you may have to attend Friday & even Sunday classes. Yikes, Friday & Sunday classes are not the norms in Brunei schools. Hence, let this be a warning so that you will be prepared! Therefore, ‘jemputan kahwin‘, ‘jalan with family to Bandar/Miri’ would have to be forgotten for the meantime!

Now let us talk about a step further after your A Levels, where are you heading. Are you aiming for that uni/scholarship/job?

Life while waiting for the results can be boring. I would suggest you to take this opportunity to go and get your license if you do not have it yet. Some would also go to get a part-time job as a bank teller, office clerk, teacher, DJ, etc. It will help you to experience working life. However, some may go a step further by getting a fulltime job as a flight attendant. While some like, me just sits down & watch the world goes by.

Speaking about scholarship are you aiming for the Sultan’s Scholar or MOD Supreme Commander Scholarship. Both are what I called the ‘big 2’ of scholarships in Brunei. They are the most prestigious awards in Brunei awarded only to the ‘crème de la crème’ (best of the best). It is not easy to get, as it needs hard work in academics & great thinking skills. For the Sultan’s Scholar according to its recipients as quoted by local newspapers last year stay abreast with the current happenings in Brunei as the interview panel may ask your views on certain issues. So get your thinking caps on & be ready with the answers of the hard questions that maybe asked in your interview.

Next stop university which is another phase of your education. I understands that most of you are aiming to enter the best universities in either US, UK or Australia. Very little people I would say is looking nearer to our shores. In US you have Harvard, MIT, Stamford, etc while in UK you have Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College, etc while in Australia UNSW. Things to think

1^st thing is can you reach the requirement?

2^nd if you got admission can you afford the fees or can you get a scholarship?

3^rd do you want to come back often to Brunei during holidays?

Let me tell you my earlier dreams, I wanted to enter UK university, University of Warwick to be precise. However due to financial constraints which may include resorting to remortgage our house to the bank, I decided to look nearer to our shores Singapore & Australia to be precise.

I am not being biased here but if you have a look at The Guardian or The Daily Telegraph website & search for Oxford, Cambridge & Imperial College related news you will know what I meant. On the other hand Singapore’s had just increased their university fees.

Think about the pros & cons of each country of study that you will choose? Do your homework/research! Don’t just follow friend. Its your future

Fine I think I better conclude now later if I talk about more aspects then I maybe in trouble. Tata, have a nice weekend & I will see you very soon!

P.S. This blogger thinks future is very bleak for his university admission but he believes ‘at the end of the tunnel there is light’. He thinks that we should dictate our own future don’t go against your own will!

Lights out its Earth Hour

After it had gone for a year, here it comes again! Earth Hour 2010 will be held on March 27^th 2010 at 8.30pm local time wherever you are. This year it had attracted official participation from 120 countries including Brunei involving 4 billion people worldwide. This Sydney initiated event organised by World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) is to create more awareness on global warming among the people. Its not just about people switching off lights!

A 2 degree Celsius rise in global temperature could cause parts of Taiwan submerged, as well as parts of Singapore (especially East Coast area) & low-lying countries/areas submerged underwater. Basically we will have to redraw the world map! That’s how severe the impact of global warming. In addition, the cost of global warming to humanity is very high! From extinction to animals to even extinction of mankind in the worst case scenario.

The current scale of Earth Hour is a quantum leap from what it actually is. A small Sydney initiated event in 2007 had became a global phenomenon in 2009 when 88 countries participated last year as a sign to call for more drastic action plans being taken in COP that was held in Copenhagen December last year. However, our 1 billion plus people voices were not really being heard by those leaders, as not a concrete plan was proposed. Even before COP, a few of the world’s newspapers including The Guardian of UK issued a joint editorial calling for the leaders to save mankind. That too fail! Therefore as a Malay saying says ‘habuk pun tiada’! I view the COP as a ‘tug-of-war’ between countries as it seems no countries want to compromise. Some countries wanted to offer substantial carbon emission reduction in exchange for something or some particular countries would also need to offer carbon emission reductions! This shows that there is no ‘free lunch’ in this world!

Meanwhile on our local front here in Brunei, it seems that things in this little oil-rich sultanate are changing for the better. In 2008, a headline in The Brunei Times on the day of Earth Hour said ‘We can’t live without electricity’ which states the reasons why many people aren’t willing to join Earth Hour in 2008. For the record, I guess only parts of UBD participated in the 2008 Earth Hour. In 2009, despite Brunei not being officially participated in Earth Hour, it can be seen that it is gaining ground here. Finally, this year Brunei would be finally participating officially in Earth Hour. As one of the terms of official Earth Hour participation, one of the country landmarks has to be switched off. The choice for Brunei is the Kampong Ayer Cultural Centre.

The media have to be commended for providing more awareness on Earth Hour. However that should not stop there, media should provide more environment issues reporting & tips. In support of Earth Hour, Nat Geo Channel will stop normal programming for an hour. Instead, ways to preserve & protect our environment would be presented to their viewers. However some media outlets choose a different approach which is drastic considering the time of Earth Hour is TV prime time. Last year, 8TV of Malaysia totally blacked-out programming for 1hour. Amazingly, more than 700,000 viewers were watching ‘blank’! This year, the tradition continues at its sister radio station, Fly FM. There would be no programming or music during that 1 hour. I say this should be the trend to look at for the next Earth Hour for media outlets. It may mean lost of millions of advertising revenues but it sure is a way to save our planet! Kudos to Brunei’s Kristal FM for blacking-out programming this year for Earth Hour.

If you had watched The 11^th Hour by Leonardo di Caprio (the actor in Titanic), you would hear him say ‘Let’s make our world darkest hours into our finest’. It means without all those sort of things like Kyoto Protocol, we can still change the situation. Small steps such as adjusting your air-cond temperatures, recycling, using cloth bag (Bring You Own Bag campaign), use less polystyrene containers (bring your own food container), etc may not mean much but if it its practiced by people worldwide it sure will bring some positive effect on the global temperature. ‘Small steps could bring huge changes’

It’s hoped that this Earth Hour would not just be a publicity stunt but an awareness campaign for us to do what we can in our daily life to save the Earth. Remember what goes around comes around! Do Mother Nature good and it will repay you, treat Mother Nature badly, and it shall treat you in the same manner! GO GREEN SAVE EARTH!

Let’s play a role in reducing electrical usage tonight by switching off lights & maybe stay away from your mobile phones & TV (yes there is Demam AF & EPL Football Frenzy night) but could you just sacrifice not watching just for an hr?

As we participated in Earth Hour, we made a stand in the fight against global warming! So do you feel ‘green’ tonight? Its your choice!

P.S. This blogpost might be useful to students taking GP in Form 6. I know you are learning the topics of environment, so here's some help that may/may not be useful!

21 SMSAians make SMSA proud in A level exam

Written by:The Editor The youth generation mr blogger cold as ice
After almost 2 weeks of  'false alarm', as well as keeping students who were candidates of Brunei Cambridge GCE A, AS & O Level November 2009 in a 'state of suspense', finally yesterday everything had been unveiled whether you like it or not.With even Rano on Twitter Friday saying that 'the wait is causing temporary social stress in Brunei'.Yesterday, emotions were running high as some rejoices there good result while some others cried over their results, while some no reaction at all whether they pass or failed(life goes on normally as if nothing happens). Well, I guess not everyone had known their results like those who didnt register for SMS, or even those who have registered but havent get yet who mostly are on b-mobile network. The nail-biting moments starts after 11am with some1 proclaiming in Twitter, 'result out'! After lunch, around 1.15 pm, I received my results. Statistically according to info from Exam Dept, MOE which were published in Brunei's sunday papers:The Sunday Times & Sunday Bulletin.

A Level Analysis& Stats

For A Level out of 3073 students who have sat for it, 2462 students(80.12%) achieved at least 1 'A' Level, which is an improvement of 0.49% over that of 2008. 52.72% have achieved at least 2 'A' Level where 54.49% comprises school candidates whilst 21.82% are private candidates.68 candidates or 2.21% obtained at least 4 'A' Level's including 1 from Maktab Duli,2 from PTE Katok and 1 from SMSA who achieved 5 'A' Levels.
From the 68, 13 are their school's 'creme de la creeme' (best of the best) by obtaining grade A's in at least 4 'A' Level subjects comprising 7 candidates from Maktab Duli, 2 from PTE Berakas and 4 from SMSA. 36 candidates obtained grade A's in three 'A' Level subjects where 14 are from Maktab Duli, 5 from Maktab Sains, four from PTE Berakas, two from PTE Katok, one from Sayyidina Othman Secondary School and 10 from SMSA whilst 69 candidates have obtained grade A's in two 'A' Level subjects comprising 30 candidates from Maktab Duli, 9 from Maktab Sains, 6 from PTE Katok, 12 from PTE Berakas, 2 from Sayyidina Othman, 7 from SMSA(including me) and 3 private candidates. 2.46%-25% increase in achievement for 10 subjects  including Malay, Art and Design, Economics, History, Hafaz al-Quran, Computing, Thinking Skills, Psychology, Business Studies and Sociology, compared to 2008. A 100% pass was achieved for Further Mathematics compared to 2008.

AS Level Analysis & Stats

Improvement seen for GCE 'AS' Level as well with, 1,276 out of 1,617 or 78.91% obtained at least 1 'AS' level, which is an increase of 0.8% when compared to 2008.
Overall, candidates who have achieved at least 2 'AS' level is 52.63% or 851 candidates, which is an increase of 7.97% whilst 53.39% of school candidates have increased to 8.03% compared to 2008. Overall, 87 candidates from 1,617 candidates or 5.38% have achieved grade 'A' in at least 2 subjects.

O Level Analysis & Stats

The rumours on O Level results apparently have been quashed with the release of the results. 7,555 who sat for the examination but
3,986 or 52.76% obtain at least 3 '0' Level, which is an improvement of 0.42% compared to 2008.
As Mr Cheong, principal of SMSA always emphasizes 'quality is better than quantity' hence the quality of 2009, 898 candidates or 11.89% have managed to achieve 8-12 '0' Level, an increase of 47 candidates or 0.16%.
3 schools have achieved 100% pass i.e. students achieve at least 3 'O' Level
Maktab Sains and Chung Hua BSB, passing rate were 98.46% and 96.40% respectively.23 schools comprising 17 government schools and 6 private schools, which improves between 0.66% and 26.32% compared to 2008.
41 candidates or 0.58% have achieved excellent results with aggregate 6 and grade 1 in 6-9 subjects. The figure is an increase of 0.11 per cent compared to 2008. 
2 candidates from Chung Hua Middle School, Kuala Belait have obtained grade's Al in 9 subjects
4 candidates have achieved grade's Al in 8 subjects including 3 from Chung Hua, BSB and 1 from PJN Pg Hj Abu Bakar Secondary School (A)
11 obtaining grade Al s in 7 subjects including 3 candidates from Chung Hua Kuala Belait, 2 from Chung Hua BSB, 2 from Maktab Sains, 3 from Chung Ching ,1 from Sayyidina Hassan & Yayasan Secondary School respectively.
24 students obtained grade Al's in 6 subjects comprising 9 from Maktab Sains,3 from PJN Hj Abu Bakar (A), three from Chung Hwa BSB,3 from St Andrew,3 from PJN Pg Hj Abu Bakar (B),1 from Ma'Had Islam Brunei,Muda Hashim & Seri Mulia Sarjana respectively.
252 candidates, or 3.58%, obtained grade A's in 5-10 subjects, an increase of 0.25% from 2008. The candidates comprise 2 students or 0.03% who obtained grade A's in 10 subjects that include 1 from Chung Hwa  BSB & Chung Hua KB respectively.
9 students or 0.13% obtained Grade A's in 9 subjects comprising one from Maktab Sains,3 from Chung Hwa BSB,1 from St Andrew's & 4 from Chung Hua Secondary School KB.
19 candidates or 0.27% have obtained grade A's in 8 subjects comprising 7 from Maktab Sains,1 from Sayyidina Hasan,2 from PJN Pg Hj Abu Bakar (A),1 from PJN Pg Hj Abu Bakar (B),7 from Chung Hwa BSB & 1 from Chung Ching.
58 candidates, or 0.82%, have obtained grade A's in 7 subjects
83 or 1.18% have obtained grade A's in six subjects
81 candidates or 1.15% have obtained grade A's in 5 subjects

Reminder

- Collect result slips from your respective schools or from MOE for private candidates

- For those who thinks their grade are 'not up to the mark' & wish to 'give another shot', you are advised to register with your schools or directly @ MOE for June exams ASAP. Jangan terlambat nanti miss

- For those who didnt get good grades, its not the end of the road. It marks another start, so ponder upon what went wrong & emerge stronger the next time around.

- For those who got bombarded (including me) by your parents.Dont blame them because 'IT FOR YOUR OWN GOOD' (quote from a movie)

-Lastly, please do not try to do silly things. STAY STRONG

Failure is not the end. There are still other routes to be explored 

Lastly

Congrats to all Brunei GCE A,As & O Level candidates who have passed, passed with flying colours, passed with straight A's,passed with strings of A's,average pass,above average pass, 'cukup makan' pass, etc. You must be wondering what did I get 2a2b thats it no bragging. I would say its a 'cukup makan flying colours' pass. Hence, there goes my iPhone!

For those who didnt make it to the passing benchmark, stay strong & 'pasti ada hikmah di sebaliknya'. Its not the end, there are routes to be explored. Consult your Career officer for more info & advice.

For those who have made it, its time to move on to the next level of your life & another obstacle have been passed in your route to 'menara gading'. Now its time to ponder which way next? 

I shouldnt talk this much in times like this oh well one more sentence or 2 before I end this posting. 

Is it logical if I say its all because of my 'red&white wristband' It doesnt seem logical right, but it seems that since I had wear my wristbands my grades improves. Hmm? 

Bye!

This blogger thinks that people should ponder this result system as well as ponder upon the results. We shall rise stronger in the future to give a 'counterstrike'
P.S. Congrats to Youthgen team members who have passed, while those with a less unfavourable result dont be sad, still long way to go, other routes to be explored. You never know what lies in the future, you could be successful in business world?

Happy 18th birthday

The Youth Generation team would like to wish our Creative Director, Amizi Rosman

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY

Semoga Murah Rezeki & Sukses In Your Life (standard line)

Use Your Legal Status Responsibly For 18 Years Old Is The Start Of Another Phase Of Life. Now, you can drink, drive, watch X-rated stuffs

P.S. Red Alert understood loud & kristal clear

alert!

...

Somebody's birthday is coming!

:)

-mizirosman-

Trip After A Level An Update

Hey there people, its December already. So last month, 23 November 2009. The Youth Generation had organised a trip to DST HQ & i-centre. Finally, it was a reality after so many problems that had occured behind-the scenes. For those who have miss the trip or didnt join the trip you can view the pictures by click on this link Facebook pictures, facebook pictures 2,facebook pictures 3  and for those who wanted a comprehensive stories of what happened on that day you can visit chatlepak.blogspot.com (its kinda long), Creative Director story.
Basically, a short description of what we had seen in these both places. In i-centre, we visited the Green & blue Floor. At DST HQ, we went to the 12th floor, 11th floor @ DSTCare 151, a building that houses the Kristal FM Studio as well as DSTCom Network Operation Centre.
From the feedbacks that I had received it was FUN! Lastly, would like to thank Miss Tan for assisting in asking people to join the Trip as well as for the financial assistance provided. And not forgetting all The Youth Generation members (Teo, Mizi, Ambrose, Angie, Hariz) who have join in the trip & also other students who have joined the trip (Zafirah S, Eric, Lik Sui, Chan, Glen, Edwin, Boon Siong, See Siong, Fuizana,Ong,Kanniga,Ming Hui,Suriana,Zilah,Cassandra,Aqilah,Amalina,who else did I miss?)  .

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, XIE XIE NI, TERIMA KASIH!

Signing Off

The Editor

P.S. Anyone PreU2 batch 2010 who wishes to continue this blog, may contact me via Twitter @ twitter.com/sabah13 or MSN @ busted_ryan156@hotmail.com

Musim Bola

Walaupun kita sibuk dengan peperiksaan yg bakal menjelang tiba,jgn lah dilupakan musim bola yg semakin rancak diperkatakan!

Kerancakan itu dtambah lagi dengan bermulanya liga Juara2 Eropah,atau pun dkenali ramai dengan UEFA Champions League yg bermula pada hari ini.

Jadual2 perlawanan boleh la didapati di sini.

Sebelum saya mengakhiri laporan saya untuk hari ini,saya sertakan kedudukan terkini bagi liga2 tempatan:

2009/2010 English Premiership Table
			Overall							Home						Away
RK		TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		GD	P
1		Chelsea	5	5	0	0	12	3		2	0	0	5	1		3	0	0	7	2		9	15
2		Manchester United	5	4	0	1	11	3		2	0	0	3	1		2	0	1	8	2		8	12
3		Manchester City	4	4	0	0	8	2		2	0	0	5	2		2	0	0	3	0		6	12
4		Tottenham Hotspur	5	4	0	1	12	7		2	0	1	5	5		2	0	0	7	2		5	12
5		Liverpool	5	3	0	2	13	7		2	0	1	9	3		1	0	1	4	4		6	9

Spain

2009/2010 Spanish Primera División
CLUB	GP	W	L	D	Pts	GD
Barcelona	2	2	0	0	6	5
Real Madrid	2	2	0	0	6	4
Valencia	2	2	0	0	6	4
Athletic Bilbao	2	2	0	0	6	2
Mallorca	2	1	0	1	4	2

Italy

2009/2010 Italian Serie A
CLUB	GP	W	L	D	Pts	GD
Genoa	3	3	0	0	9	5
Juventus	3	3	0	0	9	5
Sampdoria	3	3	0	0	9	4
Internazionale	3	2	0	1	7	6
Fiorentina	3	2	0	1	7	2

2009/2010 French Ligue 1
CLUB	GP	W	L	D	Pts	GD
Bordeaux	5	4	0	1	13	9
Lyon	5	4	0	1	13	7
Montpellier	5	3	0	2	11	6
Marseille	5	3	0	2	11	4
Paris Saint-Germain	5	3	1	1	10	4

German Bundesliga

2009/2010 German Bundesliga
CLUB	GP	W	L	D	Pts	GD
Hamburg SV	5	4	0	1	13	9
Bayer Leverkusen	5	4	0	1	13	8
Schalke 04	5	3	1	1	10	4
Eintracht Frankfurt	5	2	0	3	9	3
Bayern Munich	5	2	1	2	8	6

Sleague

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
Singapore Armed Forces FC	27	20	1	6	69	26	43	61
Tampines Rovers FC	27	14	8	5	41	25	16	50
Home United FC	27	14	5	8	48	27	21	47
Brunei DPMM FC	26	13	7	6	40	33	7	46
Gombak United FC	27	11	11	5	46	32	14	44

Tidak lupa juga saya ucapkan Selamat Hari Raya,Maaf Zahir dan Batin untuk semua warga smsa

Ikhlas dari saya,
Penerbit Bahagian Sukan,
Dr Hariz.