This is my first post for the year 2009 (Yeah, the Chinese knows this year as the Cow/Bull/Ox [pick your choice] year) So what I have to say?
Obviously, New Year new resolution!!! One of my most important goals this year is to never be late to church in Subang Jaya. I realised that I was often late to church last year after going to college. Either that or I missed church. That has got to stop. I am firmly putting a stop to it and I'm going to promise God that I will do whatever I can to be punctual to church every week (you heard me right the first time, no need for me to repeat).
Next, of course, my 'lovely' contract with JPA. TER 85 and above or it's kissing JPA scholarship and Australia goodbye (so, yes, I expect you to empathise me and understand why I won't be blogging that regularly anymore). I must work my butt off this year. T_T I've never felt ever the more compelled to do well in my studies. Two years ago, I was thinking, "Ah... SPM, how nice if I could score straight A's..." Notice the dreamy and airy part, never mind the lack of vigour to do well.... Now, it's "God, help me! If I don't do well, I'm in deep trouble. I have no choice but DO WELL!" Yeah... the difference is priceless. Haha
My Greatest Achievement in 2009 (up till date)
I know it's wee bit too early to mention about one's greatest achievement of the year but in any case, I'm so proud of myself. Last Friday, I actually WALKED home to Casa Subang all the way from Taylor's College main campus with my housemates (Sher Rin, Yih Ling and Qiu Gee). It's a thirty-minute walk. We even stopped by a nearby shopping complex, The Summit, to eat 'tauhu fa'. =D Just that morning, I was thinking to myself, how is it even possible to walk back home from college? You see, the buses which take us to and fro from Casa Subang to Taylor's College can be rather fantastically late. Now that I know it is POSSIBLE for me to walk home or walk to college, I think walking is a very valid option from now on. Try getting stuck in a jam for more than an hour and getting to class late. I think you will agree with me, no?
Global Peace: A talk by Dr. Tun Mahathir at Taylor's College Main Campus
Yes, I attended the talk by our former prime minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir. He talked about Global Peace. For those of you who did not have the opportunity of listening to him speak personally and see him in the flesh (no, I did not say that to annoy you nor to boast. xP), I shall try my best to recall what he had said in his speech.
Firstly, we were given the idea by Tun that generally, peace is the absence of war. If there is no war, then the world would be a peaceful place to live in. Now, in order to lead the world towards a more peaceful direction, the solution suggested is to criminalise war.
Here's the thing: To murder a person, is a crime. As we all know, a breach of the law, performing a crime, results in sanctions i.e, punishments. You will be given the death penalty or life imprisonment etc. In fact, there are even advanced nations which come up with the 'noble' proposal that the death penalty is barbaric and inhumane. So murderers don't deserve to die too.
However, it is legitimate to wage war: to sacrifice innocent lives of men, women, children, the young and the old, the healthy and the sick.
Do you see the queerness of the picture which I am painting before you?
Now, you must understand the fact that people in the olden days warred against each other only because they didn't know any other way how to resolve their conflicts. Leaders led their skilled soldiers into war with swords and shields, arrows and bows to fight their enemies in a battlefield. The death toll and damage done was at the minimal. Unlike today, the battlefield is a city/cities of a country, the damage done is massive and unbelievable. In fact, the world could get wiped out if our leaders aren't too careful. (What do you think nuclear bombs can do?!)
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the ones who first tasted the destructive powers of the atomic bomb, yet, as though the destructiveness was not enough, people create better bombs—accurate bombs. Accurate bombs to...? To annihilate more people, to kill more innocent people. With such terrible tools available, war should not be an option to resolve conflicts between nation anymore.
War is very real, ladies and gentlemen. Why? Does it thrill you when you see people suffer because of war as you watch comfortably while sipping a glass of iced lemon tea from the television? Do you think that war can never reach us in Malaysia? Do you think that the word 'war' does not associate with our country as it normally appears alongside only with Gaza or Somalia or Afghanistan? If your answer is 'yes', shame on you. There is always the possibility that we will one day find ourselves in a war. War can happen anywhere if people believe that war is a method of resolution.
In order to obtain peace, criminalising war is an answer to it. People who initiate war should be trialled. If war is criminalised, people will see it as a bad and evil thing to do. During the Q & A session, Tun explained that awareness itself plays a vital role in spreading the message of global peace. (I used to think awareness is a kind of useless myth we mention in our moral papers to answer questions. "Kita perlu menyebar kesedaran tentang..." Sounds oddly familiar, no? I didn't know it actually has some practical use in it until now. Haha)
Anyway, as I was saying, I remember Tun mentioning that awareness itself is important. If the world believes in peace, then there would be no war. When awareness becomes a part the society, then people will refuse war. When people have a reluctant attitude towards war, then war can be avoided. People will refuse to fight in a war. When the people disagree with their leader going to war, the leader will not so easily place war as his number one option to solve conflicts. This is what is called a value system of the society; a mindset. Law is formed out of values and rights agreed by majority. So, naturally, if the world truly holds onto peace and hates war, war can be criminalised. It is not radical or just a mere illusion.
Evidence...
Tun's touch of humour
There was a student who asked a question (which I forgot to note down) and this was Tun's reply.
"Whether or not the bomb is accurate bomb or not, people are still terrified. People at Hiroshima and Nagasaki really could not possibly feel honoured when they were about to be killed by the first atomic bombs [which are much more accurate and destructive than a normal bow and arrow]. They were terrified."
I don't know about you but I find this part particularly funny. Lolz!
Conclusion
Global peace will definitely help improve the lives of a lot of people, especially those victims of war. Please support global peace. Spread the message. Nothing's worth to go to war for. The consequences are too dire, the sacrifice too colossal.
Doubt of my own, unanswered
Tun wishes that there will be no war. My question is if there is no war, how do you counter terrorist attacks? The September 11 incident happened, the Bali bombings happened, the London trains bombings happened. If there is no war, what about all these terrorists? They terrorise people. If a nation threatens to attack you, how will you retaliate?
Would you want to try to answer my question? =P
*To know what happened BEFORE the talk (the huge, unfortunate incident which upset quite a number of us), please click here~~
No comments:
Post a Comment