Scholarships oh scholarships

It's that time of the year again.. When almost those who were rejected by PSD for scholarships cried foul of the system. Who can blame them? They have worked so hard for their SPM exams and yet the prestigious scholarship eluded them. No amount of explaination will help them understand that they were not entitled to the scholarships.

I remember two years ago when my son was granted a scholarship to study abroad. He felt so guilty that two of his close friends did not get them. Especially when their results were better than his. He had no other explaination except that he had done better than them during the interviews.My son deserves the scholarship. He scored 5 As for UPSR, 8 As for PMR and 10 As for his SPM. What my son gets is not actually a scholarship. It is a convertible study loan. If he does very well in his studies, the loan will be converted to scholarship.

I think the government should give out convertible loans instead of scholarships. Only students who have the determination to do well in their studies will not be put off by the conditions set by the sponsors. Then we will see less of these bright students applying for loans since they have to pay back if they do not do well in their studies. And for information, the PSD scholarships are actually for studying locally first, in preparation for future studies abroad. Those who do not meet the sponsors' requirement will not be sent abroad. Normally, very few were left behind.

The government perhaps has considered not to send every top students abroad. Some were offered to study locally so as to improve the standards of education in the local universities. We heard often enough from some politicians that the standard of education in the local universities is lower than expected. So without us realising it, that was what the government is doing ...not to send every bright student abroad.

There are of course other scholarships being offered by other sponsors. Asean scholarships, STAR Education funds, Sime Darby, Petronas, Bank Negara etc. If these students are very good as they claimed, I'm sure they have no problems in getting other scholarships since the requirement for other scholarships are much stricter/higher than the PSD scholarships.

Names for Grandparents

At this age, some of my friends had already grand titles. I'm not talking about Puan Sri's or Datins but grandmothers. My eldest daughter got married almost a year ago and the frequent questions that people asked me are... when I'm going to have a grandchild. Even my younger children kept asking me and their sister...when..

My husband too, surprisingly, had been looking around for baby crib. He told his daughter that he is going to sponsor the crib. I could only look at him with disbelief. Nadia is not even pregnant and he is so excited over nothing. What if it takes her almost 2 years before she gets pregnant like me or 4 years like her late auntie? Or 6 years like my friend, Rajinder?

So, what will my future grandchildren address me?My children address my parents as Atuk and Nenek, my husband's parents as Tok Wan and Tok Tok. Yes , Tok Tok. My sister-in-law calls herself as Nek Ma and her husband as We Pa [ him being a kelantanese, the Wan becomes We].
There are a lot of other names that grandparents can called themselves. A friend of mine was contemplating calling herself Lola [ grandmother in filipino] and has been urging me to call myself that when I have a grandchild. I guess calling myself Lola would not make me feel so old.
Well, in the mean time, Nadia has to get pregnant first before I crack my head for my future title. Lola... not bad.. Her name was Lola.. she was a showgirl.. Oh! No...



p/s To Fatimah azzahra,
Congratulations for your recent graduations. Good luck and best wishes for your future undertakings. May Allah bless you always.

Don't Be Sad

A friend of mine recommended a book to me. I managed to get hold of the book and had started reading it. Normally I could finish a book within days, depending on how interesting the book is. There's however this one book I could not finish until now. It's not really that thick but I somehow get myself confused after reading around 20 to 30 pages. Maybe you have read the book... One hundred years of solitude {I hope the title is right} I really admire those who have read the book, ...really.

Coming back to the book that was recommended by my friend. The title is Don't Be Sad by 'Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni. I highly recommend this book to all of you. It is a translated version from Arabic. You have to somehow reflect on the topics written in this book to make it more meaningful. Try to absorb everything and apply it to your everyday life. Every household should have it and tell your children about this book. I am really thankful to my friend for recommending this book to me.... Happy reading.

Life in Ward U13A

Finally, after 30 days in the hospital, my dad has been discharged. Alhamdulillah, he is fine. Hopefully, he'll be able to walk on his own soon. I have nothing but a lot of thanks to the nurses, doctors and the staff of Ward U13A.

Life in ward U13A has been a humbling experience. In the first one week, my dad has lost 3 roommates. We, the children, tried to comfort each other during this trying times. No matter how old we are, losing a parent is very painful. I saw small children crying for their father and I saw older children crying for theirs too. We cannot but feel their pain too.

Here, in ward U13A, I saw kindness from all walks of life. An old Indian lady gave donations to a widow that she never knew. A Malay lady helped a Chinese patient whenever the children were not around. We were comforted with the thoughts that the few hours we left our parents, the children and the spouse of other patients will look after them. If that not kindness, I do not know what is.

Of course, there were good and not so good patients. To me, the not so good patients couldn't help it. The frustration of having to depend on another human being for your daily needs can be a daunting experience. These patients just could not take it. I'm sure when they are healthy, they are a different kind of persons. Then , there was this patient who always put a smile on my face. Whenever he wants to sleep, he will ask his children or maid to whisk him around in his wheelchair. I called him the baby of the ward. It didn't matter to him whether it's 4 o'clock in the evening or 4 o'clock at night. Just like a baby.

Days after life in ward U13A, I realised that Allah makes everything in pairs. Not just men and women, but life and death, sickness and well, sadness and happiness, poor and rich etc., etc... I am thankful with what Allah has blessed me....