Strong perseverance via great anticipation; the key towards “magical touch”.

 

Are you done with staring at this scenery? Now, call someone and show him/her this picture. I dare say that the person would likely ask you questions such as “Where did you take this photo? ” / “Where was this picture taken?” or “Who took this photo?”  I bet you the person would not ask the following question, “Who painted this?” Why not? Well, one way to find out….read on…..


Frankly, I could hardly believe what I saw when I stepped onto the top floor of the Paddy Musuem.  I found myself standing on a revolving platform with a 360 degrees view of a traditional malay village nestled at the foot of Gunung Keriang surrounded by miles and miles of green paddy fields, under a bright blue sky dotted  with speckles  of white clouds.  I gasped in amazement. Is this real? Am I looking at a real village? The scene certainly looked real enough.

I looked closer and I realized that the figures of villagers going about their daily activities were static – thus I concluded that this scene around me is a collage of painted pictures pasted on the wall/ceiling.  Then I made another surprising discovery.  On closer inspection, I realized that the scenery was actually a giant mural painting! Not mere collage of painted pictures as I had earlier thought they were. Oh wow! It’s truly amazing the amount of creativity and craftsmanship put into producing this work of art.

That is the story behind this amazing picture. By the way, this episode brings to mind an important thought for reflection.  Yes, I’m amazed by the ‘magical touch’ of the artists who painted this mural. But what I consider to be more important is the attitude behind this ‘magical touch’. To me, every ‘magical touch’ or ‘magical moment’ is a result of strong perseverance which is continuously energized by great anticipation of the outcome. Having personally witnessed the magical touch of this beautiful painting, I wondered at the challenges faced by those artists; what kind of great anticipation had kept them going till the work is completed. I am certain they persevered despite having to bear thousands of failures or else we would not bear witness to this magnificent painting.

It is also interesting to connect this thought on strong perseverance to our teaching profession.  Our ultimate goal as teachers   is to educate our students; we anticipate their success and achievements.   Along the way, we are faced with many challenges, and this is where we need strong perseverance . Encountering failures  is not a big deal, but what matters most is how we continue to be strong in the face of adversities; to persevere in fulfilling our responsibilities.   

To my dear fellow teachers-to-be, let’s inculcate this principle of strong perseverance via great anticipation in enduring our challenging teaching profession.  Trust me, we would create our own “magical touch” because what does not kill us would surely make us stronger. 

By, 

ZUWE 14/12.

A Fantastic Trip ~ ^.^

         Last semester, we organised a class trip prior to the exam study week. After much planning and discussion, we finally decided on our destinations – which were the Paddy Musuem in Alor Setar and Li Huat Garden in Jitra. Although I live in Kedah since I was born, I have never been to the Paddy Musuem. So this is a much awaited trip.

            

          After much anticipation, it was finally the day of the trip -  27th. April 2012.  Early that morning, my course mates and I gathered at the meeting point in campus, just outside the Munsyi Hall. The rented mini school bus was there waiting for us. The driver cum owner was a Malay man in his early fifties, whom we addressed as ‘pakcik”.  It was kind of a shock for us to see the condition of the bus. It looked old and worn-out. Furthermore it was not air-conditioned. We were kind of disappointed but we did not want this situation to spoil our day. We took our seats and off we went! Wow...what a ride! The bus practically ‘crawled’ along the highway and each time the pakcik driver changed gears, a loud groaning sound could be heard coming from the gearbox. We wondered if we would reach the Paddy Museum. I am certain many of us prayed that the bus would not break down.

The rented mini bus           

              We were greatly relieved when we finally arrived at the Paddy Musuem. This museum is situated at the foot of Gunung Keriang, about 8km away from the city of Alor Setar. The surrounding scenery is one of tranquillity and natural beauty.

This is Gunung Keriang.

           The Paddy Museum was established with the purpose of educating the public on all aspects of paddy cultivation. The fact that it is built in Alor Setar, the state capital of Kedah is significant as this state produces the highest quantity of paddy in Malaysia. Kedah is popularly known as “The Rice Bowl of Malaysia.” The architecture of the museum is unique as it depicts a bundle of paddy stalks. It consists of one main block and six other secondary buildings. The main block covers an area of 1200 square meters and consists of three levels.

            

               We began our museum tour at Level 1. On this level, we were introduced to the history of paddy planting in Kedah. Paddy has been planted in Kedah for many generations. We saw exhibits of traditional and modern cultivation equipment such as “anok”, “renggam” and “kepok” . Apart from the equipment, there were also photographs showing the steps in harvesting and processing paddy.  Among the steps are drying, cleaning, dehusking and husk separation. Looking at the photographs, I realised that this is a tedious and complicated process and for that, we should appreciate the efforts of the paddy farmers.  

            

              We then moved up to Level 2 where big mural paintings are displayed. The paintings depict various agricultural activities. The paintings are creatively produced through a special technique using crystal spray.

        Next, we went up to Level 3. What a fascinating sight greeted us up there. We saw a panoramic view of a traditional malay village nestled at the foot of Gunung Keriang and surrounded by miles and miles of paddy fields. Even more amazing was the fact that this whole view is actually a gigantic mural, 8 meters high and 103 meters in length – truly the biggest and the most beautiful mural in Malaysia.  I am filled with a sense of pride that Malaysians could produce such creative work. The whole of Level 3 is actually a revolving platform fitted with 40 cinema-type seats where visitors could sit and enjoy the view. My friends and I had so much fun posing and taking pictures with the mural as our backdrop.

This is one of the photos that I took at level 3. The beautiful mural served as our backdrop.  When I look back  at my photos, I realized my phone was left on the seat. OMG…!

This is the last photo that I took at Museum Padi. We smiled happily as we had fun there. At that time, I still have not discovered my phone was lost. The wall behind us was written with the short phrase ‘Thank you, please come again.’ At the end, I really had to come back again to Museum Padi that same day to collect my phone. =.=

                After the museum visit, we headed to Jitra Mall.. By then it was close to lunch time.  We were all hungry and eagerly looking out for nice food outlets. Then to my great horror, I realised that I did not have my mobile phone with me! I frantically checked my big bag, practically turning it inside out but it was futile....no phone! I have lost it! I tried to recall where I had last used it, but I was in such a state of panic that my mind blanked out for a few seconds. Then I recalled that I had used my camera phone to take pictures at Level 3 of the museum – I must have left it on one of the seats.  My friends immediately went into action, trying to help locate my phone. They tried dialling my number, hoping that someone would pick it up and answer the call. But, the phone had been switched off. We guessed someone must have taken it and deliberately switched it off.  I was so upset that I lost my appetite for lunch. I had bought that phone about half a year ago and it cost me RM799.00. I blamed myself for being so careless. My friends tried to console me but that did not make me feel any better. It was kind of them, though. I felt bad that I had inconvenienced them – as a result of trying to call my phone earlier on, we had run out of time for lunch and ended up buying snacks and eating them on the bus. Oh dear, what would Mdm.Shirley say if she knew of this?

              Our next destination was Li Huat Garden in Jitra. I was terribly upset and had no mood to even eat the sweet corn my friends had bought. They knew how I felt and they decided to try calling my phone again. One of them dialled the number and unexpectedly heard the ringing tone. We held our breath in anticipation and to our pleasant surprise, a man answered the call. He identified himself as a worker at the Paddy Musuem. He had found my phone on one of the seats at Level 3. I was instantly alive with happiness! I thank God this blessing. Thank God for friends and an honest worker. I smiled and munched happily on the sweet corn. Yeah, I could enjoy the rest of the trip.

          

            We arrived at Li Huat Garden but to our disappointment, the place was temporarily closed due to renovation works. Anyway, being photo enthusiasts , we posed for pictures at the entrance area. We got onto the bus and headed for KSAH. By this time, we had got used to the loud, groaning sound of the bus engine though we still prayed that the bus would not break down.

                Somewhere along the main road, some of my friends requested for a quick stop to buy drinks at some roadside stalls. The pakcik driver kindly obliged and that was when I noticed that the bus had stopped not far from the intersection to Paddy Museum. This put me in a dilemma – should I tell Mdm. Shirley the incident about my lost & found phone, thus requesting pakcik to turn around and head back to the museum so I could pick up my phone? Or should I just keep silent and come back on my own the next day to pick up my phone?

           

             I quickly decided to tell Mdm.Shirley about the incident. She was naturally shocked yet relieved that the phone has been found. Of course, at the same time, she reprimanded me for being careless (she did so good-naturedly) and I acknowledged the fact.  Then, she told me to make my request to the pakcik. She added that I should offer to pay pakcik for the extra cost incurred for doing this double trip. Furthermore, she added that I should request from my friends in the bus, their permission to make that return trip to the museum.  I did as she told me to. And the way the pakcik responded to my request was simply heart-warming. He smilingly agreed to drive back to the museum without extra charge. I was so grateful to him and my perspective towards this old, groaning mini bus changed :) . My friends were fully supportive of my request and to them I am deeply thankful.

                 

         What a memorable class trip this has turned out to be! I learned to appreciate the importance of true friendship – friends who were there for me through my darkest hours. I am grateful there are kind, caring and honest people around despite the spread of materialism and modernisation in this world.

By,

Jay Ying

A Memorable Trip to Paddy Museum, Alor Setar (27-4-2012)

“P3M, P3M, where have you been?”

“We’ve been up to the Paddy Museum in Alor Setar.”

“P3M, P3M, what did you do there?”

“It is a long story ...let me tell you one at a time."

We knew that tension is fast approaching as the end-of-semester examination is just round the corner. So, we decided to take a short break before we face the gruelling exam week. My class, P3M, decided to take a trip to the famous tourist spot, the Paddy Musuem in Alor Setar, Kedah. The trip was partly sponsored by our lecturer, Madam Shirley Goh, who came along with us.

We left our campus on a bright, Friday morning. It was partly cloudy so the weather was not too warm. It was a pleasant ride in our rented school bus. The bus owner, a malay pakcik in his 50s, drove slowly, mainly because it was an old bus. We didn’t really mind the slow ride....after all we were taking a break.

The rented school bus

The journey from our campus to the Paddy Museum took about an hour and a half. Along the way, we passed by many small villages, paddy fields and graveyards. Actually, it is not that easy to locate the museum as it is tucked away behind a big hill, which the locals call Gunung Keriang. What a good thing that our pakcik driver knew the way to get there or else we would have to stop to ask for directions.

As the bus rounded a bend, we suddenly saw, ahead of us, a unique building. It was the Paddy Musuem!. The building is specially designed to depict the patterns of paddy stalks. We were so excited and the moment the bus stopped, we hurriedly got off. 

The unique design with the pattern of paddy stalks

The museum management charges an entry fee of RM3.00 per person and an additional RM2.00 for each camera brought into the museum. We paid the entry fees and many of my course mates paid the RM2.00 camera fees as well. After all, we love taking pictures and we want to have a collection of this memorable visit. 

entrance ticket

We began our tour at Level Two. There is a TV corner where a documentary is played throughout the day where visitors could gain insights into the history of paddy planting in Kedah. In addition, the documentary also showed the various agricultural activities of bygone era. The activities include the knowledge on the methods of paddy planting such as seeding, replacement, fertilizing and harvesting. Besides the TV corner, there are six huge mural galleries on this level. The murals are beautifully painted, representing various cultural and economic aspects of Malaysia. Of all the six murals, the one that fascinated me the most was the mural depicting Malaysians of various age-groups, gender and ethnicity, all wearing red t-shirts and looking towards one direction. In the centre of this mural, is a hand clutching a stalk of rice. A close scrutiny  of the faces on this particular mural will reveal famous Malaysian personalities and leaders, like Tun Dr. Mahathir and Tun Abdullah b. Haji Ahmad Badawi. Sadly, I only managed to spot Tun Dr. Mahathir until my friends pointed out the others to me.

TV corner

1 of the murals 

Another mural

            Next, we walked down to Level One which is the basement of the museum. Here, we saw exhibits of various traditional tools used in paddy planting. The tools were displayed under various functions like cutting, storage and  transportation. For example, “kapok” and “jelapang” were two common rice storage bins in olden days. The storage bins were lined with dried cow dung which served as an insulator against heat and insects. As for transportation, we saw vehicles such as a buffalo cart, sampan, two-wheeter “anok”, and an old bicycle.

anok

jelapang

An interesting piece of information I gathered was related to cows. The farmers relied on cows to carry out their agricultural activities. They made special gadgets for their cows like cow bells and “kertuk”. What was even more amazing and surprising was that famers “spoke cow language” to their cows as a way of communicating and training those animals to work in the paddy fields. 

Cow Language

special gadgets for cow

Then it was time to move up to Level Three, the highest floor of this museum. From Level Two, we climbed up a winding stairs of 59 steps. I was quite out of breath on reaching the top but what really took my breath away for a second was the scene that met my eyes as I stepped off the last step.

looks like a SNAKE? no, it is the ladder to reach the revolving platform

I found myself standing on a revolving platform with a 360 degrees gigantic panoramic view of a traditional village surrounded by miles and miles of paddy fields. Wow! It was a sight to behold. Actually, this is a mural, measuring 103 meters long and 8 meters high,   drawn by 60 talented artists. The revolving platform has 40 cinema-type seats for visitors to sit and enjoy the view. It takes about 20 minutes to complete one circle round the mural. I truly enjoyed this unique experience as the scenery, people and buildings were so life-like.

Mural (Gunung Keriang)

Mural around the revolving platform

What is a trip without shopping...Yea? So, we headed down to the basement at Level One where the souvenir shop is located. The shop sells many types of rice-based products such as soaps, biscuits, rice crackers and other types of hand-made handicrafts. The museum brochure states that many of these products especially the food items were produced by the people of Kedah. What did I buy?....well here are some of my purchases .....my friends said I should be awarded the title “Best Shopper of the Day” (Haha). 

 some of my purchases (some others already given to my friends and relatives as souvenirs)

It would have been an uneventful day if not for a scary moment. One of my coursemate realised she had lost her 4-month old brand new handphone. At that time we had left the Paddy Musuem and our bus was heading towards Jitra. She panicked and so did we....losing your handphone is like losing your lifeline. We started a search by dialling her handphone number. Luckily, someone answered the call. And what was even more fortunate was that the person worked in the Paddy Musuem. Apparently, a visitor discovered the phone on one of the seats at the revolving platform in Level Three and handed it over to the information counter.  Yes, thank God, there are good, honest people around in this world! Our pakcik driver kindly made a second trip back to the museum where my friend happily reclaimed her handphone. What a relief it was for her....I think from now on she would be more careful.

       All in all, it was a good break for us. Apart from the knowledge gained at the Paddy Museum, the change of scenery, sharing jokes and laughter were also good for us. I felt refreshed, relaxed and more importantly ready to face the coming exams. Thank you, friends for planning and organising this trip. And to Mdm. Shirley...many thanks for coming along with us. 

A w0nderFul tRip ^^

^.^

by, 

Zhi hui

aWEsOmE tRiP eVeR!!

This semester (Jan-May 2012) we took an English Language Enrichment (ELS)  course. This is a non-credit, non-exam course which is primarily aimed at giving us more opportunities to improve our proficiency. Our lecturer, Mdm. Shirley Goh asked us to suggest ways we could make this course more fun and interesting, instead of the usual classroom interactions.  One of the suggestions was a class trip.

And so on April 27^th. 2012, we went up north  to Alor Setar and Jitra, Kedah. The two places we planned to visit are the Paddy Museum and Lye Huat Garden.

This is my entry on the trip.  The day started well…I woke up early and a few of us, girls prepared sandwiches to take along with us on the trip. We hurried to the meeting spot, near the campus main gate and the rented mini school bus was waiting for us. Everyone arrived on time and by 8.20am we left the campus. 

Our first destination was the Paddy Museum in Alor Setar, a 90 minutes drive from Sungai Petani.  The journey was very pleasant as we passed the scenic countryside. When we arrived at the museum, there were a few groups of visitors ahead of us. As it was a Friday, many of them were school students accompanied by their teachers. We spent about two hours wandering around the museum and viewing the exhibits. I guess everyone’s favourite spot was the museum’s Souvenir Shop.  This was where we spent the longest time – admiring, selecting and finally purchasing some souvenirs. 

When we got back onto the bus, it was already close to noon time.  As it was a Friday, our Muslim course mates would have to perform Friday prayers. So, we decided to stop at Jitra Mall for lunch and browse around while they perform their prayers.

At 2 o’clock, the bus picked us up from the mall and we headed for Lye Huat Garden in Jitra.  We were excited and eager as we have heard much about its beautiful landscaped garden. The moment the bus came to a stop in front of the main entrance, we hurriedly got down and rushed to the ticketing booth. We were GREATLY DISAPPOINTED! There was a printed sign hanging on the grill stating that Lye Huat Garden was temporarily closed to the public due to renovation works. 

Oh well….nothing could be done, we’ll have to come another day (God willing).  Anyway, we posed for pictures outside the entrance.  All in all, we had a nice, fun trip…it was the companionship and laughter we shared as coursemates that made this trip memorable.  Thank you, guys & gals of P3M!!

by,
amal amri