A time for reflection
PRESS pause. Take some time to reflect. What does it really mean to be Malaysian? What should unity look like in light of all that the country is facing?
According to English teacher and contest coordinator Faith Bahtiar, The Star’s We Are Malaysia contest presented the students of SMK Abdul Rahman Talib, Kuantan, with an opportunity to reflect on these pertinent questions.
Not only did team Men In Black address the questions in their contest entry, they also went on to win the state-level Outstanding Award for their deep and thought-provoking answers. “The base on which Malaysia is built is unity. We were able to get freedom from the British because of unity.
“Even now, if we need to deal with any issues or problems, it’s through unity,” said group leader Hasnain Tahir.
Together with his group members Asef Azam Nair, Muhammad Amar Fauzan Suhaimi and Muhammad Kamiel Samsudin, team Men In Black’s entry touched on the need for unity to preserve the country’s hard-fought independence.
“Whenever times are hard, unity is what gets us through. It is important, no matter what the economic, social or political situation is like.
“Unity is the root and Malaysia is the tree. Without unity, Malaysia will fall,” added Hasnain.
While the 17-year-olds had different strengths that they could pull together to produce the entry, all of them concurred that Asef was the genius behind the visually stunning design.
“This contest is a platform for them to channel their creativity. They can draw and design on their computers. They can show off their talents,” said Faith.
Literally jumping with joy upon receiving news of the school’s win, the contest coordinator revealed that the school initially took part so that the students could receive the certificates.
“The students know that the certificate is proof that they have done something. With it, they can go further and apply for scholarships or student exchange programmes,” she added.
School prinicipal Bahtiar Sanusi expressed his thanks to The Star for providing his students with the “beneficial learning experience”.
“This contest is one of the platforms for students to participate in a national-level contest and be exposed on a national level,” he said.
Bahtiar said that he wanted to see the students improve in the areas of speaking and communicating in English and would encourage them to subscribe to The Star newspaper.
“It’s one of the tools that the students can use to learn English. They can also be more aware of current issues too,” he said.