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University Education

August 31, 2008

Three months from now I will be graduating from university. I tried to recollect all the things that I have studied for the pass three years and ask myself – what have I learnt? I may be getting a university degree, but am I getting a university education?

Not long ago I had an interesting conversation with a lecturer. He teaches Financial Statements Analysis, and hence he is the ‘guru’ in analysing firms. This course has neither tests nor exams; just assignments and surveys. Every week after class we are to report anonymously what we learnt in his class, after which he will publish them in the course website. He told us that  “Judging by the surveys that the students have done, I finally come to a conclusion that I have overestimated your knowledge in accounting”. He went on saying “How do you explain final-year accounting students not knowing the real meaning of equity?”

I was struck by this question. To be honest, I took more than a dozen of accounting courses but surprisingly I could not apply any of them in my daily life. How pathetic is that? I went for class, I sat by myself, took some notes,...

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Tags: accounting, education


Posted at: 06:56 AM | 5 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

You can't teach moral

August 25, 2008

Is the Pengetahuan Moral subject taught in schools ineffective in instilling moral values into the heart of our youth? Most would say yes, Hishammudin said yes. Because it is too narrowly structured, students could memorise the answers and regurgitate them in exam, which is useless. So the government is thinking of reviewing it, maybe adding some 'kerja khusus', reducing some of the nilai(s) and wa-lah. There you go, the 'modified' version of Pengetahuan Moral is ready to rumble. But how different could it be? No matter how you dress the syllibus with, teaching moral is still teaching moral.

Malaysia is not the only country facing this dilemma of how to teach moral values to its citizens. Many other developed countries, like Britain, Australian and New Zealand are in similar situation as well, though the scenario is somewhat different.

The lack of moral values among Malaysians is causing corruptions to happen. Leaders are practicing cronyism and nepotism, civil servants especially the police are taking bribes, business entities causing pollution to the environment, drivers are impolite, teenagers indulge in drugs, alcohol and adultery, and the overall citizens are hopelessly civic-minded creatures with negative habits like littering everywhere especially the river...

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Tags: ethic


Posted at: 01:54 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

3rd World Mentality: Malaysians or the Malaysian government?

August 22, 2008

Often we hear Malaysians who have gone to overseas to further their studies came back with the conclusion that Malaysians are terribly stuck with 3rd world mentality, despite having 1st world facility. It is not the Malaysians really, rather it is the government who is stuck with such cookie-cutter mentality, though there are some 'loyal' citizens who decided to join in too.

 

Although the Malaysian government is made up of fellow Malaysians, we have to be able to distinguish between the two by acknowledging the fact that not all Malaysians are involved, or allowed to be involved, in policy making.

 

Malaysian Government has problems dealing with criticism. Whenever our policy is being criticized by the western (most of the time it is U.S.) someone from the government will make statements that sounds like this: “It is funny how the U.S. talks about democracy when they themselves are disrespectful of other country’s right”. Then they start blabbering about issues like Iraq, nuclear weapon, so on and so forth. Shouldn't they at least ponder upon the criticism presented to them and work on it to improve their policy, rather than dismissing it because it comes from an unworthy...

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Tags: government, race, religion


Posted at: 04:14 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Dexion Ltd - Simple yet complicated

August 21, 2008

When going about restating Dexion’s financial statements, I found myself smiling throughout the process because Dexion has a relatively straightforward business operation whereby, with reasonable diligence, readers of its financial statements can easily comprehend its business. Dexion has no minority interests, neither does it enter into agreements like interest rate swaps or forward rate agreements. Unlike Ryman Healthcare, Dexion does not even revalue its assets, except for intangible assets which they are required to under the IFRS. Therefore, I spend more time comparing Dexion’s FS with that of other firms.

 

On the balance sheet, I found only one item to be classified as financial activity i.e. loans and borrowings. But after reading through the notes, I found that Dexion has many other financial activities. For example, Note 5 discloses that Dexion uses forward exchange contracts to hedge any currency risk. This is further explained in Note 28 which discloses that at balance date, Dexion had taken out foreign exchange cover for the initial payment due for the acquisition of Shanghai Xiao Bao Storage Systems Equipment Co Ltd (from Note 34) by purchasing forward RMB12million (AUD equivalent $1.9million) for delivery in March 2008. $1.9million is a material amount,...

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Tags: dexion ltd


Posted at: 10:24 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink

Interfaith Talk: Can't We Handle It?

August 14, 2008

Back in Malaysia I have never asked myself, neither have I been asked by others why Muslims have to wear hijab, why is Muhammad our last prophet, what is the logic behind our 5-time prayers, why doesn’t Islam allow homosexuals, why can't Muslims withdraw from Islam, and many other issues pertaining Islam which non-Muslims would surely want to know. If only they could have an interfaith dialogue with us Muslims.

Too often these questions are taken for granted which results in shallow understanding of Islam among Muslims. And this could be the explanation for the staggering amount of Muslims choosing to leave the religion, or “murtad”.

It is high time for Malaysia to allow interfaith dialogue to take place. The government’s attitude of banning this type of talk, book or even movies like Fitna, are doing more harm than good to Islam. The argument that it could threaten the harmony among Muslims can no longer be sustained. The world needs to understand us as much as we need to understand the world, but they can't do that if we don't allow them to. This policy of banning such talk is backfiring us if you haven't noticed. How else could...

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Tags: religion


Posted at: 01:27 AM | 1 Comment | Add Comment | Permalink

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