I am looking to hire 3 people for 3 different positions, to work in my company, based in PJ and soon in Hartamas.
It’s a startup, so to put it one way, it doesn’t have the elements a large company does but if you’re into opportunities, then this vacancy is looking for you.
On the flipside, if you’re looking for a place to be comfortable, not challenging, sweet but not exciting, then this job is not looking for you. Your dancing shoes, meant for another song, not ours.
Someone with up to:
- 5 years experience for a managerial level, that can lead projects
- 3 years experience for an executive level, that can execute projects
- no years of experience for an internship level, that can assist projects
The work is communications based, but you do not need to have a communications background. Generally speaking, we’re categorized as a boutique advertising agency.
We don’t work the hours most agencies do because we don’t believe in that. As for pay, everyone is paid according to how well and able they are.
So you have an idea, we started off as an arts group, RandomAlphabets in 2008 doing flashmobs and guerrilla events.
After a string of freelance gigs, in 2009 Wago Sdn Bhd was set up from scratch, and grown it independently without any form of financial support, but just by selling ideas.
What is most important is, this is where people make things happen and get things done. If you have the same attitude, then I look forward to your email.
ZainHD at Wago dot com dot my.
Some weeks ago I was actively arguing why I was/am against teaching maths and science in English in Malaysian schools.
Below is the article published in my column in The Star on the matter. A similar (unedited) one in BM published in Sinar Harian today, a personal milestone for me as this is my first time my writing got published in a Bahasa Malaysia publication.
Also here are two pieces from friends of mine who wrote on the same matter. One by Shahril Hamdan, and the other by Najmie Noordin. I highly recommend you to read both as they touched on angles I did not include in my piece.http://zainhd.cm/2011/11/ppsmi-maths-science-in-english/
+
The Star:
Many people find it surprising that I am against the education policy of teaching maths and science in English (PPSMI). This is considering that I am far more fluent in English than I am in Bahasa Malaysia, and went to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) where everything was taught in English to students who were largely not proficient in the language.
Throughout law school, I was a maths and advance maths private home tutor to students who were sitting for their SPM and PMR exams. Sometimes, I would teach in two different languages as not all the students could understand English well.
I was once a supporter of PPSMI, but have changed my stand since. I’ve come to learn that there’s a huge difference between making a decision and making an informed decision. I changed my mind about PPSMI when I understood the bigger picture.
It started when I saw a draft copy of a World Bank report that looked into the education sector in Malaysia, which is currently being vetted by the Ministry of Education.
In the country’s GDP, we spend 60% more than comparable countries and twice the Asean average for the expenditure of basic education. This is a pattern that covers at least 30 years. Using international comparison, the report finds little or no evidence of a relationship between spending and learning outcomes.
My take from this information and the report as a whole is best illustrated like this: Our education system is like a factory that is heavily invested, well funded, overstaffed and sufficiently supported by stakeholders from the people to their leaders.
Yet its products, the Malaysian students, are not noteworthy.
There is a fundamental problem here. The core objective of this system, which is to educate Malaysians, is not doing what it is meant to do. To implement PPSMI, assuming you think the policy is a good idea, will not be wise. Why ask for a lightweight tyre, when the core structure of your bicycle is falling apart?
If we are going to work on fixing these problems, then we have to be focused.?Implementing something like PPSMI would mean a dillution of energy, time and money towards making the overall system work.
PPSMI has yet to be proven to have significant correlation towards comprehension or results for tertiary science subjects. According to the World Education Ranking conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that measures competency in “Reading, Maths and Science”, the top scorers are Shanghai (China), Korea, Finland and Hong Kong (China). United States ranked 17th, behind Poland and Switzerland.
Here’s another interesting point, assuming that the idea is to make the transition into English tertiary science-based education easier for Malaysian students: Of the approximate 400,000 students who enter Year 1, only 100,000 of them go on to complete their university education. Of that, number, how many of them are actually in the scientific field of study?
Now imagine having PPSMI across Malaysia of which has relevance to a small segment of students.
Imagine the disparity we’re harvesting between the educated, and the non-educated, the employability between the science students and the non-science students. Considering the disparity, caused by the benefit enjoyed by a “selective” segment of our students, can this be good for Malaysia?
If having better standards of English is good for those studying in university and also the country, then improve English as a whole. Japan is ranked 8th in the OECD study and yet, I’m confident that by percentage our population is more exposed to English and understand the language better than the Japanese. Meanwhile, people in Netherlands, ranked 10th, are fluent in Dutch, English and French, too.
Both countries have their education system in their local language.
Education is a national issue that all Malaysians have equity in it. A small school in a rural area where kids live as far as a three-day walk, will not have enough students to make a separate class specially for PPSMI, assuming they even have a teacher who can manage it (well).
Therefore, even if it’s an option, that option is an illusion. They now don’t have access to a portion of our education system, simply because of where they are born. Is that fair?
We have to understand things by tracing back the philosophy of a national education system. Is it meant to give selective special education where the smart will become smarter, and then figure out what to do with those who lack the exposure and opportunities? Is it meant to enable all Malaysians as much as possible to this basic human right? Or, is it purely to produce a workforce or to build a nation of people who are smart and able to articulate?
There’s been a good amount of intelligent people in this world throughout history, who don’t even know English and yet have their knowledge and work transcend beyond their own borders. Let’s work towards a solution for Malaysia. A smart one.
+
Sinar Harian:
Sudah lepas masa yang cukup, saya rasa, setelah Timbalan Perdana Menteri serangkap Menteri Pendidikan membuat keputusan tentang Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI) yang membolehkan kita membincang akan isu ini dengan lebih asas dan objektif.
Ramai yang terkejut apabila mendengar yang saya merupakan antara mereka yang menentang dasar PPSMI. Lebih – lebih lagi saya lebih fasih berbahasa Inggeris berbanding Bahasa Melayu, dan menerima pendidikan lanjut di UiTM di mana semua pelajaran diajarkan dalam Bahasa Inggeris kepada pelajar – pelajar yang majoritinya malah tidak fasih dalam bahasa tersebut.
Sepanjang pengajian saya di Fakulti Undang-Undang UiTM, saya menjadi tutor Matematik dan Matematik Tambahan bagi pelajar – pelajar yang mengambil peperiksaan SPM dan PMR. Acapkali saya terpaksa mengajar dalam dua bahasa kerana tidak semua boleh memahami apa yang diajarkan dalam bahasa Inggeris.
Sebelum ini saya merupakan penyokong PPSMI, tetapi saya telah mengubah pendirian saya. Saya sedar bahawa terdapat jurang yang besar dalam mengambil satu keputusan dan mengambil satu keputusan termaklum. Saya telah mengubah pendirian tentang PPSMI setelah memahami situasi ini dengan lebih jelas.
Ia bermula apabila saya terbaca satu salinan draf penyata yang dikeluarkan World Bank berhubung sektor pendidikan di Malaysia, yang pada masa ini sedang diteliti Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
Berdasarkan data Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) Malaysia, kita membelanjakan lebih 60% berbanding negara-negara yang sebanding dengan kita dan dua kali ganda lebih banyak daripada purata negara – negara Asean dalam peruntukan pendidikan. Ini telah berjalan sekurang-kurangnya selama 30 tahun. Dibandingkan dengan negara – negara lain, penyata tersebut gagal merincikan sebarang pertalian antara perbelanjaan dan natijah pendidkan.
Apa yang saya perhatikan daripada penyata ini dapat disimpulkan seperti berikut: “sistem pendidikan kita bagaikan sebuah kilang yang telah menerima banyak pelaburan, mempunyai dana yang mencukupi, tenga kerja yang ramai, dan disokong sepenuhnya oleh pihak – pihak berkepentingan baik dari masyarakat awam ke para pemimpin. “
Namun demikian, hasilnya, iaitu pelajar – pelajar kita, tidak berdaya saing.
Di sini kelihatan wujudnya satu masalah yang mendasar. Objektif utama sistem ini, iaitu mendidik rakyat Malaysia, tidak tercapai. Untuk melaksanakan PPSMI, andaikata dasar ini merupakan satu idea yang baik, adalah tidak bijak sama sekali. Berdasarkan analogi sebuah basikal, kenapa kita ingin menukar tayar sedangkan rangka basikal itu sendiri tidak kukuh?
Jika kita ingin memperbaiki sistem ini, kita mesti memfokuskan usaha kita. Pelaksanaan PPSMI akan mencairkan usaha, dana dan masa hanya untuk memastikan seluruh sistem ini dapat berjalan.
PPSMI sendiri masih belum berjaya dibuktikan mempunyai pertalian yang signifikan terhadap pemahaman mahupun keputusan subjek – subjek sains di peringkat tertiari. Menurut World Education Ranking yang dikeluarkan oleh Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) yang mengukur kemampuan dalam “Pembacaan, Sains dan Matematik,” yang mencatat markah tertinggi adalah Shanghai – China, Korea, Finland dan Hong Kong – China. Amerika Syarikat berada di tempat ke-17, di belakang Poland dan Switzerland.
Satu lagi fakta menarik, andaikata idea kita adalah untuk memudahkan peralihan kepada Bahasa Inggeris sebagai medium pengajaran sains di peringkat tertiari bagi pelajar-pelajar Malaysia: Daripada kira-kira 400,000 yang memulakan pengajian di Tahun 1, hanya kira-kira 100,000 yang berjaya menyelesaikan pengajian mereka. Daripada jumlah itu, berapa ramai yang merupakan graduan daripada bidang sains?
Dan sekarang bayangkan pelaksanaan PPSMI yang hanya memberikan manfaat buat segelintir pelajar di seluruh Malaysia.
Bayangkan jurang yang kita wujudkan di antara mereka yang berpendidikan dan mereka yang tidak, kebolehpasaran (employability) antara pelajar aliran sains dan bukan sains. Apabila kita renungkan jurang ini, yang disebabkan oleh manfaat yang hanya boleh dirasai oleh segelintir masyarakat, adakah ini sesuatu yang baik buat Malaysia?
Jika mempunyai standard Bahasa Inggeris yang lebih baik itu menguntungkan pelajar-pelajar kita di universiti dan juga negara, maka apa yang perlu kita lakukan adalah meningkatkan kualiti pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris itu sendiri! Jepun berada di tangga ke-8 dalam laporan OECD yang sama, tetapi saya yakin yang secara keseluruhan, populasi Malaysia jauh lebih terdedah kepada Bahasa Inggeris daripada Jepun. Manakala masyarakat Belanda, di tempat ke-10, fasih berbahasa Belanda dan Inggeris.
Kedua-dua negara ini mengggunakan bahsa ibunda masing-masing sebagai bahasa pengantar pendidikan mereka.
Pendidikan merupakan satu isu nasional di mana setiap rakyat Malaysia mempunyai ekuiti di dalamnya. Sekolah-sekolah kecil di kawasan luar bandar, tidak akan mempunyai pelajar yang cukup untuk melaksanakan kelas PPSMI secara berasingan, itu pun dengan andaian yang mereka mempunyai guru yang terlatih.
Oleh itu, biarpun PPSMI merupakan satu pilihan, ia lebih merupakan satu ilusi. Pilihan ini akan menyebabkan anak-anak di luar bandar ini akan terpinggir daripada pendidikan kita hanya kerana mereka lahir di luar bandar. Adakah ini akan membawa keadilan sosial?
Untuk itu, dalam usaha kita memahami situasi ini, kita perlu menelusuri kembali falsafah pendidikan negara kita. Adakah ia digubal untuk menyediakan satu siri pendidikan khas supaya mereka yang cerdik akan bertambah cerdik dan kemudiannya cuba memberikan penyelesaian kepada mereka yang kurang bernasib baik? Adakah ia digubal untuk menjamin hak setiap rakyat Malaysia untuk diberi peluang menerima pendidikan yang bermutu? Adakah ia digubal hanya untuk menghasilkan tenaga kerja? Atau adakah ia digubal untuk melahirkan generasi pembina negara dan masyarakat yang berwawasan?
Melihat kembali sejarah manusia, telah lahir banyak cendikiawan di dunia ini yang tidak mahir berbahasa Inggeris tetapi berilmu tinggi dan menghasilkan pelbagai karya yang merentasi batas-batas sosiobudaya. Untuk itu, marilah kita berusaha bersama-sama dalam mencari penyelesaian (yang bijaksana) buat Malaysia.
Since I moved out of my parents place late 2009, I’ve made it a point to avoid (almost completely), to call in extra help to clean y own place. It is imperative, I believe, that for as much as a person can be and remain independent and/or self-sufficient, he should.
Yes, there is the consideration of practicality and productivity, such as our expensive skilled time better invested elsewhere for better impact, if looked at in isolation. But that should not be veiled against formed complacency and harvested incompetency.
*Disclaimer: I too, struggle to schedule even random cleaning operations at home.
A reason why I take issue on this is two clear examples that are evident to me, the idea that:
- a middle class home today cannot function without a domestic worker doing the house certain, most or all chores,
- a child is expected to be primarily educated (in an encompassing context), by school teachers, and not the able adults in his reach.
Those two are only an example of what it brings us to. What is between the lines in essence, that makes it damaging, is the distorted outlook and paradigm that we have upon everything beyond ourselves, and worst still, upon ourselves, without actually realizing it. And then, the self-believe that it could be otherwise.
The video is an area of my recent interest. But that aside, at two parts it relates to my point above. What she calls inner-dependancy, and following that the consumerist mindset (for me, that which affects our lives overall, and not just materially).
*Thanks Yasmin for sharing this video with me. A pot of earl gray with some darjeeling, is owed.
- click to watch video http://zainhd.com/2011/11/ted-why-zain-doesnt-call-in-domestic-help
Thanks to the organizers for having me.
This event is of interest to me as I’ve worked with and spent some time with students and youth, and for the past few months have been discussing the elements and issues around cultivating a climate, an environment, an ecosystem that is more vibrant for the creative scene, the social entrepreneurship scene namely in the context of bottom-up growth progression.
My topic is creative capacity.
+
Event theme: Nurturing University’s Creative Minds
My likely topic: Creative Capacity
Saturday 10 December , 0900 – 1500
Click here for more info, and click here to see some of the other speakers, that I’m looking forward to see.
*Update: click here to view pictures from the event.
- http://zainhd.com/2011/11/speaking-at-tedxmmu/
Earlier today, I tweeted:
Jst left old furniture shop. In love, did not spend, but hv their email & pics of wht I like. Oh dear..http://lockerz.com/s/159887637
The last time I went on a furniture spree, Jakarta 2009, it caused some damage and no regrets. The same has been the case for the last few outings I’ve had with the shops.
But there are a few realities some must come to face. And the new one I had was, to run away.
By that I mean, not to stay another night in Penang, because if I did, I’d pay this store another visit to confirm purchase of the items I’m interested in.
When I started looking at this, I knew I was getting carried away. So..the wise thing to do was to continue letting that happen.
Aren’t they lovely? Note how the legs are angled, and that there’s only three.
I actually came looking for this. And got excited seeing all the other stuff.
And then I enquired about the price for this gorgeous heavy peranakan beauty. That snapped me back to life and marked my exit.
Khor Antiques, Beach Road, Penang. Near Chulia Street.
That said, here it is for your perusal as I don’t subscribe to this notion of keeping the good things a secret. In essence, no good has ever come out of such selfish behaviour.
- http://zainhd.com/2011/11/furni-loving/
Explore your home. You’ll find things that did not need seeking. It just required you.
Some months ago I started reducing speaking engagements because I felt, if I was in the audience, listening to me, I’d be upset with how the speaker just wasted the time in my life, albeit brief. This was indeed how I felt most of the time for the talks I’ve been going to for the past year. That self reflection made me improve in some areas and recently I put it to test.
Few weeks ago I gave a talk at Monash university on entrepreneurship. I wrote about it in my column last week in The Star, and reproduced it below. Last weekend, the Malaysian Students Association in Australia organized a summit that included MAP (Malaysian Aspration Program), their version of TED Talks. I couldn’t go to Melbourne, so I recorded my part on youtube (below) for them to screen and did the Q&A live via Twitter from KL.
For both, I tried to focus on the reality as well as substance and not style. Either way, I thank both organizers for having me and hope I did not disappoint you and the audience. If I did, don’t expect a card and some flowers. Just let me know and I’ll work on it.
http://zainhd.com/2011/10/my-article-video-on-entrepreneurship
Video Part 1 of 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkfo42ezZ0k
Video Part 2 of 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky0dxz_64UE
Video Part 3 of 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuhOPPPenTw
+
Business Minded
MANY people I know do not actually have a clear idea of what they did in the past that had gotten them to where they are today. I was asked recently to speak to Monash University students on entrepreneurship. Until that point, I was not actually conscious of being an entrepreneur, nor was I aware of how I got “there” in the first place.
In 1995, my father brought home football magazines from an overseas trip, which I photocopied (without legal consent, of course) and sold to my friends at school. That’s a “pirate”, not entrepreneur right?
Years later, I was a performer, getting paid as a rapper and moving with it business-wise such as booking shows and recording with other people. After awhile, when it was not as fun anymore, I left. But that too is being a musician right? Not an entrepreneur I think.
Today, I run a startup company, a business that thinks of, sells and executes ideas. If I have no clients to do business with, there’d be no money. The excitement is fascinating but the risk does make me lose sleep sometimes.
“A person who organises and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.” That was how my laptop dictionary defined entrepreneurship.
So I suppose yes, I’m an entrepreneur although I’m not too sure how I got here. I sure didn’t make any plans, or a conscious choice to be an entrepreneur. I just did what I felt like doing, but let’s set a few things straight.
I don’t mean to discourage anyone but I feel from what little I know so far, certain things about entrepreneurship must be made clear.
First of all, not all entrepreneurs are successful. It’s not always like the stories we hear, where it’s glittered with positive words, romantic elements, big money and at most a difficult beginning. We know this is not true but not many people are that consciously aware of it. For some people the risk they have to take is immense, and when the flowers don’t bloom as they’d hope, the pretty garden they planned for their life can fall apart horribly.
Besides that, there are some who choose entrepreneurship as a way out of something they were unhappy about and not because they wanted it or because they had the characteristics of being one. To illustrate, if you don’t like rock music, that doesn’t mean you might not like another genre.
There are also some people who choose entrepreneurship for the supposed “cool” factor. Your career is also your livelihood and there’s nothing cool about not having enough money to make a living or paying the salary of the people who work for you. It’s a very serious circumstance to be in.
Finally, there’s often a tendency to be inspired when reading the journey of an entrepreneur, but don’t let that devalue your perception of other professions out there.
There are many people out there who hold on to their conventional job while being involved in a business venture.
My company actually started out as a side business while I had a full-time job that eventually didn’t work out for me. At first, the company didn’t work out either, but many lessons learned during my job helped me start the business and subsequently, continue to grow it.
It’s not just about me, myself and I. Apart from the experiences I got at my old job, I also had a business partner who helped make the work smoother by bringing in lessons he learned from his previous work.
On top of that, a supportive staff also made things easier.
So, should you consider going down this path of entrepreneurship, do take into account all the little things you’ve learned along the way. At the end of the day, whatever you choose, make the best out of it.
* Zain runs Random Alphabets (randomalphabets.com), and tweets at @ZainHD.
IKEA UK releases 100 house cats into their Wembley, UK store.
being in the business of ideas, this is one example of work, that i would love to have been part of, though not the best example. bringing it to life is, for the lack of a better word, an arousing process and experience.
watch the video http://zainhd.com/2011/10/100-ikea-cats/
2 days ago, I slept over my brothers place in his tv room, with his son who decided to sleep there with me. The following is a compilation of tweets I put up, some time before we went to bed.
My niece is fun. She’s not on Twitter. She can’t talk. My nephew is lobbying for me to sleep in the tv room.
Me, my nephew and his father will come over to my house to sleep, so the small boy says. ‘Warriors Sleepover.’ And ‘girls are not Warriors.’
Dnt think nephew being sarcastic abt me not having a tv of my own, but he jst showed me how to work his, highlighting Disney channel number.
I told nephew I need a shower n he showed me the bath. ‘Girls use cold water. You must use hot water Ami Zain. Because boys are warriors.’
Nephew also said, perhaps I should not shower but jst ‘bilas badan. Or, you can use soap (and shower) but jst don’t waste water.’
Me n nephew sleeping infront of tv tonight. He is equally talkative when he is tired, watching tv n me on the phone. Fascinating.
‘We sleep aftr this cartoon is it? U kno I used 2 wear pyjamas like u whn I was small.’ He replies: ‘these 2 cars r Hotwheels.W/c 1 u like?’