So, after going through so many challenges ( you can read the history of TFM here ) , TFM has managed to recruited and trained 50 “Fellows” under their first cohort for the program. These carefully selected Fellows have undergone a very tough and unique selection process, as i get to know them, i was mesmerized by their intelligence, sincerity, and big heart. Very special group of people indeed. As Fellows started off their remarkable journey teaching in school last week, facing real challenges, i would love to bring back some memories and insight for them, the team, and you guys to cheerish upon. All the best, and i’ll see you very soon fellows =)

“One of the greatest influences in my life, my mother, is a school teacher herself – and I’ve always thought of her job as a “paid hobby”. I teach tuition in my spare time while studying, and have a group of 15 youth (secondary school boys) whom I regularly mentor in my youth group at church, teaching them life lessons. Teaching gives me the satisfaction of knowing I have imparted something meaningful into another life, and I have myself been blessed by great teachers myself. Teach For Malaysia’s goals match my passion to teach, and I hope to add value to the classroom when I teach. I’ve always believed that a teacher does not just teach a textbook lesson, he/she teaches his/her students about life too. Joining Teach For Malaysia would grant me the opportunity to leave a legacy. At some point of my university life, I realized that there is little significance in achieving fame or accumulating great wealth, because these things have no permanent value, and they do not last beyond a (my) lifetime. Understanding that, I have since invested much of my time in the lives of others , because at the end of the day, people are what truly matter. I aspire to make a difference, I hope to impart confidence, a sense of worth and hope into my students.” 

                                                                                                                                                                       - Abel Cheah / Proud Fellows of TFM First Cohort.

In 2 months, the Fellows have create a bond that will last forever.

In 2 years, they will create a history that will shape the future of this nation.

For more info on TFM: http://www.teachformalaysia.org/

To join the force : http://www.teachformalaysia.org/apply-page/how-to-apply

Copyrights: Rahman Roslan / IHT

*The results of more than 12 hours of cycling with two cool Terengganu boys in Angkor Wat

The new official palace of Malaysian King that costs 1 billion.

Rahman Roslan / International Herald Tribune

Nov 29th 2011, hundreds of lawyers staged the “Walk for Freedom” march to register their opposition to the Bill which is repressive, encroaches into the civil liberties of the people and violates the Federal Constitution.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee said ”The Malaysian Bar, and indeed Malaysia, is now facing such a moment of challenge and controversy – an objectionable Bill, being rushed into law with unseemly haste and without adequate public consultation, which effectively robs the rakyat of our constitutional right to freedom of assembly.”

Lim stressed that the Bill, which aims to replace Section 27 of the Police Act in regulating public assembly, is far more restrictive than the current law.

“It is not a piece of legislation which we, as lawyers, can watch enter our statute books without standing up against it.

“It is not a piece of legislation that we want future generations to inherit, without us walking, and spending every ounce of our energy to oppose. If this piece of legislation makes it to the statute books, future generations will inherit a nation that is far from modern and progressive.”

Quoting Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s speech on the eve of Malaysia Day on Sept 15 this year, Lim pointed out that the Bill was not “in accordance with the supremacy of the constitution, rule of law and respect for basic human rights and individual rights” as Najib promised.

“We feel let down by how far short this Bill falls in relation to what the Malaysian people were promised in the Prime Minister’s Malaysia Day 2011 message. In short, the prime minister must walk his own talk,” he said.

-Malaysiakini

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Hundreds of International Islamic University (UIA) students gathered today to protest the university’s suspension of Prof Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, chanting slogans in a show of force at the mosque compound of its Gombak campus here.

Approximately 700 students turned up for the protest and demanded UIA Rector Prof Datuk Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin immediately drop Abdul Aziz’s suspension. “Hidup hidup mahasiswa! Hancur kezaliman! (Long live undergraduates, reject authoritarianism!)” many of the protesters were heard shouting as police watched.

Many of the students said the move was necessary to “repair” the university’s image as a respected academic institution. UIA has indefinitely suspended the outspoken academic following his remarks on the the Selangor Sultan, saying that “criticism of a Ruler is valid if it is intended to constructively show that the Ruler has erred.”

Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had decreed recently that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had found evidence of proselytisation by non-Muslims during a dinner held at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) on August 3 but said it was insufficient for further legal action.

Following Abdul Aziz’s statement that the intervention was “unusual and inconsistent” and should have been done in line with Islamic teachings, it caused a furore in Parliament among Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs who urged that action be taken against the UIA law lecturer.

Although a police report has been lodged against him, the outspoken academician has decided against apologising for his remarks, insisting he had not meant to challenge the Sultan.

Among the politicians present at the protest today were PKR vice-presidents Chua Tian Chang and Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Ahmad Syukri Ab Razab, chief of student rights advocacy group Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM), led the protest towards the rector’s office to hand over a memorandum calling for Aziz Bari to be reinstated.

But events threatened to turn ugly when security officers moved in to block the students’ path.

“Return academic freedom to the lecturers and students,” Syukri shouted as protestors and security staff engaged in a physical exchange of shoving and pushing.

The situation calmed down after a representative was allowed to meet the deputy rector to hand over the memorandum which also called for students and lecturers to be allowed more academic freedom.

Text by

These are the un-used photos from the story.

The story can be read here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/world/asia/boon-lin-ngeo-gay-pastor-in-new-york-urges-change-in-malaysia.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

copyrights rahman roslan/smh/the age