Off to KL this week to look for a new car - maybe. With the small tribe we've succeeded in breeding, we feel the need for a larger set of wheels! So it's come down to a race between the Toyota Estima and the mighty Alphard. I'm all for the Alphard, just cos it's a big beastie on the road and it looks awfully comfy! And the TV/DVD will come in handy no doubt too!
Change of topic.
Last week my March IEP (Intensive English Programme) finished. Was a good course, but as it was a bit short of students, I called in some old students who had finished the previous one. The reason? Debates!
Usually, at the end of the month-long course, we have 2 debates on issues facing Malaysian students today. Sometimes the topic is something like 'Which is better? Studying in Malaysia or Studying Overseas?'. A topic like that gets everyone talking!
This time I went for something even more taboo here - one on culture and another on politics! Ah politics, I just love politics in Malaysia. I'm sure to do a post on it when I feel like writing a tome.
The first debate was 'How has Western Culture affected Malaysia - generally positively or negatively?' This generated a heated debate, with points being raised on both sides that really made me grin. I, being a Westerner, was prepared for some negativity towards my ilk, but I am a professional and show no bias. I was rather impressed with the whole debate, as it was mature and insightful - most of the time! There were times when it strayed off the point, but hey, that happens. There were also times when some very dubious allegations were made, with little or no factual basis. But on the whole a very decent attempt at a contentious topic by Malaysian students. Points raised to denounce Western cultural influence included fast food, sexual liberalisation and media influence on Malaysian youth. Points raised in affection of Western influence included concepts of charity, the honour system and waiting in line! As you can see, only small parts of both arguements were presented, mostly because of time constraints, but it was a very good arguement with the side in favour of Western influence winning by the narrowest of margins. I wasn't biased in the least.
The second debate I'll put in the next post later... again, time constraints.
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