Cerita Belalang Part 1

Salaam guys, read on and enjoy.. thanks.


Pada 29 Julai lepas, aku telah membentangkan kertas seminar bertajuk "ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND ICT FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRE - VIEWS AND CHALLENGES", yang telah diadakan di Kuching Hilton dari 28 - 29 Julai 2010, bersempena dengan satu Persidangan Antarabangsa, anjuran pihak University Malaysia Sarawak dengan kolaborasi bersama Manchester Metropolitan University , dengan tajaan British Council.


Persidangan Antarabangsa ini bertajuk, " INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PERSPECTIVE ON INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT: EMBRACING DIVERSITY AND CREATING DISABILITY - SENSITIVE COMMUNITIES". Rata rata peserta adalah terdiri dari scholars, yang turut membentangkan kertas penyelidikan mereka berkaitan topik topik yang dibincangkan didalam persidangan ini. Tidak khusus untuk Sarawak khasnya dan Malaysia, tetapi kertas yang disampaikan adalah dari seluruh dunia secara global. Maka itu, ada peserta dari Kenya, Sri Langka, South Africa, Australia, UK, US dan negara kita. Masing masing, terdiri dari scholars, memberi pandangan masing masing berkaitan maslah development, poverty dan disabilities.


Malah didalam majlis pembukaan persidangan ini, Menteri yang dijemput untuk merasmikan persidangan, YB Datin Hajjah Fatimah Abdullah, turut memberi pandangan beliau berkaitan masalah disabilities, bukan saja untuk masa kini, malah beliau sendiri turut mentafsirkan "disable to be" akan berlaku juga bila kita sudah mencecah satu peringkat umur yang secara tidak sengaja turut menjadikan diri kita berada didalam keadaan disable. Bila dah tua, dah tak mampu berjalan dan terpaksa mengunakan kerusi roda, dan bila dah tua, bila mata dah tak beberapa jelas, kita turut menjadi "buta". Begitu juga seterusnya digambarkan bahawa kita kekal sihat sekarang ni, kita kekal "normal" sekarang ni, harus turut memikirkan permasalah akan datang yang sudah pasti akan turut menjadikan kita "disable to be" satu hari nanti.


Oleh itu, bila kita masih berada didalam "confort zone" , ini tidak beerti kita sudah boleh melupakan obligasi kita terhadapa masyarakat "disable" , dengan hanya membiarkan masyarakat yang terlibat saja memikirkannya tanpa kita turut memberi sokongan terhadap isu isu hari ini dan yang satu hari nanti , isu isu ini turut akan kita hadapi juga.

Berbalik kepada pembentangan aku, aku mengunakan konsep "interactive presentation ", dimana aku lebih melihat interaksi bersama peserta lain untuk sama sama melihat apa yang ingin aku bentangkan dapat dirasai, dan bukan aku sendiri yang merasainya, berdasarkan tajuk "ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, ICT AND ME". Aku adunkan power point presentation aku dengan sound effect, contoh contoh software/assistive technology yang aku gunakan didalam kehidupan seharian aku dan sebuah lagu yang liriknya memberi penuh pengertian dengan apa yang aku bentangkan pada hari tersebut. Seperti yang aku jelaskan didalam conclusion slide presentation aku, didalam kehidupan kita, sama ada kita "normal
" atau "oku", 99% kita boleh berdikari, tetapi mesti ada 1% kita tetap memerlukan bantuan orang lain atau sumber lain..



So, aku ingin mengucapkan berbanyak terima kasih kepada isteriku yang telah turut membantu aku didalam penyediaan power point slide , mempastikan slide aku presentable, dimana "JAWS" aku tidak dapat menentukan sama ada layout slide aku dengan gambar/grafic tersusun dengan cantik atau tidak. dan aku turut ingin berterima kasih kepada sahabat sahabat aku, seperti Azman Rejab, Atuk Endcem, Kak Romi, Papa, Yam TW, Vicky dan tidak ketinggalan Moses Choo, yang telah sedikit sebanyak membantu memberi input, baik secara langsung maupun tidak didalam proses penyediaan slide presentation aku ini. dan tidak ketinggalan mereka mereka yang turut secara tidak langsung, yang memberi sokongan , sama ada secara jelas atau tidak.



Dan akhir sekali, terima kasih aku kepada pihak penganjur, UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA SARAWAK (UNIMAS ), atas kepercayaan mereka memberi aku ruang dan peluang untuk turut sama berada bersama scholars scholars dari luar negara dan dari negara kita sendiri, untuk mendengar aku didalam Persidangan Antarabangsa ini.. kepada Fuad, tenaga teknikal dari UNIMAS , terima kasih.




..i say, "WHAT YOU KNOW SHAPES WHERE YOU GO" , aku akan sahut apa yang mendatang..

ikuti keratan akhbar ini..

From The Borneo Post:


KUCHING, Malaysia -- It is high time for every community to take serious account of issues pertaining to disabled people.

Currently, there is a tendency to leave disability issues to be addressed only by the relevant authorities such as the Health and Welfare departments.

Minister in the Chief Minister's Department Datin Fatimah Abdullah stressed that the nation must now ensure that all development efforts include the needs and well-being of those with disabilities.

Officiating at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) 'International Conference Perspectives On Inclusive Development Embracing Diversity and Creating Disability-Sensitive Communities' at Hilton Hotel yesterday, she said: "Our goal today is to change the mindset of the society to accept disabled people and promote their social inclusion, meaning that they ought to be given opportunities to participate in community life."

For example, although building designs and transport system were gradually improving in catering to the needs of the disabled, what would give greater impact was the social environment shaped by the attitude of the people, she said.

She believes that Malaysia has made the start by signing the first stage of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol.

Associate Professor Mohd Fadzil Abdul Rahman who represented Unimas vice-chancellor Professor Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid, said: "The two-day conference would show how imperative it is for the able-bodied to remember the needs of those who face the challenge of living with disabilities."

He added that the whole conference would be structured around the sharing of experience of the disabled who know what needed to be changed.

The conference was organised by Unimas Faculty of Social Sciences together with the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Research Institute of Health and Social Change, United Kingdom with the broad aim of mainstreaming disability issues into development agenda.

It also aimed at facilitating the establishment of effective and sustainable partnership and collaboration within and across countries to advance inclusive development.

Associate Professor Dr Ling How Kee stated that the topics to be deliberated included 'Disability and inclusive Development', 'Social Policy and Legislation', 'Accessibility and Barrier-free Environment', 'Advocacy and Disability Rights', 'Voices of the Caregivers', Integrated or Inclusive?', 'Empowering Women', 'Technology and ICT to Promote Disability Development' and 'Promoting Disability Sensitive Communities for all'.

Altogether, 30 papers would be presented by representatives of organisations of disabled persons, academics, government officials and policy makers, some of whom are from the United Kingdom, Japan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Australia.

British Council's for Higher Education Regional Director (East Asia) Peter Clark, MMU's Psychology and Disability Studies Professor Dr Dan Goodley and Unimas Faculty of Social Sciences dean Associate Professor Dr Spencer Empading Sanggin were also present.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Salaam guys, read on and enjoy.. thanks.

Hmmm, terbaca cerita dibawah, perlu ke kitak meletakkan syarat untuk sebuah kasih sayang?

Tanpa disengajakan, diawal usia anak anak kita, kita dah meletakkan satu fenomena kearah syarat syarat yang perlu diraih untuk sebuah kasih sayang. Berkata seorang ibu kepada anaknya, "sayang ibu, nanti ibu beli ais krim untuk adik" atau " peluk ibu dulu, lepas ni kita pergi beli ais krim" dan pelbagai cara lagi, walaupun tidak ada niat dihati seorang ibu maupun ayah untuk meletakkan syarat syarat sedmikian.


Tetapi itu le hakikatnya, kita setiap hari tanpa sengaja, tanpa niat telah mengajar generasi kita untuk bersyarat demi meraih sebuah kasih sayang. Dimana pada hakikatnya, sebuah kasih sayang harus lahir dari hati nurani yang ikhlas lagi suci. Maka, semakin dewasa anak kita, akan ada syarat dari anak anak kita untuk mencapai apa yang mereka ingnkan.. adakah demi sebuah kasih sayang????

---

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."


"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."


"There's something you should know, the son continued, he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg.


He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."

"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."

"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."


At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.



The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Jadi, setiap malam sebelum kita masuk tidur, berdoa lah kepada Allah, agar terus memberi kita kekuatan untuk menerima seadanya setiap insan ciptaannya, dan membantu kita memahami bahawa ada insan yang tidak bernasib baik seperti kita.

Dan maafkan lah Ibu Bapa kita, Adik beradik kita keluarga dan saudara mara kita, malah semua insan yang kita kenal, nescaya Allah turut akan memaafkan kita..

THE BRIDGE

Salaam guys, read on and enjoy.. thanks.




Once upon a time two brothers who lived on
adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 30
years of living side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods
as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began
with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and
finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of
silence.



One morning there was a knock on the older brothers door. He opened it to
find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work" he
said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help
you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the
creek at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother.
Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the
river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this
to spite me, but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber curing by
the barn? I want you to build me a fence -- an 8-foot fence -- so I won't
need to see his place anymore. Cool him down, anyhow."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails
and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you." The
older brother had to go to town for supplies, so he helped the carpenter get
the materials ready and then he was off for the day.


About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his
job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence
there at all. It was a bridge -- a bridge stretching from one side of the
creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all -- and the
neighbor, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched.

"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."


The two brothers met at the middle of the bridge, embracing one another.
They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. "No,
wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older
brother.


"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but I have so many more bridges
to build."

The Story remind's us that many (although not all) of our conflicts are reconcilable. Often egos take over, and we forget what even caused the conflict in the first place. If you were sincere friends with someone before, maybe you should rethink the situation. In abusive or truly hostile situations, often the healthiest thing is distance from the other.

NO MORE WITH ME

Salaam guys, read on and enjoy.. thanks.


NO MORE WITH ME

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he
struggled to get off the escalator.


I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an
older person I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around
them because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it
now because I see myself there one day soon. Today I saw myself in this old
man's shoes and it caused me to slow down, stop and ask for his forgiveness.


He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as
an obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead
in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there's a pile up of angry
people behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you.
Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on goin'.


This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step
aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, you
could see how troubling this was for him. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I
don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the
escalator.


I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my
future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was
apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming
his fears.


One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered
as one lady passed by him.


I saw me.


By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.


"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more," he said.


"No, sir. No more with me," I said. This really hit me hard. I realized
right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of
course, included me. But...no more with me. Count me out.


This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this
earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles.
Now he should be apologizing for moving slower?


My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he
had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creased
and wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines
that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those
were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.


"My friend, can I help you with those things?" I asked.


Hesitant at first, he finally said, "Well, yes, thank you!"


I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away
from the rush of people.


"So what are you shopping for, sir?"


"Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young mother raising
kids on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for
Mother's Day..." he said, stopping suddenly as he searched his inside pocket
of his sport coat.


"Do you need something?" I asked.


"Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me,"
he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and
handed me a business card that read:


"John A. Pomicter
Friend to all...enemy to no one!

I said a prayer today and you were the answer. Thank you!"


"That's for you," he said. "Thanks for stopping to help an old man."


"My friend, you helped me. I discovered that I was unhappy with the world
and I was part of the problem. Now I'll be part of the solution. No more
with me!"


"Then this was meant to be," he said smiling.

"You know God sends me gifts every day and always at least one special
person. You were my gift for today! Let's go get some chocolates, my
friend."




"Anonymous"

"The Answers"...

Salaam guys, read on and enjoy.. thanks.


Rex Barker here with "The Answers"...

There was a man who had a little boy that he loved very much. Everyday
after work the man would come home and play with the little boy. He
would always spend all of his extra time playing with the little boy.

One night, while the man was at work, he realized that he had extra
work to do for the evening, and that he wouldn't be able to play with
his little boy. But, he wanted to be able to give the boy something to
keep him busy. So, looking around his office, he saw a magazine with a
large map of the world on the cover. He got an idea. He removed the
map, and then patiently tore it up into small pieces. Then he put all
the pieces in his coat pocket.

When he got home, the little boy came running to him and was ready to
play. The man explained that he had extra work to do and couldn't play
just now, but he led the little boy into the dining room, and taking
out all the pieces of the map, he spread them on the table. He
explained that it was a map of the world, and that by the time he
could put it back together, his extra work would be finished, and they
could both play. Surely this would keep the child busy for hours, he
thought.

About half an hour later the boy came to the man and said, "Okay, it's
finished. Can we play now?" The man was surprised, saying, "That's
impossible. Let's go see." And sure enough, there was the picture of
the world, all put together, every piece in its place.

The man said, "That's amazing! How did you do that?" The boy said, "It
was simple. On the back of the page was a picture of a man. When I put
the man together the whole world fell into place."

What is the lesson here? Send it in!

Answers Submitted by Joke-Of-The-Day.com Members
(There were hundreds of great answers ? sorry, we could only list a few)

1) If man puts himself in order, the whole world will come together.

2) Sometimes you can't see the forest but for the trees unless you
rise above and see from a different view.

3) One person can be someone's whole world.

4) If you work on one human being at a time, the world will come together.

5) Don't under estimate the power of a child

6) Giving someone a task to perform, with the correct motivator and
without detailed instructions as to how to complete the task allows a
person to be creative and find solutions other than the obvious.
Sometimes the solution is much more efficient than what are mindset
is.

7) To every problem or situation, there is a way out.

8) When complexity stares you in the face....look around for another
approach!

9) The world was not complete till God made man to be upon earth.

10) Our unconscious perception as ego (self) -centered beings is that
the world spins around us. When we fall apart, world falls apart. When
the fallen pieces of our broken self come together again, the world
falls into place again.

11) You can tear the world into as many pieces as you like, but a
small boy with a dream can put it back together again.

12) A person is a mini-universe, so complex and wonderfully made. When
the person falls apart, chaos is generated in the universe. The world
is made of unique individuals linked to each other. If one individual
falls apart, in a sense the whole world suffers.

13) You have the choice to do something the easy way or hard way. It
will still all come together in the end. There is a solution to every
problem. You just have to know where to look! Nothing is unachievable
if you put your heart and mind to it.

14) You are never too young to teach an old man a lesson he will not soon
forget

15) My husband once said to me "There can't be a us unless there is a
me." He meant that he had to get himself together before he could
contribute to this thing we call marriage. I apply the same concept
to the man/world relationship. For there to be a world, there must be
a man to contribute to it. That is what I got out of this lesson.

16) Leave it up to the children to teach us. Keep it simple and try
not to complicate things in your mind. It all falls in place

When giving a child something to keep them busy for HOURS, MAKE
CERTAIN that the other side of the torn map doesn't give ANY clues to
where each piece goes! Don't make it so simple because for all that
child knew, he was just putting the man together and the map fell into
place...just as he said!!

Thanks again,
Rex