Madam Joyce opened a restaurant?! • The uncle next door
INTI INSIDER JUNE 2009 | No. 9
We are one year old!
pg6 + One year of INTI Insider
Learn how four students turned an experiment into a “runaway success” over the past year!
10
Things everyone must have in life! pg3
Youth Today On:
Birth Control and Minors
Should Plan B be available for minors without doctor’s or parents’ approval? Find out what INTI Students think on
pg4
EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief Alexis See Tho Managing Editors Naomi Ong, Qisti Parr B. Zahairi WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS Jerusha Sanjeevi, Hau Han Sen, Hafizah Jamal, Shaza Scherazade, Suzanne Loo PHOTOGRAPHY Yee Han Lim, Amirrudin Awang, Wan Azian DESIGN Creative Director & Layout Artist Aizawa Kazuki OPERATIONS Operations Directors Jared Wong, Sam Wei Quan EMAIL editorial.icsj@gmail.com
2
EDITOR’S NOTE Rats and horses can't vomit
If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib But, if you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die
It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky
The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language
INTIInsiderNewsletter
Dear Readers, Here’s a newsflash: INTI Insider (I2) turns 1 year old this month! *waits for round of applause* Yippee! So, be sure to check out our feature article from our very own Editor-In-Chief, Alexis See Tho, as she fondly (and sometimes sentimentally) recalls EdBoard’s journey since its inception in Several Odd (Not Boring) Reminisces of An Editor-In-Chief. We also had our writer Jerusha stalking people again for their opinions on controversial issues such as the one in her article Birth Control and Minors. Craving new food to try out around SS15, but don’t know where to start? Our writer Han Sen has that covered in his restaurant review. And as we are still on the topic of food and anniversaries, let us celebrate our very own Uncle Next Door, in Suzanne’s chat with our affable cafeteria operator, Uncle Chong. We, the team at I2, are proud to present our 9th Issue after officially one entire year of consistent publication with many years to come. Happy Birthday INTI Insider! Managing Editor, Naomi Ong
10
3
Random Things That Every Person Needs In His/Her Life
by Nahjan Have you ever thought of the things you couldn’t ever do without in your life? NAHJAN relates a few of hers. Every now and then we realize casual things we probably actually, cannot live without. Here are ten random things I probably couldn’t – in no particular order – and hey, maybe you’ll find yourself agreeing to some, if not all, as your basic essentials too! SOCKS
UNDERWEAR
Fact: It keeps you warm and prevents from stinky feet defect! It’s a matter of opinion but isn’t it weird (and maybe a ‘lil eew) to wear sneakers for long without wearing socks?
Fact: What do you think has really defined sexy, huh?
DEODORANT
ICE-CREAM
Fact: Body odour is a no-no, period.
Fact: Come rain or shine, it never disappoints – the secret to a happy soul.
EMO (TIONAL) SONGS Fact: No matter what genre - from some screaming fit of heavy metal to infectious pop- there’s always one that can sing your Bad Day away, and remind you of your own Love Story. Emo songs are epic there’s one for everyone.
TISSUE
SARCASM Fact: It’s an essential weapon to show who is The Real Man (or Woman). From a good friend, “Let me turn on the part of me that gives a *fill in the blank*” or “Looks like I overestimated the number of your brain cells.” Classic.
CHEMISTRY (?)
CELLOTAPE
HAPPINESS
Fact: It keeps things together intact – AND also doubles up as the ultimate silencer tool.
Fact: The only no-brainer. Infinitely in life we seek to “Laugh Away!” to the song of happiness. So, go ahead!
Fact: Sneeze. Sneeze. Sneeze. “Hey, do you happen to have tissue?”
Fact: No, not that chemistry – human chemistry. Even love can’t compete with that sizzling spark from a chemical reaction. Figuratively speaking, of course.
J U N 2 0 0 9
5
4
Opinion Summary:
Youth Today On
Birth Control and Minors
50% agreed that birth control should be available to minors.
by Jerusha Sanjeevi
Do you think your opinion or the opinion of your peers on controversial issues should matter? Our writer JERUSHA certainly does as she stalks the corridors of INTI once more, seeking the views of Youth Today On – Birth Control Pills and Minors.
50% were against the movement.
In a controversial move last month, the U.S. federal government decided to allow the sales of Plan B, a morning after pill, to minors without requiring a prescription or parental consent. The contraceptive was initially available only to adult women aged 18 and older, but is now available to young women still considered minors. The pill is medically defined as a prevention pill and is not to be confused with abortion pills. This issue in the U.S. has become a politically charged one, with both conservatives and liberals throwing convincing arguments for AND against the ruling. It is interesting to wonder what would happen if the Malaysian government should follow suit in such a move. This writer randomly interviewed students around INTI to get a feel of what response may be like. Should Plan B be available for minors without doctor’s or parents’ approval? Yes, but that shouldn’t be a reason for women to be complacent in their sexual activity. – Nick W. Yes. It’s cheaper than abortions. - Anonymous No. At 17, parents still have the right to control their child’s right. – Nadzirah Yes, because contraceptive pills are not the only way teenagers have access to prevent unwanted pregnancy, but it is one of the most effective ways. Accidents like this can happen because teenagers are emotional, but at least this way they have some way to “treat” the accident. – Jess
The Opinions Continue... Yes. It’s better than having newborns being thrown away, having single parents, or even suicide. Personally knew a girl in Form 3 who committed suicide because of underage pregnancy. – Paul You can’t stop teenagers from having sex, and if they aren’t ready to raise a child, forcing them to have one has far worse implications for the child’s future. – Mus It’s a good idea. It prevents unwanted babies and lots of single teen mothers. I have friends who got pregnant at 13 and are single mothers now. – KC Well, I think teenagers will have the opportunity to cover up what they have done. To them, birth control pills are one of the means to prevent themselves from social stigma. – Den It promotes promiscuous behavior because when teens learn of it, they will be less likely to use other contraceptives and more likely to have sex. They will know there is a “back-up plan” and they may also abuse its usage, using it numerous times. Although not defined as abortion, it is what it is - getting rid of unwanted babies. I am not okay about abortion being so readily available to minors. – Hafizah
INTIInsiderNewsletter
From 14 Respondents A final say... No. I think girls under the legal age should definitely need parental agreement on purchasing birth control pills. – Hanlim Disagree. I would not want young girls to have access to such pills because it would cause the sex rate among minors to increase considerably. Also, among men it would also be seen as an easy prevention against pregnancy. – Aaron Disagree. Approval of sales will encourage teenagers with the option to have sex thus risking the chances of getting STDs! – Ben Disagree. Enabling younger ages to get these pills earlier is telling them that can have sex at age 17. I would rather they sell more condoms than pills though, because it would help prevent AIDS. – Amos Disagree. With this law being legal it will implant an idea to teenagers that “since we can have morning-after pills that easily, we do not need to have any pre-sex prevention anymore.” This will sub consciously encourage teenagers to have more sex, as it is ok to have sex, However, teenagers need to understand that the morning-after pill is not 100% guaranteed in preventing pregnancy and this pill is not doing any help in reducing STD cases. Hence, it is not a way that helps improve the community. Not a very bright idea. – Charles Teo The Analysis... The responses generated from my interviews were divided equally between agreeing and disagreeing. Although the young people I interviewed varied in their answers, they mostly shared an opinion on one thing: minors should not be having sex. If morning-after birth control pills are sold to minors, an indirect effect could be less precaution taken before sex, a point mentioned by some of the students. However, as another student also pointed out, teenagers can’t be easily stopped from having sex. One of the key considerations probably taken in the passing of the ruling was how it is difficult to get teenagers to abstain from having sex. Although the sales of birth control pills to minors may therefore seem to be a practical move, some may find themselves questioning its morality.
The morality of teen sexuality is a topic of growing importance among Malaysian youth. As the face of Malaysian society changes, some teens still find their footing in the morals passed down from earlier generations, while others yet test the water of ones that are forming now. Still, there is no easy discrimination of right and wrong in these issues. Ultimately, the decision to have sex or abstain lies with the individual and his or her beliefs. An important thing to note, however, is that the term ‘safe sex’ refers to a percentage of how efficient a method is, and it is never 100%. The topic of our discussion, the morning after pill, has been shown to be quite efficient, but must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. It does NOT provide an excuse for unprotected sex, however, because it offers no protection against STDs and is not foolproof against pregnancy. As a minor myself, I note the difficulties faced by teenagers in making healthy decisions. In the end, perhaps the key word here is decisions. If we all think about what we do, we can say that we acted because we decided to. Knowing that our decisions will resonate well into our futures is a good thing to remember when we are choosing a course of action. Regardless of how old or young we are, we can and should always think before we act.
Things you need to know about Morning-After pills Side Effects
Alternatives
- Headaches - Nausea - Breast pains - Irregular vagina bleeding
- Condoms - Spermicides - Diaphragma - Intrauterine Device (IUD) - Birth Control Patch
Although some variants of morning after pills can be taken as often as once everyday, it is not advisable to do so. Generally it is recommended to only take the pills only once every menstrual cycle (1 month).
J U N 2 0 0 9
7
6
SeveralOdd(NotBoring)ReminiscesofAnEditor-In-Chief ALEXIS SEE THO, the recently retired Editor-in-Chief of INTI Insider recalls the beginnings of the newsletter and the struggles faced. I thought long and hard about the writing task given to me this time around. I took a week plainly procrastinating the task and gave the reason that I couldn’t write much on the topic. But that isn’t true. Truth is, I want the story to be so perfectly written that I didn’t know where to start, or maybe didn’t dare to. Then, on a not so special evening, I sat down and started writing about the story. The story of INTI Insider. It was in January of 2008 when we started talking about starting a project to produce newsletters. We had 4 people at that time: Aaron Cheng, Raymond Lau, Khoo Lik Pang and myself. Aaron, then the editor-inchief suggested a newsletter as a stepping stone to eventually producing magazines. That month was my first month in INTI, and heck was I excited being part of the pioneer group. The project was however fixated at that same point for 6 months before we eventually produced our first 4-page newsletter. It was 12th June and we had 6 new members on board who made it happen. There were only 100 copies in print
The name INTI Insider came from Lik Pang (current Creative Director) while he was designing a prototype of the newsletter. The name stuck with us although we found out later that there used to be another newsletter called INTILink by the previous Editorial Board.
for approval before printing. Miss Koh, then the SSD manager was furious and demanded that I wrote a letter of explanation to her for the sloppy handling. I remembered standing in her office room feeling as if I was interrogated for a murder I’ve committed.
The newsletter was a bi-weekly publication up until Issue 4 (Sept ’08) but was eventually changed to monthly because we had a hard time coping with the deadlines. We were not without hardships in the beginnings. The biggest of them all was funding. We didn’t have enough money in our club account to continue printing the newsletter and distributing them for free. For the first few publications we had to dig deep into our own pockets to make sure that the newsletter is published. Lunch money may be gone but we thought it was worthwhile. INTI Insider was our baby, and we had an unwritten promise to ourselves that we will see it to its glory days. (Thankfully, printing costs are now fully subsidized by INTIMA)
Lifelong friendship and partnership. Such were the priceless treasures I found being part of Editorial Board. The experiences over the past 18 months enriched not just my writing and designing skills but also to be able to work as a team even during ugly times.
We ran into trouble with the authorities aka Student Services Department (SSD) once when I forgot to send the content
INTIInsiderNewsletter
We are at Issue 9 now and the Editorial Board is indebted to every individual who has helped the team in any way. It is our hope that every issue will be a better than the last.
The Uncle Next Door “Uncle, tongyam fried rice satu!” Within 5 minutes, the meal is ready. What is this… A fast food restaurant? No. It is INTI’s one and only Uncle Chong cafeteria. SUZANNE recounts her chat over a cup of coffee with him. When asking how long Uncle Chong has been working his cafeteria business, “Since Hussein Onn was still the Prime Minister!” he would reply jokingly. One of his most memorable job experiences was the time when he got to serve the Permaisuri of Sultan Pahang back in those days in Kuantan. He praised the Permaisuri for her humility and grace and remembered how her majesty would insist on dining with others using normal cutleries, and plate and glass made by plastic. Although Uncle Chong did not have a chance to attend tertiary education during his era, he is much more linguistic than most of the college students. He can speak Mandarin, BM and five other Chinese dialects - the secret to how he makes almost every customer feel warm and at home.
By Suzanne Loo
Uncle Chong has befriended many INTI students, and fondly speaks of his joy when a few former INTI students came back to visit him and brought along many gifts for him from around the world such as chocolates, special spices and wine.
advice to give. I still recall when Uncle Chong heard me complain about my sore throat and did not allow me to order fried noodles. Instead, he cooked noodle soup with less spices. That is how Uncle Chong treats his customers, with us at heart.
While we students may miss one or two classes, I’ve never seen Uncle Chong absent before, never. He and his wife will always be the first to arrive and the last to leave our INTI cafeteria, preparing the food and drinks we love so much. Students, most lecturers, staff and even Principal Joyce Yuen are among his most frequent customers. Despite many new eateries mushrooming around INTI, students still love to visit Uncle Chong’s cafeteria. Besides the fact that it is the nearest place to get food at cheaper prices, students simply love the homey meals.
Different generations of INTI students might experience different memories of the people here, but one thing we all have in common is Uncle Chong’s heart-warming jokes and all the great, homey food.
You’re the BEST! :)
I totally enjoyed my chat with Uncle Chong because he is a very patient, humble and humourous person, who was more than willing to share his life experience and wisdom with me. Just like a grandfather giving advice to his grandchildren, he always speak kindly and always has helpful
J U N 2 0 0 9
9
8
Our Principle Just Opened
A New Restaurant! Could this be happening? Is our Principal really planning to start a brand new franchise? To find out, INTI Insider resident food connoisseur HAU HAN SEN investigates this new place that is Madam Joyce Eatery.
Interview with an INTI Alumni by Alexis See Tho
Chong Chia Yaw is the name engraved on the plat drilled into an INTI pillar just outside the cafeteria. A Pahang native and alumni of INTI’s American Degree Transfer Program (AUP), he recently took some time off his short few weeks in Malaysia to give a talk on his experiences as a student in Purdue University. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and is currently pursuing a Master in the same field in Purdue University as well. Alexis See Tho caught up with him after his talk for a short chat. Why did you choose engineering? My sister has a PhD in electrical engineering and I guess that has influenced me in some ways. I also did quite well for Maths and Physics in school. And why Purdue University? I actually applied to 3 universities: Purdue, Texas A&M and Iowa State. I was eventually accepted to all 3. I decided on Purdue because of its reputation in engineering courses. (Purdue is ranked 9th for America’s Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs sharing the spot with Carnegie Mellon University US News & World Report 2009.) How did the Eaton Award came about? A Purdue Alumni sponsored the Eaton Award in Design Excellence for Senior Project. My group of 4 students created a 5-Function Remote Controller for the theme given: “Devise for the physical
disabled who can only move his/her head”. Believe it or not, I actually got my idea from the game console Nintendo Wii. Have you started working so far? Yeah, I’ve worked for Motorola for two summers now. It’s interesting to work because I got to apply the theories and technical skills learned in class. The company’s office is in the suburban area of Chicago and to make commuting easier, I bought a second hand car – and was kind of ripped off since the owner knew I needed it urgently. Did you experience the culture shock that most international students encounter? Definitely. I remember when I first arrived and was trying to catch up on my class work. I found out that it was unusual to do homework on Friday nights because most Americans go out to parties. Another shock was how Americans find it extremely odd (especially when you’re a guy) that you don’t drink. So do you join in the drinking? Yeah, sometimes at parties. And it’s also strange for me that the students there address the professors by their first name. We are taught in schools to say Mr. or Ms. before our teacher or lecturer’s name so it took quite a while for me to get adjusted. That being said, I still stick to my ways of addressing them by Mr. or Ms. so and so.
INTIInsiderNewsletter
How do extracurricular activities fit into your life there? I’m the industrial relations officer for Tau Beta Pi or The Engineering Honor Society. It is an exclusive society where you can only be a member by invitation. For undergraduate students, you have to be in the top 1/8th of your junior class or top 1/5th of your senior class. Why Masters in Purdue as well? I was working on a research project there and was offered fellowship/ teaching assistantship in exchange for my graduate program in Electrical Engineering. So I stayed on because of the teaching assistantship partly to complete the research project. Did you know that Purdue University has the largest international student population of any public universities in United States? So I guess it’s quite comfortable being an international student there. How do you spend your weekends? I usually hang out with my friends: grab a drink at a café then afterwards find a spot and study together. I study most of the time to keep myself on par with the rest of the class. It’s tough but I guess it’ll have to be that way.
Breaking news: The Principal of INTI College Subang Jaya has decided to “expand INTI’s borders”. Never did anyone from the management expect her to open an eatery which many experts claim, could be the next big franchise. The question still lingers: What prompted this decision? Did she finally take notice of the poor students who are often frustrated that the only place to munch is Asia Café (that would include me)?
Why? Why? WHY?!?! Okay… Mrs. Joyce Yuen DID NOT start a new franchise. But the place does exist. Located near Taylor’s Business School and opposite the successful Uncle Seng’s Noodles, this quaint little eatery is definitely promising with it’s quality food and value. My initial impression of the neat and clean eatery was not too good, as I thought how this eatery might just end up like all the other new shops that crop up.
It was always the same story: The first month would always be filled with customers and the next thing you know, nobody visits them anymore. I blame the feng shui. However, after trying one of their dishes, dumpling noodles, I was pleasantly surprised. Unlike many other eateries and stalls that would add food additives (‘Ajinomoto’), the soup and dumplings were actually additive-free, very refreshingly so as compared to other eateries. The great thing about this eatery is that the food is prepared fresh and authentically. To illustrate, having a cup of hot barley in Asia Café and Madam Joyce Eatery are two vastly different experiences. In Asia Café, you’re just drinking, but in Madam Joyce Eatery, you’re enjoying it completely. Oh, the joy of being able to actually chew on such delicious barley once again!
The downside is - this place lacks variety. Just take a glance at the menu and you’ll soon find out what I mean. Really, everything seems to revolve around noodles! The only assortments that are available there are their economy rice and desserts, which are also a hit with the customers, so be there at noon or all you’ll ever see are chicken bones. Overall, the place is good. The prices are reasonable and you definitely get a decent portion of food for what you’re paying. This is truly a place for everyone who constantly worries about their diet as the dishes prepared do not have excessive amounts of oil and additives. Only problem is (for INTI students that is) the distance to get there. Sigh… If only it weren’t so sunny every day, I would not mind trekking all the way to enjoy a meal at Madam Joyce Eatery.
Itty-bitty Details CondensedAddress:
Madam Joyce Eatery 77, Ground Floor Jalan SS15/4B 47500 Subang Jaya
Located: Near Taylor’s Business School Opposite Uncle Seng’s Noodles Special Features: No additives used Authentic Malaysian Desserts Delicious lunchtime Economy Rice J U N 2 0 0 9
11
10
Memories to Cherish and Remember
“... they had an elephant of a time!...”
Community Service by Nadia Wong
NADIA interviews STACT Club correspondent TAN CHYN WOEI and gets the story on the recent STACT Club organized Community Service. Snide comments by the writer in parentheses are not to be taken seriously. Once upon a time (or so our amused correspondent began), the STACT club organized a weeklong Community Service trip to Kampung Mentakab, Pahang; the goal of this trip being to promote the importance of education through activities. The day before the trip, all thirtyfour members and their two supervisors gathered at INTI to go over the final details. All stayed at INTI the whole night through so that no one would miss the bus the morning after as it was a very long distance to walk. In the meantime, they held fun interactive activities. The day of the trip soon arrived and the excited crowd was ready at the first sight of the bus. They arrived at the destination after a long three-hour journey. The members briskly headed to the local MCA building where they promptly got down
to business. Ladies and gentlemen, bring out the mops and brooms; the STACT Club members are here! Soon, the place was sparkling clean. Only then was the red carpet (a ceremony, actually) rolled out to welcome them. Hey, hey! Work first, then play, right? Names were then drawn randomly the old-fashioned way and the members were sent to stay with their respective foster families. The next day, STACT Club members had the local kids playing in a basketball tournament. The members did not play in the tournament (sadly), it being specially organized for residents only. After the bouncing of the last ball, it was off to the MCA building for a singing competition. Since the competition was open for people over the age of 40, it also meant that the members could not show their singing
INTIInsiderNewsletter
and feed them. However, the members were far from disgruntled since they had an elephant of a time! Lame jokes aside, after the visit to the elephant sanctuary, they were then given a talk by Mr. Ong a member of the MCA about the love of parents for their children.
What better way to say “Thank you for agreeing to be my foster family” than a community infrastructure beautification project? The members where split into two groups, each with a task they had to complete. The first team (team A) was in charge of giving the MCA building a new coat of paint and the other (team B) was in charge of clean-up works. The winners would win… a trip to Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre with YB Chua Boon Seong. Yippee! And the winners were… it was a draw! (How fortunate).
Though it was not yet the seventh day, it was time to say goodbye to the foster families. The STACT club members were going to Hwa Lian High School to terrorize the students there instead! (run while you still can, ickle high-schoolers!) Once there, they started off with a general knowledge quiz. A Tertiary Education Exhibition soon followed, where they informed the students about colleges, INTI especially (grins and smirks). After stuffing the students’ brains with information, it was time for games (finally). They played a few ice breaking games to break the wall of silence and shyness, and then had a supper together. Soon, it was lights off for bedtime, and no… no ghost stories. Officially, of course.
Because of a minor setback, they arrived at the conservation center a bit too late to play in the river with the elephants
Friday arrived, filled to the brim with games! Since the trip’s purpose was to promote education, an IQ test and a Math
prowess… unless there was a student above that age (not likely).
competition was held (what, no games!?) To work of all the latent energy the students would have accumulated due to physical idleness, the club members engaged them in a mini sports activity, in which ten teams of ten battled it out for the title of… Mini Sports Day Champion! At night, the students got to show off their many talents in a talent show. Unfortunately, STACT club members were, once again, not allowed to compete. Sad, I know, but they had gotten used to it by then (or so I’m told). The next scheme concocted by STACT club had the poor, harrased students strut their stuff on the dance floor. There were a few dances, some as performances and others as exercise. After that, it was on to the fashion show in which students show off their ‘creativity’ by presenting ideas that were different from the norm. Teams were given newspaper, paint and recyclable materials, and they were tasked to make the most fashionable clothes out of it. It was soon time to say goodbye to those ‘cute kids’ (snickers). The camp’s closing ceremony was held campfire-style. Prizes were dished out to the top 3 teams, with
the winning team being Team Fire. At the campfire, both students and parents were entertained by dances; some even joined in a few. The final day had arrived. The STACT Club members went out with their respective foster families, and expressed their affection and gratitude towards them. Goodbyes were said; and soon, it was time to go back to INTI. The memories of the weeklong adventure in Kampung Mentakab will always be in the forefront of the members’ memories. They will miss the folks there, but for now it is back to INTI and after that ‘home sweet home’. When ask about how he felt about the trip, our correspondent, Tan Chyn Woei, answered “I found the trip interesting and helpful as I gained experience and knowledge.” He is also happy that he got to meet and make new friends such as his foster family and the students of Hwa Lian High School. He says that this trip has also taught him the importance of teamwork. “A group,” he says, “needs to work together in order to succeed.”
J U N 2 0 0 9
Happening: Campus Events
INTIInsiderNewsletter
F E B 2 0 0 9