Tree Planting/种树记

Everyday is a hectic day for me.
I can't remember when was the last time I sit down quietly and enjoy books that I've bought using the RM200 book voucher. They are now remain new and shiny with the price tag on, queuing up for my sensational touch of every page. Well, I hope to, but I left them abundant for quite a long time. Feeling of guilt arises whenever I look at the row of books in front my study table. ><

x   x   x

Last Sunday was entirely a one day outing which I called it an exhausted day.
Having slept for only 2 hours, I joined Bernard Eng and Yu Kin Len for a tree planting session at Kota Kemuning, meanwhile having fun in writing placards and taking photos with the volunteers. The taman tasik itself is a beautiful garden, well planned and there are many people jog around, stroll, picnic and gather together. That morning we broke the silence of the garden, planted some baby trees into the ready-dug holes, filled the root parts with soil and compost and watered them. I wish I could plant trees at mangrove or swamp areas, could it be possible?

Then, a nice lady was very kind to send me to TBS at Bandar Tasik Selatan on her way back to Cheras. I jumped into the express train which sent me to Putrajaya for the Millions of Youth Gathering in conjunction to the National Youth Day. Whoah! It's definitely a scene of 'people mountain people sea' (A Chinese proverbs), cars moved very slowly, and the Presint 2 was occupied with many booths, children and adults, boys and girls, many activities and on and on. It took me about 1 hour to find MyCorps booth, as I have already lost the direction of KBS. By the time I arrived, it's nearly 2 something. MyCorps is Malaysian Youth Volunteer, an organisation consists of young elite volunteer leaders in humanitarian works. The moment of meeting the old friends was very joyful. Looking at these young people, they were  exhausted too. For three weeks of restless night and day, they still performed themselves professionally and managed the volunteers neat and tight. They have done a great job!

The moment I reached home was about 10pm, tired and sleepy, and I went to bed at 11pm, which was the earliest sleeping time in my record this month. haha. 

上个星期日去了一趟种树活动，由bernard办了小小的‘the future we want' 的造势活动，并邀请当天的年轻人写上他们对想要的未来的想法。参与的人不多不少，至于他们是否了解这个活动的目的我就不是很清楚，但整体来看也挺不错的，这些学院生充满冲劲，周日还跑来种树对大自然作出贡献，真是有心。

过后过去国家青年大集会，哇，万人后巷，但不及428大集会般壮观。那里有好多booth， 好一个盛大的嘉年华会，人们买到比市价便宜的东西，商家也乘机大赚钞票，各有所得。可是呢，我看到的是资源的浪费，虽然那里有好多垃圾桶，但是人民丢垃圾的意识不高，街上角落还是有垃圾，瓶瓶罐罐纸袋等。食物一盘又一盘上座，但是卖不完的食物到哪里去呢？我发现那里的用电量蛮高的，风扇，灯，舞台器具，音响等占不少数。

如果这个活动能够节源省碳，减少浪费就好了。不知道参与的青年们你们来到嘉年华会学习到了什么？欢迎分享。

Thank you, Sponsors!

After roughly 2 months of fundraising, it has almost reach to the end.
I would like to thank UNAM - United Nations Association Malaysia for sponsoring return ticket for the two delegates from UNAM Youth Circle, me and Bernard Eng; and other wellwishers who donated some of their hardly earn money to support my living expenses and my video project there.

So the accommodation and transportation expenses should be solved, and I can focus on develop on the programmes and activities throughout the 21 days.

My proposal on Takakura Composting Method workshop is adopted by the Programme and Events in World Youth Congress, so I'll be running the workshop together with the delegates from Malaysia. Meaning that, there'll be a slot of 90 minutes workshop allocated for Malaysian delegates! Sounds great right? Don't get too excited, we are doing it in a pretty natural way. No powerpoint presentation, no projector, no laptop, no plugs, under sunshine, don't even mention a room with aircond!

Oh ya have I told you that we'll be camping in a park and run the activities for 10 days?
I'm gonna back to my research now. Stay tunned!

两个月快过去了，我这个缓慢的世界青年大会筹款活动快要结束了。很高兴我找到马来西亚联合国协会（UNAM）赞助我及Bernard的机票！虽不包括其他费用，但已很重要且解决这个大包袱了！虽然有些早，我还得感谢其他支持我的朋友，在住宿上应该是没问题了吧。然后呢，我就能够专注在办活动及支持在当地的各种各样的运动了。

如果你有留意我早前在fb的状态，我提出的'Takakura堆肥法’工作坊 被WYC主办当局入取作为该大会的其中一个项目。是的，这个大会是青年的，属于全世界的，所以我们的声音也该被听见，活动也由我们贡献。至于详情，待我去到那里再跟大家报告吧。我将与另外两名大马青年筹备这个90分钟的活动！ 让这个90分钟成为历史吧。 别以为我们是在类似PWTC的地方进行活动，其实我们都是在一个公园进行罢了，很接近大自然，与泥土共眠，与星星月亮太阳共舞， 持素等。所以，这个活动是真正不插电的，哪来的房间电源给你用啊？

这就是我们即将面临的挑战， 不长不短，正好10天。敬请期待接下来的post 吧。

UNAM Youth Circle Interview with Tengku

A Gem in UM Campus/校园瑰宝

Why am I going to Brazil? Why Rio+20?

In conjunction with the World Environment Day Celebration in University Malaya, I went to Rimba Ilmu, a botanic garden located in UM where I found a hidden gem here. I joined my friend, Adrian for a guided tour around the garden.

This question has been played in my mind for some time yet I kept avoiding it. Looking at the wide variety species of plants inhabited in the garden I was amazed by the existence of such beautiful creatures in the world. I walked with the hungry mosquitoes while trying to jot down the familiar names that I have learnt at school. Syzygium Aromaticum, Thysonolaena latifolia, Grammatophyllum speciocium, Knema hookeriana, Intsia palembanica, ... and many more, with significant identities, functions, growth characteristics and their adaptation to the environment change.

Wait, adaptation to change?
 Plants, like animals, have the ability to adapt to the environmental and climate change over the time and event takes place. I just wonder in the era of global warming how could we human being adapt to the change. When the ice were melt, when human are living under water, will we evolve with a pair of gills and breath in the sea?

The plants exist way earlier than human being but we are destroying them with a rate faster than anyone could imagine. What have we done to the habitat?
No mention about the loss of biodiversity, we are losing the huge storage of carbon, water, food, soil fertility, and herbal medicine for human and animals.


Because of population growth, we need to consume more, so demand for living essence is increased.
Because of economic growth, we live a better life, and we are able to spend more for a better living quality, so the demand is again, increased.
Because of science and technology, we... can access to natural resources much easier compare to our older generations. Yet, our mother earth is exhausted for the hunger and greed of human being. Yes, for our needs.
Now, do you see the problems?

As a freshman in the environment field, I always feel humble to give my opinion towards the big issues people concern about. I don't know my presence at the congress could give any impact to the world, but I believe, like the saying goes, Unity is Strength. How do things work out from this sentence? I will show you as soon as I attended the meetings in Rio.

Ficus deltoidea, mas chotek

Orthosiphon aristatus, misai kucing

Cissus quadrangula, Patah Tulang

Sesamun orientale, bijan

No name

Euricoma longifolia, Tongkat Ali! (meaning: long and straignt)

          

Fern Tree!

Gelam, a special tree with a layer of insulation

One kind of ginger plant

Johannesteijsmannia magnifica (what a cool name!)

在马大校园里发现一个瑰宝！
说来惭愧，就读马大三年多，知道校园后山Rimba Ilmu有个花园，却不曾好好地参观这个地方（只在展览室游览过而已），今天发现新大陆似的对这个美丽的花园赞叹不已。

里头种植了不少很有意思的植物，都是为研究及培育而种植的。里头有很多古林精怪的名称，挺妙的。

然而，我去此花园的目的却是要见Adrian，一位引导我去地球峰会的学长。没做好功课就要讨论问题当然阻碍不少时间来解释，我也挺不好意思的。当然讨论问题过后我更觉得压力了。好担心我做不好自己的角色。 更重要的是，不能在哪里迷失自己！

第一个要了解的是去此行的目的， 该怎么贡献自己的能力，为那个小组卖力，为什么， 怎么做，和谁开会，这个那个，等等。 单单看了学长的Cancun气候改变峰会就觉得他好了不起。我也不禁打了冷颤。
‘哇，好多的东西得准备！’ 但是，但靠我一个人去哪里，我该怎么做呢？

时间也剩不多了，只好日夜赶工把该读的读，该想得想，该做的做好它。我需要一个队伍，一个智囊团来成就大马人在哪里的使命！

是时候睡了，两个小时后就得去种树了。

Learn about your garbage

The Beginning of Road to Rio+20

After so many days of delay, I have finally strike my fingers on the keyboard to write about my stories for Road to Rio+20. First of all, I am very, very lucky to be chosen to represent Malaysian Youth to participate in the 6th World Youth Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Organised by the Peace Child International, the event has come to Rio this year after Istanbul in 2010 (Ya, I think I missed that one when I was in my final year in university). Having to be invited to run a workshop on Takakura Composting Method at the congress, I am also participating in the Cultural Night -- perform Malaysian traditional dance or joget with other Malaysian delegates, Talent Show, volunteer in the translation project (Yes, Malaysian you might be able to read the Malay and/or Chinese version of the publication by the PCI!), work out in the Solution for Rio+20 team, action plans, exhibitions, etc. The theme of this year WYC is exactly following the two themes of UNCSD which focuses on i) green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication; and ii) the institutional framework for sustainable development.
So, what do the young people do over there? We make noise! We want the world hear about what future we want!

There are lots of homework to be done before setting my foot on the plane. Let's see what we can do next. 

Begin of the new year 2012

Oops,

It's been a long long time since I stopped working on this blog. I apology to myself. Sorry!

I should have started picking up the pen long time ago, this year is such an amazing year for me since I've been experiencing the ultimate-life-changing moment in early of this year.

I think I should do a little summary for now, for the past 8 months of things that I have done.

The readers, you might not be interested to know the past stories, but at least I should give myself a clear justification since I am such a forgetful person and I have never jot down the big things happened to me.

Let me think again... It should have began from the time I went to Hong Kong trip, a gift for my mother as to fulfill her dream to visit Hong Kong in July 2011, attended Global Model United Nations 2011 at South Korea in August, then... Smile Action Project 3.0 at Combodia in September, spent a month time in Penang which I thought of studying in USM, it was during October, worked on a consulting project at Setia City Mall in November, trained as a young humanitarian worker under MyCorps--Malaysian Youth Volunteers for a month in December, and started to work as research assistant (RA) at Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya for 3 months, volunteered at Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon in March, and now... preparing myself for World Youth Congress at Brazil in June.

For my friends who always wonder what was I doing all these while, you might see a rough picture of it -- kind of scattered, yes I admit it. Let me be frank with you, and myself too, I am in search of myself, a direction that I'm looking for.

I don't mind what people might think about me, but it's something inside my heart that was saying... 'Go for your dreams'. So here I am, opening a new chapter in search for a direction. All and all, I could tell you that I' am developing myself, as a youth, as a member of family, circle of friends, groups and community I belong to, as a responsible citizen for my country, and a Buddhist.

I have observed some weaknesses laid in myself throughout the life journey, please allow me to improve myself and grow to be a better person.

May all beings be well and happy.