The Name is Chin Yi Xuan

Culture is not something that is easily changed. This is especially true, seeing how fast a typical term cycle ends and changes hand to a new team every year – it is scary fast. A hasty term simply means one thing – things come and go quickly, good and bad ones alike. Hence, there are many clubs and societies in the campus that enjoyed a short term spike in success, while many never get to breakthrough in years. Ultimately, this led to the problem where no one would like to take up leadership roles in clubs and societies every year. And if you are experiencing this in your society, it is most likely that you are not alone. Many of the clubs and societies in UM face the same issue as well. All of these inconsistencies and underperformance of clubs and societies boil down to one key aspect: Weak Culture. A weak culture within a club or society can be seen when members are not passionate to support their own initiatives, an unresponsive board of leaderships and the most obvious ...

As I am approaching my final academic semester in UM, this is an article that I would like to share with everyone that comes across my blog for Form 6/STPM advices and opinions (I started this blog writing about Form 6), my recent contents on education and politics, or maybe just simply because the topic of this article caught your eyes. So technically, I am 23 this year. I studied Form 6/STPM for Pre-U which results in me lagging at least a year behind many of my peers. For the past couple of years I’d seen my peers and even high school juniors graduated and started their full-time career in their respective industries and my relatives starting to step up the ladder in their career. The outcome from witnessing these events, especially the peers same age as me are getting out to the working world, is a mixed and complex feelings on my current state – 23 and still studying while the peers around me are starting to work and earn. As a result, many questions popped through my mind...

The impact of budget cut on public universities is real. Great and inspiring lecturers are not having their contracts renewed, retired lecturers are not replaced and inadequate learning facilities, just to name a few. As a whole in Malaysia’s Budget 2017, Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) faced a 29% allocation cut compared to 2016 from RM13.38 billion to RM9.5 billion. This is also a continuation from the cut from RM15.78 billion in 2015. Of all, UM and UiTM got a 42% cut of RM268 million and 36.16% cut of RM946 million respectively since 2015. Stepping into my final year of study in UM, I recall having our class delayed in the middle of the lecture because of the projector that was not working properly, WiFi speed that would simply slow you down rather than help in increasing your efficiency, no manpower to replace leaving lecturer for a particular subject and most significantly, faculties being asked to generate their own income to sustain themselves. The outcome? A...

Admitting to your own weaknesses is a sign of strength, and there is nothing to be ashamed of from admitting them. If there were any lessons that I'd learned throughout my time in PEKUMA, one of them would be to admit to your own weaknesses, flaws and mistakes, no matter how hard it is. English proficiency among students of local universities has long been an issue discussed, and even appeared in reports and articles on why local graduates are having such a hard time getting a job and competing with their peers upon entering the workforce. Hence, it was very interesting for me to see the reaction of students when a confession post by an anonymous confessor came out this morning, targeted primarily on the English proficiency of UM FPP and FEP students. Majority of the students stood up against the post. Sarcasm and rage can easily be sensed on the comments, which I strongly think were expressed on impulse upon reading the post. However, it is not of my ...

In year 2016, Malaysia has established 20 public universities, 34 polytechnics and 94 community colleges all around the country, which is a huge leap in the numbers compared to the 1960's. In early 2016, University of Malaya (UM), being the leading university in Malaysia, is ranked 27th in Asia by QS ranking. But the question remains: Despite all the statistics and results in paper, are we really that good? Before I proceed it is necessary to inform you on how a university is being ranked by the QS ranking: 1. Academic Reputation - 40% 2. Citation per faculty - 20% 3. Student to faculty ratio - 20% 4. Employer Reputation - 10% 5. International faculty ratio - 5% 6. International student ratio - 5% (Source: http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/qs-world-university-rankings-methodology) Disclaimer: This article is not written to cause any kind of personal insults to any students, lecturers, or the managemen...

UPU results are out a few hours back and some are happy with the outcome. To the less fortunate friends that did not get any UPU offer, appealing (rayuan) is the way for you to get a place in local public universities.  Rayuan Info-to-know before appealing : E-Rayuan effective date is from 12/8/2014 onwards to 22/8/2014 (11:59pm) Applicant DOES NOT NEED to purchase ID number from BSN in order to appeal.  Only those that did not get any offer from UPU can appeal, while those who are not satisfied with UPU's offer CANNOT appeal through this method. Website : (UPU) https://online.moe.gov.my/upu/onlineupu/frayuan/ipta/index.php (USM)  https://pohon.usm.my/   * for those that applied for USM beforehand* Appealed results will be out by the third week of September . Yes, this by any chance means that those who succeed in appealing will enter public university later than their peers. Hence, in the meantime while waiting for the outcome, I strongly...

Every single year, there will always be STPM students with good results that hope to be called for interview for the entrance into local public universities but in the end turned down by the authorities.  So, what can you do if you are one of the victim?  1. Check First of all, check the courses you applied, are everyone of them required interview? If there are courses that do not require interview, it means that you will still have a chance to enter public universities. Every course you applied require interview? Proceed to no.2 then. 2. Rayuan This is to the ones that failed to get any offer in the end to apply.  "Rayuan: Hanya calon yang gagal mendapat sebarang tawaran sahaja yang layak mengemukakan permohonan rayuan. Rayuan ke IPTA bagi Program Pengajian Lepasan STPM/Setaraf dibuka untuk capaian mulai 12 Ogos 2014 jam 12.00 tengah hari sehingga 22 Ogos 2014" 3. Local/Overseas Private Universities Well, maybe in life when we do not g...

The plan has been talked and discussed about for years, and recently it has finally implemented officially. And yes, with this I mean the Form 6 College. What is it all about? What is the possible impacts to the students, teachers and the authorities? Know more by continue reading this article! Headline of Sin Chew Jit Poh on 21/2/2014, which means 'Form 6 will be gathered and study in the same place' in English The whole issue is being reported by Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh on their headline on 21/2/2014, and little as it'll not affect most of the people in the society, but it definitely will cause lots of question-marks and worries among those who intend to further their studies by doing STPM.   The Form 6 College So, what is it all about? According to the news, two out of five new Form 6 College has started to operate, both being located at Selangor and Sabah. The 5 colleges are SMK Desa Mahkota (KL), SMK Bandaraya II (Sabah), SMK Petaling Jaya...

The time has come for the STPM 2013/14's batch of STPM students to receive their First Semester's results! Here is a short article that might help you mentally on how to prepare yourself for it - and aftermath of receiving your results. #1 Rule: Expect Nothing This is the only way to prepare yourself mentally, because this is your First Semester's results and there are way too much of different circumstances in STPM. Don't give yourself excess stress by setting a target for yourself before receiving your results (if you wanna do so, you should have done it in the start of the semester and go all in for it anyway). Well, just tell yourself that you have did your best and leave it fate to decide. Hence, expect nothing and when the results turns out to be good then take it as a bonus, you'll definitely happier by this way.  #2 Rule: Know That You Have a Second Chance Well, this thought is definitely not advisable during the semester, as I would always ...

For 2013's STPM leavers, it is almost time to buy your pin number for the application to local public universities! Below are the details: Date : Starting from 20/1/2014 Venue : BSN Bank nationwide Price : RM15.60, except for USM that takes care of their own students intake, it'll be RM40 Remark : For USM, you'll need to do your application at their own designated site ( https://pohon.usm.my/ ) Refer this site for more info on how to buy your pin number :  http://afterschool.my/how-to-purchase-pin-for-your-upu-application-for-ipta-public-universities/ I've heard rumours saying that 2013 STPM third semester results will be coming out early February, and 10/2/2014 to be specific. Well, time will tell.  Until next time, ciaoz! All the best and good luck! Lets hope everyone gets their desired course and universities (although I believe it'll not going to happen *sigh*)!!!