~PERMAI a glance from an RMC student part 1~

i have kept my views as secretive as possible trying not to go public on my thoughts and views upon this issue. At first i thought that i have absolutely no rights in judging and i felt shallow thinking i have no understanding in the issue's brought by the association.

But after 1 year i stayed in this holy land of prophets, i believe i do have the rights and it is ok for me to voice out my opinion .

and yet , please understand that this is just a humble opinion which i have long kept deep in the bottom of my heart. if i do wrong, please forgive me for to err is human.:)

PERMAI (Persatuan Mahasiswa Irbid Malaysia) or better known as "The Malaysian Students

Association Of Irbid".

yes as prosperous and harmonious as the name is , i still believe that there are things to look into, where we could correct our flaws and continue with the islamic essence which makes this association so special compared to others.

I would like to take you readers back in time, and for once try to put yourself in my shoes so

that you could see things from my point of view, i am not saying that it is fully correct, but i just hope to be understood.

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"ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking, please be seated and prepare for land

ing, as we are 1 hour away from our destination, Queen Alia International Airport, Amman , Jordan." as the flight captain finished his announcement there were screams of joy on the flight. everyone, i mean EVERYONE had their faces lighten up with excitement.

I sat at my seat, feeling rather sad and excited as i was leaving everything behind and am about to start a whole new chapter of my life in this so called land of prophets.

i tried to fake a smile and watched the other students chat happily and cheerfully . i felt happy yet envious seeing them so cheerful, as if they are ready to face the obstacles ahead despite knowing that it would be a bumpy ride.

as i step foot into jordan, honestly i was surprised, the stories that we heard from seniors were miles away from the visible truth, and for once i was struck by frustration.

i tried to coax myself and tried to look things at the positive way.

it was indeed an enjoyable ride through out our first weeks and month, but that was until we were introduced to the constitution which were uphold by PERMAI. there are some things that i didnt get at the 1st place and being the rebellious me, i find it utterly inappropriate .

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IKHTILAT

yes, the most talked about issue in this region. i could imagine the gasps of suspense on your faces as you read this title, but if you could bear with me until the next topic, i believe you would understand what i am trying to say.

DO NOT GET ME WRONG, I WAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER OPPOSE ON THIS ISSUE.

i believe the concept brought by this very strong word is to ensure that we are well nurtured to avoid any inappropriate socialization between genders. i find the concept really unique, for you are obliged to certain laws in order to socialize with the different gender, yet still being able to work hand in hand to fulfill a task. ie the programmes organised by permai.

i understand that this is not merely the laws of permai, but indeed the laws of our religion, Islam.

being from a school which has no religious background, at first i had trouble to understand, but

after a while, i tend to adapt and learned to live with it.

but some incidents had actually smeared a black mark on my perception.

one of them happened during our 1st trip to the university, as we were lining up to take our class schedule . the line some how ended in a U kind of shape, where the boys and girls unintentionally ended up side by side.

as my friend and i were standing in line, we saw a friend of ours (who happens to be a girl) dancing on her phone keypads typing a message. we felt excited for we didnt recieve our sim cards yet and we got to know that the girls had got theirs. without further thinking, my friend started to ask.

" Number jordan ke?"

"haah " she replied without even looking.

"oh... murah tak message Malaysia?" he added.

"erm.. boleyh la, biase-biase je, takde la mahal sangat.", she replied , this time with a smirk.

and out of nowhere, this senior lady senior came to us and said,

"soalan macam tu, kau bleyh tanye senior kau", with a sarcastic tone, breaking our conversation at the instance.

at that time we didnt know how to react, should we be ashamed ? should we be angry? we went home with a little grudge towards her , and the rebellious nature tend to develop.

was it wrong of us just to ask a mere simple question? if soo, we are sorry, but isnt there any better way to tell us?

you see, the idea is great but how they implement the idea is a no-no. this is just one case, we indeed faced many other situations which i think should not be as it was done.

put yourself in our shoes, having nil knowledge upon this issue, and suddenly just being whipped with sarcasm would do nothing to us but strike anger.

again, the idea is great but i just think that we need to find a different way of approach, a much "user friendly" kind of way. we dont want to create a "cultural shock" to these innocent newbies by giving them strict and unfriendly teachings. i suggest we study these characters and find a way to go around them to take them into our grasps slowly rather than grasping them with sizzling paws.

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PROGRAMMES

PERMAI is well known for its diversity of programmes, i personally dont know to identify it as its famous nature, or infamous nature.

i quote a super senior of us

"kalau dalam masa setahun ade 365 hari,

100 hari lebih diperuntukkan dengan programme sahaja."

you see, the programmes are great, i totally enjoy them too. it not only implements soft skills (which seems to be its main concern) but it also strengthen the bonds between the society.

to look at it in a bigger scope, and im sure that most of you agree, that the programmes seem to be held every week (plus minus the exam weeks). some may feel that it becomes rather burdening than enjoyable and benefiting. thus explaining the "empty spots" during the programme. i personally think that it is ok, as long as it does not clash with our studies and private life. but then again, not all of us seems to think in the same way.

the idea is about prioritizing, prioritize the important programmes

first and then only the mere backups. try to focus on the objectives and fulfill it to the very best, not just organizing for the sake of organizing. insyallah, your participants would increase.:)

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well this is for part 1 of my views, insyallah, tomorrow i will be explaining on the basis of workforces, seniority , language and offcourse the brotherhood.

before any of you make up your own conclusion, please stay tuned on the updates for the next issues . to understand one self is not just to look at one side but his idea in a whole..