Go Chic

Malaysia Kini.

Known for their exhilarating live performance, Go Chic is quickly gaining world-wide attention with their tongue-in-cheek lyrics, adrenaline-pumping music and sexy attitude.

Their music has been described as “Electro-Hyphy-Chicks-Hybridized punk-Blues-Rock”. They created quite a buzz in 2010 when they won “Best Genre-Bending Act” at the Asian Indie music awards (AVIMA 2010).

They were also nominated in the “Best Pop Song”, “Best Electro/Dance Song”& “Most Mind-blowing Music Video” categories.

Check their songs out here.

If you had a chance to perform any where in the world, where would that be and why?
Brazil. Because I never been to South America before.I want to see the sky waterfall in the next four years! (Sarah)

If you had a chance to collaborate with any musician on the planet, who would it be and why?
We’ve already collaborated with our favourite musician Peaches! If we had another chance I would say Beastie Boys. They are the coolest who influenced us a lot. (Sarah)

Which local musicians in your country do you most admire and why?
There’s a great band in Taiwan called Forests. I just saw their show last week, which was amazing. Listening to their music gets me excited about music again! (Ariel)

You look into the crystal ball and see your future? What does it say?
I’ve always wanted to move to Europe. So I’m sure in the crystal ball, I’ll be chilling at a beach house by Lloret de Mar, Spain. Or somewhere in Berlin. (Ariel)

Money or fame? Why?
Money, cuz money can buy fame, but fame can’t buy money yo! (Ariel)

What is your all time favourite song and movie? Why?
The Beatles-Across the universe. The Sanskrit in the song means that we can resonate with the universe. It gives me a lot of peace, and it’s kind of an important idea when making music. (Sarah)

What are your thoughts on music piracy?Would you give your music away for FREE?
I have mixed feelings towards music piracy. Creativity comes from existing materials, so it’s not entirely yours to start with. Sharing what you’ve “created” actually benefits everyone in the end and will in turn, inspire more people. But I also think it’s important for musicians and people who were involved in the production to get paid properly for their efforts. (Ariel)

endorsing sex education

By Aziff Azuddin (Malaysia Kini)

Sex education is a thorny issue in Malaysia. It has been constantly argued for years, yet we still do not see any substantial change in the education syllabus.

Years ago, conservatives claimed that endorsing sex education would be akin to giving teenagers with raging sexual hormones the tools to engage in pre-marital sex. The cultural and religious setting in Malaysia regards sex as taboo.

Liberals, on the other hand, argued that proper sex education would curb the growing number of teen pregnancies and baby-dumping cases that had been reported in the newspapers for years.

For a brief time in 2010, baby dumping became the most prominent news, sparking debates about Malacca’s endorsement of a lower minimum legal age for marriage, a special school for teenage mothers and the mushrooming of baby hatches. But like all Malaysian news, the issue died down after a few weeks.

Let’s examine exactly why teen pregnancies and baby dumping is a recurring problem.

Firstly, we have to accept the fact that teenagers are at a very active hormonal stage. In a Freudian sense, it is a period when we discover our identities through the exploration of human sexuality.

There is a popular saying in the pop culture circle: “Being a virgin in this day and age is something to be proud of, you’re like a unicorn.” And it’s not hard to imagine why. The advent of the Internet has opened up windows to porn sites, coupled with the media playing up sexual issues through films, advertisements and magazines.

Can we really blame our youth for being more sexually active when the media has been subtly giving them these messages all these years?

Lack of sex education
Secondly, we have to look at our syllabus on sex education. In all my years of secondary education, the closest I had had to sex education were on two chapters of human reproduction in Science lessons and subtle reminders of abstinence from religious studies.

There were also talks by my parents about the consequences of sexual exploration.

Finally, there is the Asian culture of treating sex as taboo. Parents are generally embarrassed to discuss sex with their children and at best, talk of it subtly, if not at all.

When teenagers cannot comfortably turn to their parents or a trusted elder figure, they would naturally turn to their peers who would have acquired knowledge on sex from the Internet, films or magazines.

The knowledge that these youths gather about sex and their interpretation of it would naturally deviate from those of their parents or the general public.

Throughout my university years, gossip would occasionally reach me and my peers about cases of girls we know getting pregnant. The tale was always the same: no contraceptives were used.

Among the reasons given for not wearing a contraceptive were that sex felt better without it, that walking into a convenience store and purchasing a box of contraceptives was embarrassing, and lastly, they had no idea about the existence of contraceptives.

Invariably, the end result was sudden marriage at a young age.

The lives of these girls and their children would forever be tainted. They would be looked upon with scorn by society. Worse still, the baby would end up aborted in dirty public restrooms or dumped as roadside trash.

Had these youth been properly educated on sex, could these problems have been prevented? Yes, it could.

Inculcating sex awareness
We often run campaigns on AIDS prevention, but who among us really takes the initiative to talk and fight about revamping our outdated education syllabus?

The current education syllabus does nothing to educate these young boys and girls on this important subject. We are forever hiding behind cultural sensitivity and taboos.

No one is endorsing a free sexual lifestyle like those practised in the West, but in order to tackle teen pregnancy and baby dumping effectively, something must be done.

Schools could take the initiative by working together with NGOs on annual campaigns on sex awareness. They could highlight topics ranging from sexual reproduction, emotional relations to reproductive rights and responsibilities, among others.

Given proper exposure, the youth can get over their awkwardness and seek proper advice from trusted counsellors or parents.

During the early years of Islam, the followers of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would approach the Prophet, despite the embarrassment, and ask him questions with regard to sex and conduct of marriage.

In all instances, the Prophet would answer with frankness, giving his followers guidance. Today, our problem is that we are not educating and answering questions on sex from the youth with the same frankness.

The result? At least two babies found in dumpsters every other day of the week and rising cases of teen pregnancies.

Aziff Azuddin, 22, is currently pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism.

KOTA KINABALU: Steps should be taken to improve the command of English among school children in Sabah besides mastering Bahasa Melayu, said State Resource Development and Information Technology Assistant Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad. Expressing her dismay that only a small number of pupils in the state are proficient in English, she said mastering English was important in the era of globalisation and information communication technology. "However, English lesson in the classroom is not sufficient to master the language. "School children need to practice it in daily life. Do not be shy to speak English as you can learn from experience. Language proficiency will improve when one speaks English whenever he could." Jainab, who is also Karambunai assemblywoman, was speaking when launching a free English programme conduced by Royal Group for three selected schools in Sepanggar here today. She also expressed her regret that most pupils read English books and reading material only during an English class, but not after school. "Most students hardly speak English, they do not watch English programmes unless there are subtitles and read only Malay newspapers and magazines," she added. -- BERNAMA Read more: Jainab: It's important to master English in globalisation era - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/jainab-it-s-important-to-master-english-in-globalisation-era-1.111560#ixzz23lJekSxo

KOTA KINABALU: Steps should be taken to improve the command of English among school children in Sabah besides mastering Bahasa Melayu, said State Resource Development and Information Technology Assistant Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad.

Expressing her dismay that only a small number of pupils in the state are proficient in English, she said mastering English was important in the era of globalisation and information communication technology. 

 

"However, English lesson in the classroom is not sufficient to master the language. 

 

"School children need to practice it in daily life. Do not be shy to speak English as you can learn from experience. Language proficiency will improve when one speaks English whenever he could." 

 

Jainab, who is also Karambunai assemblywoman, was speaking when launching a free English programme conduced by Royal Group for three selected schools in Sepanggar here today. 

 

She also expressed her regret that most pupils read English books and reading material only during an English class, but not after school. 

 

"Most students hardly speak English, they do not watch English programmes unless there are subtitles and read only Malay newspapers and magazines," she added. -- BERNAMA

Read more: Jainab: It's important to master English in globalisation era - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/jainab-it-s-important-to-master-english-in-globalisation-era-1.111560#ixzz23lJekSxo