The new year is already a month old and we are only beginning to introduce the brand-new, squeaky-clean OM staff. Please join me in welcoming Keat Meng, Pratik, Wei Jie, Cassie, Firdaus, Nicholas, Izzu, Azlan, Afandi, Fatin and Yati! We hope to continue impressing and overwhelming you with our impossible opinions.
I must not forget the old team: Azam, Eileen, Khairil, Lewis, Ariffin, Hakim, Hannah, Adlina, Aimran and Yati (again). Thank you, thank you, thank you for being your wonderful selves.
The December holiday did me a whole load of good: a beach holiday in Krabi, Thailand (great place to be if you have a horror of hordes of Western tourists, like me); a frantic push-and-shove shopping holiday in Singapore; a laidback, return-to-my-roots holiday in Penang; a meditative, come-back-to-my-senses holiday by Le Meridien poolside in Kuala Lumpur. Being in South-East Asia makes me realise how diverse this region is.
What‟s up for 2010? I don‟t “do” resolutions, but there are goals. I aim to be wholesome and to fulfil most, if not all, of the promises I have made to myself.
This is also going to a year of changes. Our IB seniors will be facing the battle of their lives in May, and after that, we will go our separate ways, infinitely richer because we have known each other. What are the challenges? Religious fanaticism, international terrorism, political instability, irrevocable ecological damage, H1N1… it is still the same old list.
Well done, by the way, to the Dutchman who overmastered that bastard Nigerian terrorist who tried to bring down yet another American flight. It shows that a little courage can go a long way. Be vigilant, people, when you travel. If you see anything untoward, react first and then answer questions later. Together we can overcome these thugs who give religion a bad name.
What good came out of 2009? Definitely not Transformers 2! And most certainly not the mind-numbing New Moon (sorry, Jacob). No, it‟s Avatar 3D I have in mind. Thanks, James Cameron, for making me dream again. I would marry you ten times over if Hollywood permitted.
Chinese New Year (Tyger! Tyger! burning bright) is not far away. This means stuffing myself with food in front of relatives and friends I only see once a year. Of course, there are also those close friends I do not need a special occasion to meet up with. I am looking forward to another trip up Batu Ferringhi Beach, which, not so long ago, was described by tourists as the dirtiest beach they had been to. The local council went on the defensive, of course, but that did not alter the fact that one had to lie next to heaps of waste. It would be nice to see if anyone has got off their lazy bum and started cleaning. Will anyone please remind me why Penang was given the World Heritage title in the first place? Some mysteries are hard to explain…
`While planning for this issue back in November 2009, I had conveniently forgotten that February is also the month of Love. So my apologies to those of you lovelorn writers and poets who have been prevented from expressing yourselves this month. I promise it won‟t be long before Love is chosen as our discussion topic (in fact, it is next month‟s).
This month is about Utopia – the perfect world. I don‟t think it is possible to have one, despite what the Singaporeans say, but it never hurts to dream a little. I wish to thank everyone who has contributed to this subject.
Love thyself.
Edward Ong Editor-in-Chief
Opinionated Monthly has always fascinated me since I first stumbled onto a copy of it barely a few days after my induction into Sri KDU’s IB programme. (If my memory serves me correctly, it was the May edition, the publication’s second issue.) Truth be told, I was awed by such an ambitious project initiated by our very own Mr Edward Ong, who was aided by the very first Editorial Staff, which included some of the most diligent, persevering and highly witty members of our senior class, IB June ’08. Thanks to them, this monthly digest has flourished into one of our regular pick-me-ups, never ceasing to amaze us with its fresh ideas, conveyed through thought-provoking contributions from both the IB students and teachers, and in recent editions, the Upper Secondary students as well. Hence, I expressly thank the Editor-in-Chief for giving me the honour and privilege to be a part of the new Editorial Staff of 2010......
Okay, enough of the solemnities! (You can’t possibly expect me to go on writing like that – even I have limits ;) It is the start of a new year, a new decade if you like, and I’m sure I don’t want to make a fool of myself by appearing so serious to our new and hopefully avid readers. It is a new three-six-five, full of anticipated horrors (I’m not kidding) and unprecedented challenges for us the learned-and-learning class, IB and Upper Sec alike. Nevertheless, we must all plough on, for a glimpse of that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow everyone talks about (even you – yes, you).
And so, with that nugget of curiosity cruelly lodged in your brain, I must bid adieu, and warmly introduce you to our exciting line-up of doldrums-smashing, boredom busting opinionated articles that will, at the very least, provide an academic anaesthetic for the troubles of school life.
FIAT JUSTITIA ET PEREAT MUNDUS
Chin Keat Meng Deputy Editor
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