Sunday, September 6, 2015

Shades of Merdeka in drawings

The Star, Sunday September 6, 2015 

Wartime staples: The students preparing tapioca and banana dishes at the school.
Wartime staples: The students preparing tapioca and banana dishes at the school.

IT may have seemed like an ordinary task, but for the special needs students of SMK Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (Integrasi), it was extraordinary. It required time and effort.

The pictures they coloured were in various shades including red, white and blue - colours of the Jalur Gemilang.

Even if their fingers were a little unsteady, they were still focused, wanting very much to present their best Merdeka images during a colouring competition to mark the country’s National Day last week.

The school’s senior assistant (special needs education) Aliamah Mohammad was full of praise for the students. She commended them for trying and completing their tasks.

They may be different from the other students, but they are just as determined, she said.

“They should not be isolated. It is good that they participate and integrate with the rest during school celebrations to mark special events.

“In fact, these students also helped to sell food and snacks like yong tau fu, potato crisps and drinks during a mini sale held at the school grounds,” she added.

The school in Kajang has had hearing and speech impaired students since 1976. Currently it has 26 special needs students.

Aliamah added that it was important to include the special needs students into mainstream school activities to help them socialise.

“They join the mainstream students for lessons and our mainstream students are taught sign language every Wednesday, during assembly,” she said.

Aliamah said it was important for today’s youth to understand the importance of National Day and the hardships faced by past generations to secure the nation’s freedom.

Student Fatin Amirah Azlan, said it was a shame that today’s youth did not understand the true meaning of this important day.

“National Day is the day Malaysia was set free from the colonists. It put an end to their control and ideologies,” added the 19-year-old.

Her schoolmate Isaac Rajakumaran Rajkumar, lamented that many people took Malaysia’s independence for granted.

“They did not experience the situation and hardships that our former leaders went through. So, many of them don’t understand its importance.”

The celebration was launched with a bicycle convoy, flag bearers and kompang players accompanying Hulu Langat District Education Office assistant officer Mohd Fadzli Abu Bakar as he entered the school.

There was also a cooking competition where students had to create dishes using tapioca and bananas as the main ingredients.

Colourful expressions: The competition required them to colour drawings that depicted all things Malaysian - from the Jalur Gemilang to local monuments.
Colourful expressions: The competition required them to colour drawings that depicted all things Malaysian - from the Jalur Gemilang to local monuments.
  The root vegetable and fruit were staples during World War II and the Emergency, when government forces had to fight with the Japanese and communists.

The students brought their own cooking utensils and serving dishes, and whipped up some old favourites such as lempeng ( a local pancake) and boiled tapioca dipped in sambal.

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