Bullying

This past week I attended a Grade 8 class meeting in Bernard's new school dealing with the subject of "Bullying". Posted on the notice board in this room were two quotes:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
and
"The greatest danger to our future is apathy.:" (Jane Goodall)
What an amazing thing to see these kids thinking NOW about their responsibilities to ACT to better their world!

This class of 23 13 year olds is tasked with the job of heightening awareness to bullying in all its myriad forms in order to eradicate it from their school. Their homework this week is to answer trhe following questions:
1. What is bullying?
2. What kinds of bullying occur in our school?
3. What can we do to make our school safe for everyone?

These children are integrating learning and being of service to their fellow men; actions that will serve not only to make them better people but our world an infinitely better place than before.

Jane Goodall also said "Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved." Although she was probably talking about chimpanzees (segue:only 1 percent of DNA separates our species!!) this definitely also applies to humans. If we all have this sensitivity and abhorrence to bullying, no matter when we realise it, we cannot stand by while bullying occurs, whether it's by a kid on a playground or by an unjust government. We have to thank the educators in our midst, the teachers, the activists, the volunteers, the whistle-blowers, the journalists, the investigative reporters and Barisan Rakyat bloggers in Malaysia; individuals who have decided that it isn't enough to be good only in theory. These individuals who take their guts in their hands each day to stand up for what is so wrong even though it is institutionalised. In Malaysia, these individuals who have come to shout together and educate their fellow people are Bangsa Malaysia. You people who have stood up and not only shouted out your concerns and your ideas and you willingness to ACT, but have actually ACTED; I say to you: ROCK ON KAWANS! You have even influenced the tiny group of Malaysians here in the Bahamas to identify ourselves as Malaysians and not Chinese-Malaysian or Indian-Malaysian. YOU ROCK! Don't stop now, you have come so far in such a short time. The time is right for justice to be served. Baha'u'llah; Prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith exhorts us to uphold justice "'O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behoveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.'
Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, 2

ROCK ON ZORRO! ROCK ON RPK! ROCK ON HARIS! ROCK ON BANGSA MALAYSIA! ROCK ON!

Update on the boys...

Our boys are all in new schools this year, Bernie moved from Tambearly to Lyford Cay International School, Ryan from Tambearly to The Meridian School and Patrick has started in Rising 3s at The Meridian School! Although there really is only one additional child in school this year it seems like the morning routine has tripled. Wayne and I are up at 6am and still having to rush out the door at 8am! It's crazy but so far we have only forgotten 2 things over the last week. School started last week but due to 2 hurricanes we had Thursday and Friday off. The kids are adjusting well, Patrick is still crying for his mum abit... a fact he tells everyone he meets with sound effects thrown in for good measure so I tend to think that this crying is not really a bad thing! We were most worried about Ryan because he is extremely averse to change but yesterday he told me "I am so happy at my new school" so I am ecstatic! Bernard has taken to LCIS like a duck to water and is working hard already. He is getting his own MacBook later this week and then he will be on cloud 9. Wayne and I are pretty busy these days with work, our own business Pure Bahamas Ltd. and our family but we are pretty happy with how far we have come in 14 years. God only knows how we did it and He continues to hold us in the palm of his hand. I look back over the past year and these are the things that come to mind: 1.I rode the Kraken (huge rollercoaster at Seaworld) and survived. I might do it again and this time try to keep my eyes open but i'm not making any promises. I remember riding my first roller coaster in Genting Highlands with my parents and brother in 1993 and that one was situated at the edge of a cliff...which explains why i never went back on one again until this year! 2. Patrick is potty trained 3.Ryan grew taller and wider 4. we had a great summer 5. Bernie's piano skills are growing exponentially with Ms. Kim 6. We got two fish and they are still alive 7. Kev and Marianne have been married 1 whole year 8. I went to Haifa for 10 days and 9. I'm alive and well and so are my parents and loved ones

Launch!

It's a good day to finally lauch this blog. My eldest son Bernard is 14 today. He is named for my dad Bernard Khoo aka Zorro Unmasked , fearless champion of justice in Malaysia. I started this blog in 2006 at the urging of my Dad but you know I wanted it to be perfect before launching ... those were the days. Now I know that I just have to do it ... don't wait, life is too short and besides who the heck do i think i am or that I will EVER be perfect .... or at least more perfect than I already am :) Gotcha ...
Anyway here goes ... enjoy :)