Tuesday, 15 January 2008.

♥

Typecast
By: Aminuddin

Never has it been more painfully palpable to me that we are lagging far behind in the race to reach the apex of success. In saying 'we', I was referring to none other than ourselves, Singaporean students of Al-Azhar University...

Let me remind myself and all of you, my brothers and sisters, that we are bright prospects for our community and to a lesser extent our nation. We carry the wishes of our parents who want the very best for us.

But if we stay idle like this, the hope that was placed will be just that, without consequence whatsoever.

It is imperative for us to upgrade ourselves in every possible aspect, not just academically. Sure, a good academic result can be considered as an achievement, but it is not the only required natijah from us. We must be able to contribute significantly in building our ummah and the world as a whole. For then, can we justify the responsibility of being a Muslim.

However, there's a problem which is to be dealt with at hand. I don't know the true cause of it but indisputably, it has become a cliché'. THE CORRUPTED MENTALITY. It is widely spread among us, so it's not a surprise that some people have stereotyped graduates from madrasahs as being >"ketinggalan zaman, kuno, unmodern, backwards, tak maju and all the other labels"< in contrast to their counterparts from the mainstream schools in Singapore.

It is upsetting to see this phenomenon, especially in our own PERKEMAS. Why do some members do not want break from "The Cycle"?? (Please refer to the past article for more of this). Why do they not want to leave their so-called comfort zones?? Difficulty is not the issue. How on earth are we going to progress like this?? For what purpose are we ashamed of ourselves?? If we keep saying there's always a person who's better in every certain matter, then we are being bureaucratic in the wrong way. The excessive adherence to nature… (Alah, da memang dia naturally lagi layak, siapa sey aku nak lawan dia?) of this sort, is polluting everyone. Be certain with your own capability to do some good!

The devastating effect can be felt in shudders. Life would be very dull like that. What we lack is the initiative to try new things. It may seem alien at first but with time we can adapt to the task eventually Insya-Allah.

There is no point in comparing ourselves with someone else because everyone has his or her own measures. We might not have tapped our true potentials. We are still in the process of learning, remember?? Kalau tak kat sini kat mana lagi kan? The years we spend here are the only chance we have to improve ourselves for the benefit of others. Kita semua bukan budak primary atau secondary yang pikir untuk diri sendiri je, "asal aku pass exam sudah, tak susahkan orang pe"… Kita pelajar university, so pikiran mesti 'up' sikit dari yang dulu. Think about the future of our community and our important roles. That will show our maturity.

Imagine the fruits that we will harvest from our investment now. I reckon we can all together develop into better individuals for our families and friends to be proud of. This moment will never ever come again in our lives. Woe to us if we fail to utilize this opportunity.

'Throw out your chest and raise your head. If you have decided to believe in yourself, accept it with all your heart without any hesitation. If you still do, then it's up to you. You will find yourself forever being typecast as someone who is backward.'

I am making this call to my fellow comrades in the jihad of seeking knowledge, expecting to see a positive response from all of you. We should really be world-ready to face what lies ahead. May Allah extends His help for this noble cause. Ameen.



Muhammad Aminuddin Bin Kuwajamoinuddeen
First Year StudentFaculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies

(An article from abroad. written by a good friend of mine. Thanks Amin for letting me to post this! take care. )