By: Gthere.co

At the time of this writing, the Sri Lanka presidential palace was stormed following weeks of civil unrest, Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom just resigned and Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan was assassinated marking critical moments in history.

The turbulent world of politics while may be distressing, would intrigue some, in particular, Thaqif Aris a student in Gonville and Caius College of the University of Cambridge. He reads history and politics.

From attending Kolej Yayasan Saad (KYS), a renowned boarding school to attending the University of Cambridge as an undergraduate student, Thaqif gets to learn the intricacies of history and politics from the best educators in the world.

Gonville and Caius is the fourth oldest college in the institution dating back as far as 1348. The alumni consist of 15 Nobel prize winners, second to only Trinity College, Cambridge.

After graduating from KYS, he attended Kolej Yayasan UEM (KYUEM), the premier A-Levels institution in the country. In an interview, he accredited his character development to these institutions. Both being boardings school attended by the nation’s most talented youngsters, he realised that he was constantly surrounded by peers who have strong sense of camaraderie and ambition.

Being the son of an Oxford alumni and attending schools with excellent academic records since the age of 13, he believes it is crucial to have a support system to navigate through challenges, may it be in studies or on a personal level.

Thaqif is well-known among friends and family to be active in extracurricular activities. Apart from school, he also writes for Mulazine, an independent publication by Malaysian creatives. In Cambridge, it is no different.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A day in the life of a Cambridge student

He starts his day as early as 6:30 am before going for his rowing training. The training ends at 9:00 am and then he would head to the library before attending a day’s worth of lectures and tutorials (or commonly known as “supervisions”).

Cambridge classes includes supervisions which are one-on-one sessions with your professor or a PhD student whose specialises in a topic of your course. In preparation for a typical supervision, Thaqif would write an essay about the topic, where it will then be discussed and explored deeper with the supervisor.

His day ends with dinner at his college’s “Hogwarts-esque” hall as he describes it. After dinner, he would either go to the gym or to the library for further revision.

Why did he choose this course?

Thaqif accredits his amazing lecturers back in KYS and KYUEM. In the latter, he described how Mr Wallace and Dr Cook, taught him that history is what you make of it and being critical thinking helps him in understanding the complexities of the world. This allows him to deal with a broad range of difficult situations better.

“…you will always find something new and interesting (in history). It’s as if you can fall in love with the subject over and over again because it feels like attending a different course each day.”

For politics, he has always been mesmerised by the developments in international affairs and his career goal is to be a barrister in human rights law.

The challenge being a Cambridge student

“A stereotype of Cambridge that I believe rings true is the amount of work that you do in comparison to your friends.”

Even with years of experience of setting ambitious milestones for himself in academics, he still finds it challenging to keep up with the amount of studying needed to thrive in the Cambridge environment.

By his second year, he realised that he needed to go easy on himself, realising that being too studious can be detrimental to health. It is important to have a good balance between studying and leisure to bring about the best in him as a student and as an individual.

Tips for those wanting to study in Cambridge

Figuring out what you want to do in life can be challenging. It is usually something we always ponder since school days.

Thaqif shared that one way to know it is by finding out what subjects interest you the most and why they matter to you as a person.

These questions will help you find answers and discovering who you truly are.

When the time comes, a deep understanding of yourself will immensely help in university applications, especially when writing your personal statement and going through the interviews.

“To aspiring students, do read on how Cambridge interviews their applicants because I think a key reason to me getting accepted was my interview.”

For those interested in pursuing history and politics, he recommends reading, following and discussing the latest developments in these two subjects. If a particular subject does not inspire, it may not be for you and learning it at higher levels will be a struggle.

For his personal statement, Thaqif wrote about racial politics and love in Malaysia and how it affected his perception of history and politics.

The highly experienced KYUEM’s university relations department also helped tremendously in the university applications. It provides a complete A-Z guidance in applying to top world universities including Oxford and Cambridge to ensure students have the best chance at getting in.

They also nurtured the students relationships with their desired universities by crafting personalised recommendations.

Most treasured experience in Cambridge

When asked about his most memorable experience in Cambridge so far, he reminisces the time he and his rowing team won a national competition in Nottingham.

He particularly appreciated the sense of esprit de corps in that moment. It was the gruelling hours he endured during training with his comrades in the early mornings that cemented that brotherhood.

“The closer you are as teammates, the stronger the boat becomes.”

Kredit Foto: Instagram Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri

Menerusi perkongsian Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob di media sosial sempena Hari Bumi 2022, beliau komited untuk mempercepatkan pertumbuhan hijau, mempertingkatkan kemampanan tenaga dan mentransformasikan sektor air. Tambahnya lagi, inisiatif itu harus kekal sebagai teras pembangunan sosioekonomi negara.

Berdasarkan intensiti pelepasan 2005, selari dengan aspirasi menjadikan Malaysia sebagai negara rendah karbon. Kerajaan akan terus memenuhi komitmen untuk mengurangkan intensiti pelepasan gas rumah hijau (GHG) sehingga 45 peratus kepada Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) pada 2030.

“Saya sedar ini memerlukan usaha yang bersepadu serta komitmen dan pelaburan hijau yang tinggi.

Namun, saya yakin dengan penglibatan Keluarga Malaysia, komitmen ini akan memastikan Malaysia seiring dengan usaha negara lain untuk mencapai matlamat global dalam menangani perubahan iklim dan meningkatkan daya saing negara,” katanya.

Demi kelangsungan generasi akan datang, beliau turut menyeru seluruh Keluarga Malaysia supaya bersama-sama menggembleng tenaga dan menyumbang masa membudayakan amalan kelestarian.

Amalan seperti menghindari penggunaan plastik sekali guna dan penjimatan sumber tenaga perlu dijadikan kebiasaan dalam kehidupan.

Beliau turut mengajak sektor swasta dan Syarikat Berkaitan Kerajaan (GLC) untuk sama-sama memainkan peranan dalam usaha melestarikan alam sekitar.

Sejajar dengan Fokus Kelapan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Ke-12 (RMKe-12) iaitu Mempercepatkan Pertumbuhan Hijau, pembangunan ekonomi tidak harus menjejaskan alam sekitar, manakala liputan kawasan hijau perlu dipertahankan,” katanya.

Beliau turut mendoakan agar seluruh Keluarga Malaysia terus bersemangat memainkan peranan dan memikul tanggungjawab bagi mewariskan Malaysia yang lestari kepada generasi akan datang.

Sumber: Astro Awani

Kredit Foto: FB Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar

Apakah agaknya sebab Sultan melantik Onn Hafiz?

Pertama sekali, Onn Hafiz adalah seorang ADUN BN jadi beliau sebenarnya boleh meraih sokongan majoriti Ahli Dewan Undangan negeri BN yang memenangi pilihan raya negeri Johor dengan dua per tiga majoriti.

Beliau juga bukan calang-calang orangnya, kerana sebelum ini pernah menyandang jawatan exco pelancongan, belia dan sukan negeri Johor.

Dari segi keturunan pula beliau adalah cicit kepada Menteri Besar Johor yang pertama, Jaafar Muhammad, cicit kepada pengasas UMNO, Onn Jaafar, cucu kepada Perdana Menteri ke tiga, Hussein Onn.

Beliau datangnya daripada keluarga yang sangat berpengalaman dalam hal-ehwal pentadbiran, khususnya di negeri Johor. Secara mudahnya, beliau merupakan anak jati Johor.

Ke dua, kita perlu fahami konteks situasi politik di negara ini. Menurut Murray Hunter seorang penganalisis politik di dalam artikelnya di FMT News, BN yang sekarang ini diterajui oleh UMNO sebenarnya dipengaruhi dan dipimpin “kluster mahkamah”. Jadi Hasni Mohammad sebenarnya adalah calon yang disyorkan oleh kluster mahkaman tersebut.

Walaupun BN memenangi pilihanraya negeri Johor, kita harus ingat bahawa peratusan keluar mengundi sangatlah rendah sebanyak 55% sahaja. Secara teknikalnya, BN menang besar, tetapi realitinya?

Umum mengetahui rakyat sudah muak dengan isu-isu rasuah dan berat hati untuk mengundi. Jika undi pembangkang, politik tidak stabil. Jika undi BN, kluster mahkamah pula bermaharajalela.

Jelas di sini, bahawa walaupun negara kita mengamalkan sistem demokrasi, tidak semestinya sistem ini tiada kelemahan.

Semasa situasi bergolak politik negara, Istana memainkan peranan yang penting sebagai benteng kestabilan terakhir dalam sistem pentadbiran negara. Jadi institusi raja kita sangat mustahak untuk menjadi panduan dan semak imbang kepada percaturan golongan ahli politik.

Hujah ini menjawab persoalan terakhir.

Apakah situasi seperti ini pernah belaku sebelum ini?

Perkara ini tidak asing lagi dan pernah berlaku di Perlis, Selangor dan Terengganu. Contoh yang paling baik adalah ‘langkah kajang’ pada tahun 2014.

Disebabkan percaturan politik PKR dan Rafizi Ramli untuk meletakkan Anwar Ibrahim sebagai pengaruh isteri beliau Wan Azizah yang disyorkan parti sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor, Sultan Selangor pada ketika itu telah menghentikan percaturan ini dengan melantik Azmin Ali.

Sejarah dan kuasa kesultanan Johor

Perkara terakhir yang perlu difahami adalah kuasa kesultanan Johor dan negerinya yang bersifat bebas. Tidak seperti negeri lain, Johor merupakan sebuah negeri yang mempunyai sejarah empayar yang berdaulat.

Jadi terma dan syarat Johor menyertai Persekutuan Tanah Melayu adalah lain dan datangnya dari kedudukan yang lebih berkuasa. Antara syaratnya adalah Islam menjadi agama negeri, air dan tanah negeri menjadi hak mutlak Johor serta askar timbalan setia tidak boleh dibubarkan.

Kerana itu, secara tradisi dan budayanya politiknya, kesultanan negeri Johor lebih berpengaruh dalam hal-ehwal pentadbiran negeri Johor.

Menurut Dr. Ramlah Adam, Pengarah Pusat Kajian Institusi Raja Malaysia, dalam sistem kerajaan negeri, Sultan Ibrahim merupakan pemerintah tertinggi dan kuasa pentadbiran harian diserahkan kepada pembesar yang dilantik.

“…Kerajaan Persekutuan kena hormat undang-undang Johor. Kuasa raja kekal dan Kerajaan Pusat tidak boleh campur tangan.”, katanya.

Kesimpulanya, yang paling penting di sini, sistem pentadbiran negara yang mempunyai semak imbang sangat penting untuk menjamin tadbir urus atau governance yang berkesan demi kebaikan rakyat.

Dalam hal ini, institusi raja telah memainkan peranan mereka menyemak imbang sebuah parti politik yang, walaupun memenangi pilihan raya negeri Johor, masih mempunyai banyak kelemahan.