ATTENDING A BOOK LAUNCH EVENT AT STARHILL, KUALA LUMPUR

28th APRIL 2024 ~ Mr. Ridwan Wahid got invited to a book launch event and he asked me whether I would be interested to tag along. I had never been to one so I agreed to accompany him and to see the writer of the book, Mr. Malachi Edwin, our TESL lecturer in Universiti Pertanian Malaysia.

When we arrived at Eslite Bookstore in The Starhill, Bukit Bintang, there was already a crowd sitting in front of the stage. In the book talk session, Mr. Edwin was responding to the questions posed by the moderator on his latest book, a collection of short stories in "Have I Got Something to Tell You".

It just felt like attending the Literature class in university again.

After an hour, the book talk session ended and the last section should be Meet the Author.

I had never met Mr. Edwin since I left UPM 30 years ago. It was great to get to see the man who had introduced Literature to my friends and me after all these years. We got the novels signed and we could not have a long chat as other fans were waiting in line.

Congratulations Mr. Edwin on your new book. I have already finished reading 14 out of the 20 short stories published in the collection, and should be able to read all by the end of this week.

UPM TESL CLASS OF 1993 THROWBACK SERIES - PUTTING ON AN EXHIBITION ON MALAYSIAN LITERARY FIGURES AT THE LIBRARY

discussion stage

My 6 years in Universiti Pertanian Malaysia was fabulous and I enjoyed myself there a lot. Besides having great friends and getting involved in college activities, I always found the chance to venture beyond the campus fences just to get certain assignments done exhilarating. I remember going places together with my coursemates - taking photos at Zoo Negara and the night market at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, watching numerous plays and theatres and even going to the British Council Library to find reference books.

at the NST building for the interview

We had to do this one assignment under the tutelage of Mr. Malachi Edwin for his subject: Malaysian Literature in English. I could not remember which semester we were in when we did this. In groups, we had to first choose a local author/poet/playwright (a few whose names we had not heard before) and come up with something like a biography on this literary figure. In order to do that, we had to conduct an interview, do more research on him. For the final product, each group had to put on an exhibition at the university's library.

Mr. Kee Thuan Chye in the middle

My group members for this project were Mr. Mohd. Azman Awang, Mr. Daniel Chow Ung T'Chiang, Ms. Sharon Taty Mokhtar, Ms.Christina Chan and Ms. Wendy Chan. We picked Kee Thuan Chye from the name list and we happily went to see him at his office in the New Straits Times building in Kuala Lumpur.

We also went to interview Mr. Krishen Jit. I couldn't remember why we went to see him because we were working on Kee Thuan Chye for our assignment and not him.

After a few weeks, it was about time for us to set up our booths at the UPM Library where the exhibition was about to take place. This project was HUGE and we had to display our very best products to the campus community (even though only a small percentage of the population would be interested to pay us a visit).

It was not easy to have this exhibition at the library as we would have to keep the volume low all the time. I guess we behaved well as there was no complaint at all that I knew of, or no librarians trying to shoo us away.

a TESL junior

A few of the writers that the groups were researching on turned up at the exhibition. Apart from Mr. Kee Thuan Chye, there were also Salleh Ben Joned, Muhammad Haji Salleh and Anwar Ridhwan. They must be proud that we had chosen them for our assignments and had to check that we got the facts right about them.

This assignment required us to spend a lot of money and time, but knowing us, we pulled it through eventually. All the hard work paid off as my group members were awarded with As for this course (I think). It was a good experience and we would have to thank our lecturer, Mr. Malachi Edwin, for giving us the opportunity to take up the challenge and see the real people outside once in a while. I wonder if he still asks students with this kind of assignment anymore.

SAMPLE PT3 ESSAY FOR NOVEL - AN IMPORTANT EVENT FROM "MOBY DICK"

QUESTION: From the novel you have read, write about an important event and give reasons to support your answer.

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From the novel "Moby Dick", an event which is important is when Queequeg got seriously ill and he expected that he was about to die.

There was an incident when the crew on Pequod had to change the leaking oil barrels. The barrels were very heavy and only the strongest man could move them. Queequeg had to do this hard and heavy work for three days.

Then, Queequeg fell very sick. His body was as cold as ice one minute and then as hot as fire. He couldn't see and speak. Ishmael promised him to stay by his side until he got better. After two days, Queequeg asked his friends to make a coffin and put his harpoon, some food and water in it. Queequeg thought he was going to die. Ishmael sat, cried and waited beside Queequeg because he was very sad.

This event is important because it shows Ishmael is a loyal friend who did not leave Queequeg when he was in a bad condition. It also shows Ishmael as someone who is compassionate and a real friend at heart. I hope I will be like Ishmael when I grow up.

*NOTE:
By using the same content, you could also answer question the character (Ishmael), theme (friendship), moral value/lesson: compassionate/loyal/kind. But remember to change the introduction and concluding paragraphs to fulfill the requirement of the task.

SAMPLE ESSAY: A CHARACTER FROM "MOBY DICK"

SAMPLE PT3 ESSAY FOR NOVEL - A CHARACTER FROM "MOBY DICK"

QUESTION: Based on the novel you have read, write about a character you can look up to and give reasons to support your answer.

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Based on the novel "Moby Dick", the character I look up to is Ishmael. I choose Ishmael because he is a brave person. This can be seen from the early event of the story.

Ishmael has been a sailor earlier but decided to become a whaler instead as he is a brave and adventurous person. He wants to visit exciting new places and to see the whales. He loves his life on the ocean and it is never boring. He even feels sad when he is not on the ship.

It is evident that Ishmael is a brave character when he signs up to be a whaler on Pequod. However before that he meets an old man on the road, Elijah. Elijah warns him of the danger ahead and the evil Captain Ahab, but this does not stop Ishmael with his plan.

When he finally sees Starbuck on board, Ishmael has been warned again of the dangers and risks. According to Starbuck, whaling is a hard life. He has to be strong and fast and will have to be away from home for many years. Starbuck also tells Ishmael about Captain Ahab whose leg is taken by a big whale. This again does not make Ishmael change his mind.

In conclusion, Ishmael is the character I can look up to as he is brave. He has shown that we have to be brave in facing challenges and adventures, and to experience new things in life to succeed. I hope I can be like him when I grow up.

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NOTE:
Using the same evidence, you could also answer other questions related to character traits like "determination" and "being adventurous". Or you can answer similar questions like "a character I admire/like/love" etc.

You can also use the same content to respond to the question for the theme of the novel (bravery), moral value (bravery) and a lesson you can learn (we must be brave). Will provide other sample essay using the same evidence later. 

AN IMPORTANT EVENT FROM "MOBY DICK"

"MR. NOBODY" REPRODUCED

This was another assigned task to the Form One students from Set A1 English class. It could be a simple thing to do but some people did put a lot of effort in producing their best piece of work. There is no more putting up paper for display on the noticeboard now. To applaud for the students' hard-work and determination, these are the selected ones that have made their way into my blog. Congratulations people, keep up the good work!