I do agree about the TV not being in the living room but to throw it away is such a waste. Why not sell it or hook up a computer to it so that it becomes a huge pc monitor. {laughter!}

Yes, I agree with Wan that the TV capture the images better than the books or magazines but sometimes when you look at the pros and cons of a television, I feel that it is such an unnecessary thing to have.

I feel that TV is such a passive way to be entertained whereas a TV hooked up to a computer system would be better as it makes it an active system as opposed to a passive one.

I remembered when I went to a Chinese friend’s 3 storeys bungalow house, her father had made the living room of the house as a place to meet and chat and converse and share ideas. Whereas the TV was in a TV room.

It struck me as “What a great idea!” that I shared this concept with most of my friends and that some of them actually converted a special space for their Home Entertainment System with sound proof walls and surround sound system with x-box games system etc etc.

Looking back at what most Malays have to live in Singapore, a TV room maybe out of the question BUT wouldn’t it be great that the TV is not there in the living room when guests arrive and that people come to talk and share and converse and share ideas? Rather than being “pookaw-ed” by the TV, why not change the ‘sikap’ of our culture and talk or participate in an active manner?

I know that when I got my own house, I discussed this with my wife that the TV goes into the TV place and the living room is a place to sit and have a conversation.

Yes, the mindset of some Malay head of the family has not changed with the times. I believe that the term Rumahku, Syurgaku should be abolished. It should be replaced with Rumahku, Masjidku or more correctly, Masjidku, Rumahku.

Isn’t this what our Beloved Rasul(saw) taught us?

The problem with the Singapore Malay education status in Singapore can be solved if only they know about the concept of having the right ‘akidah’.

I still see a lot of us studying because of exams or that we want to score such and such grades so that we can have a great looking certificate so that we can have a great job and so that is why we study hard.

Wrong!

We should study because it is a right of us Muslims to know the truth about God and His creations.

If we take a look at a particular Muslimah from Kelantan, Malaysia who scored 19A1 and 1A2, we imagined someone who has a life of luxury and wealth and a home environment that is so conducive for study that we can only hope to attain.

Nik Nur Madihah Bt. Nik Mohd. Kamal lives a life of poverty where the sole breadwinner is the fisherman father and a mother who is a homemaker.

No TV in the living room? Not true, there is a TV in the living room.

So what is the difference?

Many and one of them is respect and support from both parents to their children.

Yes, I agree with Shahnawaz that parents is the pillar of support for the children who wants to excel and that parents should play an important role in the success of their children.

When there is no great parenting in the equation, there can be no great children.

I believe that it is the lack of ‘amalan’ in the parents or guardians that causes the child to be “rosak”!

Na’uzubillah!

Great article, Shahnawaz. Keep it up!

Interesting take but respectfully, I have to disagree. I have many chinese frens who grew up with the finest things in life, live in condos, landed, laptops, cable, go for cruises with family, etc. They still become scholars, valedictorian, etc. Comfort and resources are not impediment to academic success, they help towards better academic success.

Throw away the TV ? Eh Jangan lah ! If books are called ‘windows to the world’, what adjective would you use for TV ? Think National Geographic, Discover Channel, Science Channel, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera and many more…

Would you rather our kids sit in a room with 4 walls, one desk, a chair and read pages after pages of, say, about animals, in a static manner OR watch the entire ecosystem occuring naturally in the amazon on Discovery Channel ? Instead about reading that giant ants exist on the Amazon, our kids can actually see the giant ants, how they live, how the eat, how the fight, etc.

Instead of reading that man has landed on the moon, he can actually see the visuals, how Apollo 11 landed on the moon, he can see how Armstrong came down the steps and landed on the moon. Somehow, you are more inspired seeing the visuals and the hearing the sounds than reading words.

With television, you can actually see the surface of Mars thru Opportunity and Spirit – 2 robots send by NASA. You can see the mountains, volcanoes, the seas, terrain, etc.
Don’t we want our kids to see that we now live in a world where we can send robots to another planet ? And how these planets look like ? So that they can dream and aspire ?

Do you want our kids to just read about climate problems ? Or is it better to show them via TV that ice at the poles are melting, it’s effect on Katirna, etc ? Is it better to read about the great pyramid or have it in sound and visuals at the comfort of your own home while learning about history ? Should they just read and see pictures in the science book about sharks, stingrays and the undersea ecosystem OR watch National Geographic which takes you deep into the ocean world and see things you never ever learn in books ?

Recently, my son watched a documentaty about crocodile on TV,in bed with me and my wife. We watched how the crocodile preyed on the deer drinking by the river from the crocodiles angle – the camera was from the water up. We watched how the crocodile lunged and dragged the deer into the water, how it drowned the deer and eventually ate it. All these from angle of INSIDE the river. Amidst the ohh….ahh….suruh the deer lari lari….My wife and son had to cover one eye while the other eye never missed a scene….it was that graphical !

You will never get these much learning and information from a book as compared to documentaries..I believe my son learnt alot about crocodiles thru that program than he can ever learn from reading his science book…

Throw away TV ? Do we want to deprive our kids with all these knowledge and learning readily out there via TV ?

Improve academic performance problem within our community. If you ask me, my short answer to the problem is discipline.

If you ask me about the ‘Rumahku Syurgaku’ mindset, I would see the problem (with that mindset) more relating to people sanggup berhutang at COURTS, pay exhorbitant interest just to have that material lifestyle at home – problem is more that these people sanggup berhutang rather than problem with affecting studies of the kids.

My take anyway. You always have interesting writings altho I may differ in the views. Keep it up ! I pray you’ll be great and successful. Insya Allah !

Wan