Sunday, November 22, 2009

Budu Power



Terengganu has done it again! For nine consecutive years, the state has achieved the highest percentage of straight As in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination in the country.

The State Education Department reported that of the 24,156 candidates who sat for this exam (it used to be called Pepereksaan Darjah Enam during my time), 3,664 scored five As.

This is equivalent to 15.3 per cent of those who sat for it and an almost one per cent jump over last year's 14.4 per cent. What is even more heartening to note is that rural schools were doing much better than urban schools.

My heart swelled with pride upon learning this, not so much because I am Terengganu born-and-bred, but because it shows how much Terengganu, once considered the most backward state in the country (in infrastructure and everything else), has advanced in the realm of education for the young.

It wasn't long ago that Terengganu was Malaysia's own "Hickville", the ultimate boondocks of the ulus. This is not counting charming Kelantan of course, because Kelantan is never ever ulu, just not cut from the same kain semutar, that's all.

Coming from an ulu primary school myself during those long-ago days of the '60s, I can identify with kids like 5A-achiever Mohd Fadli Amin Khairuddin from Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Ladang Gajah Mati, 50 kilometres from the nearest town of Dungun.

Now, that distance to the interior from quiet Dungun would definitely place the school in the middle of nowhere, as with two other schools in a 50-km radius to it, SRK Pasir Raja and SRK Terus.

These are all schools with less than 100 pupils but blessed with dedicated teachers who, according to Fadli in a press interview, kept an eagle eye on their academic performance from the very beginning. It is such teachers who make a difference in the lives of these kampung kids.

Today Terengganu is blessed with natural riches, a stable (if squabble-prone) state government (please stop all the bickerings and back-biting and get on with nation-building!) and a populace that no longer considers becoming fishermen is about the only lot for Terengganu men.

They still look seaward today, but only to fish for black gold and not the aquatic specie they were used to. Terengganu is a blessed land indeed ... and I'm feeling extra patriotic lately; must be all those kropok lekor that 'The Malay Mail' reporter Gabey Oh brought back from Kuala Terengganu last week ...

PS: Lest I'm misunderstood, let it be reminded that it's not the string of As I am rejoicing about; it's the fact that the kids of my beloved Terengganu are showing their mettle in a most positive way, by coming out tops and staying there continuously for almost a decade... syabas!

25 comments:

Kak Teh said...

Syabas and more power to budu! Do they have them in capsules these days? Would have worked wonders with my children's grades. But too late.

Unknown said...

Bukan ke budu kat kelantan yg famous?? apsal tiba2 kat terengganu plk ni...??
saje ingin bertanya

Nik
Kelate

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Kak Teh - The essence of 'buduness' would be lost I guess, kalau dikapsulkan... :)

Nik - budu ni kepunyaan both Kelantan and Terengganu; in other words a Pantai Timur specialty. Serupa jugak dengan akok, nekbat, bunga tanjung,. taik itik, jala mas.... semuanya makanan Pantai Timur. Saya rasa takder cuisine boundary.. lebih kurang macam rafflesia kepunyaan Borneo, tak kira Malaysian Borneo (ie Sabah & Sarawak) or Indonesian Borneo (ie Kalimanatan)..

Pak Idrus said...

Kama, very well and good but I would not be too excited about these result. Getting all A's is not everything and anything could happen on the way toward SPM. In our education system SPM is the most important examination. Another more important aspect that I want to point out is the subjects that the student takes. It should be subjects of quality like Physics, Chemistry, Maths, English and the like. Kids should be discouraged to take more then 9 subjects, the most ten including the special English paper.

Take care.

Pi Bani said...

Budu power? Boleh jadi superhero tak makan budu ni? Kot le boleh jadi macam Popeye bila makan spinach... hehehe...

I ni tempoyak power je. :)

Pak Zawi said...

Kama,
From what I know some of these result is a farce. The pressure on the schools to do well has resulted in lots of cheatings and this cheating is looked upon with one or even both eyes closed. These are proven and it is an open secret that some schools do it year in and year out with impunity.
When these so called 5A students go to form 1, some were found to be so poor that they can't even read. So don't be too excited by these results. They are just for show.
I agree with Pak Idrus, it is not the number of A's that ones get but the quality of the As. The quality of our education itself is suspect.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Pak Idus & Pak Zawi - Aiseh, you folks rained on my parade just as I was about to gloat over the budu sustaining power..hehehe... Anyway, thanks for the input.

Pi - Count me in re tempoyak. I hv never forgotten the Kualer Kangsor part of me.. thus tempoyak is very much on the menu!

لف توف™ said...

Really? Is budu the "x-factor" in Trengganu primary school kids? I am always under the impresion that soya based foods make the best feed to the brain.
I think majority of the kids who scored good "As" did so because of the "latih tubi" they had which made them to peak at the right time; just before the UPSR exam.
Three months into Form 1, we shall than see the "real good" students.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Lap - I am standing by my 'budu power' theory irrespective of how parochial, lopsided, completely unproven and controversial it may be. in fact, if I may add.. it's also nasi dagang and laksam that contributed to their sekolah rendah academic excellence.

For secondary school academic success, I'd like to attribute it to kropok lekor and satar (and I hope Mamasita is not going to claim satar as a Pahang specialty pulak)... hehehe...

jaflam said...

Salam Kama,
Like you I am very happy with the student’s performance despite skeptics on their ability and mindset creativity.

They have proven that despite the shortcoming on so called policy and the rest, that they did it, especially the Terengganu students. It is now up to us to channel them to higher success because I always believed that if people like me who are far from genius can made in UK and Australians Universities, our current smart students can take on any University of the World.

Just don't waste all this smarty, give them nothing but the best and they will flay the Malaysian flag high when we are far gone.

You better start rebranding and sell the Budu to replace Gingko.

لف توف™ said...

I stumbled upon this literature on budu.
Budu is getting attention and being researched by food and nutrition scientists from Japan,US, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany.
Recent finding has proven that budu
1. Has Gluthaione as antioxidant,
2. Helps dispose off toxic waste
3. Improves on immune system and help fight many diseases
4. Helps preventing cancer.
5. Has potential to fight free radical
6. Is believed to impede aging process
7. Prevents degenerative illness like
a. Atherosclerosis,
b. cardiovascular coronerry
c. Diabetes mellitus
8. Has antibacterial vaccine ??
9. Decreases blood cholesterol
10. Prevents cardiovascular diseases and hypertension.
11. Can increase IQ because it stimulates brain cells.
12. A source of vitamin B1(thiamin), B2(riboflavin), pantotenic acid, niacin acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12(cynocobalamin).
13. Has genestein and phytoestrogen which prevents cancer and aging process.
14. High quality protein
15. Has soluble dietary fiber.

It is obvious the nutritious budu has benefits beyond expectation.

Kama, budu is world!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Lap - oh wow! budu is world! just like mawi!

Mawi World = Mawi Budu!! Wowee....

Zendra-Maria said...

Kama, I'm reminded of Wok Kundor, 106 year old lady from Kuala Berang in Terengganu, blissfully married to a 30-something.

Now that is a testimony to the power of budu hahaha.

Maybe I should include budu in my diet from tomorrrow. What say you?

Al-Manar said...

Hajah,
I have been in a small way involved with a few schools in Terengganu. Without disturbing the budu,(which I very much enjoy with ikan pnggang and a bit of fresh durian or tempoyak) I am not at all excited with a small sample I see around my area. This is my initial reaction on this issue, which may be the subject of my next posting.

Naz in Norway said...

Salam..
I think they have proven that they have what it takes to succeed. So, I say, well done!
Budu rules!

mamasita said...

Dearest Kama..the best satar and otak2 undeniably is in Kemamang!! We just cannot get the exact copy of them in Kuantang! So you all menang bab ni! hehe

psst..nak bertolak ke KL masih menyakat you..byeee!!

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Wow, the magic of Budu, brain food, love potion # 9, health tonic, looking at Laptop’s list of its property, it’ll keep the doctor away too. Could it be responsible for all the horny ppl running around in the East Coast…muahaha. Yay watch out for me mate the ‘golden deer man’ who swears by it!

I’m worried by those kids who score good results at primary level, are they missing out on just being ‘kids’ i.e. childhood being the best years of one’s life? I’m afraid most of them will burn-out by high school time. It sadden me to see parents pushing the kids; start kindy at 3, piano/music lessons/ dancing lah, golf lah, & what not u have; if the kids shows interest in this activities, then fair enough but it’s not so in most cases, parents have only their own interest in mind! :((

Ok, last but not least, all of u that just had your 'budu', stay away from me…..hahaha.

Tommy

Tommy Yewfigure said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Puteri,
Budu is fish. I'm a cat who loves fish! Though we can't get budu here, I should still be OK because I eat a lot of fish. Right? purrr...meow!

Matt Kopikarat said...

Salam Kak Puteri, mcm mana perjalanan projek tu? Setiap ahli akan menghantar minimum 5 keping lukisan terbaik masing-masing. Lukisan terbaru saya 'Orkid Satu Malaysia' akan disiapkan pd pertengahan Disember nanti. Saya akan uploadkan gambar itu nanti, saiz terbesar setakat ini 7' x 4' (kaki). Kak Puteri tengok2 ler mana2 syarikat utk lukisan tu, lukisan tu lebih kurang lukisan yg kak puteri tengok kat Heritage Villa cuma ader identiti tersendiri yang melambangkan keharmonian warga Malaysia...ehhe. promosi tu...Deen

AntiHipokrit said...

Menunjukkan Sekolah Kebangsaan adalah pilihan terbaik. Cuma gomen tiada kekuatan untuk memaksa semua rakyat ke sana.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Zendra - I salute the grand old lady.. the husband is my son's age mah! Phew! We'l be like shrivelled prunes by the time we reach her age, Z, and no amount of budu would help lah I think.. hehehe

Al-Manar - I look forward to your posting, Pakcik. A,m sure it's going to be a worthwhile read.

Naz - it's not often that I gloat about my state.. kasi can la sekali sekala kan?

Mamasita - I just love satar. Usually I'd stop by the roadside in Kemaman/Kuantan and buy bawak balik KL. do you know how to make them?

Tommy - Sure hope they can sustain it, Tommy. You are right in saying parents shouldnt push their kids too much.. I know of parents who pack their kids' schedule with so much extracurricular activities that the kids just balk. They need time to hv normal fun..

Cat - Budu or no budu,. you are one lucky pussy to hv such good mommy & daddy to stuff you silly with fish..lol

Deen - info noted, deen. Insyaallah will communicate with you re updates.

AH - ditto that, AH. Apa nak buat, suara2 sumbang amat kuat di tanahair kita..

Matt Kopikarat said...

Salam kak puteri...Selamat Hari Raya AIdiladha..lukisan terbaru hampir 20%, tengok2 la ya..ehh..apa pendapat Kak Puteri, boleh jual kat mana2 syarikat sebagai imej korporat..eheh..jauh berangan tu..Keluarga sihat?

Deen

universe33 said...

masih ingat lagi semasa zaman persekolahan. Masa tu....diSTF,Johor Bharu....Sekolah asrama penuh. Since all students come from all over Malaysia, aku cubalah cakap loghat KL tapi....masih bau budu..!time tu...orang tak tahu lagi khasiat budu. Sebut aje budu...dah tahu dah...kelantanese lah tu..Puas aku cuba nak buang loghat kelantan tapi asyik-asyik bau budu juga.

Memang tak dapat disangkal lagi tentang asal usul budu adalah dari kelantan. Masa sekolah dulu tu..cukup meluat kalau orang kata bau budu. Mungkin terasa low profile kot..tapi sekarang bila sebut budu...terasa gah pula keran dah terkenal seluruh dunia.Macam tu..lah manusia termasuklah aku. Lagi pun dulu aku masih mentah.

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