Monday, October 26, 2009

Having a multicultural society in the twenty-first century, good or bad?

The United States of America, a developed country, brings the world the belief of everything is possible in the soil in America. As a result, it becomes a melting pot with ethnic and racial diversities. As a Chinese-Malaysian who lives in a multicultural country, Malaysia, which has 3 main races, Malay, Chinese and Indian, I would say multiculturalism brings no harm to the society.

Malaysia is a democratic country which every one has their civil rights. In economic point of view, a multicultural society will boost up the economic growth in one country. A new supply will subsequently be created by different ethnic groups and it will increase the GDP and GNP rates in one country. In Malaysia, Chinese and Indian play an important role in the country's economic growth. A majority of public listed companies is owned by non-Malay. The companies pay taxes to the government and bring benefit to the nation as a whole.

Malaysia has more than 10 public holidays. This is because the federal government takes into account of the interest of everybody. In order to minimize the issue of discrimination and bias, the government makes it fair to every races. Recently, the Prime Minister of Malaysia implemented the campaign "1Malaysia" as to combine all the ethnic groups in order to live in a more peaceful and harmonious way. For example, Chinese New Year and Deepavali (Indian New Year) have been categorized as public holidays. During these periods, all of the nation will celebrate the red letter day together.

Due to the ethnic and racial diversity in Malaysia, the achievements that were obtained by non-Malay act as a mean in inspiring Malays to work harder and to strive for success. It bring advantages to to nation. In addition, multicultural society will be a special characteristic of one country as the various ethnic groups can be mingled and lived together in peace. It becomes a good factor in attracting tourists in visiting the country.


Sunday, October 11, 2009

Would you have a gun in your own home? Why or why not?

No. I wouldn't get a gun in my home. This is because having a gun does not mean that you can prevent any kind of crimes from happening. It would be a dangerous thing to have at home. There would be a high risk of harming your family members rather than protect them. A gunfight would kill more people than they save. Children who witnessed a gunfight would have nightmare after the tragedy. It would badly affect their future. In addition, I don't know how to use a gun, nor would I ever want to use a gun. So, there is no reason to have one.

Alternatively, I would install a home alarm system and 24-hours surveillance in my house rather than having a gun. It would be safer and more effective than having a gun. It is able to prevent from robbery even there is no one in the house. The alarm will trigger if someone breaks into my house. Subsequently I will receive a phone call from my home alarm and I can call 999 wherever I am. Furthermore, I can view my house surveillance recording online.