6/11/2015

Mount Kinabalu or kena balu – Any lesson learnt?


Mount Kinabalu or kena balu – Any lesson learnt?

Kinabalu or kena balu, is going to be a big lesson for many people. The survivors learnt a very painful and frightening lesson for being saved from the jaws of death. The victims did not live to retell the lessons they have learnt. Their parents would have to live a life time with a void in their lives and must have regretted letting their precious children to take up the challenge. They have to bear with the painful longing for a child that should be still with them but no longer.

I would not want to comment whether the MOE and the teachers have learnt anything. From some comments in the media, obviously many have not learnt anything and are clamouring for more children to take up this challenge to prove they could be better children when it was totally unnecessary at this tender age.

The only sensible people that have learnt something are the wise ones in the Malaysian govt in Sabah. They could see the danger and the ridiculous nature of 12 year olds climbing Kinabalu.  For what?  They did not think the climb was suitable to their more rugged children. But our city folks disagree and think our children are fit to take up the challenge and that this is a good thing. There is a saying ‘die’ also dunno how to write. City folks are cleverer?

All I can say is ‘to each his own’. Those who think this is a good outing to mould their children to be better adults, to become leaders over a weekend, please do as you please. The MOE, the principals and teachers who also agree that this is a good and exciting thing for 12 year olds, please do as you please and organize more trips.

Parents please think doubly hard on the value and the risk involved and decide yourself what is best for your children’s good. Yes, you decide. It is your child and you have to live with your decision for whatever outcome.

Intelligence cannot substitute for wisdom. Wisdom is often acquired from painful lessons experienced by self or by learning from events like this. The daft will never learn.

Kena balu tau.

PS. You don't need another earthquake to create a downpour of stones and rocks. Any severe weather could turn the mountain into a treacherous obstacle course.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Out of 19 death, 10 were Singaporeans. And of the 10, 7 were 12 year olds.

What do these data say?

Anonymous said...

Pride has its limit. MOE must learn from this lesson.

Anonymous said...

Do you think we have Singaporean Nazis who think they are like Sparta?
Deciding which child is fit and which child is not "good enough"?
Just like Sparta 3,500 years ago
--------------------

"This is what Spartan life was all about.
Children were children of the state more than of their parents.
They were raised to be soldiers, loyal to the state, strong and self-disciplined.

It began in infancy.
When a Spartan baby was born, soldiers came to the house and examined it carefully to determine its strength ..... If a baby was weak, the Spartans exposed it on the hillside or took it away to become a slave (helot).

Infanticide was common in ancient cultures, but the Spartans were particularly picky about their children. It was not just a matter of the family, the city-state decided the fate of the child."

SOURCE:
http://www.historywiz.com/didyouknow/spartanfamily.htm

Anonymous said...

Which is more daft?
Voting PAP or sending your children to National Service? Sorry, I mean sending your children to climb Mount Kinabalu?
Or is it a case of same, same but different?

Anonymous said...

"Parents please think doubly hard on the value and the risk involved and decide yourself what is best for your children’s good."
RB

But if the school still want to organise the climb mountain trip and the children beg very hard their parents to let them go, then how? And how would the child feel if he/she cannot go but his/her classmates can go?

And your child feel you are a lousy parent for not allowing or money no enough to allow? How do you feel, parent?

Anonymous said...

"Out of 19 death, 10 were Singaporeans. And of the 10, 7 were 12 year olds.

What do these data say?"
9:09 a.m.

These data say PAP (especially the Heng guy) is daft or maybe even heartless for allowing 12 year olds to climb mountains to get killed in order for the organiser to make money for GDP growth.

Virgo49 said...

Actually, these outings/excursions have been on going long time before this Heng took over

They just simply followed for ages thinking such tragedies would not happen

They would as usual carry on as if nothing had happened

Anonymous said...

不怕一万,自怕万一

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@ RB:

>> Any lesson learnt? <<

Many lessons. All to do with MATH.

1. Complexity theory
2. Randomness (stochastic theory)
3. Probability (Black Swan events)
4. Non linearity
5. Chaotic systems (e.g. Fractals)
6. Analysis of already available data, and what the data mean---for e.g.: from the people who have climbed the mountain, the geological record etc.

All the rest of the bullshit that has been spoken or written about this is just unnecessary hot air. If you are not basing decisions to go on trips by first considering the math of whether danger can strike or not, nature will at some point teach you a lesson.

Got critical thinking skills?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Good thinking. I am sure you go through all the critical thinking and analysis everyday before you leave your house. No wonder you are still alive and kicking. You are so intelligent and methodological.

I prefer to toss a coin.

Painful said...

No need to toss coin.
No need to blame the nudist also.
No need to blame MOE And school too.

If you read almanac at start of year of sheep, Raymond Lo's blog has "earthquake" plastered all over it.
No heed advice, you get sheep-wrecked.

Signs were also all over the place.
Papa been to KK before and knew how difficult, but gave approval.
Child left behind and cried over tshirt that she was supposed to wear "when" get to the summit
At airport, said again I miss you papa.
Very heartaches....is now between you and God.
So, they say.


Anonymous said...

//What does the data say? //

10 out of 19 SGP dead is 52% high death rate.
7 out of 10 were kids is high 70% child mortality rate.

Built in 2007 and program running last 7 years, means sinkies once again is #1 to cheong sua to
the top of mountain since year 1 completion. Proof they reach for the sky, and found stairways
To heaven , leading all the way.

Assuming every year has minimal 10-15 students, there must already be a pool of >70 + graduated
Leaders? Of the lot, how many made it to the summit ? How many sit out because they were unwell like
the lucky escaped survivors? Got data or cannot share?

Since many parents of students-leaders wanna be insist it is perfectly safe and successful and character
Building program, then TKPS should keep the exact same program running for next year for same age group.
The chorus of approval is so loud, we can all be so confident that next year enrollment will be largely increased!!
I look forward to that data of sign ups. Surely they must put their words where their mouth is due to the strong
Conviction.

What do you think?



Anonymous said...

Ya,ya, programme got good outcome. Next year enrolment sure oversubscribed, now officially approved to be good. Double confirmed good leadership programme.

Anonymous said...

从今以后我在没有
快乐起来的理由

agongkia said...

We have the best Outward Bound School here in Ubin and I dun understand why must one go Mt KenaBatu to risk hit by batu.The instructors at OBS are one of the best in term of safety and responsibility.My days there are well spent.
If OBS is not enough to cater for schools,schools can simple create artificial rocks on their own school building.
If my days there at age 21 cannot make me a leader today,dun understand how a 12 years old can be one by going Mt. Kena Batu.
School A went Mt Ophir,school B want go higher.. its the children who suffer.
Deepest sympathy.

Anonymous said...

After one commemorated the dead, comforted the living and celebrated the heroes, what next?

Future parents want to know if this KK expedition will keep running for 10yo? And if so, why? And if not, why not then? Far from throwing stones, people wants to know if this is set in stone!

Nothing is going to stop parents from going to other kinds of cultural or social overseas excursions that is age appropriate. Curiously and ironically, the same group of people who urge others not to "snuff out the spirit of adventure & discovery in our children" fail to ask themselves/educators what it is in the current system that actually does NOT promote sense of adventure & discovery which is naturally inherent in children to begin with? What is it with our education or environment, or expression that we are very often so damn good at extinguishing those fires in them, that we need these extreme sports in order to bring back the passion and butterflies, where only when your lives are hanging by the ropes at at 3200 altitude can one child rediscover those very essence?!!

Er...could it be because you are always getting in the way...the right way to speak, the right way to dress, to behave, to think? All these curbing and banning and 100 other things that you can't or disallowed to do/express/take part because some one/ some laws or some scriptures say so? Why dont these people who espouse the same nonsense just simply get out of their ways and honor kids for who they really are?
I guarantee you, you will have the most adventurous and bravest generations this nation will ever produce.

Question is - are you ready to concede your command and control? Yes, looking at those Paid-for Warriors to start with.

Anonymous said...

Amos Yee anyone, brave, adventurer, smart and risk taker? A cut above the rest?
Not in the programme?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Nice one Agongkia. Kena batu.

Anonymous said...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2O9WB8MRMc

Outward Bound is so passe, so 19th century.

Just imagine, P6 can go Mt KK,
high school can go Mt Kilimanjaro
JC/tertiary can go to Mt Everest.

By the time they reached 18yo to serve NS, all are ready to graduate as Admiral and Major Generals alredy liao. PAP leadership pipeline once again got hope lor. Make it seductive like 'leadership' training so you get them early mah, so rugged they are ready for WW3 anyway. Good luck those parents who leave their children's character development in the hands of the State and school and so called party grass roots community.





b said...

Kids can also learn a lot by going to adventure or theme park or museum, why must go climb mountains especially a dangerous one.

Anonymous said...

And PAPigs can learn a lot by LISTENING to Singaporeans, why must read "Hard Truths" especially a one-sided vision of one man.