Came across something while checking MoMU's email just now. This link was sent to us in an email from MASCA, who have very nobly volunteered financial help to MSOs (Malaysian Student Organizations) in Melbourne. Have a read guys, it doesn't take much time and I found it extremely interesting, especially in the comments section.

Some quotes from the piece lah, in case you all lazy to click :P

"I am studying in University of Melbourne and a huge number of the International students are Malaysians.but guess what? At the Clubs and Societies Information Day there wasnt any Malaysian Student Society but there were other groups like Filipino Student Society when their number of students are way smaller. I checked up with the Singaporean Society about the Malaysian Society and a representative told me that she wouldnt be surprised if the society is now defunct. Mind you there are many Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam Scholars studying here, so what is the Malaysian Society doing?"

"Poor participation in activities organised by Malaysian societies and reluctance to assume responsibility. Always looking for freebies yet unwilling to contribute even a little bit of their time or effort. Even worse are those who happily nominate themselves for posts and disappear once they are needed to work. (usually referred to as Missing in Action) This phenomenon is embarassing and yes, I feel disgusted when I think of this. Thankfully there are still some who actively participate in societies and keep them running.

In Melbourne Uni there was once a Malaysian society, but this club was blacklisted by the Uni. Why? The club was taken control of by a few non-Malaysians who pocketed the Uni funding. This happened because no Malaysians came for the AGM that year. The problem lies with people who expect the club to do everything for them, but contribute nothing in return. Even the recent Malaysian Cultural Society of Melbourne Uni (thus named to avoid being blacklisted) was a failure due to lack of support from Malaysian students. Activities were organised but the attendance rates were poor. And being Malaysian, what do we do? we blame authority. We must make an effort ourselves, as individuals to find out about the activities being held around Melbourne for Malaysians."

So there you have it...people scolding Melbourne Uni's Malaysian club for not being there/not doing anything, and an explanation as to why this has been so hard.

I don't know if any of you were here while MCS was alive, but although it is generally agreed that the MCS committee kinda sucked, it is not entirely their fault. Turnout and reception was almost always poor at events, which is one of the reasons the club went into so much debt.

There are shiploads of Malaysians in Melbourne, agreed. You could say that this is one of the main reasons why there should be an active Malaysian club in Melbourne Uni. But look at it from another point of view: there are so many Malaysians, and we are generally such a sociable bunch, that it's easy for everyone to go off and makes their own plans with their own group of friends. In fact, that's exactly what most people do. The thought of participating in something organized by a uni club probably doesn't even cross their minds. Why go through all the trouble of registering to go to a club-organized picnic with a bunch of strangers when you can go with your own friends?

I met someone interested in joining the Malaysian club during Orientation this year. In addition to expressing support for the club, she also lamented about the fact that she knew about 10-15 people who, instead of taking part in Orientation, hired a van instead and took their own trip up to Great Ocean Road.

I'm not trying to say that spending time with your own friends isn't great. When shit happens, you need your friends, after all. But at the same time, we have to discard this mentality that uni is just a place to study, and socialization happens only outside the campus. Uni is not just about lectures, tutes and assignments. It's about the only place that encourages personal growth through getting involved in campus life, whether through joining a club or joining a committee.

You might not think you can make new friends through going for club-organized gatherings. But you get to practice the essential skill of making small talk and being nice to strangers. Kissing arse is, after all, one of the most important abilities you'll need to have when you start working for a talkcock boss. >;)

You might not think you have time or skills for joining a committee. Truthfully, that is still what I think, even after being elected President last year. But I'm learning how to manage my time (or suffering the consequences - sleeping at 5am...*sniffle*). I'm learning how to deal with people, even those who might not respect or necessarily like me. I'm learning how to be a leader, or at least a team player. All the things I'll need to know when I finally get a job. It's not just about putting this on my resume - it's pratice, self-development and an experience.

Then again, you might think you're too cool to be involved in geeky uni clubs. I'm not even going to try appealing this one. There's just no changing your mind about it. If we look like geeks to you, so be it. We're the ones being deprived of your company. Boohoo.

(Hopefully this is not a majority of you, otherwise I'm screwed. :P)

Think about it. Once you graduate, you're going to have to work. You're going to be thrown into a corporate environment, no one is going to baby you through how to get things done. If you have to work with a bitchy team, you can't go to your boss and request to be excluded from the project. Uni is our last chance to still learn while having a crapload of fun before reality comes round to bite us in the ass.

So the next time you hear from MoMU and our activities, which we will be trying very hard to organize, think twice before forgetting about us. We're not trying to make money, or existing just for the sake of it. Our mission is to unite Malaysians, to get you guys talking to each other and *hopefully* coming away with new acquaintances, or just to see everyone enjoying themselves.

Not long to go before elections, I hope the constitution gets approved fast so we can organize it ASAP. I still need to type it out so will submit it tomorrow. Man I feel like a major makcik. My body is aching from like just one hour of netball practice. You see the sacrifices I make for the club?? Namely playing both netball and badminton for MASCA's Intervarsity Games? Grrr...exercise is overrated. PLUS I believe I will be trashed in badminton because I haven't played in yonks. Btw thanks heaps to everyone who registered to represent us in volleyball, basketball and pingpong...errr were there others?? Bah, basically everyone who is gonna be taking part lah. I would say Malaysia Boleh but we're all gonna be Malaysian =_=" MoMU Boleh just doesn't sound as snappy. Maybe if I'm feeling bohliao enough I should invent some cheers?