English (FLE)

Sekolah Mutiara Harapan

Meet Technology

The world is evolving through many things including technology. It can only serve so much for people around the globe and of course we are truly grateful for its presence. The beauty of technology will only continue to grow but is it worth knowing the latest update in the digital world?

For some people, new technology is very important. There are people who want to be the first one to try it because they want to be at the leading edge of use. But of course for most, there are benefits of owning the latest devices and that is what people tend to think of first before buying the product. Everyone has a different reason for buying it, for example, a solution to a problem. So clearly, new technology brings some valuable things to our community.

Although it may seem like it, other people think otherwise. Since technology is evolving really quickly, there is a chance that, maybe the internet will soon take over the world. This raises concern for some people and that they do not like the idea of owning a smart device. Imagine a human being controlled by some android, that would be a disaster. It was also said that there would be some private and security issues.

So referring back to the previous question, is it really worth knowing new technology? Everyone has a different opinion and it is all based on their own perspective. Some might use it for good purposes and some might use it for their own benefit but not for others. In conclusion, it is worth it to keep up with the latest technology. In fact, it would be better to know beyond. People are getting smarter these days so we really need to keep a lookout.

*Article written by Kelvin B.

Technology and Photography

“Photography has always depended on technology, and every change in technology has affected the history of photography, but the smartphone, in its nature, is a device that is not for photography. It’s a device that is for communication.” It is indeed a very interesting statement quoted by Henry Jacobson who is a photographer and film-maker. Some people may disagree with this though, as it may seem like a biased opinion from a professional photographer himself. People nowadays use smartphones for almost anything, including taking pictures. So is the smartphone a device only for communication or can it also be used for photography?

Commonly, photography is the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. Some people do this as a hobby and some do this for a living. To do this we need a device to take those pictures, that's why technology is needed. Camera was first invented in the early 1800s and has evolved ever since. The evolution of camera has always depended on the evolution of technology and has clearly influenced the history of photography. From black and white pixels to colorful images. There is less doubt that technology will take photography to the next level in the future.

I think what Henry Jacobson said was right at some point. Yes, smartphones have cameras behind them and it can be used to take pictures but for photography use? I don't think so. Smartphones are devices not originally made for photography. It doesn't feel right if people buy smartphones just to take pictures and videos without using any other features on the device. If you want to be a photographer, you need a real camera, not a phone. People don't realize that phones have limited storage and cannot be fully charged with pictures. Not to mention that the phone needs to update its system from time to time and have apps in it too which will also fill up the space.

However, part of the statement is not true at all. Going back in time, people used to have cell phones, with buttons on them. These were made for a communication tool that people can hold and carry wherever they go. Then touch screens were introduced to the world and now people don't have to press buttons anymore. In fact, these are the devices we know today. The word ‘smart’ in smartphones actually means that it has a wide variety of uses. We can use it for games, educational purposes, communication, taking pictures or videos and so much more. So, to say that a smartphone is a device for communication only, seems off. No one can deny that smartphones are one of the most essential devices ever invented.

To summarize, the history of photography has evolved and changed. Smartphones now have cameras with different levels of intensity. It would be difficult to support or go against this argument because in reality, people use their smartphones to take pictures nowadays. Nonetheless, you won’t see anyone taking pictures or recording movie scenes using a smartphone. With that being the case, cameras are used by photographers simply because they are a profession. So what do you think about this? Are we heading into a new era of photography?

*Written by Kelvin B.

Ford Foundation

Dear Supporter,

As part of the ongoing transition to democracy, Indonesia’s government has worked to create an inclusive society that respects the rights of women and girls, ethnic minorities, cultures, and the poor. Important new policies have been put in place, and vibrant civil society movements are striving to uphold these hard-won reforms.

Today, Indonesia’s democracy is at a crossroads. Despite high rates of economic growth, inequality has increased and marginalized groups continue to be vulnerable. Corruption and intolerance are hampering the country's progress in fighting inequality and building a society that values diversity. Indonesia's future depends on the effective implementation of reform. Without it, new policies can do little to address deep-seated inequality. The country’s abundant natural resources will not be used for the benefit of all and groups that have traditionally been excluded from decision making and access to economic opportunities will continue to be left out.

As natural resource extraction expands in the Global South, private interests often outweigh the public good, driving inequality, injustice, and climate change. We work globally to ensure natural resource governance serves the public interest and reflects the aspirations of rural, low-income, and indigenous communities who claim customary rights to their land or have secured land rights.

We support efforts to help rural communities such as Indonesia, gain more secure rights over land and forests, especially for indigenous peoples, racial and ethnic minorities, and women. We seek to improve natural resource governance, challenge irresponsible natural resource extraction, promote more equitable resource-related fiscal and tax policies, and curtail illicit financial flows. We also support efforts to promote climate change policies and investments that benefit rural and indigenous communities.

We will keep working and will not stand by. You can help us too by donating any amount of money. This will be used as a budget for our BUILD program, one of our aims in the future. Please support us in anyway you can to help the poor innocent people in Indonesia, any gifts are welcome. We really appreciate the support.

Yours faithfully,

Ford Foundation Committee

Kelvin

Memoirist

Roaming to Make Memories

In the year 2019, my family and I went to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the second time that year for a family vacation. We traveled in June and stayed there for about two weeks. There are so many different places to visit and we spent a lot of time going back and forth.

The night before our flight, we were very busy preparing and arranging our things. I put all the things that I wanted to bring into my luggage. We also cleared everything in the house and checked to see whether we missed something or not. It’s important to check if everything is clear before going somewhere far away because we might forget to bring the things that we might need. But we weren’t really in a hurry or anything because we actually have arranged some of the things that we need and placed them in each of our luggage so that we won’t mess anything up before leaving the house the very next day. So the night before our flight was really just family time in the house while my parents organized all the bags and luggage.

I woke up early in the morning, mostly because I was super excited about the trip on that day. The same goes with the others, we all packed our bags and waited for our driver to pick us up. Turns out, we arrived at the airport pretty early which is good because we won’t have to worry about being late. We booked a flight in the afternoon so that means we had breakfast and lunch first before departure. We ate our dinner at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Then right after that, we ordered a taxi to drive us to our hotel in Sunway district. It really was such an amazing night, even though that night I had a stomach ache and wanted to defecate in the middle of the trip to the hotel. But the city view was just spectacular, especially at night. Once we got the keys to our room, my first aim was to get into the bathroom.

We moved to another hotel because we would like to try different hotels and see which one is the most comfortable. After staying in Sunway for about two or three days in the weekend, we moved to a small town and this is where we stayed for most of the time because my dad was called to help run an industry. We would go back to KL every weekend, though.

The next weekend, we head back to KL. My parents planned to go to Genting Highlands from our hotel. We didn’t plan to go there at first, that’s why we didn’t book a hotel there. On a pleasant Saturday morning, we ate our breakfast in the hotel and then head to the train station. After boarding a train, we board a bus that brought us all the way to the highland. As we went up higher and higher, the temperature was getting colder and colder. Once we got into the bus station, I went to the restrooms. I didn’t realize how cold the water was until I washed my hands. It was freezing cold. We had lunch in a food court there and then continue our journey to the top by taking the skyway. It was frightening for me because I don’t feel really comfortable when it comes to heights. You could literally see everything from above. At the top, there is a huge mall with a casino. We walked around there for a bit end then went to visit a temple right after. In this huge temple area, we took lots of pictures, walked around to see some old statues and stuff.

After another awesome weekend, we went back to the small town. Although it was a small town, there were so many people there. While my dad was working, the rest of us would usually go to a small mall. In this small mall, there was a cinema, so we watched a movie together. Other than that, we usually spent most of the day inside our room in a homestay. It wasn’t so bad because there was an internet connection so we could play games or scroll through our social media. At night time, usually, my dad would take us to different restaurants and drive us around the small town.

The final weekend has arrived, we went to Bukit Bintang district. We went to visit so many places there including the famous twin tower. We went to the mall inside and went to the park. It was huge and there were so many people. There’re so many great places in Bukit Bintang but it’s very expensive, the food there would cost us a lot. We walked around the area filled with crowded people until night and all of us were exhausted. After all the fun times we had here, it’s time for us to leave the country. It was an amazing family vacation and truly is something that we won’t take for granted. We flew over the ocean and landed in Pekanbaru, then we went back home. This is a journey that I will never ever forget.

Timeline

Interview

Topic: Career Plans

Interviewer: Kelvin Berliano

Interviewee: Mr. Edy

Kelvin: Afternoon sir, it’s nice to finally meet you.

Mr. Edy: Nice to meet you too.

Kelvin: So, I have a bunch of questions here that I want you to answer and don’t worry it’ll only take a while.

Mr. Edy: Sure thing, go ahead.

Kelvin: Back when you were young, do you have any idea of what you’d want to become in the future?

Mr. Edy: When I was young, I wanted to become a businessman, have my own business to run. I want to become a boss who can give huge amount of salary to my employees if they are eligible. Seeing other people being happy makes me feel happy too. I’m not stingy when it comes to salaries.

Kelvin: How did you start finding a job after leaving university?

Mr. Edy: I applied for jobs at few companies in Jakarta and Pekanbaru after I graduate from university. My friend even asks me to go with him to Taiwan to work at a mill there, which I can get better earning compare to local companies. From all the opportunities at that time, I decided to join PT RAPP.

Kelvin: What makes you want to work here?

Mr. Edy: PT RAPP is a huge company with worldwide reputation, and it is located near to my hometown in Pekanbaru, so I can still visit my mother every weekend. I need to be close with my mother at that time as she was a single parent and I am the only family she had, my sister moved to another city after she was married. This is the main reason on why I accept offer from PT RAPP.

Kelvin: How did you feel after working for a year?

Mr. Edy: I was placed in Plywood Mill (Panel 6) when I first joined this company. That was a small company within the group where the plywood business was in declining curve at that time. I’m thinking of finding a bigger challenge by moving to other bigger companies within the group, like Paper Mill.

Kelvin: What are the difficulties that you’ve faced throughout the year?

Mr. Edy: The biggest challenge in the plywood industry was the raw material supply and the market demand. It needs big log of wood to process the plywood, which is more difficult to find nowadays. In other hand, the market demand has been dropped significantly, which definitely have impact to the business profit. The mill is finally closed at the second year of my service.

Kelvin: You’ve been changing roles and now you are the head of operation support, how does that feel?

Mr. Edy: I was transferred to Paper Mill (RAK) after that. You could say I started my career from the bottom. I am happy with all the journey that I’ve gone through all these days, until today. I believe there will always be something I can learn, from all the experiences that I’ve been through.

Kelvin: Okay last question, what’s next for you and are there any plans for you in the upcoming future?

Mr. Edy: My current personal dream is if I can fully support my children’s education, send them to the best university in the world, and let them catch their dreams for their own good. I hope I can make my dream comes true 🙏.

Kelvin: That’s amazing. I really appreciate the time. Hope you have a lovely day sir.

Mr. Edy: No problem, thanks for having me.

Writing a Letter

Dear editor,

I happen to saw an incident today regarding extreme sports. So are sports actually dangerous? I mean it can be fun and entertaining sometimes. But some sports are also dangerous and frightening. Only a true brave person would want to participate in an extreme sport. Boxing, bungee jumping, freediving and ice skating are just few of all the other extreme sports. Many people died and suffered from injuries due to these sports. So I think we need to reduce the risk of people dying by reducing extreme sports tournaments in our local area.

There was an incident earlier this morning, a 13-year-old boy fell from the sky of playing ski gliding. This is one of the most extreme cases we’ve had in our local area and none of them are as bad as this incident. His glider has a little hole in it because of the sharp rocks on the mountain. Those people out there didn’t know about it and they didn’t check it. When he was about to lift off, he felt weird and thought something was odd. He was not flying that high. Then after just a few minutes, he fell from the sky as the glider was ripped apart. The teenager was miraculously alive but suffer from a severe injury. His leg was broken and one of his arm dislocated. The doctors said that he will probably recover after 2 to 3 years. His parents were very upset and disappointed for what happen and they can’t even do anything about this incident. His parents didn’t know if their son was attending in a ski gliding tournament. They demand this tournament to be permanently closed so that everything will be safer and not dangerous.

So in conclusion, extreme dangerous sports shouldn’t be allowed in our local community. People can die and get hard injuries just like the incident that happened this morning. In fact, it should be ban in our areas. Extreme sports tournaments cannot be held here. It is very dangerous especially for kids including teenagers. So, please ban extreme sports that are held here and no one are allowed to play these sports.

Yours sincerely,

Kelvin Berliano

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