Malaysia Transport Safety Board (MTSB) - Malaysian New Hopes 2016

Throughout last year, Malaysia has been shocked with tragic news on transport accidents from all types of transportation, ranging from cars to airplanes. These traumatic incidents have brought challenges and disturbances to social activities. It also affects the national administration, mainly with the death toll climbs, destruction of property and infrastructure, economic loss, and environmental degradation.

These incidents have caused great difficulties to the country at large! The authority sees the importance of having more effective precaution steps, including the implementation of accident investigation, a better and more systematic post-management of accidents, which involves coordination management between the government and bodies of interest.

Therefore, The Ministry of Transport (MOT) together with Malaysian Insitute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) have taken a special initiative and proposed the formation of Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB). MTSB will act as an investigation body that focuses on independent investigations on transport accidents of land transportation, maritime (including river) and aviation.

For the sake of eliminating shortcomings raised in the preliminary investigation of the accidents, MOT and MIROS argued that proposals based on the evidence of the investigation and study are important, in addition to the intervention of the authorities. Furthermore, the government realized the need to establish a specialized body responsible for carrying out continuous monitoring of the implementation of the security features that have been proposed, to address the negligence problems from the relevant agencies and organizations.

Through reports and early discussions conducted by the right authority, the establishment of MTSB will assist in achieving these objectives;

a) centralizing of investigations for accidents from transport sector;

b) improving the efficiency of the investigation process; and

c) optimizing the use of human and financial resources.

MTSB establishment should also be seen as the first step by the Malaysian government to ensure a brighter future in terms of securing transportation safety. This agency will focus on land vehicles while taking into account all modes of transport; including airplanes and others.

As discussed and reported by MOT and MIROS, MTSB will highly benefit the country, due to the business synergies which will be implemented among agencies. This includes the incorporation of different resources and assets in strengthening transport safety.

The government hopes that they will be beneficial in terms of ensuring a better quality of life for the society, by restoring public confidence in the transportation safety of the country. The agency will also open up opportunities for the public who are interested in nurturing talent and skills in innovation and transport safety.

Establishment of MTSB is also expected to increase the number of local and international networks for strategic cooperation in future, in order to provide a medium of information sharing about transport safety.

For more information, do click the following links;

a) Notice on the establishment of MTSB

b) MTSB Bill 2015

c) Khoo, S. (2015, September 29). Liow: Malaysian Transport Safety Board Bill to be tabled next month - Nation | The Star Online.

Phonetics and Phonology, and Islam

Assalamualaikum

Today, I have been thinking a lot on the subject paper I have answered few hours ago for final examination which is ENGL 2040 Phonetics and Phonology. I have been struggling since the introduction to linguistics to understand the basic of phonetics study in which, I concluded as I have reached this phase, very beautiful, easy and very practicable.

For a starter, I am not a student equipped with a foundation in phonetics knowledge. I am directly immersed in this artistic field from an opposite scientific field which is engineering. Hence, why I am struggling in the first place. But that's only in the beginning and later as I progress, it's more and less like calculus with symbols and all, application and a lil bit of basis from other fields.

To understand phonetics, we have to understand the very basic of explanation on how do human produce speech sounds (Articulacy Phonetics), how sounds travel through air and passing sound waves (Acoustic Phonetics) and lastly, how human hear and perceive speech sounds (Auditory Phonetics). Each part of these phonetics study incorporate both biological knowledge and physics concepts.

Yes, to break the stereotype of English studies equal to grammar, or arts as in poetry or drama, this could be an eye opener to other people who don't understand the major studies in English Language and Literature.

Through understanding the anatomy of speech and human speech mechanism (respiratory, phonatory and articulatory systems), the study explains how human create various speech sounds such as /p/, /b/, /u/, /k/, and other sounds as well.

Later, speech sounds produce from the human articulatory system travel as sound waves. Now, physics takes charge! Relatively, we can listen to pitch, intensity of voice, or emphasise stress on any words (prosody!). Through the deeper analysis in acoustic phonetics, each of these items can be analysed and describe to produce physical properties such as frequency, amplitude, intensity and others things that explain sound waves as well.

Lastly, sound waves that travel in the air hits the eardrum of hearer, creating vibration within the muscles and wires (not literally!) of the ear membrane which later creates electric signal passes to the brain. Our magical brain, later, translate, transcribe and understand the signals as words that are understandable in our vocabulary registers.

Back to understanding the study of phonetics, now we all know, to understand phonetics, it takes a lot of different fields of knowledge to create a sophisticated and clear distinguished set of symbols which the International Phonetics Association called as the International Phonetics Alphabets (IPA). The alphabets (or symbols) chart consists of various sounds that exist (or doable) in this world, mostly existed in many languages while some are exclusive to one language, or another way around.

Later, the study of phonetics benefits its sister study which is phonology. Phonology explains how these sounds are used in languages, more of an application in context. Because we all know, each region or social strata may have their own the way of speaking and the ways of pronouncing (accents).

Deeper study enables us to distinguished the differences between American English, British English, Australian English and other Englishes. Not to forget, the exclusive Received Pronunciation (RP) which is also known as Queen's English or BBC English. Now, that's sociolinguistics. The study of phonology also helps in transcribing prosodic features that may explain how intonation, higher pitch, stressed syllable and emphasise stress on words give different meanings.

Many may find that this study is just a hassle but little they know that its application is important in various fields. Phonetics and phonology can be used in forensic field (Forensic Linguistics), and clinical application such as speech-language pathology (Clinical Linguistics). While the analysing skills benefit other branches of linguistics such as stylistics and sociolinguistics.

The study of phonetics and phonology takes the smallest unit of sound as the major principle that governs words, sentences, and meanings. But that's not all. We as human could not define major items or anything at a surface level without understanding the tiny bits of anything from the ground. To understand and apply are what we are into.

But imagine other studies that enable duplication such as biology. Many attempts have been done to duplicate or create perfect clones of human or other living things which end as failures. The ability to create a complex compound that lives with perfect systems assisted with 'ilm and 'aql is exclusive, but to whom?

This returns us back to how we are created, how everything in this world was created back then in complex ways but livable. All is made possible because He is the best creator. As mentioned in Quran [23:14]

Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!

It is His exclusiveness that creates perfect simple beings through careful complexity bounded with reasons. The smallest act of studying knowledge creates ideas and application. With reasons, it gives purposes to society and ummah as a whole.

That is not all of it but I believe in both small and big things in this world. Minor implication can give major impact to the whole existing system in this world. That's phonetics and phonology for you.

p/s: Thanks to my dearest lecturer, Dr. Zurahani Abdul Rahim for giving endless efforts in helping us to understand the subject.

Sounds

I'm drumming hard 

while soft and loud sounds 

ringing great calamity;

    Complexity sounds punching pianoforte, 

    elucidating rhythmic chastity I play.

Can this rhythm 

once played in monotone, 

reach your rich love sounds?

by AmirullahZul

12.24pm

25 Dec 2015

Insanity

Insanity storming in a midnight's dream,

Waving starstruck in its darkening beam.

by AmirullahZul

12.25am

27 Dec 2015

Flower and Wind

Once, there was a woman, standing on top of a hill every day. She had a beautiful white flower she picked daily on her way there through the valley.

On a windy evening, the flower she held blown away by a strong wind. Luckily, a man grabbed it and returned it to her.

He confessed that he liked her. She liked the man too. Since that day, they enjoyed the view together.

Days passed, and the man had to go as he spoke his cries to the woman. The woman gave him the flower and told him to take it as a gift. A gift that would suffice his longing when they're apart.

The man had nothing to give. So, he told the woman,"Stand still and feel the wind blowing. That means I'm missing you from afar."
and they bid farewell.

Months passed, the man came back. The woman, however, had married with another. She told her, the wind stopped blowing somehow and afraid he wouldn't miss her anymore. She was unsure, but she had to make choices.

The man was sad, leaving as soon as he gave her back the flower that had wilted and turned gray.

by AmirullahZul