Degree Law UKM: Part 4

Assalamualaikum wbt and Hi guys.. Happy August ^^

So, I heard that the UPU result just come out. First and foremost, congratulations to those that received offers from universities, I really do hope that you guys got what you've been wishing for. And if you don't get any offer pun, don't worry, it's not the end of your life and you'll not be stuck there forever. Believe me, this is only the beginning, opportunities will come later in your life. Where ever you are, give your all, do your best and God will surely give you what you deserve. So, cheer up.

Okay... so, erm, actually, I'm currently doing my internship and planning to post on something else. However, just like these past few years, around these same dates, few people keep texting me asking about my experience, tips, and whatnot doing a law degree in UKM. Therefore, here I am, trying to clarify few things.

Owh yeah, before that, to those yang received offer from Faculty of Law UKM, congratulations and welcome to FUU. We're more than glad to have you in our big fam and hope you guys will have fun and learn a lot throughout the next 4 years of LLB. Here are few of the questions that I recieved most and my answer is based on my own experience that may be different from other law students and does not reflect the journey of all law students (terpaksa buat disclaimer sebab takut kena bash.. lol)(plus, excuse my rojak language. As long as u guys got the whole idea and pics, ok dah kot): 

1. Susah tak LLB ni?

Sejujurnya memang susah. And I believe semua course in any level of tertiary education sangat la susah. Tak kesah la korang masuk diploma ke degree ke apa, it will be a harsh journey because you're doing something very new yang korang tak pernah belajar langsung. Remember when u first learn to write  ABC or hafal alif ba ta, it kindof the same journey. Just finished my third year and will start my final year this September, and for the past 3 years, I've been through so many problems, been thinking of quitting law school few times. But at the same time, throughout these 3 years, I met great people, I learned a lot of things, I've been through a lot of precious moments and these have been a memorable yet tough years. So, in conclusion, yes, LLB is damn hard but worth the struggle.

2. Banyak tak kos sepanjang LLB lagi2 kalau baru masuk first year?

Ok, for this one, maybe berbeza setiap orang, but what I'm going to share here is based on for my case. My parents are teachers, so basically I'm not from a loaded family, just from a decent one. I don't receive any scholarship, yayasan negeri or ptptn. Everything from MaPa. Yes, my parents paid everything, every month, every semester, every year. And yes, it cost agak banyak, but i must say depend dekat diri sendiri jugak. 

a) As for accommodation, almost semua students stay kolej, jarang2 ada yang duduk rumah sewa, lagi2 first year, rasa nya memang semua duduk kolej. Harga kolej I'm not sure sangat sebab berubah every year, and depends korang duduk bilik sorang or dua orang. but safe to say bawah 1k satu sem.

b) As for makanan, kalau dalam ukm, for me harga standard. Tak mahal sangat and ada je makanan harga student. Nasi 4 ringgit pun ada. Kalau pandai jimat, sehari makan dalam 10-15 pun lepas. Tapi kalau rajin makan luar ukm, biasa la, harga pun extra sikit, ikut kemampuan korang. As for me, waktu first year I banyak belanja dekat makanan sebab macam taktau bajet lagi. But bila naik second year camtu, dah pandai sikit buat bajet, kurang sikit jalan luar and dah tau kedai mana yang harga murah sikit.

c) As for books, yes, paling banyak belanja dekat sini. Buku law memang diakui agak mahal. And lagi susah bila during the first week, every lecture class, lecturer akan bagi sort of calendar semester for that particular subject yang akan list out what topic korang akan belajar each week, bila test, berapa assignment and list of reference books. Ok, untuk pengetahuan korang, no need to buy everything. Sebab dalam list tu maybe ada satu or dua buku je yang betul2 jadi rujukan dalam kelas. Yang lain tu guna dalam satu chapter yang ada few pages je or tak pun macam supplementary untu that subject. So yang lain tu korang boleh cari dekat library.

So this is my tips. First, ask your seniors which book yang betul2 banyak guna and penting. Nak tanya dekat siapa? Korang boleh tanya dekat law student society (or known as PERUNDANG) during orientation week, or cari account PERUNDANG on twitter or facebook or instagram. They'll surely help u guys. 

Second, then ikut kemampuan, if mampu, then beli original, if not you can borrow from the library (our library has almost all the books listed, cuma ikut nasib berebut, so better if the first or second week tu terus pegi library and pinjam) and (ok this one tak digalakkan, but if u really need to..) pegi fotostat dekat kedai. Dekat mana boleh fotostat, kalau stay dekat kolej za'ba, then boleh hantar dekat kedai komputer zaba, servis okay, harga not bad. Or korang boleh pegi KUO (kolej ungku omar) and kedai komputer dia ada all those books. Just bagitau diorang title buku tu and they'll print the books for you and harga pun okay jugak. If korang ada budget untuk beli yang ori, ada few kedai yang i often go to buy law books:

 - Pustaka Mukmin, Putrajaya: Kedai ni ada banyak buku law compared to other shops. Harga agak murah, kadang2 diorang bagi discount. and all akta usually up to date and reference book banyak pilihan whether in English or BM.

- Kinokuniya, KLCC: Buku agak mahal, but usually buku yang takde dekat Pustaka Mukmin or latest edition of any books yang not from Malaysia akan ada dekat Kinokuniya. Tapi kadang2 u need to check whether diorang ada that book or u need to order first. So, untuk selamat, just give them a call first.

- Any MPH, Popular or Borders: For these stores, kebanyakan buku law memang takde, kalau ada pun few je. Cuma kalau nak cari Akta boleh la dekat kedai2 ni. Kalau terdesak, boleh pegi Bangi Gateaway. Ada MPH ke Popular tah dekat situ.

Third, if korang betul2 tak mampu (i know some of u have financial problem or really2 perlu berjimat), you can borrow your seniors' books (if you're lucky enough, maybe diorang bagi ambik terus for free or pay them less than the market price). So, the question is, macam mana nak mintak buku dekat senior bila korang baru je masuk and tak kenal anyone. 

- PERUNDANG: Just like what i said earlier, korang boleh tanya Perundang via twitter, instagram or facebook. Before daftar pun dah boleh contact diorang and ask anything.

- Sistem buddies: This sort of system or program baru lagi diorang start last year. So, once korang dah daftar and ada orientasi dekat fakulti, perundang akan handle the whole thing, they'll ask u if u need a buddy ke tak, sort of like abang or kakak angkat. Most of them will be the 2nd year students. Macam Chinese students or Indian students, usually diorang dah ada dah their own buddy system. So especially for the Bumis, i would highly encourage u guys untuk ada buddy so that korang boleh tanya anything and diorang akan bagi pinjam buku. Again, if you are lucky enough to get a good senior, diorang mungkin akan bagi je buku tu or might even belanja makan or anything.

- Random senior: Ok, this one I tak janji akan berjaya, but u can try. This is my idea. Korang boleh cari any law student ukm dekat twitter or instagram or facebook and DM or PM them. Sebolehnya from the same gender and sex (untuk elak masalah di kemudian hari. Tapi mana tau kot2 jumpa jodoh, kan rezeki tu... hahahaha) and just casually ask them anything. Seriously, they'll be glad to help u. Kalau tak pun, time korang dekat fac, ringan2 kan lah mulut untuk tegur anyone dekat area faculty tu. FUU UKM kecik je, so memang semua yang ada dekat situ student law je, takda maknanya nak tertegur student course lain. One thing, memang nampak student FUU ni muka kadang2 macam scary je, kalau tengok pun ala2 jeling je, don't worry, diorang okay je. Memang ramai student law dilahirkan dengan muka sedia ada garang or takpun yang jeling2 tu sebenarnya rabun, banyak sangat baca kes waktu malam, so rabun melampau.

- Join programs or clubs: As for this one, amat amat digalakkan. Kalau boleh during minggu orientasi lagi. Rajin2 kan la mulut untuk tegur abang2 or akak2 faci tu, mana tau kot2 satu faculty. Tak pun, join program dekat faculty, kadang2 korang kena pegi dengar talk je, but then selain dapat ilmu tu, boleh jugak kenal2 senior. Kalau nak lagi bagus, jadi ajk, yang ni confirm korang boleh kenal senior lagi2 Perundang. For club korang boleh try ALSA or UN, memang korang akan kenal ramai senior. Takpun join kelab luar or competition. In my case, masuk je orientasi, i join team debat Zaba untuk pertandingan debat antara kolej between first year students. So, from here, kenal ramai senior FUU sebab macam biasa la, budak law dengan debat berpisah tiada. So masuk je debat ni, terus kenal senior second year, third year and final year. And diorang sumpah baik gila. Diorang jawab any soalan korang tanya, tumpang kan kereta, kadang2 belanja makan, kalau baik lagi bagi tips pasal exam dengan assignments. And bila join debat ni, korang automatik akan dapat kawan2 dari fakulti lain, so tak la asyik dengan budak law je, and for budak debat ukm, kitorang semua rapat sampai final year dah macam family. It works the same way if you join the debate team or gamelan or menari or whatever. Or maybe korang boleh try moot competitions too.

d) As for transportation, don't worry, memang ada bus free dalam ukm tu. Cuma make sure korang tau route bus2 tu sebab lain number bas lain route dia and memang tak banyak bas ke FUU sebab memang dekat ceruk ukm. tapi kekerapan bus tu dijamin. So make sure tau bas mana korang kena naik dengan pukul berapa ada bus. Benda ni akan di brief oleh seniors time orientasi. Kalau diorang tak bgtau, pandai2 la korang tanya. Kalau naik second sem or second year korang nak bawak kereta or moto, bawak je la tapi parking ikut kolej, ada kolej banyak parking ada kolej limited. ada kolej kena bayar monthly or per sem untuk parking, ada kolej yang free je. kalau parking dekat fuu, don't worry, tempat parking banyak. Duit minyak ikut harga minyak semasa and ikut kekerapan korang merayau keluar UKM. As for me yang bawak myvi and x selalu sangat keluar, paling jauh pun takat ioi mall putrajaya je, full tank myvi (dalam rm70) kadang2 boleh guna sampai 2 minggu. As first year, maybe i galakkan belajar naik bus dulu. Ramai je senior2 FUU tu rajin tumpangkan junior ke kolej berdekatan. So yeah, transportation tak susah. Kalau nak isi minyak, petronas and shell memang banyak and dekat2. 

I think thats all kot pasal kos perbelanjaan sebab tak banyak benda pun. Tak de uniform ke apa. U might need to prepare blue baju kurung for orientasi and of course kalau boleh ada la baju kurung hitam putih or black and white attire sebab kadang2 diperlukan for certain class or during presentation. Usually pegi kelas boleh pakai casual, but of course kasut bertutup, baju berkolar and yang perempuan tu, berpada-pada la, jangan seksi sangat. If korang ada financial problem, maybe akan dapat bantuan fac or uni. Or korang boleh bagi tau any senior or lecturer yang korang selesa untuk tau any bantuan sebab biasanya faculty or ukm memang mencari student yang perlukan bantuan kewangan, tapi student yang segan nak bagitau. So yeah, if u need any help, u can ask your seniors or lecturers.

3. Banyak tak masa nak keluar jalan-jalan or lepak-lepak?

Yes dik, memang banyak masa nak lepak keluar, lagi2 time first year. Ramai je yang berjalan tak ingat dunia, tengok midnight movie ke atau acah2 backpacking dengan kawan. Ni terpulang dekat korang, ikut kemampuan, berpijak di bumi yang nyata. Of course perlu have fun time muda remaja ni, cuma jangan over sangat, nanti menyesal kemudian. Yang perempuan tu, shopping berpada-pada. Lagi2 yang dapat duit PTPTN ke scholarship ke MaPa ke. Kalau boleh kena ada simpanan sikit, papehal jadi korang dah ada duit.

4. English saya teruk, boleh survive tak?

Okay, this one is a serious issue. Jawapan dia, yes korang boleh survive. But no, korang tak boleh biar je English korang that teruk. Try to improve your English. Berkawan dengan orang yang pandai English or seriously kena bkawan dengan non malays. Jangan asyik dengan orang yang sama je. And be open, this is not the time to be like 'ehh, acah je budak ni nak speaking2 bagai, benda sesama melayu'. Haaaaa, kalau korang camni, memang wassalam la. Exam kena dwi bahasa, belajar dwi bahasa, assignment depends dekat lecturer, kadang2 ada yang in English, kadang2 in BM. Presentation pun kadang2 english, kadang2 BM. My english still bad, korang pun boleh nampak sendiri, but I sendiri dalam proses improving my English. Kau start intern, tau la tkejut dia macam mana bila u need to speak in English all the time. Even with your sama race colleague. And i sangat menggalakkan korang join debat, debate or mooting to improve both your language skill dengan soft skill. Sangat membantu.

5. Agak2 boleh jumpa jodoh tak dekat Faculty?

Hahahaha... ok ni soalan paling kerap diterima. My answer is, hanya Tuhan yang tahu. hahahaha.. Seriously, it's not something impossible. Banyak je kes jumpa jodoh dekat faculty ni. But please jangan jadi kan misi korang untuk masuk FUU nak cari jodoh. Focus on your study, the love will come eventually. Akak pun tak tau jodoh akak sesat pi mana tah, tak muncul lagi.

6. Saya tak pandai bersiap, selekeh, taktau ikat tie, taktau makeup, camne tu?

Akak pun sama dik. Don't worry, survive je. Buat taktau je dik, kalau betul jodoh awak dekat fac tu, muka selekeh tengah cari kes dekat library pun dia akan datang tegur jugak.

7. Macam mana nak dapat peluang pergi luar negara time degree?

Ok, yang ni pun antara soalan hot. Yang ni depends dekat usaha korang. Peluang2 ni korang kena cari, takde maknanya peluang ni nak datang bergolek ke kaki korang macam tu je. First, korang boleh join debate or mooting sebab pertandingan2 ni tak ramai yang join and most of the competitions ada international round. Mana tau rezeki kau dik, merasa pegi oversea free. Or, dekat facebook ada page ukm yang iklan kan semua program exchange student yang fully funded. Cuma, korang kena isi borang or hantar essay or pergi interview. Yes, rajinkan diri buat benda2 ni, kalau korang malas, orang lain pun malas nak taja korang. Or, if mampu, join AISEC time cuti sem break. Cari negara2 yang kos kurang sikit. Seriously, korang akan belajar banyak gila. Tak pun, try tanya lecturers if diorang tau any program dekat oversea yang fully funded macam short internship ke, attachement ke or any random competition. Contoh nya, someone asked in a whatsapp group whether anyone nak join speech competition. I volunteered to join even though takde pengalaman langsung and my english hanya tuhan je tau betapa teruk, but yet, i went to Thailand for free and met great people too. So yeah, cari peluang2 tu.

So, I think thats all kot for now. If ada apa2 soalan, feel free to contact me. I'll do another update later if teringat anything else. My advice for freshies, it will be very rough and tough few weeks, but seriously try to enjoy the moment, learn as much as possible, make new friends and be happy every single day. Believe me you're not alone. If you find it hard untuk buat kawan, just contact any senior on social media to ask for their advice or help. Owh yeah, ada yang tanya whether LLB susah sangat sampai i wrote that i have depression or what not before, the answer is yes, LLB memang susah, but the depression itself bukan sebab LLB, tapi sebab diri sendiri. Ramai je yang hidup bahagia sepanjang LLB years ni. And even if with all this depression, korang takkan mati pun, I'm still alive and survive my third year. Final year of law school is on the way. So yeah, again, congratulations kiddies and goodluck.

Owh, and before I end this post, I just want u guys to know that I'm just a normal, average law student. My parents are teachers, my brother is a teacher too, my family doesn't speak English at all, I only speak Malay language during elementary and secondary school, English is limited during English class only. We're not a well off family, no oversea trip every year. I'm not a student with 3.5 above cgpa, I don't get all As for final exam, I've never win any competitions that i joined, I'm not pretty nor smart. I'm short, and fat. I'm just a normal Syahirah. And yeah, I'm going to be a final year law student soon. God will guide you till the end, trust me on this one.

Not your best senior,

Syera