Realisation

Considering my choice to take up studies in Masters in Development Practice (Advanced) programme at the University of Queensland in 2009 following up from an earlier PostGraduate Diploma in Planning (Third World) in 1997, it has placed me in an open perspective to understand the normal livelihood of people, their hardships and struggles, absolute poverty, increasing population growth, traffic congestion and pollution, political oppression, Rostow’s model of development, neo-liberalism, foreign direct investment, climatic change and the endless list of matters that generally evolve with the changing times.

Taking up the community development courses under the MDP (Adv) program, it is beginning to open up another perspective of realising how important it is to involve or work amongst communities to enable better livelihood and social interaction for better harmonious lifestyle. Although my professional work as an physical planner required a lot of community-orientated interaction, the system under which we operated promoted a more ‘top-down’ and ‘inside-out’ approach, hence my involvement in actual community-orientated work is very minimal. As such I lack experience in dealing directly with communities. As a rural-orientated person, my village community is a dynamic community that I live in, however my direct input as an educated and knowledgeable person is not realised within.

I have always been part of a community as traditional families ties and community living has been an integral part of my traditional culture. However, I have not work within the larger community to explore needs, and create and promote awareness in what I have learnt or what I do in my professional work.

Community development courses are helping me to identify areas that I have failed in understanding and where I can explore and practically involve in. Now I realise that direct participation in community planning, community development, engagement and participation enables the world to come to stand in unity amidst diversity to strive for a better living, healthy, peaceful and harmonious environment.