SAMPLE TASK 2 (EXTENDED WRITING) ESSAY - THEME: ECONOMY

 

QUESTION: 

You attended an Economic Forum in your college and you heard one of the speakers made this comment:

"The high cost of living is the main reason people are joining the Gig Economy."

Write an essay expressing your opinion on the comment. Write at least 250 words. 

    "The Gig Economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations hire independent workers for short-term commitments" (www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/gig-economy). The high cost of living can be described as the "amount of money needed to cover basic experiences such as housing, food, taxes and healthcare in a certain place and time period." (www.brittanica.com/dictionary/cost-of-living). I partially agree with the comment that the high cost of living is the main reason people are joining the Gig Economy because cost of living keeps increasing, but some people want flexibility in their jobs and to get extra money.

    Firstly, one reason why some people are joining the Gig Economy is because cost of living keeps increasing and the average salary is not enough to sustain their lifestyles. In Malaysia in 2023, it can be said that a single person must spend around RM2,500 to RM3,500 per month for cost of living while big families might have to spend up to RM7,000-RM9,000 per month. Compared to the previous years, for example in 2018, a single person's cost of living was around RM1870 averagely per month whereas for big families, it was about RM4420 to RM6620 per month. The increase in the cost of living from 2018 to 2023 is about 50 percent. As monthly wages do not increase at high percentages over the years, this increase in the cost of living could lead to items of necessity like food or clothing to become more expensive in price. Later, some individuals might realize that they do not have enough money to spend on themselves or their families, or to pay for bills each month. This could result in these individuals to decide to earn extra income by joining the Gig Economy. They might take up jobs such as becoming e-hailing drivers, freelancers, couriers or runners. Therefore, it is proven that some people are joining the Gig Economy due to the high cost of living.

    Nevertheless, some people want flexibility in their jobs. Normal office workers usually work from 8am until 5pm, with only an hour to take their break for lunch at 1 to 2 pm. They would usually work 6 days per week. Some individuals might not like this arrangement. Some of them may prefer shorter working hours,  a longer lunch break or perhaps less number of days to work per week. Moreover, some of them might not be able to work with others or with higher superiors, and would prefer to be in-charge of their work solo, their own selves being the boss of their business. In this case, these people might leave their desk jobs and join the Gig Economy to work on their own at flexible time and places. For example, they might take up jobs as Foodpanda riders or Grabfood delivery persons where they can choose their own working time and could take up the food delivery jobs according to their likings. They could arrange whether to start working early in the morning or later in the afternoon, or to work till late in the evening or night. They are in control of when or how they work. In short, it could be said that some people join the Gig Economy because they prefer flexible jobs.  

     Last but not least, there are people who join the Gig Economy to get extra money. For example, some students might join the Gig Economy to earn some pocket money as they need to pay for their tuition fees and to buy necessities such as books, laptops and stationeries. Some of them might feel that the money given by their parents might not be enough. To solve this problem, they would take up jobs in the Gig Economy such as part-time sales assistants at 7-Eleven shops or becoming part-time waiters or waitresses. Some civil servants sometimes also take up extra jobs after their working hours  such as being e-hailing drivers for short term such as for one or two years when they are planning to buy a house, and to pay for the down payment of that house. Hence, it can be said that there are people joining the Gig Economy to earn extra income and not because of the high cost of living.

     In a nutshell, I would like to reiterate that I partially agree with the comment "The high cost of living is the main reason people are joining the Gig Economy" as the cost of living keeps increasing; yet some people want flexibility in their jobs and would like to earn extra income. It is hoped that the cost of living in Malaysia could be made lower than at present, and our government should place more attention on the issue of cost of living due to the fact that if the cost of living keeps increasing, people will suffer, as aptly observed by Flip Wilson : "The cost of living is going up and the chance of living is going down."

Writers: SSR1 students (2023/2024) of KPU Kulim

Edited by MzsaMUET

MUET SESSION 2/2022 - 800/4 WRITING TASK 2 (EXTENDED WRITING) - "LACK OF APPRECIATION FOR OUR CULTURE.." -MY TAKE.

 

                                                                                          REMINDER: 

                                        PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARISE THIS ESSAY. 

PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS ACADEMIC  OFFENSE!

You attended a talk at school in conjunction with Malaysia's Independence Day. During the talk, the guest speaker made the following statement:

"The lack of appreciation for our culture has caused Malaysians to lose their true identity.”

 

Write an essay expressing your opinion on the statement. Write at least 250 words.   [60]

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Culture is among one of the important aspects of our life. Culture is said to have the ability to help mould our true identities. Yet, is it true that the lack of appreciation for our culture has made Malaysians to lose their true identity? I agree with the statement as the Malaysian multiracial culture is diminishing, Malaysians are embracing an international culture and a true Malaysian identity has never existed.

First and foremost, the Malaysian multiracial culture is diminishing and at a fast rate too. Malaysia has been known as a multiracial and multicultural country for centuries. Its people – namely the Malays, Chinese, Indians and several other indigenuous races like the Ibans – have been sharing and co-existing in this small, prosperous country for so long. All of these people have been mixing with each other, respecting one anothers’ beliefs and celebrating everyone’s different festivals perhaps since Independence was declared in 1957. This is the true multicultural and multiracial Malaysia. Yet, with the advancement of technology, this culture of Malaysia is diminishing at a very fast rate. The technological advancement, which led to the creation of non-face-to-face communication applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, Face Time, video calls and emails brought about less connections and communications in the real world, with real people. Many of us are opting for this kind of communication and interaction, due to its simplicity and time saving traits. Subsequently, there is less of mixing, socialising and interacting with the general Malaysian public of different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and beliefs; causing a lack of understanding, appreciation and respect for other Malaysians and ultimately the multicultural, multiracial Malaysia. Many of us now tend to respect only our own race, culture and belief and could be said to have developed a dislike and hatred towards cultures and beliefs that are different from ours. Following this position and situation, the appreciation for our multicultural and multiracial Malaysian culture is slowly being eroded; resulting in each Malaysian to also slowly lose connection with his own country, yet more connected to his historical country of origin. For example, some Malays of Middle Eastern descent are now looking back to Middle East for a cultural connection. Some even start giving their children Middle Eastern names, using more of some Arabic words at home; and reviving, cooking and serving recipes from “back home”. They sometimes often feel proud of and boast of their heritage instead of being Malaysians. In this way, Malaysians could lose their identity as citizens of Malaysia, feeling more connected to their original countries, history, racial as well as cultural backgrounds; and hence would prefer this identity more rather than as Malaysians. Thus, it appears true to say that the lack of appreciation for our culture due to the appraisal for one’s own culture has made Malaysians to lose their true identity.

Next, Malaysians are embracing the international identity. The world is now a global village, thanks to the process of globalisation. Far and remote areas are joining the united “big world” to become a complete federation of the countries of the world. Perhaps, in a few years to come, there will be no country known according to its original name as the world strengthens its unity and would only be known by one-yet-representing-all name. As this wave of "global identity" extends its fingers to every nook and corner of the world, Malaysia is not spared. Many of our young people are embracing the international look, style, lifestyles and even names. To hear Malaysians being addressed using Western or Korean names is not strange anymore now. Businesses also are metamorphosing into a “global” icon or image, leading to us feeling like we are in a foreign business area rather than in Malaysia. Names that resemble international places such as Farenheit88, Design Village, Crescent Dew or Starhill Gallery are common in Malaysia now. Therefore, as Malaysians look outwards to foreign countries in their vision to be part of the global village, the absorption of the foreign cultures and customs are inevitable. More and more Malaysians are claiming that they are part of the world community and thus, are more appreciative of the world or global culture than of their original country. We could see this when Malaysians are found to be quicker to celebrate international festivals like Bon Odori or Songkran, joining in the festivities rather than the Thaipusam congregation or the Penang International Boat Race. Some Malaysians are even integrating this new culture into their personal lives by opting for “international” names like Mikhail, Anastasia or Aidan – names that are not nor do not sound Malaysian.  As they embrace the identity of world citizen, celebrating and appreciating perhaps all cultures and their festivals, inevitably the appreciation of our own culture would be less; and as they label or claim themselves more as the citizens of the world or the people of the global village, they would lose their identity as Malaysians. It is in this way that the given statement is found true, and so it could be said that the Malaysian identity is lost due to the lack of appreciation for our culture and the growth of appreciation for the world culture.

Finally, a true Malaysian identity has never existed. Being multiracial and multicultural since its inception in 1957, and after its re-birth in 1963, Malaysia has always been accepted as represented by its three main races namely the Malays, Chinese and Indians. There just could not be one race representing this country without the other two. As so, there has never been one single identity for the citizens of Malaysia. If ever the name “Malaysia” is spoken whether in a local or international platform, these three races or ethnicities would automatically come into mind. In terms of food and festivals, it is those of these three races that are being highlighted, promoted and accepted as representative of Malaysia, like Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali and food such as Nasi Lemak, Mooncakes and Thosai. Never has there been one single cultural festival or one same traditional food for all Malaysians to associate with. Due to this emphasis on the main three races of Malaysia, their food and festivals, one true single identity of Malaysians has never existed. As a result of this, citizens of Malaysia frequently celebrate these festivals and appreciate the corresponding cultures separately according to their ethnicities, religious beliefs and connections to the respective racial groups. In other words, as an example, only the Muslims and Malays would celebrate Hari Raya with their extended or nuclear families; and likewise for the other races. Malaysia has no festival which every Malaysian would celebrate together as a way to relish its culture and heritage like the Thanksgiving Day in the USA. Such is the situation, Malaysian’s identity could be said as always “fragmented”. Malaysians would mainly associate themselves to these three main races or to their own racial and cultural background should they not belong to one of these groups. When there is no single identity of Malaysians, there is also no single culture of Malaysia. Almost everyone is Malaysia is just celebrating their own cultural heritage but renaming it as the Malaysian culture. Ultimately, the actual Malaysian culture which consists of that of the three main races lacks appreciation and Malaysians are left without one single identity that everyone could feel belonged to. Thus, as explained here, Malaysians lose their true identity due to the lack of appreciation for our culture is undeniable due to the inexistence of a single true identity for Malaysians and of course, the inexistence of a single culture for Malaysia and the appreciation for it.

 

In a nutshell, the claim that the lack of appreciation for our culture has caused Malaysians to lose their true identity has been proven true due to reasons such as Malaysia’s multiracial culture is diminishing fast, Malaysians are embracing the international culture and identity; and there has never been one single culture and identity for Malaysia and Malaysians. It is hoped that despite their differences, Malaysians would always find one single cause that would unite all of them regardless of their cultural and historical heritage, the importance of which has been implied by the late Kofi Annan, “We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skin, but we belong to one human race.”

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A Personal Comment: I find this question rather tough, being a Muet teacher myself. I wrote this essay in about 3 days. I wonder how the candidates could or would do it in just 50 minutes. Furthermore, this question requires vast knowledge on the aspects of "identity", "Malaysia and Malaysian identity" and also those of other countries as well in order to provide comparison, etc. To candidates, I hope you realise the need to be knowledgable in order to keep up with the difficulty level of this task - MuetMzsa

MUET TASK 2 ESSAY SESSION 1/2022 : "MODERNISATION HAS ROBBED US OF OUR PEACE OF MIND"- SAMPLE ESSAY/SAMPLE ANSWER/DISAGREE

 

 REMINDER: 
PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARISE THIS ESSAY. 
PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS ACADEMIC  OFFENSE!

You have been asked by the school editorial board to write for the school bulletin. You have decided to write on the following topic:

 Modernisation has robbed us of our peace of mind

 Write an essay stating your opinion on the above statement. Write at least 250 words.

 

The world is becoming more modern each day. We would hear of so many modern items, equipment or technology being produced, advertised or even launched daily. The most recent would be the launching of the MEASAT satellite that would provide our country with the 5G Internet coverage.  Would you believe then that modernisation has robbed us of our peace of mind? I, for one, would not believe that and so disagree with the statement as I feel modernisation makes life easier for us, it gives us many options and it widens our horizons.

 

First and foremost, modernisation makes life easier for us. As we can see now, there are so many errands that can be done just by using the phone or laptop without having to go out of our house. For example, to do some banking transactions like transferring money to one’s parents or children, he or she can just access the bank’s e-banking platform and send the money to the receiver just by pressing some buttons on the phone or laptop keypad. Another example would be shopping. Nowadays, we could buy almost all necessary items like clothes, cleaning detergents or stationeries online through platforms like Lazada or Shopee without having to go out to the actual stores or shops. All this is made possible by the advancement of technology and the Internet, in other words, modernisation. Before, we might have to dress up, drive our vehicles, find a parking space, get into a queue to approach a bank counter or an Auto Teller Machine (ATM) to transfer money. Then, we would perhaps have to drive to another spot or shopping area, find a parking space again before patronising 3 shops should we after that want to buy clothes, detergents and stationeries. However, with modernisation now, we do not even need to get into our vehicles to go to the town to complete these errands. Everything can be done from the comfort of our home with just some clicks on the phone or laptop keypad. Subsequently, we could then have not only more time at home but also more ease and peace of mind to complete other chores or just to enjoy life and quality time with our family. It is in this way that I truly believe modernisation has made our life easier and so has not robbed us of our peace of mind.

 

Secondly, modernisation has brought to us a lot of options. We could take the field of communication as an example. Today, there are various channels, avenues and methods for us to communicate with each other. First, there is the phone either a mobile or the one with a land line. Next, if there is a need for us to see each other’s’ faces as we communicate, we could opt for a Google Meet session, Face Time, video call and other similar camera-included ways of communication. At times when we would only prefer texts messages, there are apps for such communication like WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat. In times when land or mobile phone lines fail to connect us, there are also WhatsApp and Telegram calls that could be made. For those who love writing long messages, the e-mail is always accessible and available as a channel to communicate. If that is not enough, the social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are readily available for our posts, comments and tags to ease communication among us. This is what modernisation has provided us with. To view a situation in which we might not be able to use the landline phone, there are other various ways we could utilize to connect with someone as Internet coverage is also widely available now. We would not run out of alternatives as so many are available, and thus would not lose our calm and peace of mind. If we take a step into the past when it was not very modern, not technologically-advanced and of course, no Internet, we would be able to see that there was not much being offered for communications – only landline phones, telegrams and post mails, which if they fail to function, we would be left without any alternative to communicate. Hence, as modernisation has provided us with so many options and alternatives., I do not believe that it has robbed us of our peace of mind.

 

Last of all, modernisation widens our horizons. It is not apt not to link the Internet with modernisation. With the Internet, came other opportunities and possibilities, for example, the world is linked and wired up. Therefore, we could be connecting, talking, communicating with people from different parts and regions of the world. They could also be promoting and advertising something that would also reach us, although we are thousands of miles away from them. For work, especially, some companies could be promoting or advertising vacancies in their countries or other areas that in the past could only be available to their countrymen or neighbouring nations. With the use of the Internet, several platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and websites like Indeed.com or Jobstreet.com; almost everyone all over world would have equal chances to apply and get hired. Those in countries with low economic status like Bangladesh and Nepal could then apply to work overseas than just to rely on the scarcely-available and lowly-paid jobs back home.  From this perspective, our horizons are widened. There is still light at the end of the dark tunnel. Some could still be getting jobs to sustain themselves and their families should they not get hired in their own country. In addition, with modernisation and technology that brought faster vehicles which reduce travel time like the speed train, one could still work elsewhere but travel from home or return home more frequently than perhaps a decade ago, thus opening more opportunities of working in a distant land, in some cases without the necessity of migrating. With all these possibilities, there could be no loss of peace of mind especially regarding one’s sustenance and survival to continue life. One could still get a job although none is available around him. With this widening of our horizons, especially in the employment and work sector, I am confident that modernisation has not robbed us of our peace of mind.

 

As a conclusion, modernisation definitely has not robbed us of our peace of mind as it actually makes our life easier, it brings us many options and it truly widens our horizons. Modernisation is also about the disappearance of physical borders, the acceptance of things foreign, the display of traits hidden or obscure before, and the establishment of connections that were perhaps not in existence before. Park Won-soon, the former mayor of Seoul, has aptly suggested this through his words when he commented on the “Psy” phenomenon: “…now as we have reached modernisation . . . many citizens can display their potential for arts and culture and I believe that’s why Psy has become so popular.”

Written by,

  mzsa MUET

Twitter@ MzsaMUET

Argumentative Essay - MUET November 2013

[REMINDER: PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARISE THIS ESSAY. PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS  ACADEMIC  OFFENSE]

“The most important factor which contributes towards a person’s success is himself”. Do you agree with statement? Justify your stand, giving relevant examples where appropriate.

            Success is one of the things that every person dreams of in his or her life. However, different people would have different interpretations of what success means. Some might define success as achieving good grades in examinations or being rich and famous, whereas others might consider a life full of joy and happiness with their beloveds as the true meaning of success. There are many factors that contribute towards a person’s success but the most important factor is the person himself. I partially agree with the statement - a person can be successful due to his determination and perseverance but I also think that parents, too, contributes towards a person’s success.

            First and foremost, determination is one of the qualities which contributes towards a person’s success. As we are now living in a fast-paced life, a person will definitely face a lot of problems and obstacles in his or her quest for success. If a person is not steadfast in his or her goals, then failure could be inevitable and success might not be in the horizon. The saying “Failure is the first step in life” is very apt - even Taylor Swift has faced rejections and negative criticisms before being famous like today. So, we must be determined in what we want, strongly believing that failures, obstacles and losses are only temporary setbacks and should be more regarded as motivations in achieving success. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi was such a determined fighter against British colonialism and for India’s independence. In fighting for a newly-imposed Salt Tax in the 1930s, he determinedly led a 240-mile Salt March although he was threatened with a jail sentence by the then Viceroy. He did not give up at any point in the journey and finally completed the march in 28 days. This event later became the precursor for India to achieve its independence. Thus, a person’s determination is a quality which leads to his or her success, as portrayed clearly in Gandhi’s case. 

            In addition, another factor which contributes towards a person’s success is perseverance. A person with high perseverance stands firmly to the decisions that he has made. Moreover, he also has a higher tendency to step out of his comfort zone to obtain success. Perseverance is a quality needed by an individual so that he will not be easily manipulated by others due to a high self-esteem. Perseverance also will drive a person to continually soldier on despite challenges and obstacles in achieving success. To take an example, Nelson Mandela was a highly recognized person in the world who achieved success in freeing his country from apartheid through his act of perseverance. He was jailed for 27 years for going against the apartheid regime but he continued fighting behind the bars. He wrote letters to several people about apartheid and even completed his law degree in jail. His perseverance to fight against apartheid despite the challenges he faced led finally led to his release in 1990 and the collapse of the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994. To sum up, success is achievable if a person perseveres despite the hardships he or she faces.

            Yet, on the other hand, I also feel that there is also another factor for a person’s success, that is parents. Parents definitely contribute towards a person’s success as well. In many cases, when some children are going to sit for examinations, their parents would always sacrifice their sleep or rest times to take on the duties of waking the children up in the morning and making hot coffee for them so that they would not be sleepy for the examinations; or staying up with them when they are studying so as to provide support and motivation. Thus the children would have the mental and emotional strength to perform well in the examinations, their high spirits for success boosted by the support and sacrifices given by their parents. Pandalela Rinong, the first female Malaysian swimmer to win a medal in the Olympics, is one example of a person who succeeded due to her parents’ sacrifices. Pandalela has revealed that her mother’s support and encouragement has led to her success in sports. Her mother, Hartini Lamim was willing to learn driving so that she could send her daughter to the training centre which was rather far from their house. Gabby Douglas, the first African American gymnast to win multiple gold medals in the 2012 Olympics, also succeeded due to her parents’ sacrifice when they allowed her to stay about 2,000 kilometres away in Iowa from their house in Virginia just to train for the Olympics. They endured the heartaches of not having her at home in order for her to achieve her dreams. In short, parents’ sacrifices is also another factor that could lead to a person’s success.

            In a nutshell, a person’s success could not only depend on his or her good qualities such as determination or perseverance but could have also been contributed by other factors such as parents. And so the saying by the famous Indian film star Ajith Kumar, that “Success is being at the right place at the right time with the right people” might have been true after all.

Written by: Students of H1T15/H1T16

                  KMPP 2015/2016

 Edited by  i.me.my

[NOTE TO H1T15 & H1T16:  Dear all, I have made rather extensive modifications for your original essay as upon a second look at it, it lacks the link (or coherence, of ideas of course). If you still have the original essay, please do compare it with this essay to see how the ideas have been changed or improved, as a way to learn how to write good essays. Thank you]

Sample Argumentative Essay 2

Question:

Living away from parents is different from living with them. Give your opinion by providing relevant examples. Write your essay in about 300-350 words.

            Where is he now? Is he in a good condition? It has been almost two months your brother has not come home. These are the common phrases that have always been said by my mother. Working as an army officer makes my brother always living far away from my parents. Without a doubt, I can say that living away from parents strengthen relationships, brings about less problems, and we can train ourselves to be independent.

            First, relationships between parents and sons or daughters will be stronger. When we live far away from them, they will always think of us. The phrase “Miss you a lot” will always stick in their hearts. I think it is normal for us that if we bump into someone we always see everyday, in our mind we would think that we would bump into him or her again tomorrow and thus we will not miss him or her. However, if we live far from parents, it will be different. They will think of us, miss us and visit us whenever they have some free time. Not only that, we will call them or they will call us whenever they feel like talking to us. We also will sometimes spend more time chatting with them on the phone than when we are at home. As a result of this, our relationship with them will become stronger and closer.

            Secondly, if we live far from our parents, more problems can be avoided. Our parents will rarely be angry at us as they do not know about our activities and behaviour. It is not that we are trying to hide our bad attitude but sometimes parents are very strict in imposing rules or living up to a tradition or cultural need. As an example, a young Malay girl might not be allowed to sing in the kitchen at her home when it is actually something that can be done almost anywhere. Moreover, when living far from parents, they will think twice to scold us if we did anything wrong as we only stay with them for a short time and they might not want to spoil our holidays with them. Thus, many problems can therefore be avoided if we do not live with them.

            Finally, living far from parents will make us more independent. House chores such as washing clothes and cooking will have to be done ourselves. Other than that, we also will need to solve any problem we have ourselves. We will not be totally dependent on our parents. If we depend too much on out parents, we might be spoilt. What will happen then if they leave this world? Are you going to go with them or create problems for other people as you want to be treated like how you are treated by your parents? So, living far from parents will make us more independent as we have to rely on ourselves more to carry out chores and to solve problems.

            In a nutshell, living away from parents has more advantages as it leads us to train ourselves to stand on our two feet. We will have our own lives and will be responsible people. We will also not drag our parents into our problems and let them enjoy their lives in their golden age.

Sample Argumentative Essay (MUET)

Dear all,

I have here an essay on "People Commit Crimes for Selfish Reasons" (one of the best, after having been edited) written by my student to be shared online. Hopefully you will benefit from it.

[Nevertheless, this essay was uploaded to be shared, and to be read for the purpose of educating readers and MUET candidates on how detail you have to write to score high marks in the extended writing section. Please DO NOT PLAGIARISE this essay. PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME.]

_________________________________________________________

People commit crime because of selfish reasons. Do you agree?

   How do people define crime? Some might define crime as an act of offence towards the morality of humans. Others might regard crime as an act that harms the universal human rights. In my perspectives, I think that crime is an offence made towards the law. Therefore, why do people still commit crimes? Some crimes were committed because of hatred, hardships and even because of the people they loved. All in all, I do agree that people commit crimes because of selfish reasons. I am saying so based on several reasons.

  My first reason to agree with the statement is that people commit crimes because of greed. Greed is one’s desire to have more than what one already has. We can look at greed using different perspectives. One of them is of a poverty-stricken person whose only desire is to fill up his hungry stomach. Since he was born in poverty, it would be nearly impossible for him to pay for his food. So, in order to fill up his stomach, he decided to steal, for instance, a piece of bread from a nearby bakery shop. This is a kind of greed that is used to fullfill one’s basic needs, like to kill the dying hunger.

  However, there is another perspective that can be used to view upon greed. It is the wanting to lead a luxurious life or even to own something that is beyond one’s financial budget. For example, a person of moderate income would like to own an expensive plasma television which the price is beyond his budget. However, his greed prompts him to own that item by either stealing money to purchase it or to steal the item itself. When the person get caught by any law enforcer, the person will be charged in court for committing a crime. To steal to fulfill one’s desire to own an item which one understands that it is beyond his financial budget is committing a crime by the cause of greed. This, in my view, shows that people commit crimes for selfish reason.

  Next, people commit crimes because of hatred. Why are there hatred within people? The root of hatred might be caused by peer influence or environmental sway or even being envious towards others’ wealth and prosperity. One of the crimes that was committed by the cause of hatred was the Nazi’s genocide. That was Adolf Hitler’s policy to literally eliminate the Jews throughout Europe. Many Jews had been sent to concentration camps in order to be sentenced to death, and many Jews died during that period of Nazi’s administration.

The common question is, why did Adolf Hitler commit genocide on the Jews? It was said that Hitler’s hatred towards the Jews began when his letter of application had been rejected by the famous Art Academy in Venice, that was controlled by wealthy Jews. Hitler was probably rejected because Hitler himself was not a Jew. Probably having felt discriminated, when Adolf Hitler headed the Nazi’s party, this hatred led him to formulate a policy to eliminate the Jews throughout Europe, once and for all. In reference to Hitler’s case, I think that it can be justified that people commit crime because of  selfish reasons like one’s hatred towards another person or race.

Third of all, people commit crimes because of ignorance. An ignorant person is said to be a person having blind and stubborn determination. For instance, they insisted on being correct at all times, without any knowledge that what they had actually done was wrong by the side of law. The most prominent example was the war waged by the government of the United States of America towards Afghanistan following the incident of 9/11, which was when ‘terrorists’  attacked the World Trade Centre in New York in two air crafts. As claimed by George Washington Bush, former president of the United States of America, after the 9/11 attack, “ the surest way to avoid attacks on our people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting … Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our streets, in our own cities.” Consequently, the government of the United States of America had declared war with the country that had been suspected to house the major terrorist who instigated the 9/11 incident, Osama Bin Laden. They then sent troops to savage Afghanistan, bombing the residences of Afghanistan, thus killing thousands and thousands of innocent lives there.

From my point of view, the government of the United States of America was actually committing a crime as the mass killing of Iraqi citizens for something they are not responsible of is a crime. Furthermore, to champion on a revenge as what the Americans were trying to do for the killing in 9/11 is an ignorant act. The Americans might have been ignorant of the real truth and had been misguided by their anger into believing that Osama Bin Laden was the actual culprit for the 9/11 incident. In short, the government of the United States of America committed a crime because of ignorance. And by this, they are actually committing a crime out of a selfish reason.

In conclusion, based on what have been discussed, it is true that people commit crimes for selfish reasons. I hope that people will realize that whatever crimes that they had committed, it is more for selfish reasons. In order to stop this cycle of violence from recurring, they should avoid committing themselves to crime activities, thus ensuring the world to be a safer place to live in for future generations.

Written by,

Chin Ri Andrew (H4T6), Penang Matriculation College 2011/12