Reflections.

For the past few months, we have been discussing on the topic of Law and Criminality. It was a very interesting topic to explore, as there were many aspects of it, with very different definitions of it depending on each individual's own opinions and views. We did so many things that it is hard to recollect and remember exactly what we have learned and therefore this reflection is in order, to act as a kind of feedback to myself.

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What have I learned? I have learned not to look at a subject just from the surface, but to dig deep and explore, try to uncover other meanings and view it from all other possible angles, not just my own, as others might not view it in the same way. Just like the definition of justice can consist of many things, and my definition of it might not be the same as a criminal’s. Besides that, I have learned a lot about the Malaysian judiciary system and how it works, as well as a thing or two about lawyers and their profession. I have never pondered much about the death penalty before this and so wasn’t really aware of the death penalty abolishment debate. And so the lessons opened my eyes to the arguments for both sides, and specifically about the concept of deterrence and the discrimination involved with the death penalty.


What skills did I use or develop in my learning? I have evaluated the information I received to make sure it is reliable and valid. I also used skills of reasoning to try to understand what I’ve learned. By comparing and contrasting, I've known not to look at things just from one point of view and to learn from other people’s works so as to mend my own.

What I found difficult about the content? I think it’s difficult for me to find an actual stance on this topic, especially the death penalty, as there are so many possibilities, and all the arguments really made sense to me. On the death penalty, although I am FOR it, I always get swayed to the other side whenever I hear their arguments, especially being on the team against the death penalty during the court case, I was contradicting my previous viewpoint and that left me on the fence. After the court case I had to think back and deep to remind myself of the reasons I supported the death penalty in the first place.

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Three things my team did well in the lead up to trial? During our preparation for the court case, our team was really organised and everyone knew what we were each supposed to do. Everybody was very cooperative and we hardly raised our voices. When there were any concerns we discussed with each other and tried to solve it together.

Three did things my team did well on the day of the trial? I feel that we were communicating with each other very well, through notes and such. We were also constantly giving each other support and encouragement, which boosted all our spirits, and we felt like one well-oiled machine. Most importantly, everybody in the team gave their very best and despite all the questions being thrown at them, despite their questions backfiring, despite the strain about time, we never gave up and continued trying their best.

What I did well before and during the trial? As a cross-examiner, I researched quite a lot on my topic and also formulated questions to cross-examine the other team. So on the day itself, I was quite prepared, although I was rather nervous. I just followed my points and hopefully managed to confound the opposition’s witness.

Group target? As a team, I think that communication between each team member is vital, we should be able to meet up with each other even outside of class to discuss. As compared to the other team, which had meetings almost every lunchtime, our team could not compete with them. Therefore, perhaps our team could try to work together more outside of class.

Personal target? My main weakness is that I always procrastinate and leave things till last minute; thankfully, I managed to complete my preparation for the court case in time. But this is not a good habit, and I hope to get rid of it.

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On the whole, I have learned a great deal from this topic, the court case, the trip to the Palace of Justice, the visit from Mr. Ramesh the lawyer and Amnesty International were invaluable.

Wen Wen (: