[EDIT 3 APRIL 2010: suddenly received 10 e-mails out of the blue from total strangers asking for interview tips. Lol. I have edited something below, and toned down the article a bit.. hope it will help]

Quick 5-step guide for aspiring JPA scholars out there:

1. Read more. Fill your heads with current issues, news, worldly affairs and general knowledge. The more you know, the more you can answer the barrage of questions from the interviewers.

2. Be confident. Do not fret, fidget, frown, stare at the ceiling/floor etc. The interviewers want confident candidates.

3. Speak loud and clearly. Polish your speaking skills and practise speaking with fluency. If you can switch between Bahasa Malaysia with English quickly without any pause, it would impress them more. Do not stop for too long, and do not show any hints that you are uncertain. Make up believable information if you cannot think of any evidence or facts. Crap your way out if you have to, but credibility is important.

4. Be polite. Courtesy is important. JPA hates snobbish people who think they are good and deserve the scholarship. Fact is, 90% of people who think they deserve the scholarship do not get it. Why? Snobbishness, pride, vanity, selfishness. These are all big no-nos. Be polite when answering questions, and take queries not only with wit and intelligence but courtesy and good manners as well. Do not be overconfident. Most importantly, do not be too eager and attempt to take control of the interview. You will be crossed out from their list as soon as you show signs of overpowering snobbishness and stupidity (especially if you act you know everything while in fact you do not).

5. Dress properly. NEVER show up looking as if you just woke up. Comb your hair, tie it back, wear smart working attire and tidy up yourself. Be presentable. They are not interested in people who are trying to make a fashion statement.

I have been through the interview session and honestly it will not be as easy as you think it is. If  you are a debater, you are at an advantage but it does not mean they will see you in a different light. It all depends on the combination of intelligence, presentation, confidence, leadership and problem-solving skills you have.

Last but not least, be MATURE. I personally take this seriously. If you are childish, then even think of showing up at the interview, you will only embarrass yourselves. These guys are professionals, they are probably more knowledgeable than you are even if you shove your tiny little 16A1′s SPM slips right up their noses. They do not care if your head is bigger than theirs.  If your maturity does not weigh more than they expect it to be, then you can expect to fail.

Show a little bit more maturity and think out of the box. JPA looks for candidates who are patriotic, progressive, not afraid of changes, charismatic, intelligent, have good leadership abilities and the charm to pull it all off in a smooth slick way that would leave people’s jaws dropping on the floor.

Results do not guarantee your success. I have seen many cases of people appealing and complaining about how they cannot get the scholarship even if they get like a gazillion A1′s and how their co-curricular activities are better than others. There are also people who do not have perfect results yet they get the scholarship. It all depends on your performance during the interview, the academic qualifications you have and your achievements.

That is just the gist of it. Honestly, it might not work for some people. Do not be disappointed if you do not get the offer. There are plenty of opportunities available.

If there is any questions, contact me via the contact link on the top of the page, thank you. I cannot guarantee I can reply everyone, however.

And good luck!

Ask any typical 18 or 19 year old what his or her interests are, I bet 99.99% will not have the same interest that I have. Typical and normal people at my age do not have the slightest idea that people can make money off the Internet. Most use the Internet for social and Web 1.0 purposes, for example: checking e-mails, forwarding the occasional humorous ones and basically just doing a bit of surfing.

The more tech-savvy ones will tend to gravitate towards social networking sites. Facebook and Myspace has become the norm, and if you do not have an Facebook account, suddenly you seem so Stone Age.

Even less know the existence of various Web 2.o tools and I can say that all of those I know do not use them. These include sites like StumbleUpon and Digg. They do not even use RSS feeds. I think this can be due to the fact that only a small insignificant proportion of the 18-19 year old species own a blog or read blogs. Even if one were to blog regularly, it does not guarantee he or she knows how to use RSS feeds or RSS readers to keep up with those blogs that they read.

What does this have to do with my interest?

Well, first of all, my interest is different in the sense that I am more inclined towards things that smell of moolah. Things that sound like ka-ching and cash registers. Things that look greenish and have the RM signs on them. Okay, no wonder people associate me with salesman look when I first arrive at KTT. I am BORN with this inclination to seek out money, to find ways to succeed, to dig into the wide, infinite universe of the World Wide Web, to master the skills that those star Internet marketers millionaire learned and applied to generate their first million dollars online.

Do you even know people become millionaires, solely utilising the power of Internet alone?

I bet 9 out of 10 do not. I am not even talking about earning from blogs, though it might be a good source of income for those professional bloggers (think Kenny Sia. Oh he is from Kuching by the way). I am talking about the massive Internet goldmine of affiliate marketing, eBay, online business stores, Google Adsense, internet marketing, digital information products, list building, traffic building, search engine optimisation.. The list goes on. I bet you do not even know half the terms I mentioned.

When I first got to know of the riches the Internet holds in Form 2, I was mesmerised and captivated by the prospect. Thus began my quest for that elusive first dollar online. The journey has been hard, and I decided to quit, only to have that interest revived a few years later on. When I first started, I got entangled in a web of confusion and wasted time on fruitless endeavours. Now that I am older and more matured, coupled with the knowledge and experience painstakingly built from the years I spent online, I tread the exciting path of building an internet business again.

The main stumbling block I had was the fact that I had no source of capital to start a business. Now that I have some money, there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel again.

I finally realised that I am born with an inherent desire to succeed, genetically wired to pursue that first million online, to get fabulously rich. After that I have no idea what to do with all the money. Donate it, perhaps?

This is why, I declare that my interest is totally different from others. I may like things typical teenagers like, for example, music, movies and so on, but deep down in the inner chamber of my soul, I crave success like my life depended on it.

I know, this might create the negative image of me being a money-faced person, seeking only material gains. Though I desire that riches, but I by no means intend to hoard them. I am a very generous person with an innate desire to help people too. (lol, thick-faced) Seriously though, wanting to succeed does not equate to being selfish and money-faced. People can be kedekut when they are poor, likewise, some wealthy people are extremely generous.

And so ends my rhetoric. This is exactly why, when people ask “Why do I always see you go online? So busy arh?” I always have to take a deep breath and just smile. For me, keeping the secret is better than boasting about it.

Especially when that elusive first dollar has always seem to be so far away. I am still pathetically trying.

Life moves at snail’s pace here at KTT. There is this perpetual sense of suffocating stillness. Everything seems to slow down, and the difference is even more pronounced when one travels from a city like Kuala Lumpur and arrives here.

We are now waiting for that dreaded results of placement into universities in Czech Republic. Everything hinges upon that result. I found myself unable to focus on my studies for the past 3 weeks because I have been expecting the results to come out soon. Yet, my classmates do not really find the idea all too exciting. Many will say that it is enough for them to be able to plant their feet in Czech. I, like them, hold this view too. Suffice to say that guarantee of placement in a university there would be enough for me.

Somehow, though, a little part of me wants to go to Charles Universtiy. Even after knowing the tribulations and difficulties I would face once I step foot there, the dare-to-die and mischievous part of me would nudge me and taunt me, urging me to go for it. The innate desire to challenge myself and torture my soul seems to stem from my nature to defy anything others view as “suicidal”. Even after hearing harrowing stories from seniors there about how the life in Charles is hellish, and the fact that there are some who are threathening to commit suicide (yes, JPA officer told us this), the insane part of me takes delight in the thought and the urge to go there becomes increasingly out of control.

I do not know why I have the desire to rush headlong into anything that seems difficult or deemed impossible by others. Maybe it is the adrenaline rush, or perhaps the secret pleasure I derive from thriving in challenging environments. Who knows, indeed.

Thus it is with great boredom and anxiety that I sit here, typing away, waiting for the day the placement results are announced. Until that day comes, I will not be able to focus on my studies. Maybe this has something to do with the knowledge of where I am heading. I have this weird feeling that I only put in the amount of effort that is proportional to the difficulty ahead. In other words, as long as I do not know where I am heading to, I will not be able to determine how hard I should strive. Curious, is it not?

No. That is utter vanity and narcissism.

Until then, I would stare pointlessly at my books, contemplating my future. Bugger.