| MRSM too must open up -- to 30% for other races |  |  |  |
| Posted by admin | |
| Thursday, 11 September 2008 12:06 | |
| We can no longer have segregated schools if we are to survive as a nation. This is the reality I have learned as I explore further the meaning of education. Azly Rahman "School is not preparation for life, but school is life," wrote American pragmatist philosopher John Dewey.
Comments (61)  ... written by Rundukon, September 11, 2008 12:16:06 There is going to be a by-election in Pensiangan, Sabah. Pensiangan being predominantly Natives and poor is a good avenue for Pakatan Rakyat to include in their manifesto that MRSM will be opened to other races (30%) if they win the by-election. report abuse disagree 8 agree 44 ... written by cheekhiaw, September 11, 2008 12:18:35 Only fools think they can build a great ocean with only frogs in it. Or they can pre-determine the number of frogs in a pond. report abuse disagree 32 agree 22 ... written by Rainbowseahorse, September 11, 2008 12:23:36 SuperAdmin, the way I see it, the BN government should put professionalism into Minstrial post. The ministry of Health should rightly be held by an MP who is has vast medical background. Likewise the other ministries should have MPs with relevant qualification background. The biggest problem with our Malaysian government is that even the PM is not qualified, and, even though he totally has no knowledge nor qualifications for finance, yet he holds the ministry of finance post. Indeed, the whole Malaysia governance system is wrong and it has to be totally revamp from the top down...and soon! report abuse disagree 4 agree 51 ... written by Loi Bih Siang Benjamin, September 11, 2008 12:32:48 Dear Dr Azly Rahman: I follow your articles and each reading is truly an enlightment of mind to mind. I really wish you would come back to Malaysia 1) to teach in our University or 2). to enter politics to fight for a better Malaysia. I deeply believe that Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim is in need of intellectual people like you to fight together for a better and progressive Malaysia! Please come back! i know your heart is in Malaysia, thus, the patriotism will somehow induce the feeling of loneliness in your heart, Malaysia needs you, please come home! Thank you for many of your great articles that have unlocked the door of mental prison that has long keep many Malaysians in captivity. Selamat Hari Raya to you and your family members in the US. Loi Bih Siang Benjamin address: benjaminloi.blogspot.com Negeri Bloggerjaya report abuse disagree 4 agree 80 ... written by fireduck, September 11, 2008 12:45:07 Dr Azly, you write good and well-reasoned articles. But my beef is this: how will all these (articles and writings) help us? The recent UiTM issue was already made such a big deal, and now you propose this MRSM thingy. From abroad, at that too. I have respect for people like you, and Bakri Musa, but alas, you guys chose to be away from here. That is not much difference from the rest of the armchair critics and the kopitiam 'consultants'. We need people like yourself to be involved IN the system, to be in positions to promote and influence those changes that you espoused. We need forward thinkers like yourself to come back here to lead the changes. The Malay brothers and sisters must realize that change need not be bad, and if change is proposed with the rakyat's interest in mind, and managed without self interests, then it should be something that we welcome. In this fast changing world, we do need to change and adpat, although at times, I myself find such speed of change very tiresome and tiring. But we have no choice, as a nation. So, it would help if well educated and progressive minded people like you guys help to slowly change the mindset of ALL Malaysians. report abuse disagree 4 agree 70 ... written by smpadayachi, September 11, 2008 12:49:04 Dr.Azly as much as you've a vision to create a fair & equitable in terms of a good solid education for all in regardless, or racial origin, color or creed in Malaysia, the racist Malaysian government of Malay majority still values us as dark skinned, no good for nothing, and does not value our contribution or our citizenship. How can you ask for something so wonderful to happen when our skin colorization means a heck of lot to this racist government? Incidentally, taking this moment to wish you and your family a Happy Eid al Fitr. report abuse disagree 2 agree 17 ... written by IbnAbdHalim, September 11, 2008 12:51:10 There should only be one type of school and that is the national school where all races are under one roof. Do away with the present system. If the present government has no will power, resign. To nurture integration it must start from the beginning i.e. at primary level. All children share the school under a single headmaster/headmistress. That goes for secondary education too. All schools catering for particular ethnics must be done with. If not don't talk about social integration for we'll raise more Ahmad Ismail's. report abuse disagree 4 agree 28 ... written by densemy, September 11, 2008 12:58:11 MRSM taught its early students how to think critically and creatively, not to kowtow to leaders who abuse power and who are corrupt to the core. The philosophy was to create leaders, not followers. It was meant to transform the nation into an ethical polity, not destroy it beyond repair. So where are they now?? I dont see too many signs of people like that in public life in Malaysia today... or did they all run away like you to dwell in another country "Let us begin by insisting MARA to open up MRSM for other races -- 30% would be a good percentage of admissions to start the process of democratization of human intelligence." You just cant let go of this Malay Superiority fix can you? Instead of opening up Mara to a mere 30% of other races. Why not open it up totally, completely and entirely and let merit decree whether a student ( and the lecturer) is worthy of a place at tertiary level report abuse disagree 8 agree 39 ... written by gromy, September 11, 2008 13:29:52 Why should we limit to 30%. Make it open to all and go on strict meritocracy. if in the end MRSM has 95% student from a particular group, let it be. In fact I wonder why we are not offering citizenship to the indonesians, filipinos, bangladeshis and others who have been in this country for so long. After all they also contribute to this country. Without them, we couldnt have progressed this far! They too should have the right to send their kids to MRSM or vote in the elections. Aren't we talking about absolute justice and fairness? report abuse disagree 15 agree 16 ... written by mawi, September 11, 2008 13:31:06 It takes two to tango. If we have to ask the Malay community to accept these changes in the name of equality, then, the other communities has to reciprocate likewise. For starters, the Chinese community must do away and I mean abolish Chinese schools by nationalising it in order to have a well balanced racial propotions in the schools. In order to preseve the Mandarin languange, there are more ways than one to approach this. Then, the whole country must accept Bahasa Malaysia as a common language both in form and substance. Thirdly, there must be efforts made to ensure propotionate distribution of wealth. After all this can be accepted then we can about opening up to anything. report abuse disagree 15 agree 31 ... written by expat70, September 11, 2008 13:42:23 I agree with all the writers that Malaysia need people like Dr.Azly and others to help in rebuilding the country. I belong to the baby boomers generation. Unfortunately or fortunately I was not given any help by the govt. I left the country since 1971. Now I am a professional in a 3rd country. I have always consided myself to be lucky to be given a chance in life by another country regardless of my ethnic or religious background etc. I think Malaysia could perhaps encourage those who had left the country to contribute and play a role in the nation building. report abuse disagree 3 agree 9 ... written by cheekhiaw, September 11, 2008 13:43:51 How can schools whose 7 year olds learn and can understand 3 languages be the same as those that cannot? Only fools would tango to that stupid tune. report abuse disagree 8 agree 10 ... written by mawi, September 11, 2008 13:52:20 And thats the whole idea i.e to have the schools whose 7 years old cannot, learn and understand 3 languages now learn the 3 " languages". Its better to be a fool that tango to a stupid tune than to have a stupid fool prancing to a foolish tango. report abuse disagree 2 agree 13 ... written by ellyna, September 11, 2008 14:05:11 I know those pro chinese and pro tamil school rakyat are going to throw stones at me, but I do believe an ideal school atmosphere would be an integrated one that produces students who are multi-lingual, multi-cultural and able to sustain their culture and religion and respect the culture and religion of others. Those able to participate in healthy academic competitions. They would become great leaders of the future. report abuse disagree 0 agree 22 ... written by mawi, September 11, 2008 14:21:39 Thank you ellyna for seeing from where I'm standing. and I say, this is only for starters.Fuerther down the road, we can start talking about paving ways into abolishing Malay dominated UiTM and Chinese dominated UTAR. We should neutralise AIMST and if we can do this, then a starting point has been triggered. report abuse disagree 0 agree 15 ... written by gromy, September 11, 2008 14:31:22 It is strange that there apparently people who are impressed that some kids can learn and understand 3 languages in school! Doesn't he see that there are many people who can speak 5 languages even without going to school? What is so difficult with languages after all? It is not relativity and quantum physics. In fact the younger the person is, the easier is to learn languages! report abuse disagree 2 agree 8 ... written by menggatal, September 11, 2008 14:36:38 No need la.... They can keep MRSM to themselves!! Tak hadap pun!!! report abuse disagree 11 agree 5 ... written by mucking fuddled, September 11, 2008 14:46:15 Keep on dreaming dear dr azly rahman....not that i disagree with your observations.... I really hate to sound critical about muslims, not islam mind you,....BUT how can your muslim brethens mix with others when everything to them IS haram..... only muslims like you can have a SLIGHT chance of advancing their lot.... muslims will never emulate others.... as much as we would like to help but as the saying goes......it takes two to joget.....it can only take a good muslim leader to change the mindset of another muslim report abuse disagree 6 agree 13 ... written by fireduck, September 11, 2008 15:08:59 I actually have no arguments with those of you who suggest that the vernacular schools be 'abolished', and have just one type of school system. As a parent, I in fact, has a headache as to where to send my kid. I don't mind the 'Kebangsaan' schools (hey, I didn't turn out to bad? So are all my friends), but the Chinese schools are known for their strict discipline and perception-wise, better quality of teacher's teaching and dedication. Need I say what the perception of the kebangsaan schools is? And that is the crux of the problem. It the quality that our kids get, not the language in which they learn. I have reservations on sending my kid to a Chinese school because I have seen those students lugging a small truck of books to school, and have to forgo weekends to attend extra-curricular activities. And the competitiveness generated by all the kiasu parents demand that our kids have to be sent for extra tuition after school. I am not sure it is best for my kid, as I want him to be able to enjoy his childhood and schoollife too. So, I think that the solution lies not in the immediate changing of the systems, but by making changes TO the systems. The quality uplifting of the kebangsaan schools should begin not with the students! Give due recognition to the teaching profession, and give due commensuration and rewards to the teachers, so that the dedication so required in this field of work can be revitalized. We used to have very very dedicated teachers, and I'm sure all of us can vouch for that. We can easily name a few teachers we hold in high respect. And the memories are still fresh in our minds even though it has been decades since.Are there still such teachers in our school systems? And make sure that the teachers are properly qualified to teach the subject matter. Dedication without knowledge is like running on the spot. Knowledge without dedication is like running in every direction. Our kids need guidance and proper moulding. Like computerese, garbage in garbage out. Good things go in good things we see from the kids. A slogan from a MLM company says 'all of the good, none of the bad'. This is actually a good thumb rule to follow in everything we do. For example, this schools system situation. Even if we actually do away with the Chinese and Tamil schools, there is nothing wrong with adopting and adapting the many good aspects of the respective school systems and incorporate them into THE school system. Any processes and structures that are not so good will have to be discarded. If that can happen, then I think we can build top class students. Sigh, but I really doubt it will. Not when education is so well-accosted, molested and abused by the politicians. There are no well-meaning politicians left in this world where education is concerned. Every politician panders to the wishes of their grassroot supporters and every grassroot supporter has his/her own interpretation of what is good for their kids' education. report abuse disagree 0 agree 11 ... written by cwy, September 11, 2008 15:18:36 “The MRSM of the 1970s especially was a good experiment in human capital revolution and social engineering. It had great dedicated teachers - Malays, Chinese, Indians, Americans - who served selflessly. May God bless them.” MRSM is meant for the poor Malay and Natives from East Malaysia under NEP. But, rich Malays like Mahathir and Rahmat sent their children to study too ( thus depriving children of poor Malays ) so as to get a MARA scholarship for oversea study after SPM. The initial teaching staff comprised a big proportion of non-Malays but the new teachers intake is strictly ( except English language teachers ) limited to Malay graduates, as most probably that the top MARA people felt that MRSM was already established. MRSM did take some non-Malay students in MRSM , Kulim ( perhaps as constructive competitors to Malay students ) for its first batch of students. But, it was not continued due to certain untold reasons. I feel proud to have a fellow Malaysian like the writer, an invaluable product of MRSM. It is true that ‘ in the 70’s, all MRSM were trained to be inquisitive, creative and proactive, in short, they are trained to be leaders of our multiracial country. I agree that the MRSM system is perhaps ‘derailed’ from its former goal and destination. We need a new government to ensure that our nation can be set on the right track for social justice and racial harmony! report abuse disagree 1 agree 6 ... written by CPY, September 11, 2008 15:46:38 We need to begin a national project of desegregating schools. I propose that all schools and educational institutions now catering to one particular race - be they Malay, Chinese, Tamil, Kadazan or Iban - must be integrated systematically and reorganised along the principles of multi-cultural education.Good idea Dr Azly. Maybe DJZ should tell all Chinese medium schools must attract 30% Non-Chinese students. Hence, we will help the non-chinese to understand our culture.  report abuse disagree 3 agree 10 ... written by mawi, September 11, 2008 15:49:09 Fireduck, Thats where the problem lies. It does not take Price waterhouse to analyse why the Chinese vernaccular schools are flushed with so much funds contributed by the rich towkays and chinese tycoons. Its not really because of their crusade for quality education but its because of their crusade for quality education for Schools and Chinese students. If it is a crusade for quality education for all, then the Tamil vernacular schools would not be in its deplorable stages with the funds donated by these chinese towkays. You see because its Chinese and that is why is well funded. Take away the Chinese brand and the funds will dwindle. And with so much funds in their coffers, quality comes without saying. I would bet on my last dollar that once Chinese schools enrolments comprise of other races in equal propotions, the funds will slowly disappear because its no longer "Chinese". It is bigotry to its core and so are those Malay dominated government funded schools like MRSM. I mean, schools should not be used to propagate race. On the contrary, it should be a place to instill the spirit of harmony. But I have to agree with you that Chinese schools are better in all aspects but the question is why must it be Chinese? report abuse disagree 5 agree 13 ... written by mawi, September 11, 2008 16:07:32 And you'll have to cross over their dead bodies before they can open up their schools to non Chinese students other then the current window dressing requirement currently in practice. report abuse disagree 6 agree 6 ... written by Rhan, September 11, 2008 16:11:15 Haha densemy, I want to says the same thing long time ago but not willing to spoil this people mood who keep on telling us their beautiful past. Most of the racial politician today is the product of the seventies, this is the period where English is the common language, the enrollment into National school is at it peak and religion was not the prime subject in school. How come all this open minded English speaking class all turned into racist huh? Integration through education? report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 ... written by SocratesI, September 11, 2008 16:32:40 Mawi's suggestion to do away with all vernacular and special bumi schools is a good one,Here is where I disagree with Dr. Azly's half measure of opening MRSM for 30% non-bumis only ! Bahasa Malaysia can be the national language with other languages being taught such as English, Chinese, Tamil, Hindi, French, German, Dutch, etc. It is true that you do not need to go to school to learn a language and its not quantum physics or relativity. In fact, I learnt Chinese at home, having gone to a missionary school all my life and being taught in English, and I managed to pass my 'O' levels Chinese - St. John's had 100% pass in Chinese that year !! And I am a student of astrophysics (relativity included) and quantum physics as well, on my own. When i traveled to Copenhagen for a holiday once, I went to sample the beer at Carlsberg (of course) and inside the plant, in the grounds was a house that the Carlbergs family built, and one outstanding Dane would be given free board and lodging for a year, one who has contributed considerably to mankind. The previous year, Niels Bohr was the tenant, and the year I was there was a Sino Studies professor, a Dane who could speak more than 200 Chinese dialects ! I felt so small ... Amazing fellow !! Rhan, I am English educated and I am not racist ... do not qualify everyone the same way just because those you have met are racist, old chap ! report abuse disagree 1 agree 13 ... written by Rhan, September 11, 2008 17:07:56 Socretes1, To clarify, the “all” I mean is politician. My point is even if we attend the same school and speak one common language, it could be Malay or English but as long as the national policy is a racial one, many will turn into racist. Therefore the priority is to review and revise the policy and create a common objective for all, improve the “education” in whatever language, eventually the best system will stay on and the worst will disappear. Otherwise you force me another 50 years you still get the same result. Mavi suggestion at this point of time is a stupid one. report abuse disagree 3 agree 3 ... written by mawi, September 11, 2008 17:27:08 Dear Socratasi' You went to a missionary school? So did I and throughout a lion's share of my schooling life in fact. Which school did you go to? Mine was a school call Saint Anthony. Anyway, I do not quite agree with you on meritocracy as I strongly believe that education is not measured by the numbers of distinctions you get in exams. Education here is more in term of human capital revolution as how Dr azly had rightly pointed out. Its not a question of how good or bad your marks but rather on how you can contribute your talent to the society at large. By these, merit does not apply . Everyone should be given the opportunity to educate themselves . By merit, we deprive those who are equally capabled but are not privileaged with the comforts accorded to others. A kampong boy in Ulu Choh , for instance are deprived of facilities as compared to one living in the Republic of Bangsar , for instance so does this injustice what meritocracy is all about? An Indian girl, living in an estate to a poor tapper parents and deprived of proper education facilities be denied education at tertiary level because of merit? Does that sound fair to you? Is a chinese boy whose rich towkay parents , lavished with highly trained tuition teachers and equipped with state of the art communication system is your definition of merit? To me. the answer is no. Humans are not born to be stupid,and a chance at education will definitely placed them in thier respective position in society. Lets not make meritocracy another hindrance as race based intakes are. report abuse disagree 1 agree 7 ... written by mucking fuddled, September 11, 2008 17:30:45 dear mawi you are absolutely right, the chinese take their childrens education very seriously...if the government does not help, the parents will cough up their last rinngit to give their children their one chance to succeed in life...never mind the rich towkays..... but i disagree with you about not accepting or accomodating other students in larger numbers....the fact of the matter is, the majority of malays are always uncomfortable or suspicious of integrating with other cultures...... report abuse disagree 2 agree 10 ... written by kavidibaku, September 11, 2008 18:06:41 gromy, orang cina dan india pun dipanggil pendatang. you are talking about indons, bangla and filipinos. let the gomen settle the chinese and indians' matter first. report abuse disagree 1 agree 5 ... written by fireduck, September 11, 2008 18:25:36 Mawi, from what I understand, Chinese schools have to depend on 'donations' because they don't exactly get full funding from the govt. Of course, that's the problem here, when we are talking about having just ONE school system. When the govt doesn't get support for its kebangsaan school system, then they hit back by 'limiting' funding at those other vernacular schools. But what do I know? I am not an expert in the field of education. I do agree that the rich (and nowadays, they are not only Chinese)should help the poor, especially in the field of education. Some of the Tan Sri's profess to do just that by starting up private a 'University College'. But have you seen the tuition fees? And have you seen how it accelerates from year to year? These tycoons are only interested in the bottom line. And although the private colleges help to sort of some of the needs of our young people, it at the same time, absolves the govt of their responsibilities in providing more state funded opportunities for higher education. Not very right, is it? report abuse disagree 2 agree 3 ... written by cruzeiro, September 11, 2008 20:22:16 but the question is why must it be Chinese? ============================================ Mawi, Why don't you ask why there are practically no Malay towkay funded private schools. You'll find your answer there. There is no reason why they shouldn't do it if they are discriminated in national schools for their skin, culture or belief systems. In fact under systems that encourage apartheid, it's expected of them! Don't ask them why they don't fund for all schools - ask the Govt. After all they pay the most taxes, right? You say, "it is not in the number of As" - definitely not. Especially when the As a "kangkung" quality. It gives a bad name to the genuine As and education itself. Don't worry we all know how results are manipulated to reflect "holistic development". I'm sure Richard Feynman, Einstein, Oppenheimer and Stephen Hawking are a "holistic" products. The disregard for meritocracy in the system is at best, nauseating. The discipline horrendous. The teachers, laughable, and the The ethics ... oh boy! I agre that vernacular education is the "problem" - however, to the NEPist, it's an asset in its divisive quality and result. You cannot abolish vernacular education when you preach "Ketuanan Melayu" with the intention of depriving others of educational opportunities. You cannot abolish it and disregard meritocracy. You cannot abolish it and practice bigotry. Don't say the vernacular schools are also that way - it is meant to be that way! No amount of envy, pride or repression will prevent the industrious and talented from achieving what they want - and they know quality when they see it. Believe me - if the national schools are competitive, if they practice proper values and ethics, if they advocate meritocracy and discipline, if they reward excellence without prejudice, if they abhor religious bigotry and indoctrination - there is no reason for the chinese or indians to rush for admission at these vernacular schools. The bottomline is Quality. And the national schools beyond the urban areas cannot provide it. report abuse disagree 1 agree 17 ... written by SocratesI, September 11, 2008 20:38:50 Mawi, Its St. John's. You need to define "Meritocracy" in the broadest sense, not the no. of distinctions, although that plays a part, but also the creativity and originality, that should also count towards merit. You are assuming my definition of meritocracy is based on the old one, academic results ... you are mistaken in this respect. report abuse disagree 0 agree 4 ... written by MalaysianUnited, September 11, 2008 21:04:13 agree..Satu perubahan mesti dijalankan. Sekolah2 di Malaysia memerlukan satu polisi sistem sekolah. Ini adalah untuk menggalakkan perpaduan dan integriti dikalangan anak2 Malaysia seawal umur 9 tahun. Fireduck, Sistem sekolah aliran Cina memang mempunyai prestasi yang mengagumkan dan displin yang tinggi. Tapi jika anda perhatikan, apabila anak2 dari sekolah ini menyambung pelajaran di sekolah menengah harian (sekolah kebangsaan) atau universiti yang mempunyai jumlah kaum yang hampir sama rata, mereka kurang atau mengambil masa yang lama untuk bergaul dengan anak2 kaum bangsa lain..banyak halangan yang berbentuk peribadi seperti 1) Tidak dapat bergaul kerana berbeza bahasa. (maksud saya, bahasa yang digunakan jika berada di dalam sesebuah kumpulan). report abuse disagree 2 agree 3 ... written by nowinnofee, September 11, 2008 23:28:42 Dear Dr Azly, Perhaps your article should have included other institution such as United Malay College and Kolej Tunku Kursiah....it puts Malaysia back to where USA was during its coloured discrimination period...are we 100 years behind in civilisation? Please come back and see how huge the notice in UITM is on Hak Exclusive Melayu and it is brightly lit up in the night.  report abuse disagree 1 agree 3 ... written by justiceforallorg, September 11, 2008 23:33:20 Our country would have reached the standard of education recognised internationlly as and when our politicians send their own children to public local schools and universities instead of overseas. Simple yardstick! report abuse disagree 0 agree 2 ... written by cinapek, September 12, 2008 00:40:13 We are now paying the price for a segregated education system. Caught in a vicious cycle, our dear Chinese and Indian brethren refuse to be assimilated into the mainstream and grow as one Malaysia. They give all sorts of reasons not to send their kids to SK schools : - Quality of teaching - Dedication of teachers - Quality of administration - Racial polarisation in SK schools - blah, blah But they don't realize that as long as we continue to segregate our children, we are creating a vicious cycle. The lack-lustre performance of SK teachers, lazy attitude and racially biased policies will continuer as long as SK schools remain "Malay schools". The weaknesses are so very apparent. I decided to send my kids to an SK school because I wanted them to "rub skin" with children of other races. I wanted them to see, hear, feel and smell Malays, Indians, Punjabis and Chinese and know that we are different, yet the same. But teaching them this has come with a price. We have to put up with : - mind-boggling lazy teachers - teachers who utter racial slurs - teachers who play hand phone games in class - teachers who don't bother to assign homework because it means extra work to mark the homework - teachers who don't come down for Monday assemble and when they do come, they saunter in 10 minutes late - slow, inefficient administration - office staff and Headmasters/teachers who can ONLY and will ONLY speak Malay - dirty, dirty, dirty toilets - so much more The racial and religious overtones are apparent. Our kids have to sit in for Arabic classes even though we made it clear we do not wish to have our children participate. It started with the Guru Kurrikulum announcing that parents who didn't want their children to participate had to write in formally to state this. Then the following year, there was NO announcement. It was more or less "forgotten" and assumed that all non-Malay children would WANT to learn Arabic. Even though my daughter and other non Malay friends are taken to the library when the Arabic lessons are on, this has become less frequent. They are now sometimes just left in the classroom together with the Malay children as the Arabic classes go on. The non-Malay children are asked NOT to read or do anything. They may lay their heads on the table if they wish. While all this is going on, surely they are absorbing Arabic mixed with the religious overtones of Islam. This Hari Raya, my kids' school will (as usual) have a week long break so that ALL the Malays can balik kampung to have a wonderful time. I don't mind this - it has long been that way, that we must let the Malays have the whole week to enjoy. But the Chinese in this school were not even let off earlier on the eve of Chinese New Year to allow them to make the balik kampung trip. Is that NOT racial bias in full-blown view? And so back to my Chinese and Indian brethren who insist on sending their kids to vernacular schools, not realizing the huge damage they are doing to Malaysia's future. We are producing thousands upon thousands of citizens who not only do not have the slightest inkling of what makes other races tick, they look upon each other with suspicion. And the result? We have to come up with all sorts of idiotic things like the National Service and other "unity" programs to try and patch a racial divide that has grown for over 50 years. I just met a Chinese young man who asked me to help him fill out a form. He could not understand Malay neither could he talk English. But when he talked about Hong Kong entertainment, his face lit up. I wonder how many more citizens like him we will be producing. Some parents are so doggedly determined to send their children to vernacular schools it's as though they will be migrating to China. They act as if they live and breathe in malaysia but their hearts are still in china (or India). The Chinese (and Indians) refuse to be assimilated into ONE education system and the Malays run the SK schools as if there is ONLY one race. The vicious cycle continues. report abuse disagree 3 agree 12 ... written by cinapek, September 12, 2008 00:50:16 Sorry, I accidently missed copying the end of my post because I was logged out by the system. The gist of my post is this : I can understand the reasons for NOT sending our kids to SK schools for all the reasons I mentioned above, but if we DON'T, we will never get out of this vicious cycle. report abuse disagree 3 agree 2 ... written by teo siew chin, September 12, 2008 08:37:15 OMG Cinapek - how can you parents put up with such a crap-of-a-school-system? i can take the filth and dirt of a stinky toilet but teachers who are not dedicated to the profession!! you parents should protest, violently even! report abuse disagree 1 agree 2 ... written by miwaki, September 12, 2008 09:30:10 Sorry,cinapek,there is no way I will deprive my children of chinese education because chinese languange is so important to me.How can you understand Mahayana buddhism without the knowledge of Chinese language ?How can you understand the beauty of Confucianism without the knowledge of chinese language ? How can you face a chinese from China,Homh Long or Taiwan if you do not understand chinese language.The worst is how can you face a Mat Salleh who is fluent in Chinese language ? I can afford to be illiterate in chinese language if I'm not a chinese but sorry,I'm a chinese and a mahayana buddhist. report abuse disagree 8 agree 7 ... written by Rhan, September 12, 2008 09:58:08 Miwaki, Base on cinapek logic, you should migrate back to China. Btw, cinapek article also imply that the Malay should migrate to Arab. report abuse disagree 4 agree 6 ... written by densemy, September 12, 2008 10:06:39 Language language language... will the debate never cease? Everyone wants THEIR language to be the lingua franca. Just the same as everyone wants their version of the road rules to be the REAL version. The result... National Chaos Here's my view. English should be the language of education and international communication. All you people who think that Mandarin is going to be the international language of the future... forget it. All chinese learn english as a second language, compulsorily. And did you find that the world of commerce and science adopted Japanese when Japan was a major economic force. English has the other huge advantage in Malaysia as it bye passes all the squabbling that would go on as the B school fights the M school which fights the T school BM should be maintained as a compulsory second language... and should be promoted as the language of literature and the arts, song and poetry. As a language for science and business its a joke. Unless you foster its role in the arts it will very soon become extinct through irrelevence Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil... and whatever other languages you like to think of should become optional third languages And of course it goes without saying that in the New Malaysia with no racial divides then there should be only ONE school system report abuse disagree 1 agree 6 ... written by cinapek, September 12, 2008 11:12:44 densemi : I agree. ONE school system. Then there would probably be no need for rubbish like National Service and this "program muhibbah" and that "unity program" etc. Rhan : I didn't imply that, but now that you mention it... Teo Siew Chin : Because ALL SK schools have their weaknesses. My kids are doing very well in their school despite all its weaknesses. We try our best to notify the PIBG whenever things need to be looked into. Lest some folks think I don't love my kids, by sending them to an SK school, let me explain. I believe that THIS is reality. Our system sucks. Lots of things in Malaysia suck. There is racial bias. There is religious bias. Better to let my kids experience this first hand and learn how to deal with it than to live in ignorance. Beside, my kids know that we are there for them 24/7. Miwaki : Lots of parents think I am stupid for sending my kids to an SK school when they can do very well in a Chinese school. I can understand your views but I am not a Buddhist. Yes, learn Chinese. Yes, learn to appreciate your religious values. But learn all these in the context of the BIG picture. I don't want to get into an argument with you (I prefer that we agree to disagree) but as you appreciate the beauty of Confucianism, do our fellow Malay and Indian children benefit by seeing and feeling it's beauty in action as they interact with your children? What about their future in Malaysia? When they are grown up and you are not here on earth, will they be able to share a meal with an Indian and Malay? Will they be able to understand each other? Or are you waiting for 3 months of National Service to inculcate in your children the appreciation for other races and religiions? My point is this... as long as we CHOOSE to segregate our children in schools and live our own ideals instead of making a CONSCIOUS decision to walk the difficult path for the sake of our nation's future, there will continue to be a deepening racial, religious and ideological gap between ALL Malaysians. And again, as this vicious cycle continues, the SK schools and their "jaguh kampung" mentality will lose out on all the benefits of having a balanced racial and religious community of students. report abuse disagree 2 agree 4 ... written by RickK, September 12, 2008 11:51:29 Thank you very much doctor.I praise the God of heaven and earth that there are people like you.And I pray that there will be more like you. However, my only fear is that through your good intentions,like those of the MB of Selangor vis a vis the UiTM suggestions, the PR and the non-Malays may be made a bogey again. The fires of the latest ruckus have barely been put out and we do not wish another opportunity to arise for rabble rousers to take advantage of to say,'there,I told you so'. For the moment, we don't need this. For your kind thoughts and good intentions for all,including the bumis themselves, may God richly bless you. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by DontPlayGod, September 12, 2008 12:30:50 If only we have more Malay leaders like Dr. Azly Rahman, RPK and many others, Malaysia is sure to reach developed status with a first class Government and first class facilities. And if only these outstanding Malay and wise Malay leaders go into politics ..... and kick out racist UMNO leaders like Ahmad Ismail, Amirrudin, Bung Mokhtar, Nazri.. report abuse disagree 2 agree 4 ... written by renoir, September 12, 2008 12:42:55 Cinapek wrote: >I can understand the reasons for NOT sending our kids to SK schools for all the reasons I mentioned above, but if we DON'T, we will never get out of this vicious cycle.]] I take it that by "vicious cycle" you mean the cycle of a continuing segregated school system. But I'm at a loss when that seems to imply that parents should send their children to a school with the horrors described just for the sake of a non-segregated system. I don't know how many parents would, if they have a choice. I certainly wouldn't. In fact, I'd rather give my children home schooling than send them to an sk school of your description. It wasn't always that way. Up to the 60s most non-Malay parents preferred to send their children to mission schools than to vernacular schools. Then came THE GREAT SABOTAGE - the downgrading of mission schools by moving in rural students (and later, teachers) who were unprepared for the high standards and sending out town students to study in more rural settings. Let me give an example. In most states, big Methodist schools tended to situate themselves in the bigger cities, while smaller versions - those without Form 6 - resided in the smaller towns. The smaller schools served partly as feeder schools. Qualified students used to go to the bigger city schools for their secondary, upper secondary, and pre-university studies. These transfer students were well-prepared as there was a continuity in their syllabi, a familiar pedagogy, similar required standards as well as intangibles such as school ethos. After Merdeka, however, these schools were "persuaded" to become government-aided schools. At first, there was the promise of non-interference in most school matters such as textbooks, the hiring of teachers, and student enrolment. By around 1962 or so, however, I started hearing things about the government not wanting the "elitism" in such schools (this at a time when they were working hard to foster elitism in MCKK - an institution which, with apologies to RPK and others, were not considered by any Methodist student as a serious academic rival). By the late 60s/early 70s, I heard that my nephew couldn't get into the main Methodist school of his choice. His MCE grades were excellent, yet he couldn't do his Form 6 studies in a school system he was brought up to love so much. Now for the double-whammy - while he was sent to an even more rural school for his pre-U studies, hundreds of rural students, mainly Malays, were sent to the city Methodist school. My nephew's rural school didn't have qualified teachers for his subjects, so substitute teachers - when available - were used. After a term or so, he left school and decided to study on his own for his lower and upper six (or subsidiary and principle levels) exams. Since he couldn't do lab work, he decided to switch from science to arts. He got through - on his own - with flying colors and managed to enter MU. To be continued report abuse disagree 1 agree 12 ... written by renoir, September 12, 2008 12:54:27 Continued From the seventies onwards, the Methodist schools slowly but surely lost their former identity and with that the school ethos. Standards dropped as poorly trained teachers started to walk along their former august corridors. There was really nothing wrong with sending in rural students, provided they were qualified. Many simply weren't. And after the early 70s, when Tun Dr.Ismail talked about "sacrificing efficiency for the sake of unity", everything plummeted, including unity. By the late seventies, the first batches of poorly trained teachers had been injected in most schools. Below was what a high school "English" teacher taught his student: 1. Tom run every day. Explanation: "Tom" singular and so no "s" for "run." 2. They eats ice cream. Explanation: "They" plural and so add "s" for "eat." He'd obviously mixed up the functions of verbs and nouns/pronouns. I left the country around that time. Today, retired and back home with my relatives and friends, I often walk past a certain school in KL. One day, I saw a fat young lady with a fatter backside teaching PE in the school padang. She was carrying a javelin like one would carry a poker to stir at a fireplace. The @#%&* didn't know the first thing regarding the teaching of javelins: ALWAYS CARRY IT UPRIGHT, close to your body, when you go anywhere with it. Otherwise you might just gouge out somebody's eye. As it happened, she nearly did that to a couple of her students. Our national schools system is a mess, and it would take decades to thoroughly reform it. But that must be done before it becomes attractive enough for parents to send their children there. However, things are generally better in the wholly-Malay residential schools. Unlike vernacular schools, these all-Malay residential schools are fully government-funded, often with much better facilities than many overcrowded Chinese vernacular schools. Now if such residential schools are opened for all ethnic groups, there's a possibility that they might draw a substantial number of Chinese and Indian pupils away from the vernacular schools. That could be the first step in the long march towards an integrated school system (if such a system is philosophical desirable, but we'll discuss that aspect another time). LChuah report abuse disagree 1 agree 14 ... written by Rhan, September 12, 2008 13:46:48 if such a system is philosophical desirable, If we go against this so call desirable system, we were asked to migrate again. The Honkies debate fiercely on which school language system to stay on, the conclusion is to preserve both English and Chinese (Cantonese) system and let the parents and their kids to choose. Even the Communist China is on the discussion whether they should create more system for the parents to choose. Cinapek, here in Malaysia, we don’t CHOOSE because there is not much choice. report abuse disagree 3 agree 7 ... written by Rhan, September 12, 2008 14:06:42 Btw, to those who could learn Chinese at home and 24/7 get ready for their children, i say congratulation. I bet you people are the one who bring your kids for a holiday to see padi field, rubber tree and cow. report abuse disagree 6 agree 3 ... written by renoir, September 12, 2008 14:30:17 I wrote: "if such a system is philosophical desirable" Typo. Should be "philosophically desirable." Yes, Rhan. That indeed is the question. What's diversity if the choices are limited? Worse, if some people say we "MUST" follow only one system? Then there's the problem of what "nation" or "nationhood" means. Like many of my Muslim friends, I take a dim view of the very idea of "nationhood" as defined by nationalistic people. To me, "nation" is an organic thing like "gemeinshaft" - something that binds us through constant, mutual interactions. This indeed could be helped along through an integrated school system, but then it also presupposes that the rest of the puzzleboard is complete. It presupposes that the powers-that-be are truly sincere in WANTING such close, emotional, relationships. When ketuanan Melayu is still considered legitimate, when Muslims are asked not to share even washed eating utensils with non-Muslims, when people could claim a share of the company you built up with sweat and tears with no other reason than that they're "bumiputras" (Locke would be horrified at this disrespect of property rights), when after several decades you're still called "squatters," "pendatangs," etc., I think non-Malays could be excused for being a LITTLE skeptical of that kind of sincerity. As I said before concerning this topic, the first thing some people should remember is this advice: "Physician, heal thyself." Unless there's a change of heart among the leadership AND this change is widely and transparently expressed, any talk of national unity would be seen as a sick joke. But...who knows? Perhaps PR might be able to give this country a fresh start. LChuah report abuse disagree 2 agree 12 ... written by Loh, September 12, 2008 18:54:08 From CheDet.com 12/9/2008: The Barisan National ///1. There is a tendency these days to condemn the National Front as being effete and an obstacle to the modern concepts of a free democratic Government. The miserable performance of the Barisan Nasional in the March elections is attributed by foreign observers as evidence of a wind of change, as a rejection of race-based politics of the past. 2. They believe that the Malay, Chinese and Indian voters voted for a change to a more liberal regime.///--TDM Whatever the reasons given for the cause of the political debacle of BN, the people are happy that soon there is a possibility of a two-party system where race politics will be consigned to history. The rejection of race-based politics has been the norm since 1969 elections. That was why the opposition parties had gathered a significant share of votes in every election since 1969, though the perverted gerrymandering of parliamentary demarcation did not allow opposition proportionate number of seats. The UMNO government had been capable in making Malays believe that they have no future without UMNO as the guardian. UMNO government with its decades of experience was able to implement populist policies of not only giving Malays the special preference in life, but also have the implementation seen to be exploitative of non-Malays. That ensures that BN candidates are returned in Malay majority areas. Malays voters are wise to know that the non-UMNO candidates are needed to allow UMNO a free ride on the policies that benefit the Malays. PM AAB government allowed some liberal views in the press and and the advent of electronic media helped to expose corruption practices for all to see. Consequently, the myth that NEP was needed for the ordinary Malays was exposed, and Malays, especially the middle class know for the first time that NEP had in fact been hijacked for the few families connected to Putrajaya. It was the Malays who cast the votes in March 2008 election to deny BN the 2-third majority. TDM had his own secret desire and agenda to see that AAB was denied the 2/3 majority so that this article could appear. He is still in the mood of total denial. Of course AAB believe that BN was such a wonderful government that he considered a bit of ‘liberation’ serves no harm. It was TDM, the inventor of racial politics and cronyism knew the danger of having his secret exposed. It would be true that TDM might still have been able to be in control with 2/3 majority if he was in power, provided he did not give Anwar the black eye back in 1998. report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by Loh, September 12, 2008 19:14:32 ///3. I have explained in a previous article that the debacle suffered by the Barisan Nasional was due to the voters' disgust with the leadership of Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. 4. Let us examine the course of Malaysian politics leading up to the 2008 debacle in order to appreciate what happened. For almost half a century the Alliance / Barisan Nasional Governments had had the full support of the peoples of all races. There were ups and downs but the Barisan Nasional would invariably win elections with a 2/3 majority in Parliament. Other than Kelantan, the states had always elected Barisan Nasional Governments. Sabah for a time was not with Barisan Nasional. 5. In 1999 Elections Malay support of the Barisan Nasional was eroded because of sympathy for Anwar Ibrahim. But the Chinese strongly backed the Barisan Nasional to give it its usual 2/3rd majority and opposition stalwarts like Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang, who had never been defeated before, lost their seats.///---TDM The Chinese formed the so-called Suqiu group which misjudged the character of TDM. They thought that TDM should be able to end NEP in 1990 since it had run its course of 20 years by then. The offered TDM the bonus of voting for TDM if TDM would only carry out the duties entrusted to him in ending the exploitative policies which other communities have left to UMNO to implement to its hearts content. For example, Article 13 provides that the King should reserve a reasonable proportion of education opportunities, such as no of seats to Malays, MARA colleges, institutes and universities had reserved 100% of the education opportunities exclusively for Malays. That was against the constitution and stated NEP objective. TDM gave his words to implement changes. Unfortunately, immediately after the election TDM attacked the Chinese community and negated on his promise. TDM accused the Chinese of taking advantage of his weakness and resorted to calling them extremists and other unkind term. It was beyond TDM’s understanding that the Chinese are law abiding, and would only use its right to vote, just like other communities. The Chinese communities thought that TDM should be given the benefit of understanding of what the Chinese community looked for and considered as fair request, and they acted on their bargain as promised by TDM. Should they have known what TDM would cheat them of his promise, they would have done like what they did in March 2008. TDM in 1999 would have to be facing UMNO members like AAB is doing now if BN lose a few states, and the MBs of these state suddenly found that their lifelong career of easy money political profession had come to an abrupt end. The Chinese helped TDM but he is still ungrateful as ever. He now says that the Chinese gave him the support as if he was such a wonderful leader to the Chinese community. On the contrary his claim of Chinese support implies that the Chinese were stupid and did not know their rights, and worse that the Chinese were said to agree to all those discriminatory policies UMNO implemented against the non-Malays. ///6. Had the trend been towards change and rejection of the Barisan Nasional the 2004 election would show this. But far from being rejected the Barisan Nasional swept through with its best ever result, getting 9/10th of the seats in Parliament, regaining Terengganu and almost capturing Kelantan.///--TDM The people in 2004 voted for change. The more they hate the policies, corruption, cronyism, Anwar black eye administered by TDM, the more eager the voters wanted to show AAB how they detested TDM. The result of 2004 was a rebound of suppression after 22 years of dictatorial rule. TDM would be happy to hear that the 2004 results were not based on the work of AAB. Certainly it was not AAB’s good work. It was the hope and aspiration of the people that the long night has passed, and the morrow would be better. Any fool who headed UMNO in 2004 would have gotten the same results. TDM must be regretting that he did not put Najib in as President then. But he could not trust Najib then. report abuse disagree 0 agree 2 ... written by Loh, September 12, 2008 19:42:16 ///7. All signs point to the total acceptance of the Barisan Nasional and the Governments it had formed. And why not? Had not the Barisan Nasional built this country until it has become the most developed of developing countries, conducted free elections, brought stability and unprecedented economic development and achieved a degree of racial harmony which is the model for many multiracial countries of the world.///--TDM Anybody was able to build all the infrastructures with abundant resources. The 22 years TDM in the reign has caused the per capita GDP to be only one-fifth of Singapore which had not even water as their natural resources. A Singapore Minister said that the success of a statesman lies in changing the mindset of the people, to be noble and respectable. TDM has changed the mindset of Malays to be dependent on UMNO. They live and breathe if UMNO is well or else they die. TDM would not even bother about the promise of Tun Ismail who cared for the pride of the Malay race. Tun Ismail said that Malays would on their own forgo the provision under Article 153, out of pride, when they no long need it. TDM claims that Malays are forever not ready to stand on their own feet. The forefathers thought that 15 years were time enough for review and repeal Article153. TDM considers 51 years not sufficient. What was worse was when AAB tried a different approach to make Malays independent of NEP, TDM Said that AAB did not do enough for Malays. TDM used the pride of Malays for his own benefits. Only TDM chose to believe that the so-called racial harmony in Malaysia could ever be a model for many multiracial countries of the world. He must have been enquired on how the country has not repeated - its may 13. Surely they were polite not to ask how he was able to control corruption in the country! ///8. It was not all smooth sailing of course. There were problems - political, economic, religious and social. But all these had not reduced support for the Barisan Nasional or affected the progress and stability of the country under BN Governments unduly. 9. Can anyone say that the Barisan Nasional had not provided good Governments in the country? Of course the opposition cannot be expected to say it. But foreign observers have all been astounded at the progress made by this tin and rubber country which had bloomed into a modern industrial country. ///---TDM Comparing to Myanmar, Malaysia has progressed tremendously. But when compared to Singapore what would people say? Foreign observers thought that after with corruption and nepotism imbedded in government services, we are only fit to be compared to Burma. Vietnam adopted market economy in 1992. She will within the next decade surpass Malaysia economically. The British has left a good system of government with institutions that were ranked high in the world. Unfortunately TDM’s sacking of Tun Saleh Abbas as Lord President has killed the judiciary. Since then the Cabinet has been used as the office of an absolute monarch, and the PM, the absolute emperor. Malaysia is a failed state to all who are not in denial. The practice of public tender has been replaced with negotiated contracts, and it has been estimated that half of Petronas’ contribution of a trillion RM has gone to private pockets. report abuse disagree 0 agree 2 ... written by Loh, September 12, 2008 19:52:56 ///10. There were people who all along had criticised what they term as the lack of democracy in this country, the "controlled" press and electronic media, the ISA (Internal Security Act) and curbs on the open discussion of sensitive issues. But obviously these people were in the minority and had never been able to influence the voters into rejecting Barisan Nasional. ///--TDM That is the classic example of might is right. With the power of the state, it was possible to keep the voters foolishly voting for BN al the time. Parliamentary democracy has long been in the form of making the people go to the polling stations to move his pencils, with rewards for their action. Money politics has seen its worst form in this country. ///11. After the stunning victory of Barisan Nasional in 2004 why has it been clearly rejected in 2008? What happened between 2004 and 2008? Can it be that after almost 50 years of supporting race-based politics the voters have decided to reject it and opt for non-racial politics? Have the people in the kampong suddenly yearned for more liberalism? If so why did they give strong support to PAS, a race-religious party which is anything but liberal?///--TDM Race politics has been bad and has caused this country to be forever at the lowest rung of economic development. The race-based discriminatory policies have seen brain drains and the educated do not help to make structural change to the economy. The immediate cause of the 2008 election results was the sombong attitude of UMNOputras. Malacca MB found it proper to tell PPP to leave BN. Indians were said not to matter in the election. The Keris waving in the UMNO assembly, and the question when would the keris be used, and the threat for another May 13 giving credence to the perception that since the Malays were happy about it, they had organized it. Non-Malays were suffering at the unfair policy. To add insult to injury, it was claimed that the rights were birth right. ///12. Maybe the ordinary Chinese are more sophisticated than the rural Malays. Maybe they have now rejected racial politics. But as far as can be made out the Chinese are upset over the economic situation. Even hawkers and small traders; the subcontractors, the retail shops owners are unhappy with the Government. They are however very cautious about criticising Dato Seri Abdullah but when pressed they admit that they wanted Abdullah out but dared not say it aloud for fear of being accused of rejecting Malay leadership. They also worry about their businesses being singled out for some unpleasant treatment like being investigated by the Inland Revenue Board.///---TDM The Chinese have also been very cautious about criticising TDM as a racist and anti Chinese but when pressed they admit that they hoped TDM was never admitted to UMNO but dared not say it aloud for fear of action like Operation Lallang. report abuse disagree 0 agree 2 ... written by Loh, September 12, 2008 20:04:21 ///13. So, unable to do anything else they cast their votes for the opposition. With that the Barisan Nasional, after getting the biggest number of Parliamentary seats in the history of the Alliance / Barisan Nasional went down and achieved the worst result in its history. Was this rejection of Barisan candidates due to the rejection of the Barisan Nasional coalition?///--TDM The non-Malays have been doing it all these years. It is the Malays who have now come to realized that BN used their name for their benefits. The policy of getting them up the academic certificate level but with degree incommensurate with their paper qualifications made many a Malay graduate hide their university degrees but instead used their high school certificate for jobs. They could have advanced in their job without having to spend the extra years in the universities. But then UMNO would not be able to say that they care for the Malays, and discriminate the Chinese. It is the scheme of making UMNO look good as saviour of Malay race that the tens of thousands of students who could have excelled in other fields of jobs and occupations have to suffer the indignity of having to hide their paper qualifications of higher education. They have UMNO to thank for, and so they vote their feeling accordingly. ///14. The votes that the opposition parties got were not due to a desire to replace the Barisan Nasional with the unstructured Pakatan Rakyat. They were protest votes. But is it protest against the Barisan Nasional party? Is it a rejection of race-based politics? I don't think so. ///--TDM Yes, race-based policies are still accepted by the people who stand to benefit. The people will have only Malaysia as its world. They would acquire the competition-deficiency syndrome. They can stay forever in the country to await handouts, and the politicians will have the opportunity to continue with the balancing acts, and be indispensable like TDM claims himself to be. The whole society is held hostage to insincere coexistence with no possibility of advancement, so that the politicians would continue to be in the seats of power to manipulate what they have the expertise to do so. Would TDM please wake up? The country that had worst racial disharmony in the 1960s have now become race-blind in life while we might have some misunderstanding between races in the post 1969 years, it has developed into the situation where people of different races are born enemies. If the people don’t think so, the political set up, and the government make sure that they are polarized by race and religion. This country will be a pariah which does not deserve a seat in the United Nation if it persists to continue with race-based politics ///15. It is a protest against the poor leadership of the BN, rather than the BN itself. The people saw a BN leader who was indecisive, unable to deal with the increasing cost of living, flip-flopping, unable to stimulate the economy and above all is known for putting his family's interest above that of State. Everyone knows about the 4th Floor and the role of Khairy Jamaluddin's cronies in determining policies and deciding on the business activities of the country. People consider these arrogant young people as contributing to the poor performance of the Prime Minister.///---TDM I sense that AAB is the greatest enemy TDM has ever cultivated. The moment he sees AAB’s front, TDM ‘s hatred of him pierces through to his back. ///16. The Barisan Nasional coalition is still the best political party in Malaysia. It gave due consideration to the problems of all the Malaysian parties and the races they represent. And there can be no denying that the BN had built the Malaysia that we see today.///--TDM Had Onn Jaafar been alive today, he would be the saddest person in the country. He would not have accepted that a country which he wanted formed would turnout to champion for mono race and single religion. The situation now would be most unfamiliar to him in all his adult life, and that was when the society was yet under developed. Onn Jaafar would never feel proud of the Malaysia we find today. ///17. It would be a pity if, as the Malay saying goes, "we burn the mosquito net because of one mosquito". 18. What needs to be done is to get rid of the mosquito but continue to use the net.///--TDM It depends on the harm that particular mosquito could cause. It is hard to imagine that one man in the person of TDM could have caused so much suffering to the people in Malaysia in general, and the polarization of Malaysian citizens in particular. If we cannot get rid of the mosquito in the personality of TDM, it is worth the while to burn the mosquito net. The loss of the net is worth it. report abuse disagree 0 agree 4 ... written by MalaysianUnited, September 13, 2008 00:42:34 semua sekolah ada kelemahannya..nak kata SK ada guru tak berkualitilah, itu semua tak betul. Kebanyakkan top scorer dalam kurikulum dan kokurikulum adalah datangnya dari SK. Rujuk sahaja sekolah2 yang bertaraf kluster. Paling penting, adalah integriti dan perpaduan..SK the best!! Persoalan guru tak berkualitilah..itu dah lapuk dah!! wake up saudaraku, are u still sleeping with PM??.. report abuse disagree 3 agree 2 ... written by renoir, September 13, 2008 18:15:22 MalaysianUnited wrote: >semua sekolah ada kelemahannya..nak kata SK ada guru tak berkualitilah, itu semua tak betul.]] See? The second part of the sentence doesn't even jive with the first. All schools have their weaknesses doesn't mean that some don't have more (or less) than others. Also, all schools have weaknesses doesn't preclude the fact that sk schools lack guru yang berkualiti. Indeed, because of the lack of competition in teacher selection, having poor quality teachers is to be expected. Another reason, of course, is that these teachers - of whatever ethnic group - tend to be former students of the decaying sk school system. Here, then, is the real vicious cycle, and the reason why I said it'll take a long time for reforms to take root. For it's one thing to start a meritocratic student enrollment, and quite another to upgrade the tens of thousands of poorly qualified teachers. During the sixties, only a few thousand were selected for teacher training from perhaps about 25 - 30 thousand applications. Today, competition isn't only easier, but as stated above the quality of applicants as a whole has deteriorated. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. LChuah report abuse disagree 1 agree 7 ... written by BUTEK, September 14, 2008 00:01:49 If MRSM be open to non bumis than LIM KOK WING AND UNITAR OR SRJKC MUST ALSO BE OPEN UP TO MALAYS AND OTHER BUMIS... ALL THE CHINESE TYCOONS SHOULD GIVE EQUAL OPURTUNITY TO THE BUMIS TO GET SPONSORSHIP JUST LIKE THE CHINESE.... report abuse disagree 3 agree 3 ... written by renoir, September 14, 2008 01:12:18 BUTEK wrote: >If MRSM be open to non bumis than LIM KOK WING AND UNITAR OR SRJKC MUST ALSO BE OPEN UP TO MALAYS AND OTHER BUMIS...]] OF COURSE!!! In fact, if Lim Kok Wing or SRJK aren't open to ALL races, they should be OUTLAWED. But then anyone from any ethnic group could go into those institutions - they're about 60,000 non-Chinese in the SRJKCs, most of them Malays. This, in spite of the fact that the Chinese schools are already overcrowded. Lim Kok Wing is a private university, and they don't give a lot of scholarships to any ethnic group. I don't want to belittle the private "university colleges" but so far as I know, they exist to make money. I've seen even the best private colleges, have gone over some of those students' works, and believe me, the quality isn't something to brag about. I pity the many parents who gave their hard-earned money to study in those places. About "UNITAR" I think you mean UTAR - UNITAR is mostly reserved for Malays - I know it's open to all too. Again, despite its reputation, the quality is suspect. Quite often, students from these private outfits did do well overseas, but as I pointed out many years ago, that's IN SPITE OF their "education" rather than because of it. Many non-Malay students knew they'd to know their stuff in order to compete in the dog-eat-dog capitalist world, and hence put in tremendous amount of hours in their studies. IF MERITOCRACY IS ENFORCED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, AND TRULY QUALIFIED LECTURERS HIRED, MANY OF THE PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS WOULD GO BANKRUPT. If sk schools are energized with a multiracial, multireligious staff and its curriculla are tailored for all races, many vernacular schools would return to what it was during the 50s and early 60s - a second and reluctant option for most non-Malay parents. > ALL THE CHINESE TYCOONS SHOULD GIVE EQUAL OPURTUNITY TO THE BUMIS TO GET SPONSORSHIP JUST LIKE THE CHINESE]] Try to differentiate between private and public wealth. Secondly, look around and see how many Malay tycoons there are, including those who're merely state assemblymen but somehow able to own magnificent palaces. The largest middle class today are the Malays, not the Chinese. Go to as many shopping complexes today and see who has the money to spend, and who merely window-shopped. Further, if the billions of dollars had not been lost in failed BN projects, nearly every deserving Malaysian - not to say Malays or Chinese or Indians - would be able to get a scholarship. LChuah report abuse disagree 1 agree 6 ... written by Rhan, September 14, 2008 13:41:07 LChuah, To you, Petra and Teresa, 但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。 Though miles apart, could men but live for ever Dreaming they shared this moonlight endlessly! To the rest, I have no problem to read what is written by Su Dong Poh, RPK and Hishamuddin. Can you? Am I not integrated enough? Our university is a good mirror of one integrated system, how much it achieve in term of academic and nationalism? While the rich go to international school and meet up the smart and the privilege son of soil in a foreign university, can’t the poor and the middle class choose to have a proper education and go to one affordable university in Singapore, Taiwan and China? Please get the priority right. Wish you all a happy and fearless Mid Autumn festival. report abuse disagree 2 agree 4 ... written by genius at work, September 19, 2008 21:49:42 Looking at the no. of comments that's coming on for this subject really show there is real cause for concern in this area. I am not so sure whether it is a solution the Education Ministry cannot find or don't want to find. For me, the solution is a simple straight forward matter. But why is it that nobody wants to approach it that way? All we need is NOT to confuse LANGUAGE and MEDIUM of instruction for other subjects in an education environment. All the linguists want is their language to flourish and this can be done very easily by setting up language depts in every school. So we can have all kinds of popular languages available in most schools for students to learn. And here, we are mainly arguing about promoting Bahasa Malaysia, English and inidvidual mother tongue languages (mainly, Mandarin/Tamil/Arabic/other regional languages). Make it compulsory for every student to learn at least three languages: the national language, the international language (English) and a third language of their choice which most often will be the mother tongue. Then comes the question of medium of instruction for other subjects like Maths, Science, History, Geography etc. What is the rational of deciding the medium of instruction for these subjects. One of the main reasons is the availabilty of learning/research resources in a particular language. The other reason is the ease at which students can grasp the subject matter in a given language/medium. We need a dual-system here b'cos of our national agenda and our international competitiveness for economic advancement. Therefore the solution is to have a dual education system of BM-medium and English-medium education for the whole country. BM-medium for people who are not aspiring to go international and prefer to work in government sectors where predominantly BM is used for all purposes of communication. The English-medium will cater for the ones who want to excel at the international front. The sizes and numbers of the institutions can be determined according to the demand from the people. The language needs of each individual race will be taken care by the various language depts. And those fighting for vernacular schools, pls tell me why do send your children to an English-medium university for higher education if you are so convinced about the better education in the vernacular languages??? I am sure it is because the choice is between the local languages and English-medium is not available. When everything else is based on demand and supply... why is EDUCATION alone is NOT based on demand and supply??? Why can't the people chose how they want to educate their children??? report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by darkchocolate1, September 21, 2008 18:35:01 It appears that popular belief now is that the only racists in this country are Malays. Especially those from a racial party like UMNO. It appears that if Malays speak up for the rights of their community, they are racists. But if others do it, they are defenders of their race. Whther they are from MCA, MIC, DAP, Hindraf Suqiu etc etc Deep down we all suffer some racial prejudice in varying degrees. In my opinion, the best way to foster racial unity and understanding is to start in the schools where the children have not yet been ingrained with the prejudices of their parents. And to do that I suggest that we unify all the schools and have one main medium of instruction, with English as a compulsory subject for everyone to obtain a credit or whatever it is called now, before a pupil can proceed further. Abolish and dissolve all the vernacular schools as they are the principal reason why we are still more Malay than Malaysian, more Chinese than Malaysian, more Indian than Malaysian. report abuse disagree 1 agree 0 Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment. You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet. |
MRSM taught its early students how to think critically and creatively, not to kowtow to leaders who abuse power and who are corrupt to the core. The philosophy was to create leaders, not followers. It was meant to transform the nation into an ethical polity, not destroy it beyond repair.
Our children and grandchildren must be taught that education is not an elitist enterprise that only serves the rich and the privileged. The children of all races, especially from families of the abject poor must be taken out of their dehumanising condition, given the privileges of the bumiputera, educated by the best and brightest teachers who do not hold any prejudices, and groomed to become the 'new bumiputera' who will be committed to establish a new republic of virtue and social justice.
