Blame the system

The letter to the editor which appeared in the  star of 20th November 2008 seems appropriate.

The most relevant part for me:

“Our education system is clearly failing. To make matters worse, we suddenly change our teaching medium for Science and Mathematics to English without proper consultation and preparation.

We have to stop simplifying our problem by blaming the medium. No language can cure this illness. I bet even if we change the medium to totally English, there will be no change in the quality of our graduates.

We will still be producing robots but perhaps English-speaking robots. “

 

My sentiments exactly - the medium of instruction is not the culprit. When we get the basics right, the product of the Malaysian education system would be on par with the best in the world. At the moment we are almost always at the bottom of the ladder, neither here nor there with the children, the victims. Of course, the leaders would never take responsibility for the debacle, safe in their cocoons. The common people are the ones who continue to suffer.

Please, oh please, do something positive before more innocents become victims of ill-conceived ideas. Put aside the pride, and just for once, come together for the sake of the nation. Malaysia, it is the only one I can call home.

 

A leopard???

Two headlines:

 “Zaid  sticking to his decision” and “Anwar  branded a hypocrite on ISA”.

 A study in contrasts. One quits and the other stayed put for more than 10 years. People can and do change but does the leopard change its spots?

Language is no barrier

The letter which appeared in the star of 10 September 2008, from a 19 year old student might not sway the opinion of those in favour of continuing teaching science and mathematics in English to Malaysian students. Some highlights:

"I have found that my friends and I have not had much problem switching between languages even though we were taught S & M in three different languages. So I can conclude through my experience, and I’m sure most students would agree, that language isn’t the issue here.

However, the quality of education in these two subjects has greatly deteriorated over the years.

I say, settle on one language and focus on improving the quality of our education."

There was another letter which appeared in the nst of 11 September 2008. Some highlights:

"Rembau member of parliament Khairy Jamaluddin ("It's high time we ditched this policy" -- NST, Sept 9) makes an important point in questioning the policy of teaching Science and Maths in English: that it goes against the core value of educational equity for all social strata.

The policy has a strong class bias, favouring children from urban families with higher income.

It acts to widen gaps between rich and poor, urban and rural."

The main gist of this ongoing debate to me is the deteriorating quality of education in this country and the unequal distribution of opportunities to deserving students. The victims are the students. A flawed policy must be acknowledged as such. It is not too late to take remedial action and follow the recommendations from the study, ie, improve the English language standards but not by teaching other subjects in the language. The emphasis should be teaching the language itself and improving the overall education system.

Teaching of science and maths in English

I thought the letter from KJ which appeared in the nst  of 9^th September 2008 quite balanced.

Some highlights:

"The issue here is not the importance of English.

Furthermore, the problems and weaknesses of this policy are not confined to one ethnic group. The study revealed that the ones who gained from the policy were a small percentage of Malay students from upper middle-class families who went to good, urban schools. The paper further showed that even Chinese students struggled with learning Maths and Science when taught in English, demonstrating that this is a problem that cuts across ethnic lines.

They don't need to be taught Maths and Science in English to read reference books in English later on. They just need to be proficient in English, which clearly this policy has failed to achieve.

It is high time we ditched this policy for the failure that it is and learnt from an episode of a flawed and ill-conceived policy defeating what were, I presume, noble intentions."

There was another letter which appeared in the star  of 8^th September 2008 on the same topic  from someone who was taught science and maths in Bahasa Malaysia.

Some highlights:

"Hence, my main points are:

1. It is not important for English to be the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics. Stop wasting money and resources trying to implement this.

2. The standard of English in our schools has been deteriorating for so long that many of the teachers we have in schools are themselves not proficient in English.

3. The problem is the teaching of the English language itself. Don’t send Science and Mathematics teachers for English courses when some English teachers themselves need English courses, and English teachers who don’t need English courses need a useful syllabus from which to teach!

5. Don’t make the use of Bahasa Malaysia the scapegoat. It is important for Bahasa Malaysia to remain the medium of instruction in schools for the sake of national identity, which is vital for genuine national unity.

Finally, please identify and address the real problems in our school system.

Make sure Science and Mathematics are taught properly, and don’t discriminate against students who are poor in English but may have the aptitude for Science or Mathematics."

Food for thought.

Politically blind and tone deaf?

The article with the above headline which appeared in the sun of 8^th September 2008 highlights the situation fair minded Malaysians are facing now.

The next to last paragraph in the article was especially telling:

As PR leader, a politician from Penang, and a man who says he will abolish the New Economic Policy and by extension an economic policy based on racial requirements rather than need, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has yet to take a public stand on this issue. His silence is disappointing. It also suggests political analysts who laud PR as breaking the mould of racial politics are deluding themselves. What was heralded as a "new dawn" in Malaysian politics may well turn out to be a "false dawn".

Politicians who are just plain arrogant abound in this day and age, there is no other word for this resurgence of uncouth behaviour. The thinking that ‘we’, a particular community, are the only group entitled to call this fair land our home is the height of folly. Even in the heat of election campaigning, there is no excuse for such utterances. There still persist that idea, I’m not sure who planted it, that the rest be damned, we can make it on our own.

Reality check is in order here. We are in this together, sink or swim as one. That should be the rallying call. There are bigger challenges out there in the big bad world and as a tiny nation, we must, put aside all differences and come together as one. That is the only choice for us.

Exact replica

There was a paragraph in Rehman Rashid's column which appeared in the NST of 4^th April 2008 that caught my eye.

'In December 1998, while Umno and the nation were reeling from the sacking and subsequent travails of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Mahathir told the press his successor would have to be an “exact replica of myself”.

“Some fit here, some fit there,” he said. “If they fit in completely, they will be my twin, but I don’t have one.”

Abdullah was sitting beside him at the time, smiling that crinkle-eyed smile we have all come to know so well.

I was one who admired the strength such unruffled geniality might have called for.'

The particular phrase was “exact replica of myself”. How telling. And now the good doctor rants ad infinitum about his successor? We reap what we sow – that should sum up the present situation. Shouldn't the good doctor be proud that his students are emulating and continuing his legacy, and in some instances, going beyond expectations to greater heights of mismanagement. I doubt the good doctor will see that point.

Spot On

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Star of 3^rd April 2008.

It not only puts the whole issue of extremism and Islam in the right perspective but is a clarion call to all moderate Muslims to take a stand against those who have hijacked the religion for their own benefits.

I particularly like the paragraph - “Yet, none of the moderate Muslim leaders denounce or reject the violent, hateful extremists even as they protest against a film prominently featuring them.”

I for one acknowledge that I am a guilty party to this silent apathetic stance.

The whole letter:

Extremists must be taken to task too

HAVING read Dr Chandra Muzaffar’s letter “Film is fitnah indeed” (The Star, April 1), I agree with his conclusion that Geert Wilders’ film intentionally misrepresents Islam as a religion that discriminates against non-Muslims, although I do not see why Dr Chandra considers Wilders’ views as racist when Islam is a religion, not an ethnicity.

Joining him in protest are Muslim groups and leaders worldwide, including former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Barisan Nasional Youth, the National Fatwa Council and the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia. They are all saddened by the film’s wrong portrayal of Islam as inherently violent and intolerant.

But I am also saddened to note that even as the Muslim leaders are outraged at Westerners deemed to be mocking Islam, not a peep is uttered about the extremists who call for hatred and death against non-Muslims – as captured on video in the Dutch film.

The only reason Wilders’ film is considered to be smearing Islam is because it repeatedly juxtaposes verses from the Quran with videos of terrorist attacks and extremist imams preaching hatred of non-Muslims.

If so, then why aren’t moderate Muslim leaders and groups condemning the extremists who interpret those verses as justification for their hate-mongering? Without their antics, Wilders’ film would have little material to cause provocation with.

These extremists are the ones who cause some Westerners to view Islam as a violent religion. These extremists are the ones hijacking and re-branding Islam as a religion of war and intolerance in the public eye.

In my opinion, such extremists are far more to blame for giving Islam a negative image than lone individuals such as Wilders. Who is more likely to give a religion a bad name – some mocking “outsider” who has an ulterior political motive or violent “insiders” who actually claim to follow that religion?

Yet, none of the moderate Muslim leaders denounce or reject the violent, hateful extremists even as they protest against a film prominently featuring them.

Instead, more calls for boycotts and more protests are made against Wilders – a man whose image of Islam is undoubtedly coloured by those very extremists. What image does this portray when every time, Muslim leaders attack the messenger (Wilders or newspaper cartoons), but not the message that they are noisily proclaiming – about extremists who are successfully using Islam as a rallying cry for violence and hatred?

In fact, I am certain that Wilders is counting on such a knee-jerk reaction from Muslims, with maybe some riots and spontaneous murders of innocent bystanders thrown in (such as what happened with the Jyllands-Posten controversy), in order to prove his point to the world.

If his aim is to influence public opinion into seeing all Muslims as hate-filled extremists, then I’m afraid that the prominent Muslim moderates are unwittingly aiding his agenda with their very selective denouncements.

SCOTT THONG YU YUEN,

Ipoh.

Sack bad advisers

Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik's advice that the PM should sack bad advisers is just one of the remedies needed by the present ruling government.

Dr. Lim hit the nail on the head when he also mentioned other factors that contributed to the recent mauling of the BN party at the hands of the opposition in the recently concluded 12^th Malaysian general election.

“Other reasons contributing to the losses included the arrogant attitude of some Barisan politicians, the lack of cyber campaigning and the discriminatory implementation of government policies by certain civil servants, he pointed out.”

There is no necessity for the PM to have an independent panel to find out why Malaysians rejected the BN. The few reasons mentioned by Dr. Lim should be sufficient to start an overhaul of the whole BN concept and how it implements its policies.

Of course, there is also the oft-forgotten factor of self denial.

Malaysia PM rejects calls to quit

What a difference in attitude compared to Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Granted, the PM did not lose his seat, but he is the chief architect, the leader and the man responsible for the country's current mess.

For once I agree with the good doctor. The poor guy, he has very poor judgment when it comes to appointing his successor.

The PM and his BN cohorts are so obviously out of touch with the sentiment of the people which has been festering and clamouring for a positive change for the past four years. A malice that had its seed planted from the previous administration. A promise to change the way the country is administered is just that, a promise.

Now it will be the opposition's turn to prove that they will hold true to the promises made during the election campaign. It will be an interesting battle of wits, to say the least, between the federal government who still holds the purse strings and the five opposition controlled states.

If nothing else, this is definitely the dawn of a new ear for this country.

Ticket machines: Better service by end of month

I just saw this reply which appeared in the NST of 7 February 2008.from the RapidKL management to a query from a reader regarding the ticket vending machines at KLCC.

A few gems:

'However, since the problem occurred during the weekend when we have fewer technical personnel available, there was a delay in rectifying the problem.

We truly understand the situation and constraints faced by the writer.'

Shouldn't the management deploy the same number of technicians or even more during the weekends. KLCC is a major attraction in Kuala Lumpur and there are crowds even during the weekend. If the management truly understands, this simple effort would help a lot.

'In view of the fact that the upgrading of these machines is under the purview of Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad, the asset and infrastructure owner, we discussed this matter with them some time ago but were informed the upgrading had been delayed.'

Did this problem occur only after the change of ownership? I don't think so. This particular statement seems to be a stock answer for a lot of companies who have undergone a change in ownership. The message is loud and clear, pass the buck.

'However, the upgraded machines will be in place at all stations by the end of this month.'

We'll see.

Foreigner bashing

This letter to the editor appeared in the Star of 7 February 2008.

'Foreigner-bashing in the heart of KL’s tourism belt

LAST weekend, in the vicinity of the Pavilion in KL, just outside Wisma Cosway, I witnessed a disturbing incident.

A group of young boys, aged between 13 and18, were running around in a mob. While running, if they saw someone who looked like a Bangladeshi, they would push and punch the person and quickly run away before the victim could react! I saw this happen five times within a few minutes.

Most people would brush it off as just a bunch of young punks “having fun” but the consequences can be catastrophic.

This is in the vicinity of KLCC and the Golden Triangle! What kind of international publicity would that provoke? Even worse, what if it was a local mistaken for a foreigner? Then, it would be racial time bomb!

I hope that the authorities and especially the police realise that these “minor” incidents and bad behaviour may be small to bother about now but what about the long-term effects.

What I witnessed is just the tip of an iceberg.

BAFFLED LOCAL BORN,
Subang Jaya'

This looks like the second time I've seen someone commenting on youths mobs accosting innocent bystanders. In this particular incident, the target are foreigners. As the writer says it is just a racial time bomb waiting to happen

if the victim is a Malaysian.

What exactly has happened to our youths. They have so much time on their hands that they have to resort to bashing people to get their kicks. Is this a sign that the mayhem brought by neo-nazis or football hooligans in western countries are making an appearance here?

Those entrusted with keeping the peace seems conveniently missing from the scene. Where are they? Their presence would at least be a preventive measure. A short term solution but very necessary to curb this disease in the bud.

Non-Halal food

A news item in the Straits Times Singapore dated 5 February 2008 seem eerily familiar.

The highlight of the news item for me was this paragraph:

'Religious leaders agreed that such moves by schools will result in a backlash.

Mr Rhazaly Noentil, veteran mosque leader at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), said other races will think that the Muslims are not accomodating towards others.

Religious leaders said Muslims and non-Muslims can dine together, as long as Muslims consume halal food.'

I doubt Malaysian Islamic religious authorities would even give such a statement. Maybe after some pressure from the government. Willingly, I don't think so. There are so many who are supposedly knowledgeable in Islam with a win or lose attitude when confronted with matters pertaining to the religion.

Why can't we think of others as well. They have feelings too. The authorities always stress that Islam is a very tolerant faith but in practice, there is so much blatant bulldozing of rules. When will the enlightened come forward?

Bibles confiscated

This news item appeared in the Star of 5 February 2008.

'Fu: Seized Bible copies returned to owner

PUTRAJAYA: Copies of the Bible taken from a woman at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal recently have been returned to her, Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said.

He said the that English Bible was confiscated by a Customs officer from the woman who had just returned from a visit to Manila.

He said it did not involve the ministry.

“The Customs officer has no authority to do so and on being told of the matter, we asked the Bible to be returned immediately to the person,” he said.

Fu said the incident should not have taken place, adding that he had clarified the matter with the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM).

He said the address of the person was taken but no telephone number was noted down and as a result, the ministry had to wait for the person to call to collect the books.

He was responding to a statement by the CCM secretary-general Rev Dr Hermen Shastri that a Malaysian Christian had her Bibles taken away by Customs at the airport.

Shastri said that the unilateral actions of certain government agencies were undermining the Government’s stated claims of protecting religious freedom in the country.

Last month, Fu ordered Christian children’s books with drawings of prophets to be returned to a bookshop in Kuala Lumpur after the books were seized by a unit in the ministry.'

What is happening? This is not the first time an incident like this occurred. Does the seizure of religious books by the Malaysian authorities mean non-Muslims cannot practice their religion anymore? Does everyone have to be Muslims? Even that route would be the version approved by the religious department. Are we turning into another Saudi Arabia? The only country I know where every citizen must be Muslim and practicing their approved version of the religion. Frightening thought. No wonder more and more Malaysians are leaving the country including the Muslims.

Government Jobs

This letter appeared in the Star of 1 February 2008.

Elusive job in the civil service

THE past weeks, a few government officials including our Chief Secretary have announced that the Government will change its method of recruiting people as civil servants.

This is a good move, and I hope it will able to attract excellent people to join the Government and GLCs. It will also diminish any criticism against the Government that recruitment methods are biased and selectively based on race and gender of the applicants.

However, I will like to share my experiences when applying for government positions since graduating a decade ago.

I had been applying for jobs with the PTD, government agencies and also GLCs for as long as I can remember without receiving any feedback whatsoever. I was not called for any interview.

My latest experience was when I applied for a post with a newly set-up government authority for one of the economic corridors.

I managed to pass the two interviews, including one with the managing director of the agency, with flying colours.

According to an HR official, I would get the job but they needed to do some restructuring within the organisation before they could issue me an offer letter.

I waited for nearly three months for the agency to issue a Letter of Employment (LOE) and was given a lot of excuses by their HR department for not being able to issue one immediately.

Just this week, I received a letter from the agency saying that they could not offer any LOE. They also could not tell me why they could not hire me.

Even though I do respect that it is their sole prerogative, it is very sad that this agency, which is supposed to lead government investments and projects, performs unprofessionally.

By the way, I am Malay with an overseas degree in accounting and with working experience in IT and project management.

The PM or Chief Secretary to the Government can announce a lot of policies or encourage people to join government service, but at the end of the day the bureaucrats decide the applicant’s fate.

DISSATISFIED APPLICANT,

Kuala Lumpur.

If it is true that the letter writer is a Malay, then it is proof that the brain drain will continue irrespective of race. The civil service will never be able to attract the best and brightest that the country has as long as the little napoleons frustrate the noble aim of filling in the jobs with quality. We will definitely get the quantity.

Development or principles

This letter to the editor appeared in the Star 31 January 2008.

Development not a reward but a duty

TO ALL aspiring candidates in the coming general election, I wish you would not pretend to have the people’s problem at heart and at the same time issue “threats” that they will not see any development in their area should they give their votes to the “other side.”

It is shocking to read such statements from politicians, as in this day and age the majority of the people are more aware of their rights and the duties expected from an elected representative.

In any election, there will always be a winner and a loser. Just because the candidate from the ruling party loses doesn’t mean development for the area comes to a halt.

MPs and State Assemblymen are chosen by the people to “serve the people” and not the other way round.

Bringing development to the people irrespective of which way they voted is a responsibility of the Government not a reward.

MICHAEL NG,
Seremban.

I doubt the ruling party agrees on the writer's opinion. The vote for development mantra has been a part of the election process in Malaysia since independence from the British. This exchange might also occur in other countries but it is blatantly obvious here.

The hardest hit would be those in the rural areas where development aid however meagre is heaven sent. They are the people who need the basics to survive. But hats off to them when they vote the opposition as it does show that they are willing to sacrifice that immediate gain. Of course, they will suffer in a way but there is a sweet after taste in the knowledge that you have managed to dent the ruling party juggernaut.