by Dr. Azly Rahman
I read this excerpt of a news story below with disgust.
‘… One-third of Malaysia’s schools do not have water and electricity, a minister said, pledging to fix the problem by 2010….
‘Deputy Education Minister Razali Ismail told Bernama that all 9,806 schools will have access to basic utilities by the end of a four-year education development plan….70 percent of schools already have access to water and electricity. The other 30 percent are mostly located in rural areas, but “we are confident the problem will be solved by 2010”.
…Malaysia has implemented a series of five-year development plans with the aim of reaching developed-nation status by 2020..In the last national blueprint, announced in 2006, the government said RM1.15 billion would be spent to upgrade schools.’
All we continue to hear are slogans such as ‘2010’, ‘Vision 2020’, ‘developed-nation status’ and ‘billions of ringgit of funding’.
These cloud our vision of what schools ought to be. It is as if there is a ‘manufactured crisis’ going on: keep schools impoverished so that the government can keep making promises using empty slogans. The aim: only this government can continue to help those poor schools. This is the nature of mystification we have been fed with all these decades.
recall then education minister Najib Abdul Razak making a statement about “smart schools” –
“…that the first Smart School is being built at a cost of RM144.5 million. Apart from being wired, it would have a hostel for 800 students, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a hockey pitch, a hall and other facilities. Eventually all Malaysian schools will be operated on this concept. …”
Now we hear that many schools do not have water and electricity supply, let alone computers to make the schools and students smart. I think our children deserve better than empty promises by the ministry in charge of human intelligence and social reproduction.
What has that ministry done since Merdeka to allow schools to be left in such a state? What paradigm of nationwide school improvement has the ministry been using in order to create such a deformed version of democracy and education?
Is it a strategic plan to ensure that children of the poor will continue to perform the worst under such conditions, and that schools equipped with state-of-the-art technologies are select ones for children of the elite?
No wonder we have an increasing number of Mat and Minah Rempit, Ah Longs and gangsters – they were educated in the most deplorable circumstances perhaps. They were schooled in environments with teachers who are not committed and motivated, but also imprisoned in classrooms that do not have the basic amenities compared to ‘smart schools’.
Overhaul long overdue
It is simply unacceptable for this government to allow class stratification; schools not only become the stratifier of ethnic groups but also of classes of the poor, through the unequal distribution of resources. This is characteristic of the hideous form of schooling in Asian-style capitalist societies.
How can we develop the child’s intelligence to the fullest if schools are designed to fail them miserably?
We must demand the exposure of the conditions of the schools – which schools get access to what and why. We must demand a comprehensive picture on why our schools are failing and unable to produce children smart enough to bring their intelligence, ethics, and problem-solving skills to the university and beyond an succeed in a world that is challenging.
The new governments of the Pakatan Rakyat must undo what the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has done to the most under-privileged schools. They must gather data on what is lacking in the schools and how resources are shared.
Certainly, if the situation has been exacerbated over the last 30 years of BN rule, how are we to see any changes in class and classroom stratification in the next 30 years?
We see many projects like the Petronas Twin Towers, Multimedia Super Corridor, Monsoon Cup and Iskandar Malaysia carried out as fast, so that governmentally-linked companies can make money for the select few.
Why does comprehensive school reform take ages to be implemented? This is the ‘prison-industrial complex’ approach we are taking in implementing national educational policy.
By maintaining the sense of deprivation of the physical, psychological and intellectual aspects of the schools, we hope to produce more of those citizens who will be desperate enough to find ways be and become like the successful ones, but through desperate means.
We are creating a larger underclass tempted by materialism in a system created to encourage conspicuous consumption – these citizens produced out of the smart schools-sick schools system.
What then must we do to heal the system, to make our sick school smarter? This is for the education ministry and progressive parliamentarians to answer.
Schools should be allowed to teach what they want to teach, instead of being instructed by the government. Don’t centralize the education system. Instead, provide freedom and fund the schools directly.
By giving schools more freedom, teachers, students, and parents can sort out the system that best meet their needs. They will also be able to provide niches (like soft skills) that are dearly required without having to go through tons of red tape.
Otherwise, we will all be stuck debating what is the best blanket education system to implement in Malaysia, and it will get us nowhere. In our current model, a tiny policy suggestion on changes in education system requires a full review throughout the country.
If schools are allowed to implement what they think are right independently, in the span of a year or two we will know exactly how effective each recommendation is, and every other school will start to implement systems that are proven to be most successful.
After all, independent-thinking schools will be answerable to the parents instead of the government, and will focus on the real pressing needs of the students instead of meeting some national criteria.
We will also obviate all the cost (and I suspect much of that is wasted) on all kinds of Federal “programmes” that try to implement a one-size-fits-all education system.
The country needs a total revamp, a total makeover. Sack the MOE who only knows how to brandish the keris and chant war cries.
Promote ppl who are really capable, qualified and irrespective of race. Just look at all the state education directors, district education directors and the headmasters.
How many of them are proactive? To them, to hold a high position is an opportunity to order and sit in their office. My HM was cynically remarked by a high ranking JPN officer for standing at the school gate overseeing the children coming to school in the morning. The remark worried my HM. I told him to ignore such ppl as leadership is by example and not by post alone. And I got a lunch treat from him.
The Gov system is too entrenched with racism. All boils down to bumi/non bumi status. I hv always advocated, for the country to move forward, UMNO needs to be removed.
The whole system, the whole Gov machinery, no matter if it is education, hospitals, security or accounting, all flawed, all messed up. It got worse during the tenure of TDM. Yet, many still respect him.
Even if PR can take over, it will take another 50 years for Msia to catch up with Spore.
There is no education system in Malaysia, there’s only one system and that’s is to make Malaysian stupid.
We Rakyat from Sabah & Sarawak side have been shouting those fact for years but to no avail. ALL OUR elected MPs & YBs know FULL WELL of the plight of Sabahan & Sarawakian rural school children, but NOTHING MUCH has been done to better their lot. Almost ALL (with the exception of TS Chong Ah Kiat) of these very corrupted and vampires YBs & MPs just sucked the states coffer dry and enriched themselves. That’s why we East Malaysians tell you West Malaysians NOT TO HARAP our MPs to jump ship for the sack of the Rakyat.
The Barang Naik (BN) govt is doing a great job in retrogressing educational progress for all Malaysians – rich & poor, black & yellow; high IQ & low IQ etc. Each & every BN rep in the govt tries their utmost following the “great Che Det” in executing this aim for God knows why. The dumbo sleeping PM has no clue what he is doing & so follow status quo. (I speculate that is the cause for Che Det to be so enraged due to the plagiarism by bodohwi).
The Star (Sunday, 15.6.08): EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman David Jones said: “I don’t think there is a brand Malaysia yet,” when asked how the world perceived Malaysia.
Switzerland is often associated with being “clean, fresh, modern and progressive,” while Japan is known for its “technology, art, fashion and quality products”.
Well, Mr. Jones, here are some Malaysia master brands:
Malaysia is well known for its NEP, an affirmative racial programme for its major group of citizens and meant to uplift the poor bumiputras but was used to enrich the select few (Umnoputras and their cronies).
Malaysia is well known for exporting oil, palm oil, tin, rubber, manufactured goods, and talented citizens (unwanted by the Malay-dominated BN government).
Malaysia is well known for manipulating its education system that produces ever increasing numbers of all A scholars at pre-U lelvels and unemployable university graduates.
Care to add more Malaysia master brands?
Uncle Lim should not post too many of others’ writings. We came here to read your writings. You can make a link to those writings that we should read. Thank you
After 50 years, the gahmen still dont understand basic education. Rural schools cannot compete with city schools on infrastructure and resources for the longest time as i can recall.
My opinon is that schools should not be controlled by a Ministry. The ministry should only exist for National standardized exams and bureaucracies matters. Please stop using students as guineapigs whenever a new Minister of Emaducation steps into the desk.
No money to fix the schools, then where got money to send astronauts to the space?
50 years down the road of MEDERKA and this basic needs is still deprive of to some. Just change the Minister!
Yes, sadly to say there is no educational system; the only plan is to make them stupid; especially the common Malays and pribumis. This would guarantee that the UMNO heads’ children who are mostly sent to elite school or international school, who speak fluent English would continue to ‘rule’ and ‘ruin’ the country under the pretext of protecting the Bumiputras.
The government is a wasteful government. They not only spend what they have now but also pawning away what they should leave behind for the next generation. They should save the huge oil money, invest them properly to let the fund snowballing for the future generation but they do otherwise.
There are so many rural schools in Sarawak and Sabah without electric power but sadly to say this shortfall had also been used as an excuse to enriched the ‘cronies’ by non-open tender way of awarding generator supply and maintenance contract at mammoth contract sum to supply power for the so called ‘computer program’!
The ministry never look into the viability of many ‘deep in the jungle’ power supply project; it is totally ‘no brain’ at all to see implementation of some of these projects which cost millions of tax payer money but ending up with no power supply short while after completion of installation due to unpractical operation! However, nobody knows it because they are deep in the jungle. Even if someone brings it up, it would also be shot down due to arrogance of the ruling politicians. However, trumpet has been blown to the whole country or even to the whole world that the BN government had done so much for the rakyat! What a lie!
Krismudin should travel to the various deep in the jungle schools to ‘audit’ for himself and come out with a frank report on whether those generators are still supplying the power required as what the tenders has specified. It is sad to say, the whole civil service is full of ‘I cover your backside, you cover my backside’ officers and they are not to be trusted for such audit job; that’s why though personally I’m pro-open market price for the fuel so that users will be more conscious in their petrol usage, I’m siding with ‘no price increase’ group because I can’t trust these people who will handle the huge sum of oil money!
///Deputy Education Minister Razali Ismail told Bernama that all 9,806 schools will have access to basic utilities by the end of a four-year education development plan….70 percent of schools already have access to water and electricity. The other 30 percent are mostly located in rural areas, but “we are confident the problem will be solved by 2010?.///
These were not heard of during the years when mega projects were carried during reign of 22-year dark ages. Have they lost the access during the past 5 years, or they never had it ever since independence?
HEY!!! WHAT KIND OF STATEMENT IS THAT??!!!!
Malaysia already successfully sent an astronaut to space……and 1/3 of our schools don’t have access to water and electricity!!!!
Water & electricity?? Water & electricity??!
Are we surprised or what, my Rakyat friends?!!?!
And come on laah UMNO/BN…don’t talk about “developed status” or “vision 2020” anymore pleeaaaasssssssssssssseeee…..that is really dumb and silly!!!
In a fast changing world, economically or naturally, we will never realize that “2020” thing, just look around you, or maybe look west (India) and east (China)….they will reach 2020 sooner than Malaysia will!…10 years for them is like 50 years of development, research for yourself laah UMNO/BN……….or look south (Singapore), people already there laa! No slogans used!!!
For developed western countries, water & electricity in schools are no more a topic agenda for them (since ancient times)….they are now into energy conservation or bio-tech to “help” the planet and “people” in general….what is Malaysia doing??!! Still slowly crawling out from Jurassic period thinking there is still a lot to plunder (natural resources)?! Lame duck government!
I suggest we dropped “vision 2020” sloganeering and move towards bio-tech era and harness more cheaper alternative energy, eco-construction (true concrete jungle) and many more………..this will better position Malaysia in the world than “space travelling” will!!!!!!! Moreover we are still waiting for that great experiment done in outer space!! Where?!!?!
If we can copy people and go to space, surely we can copy people and use more eco-tech & common sense in handling public funds….which is far more cheaper by the way!!!
Do what Singapore do, go out and “buy” brains, but after spending RM100million to go to Russian space station, don’t know whether still got enough dough or not!!! Silly people!
And speaking about public funds, since “it is” public funds, it should be used for the benefit of the public, not UMNO!!!! Wake up citizen,stop the rot!!
WE CAN DO IT, STOP THE ROT!
BY SEPT16 OR PRU13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE DO IT FOR MALAYSIA!!!!!!!
And the government should abolish civil servants’ entertainment allowance altogether….why?
Because it is not necessary, simple as that……..any expenses incurred could and should be able to be claimed together with their monthly salary, and all their claims should be substantiated, bills, vouchers, invoices should be furnished….so the AG can know their “activities” of entertainment!
Entertainment allowance must also be only 10% – 15% of their monthly salary…..anything more cannot be claimed, period.
They ask us to change lifestyle, but they only cut 10% of their entertainment club “funds”, where got sincere???!!!!!!!! Supporters of UMNO/BN, look at this, this is what you get for voting them! Padan muka sangat lahh!!!
Entertainment is not a necessity what!!!!!?!?!?!?! Government cannot simply misuse public money like this, there should and cannot be any allocation for this type of activity!!!
YB Kit, the Rakyat are under stress (I am under stress), please take up this area of discussion to Parliament just to put some sense into their primitive brains!!
Thank you!!!
That is what have made all of us anger about the Astronaut (Ass-tro nut) project so as the sub-marine (sub-money) and jet fighters!
So much money already brutaly spent without looking into the primany needs.. So abusesive!!! Multi Super Corridor, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Technology Park, all kinds of Universities lar, etc, etc and etc…all bullshit!
The goverment also didn’t even think of establishing of kindegartens too…how do you expect to develop and mind set our children to become astronauts without giving a proper basic quality education systems from as young as age 5 & 6??
It is all lies and the goverment is cheating our children’s mind….giving unrealistic dreams for them…..All they care is their money pocket benefits..
Why delay up to year 2010??? Basic needs what! That is why we always said, the rich will only thinks for the rich why they want to border the poors? Therefore the poors, please lar…think wisely, open your eyes and be brave to change the goverment before they further torture rakyat’s benefits..Please don’t sit there and complaints..we need positive actions.
So many cukai (taxes) to paid for (cukai kereta, cukai pintu, cukai tanah, kukai jalan, cukai toll, cukai parking, cukai sampah, cukai kerajaan, cukai pendapatan, cukai import, cukai export, cukai keuntungan and etcs…….even go for medical operation apabila nak mati pun kena bayar cukai) and why shall we deserve all these stupid excuses?? Totally mis-management (abuse) of public’s fund (money) evn charitible funds.
Olympic size swimming pool in a school? How STUPID???
Over here in Paris, every constituency (each comprising about 50000 residents) will have its own public facilities like Library; Sports complex; Swimming pool; Stadium; Recreation park etc and all the local schools inside that constituency will be allocated “specific time” to share the sporting facilities with the local residents so that they are OPTIMALLY utilized & enjoyed by ALL the residents!
Have they not been spending big sums of money sending people out (in the name of study trips) to many Western cities to learn from them? Or they are just wasting rakyat’s money for their own “HOLIDAYS”???
1/3 schools not having water and electricity – not surprising when about same % of rural households in the interiors especially Sarawak & Sabah also have no access to regular water electricity supply. (The other obvious problem is how to force new trained teachers to go to these interiors. Would you go if you were a teacher?) How come water and electricity could not penetrate these rural interior places?
Don’t know the answer but can speculate : maybe lack of coordination amongst various stakeholders. How did TDM’s spate of privatization (or ‘piratisation’) of utilities affect the equation? For electricity, have to deal with privatized/corporatised TNB, Sabah’s SESB, Sarawak’s SESCO and Independent Power Producers (IPP). When privatized aren’t they not concerned with bottom line consideration of cost & profit? If so, will they be as keen to negotiate and procure wayleave for transmission lines and grids in rural interior areas where capital expediture is big and returns small?? Water also privatised – think these entities will be enthusiastic to incur costs to lay down water treatment plants or distribution in loss-making sector of rural interiors?
When schools are involved there’s further interfacing with in Ministry of Education, Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri and Pejabat Pelajaran Daerah, Ministry of Health and maybe even Environment run by little Napoleons. Regulatory structure involves so many different stakeholders –but who takes overall responsibility to coordinate and get every one to do their part?
Can our politicians have real effective control over the bureaucracy to implement socio-economic programs expeditiously without resistance?
Perhaps they can’t or maybe they don’t care but for time being instead if grappling this intractable problem of control coordination of different bureaucracies controlled by different Napoleons and implementation, our top politicians/ Ministers find it more expedient to improve their image and political stock by coming out with all kinds of well publicized grand visions [‘2010?, ‘Vision 2020?, ‘developed-nation status’ and ‘billions of ringgit of funding’, vision school smart schools].
Then there are Capital expenditure constraints. Allocation is one thing but how the Jabatan Pelajaran Negeri and local Pejabat Pelajaran Daerah cherry pick to appropriate and apply them is quite another.
What happens if they prefer to appropriate allocations to all kinds of seminars and workshops ostensibly under cover of training in 4 or 5 star hotels viewed as perks for teachers from outstation to do their shopping etc? Who really exercises oversight over these appropriations and take responsibility for it? Will there much left to allocate for facilities to rural areas or interiors? No perks for decision makers in implementing these projects!
Many of the poor send their children to schools that are closest to home even if they have no regular water and electricity supply because of financial barrier that they cannot afford to go anywhere farther & nearer towns. Many of such schools use diesel to power the generators but with the diesel hike?
While there are some elite schools built for prestige
Many others are left as vintage in their form of vestige
What educational legacy can be left behind with this kind of heritage
When schools are differentiated along lines of parentage?
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng – 150608
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Sun. 15th
I don’t think the problem has anything to do with political leadership having deviousness to perpetuate class stratification, maintain “the sense of deprivation of the physical, psychological and intellectual aspects of the schools” to “produce more of those citizens who will be desperate enough to find ways be and become like the successful ones, but through desperate means” in service of the cause of Capitalism or Materialism (as Dr Azly insinuates).
The problem is sum of the whole system of government at federal and local level, bogged down by lack of acountability and talent/meritocracy, bureaucratic mentality, Napoleonistic tendencies, inefficiency, more interested in mega infrastructure projects (eg “Petronas Twin Towers, Multimedia Super Corridor, Monsoon Cup and Iskandar Malaysia”) with opportunities to make money than socio-economic non profitable projects.
The problem besets not only the sphere of education but all other aspects of governance as well including monetary & fiscal managment of nation’s resources.
It may be argued that we need a system over-haul – ie. change of government, Federal & state .
Dr Azly assumes this when he said “the new governments of the Pakatan Rakyat must undo what the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has done to the most under-privileged schools”.
Even with Pakatan Rakyat taking over, can it discipline, change the mindset and ethos of our bureaucracy, dismantle the prevailing feudal political culture so quickly?
Here we proceed on optimistic assumptions that Pakatan Rakyat politicians will be able to control effectively the bureaucracy; that they will not themselves embrace this feudal political culture like BN when they are eventually ensconced in power – an optimistic assumption as I said!
Samy Velloo did not fix the Indians so that he can survive and be the king forever.The citizens rioted and went against and today he is not heard.The schools were not fixed so that Umno can survive.Today the citizens had fixed Umno and they are struggling.PR must do an intensive study and see how they can help out.Basic amenities are not difficult to fix but if the attitude does not change it will be the same.Umno will see the end and Samy Vello will see his demise.Schools can be fixed.There is no need to wait till 2020.Fix it now!
Jeffrey Says:
Even with Pakatan Rakyat taking over, can it discipline, change the mindset and ethos of our bureaucracy, dismantle the prevailing feudal political culture so quickly?
===================================================
Dear Jeffery,
With Rakyat power and only Rakyat power alone (or force if I may) can instill discipline and make changes to this country.
UMNO/BN have for far too long used fear and “fake patriotism” to govern this country. As mature citizens, we must not and CANNOT be treated in this way anymore.
Politics is politics, but I firmly believe, the Rakyat can and will have the last say in this.
Perhaps, awareness is low, therefore, information or propaganda has to be shared to the mass public. No propaganda or strategy, it’s impossible to win over their minds. Giving information or ideas are not seditious.
People in Malaysia are very silly, that is a fact. A developed country or one that is moving towards that status don’t have many silly citizens! Fear, favor and sentiments ar the order of the day here!
Talking about doing away with government ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES, how about getting rid of JKR Club Houses? I totally failed to understand why our irresponsible government is STILL carrying on with this VERY COLONIAL BRITISH practice? Plus in this day and age, how come JKR STILL stock pile gravel, sand, PVC pipes, and other construction material at district level? If all these materials are to be inventoried, they would run in the millions of Ringgits all lying idle in some open field for years and years before any movement at all. In earlier years, yes JKR had to stock pile construction materials for their contractors simply because there were not many or ready suppliers.However, in the present days, construction materials are easily available and YET JKR STILL carry on with this wasteful and totally unnecessary practice. Goes to show how VERY INEFFICIENT & WASTEFUL our government has been for the past 51 years.
Dear rainbowseahorse,
also goes to show how “intelligent” they really are!
It would probably be a blind worshipper of the mamak not to see the mamak’s human greed working behind his program of piratisation euphemistically couched under the term ‘privatisation’ and his unsatiable appetite for building mega projects at whooping costs such as PUTRAJAYA (20 billion ringgit),KLIA (9 billion ringgit),Twin Tower (4 billion ringgit) etc etc. And it is not without reason that Soros call him Mr.20%!
With such trail blazed by him it is hard to believe no politician would want to equal or even better, better his mark.So Jeffrey your musing over the Pakatan Rakyat politicians is most timely and must provoke voters to think deeper about human nature. “Even with Pakatan Rakyat taking over, can it discipline, change the mindset and ethos of our bureacracy, dismantle the prevailing feudal political culture so quickly.”.
“Is it a strategic plan to ensure that children of the poor will continue to perform the worst under such conditions, and that schools equipped with state-of-the-art technologies are select ones for children of the elite?” Dr. Azly Rahman
the grand conspiracy theory all over again!!
Am in the electricity & water supply line, actually, it is no that difficult / expensive, to bring electricity & piped water supply to rural areas, if u hv the money (not too expensive), as demand in rural areas for electricity & piped water supply is usually small.
To me, it is just U wan to do or not, not difficult not expensive (For Msia)
Smart schools? What smart schools? They are “smart” for the contractors to build them and for MOE to pay exorbitant price. Look inside any smart school, it is as rudimentary as you can get. How can we have smart schools when most teachers are wrapped in prehistoric mentality in the like of Bernadette.
when building ‘smart’ schools, thought should be spared for those who are mentally challenged like those who cannot see the difference between a noun such as “rhetoric” and an adjective like “rhetorical” nor understand their meaning.
Sure, you still have not answered me: is it operational research or operations research, economic dept or economics dept etc. Please don’t come to talk to me about noun and adjective. Students from attap school learned this formally, unlike those from liberal good for nothing schools learning by listening – which one sounds more correct must be the right one. Got it, wet pants aka ……but I think it is better for me not to disclose at this stage.
We dont need smart schools. Since when computers can replace good teachers and students. MOE thinks that by putting computers in school and teaching student to type and draw pictures can make them “smarter” and out of the many smart schools how many have Internet access or even a phone line. Who benefited from the millions? Parents still have to pay for fees.
How can they go to school where there’s no basic amenities like water and electricity or even proper road, transportations to even get to school. Before election BN always make promises but to date what we have are mega-projects, super corridors, more and more corruptions.
Even the so called smart school that were built and reported unsafe (roof collapsed, lousy computers and software) and it only benefit a small cluster of students.
We have “stupid” Ministers with zero education planning knowledge who send their own children to private schools and overseas universities sponsored by the rakyat.
What more can I say? Sad
cheng on soo,
If you’re in electricity & water supply line, and you’re of the opinion that it is not that difficult / expensive, to bring electricity & piped water supply to rural areas, perhaps you can inform us why that is so. For I cannot understand why in spite of decades of allocation for rural development so many rural households and schools in the interiors have no regular access to these utilities.
Take for example electricity supplier, TNB, a privatized/corporatised – and listed company.
Management has to regularly report to shareholders, make bond holders analysts or bankers happy regarding what’s the operating costs of increasing generation, transmission and distribution networks of electricity and how as a near monopoly it could, after paying expenses including servicing of over RM 23.50 Billion loan, it could enhance debt collection and generate (say) ‘a record net profit of RM3.93 billion for the nine-month period ended May 31, 2007 compared to the RM1.42 billion in the previous corresponding period’ to declare dividends. To my simple mind, spending money to venture into rural interiors for socio economic program of helping rural poor which have not got the critical mass to generate revenue to cover its capital expenditure is not something TNB will look upon and do in big way with enthusiasm – unless Government gives direct allocation and subsidies to it. But does the government under this Privatisation concept ?? I don’t know enough on this.
I would imagine Water Supply another set of problem. Who is responsible to make sure interiors get supplied? Water supply is also privatized. Same profit considerations apply. Water is state matter and different state governments involved may have different policies. And then land – one needs to acquire land for say water treatment plant – that too is a state matter – what is Federal Power vis-à-vis state on water supply? Can Federal control the states in how they appropriate Federal Funds and allocations and whether they do so to supply rural interiors? I don’t know the answers to these questions.
What is there to complain? Many of us have voted for BN in the past 50 years and now starting to complain? BN’s result card in all areas faired so poorly year after year and yet we people continue to give them the mandate for them to continue to fair even poorer. So please blame ourselves for all these!
Yes, we may not have much choices when it comes to general elections. So we have have been hoping the BN governemnt can wake up one day and to look at what happen in the world right now. Sadly, it does not happen and it gets worse. But God knows that. After going to jail, Anwar realised the Malay should wake up or will lose their ability to survive in the threat of globalisation if BN continues to shine them with affirmative actions. In fact, no one is perfect and Anwar may have done something wrong in the past. After going thru the ordeal, that made him a changed man. It is not easy and it is rare to have a Malay leader with strong polical background who see races in total fairness and equality when it comes to policy making for the nation. Without Anwar, we still do not have much choice when it comes to voting and the affirmative actions will continue to benefit the cronies and BN will continue to rule another 50 years with 2/3 majority. Having said this, shouldn’t we thank Mahatir for his deed on Anwar?
After 50 years, Malaysian leader thinking still behind Singapore. Education policy unable to bring up Malaysian to be creative and challenger. Too much politic influance. Forget to improve the school education quality, enviroment and infratructure. This is because the political leader children given good education by sending oversea and international school. And rakyat given poor quality education with poor quality of infratructure. Finally rakyat just bercome rakyat, the leader children moving up as political leader and venture in business. This will bring unbalance development human capital in Malaysia. Slowly we will loose in international.
the thing with BN-Govermnment, They always claim they go not enough money. But from out of no where suddenly they got money. take a look at the Extension of LRT and also the double electrified Railway project. When Dollah took over the throne of PM, he cancel all this and delay the planned extension of LRT saying “itu projek membazir”. But now suddenly, got RM80 bill for electrified rail way, RM4billion for LRT Extension.
What happen is, when he announce the cancelation of project, the idea is to stop the race for CONTRACTS by cronies of Tun Dr M, Razaliegh, Najib and others. But now they announced it, Contracts will go to his cronies and families. LRT will surely be handle by SCOMI.
The point is, there is always Money to settle the our International Loan and subsidizing the rakyat, but they manipulate it so that MAXIMUM Gain For DOLLAH – NAJIB & Co .
Dollah knows that Anwar Coup De Tat is imminent. Therefore BN will Rob the country dry so that when PR took over, its hard for PR to save Malaysia. and during PRU-13, BN will say, see PR tak tahu tadbir Negara.
Water supply to all schools are a necessity to both the children and the teachers. Any building that does not have these amenities should not even be given the right to move in – just like the houses that are being sold to the public.
How can the MOE and the rest of the Federal Govt think that it is ok to do without electricity and water?! Let them sit in those class rooms for a whole month and do without both electricity and water. It is high time for them to really go through the tough situation that the school children are going through each day that these greedy politicians are taking for granted.
By the way, can the newspapers stop writing about the politicians and their families? It is really getting nauseating.
that’s pathetic….lol
This is what you get from decades of bankrupt administration!
Many people lives and future are ruined from decades of bad leadership and governance of the country.
So how many SMART ALECs have these so called smart schools produced?
are you lol at yourself. i see only one pathetic coward here and that is you, Bernadette.
thought everybody knows, why still no electricity / water in many rural of msia despites all these years, what els, corruption, mismanagement, unqualified ppl handling the job, unqualified ppl ordering qualified ppl around?? ,
Hv been to many rural places in Vietnam / Sabah, U will be surprise that on average, Viet rural areas had easier access to water & electricirty.
Elect,= can always provide many small generator sets (diesel, usually), or built mini hydro station for rural area, not necessary to bring long, expensive distribution cable from far
Water= can always build many small filtration plants (dams, pumphouse, etc) for rural use, no need long, big pipes from far.
These small generator set / plants are not difficult to maintained.
Even local educated (say Form 5) village folk can maintained these after short training.
if the viet can do it, why can’t we.
‘ ….The aim: only this government can continue to help those poor schools. This is the nature of mystification we have been fed with all these decades..’
Dr Azly, a most astute and accurate observation. And this type of strategy seems not only being used in the educational policies but also in the entire fabric of Malaysian society in the form of the NEP. Using the NEP, many sectors of the poor were kept deliberately poor while the UMNOputras elites are enriched so that the UMNO led BN Govt. can continue to hoodwink the poor bumiputras that only UMNO can help them.
I am from interior Sarawak and I can tell you the situation can be worst..
So how can we compete in the world? We like Singapore Bashing and laugh at them. But they are doing a lot better without yelling Singapore Boleh!
Boiled down to education and corruption
Why local Singapore Graduate and Foreign Singapore Graduate getting the same pay scale in Singapore? While in Malaysia, we prefer to hire foreign graduate? The answer is obvious.. but we choose to ignore them for ego sack!
http://shiokguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/local-vs-foreign-graduate.html
Shiok Guy
Why youngster join Mat Rempit or Minah Rempit today?
Reason is there are too many siblings in the Malay family, these siblings are competing with each other to get the care and attention of their father who are very irresponsible.
Malay should be forbidden to have 1 kid, else they won’t be able to care so many kids, it is very irresponsible.
For chinese family, there might only have 1 or 2, but most of the time, the children tried their best to help out with the family financial, like selling pirated dvd, drug peddling, ah longs thugs, samseng, or any clan which subsidies their pocket money. Why they do all these, all is because M’sian govt. don’t know economic, they failed to tackle the root cause.
In Netherland ppl. are free to smoke grass & prostitution, there is a law & provision to allow these. We don’t see their country collapse? now in Euro 2008, everyone can see with their own eyes, their footballers are so classy compare to Malaysia who always forbid drugs, and looks & sounds like a good country but is it true? youngster today has no dream becos their leader are dreaming, dream to put a man into space, dream to have fleet of submarine and shukoi jet, dream to build the largest port in Asia to compete with Singapore and Hong Kong, dream of having big big corridors like the Iskandar, they forgot to give their ideas a reality check that is no foreigner investor will ever trust them, because of their corrupt practice. It is a big shame for any foreigner to come invest in a countries widespread by corruptions.
The CEO or CFO for these big multi national companies are not peanut brain zombies, they know and study the turf, they prefer Thailand, but they give some reserve to Thailand, as they are wary of the political stability in Thailand. For Malaysia, there is no hope to revive the confidence, as the previous BN govt. has ruined the good reputation of our country. As a result, they suffered a humiliating defeat in the GE12 by opposition party lead & drive by DSAI.
While we are ding-ding-dong-dong or boleh-tak-boleh-boleh-tak-boleh over our wayang – to be or not to be a smart or a sick school; to teach or not to teach in English – our neighbours are zooming ahead.
The Economic Times, India (15.6.08): Singapore, realising the importance of education, is focusing on converting the country into a world-class education hub. The government is pouring millions of dollars, hoping to transform both its economy and identity.
http://www.sltrib.com/Education/ci_9571460
The Salt Lake Tribune (13.6.08): Utah leaders are looking to a tiny Asian country nearly 9,000 miles from here for answers to one of the most perplexing questions in education today: What is the best way to teach math?
Utah lawmakers and educators wished to know how Singapore – a country with only 4.6 million residents and few natural resources – has managed to create the world’s top math students.
“Singapore only has one resource – our children – so education is the most important thing for us. If we don’t do well in that area, then economically we are a doomed country.”
And we in Malaysia aspire to be an education hub with the ability to send more space travellers! Boleh kah? Lofty castles in the air!
1. Abolish the so-called “National Service” programme and
2. Use the money saved to improve the schools
We don’t need to copy the elitist Singapore educational system
that stresses out kids unnecessarily, starts streaming kids at an early age, contains so-called “Independent” schools that grab the best resources because they supposedly educate the “best students” (i.e. the kids of the PAP leaders and other Singapore elites) and so on. The educational system of Finland is a much better model.
cheng on soo, thanks for the comments.
Najis wudn’t want to honestly develop smart school, if the Malay r dumb they can be easily fooled by the BN propaganda engines. Look at how he benefit from selling of the shukoi jets & scorpene submarines. He’s a smart trader but not a smart politician, he can’t lead the party, he has no gut at all to challenge his predecessor, he’s living in a perfect or ideal world where every thing is transfer properly. If his father still alive, he will slap his son “Anak Jahanam”
This is so heart disheartening to know that some schools in Malaysia do not have basic water and electricity.
After 50 years of independent, we still need another 2 more years for schools to totally function as an education facilitators with basic needs. Such a shame!!
Education itself is the social reproduction… and what makes us think that the Vision 2020 can be achieved when the basic needs of the schools is not taken care of? Rubbish!
to esgreat: I agree with what you said but looking at where our education is heading now, I don’t think that it is possible.
The curriculum must be in line to the aspirations of Malaysia. Say, you want an intelligent Malaysia. What is the point when you allow everyone and anyone to pass just to look good in the report and to give a marvellous report card presentation to the bosses but in actual fact manipulation is done to enable the students to pass ? The manipulators are stupid and are making the education system looks very terminally sick. Smart schools do not come from smart work which is nothing but craftiness. Smart schools actually come from a very honest approach to education. That is how I see a sick school and a smart school. If one is so smart, one should integrate the smart and the sick so that the sick can lean on the smart to become smart themselves. The product of education; the quality of students; the quality of eduction; is more important than what infrastructure there is. One can keep getting 100 marks but if a 50 marks student can be wiser in life, then this 100 mark students should leave you a question mark.
We should do away with those racist schools (ie Malay, Chinese and Tamil schools) as these racist schools are producing low standard and unemployable students. Please look around you, most of those low income group, labourers, poor families, hawkers and those involved in vice activities were from the racist schools as most of them not able to read and write properly in English and BM.
Those racist schools also produced most of those malaysians who are racist as in those schools, they seldom or never interact with other races. Most of those employable and high ranking or position malaysians in big organisations or firms are those from Kebangsaan School. That explained why most of the top management, senior managers, professionals, established lawyers and accountants in malaysia who are malaysian can’t read and write in Mandarin or Tamil.
Therefore, we just need to have one type of school for all Malaysians, ie Kebangsaan School or Vission Schools where all races are interact and study together in the school. All students will be allowed or given opportunity to learn mandarin and tamil in the kebangssan school.
Odinary Malaysians only need to learn how to read and write in mandarin or tamil but not necessary have to master it. They only need to master English and BM in order to be employable in Malaysia and to reach the top management level of those big organisations or firms in Malaysia.
NewDAP said what U want, but frankly, Have no respect of ppl in top position who do not know even a little bit of their mother tongue. (or worse despise their mother tongue)
There are also many top lawyers, accountants, engineers, doctors, who can speak mandarin & tamil in Malaysia, just U didnt meet them !
U are branding unfairly, “those racist school” without taking a detail look how they teach their students (syallbus, activiities, civic lessons etc).
Why are there so many racist in Msia? well ,all bcos, gomen is racist, what do U xpect?? (If one acts racist to others, do expect others to behave as racists towrads one!)
Prestige, both its creation and appearance, is our leaders’ main preoccupation.
GAYA MESTI ADA. MATI TADA APA.
Mahathir launched the Multimedia Supercorridor with this line: “A GIFT TO THE WORLD”.
We have (at one point) the tallest building in the world.
The longest this and the biggest that.
And an astronaut too.
No offence to our Mr Astronaut. But really, you have been made a political tool. Its no big deal. Our space program is nothing more than a selection process followed by a training program.
Didnt an american (already in his 70’s) also made it there? Its all about money and the desire for GAYA MESTI ADA.
Now smart school.
Elbert Einstein was never so opportunate.
Neither was Dr Hisham who treated our PM’s wife (deceased) two years ago.
What is wrong with those guys in BN?
Cant they see that they are not getting anywhere?
Its not use making see sense.
We are better off looking elsewhere.
cheng on soo,
The fact is, most of those from racist schools are unemployable and they ended up become hawkers, plumbers, contractors and involved in vice.
If you ever been to KL, with exception to doctors, most of the top accountants, engineers, bankers, top executives and lawyers are those from Kebangsaan Schools. why because they are expected to present and write in good english and not half past six english used by those from tamil or chinese schools.
only 1% to 2% of those from racist schools are doing well and most of them ended up become doctors.
but the bulk of it, about 80% are those who failed to get a good employments and ended up become contractors, traders, hawkers or involved in vice activities.
that also explained why most of those involved in vice activities are those from racist schools.
Do respect those hawkers, plumbers, contarctors, wiremen, traders, etc, who earn an honest living. (No respect for those involved in vice)
FYI, I stayed in Selangor (work in KL). I came from one of those schools which U labeled as racist. I can deliver speech in English, BM, Mandarin, Hokkien, and Cantonese (with minimum mixture from other languages). I am also at ease when I went to Japan, Vietnam and Thailand as I also speak a little of their local languages.
The below are unlikely the low income earner in Malaysia
contractors – UMNO cronies company e.g. Curry register a company to charge govt. 1 billion service charge, NS program
traders – UMNO cronies, AP certain motor traders in M’sia are given better priviledges compare to other, more APs.
hawkers – No need submit income tax, depend on taste, if the taste are good, they earn greater than some manager each month, also in cash term.
involved in vice activities – they earn tips, if he or she is a pimp.
Agreed fullly with boh-liao’s statement !!
“boh-liao Says:
June 15th, 2008 (2 days ago) at 12: 10.29
Malaysia is well known for manipulating its education system that produces ever increasing numbers of all A scholars at pre-U lelvels and unemployable university graduates.”
Not only that, our hospital is also very sick ..
have you ever been to a hospital with asthma attack and after few hours waiting and consultation asked to go home with parting words – “lain kali jangan datang sebelum mati” .. oh my god..
can’t blame them, can see that they are short of staff !!
cheng on soo,
I do respect them, but I also pitty them for working in a dirty, hard and tough environment.
I don’t think you wanted your children to be a hawker, a contractor or a plumber when they grow up. You surely want them to work in a big organisation, bank or law firm as a professional executive.
Not many people from racist schools are so smart like you able to read and write in so many languages. most of them not able to.
I’m talking about the 70% to 80% who failed to learn proper english because of those racist schools.
Most people only noticed those 1% to 5% who are sucessful but failed to notice those 70% to 80% who did not make it.
The percentage of those from Kebangsaan schools who did not make it are much lower compared to those from racist schools. only 20% to 30% of those from kebangsaan schools are unemployable whereas 60% to 70% of those from racist schools are unemployable.
That explained why there are so many hawkers, contractors, plumbers and those involved in vice are from racist schools.
By sending your children to racist schools, you are reducing their chances to be an executive but increasing their chances of been unemployable and to become hawker, contractor, car mechanic or plumber.
NewDAP Says:
Today at 17: 41.33
Agreed with U that many from Chinese, Tamil, or Malay schools do not do so well in later career, but strongly PROTEST AND DISAGREE with U to label them (esp. Chinese n Tamil schools) as racist school.
Lack of interaction with other races DOES NOT necessary make one a racist. There are also many racists from Sek. Kebangsaan.
Rather, One become a racist when one is unfairly treated, marginalized by those in power, or one is taught by teachers, parents, elders, from a young age to look down on other race, despise other races. etc
It is no use to have inter-racial interaction, and then, treat the different races vastly differently later in various aspects !
I have been thru Malay school 6 years in primary and 2 years in secondary. The rest of my secondary, pre u and tertiary are all done overseas in various part of the world, in Mauritius, Canada, and Australia.
I can recalled that during those days most of the time we celebrate children there, because the teacher who are suppose to turn up for the class are absent. Also, after the exam, most of the teacher already not coming to teach, ended up, most of the childrens are having fun outside, even catching grasshopper, tadpoles, jungle trekking, soccer, and many more interesting activities when teacher not coming, there are not enough teacher to temporary watch the class. The education system in M’sia is very autocratic mean there is not much room for personal improvement unlike in Canada, they encourage Independent Study Unit, mean the lecturer will recommend u a list of author and novels to read and study the contents, then u will pick one or two to present to the class.
Have u ever notice there are lots of exam tips for PMR, and SPM most of these publisher are Malays companies, who leak the tips?
If it is objective, student just have to memorized the possible answer, what else is there to learn just to get an A. Just buy some of the notes and read. Who benefit from the sales of these notes? Malay company right? who get commission. There are so many students scoring A did u realized that our education system are getting cheap and lacks creativity unlike other countries.
There are possible plans underway to apply to the Oxford and Webster to include a new word for their 2009 dictionary:
badawi [baa-daa-wee] (noun): To start something full of promise but end in disappointment, failure and/or disaster.
Eg:
‘I’m trusting you to perform this task well; don’t do a badawi, ok?’
‘Whatever I do, I will always find a way to badawise it.’
France badawied their Euro 2008 campaign. England pre-badawied theirs, while Italy were guilty of over-badawification.
1. cheng on soo Says:
June 17th, 2008 (2 days ago) at 22: 21.14
“Agreed with U that many from Chinese, Tamil, or Malay schools do not do so well in later career, but strongly PROTEST AND DISAGREE with U to label them (esp. Chinese n Tamil schools) as racist school.
Lack of interaction with other races DOES NOT necessary make one a racist.”
Agreed with you. I should not use the word racist as it is a bit too harsh.
I retract the word Racist with the word Vernacular.
Another facts, the ratio of Indian professionals/executives over the Indian’s population is much higher than the ratio of Chinese professionals/executives over the Chinese population in Malaysia. That is because only 45% of Indians sent their children to tamil school whereas over 80% of Chinese sent their children to Chinese schools. If the trend continues, in future, Malaysia going to have lesser Chinese lawyers, accountants, engineers and bankers. DAP and LKS, please do something for the Chinese.
“All dress up and no where to go”
Buiild smart schools for smart pockets.
SMART SCHOOLS huh”’even minister children not sent there, maybe boarding schools lah.
for 50 years , those so called academias of malaysia, are dumb and stupid
else why the education system has now improved since 70’s. incidentally thats when the doc initiated the change on medium of instruction and curriculum , and advocating anti colonial sentiments, the txts books change overnight just to meet up, then all green colour started to appear, even male and female toilet signage change from simple and rational sihoute of the sexes to songkok and a hudud figured. At first my malaysian education informed me only muslim toilets are available.
thios went further yet, one group of these little napoleans started put notices that no one allow to wear sleepers when in govt dept, no shorts too.
And what about those buggers all wet , wth sleeves and pants rolled up when attending to you and they are suppose to be on duty.
Unilateral thinkingh i say, no idea of what others feel or think, selficah, arrogant and idiotic if you bising bising.
Regulations , rules, little napoleans , gave them little bit education behave like idiots.
ASSUMING everybody are economically are as stable and secure as they are ,, a bunch of narrow minded idiots.
The civil service suppose to be support machinery not the people support the civil service. after 4 pm and before 8 , these stupid fools dont knpw they are people at large too.
Who serve who.
Knowledge is dangerous but incomplete education is more dangerous.