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Malaysia will need to improve its performance in education

— Tunku Munawirah Putra
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 09, 2012

APRIL 9 — Our deputy prime minister/minister of education announced that the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitive Index (GCI) report 2011-2012 for Malaysia ranks the quality of our education system at No. 14 out of 142 countries. Malaysia should be proud of this accomplishment which is above many developed countries including the United Kingdom, the US and Germany.

We really should give ourselves a pat on the back for being ranked at par with these First World nations. But instead, many have voiced their concern over the misrepresentation or misinterpretation of the data by the minister. Many are not amused but aghast. Continue reading “Malaysia will need to improve its performance in education”

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Bohong dan menipu adalah keperangaian kedua (second nature) Umno

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 09, 2012

9 APRIL — Apa yang menyebabkan Najib dan gerombolan Umno mampu menunaikan sebahagian besar janji janji mereka? Jawapannya ialah dana dan wang yang banyak. Itu sahaja kelebihan yang Najib dan gerombolan Umno ada. Dari segi idea dan gagasan dan wawasan yang terang, dia yilek. Jika tidak ada apco dan firma pakar runding seperti Mckinsey, Najib adalah seorang kanak-kanak yang hilang dalam hutan. Di luar jawapan dan pertanyaan yang tidak berskrip, Najib tidak dapat menjawap apa-apa.

Tiadakan kuasa yang ada, apa yang Najib ada? Sudah tentu hanya janji yang kosong. Janji kosong Najib jika di bandingkan dengan janji Pakatan Rakyat akan menelanjangkan ketandusan idea Najib dan BN. Dan saya tidak fikir Najib bodoh seperti yang kita melihatnya untuk tidak menyedari bahawa objektif PR ialah mendapatkan kuasa di Putrajaya. Dan kuasa inilah yang akan di pertahankan oleh Najib dengan segala tipu helah dan pembohongan terutama kepada orang Melayu.

Pembaca sendiri dapat melihat. Hanya selepas 4 tahun mendapat kuasa, beberapa kerajaan di bawah PR bukan sahaja menepati janji yang mereka buat tetapi mentadbir negeri masing-masing dengan lebih baik dari BN yang telah lama berkuasa. Ada negeri BN yang boleh menunjukkan bahawa mereka dapat mengadakan bajet lebihan? Ada, jika main silap mata yakni dengan mebatalkan beberapa perbelanjaan supaya balance sheet nampak baik. Kita mahu lihat negeri mana di bawah pemerintahan BN yang akan sekoyong koyong membentang supplementary bill untuk mendapat bajet tambahan. Ini semua kerja auta dan autawan in chief iaitu Najib Razak. Continue reading “Bohong dan menipu adalah keperangaian kedua (second nature) Umno”

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Our schools are better than those in the USA, UK, and Germany?

— Wan Saiful Wan Jan
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 09, 2012

APRIL 9 — In his speech closing the National Higher Education Carnival 2012 on March 31, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin claimed that Malaysia was ranked 14th globally for the quality of our education system.

He added that this means our younger generation is receiving a better quality of education compared to those in America, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The ranking that Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, quoted was from the Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 published by the World Economic Forum (WEF). It is just one of 111 indicators — each of which can individually be turned into rankings — that the WEF used to calculate our country’s competitiveness.

In fact, the ranking is not for the overall quality of our education system. Rather, we were 14th globally only for our higher education and training. We scored lower for primary education, at number 21.

Muhyiddin’s blunder was to be too selective in choosing what to quote from this 500-page document. As a result, his speech gave the wrong impression to the public, and created a field day for his critics. Continue reading “Our schools are better than those in the USA, UK, and Germany?”

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Sejuk rasanya hati mendengar kata Najib, tapi …

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 09, 2012

9 APRIL — “Dua perkara yang terpenting untuk diingati oleh pemimpin, pertamanya jangan bersikap sombong, dan jangan tidak tepati janji”, kata PM Najib di Temerloh semalam. Saya dan sesiapa juga bersetuju dengan ungkapan Najib itu, baik kawan dan lawan dalam politik. Kata-kata itu memang satu nasihat dan peringatan yang baik kepada semua. Bak kata anak-anak muda sekarang “gua caya lu Najib”.

Tetapi itulah diantara sebab kenapa Umno dimarahi dan dipersoalkan oleh rakyat. “Attribute” pemimpin Umno adalah kesombongan mereka serta sikap tidak menepati janji. Dan dalam artikel ini kita boleh tambah lagi apa-apa yang melekat sebagai stigma yang tidak dapat dipisahkan dari parti pemerintah itu. Apa yang dinasihati Najib itu, itu lah yang ada kepada Umno.

Umno begitu sombong kepada rakyat dengan mengugut rakyat supaya jangan tinggalkan Umno kerana jika Umno ditinggalkan, mereka tidak akan dapat menentukan nasib yang baik untuk rakyat yang ramai. Hanya Umno sahaja yang boleh mempastikan kehidupan yang baik untuk rakyat dan “there is no life without Umno”. Kepercayaan yang segala-galanya adalah dari Tuhan Semesta Alam tidak dipakai lagi. Mereka telah cuba mengalihkan keyakinan ramai yang, “there is life without Umno” dan “there is life after Umno”. Continue reading “Sejuk rasanya hati mendengar kata Najib, tapi …”

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Reforming Education. Part Three: Fixing Kampong Schools

By M. Bakri Musa

Third of Six Parts: Extending the School Day and Year

In the first essay I suggested enhancing the English fluency of kampong students through increasing the number of hours devoted to the subject and the number of subjects taught in that language, introducing English immersion classes, and even bringing back the colonial-era English schools. The second essay dealt with recruiting teachers, as with those retired ones trained under the old all-English system, native English-speaking spouses of Malaysians and expatriates, and recruiting from abroad. This essay focuses on kampong schools.

Finland demonstrates the crucial importance of having professional, well-trained teachers. That is only one part of the solution. Provide these teachers with superior school facilities, as those Finns are doing, and only then can we expect miracles from our students. Today we provide kampong pupils with neither, and we expect miracles from them. When they do not deliver, as you would expect, they would be blamed and left to shoulder the presumed deficiencies of our race and culture.

What a terrible burden we impose upon our fragile young!
Continue reading “Reforming Education. Part Three: Fixing Kampong Schools”