Day: September 19, 2012

The Barisan Nasional election slogan-turned Merdeka/Malaysia Day theme “Janji Ditepati” has never been more violated in the 17 days between the 55th Merdeka Day on 31st August and the 49th Malaysia Day on September 16.

Let me just refer to three BN violations of “Janji Ditepati” in these 17 days:

1. Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants (RCIII) in Sabah

I confess my deep disappointment that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not at least take the opportunity of the 49th Malaysia Day on September 16 to announce that the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Illegal Immigrants (RCIII) in Sabah has started work.

Najib had said on August 11 that the RCIII would be given six months to complete its investigation and report, and that the six-month period would take effect beginning from the date the instrument of appointments were issued to the RCIII chairman and members.

More than five weeks have passed since Najib’s announcement on August 11 but there has only been stunning silence and void about the RCIII, as there are no signs that the RCIII chairman and members have been officially appointed to enable the RCIII to start its six-month work to address the decades-old problem in Sabah and Malaysia.

There can be no devastating violation of “Janji Ditepati” and Najib’s own Prime Ministerial slogan of “People First, Performance Now” than the ridiculous and scandalous situation where the RCIII is not yet operational more than seven months after the Cabinet decision on Feb. 8 to set it up and more than five weeks after Najib’s announcement of its terms of reference and membership on August 11. Continue reading “Barisan Nasional election slogan-turned Merdeka/Malaysia Day theme “Janji Ditepati” never more violated in the 17 days between 55th Merdeka Day and 49th Malaysia Day”

― Jose Mario Dolor De Vega
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 19, 2012

SEPT 19 ― Once again we return to the perennial question of the kind of educational system that we have.

Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to state that our present academic set-up, instead of encouraging critical thinking, acquiring soft skills and other relevant intellectual weapons, sad but true, is precisely the very one that kills creativity, stifles innovation and impinges on independent dynamism.

Indeed, our prevailing exam-oriented, score-based, points-mindset educational system undeniably distorts motivation and learning by our zealot overemphasis on the importance of scores as outcomes and measures of students’ abilities.

Such distorted academic myopia is one of the root causes why our students lack personal confidence and intellectual creativity. Sadly, they are not even qualified enough to fulfil future tasks that requires beyond memorizing.

I am specifically referring to those employments that demands conversation, writing and oral/verbal communication. I doubt that receiving instructions, writing memoranda, engaging in a discourse, presenting one’s idea in a meeting, etc. can be memorised. I doubt if there is a book that will teach our kids to learn those methods, skills and craft?!

It is my ardent and firm contention that those skills can only be harness and cultivated by the very act of practicing them in everyday actuality inside the class room and even beyond the four corners of the university.

This is the irrefutable fact and they are indisputable! There seems to be a grave confusion with regard to what we want for our students as against the interest of the general system. Continue reading “A discourse on a true educative blueprint”