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Major shortcomings in current History teaching

CPI Asia | 20 May 2011

Introduction by CPI

Under the Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah (KBSM), the History textbooks used in secondary schools are written by the Education Ministry and published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

The authors for the present KBSM History series are Ahmad Fawzi Mohd Hassan, Mohd Fo’ad Sakdan, Azami Man, Masariah Mispari, Johara Abdul Wahab, Ridzuan Hasan, Ramlah Adam, Abdul Hakim Samuri, Muslimin Fadzil, Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman, Mohd Yusof Ibrahim, Muhammad Bukhari Ahmad, Rosnanaini Sulaiman, Ramlah Adam, Shakila Parween Yacob, Abdul Hakim Samuri and Muslimin Fadzil.
Continue reading “Major shortcomings in current History teaching”

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Guan Eng: Act against JPA ‘Little Napoleans’

By Susan Loone | May 19, 11
Malaysiakini

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has condemned the Public Services Department (JPA) for failing to provide scholarships to deserving students, a mistake being continuously repeated.

Lim said the JPA, in disbursing its scholarships recently, ‘cannot get their act together’ as they failed to differentiate between top and second highest scorers.
Continue reading “Guan Eng: Act against JPA ‘Little Napoleans’”

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Reclaiming our truly Malaysian history

By Centre for Policy Initiatives

Introduction by CPI

Below is the first in the CPI series on ‘Reclaiming our truly Malaysian history’.

The post provides readers with information on the meeting held in Petaling Jaya on May 15 to launch the national campaign on reforming the history curriculum and textbooks.

During the next few weeks and months, CPI will feature analysis and contributions from scholars and educators on the history reform issue so that the public and government are made aware of and fully understand the ramifications of education – in this case, the history curriculum and textbooks – being used as a political football by the powers that be.
Continue reading “Reclaiming our truly Malaysian history”

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‘Tamil school problem still being ignored’

By Humayun Kabir | May 18, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

IPOH: Tamil schools that were closed because of poor enrolment are not being substituted with new ones in semi-rural and urban areas to cater to the Indian community, the DAP claimed.

Party national vice-chief M Kulasegaran said that nearly 60% of Indian parents preferred to send their children to Tamil schools rather than national schools.

He also said that in Perak, there are over 17,000 pupils studying in Tamil schools – 9,000 in national schools and over 1,500 in Chinese schools.

“Over 70% of the 134 Tamil schools in the state are located in former estates and about 80 of them have an enrolment of fewer than 100 pupils,” said Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP.
Continue reading “‘Tamil school problem still being ignored’”

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Case for English-medium schools

By Lan Boon Leong | May 17, 2011
The Sun

THE United Nations in its various declarations and conventions has continually affirmed the universal rights of minorities, including indigenous people, to an education where the medium of instruction is their mother tongue.

Mother tongue is usually narrowly defined as the language of one’s ethnic group. A wider definition of mother tongue, according to the Oxford dictionary for example, is the language that one first learns to speak as a child – in other words, one’s first language. In this broader sense, a person could have more than one mother tongue and the ethnic language may not even be a mother tongue.

Our present education system caters for minorities but only those whose mother tongue is either Mandarin or Tamil through national-type schools.
Continue reading “Case for English-medium schools”

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Breeding Brainiacs: Tiger Mums in New Zealand

3News.co.nz | SUN, 15 MAY 2011 7:30P.M.

What makes Asian kids so astonishingly brainy? Is it because their parents push them so hard? And if so, should we do the same?

Look at the top stream in school or university, the students receiving the top academic awards, and you can’t help but notice – the faces are likely to be Asian. What makes the Chinese, Taiwanese and Koreans so successful, or to put it another way, what makes Pakeha, Maori and Polynesians much less successful?

The answer you’ll often hear is hard work.

A work ethic instilled by the parents. And more often than not, by the mums…. Tiger Mums.

Paula Penfold talks to the pupils known by their classmates as ‘brainiacs’ to find out why they are top of the class.

Watch the video.

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Teachers, catalysts for the national education transformation

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) | May 16, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

MAY 16 — “A teacher is an educator who determines the future of our children and that of our country.” — Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“Teachers are the backbone that will determine the success of Vision 2020.” —Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“Education reform must go with economic transformation in order to improve students’ performance in schools in addition to providing them with access to better quality education.” —Datuk Noor Rezan Bapoo Hashim, deputy director-general of Education at the time.
Continue reading “Teachers, catalysts for the national education transformation”

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Group pushes for ‘truly Malaysian’ history

By Melissa Chi
May 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, May 15 — The campaign for “A Truly Malaysian Heritage” took root today, when a group of scholars and non-governmental organisations (NGO) pushing for greater accuracy in history textbooks for secondary school students gathered for the first time.

“We need to provide the alternatives to what we think are much better balanced more truthful Malaysian history syllabus in textbooks,” said Dr Lim Teck Ghee, director of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.

Lim told reporters at the Hotel Singgahsana here that the group was formed shortly after February 10, when the online History Book Reform Signature Campaign was launched by the Plan of Action 4 Malaysia.

Aside from Lim, the group also counts professors and lecturers as among its member, along with 18 NGOs including human rights group Aliran, the All Women’s Action Society (Awan), the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), and the National Interlok Action Team (Niat). Continue reading “Group pushes for ‘truly Malaysian’ history”

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Malaysian. Chinese. Totally Foreign.

By Lisa Ng
LoyarBurok

13 May, 2011

Is it racialism that causes Malaysian Chinese to be cliquish? Or is it just bad faith? Let’s explore the reasons why some Malaysian Chinese youth can’t integrate into society and why abolishing vernacular schools may be just a blind shot at solving a growing problem.

Eu Jienn’s story

Chong Eu Jienn is 15. He lives in Kepong, KL. He speaks fluently in Mandarin. If you ever get lost in Kepong and bump into him, please do not ask for directions in English. He will not know how to respond to you. If you switch next to Bahasa Malaysia, he might be able to bring up a broken explanation consisting of recognisable words like “sana” or “depan” but the rest might be in Mandarin so you’d better know a bit of the language yourself if you want to understand what he is telling you.

Eu Jienn is a product of the vernacular schooling system. His parents decided long ago that their children would be educated in a Chinese Independent School. Firstly, China was quickly becoming an important economic power. Secondly, friends with children in National schools were lamenting about the quality of teachers in such schools. Thirdly, Eu Jienn’s parents came from very strict family backgrounds – discipline was top priority for them and Chinese schools were renowned for discipline. Fourthly, Eu Jienn’s parents were DAP supporters. His grandparents were aligned to BN due to the presence of MCA which was felt to represent the Chinese voice in government. But the loyalty ceased as the political landscape shifted with Mahathir, in favour of the Malays. Besides, what was so important about English or Bahasa Malaysia anyway? If Eu Jienn performed well academically, he could get a good job in Singapore or China. Singapore, for one thing, was close enough to stay in touch with their eldest son. Singapore was also kind to the Chinese. And, yes, in Singapore, people spoke Mandarin.

You could hardly blame Eu Jienn’s parents for such a narrow view. For them, vernacular schools were the best bet to ensure a future of better opportunities for their children. They must have known how important English was as it is still the lingua franca of the business and working world. And yet they somehow chose to ignore this point in shaping their son’s future. Continue reading “Malaysian. Chinese. Totally Foreign.”

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Lopsided emphasis on Islamic civilisation

By FMT Staff | May 12, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

KUCHING: Five out of the 10 chapters in the currently used Form Four history book are dedicated to Islamic history and civilisation.

The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS), Sibu branch, which raised the issue, said the other religious civilisations were “sidelined”.

“ACS Sibu is not against the teachings of Islam.

“Our stand is for religions to be presented in a balanced manner instead of putting heavy emphasis on Islam while the other religions are sidelined, ” it said, adding that there appeared to be an attempt to condition the minds of the young to accept the syariah law as the “suitable and practical law for a multi-racial nation”.
Continue reading “Lopsided emphasis on Islamic civilisation”

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Syarat Kemasukkan ke Ijazah Farmasi Lepasan Diploma Farmasi

YB Lim,

Per: Syarat Kemasukkan ke Ijazah Farmasi Lepasan Diploma Farmasi

Merujuk perkara di atas, dimaklumkan bahawa saya pelajar jurusan Diploma Farmasi semester terakhir Kolej Universiti (IPTS). Di sini saya ingin meluahkan kekecewaan terhadap sistem yang diguna pakai pada masa kini untuk pengambilan pelajar lepasan Diploma Farmasi ke peringkat IPTA atau IPTS bagi jurusan Ijazah Farmasi.

2. Apa yang menyedihkan ialah graduan dari jurusan Diploma Farmasi wajib mendapat CGPA 3.8 ke atas untuk layak mejejak kaki menara gading untuk melanjutkan pendidikan ke peringakat Ijazah. Sebelum saya memilih jurusan Diploma Farmasi, saya pernah dimaklumkan bahawa syarat untuk melanjutkan ke peringkat Ijazah adalah CGPA 3.0 sahaja. Tetapi kini semuanya telah berubah. Saya berasa sedih dan hala tuju saya untuk melanjutkan pelajaran ke peringkat Ijazah dalam bidang Farmasi terbantut. Continue reading “Syarat Kemasukkan ke Ijazah Farmasi Lepasan Diploma Farmasi”

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An Open Letter to Our Education Minister

The recent focus given to history as a compulsory subject in the Malaysian school curriculum has driven me as a parent of school going children to gain an insight of what my children are learning in history as a subject in school. Before I summarise my findings (via reading my children’s history text books from Form 1 – 5), allow me to briefly take you through what is being taught as history in our government school:

Form 1 students are taught predominantly about the Malacca Sultanate with sporadic anecdotes of the other states. Penang is not mentioned at all and if I’m a student studying in Penang, I will seriously be wondering why. That is until I go to Form 2 whereby I will learn about the Straits Settlement, Tin Mining, Rubber Plantation and Exploitation by the British. Form 3 students learn about the Japanese Occupation, the Communist Party of Malaya, leading to Malaysia’s independence in 1957. A very detailed account of all the political parties in Malaysia is also elaborated. The 1955 Election Results seemed to be an important account in history as it is mentioned twice, in Form 3 and again in Form 5.

In Form 4, other than the first two chapters where one learns about the early civilization and the emergence of various religions, the rest of the year you will be doing an in-depth study of Islam – Islam Civilisation, Islamic Government in Medina, Formation of Islamic Government & Its Contribution, Islam in South East Asia, and Islam Influence in Malaysia. One could not be faulted to ask the question if one is learning history or religious study. I believe Azmi Sharom has expounded succinctly and rather ingeniously on this issue in his article in The Star on 30 Dec 2010. Continue reading “An Open Letter to Our Education Minister”

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Why Muhyiddin’s education system sucks!

During the Sarawak state general election campaign, both the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin promised to consider the return of the teaching of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) and that the government would study the possibility of using two mediums of instruction for teaching science and maths.

Has the Cabinet set in motion the return of PPSMI and the use of two mediums of instruction for teaching science and maths or is this just an empty campaign ploy for the Sarawak state elections?

Instead Muhyiddin as the Education Minister has brought forward the abolition of PPSMI by one year, from 2012 to 2011, catching parents and students by surprise.

Is he going to give the parents the option to decide whether to revert back to PPSMI for this year until a decision is taken whether the Cabinet is going to adopt two mediums of instruction for teaching science and maths?

The Barisan Nasional’s education system sucks basically for two reasons:

Firstly, failing to produce internationally-recognised a high-quality education system from primary to secondary and tertiary level which could meet the country’s aspirations to be a globally competitive nation with a creative workforce; and

Secondly, failing to be a major instrument of the Malaysian nation-building process. Continue reading “Why Muhyiddin’s education system sucks!”

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Interlok: Your God in capital letter, my god in lower case

By Iraiputtiran

Open letter to Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin

You, Sir, are becoming a complete embarrassment to this country. If Interlok has given anyone an opportunity to prove anything at all, then probably it has given you the best chance to expose your Umno NEP intellectuality.

From the very beginning, the issue with Interlok has been very clear. It was a case of an unsuitable book and wrongly chosen without a thorough analysis. Or otherwise, it was deliberately chosen with the ill-intention of poisoning innocent young minds in schools with the venomous agenda of Umno racism and Umno supremacy.

The book – which Indians were the first to object to (infuriated as they are by the vilification of their community from the demeaning portrayal of Indian characters throughout the novel) – is also being rejected by non-Indians, who have begun to see the inappropriateness of the book as a major public exam material.
Continue reading “Interlok: Your God in capital letter, my god in lower case”

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Enhancing Human Capital – Charter Schools

by M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital

Charter Schools

Another avenue for private sector participation would be a joint private and public partnership to form charter schools. Charter school is a new concept and becoming increasingly popular in America. The underlying idea is to empower the ultimate “consumers” of schools – students and their parents – by taking control away from the central bureaucracy and giving it to the schools. The ministry would be concerned only with monitoring the quality and compliance with rules and regulations, and setting the standards.

To gain charter status, such schools must meet certain conditions. Their graduates must demonstrate competency in our national language (Malay) and history. These schools must also recognize the uniqueness and special sensitivity of Malaysian society. Thus their student body must reflect the greater community.

In return, these schools would get state funding – the same amount of funds it would have cost the government to educate these pupils in the public system. Additionally, the state would guarantee loans for capital expenses. The actual lending however would be done through private sources. With the guarantee, the interest rate should be favorable. Continue reading “Enhancing Human Capital – Charter Schools”

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Interlok issue is not resolved

By Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Civil society groups and other concerned individuals should not be taken in by Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that the Interlok issue has been resolved. In fact, not only is it not resolved but compliance will mean that Interlok could well be extended from its present Zone 2 (Klang Valley) coverage thereafter to Zone 1, Zone 3 and Zone 4 in the rest of the country.

Interlok is a beach head for the Little Napoleons and other Ketuanan bureaucrats to impose their agenda of educational and cultural seppuku on a young captive audience.

Success in imposing Interlok will only encourage these ideologues to move further upstream and inject their indoctrination into the syllabus for the younger forms, and eventually in the primary school curriculum. The History and Moral subjects have already been tampered with. Currently the focus is on language and literature. What will be next?

Muhyiddin’s statement that nobody should politicize or exploit the issue by using NGOs is made in wilful ignorance. The fact is these organizations have been in the forefront of the campaign from the outset. It is not difficult for the Minister to determine the chronology of events with regard to the emergence and growth of public (but hardly any political) consciousness, concern and agitation on the book.

A quick glance at news and reports from the websites will show that civil society organizations such as NIAT, Hartal MSM, and the Centre for Policy Initiatives have provided analysis and public feedback for several months now on the unsuitability of Interlok. Continue reading “Interlok issue is not resolved”

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Chinese groups weigh in on Interlok

Malaysiakini

A number of prominent Chinese groups are among 45 organisations which inked a joint statement criticising the government’s decision to retain the controversial novel ‘Interlok’ as a compulsory textbook for secondary schools.

In a strongly-worded statement, the civil society groups ticked off the novel for attempting to indoctrinate Form Five students with the ‘Malay supremacy’ ideology.

Describing ‘Interlok’ as an “insidious poison”, the civil society groups accused the novel of propagating the ideology of “Ketuanan Melayu”.

“In fact, Interlok is barely a step away from the Biro Tatanegara brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity. ‘Interlok’ conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners (‘bangsa asing’ Cina dan India).
Continue reading “Chinese groups weigh in on Interlok”

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Enhancing Human Capital Through Education: Revamping Schools and Universities (Cont’d)

by M. Bakri Musa

Chapter 7: Enhancing Human Capital

Enhancing Human Capital Through Education: Revamping Schools and Universities (Cont’d)

There are plenty of ready role models. Malaysia can look to Germany and Switzerland for examples of superior trade and vocational schools. For academic schools, Malaysia could emulate the finest British public or American magnet schools. Local universities could propose model curricula for these academic schools. Similarly, industries could help design specific vocational syllabi. Proton for example, could establish a school to prepare students to be car mechanics and auto body repairers and other skilled workers for the automobile industry.

My proposal calls for the elimination of the current matrikulasi programs. They are expensive and waste valuable resources of the universities. Universities should stick to doing what other institutions cannot do, that is, education at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. Continue reading “Enhancing Human Capital Through Education: Revamping Schools and Universities (Cont’d)”

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Interlok: Time to Make a Stand

by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee | CPI

As the drama over the Interlok textbook issue continues to unfold, it is important for Malaysians to understand the context and the stakes involved, and to make a stand.

There are some defenders of the book who have argued that withdrawing or even just editing it will rob Malaysian writers of their artistic freedom and integrity. To these people, I would like to say “hello, where have you been” – Interlok has already been edited twice, in 2005 for Edisi Pelajar and in 2010 for Edisi Murid. Its literary integrity was already compromised by the shedding of some 85 pages even before this latest controversy.

In fact, copyright for the edition distributed free to schools no longer belongs even to Abdullah Hussain but to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Hence Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that his ministry “will ensure that any amendments made will not affect the storyline of the novel and the noble message that the author wants to convey” is nothing short of whitewash. According to reports, Muhyiddin is not permitting anything beyond deletion of the word ‘pariah’.
Continue reading “Interlok: Time to Make a Stand”

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Education in multicultural Malaysia

by Azly Rahman
Malaysiakini
Mar 9, 11

Q: Being a multicultural society that Malaysia is, how should our education system be designed? Or, should it be designed at all?

A: Education is a deliberate attempt to construct human beings who will participate in society as productive citizens. The question whether our education system should be designed or not is quite irrelevant when education, schooling, training, indoctrination, and the spectrum of ways by which the child is “schooled” are all based on intentional design.

Schooling is the most contested terrain in any society; it is a battlefield or a conveyor belt for the creation of human beings. We go back one step before the question of design. In a multicultural society, who should be entrusted to design schooling – politicians or philosophers of education trained in the study of political economy and anthropology and alternative historicising?

Are those designing our schooling system equipped with the varieties of philosophical perspectives in education? We have essentialism, progressivism, romanticism, cultural rejuvenation, social reconstructionism, spiritual capitalism, technicism… or even cultural revolution.

These philosophies call for a different perspective of what a human being is and how to draw out the potentials in each and every human being. Hence the Latin word “educare”, from which education comes from, meaning “drawing out”.

My question for all of you: What philosophy of education will be suitable for a multicultural society such as Malaysia? And how do we translate such a philosophy into praxis (Paulo Freire, “Cultural action for freedom”). Continue reading “Education in multicultural Malaysia”