This is the question I posed in Parliament at the beginning of the 16-day committee stage debate of the “wayang kulit” 2009 Budget debate in Parliament today.
I started by congratulating Barack Obama for his historic win as United States President as it was unthinkable even until very recently for anyone to believe that it is possible for a black, who were slaves until some 150 years ago, to be able to become President of US.
I said Parliament should also send its congratulations to Obama.
However, Obama’s historic breakthrough make many Malaysians ask whether it is possible for a Chinese, Indian, Kadazan to become the Prime Minister of Malaysia although the Constitution is very clear that any Malaysian citizen, regardless of race or religion can become Prime Minister.
If such a question is asked 50 years ago, the nation’s founders like Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Dr. Ismail, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Tan Cheng Lock, Tun Tan Siew Sin and Tun V.T. Sambanthan would unhesitatingly answered in the positive as there is no constitutional bar – separate from the question of whether it was likely to happen.
But if the same question is asked now, there will be strong voices (as heard in Parliament today when this question was posed) who would rise up to say no.
Who is going against the Merdeka Constitution and the social contract reached by the forefathers of the major communities to achieve national independence half a century ago?
Why is Malaysian race relations and nation-building going backwards in the past 50 years as compared to the historic breakthrough in race relations in the United States with Obama’s historic victory in the US presidential elections?
#1 by imranj78 on Sunday, 9 November 2008 - 4:18 pm
oedipus,
Principally I agree that there has to be a common education system for all that encompasses the religious schools. However, inclusion of the sekolah agama rakyat has one major drawback, it would result in an increasing `islamization’ of national schools which would not be agreeable to non-Muslims hence this has to be closely studied.
I tend to believe that the solution to the sekolah agama rakyat has to be studied further. The vernacular schools and the national schools has one thing in common – in general the curriculum taught are more or less the same. Sekolah Agama Rakyats have a totally different curriculum hence some might say that it is best to leave this as a separate school `stream’. This is similar to the current strategy in which we have the separate sekolah menengah tekniks as they have a different curriculum then the rest of the national schools.
#2 by AhPek on Sunday, 9 November 2008 - 6:58 pm
imranj78,
As long as UMNO is around nothing good is possible in this country.As is mentioned earlier they are the main cause of disunity in this country.The first step and fundamental step towards rejuvenation then is to throw UMNO out.Then the process of renewal of our school system will be given a chance to see the light at the end of the tunnel.Until such time nothing is possible.
#3 by kapcai72 on Sunday, 9 November 2008 - 7:49 pm
Tidak salah jika kita memiliki seorang PM berketurunan Cina, India, Melayu, Kadazan, Iban, Mamak, etc. Hatta keturunan Jepun pun saya terima, ASALKAN PM itu mesti beragama ISLAM, elok moralnya, baik budi pekerti dan beriman kepada ALLAH.
Kalau dia Melayu sekalipun tetapi tidak mengucapkan dua kalimah syahadah maka SAYA AKAN TOLAK tak kira lah dia calon parti PAS, UMNO, MIC, DAP, MCA, PKR, etc.
Saya bersetuju dengan konsep satu sekolah. No more SRA, Sekolah Cina, Tamil, etc. etc. Sepatutnya semua elemen yang wujud didalam sistem persekolahan yang ada sekarang diseragamkan dan dikumpulkan didalam satu sistem persekolahan yang jitu dan dapat melahirkan rakyat malaysia yang bersatu padu dan bersedia mengorbankan dirinya untuk negara.
#4 by chengho on Monday, 10 November 2008 - 8:13 am
BG Lee of singapore very clear on this issue ‘ Only Chinese for PM for Now , to reach a position where everbody is totally race-blind and religion-blind ,i think that’s very difficult ‘
#5 by AhPek on Monday, 10 November 2008 - 8:48 am
I think I won’t be wrong to state that nowhere else in the world can you find a heterogeneos nation with such an overwhelming majority in a single ethnic group like what you find in Singapore (Chinese 75.2% of population).In America the English or the Irish or the French or the Germans or the Spaniards and in fact none of the other groups come even anywhere near to Singapore’s Chinese population.Thus in fact BG Lee is not making a racialist statement neither is he making a declaration of a preference.He is merely stating the reality of the Singapore situation when he states that “Only Chinese for PM for Now……………”.He is not stating that Malay or Indian or Euracian cannot be PM,unlike in Malaysia where they state that a Chinese cannot be even an acting general manager in a government organisation such as PKNS.That’s the main difference between a racist government and a non racist government.
#6 by oedipus on Monday, 10 November 2008 - 10:41 am
but guys, to revamp and reconcile our vernacular schools and kebangsaan school will never see the lite of day under the current ruling coalition. why? because they have to many ‘vested’ interest to allow proper governance and educators to do their job.
fact: vernacular schools can never be closed.
factr: however we can make kebangsaan school more attractive than vernacular schools ie better educators, management, facilities and a more competitive syllabi. take away skin colour and religion, let the best educator educate our children. let the best and competitive education system mold our children to their best potential!
question is: does the government REALLY wants critical thinking young adults (the future of Maklaysia) or they prefer drones that will do what is told, believe what is spoken and incapable to realise their full potential?
that is the reason i think why our education system produces large batches or drones all lacking inner depth and actualization. just ask your child he/she wants to score all A’s, or do he/she learn because he/she enjoys learning?