Smart brain will breed smarter brains

The offspring of stupid idiots will be even more stupid!

There are more heroes in Malaysia than in India. When they cannot find real threat, they have to imagine some so that the heroes can show they are the defenders. They had to fight English to show Malay nationalism. With that the country is divided between Malays and non-Malays. Then they created the concept of economic threat, as though they can pull their wealth together. Then the concept of 30% corporate ownership was born. Having achieved that, UMNO is sending representatives to fight the world stage. We never heard that Bill Gates got any support from the US government, but Najib will soon help capable and bright Malays to become billionaires to take part at world level competition. Those funds could have been used to wipe out poverty in one stroke. But then, how to use poverty as excuse for NEP to continue?

And I began to wonder. The movie is so rich in Indian cultures, heritage, works of art in stones, Indian traditional music and dance, beliefs, etc., but the delivery was in simple English … so perfectly spoken, communicated and easy to understand. Why is it that the Indians in India can master English so well but don’t feel that English may threaten their national identity, culture and heritage?

I think the answer lies not so much in how we combat its wrongly perceived “threat” but how we inculcate the love for our Malaysian Identity into the minds of our future generations.

We reap what we sow. But we can sow depends on the environment we build for them.

For the 4th-year decease, let us proffer our highest condolences. Apart from condolences, what else can we do? In a country of no social welfare net for single mother, family honour at stake, whole moral weight on her shoulders, there is no alternative path for her to choose. In a society who refuses to acknowledge the difference between sexuality and morality, woman surely is the victim.

Now, imagine yourself to be in that hapless unmarried mother’s shoes. She had to drop put, or risk her pregnancy being exposed and then being sentenced by the syariah court for zina and possibly death by stoning. And the irresponsible father of the aborted child, most probably her university mate, is heaving a big sigh of relief that her death had saved his miserable skin.

Yes, the JPA scholarship holders have worked hard. But it is not deniable that some of them did not merit the award, and that itself spoil the reputation of those who earned them. If the scholarship was an indication of merit, than merit has to be upheld at all cost. When there was the malpractice of giving bonus marks in passing graduates of a certain race in the name of NEP, the reputation of others who are capable and deserving suffers. When Zaid Ibrahim criticised NEP, he was branded as being ungrateful. It did not matter whether Zaid Ibrahim had attained his present standing because of his hard work and ability he had to be seen to have got it through the convenience of NEP. So, Malays are not allowed to criticise others because they are deemed to share the secret of deceit. That was why Tun Ismail said that Malays would voluntarily forgo the quota protection under Article 153 when they no longer required them. Out of political opportunism, the ex-Youth chief of UMNO declared that Malays needed not be apologetic for receiving the special assistance which was originally time-bound, and we heard UMNO Mamak members declaring non-Malays as Pendatang. Obviously when Tun Ismail referred to Malay pride, he did not foresee that those who were facilitated to become Malays through Article 160 on Malay’s definition did not consider it their obligation to upkeep.

Bakri explains that merit is more than examination score. That is debatable. It depends on what aspect of merit one wishes to measure. Surely examination serves to test whether those who have gone through the courses have done credit to what they intend to pursue, academically. As regards to other quality and calibre of students, if they could be trained, then special guidance courses could be provided. When assessment of such non-academic matters could be subjective, Malaysians who have seen all variation of psedomeritocracy practised in university admission and equating HSC with Matriculation examination score do not believe that current JPA scholarship award has been on merit ground.

Bakri commented that the award might be computerised if it based solely on examination results. That might be possible in a different environment. The examination scripts in Malaysia carry the name of the candidate, and that differentiate race and religion. That raises suspicion on the objective marking standards. Who knows how the computer programs have been drawn up to ensure it is race-blind?

The actions of government do not induce confidence among the citizens. It is because policies as implemented are not race-blind. Actions of government would remain suspect so long as government policies are race-based.

He has to convince the public that he is worth his salt or the public may not visit his clinic.

Hence there is no short cut to gain entry to a medical course except with a sterling academic result in STP.