Meritocracy is NOT the only way of life. Even in Singapore whose example Jeff Lim provides, Singapore’s brand of meritocracy has it’s own hidden dangers.

A recent survey revealed that 53 per cent of Public Service Commission scholarships go to those who live in private property and largely hail from the crème de la crème of schools and have benefited from the various schemes that cater to the academically talented, such as the Education Ministry’s Gifted Education Programme.

Their dominant social status arising from higher household incomes suggests that they possess the cultural capital required to ‘make it’ in life, as nurtured by their parents who are likely to have attained qualifications at the tertiary level.

While there is general acquiescence that these scholarships are indeed awarded on the basis of academic performance and individual achievement alone, the preponderance of the socially privileged among them merits scrutiny. Singapore’s education system, which has always been held up as a model of social mobility for all, is attenuated because one group benefits from a distinct advantage over the others. The public perception that there is an inherent link between students from wealthier households and high academic achievement is pervasive.

In a meritocracy, some individuals are bound to do better than others. But one big worry is that the elites (those who rise to the top of the Singapore system) become a class unto themselves and fail to empathise with the needs and problems of the rest of society. This in turn breeds resentment among those who do not make it to these top ranks, as they feel excluded and envious of those who do.

Elitism that exists in Singapore society is as much anti-meritocratic as is positive discrimination in Malaysia.

Godfather Says:

>> Judge a person by his actions. Give Anwar a chance to perform what he has been saying all this while.

Correct and thus based upon his actions over the last 15 years or so, Anwar does not deserve a chance. He does not practise what he preaches/d and is known to be of unstable character who becomes anything to anyone just to get what he wants. Such an amphibian does not deserve a chance because he can do far more damage than what we attempting to redeem.

Badawi won a landslide in 2003 because of his “mr clean” image and we know he was no mr clean; we cannot vote in Anwar on the per chance that this mr dirty is some sort of an angel. He has no vision and no concrete policies to guide Malaysia (he already did a lot of damage as DPM and finance minister).

>> I too post comments on Mahathir’s blog, and it pains me to see how narrow-minded and senseless the pro-Mahathir supporters are.

Such is the joy of blogging, I suspect it pains them too how senseless your rabid diatribes against Mahathir are.

>> Remember that Mahathir is the master at using race and religion to further his objectives,

Who instigated May 13th riots? Mahathir’s “Malay Dilemma” was written after and in response to this incident. If you think the incident in 1969 was not related to race or that “affirmative action” is racist, then you really are narrow-minded to the complexities of ground realities and social demography of Malaysia.

Adam, firstly you do not answer a question with a question because it shows your incompetence and your avoidance of the issue at hand. Nevertheless, as to your question; no one can condone withholding opportunities to anyone to further their potential, academic or otherwise. What problems are unique to S’pore are unique to them and ours to us. I simply made a point to Jeff’s initial post where he was eulogising S’pore and it’s brand of “meritocracy”.

If BN did not tickle your fancy, I can assure you that Pakatan may certainly work towards the other extreme. Until and unless you find a middle path that is acceptable and consensualised by most Malaysians, we’ll be back to square one.

So going back to my previous question: Are those who are from poorer households deserve to be given the chance to realise their full potential? The affirmative plan may have had noble intentions, we know that in practise, it is very much prone to corruption and abuse; therefore the opposition needs to formalise and present HOW they will amend it to make is suitable for all in Malaysia of 2008 and beyond.

tiger88 Says:

>> The minorities and the poor are specially taken care of as they do not need to pay for education.

I was not speaking of government help tiger, I was specifically pointing to S’pore’s brand of meritocracy where if you have a greater chance (even privilege) of having the opportunities to excel if you are wealthy and live in private housing. I thought meritocracy was a system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement not their social status and elitist mentality?

just a moment, if Anwar wins PP, I would encourage the government to continue in their abuse of power and implement ISA on Anwar to keep him from parliament. I think a lot of anti-opposition forces would be happy for Anwar to be interned to stop him from ruining Malaysia if given the chance at premiership. A vote for Anwar is a vote for anti-national forces, however an opposition without DAP and Anwar as a figurehead may work better for the country.

britcrazelady, Malaysia is made up of many cultures and ethnicities and religion. The latter being the most crucial and defining feature of M’sians; No matter how much anyone wants to deny it, religious allegiance is primary before race or country.

As to your assumption of why the Chinese and Indians have been disregarded, I doubt you can back this up with facts as the Chinese remain the most economically successful of all races. Whether you believe this is because of the system or inspite of it is debatable; what matters is that they are accorded the means to achieve their successes.

k1980, err no. I came to Malaysia in 1992 and fyi, I am caucasian. Cheap remarks won’t get you anywhere, provide something of substance so that we can all see the depth of your intellect, thanks.

Godfather, do you know what Anwar stands for? Have you seen his manifesto and HOW he is going to dispense “justice”? Antagonising one race over another is the stuff that BN is accused of; I will also watch with interest how he tries to serve all equally within the unique social demography that is Malaysia. It is also impossible to reconcile secularism with Islam and therefore Patakan will need to seek a middle-ground.

Doing away with race-based politics is simply not enough to break the BN taboo, it needs far more than Anwar has shown to be capable of. If he was fettered by UMNO during his membership of it, what makes you think he will not be fettered under the machination of DAP with their own selfish secular agenda or even PAS?

This will be my last post on this particular thread, but will look forward to your response.