Winners ignored, 5th placers lauded?


by Ooi Chin Wah
Letters
Malaysiakini
Dec 22, 10

The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is an event for science, technology and education, that brings together youths from all over the world in order to develop their creativity and problem solving skills through challenging and educational robot competitions.

Participating teams need to create, design and build a robot model that looks or behaves like human.

This year the task of organising the competition was given to the Philippines. The Ministry of Education and many private companies in the Philippines jointly sponsored the event.

The steering committee consists of well-known academicians from China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Singapore. 250 teams from 22 countries participated.

There are six gold medals on offer as there are two categories in the competition; the Open category and regular category. Each category is further divided into Elementary (primary school), Junior High (Forms 1 to 3) and Senior High (Forms 4 and 5) categories.

Malaysia won two gold medals, one by the Chung Ling High School (Kampung Baru, Penang Island) for Open Category, Senior High school level, the other by SMK Bintulu for Regular Category, Junior High School level.

This piece of news was reported under the title “Champs once again” in the Nov 14 edition of Star.

But the report is about the team that won the fifth place in the Open Category, Elementary Level. Here is an excerpt from the report:

‘Year Five pupil Muhd Syamil Khairi from SK Wan Ibrahim, Kuala Lipis, Pahang, said he and his two teammates Mohd Ezzameer Fitri and Muhammad Hazimuddin Halif took three months to build their robot which performs an orang asli dance known as the “sewang” with the supervision of their robotic club teacher Mahmud Salleh.’

There is no mention that the team highlighted in the report was awarded the fifth place in the Open Category, Elementary Level.

I can’t help but feeling that the author was trying to give the casual reader an impression that the above said team is the team that will put Malaysia at the top of the world.

Was the Chung Ling High School mentioned at all? No.

The SMJK Chung Ling mentioned at the end of the report is in Butterworth. Even SMK Bintulu who won the gold medal was mentioned merely as a participating team. Here is an excerpt from the report”

‘The other teams which represented Malaysia at the olympiad were SMK Bintulu in Bintulu; SMJK Chung Ling, Butterworth; SJKC Chi Man, Kuala Lumpur; SJKC Taman Connaught, Kuala Lumpur; MRSM Kubang Pasu, Alor Setar; SMK Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom, Kuantan; SMJK Jit Sin, Ayer Itam; and Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya.’

  1. #1 by yhsiew on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 3:03 pm

    By hook or by crook, don’t let the students who won two gold medals, one by the Chung Ling High School (Kampung Baru, Penang Island) for Open Category, Senior High school level, the other by SMK Bintulu for Regular Category, Junior High School level emigrate to Singapore, Australia or the UK!

  2. #2 by k1980 on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 3:06 pm

    It must have been quite an achievement and a record for kaki lepaks to score 5th placing. Hence the praise for them and the subsequent disregard for the gold medalists.

    Same as the case for the umno space tourist who received front page coverage while the Russian captain and navigator of teh Solyuz rocket to the ISS were ignored.

  3. #3 by tak tahan on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 3:23 pm

    1Malaysia copied 1Israel.Apco will say no need to claim the credit cause $$$millions substitution is more than anything else.

  4. #4 by monsterball on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 4:22 pm

    What sickening racists they are….yet MCA hero worship UMNO B.
    MCA members need to wake up and see their own race being constantly taken out from history…and historical achievements.
    Cannot understand MCA who declare they are champions for the Chinese are always silent whenever the Govt bully their own race.

  5. #5 by loveandgratitude on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 5:57 pm

    What to expect from MSM?

    Just boycott them and depend on Internet for NEWS.

    Still keep treating the Nons as 2nd class.

  6. #6 by boh-liao on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 6:43 pm

    Apa itu SMJK Chung Ling, Butterworth, n SMJK Jit Sin, Ayer Itam?
    http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/11/14/education/7402455&sec=education
    Bodoh KAREN CHAPMAN, writing rubbish
    How 2 keep home grown talents here?
    For real story, read lah http://clhsir.techmill.net/

  7. #7 by boh-liao on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 6:45 pm

    Apa itu SMJK Chung Ling, Butterworth, n SMJK Jit Sin, Ayer Itam?
    http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2010/11/14/education/7402455&sec=education
    Bodoh KAREN CHAPMAN, writing rubbish

  8. #8 by boh-liao on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 6:46 pm

    How 2 keep home grown talents here?
    For real story, read lah http://clhsir.techmill.net/

  9. #9 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 7:30 pm

    Holy cow! Was that the STAR report you said?

    O STAR, how low can you go? Must you stoop so low? Where is your journalistic sense and integrity?

    It just shows what Soil Lek has done to the STAR. Soi Lek’s ascent is the STAR’s descent.

    Good grief! Where are you Ong Tee Keat? Would you like to put in a rejoinder? Can’t let Soi Lek ride roughshod over common sense and the common good of all malaysians-lah!

  10. #10 by jus legitimum on Saturday, 25 December 2010 - 7:38 pm

    That is why the 1 Malaysia slogan is ironical and hypocritical.There is no equality but discrimination is everywhere.’Star’ under the spineless and eunuch MCA has to stoop so low to rub off the achievement made by the talented Chinese students.What a shame?

  11. #11 by tak tahan on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 12:57 am

    Champs once again

    2010 World Politician Olympiad(WPO) is an event wordlwide for political reform,economic and education to bring the best out to transform for the the better of Democracy and Human Rights towards the future.

    Venue:Zimbabwe
    Team Gold Medallist:Najis,Moojideen,perkasa,Siti Inshah and the renowned patron/mentor Mahathir from Kerala.
    Category:The Very Very Loud Open Bold Ideology Intellectuals(TVVLOBII)

    Utusan Malaysia

  12. #12 by dagen on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 1:05 am

    Penang people has a way to describe this situation.

    “Use other people’s rearside as his own face.”

    This is so umno.

  13. #13 by boh-liao on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 2:36 am

    Even primary n high school kids KNOW dat 1M’sia is bullsh!t n racial discrimination is real
    N the Star is so desperate 2 lie n downplay d achievements of nonMalays 2 please their masters (MCA n UmnoB) – betul useless n gutless

  14. #14 by waterfrontcoolie on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 5:46 am

    Media like the Star and the Sun should shoulder some of the responsibility. As for the MOE, we have given up hope on its aspiration long ago. Their agenda is pure politics, all their information is to mislead the rural folks with mis-information. I have suggested that since the country dare not pitch any praticular stae in the PISA competition, they should at least seek the organizer to allow Malaysia to use residential schools to compete. As these are the cream, their performance will allow them to gauge their achievement ovewr the years. Basically, they just aim at provincial championship locally.

  15. #15 by undertaker888 on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 9:43 am

    Jealously is abound in this type of people. Jealously is eating them up at every corner. Jealously has gone up their heads and hurt their hearts. Jealously has made them mad with hatred. Jealously in the end has got the better of them.

    The only way they can get respect is brute discrimination. That’s all they have.

  16. #16 by boh-liao on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 9:50 am

    WHO said our education system is useless?
    Look at d number of PMR students with all As
    An alien visiting M’sia would hv thought it had landed in a land of geniuses

  17. #17 by the reds on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 12:43 pm

    Malaysia Boleh!

  18. #18 by undertaker888 on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 12:50 pm

    Even with 30% headstart given they can’t even finish second. What kind of ketuanan is this when the sons and daughters of beggars and prostitutes keep on winning gold? The superior kind can’t even win consolation prize.

    53 years of educational immorality. No energy to say. Now we understand why we sent our kids to jenis kebangsaan.

  19. #19 by Loh on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 3:41 pm

    ///This piece of news was reported under the title “Champs once again” in the Nov 14 edition of Star.///

    The Star did it to prevent the master community from getting jealous of Chung Ling High School. The thought that if the achievement of Chung Ling had been highlighted, Ibrahim Ali and the Perkasa gang might ask for Chung Ling to become another Mara. That is how CSL fights for MCA to represent Chinese; the motto is not to annoy UMNO, and highlighting the capability of non-Malays is against Ketuanan Melayu. We should remember that NEP was created to prevent Malays becoming jealous of non-Malays though the sense of jealousy was promoted by UMNO like Rukun Melayu. Are UMNO leaders confused? They are certain that their NEP-based policies made them rich, though it was the Mamak who institutionalised the corruption process within the legal framework.

  20. #20 by PoliticoKat on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 4:07 pm

    Brilliant, more human talent for Malaysia to export. Malaysia is on the fore front of talent export. We export more talent than any nation.

    Just look at the stats. 1 in 28 Malaysians work overseas! How many countries can boast such a high ratio? By 2020 our leaders hope to increase that ratio to 1 in 10.

    Malaysia, the nation with most global trotting population in the world

  21. #21 by tunglang on Sunday, 26 December 2010 - 6:37 pm

    The more the MSM ignore our talents (the non-prince of the earth), the more they will be motivated to excel and will be recognized and booked by foreign countries hungry for Malaysian talents.
    Who is the loser then?
    Penang Lang who work hard and excel in whatever they do will never go hungry. I’m very proud of Chung Ling High School, Penang as my son is also in the Robotics Society.

  22. #22 by boh-liao on Monday, 27 December 2010 - 1:27 am

    M’sia did very well in the recent World Robot Olympiad, much better than S’pore
    http://www.wroboto.org.php5-15.websitetestlink.com/inside/pdf/wro2010_winners.xls
    No wonder S’pore wants 2 headhunt talents
    Don’t forget S’pore’s current Health Minister is an old boy of Chung Ling High School, Kampung Baru, Penang

  23. #24 by drngsc on Monday, 27 December 2010 - 8:40 am

    A lost race, desperately in search of a hero, any small one will do. What a pity?
    1Malaysia, it is an UMNO / BN joke.

  24. #25 by monsterball on Monday, 27 December 2010 - 11:22 am

    You will find MCA and MIC are extremely quiet .for their future to have their parties stay alive depend on how Najib find ways and means to win votes….even at the expense to belittle…insult…bully the Chinese and Indians.
    These two no balls parties …are real disgrace to their communities…feeling no shame at all….simply because the are also fighting to have cozy rich corrupted opportunities for themselves and for their clicks.
    That’s how much MCA and MIC politicians love their races too…and worst of all…are minorities that their own race needs them badly to defend their birth rights…all went to deaf ears and blind eyes.

  25. #26 by ReformMalaysia on Monday, 27 December 2010 - 8:47 pm

    why the champions are ignored? The reason is obvious….

    1)Chung Ling High School …….. wrong race?

    2) SMK Bintulu …….. because the school was from Sarawak?

    this is just a tip of an iceberg….. UMNO is responsible for this mentality…

    So this is what the real 1Malaysia is all about..

    Kononnya 1Malaysia….. Kononnya Rakyat didahulukan…. Kononnya pencapaian diutamakan….

    Kononnya…..!

You must be logged in to post a comment.