Archive for category Education
Must be election time again
– Tunku Munawirah Putra
The Malaysian Insider
July 17, 2013
The Islamic Civilisation and Asian Studies (Titas) could have been an enlightening liberal arts subject, had it not been forced onto students to take it up. It is most unfortunate to see it being robbed of its purity with the kind of politics entrenched in its enforcement.
It is like experiencing the abolition of PPSMI (the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English) all over again, in terms of how and why the decision was made.
The Titas issue seems to be following a similar pattern as the abolition of PPSMI, which was done close to a by-election. Titas and the Kuala Besut by-election is just like PPSMI and the Manik Urai by-election. Both decisions were made known about a week prior to the date of the by-elections. Hence, however well-meaning the decision could be by certain quarters, it is still a controversial decision that got bulldozed through, in an attempt to appeal to the voters in the area. Why else is it announced just before the by-elections, when it could have been held back until the by-elections are over to avoid such suspicion? Read the rest of this entry »
Decisions makers in Ministry of Education are no-brainers
– Lok Kong
The Malaysian Insider
July 16, 2013
No one would like to belittle the ones who make decisions and policies in the Ministry of Education. But these no-brainers were and still are making bias, useless and stupid decisions/policies.
Anything against their whims and fancies are taboo. They abruptly abolished the English schools left over by the British; they abruptly U-turn to teach Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia in all national schools; they suddenly make 3 subjects compulsory at private tertiary institutions. They are (!) Islamic and Asian Civilization, (2) Ethnic Relations and (3) Malaysian Studies. They must be taught in Bahasa Malaysia just to name a few major ones. All these stupid policies will retard the progress of Malaysia for many years.
Being no-brainers, they cannot cognitively think these policies are bad for the country as a whole generally and the Rakyat in particular. Being no-brainers, they are unable to think of good policies to educate the students to be useful and productive. Being no-brainers they enact policies that cause the huge brain drain in this country. Being no-brainers they eventually doom Malaysia.
Education is the most important for the nation. It takes good education policies to educate the Rakyat in many years. In Chinese culture it has been said that it takes 100 years to educate meaning very long time. How can the PPSMI show results after very short time? It was started in 2003 (Form 1), the first cohort can only graduate with first Degree in 2010 or 2011 and with MBBS in 2013 or 2014. It is very stupid to make 100% U-turn to stop teaching the Science and Mathematics in English and in Bahasa Malaysia instead. This flip-flopping within short time is not acceptable. What is the basis for doing so is best known to them. These no-brainers are nuts. Read the rest of this entry »
Malala delivers defiant riposte to Taliban militants as UN hails ‘our hero’
Posted by Kit in Education, Human Rights on Sunday, 14 July 2013
Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian, Friday 12 July 2013
‘They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed,’ says Malala, 16, at UN to push campaign for girls’ education
When the Taliban sent a gunman to shoot Malala Yousafzai last October as she rode home on a bus after school, they made clear their intention: to silence the teenager and kill off her campaign for girls’ education.
Nine months and countless surgical interventions later, she stood up at the United Nations on her 16th birthday on Friday to deliver a defiant riposte. “They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed,” she said.
As 16th birthdays go, it was among the more unusual. Instead of blowing out candles on a cake, Malala sat in one of the United Nation’s main council chambers in the central seat usually reserved for world leaders.
She listened quietly as Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, described her as “our hero, our champion”; and as the former British prime minister and now UN education envoy, Gordon Brown, uttered what he called “the words the Taliban never wanted her to hear: happy 16th birthday, Malala”.
The event, dubbed Malala Day, was the culmination of an extraordinary four years for the girl from Mingora, in the troubled Swat valley of Pakistan. Read the rest of this entry »
Which is which, Datuk Mary Yap?
— BH Toh
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 15, 2013
JUNE 15 — One of the earliest statement made by Datuk Mary Yap upon her appintment as Deputy Education Minister was “I believe that one of my roles at the ministry will be to ensure the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 is well-implemented”
Today, she was reported saying “the shelving of the policy to teach Mathematics and Science in English is only temporary.”
What a puzzling surprise! I do not recall reading or hearing any such statement from PM, DPM, Education Minister or Ministry ever they made the decision to abolish PPSMI. I am very certain because I have been following this issue closely as my son was almost a direct casualty of this decision made in 2009. Just to be extra sure, I even spent the afternoon googling but found zero articles that reported so – nothing from either the online or printed medias.
To top it all, this “temporary” was also not specified anywhere in the Malaysian Education Blueprint!
So, which is which, Datuk Mary? Read the rest of this entry »
Where is the Malaysian Dream?
Posted by Kit in Articles, Education, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Wednesday, 29 May 2013
by Erna Mahyuni
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 29, 2013
“To boldly go where no man has gone before.” I still get the shivers when I hear that old Star Trek line.
Looking back, things we take for granted now like telepresence conferences, virtual reality and touch screens were mere fantasy, fancies of the imagination.
Dreams matter. But what has happened to our own abilities to dream? The problem, I think, with Malaysians and their leaders is that we set our sights too low.
An educationist told me our English syllabus is so infantile as we must “follow the standards of Malaysian students.”
We want our children to fly and yet assume that all they can do is crawl. Read the rest of this entry »
Racism and a Blueprint for Rebuilding Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Education, nation building on Sunday, 19 May 2013
by Mohamad Tajuddin Mohamad Rasdi
Although many things remain uncertain after the GE13 result, one thing is unarguably clear…Malaysia is in trouble.
Who is in trouble? Not Pakatan, not BN to my mind…we are. We…the Rakyat. Our Children is in trouble and ..yes, theirs too in the distant future if we do not stop this juggernaut called…racism.
I would like to outline my basic blueprint for rebuilding this country with the special focus of eliminating racism as its main objective.
My program may be ‘shocking’ or ‘unsusual’ but it has the virtue of never been thought of or tried.
In architectural design training, the best design ideas are usually the ‘shockers’! I have been trained to understand the box but never to stay long in it and to always leave it on the front porch…well, most of the time. Read the rest of this entry »
The myth about vernacular schools being obstacles to unity
by Ravinder Singh
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 16, 2013
The myth about multi-stream schools being obstacles to unity keeps on being bandied about by racists who cannot see, or rather refuse to see, the wood for the trees.
The latest call for the banning of vernacular schools was by no less a personality than the pro-chancellor of Universiti Technology Mara (UiTM), Tan Sri Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad, at a GE13 post-mortem forum “Muslim Leadership and Survival” organised by the Federation of Peninsula Malay Students (GPMS) and the UiTM Alumni Association. This imagined, simplistic solution to improving race relations has been shot out by many people — politicians, academicians, administrators, etc — over the years.
It’s amazing how people in important positions try to shove their perceptions, or even falsehoods, on the masses by making them appear like facts. If there are listeners who believe these people, it is simply because the listeners have no knowledge of the issue at hand and so they think these important people surely know best. But do they? Read the rest of this entry »
If Vernacular School Goes… So Must Religious Schools and UiTM too!
by Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi
The pro-chancellor of UiTM has made an overly simplistic argument about the GE13 and racial disunity in this country. He assumes that the Chinese and Indian Vernacular Schools are to be blamed and thus should be terminated. However simplistic his argument is, I, reluctantly, tend to agree with him…that these vernacular schools must go. But….should not the same simplistic argument be made on Islamic Religious schools that puts Malay children in the system for 11 years without knowing any other races? And …for that matter…what about UiTM? Is this not the biggest race based educational institution in…the World? So…if Chinese and Indian Vernacular Schools must go …so must Islamic religious Schools and UiTM should also be closed. Read the rest of this entry »
I have seen the video of Mohd Noor’s speech and it is unquestionably the most divisive, destructive, racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years
Posted by Kit in Crime, Education, nation building on Wednesday, 15 May 2013
It is reported today that NGOs led by Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung (GPMS) have come out in support of former Court of Appeal Judge Mohd Noor Abdullah and claimed that Malaysiakini’s coverage of his remarks was “malicious and intended to threaten racial harmony in Malaysia”.
A GPMS statement alleged that the Malaysiakini report was “one-sided and resulted in the readers feeling uneasy, to the extent that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim had described (the) statement as racist”.
It said: “It is unfortunate that those who commented in the news portal were not there to hear for themselves and to evaluate the speech as a whole. We question Malaysiakini’s motive in selectively highlighting the speech as well as interpreting it and portraying him as a racist.”
I have seen the video of Mohd Noor’s speech which unquestionably the most divisive, destructive, racist and seditious speech ever made in Malaysia in 44 years.
I feel totally uneasy that anyone, let alone a person of Mohd Noor’s stature as former Court of Appeal judge, could spew such racist and chauvinist poison with immunity and impunity, completely reckless of the grave harm they could do to destroy the fabric of Malaysia’s plural society.
I can vouch that Malaysiakini’s report of Mohd Noor’s speech was neither malicious nor unprofessional, but was in fact a fair and reasonable account of Mohd Noor’s speech.
It was Mohd Noor’s speech which was an abomination of the concept of 1Malaysia, as it was most vile and inflammatory calculated to incite racial distrust, misunderstanding and conflict, totally unworthy of a person who had held the high office of a Court of Appeal judge. Read the rest of this entry »
Hello, we are Malaysians
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Education, Elections, nation building on Wednesday, 15 May 2013
— Tih Seong Pin
The Malaysian Insider
May 14, 2013
MAY 14 — The call by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pro-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad for the abolition of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools in favour of a single stream school which uses Malay-language as a medium is unconstitutional,backward,impractical,irresponsible and unMalaysian.
To abolish Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools in the country means to deny the roles and contributions played by both major communities since Merdeka in 1957 and this does not make sense!
The UiTM pro-chancellor must not forget it was the joint noble aspirations, efforts and unity of the nation’s 3 major races that won Malaysia’s Merdeka and freed us from the British rule thta made us the master of our destiny!
Malaysia belongs the the people of all races and all our cultural,social ,economic and political rights are guaranteed in the highest laws of the land -the Federal Constitution.
For so long, Chinese vernacular schools have played a tremendous role in developing the nation-economically,culturally and politically fostering national unity by producing many talented and -high-value individuals,among them with people like Pua Khein Seng-who invented the first single chip USB flash controller in the world called”pendrive”in 2001 and Datok Lee Chong Wei,our national badminton star who has brought international honours to our motherland just to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »
10 things Najib must do
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education, Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 14 May 2013
by P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
May 10, 2013
QUESTION TIME The dust from the 13th general elections has not quite settled and there is some chance it may be kicked up again as Pakatan Rakyat could challenge some of the results in court. For Barisan Nasional and Najib Abdul Razak, they rule with a minority of the votes, a morally illegitimate government that reflects a flawed and fraudulent election system.
If BN wants to pick up and regain the people’s trust and recover some lost ground from Pakatan, it simply cannot continue as before. There’s no point pointing fingers at the Chinese community when there has been an urban swing to Pakatan by all communities living in major towns, cities and suburbs.
Even if the swing of the Chinese community to Pakatan is greater than that of other communities, they are entitled. The Chinese, like any other community, can vote for any party they want without having to face racist, seditious, provocative and loaded questions from Utusan Malaysia such as ‘Apa lagi China mahu?’ Utusan is not and never will be the distributor of the largesse of the country which is owned by everyone.
There are a number of substantive issues with BN as government, top of which is corruption. Next comes a steadily deteriorating education system totally out of whack with our requirements as a people and a nation. Then there is systematic racial and religious polarisation as an instrument of control and to appeal to the Malay vote. Also, there is this issue with Najib’s wife.
Below are a list of 10 things that Najib must do if he and BN are to regain credibility in the eyes of the people and do better. If he chooses to do otherwise and makes hay while the sun shines, future governments can still hold him accountable. The change requires an about turn from the way things have been done for the past three or so decades but in a sense, he has no choice – do or perish at the polls. Do, and you may be forgiven your past transgressions and faults. Read the rest of this entry »
Are we really independent?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Constitution, Education, Elections, Human Rights, Media on Saturday, 30 March 2013
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Mar 29, 2013
QUESTION TIME On the eve of the general election, it is appropriate to take a moment to reflect on how independent are we really.
What a moment it must have been when Malaysia (then Malaya) achieved independence from the British on Aug 31, 1957 and the flag of the newly independent country was raised.
At five years old, I was too young to remember what it was like then but have vague memories of my brother getting lost on a family visit to Kuala Lumpur town during the celebrations and being taken care of by policemen, before he was reunited with our parents.
It must have held so much hope for Malayans of all races and religions who put aside their differences to work for the formation of a new nation.
Tunku Abdul Rahman declared himself the happiest prime minister in the world and was proud of the fact that independence was achieved via negotiation without a single drop of blood being shed.
To be sure there were differences and in the years before independence there was much debate and agonising over how a disparate country of Chinese and Indian immigrants, many of whom had nowhere else but Malaya to call home, were to be integrated with the majority Malay community.
But there was a plan and everyone stuck to it and the country became independent. The communist threat had been beaten back although it would take until the sixties before they were more or less completely vanquished.
We were independent but how free were we? And did not independence mean freedom as well? Read the rest of this entry »
16-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib has become a “kiasu” and “kiasi” Prime Minister, mortally afraid that the most famous political prophecy of RAHMAN in Malaysia will come true with him as the last UMNO/Barisan Nasional Prime Minister!
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Crime, Education, Elections, English, Mahathir, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 26 March 2013
By 12 midnight in 16 hours time, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have created double “history” – firstly, first time in nation’s 56-year history, allowing a State Assembly (Negri Sembilan) to be automatically dissolved before Parliament; and secondly, establishing a record of “indecisiveness” as Prime Minister, even putting the fifth Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah to shame, while he continues to agonise on when to dissolve Parliament for the 13th General Elections!
There are no signs that Najib would dissolve Parliament before midnight tonight, ahead of the automatic dissolution of the Negri Sembilan State Assembly.
In fact, it now looks likely that another State Assembly, Pahang, will automatically dissolve on Apri 5, 2013 before the dissolution of Parliament.
This raises the question whether Najib will allow six other State Assemblies to be dissolved before the automatic dissolution of Parliament on midnight on 27th April 2013 – namely Johore and Malacca (19th April), Selangor (20th April), Perak, Perlis and Kelantan (26th April).
Already, Najib has chalked up many dubious “records”, including:
*the longest unelected Prime Minister without a mandate from the voters;
*leading an “expired” Cabinet and Government, as the present 12th Parliament is 18 days past its five-year natural life, as it was elected on March 8, 2008; and
*a Prime Minister who has been on election campaigning mode for the longest period in history – four years in a week’s time when it will be the fourth anniversary of Najib’s becoming the sixth Prime Minister on 3rd April 2009.
22-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib deserves an “F” in his National Transformation Program (NTP) report card for failing to acknowledge, much less tackle the issues of Corruption, Crime and Education
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Crime, Education, Elections, Najib Razak on Thursday, 21 March 2013
Najib released his National Transformation Program (NTP) Report Card yesterday evening in his ‘State of the Union’ address that was broadcast live on mainstream media and also online. To no one’s surprise, he gave himself top marks in both the Government Transformation Program (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Program (ETP).
Nearly all of the KPIs set were met, if not surpassed, in each of the National Key Results Areas (NKRAs) and the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs).
But to borrow a phrase from a popular author, there are ‘lies, damned lies, and KPIs’.
If we compare the stellar achievements of Najib’s report card in just three areas – Corruption, Crime and Education – to reality and also other more credible evidence, we are left with no choice but to give Najib an “F” for his NTP Report Card. Read the rest of this entry »
Has Umno helped Malays?
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Mar 14, 2013
QUESTION TIME When former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in typical acerbic but unsubstantiated fashion that Malay rights, privileges and its position would be affected if the opposition were returned in Selangor, it begged two other questions.
What did he do for the ordinary Malay during the long 22 years he was in power from 1981 to 2003, and how much was he responsible for the lack of their progress? And to broaden the question further, how much has Umno done for the Malay on the street and in the kampung?
A good starting point to answer the question is to look back at the New Economic Policy (NEP) of the seventies which provided the framework and target for economic redress between the races. The noble twin aims of the policy which few argued with were the eradication of poverty irrespective of race and the elimination of race identification with economic function.
This restructuring was supposed to have come from an increasing economic cake so that no community would feel deprived from the process which would be made over 20 years.
But the reality was different. While there was much effort in equalisation of opportunities initially through the education of Malays and giving them chances for jobs in the government service and the private sector, the policy morphed into one that focused on the equalisation of outcomes instead.
This resulted in drops in educational standards and minimum qualifications to accommodate weaker students instead of helping weaker students to cross existing bars by increased and better tuition. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Reformed
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education, nation building, Poem on Friday, 15 March 2013
by Allan CF Goh
The country lives in calmness,
And grows into its greatness.
People live a useful life,
Free of any racist strife.
Each is allowed his own dream,
Without nightmare or rude scream.
Each nurtures his potential,
With no obstacles racial.
We’re one nation, one people.
Malaysia Reformed has charms,
In people’s smile that disarms;
Like the beaches with tall palms,
And the breeze’s caressing balm.
Malaysia is harmony,
Sharing a common destiny,
Of one country, one nation,
With the same destination.
This is the hope of one people. Read the rest of this entry »
Making the choice
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education, Elections on Sunday, 10 March 2013
— LTF
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 09, 2013
MARCH 9 — March 8, 2008 was a watershed in Malaysian politics where for the first time in general election history, the incumbent government, Barisan Nasional, was seriously challenged by the “so-called” loose coalition that comprised the DAP, PKR and PAS. At that time, even the term “Pakatan Rakyat” was not even coined yet. I remembered vividly the scenario after the election where I sat at home with my family waiting for the results to channel in.
I was working in Penang at that time and I was particularly interested with the results there as there had been strong attendances in the opposition’s ceramahs before the 12th GE. When the results started to trickled in, it was such a surprise when many of the “big guns” from BN had to eat humble pie with the notable casualties including the former MIC president, the then Wanita Umno chief and even known MCA strongholds all over the peninsula.
Many predicted a time of uncertainty as the opposition garnered five states, namely Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Kedah and Perak. But, as time went by, the worries of uncertainty were unfounded and certain PR states were actually better governed than before.
Today is March 9, 2013. The incumbent government has yet to call for the 13th general election although a slew of handouts, “people-friendly” goodies being distributed to the rakyat. Many would wonder “why the delay?” as normally, the rakyat would be more than happy to vote for the incumbent government after the distribution of the goodies. Read the rest of this entry »
Pengiraan Detik 37 Hari ke PRU13 – Untuk dua tahun berturut-turut, tiada satu pun universiti Malaysia yang berada di kedudukan 400 teratas dalam Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013
Posted by Kit in Education, Najib Razak, university on Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Ini merupakan satu lagi tamparan hebat buat Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 yang ditunggu sekian lama kerana ia menonjolkan kegagalan agenda transformasi negara Najib untuk memulihkan perpaduan negara, mencapai kecemerlangan dan mendapatkan semula daya saing antarabangsa melalui pelbagai usaha seperti program “1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan”, Program Transformasi Kerajaan (GTP) berserta Bidang Keberhasilan Utama Negara (NKRA) dan mewujudkan banyak akronim yang tidak mungkin dapat diingat melalui pendekatan pembaharuan dengan aksara mengelirukan.
Di dalam keluaran terbaru Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012-2013 semalam, untuk dua tahun berturut-turut, tiada satu pun universiti Malaysia termasuk di dalam kedudukan 400 Universiti Teratas Dunia.
THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 amat menyedihkan tetapi amaran yang baik kepada rakyat Malaysia berkenaan kegagalan empat tahun program transformasi Najib, dengan Malaysia dikecualikan terus daripada fenomena Asia-Pasifik yang ditunjukkan THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 berkenaan “kebangkitan Universiti Asia-Pasifik”. Read the rest of this entry »
37-Day Countdown to 13GE – For second consecutive year, not a single Malaysian university ranked in top 400 of Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013
Posted by Kit in Education, Najib Razak, university on Tuesday, 5 March 2013
This is another body-blow for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak just before the long-awaited 13th General Elections as it highlights the failure of Najib’s national transformation agenda to restore national unity, achieve excellence and regain international competitiveness from its slew of initiatives like the “1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now” programme, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) with seven National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) and a host of impossible-to-remember acronyms from the alphabet-soup reform measures .
In Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2012-2013, for the second consecutive year, not a single Malaysian university is included in its 400 Top World University rankings.
The THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 is a sad but salutary warning to Malaysians about the four-year failure of Najib’s transformation programmes, with Malaysia completely excluded from the Asia-Pacific phenomenon highlighted by the THE World University Rankings 2012-2013 on the “the rise of Asia-Pacific Universities”. Read the rest of this entry »
22 questions for Dr M, again
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim, Corruption, Education, Financial Scandals, Judiciary, Mahathir, Media, UMNO on Friday, 15 February 2013
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Feb 14, 2013
QUESTION TIME I became a journalist at the Business Times, then a standalone newspaper, in 1978.
Three years later in 1981 Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister of Malaysia, its fourth, succeeding Hussein Onn.
I have followed his career quite closely since and frankly I am not impressed. He started off with promise – and promised a lot – but fulfilled none if any.
In fact I would go so far as to say that he was positively the worst prime minister this country has ever had.
Through destruction of institutions such as an independent judiciary, running roughshod over civil servants, bringing his brand of power, patronage and poor economics into decision making, and making use of oppressive laws he used an iron fist to rule and in the process brought more harm to this country than any other person alive or dead.
Much of the problems of Malaysia can be traced back to him and he has made it difficult for his successors to make major changes going forward, much of which would involve unwinding processes and linkages he had put in place before. Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Education category.
