Others
Story of culture shock for a M'sian - surprisingly
Post Reply
1-20 of 45
So long as his son can be a full or even becoming a heavy weight ministry....he will and do whatever it take...cannot afford to fall another govt he back...He sure got something to say about...this time around B4 election..., he did not went all the way there to campaign for Ummo (BN).
Anyway nothing to do with M'sia education. teeth53 thot and see there's a deep line dividing malay heartland..foresee more internal problems in both PAS and Ummo politiking.....
9.01pm: OFFICIAL RESULTS from the Election Commission -
PAS, 5.348; Umno 5,283, majority, 65. Margin: 0.61%
8.35pm: Kelantan senior state cabinet member and former PAS vice-president Husam Musa arrive at the main tally centre in SMK Yahya Petra.
8.26pm: A grim-looking PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah leave the party campaign headquarters for the main tally centre in Kuala Krai to claim victory. Party supporters are seen trying to cheer him up by telling him that a win by one vote is still a win.
Full unofficial results:
PAS, 5,347; Umno, 5,283; majority, 64. Total votes: 10,722.
The Islamic party has won 14 out of 28 ballot boxes and four out of nine polling stations.
Academics feel that the results of the Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan is a mandate for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's leadership.MORE
Despite the constituency being a PAS stronghold in a PAS-controlled state, the Islamic party however managed to only scrap through with a mere 65-vote majority. Sporeguy ( Date: 13-Jul-2009 23:23) Posted:
If I have not mistaken, it was Mahathir who converted all gov sec schools from English medium to Malay medium in the Mid 70s, allowing a transistion of a few years to do Math and Science in EL while all other sbjects were taught in Malay. To the non-Malays, this was his tactic to slow down the progress of the non-bumiputras' knowledge and skills. With the invention of internets, he no longer can stop non-bumi from advancing, thus he decided to reverse the decision to teach Math and Science in English b4 handling over to Abdullah. It is also that the knowledge in math and Science is advancing faster than what the Malay language can catch up, he had to it, otherwise Malaysia will end up like Indonesia.
My friend in Malaysia said the best of both world was during the transistion in the Mid 70s where Sec Sch Math and Sci were taught in English while the Humanities were taught in Malay. This will make sure malaysia will not lose out in Math and Sci while at the same time, the humanities subjects will make sure that the citizens are in touch with the country (note that every country will use these subjects to instill loyalty to the country). He also mentioned that in the pri sch, the math curriculum/methodolgy taught in chinese school is better than in the English/malay schools.
|
|
When one is down and fallen, wise words strike every heart. Will one remember all that he had said, when wealth and power come along the way.
Patience to read d below, closed related to many issues as posted by sifus in d forum. Those leaving d homeland to other parts of d world, in d late 60s n early 70s, now or even earlier, deserve d celebration, esp with the loved ones liao. Pai seh, AK is one of them loh, he he.
LEE KUAN YEW : AT 85 , THE FIRE STILL BURNS
*The writer is a nephew of Dr Mahathir.
Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore 's founding father, has always been very direct in his comments. This was the man who outsmarted the communists in Singapore (with the innocent help of Malaya then and the willing help of the British) and who later outwitted the British and outpaced Malaysia in all spheres.
Singapore practices corrupt-free meritocracy and Malaysia affirmative action. The former attracted all the best brains and the latter chased out all the brains. The Singapore cabinet consists of dedicated and intelligent technocrats whereas Malaysia has one of the most unwieldy cabinets. Not only that, brain wise it was below par not even good for the kampong.
With that kind of composition, one that is very brainy, naturally Singapore , with no natural resources could outstrip Malaysia in every aspect of development. Malaysia , on the other hand, was too much preoccupied with its Malayness and the illusory 'Ketuanan Melayu' and was also more interested in useless mega iconic development rather than real social and economic development.
Whenever Kuan Yew utters anything that deemed to be a slight on Malaysia , voices were raised admonishing him. Malaysia would never dare to face reality. That Singapore had shown that it could survive was a slap on those who believed that Singapore would fold up once it left Malaysia . Therefore it was natural that these doomsayers would try to rationalise their utterances to be in their favour to combat on whatever Kuan Yew commented. Its political jealousy.
Singapore achieved its development status without any fanfare. But here in Malaysia , a development that was deceptive was proclaimed as having achieved development status. It was trumpeted as an achievement that befits first world status. This was self delusion. Malaysians are led to believe into a make believe world, a dream world. The leaders who themselves tend to believe in their own fabricated world did not realise the people were not taken in by this kind of illusion.
Lee Kuan Yew believed in calling a spade a spade. I was there in Singapore when the People's Action Party won the elections in 1959. He was forthright in his briefing to party members as to what was expected of them and what Singapore would face in the future. Ideologically, I did not agree with him. We in the University of Malaya Socialist Club had a different interpretation of socialist reconstruction. But he was a pragmatist and wanted to bring development and welfare to the Singaporeans. Well! He succeeded.
Malaysia was so much embroiled in racial politics and due to the fear of losing political power, all actions taken by the main party in power was never targeted towards bringing wealth to all. Wealth was distributed to the chosen few only. They were the cronies and the backers of the party leadership to perpetuate their own selfish ends.
Seeing the efficiency and the progress achieved by Singapore caused the Malaysian leadership to suffer from an inferiority complex. That Malaysia should suffer from this complex was of its own making.
In a recent interview, Kuan Yew said that Malaysia could have done better if only it treated its minority Chinese and Indian population fairly. Instead they were completely marginalised and many of the best brains left the country in drove. He added that Singapore was a standing indictment to what Malaysia could have done differently. He just hit the nail right there on the head.
Malaysia recently celebrated its 50th year of independence with a bagful of uncertainties. The racial divide has become more acute. The number of Malay graduates unemployed is on the increase. And this aspect can be very explosive. But sad to see that no positive actions have been taken to address these social ills.
Various excuses were given by Malaysian leaders why Singapore had far outstripped Malaysia in all aspects of social and economic advancement. Singapore was small, they rationalised and therefore easy to manage. Singapore was not a state but merely an island.
There was one other aspect that Malaysia practises and that is to politicise all aspects of life. All government organs and machinery were 'UMNO-ised'. This was to ensure that the party will remain in power. Thus there was this misconception by the instruments of government as to what national interest is and what UMNO vested interest is.
UMNO vested interest only benefited a few and not the whole nation.. But due to the UMNO-isation of the various instruments of government, the country under the present administration had equated UMNO vested interest as being that of national interest. Thus development became an avenue of making money and not for the benefit of the people The fight against corruption took a back seat. Transparency was put on hold. And the instruments of government took it to be of national interest to cater to the vested interest of UMNO. Enforcement of various enactments and laws was selective. Thus a 'palace' in Kelang, APs cronies and close-one-eye umno MPs could exist without proper procedure. Corruption infested all govt departments, the worse is the police and lately even in the judiciary.
Singapore did not politicise its instruments of government. If ever politicisation took place, it is guided by national interest. To be efficient and to be the best in the region was of paramount importance. Thus all the elements like corruption, lackadaisical attitude towards work and other black elements, which would retard such an aim, were eliminated. Singapore naturally had placed the right priority in it's pursuit to achieve what is best for its people. This is the major difference between these two independent countries.
Malaysia in its various attempts to cover up its failures embarked on several diversions. It wanted its citizens to be proud that the country had the tallest twin-tower in the world, although the structure was designed and built by foreigners. Its now a white-elephant wasting away. It achieved in sending a man into space at an exorbitant price. For what purpose? These are what the Malays of old would say "menang sorak" (hollow victories).
It should be realised that administering a country can be likened to managing a corporate entity.. If the management is efficient and dedicated and know what they are doing, the company will prosper. The reverse will be if the management is poor and bad. The company will go bust.
There are five countries around this region. There is Malaysia , and then Indonesia . To the east there is the Philippines and then there is that small enclave called the Sultanate of Brunei . All these four countries have abundance of natural resources but none can lay claim to have used all these resources to benefit the people. Poverty was rampant and independence had not brought in any significant benefits to the people.
But tiny Singapore without any resources at all managed to bring development to its citizens. It had one of the best public MRT transport systems and airlines in the world and it is a very clean city state. Their universities, health care, ports are among the best in the world.
It is impossible to compare what Singapore has achieved to what all these four countries had so far achieved. It was actually poor management and corruption, and nothing more. Everything is done for the vested interest of the few.
Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines and the Sultanate of Brunei need good management teams. They would not be able to do this on their own steam. I would advise that they call on Kuan Yew to show them what good governance is. Why look East to Japan when it is just next door across the causeway. Editor's Note: The article is published the way we received it by email from another source...We do not know where it was published first.
If I have not mistaken, it was Mahathir who converted all gov sec schools from English medium to Malay medium in the Mid 70s, allowing a transistion of a few years to do Math and Science in EL while all other sbjects were taught in Malay. To the non-Malays, this was his tactic to slow down the progress of the non-bumiputras' knowledge and skills. With the invention of internets, he no longer can stop non-bumi from advancing, thus he decided to reverse the decision to teach Math and Science in English b4 handling over to Abdullah. It is also that the knowledge in math and Science is advancing faster than what the Malay language can catch up, he had to it, otherwise Malaysia will end up like Indonesia.
My friend in Malaysia said the best of both world was during the transistion in the Mid 70s where Sec Sch Math and Sci were taught in English while the Humanities were taught in Malay. This will make sure malaysia will not lose out in Math and Sci while at the same time, the humanities subjects will make sure that the citizens are in touch with the country (note that every country will use these subjects to instill loyalty to the country). He also mentioned that in the pri sch, the math curriculum/methodolgy taught in chinese school is better than in the English/malay schools.
SK Wong
Jul 13, 09
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/108397
I refer to the government's decision to reverse the controversial/confusing education policy in the use of English for the teaching of Science and Math (or the use of Science and Math for the teaching of English?) Once again, our hapless children are made the guinea pigs of our government's flip-flopping policy.
Prior to the policy reversal, the government has allowed (instigated?) an increase of discussion on the subject of using English as the language of instruction in teaching Science and Mathematics.
The educational policy has been implemented since 2003 and the lack of progress is causing many to clamour for the return of the old ways. The deputy PM says the policy has failed in achieving its goal. I must say I am not a bit surprised and already predicted this outcome six years ago.
I am all for improving our students' command of English, or whatever subject for that matter. However, the policy has to be well thought out and the implementation has to follow the guideline to the letter.
(
teeth53 thot so: Mahati went online somemore to put more pressure on Yassin. Unfortunately after implementing for six years such education policy,
the government has the habit of implementing haphazard policy without consulting the people. Errr.. I tink without even consulting his edcuation ministry (w/o doing his homework 1st, it is his policy Miss or Mis Ti MaChiam BOLEH ??).
Hence the failure to improve students' standard is a foregone conclusion. I am for scrapping this hare-brained, half-baked scheme but for different reasons from the language protectionists.......... I therefore empathize with the Malay students, especially those who came from rural areas, who had this policy shoved down their throats. Forcing a Malay student to learn Science and Math in English will more likely succeed in making her hate all three subjects rather than improve her command of the subjects. How can one expect for someone who has been walking with a crutch for the last 40 years to immediately drop the crutch and run like an able-body person?
However well thought out an education policy, its success is not guaranteed unless qualified and dedicated teachers are tasked to implement them.
There are no shortcuts to educating the next generation. As the proverb says, haste makes waste. We don't need experts to tell us how to best teach our children,
least of all, retired loud-mouth politicians. A little common sense and a dose of wisdom from our forefathers go a long way.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/108310
Gov't gambles on our children's future by Doraisamy Karuppiah: I am impressed by Mr Sim's article titled 'The English Dilemma'. Learning math and science in English has nothing to do with 'communication' English. It's about 'technical' English which students should master before they step into any higher institution.
Kaisim: In 'Bolehland' anything is possible at the beginning but soon died off when there is not much fund left to back up the programme. Imagine the millions of ringgit the ministry has spent on the progamme all these years.
The ones making most money would be those who have dealings in computers and softwares. Next, comes textbooks and other materials. The special subject teachers would have made a lot of money too. But the ones who cried the loudest would be the parents b'cos they R d one to spend more money on the childrens. We are moving in a vicious circle of trial & error while our neighbours are moving forward by leaps and bounds in this field.
They are producing top-notch world class citizens while we are still struggling to know English.
In fact, our politicians have destroyed the golden era of education in the 60s. The worst scenario is that the ministry is gambling on the future of the children with its flip-flop policy.
Malaysia is well-known for its flip-flop policy in dealing with important issues.
teeth thot: He got brain (very advance of his time)- lack d technically implementation...in other word -- No doubt about it, NO lack of vision, The English dilemma, totally lack in the processs formation in formulating a national education policy -- thus and trusted d Gov't gambles to took on our children's future for granted.....and so on....Ya. 20 golden years had been LOST.
The problem with mahathirism is he 1 2 lead, (the rest are mere prawns) don't like to follow that has been practice or proven. In other word he like to tell and sing (be praise -- AngKat) as well (not sing&tell) and don't like to be told (NO face liao). Isit b'cos he's seen the best of his rule as Ex-M'sian Premier or other wise ?. to seen as faultless..!!!
AK opines that, top brass n agencies making the decision outrageously. A reverse engineering process. The grass root of the problem is that, the hard core groups, just dun want to agreed and feeling heart pinched, that the true facts wat Spore n other advance countries, did for success was real.
There were untold underlying problems on operating n maintenance of MIG 27 n 29. Now, Sukoi 30. Converting Russian language to English n finally to local dialects?? God bless, if there is 80% of facts transfer efficiency.
Latest, the initial launching of 3rd satellite dropped after launching. No cap or joint techno grp to salvage n repair d damaged parts at local, ought to send it to US for overhaul before it was sucessfully put it at orbit lately. What about new techo n eqpt?? They hv to be half beat delay to grab them. Really big wok ah, pity my families n country folks there.
Wonder what are the students' thoughts on this?
With the policy reversal, the glaring question is: will Dr Mahathir now train his sight on PM Najib Abdul Razak, as he did earlier with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?MORE
 |
The blind cannot lead the blind |
|
Teachers who don't know Jane Austin |
Noted: On his blog, Dr Mahathir Mohamad has conducted a poll to survey public opinion on the matter. About 72% of the respondents are against the government decision. But then, the teaching of math and science in
English was the brainchild of this former prime minister, and the recent reversal by the current government can only be seen by him as a betrayal of his personal legacy.
teeth thot: He got brain (very advance of his time)- lack d technically implementation - the majority masses may not be ready for English...trying to sell this type of idea to it very own citizens, required alot more effort then merely...
while it look and sounded like the masses is for than against..., then again those who are for...R those who is very familiar with internet and comfortable with English...not those rural folks...it also worry those Mandarin Chinese folks.
Just imagining 20 year to his golden rule, mahati did nothing...got so many years of opportunties to educate the masses and even the young, why now ?, he only know how to criticize and how come he did it only over the those last six years without even consider the short coming of their basic English...learning in school ?. Isit b'cos he's seen the best of his rule as PM or other wise ?.
Mahati is not happy on educaion policy with Yassin - Edcation Ministry and Deputy PM of M'sia.
teeth53: Fine tune it for those who is good, while improving it teaching those youngster basic English B4 moving on to apply English on Maths and Science subjects. It should have three version, Technical and Nomal Maths and Science and another one for advance Maths and Science. We called it Additional Maths (A Maths).
AK_Francis ( Date: 10-Jul-2009 01:47) Posted:
Ha ha, most surprised, abandon English media in teaching Science n Maths during the intitial 12 yrs of education. Another boleh which orthers taboleh. Madhadir got brain but betrayed by all.
|
|
After struggling at bronze age for so long...now going back to stone age....
AK_Francis ( Date: 10-Jul-2009 01:47) Posted:
Ha ha, most surprised, abandon English media in teaching Science n Maths during the intitial 12 yrs of education. Another boleh which orthers taboleh. Madhadir got brain but betrayed by all.
|
|
Some people would not help others no matter what the situation. Some people will help no matter what the situation.
Ha ha, most surprised, abandon English media in teaching Science n Maths during the intitial 12 yrs of education. Another boleh which orthers taboleh. Madhadir got brain but betrayed by all.
no matter how pple hate the govt, they will surely agree on this motto.. Why shd taxpayers pay to support those who do not want to help themselves.. I certainly do not want to be one of those taxpayers... also saw one in a newspaper forum where the writer wants the govt to support the elderly pple when their own children do not want to support them when they can afford to.. wants it to be legislated some more.. whats happening here mannnn..
smartrader ( Date: 09-Jul-2009 21:23) Posted:
I believe the story is true but not 80% of population is like that (80% of population do not pay income tax ; 20% pays to support). Some truths in the article but compare with 40yrs ago, the rentals are now better offsets by inflation ..
Welfare in singapore has the following motto - you must help yourself before the government can help you. |
|
I believe the story is true but not 80% of population is like that (80% of population do not pay income tax ; 20% pays to support). Some truths in the article but compare with 40yrs ago, the rentals are now better offsets by inflation ..
Welfare in singapore has the following motto - you must help yourself before the government can help you.
I am writing in response to the article '
The hidden ugly side of Singapore'.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/108083
I am really not sure the exact purpose of why the author wrote such an account of Singapore.
The Westerners will say,"Playing harp in the heaven..."
There's a Chinese saying ... something to the effect:...
"zhai guan cai li mian da guitar" (playing the guitar in one's coffin)...
Meaning:-
Being poor but still feeling happy about it... hehehe...
