Thursday, August 9, 2007

Minda Kelas Pertama : Masih Jauh Lagikah

Ezam Mohd Nor, Pengerusi Gerakan Demokrasi dan Anti Korupsi (GERAK) akan mengumumkan dalam masa terdekat ini nama menteri kanan yang didakwanya terlibat dalam rasuah.

Beliau memilih kawasan mengundi Kepala Batas Pulau Pinang sebagai tempat pengumuman. Kawasan ini diwakili oleh YAB Perdana Menteri Malaysia sekarang.

Apa yang memuskyilkan ialah pendedahan demi pendedahan dilakukan, pengumuman demi pengumuman dibuat dan laporan demi leporan dituliskan, ianya masih belum mendatangkan apa-apa hasil.

Kita mempunyai kuasa Yang Di Pertuan Agong, kita mempunyai kuasa eksekutif, kuasa badan perundangan, kuasa badan kehakiman dan kuasa rakyat. Siapakah yang akan mendatangkan hasil terhadap perjuangan rakyat dalam menuntut keadilan dan kesaksamaan ?

Malaysia negara unik. Tahap pendidikan dan pemikiran rakyatnya bercampur aduk. Untuk mencapai tahap minda kelas pertama, apakah masih jauh perjalanannya.

Jawapannya - ditangan anda.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

If we look at the situation before and during independence, it is true that malays were lagging behind the Chinese and some Indians in all aspects as a result of the British divide and rule policy.

If meritocracy was applied then, other communities would have surged a head of malays and the malays would have been left poor and helpless.

Now, 50 years has since passed, the malays are still lagging behind despite all the special rights and privileges being continued till today. The New Economic Policy, a policy described as official discrimination policy by foreigners, has failed to lift the malays on par with other races especially the Chinese. The Indians average per capita income may be higher than the Malays but they are still many Indians living below the poverty level.

Who is to blame for the malays failure to catch up with others? The government, the malays, other races, economic crisis or globalization?

The special privileges have obliviously done more harm than good. Malays now are spoon-fed all the time by the government that they have come to believe that the special rights and privileges are here to stay forever.

What did the non-malays do to be born and bred in Malaysia only to be discriminated in many aspects including entry to university, cheaper houses, business permits, business opportunities, etc. We did not ask to be born in this country.

Is it their fault to be born a non-malay in this country? I believe no one has the answers, not even the prime minister.

The government, for the sake of uplift of malays, shall continue with all programs designed to assist malays but it should consider reviewing some aspects of this policy which has been abused and has caused great dissatisfaction among the non-malays.

The malays now take the rights and privileges for granted that they do not wish to work hard and only expects more benefits from the government.

Same applies to privatization projects and government contracts given to malays only to be bailed out later due to poor management and abuse.

The quality of education has deteriorated due to entry of students without merits. No wonder none of the country's universities are among best in Asia.

The government has to review and redesign programs to assist the malays. Programs and initiatives to assist malays should result in malays who have the skills, resources and knowledge to be self-sufficient and have confidence of his own abilities rather than depending on government for everything.

At the same time, the non-malays shall not be deprived of their basic rights as a citizen of this country. Or else, we will see this issue cropping up every now and then in the future.

Anonymous said...

Since the implementation of the meritocracy system, the percentage of malays accepted into local universities has increased every year. Do you believe that based on merit, the number of Chinese who qualify for university is lower than the number of malays?

If that is true, then the malays have improved by leaps and bounds, exceeding all the objectives of NEP.

But we only need to look at the PMR and SPM results to know that malay students lag far behind their Chinese counterparts. It is only when Chinese students take the STPM and the malay students take their matriculation examinations that suddenly, malay students become superior.

We live in a wonderful fairyland where ministers can say that the colour of milk is black and nobody dares to question it. Let us have the courage to face the truth, don't call an arbitrary system 'meritocracy'.

Stick to the previous quota system - at least the pitiful Chinese and Indian students will have a secure share of university places.

Anonymous said...

Lee Kuan Yew said recently the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore has not always been smooth sailing, and so investing in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) may not always be smooth sailing for Singaporean companies.

This is simply a statement of fact that nevertheless appears to have gotten local Umno leaders into a tizzy.

Every local Umno politician hopes to be in a position to be approving investment flows into the country because to stand as gatekeeper is a very lucrative position, and when public squabbles erupt between Umno politicians about who is the better "protector of malay privileges and rights", it usually means someone just wants a bigger cut of the investment action for himself.

Go figure that one.

Of course, the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore is special because of the race relations issue.

Singapore has been the favourite whipping boy of the Umno-controlled malay vernacular press for the last 50 years, and if anything are seen as even bigger devils than the local Chinese and Indian citizens of Malaysia in the eyes of Malaysia's malay Muslims.

The fact is Singapore's development model has meant that Singapore's malays are far better educated, far better equipped, far better paid, far more self-confident, and self-reliant to deal with globalisation than malay Muslims in Malaysia.

This makes Ketuanan Melayu, the malay Agenda, and the NEP look like failed racist apartheid policies that have impoverished everyone except Umno cronies. Of course, Umno must demonise Singapore to maintain the illusion that Umno politicians are nationalists and not parasites, and more so if Singapore happens to be better educated, meritocratic, richer, and safer than Malaysia.

Malay Muslims in Malaysia have been brainwashed by Umno for the last 50 years into thinking that the Chinese and Indians both Malaysians and Singaporeans have gotten rich at their expense, and this perception probably won't change anytime soon because Umno does not have another elections winning formula if it dumps the present demonisation formulas.

Every time Singapore's first world achievements are compared with the sluggish technological, competitiveness, economic, educational, professional, scientific, and social standard in apartheid Malaysia, there is the predictable keris waving, baying for blood, and frothing at the mouth in every Umno up and down the country in Malaysia

Although Chinese and Indian Malaysians have simply accepted the gross racial discrimination in business, education, and job as a fact of life in Malaysia, the non-apartheid non-NEP meritocratic Singaporean mindset may not have the stomach for this particular type of nonsense in the IDR.

I think Lee Kuan Yew is way too smart to think the demonisation process of the Chinese and Indians in the Umno-controlled malay vernacular press is going to stop anytime soon. How else is Umno going to win elections except by continuing to perpetrate the lie that the orang asing minorities in Malaysia are a threat to the malays?

Nevertheless Lee Kuan Yew may be hoping Chinese and Indian Singaporean investors will not be discriminated against in the IDR in comparison with investors from countries like China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.

In the meantime, I am sure it will simply be business as usual for the rest of us in racial and religious apartheid Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

As the saying goes, if you give a man a fish, you feed him for one day, if you teach him to fish, you feed him for life. We already have over 30 years of combined NEP and NDP, do we need any more proof that it is not working?

The government should provide qualified teachers and improve teaching facilities, but it is up to the students to take up the challenge. I went to the same high schools as many of my malay friends. They were placed on a special fast track for overseas or local universities despite having lower tests score.

A perfect grade of 4.0 and you can't get into university to study the course of your choice? This so-called meritocracy is truly more like merit-o-crazy.

I remember a few months back, our country was crying out to our overseas Malaysian doctors, scientists and other professionals to return back and serve their country.

But now, a few months later, we are turning away these top scorers from pursuing their chosen course. If these students somehow manage to go overseas to further their studies (through self-financing or private scholarship) and excel in their studies, would they respond to our country's cry for their return later? I think the answer is obvious.

Same time next year, all this is going to be repeated.

Anonymous said...

The (mis)interpretation of history is a viable tool to promote and pursue political and ideological domination or colonisation. We have heard arguments that the mainstream version of history should be adopted and accepted, without question.

In contemporary term, this practice is known as 'absolutism' - which is unfortunately a distortion and manipulation in itself.

The most dominant version of history may not necessary represent absolute truth but it is merely a viewpoint or an opinion presented by the majority.

A version of history promoted as a dominant viewpoint argues that the contract was primarily about the exchange of Malaysian citizenship for the two immigrant (Chinese and Indian) communities and in return they recognise the rights of the malays as the natives and the masters of the land.

Hence, proponents of this viewpoint argue that other communities, especially the present generation particularly those of Chinese descent, must accept these rights - both political and socio-economic - unquestionably.

Any social contracts or agreements made between communities in a particular time period cannot continue to bind generations to come without adjusting to the transformations and developments of a society.

Proponents of the dominant viewpoint have some serious questions to answer. Are those who are bred and born in Malaysia, especially non-malays, still considered as immigrants? Since they are born as Malaysians, the social contract is not relevant to them.

Furthermore, Malaysians of all races, post-independence have contributed significantly albeit through their own ways and means to the country's progress and development. All races have had a hand in the making of a modern and developed Malaysia. Surely this means more than a mere exchange of citizenship. What is the worth of a citizenship if it does not come with equal rights?

The creation of a truly Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian race) cannot be achieved through a master-servant relationship model. What is obviously needed is a condition where a shared common identity can be fostered through the existence of socio-political equality and justice.

In a global village, all communities in Malaysia are minorities. Our experiences in facing the forces of globalisation or in trying to make ourselves heard on international platforms where our presence is dwarfed by much bigger and dominant countries should have taught us well that the above concepts or misconceptions are not suitable for us.

We need to promote a new and all-inclusive national agenda to foster greater unity and to capitalise on our rich diversity in order to stand up to the challenges of globalisation.

This can only materialise if we can discard our old mindset and destroy these dormant perceptions of majority might and master-servant relationship.

Anonymous said...

It is indeed puzzling to me that every time I read a comment regarding DAP, it is always accused of practising racial politics.

But the same is not mentioned about the politics of Umno, MIC or MCA for that matter. Neither is it mentioned of the existence of schools or colleges meant only for a particular race.

The fingers, instead are quick to point to the private sector where businesses and colleges are biased or concentrated towards a particular minority race. These are all symptoms of an unhealthy trend in our Malaysia society. The majority is pointing the finger at the minority for the very sin it is blatantly committing without remorse or shame.

The fact is the majority has a role to play in a civil society. Its biggest role is to lead the minority by example and not to discriminate when unity is called for the good of the country.

Instead, we have politicians driven to please the masses by waving a 'keris' and calling others 'pendatang' even though many of these latter are not.

Every policy that has been designed and implemented is meant by and large to please the majority. 'Social contract, remember' that is what the minority is always reminded of.

Fine then. What then do the majority expect of the minority? Smile? When after all the hard work their children have put in, they are denied the places they so dearly wish to have in a public university?

Ours is a 'positive discrimination' for the good of all, they say. But DAP? 'Oh, they are a chauvinist party that only caters for the interest of one particular race. They are racist. They never take care of other races.'

My question then is: If the majority are only interested in their 'bangsa, negara and ugama' - then kindly enlighten me as to whom the minority should turn to?

The nation like parents, must provide for its citizens all the necessary education before it can expect undivided loyalty and patriotism. Like a child who refuses to return to his uncaring parents, students too, do not return to their motherland on completion of their studies if they are unhappy with the way they were treated.

Many of our Malaysian doctors do not return because of the frustrating and unfair working environment back home. The three most important factors that provide incentive for work are appreciation, opportunities and reward based truly on merit. Public sector doctors are not appreciated and rewarded appropriately for their services to their own country.

It is difficult to comprehend that when foreign countries are willing to reward our doctors, with privileges on par with those to their own citizens, why then does our own government refuse to do so!

Despite highlighting their plight, the authorities refuse to acknowledge and take the necessary remedial action.

The solution is simple - treat your citizens with care and instill a sense of belonging in them and they will respond with all the loyalty, nationalism and patriotism that you require of them.

Anonymous said...

Why am I not surprised at minister Nazri Aziz propensity to put his foot in his mouth? Yet again we hear this silly comment about non-malays not being interested to join the civil service.

While it may be true that non-malays are not interested anymore to join the civil service, Nazri Aziz must ask himself why this is so. Making comments like "their culture indicates they are not interested in working for the government" only shows the honourable minister poor understanding of the nation's history.

First, non-malays serving in the civil service are routinely by-passed for promotions. If they are promoted, they only sit in the third-tier.

For example, in the education ministry, there are no non-malay state education directors. You will have to look pretty hard to find a non-malay in a position of power.

In the armed forces, where can you find a non-malay of the rank colonel and above?

It is not that the non-malays are not interested. It is because they realise there are no career prospects for them. Promotion for an ambitious non-malay is non-existent.

Forty years ago, the civil service had many non-malays serving because they had opportunities for promotions. Now, there are none.

If opportunities for promotion are there, the non-malays will join the service. If not, there are greener pastures everywhere which is only to the detriment of a nation seeking global recognition.

Who benefits? Other neighbouring countries.

Anonymous said...

It is true that in the face of competition especially global, our corporations can thrive only when run efficiently by the brightest and the best.

Anyone on the street can dissect clearly that our government's current scholarship system is flawed. Clearly not everyone who gets it deserves it but what make it worse is that it's given to people who are not returning the good deed.

The theory is simple. If one knows that he will get what he wants handed on a platter, one will never need to work as hard as his other counterparts. Hence, the reason why malays fail to excel in their studies.

We live in a country where education is for the rich and influential. Money and contacts are the major key players in determining our educational regime. The poor become poorer and the rich become richer. Scholarships handed out to the rich. But when we seek other educational opportunities we are reprimanded.

We live in a nation that throws out educated, experienced and loyal teachers to be replaced by ones that only have the right political connections. Our notion of education is not to educate the young to think critically, or to be constructive and mature.

In the true sense of the word as articulated by the nation's founding fathers, the Malaysian agenda should always be the national agenda, not the Malay, Indian or Chinese agenda, whatever.

But sadly, over the years since independence in 1957, this major premise has been hijacked with push giving way to shove after the May 13 riots. Since then, over a period of 36 years, the Umno elite in power have been systematically been using the zero-sum game theory to brainwash the malay mind of whatever commitment it still has towards multi-racialism.

It is evident their goal is to revert back to the status of Tanah Melayu even if this were to make the country slide backwards to the status of countries like Zimbabwe or Bangladesh. The present political struggle between Umno and PAS with Islam as its main focus has made the situation even worse.

Now more and more malays are coming up openly to reject the Malaysian multi-racial society. The time will come when the word Malaysian will be deemed seditious and anti-national just like the slogan 'Malaysian Malaysia'.

I don't see a Malaysia that I would want to be a part of. A Malaysia that has stopped caring. A country that has fallen prey to the profit motif. To power. I pray that Malaysians will wake up and realise what a mirage our 'advancement' has been.

tokasid said...

Salam afrar:

Aku tgk 8 komen diatas berselang seli antara 3-6 minit of each other and aku rasa ianya datang dari orang(atau kumpulan yg sama) utk meluahkan perasaan benci kpd Melayu. Aku rasa org ni /kumpulan ni telah buat perkara yg sama pada posting Bergen tentang Sanwich Dagwood last week.

Hang siar takpa tapi jgn dok layan apa yg depa boh sini.

salam.

AFRAR YUNUS said...

salam Dr
aku dok peghanti la tentang masa tu Dr. selang beberapa minit. aku dok baca. ialah, penulis ini meluahkan kekeciwaan dan kekesalannya tentang apa yg dianggapnya tentang DEB. even sampai sekarang orang melayu dgn retorik ketuanan melayu dan % an DEB - dikatakan masih ketinggalan. polisi diskriminasi , hub dgn singapura , projek dll. dok tengok IP addressnya satu sahaja. maksudnya orang yg sama hantar 8 komen dgn menggunakan pengenalan yg berlainan. so, Dr t.kasih banyak-banyak di atas pandangan tu.
kawan kita ni jika nak jawapan juga bolehlah hubungi aku di alkerohi@gmail.com

tokasid said...

Salam syeh:

Depa ni sebenaq nya nak tumpang toei blog pasai kalau dia boh kat blog dia seniri orang tak pi baca. Jadi depa cari blog kita supaya kawan2 kita baca. Pasai tu aku bhgn komen aku boh moderated jadi tak di siarkan secara automatic. Kalau hat jenih macam di ataih tu aku boleh pilih nak boh ka dak. Kalu sikit2 tak pa tapi kalu melalut aku tak layan depa. Bukan nak deny depa nak bagi pandangan depa. Kita pun tahu kerajaan la ni tak bropa adil tapi kalu depa saja2 nak hentam dan provoke(kadang2 tak dak sangkut paut dgn tajuk) aku hangat hati. Elok depa e-mail dgn kita tapi depa tak akan e-mail sebab tujuan depa bukan nak adakan discopurse dgn kita.Tujuan depa nak hentam dan biaq orang lain baca. Saja depa nak bagi orang hangat ati saja.

Aku dok rasa puak2 Malaysia yg dah dok di seberang jambatan bengkok kot depa ni. Nak buat lebih2 macam MC Wee di taiwan tu depa tak berani. Depa ni kira kalu dah longgok lam blog kita ,kira belah malam muleh tidoq lena la...

alkerohi said...

salam Dr
tindakan depa ni macam, "makan bubur panas-panas. Bertindak dengan tergesa-gesa, akhirnya mengecewakan depa juga".
"mahal tak dapat dibeli, murah tak dapat diminta". bagi aku, agama dan maruah tdk dapat dijual beli.
seronok juga lihat telatah depa ni. aku bagi dah e mel. macam Dr katalah, depa tak mai punya di e mel. tak pa lah.
tk - kita ingat beringat.
salam.

Anonymous said...

blog depa tak glamor,tu la depa antaq kat sini..haha

AFRAR YUNUS said...

sdra
bukan apa, bimbang jadi polemik. tak dan nak jawab. kena pakar sejarah ke, pakar politik menjawab. t.k.