Commenting without even understanding

 

Soi Lek attacks Nazri for backing Chinese educationists

September 27, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 —  MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek blasted today his Umno political ally Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz for supporting the demands of Chinese-language educationists without understanding fully the real issues that has seen the Chinese party at loggerheads with vocal vernacular education lobby groups.

“Minister in the Prime Minister’s department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz seems to have said that the demands of Dong Zong is fair and let us hope that he will not sing a different tune in Cabinet.

“Nazri is forever playing to the gallery and is fond of commenting without understanding the real issue contained in the memorandum,” Dr Chua (picture) said in a scathingly-worded media statement.

Yesterday, 500 members of the United Chinese School Committees Association — better known by its Chinese name Dong Zong — had demonstrated outside Parliament while it was in session to push for eight demands it said must be met to resolve the long-standing state of vernacular Chinese education in the country.

Nazri, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had met with the group and accepted their memorandum, remarking that the demands were “not wrong” as Dong Zong was fighting to protect their mother tongue but which had raised the MCA’s ire.

The de facto law minister who is also in charge of parliamentary affairs had also pledged to raise the subject at the next Cabinet meeting.

The Dong Zong demonstration yesterday — codenamed the ‘926 rally’ — appeared to be the culmination of a long-standing stand-off between educationists fed up with the MCA’s failure to resolve various education issues central to the Chinese community.

In their memorandum, Dong had highlighted staffing shortage in Chinese schools, namely teachers proficient in the Chinese language; the government’s chronic failure to accredit the globally-recognised Unified Examination Certificate (UEC); the difficulty faced by Chinese school board members seeking official registration and the lack of funds to develop Chinese schools.

The clash over vernacular education appears to have hurt the party’s standing with Chinese voters crucial in the next general elections due soon.

In Election 2008 and past by-elections, Chinese voters have been increasingly casting their support for the opposition parties signalling growing scepticism at the MCA’s ability to speak up and protect their community interests.

The BN’s mainstay, Umno, has also been seen to be appealing directly to Chinese voters, leapfrogging its Chinese coalition partner, in a bid to claw back dwindling support in key national polls that is threatening its hold on federal power.

However, Dr Chua insisted today that his party has succeeded in renewing its commitment to the Chinese under his leadership, pointing to some gains towards vernacular education.

 

 

Nazri’s statement on Dong Zong his personal opinion: Muhyiddin

 2012-09-28 10:51

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) — Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today said that the statement made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz’s concerning the demands of United Chinese School Committees Association or better known as ‘Dong Zong’ on Chinese education in the country, was his personal opinion.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said Mohd Nazri, who is Padang Rengas Member of Parliament, had explained matter to him this morning.

“He (Mohd Nazri) stressed that what he said was just his personal opinion.

“I also explained to him that we have already taken a stand on the matter. The government’s policy on the matter is also clear and we have made a few decisions on that,” he told reporters after closing the Language and Literature Fest 2012 here today.

Muhyiddin said this in response to Mohd Nazri’s statement that the demands made by Dong Zong, as contained in the memorandum submitted to him yesterday, were reasonable.

Yesterday, Mohd Nazri said he would hand over the memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a weekly Cabinet meeting on Friday so that measures could be discussed to overcome the problems faced by the association especially the shortage of teachers and deployment of unqualified Chinese language teachers in National Type Schools (SJKC).

Muhyiddin said Mohd Nazri could hand over the memorandum to him as soon as he received it.

The deputy prime minister said the government did not have any problem to receive the memorandum, but the demands must be looked carefully into especially those involving policies and laws.

“If it (memorandum) touches on administration or teachers’ issues, they are old issues and we have set up a committee on that. However, if it touches on laws and policies, we cannot simply answer them, we have to look into it first and we have made a decision on this,” he said.

On the victory of the Pro-Aspirasi in the recent campus elections, Muhyiddin said it was a sign that democracy was still alive and that the students were aware of their rights to chose their leaders.

“What’s important now is that we hope the elected student representatives will perform their entrusted duties to the best of their ability as young leaders who will inherit the country’s leadership in the future.

“This is because they have shown their wisdom. They probably made some promises during the campaign, but just like Barisan Nasional’s slogan of Promises Fulfilled, they too have to fulfill their promises to the students at their respective universities,” he added.

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Sistem pendidikan yang bercorak perkauman

 

• Transformasi pendidikan perlu tegas dan patriotik

• (Sinar Harian, 17 Sept 2012)
• Saya begitu teruja untuk mengulas pandangan bekas Ketua Polis Negara, Tun Hanif Omar bertajuk  “anak muda kini tidak patriotik langsung!” dalam akhbar ini minggu lalu. Beliau menyalahkan orang tua seperti ibu bapa, kerana tidak menanamkan semangat ini. Saya agak kurang bersetuju dengan pendapat tersebut, kerana kita semuanya dicorakkan oleh sistem pendidikan yang dilalui semasa kecil sehinggalah dewasa dan menjadi tua.
• Sistem pendidikan yang bercorak perkauman adalah punca segala-galanya, kerana sistem inilah melahirkan insan yang bergelar ibu bapa atau orang tua hari ini. Setiap kaum memperjuangkan pendidikan dan cara hidup masing-masing, tidak ada kompromi. Sebarang campurtangan akan ditentang habis-habisan. Sekolah perkauman ini seolah-olah tidak boleh disentuh. Pihak berkuasa  pula gentar dengan mereka, kerana takut kehilangan undi.
• Kita selalu menggunakan alasan, kepelbagaian ini adalah satu kekuatan. Persoalanya, pernahkah kita membuat kajian implikasi kepelbagaian ini, seperti yang pernah ditegaskan oleh Perdana Menteri Britain, David Camerons mengenai multiculturalism? Yakinlah! bahawa kejayaan negara-negara barat hari ini adalah disebabkan oleh mereka begitu tegas melaksanakan agenda negara atau agenda nasional tanpa kompromi. Mereka yang menentang agenda negara akan diberikan pilihan, “setuju tinggal, tak setuju boleh belah!”.
• Negara-negara yang dahulunya dikatakan mundur seperti Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia dan lain-lain, sudah mula meninggalkan kita. Mereka mempunyai rakyat yang mempunyai jati diri yang kental. Sanggup berkorban jiwa raga untuk agama, bangsa dan negara. Kepakaran dan kekuatan digembelingkan sepenuhnya untuk memajukan negara. Tidak berlaku brain drain. Usahlah dibandingkan dengan negara maju. Semuanya bermula dengan memperkasakan sistem pendidikan, tanpa kompromi.
• Negara-negara ini sedar, semangat patriotik adalah tunggak kekuatan negara. Jika semangat ini tidak dipaksakan melalui sistem pendidikan, lambat laun agenda negara tidak ada hala tuju dan menjadi caca merba. Contoh mudah, apabila lagu kebangsaan dinyanyikan, semuanya berdiri tegak, diam dan begitu bersemangat. Bandingkan dengan kita, pergilah ke sekolah-sekolah, lihat gelagat anak-anak kita menyanyikan lagu kebangsaan. Sekolah perkauman usahlah dicerita. Begitu juga tempat-tempat awam. Mereka buat tidak peduli sahaja.
• Kerajaan negara-negara yang disebutkan tadi, sentiasa mengambil iktibar dan merujuk kepada cerdik pandai dalam menentukan arah tuju negara. Kajian-kajian para cerdik pandai diambil kira dan dijadikan dasar negara. Tetapi tidak kita. Kajian yang telah terbukti benar dan jitu, disimpan di bawah karpet, kerana takut kehilangan jawatan dan sokongan pengundi. Misalnya, pemansuhan Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI) yang dahulunya mula flip flop apabila ditentang oleh ultra kiasu Melayu dan bukan Melayu. Saya harapkan kita tidak akan goyah lagi dengan ugutan mereka selepas ini.
• Saya ingin menyeru kepada pimpinan negara supaya sensitif dengan kajian sarjana-sarjana sosialisasi politik seperti Hyman (1959), Almond dan Verba (1963), Greenstein (1965), Hess dan Torney (1967), Dawson dan Prewitt (1969), Dowse dan Hughes (1972), Dennis (1973), Jaros (1973), Neena Sharma (1985) dan Kavanagh (1987) meletakkan agen keluarga dan sistem pendidikan adalah yang paling dominan dalam menentukan persepsi, cara hidup dan masa depan negara. Semua perkara yang dilalui ini akan diperturunkan dari satu generasi ke satu generasi. Jika dari awal lagi sudah tidak patriotik, jangan haraplah generasi seterusnya akan patriotik.
• Menurut mereka lagi, dengan mendengar perbualan ibubapa ketika bersarapan, anak-anak mula membentuk corak pemikiran mereka. Pendek kata, jika keluarga dan sistem pendidikan bersifat ultra kiasu, maka akan lahirlah ramai ultra kiasu. Realiti inilah yang sedang berlaku di Malaysia dari dahulu hingga kini. Semakin kita tunduk kepada ultra kiasu, bermakna semakin ramailah ultra kiasu.
• Pendidikan berasaskan kaum, melalui kewujudan sekolah vernakular, sekolah persendirian dan sekolah swasta, yang tidak terkawal, dilihat gagal untuk menanamkan semangat patriotik, tetapi lebih kepada memperkaya individu tertentu dan memperhebatkan bangsa sendiri. Lebih malang lagi, kerajaan terpaksa tunduk kepada tekanan-tekanan puak ultra kiasu ini, agar sekolah sebegini diperbanyakkan dan dibiayai dengan percuma. Malangnya, sebarang penambahbaikan terhadap bahasa Melayu akan ditentang kerana ia akan menjejaskan penguasaan bahasa ibunda.
• Kita sebenarnya sedar betapa besarnya peranan bahasa dalam pendidikan sebagai tunggak kepada pembentukan semangat  patriotisme. Sebab itulah, di negara lain, isu bahasa tidak ada kompromi. Jika bahasa negara ditolak, mereka akan dihalau keluar. Negara tidak memerlukan orang-orang sebegini. Biarlah berlaku brain drain, asalkan rahsia dan keselamatan negara terjamin. Semangat patriotik lebih penting daripada brain drain. Inilah prinsip negara-negara yang telah maju dan sedang mahu maju.
• Bagaimana semangat patriotik boleh disemai jika rakyat Malaysia tidak sayang kepada bahasa kebangsaan atau tidak boleh berbahasa kebangsaan? Dasar-dasar negara tidak dapat difahami. Pendek kata, semua perkara mesti diterjemah ke dalam bahasa ibunda, sedangkan kita sudah ada bahasa rasmi. 
• Sistem pendidikan negara kita telah mengalami transformasi demi transformasi. Saya tidak pasti, berapa banyak wang yang telah dihabis. Jika bertukar menteri pelajaran, maka bertukarlah polisi dan dasar. Transformasi telah berlaku berkali-kali, namun asasnya masih sama. Tembok perkauman masih tidak dapat dipecahkan. Kita tidak bertegas dalam memperkasa agenda negara. Kita akan terus gagal jika masalah asas ini tidak diatasi.  
• Berbanding generasi terdahulu, sanggup bergadai nyawa, bergolok bergadai, demi mempertahankan maruah agama, bangsa dan negara. Saya yakin, jika negara kita berhadapan dengan saat-saat kritikal seperti yang sedang berlaku antara China dengan Jepun hari ini, berapa ramaikah yang sanggup berkorban jiwa raga? Atau mungkin kita jual raga-raganya sekali?

This fractured school system

 

 

Wither The True Bangsa Malaysia

A Kadir Jasin

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IN A MALAYSIA that is becoming more racially polarised and economically dichotomised, the passing of my Chinaman friend, Yap Keng Hock, on Aug. 14 was a sad moment.

We, his Melayu friends, called him China Yap and he loved every bit of it. We could very well be the last Malaysians who could call each other by our “bangsa” and not a bit offended by it.

But in public we would refrain from calling out to each other by our bangsa – Melayu and China – for fear that we might offence the sensibilities of the new Malaysian generation who are not used to the kind of camaraderie that once defined our multiracial and cross cultural relationship.

Our group comprised the late Captain Mahyuddin Ahmad of Kulim, Kedah, Yap, the executive director of Media Prima Berhad, Ahmad A Talib and yours truly.

Mahyuddin and Yap collaborated in business. When Mahyuddin was a manager at Marco Shoes in Klang, Yap supplied moulds and dyes for Nike shoes that the company was then manufacturing under license.

Yap learned mould and dye making in Japan when he was sent there by his early employer, Matsushita.

Mahyuddin went on to set up a mill in Kulim to produce castrating rings for animal husbandry. Mahyuddin’s business was inherited by his children and all of Yap’s four children are working in the family business together with Yap’s younger brother, Gary.

When I was introduced to Yap in the late 1970’s, he was running a makeshift foundry in Klang. I noted in my report in the Business Times newspaper that his foundry looked more like a pigsty than a factory.

He enjoyed every bit of the report and told me later that even American bankers found his story inspiring. When the factory caught fire and was totally destroyed, he built a batter one.

Yap was indeed a kampung boy who made good thanks to his Malay and English education, and the fact that he was born and raised in a mixed rural town in Negeri Sembilan.

Today, there aren’t that many Malays like Mahyuddin and Chinese like Yap, who attended bilingual multi-ethnic schools where the command of the Malay and English languages built bridges and tore down communal fences.

Sadly today, the Malays and other Bumiputeras attend national schools, the Chinese go to Chinese type national schools and Tamil-speaking Indians go to Tamil type national schools.

They all call themselves national, but they are separated by geography, language, culture and quality of education. To add to the confusion we also have private and international schools where the better-off parents are free to send their children.

Little surprise that when products of this fractured school system meet each other in later life, they are already influenced by deep racial, religious and cultural biases that makes the fostering of a true bangsa Malaysia nearly impossible.

As I grow older and many of good friends of those unprejudiced times are either dead or struck down by age-related illnesses, I look back at the past with a mixture of satisfaction and nostalgia that we were once true Malayans (and later Malaysians). Wallahualam.

 

Why? Because lack of education…

 

Source : Future Fast Foward

Why Are Muslims So Backward And Powerless? – By Dr Farrukh Saleem (17/9/12)

Dr Farrukh Saleem

Sunday, 16 September 2012 21:10

The writer is the Pakistani Executive Director of the Centre for Research and Security Studies, a think tank established in 2007 and an Islamabad-based freelance  columnist.   We Muslims must wonder why is it that only Muslim States like Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya are being attacked by the Christian West. Why do we get pushed around by them with the former President of the US George Bush calling it a crusade? Why is it that Muslim States often depend on the West for survival, even Saudi Arabia, the epi-centre for Islamic fundamentalism (i.e. Wahabism) is dependent on American largesse for their survival? While they preach Wahhabi Islam all over the world, they allow American bases within a few hundred kilometres from the Holiest Shrines of Islam. There are an estimated 1,476,233,470 Muslims on the face of the planet:  one billion in Asia, 400 million in Africa, 44 million in Europe and six million in the Americas. Every fifth human being is a Muslim. For every single Hindu there are two Muslims, For every Buddhist there are two Muslims and For every Jew there are one hundred Muslims. Ever wondered why Muslims are so powerless? Here is why: There are 57 member-countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and all of them put together have around 500 universities; one university for every three million Muslims. The United States has 5,758 universities and India has 8,407. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University compiled an ‘Academic Ranking of World Universities’ and intriguingly, not one university from Muslim-majority states was in the top-500. As per data collected by the UNDP, literacy in the Christian world stands at nearly 90 per cent and 15 Christian-majority states have a literacy rate of 100 per cent. A Muslim-majority state, as a sharp contrast, has an average literacy rate of around 40 per cent and there is no Muslim-majority state with a literacy rate of 100 per cent. Some 98 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world had completed primary school, while less than 50 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same. Around 40 per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Christian world attended university while no more than two per cent of the ‘literates’ in the Muslim world did the same. Muslim-majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The US has 4,000 scientists per million and Japan has 5,000 per million. In the entire Arab world, the total number of full-time  researchers is 35,000 and there are only 50 technicians per one million Arabs. (in the Christian world there are up to 1,000 technicians per one million). Furthermore, the Muslim world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the Christian world spends around five per cent of its GDP. Conclusion: The Muslim  world lacks the capacity to produce knowledge! Daily newspapers per 1,000 people and number of book titles per million are two indicators of whether knowledge is being diffused in a society. In Pakistan, there are 23 daily newspapers per 1,000 Pakistanis while the same ratio in Singapore is 360. In the UK, the number of book titles per million stands at 2,000 while the same in Egypt is 20. Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to diffuse knowledge. Exports of high technology products as a percentage of total exports are an important indicator of knowledge application. Pakistan’s export of high technology products as a percentage of total exports stands at one per cent. The same for Saudi Arabia is 0.3 per cent; Kuwait, Morocco, and Algeria are all at 0.3 per cent, while Singapore is at 58 per cent. Conclusion: The Muslim world is failing to apply knowledge. Why are Muslims powerless? …..Because we aren’t producing knowledge, …..Because we aren’t diffusing knowledge, …..Because we aren’t applying knowledge. And, the future belongs to knowledge-based societies. Interestingly, the combined annual GDP of 57 OIC-countries is under $2 trillion. America, just by herself, produces goods and services worth $12 trillion; China $8 trillion, Japan $3.8 trillion and Germany $2.4 trillion (purchasing power parity basis). Oil rich Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar collectively produce goods and services (mostly oil) worth $500  billion; Spain alone produces goods and services worth over $1 trillion, Catholic Poland $489 billion and Buddhist Thailand $545 billion. Muslim GDP as a percentage of world’s GDP is fast declining. So, why are Muslims so powerless? *Answer:  Lack of education. All we do is shout Allah the whole day and blame everyone else for our multiple failures!

 

Introducing Malaysians to their own country

 

PETALING JAYA: Knowledge of history is important to introduce Malaysian youths to their own country, said historian Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim.

He said many young people were doing strange things, such as stepping on the national flag, because they did not understand or appreciate the country’s history.

“Many people today do not even know the difference between ethnicity and nationality.

“We need to introduce the young to our country so that they understand the unique and interesting history of Malaysia,” he said during a press conference yesterday.

Dr Khoo, 75, a renowned historian, is a professor in the History Department of Universiti Malaya and also the Chancellor of KDU University College.

His contributions to the country include co-authoring the Rukun Negara in 1969.

“Unless you understand history, you cannot understand what is happening in the country today,” he said after receiving RM100,000 in sponsorship from the Sime Darby Foundation.

The contribution is to sponsor the publication of Esei-esei Lengkap Sejarah Malaysia, a compilation of essays by Dr Khoo since 1966.

Writer Eddin Khoo, who is Dr Khoo’s son and the chief editor of the publication, said all of his father’s works would be available in both English and Bahasa Malaysia for the first time.

Sime Darby Foundation council member Tan Sri Dr Wan Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin praised Dr Khoo for being very passionate about his work.

“The support is critical as the study of Malaysia and its past is a concern for our current education system,” he said.

11 SHIFTS TO TRANSFORM THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

 

 

 

New education blueprint unveiled

The six attributes, which will be incorporated into the 11 shift initiatives for the education transformation plan

Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak promised that one of the initiatives in his ‘transformation’ agenda is to revamp and re-engineer the education system. The aspirations of the Malaysia education still pertaining to access, quality, equity, efficiency and unity. Six new attributes would be the basis of this 11 shits in the education system, in the initiative to make it a more solid plan to develop future Malaysians.

11 September 2012 | last updated at 12:31PM

New education blueprint goes beyond politics

By V. Shuman 0 comments

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KUALA LUMPUR : The new education blueprint is not partisan in nature and extends beyond politics, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today.

Pupils at SJK (C) Yih Min, Simpang Empat in Alor Setar doing last minute revisions before they enter the exam hall to sit for the UPSR examination. NSTP/ Lim Poh Chin

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“The plan, which in my opinion is futuristic, bold, transparent,  comprehensive and democratic in nature, is made to make every Malaysian child to realise his God’s given talent.

“I say democratic because the plan was lined up following input from various parties of interest including individuals, NGOs and education bodies,” said Najib after launching the blueprint at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Plenary Hall here today.

The plan is an early draft, which is expected to be produced in the Cabinet and passed this coming December.

The Education Ministry will for the next three months, hold “open houses” to enable the public to observe the plan and get clarifications regarding any queries they may have.

“The end result will be a plan that fulfills the people’s dreams and aspirations” added Najib.

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The five pillars of Malaysian education system

Prime Minister Najib that the nation needed a creative and innovative solution for education that would require participation and sacrifices from all segments of society. The thrusts of the new economy is knowledge, innovation, technology and infused with creativity.

The eleven shifts outlined are:

Prime Minister Najib also made specific comments about the necessary role of English, to propel Malaysians forward without at the expense of Bahasa Kebangsaan.

English not a zero-sum game says Najib

By Lee Wei Lian

September 11, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — Mastering English does not mean that the national language will lose out said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today.

This comes after bilingualism was endorsed in the new national education masterplan launched today that will run from 2013-2025.

The prime minister said that a command of the English language was a valuable asset and it needed to be taught using English literature.

“If we can’t start with Shakespeare, start with Enid Blyton, then move on to Shakespeare light and finally Shakespeare,” said Najib.

He added that Malaysians if possible should even learn three languages.

“I encouraged my son to learn Mandarin,” he said. “This is because we want a competitive edge.”

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“Education policy shouldn’t be a populist effort and everyone should depoliticize education”, said Prime Minister Najib. He already reiterated that Federal Government would bring about the best returns on money spend for education.

Prime Minister Najib also cautioned about the ‘value system’ should be inculcated in the education system, to prepare Malaysians in the future to be better people.

Part of the investments in this announced Education Blueprint include better education assets and development programs for educators, especially teachers.

UNSUNG HEROES

 

 

TEARS OF AN UNSUNG HERO -Zamkata

• Read this on Zamkata.

  It cuts very deep.

  Brought tears to my eyes. I travelled many roads during the time mentioned in the story. One particular road was the Benta-Jerantut. Had to get “pass” from balai polis to travel the road after 6.00 pm.

  It is very sad to read that “some of his friends who had retired from the army are living in hardship, in dilapidated homes and insufficient income to support them.”

  yet we have people who tunjuk punggung and pijak gambar our PM during Merdeka celebration. To me, such acts were not only disrespectful to the person of the picture but to the whole history of the nation kemerdekaan.

• These people who cannot survive the equator’s heat without air conditioning, without McDonald and KFC or coffee from Starbuck, who claimed the Malays would still be on trees had it not been for their TAX MONEY which develop this country, who CHOSE not to speak the TONGUE of this country … they have different history book.

  “”The former soldier told me that as a member of the intelligence team, he entered the forest in a small group of four or five people after getting information on the communist movement.

  He said they were ahead of the army team which had large number of people.

  One of his bitter and sad memories was when his group bumped into a group of about 20 communist insurgents who immediately fired at them. One of the shots hit his friend on the head.

  Another of his friend was shot at a coffee shop in Raub and a few others were left handicapped, with their limbs severed, from booby traps.

  While recalling these incidents, his eyes became wet and he choked on his words when he said “our salary then was small, but our responsibility was heavy compared to now, big salary and light work.”

  He said “When we went into the forest, we had to carry back packs which were very heavy as it contained the army kit and food for our long journey and the forest in the Cameron Highlands was very cold at night”

  According to him, some of his friends who had retired from the army are living in hardship, in dilapidated homes and insufficient income to support them.

  I saw him in tears, despite having been a brave and strong man, who could kill, but broke down in tears when recalling the huge struggle they had put up which now, is not remembered and unappreciated by some people. In fact they were further disgraced by pro-communist elements. “”

  History
  Work to build the East-West Highway started in 1967. Work was frequently interrupted due to the communist insurgents who launched attack on the workers throughout the Communist Insurgency War and the Second Emergency from 1967-1989, causing work to build the highway to take a long time. Even when the highway was opened, the army strictly monitored it and motorists were only allowed to use it during the day. The strict security system that was abolished after the communist surrendered in 1989. A monument was built by the Public Works Department in Pulau Banding in memory of the workers who were killed in the attack by the communist during the construction of the East-West Highway.

Patriotisme: ‘Salah kita yang tua’

 

Patriotism yang semakin tiris

Ketua Menteri Tanah Melayu dan Presiden UMNO Tunku Abdul Rahman mengumumkan persetujuan Kemerdekaan yang berjaya dicapai dari London pada 20 Feb 1956 di Bandar Hilir, Melaka

Pengisian mengenai pengorbanan, perjuangan dan sejarah pahit getir pejuang sebenar Kemerdekaan dikalangan generasi muda Malaysia adalah meleset dan membimbangkan. Rata rata kemampuan mereka memahami dan menyelami sejarah amatlah mengecewakan. Sikap sambil lewa juga menjadikan keadaan semakin runcing.

Pejuang anti-Kominis yang amat cemerlang Mantan Ketua Polis Negara Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar memberikan komen mengenai pengertian ‘Patriotism’ pada konteks rakyat Malaysia generasi ini, 55 tahun selepas mencapai Kemerdekaan.

Patriotisme: ‘Salah kita yang tua’, kata Haniff Omar

WARTAWAN SINAR HARIAN
10 September 2012

Sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan & Hari Malaysia
SHAH ALAM – “ANAK muda kini tidak patriotik langsung!” Tentu kita pernah mendengar rungutan ini. Tetapi adakah adil untuk terus menyalahkan segelintir golongan muda kerana mereka gagal memperlihatkan jiwa patriotisme?

Menjawab persoalan ini, Presiden Institut Pengurusan Malaysia, Tun Mohammed Haniff Omar berkata, masalah ini wujud kerana generasi sebelum mereka tidak memberikan pengisian dan teladan supaya generasi seterusnya menghayati erti mencintai negara.

“Berbezanya semangat patriotisme generasi lama yang lebih berkobar berbanding generasi baru antara sebabnya kerana generasi terdahulu secara kolektif tidak memberikan anak-anak muda kini pengisian dan teladan seperti mana yang telah mereka peroleh daripada orang-orang terdahulu.

“Malah, pendekatan yang diberikan kepada generasi baru berhubung pengertian sayangkan negara telah banyak menyimpang, kerana itu mereka juga menyimpang di dalam menterjemahkan pemahaman mengenai semangat patriotisme kepada negara,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, penekanan terhadap mata pelajaran sejarah dan kesusteraan serta intisari subjek tersebut juga sangat berbeza berbanding pengisian pengajaran yang diberikan semasa peringkat persekolah sebelum memasuki era kemodenan yang mana lebih menitik beratkan kebendaan dan kemewahan.

“Oleh kerana itu, tidak wajar menyalahkan generasi muda kerana asas yang kita berikan kepada mereka pada awal telah menyimpang,” katanya.

Beliau turut memetik kata-kata penulis Inggeris, John Selber dalam bukunya Straight Shooting, menyatakan ‘kenapa nak menyalahkan generasi baru apabila tidak menyamai kita setelah kita sendiri dan secara kolektif tidak memberikan mereka pengisian dan teladan sama seperti yang diberikan kepada kita oleh ibu bapa kita’.

Katanya, perbezaan generasi baru dengan generasi lama adalah semula jadi namun, apabila menyentuh soal sahsiah; akhlak; pegangan; dan nilai hidup, golongan ini tidak mungkin boleh jauh berbeza sekiranya pengisian didikan; ilmu; ajaran; dan persekitaran di mana mereka dibesarkan diberi penekanan kerana ciri-ciri pengisian inilah yang menentukan corak dan tahap patriotisme seseorang.

Mohammed Haniff yang sebelum ini menjawat jawatan sebagai Ketua Polis Negara keempat berkata, cara pendidikan dan pembelajaran baik yang ditinggalkan bekas penjajah British sepatutnya dicontohi.

“Seburuk-buruk pentadbiran dan pendidik-pendidik British dahulu, mereka mengajar dan menuntut supaya tahap tinggi kecintaan terhadap negara termasuk penghormatan kepada simbol-simbol negara bangsa serta orang-orang yang jelas berkorban jiwa raga demi negara.

“Pernah pegawai-pegawai tinggi British tabik hormat askar dan polis berpangkat rendah yang memakai bintang-bintang keberanian, tanpa segan silu. Mereka tabik hormat pada sifat, pengorbanan dan teladan wira-wira ini sebaliknya masyarakat sekarang lebih agongkan kekayaan dan kebendaan.

“Justeru, kita mesti balik ke pangkal jalan dengan melihat kembali bagaimana sejarah kita bermula,” katanya.

Rukun Negara digubal oleh pemimpin-pemimpin selepas peristiwa 13 Mei 1969 bagi menyatupadukan semula rakyat di bawah satu panji sifat-sifat mulia.

Namun, beliau berkata, setelah 15 hingga 20 tahun, pemimpin-pemimpin baru mengenepikan penekanan terhadap Rukun Negara ini sehingga berlaku keadaan di mana murid-murid kini tidak mengenali malah tidak menerimanya lagi.

“Sekarang ini baru nak mengenegahkanya semula. Persoalannya, untuk berapa lama? Begitu juga dengan sejarah penting yang tidak perjelaskan supaya dijiwai begitu juga dengan mata pelajaran kesusasteraan dibangku sekolah. Apakah karya-karya yang dipilih dapat membina semangat patriotisme?

“Selain itu, dalam membawa wadah perjuangan sebagai usaha memupuk semangat patriotisme, warganegara yang telah menyumbang dengan cara mereka tersendiri menerusi kudrat dan kecekapan bagi meningkatkan daya tahan saing negara tidak boleh dibelakangkan.

“Oleh itu, adalah penting untuk kita fahami konsep patriotisme khususnya di zaman rakyat merdeka dalam lingkungan dan parameter Perlembangaan negara,” katanya

Sekiranya perkara ini diambil mudah, katanya, ia akan menggalakkan patriot-patriot palsu seperti apa yang dikatakan penulis dan moralis mahsyur British pada abad ke-18 yang diterjemahkan sebagai, ‘Patriotisme adalah perlindungan terakhir bagi si bangsat’.

“Bersikap biadap dan liar bukan ciri-ciri patriotisme kerana ia boleh menghancurkan moral dan perpaduan rakyat termasuklah perbuatan lucah yang harus diperangi secara bersunguh-sunguh oleh rakyat yang mendokong Rukun Negara.

“Itu sebabnya hak asasi manusia memberikan hak untuk berhimpun secara aman tetapi bukan bebas melakukan apa saja. Soal kesusilaan itu penting. Perbuatan memijak atau membakar bendera dan simbol-simbol negara adalah perbuatan tanpa kesusilaan dan biadap. Selagi simbol itu lambang negara, suka atau tidak kita mesti menghormatinya,” katanya.

Namun, jika dengan memberi saranan atau mendesak perubahan dilakukan tanpa memudaratkan negara dan masyarakat ia tidak boleh disifatkan sebagai tidak patriotik kerana seperti di Kanada, negara itu katanya, pernah menukar bendera negaranya.

“Malah Australia juga pernah menukar lagu negara, Anthem tetapi semua itu dicadangkan dan dilakukan dengan penuh kesopanan dan kesusilaan. Pokoknya, perubahan yang dicadangkan mesti munasabah dan membina.

“Kalau perubahan bertujuan mengagongkan mereka yang dianggap majoriti sebagai musuh dan perosak negara, khususnya yang telah membunuh secara terrorisma, ini bukan patriotik sebaliknya anti-patriotik dan harus dihalang. Jika tidak dihalang boleh mengekal dan mengembangkan kaunter-kultur.

“Oleh itu, rakyat mesti pandai membezakan perbuatan dan pegangan ini sama ada kaunter-kultur yang mesti ditentang atau pun manifestasi keperluan perubahan sihat mengikut perubahan zaman,” katanya.

* Dapatkan laporan lengkap dalam Sinar Harian edisi Isnin, 10 September

********

Ketirisan semangat patriotism ini mengakibatkan pihak minoriti seperti mereka yang wajar disifatkan sebagai Neo Min Yuen menangguk diair keruh dan menyuntik ideologi bahawa mereka berhaluan kiri dan mendukung perjuangan ganas kominis merupakan ‘Pejuang Kemerdekaan Sejati’.

Kegagalan memahami dan mendalami sejarah juga merupakan peluang dimanipulasikan anasir anasir Neo Min Yuen untuk menyuntik ideologi pihak berhaluan kiri seperti Putera-AMCJA untuk menyingkirkan Raja Raja Melayu dan sebaliknya menubuhkan republik di Tanah Melayu ini pada 1947. Ada pun dikalangan orang Melayu dalam kumpulan minoriti ini pada masa itu mahu Tanah Melayu merdeka dan bergabung dengan Indonesia dan menjadi sebahagian dari Gagasan Indonesia Raya.

Mereka yang berhaluan kiri ini lebih mirip menganjurkan revolusi menentang British untuk mencapai Kemerdekaan berbanding pendekatan nasionalis, yang lebih mengutamakan perundingan. Akibatnya, promoter Putera-AMCJA bersedia menyokong revolusi yang dibawa Parti Kominis Malaya dan mengorbankan nyawa dan harta benda, demi mendapai objektif mereka sebagai minoriti menguasai majoriti.

Tekanan yang dibuat golongan nasionalis, yang bergabung menjadi UMNO pada 11 Mei 1946 mendapat sokongan padu orang Melayu dan kemudianya Raja Raja untuk menentang racangan Whitehall untuk menjadi Tanah Melayu sebagai Crown Colony dibawah Malayan Union dan menghakis sepenuhnya kuasa dan peranan Raja Raja Melayu.  Kegagalan Malayan Union memberikan peluang bagi British berunding dengan Raja Raja Melayu dan UMNO diberikan taraf pemerhati. Hasilnya, ‘Perjanjian Tanah Melayu’ dimeterai antara British dan Raja Raja Melayu pada 21 Januari 1948 dimana hak orang orang Melayu sebagai ‘warga DYMM Raja Raja’ dijamin.

Apabila UMNO, mengetuai perkongsian dengan MCA dan MIC dan mendapat mandat majoriti warga Tanah Melayu dalam pilihanraya Majlis Perundingan Persekutuan pada 1955, mengunakan peluang untuk merundingkan ‘kontrak sosial’ dengan Raja Raja Melayu dan warga Bukan Melayu diberikan hak sebagai warganegara. Memenuhi hak naungan tradisi Raja Raja Melayu, Perlembagaan Tanah Melayu pasca Merdeka menjamin hak istimewa orang Melayu, Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dan kedudukan dan peranan Raja Raja Melayu sebagai Ketua Perlembagaan dan simbol dan payung kepada adat resam orang Melayu.

Sistem yang ditinggalkan British dengan pengunduran berkala hasil dari Kemerdekaan yang dicapai dari proses perundingan banyak memberikan kesan positif kepada Tanah Melayu dan orang Melayu. Kesinambugan berjaya memberikan ruang pembinaan negara-bangsa dengan lebih tersusun dan progressif. Ini berbanding dengan negara serantau yang mencapai kemerdekaan mereka dengan proses revolusi dan mendadak.

Apaibila pihak pihak minoriti yang cuba menguasai aspirasi majoriti sedar mereka tidak akan mampu diberikan keyakinan mandat, maka mereka mengorak langkah dengan cuba memberikan interpretasi berbeza mengenai ‘Patriotism’ dan perjalanan sejarah. Ini termasuk mengagungkan puak berhaluan kiri, termasuk petualangan masyarakat seperti kominis, sebagai ‘Pejuang Kemerdekaan Sejati’.

Pembangkang sehingga berkempen untuk membawa pulang Ketua Pengganas Kominis Chin “Butcher of Malaya” Peng, yang merancang dan melaksanakan keganasan terhadap masyarakat Semenanjung Malaysia dari 1945 hingga 1989.

Ini adalah cara mereka untuk menyemai kebencian masyarakat terhadap UMNO sebagai ‘barua British’, terutama dari imaginasi golongan muda dan berdarah panas dan idealistik. Aikbat pemahaman sejarah negara ini lemah, mereka lebih mudah terpengaruh dengan dakyah dan drama palsu ini dan tertarik kepada intepretasi makna ‘patriotism’ dari konteks ‘mereka yang membawa perubahan’ termasuk revolusi.

Ini secocok dengan gerak-kerja Pembangkang, apabila perjuangan mereka tidak berlandaskan pembangunan dan kemajuan dan sebaliknya ‘Politik Kebencian’. Untuk mencapai objektif mereka, pemimpin Pembangkang sampai tergamak untuk menghina Raja Raja Melayu, Perlembagaan, bendera Jalur Gemilang, Islam sebagai agama Persektuan Malaysia dan anggota keselematan termasuk memfitnah Polis, tentera, Peguam Negara, SPRM dan sebagainya.

Negara akan runtuh sekiranya majoriti golongan muda tanah air ini terpengaruh dengan dakyah ‘patriotism’ palsu ini.

Produk sekolah vernakular Malaysia?

 

 

Adakah dia nih PRODUK hasil DIDIKan di sekolah VERNAKULAR CINA?

 

PerBEZAan yang diTUNJUKkan ini jugak memBUKTIkan betapa GAGAL dan BANGSATnya sistem penDIDIKan VERNAKULAR CINA di NEGARA ini.. Kenapa kita KAITkan dengan sistem penDIDIKan VERNAKULAR CINA? Ini kerana sudah menjadi tanggung-jawab DONG ZHONG dan DONG JIAO ZHONG untuk merangka sistem penDIDIKan bagi membentuk kePERIBADIan MULIA selari dengan keMAJUan dan keTAMADUNan NEGARA ini.. PerBUATan ONG Sing Yee jelas sekali HASIL keGAGALan DIDIKkan di sekolah VERNAKULAR CINA yang bukan sahaja GAGAL mengajarnya BAHASA Kebangsaan, malah penDIDIKan MORAL jugak..

Kita PERCAYA sekolah-sekolah di BENUA China jugak TIDAK mengajar para PELAJAR mereka berSIKAP seperti ONG Sing Yee ini.. Kita jugak tak JUMPA adakah ini AJARan Confucius, Lao Tze atau mana-mana TOKOH FALSAFAH CINA.. Kalau BACA KOMIK Alam PERWIRA karya Tony Wong pun kita tak JUMPA kisah MAHARAJA Zhou PIJAK GAMBAR Ji Fat atau Duke Ji Chang? Malah, takde jugak terCATAT dalam SEJARAH menyatakan JENERAL MAO PIJAK GAMBAR JENERAL Chiang KAI SHEK? Jadik, kenapakah PRODUK HASIL DIDIkan VERNAKULAR CINA di NEGARA ini berSIKAP BIADAB? Adakah SIKAP ini WUJUD HASIL TARBIAH DONG ZHONG dan DONG JIAO ZHONG yang berKIBLATkan DAP La’anatullah?

Baca seterusnya artikel penuh dari laman TUKANG DOK PEGHATI

Nation building – Formal education to attain knowledge

 

 

#SaySomethingNice – Education

• Knowledge has always been a key ingredient in nation building. It is important in developing our infrastructures, in improving the livelihood of the people, and in science and innovation; all of these are very important for our survival as well as to place our country among other developed nations of the world.
• And the most common way to attain knowledge is by way of formal education. Malaysia has consistently been one of the biggest spenders with regards to education. According to UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Malaysia’s public expenditure on education in 2009 is 5.8% of our country’s GDP and18.9% of our government’s total expenditure. This places Malaysia among the top 20 nations with biggest provisions for education.
• Malaysians have benefited greatly from this keen focus given to our education system. Our adult literacy rate has gone up from 84.3% in 1980 to 92.8% in 2008. And more Malaysians now pursue secondary education. In 1971, merely 39.3% or 1.4 million students between the ages of 12 and 16 continue on from primary schools onto secondary. But by 2007, this figure has improved greatly. Now, 81% of 12 to 16 year olds pursue secondary education, the most basic employable qualification.
• As for tertiary education, we are now ranked at the 11^th place by UNESCO for its appeal to international students. As of 2010, the number of international students at various public and private institutions of higher learning has increased significantly from 18,000 in 2001 to 87,000 students. And the total of student enrolment into our higher education institutions in 2001 was 628, 479 but has grown to 1,134,134 in 2010.
• Excellent students in Malaysia are also typically given the chance to experience the world and learn from the top minds in foreign universities. From the year 2008 up to 2011, as many as 20,000 to 40,000 Malaysian students have been sent to study abroad on sponsorships each year.
• To see hundreds of thousands students benefit from Malaysia’s keen interest in education opportunities, I say, this is one of the nice things we Malaysians enjoy.

Identiti MALAYsia : Didikan Sekolah Kebangsaan & didikan sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan – Apa kata Najib Tun Razak & Menteri Pelajaran Malaysia?

• TAK AKAN MELAYU HILANG DI DUNIA

• Sep04 2012  Written by chedet

• 1. Kata Hang Tuah “Tak akan Melayu hilang di dunia.” Dapatkah kata-kata keramat ini menentu yang Melayu tak akan hilang di dunia?
• 2. Di Singapura kerana tidak ada lagi sekolah Melayu dan bahasa penghantar di sekolah-sekolah di Republik itu ialah Inggeris dan China; segala urusan rasmi dan tidak rasmi menggunakan Bahasa Ingggeris atau China, maka orang Melayu sudah pun tidak menggunakan Bahasa Melayu. Mereka menggunakan Bahasa Inggeris walaupun semasa bercakap dengan anak pinak, keluarga dan kawan-kawan Melayu.
• 3. Budaya, adat istiadat Melayu juga terhakis. Yang tinggal hanyalah agama Islam mereka.
• 4. KeMelayuan mereka sudah tinggal separuh. Kita boleh ramal yang hakisan keMelayuan mereka akan berterusan sehingga akan hilanglah Melayu di Singapura.
• 5. Di sebelah utara pula kita dapati orang keturunan Melayu yang tidak dapat bertutur kata dalam Bahasa Melayu. Mereka Islam dan bangsa rasmi mereka ialah Thai. Maka hilanglah juga Melayu disitu.
• 6. Tetapi di Malaysia juga kehilangan Melayu sedang berlaku. Ada anak muda Melayu yang tidak lagi ingin dikenali sebagai orang Melayu. Mereka orang Malaysia. Ada pula yang hanya akui mereka orang Islam dan tidak perlu dikaitkan diri mereka dengan kaum Melayu.
• 7. Tetapi yang akan menghilangkan Melayu di dunia ialah dakwaan bahawa sesiapa yang bercakap berkenaan dengan bangsa Melayu, mereka akan dituduh “racist”. Oleh itu orang Melayu sudah tidak lagi berani menyebut perkataan Melayu kerana tidak mahu dituduh “racist”.
• 8. Kasihan Hang Tuah. Besar kemungkinan kata-katanya tidak lagi akan menjadi kenyataan. Demikianlah apabila kita bergantung kepada kata-kata hikmat untuk nasib kita, akhirnya akan hilang hikmatnya.

Apakah Identiti Kita?

Dr Chandra Muzaffar – APA MAKSUD IDENTITI MALAYSIA

Artikel Dr Chandra yang sangat bagus dibaca menjelang Malaysia 55 tahun Merdeka:Apa maksud identiti Malaysia? — Chandra Muzaffar

August 20, 2012

20 OGOS — Selepas 55 tahun selepas Merdeka, rakyat Malaysia masih belum mencapai kata sepakat tentang identiti negara tercinta ini. Ia bukan sesuatu yang luar biasa. Kebanyakan negara lain, terutamanya yang berbilang kaum dan agama, menghadapi cabaran yang sama.

Bagi negara-negara yang mempunyai status berbilang kaum akibat daripada proses penjajahan, cabarannya jauh lebih rumit jika dibandingkan dengan negara-negara yang memperolehi ciri-ciri berbilang kaum melalui penaklukan atau integrasi wilayah mahupun penerimaan pendatang dari luar yang ditentukan oleh elit pribumi negara itu sendiri.

Sebagai contoh di Malaysia, para Sultan Melayu tidak terlibat di dalam membuat keputusan untuk menerima ratusan ribu pendatang dari China dan India dalam kurun 19. Pihak penjajah British yang bertanggungjawab ke atas penghijrahan ini untuk kepentingan ekonomi kolonial mereka.

Justeru, sistem ekonomi yang wujud dari kurun 19 memperlihatkan pengasingan kaum Cina dan India dalam gelanggang ekonomi masing-masing daripada bangsa Melayu yang terus terikat dengan ekonomi desanya dan sistem pentadbiran kesultanan-kesultanan Melayu.

Pengasingan ini membawa implikasi besar kepada sistem pendidikan, corak hidup sosial dan alam budaya kaum-kaum yang menetap di negara ini. Kesan-kesan negatif daripada sejarah kolonial ini boleh dirasai sehingga ke hari ini.

Mungkin dampak yang paling serius adalah dalam sikap dan pandangan sebahagian besar kaum Cina dan India terhadap identiti diri mereka dan identiti Malaysia.

Untuk memahami cabaran ini, kita harus merenung kembali sejarah identiti kelompok-kelompok Cina yang berhijrah ke Tanah Melayu pada kurun 15 dan selepasnya — iaitu sebelum zaman kolonial British — dan cara mereka menyesuaikan diri dengan persekitaran keMelayuan.

Walaupun kelompok-kelompok ini kekal dengan agama Buddha, bahasa dan budaya tempatan mudah diserap kerana mereka mahu menyesuaikan diri dengan budaya dan masyarakat induk yang dikuasai sistem kesultanan ketika itu.

Pada zaman kolonial, sebagai bangsa terjajah, Melayu hilang kedudukan puncaknya.

Manakala, kelompok-kelompok Cina yang bermastautin di Melaka, Terengganu dan Kelantan pada masa itu adalah dalam jumlah yang kecil .

Latar belakang sejarah ini telah mempengaruhi sebahagian daripada perspektif tentang identiti negara dan penduduknya selepas kemerdekaan. Pada keseluruhannya, kita dapat mengenalpasti tiga perspektif.

Pertama, sebahagian daripada masyarakat Melayu menganggap Malaysia adalah sebagai negara Melayu. Dari segi fakta sejarah tidak dapat disangkal, kesultanan Melayu merupakan teras sistem Persekutuan yang dibentuk pada 1948.

Ini diperkukuhkan lagi dengan kewujudan dinasti kesultanan yang tertua di dunia iaitu kesultanan Kedah yang diasaskan pada tahun 1136. Tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa latarbelakang negara ini berhubungkait dengan sistem pemerintahan Melayu.

Tetapi, sekiranya Malaysia ditonjolkan sebagai negara Melayu dalam konteks semasa, ia akan menimbulkan kegelisahan di kalangan dua komponen rakyat Malaysia. Bagi Bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak, khususnya Kadazan dan Iban, konsep identiti nasional sedemikian seolah-olah meminggirkan mereka.

Begitu juga bagi kaum Cina, India dan minoriti lain di Semenanjung Malaysia, termasuk, Orang Asli yang bukan Islam.

Kedua, di kalangan orang Melayu terdapat beberapa kumpulan yang berpegang pada idea bahawa Malaysia adalah sebuah negara Islam. Benar, majoriti penduduk negara — lebih 60 peratus — adalah penganut agama Islam. Malah, sebelum zaman kolonial, Islam merupakan asas perundangan di dalam sistem pemerintahan kesultanan Melayu.

Tetapi, sudah tentu 40 peratus masyarakat bukan Islam tidak dapat mengidentifikasikan diri mereka dengan negara yang mengisytiharkan dirinya sebagai negara Islam. Sekiranya, komponen warganegara yang begitu besar merasa terasing daripada identiti sebuah negara, usaha menyatupadukan masyarakat berbilang agama ini akan terancam.

Ketiga, bagi majoriti bukan Melayu pula Malaysia adalah sebuah negara berbilang kaum dan agama. Itulah identitinya. Deskripsi Malaysia sebagai negara berbilang kaum dan agama mencerminkan realiti masyarakat kita.

Tetapi, bagi sebahagian besar bukan Melayu realiti ini terpisah daripada sejarah dan latarbelakang negara yang berakar-umbi dari sistem Melayu-Islam. Ini menyumbang kepada keengganan mereka mengiktiraf peranan istimewa bahasa Melayu dan agama Islam dalam pembentukan identiti negara.

Jelas, ketiga-tiga perspektif yang dibincangkan tidak menepati pencarian satu identiti nasional. Oleh yang demikian, apakah konsep identiti yang paling sesuai, yang peka pada sensitiviti semua kaum di negara kita?

Ternyata konsep yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Malaysia adalah konsep yang adil, sesuai dan menepati sifat-sifat identiti bagi negara dan rakyat kita.

Perlembagaan Malaysia mengiktiraf kedudukan Bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan dan bahasa rasmi yang tunggal. Islam juga dinobatkan sebagai agama Persekutuan. Ini adalah pengiktirafan dan penerimaan terhadap sejarah dan latarbelakang negara dalam pembentukan identiti Malaysia.

Dalam hubungan ini, peranan Bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan, khususnya, amat penting dari segi evolusi identiti nasional. Dalam masyarakat berbilang kaum walau di mana-mana, jika bahasa dapat memudahkan komunikasi antara kaum dan budaya yang berbeza, ia akan membantu proses interaksi dan integrasi.

Inilah peranan yang dimainkan oleh Bahasa Melayu sepanjang sejarah sebagai lingua franca (bahasa perantara) yang paling berkesan dalam mewujudkan identiti serantau Nusantara.

Kembali kepada Perlembagaan Malaysia, dokumen ini juga mengiktiraf kedudukan dan peranan bahasa-bahasa lain.

Pada masa yang sama, Perlembagaan kita menegakkan hak penganut agama-agama bukan Islam untuk mengamalkan agama masing-masing. Akomodasi bahasa-bahasa bukan Melayu dan agama-agama bukan Islam dalam Perlembagaan adalah pengakuan bahawa bahasa-bahasa dan agama-agama ini juga adalah sebahagian daripada identiti Malaysia.

Kepimpinan nasional — kerajaan mahu pun pembangkang — gagal menyebarkan kefahaman identiti yang adil dan seimbang ini yang merupakan kekuatan Perlembagaan kita kepada khalayak.

Sekiranya sistem persekolahan kita, dari sekolah rendah sehingga sekolah menengah, memberi tumpuan kepada perkara ini — mempertingkatkan kefahaman pelajar-pelajar tentang Perlembagaan sebagai asas identiti nasional — sejak Merdeka pada 1957 dahulu, mungkin suasana masyarakat kita lebih harmonis pada hari ini.

Sebenarnya, konsep identiti dalam Perlembagaan telah dikembangkan secara tidak langsung melalui Rukunegara dan Wawasan 2020. Oleh kerana identiti tidak terbatas pada soal kaum dan agama semata-mata, dua dokumen nasional yang penting ini memperkukuhkan lagi konsep identiti Malaysia yang juga merangkumi institusi-institusi serta nilai-nilai.

Sistem Raja Berperlembagaan, Keluhuran Perlembagaan, Kedaulatan Undang-Undang dan sistem Demokrasi Berparlimen, yang ditekankan di dalam Rukunegara juga mencirikan identiti negara kita.
Begitu juga nilai-nilai yang terkandung dalam Rukunegara seperti perpaduan, keadilan, pendekatan liberal terhadap kepelbagaian budaya dan tradisi masyarakat, dan sikap progresif terhadap sains dan teknologi merupakan dimensi-dimensi penting dalam usaha kita membentuk identiti rakyat dan negara Malaysia.

Wawasan 2020 terus memberi keutamaan kepada nilai-nilai murni yang sama. Malah, dokumen ini juga menyuarakan iltizam negara untuk mewujudkan masyarakat yang “berjiwa bebas, tenteram dan maju dengan keyakinan terhadap diri sendiri” dan melahirkan masyarakat beretika dan bermoral.

Nilai-nilai ini boleh dianggap sebagai nilai-nilai yang berpaksikan kepada Kepercayaan pada Tuhan iaitu, prinsip pertama Rukunegara. Dalam sebuah masyarakat dimana lebih daripada 80 peratus penduduknya percaya pada Tuhan, prinsip ini harus diterima sebagai ciri utama identiti bangsa Malaysia.

Untuk memastikan bahawa kepercayaan pada Tuhan adalah prinsip identiti yang benar-benar dihayati, adalah menjadi tanggungjawab kita semua untuk menegakkan keadilan, keihsanan dan kejujuran dalam kehidupan masyarakat Malaysia.

Perlembagaan, Rukunegara dan Wawasan 2020 yang menjurus ke arah identiti nasional pada hakikatnya termaktub dalam idea 1 Malaysia. Ini bermakna bahawa 1 Malaysia merupakan intipati identiti Malaysia.

Menegak dan mengukuhkan identiti rakyat dan negara adalah cabaran besar yang dihadapi oleh kita pada ulang tahun Kemerdekaan Malaysia yang ke 55, terutamanya akibat beberapa perkembangan semasa. Di peringkat domestik, sentimen kaum dan agama lebih ketara dan menjejaskan usaha ke arah identiti nasional.

Identiti nasional juga terancam akibat politik kepartian yang melampaui batas. Di peringkat global, proses globalisasi yang membawa impak pada hampir setiap budaya dan bahasa sudah mula menggugat bahasa kebangsaan dalam bidang-bidang tertentu. — Utusan Malaysia

Saya berdoa supaya pemimpin politik kita terutama Pak Menteri-Menteri Kabinet sekarang dapat menghayati apa yang dinyatakan oleh Dr. Chandra, jangan dok sibuk kira berapa undi boleh dapat dari kaum itu dan ini sahja! 

 

Education & Religion

 

• Bill Nye : Do Not Mix Religion And Education

• Hi folks. This is a You Tube of the famous “Bill Nye the Science Guy”. In the 1990s my young sons would hardly miss an episode of  “Bill Nye The Science Guy” on TV. Here he is again  speaking up in favour of Science. Do listen to the video, it is very short.  This is an Islamic video.
• Bill Nye is worried about the influence of the religious folks on children in the United States. There are still quite a few of them in the US.  The difference (or rather the similarity) is that in the US the religious people are Bible thumpers. There is a ‘christian’ theme park in the US which shows human beings coexisting with the dinosaurs. This is scientifically impossible because dinosaurs lived tens of millions of years before humans.  The human being, homo sapiens, has a history of less than 500,000 years (approx.)
• Bible thumpers say that is a huge error because (according to their Bible) the earth was created 6,666 years before the current date. So the dinosaurs could not be more than 6,666 years old too. Of course this is another ‘tanpa menggunakan akal‘ situation. If we use logic and thinking we cannot accept such beliefs. But if we indulge in ‘tanpa menggunakan akal‘  then we too can accept that dinosaurs were created not more than 6,666 years ago.  Fruitcakes were invented shortly after that.
• But Bill Nye is not going into so much detail about religion. He is not arguing about any specific religious beliefs, including creation versus evolution.
• Bill Nye is simply saying let the kids go through the education system first. Let them learn the physics, the biology and the chemistry and complete their education without being confused by religion. Once they have grown up then they can go and seek their religious knowledge – (on their own time and on their own money – these are my words).
•  
• Bill Nye also makes a prediction – he says in about 200 years religion will die a complete death. I think this will happen much earlier.  The question is how painful will the process be? Looking at Malaysia for example our Government schools are becoming like PAS religious madrassahs.  (Yo doh, it is PAS that is benefiting the most from the “Islamic-cessation” of school learning ok).  Ours could be a more difficult and painful process.
• Government school now starts with a baca doa, kids are thought to enter the toilet with their left leg and exit with their right legs. The guru agama can overrule even the headmaster in decision making in the school. Girls cannot play volleyball, they cannot run, school concerts cannot do this, cannot do that and all sorts of religious crap.
• Sejarah studies are filled with incredible stories about “Islamic history” – which no one can verify whether they really happened in the manner written in the sejarah books. There are only ‘pros’ taught to the kids with no contrarian views or criticism allowed. (Because it is religious lah).
• And much of the information is not relevant to anyone. Much of the information only seeks to highlight differences between the Muslims and the non Muslims. Or they are designed to make the Muslims feel good that a long, long time ago my great heroes threw dirt in the face of your heroes. Its not history, its just a macho thing.
• Since we are a Constitutional Monarchy,  I believe it will be more relevant for us to study the history of Oliver Cromwell, with all the pros and cons – he chopped off the King’s head in merry old England – and expedited the idea of ‘Constitutional Monarchy’.  It will also be useful to study in precise detail the nation building and reformation under Meiji Japan, with all the pros and cons.  And maybe the near miraculous rebirth of industrial Germany under Adolf Hitler – also with all the pros and cons.  Then history will be more relevant to us in the modern age.
• When we were living in the 1960s and 1970s (where api, air tak ada, where emak bapa kita pun tak tahu baca atau menulis, where people still mandi berkemban di tepi sungai) the rest of the world was also not too far advanced. Even the British banks still used huge Ledger Books to record every deposit and withdrawal. There were no computers then.
• At that time, if you believed that dinosaurs were created just 6,666 years ago you were not much different from your neighbours who believed that once a year, after a full moon, trees would magically bend down on one particular night. Those were all illogical “tanpa menggunakan akal” beliefs.  You can only accept such things when you do not use your akal.
• What saved us at that time (1960s, 1970s) was that we did NOT teach too much of these illogical beliefs in the Government schools.  During my time there was very little agama taught in school. Before my time, there was almost none. We learnt agama at home on our own time from our parents and from the ‘kelas mengaji Quran’ as well as from the Masjid.
• School was devoted to learning useful subjects. My fondest recollection was learning at ACS Ipoh (up to Form 1) and Form 4 & 5 Science at the Melaka High School.  At the Melaka High School in 1976/77 Science was taught with military precision. We first had the theory taught in class. Then we would march to the lab and perform Science experiments about what we had learnt in theory. The lab experiments gave us visual confirmation of the theory from the chemistry, biology and physics. It was just so interesting. Those of us who were more inclined would go to the library and read up more about what we were learning.
• We were not confused about masuk tandas angkat kaki kiri, dinosaurs were created 6,666 years ago and stuff like that. That is why in Malaysia today the generation of the 60s and the 70s are still balanced and more reasonable.  Those who went to school in the 80s and 90s onwards have become something else – especially the Muslims.  They have become Taliban.  The younger generation is becoming even more Taliban.
• The big difference between the 1960s/1970s and the present time is that the world has changed at light speed. The Internet, Twitter, satellite TV, You Tube, TED Talks, globalisation are here inside our bedrooms.  We are really living in a super modern age. And people of all shades, colours, cultures meet everyday, mix around, do business together, work and play together. In Perth, Australia, Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong and even Kuala Lumpur the mix of human beings is fantastic.
• Now is the time to teach universal, inclusive values to our kids which will help them mix easily and freely with their fellow human beings of different cultures and races. Not uncommon, ridiculous, backward,  dunggu, false, exclusive and even satanic values that make our kids feel like strange aliens among other human beings.  We are not equipping our kids to survive in the 21st century.  
• Let the kids go through the education system first. Let them learn the physics, the biology and the chemistry and complete their education without being confused by religion. Once they have grown up then they can go and seek their religious knowledge – on their own time and on their own money.
• Yet, sadly what we see is that in the 21st century, some people are just getting to warp speed about angkat kaki kiri, kismis ajaib, air jampi, hantu, polong, who-doed, no who-doed, agama this and agama that.  Bila duit minyak habis nanti, nak gembala unta pun dah tak boleh dah. Lagi ramai dunggu dari unta.

A Merdeka of the mind

Comment
Prof Shad Saleem Faruqi

Our education is too Western-centric, aping Western universities and showing ignorance of Asian and African contributions to knowledge.

AS we celebrate 55 years of political independence, we may note the blessings of peace and prosperity in our beloved land. But we also need to reflect on some unfulfilled dimensions of independence.

If independence is autonomy or freedom from the control of another nation, then we Malaysians are hardly free.

The basic assumptions of our political, economic and educational systems are dictated by Western, especially Anglo-American, hegemony. Politically we are free but enslavement of the mind has hardly ceased.

A slave mentality or Western/Euro-centrism need not be a conscious option. It is rooted in our psychology of dependence on, and blind reverence for, everything Western.

Syed Hussein Alatas calls it “the captive mind”. For Ward Churchill, modern intellectual discourse and higher education are “White Studies”.

Hundreds of years ago, the coloniser seized not only land but minds, monopolising information sources and undermining indigenous know­ledge.

For Frantz Fanon, the colonised was “elevated above his jungle status in proportion to his adoption of the mother country’s cultural standards”.

Ngugi wa Thiong says “it is the final triumph of a system of domination, when the dominated start singing its virtues”.

So 55 years after independence, our public figures are still enamoured with the colonial tune. Their intellectual discourses have three tendencies.

First, the Western worldview and its assumptions are blindly aped. Second, we are ignorant of Asian and African roots of knowledge and Eastern contributions to civilisation. Third, there is hardly any critique of Western theories in the light of our own realities.

Take Western-centrism in our educational institutions. Yusef Progler finds that in whatever field of study, a course in most Asian and African universities follows a similar path.

“It will first identify the great white European or American men of each discipline and then drill their theories and practices as if these were universal”, while ignoring knowledge from other civilisations.

Government recognition of foreign degrees is skewed in favour of Anglo-American awards. Eminent citadels of learning in Asia and Africa are largely ignored.

The favoured destination for JPA-sponsored postgraduate scholars is Europe or the United States. The external examiners and visiting professors are mostly from Britain, the US or Australia. Asian scholars are generally excluded from such honours or offered lesser terms.

Intellectual grovelling before Western experts remains as deeply ingrained as during the British Raj. A few years ago, Cherie Blair was invited to lead the arguments in a case before our courts even when scores of eminent local lawyers were available.

In any prestigious lecture series, the guest of honour is invariably a Westerner, sometimes of dubious credentials. For example, Tony Blair was invited by a local NGO to deliver a lecture.

But when Mugabe and Bashar were scheduled to come, concern was expressed, and rightly so. The crimes of Western leaders may be ignored, but we jump up to take a principled stand against Asian and African miscreants.

Our legal system remains British-oriented. In the English fashion of Austinian positivism, the concept of law is tied to the commands of the political sovereign even though most Asians and Africans regard religion and custom as part of the seamless web of the law.

The Civil Law Act continues its worship of outdated British precedents even though we have greater affinity with many other constitutional systems like India’s.

The Legal Profession Act continues to permit British graduates to be called to the Malaysian Bar without undergoing a bridging course. A key component of the course should be a study of the Malaysian Consti­tution.

In our law faculties, legal education is as much a colonial construct as during the Raj. The course structure and content, the book list and the icons are mostly Western.

A typical course on jurisprudence in Malaysia often begins with Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Bentham, Pound, Weber, Ehrlich, Durkheim, Marx, etc.

The Mahabharata, the Arthashastra, the Book of Mencius, the Analects of Confucius and the treatises of Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Jose Rizal, Benoy Kumar Sarkar, Yanagita Kunio and Naquib al-Attas are not included.

Chinese, Indian and Persian universities predated European ones and provided paradigms for early Western education. Yet our universities ignore centuries of enlightenment in China, India, Japan, Persia and West Asia.

It is as if all things good and wholesome originated with Western civilisation and the East was, and is, an intellectual desert. The truth is other­wise.

In science, Galileo, Newton and Einstein illuminated the firmament but not much is known about Al-hazen and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. Western chemistry was preceded by Eastern alchemy, algebra had African roots.

The philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Sartre and Goethe can be matched by Ghazali, Ibn Rushd, Mulla Sadra, Shenhui, al-Mutanabbi and Kalidasa. Durkheim’s and Weber’s sociology must compete with Ibn Khaldun’s.

Freudian psychology had its corrective in Buddhist wisdom. The Cartesian medical model has its Eastern counterpart in ayurvedic, unani and herbal methods.

Very few know that Arab Muslims were central to the making of medieval Europe.

A slavish mimicking of Western norms of government, law and economics prevents us from tackling our own problems like poverty and unsustainable development.

Our attitude leaves us vulnerable to many predatory policies of Western-dominated institutions and processes. Transnational corporations dominate our economies.

Many Asian and African nations choke under the debt stranglehold. The West can bring down our economies with currency speculation, hedge funds, piracy of indigenous resources and trade boycotts as new forms of tyranny.

Yet we are too scared or ashamed to express our own views. Basing our life on other nations’ opinions is slavery.

As Aug 31 approaches, we must resolve to free our minds from Western intellectual hegemony. A Merdeka of the mind will put us on the path to that.

> The author wishes all readers Salam Lebaran and Salam Kemerdekaan.