2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 53,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 12 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

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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.

 

Yang Kemaruk & Taksub serta Anti Nasional

 

 

 

Jati diri Cina Malaysia perlu komponen Melayu — Teo Kok Seong

August 11, 2012

11 OGOS — Rangsangan jurulatih China kepada Lin Dan ketika permainan penentuan dalam Sukan Olimpik London tempoh hari, yang dapat didengari, iaitu Datuk Lee Chong Wei sebagai lawannya adalah separuh Cina saja, boleh dianggap rasis. Namun ia menarik sekali untuk direnungi oleh Cina Malaysia.

Kepada Cina Malaysia yang rata-ratanya kemaruk dan taksub terhadap bahasa dan budaya Cina, sehingga bukan saja ingin mencontohi, tetapi berkehendakkan pendidikan aliran Cina di negara ini wujud seperti yang terdapat di China, tanpa mempedulikan keperluan pepatah di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung, persepsi jurulatih itu perlu direnungi sedalam-dalamnya kerana ia mempunyai banyak kebenaran.

Rangsangan itu memperlihat bangsa Cina yang bukan saja bangga dengan tamadun mereka yang berusia 5,000 tahun. Tetapi tetap angkuh sejak dulu kala sehingga ke zaman moden ini, sebagai bangsa yang maju dari segi peradaban dalam sejarah manusia.

Sehubungan ini, sebilangan besar Cina Malaysia bukan saja terikut-ikut dengan keangkuhan ini, tetapi berikhtiar sedaya upaya untuk mempamer selain mendukung jati diri etnik Cina tulen, dengan menolak unsur Melayu yang merupakan kelompok dominan di negara ini.

Cina Malaysia adalah hanya separuh Cina dan bukan Cina tulen seperti yang di China, merupakan hakikat yang perlu diterima dengan penuh keinsafan. Dalam hal ini, hubungan Cina Malaysia dengan China perlu hanya bersifat budaya nostalgia dan sentimental.

Oleh itu, mereka perlu menyedari, lebih-lebih lagi menginsafi nasionalisme etnik Cina mereka tidak boleh sekali-kali bersifat totok Cina, melainkan dibaurkan dengan perimbangan yang munasabah kadarnya, dengan nasionalisme Malaysia, yang harus mendukung simbol dan proses sosiobudaya Melayu. Ini adalah persetujuan bersama menjelang kemerdekaan.

Kelulusan pembinaan sekolah persendirian Cina yang ke-61 di Kuantan bukan saja disambut dengan baik, malah dianggap sebagai langkah betul yang diambil oleh kerajaan. Ini antaranya kerana kerajaan didapati memahami aspirasi mereka yang memberi keutamaan kepada pendidikan aliran Cina.

Untuk mewajarkan penubuhan sekolah ini, mereka selalu menganggapnya sebagai keuntungan kepada pembangunan dan pertumbuhan ekonomi negara, lebih-lebih lagi dalam perdagangan Malaysia-China.

Kebaikan pendidikan aliran Cina dalam beberapa aspek tidak dapat dinafikan. Antaranya adalah ia bersifat sistem yang dibantu oleh komuniti sendiri sejak kemerdekaan dan penjajahan British lagi, selain cara pengurusannya yang cekap, baik dari segi kualiti pendidikan mahupun penglibatan komuniti.

Namun demikian, pendidikan aliran Cina, baik di Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan atau Sekolah Persendirian, sering dipersepsikan sebagai antinasional atau menimbulkan isu perkauman pada sudut yang kurang ekstrem.

Hal demikian disebabkan oleh perjuangan dan tuntutan yang dapat dilihat sebagai melampau dan tidak berpijak di bumi nyata dalam sebuah negara majmuk. Antaranya adalah keperluan guru yang memiliki kelulusan bahasa Mandarin pada tahap Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia sebagai syarat penempatan di Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina.

Salah satu persepsi negatif tentang pendidikan aliran Cina ialah ketidaksediaannya untuk memupuk perpaduan, khususnya yang ingin dicapai melalui penggunaan bahasa Melayu selaku bahasa negara, sebagai penanda jati diri nasional.

Usaha sebegini didapati amat kurang jika diteliti daripada beberapa hal. Pertama, cadangan pendidikan ketatanegaraan dalam bentuk mata pelajaran baru, Malaysia Negaraku, dalam Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) yang bermula pada 2011, dalam bahasa Melayu. Ia yang ingin menggunakan 30 minit daripada jumlah 1,380 minit seminggu itu, ditolak atas pelbagai alasan, yang memperlihat keengganan sektor bukan Melayu menggunakan simbol Melayu itu.

Kedua, keengganan menggunakan sukatan pelajaran KSSR yang sama, untuk mata pelajaran bahasa Melayu dan juga bahasa Inggeris, dengan Sekolah Kebangsaan, agar penguasaan bahasa Melayu di sekolah vernakular berada pada tahap yang lebih tinggi. — Berita Harian

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Towards Improving Our National Education System

Around circles of readers, many have discussed and asked among themselves the appropriateness and the need for Malaysia to streamline their education system and importantly, the effort to improve the quality of our schools as a whole.

Chief among the concerns is the legality of vernacular schools itself vis-á-vis the Constitution and the Education Act 1996.

This I may add has been discussed rather thoroughly here.

But this issue shall be discussed at another time.

My main interpretation of school’s education system is this:

It must be free from any religious or cultural extremities.

In a way, it should be secular. Secular sounds dirty these days. Mainly because the word had been bastardised to the extent, it meant atheism or a belief system that is devoid of any religious connotations. Worse, it meant anti-Islam. However, the definition of secularism with regards to our children’s education should not be taken to the extreme. Certainly it does not mean that one rejects religion and faith in totality.

What we need is moderation.

These days, the majority of school children in national schools are Malays. Therefore, inadvertently Islamic teachings made their way into the schools’ general rules and education philosophy. I assume, those who are more objective as well as those who are not a fan of Anwar Ibrahim will pin point the cause of this ‘Islamisation’ of our national schools and the reason why non-malays shun these schools stemmed from the period when Anwar Ibrahim was the Education Minister.

That too, is an issue that can be discussed in another place.

But what I imagine is a school system that do not put too much emphasis on skin deep outlook on what is Islamic and what is not. It means, an education philosophy that prioritises worldly skills and knowledge instead of just focussing to permeate an intense Islamic culture within a school’s environment.

Without a doubt, this has made non Muslims felt alienated in their own surroundings. Parents were not happy. Even the less conservative Muslims found it hard to digest some of the do’s and don’ts. The effort to educate the children properly seems lost in the midst of all this. As the result, we cannot develop a well rounded Malaysians who are capable to interact with each other with ease.

In other words, the recent education system is worse than the education set in the 60’s, 70’s and till the mid 80’s. Experts pin pointed it due to the degradation of national schools; both in quality and self respect.

The cliché now is the world is changing at a rate faster than our children’s ability to absorb and comprehend all the knowledge. If we burden them with misguided priorities, then our future generations are trapped in a cycle of ignorance, or being mediocre at best.

Toning down religious and cultural extremities enables the school to produce a much healthier environment where tolerance is paramount and it breaks down the barriers between races, castes and classes. Emphasising too much on the ritual demands will not breed respect in fact, will isolate the children from each other. It will be “it’s us against them” mentality. And this does not happen in malay majority schools only.

How to move forward and take that jump in order to escape the mediocrity of our education system?

It is about time the Ministry of Education take a stronger role in steering our children’s future away from the negative elements that have been plaguing it. Elements that have always been sniping and eating away the very fabric of one’s edification in growing up within our Malaysian universe.

The bigger objective here is always a two edged sword. One that can improve via knowledge, a whole generation of Malaysians and one that also inculcate the spirit of togetherness and racial harmony among the children.

Of course this can be done with a single stream national education system. Preferably at the primary level.

Delving into few discussions on the one school system, there are obviously few doubts being raised among the concerned readers. Among others, questions regarding the quality of education and syllabus, quality of teachers and their approach, learning environment and school’s infrastructure as well as its overall ability to coalesce different ideologies, religions and cultures into one symbiotic and workable system.

Generally, many agreed that the holistic performance of the students is very important for their own future and this can only be done if the MOE is not weak in steering its direction and truly knows how improvements can be implemented.

One of the reasons why national schools could not generate enough interests from all levels of society is due to its inability to churn good students across the board. Yes we do have excellent schools that produce a myriad of high achievers. But these schools are far from between. The MOE should make all national schools at par with their more affluent counterparts.

Fortunately, all the points above are being discussed in the national education dialog which have been running since April 2012. They have 9 priority fields which they ought to improve which are:

1. quality of teachers

2. quality of headmasters

3. quality of school

4. curriculum and its evaluation

5. multilingual proficiency

6. post-school opportunity

7. role of parents and community

8. knowledge resources in school and its effectiveness

9. teaching methods and administrative structure

This could be the biggest project MOE has embarked since Penyata Razak in 1956 and Rahman Talib Report in 1960.

On that note, I do hope the MOE will reinstate the PPSMI after reviewing the youtube video below.

Thank you.

_________________________

An article by:

Jebat Must Die

Asas-Asas Negara – YAB DS Najib dan YB Menteri Pelajaran, sila ambil perhatian

 

28 Mei, 2012

Buktikan Keikhlasan Dengan Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua Kaum

Pengerusi Parti Tindakan Demokratik (DAP), Karpal Singh mengumumkan hasrat untuk mengangkat seorang bukan Melayu sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia sekiranya Pakatan Rakyat (PR) memenangi Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13).

Kenyataan Karpal sebenarnya tidaklah mengejutkan sangat. Malahan hasrat DAP sememangnya konsisten dengan perjuangan mereka sejak dari dahulu lagi hinggalah ke hari ini. DAP tidak pernah memadamkan gagasan yang diperjuangkan sekian lamanya iaitu Malaysian Malaysia.

Ini berlainan dengan Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). PAS selaku ‘sahabat karib’ DAP mudah lemah semangat apabila disergah. Herdikan tegas DAP terhadap PAS menyebabkan parti yang ada perkataan Islam dalam nama parti mereka itu membuang gagasan mereka — Negara Islam PAS dibuang lalu diganti dengan Negara Berkebajikan.

Itu sedikit coretan buat para sahabat yang berada dalam PAS untuk bermuhasabah.

Kita balik semula kepada kisah DAP dengan hasrat mahu menjadi PM. Kebetulan penulis baru sahaja selesai membelek dan membaca akhbar Mingguan Malaysia sebentar tadi. Sebelah siangnya tidak ada masa kerana menghadiri undangan majlis perkahwinan.

Penulis tertarik dengan wawancara khas berhubung isu ini yang mana penulis fikir sesuai dikongsi bersama oleh para pembaca. Wawancara bekas Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan, Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah. Penulis senada dengan beliau dan menyokong Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua [KLIK SINI].

Berikut penulis perturunkan wawancara penuh Mingguan Malaysia (27 Mei 2012) tersebut seperti di bawah:

Buktikan keikhlasan

MUKADIMAH

BARU-baru ini timbul isu yang dibangkitkan oleh Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh yang mahu memastikan bukan Melayu dilantik sebagai Perdana Menteri. Kata-kata beliau menimbulkan polemik yang pelbagai.

Banyak NGO Melayu menyanggah sikap Karpal ini apatah lagi beliau ada menyebut ‘selagi hidup beliau akan terus berjuang untuk memastikan bukan Melayu menyandang jawatan Perdana Menteri’.

Untuk mendapatkan penjelasan lanjut wartawan Mingguan Malaysia HAFIZAHRIL HAMID telah mewawancara bekas Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan, DATUK MOHD NOOR ABDULLAH pada Jumaat lepas.

Ujar beliau walaupun perkara ini tidak termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan namun secara hakikatnya ia adalah sesuatu yang mustahil untuk dilakukan.

Beliau turut menyanggah Karpal dengan berkata ‘kita buat satu sekolah untuk semua kaum di satu bumbung. Semua orang bersekolah di situ dan orang Melayu akan menerima orang Cina atau India bukan lagi sebagai orang India tetapi orang Malaysia’.

Ujarnya, dengan demikian mungkin tidak mustahil orang bukan Melayu boleh menjadi Perdana Menteri kerana kita berintegrasi sejak kecil maka kita sudah tentu mengenali hati budi, budaya mereka dengan baik.

WAWANCARA

MINGGUAN: Bagaimana Datuk melihat isu bolehkah Perdana Menteri Malaysia terdiri dari orang bukan Melayu?

MOHD NOOR: Pertamanya saya ingin bercakap tentang perkara ini daripada sudut undang-undang. Yang di-Pertuan Agong merupakan raja yang memerintah negara ini dalam erti kata lain kuasa pemerintahan terletak kepada Agong. Yang menjalankan kuasa pemerintahan adalah jemaah menteri yang mana pengerusinya adalah Perdana Menteri. Jemaah menteri ini dilantik oleh Agong termasuklah Perdana Menteri yang turut dilantik oleh beliau. Ini kerana mereka ini dilantik untuk menjalankan tugas-tugas yang diamanahkan oleh Agong. Bagaimana Agong melantik Perdana Menteri dan Kabinetnya? Agong hendaklah melantik seorang Perdana Menteri dari kalangan ahli Dewan Rakyat yang pada pertimbangannya mungkin mendapat suara majoriti dari ahli Dewan Rakyat. Agong melantik Perdana Menteri melalui cara tadi dengan syarat dia bukan warganegara melalui proses naturalization. Apa yang saya maksudkan tentang naturalization ini adalah mengenai tiga cara untuk menjadi rakyat negara ini. Pertama melalui kuatkuasa undang-undang, kedua pendaftaran dan satu lagi naturalization. Ini dimaksud di mana warga asing yang kaya dan mahu menjadikan Malaysia sebagai rumah keduanya namun mereka ini tidak ada hak sebagai rakyat negara ini. Di sini tidak ada disebut syarat seorang Perdana Menteri perlulah terdiri daripada orang Melayu dan Islam. Maka di sini bolehlah Agong melantik Perdana Menteri asalkan dia bukan warganegara secara naturalization.

MINGGUAN: Jadi dari sudut Perlembagaan perkara ini dibenarkan?

MOHD NOOR: Saya mahu tegaskan di sini juga bahawa perkara ini bukan sewenang-wenangnya boleh berlaku. Ini kerana seorang Perdana Menteri mestilah mendapat sokongan majoriti di Dewan Rakyat. Bagaimana kita katakan ia boleh mendapat sokongan majoriti jika ahli Dewan Rakyat majoriti orang Melayu beragama Islam. Ini kecualilah jika ada orang Melayu yang mahu menyokong orang bukan Melayu menjadi Perdana Menteri. Oleh itu memang kalau kita lihat dari sudut undang-undang ianya boleh berlaku tetapi kenyataan atau hakikatnya saya katakan tidak boleh berlaku. Kenapa saya bertegas mengatakan tidak, pertama adalah kerana negara ini adalah negara Islam. Kedua, Agong pula adalah Ketua Agama Islam. Oleh itu Agong berhak melantik Perdana Menteri menurut budi bicaranya sendiri dan bukan atas nasihat. Walaupun Perlembagaan kata bahawa sesiapa yang mendapat majoriti, namun pada pertimbangannya orang bukan Melayu tidak mendapat majoriti tetapi orang lain, maka Agong boleh menolak orang bukan Melayu daripada dilantik menjadi Perdana Menteri. Dalam soal negeri pula, setiap negeri Melayu meletakkan syarat Menteri Besar mesti terdiri daripada orang Melayu dan Islam manakala rakyat di negeri itu mesti patuh kepada kuatkuasa undang-undang.

MINGGUAN: Boleh terangkan lebih lanjut mengenai peranan Agong dalam hal menolak Perdana Menteri bukan Melayu?

MOHD NOOR: Kenapa Agong boleh menolak orang bukan Islam daripada menjadi Perdana Menteri? Mereka ini tidak berupaya untuk menasihatkan Agong mengenai urusan agama. Bagaimana mereka boleh menasihatkan Agong jika mereka tidak tahu dan faham tentang Islam? Perkara ini sudah tentu bertentangan atau tidak selari dengan peranan Agong sebagai Ketua Agama Islam. Ini kerana tugas Perdana Menteri adalah sebagai Memanda.

Bolehkah Perdana Menteri bukan Melayu Islam mampu mempertahankan negara dan kedudukan Islam di majlis antarabangsa terutamanya Pertubuhan Negara-Negara Islam (OIC)? Bagaimana Perdana Menteri bukan Islam ini mahu bercakap tentang Islam jika diri sendiri bukan orang Islam? Pemimpin dunia Islam ini bercakap mengenai perpaduan umat tetapi Perdana Menteri kita tidak tahu apa nak buat. Sudah tentu perkara sebegini tidak boleh dipikul oleh Perdana Menteri bukan Melayu dan Islam. Ini adalah perkara realiti yang saya nyatakan walaupun dari sudut undang-undang membenarkan.

Perkara ketiga yang saya mahu jelaskan, Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS) Barack Obama, dipilih sebagai presiden kerana beliau mengaku dirinya adalah orang Amerika. Setidak-tidaknya beliau mengaku dirinya adalah African-American. Malangnya kita di sini mengaku diri sebagai Malaysian Chinese atau Malaysian Indian. Sepatutnya Chinese Malaysian atau Indian Malaysian. Ini menunjukkan mereka berbangga diri mempunyai serpihan daripada negara China dan tamadunnya. Namun sekarang ini, mereka berada di negara ini, golongan bukan Melayu mesti berintegrasi dengan masyarakat tempatan secara keseluruhan dan bukan berpuak-puak. Saya bagi contoh bekas Perdana Menteri Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra adalah keturunan Cina tetapi beliau boleh berintegrasi dengan penduduk tempatan, fasih bercakap bahasa Thai malah namanya juga menurut bahasa Thai.

MINGGUAN: Jadi Datuk melihat akibat keengganan mereka untuk berintegrasi tulen dengan masyarakat peribumi membantutkan mimpi mereka untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri?

MOHD NOOR: Jika hendak dibandingkan dengan orang bukan Melayu di negara ini, kebanyakan mereka belajar di sekolah jenis kebangsaan, dan berlanjutan hingga ke sekolah Cina swasta di peringkat menengah. Mereka tidak berintegrasi dengan pelajar-pelajar di sekolah kebangsaan. Pelajar-pelajar ini belajar Matematik dalam bahasa Cina, pelajaran Sejarah juga mengikut cara mereka. Kalau beginilah budaya, sifat dan naluri yang telah ditanam sejak kecil bolehkah mereka ini memimpin negara ini? Mereka ini telah dididik dengan semangat bangsa dan bahasa sejak peringkat tadika kemudian sekolah rendah hinggalah ke peringkat universiti. Adakah orang yang pendidikannya sebegini boleh menjadi seorang Perdana Menteri yang berkesan untuk semua warga di negara ini? Oleh itu saya mahu jelaskan bahawa secara praktiknya di negara ini orang Melayu belum sanggup menerima orang bukan Melayu menjadi Perdana Menteri jika begini keadaannya.

MINGGUAN: Karpal Singh ada mengatakan beliau akan menunggu dan terus memperjuangkan perkara ini. Bagaimana Datuk melihat tindakan beliau ini?

MOHD NOOR: Jawapan saya begini. Kita buat satu sekolah untuk semua kaum di satu bumbung. Semua orang bersekolah di situ dan orang Melayu akan menerima orang Cina atau India bukan lagi sebagai orang Cina atau India tetapi sebagai orang Malaysia. Mereka ini boleh duduk bersama makan, main bersama, Mereka ini boleh diberi jawatan penting sekolah seperti pengawas, ketua kelas tanpa mengira latar belakang kaum. Jika pelajar-pelajar ini boleh dipimpin oleh sesiapa tanpa mengira kaum, maka jawapan saya sudah tentu orang bukan Melayu boleh menjadi Perdana Menteri. Ini kerana setelah berintegrasi sejak kecil maka kita sudah tentu mengenali hati budi, budaya mereka dengan baik.

Satu perkara lagi, mungkin di kalangan parti pembangkang, Pas, DAP dan PKR, antara Pas dan PKR mungkin tidak timbul masalah sangat. Tetapi bagaimana pula DAP? Sudah tentu sukar, namun saya lihat jika terdapat seorang Cina Islam dalam DAP, saya rasa tidak timbul masalah untuk mereka menerima dia menjadi Perdana Menteri kerana dia berugama Islam. Malahan saya rasa orang UMNO pun mungkin akan menyokong perkara ini kerana melebihkan Islam dan bukan kaum.

Oleh: Kembara Politik

Kempen SSS di iPidato.com

 

Sila klik PAUTAN INI untuk membaca perdebatan yang telah diadakan di iPidato.com.

 

Berikut adalah paparan salah sebuah komen yang menarik yang dimuatkan oleh peserta iPidato:-

Kepentingan Politik Jangkapendek Mendahului Kepentingan Jangkapanjang Negara

 

Harapan Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua Sekadar Rhetorik 1Malaysia

• 

• Hasrat dan harapan rakyat Malaysia untuk melihat perpaduan masyarakat majmuk bersatu padu didalam mencapai wawasan 2020 melalui rhetorik 1Malaysia hanya akan menjadi mimpi. 
• Terkini  pada  22 Januari 2012,  Perdana Menteri DS Najib mencadangkan kepada golongan pendidik yang terlibat dalam sistem pendidikan sekolah Tamil agar merangka satu “blueprint” bagi meningkatkan mutu sekolah berkenaan.

• Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata demikian dalam ucapannya ketika menghadiri Majlis Mesra Perdana Menteri bersama warga sekolah Tamil Malaysia di Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Kinrara di sini. Beliau mencadangkan agar pendidik sekolah Tamil agar dapat membuat satu seminar, dan menghasilkan satu “blueprint” yang akan digunakan untuk membangunkan sekolah Tamil di negara ini.
• DS Najib merasakan tindakan itu perlu agar sekolah jenis kebangsaan Tamil akan terus berdaya saing, maju dan cemerlang. Disamping itu beliau turut meluluskan permohonan masyarakat India untuk membina enam sekolah Tamil baru. Sempena majlis tersebut, Najib turut mengumumkan kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) telah meluluskan peruntukan sebanyak RM3.5 juta untuk pembinaan bangunan empat tingkat di Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil, Kinrara, Puchong.
• Apakah kepentingan politik jangkapendek mendahului kepentingan negara bagi tempuh jangka panjang?

Is “SATU SEKOLAH” likely to happen under Najib?

• Published: Sunday April 29, 2012 MYT 12:46:00 PM
  Updated: Sunday April 29, 2012 MYT 12:57:30 PM
• Source HERE

 

• PUTRAJAYA: The National Education Dialogue series which starts from today until July will allow Malaysians to give their views and suggestions on the education system.
• Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin urged the public to grab the opportunity to give their opinions on the system.
• “We are inviting you to give us responsible, rationale and constructive feedback to help strengthen our education system,” he said when launching the dialogue here on Sunday.
• The dialogue will be held nationwide until July.
• Muhyiddin said the public could also give their feedback via Facebook, Twitter and a dedicated website.

A Common Language To Success

An awesome argument for a Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua system in Malaysia

• “Can we seriously expect there to be some semblance of a Malaysian nation as long as young Malaysian children are taught separately, in different language streams? And are we naïve enough to think that nations invent themselves, without there having to be some form of intervention and direction by the state?“
• Dr. Farish A. Noor

• This is one of the best article I have read arguing for a one school for all system, written by Dr. Farish A. Noor, sourced here:

  A common language to success
  By Farish A. Noor

• • ONCE again vernacular education has become an issue in Malaysian politics, though with much speculation about the date of the election going around at the moment, one cannot help but feel that the issue has been raised by some parties for the sake of gaining the popular vote above all.
  • It would be difficult not to draw an association between the proponents of vernacular schooling and the opposition parties after what happened at the rally for Chinese schools that took place last week.
  • But the question remains unanswered by all: Can we seriously expect there to be some semblance of a Malaysian nation as long as young Malaysian children are taught separately, in different language streams? And are we naïve enough to think that nations invent themselves, without there having to be some form of intervention and direction by the state?
  • I have written about this so many times that I am close to giving up altogether, for fear that any more articles would simply amount to a waste of paper.
  • But for the umpteenth time, let me repeat some of the things I have said before: If we were to look at the major developed countries of the world such as Britain, France and Germany, we will see that historically these countries used to be far more linguistically diverse than they are today. In France alone hundreds of dialects were spoken, as was the case in Germany, where each region had a dialect unique to itself.
  • As Robert Bartlett has argued in his work The Making Of Europe, the coming together of these small principalities and feudal states was only possible through the centralisation of power and the streamlining of language, giving birth to the national languages we know today: French, German and English. Bartlett notes, of course, that this did not happen without some degree of discomfort, but in the long run the sacrifices of the past seem to have paid off. Disparate communities (that may not have even been able to speak to each other) are now part of larger nations.
  • Malaysia is likewise at a stage of its history where it has to decide firmly and decisively if it wishes to be one nation or a number of nations living side-by-side but never really communicating or understanding one another. As elections draw close, my worry is that the political parties of the country will pander to the most exclusive of communitarian voices, calling for linguistic isolationism as if it was the only benchmark of identity.
  • Surely, in the midst of the economically troubling times we live in, there are other matters that ought to gain our attention, such as protecting Malaysia from capital flight, securing our human resources and talent, and so on.
  • This also means having to create the opportunity structures whereby minorities feel that they can succeed by remaining in the mainstream, and working upwards in society by using the same common national language that is the language of one and all. For more than two decades now, I have lived as a member of the minority, first in Britain, then in France, Holland, Germany and now in Singapore.
  • In all these countries, I found myself struggling to get into the mainstream in order to succeed and to be the best I could be; proud enough to say that at least one Malaysian managed to teach in some of the best universities of the world. In places like France and Germany it also meant trying to master at least some basic French and German. And in all these instances my struggle was for and in the mainstream of society.
  • My concern about what is happening in Malaysia today is that the continued existence of separate language schools means that we do not know where the mainstream is any longer. It beggars belief that in a plural society like ours, young children may spend their entire childhood in the company of other children of the same cultural-linguistic background, and need not meet or even shake hands with another Malaysian child of a different culture or religion.
  • Worse still, this trend towards linguistic-cultural exclusivism seems to be on the rise among all the communities of the country. So we are back to the original question: How can we build a Malaysian nation if Malaysian children don’t even go to the same schools, together?
  • As the tone and tenor of political contestation heats up in Malaysia in the lead-up to the elections, I also hope that the parties in the country will not jump on the language bandwagon to further aggravate things and to drive a wedge between Malaysians. In other developed countries, even parties that are bitterly hostile to each other conduct themselves with one eye on the national interest, and put national interest first.
  • In any plural society there are bound to be both centrifugal forces and centripetal forces, at times working against each other. To build a Malaysian nation means necessarily seeking those positive centripetal forces that want there to be a Malaysian nation that we can all call home. Parties should actively seek these forces, and lend their support to Malaysians who want there to be a national language, a national educational system and a national culture that everyone can identify with.
  • These forces, I believe, are there and have always been there; but what baffles me is why the political parties of the country have not reached out to them in an effective manner.
  • The aim, surely, has to be the creation of a common, inclusive mainstream; and then the expansion of that mainstream to make it even more inclusive and empowering for all.
  • Surely that is what education is for, and what smart politics is all about. Read in full here.
• I seriously think that politicians from both sides of the political divide should sit down together and decide on a One School For All System for the sake of this nations future. Our children and our grandchildren who are taught  segregated  in their own schools will never grow up as a united people.
• 
  
• Jurang perpaduan kaum diMalaysia semakin besar dan semakin runcing dengan adanya pelbagai sekolah untuk mengisi kemahuan pelbagai kaum diMalaysia ini. Its time rational Malaysians take the future of this country in their hands and tell our politicians to buck up and look at the future not just the votes they will get.

• Its time for  “Satu Sekolah Untuk Semua”

 

Najib saja yang lemah?

 

Isu sekolah Cina – Hakikat PAHIT Yang Terpaksa Kita Terima

 

Dalam kita duk hentam puak ultra kiasu yang bertopengkan DongZong dan Dap …pong paaaang, pong pang , hakikatnya mereka akan menang juga dalam tuntutan mereka.  Seperti biasa, mereka akan tuntut contohnya 5 perkara dan kalau kerajaan tunduk dan terima 2 pun dah kira satu kemenangan besar sebab ia merupakan satu langkah kedepan.

Nanti buat demo lagi …… dan tuntut 5 lagi. Dan kita pun bising lagi pong paaaaang, pong pang dan kerajaan pun tunaikan 2 lagi ….. dan begitulah putarannya.

Salah Najib sebab lemah ?

Ya, saya nampak dalam soal ini Najib ternyata lemah kerana terlalu tunduk kepada desakan mereka TAPI saya tidak menyalahkan Naib seorang. Apakah ada kita dengar suara mana-mana pemimpin lain yang turut bersuara mengkritik puak ultra kiasu ini ? Tak ada kan …..

Begitu juga dipihak Pakatan Rakyat, selain dari Dap dan pemimpin cina Pkr yang terang2 menyokong agenda kiasu mereka, ada kita dengan suara protes dari pemimpin2 Pas atau pemimpin Melayu Pkr ? Juga tidak ada kan ……

Seperti yang saya pernah tulis dulu, dalam soal sekolah cina ini UMNO DAN PAS SEPAKAT ! Malah saya pernah cadangkan keduanya jadikan persamaan ini sebagai titik tolak kearah perpaduan ! Hahahahaha ….

Inilah salah satu tanda yang paling nyata dan jelas betapa kerana mahukan kuasa undi, orang Melayu yang berpecah tewas kepada kumpulan minoriti yang bersatu suara yang berani menggunakan kuasa undi yang ada pada mereka. Mereka menggunakan politik untuk perjuangan bangsa mereka sementara orang Melayu menggunakan bangsa dan agama untuk berpolitik.

Sebab itu saya tak salahkan Najib seorang. Kalau Anwar jadi PM pun perkara sama akan berlaku, begitu juga Nik Aziz atau Hadi atau Mahfuz.

Kita marah dan saya tahu ramai juga orang Pas yang marah sama tapi apa yang kita buat ? Tidak ada apa-apa.

Apakah kerajaan akan hilang undi jika mengikut kata kita ? Kemungkinan besar iya. Isu akan dipolitikkan secara besar2an dan dijadikan satu isu perkauman dan ini akan menyebabkan kaum cina memberi sokongan kepada Dap. Pas pula akan duduk diam…… menggeleng kepala tanda kesal tapi waktu sama bertakbir Syukuuuuuur …… kerana PR dapat undi walaupun harganya mahal.

Apakah kerajaan akan hilang undi jika mengikut kata mereka ? Kemungkinan besar status quo tidak berubah.  Nah, berdepan dengan situasi begitu, apakah pilihan yang ada kepada kerajaan ?

Satu perkara yang perlu disebut juga, mereka yang menyokong sistem Satu Sekolah tidak terhad kepada orang Melayu saja. Ramai juga yang melihat isu sekolah ini dari sudut agenda perpaduan antara kaum. Ia tidak juga bermaksud mereka bersetuju dengan sistem pendidikan yang ada sekarang ini iaitu sekolah kebangsaan. Tapi bukan itu yang saya mahu bincangkan, cukup sekadar saya nyatakan bahawa sistem Satu Sekolah adalah sekolah kebangsaan + beberapa pembaharuan. Apa yang penting adalah SATU sistem sekolah untuk semua murid-murid.

Cuma suara yang menentang sekolah cina ini adalah suara senyap. Sama macam kita juga, walaupun kita ramai yang bersuara tapi hakikatnya  kita cuma sekadar bersuara tanpa sanggup mengambil risiko seterusnya iaitu menggunakan kuasa politik yang ada untuk mempengaruhi kerajaan supaya mengikut tuntutan kita.

Saya biasa juga dengar orang kata – takper, kita sokong dulu BN, kita pastikan BN dapat 2/3 semula. Lepas itu kita pula tuntut secara agresif dalam isu pendidikan ini. Benarkah begitu ?

Apakata BUKTIKAN dengan menandatangani PETISYEN SATU SEKOLAH di blog Satu Sekolah ? Bukannya susah sangat tapi itupun tak terbuat. Dah setahun setengah, tadi saya lihat angkanya cuma 3172 saja …….. alahaaaaai ….

The Star – Ministry confident teacher shortage in Chinese schools can be resolved


PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry is confident that the shortage of teachers in Chinese vernacular schools can be resolved effectively.

Deputy Education Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the three-hour roundtable meeting with five education and Chinese groups on Monday went smoothly.

He said he would report the outcome of the meeting to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin but declined to elaborate on the details.

Among the issues discussed at the roundtable meeting were the four resolutions agreed by the protesters at the 325 Rally on March 25.

Keeping ourselves apart since school days

 

Learn from the kids!

 

• Yesterday I sent my 16-year girl to SEGI College in Kota Damansara to attend a public speaking seminar. I left here there at 0900 and picked her up at about 400pm. Within the few hours that she was there she made some new friends. By the time I came her new friends were posing with her taking pictures as if they had been friends for a long time. That was the first time they met. I smiled when I say the two Chinese girls and an Indian girl posing with her and they exchange hugs just as they were leaving. Imagine if this relationship were to be fostered further during their school days and the impact it has on the nation.

• Moral of the story is that the children did not see the racial divide between them. Unfortunately we adults argue everything on the basis of ethnicity. Why is that many of us when we were kids did not treat all Malaysian the same and when we grew up all the commonalities are gone. The short scene that I saw at SEGI only shows that children being the next generation leaders of our nation must be kept together as much as possible. The first 12 years of school life is a good starting point. Vernacular schools must open up their intake and accommodate at least 51% of their intake to the Malays. The government schools must find ways to have more non-Malay students and teachers.

 

Because Unity is our most important goal

 

Why have one stream schools

What do you mean by one stream schools?

We now have national schools and vernacular schools, schools that use Mandarin and Tamil as their medium of teaching. We also have Agama schools. However I suggest that we work towards forming only one stream where all our children can learn together. For this to happen, there needs to be a change in our schooling system. We need to come up with a two-session structure perhaps where all students go to school together in the morning session, then learn the vernacular languages and other important skills in the afternoon. This way, Mandarin will not just be limited to the Chinese students, Tamil to the Indian students – our children can learn all major languages – including Arabic.

Why have one stream schools?

Because unity is our most important goal.

As children go through their socialization process, it is crucial that they do it in an environment that is true and representative of the Malaysian society. Beyond what they learn in school lessons, the actual process of socialization, mixing around with others around them, is the most influential learning process our children will go through. We must ensure that they get to know each other from a young age – that they interact with each other, learn to get used to each others languages, practices, smells, quirks, culture… and if they have to quarrel because of differences, it should all be part of the socialization process from when they are young.

Whatever it is, we are a multicultural society – we cannot allow our children to grow up separately. This is one of the greatest recipes for disunity. If children grow up surrounded only by their own race, they will be ill prepared to deal with the reality of Malaysian society. They will become maladjusted people when they enter the workforce.

This is why I suggest that we encourage more multiracial neighbourhoods too so children can grow up together at home. In the same way, we need to work towards one stream schools so that similarly they can grow up together in schools and practice supporting one another as they learn together.

How can we work towards schools that are conducive for our children to study together?

We need to deal with the quality of the school system, the structures and the teachers. Many send their children to Chinese schools not necessarily because of language, but because of quality of education.

When we work towards setting up one stream schools, we need to carefully look into the quality of the school system and the quality of teachers. Maybe we can even learn from the Chinese school system, transfer a bit of technology of how they mould hardworking, effective students.

We need to study how to organize the school system, to allow students to learn history, mathematics, science, languages, arts, drama, sports, culture… all the important aspects of development. And as far as possible it is good if we have teachers from all races. The school environment must be a microcosm of the diversity in Malaysian society for children to go through a healthy socialization process that will prepare them to know, appreciate and love our different cultures.

Sistem Pendidikan Yang Memporak-perandakan Perpaduan

Perpaduan Kaum Hanya Tinggal Dalam Lagu dan Slogan Jika Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Terus Wujud.

• Tidak lama dulu, sewaktu menemani isteri menyelesaikan urusannya – urusan yang paling digemari oleh kaum wanita – disebuah kompleks membeli belah terkenal, Horas! dapati ketika itu, pihak pengurusan kompleks belibelah berkenaan memainkan lagu-lagu patriotik dan berbentuk perpaduan.
• Berderet-deret lagu yang dinyanyikan dalam bahasa Melayu tersebut diputarkan. Bersambung-sambung…lepas satu lagu kesatu lagu yang lain pula.
• Usaha proaktif pihak pengurusan pusat beli belah tesebut memutarkan lagu-lagu patriotik dan lagu-lagu yang menyeru kepada perpaduan antara kaum itu wajar dipuji.
• Namun dalam masa yang sama, berlegar beberapa persoalan didalam kepala Horas!.
• Mampukah lagu-lagu patriotik yang menyeru kepada perpaduan itu menjadikan rakyat dinegara ini bersatu padu?
• Adakah para pengunjung, terutamanya yang berbangsa Cina atau India (khasnya yang masih muda) menghayati atau ambil peduli tentang apa yang cuba disampaikan  melalui lagu-lagu tersebut?
• Fahamkah majoriti generasi muda berbangsa Cina dan India yang tergagap-gapap dan tersangkut-sangkut bahasa Melayunya dan lebih selesa bertutur dalam bahasa Inggeris itu dengan lirik-lirik yang terkandung dalam lagu berkenaan?
• Secara peribadi Horas! yakin tidak.
• Ciptalah berapa puluh ribu lagu-lagu patriotik yang menyeru kepada perpaduan yang merdu irama dan menyentuh perasaan liriknya mahupun slogan. Ianya tidak akan dapat banyak membantu dalam memupuk semangat perpaduan dikalangan rakyat berbilang kaum di negara ini.
• Hakikatnya, bukan mudah untuk memupuk semangat perpaduan, terutamanya dikalangan generasi muda (Melayu, Cina dan India) yang dipisahkan sedari kecil diantara satu sama lain oleh sistem pendidikan yang diamalkan dinegara ini.

• Mari kita lihat senario dibawah.
• Tadika KEMAS dan yang seumpanya hanya dipenuhi oleh majoriti kanak-kanak Melayu. Kaum Cina dan India lebih selesa menghantar anak-anak mereka ke tadika swasta yang kebanyakan para pelajarnya terdiri daripada anak-anak dari kaum mereka. Maka terpisahlah anak-anak kecil dari latar pelbagai kaum itu untuk tempoh satu hingga dua tahun.
• Begitu juga halnya apabila memasuki sekolah rendah. Sekolah-sekolah kebangsaan akan dipenuhi oleh anak-anak Melayu. Tidak dinafikan, ada juga ibubapa dari kaum lain yang menghantar anak mereka belajar disekolah kebangsaan, tapi peratusnya adalah kecil. Kebanyakan ibubapa keturunan Cina dan India lebih lebih selesa untuk menghantar anak-anak mereka kesekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina atau Tamil. Diperingkat ini mereka dipisahkan pula selama enam tahun diantara satu sama lain.
• Ketika memasuki pendidikan peringkat menengah, perkara yang sama masih berlaku. Mereka dipisahkan lagi untuk tempoh  5 hingga 7 tahun pula.
• Bayangkan, mereka terpisah dan tidak dapat mengenali dan bergaul mesra dengan rakan-rakan sebaya mereka dari lain-lain kaum dari seawal usia mereka 5 atau 6 tahun sehingga menginjak usia 17 atau 19. Kemudian setelah mereka menginjak usia remaja dan dewasa, mereka diminta untuk bersatu padu diantara satu sama lain ketika mereka berusia awal dua puluhan.
• Semudah itukah?
• Pepatah ada mengatakan jika mahu melentur buluh, biarlah dari rebungnya.
• Sedangkan yang ada hubungan kekeluargaan pun (sepupu sepapat misalnya) akan menghadapi masalah untuk bergaul mesra antara satu sama lain jika kemesraan sesama mereka tidak dipupuk dari kecil, inikan pulalah diantara mereka-mereka yang tiada apa-apa hubungan dan berbeza pula latar bangsa dan agamanya.

• Dalam soal cuba menyatu padukan rakyat berbilang kaum melaui sistem pendidikan ini, pada pandangan Horas!, bangsa Melayulah yang paling banyak dan paling kerap bertolak ansur. Mereka sanggup berkorban dan kehilangan sekolah-sekolah beridentitikan Melayu apabila ianya ditukar kepada sekolah kebangsaan oleh kerajaan demi perpaduan antara kaum.
• Namun usaha kerajaan yang dibuat atas pengorbanan Melayu itu tidak berapa dihargai dan tidak disambut oleh kaum-kaum lain dengan cara yang wajar. Hanya sedikit ibubapa dari kaum Cina dan India yang berminat untuk menghantar anak-anak mereka belajar disekolah kebangsaan.
• Dan dalam masa yang sama, setelah Melayu sanggup berkorban kehilangan sekolah yang beridentiti bangsa mereka, kaum Cina dan India tetap mahu sekolah yang beridentitikan bangsa mereka dikekalkan. Bahkan mereka mahu jumlahnya ditambah dari masa kesemasa selain kerap meminta-minta agar sekolah-sekolah berkenaan diberikan bantuan penuh oleh kerajaan.

Sekolah Melayu Pasir Gebu (skpasirgebu.blogspot)

• Melayu memang baik dan tetap bertolak ansur. Pengorbanan yang dilakukan itu tidak pernah diungkit-ungkit atau dibesar-besarkan. Kerajaan juga baik. Gagal menarik ibubapa dari kaum lain menghantar anak-anak mereka belajar disekolah kebangsaan, usaha lain pula dibuat.
• Maka atas tujuan dan matlamat yang sama (perpaduan) kerajaan wujudkan pula Sekolah Wawasan.
• Kerajaan berharap dengan wujudnya Sekolah Wawasan yang menyatukan satu sistem pendidikan seragam selain menyatukan kaum yang dahulunya terasing antara satu sama lain ini, semangat perpaduan antara kaum akan dapat dipupuk sedari awal usia. Tapi lihatlah bagaimana sambutan ibubapa dari kaum Cina dan India terhadap Sekolah Wawasan. Amat mengecewakan dan hambar.
• Jika dinegara-negara yang mengamalkan satu sistem pendidikan dengan satu bahasa penghantar adakalanya berlaku sifat curiga mencurigai antara satu sama lain yang seterusnya mengakibatkan pergeseran antara kaum, apatah lagi dengan sistem pendidikan seperti yang ada di Malaysia hari ini.
• Untuk pengetahuan rakan-rakan pembaca sekalian, Malaysia merupakan satu-satunya negara di rantau Asia Tenggara yang masih mempertahankan sistem SJK dengan pendekatan yang cukup adil membabitkan Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) dan Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT).

• Kesimpulannya, seperti kata Horas! awal tadi, ciptalah berpuluh lagu atau slogan yang menyeru rakyat berbilang kaum dinegara ini bersatu padu…ianya tetap akan hanya tinggal lagu dan slogan yang tidak banyak menyumbang kepada perpaduan.
• Jika mahu rakyat dinegara ini bersatu padu, satu padukanlah mereka sedari kecil dengan satu sistem pendidikan didalam satu sekolah dari peringkat rendah hingga menengah.
• Tapi ianya tidak akan dapat direalisasikan sekiranya Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina atau Tamil masih wujud.
• Kalau bangsa Melayu sanggup kehilangan ‘Sekolah Melayu’ mengapa kaum Cina dan India tidak sanggup pula untuk kehilangan sekolah jenis kebangsaan mereka demi perpaduan?
• Mementingkan diri sendiri atau rasiskah mereka?

An extreme, chauvinistic and racist organization

 

Is Dong Zong an obstacle to forging unity among races in Malaysia?

 

“Like it or not, the non-Chinese in Malaysia see Dong Zong as an extreme, chauvinistic and racist organization for its consistency and persistence in refusing every effort towards total unity of all races”

Aslam Aidid

The United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM) or better known as Dong Zong in Malaysia was established in 22nd August 1954. It is the body that lead the development of Chinese education in Malaysia. Its members include the Chinese school committees from Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Pahang, Sarawak and Sabah. 

The extremism of the Dong Zong is also making some people very anxious, the following is a critique of the Dong Zong by Aslam Aidid sourced from here:

Dong Zong or United Chinese School Committees Association in Malaysia, should stop the arrogance and be more responsible in doing their part to promote unity in this very fragile multi-racial country.

 

Dong Zong may not be directly associated to the Pakatan Rakyat but it has always been perceived as a traditional nemesis of UMNO for ts contradiction in directions. So, you know what they say, that is, “the enemy of your enemy is your friend”.

 

For Malaysians, the organization is seen as one of the many arms of DAP in their quest to ‘overhaul’ Malaysia into becoming a Chinese-dominated country.

 

Like it or not, the non-Chinese in Malaysia see Dong Zong as an extreme, chauvinistic and racist organization for its consistency and persistence in refusing every effort towards total unity of all races.

 

It is hard to brush-off this perception when all the organization ever care about is ensuring that the Chinese continue to strap themselves tightly to their original motherland and that they will never blend in and embrace the Malaysian culture, or even history.

 

This is the reason why Dong Zong doesn’t see problems in Chinese students failing to master the National Language but only see problems if they can’t master Mandarin which is China’s official language.

 

It isn’t hard to understand why this education-related-organization in Malaysia must go as far as holding a protest against the Ministry of Education for posting teachers who can’t speak Mandarin to Chinese Schools.

 

If we didn’t know any better, we would have thought that the Chinese Schools must have some sort of a hidden agenda other than merely wanting to uphold their mother-tongue and culture. Or else, why would they need only Mandarin-speaking teachers for all subjects and not only for Mandarin class?

 

According to its President, Yap Sin Tian, back in 1987, such teachers were only holding senior posts and not so much involved in the teaching but the situation is getting ‘worse’ because these teachers are now not only hold seniors posts but also teach all subjects.

 

The statement is directly targeting the non-Chinese or Chinese teachers who can’t speak Mandarin as ‘the problem’.

 

For that, PR now sees Dong Zong as a problem too.

 

PR upholds the true spirit of Malaysia and rejects any sentiment of racism be it from any race. We have been very open in our critics towards Perkasa for its racial prejudice and extremism and he have to express the same regret towards Dong Zong for singing the same song with Perkasa – only in different language.

 

However, Dong Zong is far worse than Perkasa because at least Perkasa can defend themselves for speaking for unity as they fight for One School concept where children of all races may blend in together and create a truly united future generations. While Dong Zong is obviously fighting for further and permanent separation of the races in Malaysia.

 

Therefore, while Perkasa is being indirectly associated with UMNO, PR should be very careful as to not be seen as supporting Dong Zong. In other words, PR should not fall into the racial game of Dong Zong or Perkasa and remain focus in creating a new, truly united, open-minded Malaysians.

 

We understand that DAP is a hundred percent behind DongcZong in every move but for the sake of the party and the people, DAP should not be associating itself with any organization which is perceived as extreme and racist. It’s hard enough for PR to brush away the chauvinist image of DAP which keeps the Malays away from the party and by supporting Dong Zong, PR might lose even more Malay votes in the next election.

 

Bear in mind that 90% of our school teachers are Malays who can’t speak Mandarin.

 

Dong Zong may sound like they are shooting the government through the protest, but in reality, it’s the 90% Malay teachers as well as Chinese, Indian, Iban and all other teachers who can’t speak Mandarin, who actually felt the pang. And these teachers are voters.

 

PR, including DAP, should keep a distant from Dong Zong and not get entangled in its never-ending tug-of-war with the government.

 

ASLAM AIDID

 

I would gladly say that compared to the Dong Zong’s extremism , PERKASA is a very  mild NGO indeed.

A paragraph in Anas Zubedy’s letter to Raja Nong Chik

The letter can be read in full, HERE.

The message in the paragraph should also be read by the Education Minister and especially by the PRIME MINISTER.

Here is the paragraph:-

viii. Initiate a process to work towards one-stream schools which also adequately provides for all who want to learn their vernacular languages, to be established within the next fifteen years. Propose a contitutional change to make this happen within six months after elections.