Given the recent brouhaha over the the equity achievement of the respective ethnic communities, I thought it is worthwhile to take a step back and relook at a quote, taken surprisingly from Tun Daim Zainuddin, our former finance minister and the architect of "Malaysia, Inc" when he spoke on "Issues facing the Malays".
The natural second phase to social and economic transformation of the Malays is only through education, not equity participation. You take care of education and they will have enough to participate in the capital market...One may not particularly like Tun Daim for the cronyistic business empires he helped built in the 1980s and 1990s, but certainly, once cannot disagree with Tun Daim's opinion of the NEP above.
The NEP (New Economic Policy) has always concentrated on equity participation of the Malays. The poor Malay's route to success will not be through having shares in the KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, now Bursa Malaysia).
(But) it is through education. The obsession with equity figures have eclipsed the true success story of the NEP. The vast numbers of educated Malays produced since the 70s, they have contributed to the expanding middle class.
It is unfortunate that the governing UMNOputras are only interested in short-term financial gains and unsheathing the keris as can be observed from the recently concluded UMNO General Assembly.
Did anyone even catch anything significant raised on issues relating to the quality of education? Did we hear anybody lamenting on the poor placement of local universities in global rankings? And given the typical over-the-top nature of the delegates speeches, we could have at least heard someone ask "when is Malaysia going to produce the next Nobel laureate?"
No. No UMNOputra worth his membership card discusses issues of real importance at these assemblies. Nothing about corruption. Nothing about education. Not even much about the economy. It's all about quotas, blood, keris and yeah, running 'amok'.
4 comments:
As usual its all about short-term gain.
Too hell with long-term benefits be it individuals, corporations, societies or even Nations.
Everyone thinks that everything else should run at internet speed. In the real world however, many things are still dictated by how fast/slow we think. I don't think the human mind has evolved so fast to think at such speed; at least not in the last 50 yrs or so.
Back to education, ever notice any school telling its student that we educate you in the most effective manner, although at a slower pace! It just won't sell! Everything must be at break neck speed to the point of short-changing ourselves.
Teach someone to fish, not just today but for future as well! Education is key with self-learning for the lifetime.
why is it that there are continued insistence of the authorities that education standards have not dropped?
i notice some fresh graduates' general inability to use the english lang., to spell and use grammar correctly.
MOE, please stop telling us that all is well just because more fresh graduates are graduating from local universities.
the country need youths to graduate with better standards.
It is not that they do not know that the issue, state and role of education. It is just that its the nature of politics that UMNO have not taken responsibilities for.
UMNO is a political animal and its first priority will be its own political strength. Everything UMNO achieved is through hard -nose politics - its not ideas, its not efficiency, its not courage and leadership. There are now very few people in UMNO that care much about anything else other than gaining political power and through that wealth and status. That the core is all they do and know i.e., a parasitic political organization.
To give up the politics, even temper it, is for someone to give up power and wealth in UMNO. There are not many, and one wonder if there is any at the last GA.
Yes education should take care of the Malay race in the end but do the community have the strength to walk away from the addiction to politics to walk away from it? The answer is many more will not walk away than those that will. Which is why education of the Malay race is not a panacea for the ills of the rest of us.
In fact, for the rest of us, its actually would be better if few walk away. Because politics is parasitic and eventually the host dies. Its probably an easier answer for the host(the country) to die quickly and be reborn in another form for the rest of us.
eh ??? i wud believe that they have taken care of the education long time ago ... the scholarships distribution, residential school entrants, university admission, form sixth admisssion ....
Post a Comment