The Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) conducted by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students.
In 2015 over half a million students, representing 28 million 15-year-old's in 72 countries and economies, took the internationally agreed two-hour test. Students were assessed in science, mathematics, reading, collaborative problem solving and financial literacy.
When the PISA 2015 results were released on Dec 6, officials from the Education Ministry (MOE) were quoted in a news report as taking pride that Malaysia’s PISA’s scores for Mathematics, Reading and Science had improved from 421, 398 and 420 respectively in 2012 to 446, 431 and 443 respectively in 2015.
However, Malaysians have been stunned to discover the next day that Malaysia is one of 2 countries who took part in PISA 2015 which were left out of the overall rankings entirely.
The official reason given was “in Malaysia, the Pisa assessment was conducted in accordance with the operational standards and guidelines of the OECD. However, the weighted response rate among the initially sample Malaysian schools (51 percent) falls well short of the standard Pisa response rate of 85 percent. Therefore, the results may not be comparable to those of other countries or to results for Malaysia from previous years.”
In simple terms, this means that the MOE officials had attempted to manipulate the results of the Malaysian students by using a biased sample of schools which will not present a fair and accurate reflection of students’ performance in Malaysia.
My colleague, Dr Ong Kian Ming has already shown in his statement on 8 December that the MOE over-represents data from High Performing Schools (HPS) and Fully Residential Schools. For example, even though the number of Fully Residential School students comprise only less than 3% of all students in Malaysia, they were over-represented for the PISA tests at a whopping 30%.
There cannot be a bigger irony when our own Ministry of Education tries to cheat in its examinations, and actually expects to get away with it.
The disgraceful attempt to cheat the system underlies a bigger problem in the administration of our education system. It shows that those in-charge of the education of our children are more interested in form over substance. They are only interested in meeting statistical benchmarks – by hook or by crook so that they could crow about it, and are not interested in the real substantive quality and performance of our students.
This is consistent with the fact that the MOE (and its counterpart Higher Education Ministry) have been attempting to manipulate the rankings of our Malaysians universities by adjusting foreign student intakes to meet the criteria for the more dubious global university ranking matrix by QS World University Rankings. Other university ranking systems by the Times Higher Education and Shanghai Jiao Tong clearly require more qualitative academic performance input from our universities which were harder to manipulate.
Similarly, it has been an open secret that the annual increases in the number of “As” obtained by our students in examinations such as the SPM were a result of reducing marks required to achieve the relevant grades, and not a result of improving student quality.
Without a real transformation in the mindset of our officials in-charge of our education system, the quality of our schools will continue continue to deteriorate and we can only expect our students to be even worse off over time. As long as these officials who are only interested in artificial forms to pat themselves on the back and suck up to their superiors, no amount of beautifully crafted transformation blueprints will be able to “transform” the system for the better.
We call upon the Minister of Education, Dato' Seri Mahdzir Khalid to take stern action against all senior officials who were complicit in the attempts to cheat PISA. This will send a strong message to the entire Ministry that the Government is only interested in substantive quality of our students and not fake performance outcomes. The continued failure to let substance precede form is a certain formula to ensure a worsened outcome for our future Malaysian students.
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Idris Jusoh Should Learn What's "World Class" Education
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh should stop making a mockery of our Higher Education system by liberally interpreting what is “world class” and selectively highlighting statistics which are favourable to the local universities.
Despite being mocked publicly for his statement that Malaysia has “world class higher education”, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh continued to dig trenches to defend his fantastic claim.
The Deputy Education Minister continued to defend our local universities’ “world class” status by citing the various overall and subject rankings produced by British firm, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) over the years.
Idris had said Universiti Malaya (UM) was now in 151st position (up from 167) in the list of 400 top institutions in the world in the 2014 QS World Ranking of prestigious universities.
He said besides the aspect of foreign students enrolment and university rankings, the country’s higher education could be said to be world class based on other factors such as achievement in subjects, whereby 11 public institutions of higher learning were listed among the top 100 universities in the world.
For example, “based on QS Ranking by Subject, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is in the 28th position in the world for environmental science while Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is ranked 54th worldwide for agricultural science based on the Best Global Universities Rankings,” he said.
Firstly, assuming that the QS World Ranking Table is a reliable measure of quality, there is absolutely nothing “world class” about UM being ranked 151st in the world. None of the other 19 local public universities, 36 private universities and 30 university colleges ranked within the top 250 in the world. Even if Malaysia chooses to define the 151st ranking as being “world class”, one swallow certainly does not maketh a summer.
Secondly, while all ranking methodologies are imperfect, why did Datuk Seri Idris choose to cite only the QS rankings out of several reputable global university rankings tables out there? In fact, of the handful of rankings tables, QS is perhaps the most criticised for its lack of rigour and consistency in its methodology.
Between 2004 and 2009, QS had produced their university rankings in partnership with The Times Higher Education (THE) Supplement, the leading publication on higher education in the United Kingdom. However that partnership ended when THE rejected QS and its much criticised methodology, resulting in THE creating its own separate rankings.
Among the biggest critics of the QS rankings is Professor Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne. He described the QS World University Rankings as having "a lot of dark spaces and problems the way they go about it", adding that 40-50 per cent of the ranking was based on reputational surveys.
"They've got a ranking process which they've done very cheaply ... and that's a loss leader for a lot of other business activities," suggesting a conflict of interest between their ranking table and their provision of various consulting services to universities.
Without even taking into consideration of the quality of QS’s work, all other widely cited University Rankings Tables in the world do not rank any Malaysian institution of higher learning anywhere near the top 200.
Not a single Malaysian university made it into the Top 400 list institutions of the THE World University Rankings for 2014 . The Academic Ranking of World Universities produced by Shanghai JiaoTung University placed UM in the #301-400 category in 2014 . For the US News “Best Global Universities” listing, UM again was the only Malaysian institution that made it into the Top 500 at #423 .
In the Ranking Web of Universities compiled by Webometrics, UPM was best ranked at 420, followed by Universiti Sains Malaysia (480), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (552) and UM (646).
Let me emphasize here again that no ranking system is perfect. Such tables do however provide indicative relative quality rankings between global universities. The question to ask is therefore, why is the Ministry of Eduation only selectively interested in the QS Rankings, and failed to cite any of the other studies? Is it because all of the other studies rank Malaysian universities very badly?
Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh appears to be behaving like the proverbial “ayam berkokok, riuh sekampung” when he insisted that Malaysia has achieved “world class” higher education standards. As the Deputy Education Minister, Malaysians would hope that he could be more enlightened and honest in his assessment of our local education standards.
While we are thankful that we are certainly not in the league of many Third World countries, we are far from being able to proclaim ourselves as world class without sniggers from both the academic world and the knowing public.
Despite being mocked publicly for his statement that Malaysia has “world class higher education”, Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh continued to dig trenches to defend his fantastic claim.
The Deputy Education Minister continued to defend our local universities’ “world class” status by citing the various overall and subject rankings produced by British firm, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) over the years.
Idris had said Universiti Malaya (UM) was now in 151st position (up from 167) in the list of 400 top institutions in the world in the 2014 QS World Ranking of prestigious universities.
He said besides the aspect of foreign students enrolment and university rankings, the country’s higher education could be said to be world class based on other factors such as achievement in subjects, whereby 11 public institutions of higher learning were listed among the top 100 universities in the world.
For example, “based on QS Ranking by Subject, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is in the 28th position in the world for environmental science while Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is ranked 54th worldwide for agricultural science based on the Best Global Universities Rankings,” he said.
Firstly, assuming that the QS World Ranking Table is a reliable measure of quality, there is absolutely nothing “world class” about UM being ranked 151st in the world. None of the other 19 local public universities, 36 private universities and 30 university colleges ranked within the top 250 in the world. Even if Malaysia chooses to define the 151st ranking as being “world class”, one swallow certainly does not maketh a summer.
Secondly, while all ranking methodologies are imperfect, why did Datuk Seri Idris choose to cite only the QS rankings out of several reputable global university rankings tables out there? In fact, of the handful of rankings tables, QS is perhaps the most criticised for its lack of rigour and consistency in its methodology.
Between 2004 and 2009, QS had produced their university rankings in partnership with The Times Higher Education (THE) Supplement, the leading publication on higher education in the United Kingdom. However that partnership ended when THE rejected QS and its much criticised methodology, resulting in THE creating its own separate rankings.
Among the biggest critics of the QS rankings is Professor Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at the University of Melbourne. He described the QS World University Rankings as having "a lot of dark spaces and problems the way they go about it", adding that 40-50 per cent of the ranking was based on reputational surveys.
"They've got a ranking process which they've done very cheaply ... and that's a loss leader for a lot of other business activities," suggesting a conflict of interest between their ranking table and their provision of various consulting services to universities.
Without even taking into consideration of the quality of QS’s work, all other widely cited University Rankings Tables in the world do not rank any Malaysian institution of higher learning anywhere near the top 200.
Not a single Malaysian university made it into the Top 400 list institutions of the THE World University Rankings for 2014 . The Academic Ranking of World Universities produced by Shanghai JiaoTung University placed UM in the #301-400 category in 2014 . For the US News “Best Global Universities” listing, UM again was the only Malaysian institution that made it into the Top 500 at #423 .
In the Ranking Web of Universities compiled by Webometrics, UPM was best ranked at 420, followed by Universiti Sains Malaysia (480), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (552) and UM (646).
Let me emphasize here again that no ranking system is perfect. Such tables do however provide indicative relative quality rankings between global universities. The question to ask is therefore, why is the Ministry of Eduation only selectively interested in the QS Rankings, and failed to cite any of the other studies? Is it because all of the other studies rank Malaysian universities very badly?
Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh appears to be behaving like the proverbial “ayam berkokok, riuh sekampung” when he insisted that Malaysia has achieved “world class” higher education standards. As the Deputy Education Minister, Malaysians would hope that he could be more enlightened and honest in his assessment of our local education standards.
While we are thankful that we are certainly not in the league of many Third World countries, we are far from being able to proclaim ourselves as world class without sniggers from both the academic world and the knowing public.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
When National Schools Cultivates Schism and Seggregation
I am a proud product of a Malaysian national school and continues to harbour romantic notions of how the school was able to bring various races of different religions together under a single roof.
However today, such thoughts are mere nostalgic reminiscenes of days long past. Instead of bringing Malaysians together, the national schools have become the ironic reason, directly and indirectly for our young to be seggregated by race and religion.
There are two key reasons why the non-Malays of this country, particularly the Chinese community has chosen to shun the national schools today. This will include parents who have gone through the national school system, who often don’t even speak a word of Chinese besides their own name.
The first and perhaps the most dominant reason is the drastic decline in the quality of teaching at the national schools. Parents who can’t afford private schools would prefer to send their children to the Chinese vernacular schools to ensure that they receive an education of sufficient rigour and quality. National test results have proven that the Chinese vernacular schools outperform the national schools significantly.
However, the quality of education isn’t the only factor. No parents would want to send their children to a school where their child will be seggregated and discriminated against, by teachers, schoolmates and the school administration.
Malaysians are up in arms over the news reports yesterday of photographs which have emerged online allegedly showing non-Muslim students of a primary school being made to eat in a shower room during fasting month. The pictures show students of SK Seri Pristina in Sungai Buloh sitting around tables set up in the school’s changing or shower room.
The school authorities have made the students eat in the makeshift dining room, located next to the toilets. No food is believed to be served in the canteen, which is said to be closed during Ramadan.
Although the Ministry of Education has “pledged” action on this matter, the above while extreme in its nature, is certainly not the first case, nor will it be expected to be the last. Over the past few years, we have read many such reports, including a principal in Kedah telling off the Chinese pupils for being insensitive towards their Muslim peers by eating in the school compound during Ramadan and telling them to “balik Cina”.
There were equally ridiculous cases of cheerleading teams being disbanded, decrees for lion dance without drums during Chinese New Year as well as blanket bans on Christian fellowship groups. And certainly, if one were to pay a visit to practically any national school today during the month of Ramadan, non-Muslim students are seggregated in secluded corners during recess, to “respect” their Muslim peers.
Even during normal months, students in many schools are seggregated so as not to contaminate Muslim food and utensils. What’s more, many students have in the past complained that they were forced to take Arabic or attend Islamic classes despite being non-Muslims.
Is this the “respect” that our national education system seeks to cultivate? Shouldn’t it be such that while non-Muslims understand and give respect to Muslims who are fasting, Muslims should equally understand and respect non-Muslim who are not?
The “transformation” of our national schools into such religious hardline schools has major negative ramifications for the country’s future. Not only are non-Malays extremely deterred from sending their children to these national schools, those who do – both Malays and non-Malays – will be scarred for life.
The non-Malays who attend these schools, such as SK Sri Pristina above, will see the entire country’s system as biased against non-Malays and they will forever be discriminated as unworthy second class citizens. The Malay students who attend these schools will on the other hand deem it is right and proper to subject other races, religions and cultures to their own beliefs and practices.
If the BN Government is serious about making the national schools, the school of choice for Malaysians and the grounds to breed national unity, then some very drastic reforms need to take place.
We call on the Ministry of Education to mete out swift and severe punishment to the school authorities who had the audacity to come up with policies demeaning our Malaysian children in SK Sri Pristina. More importantly, we call upon the Ministry to come out of strict guidelines on these matters in our schools. For example, non-Muslim students must be allowed to eat in school canteens during fasting month, and the canteen must be operated instead of being closed. The failure to even come up with, and enforce such guidelines would only mean that the Ministry is granting tacit approvals for such actions, and will almost certainly make racial polarisation in Malaysia an irreversible process.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
TIMSS 2011 Proves Malaysian Examination Results Manipulated
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study has proven that the Ministry of Education has deliberately dumbed down our education syllabus and lowered our examination standards in order to produce more student passes and distinctions
In the recently released 2011 Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), Malaysia’s ranking in Math fell from 20th in 2007 to 26th in 2011 while our ranking in Science fell by an ever greater margin, from 21st in 2007 to 32nd in 2011.
In terms of marks scored, Malaysia was the worst performing nation of the 59 countries survey by showing the biggest decline since the study was first conducted in 1999. Malaysia's average score for mathematics fell 79 points from 519 in 1999 to 440 in 2011. By comparison, the next worst country Thailand posted an average score decrease of 40 points for mathematics. Similarly, Malaysia's average score for science meanwhile dropped 66 points from 492 in 1999 to 426 in 2011. This decrease is higher than the next worst country, Macedonia whose average score for science fell 51 points.
However, while the disastrous TIMSS results proved the failure of our education system, surprisingly our students continue to score better results annually for their Mathematics and Science examinations for the PMR and SPM papers.
For example, the PMR results over the years, as measured by the Average National Grade (or GPN) has been steadily improving from 2.83 in 2008 to 2.78 in 2009 to 2.74 in 2010 and mostly recently to 2.71 in 2011 (the lower the grade, the better the score). More specifically, those obtaining As in Mathematics increased from 26.7% in 2010 to 28.9% in 2011 and those obtaining As in Science increased from 18.5% in 2010 to 21.7% in 2011.
At the same time, our SPM results in 2011 was reported to have been the best recorded in five years with the overall National Average Grade improving from 5.19 in 2010 to 5.04 in 2011 (the lower the grade, the better the score).
In addition, the pass rate for Math and Science at the SPM level have also steadily increased since 2007 as indicated in Table 1 below. For example, the pass rate for Math for those in the rural areas increased from 70% in 2007 to 77.5% in 2010 and the pass rate for Science for those in the urban areas increased from 85.9% in 2007 to 91% in 2010.
Table 1: Pass rate for Math & Science SPM
for those in the rural and urban areas (2007 to 2010)
Source: Ministry of Education
The steep fall in our TIMSS 2011 scores which are measured objectively across 59 countries clearly contradicts the astounding achievements by the same students in our PMR and SPM examinations.
One cannot help but to conclude that firstly, the Ministry of Education has been deliberately manipulating the Math and Sciences standards for the PMR and SPM examinations to artificially increase the pass rate. Secondly, it also raises the obvious question that our education syllabus has been “dumbed down” so that more students will be able to do better for their examinations.
In fact, this deliberate attempt to dumb down our syllabus and lowering the passing marks for the examination subjects is a key reason for the declining standard of our education system. The Ministry of Education has over the years simplified the syllabus and lowered passing marks in order to give the perception of improving performance, which is measured by the number of passes and “A”s achieved in these examinations.
The obvious outcome to such a skewed education policy is that our Malaysian young will learn less in school, while needing to know and understand even less to secure a pass or obtain an “A” in the examinations. This saddening outcome is now proven by the TIMSS, which showed how Malaysia is the country where its students suffer from the fastest declining standards for both Mathematics and Science.
The New Education Blueprint (NEB) must openly admit and aggressively address the deliberate “dumbing down” of our education system. The Preliminary NEB report has not only completely neglected the above, it has to the contrary, sung praises for our students’ academic achievements in the PMR and SPM examinations. If the Minister of Education, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin fails to reverse the dumbing down process and start increasing standards in our examinations and syllabus, then he can be assured that not only the NEB will fail miserably, Malaysia will continue to drop down the TIMSS scores and ranking in the future.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
TIMSS 2011 Proved Malaysian Education Disaster
The International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 proved beyond doubt that the Barisan Nasional Government has completely destroyed our education system, causing Malaysia to suffer the biggest drop in results among all tested countries in the world for both subjects.
The 2011 Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) which was released on the 11th of December showed a worrying and unacceptable fall in Malaysia’s ranking and average scores in Math and Science.
Malaysia’s ranking in Math fell from 20th in 2007 to 26th in 2011 while its ranking in Science fell by an ever greater margin, from 21st in 2007 to 32nd in 2011. Our average Math score fell from 474 in 2007 to 440 and our average Science score fell by an even greater degree from 471 in 2007 to 426 in 2011. The results are summarized in Table 1a and 1b below.
Table 1a:
Fall in Malaysia’s TIMMs ranking in Science and Math, 2007 to 2011
Table 1b:
Fall in Malaysia’s TIMMs average score in Science and Math, 2007 to 2011
When we compare the results across all the countries, we suffer the ignominy of being the only country other than Jordan which suffered declines in scores in all tested domains for Mathematics (3 areas – Knowledge, Application, Reasoning) and Science (4 areas – Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth sciences).
However, the most damning outcome of the test is that Malaysia has suffered the biggest drop in test scores among all countries for both Mathematics and Science between 1999 and 2011.
For Mathematics, our score dropped by 79 points, compared to the next worst country, Thailand, by 40 points. For Science, our score dropped by 66 points, compared to Macedonia, which fell by 51 points.
The poor achievement of Malaysians students in Math and Science is clearly seen in the % of students scoring full credit for what should be basic Math and Science questions.
For example, for the simple algebra question of “What does xy +1 mean” (The answer is “multiply x by y, then add 1”), only 43% of Malaysian students answered this question correctly, ranking us 37 out of 42 countries.
In comparison, 94% of students in Hong Kong answered this question correctly. For a relatively simple Chemistry question, “What is the chemical formula for Carbon Dixoide” (The answer is “CO2), only 67% of Malaysian students answered this question correctly, ranking us 43 out of 45 countries. (See Appendix 2 below) In comparison 99% of Japanese students answered this question correctly.
Given the above, it is no wonder that many parents are voting with their feet and their wallets by enrolling in private primary and secondary schools at an alarmingly increasing rate.
The drop in our Math and Science scores as measured by TIMSS an unmitigated disaster our national education system which has been destroyed by the Barisan Nasional education policies.
In the context of the extent of our failing education system, the National Education Blueprint (Peliminary report) is clearly half-hearted in its attempted to reverse the decline and it has failed to address the primary issues of the severe in standards.
The Ministers of Education for Malaysia over this period, Tan Sri Musa Mohamad (1999-2004), Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein (2004-2009) and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (since 2009) must bear full responsibility for failing Malaysia’s young and the future of this country.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Ministry of Education Should Make Available Full Reports
Opposition MPs call for release of detailed reports on current education system
By Lisa J. Ariffin September 14, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today urged Putrajaya to disclose detailed reports on the current education situation to encourage constructive criticisms and recommendations to its new education blueprint.
Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua were referring to UNESCO’s April 2011 review of Malaysia’s education system, the World Bank’s report on the country’s expenditure and two other reports on education by a local as well as international review panel.
Nurul Izzah and Pua believed access to detailed reports on weaknesses in the current education system would enable the public to make necessary and relevant recommendations on the new education masterplan, which will run from 2013 to 2025.
“Our biggest worry is on its (blueprint) credibility. The Education Ministry has not highlighted the weaknesses of current education system including a detailed report,” Nurul Izzah told a press conference.
She said the ministry had instead “given glossy view of things”.
“This is not sufficient to convince these are necessary steps to improve the quality of the system,” she said, referring to the 11 “shifts” comprising the report.
The education masterplan comprises 11 “shifts” to inculcate six attributes in children: knowledge, thinking skills, leadership, bilingual proficiency, ethics and national identity.
The shifts include empowering state and district education departments and schools to customise solutions based on need and recruiting only the top 30 per cent of graduates for teacher training.
Pua said relevant documents were needed in order for the public to contribute constructively.
“We will submit our report in October. Without documents, the report won’t be as comprehensive,” he said, referring to PR’s feedback report on the blueprint.
“We’re not here to condemn but to make it better for future generation,” he added.
The two opposition leaders also announced the formation of a Pakatan Rakyat Education Taskforce (PET), consisting of nine leaders across the coalition, to study and respond to Putrajaya’s blueprint.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said to de-politicise education. We hope our recommendations are also included in the blueprint and implemented to improve the education system,” Pua said.
In the new masterplan launched on Tuesday, Malaysia aims to be in the top third of the Programme For International Student Assessment (PISA) test within the next 13 years. The country is currently ranked in the bottom third.
The education masterplan report is available for free from the Education Ministry website.
For the full story on The Malaysian Insider, click here.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Muhyiddin and Dodgy Education Surveys
On 30 March 2012, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pronounced Malaysia as having better quality of education than United States (US), Britain and Germany. He based his statement on one partial study in the World Competitiveness Report by World Economic Forum (WEF) on quality of education. In that specific study, Malaysia was ranked 14th as opposed to Germany (17th), Britain (20th) and United States (26th).
However the above "rankings" were arrived by surveying 87 local businessmen with the question: "How well does the educational system in your country meet the needs of a competitive economy?" by rating it between a scale of 1 to 7.
This particular survey question was never intended by the WEF, nor is it in any way adequate to provide conclusive ratings on the quality of the Malaysian education system. However, the Education Minister, who is also our Deputy Prime Minister clutched at the straw to declare proudly that we have indeed performed better than Germany, Britain and the United States.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin has repeated the stunt 3 days ago when he cited a recent survey by Introspek Asia, which revealed yesterday that 55 per cent of Malaysian adults believe that our education system is comparable to other countries, while 35 per cent said it is “better than that of developed countries”.
Once again, when we peel through the “surface” conclusions of the survey, it became crystal clear that the survey is again fundamentally deficient in measuring the quality of our education.
After studying the survey in detail, which can be downloaded at http://www.introspekasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Introspek_Education_Survey_Summaryv1.3.pdf, we can arrive at the conclusion that the results are pretty much meaningless because of the sample used for the survey.
The survey had 1,800 respondents, of which only 4.8% had qualifications of a university degree or more. On the other hand, 85.3% of these respondents had either SPM qualifications or less. Without prejudice to those who were unable to secure tertiary education due to circumstances beyond their control, this is perhaps the most inappropriate sample structure to ask about our Malaysian education system, if the intent was to have a measure of its quality.
Perhaps what is worse is, less than 5% of the sample has had no experience or even in-depth knowledge of education systems in developed countries. Hence the outcome of the survey as to whether “Malaysian adults agree that our education standard are comparable, better or much better than developed countries” is at best a trivia to analyse how Malaysians are shut off from the real world out there.
Ironically, the income status of the respondents – with 73.2% earning less than RM3,000 per month in itself proved the inadequacy of our education system to enable them to earn a higher income.
In essence, Tan Sri Muhyiddin is relying on the opinions of those who didn’t get very far with their education to measure the standard of Malaysian education against those of developed countries. And the Education Minister used the result to boast about the achievements of his Ministry.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin has chosen to ignore the latest Performance for International Students Assessments (PISA) study conducted in 2010 showed that we are ranked in the bottom third in the world, as well as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data over 1999, 2003 and 2007 which proved that the standards in education has been declining drastically over the past decade.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s complete lack of ability to understand simple surveys, the context of their conclusions and implications proves how unfit he is to become our Education Minister. By choosing to ignore reality or failing to grasp the significance of survey results, we fear that our education system will be led into a cycle of perpetual decline that will cause irreparable damage to the future quality, productivity and earnings ability of our Malaysian students.
However the above "rankings" were arrived by surveying 87 local businessmen with the question: "How well does the educational system in your country meet the needs of a competitive economy?" by rating it between a scale of 1 to 7.
This particular survey question was never intended by the WEF, nor is it in any way adequate to provide conclusive ratings on the quality of the Malaysian education system. However, the Education Minister, who is also our Deputy Prime Minister clutched at the straw to declare proudly that we have indeed performed better than Germany, Britain and the United States.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin has repeated the stunt 3 days ago when he cited a recent survey by Introspek Asia, which revealed yesterday that 55 per cent of Malaysian adults believe that our education system is comparable to other countries, while 35 per cent said it is “better than that of developed countries”.
Once again, when we peel through the “surface” conclusions of the survey, it became crystal clear that the survey is again fundamentally deficient in measuring the quality of our education.
After studying the survey in detail, which can be downloaded at http://www.introspekasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Introspek_Education_Survey_Summaryv1.3.pdf, we can arrive at the conclusion that the results are pretty much meaningless because of the sample used for the survey.
The survey had 1,800 respondents, of which only 4.8% had qualifications of a university degree or more. On the other hand, 85.3% of these respondents had either SPM qualifications or less. Without prejudice to those who were unable to secure tertiary education due to circumstances beyond their control, this is perhaps the most inappropriate sample structure to ask about our Malaysian education system, if the intent was to have a measure of its quality.
Perhaps what is worse is, less than 5% of the sample has had no experience or even in-depth knowledge of education systems in developed countries. Hence the outcome of the survey as to whether “Malaysian adults agree that our education standard are comparable, better or much better than developed countries” is at best a trivia to analyse how Malaysians are shut off from the real world out there.
Ironically, the income status of the respondents – with 73.2% earning less than RM3,000 per month in itself proved the inadequacy of our education system to enable them to earn a higher income.
In essence, Tan Sri Muhyiddin is relying on the opinions of those who didn’t get very far with their education to measure the standard of Malaysian education against those of developed countries. And the Education Minister used the result to boast about the achievements of his Ministry.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin has chosen to ignore the latest Performance for International Students Assessments (PISA) study conducted in 2010 showed that we are ranked in the bottom third in the world, as well as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data over 1999, 2003 and 2007 which proved that the standards in education has been declining drastically over the past decade.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s complete lack of ability to understand simple surveys, the context of their conclusions and implications proves how unfit he is to become our Education Minister. By choosing to ignore reality or failing to grasp the significance of survey results, we fear that our education system will be led into a cycle of perpetual decline that will cause irreparable damage to the future quality, productivity and earnings ability of our Malaysian students.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Muhyiddin Most Blinkered to Think Malaysian Education as "Highly Regarded"
After being ridiculed two weeks ago for claiming that Malaysia has a better education system than Britain, the United States and Germany, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has continued to give lavish praise on the Malaysian education system.
The Education Minister cited a recent survey by Introspek Asia, which revealed yesterday that 55 per cent of Malaysian adults believe that our education system is comparable to other countries, while 35 per cent said it is “better than that of developed countries”.
“This finding is interesting as it reflects a positive attitude among a majority of Malaysians toward our education system,” he said today in his keynote address at the Asian Strategy and Learning Institute’s (ASLI) 16th Malaysian Education Summit here.
This is despite the fact that PEMANDU has accepted the fact that our education system clearly lags behind most other countries. Tengku Nurul Azian, the Education National Key Result Area (NKRA) Director has highlighted that based on the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2009+ study, Malaysian students were ranked in the bottom 30% when tested against students of 74 countries around the world on BFM89.9 yesterday evening.
In terms of reading literacy, we were ranked a poor 55th. In Mathematics literacy, it was 57th and faring only marginally better in Science at 52nd.
The Deputy Prime Minister has intentionally chosen to ignore the above study, but also another more comprehensive study which proved that the standard of education outcome has continuously declined over the past decade.
In probably the world’s most comprehensive study on student performance (13-14 years old) and related factors for Mathematics and Science – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), the results in 1999, 2003 and 2007 showed a drastic decline in scores and rankings.
Between 2003 and 2007, Malaysia’s score for Mathematics declined from 508 to 474 points. The 34 point drop was the highest suffered by the 60 countries studied. By comparing 2007 with 1999, our drop in score of 45 points was also the 2nd highest in the study.
Similarly for Science, Malaysia’s score dropped the highest by 40 points from 510 to 471 from 2003 to 2007. From 1999 to 2007, we suffered a drop of 22 points, which was the second highest of all countries studied.
While the latest PISA study conducted in 2010 showed that we are ranked lowly in the world, the TIMMS data over 1999, 2003 and 2007 proved that the standards in education has been declining consistently and drastically over the past decade. The next TIMSS report for 2011 is expected to be published later this year and we can only hope against hope that there will no longer be any bad news.
Instead of sounding the alarm bells and take urgent actions to arrest the decline in our education standards, Tan Sri Muhyiddin has chosen to lavish praise on our outstanding education system as an example of the Barisan Nasional government’s impeccable leadership. This clearly demonstrate that our Education Minister is completely blinkered and chooses only to believe and rely on highly questionable survey reports. If he continues to remain blinkered as he has over the past two weeks, then perhaps it is better that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will find a better replacement Minister.
We call upon Tan Sri Muhyiddin to provide his views on the above internationally accredited studies on our quality of education and to publish all recommendations by PEMANDU to his Ministry to ensure all recommended measures have been or are being implemented.
The Education Minister cited a recent survey by Introspek Asia, which revealed yesterday that 55 per cent of Malaysian adults believe that our education system is comparable to other countries, while 35 per cent said it is “better than that of developed countries”.
“This finding is interesting as it reflects a positive attitude among a majority of Malaysians toward our education system,” he said today in his keynote address at the Asian Strategy and Learning Institute’s (ASLI) 16th Malaysian Education Summit here.
This is despite the fact that PEMANDU has accepted the fact that our education system clearly lags behind most other countries. Tengku Nurul Azian, the Education National Key Result Area (NKRA) Director has highlighted that based on the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2009+ study, Malaysian students were ranked in the bottom 30% when tested against students of 74 countries around the world on BFM89.9 yesterday evening.
In terms of reading literacy, we were ranked a poor 55th. In Mathematics literacy, it was 57th and faring only marginally better in Science at 52nd.
The Deputy Prime Minister has intentionally chosen to ignore the above study, but also another more comprehensive study which proved that the standard of education outcome has continuously declined over the past decade.
In probably the world’s most comprehensive study on student performance (13-14 years old) and related factors for Mathematics and Science – Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), the results in 1999, 2003 and 2007 showed a drastic decline in scores and rankings.
Between 2003 and 2007, Malaysia’s score for Mathematics declined from 508 to 474 points. The 34 point drop was the highest suffered by the 60 countries studied. By comparing 2007 with 1999, our drop in score of 45 points was also the 2nd highest in the study.
Similarly for Science, Malaysia’s score dropped the highest by 40 points from 510 to 471 from 2003 to 2007. From 1999 to 2007, we suffered a drop of 22 points, which was the second highest of all countries studied.
While the latest PISA study conducted in 2010 showed that we are ranked lowly in the world, the TIMMS data over 1999, 2003 and 2007 proved that the standards in education has been declining consistently and drastically over the past decade. The next TIMSS report for 2011 is expected to be published later this year and we can only hope against hope that there will no longer be any bad news.
Instead of sounding the alarm bells and take urgent actions to arrest the decline in our education standards, Tan Sri Muhyiddin has chosen to lavish praise on our outstanding education system as an example of the Barisan Nasional government’s impeccable leadership. This clearly demonstrate that our Education Minister is completely blinkered and chooses only to believe and rely on highly questionable survey reports. If he continues to remain blinkered as he has over the past two weeks, then perhaps it is better that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will find a better replacement Minister.
We call upon Tan Sri Muhyiddin to provide his views on the above internationally accredited studies on our quality of education and to publish all recommendations by PEMANDU to his Ministry to ensure all recommended measures have been or are being implemented.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
UUCA Amendments Proved Meaningless
A student from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UNIMAP) has been slapped with a 66-day academic suspension and RM100 fine for supposedly organising a programme to raise awareness of voting, allegedly linked with pro-opposition groups.
Mohd Zaini Izuwan (left), 25, said he was accused for organising the program at a restaurant in Kangar on Jan 13 which involved 14 student groups from Perlis, Kedah and Penang. The program, named ‘Watch 13', is an initiative by the student coalition to raise public awareness of the importance of voting in the coming general election.
Mohd Zaini has protested his innocence that he was at the event as an observer and not an organiser. He also complained that he was not allowed to bring any witnesses or to question the “prosecution” witnesses during the disciplinary hearing.
The above incident reported on 21 April, just 2 days after the Universities and University Colleges Act 1972 was “amended” to give students greater freedom proves beyond doubt the lack of genuine intent at reform by the Barisan Nasional government. It also exposed how the amendments fell far short of what is required to give Malaysians students the necessary room to express themselves freely.
While the new Amendment Bill has taken the step forward by allowing students to join political parties, the new Act will still give absolute discretion to the University authorities to determine activities and societies deemed “detrimental” to the interest of the institution.
For example, Clause 15(2)(b) the amended UUCA Bill says explicitly that university students will not be allowed to join any organisations, societies or groups of persons (with the exception of political parties) deemed inappropriate by the University Board.
In addition, Clause 15(4)(b) also allows the university to deny the rights of its students to speak, even on his or her subject of study, in any symposium or seminar organised by any organisation or person(s) deemed inappropriate by the University.
I had moved a motion to make the relevant amendments to the above clauses in Parliament but was rejected by the Minister of Higher Education and the Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament. The Minister had given an assurance that the new amendments will not be abused and that the Universities are sufficiently enlightened to use their discretions over the above matters.
However, as shown clearly over the above unjustified actions of UNIMAP, even if Mohd Zaini had indeed organised the event to “raise public awareness of the importance of voting” – which he has denied, the new amendments fell far short of granting academic and political freedom to the university students.
We call upon the Datuk Khaled Nordin to reprimand the UNIMAP authorities for taking such harsh and unjustified actions against a student of the university who did not commit any wrong against the institution. At the same time, we call upon the Minister to immediately lift Mohd Zaini’s suspension to prove that he was sincere in his objective to make Malaysian universities premier institutions of holistic learning and not centres for thought imprisonment.
Mohd Zaini Izuwan (left), 25, said he was accused for organising the program at a restaurant in Kangar on Jan 13 which involved 14 student groups from Perlis, Kedah and Penang. The program, named ‘Watch 13', is an initiative by the student coalition to raise public awareness of the importance of voting in the coming general election.
Mohd Zaini has protested his innocence that he was at the event as an observer and not an organiser. He also complained that he was not allowed to bring any witnesses or to question the “prosecution” witnesses during the disciplinary hearing.
The above incident reported on 21 April, just 2 days after the Universities and University Colleges Act 1972 was “amended” to give students greater freedom proves beyond doubt the lack of genuine intent at reform by the Barisan Nasional government. It also exposed how the amendments fell far short of what is required to give Malaysians students the necessary room to express themselves freely.
While the new Amendment Bill has taken the step forward by allowing students to join political parties, the new Act will still give absolute discretion to the University authorities to determine activities and societies deemed “detrimental” to the interest of the institution.
For example, Clause 15(2)(b) the amended UUCA Bill says explicitly that university students will not be allowed to join any organisations, societies or groups of persons (with the exception of political parties) deemed inappropriate by the University Board.
In addition, Clause 15(4)(b) also allows the university to deny the rights of its students to speak, even on his or her subject of study, in any symposium or seminar organised by any organisation or person(s) deemed inappropriate by the University.
I had moved a motion to make the relevant amendments to the above clauses in Parliament but was rejected by the Minister of Higher Education and the Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament. The Minister had given an assurance that the new amendments will not be abused and that the Universities are sufficiently enlightened to use their discretions over the above matters.
However, as shown clearly over the above unjustified actions of UNIMAP, even if Mohd Zaini had indeed organised the event to “raise public awareness of the importance of voting” – which he has denied, the new amendments fell far short of granting academic and political freedom to the university students.
We call upon the Datuk Khaled Nordin to reprimand the UNIMAP authorities for taking such harsh and unjustified actions against a student of the university who did not commit any wrong against the institution. At the same time, we call upon the Minister to immediately lift Mohd Zaini’s suspension to prove that he was sincere in his objective to make Malaysian universities premier institutions of holistic learning and not centres for thought imprisonment.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
2012 DAP Internship Programme
The DAP "Know An MP" Youth Programme for the year 2012 is now open for application. The DAP Malaysia will be offering 10 places of attachment nationwide to various top national leaders, Member of Parliament and State Assemblymen (ADUN) in Malaysia.
What is this programme about?
Selected candidates will be matched based on compatibility to a Member of Parliament or State Assemblyman (ADUN). The candidate will attach on a full-time basis to the MP/ADUN and actively participate in their daily work.
Read some of the experiences of past interns - Michelle, Sara, Jason.
During the programme, candidates will have the opportunity to:
- Assist and contribute to the work of the MP/ADUN
- Gain first-hand experience and insight of being a national leader
- Attend parliamentary sessions or state assembly sessions
- Organize and participate in press conferences, discussions, political events etc.
- As part of the programme, candidates are required to:
- Submit a 300-word essay documenting their experience and insight gained
- Contribute a 1000-word proposal on how to improve the office of an MP/ADUN or the operation of DAP Malaysia; OR a research topic of choice on a current issue for MP/ADUN debate during parliamentary or state assembly session
- Initiate and organize a community event to engage sociopolitical awareness
Selection Criteria:
- Youths between age 18-30 (students, fresh grads or young working adults)
- Full-time attachment, minimum period of 1 month
- Selection based on assessment of academic results and experience
Details:
- Closing date of application: 30th April 2012 (Extended: 10 May 2012)
- Start date of programme: Anytime after 1st May 2012
- Successful candidates will be contacted via email
Application procedures:
Email resume / curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter expressing interest to daprocket(at)rocketmail(dot)com
Include in your application the following:
- Preferred location (ie. which state/city in Malaysia)
- Preferred duration of your attachment
- MP/ADUN of preference
For enquiries, kindly email daprocket(at)rocketmail(dot)com
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Muhyiddin Says Our Education Outperforms US, UK & Germany!
It completely defies belief that our Minister of Education of pronounce Malaysia as having better quality of education than United States (US), Britain and Germany.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also our Deputy Prime Minister, based his statement on one partial study in the World Competitiveness Report by World Economic Forum (WEF) on quality of education. In that specific study, Malaysia was ranked 14th as opposed to Germany (17th), Britain (20th) and United States (26th).
However as an Education Minister, he must surely have found out how the above "rankings" were arrived at. In essence the survey asked 87 local businessmen "How well does the educational system in your country meet the needs of a competitive economy?" by rating it between a scale of 1 to 7.
Two agencies were entrusted to do the survey by WEF - government-linked Institute Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) and government-owned Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC).
Surely such a tiny survey with such "surprising" outcomes must be benchmarked against other credible international studies before it is accepted at face value. And surely, as the Education Minister, he would have seen many objective studies on the quality of our education and students.
In the latest Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2009+ released late last year showed Malaysian 15 year olds being far behind the rest of the developed world. The PISA study reviewed the literacy, mathematics and scientific understanding of 522,000 students across 74 countries, with nearly 4,999 students coming from Malaysia.
Malaysian students were ranked well below the Organisation of Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) average, and specifically against the US, UK and Germany in all 3 tested areas.
In terms of reading literacy, we were ranked a poor 55th out of 74 countries. In Mathematics literacy, it was 57th and faring only marginally better in Science at 52nd.
The conclusion of the report on Malaysia was even more damaging when it was reported that “56% of students are estimated to have a proficiency in reading literacy that is at or above the baseline level needed to participate effectively and productively in life.”
For Mathematics, only “41% of students are proficient in mathematics at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the kind of skills that enable them to use mathematics in ways considered fundamental for their future development.” And for Science, “57% of students are proficient in science at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the science competencies that will enable them to participate actively in life situations related to science and technology.”
Why did Muhyiddin not cite the PISA 2009+ study which he is fully aware of which is objective in its study across countries by using standardised tests? PISA 2009+ was also conducted with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education. Instead Muhyiddin decided to endorse and boast of a survey of 87 local businessman on a single subjective question.
The Deputy Prime Minister appears to be suffering from the “jaguh kampung” syndrome where we only measure ourselves based on criteria which will make ourselves look good but fail to be objective in evaluating our performance and achievements which have been lacking and declining in the recent decades.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also our Deputy Prime Minister, based his statement on one partial study in the World Competitiveness Report by World Economic Forum (WEF) on quality of education. In that specific study, Malaysia was ranked 14th as opposed to Germany (17th), Britain (20th) and United States (26th).
However as an Education Minister, he must surely have found out how the above "rankings" were arrived at. In essence the survey asked 87 local businessmen "How well does the educational system in your country meet the needs of a competitive economy?" by rating it between a scale of 1 to 7.
Two agencies were entrusted to do the survey by WEF - government-linked Institute Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) and government-owned Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC).
Surely such a tiny survey with such "surprising" outcomes must be benchmarked against other credible international studies before it is accepted at face value. And surely, as the Education Minister, he would have seen many objective studies on the quality of our education and students.
In the latest Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2009+ released late last year showed Malaysian 15 year olds being far behind the rest of the developed world. The PISA study reviewed the literacy, mathematics and scientific understanding of 522,000 students across 74 countries, with nearly 4,999 students coming from Malaysia.
Malaysian students were ranked well below the Organisation of Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) average, and specifically against the US, UK and Germany in all 3 tested areas.
In terms of reading literacy, we were ranked a poor 55th out of 74 countries. In Mathematics literacy, it was 57th and faring only marginally better in Science at 52nd.
The conclusion of the report on Malaysia was even more damaging when it was reported that “56% of students are estimated to have a proficiency in reading literacy that is at or above the baseline level needed to participate effectively and productively in life.”
For Mathematics, only “41% of students are proficient in mathematics at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the kind of skills that enable them to use mathematics in ways considered fundamental for their future development.” And for Science, “57% of students are proficient in science at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the science competencies that will enable them to participate actively in life situations related to science and technology.”
Why did Muhyiddin not cite the PISA 2009+ study which he is fully aware of which is objective in its study across countries by using standardised tests? PISA 2009+ was also conducted with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education. Instead Muhyiddin decided to endorse and boast of a survey of 87 local businessman on a single subjective question.
The Deputy Prime Minister appears to be suffering from the “jaguh kampung” syndrome where we only measure ourselves based on criteria which will make ourselves look good but fail to be objective in evaluating our performance and achievements which have been lacking and declining in the recent decades.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
UUCA Appeal Defies "Political Transformation Programme"
The decision by the Cabinet to allow the appeal of the Court of Appeal judgement that Section 15.(5)(a) of the University and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) is unconstitutional flies in the face of the Prime Minister’s “political transformation programme”
After a series of calls for the Government to not appeal the Court of Appeal judgement that Section 15.(5)(a) of the UUCA is made by top politicians from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, hopes were high that the Cabinet will abide by and accept the Court’s decision.
The UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, Deputy Higher Education Minister, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah and MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Wee Ka Siong have made a show of openly supported the Court’s position that the relevant section of the UUCA is unconstitutional and the UUCA should be amended accordingly.
In the “spirit” of the political transformation programme launched by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the eve of Malaysia Day where he announced the proposed repeal and amendment of various draconian Acts such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Printing Press and Publications Act (PPPA), Malaysians were expecting an enlightened decision by the Cabinet to finally remove the shackles of academic freedom at our institutions of higher learning.
However, the BN government has instead chosen to abdicate its responsibility to the Attorney General, purportedly to make a study of the “points of law”. The excuse could not be more lame as regardless of the Court decision, the Cabinet could have taken opportunity to announce a proposed amendment of the UUCA, particularly the controversial Section 15.
In fact, the Cabinet should have taken the bold decision not only to amend Section 15.(5)(a), but the entire Section 15 of the Act which severely restricts the freedom of academics and students in our local universities.
Section 15.(1) states that students of the University, even if they are of voting age or PhD students, cannot be members of any political party, or any other organisation as determined by the Minister of Higher Education.
Section 15.(2) states that no University students’ body shall have any association with any political party, or any organisation as determined by the Minister of Higher Education.
Section 15.(6)(a) states that students and academics will only have the “freedom” to make statements on their areas of study and research while 15.(6)(b) prohibits their participation in any seminar, symposium or event organised by any political party, even if it is within their area of expertise.
The above sections of the Act are obviously unreasonable and unconstitutional on so many grounds – such as the Article 8 which states that “all persons are equal before the law” forbidding discrimination against students and academics; and Article 10 which guarantees the “freedom of speech and expression” as well as “the right to form associations”.
I have filed the proposed amendments to the above Sections of the Act during the sub-committee debate on the UUCA Amendment Bill in December 2008 arguing on its unconstitutionality. However, the motion was defeated unanimously by the BN members of Parliament.
We call upon the Cabinet not to make the same mistake twice, at the expense of not only the Prime Minister’s “political transformation programme”, but also the reputation and credibility of our institutions of higher learning. Without academic freedom, our universities will never be able to achieve our goals of becoming “world-class” institutions. Regardless of the final decision by the Attorney-General, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must retake the initiative and commence the process of removing all unconstitutional and unreasonable elements from the UUCA.
After a series of calls for the Government to not appeal the Court of Appeal judgement that Section 15.(5)(a) of the UUCA is made by top politicians from both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, hopes were high that the Cabinet will abide by and accept the Court’s decision.
The UMNO Youth Chief, Khairy Jamaluddin, Deputy Higher Education Minister, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah and MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Wee Ka Siong have made a show of openly supported the Court’s position that the relevant section of the UUCA is unconstitutional and the UUCA should be amended accordingly.
In the “spirit” of the political transformation programme launched by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on the eve of Malaysia Day where he announced the proposed repeal and amendment of various draconian Acts such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Printing Press and Publications Act (PPPA), Malaysians were expecting an enlightened decision by the Cabinet to finally remove the shackles of academic freedom at our institutions of higher learning.
However, the BN government has instead chosen to abdicate its responsibility to the Attorney General, purportedly to make a study of the “points of law”. The excuse could not be more lame as regardless of the Court decision, the Cabinet could have taken opportunity to announce a proposed amendment of the UUCA, particularly the controversial Section 15.
In fact, the Cabinet should have taken the bold decision not only to amend Section 15.(5)(a), but the entire Section 15 of the Act which severely restricts the freedom of academics and students in our local universities.
Section 15.(1) states that students of the University, even if they are of voting age or PhD students, cannot be members of any political party, or any other organisation as determined by the Minister of Higher Education.
Section 15.(2) states that no University students’ body shall have any association with any political party, or any organisation as determined by the Minister of Higher Education.
Section 15.(6)(a) states that students and academics will only have the “freedom” to make statements on their areas of study and research while 15.(6)(b) prohibits their participation in any seminar, symposium or event organised by any political party, even if it is within their area of expertise.
The above sections of the Act are obviously unreasonable and unconstitutional on so many grounds – such as the Article 8 which states that “all persons are equal before the law” forbidding discrimination against students and academics; and Article 10 which guarantees the “freedom of speech and expression” as well as “the right to form associations”.
I have filed the proposed amendments to the above Sections of the Act during the sub-committee debate on the UUCA Amendment Bill in December 2008 arguing on its unconstitutionality. However, the motion was defeated unanimously by the BN members of Parliament.
We call upon the Cabinet not to make the same mistake twice, at the expense of not only the Prime Minister’s “political transformation programme”, but also the reputation and credibility of our institutions of higher learning. Without academic freedom, our universities will never be able to achieve our goals of becoming “world-class” institutions. Regardless of the final decision by the Attorney-General, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must retake the initiative and commence the process of removing all unconstitutional and unreasonable elements from the UUCA.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Let Schools Decide over PPSMI
The DAP wishes to state our position in support of the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) in schools where a determined majority of parents have expressed a preference for it. This is especially in urban schools where the level of competency in English is substantially higher than the rural districts.
DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang had 2 years ago called upon the Cabinet to endorse "the call of Parents Action Group for Education (Page) that schools should be given the option to teach science and mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia or English or in one’s mother tongue" and maintain "the use of English as medium of instruction for mathematics and science in secondary schools".
The key reasons why the PPSMI policy was withdrawn by the Government are the inadequacy of the teachers as well as the inability of students, particularly from rural background to cope with the use of English at such a young age.
Therefore the reversal of the 10 year old PPSMI policy should not be a complete one - one that throws out the baby with the bath water - but one which takes into account the advantages and disadvantages learnt over the past 2 decades. The new policy must incorporate the flexibility where PPSMI remains an option for schools in the country where parents express support for it.
We reject the excuse given by Deputy Prime Minister who argued that giving the option to schools will create havoc "kacau-bilau" to our education system. Firstly, these schools have already been conducting their lessons for Mathematics and Science in English over the past 10 years, hence there will be no extra effort incurred to retain PPSMI in these schools. Instead more effort will be required to withdraw PPSMI.
Secondly, and more importantly, every effort should be made to ensure that our schools are able to produce the best human capital for Malaysia as we seek to be part of the knowledge economy, to become a high income nation.
The important principle that the Ministry of Education must adopt is that advanced students should not be held back because of students who lagged behind academically. If parents prefer English as the medium of instruction and the students are more than able to cope, then every effort should be made to allow such schools to continue with PPSMI.
Therefore the argument of administrative hassle as a result of providing the option to parents and students is completely unacceptable as the quality of education our students receive is of paramount importance.
We call upon the Ministry of Education to review its decision to withdraw its decision to withdraw PPSMI completely and to allow room for certain schools to proceed subject to meeting certain requirements such as parental approval and students' performance.
DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang had 2 years ago called upon the Cabinet to endorse "the call of Parents Action Group for Education (Page) that schools should be given the option to teach science and mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia or English or in one’s mother tongue" and maintain "the use of English as medium of instruction for mathematics and science in secondary schools".
The key reasons why the PPSMI policy was withdrawn by the Government are the inadequacy of the teachers as well as the inability of students, particularly from rural background to cope with the use of English at such a young age.
Therefore the reversal of the 10 year old PPSMI policy should not be a complete one - one that throws out the baby with the bath water - but one which takes into account the advantages and disadvantages learnt over the past 2 decades. The new policy must incorporate the flexibility where PPSMI remains an option for schools in the country where parents express support for it.
We reject the excuse given by Deputy Prime Minister who argued that giving the option to schools will create havoc "kacau-bilau" to our education system. Firstly, these schools have already been conducting their lessons for Mathematics and Science in English over the past 10 years, hence there will be no extra effort incurred to retain PPSMI in these schools. Instead more effort will be required to withdraw PPSMI.
Secondly, and more importantly, every effort should be made to ensure that our schools are able to produce the best human capital for Malaysia as we seek to be part of the knowledge economy, to become a high income nation.
The important principle that the Ministry of Education must adopt is that advanced students should not be held back because of students who lagged behind academically. If parents prefer English as the medium of instruction and the students are more than able to cope, then every effort should be made to allow such schools to continue with PPSMI.
Therefore the argument of administrative hassle as a result of providing the option to parents and students is completely unacceptable as the quality of education our students receive is of paramount importance.
We call upon the Ministry of Education to review its decision to withdraw its decision to withdraw PPSMI completely and to allow room for certain schools to proceed subject to meeting certain requirements such as parental approval and students' performance.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Stop Intimidation of Malaysian Academics
The Government and University authorities must stop the intimidation of academics who expresses views and opinions differing from the ruling establishment
It is extremely disturbing that academic Professor Dr Aziz Bari has been subjected to rapid fire intimidation by the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), followed by the Royal Malaysian Police and now asked to show cause by the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA). All the above over-the-top action was a result of Dr Aziz having expressed his learned opinion of the Malaysian Constitution and its laws, which is his area of expertise.
We are not in agreement with the opinions expressed by Dr Aziz all of the time, but we believe that everyone, what more academics in the relevant fields of study, must have the right to voice their views on all matters relating to the Constitution. After all, Malaysia is a country founded on the rule of law, and not one which is enslaved to an absolute authority.
The actions by the Government and University authorities will only prove that there is little room for academic freedom in our tertiary institutions, and that the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) is used as the tool to ensure rigid conformity among the academics and the students.
The recent release of the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, where not a single Malaysian university is included has shown the dire circumstances of our local universities.
On the other hand, only 1 university, Universiti Malaya out of more than 50 universities in Malaysia made it into the QS 200 World University Rankings 2011/12, and that is because the “high impact research and citations” criteria is much lower than that of THE methodology.
In contrast, 60 Asian Universities made it into the THE 400 Top World University Ranking, with 16 from Japan, 10 from China, eight from Taiwan, seven from South Korea, six from Hong Kong, two from Singapore, and one each from India and Thailand.
The poor quality of our universities is a clear outcome from the fact that top Malaysian academics are turned off by the way Malaysian universities are managed, and often prefer to migrate to top universities in the region and the world to pursue their academic career. As a result, our Malaysian students face the double whammy of not only having weaker academics as their lecturers and tutors, they are prevented from exercising their critical thinking and analytical faculties as a result of the restrictive UUCA.
In the interest of arresting the decline in standards of our universities, we call upon the authorities to stop applying undue pressure on Malaysian academics from speaking their minds. The MCMC and police should immediately withdraw their attempt to harass Dr Aziz Bari for merely providing his opinions of the law. At the same time, UIA must withdraw their show cause letter which has added credence to the common perception that university authorities in Malaysia lacks independence and serves merely as a cat’s paw for the ruling party to suppress dissenting opinions.
It is extremely disturbing that academic Professor Dr Aziz Bari has been subjected to rapid fire intimidation by the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), followed by the Royal Malaysian Police and now asked to show cause by the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA). All the above over-the-top action was a result of Dr Aziz having expressed his learned opinion of the Malaysian Constitution and its laws, which is his area of expertise.
We are not in agreement with the opinions expressed by Dr Aziz all of the time, but we believe that everyone, what more academics in the relevant fields of study, must have the right to voice their views on all matters relating to the Constitution. After all, Malaysia is a country founded on the rule of law, and not one which is enslaved to an absolute authority.
The actions by the Government and University authorities will only prove that there is little room for academic freedom in our tertiary institutions, and that the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA) is used as the tool to ensure rigid conformity among the academics and the students.
The recent release of the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, where not a single Malaysian university is included has shown the dire circumstances of our local universities.
On the other hand, only 1 university, Universiti Malaya out of more than 50 universities in Malaysia made it into the QS 200 World University Rankings 2011/12, and that is because the “high impact research and citations” criteria is much lower than that of THE methodology.
In contrast, 60 Asian Universities made it into the THE 400 Top World University Ranking, with 16 from Japan, 10 from China, eight from Taiwan, seven from South Korea, six from Hong Kong, two from Singapore, and one each from India and Thailand.
The poor quality of our universities is a clear outcome from the fact that top Malaysian academics are turned off by the way Malaysian universities are managed, and often prefer to migrate to top universities in the region and the world to pursue their academic career. As a result, our Malaysian students face the double whammy of not only having weaker academics as their lecturers and tutors, they are prevented from exercising their critical thinking and analytical faculties as a result of the restrictive UUCA.
In the interest of arresting the decline in standards of our universities, we call upon the authorities to stop applying undue pressure on Malaysian academics from speaking their minds. The MCMC and police should immediately withdraw their attempt to harass Dr Aziz Bari for merely providing his opinions of the law. At the same time, UIA must withdraw their show cause letter which has added credence to the common perception that university authorities in Malaysia lacks independence and serves merely as a cat’s paw for the ruling party to suppress dissenting opinions.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
University scholarships only after Pre-University
We understand from the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s statement on the radio on Thursday morning that JPA university scholarships will only be awarded at pre-university level after securing admission into top universities, instead of at the current SPM level as one of the means to resolve the perennial scholarship conundrum.
This move is fully in line with the proposal the DAP Socialist Youth led by the MP for Rasah, Anthony Loke has made via a memorandum to the Minister in-charge of scholarships way back in 2009.
The NutGraph had in 2 June 2009 reported that “a proposal to limit overseas Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships to students who have completed Form Six or pre-university equivalents has been well-received by at least one Barisan Nasional (BN) minister.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had then said the idea merited further thought as it appeared to be a viable solution in reducing the number of applicants for overseas placements. “I strongly support this. It is a good idea and I will look into this.”
However, even way back in 2006, the then Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed had already announced that the Government will only continue to award overseas scholarships to students who are able to gain entry into “ivy league” class universities.
The question then is, will the Public Service Department (PSD) comply and execute the Prime Minister’s directive that overseas scholarships only be awarded to students who are able to gain entry into these top universities after pre-university levels instead of SPM?
Since the PSD has been unable to implement such reforms over the past 4 to 5 years, why would next year be any different?
Instead of waiting for another year before the entire scholarship circus repeats itself again, the Government should immediately announce the details of the new scholarship policy so that the Malaysian public and particularly, the potential scholarship holders know what is in store for them.
We call upon the Government to award automatic pre-university scholarships to all top SPM students with 8A+ and above to pursue the pre-university course of their choice, such as such as ‘A’-levels, STPM or International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes.
Subsequently, the Government should announce a full list of top universities and colleges whose courses will be accepted for overseas universities scholarship consideration, whether it’s Economics in Cambridge or Engineering at MIT or medicine in Melbourne.
It is only with full and complete transparency will the Government be able to redeem the credibility and prestige of the PSD scholarship programme. Otherwise, it will just be another case of only rhetoric with little or no action, leading to the same fiasco next year.
This move is fully in line with the proposal the DAP Socialist Youth led by the MP for Rasah, Anthony Loke has made via a memorandum to the Minister in-charge of scholarships way back in 2009.
The NutGraph had in 2 June 2009 reported that “a proposal to limit overseas Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships to students who have completed Form Six or pre-university equivalents has been well-received by at least one Barisan Nasional (BN) minister.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had then said the idea merited further thought as it appeared to be a viable solution in reducing the number of applicants for overseas placements. “I strongly support this. It is a good idea and I will look into this.”
However, even way back in 2006, the then Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed had already announced that the Government will only continue to award overseas scholarships to students who are able to gain entry into “ivy league” class universities.
The question then is, will the Public Service Department (PSD) comply and execute the Prime Minister’s directive that overseas scholarships only be awarded to students who are able to gain entry into these top universities after pre-university levels instead of SPM?
Since the PSD has been unable to implement such reforms over the past 4 to 5 years, why would next year be any different?
Instead of waiting for another year before the entire scholarship circus repeats itself again, the Government should immediately announce the details of the new scholarship policy so that the Malaysian public and particularly, the potential scholarship holders know what is in store for them.
We call upon the Government to award automatic pre-university scholarships to all top SPM students with 8A+ and above to pursue the pre-university course of their choice, such as such as ‘A’-levels, STPM or International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes.
Subsequently, the Government should announce a full list of top universities and colleges whose courses will be accepted for overseas universities scholarship consideration, whether it’s Economics in Cambridge or Engineering at MIT or medicine in Melbourne.
It is only with full and complete transparency will the Government be able to redeem the credibility and prestige of the PSD scholarship programme. Otherwise, it will just be another case of only rhetoric with little or no action, leading to the same fiasco next year.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Scholarship Merit?
Dato’ Seri Nazri Aziz should be rapped for failing Malaysian’s crème-de-la-crème while defending the Public Service Department’s little Napoleons
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz attempted to protect the officers of the Public Service Department (PSD) despite their obvious failure to ensure that the country’s crème-de-la-crème are given JPA overseas scholarships as promised by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Instead Nazri himself should be the person to apologise to all Malaysians for the Government’s failure to deliver on its policies because he is directly the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the PSD.
The Minister now claims that the Government never promised the top SPM scorers overseas scholarships. Instead, he argued that the only thing which was promised to students who scored more than 8A+ in their SPM results was a full scholarship, with no guarantees that they will be sent overseas.
It is indeed true that Najib had made the announcement that all with SPM results better than 8A+ will be assured of a local or overseas scholarship. Nazri was however highly mischievous by leaving out the fact that both Najib and himself had also disclosed and clarified that the 20% of JPA overseas scholarships will be awarded based entirely on merit.
This means that out of 1,500 students who have been given overseas scholarships for this year, 300 should be awarded entirely based on merit. Under such circumstances, there should be no room at all for the fact that students with more than 10A+ failing to receive overseas scholarship awards for there are less than 300 students who have obtained such excellent results.
Based on information published so far, it is not the odd student or two who have been denied the scholarship, which can be attributable to genuine mistakes by the PSD. The number who has been denied under the merit scheme adds up to tens, if not hundreds of students. This can only happen if there was a systematic attempt by the PSD to deny these brilliant students their rightful entitlement as promised by the Government.
Therefore Nazri must be rapped not only for failing to perform his duties and responsibility as the Minister in-charge of the PSD and for the award of scholarships, he must be taken to task for trying to defend his officers by misleading the public with half-truths. His attempt to defend the indefensible makes a complete mockery of the Prime Minister’s slogan of “people first, performance now”.
The Government’s lack of urgent action to right all the wrongs in the award of scholarships after decades of controversy will only result in more Malaysians, particularly the best and brightest, losing confidence in Najib administration’s to retain talent, and reverse the brain drain that is bleeding the country’s economy.
This further strengthens our call for the function of scholarship award to be delegated to the Talent Corporation to give hope to Malaysians that all is not lost, and perhaps next year, we’ll indeed see the end of the annual scholarship circus we are now accustomed to.
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz attempted to protect the officers of the Public Service Department (PSD) despite their obvious failure to ensure that the country’s crème-de-la-crème are given JPA overseas scholarships as promised by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Instead Nazri himself should be the person to apologise to all Malaysians for the Government’s failure to deliver on its policies because he is directly the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the PSD.
The Minister now claims that the Government never promised the top SPM scorers overseas scholarships. Instead, he argued that the only thing which was promised to students who scored more than 8A+ in their SPM results was a full scholarship, with no guarantees that they will be sent overseas.
It is indeed true that Najib had made the announcement that all with SPM results better than 8A+ will be assured of a local or overseas scholarship. Nazri was however highly mischievous by leaving out the fact that both Najib and himself had also disclosed and clarified that the 20% of JPA overseas scholarships will be awarded based entirely on merit.
This means that out of 1,500 students who have been given overseas scholarships for this year, 300 should be awarded entirely based on merit. Under such circumstances, there should be no room at all for the fact that students with more than 10A+ failing to receive overseas scholarship awards for there are less than 300 students who have obtained such excellent results.
Based on information published so far, it is not the odd student or two who have been denied the scholarship, which can be attributable to genuine mistakes by the PSD. The number who has been denied under the merit scheme adds up to tens, if not hundreds of students. This can only happen if there was a systematic attempt by the PSD to deny these brilliant students their rightful entitlement as promised by the Government.
Therefore Nazri must be rapped not only for failing to perform his duties and responsibility as the Minister in-charge of the PSD and for the award of scholarships, he must be taken to task for trying to defend his officers by misleading the public with half-truths. His attempt to defend the indefensible makes a complete mockery of the Prime Minister’s slogan of “people first, performance now”.
The Government’s lack of urgent action to right all the wrongs in the award of scholarships after decades of controversy will only result in more Malaysians, particularly the best and brightest, losing confidence in Najib administration’s to retain talent, and reverse the brain drain that is bleeding the country’s economy.
This further strengthens our call for the function of scholarship award to be delegated to the Talent Corporation to give hope to Malaysians that all is not lost, and perhaps next year, we’ll indeed see the end of the annual scholarship circus we are now accustomed to.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Talent Corp Should Take Over JPA Scholarships
Talent Corporation should take over the function of awarding Government scholarships given the total failure of Public Service Department to award scholarships in a fair and equitable manner after all these years
The Public Service Department (PSD) has proven itself to be a complete disaster in managing the award of government scholarships to the young and brightest Malaysians, particularly to those seeking the opportunity to pursue their education overseas. Over the past decades, it has never failed to attract controversy by failing to award scholarships in a fair and just manner resulting in hundreds of top students failing to secure the scholarships they deserve.
After last year's fiasco, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that there will be 20% of overseas scholarships will be awarded entirely based on merit. However, Najib's promise was made a complete mockery when top students with 10 or more A+ for their SPM failed to secure the overseas PSD scholarship, but were instead only local matriculation programmes.
In fact, the PSD defied the decisions of the Cabinet by creating completely new scholarship categories, such as the 'Open' scholarship as well as scholarships for diploma programmes to circumvent the directive of the Cabinet. The outcome is a circus where Barisan Nasional component parties such as the MCA, Gerakan and MIC becoming a public complaints bureau and the de facto channel for appeals from disappointed scholarship applicants.
In addition, the never-ending scholarship controversies have led to as well as further exacerbate the serious brain drain crisis facing the country. Students and families who are unjustly treated will be persuaded to leave the country to greener pastures who will not hesitate to poach our top talents. The worsening brain drain crisis will also lead to the failure to meet our high income nation goals under the New Economic Model and Economic Transformation Programme.
In the face of massive public uproar, Deputy Minister of Education, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong who came under heavy fire, had openly blamed the little Napoleons in the PSD for openly defying Cabinet directives. His accusations were supported by various other Ministers, Deputy Ministers and BN component parties.
Despite the obvious need to take strong disciplinary actions against top PSD officials, based on past experiences, there will be little or no political will from the BN Ministers to take any action against them.
Therefore, to prevent future scholarship fiascos arising from the failure or sabotage by the PSD, we'd like to propose to the Cabinet to transfer the Government scholarship award role to the newly set up Talent Corporation.
The transfer of this critical role and responsibility will be particularly fitting given the crucial role of attracting and retaining talent in Malaysia. They will also be the most appropriate agency to manage the best and brightest talents of our future given their close links with the industry. With the single-minded objective of harnessing talent for the country, the Talent Corporation will stand a better chance in succeeding with honouring our best and brightest as opposed to the PSD whose role is complicated and confused, made worse by vested interest and little Napoleons.
We call upon all parties, not just those in Pakatan Rakyat, but also MCA, Gerakan and MIC who has verbally expressed their frustrations with the PSD. The proposal is made in the interest of all Malaysians and there should be bipartisanship in ensuring the annual scholarship circus will never see the light of day again.
The Public Service Department (PSD) has proven itself to be a complete disaster in managing the award of government scholarships to the young and brightest Malaysians, particularly to those seeking the opportunity to pursue their education overseas. Over the past decades, it has never failed to attract controversy by failing to award scholarships in a fair and just manner resulting in hundreds of top students failing to secure the scholarships they deserve.
After last year's fiasco, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that there will be 20% of overseas scholarships will be awarded entirely based on merit. However, Najib's promise was made a complete mockery when top students with 10 or more A+ for their SPM failed to secure the overseas PSD scholarship, but were instead only local matriculation programmes.
In fact, the PSD defied the decisions of the Cabinet by creating completely new scholarship categories, such as the 'Open' scholarship as well as scholarships for diploma programmes to circumvent the directive of the Cabinet. The outcome is a circus where Barisan Nasional component parties such as the MCA, Gerakan and MIC becoming a public complaints bureau and the de facto channel for appeals from disappointed scholarship applicants.
In addition, the never-ending scholarship controversies have led to as well as further exacerbate the serious brain drain crisis facing the country. Students and families who are unjustly treated will be persuaded to leave the country to greener pastures who will not hesitate to poach our top talents. The worsening brain drain crisis will also lead to the failure to meet our high income nation goals under the New Economic Model and Economic Transformation Programme.
In the face of massive public uproar, Deputy Minister of Education, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong who came under heavy fire, had openly blamed the little Napoleons in the PSD for openly defying Cabinet directives. His accusations were supported by various other Ministers, Deputy Ministers and BN component parties.
Despite the obvious need to take strong disciplinary actions against top PSD officials, based on past experiences, there will be little or no political will from the BN Ministers to take any action against them.
Therefore, to prevent future scholarship fiascos arising from the failure or sabotage by the PSD, we'd like to propose to the Cabinet to transfer the Government scholarship award role to the newly set up Talent Corporation.
The transfer of this critical role and responsibility will be particularly fitting given the crucial role of attracting and retaining talent in Malaysia. They will also be the most appropriate agency to manage the best and brightest talents of our future given their close links with the industry. With the single-minded objective of harnessing talent for the country, the Talent Corporation will stand a better chance in succeeding with honouring our best and brightest as opposed to the PSD whose role is complicated and confused, made worse by vested interest and little Napoleons.
We call upon all parties, not just those in Pakatan Rakyat, but also MCA, Gerakan and MIC who has verbally expressed their frustrations with the PSD. The proposal is made in the interest of all Malaysians and there should be bipartisanship in ensuring the annual scholarship circus will never see the light of day again.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
2011 DAP Internship: Last Call
"...I did a 1½-month internship with Tony Pua and Dr Ong Kian Ming (UCSI lecturer, political analyst, consultant). And everything that I did within that time span felt right. It didn’t matter whether I took three flights in two days between Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. It didn’t matter that I had to be at Taman Jaya station at 8 in the morning everyday to head to the many districts in Selangor, only to do the simple task of note-taking during the town hall meetings which will contribute to the Selangor Blueprint. On these days, I’ll reach home at about midnight, only to have that few hours of sleep, and repeat the whole routine again.
I worked with people on the ground, learned their way of life, their morals, their culture. I heard their heartbreaking stories about how all they want is a Sibu that doesn’t flood, a Kuching that has its land distributed fairly among its people, an education system that doesn’t brainwash their children... I saw these people, and had this surging desire to educate the uneducated, to give jobs to the poor, to speak for the voiceless.
I felt that I would be doing injustice if I were to use my abilities and resources for myself. It just wasn’t right. I want the aunts and uncles who sell fruits by the street to not have to worry whether they’ll be able to make a good sale tomorrow. I want the children of these uncles and aunts to know that they have an equal opportunity to achieve their heart’s desires in the future. I want UM to find its place on the world stage again. I want teachers to have pride in their work. I want Malaysia to be the place where people are proud to be a part of; a place where people will want to come home to.
Hi, my name is Michelle. Forsake my generation, I shan’t."
See full article in The Malaysian Insider here.
Well, here's a last call for internship applications from Malaysia's best and brightest to come in by 7th May 2011 for this summer's intership programme. For those keen for a year end internship, feel free to put in your application as well ;-)
Details:
Application procedures:
Email resume / curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter expressing interest to daprocket@rocketmail.com. Include in your application the following:
I worked with people on the ground, learned their way of life, their morals, their culture. I heard their heartbreaking stories about how all they want is a Sibu that doesn’t flood, a Kuching that has its land distributed fairly among its people, an education system that doesn’t brainwash their children... I saw these people, and had this surging desire to educate the uneducated, to give jobs to the poor, to speak for the voiceless.
I felt that I would be doing injustice if I were to use my abilities and resources for myself. It just wasn’t right. I want the aunts and uncles who sell fruits by the street to not have to worry whether they’ll be able to make a good sale tomorrow. I want the children of these uncles and aunts to know that they have an equal opportunity to achieve their heart’s desires in the future. I want UM to find its place on the world stage again. I want teachers to have pride in their work. I want Malaysia to be the place where people are proud to be a part of; a place where people will want to come home to.
Hi, my name is Michelle. Forsake my generation, I shan’t."
See full article in The Malaysian Insider here.
Well, here's a last call for internship applications from Malaysia's best and brightest to come in by 7th May 2011 for this summer's intership programme. For those keen for a year end internship, feel free to put in your application as well ;-)
Details:
- Closing date of application: 30th April 2011 (extend to 7th May)
- Start date of programme: Anytime after 1st June 2011
- Successful candidates will be informed via email
Application procedures:
Email resume / curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter expressing interest to daprocket@rocketmail.com. Include in your application the following:
- Preferred location (ie. which state/city in Malaysia)
- Preferred duration of your attachment (minimum 1 month)
- MP/ADUN of preference (if any)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
2011 DAP Internship Programme
The DAP "Know An MP" Youth Programme for the year 2011 is now open for application. The DAP Malaysia will be offering 10 places of attachment nationwide to various top national leaders, Member of Parliament and State Assemblymen (ADUN) in Malaysia.
What is this programme about?
Selected candidates will be matched based on compatibility to a Member of Parliament or State Assemblyman (ADUN). The candidate will attach on a full-time basis to the MP/ADUN and actively participate in their daily work.
During the programme, candidates will have the opportunity to:
Selection Criteria:
Details:
Application procedures:
Email resume / curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter expressing interest to daprocket(at)rocketmail(dot)com
Include in your application the following:
What is this programme about?
Selected candidates will be matched based on compatibility to a Member of Parliament or State Assemblyman (ADUN). The candidate will attach on a full-time basis to the MP/ADUN and actively participate in their daily work.
During the programme, candidates will have the opportunity to:
- Assist and contribute to the work of the MP/ADUN
- Gain first-hand experience and insight of being a national leader
- Attend parliamentary sessions or state assembly sessions
- Organize and participate in press conferences, discussions, political events etc.
- Submit a 300-word essay documenting their experience and insight gained
- Contribute a 1000-word proposal on how to improve the office of an MP/ADUN or the operation of DAP Malaysia; OR a research topic of choice on a current issue for MP/ADUN debate during parliamentary or state assembly session
- Initiate and organize a community event to engage sociopolitical awareness
Selection Criteria:
- Youths between age 18-30 (students, fresh grads or young working adults)
- Full-time attachment, minimum period of 1 month
- Selection based on assessment of academic results and experience
Details:
- Closing date of application: 30th April 2011
- Start date of programme: Anytime after 1st June 2011
- Successful candidates will be informed via email
Application procedures:
Email resume / curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter expressing interest to daprocket(at)rocketmail(dot)com
Include in your application the following:
- Preferred location (ie. which state/city in Malaysia)
- Preferred duration of your attachment
- MP/ADUN of preference
Sunday, November 07, 2010
MCA vs Racists: All Talk No Action
MCA's futile attempts in its call for action against school principals and teachers for racist, insensitive and inappropriate behaviour highlights its complete irrelevance in the Barisan Nasional Government
We would like to commend MCA for being quick to the draw to demand for action and punishment against the recent cases of racist, insensitive and inappropriate behaviour by some of our school principals and teachers.
In August 2010, Datuk Chor Chee Heung who himself is the Minister of Housing and Local Government had called for the school principal in Bukit Selambau who used racist remarks against some non-Muslim students to be “punished to set an example to everyone”.
MCA's spokesperson and deputy publicity chief, Loh Seng Kok has publicly called for the school principal of Kulai's SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Siti Inshah Mansor to be “severely disciplined” for making derogatory and racist remarks against Indian and Chinese students just before the Bukit Selambau case.
Similarly, at the end of September, Loh had asked the Public Service Department to take action against the Deputy Director of the National Civic Bureau (BTN), Hamim Husin claiming that “shameful for a public servant employed to train upcoming civil servants to use derogatory, stereotypical terms that offended the Chinese and Indian communities... If necessary, the police should also charge Hamim under the Sedition Act. It is time to put a halt to the arrogance and intolerance of bigots.”
However, despite their concerns raised since August on the racist principals issues in Kulai and Bukit Selambau as well as the BTN Deputy Director, no definitive action appears to have been taken by the Barisan Nasional government. The Minister of Education himself Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin abdicated from his responsibility to take action by delegating it to the Public Service Department, claiming that he is “powerless”.
The Speaker of Parliament had rejected a motion by Lim Kit Siang to debate the issue on the issue nearly a month ago claiming that action has already been taken by the Government against the principals.
Until today, Malaysians have not been given a straight answer on the actions taken and punishment meted out to these culprits who are not only poisoning the minds of our young Malaysians, but are among the root cause of national disunity and racial intolerance in the country.
Even last month when the Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister announced at the UMNO Annual General Meeting on implementing the compulsory pass policy for History at SPM level, Loh had expressed concern that “distrust can be bred if History textbook contents are incomprehensive but emphasise racial superiority while negating the contributions of other races, or downplaying other worldwide civilisations.”
Hence when Loh Seng Kok once again called yesterday for the Education Ministry to act against a Sarawak primary school for enforcing a halal food policy, it proves that MCA is now officially reduced to trying to meekly voice its views from the outside because it is completely ineffective and marginalised on the inside of the Government.
One could almost be forgiven for forgetting that the MCA is actually the 2nd largest component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional Government. What is perhaps most damaging is the fact Loh seems to have himself forgotten the fact that MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong holds the position of a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Education.
MCA should perhaps stop whining like a kitten which lost its mom and start acting on the above critical issues like it is part of the Government. Instead MCA must answer to the Malaysian public at large as to why it has been rendered completely ineffective and irrelevant in ensuring that proper actions be taken against public servants guilty of creating unrest through racist and insensitive behaviours.
We would like to commend MCA for being quick to the draw to demand for action and punishment against the recent cases of racist, insensitive and inappropriate behaviour by some of our school principals and teachers.
In August 2010, Datuk Chor Chee Heung who himself is the Minister of Housing and Local Government had called for the school principal in Bukit Selambau who used racist remarks against some non-Muslim students to be “punished to set an example to everyone”.
MCA's spokesperson and deputy publicity chief, Loh Seng Kok has publicly called for the school principal of Kulai's SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Siti Inshah Mansor to be “severely disciplined” for making derogatory and racist remarks against Indian and Chinese students just before the Bukit Selambau case.
Similarly, at the end of September, Loh had asked the Public Service Department to take action against the Deputy Director of the National Civic Bureau (BTN), Hamim Husin claiming that “shameful for a public servant employed to train upcoming civil servants to use derogatory, stereotypical terms that offended the Chinese and Indian communities... If necessary, the police should also charge Hamim under the Sedition Act. It is time to put a halt to the arrogance and intolerance of bigots.”
However, despite their concerns raised since August on the racist principals issues in Kulai and Bukit Selambau as well as the BTN Deputy Director, no definitive action appears to have been taken by the Barisan Nasional government. The Minister of Education himself Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin abdicated from his responsibility to take action by delegating it to the Public Service Department, claiming that he is “powerless”.
The Speaker of Parliament had rejected a motion by Lim Kit Siang to debate the issue on the issue nearly a month ago claiming that action has already been taken by the Government against the principals.
Until today, Malaysians have not been given a straight answer on the actions taken and punishment meted out to these culprits who are not only poisoning the minds of our young Malaysians, but are among the root cause of national disunity and racial intolerance in the country.
Even last month when the Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister announced at the UMNO Annual General Meeting on implementing the compulsory pass policy for History at SPM level, Loh had expressed concern that “distrust can be bred if History textbook contents are incomprehensive but emphasise racial superiority while negating the contributions of other races, or downplaying other worldwide civilisations.”
Hence when Loh Seng Kok once again called yesterday for the Education Ministry to act against a Sarawak primary school for enforcing a halal food policy, it proves that MCA is now officially reduced to trying to meekly voice its views from the outside because it is completely ineffective and marginalised on the inside of the Government.
One could almost be forgiven for forgetting that the MCA is actually the 2nd largest component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional Government. What is perhaps most damaging is the fact Loh seems to have himself forgotten the fact that MCA Youth Chief, Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong holds the position of a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Education.
MCA should perhaps stop whining like a kitten which lost its mom and start acting on the above critical issues like it is part of the Government. Instead MCA must answer to the Malaysian public at large as to why it has been rendered completely ineffective and irrelevant in ensuring that proper actions be taken against public servants guilty of creating unrest through racist and insensitive behaviours.
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