My take on the policy reversion of Teaching Science and Mathematics in English

My first opinion which appeared in Malaysiakini. The title was changed to Back to the future for math and science

The Teaching of Science and Mathematics in English (Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Sains Dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris) or PPSMI has been a hot topic in Malaysian politics in recent months. It ended with the Government announcing that the education policy, brainchild of former Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir some 6 years ago will be abolished within the next 3 years. From 2012 onwards, it will be 'back to the future', where the teaching of science and mathematics in primary schools will revert back to Bahasa Melayu for national schools and Chinese and Tamil in vernacular schools while Bahasa Melayu will be used in secondary schools.

It is difficult to gather whether this is what the majority of Malaysians really want. PPSMI has been strongly challenged by GAPENA (Gabungan Penulis Nasional) and Chinese Educationists since its commencement. The key justifications are the status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language, the ability of students from rural areas in taking up the challenge and the preservation of ethnic and cultural identities. There are also statistics to indicate that students from rural areas have been coping poorly with science and mathematics since the implementation of PPSMI.

Based on my understanding, the statistics definitely hold a lot of truth for smaller towns and kampungs where the command of English is generally poor. Students did badly because they are not able to understand the instructions or text written in English. As we are all aware, the standard of English in Malaysia has deteriorated over time. The introduction of PPSMI was done in a haste, without considering the steps to improve the level of English or to train teachers with higher capability in the language. It is also a well known fact that the teaching profession has become very unattractive in recent years that it is difficult to attract capable teachers into the education system. In fact, many teachers from the younger generation have very poor command of English themselves. It is no surprise that they were not able to deliver.

Back to the abolishment of PPSMI. Is the Government taking the right steps? Is this merely a tactic of a Government which is under immense pressure due to its weakening support base? It is debatable. But the fact is, most parents with better education background or those who are from more urbanised areas are likely to be disappointed. It feels like a step backwards. Their children could adapt quite easily to the change in medium of instruction. In fact learning science and mathematics has become easier as there are plenty of resources, be it printed material such as books or electronic material such as the Internet where they could take advantage of.

Those who are against PPSMI often cite the ability of countries such as Japan, China, Germany and France to be advanced in science and mathematics despite not learning them in English. However they missed the point entirely. The 4 countries above have ample of scientific and mathematical resources in their own languages. In fact, they are also major contributors to the development of science and mathematics.

In my opinion, it is better for Malaysian students to learn science and mathematics in English from the practical point of view as it will meet their future needs in this globalised era. However, it is difficult to implement it in the earlier years of primary schools as most students will be faced with the challenge of learning new languages. Hence it may be desired to teach science and mathematics in mother tongue from Standard 1 to Standard 3 or even up to Standard 6 and then switch to English later on. This will allow them the time to build up good foundation in English at the same time not compromising their ability to learn science and mathematics.

It will be interesting to see whether the Government will really revert to the old policy as 2012 is still more than 2 years away and that may be after the next general elections. Whatever it is, I hope that the interest of the future generations will be taken at heart. The Government should consult the views of those who are involved in education as they will have a better feel of the issue instead of letting emotions rule the day. Let us not change education policies at whim and without proper research and planning.

Sad Day in Perak

Whatever happened in Perak, I still hope that rule of law and constitution are being respected. 

However, what happened today shows that we are fast becoming a lawless state and it is sad that police were also part of it by invading the State Assembly. 

Arresting people for merely wearing black is soooo unreasonable. In a democratic country like Malaysia, don't we even have a right to express our disagreement or disapproval? 

Dear Sultan Azlan Shah, please let the people decide on who they want instead of letting all the power-crazy politicians inflict more and more pain to Perakians. Perak has been nearly 20 years of my life. I would like to see peace and stability returning. 

Perak Speaker V. Sivakumar forcibly dragged out of the Assembly by some"official" who later installed Ganesan as the "new" Speaker - which part of the law has such provisions? 

Hee Yit Fong - Victory? Wonder who will have the last laugh? The winner should be Perakians, not politicians

Local Sentiments

What I gathered from local news and local views in Penang and Parit Buntar, Perak.

• Many are unhappy and strongly disagree with the Sultan's decision on the Perak turmoil - many are wishing for an election to show BN how big they'll lose this time around.
  
• MACC's hypocrisy - unusual disclosure of their investigations, very quick and efficient when it comes to opposition parties, impossible when it comes to BN and its bedfellows - police, judges, etc.
  
• Chinese school to suffer because they invite opposition to fund raising event - It's sad to know that there are circulars that disallow all Malaysian schools from inviting Pakatan politicians, with threats of withdrawing government funds. Government funds is treated as BN funds and political tool when it should be used impartially on the education of our future generation.
• Elizabeth Wong scandal - Sad to know that it receives so much more coverage than all the corruption cases combined. While the debate on privacy and public morality of politicians is valid to certain extent, we are not practising the same standards when it comes to corruption. Her private life has no direct impact on her role; corruption, on the other hand is directly affecting the role of a politician. In Malaysia, corruption seem to be halal. Any revelations is quickly swept under the carpet.
  
• Labu LCCT - Maybe I can understand why Tony wanted his own airport. I flew in from Melbourne in Air Asia X. The airport terminal is OK on the inside. However, once we went past the exit, we thought we've landed in Africa! No joke. There was no proper signage to direct us to public transport. Touts were all over the place, offering taxi trips to KLIA for RM45 when it is just on the other side of the airport. After asking around, we managed to get on to a bus for just RM3. The bus is ill-equipped for travellers as there is no space of baggage. The driver and attendant are not in uniforms. The ride was scary especially when the bus is negotiating corners. We were so relieved to arrive at KLIA in the end. There was no proper sign at the terminal to show that we have arrived in KLIA. We saw a few foreign tourists struggling to understand where they were, so we offered our help, while feeling embarrassed about the condition of the current LCCT and the crappy services provided from there to KLIA. MAHB is definitely ripping Air Asia off for LCCT.
  

Lompat Lagi

Tun Dr M has a very funny entry in his blog on the Perak turmoil which ended with "He he he!". He he he!

1. Sandiwara di Perak masih menggelikan hati. Ada lompat keluar kandang, ada lompat masuk kandang.

2. Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan sudah bertitah.

3. Tetapi Menteri Besar Pakatan tidak hendak berhenti jadi MB. Pejabatnya sudah dikosongkan oleh Polis.

4. Apakah Polis akan usung MB dan campak dia keluar? Tentu tidak kerana tiada peruntukan undang-undang yang mengizinkannya.

5. Pakatan boleh adakan Kerajaan minoriti. Demokrasi mengizinkan.

6. Tetapi kerajaan minoriti lemah. Dia boleh ditumbang dengan undi tidak percaya oleh majoriti ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri, kalau Dewan bersidang. Mungkin Pakatan tak mahu ada persidangan.

7. Siapakah yang berhak mengadakan persidangan? Bolehkah puak majoriti paksa Kerajaan minoriti adakan persidangan khas untuk undi tak percaya?

8. Jika tidak dapat paksa Kerajaan minoriti mengadakan persidangan mereka boleh ambil bermacam-macam tindakan untuk merosakkan negeri Perak. Apakah yang boleh dibuat kepada kerajaan minoriti jika ia kekalkan dirinya dan terus merosakkan negeri? Keadaan seperti ini masih kelabu; tak ada peruntukan undang-undang setakat yang saya tahu.

9. Mungkin pegawai tidak akan patuh kepada kerajaan minoriti ini. Tetapi pegawai profesional perlu akur akan perintah Kerajaan yang halal.

10. Kita hanya boleh pandang dan lihat sandiwara yang sedang berterusan. Anwar akan dapat banyak pengajaran daripada sandiwara ini kerana dialah yang beria-ia sangat untuk ada lompat katak yang terbesar pada September 16. Oh! Silap, September 24. Oh! Silap lagi.

11. Amat menggelikan hati mendengar telatah Anwar berkenaan Nasarudin Hashim (ADUN Bota) masuk PKR dan keluar daripada PKR.

12. Lompat masuk (perangkap) boleh tapi lompat keluar tak sah!! He, he, he!

Frogs - The aftermath

I'm no expert in law, but that doesn't stop me from thinking and asking myself a few questions regarding the Perak turmoil.

• 3 individuals have brought down the government voted in by the people. Is this fair?
  
• Did the people voted for these individuals in 308 or they voted for the party?
• What are the conditions for granting the dissolution of the state assembly?
  
• What if PKR managed to woo a few BN ADUNs to crossover in the next few weeks or months? How many times are we going to change the government?
  

This crossover thingy is a PKR's (Anwar's) game. I don't think PAS and DAP actually support it. Now it has backfired big time. When is Anwar going to learn to be patient?

Personally I think we should have an anti-hopping law. In my opinion it is very unfair for an ADUN to switch sides without getting a fresh mandate, especially when it involves the change in government.

Further comments on our outgoing PM's quote in the Star:

Datuk Seri Abdullah has told Pakatan Rakyat to accept Barisan’s rule in Perak. “They should accept it just as we had accepted results of the general election,” he said.

How can the Perak turmoil be compared to what happened in 308? In 308, it was the rakyat who voted, what happened now is the caused by the decision of only 3 individuals.

Is that too complicated for him to grasp?

Anyway, hope the new BN government have learnt their lesson from 308. But the way they seize the government is definitely not a good start.

Frogs

What say you?

It all started with Anwar's 916... Nothing much has happened thus far despite a lot dare and scare.

Perak (I consider myself a 1/2 Perakian 1/2 Penangite) has been in the news in the last few days:

• One Perak BN ADUN defected to Pakatan
• Two Perak Pakatan ADUN, who are facing corruption charges, defected to BN (maybe with the hope of saving their skins). BN may now wrest back Perak from Pakatan. But how can BN stoop so low to accept tainted frogs?
  
• The Perak BN ADUN who defected has now defected again (within days!) - since Pakatan may no longer be in power
  
• How much money is involved? According to Najib - zilch (No money is involved)
• Considering that many BN won seats have majority of less than 1,000 votes, if an election were to be called in Perak today, how much is Pakatan/BN going to win/lose?
  
• If BN were to wrest power, almost all ADUN will be from UMNO. What is MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties' views?
  
• What if there are more frogs hopping around from either side in the next few weeks or months? Are we going to see a change in government every few weeks or months?
  
• The ball is now in Sultan Azlan Shah's (my most respected Sultan) court. I'm sure he'll make a wise decision for all Perakians
  
• There are rumours that many ADUN from Pakatan states are being lured by millions to crossover by BN - Are we going to see more frogs and more dramatic changes in the coming months?
  

It's all about money and positions. Who is standing for the rakyat when Malaysia and the whole world is facing economy crisis and job losses?

Congratulations President Obama

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Senator Obama's victory may be even beyond Martin Luther King's dream.

I wonder whether I could see Malaysia's version in my lifetime?

Credit to John McCain. He is such an honourable man - he refrained from making cheap shots at his opponent, even to the extent of defending him from harsh and over-the-board attacks by some Republican supporters. Other than his old age and the unfortunate timing of the economy crisis, and to certain extent George Bush's unpopularity, his biggest mistake is to choose Sarah Palin as his running mate.

If the PM had only thrown away caution, not chances...

I quite agree with this analysis from the Malaysian Insider. Too bad Pak Lah's days are numbered if what I've read from some UMNO insider blogs are true. Don't think there is much he could do now. He'll probably be remembered as a very weak leader. I think most people will not blame or associate him to all the controversies during his premiership as he is merely seen as a pawn to all the warlords within his own party. His credibility has also been largely undermined by Tun Mahathir, who seem to be part of UMNO's many controversies and internal fighting since Tunku's days.

If the PM had only thrown away caution, not chances...

SEPT 20 — A couple of days after the March 8 general elections, a calm Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sat down with some supporters and his inner circle in Sri Perdana to survey the new political landscape and weigh the prime minister’s options going forward.

Those familiar with the meeting recalled that a confetti of ideas were tossed around on how to regain the initiative from the Anwar Ibrahim-led opposition and to hold off Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other critics within Umno baying for Abdullah’s blood.

One idea got some traction – the notion that Abdullah had to throw caution to the wind and reform the various institutions in the country.

He had to care less of what his party thought and focus solely on what Malaysians wanted. If he followed this strategy, he would be so popular with Malaysians that his party will not dare to move against him.

Even the downside was attractive – the idea that he would be remembered as a Malaysian Mikhail Gorbachev who lost his power and position doing the right thing.

That seems like sound advice which Abdullah should have followed.

Instead, after appointing Datuk Zaid Ibrahim as the de facto law minister and making some loud noises about reforms, he retreated to his usual patch, worried that he was upsetting the Umno warlords.

Every decision seemed to hang on this outcome – how would Umno react? If there was a remote chance that the party would object to a policy or decision, he postponed making it.

That is why the Judicial Appointment Commission and the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission are waiting to be rescued from limbo.

Ironically, today he is paying the price for being subservient to his party. They have their knives out for him, wanting him to step down as party president much earlier that the mid-2010 transition deadline.

And here is a double dose of irony: Their big beef with Abdullah is that he has not done much since Election 2008.

There is no cavalry of non-party members rushing to put up a human shield around him and protect him from the charge of the Umno rank-and-file.

They believe that he has been given several chances to make good his promise of changing Malaysia, and has not been able to deliver.

Worse yet, they believe that because of his unwillingness to upset Umno warlords, party officials have become more arrogant and insensitive to the feelings of non-Malays, and Malaysia has become a less inclusive country.

That is why Datuk Ahmad Ismail was recalcitrant about his description of Malaysian Chinese as immigrants and squatters.

That is why the late Datuk Zakaria Deros was willing to break every law in the book to build a huge mansion in Klang.

That is why Datuk Seri Khir Toyo was unrepentant about ordering the demolition of a Hindu temple in Selangor a week before Deepavali last year.

So today, Abdullah finds himself in an odd situation: weak inside and outside his party.

And yet it could have been so different if he had followed the strategy of throwing caution to the wind and trying to outflank his party.

In theory at least, his popularity among Malaysians would have been so strong that it would not have been easy for the likes of Dr Mahathir and Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin to whip up hatred for him among the party rank and file.

In theory at least, he would have been remembered as a great Malaysian who put the principles of multi-racialism, justice, fairness and integrity above everything else.

But for that strategy of outflanking the party to have succeeded, the PM would have had to become a risk taker overnight, someone not afraid of going against convention and the herd.

Perhaps that was asking too much of a man who had become a prisoner to what his party thought.

Kickdefella Arrested

Sheih aka Kickdefella was arrested by police most likely because he started an online campaign to turn the Jalur Gemilang upside down as a sign that Malaysia is distress. While I don't see the benefit of doing this (upside down flag), I certainly think the police (and whoever is behind them) is over-reacting.

Having said that, I'm sure many would agree that Malaysia is indeed in distress with all the political uncertainties, high inflation, slowing economy and the police's judgement getting worse day by day. How long can we cope with the weak leadership? Titanic is going to sink no matter how you rearrange the furniture.

I hope Sheih and others who have been irrationally detained under ISA will be released soon. We need more justice in Malaysia.

ISA: MCA should stand for justice

If the press reports were true, I'm very disappointed with MCA, even though I do not support the party. By only helping to secure the release of reporter Tan Hoon Cheng and not raising anything on Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamaruddin's ISA detention, MCA has shown that it is not capable to standing up for justice for all Malaysians. It certainly will not earn them brownie points from most of the rakyat. Teresa Kok is clearly innocent from all the information we could gather from press, Internet, etc. It is the usual culprit - Utusan Malaysia that is inciting racial tension and seem to get away with it over and over again. RPK's case may be more complicated, but Malaysia has its own legal system and we should use our own legal system to determine his fate rather than resorting to an unreasonable detention, unless the government is worried about him revealing all their skeletons in the closet.

The original ISA is never meant for cases like this. If it's used against terrorists or communists, then it could be justified as they may pose immediate threat to the country and we can't afford to wait for legal judgements to be made.

Whatever lame excuses Syed Hamid Albar is using to defend the government - blaming the police for the detention, claiming the reporter incited racial tension, majority of rakyat is mature enough to see through all the lies and deceit. Instructions to use ISA needs to come from above and is not within the police's powers. The lame excuses only makes the government and Malaysia looks extremely and increasingly stupid in the eyes of the world.

As for stoking racial tension, I can only see Ahmad Ismail and Khir Toyo doing it. UMNO is only trying to scare honest people into reporting their misdeeds. What a shame!

Q&A with Syed Hamid Albar
(don't know whether to laugh or cry)

Q: Is Ahmad Ismail above the law?

A: He has been punished so far as the party as concerned. At the same time there is a report against Ahmad Ismail and we are investigating it. I don’t think we treat politicians differently. We have taken action. That politician has been suspended three years by the party. He lose all his position. At the same time there is a report of sedition.

Why arrest the reporter when you can call her up for questioning?

Whatever action that we take, there will be questions asked. The whole thing was started by her, it is best that we talk to her. If she is a threat, she would be brought in under Section 73 for 60 days. She would be held. When we have questioned her and we are satisfied with her answers, we just release her. I don’t think we are being unfair nor have we mistreated her.

What do you mean by ‘she started the whole thing’?

If you are going to analyse (what I say), I’d be appearing before a defence counsel. Let me say that the (news) report was made by her. Therefore just now when I introduced the subject, I said that we don’t want hearsay information. That information is from her and it was published. (Since) it was published, it is best that we get to the bottom of it by getting the information from her.

In the whole context, it was the overall incident and the subsequent follow up debates on the matter that started the polemic and created fear (among the public). I think we had acted professionally and after one day we had released her. I think that is a very good cause of action.

Why couldn’t the police just ask her to come in for questioning?

When the police feel it is best to bring the person in under the ISA, they will do so. The most important thing is not to exercise unfairness. When they find what they wanted and realise that she is not a security threat and she is not disturbing public order, they release her immediately.

That is why it is not an exercise on the part of the minister to hold the person under Section 8 which is two years (detention) straight away. The police feel that they should handle it and avoid any misunderstanding.

Do you as a minister feel that the ISA arrests were justified?

I’m a minister and politician. If I start to interfere, people will say I have a political motive. I cannot interfere with the police.

Would there be more arrests? People are saying that this is a mini-Operasi Lalang.

Really? Let me know if there are more (arrests). You shouldn’t ask me. We have done the arrests and so far there is no other arrests.

Is this part of a crackdown to stop Anwar Ibrahim from taking power?

If you look at the whole thing, there is no logic at all for it (ISA arrests) to be related to Sept 16. Sept 16 is a political move. They (PKR) have sent people to Taiwan. If they are successful, they can replace the government, then go ahead. It has nothing to do with the arrests which has to do with public order.

No to Abuse of ISA!

The latest ISA Detention of Sin Chew journalist, Tan Hoon Cheng, MP Teresa Kok and popular blogger, Raja Petra Kamaruddin is really over the board. ISA is now a tool to silence political opponents and innocent people who speak of the truth while the people who should really be punished are only given a slap on the wrist or left to roam free.

Any sane and rationale Malaysian will weep for our free-falling country.

Is the government going to crackdown on the freedom of speech to the extent that we have to communicate secretly using mooncakes?

It's embarrassing that we need to involve foreigners to restore justice in our country.

Read what Wong Chun Wai has to say about the foreigners' views of Malaysia in the Forbes Global CEO Conference.

Inside the lying brain

It's a good sign that our so called mainstream media is getting bolder in voicing their views. No matter how much pressure is given by the current corrupt and increasingly oppressive government, sooner or later some brave and righteous editors are going to get fed up with all the hidden hands. There are always indirect ways of sending the message across if the direct way is thwarted.

The Star published this article - Inside the lying brain today, which reflects upon the recent events leading up to the Permatang Pauh by-election.

On the other hand, MCMC has violated one of our government's commitment in the MSC Bills of Guarantee not to censor the Internet by requesting all Malaysian ISPs to block Malaysia Today website. If Malaysia Today is accused of spreading lies, then many other UMNO websites and blogs should be censored as well. Who should be the judge? Definitely not a few individuals from a certain party that have their own vested interest. The latest move is yet another desperate attempt of an out-of-touch government trying to prevent more exposures of their corrupt practices. After all, the Internet community in Malaysia is mature enough to make their own judgements. This move is likely to further rattle the confidence of many foreign investors. It also shows the naivety of the current government in the cyberworld as bypassing such block or censorship is extremely easy. Just to prove the case, Malaysia Today is now accessible through an alternative address http://mt.harapanmalaysia.com.

Sodomised Nation

I've been too busy to blog lately... But too many 'sodomies' have taken place in my beloved country that I can't resist blogging a bit about them.

First, the rakyat were 'sodomised' by the uncaring government to bear an overnight 40% increase in price of petrol... while billions of of Malaysia's riches have gone into the pockets of certain politicians over the years.

While the rakyat is suffering, the controversial Menteri Besar of Terengganu, who nearly did not make it to his current position, 'sodomised' the rakyat again by purchasing 16 Mercedez C-Class for his Exco, claiming that it is cheaper than servicing the existing fleet of Proton Perdana. The DPM was unhappy but then the PM was satisfied with the explanation, before his usual flip-flop to bar the Exco from using the cars and reserve them from foreign dignitaries. I wonder how many foreign dignitaries visit Terengganu in a year as there are 16 C-Class in waiting.

Then there is Sodomy Part 2, a sequel made 10 years later, minus the black eye. But I think they forgot to hire the sodomy expert - MM as a consultant... In the end, the police could not even force the doctor to doctor the medical report, and now the poor honest fellow and his family is on the run...

At the same time, UMNO is also trying hard to main belakang with some members of PAS. But Nik Aziz is wise enough to put everything to an end by challenging UMNO to dissolve itself and form one Islamic party together with PAS.

Sigh... Where is the country heading? In difficult times like this, the government should do more to help the rakyat cope with rising prices. Instead the politicians are busy fighting between themselves for power and wealth. By 2010, we might already become a pariah state at the rate we are falling.

Elephant Rampage

Gajah sama gajah bergaduh, pelanduk mati di tengah.

So many gajahs fighting one another these days... Pity the palanduks that have to bear the stampede. The gajahs don't seem to realise or care that the hutan is already on fire...

What has become of Malaysia Today today?

Let me tell you about 'brain drain'

From Malaysiakini. Well written. Find it hard to disagree with this guy. Everyone would like to have a sense of belonging in his/her own country. Ironically sometimes one feels more treasured by others.

Let me tell you about 'brain drain'
Kin Kok Low | May 9, 08 4:54pm

I was born in 1949 in Penang when the white men were still the colonial masters of Malaya. During that time there were only two types of people - the British who were the imperial masters and Malayans of different ethnic backgrounds who were the 'ruled'. We called the British ‘Sir’ or ‘Tuan’ - in our own country! My dad worked for Sime Darby (owned by the British then). He was 'exploited' by the boss. He retired after 35 years with the company with very little savings.

I grew up in a slum area in Penang (Dato Keramat Road). Next to our slum was a Malay kampung. We little boys knew we (the Chinese and Malays) were different. But not that much different. We played football, flew kites and catched peacock fish together. We had our little boys fight but our parents never come out with a parang or kung fu knives to kill each other. A few days later we again played tops or badminton together.

To cut the story short, I was fortunate to attend my secondary education at the Penang Free School, passed my HSC and given a state scholarship (the chief minister that time was Dr Lim Chong Yew) to study economics at the University of Malaya. My second day at UM was May 13, 1969. Suddenly, we (Malay and Chinese students) found we were very different. We became suspicious of each other. We gathered in ethnic groups. My childhood friend, Adenan was a clerk working for the HSBC bank. But we were still friends. Our naive minds could not understand why the Malays and Chinese could not live together like Adenan and me.

I graduated and did not take up teaching as required by my scholarship. But I paid back the scholarship money to the government. I joined Malayawata and later in 1975 the Chase Manhattan Bank. During this period I saw the impact of the NEP, the separation of Malaysians based on race, religion, colour and political affiliation. It pained me to see all these. I was a fifth-generation of Chinese Malaysian. My roots were in Malaysia. Malaysia was the country I was brought up and thought I had a future in.

China was not an option for me. I was poor like my Malay friend in Dato Keramat Road. Why discriminate based on race? Why not discriminate bases on social class? There are rich and poor Malays. Likewise there are rich and poor non-Malays. Why can a rich Malay kid receive support (scholarship, allowed to go to university) while a poor non-Malay kid is not given the opportunity? I was born a Malaysian and Malaysia was my country. There was no other country.

I got married and have two wonderful children. Both my wife and I had very successful careers. By 1989, we could experience the intensity of the separation of the races with the onslaught of the NEP. I still have many Malay and Indian friends. In 1989 we decided - for the sake of our children - that we need to go out to have a look at other countries. China was not in our mind as a place we wanted to emigrate. We came to Australia. We all like it.

The good thing about Australia is that when you first meet the immigration officer he says, ‘Welcome to Australia’. The customs officer did not hustle us. We looked at some of the schools for our children. The teachers welcomed our children even though we had not registered them. We went to the government departments and people lined up. There is no ‘cutting the line’. All are served irrespective of their race and the government officer even smiles!

We returned to Malaysia and applied for Australian permanent residency. In 1992, my wife and I left our two very wonderful jobs and with our teenaged children, emigrated to Australia. The first year was a struggle for me as I could not find job. In 1992, Australia had the recession it needed to have. I subsequently found a job and career. Our kids went to school, to university (both received scholarships) and both are now successful bankers. I am still working at 59. I work for a US company.

For our Australian operations we have a country manager who is a French Australian, a general manager who is Anglo Saxon Australian and a finance manager who is an Indian from South Africa. I am the human resources manager and I am ethnically, Chinese. I have an American and a white Australian reporting to me. We have more than 20 different ethnic groups working in our company. We are very different culturally, religiously and socially. But when we come to work we work for one company in one country.

Why do I want to tell my story? Because this is the same story of many qualified, experienced Malaysians now living in Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, Singapore and even China. Malaysia is losing very talented people. Talent which is short supply in the world.

As an economist once said, ‘It is better to have 30% of 1,000 than 90% of 200'.

Kurang ajar betul

Who are these penderhaka in Terengganu?

Photos from KLpos.com

Interesting Updates from Terengganu

Malaysian politics have reached a new height. This time around we see UMNO taking on the King.

To be fair, the Sultan of Terengganu (our King at the moment) should not have appointed the Menteri Besar of his choice without consulting the winning party, according to the constitution. However, the Sultan has the prerogative to reject any candidate which is deemed unsuitable. The Sultan should have rejected Idris Jusoh and asked for an alternative candidate to be submitted instead. The Sultan must have strong valid reasons to reject Idris. UMNO, on the other hand, must have millions billions of reasons to stick with Idris. I'm sure it has something to do with "where has all the oil revenue gone?" since Terengganu is blessed with oil fields.

Ever since the huge defeats suffered by Barisan Nasional in the General Election, a lot of drama have unfolded, e.g. in Perlis. The monarchs have chosen to be more vocal about the affairs of their states and people. UMNO, on the other hand has been very bold to challenge the monarchs head on. It's too early to tell what will be the outcome. Within UMNO, there must be a lot of plots behind the scene by various opposing parties despite most leaders still trying to show their 'support' to their 'naked emperor'. Crisis is always an opportunity. The next few days/weeks are going to be very interesting.

UMNO Biadap?

When DAP did it, Utusan was quick to front page 'DAP Biadap'. Now, what about UMNO? Can't stand this sort of double standard by Utusan Malaysia!

A letter to Lim Kit Siang from Md Asmawi Md Nor says it all. Please read the context here and here. Also, interesting hypothesis on the whole issue.

Letters
by Md Asmawi Md Nor

Saya bersetuju bahawa Saudara telah tersilap dalam isu majlis angkat sumpah MB Perak tetapi saya juga sangat hormat apabila Saudara dengan cepat menyedari kesilapan tersebut dan dengan segera memperbetulkannya dan melakukan tindakan yang tepat dengan memohon maaf kepada pihak istana secara peribadi. Tahniah atas tindakan anda tersebut.

Nah, sekarang Terengganu pula menghadapi isu yang sama dimana 23 Adun dengan segera mengumumkan untuk memboikot majlis angkat sumpah MB Terengganu yang dijangka akan diadakan esok sebaik sahaja ayam tambatan mereka Idris Jusoh tidak terpilih sebagai MB. Seperti biasa, media UMNO Utusan Malaysia akan bersikap ‘double-standard’ dalam menanggani isu ini. Maksud saya secara spesifik ialah bila mana Saudara mengeluarkan statement dalam isu MB Perak dulu, Utusan Malaysia dengan segera dan ‘bold’ terus dengan muka depan “DAP Biadap’, dan dikuti dengan pelbagai rentetan propaganda dan provokasi lagi. Saya sebagai rakyat Terengganu mahukan perkara yang sama kali ini dilakukan oleh Utusan Malaysia dalam menanggani isu 23 Adun yang biadap ini termasuk Idris Jusoh. Tajuk yang perlu keluar dimuka depan mereka sekurang-kurangnya ‘23 Adun Biadap’. Mereka semua juga perlu memohon maaf seperti mana yang Saudara lakukan dahulu.

Saya amat berharap Saudara dapat memantau isu ini dengan diberi perhatian istimewa agar UMNO khasnya sedar jangan hanya pandai melihat orang lain biadap tetapi mereka sendiri boleh bersikap biadap dan bertindak sesuka hati mereka. Macamlah negara ini tiada undang-undang.

Sekian,

Perak MB

According to this article in Sin Chew Daily, the Perak constitution does not allow a non-Malay to hold the position of Menteri Besar unless permission is granted by Sultan of Perak.

As a result, despite being the biggest winners in the Perak state elections, DAP will have to allow PKR or PAS to nominate a Malay candidate as the new MB, since all its candidates are Chinese, unless they wish to request for special permission by the Sultan.

The latest election marked a new dawn for Malaysia. I hope the opposition parties, whether PKR, DAP or PAS will be sincere in dismantling race-based politics in the coming years. They have surprised us with their performance in this election. Let them take up the challenge of creating one identity for Malaysians. Many Malaysians think it is difficult but many countries have managed to do so, hence it is not impossible.

Wind of change

The wind of change was a lot stronger than I thought. Opposition has managed deny BN of 2/3 majority and gained control of 5 states - Kelantan, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kedah, compared to only 1 in the previous general election. Not only they have managed to win, they have won it with a handsome margin. Similar results were also obtained in parliamentary seats, with Opposition nearly clean sweeping KL.

I was quite skeptical that this election is going to make too much of a change as the mainstream media is usually biased against the opposition due to the hidden hands of Barisan Nasional. It's good to know that we do not blog in vain.

Khalid Ibrahim is likely to be the next Menteri Besar of Selangor, Lim Guan Eng the new Chief Minister of Penang, while the MB for Perak, Kedah and Kelantan has yet to be announced.

I hope this will teach the 4th floor boys a good lesson for their arrogance and ignorance. Malaysians have finally realised that they could make a difference at the ballot box.