Burning of Churches. Next what will we have, bombing of Churches & Temples. Why we have such extremist in our country? Though our government, our leader, majority of us condemn this. We must first understand why such people exist and what have we done so far to prevent this.
We, Malaysian, all are civilized and we can see nothing much is done to prevent this. If the opposition protest, if the Hindraf plan a rally. I think there will be Police block all around the Capital city. The leaders of this event will be nabbed and be put under ISA or whatever the charge to be. But when the protest of the Allah can be use by non-Muslim by various Muslim group. What have they done so far? Definitely no arrest.
Isn't this protest the incite people to act extremely? Isn't it right to nab these protesters' leaders under ISA? Why not?
Is it because they have special right? Is it because Islam is our official religion therefore whatever related to Islam is above all.
What if the reverse to be happens? Some extremist Christian go and burn some Mosques or Suraus.
I personally do not think - non-Muslim such use Allah. Though this word is no exclusive to the Muslim. But Allah word originate from Arab. The word Tuhan can be use to describe God.
But such extremist act of burning Churches in the name of Allah is wrong. Place of worship let it be for the Muslim, the Christian or others are sacred place of respect. To burn them is an act of coward and shame to owned religion.
If there is a God let be the Muslim or the Christian, I think if he will not permits his followers to act in such a way. In fact, he will judge them and sent them to hell. It is same as an act equal of Satan.
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Allah
Since New Year of 2010 till now, our daily hot topics seems to the word "Allah", which means God in Malay or Arabic. Malaysia Home Ministry banned the The Catholic weekly magazine, Herald to use that word for security. But recent the High Court rule the word is not exclusive to the Muslim and allow it to be used. Then all the sudden this topics is heated up with Muslim protesting everywhere.
Everyone is fighting over a simple word - which represent to almighty - God.
If God exist, do you think he would want to see this?
The God is said to be loving, caring, forgiving for brotherhood, all humanity and living being. He will never what people to fight over a word that represent him.
Why can't the Muslim or the Christian compromise a little? After all source of Quran and the Bible are nearly from the same root. Basically their God is same. For God sake, stop those stupid protests, debates and court cases. Much resource are wasted. Do we really want to see another Crusade or Jihad over this issue?
The most important is what in your heart and soul. Do you really have the God you believe in? If so no one can change your faith and belief as long as you want.
I think God will smile on those who have him in their hearts and soul rather than those who fight for a meaningless course.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Malaysian Indian Dilemma
Ever wonder why there is an Hindraf movement. Thought there isn't much statistic published but Malaysian Indian are becoming a minority and the forgotten people.
Indian are brought to Malaysia during the British colonial to start up rubber plantation in Malaysia. Some brought in to become administrative clerk or civil servant for the British. The British first rule the India only later that they came to Malaysia.
Indian in that work in the British Administration later become professional of today Malaysian Indian. Though that is rich like doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. But those laborer of the rubber plantation are not so fortunate. They are those that often being look down become security guards, cleaners, garbage collectors, road sweepers, office boys, lorry drivers, taxi drivers or as a last resort indulge in gangsterism, crime.
After the independent, our country at first are still a major rubber producer. This Indian who work for generation at the estate still have a home and jobs. But as our country progress, their rubber estate are converting to palm oil. Palm oil does not require as much labor compare to rubber which must be tapped everyday. Those these poor Indian are force out.
Their education level and skilled are low. Therefore little choice of job are available to them. Our country implement the New Economic Policy which favor the Malay, cause these Indian to be further marginalize.
The Indian population is getting smaller a mere 7.0% compare 11.5% in 1957. Soon they will be less than 5% and be like a minority like the orang asli. Our country would not be what is it if not for rubber. Remember that!
Indian are brought to Malaysia during the British colonial to start up rubber plantation in Malaysia. Some brought in to become administrative clerk or civil servant for the British. The British first rule the India only later that they came to Malaysia.
Indian in that work in the British Administration later become professional of today Malaysian Indian. Though that is rich like doctors, lawyers, accountants etc. But those laborer of the rubber plantation are not so fortunate. They are those that often being look down become security guards, cleaners, garbage collectors, road sweepers, office boys, lorry drivers, taxi drivers or as a last resort indulge in gangsterism, crime.
After the independent, our country at first are still a major rubber producer. This Indian who work for generation at the estate still have a home and jobs. But as our country progress, their rubber estate are converting to palm oil. Palm oil does not require as much labor compare to rubber which must be tapped everyday. Those these poor Indian are force out.
Their education level and skilled are low. Therefore little choice of job are available to them. Our country implement the New Economic Policy which favor the Malay, cause these Indian to be further marginalize.
The Indian population is getting smaller a mere 7.0% compare 11.5% in 1957. Soon they will be less than 5% and be like a minority like the orang asli. Our country would not be what is it if not for rubber. Remember that!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sani Express Bus Accident 10 Killed
Headline of road accidents are often report especially there is a long weekend or festival holiday. When everyone go back to their hometown or for vacation. The biggest new of the week 10 people killed when an Express bus skidded and ram into the side railing
Reported in the Star
It is very sad to hear such news. Especially the first one that can be prevented. A rickless driver that sleepy cause 10 innocents people killed.
He should be prosecuted by the laws.
Driver let it be bus driver, taxi driver and others has a heavy responsibility. It is not only their live are at stack but those they carried.
Reported in the Star
Driver Mohd Kamil Mohd Ra shid was feeling sleepy as his bus was leaving the Tapah rest area.
He had planned to have his co-driver take over at the next stop — the Sungai Perak rest area.
They never made it that far.
The double-decker express bus skidded and crashed into a road divi der, killing 10 passengers less than an hour later, just 5km before the Jelapang toll plaza.
...
The double-decker bus, owned by the Klang-based Sani Express Sdn Bhd, skidded before hitting a road divider at the 272nd kilometre stretch of the the North-South Express way at 1am yesterday.
All the 10 victims were seated on the lower deck of the bus, which departed from Klang at 9pm on Friday for Kangar in Perlis with 48 passengers.
He had planned to have his co-driver take over at the next stop — the Sungai Perak rest area.
They never made it that far.
The double-decker express bus skidded and crashed into a road divi der, killing 10 passengers less than an hour later, just 5km before the Jelapang toll plaza.
...
The double-decker bus, owned by the Klang-based Sani Express Sdn Bhd, skidded before hitting a road divider at the 272nd kilometre stretch of the the North-South Express way at 1am yesterday.
All the 10 victims were seated on the lower deck of the bus, which departed from Klang at 9pm on Friday for Kangar in Perlis with 48 passengers.
It is very sad to hear such news. Especially the first one that can be prevented. A rickless driver that sleepy cause 10 innocents people killed.
He should be prosecuted by the laws.
Driver let it be bus driver, taxi driver and others has a heavy responsibility. It is not only their live are at stack but those they carried.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
RMAF Loss 50 Million F-5E Engine
The most recent breaking news in Malaysia - our air force (RMAF) lost two jet engine when the sent for maintenance. Two jet engine for F-5E that cost RM 50 million
Now it is reported by the Star on 24 December 2009
Wow! Argentina! Half a globe away. Those who steal it definitely have connection. Military engine not normal car engine been exported without notice.
In the New Straits Times on 22 December 2009
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said the two engines were discovered stolen in May last year. RMAF had lodged a report with the police on Aug 4 last year.
Stolen last year, but is know by the Public this year. And it seems actions only start from now.
Report in the Star on 22 December 2009
There is no cover-up of the theft and sale of the RM50mil fighter jet engine last year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said the Defence Ministry and Royal Malaysia Air Force reported the theft to the police immediately after it was discovered and co-operated fully with the authorities to ensure that the matter was thoroughly investigated.
“To the credit of RMAF and Mindef, there was no intention of covering up (the theft) at all. I was the minister in charge at the time and I decided it should be reported to the police.
“Mindef took the position that we have to address this and take the necessary action, even criminal action, against those involved,” he told reporters after a special meeting with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology and chairing the Malaysian Aerospace Council meeting yesterday.
.....It was reported that a brigadier-general and 40 other armed forces personnel had been sacked over the incident.
.....On why the brigadier-general continued to receive his pension and other retirement benefits despite having been sacked, Najib said such decisions would depend on the wrong that was committed and that it would be up to the armed forces to decide.
Yet our PM said there is no cover up. He was the Defence Minister that time. What happens from August 4 2008 to recently? Either he was sleeping, or the Police and MINDEF was sleeping.
Report by Bernama on 21 December 2009
Why we need more than 16 jet where we need 7 for tactical mission? No wonder when it lost we cannot immediate know. The most 8 or 9 jets is sufficient.
Report by the Star on 22 December 2009
Earlier our Defence Minister said low-ranking officer do it. Next he what to take actions against those high rank officer. It seems our Defence Minister do not know about it. He must sleeping too.
I do not know what is going wrong but I definite think we will never get to the Truth
Now it is reported by the Star on 24 December 2009
It is learnt the General Electric J85-21A afterburner turbojet engines (the power plant for the single-seater F-5E Tiger 11 and RF-5E Tigereye) were shipped off from Port Klang to a third country before ending up in Argentina.
All documents on the sale and shipping of the parts are said to be originals.
It is believed that the engines are in the possession of an individual. A quick search over the Internet revealed that the Argentina military does not use the F-5E Tiger 11 and RF-5E Tigereye.
The missing jet engines have been “found” — they are in Argentina. All documents on the sale and shipping of the parts are said to be originals.
It is believed that the engines are in the possession of an individual. A quick search over the Internet revealed that the Argentina military does not use the F-5E Tiger 11 and RF-5E Tigereye.
Wow! Argentina! Half a globe away. Those who steal it definitely have connection. Military engine not normal car engine been exported without notice.
In the New Straits Times on 22 December 2009
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said the two engines were discovered stolen in May last year. RMAF had lodged a report with the police on Aug 4 last year.
Report in the Star on 22 December 2009
There is no cover-up of the theft and sale of the RM50mil fighter jet engine last year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said the Defence Ministry and Royal Malaysia Air Force reported the theft to the police immediately after it was discovered and co-operated fully with the authorities to ensure that the matter was thoroughly investigated.
“To the credit of RMAF and Mindef, there was no intention of covering up (the theft) at all. I was the minister in charge at the time and I decided it should be reported to the police.
“Mindef took the position that we have to address this and take the necessary action, even criminal action, against those involved,” he told reporters after a special meeting with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology and chairing the Malaysian Aerospace Council meeting yesterday.
.....It was reported that a brigadier-general and 40 other armed forces personnel had been sacked over the incident.
.....On why the brigadier-general continued to receive his pension and other retirement benefits despite having been sacked, Najib said such decisions would depend on the wrong that was committed and that it would be up to the armed forces to decide.
Yet our PM said there is no cover up. He was the Defence Minister that time. What happens from August 4 2008 to recently? Either he was sleeping, or the Police and MINDEF was sleeping.
Report by Bernama on 21 December 2009
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) 12th Squadron (Scorpion) at the Butterworth air base, where the F-5E jet fighters are based, is operating as usual despite being linked to the loss of one of the jet engine, Armed Forces chief Gen Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin said.
"The missing jet engine does not affect RMAF operations because we have more than 16 F-5E jets and only seven are used for tactical missions," he told reporters after the annual parade and prize giving at the Royal Military College here Monday.
"The missing jet engine does not affect RMAF operations because we have more than 16 F-5E jets and only seven are used for tactical missions," he told reporters after the annual parade and prize giving at the Royal Military College here Monday.
Why we need more than 16 jet where we need 7 for tactical mission? No wonder when it lost we cannot immediate know. The most 8 or 9 jets is sufficient.
Report by the Star on 22 December 2009
Action will be taken against high-ranking officers overseeing the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) fighter jet at the time when its RM50mil engines were stolen, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the action to be taken will be decided during the next meeting of the Malaysian Armed Forces Council of which he was the chairman.
On 20 Dec 2009 from the StarHe said the action to be taken will be decided during the next meeting of the Malaysian Armed Forces Council of which he was the chairman.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that a group of low-ranking officers were in cahoots with civilians in the well- planned theft and sale of the RM50mil engine.
Zahid said the thieves had sold the engine to an international company based in South America which was believed to have hired an agent to bring it out of the country.
“The international company was interested in buying the engine because it was cheap as it was categorised as faulty spare part and was to be under repairs.
Zahid said the thieves had sold the engine to an international company based in South America which was believed to have hired an agent to bring it out of the country.
“The international company was interested in buying the engine because it was cheap as it was categorised as faulty spare part and was to be under repairs.
Earlier our Defence Minister said low-ranking officer do it. Next he what to take actions against those high rank officer. It seems our Defence Minister do not know about it. He must sleeping too.
I do not know what is going wrong but I definite think we will never get to the Truth
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Strange T-shirt to Mosque
A good friend that for some time I do not see send me this. Though I am not a Islam but I felt his guy has no respect for his own religion as he wear a T-shirt that against what is preach to a mosque. Wonder the JAIS will catch this guy.
Perhaps he does not understand English?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Disfigure Beggar
The moment you saw them, you feel sympathy. But is giving them money really help them?
Perhaps if we stop donating to them, we may prevent them from this poor faiths.
Source 1, 2 & 3
Friday, December 4, 2009
Chin Peng - Come home
The bad guy of Communist Party Malaya - Chin Peng wishes to come home as reported in the news lately. There those that firmly against it and there are those that support it. He wishes to meet our PM, but Datuk Seri refuse. Our Deputy PM said no forgiveness for him.
Why no forgiveness? The moment we forgive we will let go our pain and agony. It is the forgiven that carry the remorse and shame. Like my story of the Big & Little monk. Learn to be like Zen Master Honen, forgiveness is greater than punishment.
An old man at the age of 85 hoping to go back to Setiawan to pay respect to his parents. Do you feel sympathy for his? He is willing to apologize on behalf of his comrade that kill thousands in they fight for communism. Yet today our PM willing shake hand and welcome cooperation and investment from China - the strongest remaining communist country in the world. It just didn't make sense.
Let him come back, let him back to respect to his ancestor. Let him pay respect to those that he kill and remorse for the remaining of his life and face his judgment day by God.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Examine reasons why parents opt for vernacular schools
Many people have lately been making adverse comments about vernacular schools.
Most of these people point their fingers at the multi-stream school system as the cause of racial polarisation in the country.
It is an indisputable fact that racial polarisation is serious and getting worse. Is the school system the root cause of this sad situation?
Is the Chinese school the reason why 90% of Chinese children go to Chinese primary schools? Why does the Baba community also send their children to Chinese schools where the children face rather hard times as they don’t speak Chinese at home?
The Babas cannot be accused of trying to preserve their Chinese cultural heritage, as theirs is the dondang sayang and keroncong. Besides the Babas, the kampong Chinese in Kelantan have also stopped sending their children to national schools.
I am a Chinese from a Malay kampung in Kelantan. I cannot trace who my first ancestor who came from China was. It could be six or seven generations ago.
All I know is that my great-grandfather was born here. My father went to a Malay school and he used to read the Utusan Melayu in Jawi.
Unlike many of my cousins, I was sent to a Chinese school. I had much difficulty mastering the Chinese language as both my parents did not know the language.
I excelled in Malay. I did not sit for the Chinese language papers in the LCE or MCE and really angered my Chinese teachers.
Instead of Chinese, I opted for the Bahasa Malaysia papers meant for Malay students. I strolled through both exams and came out with a distinction in Bahasa Malaysia.
That was in the 1960s when the non-Malay students did only the National Language papers or Bahasa Kebangsaan. I had no problem with the Malay language, and I have no problem with mixing around thanks to my growing up among my kampung friends.
I am proud to say that I consider myself very Malay-friendly. The Chinese school I went through did not make me a racist.
In fact, many among the Chinese educationists consider me and my kind in Kelantan as not really Chinese.
Despite all the problems we face in Chinese schools, practically all our children are now attending Chinese schools.
Our children are facing the same problems handling the Chinese language besides the subtle rejection from the Chinese educationists.
Why do we want to subject our children to all these?
I sent all my children to Chinese schools because I don’t want any of them to grow up with the idea that they are not born equal to some others.
I don’t want them to grow up with bitterness that the world can be so unfair.
One of my children was chosen to be the head prefect in her school; would she be chosen if she were in a national school?
To all those who blame the school for the serious state of racial divide we have now, please use some sense and try to figure out why people like me and the Babas also support the Chinese schools.
MAKYONG,
Ipoh.
Source
Most of these people point their fingers at the multi-stream school system as the cause of racial polarisation in the country.
It is an indisputable fact that racial polarisation is serious and getting worse. Is the school system the root cause of this sad situation?
Is the Chinese school the reason why 90% of Chinese children go to Chinese primary schools? Why does the Baba community also send their children to Chinese schools where the children face rather hard times as they don’t speak Chinese at home?
The Babas cannot be accused of trying to preserve their Chinese cultural heritage, as theirs is the dondang sayang and keroncong. Besides the Babas, the kampong Chinese in Kelantan have also stopped sending their children to national schools.
I am a Chinese from a Malay kampung in Kelantan. I cannot trace who my first ancestor who came from China was. It could be six or seven generations ago.
All I know is that my great-grandfather was born here. My father went to a Malay school and he used to read the Utusan Melayu in Jawi.
Unlike many of my cousins, I was sent to a Chinese school. I had much difficulty mastering the Chinese language as both my parents did not know the language.
I excelled in Malay. I did not sit for the Chinese language papers in the LCE or MCE and really angered my Chinese teachers.
Instead of Chinese, I opted for the Bahasa Malaysia papers meant for Malay students. I strolled through both exams and came out with a distinction in Bahasa Malaysia.
That was in the 1960s when the non-Malay students did only the National Language papers or Bahasa Kebangsaan. I had no problem with the Malay language, and I have no problem with mixing around thanks to my growing up among my kampung friends.
I am proud to say that I consider myself very Malay-friendly. The Chinese school I went through did not make me a racist.
In fact, many among the Chinese educationists consider me and my kind in Kelantan as not really Chinese.
Despite all the problems we face in Chinese schools, practically all our children are now attending Chinese schools.
Our children are facing the same problems handling the Chinese language besides the subtle rejection from the Chinese educationists.
Why do we want to subject our children to all these?
I sent all my children to Chinese schools because I don’t want any of them to grow up with the idea that they are not born equal to some others.
I don’t want them to grow up with bitterness that the world can be so unfair.
One of my children was chosen to be the head prefect in her school; would she be chosen if she were in a national school?
To all those who blame the school for the serious state of racial divide we have now, please use some sense and try to figure out why people like me and the Babas also support the Chinese schools.
MAKYONG,
Ipoh.
Source
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Stop Subsidy to reduce Sugar Usage
Government planning to end sugar subsidy to promote healthy living
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government may remove its subsidy on sugar as a way to get Malaysians to become more healthy.
The removal of the subsidy could increase the price of sugar by almost 70%, and this should discourage people from consuming so much of it.
Currently, the Government spends about RM720mil a year subsidising sugar.
The move has been proposed by various consumer groups.
The National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2006 revealed that 43.1% of Malaysian adults were overweight or obese, double the number from a decade ago.
Some 25% of deaths in government hospitals were due to circulatory diseases and strokes linked to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar content and obesity.
In current bad economical situation, an increase in sugar price will definite affect those lowly income group further whether they are using sugar less or not. Those unethical trader of food and drinks that contain sugar will definite raise they prices as the cost has gone up, regardless whether they sweet one or not . We consumer will definite need to face another small inflation.
The 760mil was spend on sugar subsidy yearly is either pay by the Government or our pocket directly. After Government monies come from the Rakyat. I think the subsidy is not a good things in the first place as it create a burden to Government budget and make us too dependent to subsidy. But the subsidize must be done in stages to avoid unacceptable inflation.
Lets reduce sugar intake regardless there is a subsidy or not. Live healthy.
Legal Action on Pregnant Newlywed
Wednesday December 2, 2009
Newlywed who gave birth faces legal action
A WOMAN who gave birth to a baby girl barely 24 hours after her akad nikah is now in trouble with the Malacca Religious Department (JAIM) for having the child out of wedlock, reported Harian Metro.
The 21-year-old girl married her 28-year-old partner at her family home in Malacca, knowing she was pregnant.
The daily said a group of enforcement officers led by JAIM chief enforcement officer Rahimin Bani went to the Malacca Hospital to take statements from the couple. Read More
Wells, it is wrong to have sex prior to marriage for Islam. But think again it is the 21th Century is all the couple today really have their first intimate on their weddings night?
This couple understand their wrong doing and the taken action to correct it by their marriage vow. How many that does not do so? How many that are pregnant and abort the child? How many secretly abandon their child? Some newborn survive becomes orphans but some die.
At one hand we try to prevent intimate out of wedlock but it could bring forth a man-made tragedy. Do we really have sympathy for the innocent child?
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Blame the Chinese by Tulang Besi
An article by a true Malaysian. Bold to voice up. Bravo.
We Blame the Chinese for Everything that is Wrong with Us
Written by Abdul Rahman Abdul Talib
That’s right. The Chinese is the best excuse for average Malay to hide their failures and shortcomings. In fact, we do not have to think about success because should we fail in anything we can blame the Chinese.
For instance, we always see potential Malay businesses going belly up. We see soya sauce factory, shoe factory, linen factory, chili sauce factory owned by Malays having to be shut down. When asked the reason that is floated is that they are being sabotaged by Chinese suppliers who refuse to supply them the materials they need to continue production.
I recalled in the early days of Harakah, UMNO did everything to stop all printers in Kuala Lumpur not to print Harakah. UMNO’s hope is that when there is no printer willing to do so, then HArakah will have to shut down completely.
So, what the Harakah people did was they carried with them a stack of cash and went looking for printers who are willing to do it. And they found a printing company owned by a Chinaman somewhere in Kepong. His business was not doing that well apparently.
So, the Harakah people went to his office and put the stack of cash on his desk. And told the Chinese printer that if he prints copies of Harakah, and willing to face all obstacles, they will ensure that the Chinaman be paid in cash before the printing of every issue of HArakah.
The Chinaman who owned the printing shop immediately agreed and the rest is history. According to my Harakah sources, the Chinaman is now a millionaire and has sold the printing company to a Malay consortium. Apparently, Harakah rescued him from the brink of bankruptcy and in turn made him a millionaire.
So, my point being, even in the most dire and dangerous circumstance, there will be a Chinese supplier willing to supply anything we want. The case of Harakah proves that there is no such thing as a Chinese Supplier conspiracy to sabotage Malay businesses.
The Real Story Behind The Closing Down of Malay Businesses
These Malay businesses are always behind on their payments despite getting their line of credit extended frequently. Since Chinese suppliers are not Santa Clauses, they have a limit to how much credit they can give.
And MOST MALAY business do not understand the value of operating business with cash as opposed to credit. It’s different with Chinese businesses where they will make sure that they repay their debts fast before thinking of expanding or doing anything else.
So, when the Chinese suppliers refuse to supply the Malay unless they make some payments on their outstanding debt, the Malay businesses usually simply collapse like a deck of cards. Bear in mind that Malays who venture into small and medium businesses are mostly UMNO supporters or members because they get easy access to government loans and financial support.
With their UMNO tradition of blaming the Chinese for everything that is wrong with this country, they started spreading false rumors about Chinese suppliers sabotaging their businesses because they are Malays.
I know of a Malay lady somewhere in Teluk Intan who runs a clothing store and the store has been operating for the last 20 years. Every month she will come down to KL near Jalan Hang Tuah to get her supply of clothes and every time the suppliers there do not mind extending her a line of credit. Why? Because she is always prompt on her payments. That lady proves there is no malice in the hearts of Chinese suppliers.
Why would Chinese Suppliers Sabotage Their Clients?
Most Malays are simple minded. They believe this crap the moment they hear it. They forgot that is more Malays owns business, more Malays would need supplies from the Chinese suppliers. The more Malays going into business, the more business the Chinese suppliers will be.
In fact, if there is a lot of Malay businessmen, the Chinese supplier might even convert into Islam so that people will continue getting their supplies especially those who are supplying food products.
It doesn’t make sense. The Chinese in this country will not go anywhere. They are interested to make money, not because they want to be rich so much, but to send their children to get quality educations overseas and some retirement funds. I always wonder why many Chinese families that I know had amssed a lot of wealth during their working years, but they retire into a very average life. It turns out that most of their wealth had gone to sending their children to Australia, Britain, America for quality tertiary education.
UMNO is Using The Same Excuse Too
See, when UMNO fails, the first thing they do is to blame the Chinese. They say that the Chinese will take over the country. They say that the Chinese will destroy the DEB and the Malays. They say that PAS has been used by the Chinese.
Hasan Ali said that his support for SELCAT is part of his quest to defend the rights of the Malays because Teng Chang Kim is Chinese. He forgets that for the last 2 elections, the Malays in Kapar voted Teng Chang Kim overwhelmingly. Teng has one of the highest majority in the Selangor DUN because he gets votes not just from Chinese and Indians, but also Malays.
UMNO’s actions is tantamount to the long list of failed Malay businessmen who do not know how to control their business’s finances. So, in order to hide their failures, they blame the Chinese for everything.
In fact, they’re the biggest losers of them all and they will fail in whatever the do. We talk about Dr Mahathir bin Muhammad Iskandar Kutty, being the most successful UMNO Prime Minister. Maybe, it’s because Dr Mahathir is not a Malay?
Tulang Besi
We Blame the Chinese for Everything that is Wrong with Us
Written by Abdul Rahman Abdul Talib
That’s right. The Chinese is the best excuse for average Malay to hide their failures and shortcomings. In fact, we do not have to think about success because should we fail in anything we can blame the Chinese.
For instance, we always see potential Malay businesses going belly up. We see soya sauce factory, shoe factory, linen factory, chili sauce factory owned by Malays having to be shut down. When asked the reason that is floated is that they are being sabotaged by Chinese suppliers who refuse to supply them the materials they need to continue production.
I recalled in the early days of Harakah, UMNO did everything to stop all printers in Kuala Lumpur not to print Harakah. UMNO’s hope is that when there is no printer willing to do so, then HArakah will have to shut down completely.
So, what the Harakah people did was they carried with them a stack of cash and went looking for printers who are willing to do it. And they found a printing company owned by a Chinaman somewhere in Kepong. His business was not doing that well apparently.
So, the Harakah people went to his office and put the stack of cash on his desk. And told the Chinese printer that if he prints copies of Harakah, and willing to face all obstacles, they will ensure that the Chinaman be paid in cash before the printing of every issue of HArakah.
The Chinaman who owned the printing shop immediately agreed and the rest is history. According to my Harakah sources, the Chinaman is now a millionaire and has sold the printing company to a Malay consortium. Apparently, Harakah rescued him from the brink of bankruptcy and in turn made him a millionaire.
So, my point being, even in the most dire and dangerous circumstance, there will be a Chinese supplier willing to supply anything we want. The case of Harakah proves that there is no such thing as a Chinese Supplier conspiracy to sabotage Malay businesses.
The Real Story Behind The Closing Down of Malay Businesses
These Malay businesses are always behind on their payments despite getting their line of credit extended frequently. Since Chinese suppliers are not Santa Clauses, they have a limit to how much credit they can give.
And MOST MALAY business do not understand the value of operating business with cash as opposed to credit. It’s different with Chinese businesses where they will make sure that they repay their debts fast before thinking of expanding or doing anything else.
So, when the Chinese suppliers refuse to supply the Malay unless they make some payments on their outstanding debt, the Malay businesses usually simply collapse like a deck of cards. Bear in mind that Malays who venture into small and medium businesses are mostly UMNO supporters or members because they get easy access to government loans and financial support.
With their UMNO tradition of blaming the Chinese for everything that is wrong with this country, they started spreading false rumors about Chinese suppliers sabotaging their businesses because they are Malays.
I know of a Malay lady somewhere in Teluk Intan who runs a clothing store and the store has been operating for the last 20 years. Every month she will come down to KL near Jalan Hang Tuah to get her supply of clothes and every time the suppliers there do not mind extending her a line of credit. Why? Because she is always prompt on her payments. That lady proves there is no malice in the hearts of Chinese suppliers.
Why would Chinese Suppliers Sabotage Their Clients?
Most Malays are simple minded. They believe this crap the moment they hear it. They forgot that is more Malays owns business, more Malays would need supplies from the Chinese suppliers. The more Malays going into business, the more business the Chinese suppliers will be.
In fact, if there is a lot of Malay businessmen, the Chinese supplier might even convert into Islam so that people will continue getting their supplies especially those who are supplying food products.
It doesn’t make sense. The Chinese in this country will not go anywhere. They are interested to make money, not because they want to be rich so much, but to send their children to get quality educations overseas and some retirement funds. I always wonder why many Chinese families that I know had amssed a lot of wealth during their working years, but they retire into a very average life. It turns out that most of their wealth had gone to sending their children to Australia, Britain, America for quality tertiary education.
UMNO is Using The Same Excuse Too
See, when UMNO fails, the first thing they do is to blame the Chinese. They say that the Chinese will take over the country. They say that the Chinese will destroy the DEB and the Malays. They say that PAS has been used by the Chinese.
Hasan Ali said that his support for SELCAT is part of his quest to defend the rights of the Malays because Teng Chang Kim is Chinese. He forgets that for the last 2 elections, the Malays in Kapar voted Teng Chang Kim overwhelmingly. Teng has one of the highest majority in the Selangor DUN because he gets votes not just from Chinese and Indians, but also Malays.
UMNO’s actions is tantamount to the long list of failed Malay businessmen who do not know how to control their business’s finances. So, in order to hide their failures, they blame the Chinese for everything.
In fact, they’re the biggest losers of them all and they will fail in whatever the do. We talk about Dr Mahathir bin Muhammad Iskandar Kutty, being the most successful UMNO Prime Minister. Maybe, it’s because Dr Mahathir is not a Malay?
Tulang Besi
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Unity Forge in Single Stream School?
Written by M.H.Goh
Does unity really can be forge if we implement a single stream school, Sekolah Kebangsaan or 1Malaysia school called it whatever.
The answer to this question is
"Are we really sincere in forging unity?"
"Are we sincere in creating a single stream school?"
A letters reply by S.K.Wong in Malaysiakini towards Dr M's claim Chinese do not mix around has several very important points towards the answer.
Well, what I think the most important is quality of education (Read my earlier posting) . Beside BM and Islamic studies, I do not think Sekolah Kebangsaan can match those from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan. Not the top creme la creme but the average students or the majority.
Beside as people like a product of KSBR and KBSM has stress that how discriminating and bais the Sekolah Kebangsaan has been promoting. It is not pure poor publicity but true facts.
Is the government doing it or just a faction of racist people doing? What has we done to them? Tan Hoon Cheng must be arrested under ISA for reporting someone said "Pendatang" yet Datuk Ahmad Ismail escaped with suspension. Later our Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar claimed it for her own safety. What a joke?
An article written by Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani titled "BTN taught me the Chinese are the Jews of Asia" and article by Dr Azly Rahman feature in CPIasia titled "Single stream schooling: The bad and ugly side" are they lies. I do not think so. Why our leaders just deny yet do not investigate it thoroughly? Either they ignorant, incompetent or are they actually collaborators.
What about the discrimination of non-Malay teacher? How many of them are in high post like Pengarah Jabatan, Headmaster etc? Perhaps only the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan has non-Malay Headmaster. Are the non-Malay teacher really incompetent? And we have those racist teacher who look students through color of skin. What have we do to them? Good quality teachers with dedication and neutrality are key to national unity.
If truly we want to create a single stream school, I suggest the followings
Then we will have a truly 1Malaysia school - a representative of a multi-racial country.
Does unity really can be forge if we implement a single stream school, Sekolah Kebangsaan or 1Malaysia school called it whatever.
The answer to this question is
"Are we really sincere in forging unity?"
"Are we sincere in creating a single stream school?"
A letters reply by S.K.Wong in Malaysiakini towards Dr M's claim Chinese do not mix around has several very important points towards the answer.
- Non-Malays who study in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan are not less patriotic then those from Sekolah Kebangsaan
- Sekolah Kebangsaan is not up to par compare Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan
- Discriminating policy by Government in Education, economy and other hinder unity
- Ideology of Malay Supremacy do not promote
- Everything that unIslamic are told to be shun, ban or look down by the Malay
- Our country political parties are based on race
Well, what I think the most important is quality of education (Read my earlier posting) . Beside BM and Islamic studies, I do not think Sekolah Kebangsaan can match those from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan. Not the top creme la creme but the average students or the majority.
Beside as people like a product of KSBR and KBSM has stress that how discriminating and bais the Sekolah Kebangsaan has been promoting. It is not pure poor publicity but true facts.
- The best mark does not necessary guarantee in the best class but color of skin do.
- Use school to persuade students to join Islam
- Propaganda that non-Malay are pendatang though for generation you are born, live and die in Malaysia.
Is the government doing it or just a faction of racist people doing? What has we done to them? Tan Hoon Cheng must be arrested under ISA for reporting someone said "Pendatang" yet Datuk Ahmad Ismail escaped with suspension. Later our Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar claimed it for her own safety. What a joke?
An article written by Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani titled "BTN taught me the Chinese are the Jews of Asia" and article by Dr Azly Rahman feature in CPIasia titled "Single stream schooling: The bad and ugly side" are they lies. I do not think so. Why our leaders just deny yet do not investigate it thoroughly? Either they ignorant, incompetent or are they actually collaborators.
What about the discrimination of non-Malay teacher? How many of them are in high post like Pengarah Jabatan, Headmaster etc? Perhaps only the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan has non-Malay Headmaster. Are the non-Malay teacher really incompetent? And we have those racist teacher who look students through color of skin. What have we do to them? Good quality teachers with dedication and neutrality are key to national unity.
If truly we want to create a single stream school, I suggest the followings
- Do not implement discriminating quota system - education should be based on merit. The best student should be in the best class regardless of skin color. Worst at the worst class. Those at the worst class must attend additional tuition class after school.
- Do the same merit rate to the Teachers irrespective of skin color in terms teaching quality and dedication.[
- Do not include Islamic study replace it with Culture and Moral Studies for all including Malay - let religion to be learnt at home or at mosque, instead learn about each other cultures and good moral value to forge harmony and unity.
- Establish Chinese, Tamil or other language as option language as official subject on par to Bahasa Malaysia and English just like what in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan. Students can choose 3 language to learn. A Malay can learn Chinese, A Chinese can learn Tamil.
- Do not implement slanted propaganda such as Biro Tata Negara, but true harmony in mind program to really promote unity.
Then we will have a truly 1Malaysia school - a representative of a multi-racial country.
Don't make me laugh - Single Stream Schooling
Written by Product of the KBSR, KBSM
Single stream schooling...
We had that.
It was called the sekolah kebangsaan. "Nice" experience there, I learned all about how Malaysia politics and social engineering worked.
In primary school, I learned about the quota system, how the best marks did not mean you go to the best class, but it was dependent on your race. Learned all about Islam and had some nice teachers want me to join Islam. Learned to say "no" to everything Islam.
In secondary school, I learned that I am not a Malaysian whose family has been in the nation for generations, but I am some kind of "pendatang". Pendatangs are not welcomed, verbal abuse is "fun". New Indonesians immigrants however are welcomed. Also learned that school prizes in various subjects are awarded based not only on your marks in the subject but also how well you score in BM. Learned that non-malays could never beat a malay, because they always had one more subject than you.
So that is the KBSR/KBSM system. And you now know why non-malays have over 25 years withdrawn from our all inclusive sekolah kebangsaan. It is a tough ride. It turns flag waving Malaysian children into strangers.
But it wasn't all bad. I learn that I could be NEAR the top if I worked hard. My BM is good. I learned to look beyond Malaysia for my future. Some Malays are okay people. Just need to show them that most Chinese aren't rich, they won't believe you otherwise.
Related Post
Sekolah Kebangsaan - Failure or Not
Single stream schooling: The bad and ugly side
Single stream schooling...
We had that.
It was called the sekolah kebangsaan. "Nice" experience there, I learned all about how Malaysia politics and social engineering worked.
In primary school, I learned about the quota system, how the best marks did not mean you go to the best class, but it was dependent on your race. Learned all about Islam and had some nice teachers want me to join Islam. Learned to say "no" to everything Islam.
In secondary school, I learned that I am not a Malaysian whose family has been in the nation for generations, but I am some kind of "pendatang". Pendatangs are not welcomed, verbal abuse is "fun". New Indonesians immigrants however are welcomed. Also learned that school prizes in various subjects are awarded based not only on your marks in the subject but also how well you score in BM. Learned that non-malays could never beat a malay, because they always had one more subject than you.
So that is the KBSR/KBSM system. And you now know why non-malays have over 25 years withdrawn from our all inclusive sekolah kebangsaan. It is a tough ride. It turns flag waving Malaysian children into strangers.
But it wasn't all bad. I learn that I could be NEAR the top if I worked hard. My BM is good. I learned to look beyond Malaysia for my future. Some Malays are okay people. Just need to show them that most Chinese aren't rich, they won't believe you otherwise.
Related Post
Sekolah Kebangsaan - Failure or Not
Single stream schooling: The bad and ugly side
Seetha’s death reveals hidden injury of the underclass - Article by C.T.Wong
An article at CPIAsia on recent suicide of Seetha. C.T. Wong points out that her dead are outcry of the forgotten underclass.
Bullets can kill criminals but not the social conditions that create shame and violence. The psychological scars of shame derive from racial discrimination and ultimately, it is socioeconomic equity that will reduce this shame and hence the violence.
Suicide, of whatever cause, is always tragic. The iconic self-burning to death of the Buddhist monk was meant to turn the world’s attention on war-torn Vietnam. It was a cry of pain, a cry for help and a cry of protest.
In common with the monk’s suicide, housewife R. Seetha’s death was foremost a cry of pain, although it touchingly telegraphed to the world her community’s cry for help.
The pain within her was so unbearable that she wanted an end – to the pain of being human, the pain of being born an Indian in Malaysia. Thus her suicide at age 33 was an unintentional cry of protest. To see her tragic death as a cry for help instead as a legal or moral wrong, we need to understand the deeper underlying causes.
Before going into arguments of causal attribution, let’s first examine the moral condemnation directed at Seetha for giving paraquat to her children to drink.
Homicide-and-then-suicide cases are very rare. The homicidal aspect tends to overshadow the underlying causes of hopelessness in suicide.
In fact, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “…Studies have shown that the perpetrators have profiles that resemble individuals who commit suicide rather than those who commit homicide – the role of untreated depression in their stories is often lost in the news account.”
Moral condemnation serves only to distance ourselves from suicide victims. It does not help to prevent future suicides because any simplistic moral categorization of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ does not tell us much about the profound pain of their despair.
Mother wished to pre-empt cruelty
We do not know exactly what was going on in Seetha’s mind before she took that final, fatal step.
James Gilligan, an American psychiatrist, wrote about the tragic violence in his own family history. He had a relative who was a violent rancher that repeatedly hit his son. The rancher’s wife was believed to have fed their son a piece of poisoned pie. Gilligan argued that the mother was very possibly trying to prevent any further cruelty inflicted on the child. This was the tragedy of violence.
A central issue of the Seetha controversy is how we attribute causes.
The death of her brother Surendran in an alleged police shootout was reported to have led to Seetha’s depression and subsequent suicide attempt (Malaysiakini, Nov 15, 2009).
It is untrue that the shootout had nothing to do with Seetha’s death because all these events, like falling dominoes, happened in close proximity – the nearer the events in time, the higher the correlation or causation. Also, human beings do not exist in a vacuum but in relationships through a web of interconnectedness.
Two persons in the same family facing a traumatic event may react differently because they each have differing interpretations of that same episode.
So it is not true either that her brother’s killing at the hands of the police is the direct cause of Seetha’s death. (Police fearing bad publicity had apparently forced Seetha to sign a declaration stating that her suicide attempt had nothing to do with Surendran’s demise, their father claimed.)
Evidence-based psychological perspective
Understanding the complexity of human behaviour, in particular abnormal or maladaptive responses in causal terms, is an enormous challenge. Hence, risk factors as variables correlated with abnormal outcomes are often used by psychology researchers. It is however important to note that correlation is not causation.
The causes underlying suicide and suicide attempts are many and complex. The factors that place individuals at risk mutually interact with each other and can be classified as follows: psychiatric disorders, demographics (age, sex, social-economic status, employment status, occupation and marital status) and personality (impulsivity).
We do not know the exact causes of Seetha committing suicide but a single precipitating event alone does not explain the whys nor do the underlying social conditions alone. Chronic and triggering risk factors both need to be taken into account.
For example, there is the perpetuating risk factor like being born into a racial group subjected to discrimination, the predisposing risk factor of suffering from depression, the contributory factor of easy access of poisons, the acute risk factor of hopelessness and entrapment and the “precipitating or triggering stimuli of any real or anticipated event causing or threatening shame, guilt, despair, humiliation, unacceptable loss of face or status.” (adapted from source: American Association of Suicidology).
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, basing on psychological autopsy studies done in various countries over almost 50 years, there is a consistent pattern where “90 % of people who die by suicide are suffering from one or more psychiatric disorders.” These include “major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, alcohol or substance abuse, schizophrenia and personality disorder.”
Of all the psychiatric disorders, depression is the most important in suicide.
Cycle of hopelessness
Most depressed people do not commit suicide. However, most people who attempt or complete suicide were depressed. Depression as a psychiatric or psychological illness plays a major role in suicidal behaviour. It also has a social basis.
Unfortunately, they are often not diagnosed or treated either for lack of knowledge or resources to cope with psychiatric illnesses. The better-off can get immediate and long-term help.
However, as the poor have difficulty in making ends meet, any mental illnesses or developmental disabilities occurring in the family would impose an immense financial and psychological burden on them. And so the illness spirals downward.
The plight of the Native Americans shows the relationship between suicide and the destructive forces of prejudice and discrimination.
The American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology (vol. 38, 2007) revealed that “…After generations of displacement, forced assimilation, poverty and neglect, many American Indians are trapped in a cycle of hopelessness that often leads to substance abuse, violence and in many cases suicide. The suicide rate for American Indians is two and a half times higher than the national average…”
The chronic socioeconomic deprivation of the Indian community has been well articulated in the article ‘Sad road to Seetha’s suicide’ by Helen Ang (Malaysiakini, Nov 18, 2009). It depicts how a community has been broken up since the 1980s when the plantations were fragmented and workers evicted, with the effect that the young generation was displaced to urban settlements and creating slums.
Social support, social reform
Deprivation has not only a material but a psychological dimension as well.
Breaking up a community humiliates and shames its members. This institutionalized coercion also deprives the socially dispossessed of their dignity, self-respect and ethnic pride as a minority.
This is the hidden injury of the underclass. When we look deep into the Indian problem, we find that it is a question of human desire to seek dignity. When we look deep into the human problem, we meet the Indian problem. Suffering is suffering is suffering; it doesn’t really matter what you label it.
To understand and to intervene in suicide, we need to know the underlying causes and the precipitating causes.
If we attribute the causes to only within Seetha, we are just blaming the victim. If it is all her fault, then there is no necessity to identify the causes of suicide or to prevent future occurrences. However, if we attribute causes existing external to her, then there is the necessity of providing social support, of advocating social reforms.
Bullets can kill criminals or even the innocents but not the social conditions that create shame and violence. Racial discrimination inflicts deep psychological scars of shaming upon the psyche of the discriminated. Ultimately, it is socioeconomic equity, not structural violence or coercion, that will reduce shame and hence violence.
Psycho-socio education on suicide and suicide intervention is important for the public so that those in need are not socially isolated, especially when mental illness still remains a stigma.
Also of critical importance is keeping intact and functional the spiritual and cultural traditions of the ethnic minorities. It is these traditions that provide effective coping mechanisms for maintaining the dignity and self-respect of the group.
And it is these mechanisms that can help in healing the scourge of racial discrimination when a small community is broken by big government and big business.
Related Links
Suicide - Why involved children?
Shootout aftermath: Grief-stricken woman and her kids in suicide bid
Five killed in shootout with cops
Bullets can kill criminals but not the social conditions that create shame and violence. The psychological scars of shame derive from racial discrimination and ultimately, it is socioeconomic equity that will reduce this shame and hence the violence.
Suicide, of whatever cause, is always tragic. The iconic self-burning to death of the Buddhist monk was meant to turn the world’s attention on war-torn Vietnam. It was a cry of pain, a cry for help and a cry of protest.
In common with the monk’s suicide, housewife R. Seetha’s death was foremost a cry of pain, although it touchingly telegraphed to the world her community’s cry for help.
The pain within her was so unbearable that she wanted an end – to the pain of being human, the pain of being born an Indian in Malaysia. Thus her suicide at age 33 was an unintentional cry of protest. To see her tragic death as a cry for help instead as a legal or moral wrong, we need to understand the deeper underlying causes.
Before going into arguments of causal attribution, let’s first examine the moral condemnation directed at Seetha for giving paraquat to her children to drink.
Homicide-and-then-suicide cases are very rare. The homicidal aspect tends to overshadow the underlying causes of hopelessness in suicide.
In fact, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “…Studies have shown that the perpetrators have profiles that resemble individuals who commit suicide rather than those who commit homicide – the role of untreated depression in their stories is often lost in the news account.”
Moral condemnation serves only to distance ourselves from suicide victims. It does not help to prevent future suicides because any simplistic moral categorization of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ does not tell us much about the profound pain of their despair.
Mother wished to pre-empt cruelty
We do not know exactly what was going on in Seetha’s mind before she took that final, fatal step.
James Gilligan, an American psychiatrist, wrote about the tragic violence in his own family history. He had a relative who was a violent rancher that repeatedly hit his son. The rancher’s wife was believed to have fed their son a piece of poisoned pie. Gilligan argued that the mother was very possibly trying to prevent any further cruelty inflicted on the child. This was the tragedy of violence.
A central issue of the Seetha controversy is how we attribute causes.
The death of her brother Surendran in an alleged police shootout was reported to have led to Seetha’s depression and subsequent suicide attempt (Malaysiakini, Nov 15, 2009).
It is untrue that the shootout had nothing to do with Seetha’s death because all these events, like falling dominoes, happened in close proximity – the nearer the events in time, the higher the correlation or causation. Also, human beings do not exist in a vacuum but in relationships through a web of interconnectedness.
Two persons in the same family facing a traumatic event may react differently because they each have differing interpretations of that same episode.
So it is not true either that her brother’s killing at the hands of the police is the direct cause of Seetha’s death. (Police fearing bad publicity had apparently forced Seetha to sign a declaration stating that her suicide attempt had nothing to do with Surendran’s demise, their father claimed.)
Evidence-based psychological perspective
Understanding the complexity of human behaviour, in particular abnormal or maladaptive responses in causal terms, is an enormous challenge. Hence, risk factors as variables correlated with abnormal outcomes are often used by psychology researchers. It is however important to note that correlation is not causation.
The causes underlying suicide and suicide attempts are many and complex. The factors that place individuals at risk mutually interact with each other and can be classified as follows: psychiatric disorders, demographics (age, sex, social-economic status, employment status, occupation and marital status) and personality (impulsivity).
We do not know the exact causes of Seetha committing suicide but a single precipitating event alone does not explain the whys nor do the underlying social conditions alone. Chronic and triggering risk factors both need to be taken into account.
For example, there is the perpetuating risk factor like being born into a racial group subjected to discrimination, the predisposing risk factor of suffering from depression, the contributory factor of easy access of poisons, the acute risk factor of hopelessness and entrapment and the “precipitating or triggering stimuli of any real or anticipated event causing or threatening shame, guilt, despair, humiliation, unacceptable loss of face or status.” (adapted from source: American Association of Suicidology).
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, basing on psychological autopsy studies done in various countries over almost 50 years, there is a consistent pattern where “90 % of people who die by suicide are suffering from one or more psychiatric disorders.” These include “major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, alcohol or substance abuse, schizophrenia and personality disorder.”
Of all the psychiatric disorders, depression is the most important in suicide.
Cycle of hopelessness
Most depressed people do not commit suicide. However, most people who attempt or complete suicide were depressed. Depression as a psychiatric or psychological illness plays a major role in suicidal behaviour. It also has a social basis.
Unfortunately, they are often not diagnosed or treated either for lack of knowledge or resources to cope with psychiatric illnesses. The better-off can get immediate and long-term help.
However, as the poor have difficulty in making ends meet, any mental illnesses or developmental disabilities occurring in the family would impose an immense financial and psychological burden on them. And so the illness spirals downward.
The plight of the Native Americans shows the relationship between suicide and the destructive forces of prejudice and discrimination.
The American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology (vol. 38, 2007) revealed that “…After generations of displacement, forced assimilation, poverty and neglect, many American Indians are trapped in a cycle of hopelessness that often leads to substance abuse, violence and in many cases suicide. The suicide rate for American Indians is two and a half times higher than the national average…”
The chronic socioeconomic deprivation of the Indian community has been well articulated in the article ‘Sad road to Seetha’s suicide’ by Helen Ang (Malaysiakini, Nov 18, 2009). It depicts how a community has been broken up since the 1980s when the plantations were fragmented and workers evicted, with the effect that the young generation was displaced to urban settlements and creating slums.
Social support, social reform
Deprivation has not only a material but a psychological dimension as well.
Breaking up a community humiliates and shames its members. This institutionalized coercion also deprives the socially dispossessed of their dignity, self-respect and ethnic pride as a minority.
This is the hidden injury of the underclass. When we look deep into the Indian problem, we find that it is a question of human desire to seek dignity. When we look deep into the human problem, we meet the Indian problem. Suffering is suffering is suffering; it doesn’t really matter what you label it.
To understand and to intervene in suicide, we need to know the underlying causes and the precipitating causes.
If we attribute the causes to only within Seetha, we are just blaming the victim. If it is all her fault, then there is no necessity to identify the causes of suicide or to prevent future occurrences. However, if we attribute causes existing external to her, then there is the necessity of providing social support, of advocating social reforms.
Bullets can kill criminals or even the innocents but not the social conditions that create shame and violence. Racial discrimination inflicts deep psychological scars of shaming upon the psyche of the discriminated. Ultimately, it is socioeconomic equity, not structural violence or coercion, that will reduce shame and hence violence.
Psycho-socio education on suicide and suicide intervention is important for the public so that those in need are not socially isolated, especially when mental illness still remains a stigma.
Also of critical importance is keeping intact and functional the spiritual and cultural traditions of the ethnic minorities. It is these traditions that provide effective coping mechanisms for maintaining the dignity and self-respect of the group.
And it is these mechanisms that can help in healing the scourge of racial discrimination when a small community is broken by big government and big business.
Related Links
Suicide - Why involved children?
Shootout aftermath: Grief-stricken woman and her kids in suicide bid
Five killed in shootout with cops
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Bumiputera contractors: A wasteful national mission to date - Koon Yew Yin
This another article from CPIAsia. It is written by Koon Yew Yin, one of the founders of the three larger construction companies listed in Bursa Malaysia, Gamuda Bhd, Mudajaya Group Bhd, and IJM Corporation Bhd.
I read it few days ago. Today get two e-mail on this article. It is a good one - but whether our leader really would think or dare to think about it is another matter.
It is an indictment of our system that IJM is able to compete internationally for contracts but yet is required to work as a sub-contractor to Bumiputera companies on the North-South Highway in Malaysia.
On Oct 25, 2009 our Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said that government has vowed to cut down on wasteful spending to lower its budget deficit and all major public projects must go through the open tender system.
Earlier, the Auditor-General’s report for 2008 revealed continuing financial management weaknesses at every level of the government. Delays in project completion seem to be a perennial problem and the lack of oversight by various ministries and departments in the procurement of goods and services continue to cost the government hundreds of millions of ringgit.
These statements indicate perhaps that our Prime Minister Najib Razak may want to reverse his announcement on January 9 in Kuala Teregganu that the government would always look after Class F contractors. (Non- Bumiputeras cannot register as a Class F contractor).
The government had in fact already set aside RM900 million, which was RM300 million more than last year, for works to be undertaken by Class F contractors this year.
Producing competitive Bumiputera contractors
As reported on May 1, 2005, Malaysia had one contractor for every 614 persons. Most likely there are more contractors by now. This ratio is again likely to be amongst the highest in the world and is obviously costing the public a significant amount of money besides affecting our overall economic performance.
I would like to pose a few questions which may appear unkind or insensitive but nonetheless need to be asked.
Out of hundreds of high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur does anyone know of any Bumiputera contractor who has won any of the building contracts through an open competitive tender process? Out of hundreds of kilometers of highway in Malaysia, can any Bumiputera contractor who won any part of the highway contracts through open tender be identified?
The answer to the above questions unfortunately is in the negative. The evidence is that all the government’s well-intentioned efforts in trying to produce competitive Bumiputera contractors since 1957 have failed.
Why this has happened needs to be openly discussed rather than swept under the carpet. In this note, I share my experiences as a contractor and my knowledge of why Bumiputera contractors have failed in the past and what needs to be done by the government to correct this unhealthy situation.
Facts of life in the contracting business
Contracting is a very difficult business yet it is so easy to register as a contractor.
To register as a Class F contractor one has only to show that he has RM5,000. He does not even require a pass in Lower Certificate of Education (LCE). But it will take at least 10 years to learn how to overcome all the inherent difficulties and become competitive and efficient. Continuously giving out lucrative and over-priced contracts without open tenders will only make the recipients less competitive.
Secondly, studies have shown that there are more failures and bankruptcies in contracting than in any other business, and also almost all construction projects are NOT completed within the original scheduled time.
The delay will cost the contractor more and that is why you can often see uncompleted buildings and abandoned projects which have been undertaken by inefficient contractors. There are many reasons for this peculiar phenomenon.
1. Open tender system
Although this system is the best way to ensure completion of any project/contract at the lowest price, it is the most difficult obstacle any contractor has to face in the real competitive world. He must know his business very well and be efficient to face the open competition all the time. Like a good athlete, he has to keep fit and constantly be aware of the market conditions and his competitors.
There is a classic saying, ‘a cheap thing is not good and a good thing is not cheap’. But contractors always have to produce good work at the cheapest price.
In order to submit the cheapest tender, the contractor must be very optimistic in all his assumptions to get the cheapest rates. He must assume that he will not encounter any cash flow difficulties and that he will always get his progress payments on time to pay his creditors.
He must also assume that he will not encounter any difficulty in getting all the required materials on time to avoid any delay and also that there are ample workers for him to pick and choose from.
Furthermore, he must also assume that the heavens will be kind to him and he will not meet any inclement weather during construction. Invariably, many of these assumptions are proven wrong and thus completion delayed, and the infrastructure will cost more to complete than provided for in the contract.
2. The importance of teamwork
Teamwork is important in all business endeavours. It is more so in the contracting business. Every contractor must realise that his success is not going to be determined by his own knowledge, talent or abilities. It is going to be determined by his ability to develop a great team. Those who are closest to him will help determine the level of his success.
Every efficient contractor must have a reliable team comprising managers, sub-contractors, material suppliers, foremen and skilled workers. All the team players must cooperate with one another, bearing in mind that the main contractor’s survival depends on their contribution. Their main goal must be saving cost. If they cannot complete the contract within the tender price, all of them will also be affected.
3. Construction material pricing
There was no material price escalation clause in the conditions of contract before I became the Secretary General of the Master Builders Association. During the unprecedented oil crisis, building material prices shot through the roof. As a result, many contractors could not complete their contracts for schools and other projects. After several appeals the Public Works Department (PWD), now known as Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), eventually allowed only cement and steel for price variation reimbursement.
This was only a partial solution as hundreds of other items were excluded.
Without a protective price fluctuation clause for the other items, contractors are exposed to risk. At the same time, knowing that they have to undercut their competitors during the tender process, contractors would normally under-price to achieve the lowest tender. Invariably, most materials would increase in price due to inflation and other reasons. Contractors require many years of experience to be able to anticipate such price changes and to make adequate provisions for them whilst at the same time not overpricing their tenders and losing the bid.
4. No contract is exactly the same
No two high-rise buildings in KL are the same.
Construction of a building, a bridge or a stadium is always akin to making a prototype. The process is much more difficult than manufacturing any product where there is repetition. For example in making cars, the first prototype and the initial few cars may be more difficult to make but once everyone gets used to the routine, the manufacturing process will normally proceed smoothly.
However, in the construction of buildings or any civil engineering works, there is very little repetitive work. Every construction site is different and most of the people involved have never worked together before.
On top of this, there may also be inexperienced supervisory staff that can create a lot of difficulties for the contractors. Invariably, by the time all parties get used to the routine, the scheduled time is over.
5. Financing
Most contractors do not have sufficient capital to finance their undertakings.
Contractors generally do not have fixed assets like most manufacturers. They usually do not have land and buildings but, instead, they have construction equipment. Unfortunately, banks do not accept these moving assets as collateral for a loan. Without bank financing, contractors will obviously find it more difficult to undertake their business.
Beginning at the bottom: The key to success
I have provided some insight into why contracting is not a business that is as easy or profitable as it is commonly perceived to be.
There are other factors explaining why or how some of the most successful tycoons associated with the building or construction industry have managed to get where they are.
Firstly, it should be noted that the majority of listed companies were started by Chinese merchants most of whom incidentally did not have tertiary education. For example, Lim Goh Tong of Genting began his working career as a scrap iron dealer and a contractor; and Yeoh Tiong Lay of YTL Corp. started off as a small contractor.
Generally, Bumiputeras are not interested in working long hours in managing small businesses earning marginal profit. Because of the NEP, many have hopes of securing permits or concessions for big deals so that they can become instant millionaires. There are relatively few Bumiputeras involved in small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).
More Bumiputeras should follow the humble footsteps of the Chinese to become traders and merchants for building materials and similar goods. The business skill they can learn from these humble beginnings will carry them a long way. I am very sure some of them will eventually become good contractors and successful businessmen if they learn the trade at the bottom and not try to parachute into the contracting business.
The importance of skilled workers
Although there are already many Bumiputera engineers unable to find employment, most of the universities are still producing more and more engineers every year. But without a sufficiently skilled workforce, all the engineers in the world would not be able to complete a single project.
There are so few Bumiputera construction foremen, carpenters and other skilled workers. If you were to go into any building construction site, you would see the truth of what I am saying. How many Malay carpenters have you seen in KL?
Without skilled Bumiputera workers, it would be more difficult for Bumiputera contractors to succeed. In fact, most of the Chinese contractors started as apprentices and rose from the bottom to become successful contractors. More Bumiputeras should be encouraged to work as apprentices in construction sites. This is a necessary good practice to produce really good Bumiputera contractors.
The role of trade schools
There should be more trade schools and more Bumiputeras should be encouraged to learn construction skills like carpentry, welding, plumbing, bricklaying, etc. Very soon, skilled tradesmen will be able to earn more than degree holders as is the case in Australia or England.
The government should build more trade schools and not hesitate to offer scholarships to Bumiputeras to be trained in these trade schools. Presently, the construction industry is not short of engineers but it is very short of skilled workers and supervisors. If more Bumiputeras are properly trained in various crafts and blue collar skills, some of them will go on to become good contractors.
Time and more time
They say Rome was not built in a day. It is easier to produce engineers, doctors and other professionals than to produce efficient and competitive contractors who do not need government financial aid. Just giving out lucrative contracts to Bumiputeras is not the answer; in fact it is counter-productive as it simply makes them more inefficient and less competitive.
IJM Corporation Bhd has taken more than 40 years to attain a competitive level of competence. The record shows that IJM has secured on competitive tenders five toll road concessions in India. Three are currently in operation and two are under construction. The total length of the roads exceeds 1,000 kilometres, longer than our North-South Highway.
In addition, IJM completed a toll bridge in Kolkata and sold its interest for RM65 million profit after a short period of three years. IJM is also a very reputable LRT builder, having to date completed 15km of the elevated sections of the New Delhi Metro and it was recently awarded another 8km.
Based on open competitive tender, IJM won the contract to build the tallest building, a prominent future landmark for the Delhi Municipality, in New Delhi.
It is an indictment of our system that IJM is able to compete internationally for contracts but yet is required to work as a sub-contractor to Bumiputera companies on the North-South Highway in our own country.
Conclusion: Half-baked contractors are not in our national interest
Contracting is one of the most, if not the most, difficult business and it takes a very long time to produce competent contractors.
It is very dangerous to quickly produce half-baked ones as they will soon find themselves in financial difficulties and require bailouts. The bankruptcy record shows that a large number of debtors are Bumiputera contractors with many of them unable to pay back the loans given by government-controlled financial institutions.
The government must change its methods and policies which have proven unworkable. There is no urgency in producing more Bumiputera contractors as many of the key industries e.g. the banks, plantations, motor vehicles, taxis, rice etc are already under the control of Bumiputeras.
Our government must not be narrowly communalistic and should make use of all the groups, irrespective of race, that are more efficient in the contracting business.
Giving out contracts without a full tender process is akin to corruption. I urge the government to stop this corrupt practice and to utilize the savings from these enormous sums to implement the options suggested above.
I read it few days ago. Today get two e-mail on this article. It is a good one - but whether our leader really would think or dare to think about it is another matter.
It is an indictment of our system that IJM is able to compete internationally for contracts but yet is required to work as a sub-contractor to Bumiputera companies on the North-South Highway in Malaysia. On Oct 25, 2009 our Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said that government has vowed to cut down on wasteful spending to lower its budget deficit and all major public projects must go through the open tender system.
Earlier, the Auditor-General’s report for 2008 revealed continuing financial management weaknesses at every level of the government. Delays in project completion seem to be a perennial problem and the lack of oversight by various ministries and departments in the procurement of goods and services continue to cost the government hundreds of millions of ringgit.
These statements indicate perhaps that our Prime Minister Najib Razak may want to reverse his announcement on January 9 in Kuala Teregganu that the government would always look after Class F contractors. (Non- Bumiputeras cannot register as a Class F contractor).
The government had in fact already set aside RM900 million, which was RM300 million more than last year, for works to be undertaken by Class F contractors this year.
Producing competitive Bumiputera contractors
As reported on May 1, 2005, Malaysia had one contractor for every 614 persons. Most likely there are more contractors by now. This ratio is again likely to be amongst the highest in the world and is obviously costing the public a significant amount of money besides affecting our overall economic performance.
I would like to pose a few questions which may appear unkind or insensitive but nonetheless need to be asked.
Out of hundreds of high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur does anyone know of any Bumiputera contractor who has won any of the building contracts through an open competitive tender process? Out of hundreds of kilometers of highway in Malaysia, can any Bumiputera contractor who won any part of the highway contracts through open tender be identified?
The answer to the above questions unfortunately is in the negative. The evidence is that all the government’s well-intentioned efforts in trying to produce competitive Bumiputera contractors since 1957 have failed.
Why this has happened needs to be openly discussed rather than swept under the carpet. In this note, I share my experiences as a contractor and my knowledge of why Bumiputera contractors have failed in the past and what needs to be done by the government to correct this unhealthy situation.
Facts of life in the contracting business
Contracting is a very difficult business yet it is so easy to register as a contractor.
To register as a Class F contractor one has only to show that he has RM5,000. He does not even require a pass in Lower Certificate of Education (LCE). But it will take at least 10 years to learn how to overcome all the inherent difficulties and become competitive and efficient. Continuously giving out lucrative and over-priced contracts without open tenders will only make the recipients less competitive.
Secondly, studies have shown that there are more failures and bankruptcies in contracting than in any other business, and also almost all construction projects are NOT completed within the original scheduled time.
The delay will cost the contractor more and that is why you can often see uncompleted buildings and abandoned projects which have been undertaken by inefficient contractors. There are many reasons for this peculiar phenomenon.
1. Open tender system
Although this system is the best way to ensure completion of any project/contract at the lowest price, it is the most difficult obstacle any contractor has to face in the real competitive world. He must know his business very well and be efficient to face the open competition all the time. Like a good athlete, he has to keep fit and constantly be aware of the market conditions and his competitors.
There is a classic saying, ‘a cheap thing is not good and a good thing is not cheap’. But contractors always have to produce good work at the cheapest price.
In order to submit the cheapest tender, the contractor must be very optimistic in all his assumptions to get the cheapest rates. He must assume that he will not encounter any cash flow difficulties and that he will always get his progress payments on time to pay his creditors.
He must also assume that he will not encounter any difficulty in getting all the required materials on time to avoid any delay and also that there are ample workers for him to pick and choose from.
Furthermore, he must also assume that the heavens will be kind to him and he will not meet any inclement weather during construction. Invariably, many of these assumptions are proven wrong and thus completion delayed, and the infrastructure will cost more to complete than provided for in the contract.
2. The importance of teamwork
Teamwork is important in all business endeavours. It is more so in the contracting business. Every contractor must realise that his success is not going to be determined by his own knowledge, talent or abilities. It is going to be determined by his ability to develop a great team. Those who are closest to him will help determine the level of his success.
Every efficient contractor must have a reliable team comprising managers, sub-contractors, material suppliers, foremen and skilled workers. All the team players must cooperate with one another, bearing in mind that the main contractor’s survival depends on their contribution. Their main goal must be saving cost. If they cannot complete the contract within the tender price, all of them will also be affected.
3. Construction material pricing
There was no material price escalation clause in the conditions of contract before I became the Secretary General of the Master Builders Association. During the unprecedented oil crisis, building material prices shot through the roof. As a result, many contractors could not complete their contracts for schools and other projects. After several appeals the Public Works Department (PWD), now known as Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), eventually allowed only cement and steel for price variation reimbursement.
This was only a partial solution as hundreds of other items were excluded.
Without a protective price fluctuation clause for the other items, contractors are exposed to risk. At the same time, knowing that they have to undercut their competitors during the tender process, contractors would normally under-price to achieve the lowest tender. Invariably, most materials would increase in price due to inflation and other reasons. Contractors require many years of experience to be able to anticipate such price changes and to make adequate provisions for them whilst at the same time not overpricing their tenders and losing the bid.
4. No contract is exactly the same
No two high-rise buildings in KL are the same.
Construction of a building, a bridge or a stadium is always akin to making a prototype. The process is much more difficult than manufacturing any product where there is repetition. For example in making cars, the first prototype and the initial few cars may be more difficult to make but once everyone gets used to the routine, the manufacturing process will normally proceed smoothly.
However, in the construction of buildings or any civil engineering works, there is very little repetitive work. Every construction site is different and most of the people involved have never worked together before.
On top of this, there may also be inexperienced supervisory staff that can create a lot of difficulties for the contractors. Invariably, by the time all parties get used to the routine, the scheduled time is over.
5. Financing
Most contractors do not have sufficient capital to finance their undertakings.
Contractors generally do not have fixed assets like most manufacturers. They usually do not have land and buildings but, instead, they have construction equipment. Unfortunately, banks do not accept these moving assets as collateral for a loan. Without bank financing, contractors will obviously find it more difficult to undertake their business.
Beginning at the bottom: The key to success
I have provided some insight into why contracting is not a business that is as easy or profitable as it is commonly perceived to be.
There are other factors explaining why or how some of the most successful tycoons associated with the building or construction industry have managed to get where they are.
Firstly, it should be noted that the majority of listed companies were started by Chinese merchants most of whom incidentally did not have tertiary education. For example, Lim Goh Tong of Genting began his working career as a scrap iron dealer and a contractor; and Yeoh Tiong Lay of YTL Corp. started off as a small contractor.
Generally, Bumiputeras are not interested in working long hours in managing small businesses earning marginal profit. Because of the NEP, many have hopes of securing permits or concessions for big deals so that they can become instant millionaires. There are relatively few Bumiputeras involved in small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs).
More Bumiputeras should follow the humble footsteps of the Chinese to become traders and merchants for building materials and similar goods. The business skill they can learn from these humble beginnings will carry them a long way. I am very sure some of them will eventually become good contractors and successful businessmen if they learn the trade at the bottom and not try to parachute into the contracting business.
The importance of skilled workers
Although there are already many Bumiputera engineers unable to find employment, most of the universities are still producing more and more engineers every year. But without a sufficiently skilled workforce, all the engineers in the world would not be able to complete a single project.
There are so few Bumiputera construction foremen, carpenters and other skilled workers. If you were to go into any building construction site, you would see the truth of what I am saying. How many Malay carpenters have you seen in KL?
Without skilled Bumiputera workers, it would be more difficult for Bumiputera contractors to succeed. In fact, most of the Chinese contractors started as apprentices and rose from the bottom to become successful contractors. More Bumiputeras should be encouraged to work as apprentices in construction sites. This is a necessary good practice to produce really good Bumiputera contractors.
The role of trade schools
There should be more trade schools and more Bumiputeras should be encouraged to learn construction skills like carpentry, welding, plumbing, bricklaying, etc. Very soon, skilled tradesmen will be able to earn more than degree holders as is the case in Australia or England.
The government should build more trade schools and not hesitate to offer scholarships to Bumiputeras to be trained in these trade schools. Presently, the construction industry is not short of engineers but it is very short of skilled workers and supervisors. If more Bumiputeras are properly trained in various crafts and blue collar skills, some of them will go on to become good contractors.
Time and more time
They say Rome was not built in a day. It is easier to produce engineers, doctors and other professionals than to produce efficient and competitive contractors who do not need government financial aid. Just giving out lucrative contracts to Bumiputeras is not the answer; in fact it is counter-productive as it simply makes them more inefficient and less competitive.
IJM Corporation Bhd has taken more than 40 years to attain a competitive level of competence. The record shows that IJM has secured on competitive tenders five toll road concessions in India. Three are currently in operation and two are under construction. The total length of the roads exceeds 1,000 kilometres, longer than our North-South Highway.
In addition, IJM completed a toll bridge in Kolkata and sold its interest for RM65 million profit after a short period of three years. IJM is also a very reputable LRT builder, having to date completed 15km of the elevated sections of the New Delhi Metro and it was recently awarded another 8km.
Based on open competitive tender, IJM won the contract to build the tallest building, a prominent future landmark for the Delhi Municipality, in New Delhi.
It is an indictment of our system that IJM is able to compete internationally for contracts but yet is required to work as a sub-contractor to Bumiputera companies on the North-South Highway in our own country.
Conclusion: Half-baked contractors are not in our national interest
Contracting is one of the most, if not the most, difficult business and it takes a very long time to produce competent contractors.
It is very dangerous to quickly produce half-baked ones as they will soon find themselves in financial difficulties and require bailouts. The bankruptcy record shows that a large number of debtors are Bumiputera contractors with many of them unable to pay back the loans given by government-controlled financial institutions.
The government must change its methods and policies which have proven unworkable. There is no urgency in producing more Bumiputera contractors as many of the key industries e.g. the banks, plantations, motor vehicles, taxis, rice etc are already under the control of Bumiputeras.
Our government must not be narrowly communalistic and should make use of all the groups, irrespective of race, that are more efficient in the contracting business.
Giving out contracts without a full tender process is akin to corruption. I urge the government to stop this corrupt practice and to utilize the savings from these enormous sums to implement the options suggested above.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Longevity vs Retirement Age
A friend e-mail an interesting article - the Longevity vs Retirement Age caught my attention.
This article "Optimum Strategies for Creativity and Longevity" by Sing Lin PhD said that
This article point out that
Both has it points. One is study at America while the later is on British. Perhaps America and British is different. What about Asian or Malaysian? Anyway stay happy and enjoy life. I think that is most important after all you never know when your time come.
This article "Optimum Strategies for Creativity and Longevity" by Sing Lin PhD said that
- The most Creative year is 10 years around age of 32
- If you can retire earlier you will live longer (as you are less stress as you are financially sound and has an enjoyable retirement)
This article point out that
- Health is an important factor, if you retire because of poor health you may not live longer.
- Greater social engagement and involvement improve the health of older people.
- After retirement it important to stay mentally and physically active.
Both has it points. One is study at America while the later is on British. Perhaps America and British is different. What about Asian or Malaysian? Anyway stay happy and enjoy life. I think that is most important after all you never know when your time come.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sekolah Kebangsaan - Failure or Not
We often read and hear a lot people talked about have a single stream school in Malaysia. For the sake of unity in a multiracial nation like Malaysia a single stream school is not bad.
For those who not native to Malaysia education system. We have two forms of primary school (in US or Japan Elementary school) - National School and Vernacular School.
The so called national school or SK (Sek
olah Kebangsaan) or SRK (Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan) is supposed to be the official national, its main language medium is Bahasa Malaysia. For Vernacular School or SRJK (Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan) is also a national school but it main language medium being Chinese and Tamil.
Our Government financial support both but more emphasis on SK or
SRK. Therefore if you are in Malaysia or an Malaysian sometimes you see some school children in uniform ask you for donation or contribution for their school. They are normal from the SRJK.
Supposing SK or SRK are the national school it should be the most popular where most parents would send their children there. But why are there still stubborn parents still perfers to send their children to SRJK. Why?
Our leader think it is the educationists especially the Chinese educationists. They are stubborn and go against every efforts of the government try to create a single stream school for all Malaysian.
The question here is why so? Are the educationists not patriotic or are they traitors? Are the parents so?
We must see this from another angle of the problems.
Vernacular school, why it is still preferred choice of parents? I, myself send my child to SRJK.
If you are me, the answer is simple - quality of education.
I am not a product of SRJK but I was in fact from SK. I can speak Chinese but I cannot read or write. It is a disadvantage but it is not the main reason.
In my school days, in SK, I mix around with children of various races. My good friend is a Indian. He is a Christian. I have many others friends that are not from my race. Though it is difficult to communicate especially at first in year one. We are from difficult background, culture, ethhic and mother tongue. But it does hindrance building of friendship bond. I hope my children can be same as me. But I chosen SRJK for them. Why?
In my days the SK student are comparable to SRJK if not better. We definite excel in Bahasa Malaysia and English. When I am in form one, thought not the top of my school I command a strong foundation in primary, I am as good as those from SRJK. But they have their strength, I cannot deny it - maths. But overall SRJK and SK student as comparable.
In fact many SRJK student need to undergone 1 year additional prior to form one (remove)
But let see today, how may SRJK student need to add additional 1 year. Most of them in their UPSR, score better than their SK fellow student. Their Bahasa Malaysia & English if not better are comparable to SK. In additional they can read & write in Chinese or Tamil (no so sure SRJK Tamil is same but at least SRJK Chinese is so).
So, what is wrong with SK. SRJK student is getting smart? Their teachers are better? Whatever the real reasons be, one thing we cannot deny here is SRJK quality is getting better.
Being parents, what will you do? I certain try my best to gave the best education to my children.
I can't afford those pricey International school. Having the choice SK or SRJK, I choose SRJK for my daughter. She brag to me, she have much homework. Her teachers been strict for not submitting homeworks etc. My wife getting called from the teachers if she fail to complete her homeworks. See, the SRJK teachers initiatives.
My daughter, thought seldom speak English or Malay. But if I said something in English and Malay. She can understand them. She now can read Chinese Newspaper. Image a 9 years old.
Even during my time I still can read newspaper until nearly 12.
I think the quality of SRJK really improve a lot or the SK are lacking too much if not maintain.
In is not the Chinese Educationists that against the single stream school, its the parents.
Why? It just not up to standard.
--------------------------------
S.H.I.T
--------------------------------
Memo to all students
In order to assure the highest levels of quality work and productivity from students, it will be our policy to keep all students well taught through our program of SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TEACHING (S.H.I.T.).
We are trying to give our students more S.H.I.T. than any other schools. If you feel that you do not receive your share of S.H.I.T. on the course, please see your lecturer. You will immediately placed at the top of the S.H.I.T. list and our lecturers are especially skilled at seeing you get all the S.H.I.T. you can handle.
Students who don't know S.H.I.T. will be placed in DEPARTMENTAL EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION PROGRAMS (D.E.E.P. S.H.I.T.). Those who fail to take D.E.E.P. S.H.I.T. seriously will have to go to EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDE TRAINING (E.A.T. S.H.I.T.). Since our lecturers took S.H.I.T. before they graduated, they don't have to do S.H.I.T. anymore, as they are all full of S.H.I.T. already.
If you are full of S.H.I.T., you may be intersted in a job teaching others. We can add your name to our BASIC UNDERSTANDING LECTURE LIST (B.U.L.L. S.H.I.T.). For students who are attending to pursue a carrier in management and consultancy, we will refer you to the department of MANAGERIAL OPERATIONAL RESEARCH EDUCATION (M.O.R.E. S.H.I.T.). This course emphasizes on how to manage M.O.R.E. S.H.I.T. If you have further questions, please direct them to our HEAD OF TEACHING SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING (H.O.T. S.H.I.T.)
Thank you, BOSS IN GENERAL SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING (B.I.G. S.H.I.T.)
Quote:
" Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future" - John F. Kennedy
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