I Am 35 Years Old
19 November 2003
This article was published in Malaysiakini on 28 November 2003 under the heading 'Musings of a 35-year-old' in support of the letters by Patriotic School Leaver and Vishven Chandran in the same news web site.
I am 35 years old this year, but unlike Patriotic School Leaver and Vishven Chandran, I could not have written as eloquently or critically in English as they have done so in Malaysiakini, when I was at their age.
At the formative age
of 17, our teachers taught us that Bahasa Malaysia was the most important
tool for success. All efforts were made to ensure that we pass the language
paper and most of us in our class excelled in the SPM Bahasa Malaysia
subject. We were so fluent in the language that when the Ministry of Education
decided to suddenly replace the Kertas Am (General Paper) subject to Pengajian
Am (General Studies) in Form Six, we were only minimally perturbed by
the uncertainty of the new syllabus.
In fact, with our brains
saturated with Mahathir's policies during the 80's, we were involuntarily
indoctrinated to produce pro-government essays and commentaries in the
STPM examination. As you would have guessed, most of us excelled once
again, and with our newfound confidence, we strode into the local universities,
thinking that Bahasa Malaysia and Mahathir's policies will guide us through
sunshine and rain.
Unfortunately it did
not turn out that way. We discovered that most of the reference books
in university were written in English, especially for those enrolled in
more technical and scientific courses. It took us a while to adjust to
reading in English and answering our exam questions in Bahasa Malaysia,
but through our own effort, we managed to make do.
However, the case was
not the same for many of our selected friends who came from a different
education background. These friends of ours were plucked from our mainstream
national schools during their early secondary school years to be nurtured
in Government sponsored residential schools. We empathize with them throughout
our courses because they had much more difficulty in adjusting to the
language change due to their lack of exposure to English.
To be fluent in a language,
we have to practice writing as well as using it in our daily speech. If
you put a group of students with the same mother tongue together, they
would most likely converse amongst themselves in their own language. I
was fortunate enough to come from a multiracial national school where
English was also given an equal importance.
Although many might
see it as a privilege, I believe that by putting these students in an
education system that is walled off from the rest of the nation is a disservice
to them and also to the future of our country. By having a different internal
evaluation system in which the standard of matriculation examinations
are frequently being questioned, the Education Ministry is creating a
false environment for the students.
Of course we see many
Bumiputera students graduating with flying colours and going on to acquire
good jobs and high positions in companies and the government. But bear
in mind that this situation is also due to another false environment created
by the Government, which ensures that Bumiputeras are given priority at
the expense of others. If we were to pull this safety net away immediately
after their graduation, they would most likely tumble and fall hard on
their faces like an unskilled trapeze performer.
In this circus of life,
those who work hard and appreciates the true value of education will survive
better than those who are fed off a silver platter. The more competent
trapeze artist will make less mistakes, and therefore they have less chances
of falling regardless of whether there is a safety net or not.
Humans are by nature
designed to perform better in the presence of challenges. This is reflected
from the mature writings of Patriotic School Leaver and Vishven Chandran
who have been brought up in the wilderness of our national type education
system. If we continue to herd off a section of our students to be educated
in a system, which is insulated from the rest of the population, such
as science schools and matriculation colleges, we are going to produce
an inept work force that can only compete within the boundaries of privileges.
To become a competitive
and developed nation, Malaysia has to ultimately get rid of unfair policies,
which favours certain quarters of our multiethnic society. I agree that
it would be cruel and hard on the people who have thus far enjoyed the
benefits of our current imbalanced education policies, but we should all
take it as a challenge. A challenge that will bring success to all Malaysians
in the end and a challenge that will make the whole nation proud of itself,
regardless of race.
Judging from the number
of years we have been ruled under this system, it will not be an easy
task to dismantle these lopsided policies. However in the true spirit
of Malaysia Boleh, it should not be impossible. Leaders should have the
conscience and political will to initiate the step-by-step removal of
discriminatory practices starting from the education system right through
to policies that govern our economy. We must not let this process go on
forever and ever. A time frame to bring about equality to all Malaysians
should be set and adhered to by all parties.
Our new Prime Minister
Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi encourages us to tell the truth. For me,
the truth has been around us since Malaysia achieved Independence in 1957.
All we need to do is to open our eyes and look through the blinding policies
of our past administration to see the daylight of reality.
There is no doubt that
our country has achieved progress throughout these years. But the question
is - could our nation have been better off by now, if these perverted
affirmative actions have not been there in the first place? Maybe Malaysia
would have been a developed country by now if we had allowed our various
ethnic groups to assimilate and compete amongst themselves at the same
level of playing field.
PELITA NEGARA
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