Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Mukhriz: Implement Single Structure In School To Enhance Unity

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth chief aspirant Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has called on the Government to abolish the vernacular school system to enhance unity among the people.
He said a single school system was the only way to check racial polarisation.

“The Government should consider introducing only a one school system with Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction, except for the teaching of Science and Mathematics, which is already in English,” Mukhriz told reporters at Parliament House yesterday.

“Of course, pupils should then be given the option to study their mother tongue. Under this system, the Malays will also have the option of studying other languages like Chinese and Tamil, and this will further boost unity among the races,” the Umno Youth exco member added.

In an immediate response in his blog (www.ongteekeat.net), MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat made a very short posting on the subject.
“Datuk Mukhriz is just one of the many who are now repeating the same polemics that are a few decades old, simply because of the advent of their party’s poll.
“It is saddening because politicians cannot think out of the box,” he said.

Earlier, Mukhriz said it was time Malaysia did away with the dual school system, which was practised by only a handful of countries in the world.
He expressed hope that the leaders of Barisan Nasional component parties would not view his suggestion in a negative light as it was meant to resolve once and for all the problem of racial polarisation.

“If they reject this suggestion, then they should explain why they are against it,” he said. “If you want equal rights then you cannot have a different school system. You cannot have your cake and eat it too,” said Mukhriz.

He also urged all parties to stop harping on issues that could create tension among Barisan component parties, including talk of Malay supremacy.

He said there had been many statements made by leaders of component parties that had the potential to create anger among the Malays and Umno members.
“If they insist on making such statements, then do not be surprised if the Malays start talking about the economic supremacy of the non-Malays,” he added.

“Despite all that has been said on the issue of Malay supremacy, the Malays do not feel in any way superior or that they are the masters when it comes to the country’s economy.”
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I can't agree more with Mukhriz. Perhaps he is trying to do what, in my opinion, the single biggest policy shift that Mahathir failed to undertake during his perceived dictatorship.

This is also what I have suggested long ago and even recently . What we need in one school for Malaysians with languages such as Tamil and Mandarin taught and even made compulsory, if need be, in all schools.

This is the only way the unite Malaysians and this has to start young. Malaysians in the same neighborhood must be made to go to the same school from standard one to at least Form 5. There also would not be any issue of unaided schools.

Suggestion like these has always been coming from the UMNO with the exception of perhaps PPP Chief Kayveas, who supported this idea.

Not surprisingly, MCA and MIC, not wanting to lose support of Chinese and Indian Malaysian, will continue to reject this proposal.

I do not expect DAP and PKR, who claims that further to the March 8 election, people want a change and the direction is towards multi-racial approach to everything, to support this and they would not want to lose substantial non-Malay support that they gained in the elections.

Experts and education groups (and extremist) further claim that research shows that the young ones are better taught in mother tongue language in primary schools. They conveniently omit the fact that Tamil or Mandarin is not the actual mother tongue of many Chinese or Indian Malaysians.

There are also been no research undertaken to review the impact on non-Malays who went to national schools and also thousands of Malays and Indians who goes to Chinese schools. I never heard any student who blames the type of school they went to, for their failure in studies or career. Neither did I hear Indians or Chinese have converted to a Malay or even Muslim after going to national schools.

These are myths created by politicans and education groups.

Then we also have products of these vernacular schools, who are bent on defending their schools and language at any cost, never mind if Malaysians remain disunited. For them their schools and language is more important than national interest and unity.

What's the difference then, between MIC/MCA and PKR/DAP? It's all the same; they depend on certain races and its extremist groups for votes and don't dare to propose something that will definitely bring racial unity and national integration closer than ever.

We need strong leadership and resolve if we preach about multiracialism, national unity, integration and eventual formation of Bangsa Malaysia. I lament the fact that Mahathir did not use his so-called dictatorship to force a change and get everyone to the same school. Perhaps his son will do just that one day, even that will only happen when common sense (something that is no longer common) prevails.

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good article. Love the last few paragraphs. Strikes a chord.

Sometimes its best for them to look themselves in the mirror before shouting rhetorics.

As you said, this is one of the biggest policy shift. Too bad those extremists could not give a more viable solution towards national unity.

Even Lim Kit Siang and Ong Tee Kiat (judging from their recent blog posts) chose to intimidate, rather than to affiliate themselves towards greater understanding on this issue.

JMD-

Cucu Tok Selampit said...

Nice write up my friends. This theory must be practice by all parties beyond boundaries whether it is from opposition or the government, if they choose towards national unity.

CTS

Anonymous said...

total crap...its show dat u wan 2 convert but dnt f balls 2 do so...y no u jus cut ur **** n stop commenting abt non-malays... if u wan suport malay thn conver 2 islam n do so... but dnt say u r indian n suport malays whle keep condem nons espeacialy indians!

Anonymous said...

Its hard for everyone to come to an agreement on this issue although its been voiced out numerous times. Well this is the only step moving forward for unity among Malaysians to achieve Bangsa Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

cool...if you were choosen to be PM in the future...the malays will definitely vote for you lah..:)

pam said...

I disagree. As I mentioned in my blog, unity problem does not begin in a child's mind. It begins as they grow into adulthood. As they begin to really see the differences.

The difference between us and singapore is not about the education, but politic and economic policies.

You can nurture patriotic children who's united, but what happens as they grow older? Facts don't lie.

You want unity, first change the politicians' mindsent. Tell them to remove the racial issue, and the people will follow suit. Leave alone the education system.

Anonymous said...

I still do not agree to Mukhriz suggestion. If we have to support it, other issues such economic cake and other opportunities should be addressed too.

jlshyang said...

You hit the nail right on the head.

The race-based politics which will make things difficult for this educational system shift.

The question is which politician and party in Malaysia is going to have the political will to do it?

NONE. As you have stated, the MIC, MCA, DAP and Keadilan, they are not going to support this proposal in the fear of losing support from the non-Malays. Instead, they will demand that Mukhriz be charged under the sedition act. It's going to be tit-for-tat in our race based politics.

Sad isn't it? Read Lim Kit Siang's blog or Malaysia Today, the non-Malays have become defensive and none of them is thinking rationally!

anaklangkawi said...

Its quite silly people talking about unity & yet blame it all on Malays. When simple unity stuff like this "Single Structure School" we not supported by so called people who continuously questioned ketuanan melayu (which they claims disunited us all).

if u really is a fighter for unity why in the 1st place u r not supporting this idea?

Bravo to you balan. Respect your writing.

http://other-perspektif.blogspot.com/

@Liya said...

Thanks for leaving me a backlink. I read your post. You have a good article in your blog.

I wonder what is the main language that they are conducting at school in Singapore? Then, What are the races of Singaporean? They are same with us right? Malay, Chinese, India...

Can't Malaysia use English which is the International Language to conduct teaching in all forms of school? It is fair enough. No one have to argue in this issue. I believe this could be more standardize in our education system and it is a sure to enhance unity for our country (included worldwide)!

Why don't our leader suggest to abolish all current school and we teach in English? We also can remain using our language which study Malay, Mandarin and Tamil as a single subject. Do not be a copy cat. We can always learn from Singapore or other country , their good policy / system in education, transport ... but we cannot just adopt it without knowing ourselves.

We are Malaysian ! Not Singaporean. Singaporean speak Singlish. We respect our rukun negara and we respect Bahasa Melayu as our formal language. We also respect our mother tongue. Tolong~ who are the one who said Mandarin is not the mother tongue among Chinese? Please ask those friends who understand Chinese culture. Ask the public. Don't ask 'ABC' , ask someone who really know it.

It is very depressing whenever we talk about this kind of issue. Don't just watch the critique between parties. Listen from the bottom. Listen to the voice of public.

The only thing i want to point out is 'Abolish the SRJK is not a smart way to enhance unity.' The concept of democracy, requires equal rights and education. Give an option to the people and not just give whatever you want.Rationally, We don't need a cake, we won't eat it , but we share it.

IPOH MALAY said...

dear balan

i might write things that sounds racist but what i will get by not becoming one of this country's trends that played by ALL POLITICIAN ...

the root of the segregation is the absence of assimilation.. i dont think that we should teach children on SINGULARITY..

dont you see that those CHILDREN that born in the period of POST INDEPENDENCE are now playing the rhytm of what we have today?

SOON when the unified system adapted, the CHILDREN that grown adult will question on why dont we be like THE PEOPLE OF THE EAST HINDI..

ali allah ditta said...

Balan,

As long as education remains a political,there will be no end to this issue. To them winning votes that matters and harping on education issues like this is like striking a gold mine. UMNO/MCA/DAP/MIC talks about importance of vernacular schools...tell me where does these ministers or MPs send their children to?

Education standards whether in national or vernacular schools is on a downward trend. Thousands of children cant even read or write up till year six....but who cares? Coz people like Mukhriz,Kit Siang,
Tee Kiat,so on & so on are more interested in the survival of the schools rather than the quality of education.....thats their "periok nasi babe"!!!!!!!

cheers.

Anonymous said...

"The Sedition Act does not allow anyone to propose the closure of Chinese or Tamil primary schools, just as one cannot question the special provision for Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak in Article 153"

so u beter stop your useless argument to close down Tamil school. Its every chinese and indians rights to have vernacular school. if you dont satisfied with constitution than you are againtsing the law! this is a RIGHTS that all indian and chinese preserve and not to condem it just like wat are you doing now. so if you dare publish you article and say such thing in public. than you will know what is the result!

Anonymous said...

PUTRAJAYA: Umno Youth chief candidate Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir’s suggestion that the vernacular school system contributed to racial polarisation and should be scrapped has raged into a full-blown controversy.

Some leaders have urged action against him, saying that he had committed sedition, while Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak moved quickly to assure minorities of their constitutional rights.

Vernacular schools will continue to exist as long as the Chinese and Indian communities need such a school system, Najib said.

He said it had been a long-standing government policy to allow Malaysians to choose the school system they want to adopt and enrol into, MAZWIN NIK ANIS reports.

Najib said vernacular or national type schools have been part of the country’s education system and their existence was recognised even in law.

“For as long as the Indian and Chinese communities need to have vernacular schools, they will continue to be a part of the national education system.

“It has been the principle of the Government to give all individuals the freedom to adopt a school or education system of their choice.

“That is also the basis of the Razak Report and there is no deadline for the existence of vernacular schools in Malaysia,” he told reporters after chairing the National Council for Local Government’s 61st meeting on Tuesday.

On Mukhsiz’s claims that the vernacular school system had caused polarisation within Malaysian society, Najib said the allegation was debatable.

“The Chinese and Indians in this country are of the opinion that such schools are important to them. It is a place for them to instil certain values among their young.

“For instance, not everyone in the Chinese society are of the same faith and they feel having a vernacular school will act as a platform to instil useful and positive values among community members,” he said.


’Seditious statement’
Mukhriz’s call for vernacular schools to be scrapped saw an immediate and strong reaction by political leaders.

In Parliament, Opposition parties hit out at the son of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for blaming the vernacular school system as the cause of a polarised society.

DAP Parliamentary Leader and Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang claimed that Mukhriz had committed a seditious offence in questioning one of the four sensitive issues entrenched in the Constitution and said he can be disqualified as an MP upon conviction.

“The Constitution Amendment 1971 imposed an absolute prohibition against questioning these four issues and removed parliamentary immunity in parliamentary debates,” he said at the Parliament lobby, reports LOH FOON FONG.

The Sedition Act does not allow anyone to propose the closure of Chinese or Tamil primary schools, just as one cannot question the special provision for Malays and natives in Sabah and Sarawak in Article 153, Lim said.

“If Mukhriz wants to publicly pursue his proposal of a single education system resulting in the closure of the schools, he must get the Constitutional provision on the four entrenched sensitive issues amended and repealed,” he said.

He said that in the case Melan Abdullah vs Public Prosecutor (1971), Utusan Malaysia was found guilty of sedition for an editorial titled Hapuskan Sekolah Beraliran Tamil atau China di-Negeri ini (Abolish Tamil and Chinese medium schools in the country).

In the case of Mark Koding vs Public Prosecutor, the Sabah MP was found guilty of sedition when he spoke in Parliament in 1978 calling for the closure of such schools.

On whether DAP would lodge a police report against Mukhriz, he said “no.”

Lim said that racial polarisation was not being caused by vernacular schools but by “divisive national policies.”

His son Lim Guan Eng however called on Mukhriz to retract his statement, warning that otherwise the Government must take action against him, just as action was taken against Koding.

“We hope he will retract this sensitive statement as soon as possible,” said the Penang Chief Minister, adding that it was not right for Mukhriz to fish for votes to win the Umno Youth chief post.

Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said racial polarisation was not due to vernacular schools, but said there was a need to upgrade education for all races.

He said the Selangor state government had allocated RM10mil to vernacular and religious schools.

PAS deputy president Nasaruddin Mat Isa said it was the right of each race to be educated in their mother tongue, which in itself is a culture that needs to be protected.

PKR adviser and Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Mukhriz wanted to appeal to extreme Malay views to win the Umno election, but failed to realise that there were certain Constitutional guarantees for vernacular schools.

“While it was all right to call for all races to study under one roof, abolishing the schools sounds like returning to the age of extremism,” he said.

“We have to respect the rights of parents to send their children to schools of their choice,” Anwar added.


Mukhriz responds
In reply, Mukhriz said he would not retract his statement because he did not call for vernacular schools to be closed down.

“I said the system should be one. I don’t think the issue of closing schools arises. That is the last thing I want,” he said.

The school remains the same physically and it is the system that needs changing -- the medium of instruction should eventually be Bahasa Malaysia, except for Science and Mathematics, he said, adding that this would include religious schools.


’A-G should take action’
The MIC also urged the Attorney-General to institute action against Mukhriz for his allegedly seditious words, reports A. LETCHUMANAN.

Like DAP’s Lim, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu claimed that Mukhriz had violated provisions in the Federal Constitution which protected the position and rights of vernacular schools.

“He has issued a seditious statement and we want the Attorney-General to take appropriate action against him,” Samy Vellu said in a statement here on Tuesday, accusing Mukhriz of raising “sensitive issues” to canvass for votes in the upcoming UMNO Youth elections.

“He can contest the UMNO Youth chief post but he should not point a dagger at the hearts of the other communities to win the post,” he said, adding that the MIC had never questioned the rights of the Malays as enshrined in the Constitution.

MIC Youth coordinator T. Mohan urged Mukhriz to go to the ground and visit Tamil and Chinese schools to understand the real situation.

“It is easy for one to issue statements to become popular but it should not be at the expense of the feelings of the other communities,” he said.

Mohan said that it has been the practice of some politicians to use sensitive issues to garner cheap publicity in their bid to be seen as champions in their parties.

These politicians, including Mukhriz, should understand that the MIC and MCA -- which represent Indian and Chinese interests respectively -- would not remain quiet on this, he said.

He said Barisan Nasional should come out with proper guidelines to prevent leaders contesting in party elections from using controversial issues to gather support.

Meanwhile MIC Youth advisor S. Vell Paari, Samy Vellu’s son, described Mukhriz’s statement as “irresponsible.”

“This is a totally irresponsible view of a leader who aspires to the highest position in UMNO Youth, the largest Youth component in Barisan Nasional,” he said.

He said Mukhriz did not understand the significance of vernacular schools to their respective communities, adding that children not only learn to read, write and speak their language, but also learn the cultures, traditions and the heritages of their race.


Police report lodged
In George Town, Penang DAP lodged a police report against Mukhriz, reports BERNARD SEE.

Paya Terubong assemblyman Yeoh Soon Hin made the report at the Patani Road police station on behalf of the party.

“He is calling for all Chinese and Tamil schools in the country to be closed and this will be inadvertently affect the racial harmony which we have been enjoying for so long.

“I hope that the police will take the appropriate action against him,” he said.

A police spokesman confirmed receiving the report and said it would be sent to the Kuala Lumpur police for further investigations.

In Ipoh, Perak State Assembly speaker V. Sivakumar said the issue of unity had nothing to do with the system practised at schools.

Citing national schools as an example, Sivakumar said children of the three races were studying there but pupils would still stick to their own races during games or recess, SYLVIA LOOI reports.

“Putting pupils of different races in the same room will not enhance unity,” he added, adding that if the Education Ministry was serious about promoting it, there should be a subject on unity in the curriculum.


Blame the political system
In Kota Kinabalu, the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) objected strongly to Mukhriz’s suggestion.

SAPP Youth chief Edward Dagul said Mukhriz should be honest and admit that the real problem lies with politicians in the current communal-based political party system found within Barisan Nasional coalition.

Dagul said that Barisan’s racial ideologies meant that Umno championed only Malay causes, with MCA for the Chinese community and MIC for the Indians, MUGUNTAN VANAR reports.

“When our society sees this as the ruling coalition’s formula for national integration, then this concept of compartmentalisation is accepted and adopted as the norm.

“That’s why no one will speak up for another Malaysian if he is not of the same race. The idea that it is ‘better left to someone of their own kind’ will seep in. This results in further polarisation,” he said.

He said SAPP was disappointed that Mukhriz has decided to adopt this stand as it was nothing more than an exercise in garnering more support in his bid for the Umno Youth chief post.

Dagul said Mukhriz should instead talk more of Bangsa Malaysia and Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020) as advocated by his father Mahathir, instead of harping on racially sensitive issues.

“The country’s success lies with its cultural diversity and the mutual respect shown for one another,” he added.

if you can understand the article which contain various views from gov and opps side than you will understand that its not easy to close down vernacular school. even malays wont agree if you ask them to close down SAR and send their childers to national school. you realy want see all vernacular school to be close down than proposal should suggest close all SAR too. than you are thinking wisely i would say.

Aspirasi said...

Maybe it's just a little step to achive the big one.... at least our children now can sit together... what really it's not happened today...

Jitu said...

Balan,

Mukhriz tidak silap kata. Penerima yang salah faham atau sengaja tak nak faham. Bagi saya kalau nak perpaduan itulah caranya. Macam mana nak ada perpaduan kalau hampir 90 peratus kaum cina bersekolah cina dan tidak ada kawan berbangsa Melayu (Kata-kata Ridhuan Tee Abdullah). Bayangkan dah 51 tahun Merdeka ( 3 generasi) masih ada yang tak tahu berbahasa Malaysia. Mereka ini tak akan langsung memahami hati budi dan juga sifat-sifat kaum lain. Bagi kaum Melayu dan India yang tidak memahami bahasa Cina keadaannya juga serupa. Tidak akan memahami kaum Cina.

Jadi Mukhriz tidak silap dengan pandangan beliau kalau bercakap tentang perpaduan. Hanya kalau seseorang itu dapat bergaul, mampu berinteraksi dan menjiwai kebudayaan sesuatu kaum perpaduan akan terbentuk.

Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa
Bahasa Cina Jiwa Bangsa Cina
Bahasa India Jiwa Bangsa India
Bahasa Melayu Jiwa Bangsa Melayu
Bahasa Malaysia Jiwa Bangsa Malaysia

So wake up you out there. If you wish your future generation to live in harmony in this country, one single language is the only answer. Otherwise we have to accept the bitter and unstable relationship that we are facing today.

So politician do not create issues just for the sake of your political mileage. You have a higher priority responsibilities and national solidarity should be on the highest of your list.

DK said...

"I never heard any student who blames the type of school they went to, for their failure in studies or career. Neither did I hear Indians or Chinese have converted to a Malay or even Muslim after going to national schools."

"These are myths created by politicans and education groups."

Well said, it's the politicians who created these myths for their own gains.
No matter how we learn ot study we still studied, but there is a difference here, there are those who still think that one language (their own) is the only langauge that should be taught. If a Chinese is PM then the school langauge will be Chinese, if an Indian, then Indian, and if Malay, then the langauge naturally should be Malay.

You see, people of this kind never opened their minds and are still stuck somewhere in their own prehistoric age.

Like I said, if we are to adopt a full Malay or any other language for life (No matter what race we come from), then will we the people of all ethnicity be given the right as accorded to Malays? For we are all malaysians, right?

CKGord said...

Just the way he said it didn't strike the chord at opposing members.

I totally agree with you. National Unity is to be promoted strategically through union of languages and schools.

Milky Tea said...

Hehehe. You are quite good, actually. I am glad i dropped by here. And i noticed your term 'perceived dictatorship'of Dr.M. Dictatorship in its common usage is a rule by the gun and the bullet. And that has never been the case. If the old man ruled with an iron hand, it was because the majority of the people in malaysia consented to it, whether directly or indirectly. Do we want to be like Indonesia or Thailand? There are great things coming out of the country, but jee whiz, who is governing the country?

You are right, Dr.M did not keep his beady eye focused on education. But he has only one brain, so maybe he thought he could rely on his ministers to keep tabs on their respective ministry. But we knew that things were not so great when Dr.M himself had to walk about KL and made a ruckus, before DBKL jumped and started a cleaning campaign...

Hate or love him, he was a man to be taken seriously. Hmm. What am i waffling about? Oh, yes. Education. Yea, i agree with you. One school. One cafeteria. One quadrangle. One flag. One nation. One King. God bless u all.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely, I totally support one school system with BM and English as the main teaching medium. It doesn't mean we have to forego other languages, we can make it compulsory to have a pass in the 3rd language to proceed. So everyone will be trilingual. Education is so important, it shapes our future leaders and I am not liking the current ones. So maybe we can start doing something about it for the sake of Malaysia's future.

Knights Templar said...

I see most of you that disagree with Mukriz dont seem to get the point!If you dont Understand NATIONAL UNITY even if it stares at you in the face .....Then the is no hope for us Malaysians to be One.

Anonymous said...

dear knight templer,

agree with your and balan's idea with one condition make sure close down SAR too. one point make noise with out no body touch about SAR. if you want see unity and claim as long vernacular school available thats wont hapen than you all shouls propose to close down all SAR. than it will be fine every body goes too same school. dare too propose such thing?? i see no body propose that? why? why they should have SAR and vernacural school all must close down?? can either knight templer or balan give me the answer?

Anonymous said...

Have to agree with Pam. Educating students together is only temporary and will only work for the early primary years. Once they get older, they'll realise that some people are more equal than others and drift apart.

Then, 20 years later, they'll lament on blogs saying, "Where have all my Malay/Chinese/Indian friends gone?"

Pemuda IKS said...

Salam perjuangan,

Pemuda IKS is honoured to be invited to read the articles in this blog. Thanks to Balan for the invitation.

Nowadays, after Tun M's reign, the people have grew drastically in terms of ideology and speculation. The people have not taken everything for granted like they used to before. This has lead to the blooming season of liberal bloggers with the national spirit. This has also proven that the level of thinking among Malaysians has evolved positively. Luckily, Balan is one of them. Congrats!

"Memperkasa Generasi Baru"

Pergerakan Pemuda
UMNO Cawangan Taman IKS
Bahagian Batu WP

http://pemudaiks.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

to anon December 2, 2008 11:51 PM

i could not find the clause.. u r hallucinating!

pls point which part of the Sedition Act that says
"The Sedition Act does not allow anyone to propose the closure of Chinese or Tamil primary schools..."

the quoted statement sounds stupid already.. what about secondary schools?


to Anon December 3, 2008 5:26 AM

too bad, u dont get to set the condition. basically, if the gov were to abolish vernacular schools and to offer mandarin & tamil in national schools, it is still in accordance with Perlembangaan Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

to anon December 2, 2008 11:51 PM

i could not find the clause.. u r hallucinating!

pls point which part of the Sedition Act that says
"The Sedition Act does not allow anyone to propose the closure of Chinese or Tamil primary schools..."

the quoted statement sounds stupid already.. what about secondary schools?


to Anon December 3, 2008 5:26 AM

too bad, u dont get to set the condition. basically, if the gov were to abolish vernacular schools and to offer mandarin & tamil in national school, it is still in accordance with Perlembangaan Malaysia.

Anonymous said...

Kepada semua pembaca yang budiman.....
Jika kita inginkan perpaduan, permuafakatan,keharmonian, dan kemesraaan antara kita, marilah kita fikirkan yang baik, positif dan tanpa curiga di hati. Jangan rosakkan fikiran anak bangsa dengan cara kita berfikir.

kalimullah hassan said...

WHAT RUBBISH ARE YOU ALL TALKING ABOUT? HOW DARE YOU CLOSE THE SCHOOLS THAT MY GRANDFATHER BUILT !

Nani said...

Bravo Balan ! Absolutely agree with you . Have friends who can't even speak Malay or English properly though they claim they're Malaysians .Those people were born here . When I compare with my European friend who had spent 2 years here who can speak Malay fluently , hoo.. those kiasu people should be ashamed of themselves . They're not willing to learn to speak those languages properly . All this people come from the products of vernacular school .
So , conclusion just standardize the school system . Nonsense if you think that you're less Indian or less Chinese if you go to the national school .

Mc Chaoz said...

Bro Im Mc Chaoz here. Read your post abt Muhkriz. Good one. If you got time drop by my blog, http://sharwin125z.blogspot.com.Have your say in my blog. thanks. You know your replied in Sue sin's blog abt the Mukhriz thingy. Its going hot as well. Drop by.

hans said...

I totally agree with tha Dato Mukhriz...

like dumdum said ...

Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa
Bahasa Cina Jiwa Bangsa Cina
Bahasa India Jiwa Bangsa India
Bahasa Melayu Jiwa Bangsa Melayu
Bahasa Malaysia Jiwa Bangsa Malaysia

Anonymous said...

bro kopoi...i tink u cant understan or pretend like dnt understan wat i wrote thr.... if u al talk bout unity thn shld b SAR left? it shld b close n send their childer 2 d same schl wat... y u practice double standart?? can u show me any nons goin 2 SAR as malays goin 2 vernacular schl?? plz la dnt act like good but u r a racist 2? balan y u jus keep quiet now?? wer ur coments?? cnt ans meh?

Anonymous said...

anon..

ignorance makes u look stupid. SAR is not a vernacular school.
if u wish to send ur kids there, no one is stopping u. fyi, they're using BM as medium of teaching, duh!

btw, u shld start reading the Constitution of Malaysia.. if u cant comprehend BM there's an english version as well.

oh i'm the mother of all racist & protected by the constitution some more..
make some research before barking, u dont want to end up eating dog food do u (it's not a question!)

who's the loser now!

Knights Templar said...

Aku dah malas nak jawab soalan dari kalangan commentators sini yang masih degil ..bodoh ..dan sombong ...I am not asking the Chinese And Tamils to embrace the Malay identity ..jUST embrace and adopt the Malaysian Identity ..and a MYCARD is not the answer !
Vernacular Schools are a Political tool ...PERIOD ! aND THEY are the best form of Segregation...To all the Anon's who dont leave your name here ...Have a sensible arguement ...dont shoot from the hip...i am a Malaysian ...of Indian decent ...At the end of the day i am a MALAYSIAN ...PERIOD...I myself must belive and practice what i belive so that the others may and will belive ..not today ...not tomorrow ..but one day!Di mana bumi di pijak ..di situ lah langit di junjong...

SATU BAHASA
SATU JIWA
SATU BANGSA
SATU BENDERA
SATU NEGARA

Knights Templar said...

note : TO Anonymous 12:AM.. Please brush up your english a bit for the benefit of the others...it gives me a freakin Migraine reading your post !

Anonymous said...

Lim Kit Siang wants a Bangsa Malaysia BUT he strongly opposed the formation of single medium school? How would you describe this old man? Senile?

balan said...

Well said, Kinghts templar.

I am also tired of explaining and clarifying to something that some narrow minded commentators here who refuse to understand or comprehend, both the article and comments by fellow readers.

Thanks anyway for your comments. I have not deleted any.

balan said...

Have just deleted one comments from Anonymous who was responding to Kopio due to excessive profanities.

Dear Anonymous. Please be civilised in your arguement, whatever it maybe, it will be published.

Anonymous said...

pooohhh...some talk about english all but put S for one comment? which NATIONAL scholl MALAY teacher teach you that must put S for 1 comment? u c balan ppl writin comment in fast way but mk sure u understan d meaning. it doesnt mean if sum1 write in short n f sum grammer mstk thy not gud in english.. in that case one wil giv coment but having ENGLISH class here.....so if u comment bout languange than u should do ENGLISH class rather than write sum rubbish!

Anonymous said...

Back to the topic,

1. Gov shld totally stop funding vernacular schools. The funds could(must!) be used to improve national schools qualities & facilities.

2. National schools shld offer Mandarin & Tamil classes.

if non-malays are willing to give up vernacular schools mmmm..

Gov shld consider,
3. Remove all quotas to public U's. if u r not good, u dont deserve it. it's not the end of the world. Go try other things.
4. Open up matriculations & special schools (MRSM, etc) to all races.

how about that.. too ideal? why not!

orang berbudi kita berbahasa orang memberi kita merasa..

balan said...

Dear Anonymous,

Please read my comments here on SAR etc..

http://jebatmustdie.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/they-demand-this-they-demand-that/#comment-2962.

Please be civilised in your arguement. You can say whatever you want or criticise but you don't have to be rude and use abusive language to prove your point.

This has got nothing to do with spelling or grammar but some simply could not understand what you are saying, add that with some vulgar and abusive language. This itself will put people off, hence choose not to respond.

Please start your own blog or use other platforms that accepts profanities and abusive language.

Why don't you try it home, see if your parents, sisters and brothers can accept it.

Anonymous said...

mr kopoi i tink u not aware wats hapeing arnd.. mos of the vernacular schl fund by their own community.. u no wat malays are using all the money by nons for national schl.... u also say that there are MRSM n mara whc only 4 malays...thn y not u ask to open all that 1st before u ask oths to do so?? y not u ask ur ppl open up n abolish all d quata system ?? thn u shld suggest to oths so thy would follow?? y u expecting oths mus whle u al do wan to do it?
i tink Malays are the only community who cnt develop their community evn its alrdy 50 yrs gvrmnt helping thm by givin big portion of nons tax money to malays! shld shame of urslf... evn anthr 100 yrs oso malays wnt develop as long gnrmt spoon feed..
so ask grvmnt abolish the quota system in everting...let evry1 be treat equaly.. thn u can start talk abt unity n single schl system.

Knights Templar said...

Balan ...I have learned to take SHIT in life ...But BULLSHIT like your good friend the Annonymous is something i just can't swollow...i dont hate him ...probably his father was a drunk and hit him and never shown him any love while he was growing up...but his hatred for the Malays is so Blatant ! And i belive he is incapable of rational thought...probably the by-product of Kambi Berus Estate Tamil school...in which enhances our arguement of the vernacular school system...the very essence of what we are talking about here.He can dwell in his cocoon with his hate of himself and i will not emphatise with him ...only my sympathies !

Rakesh Kumar said...

Where has these people been when you wrote other stuff? There were many day to day good points you highlighted and yet nobody came to support you or criticise...but when it comes to this issue people get frantic.

And those who oppose seem to lack culture (wonder which school they picked that up from), uses abusive language (wonder which school they picked that up from) and seems to be extremely incapable of putting words together to form simple clear sentence (wonder which school they picked that inability from).

Poor kid, he or she is just stressing himself/herself out. Chill, you might kill yourself.

A Voice said...

I've put your blog on my bloglist. You are worthy read.

ryan said...

Dear Balan,

I came across your blog via Si Pin's blog.

I totally understand your argument as I would say that it is direct and simple.

However, did you notice that people often focus on one issue and ignoring the surrounding factors which contribute to the problems?

Malays would always say that eliminating the vernacular schools are the solutions to national unity, and strongly oppose to the argument that NEP is the root causing this problem.

In other hand, non-Malays will blame it on NEP as well as the little Napoleans, etc. while not admitting that the absence of single education structure can be the root of the problems?

Sometimes, I would like to ask those people who blindly oppose and blindly agree to think. What makes the vernacular school to excel even better than the national schools?

$$? the particular ethnics?? Language? the inherent structure?

Rather than blaming on the existence of vernacular schools, why don't the political elites ask themselves why some of the national schools lose out to the vernacular schools given that they are financial, infrastructure, etc. advantages over their counterparts? I studied in a Secondary School which is less than a quarter than the boarding school, smaller than normal national schools. But I dare to say that the decision of entering this school will never ever be a regret to me. At another hand, we see scandals like national school principals banning performing bodies like dragon & lion dance, giving out beef to indian students during hari kanak kanak, forcing non-malays to wear song kok and tudung, asking them to pray together during the assembly. The despicable acts of intending to assimilate the ignorant young students cannot be FORGIVEN. Yet, we see out ministry choosing to ignore such cases.

So, you say implement single structure in school enhance unity. I would say, until the day when racism are practiced in the national schools, the presence of vernacular schools is a must.

The racism practiced daily by the officers, politicians, our education system (well, I am one of the victims here), etc is the root of causing disunity.

Anonymous said...

agreed with ryan. the problem in this country is not the unity. but the racism. no tolarance among us. school is NOT the way to create unity. unity which must come from every single citizens heart. doesnt matter what school we have as long racism is there there would be no changes. so no point all of you ask to change the school system. scholl should how its going on now. change the mind set and rid of the racism. doesnt matter you 1000 type of school is we are open minded and maturesly tinking than school type is not a issue here. so for those who talking loud to close down all vernacular school please change you thinking level. school is not the problem but the racism and thinking level is the problem. i would support and fight for vernacular school as i benefir a lot and whants to see my childers and future generation benefit and success in their life through vernacular school. as long as racism is there doesnt matter you send you childer to which school also they wont be united.

note: this comment to those who talk about unity! think about what i have say. this comment i post out after talk with malays, chinese and indians who working with me. for you kind info we are government officers and these were the over all conclusion from us.

so again type of scholl is not the BIG issue here.
but sad to see some of you try becoming hero by suggesting close down vernacular schools. very sad!

Anonymous said...

People's loyalty should shift from race-based to country based...it is our country afterall, why do we need separation of races and classification? Unity is key and we should strive to achieve that...what better way than to start from young...

Anonymous said...

raced based politics should have been abolished when the british left the country...unity is key - we should change our perception to side our country rather than our race in any battle, moving forward...

Pat said...

Hello Balan,

Knights directed me to this post, and I'm glad he did.

I agree with you about the vernacular schools. 100%. It's what I have been saying for the longest time, and thought I was a lone voice. Esp. for the Indians, I think this is the only way to save us from ourselves.

But did you see how Lim Kit Siang, S. Velu, etc. have even united in calling for Mukhriz to be arrested for sedition? Speaks volumes about what's important to them.

Divide and rule has worked so well, so long. See all the people here screaming 'oh no'? Proof that the system works. QED!

Pat

Anonymous said...

single school for all , a big step for unity .

But that must be done with , honesty , no hidden agenda for the survival any one race .

ryan said...

Talking about Bangsa Malaysia, I thought UMNO is the one opposing this idea?

Ask kerismuddin and mahathir, WHERE DID THEY SEND THEIR CHILDREN to? Sekolah Kebangsaan? Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan? Nah, it is the privileged ones - the international schools.

Unity? These political elites are the ones ruined everything, yet they manage to shift the focus to antagonize the racial relationships by stating A causing ethnicrifts, and B causing this and that.

In the end of the day, some of the thought-self-to-be-brilliant commoners will succumb to their political tricks.

sigh~

ryan said...

And you will see, how mukhriz gain popularity within UMNO as the fighter for malays and malaysia by merely making a statement without substantial supports on the implementation.

Just like ABB, proposing setting up BN membership without any content in it. Mentality of sloganeering and proposing blatantly moronic ideas without any single basic research is the root causing the downfall of Malaysia.

satD said...

Hi Balan

Some strategies to consider in dealing with the problem

http://satdthinks.blogspot.com/2008/12/stress-testing-logic-of-vernacular.html

Regards
satD

changkatlobak said...

unity, begin in school

Anonymous said...

I like your view.Everyone wishes this becomes true but there are a lot more issues to be resolved before we can achieve this. Firstly. the gov should try to make the SK schools more appealing to Malaysians. Segregation was not an isue back in the 60s and 70s but it is now. Most non-malays are against this but did anyone bother to do something. For the child it is a big issue because the child put in effort to be in the best class but he/she is denied. When a child is placed in a class which is lower than the child's ability, the child would loose interest and bored because the lessons are not challenging enough. This only happens to non- Maly pupils not others.We have to tell the child you can't be in the specific class because you are of different race. What do we instill into this young minds? Unity or Racism? Reason given by the authorities - couldn't accomodate the Moral Studies into the time table. For me it is a lame excuse because there are schools managed to do that. It is actually needs a little extra effort from the school authorities.We can always choose not to have the subjects. The non-Malay pupils can gather at a designated room and be supervised by one teacher during the Islamic Studies lessons.Have you gone through the text for Moral Studies?
Do our Non-Malay parents want to have the subject? Do the Non-Maly parents given a choice on this matter? I can assure you that our children won't loose anything by not studying Moral Studies.

Secondly, the segregation continues in the secondary schools. Now in most district the best gov SMK schools are named "SEKOLAH KAWALAN" where the intake is based on racial quotas. Why 'take over' only the top schools?
This is my suggestion the gov should build more special schools for the Malays if there are not nough schools. I don't mind but don't restrict others to enter the top schools. Like a Malay child, a non-Malay child too want to be in the best school.


If we want unity, our actions and plans must show that. The gov should stop the segragation and 'taking over' top schools, if we are to see united Malaysians, for a start. The primary and secondary school education should be free from all forms of discriminations and be fair to all children. I believe school is the best environment to instill unity but i think we are not heading forward. So, Balan, these are a few things that I think should be rectified before we start talking about one school.
Hopefully, your children do not have to ask you this,"Appa, why I'm placed in the second class eventhough my marks are better than some of the pupils in the best class? I'm sorry for saying this.- Lost Malaysian

Anonymous said...

First give up vernacular schools for the sake of unity. If that doesn't work, give up churches and temples? If that doesn't work, give up Chinese and Indian names? If that doesn't work either, get rid of the pendatangs?

There were no Chinese schools in Indonesia for decades. They didn't use Chinese names. They didn't celebrate Chinese culture. They didn't even speak Chinese. Did that help them get acceptance? Did the Jews in Germany get acceptance?

Stop pushing for simplistic solutions to complex problems!

Saint

Anonymous said...

1/3 of government schools have no electricity and water. You want parents to trust their children's education with them?

Instead of closing down vernacular schools, why not first establish high-quality schools, complete with highly-disciplined teachers, that accept ALL Malaysians. PROVE to the parents that you actually know how to manage such schools. COMPETE for students with vernacular schools.

When these schools are READY to accept students then talk about closing vernacular schools. Otherwise it's all just a wank!

Saint

Vince said...

I do agree that to be able to achieve the level similar to Singapore is the ideal positive idea. But the question is "Are we there yet?" If not then what is being done other than using force to implement?
From my point of view, i do not even think this is possible for the next 10 years given at the rate our community is progressing unless there is some drastic changes in the GOV and the policy.

Anonymous said...

Mr Balan,

Lets take this matter in a more practical way. Forcing the closure of chinese or tamil school..will only create resentment and uneasiness among the many races of Malaysia.The fact that our race based politicians are mostly inconsiderate lot..wont help much.

You've said that the national school would then have classes to teach chinese and tamil language. Why not do it now and make it such an excellent(with more credit hours) class that the chinese and tamil school would envy. Let us attract student and parents from those school to voluntarily begging at the national school gate...to be admitted into the national school.....show them we meant it and let have malays, indian that can speak mendarin fluently and and chinese and malays that can speak tamil as good as MGR...

balan said...

Ubierect,

You have a point there, but that would be difficult when resources (teachers especially) are locked in vernacular schools.

By the way, MGR was not a good Tamil speaker, neither is Rajinikanth, both are non-tamils who became Tamil Superstars by luck and hardwork.