I am presently a Form 5 student taking my SPM examinations. In fact, my next exam shall be the Pendidikan Moral subject, which I feel has been a waste for all my years in school.

As far as I remember, the Education Ministry has been 'tinkering' around with the education system many times and until now has failed to provide any good form of learning to students of our beloved nation. The garbage in the education syllabus is synonymous with our government's policies of racial discrimination, corruption, propaganda and blatant manipulation of the truth.

First of all, since I am the end product of 11 years of crappy education, let me elaborate the problems which I believe are plaguing the system.

Every time a politician comes up with a bright idea, the students suffer. The quality of education is so terrible that they diminish the intellectual capabilities of students. Even the system is against the teachers. Teachers have to go missing on courses for who-knows-what-benefit. Sometimes their courses are held in faraway places from the school and can go on for many days. In the end, the classes are full with students and relief teachers.

I had my primary school education in a sekolah kebangsaan (national school). I had the privilege to learn under fantastic teachers who were dedicated, and I had a very good learning environment. When I went on to secondary school, I met a lot of students who came from Chinese primary schools. Naturally we talked about the different learning environments we came from.

I was surprised that they said that the number of students in each classroom is between 45-50 students. In my national school, there were only about 30 students per classroom. Such a big difference indeed.

For many years there has been an acute shortage of Chinese teachers in the country. I feel that the government has been dragging its feet on this problem. This problem has been around for some time and could easily be rectified if the government was transparent in its recruitment policies for

Chinese language teachers. But record numbers of applicants are rejected year after year, although they have better qualifications than other teachers who are applying for training.

The government is also not interested in increasing the number of Chinese schools. So what if the MCA is successful in relocating under-enrolled Chinese schools? Chinese Malaysians pay taxes too. The money we pay in taxes should be used to support the development of Chinese education, Chinese welfare and help the needy Chinese Malaysians who are not 'rich towkays with Malay Malaysian drivers.'

We should not be building more Bakun dams and saving sub-standard local car manufacturers... the list goes on and on. I would also like to make it clear that our tax money should be used to help the rakyat, regardless of race, religion or creed. Help the needy, not the big fat cronies (which I hope that God has no mercy on them when Judgment Day comes) who plunder the hard-earned money of the rakyat.

And cancel the national service programme too. I pray to God I don't have to go for it. The money the government has allocated for this propaganda programme should be used to help the rakyat, not brainwash and disrupt the education plans of Malaysian youths.

Presently, the education system discriminates non-bumis. Muslims get to learn Pendidikan Islam, which I feel is a good thing. Non-Muslims get an asinine subject called Pendidikan Moral, which is filled with utter nonsense. The way the marking scheme is set is based on not what you feel is the right thing to do, but the correct way of writing some twisted deed.

After tomorrow, I will be free of this irritating subject which defies logic. Thankfully, no non-Muslim students actually appreciate this subject. In fact, the government should be letting us learn about our own specific religions during school lessons. Why do the Muslims get to enrich themselves with religious knowledge but we non-Muslims are fed with rubbish inside our education system?

For those of you who do not have school-going children, here is a new piece of news. My batch is the last batch to learn under the present syllabus for history. Next year's Form 5 will be learning history based on a new syllabus, which is filled with more Islamic history and excludes or minimises other historical studies of different cultures. This will certainly narrow the minds of the next generation of students about the world's history.

I do not have the chance yet to fully analyse the new history syllabus. I can only suspect that the government will probably fill the history books with more propaganda. This shows that our education policy is not being managed by competent educationists but politicians with their own agendas.

There is also the issue of the quotas set for non-bumis to enter universities and the fact that real meritocracy is not implemented because of a dual-entry system (STPM/matriculation) that favours the bumiputeras. Ask any teacher who marks the exams for both the STPM and matriculation. The difference in standard is as wide as the Pacific ocean.

Some Malaysians may feel that I am anti-bumiputera but let me say I do not dispute the hak istimewa orang melayu (Malay special rights). In fact I support it. Without it, national unity might not have been possible. The present policies based on the hak istimewa orang melayu are not working. Something should be done about it. Not discard it, but improve it. When bumiputeras improve, the nation benefits and so do the non-bumis.

Anyway, I am just stating my feelings as a 17-year-old non-bumi. Thankfully, my parents can afford to send me overseas to further my education. But I feel sad for my friends who are unable to have the same privilege as me. They deserve help. Not so-and-so datuk's son.

To be fair, the government must give assistance to the bumiputeras who deserve assistance, but not at the expense of other Malaysians. Middle-class and rich bumiputeras should pay for their children's education. Is it too much to ask? Non-bumis have been doing this for years. It is time the bumiputeras start to do the same. Better now than later. Only the deserving should get assistance, regardless of race.

These problems are not the fault of the bumiputeras. It is Barisan Nasional's fault. Every single component of BN has failed to uphold the needs of the rakyat, bumi or non-bumi. The election is coming and maybe the rakyat should make their feelings heard out loud. As I can't vote yet, I hope that others will take up this cause.

To the past and present education ministers, I just wish to say that you have done a terrible job and by God's grace may he forgive all of you for the sins you have committed against the youth of Malaysia.

And to dear Pak Lah, the nation's youths are putting their hopes on you to bring intellectual and political progress to Malaysia and rectify the wrongs of the previous administrations. God's speed to you, sir, and may Bangsa Malaysia be a reality.