'I believe that the kind of closeted university education the PAP government in Singapore mandates for its people is not a good example for Rafiah to emulate for Universiti Malaya,' says a reader.
On Yes, we believe in academic freedom but...
BT Campus Grad: I sympathise with Rafiah Salim of Universiti Malaya in her very daunting task to turn around the university. I am a graduate from Singapore. I do admit and will certainly confirm the academic excellence of university graduates from Singapore. Employers of these graduates can entertain an expectation that they would be able to live up to the tasks expected of them in the professions they have studied.
Rafiah might like to know that however recent graduates bred out of decades of general compliance to the ruling party in power, are no longer as efficient and dedicated. I would say that teaching methods have not changed for the worse. The university library at National University of Singapore remains one of the better ones in the region.
Something has gone wrong in the face of all this 'academic excellence'. Mediocrity has set in. We might remember Goh Chok Tong's attempts to introduce bohemianism in Holland Village to inculcate creativity among Singaporeans. That strategy has not worked nor has bungee jumping and bar-top dancing.
I thus disagree with Rafiah that campus democracy or a greater campus democracy does not add to critical thinking. I have seen Singapore graduates in the field. If they are taken out of the comfort zone, they falter. They may have the tools but they are ill-equipped in making important assessments when they are taken out of the box. They make excellent workers but not leaders.
Of course, there will be exceptions and I am happy that I have been proven wrong on many occasions. But I have always asked them as to how they are different from the rest of their fellow citizens, all moulded by the nanny state. What choices did they make or what did they have to do to be what they have become - a different Singaporean?
I believe that the kind of closeted university education the PAP government in Singapore mandates for its people is not a good example for Rafiah to emulate for Universiti Malaya. It took me a while to unlearn my premier NUS education. And that has been with discovering the right to dissent, to raise to challenges, to support and protect free expression. Singaporeans on the whole may disagree with me, but I think its only because they may never know what is in store for them by being brave enough to be different.
Thomas Cranmer: With reference to the article about Rafiah Salim's comments , in particular her statement that "NUS (National University of Singapore) has done so well, do you think Singapore is going to allow any 'student riot'? So is Beijing."
Beijing, in particular, is well-known for events such as the killing of student protesters in Tiananmen Square and certainly not a good example to use. This aside, neither Singapore nor Beijing are top 10 universities.
The list below gives examples of student protests at every single one of the world's top 10 universities over the last 12 months. I hope that Rafiah will open her eyes to the wider world and realise that campus activism and protest are an essential part of both a healthy university and a functioning democracy.
- Harvard University - Student protests against military being present at career forum (October 2006)
university (February 2006)
On Haze worsens in peninsular, better in S'wak
Sadirah K: Where it pinches it pains. Only if you have young children suffering from asthma or an elderly parent suffocating from the smog will you realise the pain this causes. Add to this the fasting rigours and we have to ask ourselves why do we bring this onto ourselves?
This is not a question of 'fate' or an 'act of God' but sheer human callousness. Add to this the Asean principle of not interfering with the internal issues of your neighbour and an inefficient government, you have a recipe for tragedy.
Surely, by now we should have in place crisis management strategies to deal with such issues. We know the period when this occurs, the vulnerable areas, the fire prone locations and if a concerted effort is undertaken such issues can be dealt with.
It is this wishy washy attitude within Asean that is getting us nowhere. We tolerate the intolerable as the case with Burma highlights.
Meng: We tend to compare ourselves with others, and we compare with the worse. I recall a minister saying a couple of years ago; "don't complain about our air pollution, there are countries like Peru and Brazil which have smog everyday." Or if you don't think we have freedom of press look at countries like Russia. We are not polite? There are people who are worse. High crimerate? Wait till you see South Africa.
Let's benchmark with the best, the top 10 and aim to get there. The first step to improving is knowing our current reality.
On 18.9% or 45%, poor Malays will remain poor
Ang Wee Kiong: The truth is that the real Malay equity interest in Malaysia is outside both figures. It is also right for the PM to say that the Malays are still behind and forever they will be behind, the way the NEP continues to be implemented in such lopsided manner to the full benefit of the Umnoputra vultures.
To the PM, I said, talk is cheap. Can he, as the PM with the mandate from the rakyat, ensure that the NEP is implemented to improve the lot of the poor, if not irrespective of race, then make sure that it enriches poor Malays - perhaps, not necessary 100%, but just 40% reaches the poor will do. I am very sure that if there is little leakage, the 40% will help uplift the Malay poor in double quick time.
Can the PM abolishes racially discriminative policies? The most glaring of which is the 7% discounts on property prices to the bumiputeras. The poor has been taken care of via low-cost housing. Why should the Malays be given discounts when they buy houses, even millionaires for that matter? Isn't it a sham?
PM, don't talk. I have heard enough. It is beginning to hurt. Please do the right thing for Malaysia.
Kadir Deen: For anyone to deny that the Chinese in Malaysia are justified to feel marginalised is an exercise in self-denial. Having said that, I would go further to say that the 'have nots' in our multiracial nation have also been marginalised, irrespective of their race.
These are some of the realities: Of the 70,000 unemployed graduates (the figures vary depending on the sources), the majority are from public tertiary institutions, and the majority are Malays. The greatest number of drop-outs from our school system are Malays. Malays make up about 60% of the drug addicts in the country. While the NEP may have reduced incidences of poverty among the Malays, the number of hardcore poor Malay households is still staggering.
It cannot be denied, particularly in its earlier years, that the NEP had significantly contributed to the empowerment of the Malays, but I'm one of those who believe that the policy has become a bane to the Malays - a millstone around our collective neck. Despite the fact that the NEP was never meant to be a a permanent institution, many Malays feel that the policy is their God-given right.
This attitude, our dependence on it, and the way it has been implemented, have all contributed to make the Malays uncompetitive and over-dependent on the government on a huge range of our needs: education, housing, business, jobs. In fact, attempts to nurture a Malay entrepreneurial class has achieved, at best, moderate results.
I recall attending a public lecture by Tun Mahathir not long before he stepped down as PM. The subject - the New Malay Dilemma. He clearly stated that the greatest impediment towards the development of the Malays was our dependence on the government for continuous assistance.
I agree with our former PM wholeheatedly. I do not advocate ending the NEP abruptly. It has to be phased out on a carefully-planned schedule, with immaculately planned targets. Such a plan should also, hopefully, receive broad-base political support.
Hooi: Maybe someone should trace the ancestral history of all the past and present Umno leadership to check whether they are 'kaum pendatang' too. My father came from China when he was a teenager. This was identical to Khir Toyo's father path.
On Jeffrey joins PKR, set to battle big brother
Ex-Malaysian: This chap is the worst political grasshopper one can find in Sabah politics. He is morally bankrupt. There are too many Jeffreys amongst the Kadazans. No wonder the Kadazans are suffering. Anwar Ibrahim should be more discerning. People like Jeffrey Kitingan will erode his credibility in no time.
