From the eyes of children - Bangsa Malaysia is a fallacy

[misled_youth]

Contest winners: Bangsa Malaysia not yet a reality

BY CHOONG KWEE KIM

PENANG: Bangsa Malaysia is still a myth that Malaysians need to work on to make it a reality.

Audrey Quah Mei Yi, 17, Cheryl Neoh Lih-Xin, 17, and Ranjini Suppiah, 13, who spoke at length on this topic, won the top prizes at the 24th Youth Speaks For the Nation elocution contest held here yesterday.

While most of the 15 finalists said the Bangsa Malaysia identity had been achieved, the three girls convinced the judges that the ideal had yet to be attained 47 years after independence.

Quah, the champion from SMK Convent Green Lane, said more people, from politicians to educators, lamented on the increasing racial polarisation among students from Year One to institutions of higher learning.

?It is ironic that after 47 years of independence, our identity cards still carry data on race ? Malay, Chinese, Indian or others.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2004/9/5/nation/p8neoh.jpg

CONVINCING SPEAKERS: (From left) neoh, Quah and Ranjini displaying their trophies after winning the 24th Youth Speaks For the Nation elocution contest held in Penang Saturday.
?Rightfully, this information should read Bangsa Malaysia,? she said on the topic ?Bangsa Malaysia ? Reality or Myth.?

Neoh said although the people formed cliques based on race, past and present leaders had successfully maintained peace and harmony.

?Our Prime Minister is a wise leader who led by example. I was touched when he shared a meal with Christians in a church compound during the recent World Council of Churches conference.

?If our open-minded leader can closely interact with people of different races and religions without compromising his beliefs and traditions, then so can we,? said the SMK Sri Inai student.

Form One student Ranjini said all Malaysians, regardless of their race, religion or origin must feel that they were being treated equally because racial equality was essential for the creation of Bangsa Malaysia.

?We should be able to work towards a fairer and equal education system ? a system which takes into consideration the needs and aspirations of all Malaysians.

?The deserving ones from all races should be given help in education as well as economic opportunities. Otherwise, the problem of brain drain will worsen,? said the SMK Taman Inderawasih student.

For their impassioned speeches and excellent delivery, the girls won RM500, RM300 and RM200 respectively besides a trophy each.

The Penang Chief Minister?s Challenge Trophy went to SMK Convent Green Lane.

The other finalists were Shalene Kalyanasundaram, Victor Teng Sheng Yeow, Melinda Chee Wai Ping, Lai Yin Ye, Michelle Mei McGuire, Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, Sharanna Devadas, Andrea Tee Shao-Wen, Marcus Lau Shi Ern, Nur Muna Mazlan, Chow Shen Yi and Michelle Lee Su Yin.

The Most Supportive School Award, introduced this year, went to SMK Perempuan Methodist which competed with two other teams from SMJK Perempuan Cina Pulau Pinang and SMK Convent Green Lane in cheerleading routines.

Chief judge Datuk Wong Siew Hai said many contestants spoke on common themes such as the love for Malaysian food like rojak.

Others shared about passions that made up Bangsa Malaysia but the key factor was to speak from the heart rather than memorising the speech, he said.

The contest was organised by the Penang Junior Chamber in collaboration with the State Education Department and Universiti Sains Malaysia and was sponsored by Star Publications (M) Bhd.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/9/5/nation/8830962&sec=nation

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I'm glad The Star had the gall to publish this story. This would never have made it's way into Utusan or Berita Harian. There, Malay supremacy reign supreme (sic).

I hope our leaders don't dwell too much in their self-imposed myopia. Look with your hearts, listen to the people.

One wise dude once said, "Your friends tell you what you want to hear, but your enemies are the ones who tell you what you need to hear".

I applaude the brave girls who choose to debunk the myth and speak their minds. I hope they join ReCom soon.
________
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[pandaboy]

misled_youth, providing a summary and a link to the article will be sufficient. Please edit ur post... Thanks.

[yekban81]

Some interesting quotes to share here:

"Bangsa Malaysia would mean "people being able to identify themselves with the country, speak Bahasa Malaysian and accept the constitution". But sceptics express their doubts on the basis of racial differences, and social disparities that still exist in society. They sadly ignore the common grounds that people here share. After all, we speak the same language, Bahasa Malaysian, go to the same public schools and even celebrate each other's religious festivities and this could very well shoo the various nuances about on "what" foundation should Bangsa Malaysia be built. It may seem trivial and invisible to some, but there is a strong force behind the roadside food-stalls that hold Malaysians together, which could be that powerful drive to promote unity." (Farrah Naz Karim)

"...if Bangsa Malaysia is intended to refer to the "people" of Malaysia as a whole, then I do submit that it is easier for many of us to think of ourselves as the citizens or people of Malaysia than as persons belonging to the Malaysian "race"." (DATUK P.G. LIM)

"When you put being Malaysian first, then only your ethnicity. Sharing a common thinking, common goal, common culture, common language." -Fooji - Warung Ikan Bakar

"Simply put, a state of being where our race, religion and language are celebrated equally, and we see ourselves as Malaysians. A single unit. Indivisible even through diversity." - Ash - The Insane Ox

"Mereka yang lahir di Malaysia. Menerima seluruh rakyat Malaysia sebagai satu kaum. Irrespective of races. Semua ada hak yang sama -Pakdi - Esprit de corps


Take a ponder on what our opposition DAP said about Bangsa Malaysia.

http://www.malaysia.net/dap/par2-13.htm

[Zeroth]

For start, forms should include malaysian as a bangsa.

[phantom]

I DONT BELIEVE IN BANGSA MALAYSIA. I DONT BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WILL TREAT ME RESPECTFULLY AMID THE DIFFERENCES WE HAVE,BE THERE FROM SKIN TONES TO RELIGIONS. period

[chenchow]

misled_youth, the Youth Speaks For the Nation competition is an established competitiion in Penang State, where the students speak vocally about anything in their mind, but they do so constructively. The topic of Bangsa Malaysia not yet a reality, does not mean that the speakers start to bash about the issue of Bangsa Malaysia, but on the other hand, they are those people that genuinely care about our country and speak for the sake of our country, to suggest constructively on how to create Bangsa Malaysia.

I was not there at this year's Youth Speaks For the Nation, but I was there in 1998 and 1999, and on both occasions, Chief Minister of Penang and his exco members are all there to jot down good and implementable plans for the state. It was very well attended each time I went, as every single seat in Dewan Sri Pinang was fully occupied.

I agree with phantom. It is very sad that often we only look from our lenses. We always point a finger out to see where others go wrong, but we never check on ourselves whether we make similar or comparable mistakes.

It takes everyone's effort to achieve Bangsa Malaysia. Quota system is no longer there and many other policy has been changed. There are Chinese and Indians in matrics and mrsm, yet the places are not fully filled, because very few applied. The same goes with NS Trainers. Perhaps, we should ask ourselves why we ask for more places in Matrics, MRSM, and yet many reject it. The same goes with those who appeal for medicine, and out of 128 that were granted, only about 25 accepted the offer. That's a sad case. I am not here to point the blame on Chinese and Indians, but my main point is that all of us, we should give and take and try to find win-win situation. Someone's gain does not equate to others' lost. We should look at overall picture.

I rest my case. It's just my two cents.

[topdog]

Quota system is no longer there and many other policy has been changed.
"no more quota system." are you sure that statement does not have to be qualified?

can you please provide some examples of policies that have been changed? i don't mean this in a hostile manner or anything like that. honest question.

[theT]

i don't believe in bangsa malaysia. being malaysian should be our nationality not our bangsa. when i think of malaysia, malay, chinese and idian will come to my mind.

[ElansarGelmir]

It takes everyone's effort to achieve Bangsa Malaysia. Quota system is no longer there and many other policy has been changed. There are Chinese and Indians in matrics and mrsm, yet the places are not fully filled, because very few applied. The same goes with NS Trainers. Perhaps, we should ask ourselves why we ask for more places in Matrics, MRSM, and yet many reject it. The same goes with those who appeal for medicine, and out of 128 that were granted, only about 25 accepted the offer. That's a sad case. I am not here to point the blame on Chinese and Indians, but my main point is that all of us, we should give and take and try to find win-win situation. Someone's gain does not equate to others' lost. We should look at overall picture.

There are times u just have to grit ur teeth, clench ur fist and hold urself together from bashing someone... Haha, ok, that's not really a threat... i won't harm anyone... just feel like doing that (am i intimidating here? i hope not)

Chen Chow, I hope that u will look into the context and setting of those people who rejected the offer. They are not rejecting the offer because they feel like it; they reject it because they have no other options. The fees for those private colleges are really expensive. Not everyone has the financial opportunity to study in private unis.

I know that u are not blaming those people, but that should not be used as an example either. They are just victims under circumstances.

It is very sad that often we only look from our lenses.

well, for a fact, u haven't looked from my lense.

Malaysia has 70% of bumiputeras, and 30% of nons. However, the number of non-bumiputeras having problems with getting into universities far out numbered the number of bumiputeras having the similar problems (if there are any). Why don't we ask ourselves. What went wrong here? If the system is really fair and the glitches made are arbitary ones (without favoring any races), at any one time, the % of bumiputeras having problems with getting into universities should be more or less the same as the % of non-bumis having the similar problem.

I don't mean to bash you on this, Chen Chow, but sometimes, you should look in the light of those in plight instead of looking it from your perspective. How many people can be like you, so tolerant and numb towards whatever injustice the "elites" are implementing on us? But yet, we are still human, and we deserve equal opportunity and equal rights. If we do what u suggest, continue to tolerate and being squashed by the local 'elites', it will only make us feel better but it does not make our living condition better.
The Soviets have used this tactic before, and it had only proven to benefit only the people at the top, not the nation.

[kennytang]

well, imho, quota system still exists. mayb its not that serious anymore, but the prob is still there. we cant just ignore it. this is such a sensitive issue that not many ppl will talk bout it openly. didnt hear of such issue doesnt mean that such issue doesnt exist.
for those who reject the offers, though i am not them, i can still read their mind. well, u might say that "if they dont want the offer, what for they appeal for it"
but then u gotta think from their perspective. just imagine that, after spm or stpm with an excellent resut but not receiving any offer, how depressed they are? they will definitely appeal for those scholarships n stuff. do u expect them to appeal for just 1 offer when they know that the probability of getting it is almost impossible? everyone will think of their own future. of coz they will apply or appeal for several scholarships n offers. then only will they choose the best one.

[kennytang]

oh yeah, 1 more thing here. i wonder y cant we learn from US or those developed countries.
well, 1 thg for sure that msia is considered the best among developing countries, but in terms of developed countries, the road is still long.
i suppose most ppl know that we cant move on if we are not ready for any improvement or changes. mayb we r not open-minded enuf or mayb we wanna keep our old lifestyle. but then the truth is ---- developed countries promote a healthy environment in the society.
(there is exceptional case though)
have we ever pondered if we shd get rid of quota system? or at least, try to reduce the quota system.
it is all for the country's benefit.

[rjie]

They are not rejecting the offer because they feel like it; they reject it because they have no other options. The fees for those private colleges are really expensive. Not everyone has the financial opportunity to study in private unis.

Agree with what ElansarGelmir wrote. Many a time, students are forced to choose another major due to financial problem. If I remember correctly, there were news about the reasons why some of the students rejected the offers (correct me if I'm wrong). If I were one of them, I think I might reject the offer as well, as the tuition fees in the private universities are much more expensive than the ones in the public universities, which not everyone can afford.

I believe that the quota system still exist, and it will continue to exist if no action is taken. Even though they claim to use the meritocracy system, but I don't think they really accept a student based on his/her results, as we still can see that every year there are numerous students who are rejected the courses that they want.

My friends who had just finished their STPM start to worry about whether they would be admitted into the universities, or the cases happened before every year will still continue to plague them. Even those who have excelled all the while are worried about such a situation will happen again and again. Hopefully this year (next year), there will be changes.

[chenchow]

On the issue of the 128 students, what they are offered is that they would be given a full scholarship to study in the private universities/colleges (IMU, Perak Medical College, AIMST, Penang Medical College) and they need to graduate from the medicine and be bonded for 10 years. Is it unfair to the government to bond them for 10 years after spending RM300,000 or so on them? It is not an issue of affordability, as the government is providing them full scholarship. It is their refusal to serve the nation that causes so many rejections. Many of them hope to get to study medicine, have the government pay for them and then set up their private practices (after their housemanship) and earn big bucks. If this is so, is it fair to the taxpayers? I leave it to fellow ReComers.

On those who have finished STPM, the main reason that the students do not get into the courses that they have interest is due to their failure of choosing the choices of courses carefully. Say the cut-offs for medicine for all IPTAs are 4.00, and say student A has 3.88 and what this student has done is that he put all his 8 choices with medicine from 8 different universities and hence this student does not get into any of his choice. Who is to blame?

My high school, which is a vernacular school, has been advising the students to choose courses based on their interests and their STPM results. They would allocate their 8 choices into 3 categories. 2 courses/universities that they hope to get in but they are slightly lacking in the cut-off, 4 courses/universities that they have strong interest in and they are on the cut-off or slightly above the cut-off, and finally 2 other courses/universities that they have interest in as well and they are well above the cut-off. Another thing my school does is to analyze the cut-off for the past few years to get to see the trend. If the trend is to increase 0.04 per year, then you should take that into account when select. Although this is not fool-proof method, high 90+% of my high school students get into the courses of their choice.

[kennytang]

On the issue of the 128 students, what they are offered is that they would be given a full scholarship to study in the private universities/colleges (IMU, Perak Medical College, AIMST, Penang Medical College) and they need to graduate from the medicine and be bonded for 10 years. Is it unfair to the government to bond them for 10 years after spending RM300,000 or so on them? It is not an issue of affordability, as the government is providing them full scholarship. It is their refusal to serve the nation that causes so many rejections. Many of them hope to get to study medicine, have the government pay for them and then set up their private practices (after their housemanship) and earn big bucks. If this is so, is it fair to the taxpayers? I leave it to fellow ReComers.



wow, is that a sweeping statement????
not ALL students think of the bond thingy. maybe some of them do, but certainly not all. the possibility of them getting a better offer does exist. n if this happens, of coz they will go for the better offer. i do know that medical course offered by the government is a good offer, but then nothing is the best.

lets say for stpm system, u gotta earn a 4.00 for medical course. but then is a 4 flat holder of metrikulasi the same as a 4 flat holder of stpm? well, the answer is pretty obvious, so i will leave it to u guys to decide it.

my fren who earned 3 As and 1 B in stpm did get a place in ipta, but the course offered even not in his top 8 choices. com'on. 3As n 1 B in stpm aint that bad after all. n the majors he applied r not those hot majors. i know that there r many criteria in admission to ipta but it still doesnt make much sense.

if matrikulasi is considered the same as stpm n the grading system is unified, i would like to ask those dignitaries to set quota system for stpm n open up matrikulasi. (fyi, i do know there is a 10% admission for non-bumi in matrikulasi)

[lyzzy]

Will leave off commenting about the education system for now.

However... I have a few things to say about the Bangsa Malaysia.

It is, IMHO, the most stupidest (bad grammar... ) idea I have ever heard of. Only in Malaysia, you can find people attempting to promote racial unity by using one term.

For start, forms should include malaysian as a bangsa.

Forms shouldn't even have the category 'race', period.

I don't mind the term Malaysian [attach race here eg Malay, Chinese, Indian].... and not just call myself a Malaysian, thank you. Bad example: There are American Chinese, Iranian Americans, Italian Jews, African Americans, Russian Jew, (ok I'm just typing whatever comes to mind). Example: Noone would ever ever list their race as being 'Russian' when they are actually ... 'Russian Orthodox Jew'. Not only is it misleading, it is also betraying part of yourself.

And we certainly don't speak the same language. There's no shame in not speaking a common language. It does not mean that if people speak differently, they won't be united. Bad example: German Jews spoke German during WWII. Example2: The Chinese clans in China take pride in their different dialects, although they do speak Mandarin. Example3: In Switzerland, there are three official languages used in the three different terrotories, and although all three speak English, it is not their native language. Example4: The French take pride in not speaking English.

The human race is unbelievebly diverse and rightly so! In other parts of the world, linguists face the dire problem of dying languages (85% or so languages will die out by 2020)
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[lyzzy]

On the issue of the 128 students, what they are offered is that they would be given a full scholarship to study in the private universities/colleges (IMU, Perak Medical College, AIMST, Penang Medical College) and they need to graduate from the medicine and be bonded for 10 years. Is it unfair to the government to bond them for 10 years after spending RM300,000 or so on them?

Well, even the large number of qualified people who cannot secure a place in a public university should be very very worrying by itself.

Many of them hope to get to study medicine, have the government pay for them and then set up their private practices (after their housemanship) and earn big bucks

They applied to public universities, not private ones in the first place. This should indicate something about their reluctance to get bonded in the first place.

They don't all make big bucks, chenchow. And money shouldn't be a factor when choosing careers.

Being bonded to the government with a significantly smaller pay than one would get in a private practice with the same qualifications for ten years doesn't augur well for any ambitious person.

I would understand you trying to justify bonding with the government, but it limits upward career movement and tend to be very frustrating. Yes, you will are provided a job, yes you are provided with a pay, but it won't be as lucrative as working on your own, neither will it be as satisfying. And if you are good at your work, you will have no problem finding a job.
Obviously, if one didn't have the money in the first place, they would need to take a scholarship and be bonded with the gov, BUT... these people wanted to go to a public university in the first place.

If this is so, is it fair to the taxpayers?

Yes it is. This education would benefit the health sector. While you are along this track, chenchow, think, is it fair that 90% of the places in MARA are allocated to bumis, when only 70% of the population are bumis? And every taxpayer is supporting the MARA students with our money. The places allocated for the non-bumis is currently underfilled, but maybe that is because of the overwhelming 90% quota, and it might just scare someone who is from a different culture altogether. Or there isn't much publicity in the schools to go around with (I know for a fact that my brother was never informed about this)
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[chenchow]

wow, is that a sweeping statement????
not ALL students think of the bond thingy. maybe some of them do, but certainly not all. the possibility of them getting a better offer does exist. n if this happens, of coz they will go for the better offer. i do know that medical course offered by the government is a good offer, but then nothing is the best.

lets say for stpm system, u gotta earn a 4.00 for medical course. but then is a 4 flat holder of metrikulasi the same as a 4 flat holder of stpm? well, the answer is pretty obvious, so i will leave it to u guys to decide it.

my fren who earned 3 As and 1 B in stpm did get a place in ipta, but the course offered even not in his top 8 choices. com'on. 3As n 1 B in stpm aint that bad after all. n the majors he applied r not those hot majors. i know that there r many criteria in admission to ipta but it still doesnt make much sense.

if matrikulasi is considered the same as stpm n the grading system is unified, i would like to ask those dignitaries to set quota system for stpm n open up matrikulasi. (fyi, i do know there is a 10% admission for non-bumi in matrikulasi)

I am sorry, as I understand my statement is kind of sweeping. Perhaps, i should correct myself that majority of those, but 80% of the 128 rejecting does not make sense to me.

On your friends who apply with 3A 1B, what courses did he apply? He can definitely check about the cut-off for each course at each particular university. And I am sure that he would be able to find out on that, because as far as I know, everyone that exceeds the cut-off would get the place.

On matriculation, the question of 10% quota does not really exist currently, as total applicants for matriculation from non-bumi is less than 10% of the places, so even if every applicant is given places, there are still empty places within the quota. So, this problem would only exist when more non-bumi apply for matriculations and not now.

[chenchow]

I agree with lyzzy on that matter, but it is still a big surprise to me when such a big number of people reject it. While I can see your point that if they had gotten IPTA, they would not need to be bonded by government for 10 years.

However, I would say that it is a process to help those people. Imagine that in US, when you get 4.0 in CGPA and I think there are some of those students with 4.0 CGPA do not get into the medical schools of their choices. And even if they get in, most of them have to pay through the hefty fees. Do the US government step in and give full scholarships? Do any of the other government in the world are giving as many scholarships as Malaysia in the medical field?

And on MRSM, the number of non-bumi that apply for MRSM are fewer than the 10% of places allocated.

[ElansarGelmir]

I guess that's what you have to do as a non-bumi in Malaysia. Just wait and pray for miracle, and if you get small crumbs dropped from the BN's table, kenanglah budi hingga ke bumi...

Chen Chow, those students are the ones with 4.00 CGPA, from STPM. Yes, it is their lost for not taking up the scholarship (forgive me for not knowing that they have been offered the scholarships before this. I am aware that Najib has once said that he will LOOK INTO the matter, but i was not informed about them getting the scholarship), but they should be given the priority to choose to their university and course, and if they want the scholarship or if they want to just study medic without scholarships. And I guess that they are not willing to spend 10 years serving the govt. Or perhaps they found other good Samaritans who offer them scholarships. Or perhaps they are disheartened from the injustice done to them and they realize where they are heading for if they accept the scholarship and are bonded to the govt for 10 years. Either way, our country have lost so many bright and young doctors. And we bemoan of braindrain. Another paradox of Malaysia.

We are not living in a communist society. And yet, the govt is forcing them (here, take this! then serve us for 10 years) to serve the govt (see, we are generous. They are just being too fussy and do not want to serve us. and if they deny the scholarship, we can say they are not grateful about what we have done. it's a win-win situation. muahahaha! :twisted: ). So it is easy for you guys to blame them and look at BN as the angel (and so the words have been fulfilled), when what the govt do is actually holding back the trophies from the top 128 runners in the race and then GENEROUSLY offer them the trophy with some conditions which some of them could not fulfil (and there are some people who sing praises to the govt). They are not asking for scholarships. If they are looking for scholarships, they would have accepted it. All they want is the trophy that they deserve, and is it so hard for those who deserve it to get it back?

How can our nation's top 128 students see the beauty of Malaysia and enjoy the rich opportunities that they deserve when they were thrown into the harsh realities of injustice that has been constituted for decades in Malaysia? How can they say they are grateful for what they have got when some other people who have not proven to be more capable than the former are given higher priorities? How can they claim they love Malaysia for what she has done for them when they have to work hard and their work are not appreciated there?

On those who have finished STPM, the main reason that the students do not get into the courses that they have interest is due to their failure of choosing the choices of courses carefully. Say the cut-offs for medicine for all IPTAs are 4.00, and say student A has 3.88 and what this student has done is that he put all his 8 choices with medicine from 8 different universities and hence this student does not get into any of his choice. Who is to blame?

Funny that you ask this question. Don't cry that Malaysian workers lack of quality in the near future when students from matriculations are more qualified than STPM students in university entries.

[lyzzy]

chenchow,

OK I know tons about US financial aid... cos I'm forced to know about it, (I'm poor and can't afford education)

So I say with ATMOST CONFIDENCE that....

And even if they get in, most of them have to pay through the hefty fees. Do the US government step in and give full scholarships?

Yes, the US government as well as the university itself gives full scholarships. (Of course, it's not named full scholarship, but rather full financial aid) Sometimes it's a loan. So they have to work to pay it off. However their salary-to-tuition ratio is more generous than that of Malaysia.

I agree that not everyone should get in, and that admission is really hard. OK that's probably where I made a mistake. But you are wrong about the scholarship part. They DO give full financial aid (let's get the terms correct)
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[chenchow]

For the matter, the scholarships are offered to them, because their initial concern when government offered them education in IPTS was the cost factor. And these 128 students do not only consists of non-bumiputera only. There are about 30 of them who are bumiputera.

And they are given the option to either choose to accept the scholarships or not.

Remember that all 600+ places of medicine in IPTA are offered to those students with 4.00 in either matriculation or STPM. There aren't anyone with anything less than 4.00 getting the entry.

I am not sure how this problem would have solved, when both matriculation and STPM are each having grade inflation every year. There are about 500 4.00 in each of matriculation and STPM, which means about 1000 students with 4.00. And although the number of places in IPTA for medicine is going to increase to 1300 places next year, with more IPTAs offering medicine, this problem is going to happen again, if there are more grade inflation.

[youngyew]

Forms shouldn't even have the category 'race', period.
Is there a "race" field in the ReCom Member registration form? :wink: Guess what would happen when the member's race is put on alongside the name in every post in the forum. Well, instant barriers, more "careful" and politically correct languages.

I guess with current ReCom environment, we do minimize the context of sensitivity by eliminating the "race" factor. When we are arguing the issues of university quotas etc, the question of "Is XXX a chinese or malay?" doesn't pop out on the mind.

[kennytang]

I guess with current ReCom environment, we do minimize the context of sensitivity by eliminating the "race" factor. When we are arguing the issues of university quotas etc, the question of "Is XXX a chinese or malay?" doesn't pop out on the mind.

yeah i agree.