Slow down development...

[da-hype]

I'm in malaysia for the rest of this semester, and after comeing back from the US, i've noticed.. malaysia has changed alot. it's more modern or "maju". BUT... i think the people are still third world. from the way the drive, the way they treat others.. and mentality.

I personally think malaysia should slow down on all this mega projects or development.. and let the people catch up. Spend more money on education and in on cuting down crime. It's real kind of sickening to read about the things (murders, rape and so on) that is going on. (have not read malaysian news in almost 2 years)

What do you guys think?

[chenchow]

I agree with da-hype and I believe that this is a crucial issue, where we have first-class infrastructure, but Malaysian's mentality is still within the realm of third-world countries and we have a lot to work on to further improve on this aspect.

It is essential that we build a good generation of young Malaysians and it has triggered my emotion when I read in the media everyday about the number of crimes that are happening. While after Rakan COP was initiated, crime rate in Klang Valley was reduced significantly, yet it still comes to me that Malaysians are not yet developed in many sense.

In terms of cleanliness, civil consciousness etc, we are way behind where we should be. Generally, we still rest on our laurels and this is something that we should work on...

As I am typing this, questions pop up. what can we do to help on this? I think allocation wise, this is not too big an issue. Spending money on campaigns won't really help. Anyone has good suggestions on this issue?

[noneedname]

----------




The truth is that the ability of education to bring people together is limited. On top of that, education - at least secular one - is about the pursuit of truth and knowledge and hence, whatever is taught in schools should be based on the truth and reality in order to unite the students.

But when our society is already polarised by the law and other economic realities, and we tell our children otherwise in school, its likely that the unity lessons will never stick for long or even worse result in a backlash.

What is more distressing is the fact that national education policy is only meant for the masses while our political leaders send their children overseas. Can we believe they have faith in our own educational facilities and that they are sincere in wanting the best for us?

In Malaysia, unfairness is institutionalised. For example, it is alright for certain schools or universities like the Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara to bar non-bumis.

So it piques me to hear some blaming vernacular schools for racial tensions. Vernacular schools have never barred bumis from enrolling into them unlike Mara educational institutions. If vernacular schools are to be blamed, so too must the Mara institutions.

A minister responsible for higher education who can make such inflammatory statements confirms that the so-called meritocracy system of university entrance is a sham, since he is able to promise that the percentage for malay applicants will never fall below the previous quota percentage.

Is he suggesting that we should rejoice over our poor education? Please do not confuse quality with quantity.

I cannot help but think that the politicians have an ulterior motive. If so, please be honest and brave enough to admit it.

With such narrow-minded people in charge, it is difficult to have confidence in any of their suggestions.

When it came to choosing a career, I avoided public services for the fear of being excluded from promotions just like how I was excluded from matriculation etc. Many employers are also very racially defined. Now, as much as I miss hanging out with people of other races, I end up being with people of my own race.

Looking back, I don't think our primary vernacular system is the cause of disunity. On the contrary, it enriches our Malaysian heritage. The real problems are with the uneven playing fields that split bumis and non-bumis from secondary school onwards.

Another example are the Chinese Indonesians. Most of them don't even speak their mother tongue, nor do they even carry Chinese names anymore, yet come any major political turmoil, they are targeted by the majority. Is this due to vernacular education?

The government should be aware of the fact that the number of Chinese schools has not increased over the past 30 years despite the need for them due to increased demand from both Chinese and non-Chinese students.

The diversity of education methods in the country is a national treasure and should be upheld. Unity will come from mutual respect and fair treatment for all - not necessarily from a uniform education.

Whether they will take concrete steps to address the imbalance is another matter for while I am optimistic about the people of Malaysia, I have very little faith in politicians.





------------

[Salvation]

In Malaysia, unfairness is institutionalised. For example, it is alright for certain schools or universities like the Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara to bar non-bumis.

If this were to happen in the States, the governer of the state would lose his job immediately, on the contrary, if this stupid rule would to be abolished in Malaysia, our kind Education Minister would probably lose his UMNO youth post.

[gohweihan]

So it piques me to hear some blaming vernacular schools for racial tensions. Vernacular schools have never barred bumis from enrolling into them unlike Mara educational institutions. If vernacular schools are to be blamed, so too must the Mara institutions.

It's slightly more complicated than just to lob the blame at vernacular education. Ultimately it's a convergence of events and moves that led to the stituation. And no, it's not just about who can enrol in vernacular schools.

However, having said that, the move at the other end (i.e. the Bumiputera) is indeed contributing more towards racial division.

I cannot help but think that the politicians have an ulterior motive. If so, please be honest and brave enough to admit it.

When Rafidah made the statement that they would not disclose the AP holders, you know that they're not what you think they should be.

Looking back, I don't think our primary vernacular system is the cause of disunity. On the contrary, it enriches our Malaysian heritage. The real problems are with the uneven playing fields that split bumis and non-bumis from secondary school onwards.

While it is true that the uneven playing field is the main cause for splitting the races, ultimately we have to ask one question. What is indeed the significance and relevance of these vernacular schools? If they are indeed just a bargaining chip, then they are as good as useless once we achieve full equality. Otherwise, no one has yet to show why they are important short of tradition and heritage (which also, no one has yet to show why is tradition and heritage important, that we should slow down or stop to accomodate them). Note that this is about the schools, not the vernacular education system.

The government should be aware of the fact that the number of Chinese schools has not increased over the past 30 years despite the need for them due to increased demand from both Chinese and non-Chinese students.

I hope you have your facts right, or quote the source which gave you that statistics.

The diversity of education methods in the country is a national treasure and should be upheld.

Elaborate on this.

Unity will come from mutual respect and fair treatment for all - not necessarily from a uniform education.

Uniformity and diversity are not mutually exclusive. Within a uniform education system, there can exist diversity. In fact, by having a uniform education system, it is even easier to create awareness for diversity.

Whether they will take concrete steps to address the imbalance is another matter for while I am optimistic about the people of Malaysia, I have very little faith in politicians.

Then work towards changing it - don't just talk about it. I've faced many people who complain about this and that about Malaysia, yet when I ask them whether they would do something for the nation (i.e. work towards changing this unfairness), they shun away. Cowards indeed. One of them is the person who posted in Jeff Ooi's blog, a.k.a. frightened Malaysian.

[Chyi]

Da-hype has been staying in US, away from Malaysia for some years, that's why he may feel uneasy with Malaysians' attitude and behavior. In the first place we shouldn't compare Malaysians mentality with foreigns since we should have our own national identity. However, after exposed to the other societies, we started to realised the weaknesses of our place, and started to think of rectifying them.

However, people who stay in Malaysia all the time may not feel like people who had been overseas. We need education, yes, but not the current exam oriented education.
In Japan, the primary students enjoy playing with insects, I found them weird but they are loving it. They discussed about the insects among themselves and the teachers tried to tell them how to protect the environment so that the insects won't extinct. And in the first 2 years of University, some universities are doing liberal art, and the lessons develop the skill of thinking of the society, environment and mankind, to have good value.

However, there are also some unproper problems including behavior mistakes in advanced countries. Like people less caring of each others, more emphasized on self comfort and so on.

About slow down the mega projects, development is important to catch up the other advanced countries, but as everybody said, We need to reduce crime and people's mind need to be improved as well. It would be great if both can be carried out slowly together.

An important thing is not following the 'modern n advanced' society blindly, and Malaysians should continue to have our Malaysian good value, and try to rectify some bad behaviours.

[sabishii]

Then work towards changing it - don't just talk about it. I've faced many people who complain about this and that about Malaysia, yet when I ask them whether they would do something for the nation (i.e. work towards changing this unfairness), they shun away. Cowards indeed. One of them is the person who posted in Jeff Ooi's blog, a.k.a. frightened Malaysian.

don't impose your beliefs on others. we all have different ways to help change the society, some would advocate the passive method and some protesting more actively. "Coward" is a very negative word, you should really use it with more caution. as i mentioned above, different people has different ways of protesting. maybe it's his choice of a silent protest. or maybe he was too disappointed by the situation as it is. no matter what it is, calling him a coward is deemed inappropiate. besides, what have you and me done for our society that made us not 'cowards' ? :wink:

[gohweihan]

If he is doing a silent protest, he didn't show it. What he did so far was to criticise and point out issues. Unless he shows that he is indeed doing a silent protest, I cannot retract my statement, because ultimately the definition for a coward (subjectively) is one who runs in the face of problems.

I'm using this word in view of his post, that's all. It's not a comparison of any sort, so right now, considering that I'm not doing anything, you may call me a coward. But then again, I'm helping to spread the word about what can be done for a better Malaysia, and so are you actually. That is in fact more than what frightened has done.

[the-model-racist-nation]

__earth: we condone neither blatant racism nor cut and paste trolling activity. Moreover, this is out of topic. At the same time, we know you share the same IP with noneedname.

[da-hype]

Da-hype has been staying in US, away from Malaysia for some years, that's why he may feel uneasy with Malaysians' attitude and behavior. In the first place we shouldn't compare Malaysians mentality with foreigns since we should have our own national identity. However, after exposed to the other societies, we started to realised the weaknesses of our place, and started to think of rectifying them.


i'm not comparing malaysia with the US or other countries. i'm just comparing it from b4 i left. This have changed. ALOT. some good, some bad.

[khor_albert]

Perhaps another mistake of the government is to measure Malaysia's development by practically looking at Klang Valley's development. Klang Valley is much more developed than it was in the 80s, no doubt...but East Coast has not changed very much. I have lived in Kuantan all my life for the past 18 years and I daresay that Kuantan in 1991 and 2004 is not very much different besides the addition of housing areas and some additional roads...meanwhile in the same period of time, look at the changes in Klang Valley!

I think the development should actually move eastward as to increase the quality of life. If the development is not equal, then there's no point talking abt a congested city and over-development.

As for the mentality issue, I admit that majority of Malaysians are still not up to that level yet, but this can be overcomed through quality education and not through the current spoon-feeding system.

Development should be continued at current pace and if possible, faster...but mentality development should never be neglected....and this development cannot be achieved through some usual current campaigns that gave out freebies...

Perhaps "slow down development" should be practised in Klang Valley, where the high density has proved to cause some negative externalities. However, satellite cities such as Petaling Jaya is also quite congested and I have to say Subang Jaya is in quite a mess because of the increasing congestion caused by blocked roads. In Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu, this condition rarely happens, which is good but this also shows less development. From continuing to exploit from a depleted source, why not venture into new resources?

[zAiTsEv]

Perhaps another mistake of the government is to measure Malaysia's development by practically looking at Klang Valley's development. Klang Valley is much more developed than it was in the 80s, no doubt...but East Coast has not changed very much. I have lived in Kuantan all my life for the past 18 years and I daresay that Kuantan in 1991 and 2004 is not very much different besides the addition of housing areas and some additional roads...meanwhile in the same period of time, look at the changes in Klang Valley!

Not very much different? I beg to differ. In 1991, there's no shopping malls (Kuantan Plaza, Kuantan Parade, and Berjaya Megamall) except for Kompleks Teruntum, no decent hotels (Grand Continental, M.S. Garden, Vistana, Citiview) except for Hyatt Regency, no Kuantan Bridge, and no East Coast Highway. Shophouses and new houses are mushrooming everywhere! The value of real estate has shot up especially after the highway was completed. Well, if you insist to compare w/ Klang Valley, I bet not much has changed either in other major cities in Malaysia.

[coolstudy]

The original concept of NEP is laudable, but along the way it has been politicised by Umno aspirants. Yes, Tun Razak spelt out it was not to rob A to pay B. The formula was to expand the economic cake.

From what I see there is no sincerity among the malay leadership to uplift the malay masses. To deflect this discrepancy, non-malays are always used as the scapegoat and tarred as a threat to malay interests.

Malaysia needs malays to be successful. But why the great divide within the malay community in terms of income parity after close to 40 years of NEP?

You blame the implementation instead of the policy. But who are the implementers? Not the non-malays by any stretch of imagination. It is all your corrupt leaders robbing you all blind in the name of Ketuanan Melayu.

Again, you have to look at the leaders you have which glaringly show populism to seek self-interest is the mark of their leadership.

Economists of capitalism has long know a non secret recipe of a successful economy is best practised by non-interference of the authorities, a set policy like NEP is bound to failed in the first place! We might as well rely on the rule of communism rather than NEP!

We should from now on apply the rule of totally non-interference free economy in Malaysia economy, government shall only maintain the basic rules of law and providing a basic social net, and its function stop here! Let the economy run as free as it should, by merit!

Look at China and India, how they open up their economy and prosperous! Let the poor countryman to prosperous at later stage, at the meanwhile teach them how to fish, not give them the fish! Sooner or later, they will know how to fish!

You will say it is so painful! Of course, it is painful, but it is the certain and only way.

We can have a very bright country by adopting alternative approach in developing our economy. Racial base economy is not only outdated but also ineffective and not capitalist!

[PJKru]

chenchow brought up a point on clenliness. They should get rid of the hole in the floor for a toilet. use some modern toilet with special design so that water doesnt drop on the floor maybe suction system to keep toilet seat clean of water. May be expensive at first to produce but once introduced sure to catch on.

[day_dreamer]

Being courteos is also a huge issue in Malaysia.

As far as i know.. Light and Easy has always been promoting courteos Malaysian.. :lol: :lol:

I feel that it'll take another 50 years for Malaysian to achieve mental advancement..

[DecentMerson]

chenchow brought up a point on clenliness. They should get rid of the hole in the floor for a toilet. use some modern toilet with special design so that water doesnt drop on the floor maybe suction system to keep toilet seat clean of water. May be expensive at first to produce but once introduced sure to catch on. Then we'll see economies of scale coming into place.

don't blame the toilet... blame the people. I would say the squatting toilet is more hygienic... there's no contact with other people. It would be funny that in order to solve the problem of people not flushing the toilet after use is to install an automatic sensor toilet. In my opinion, that's just plain stupid. Indeed, it solves the problem of dirty toilet, BUT, a bit but, it doesn't solve the problem of people's mentality of not having responsible to clean after yourself. Also, probably some of you have yet to see how people squat on top of those sitting toilet before: there are shoe prints on it! Anytime, I would rather have a squatting toilet in the public, than a sitting one, where I will have to use a bunch of TP to line up the seat.

Being courteous, being friendly, being nice, being clean... it's all about education. Probably it should not take a genius, a committee, another research, and another 20 years for them to figure out that memorizing 'nilai-nilai murni' is not a good way to educate the young. Home education would do a much better job because I believe this teachings should be instilled into the young minds early on.

[PJKru]

don't blame the toilet... blame the people. I would say the squatting toilet is more hygienic... there's no contact with other people. It would be funny that in order to solve the problem of people not flushing the toilet after use is to install an automatic sensor toilet. In my opinion, that's just plain stupid. Indeed, it solves the problem of dirty toilet, BUT, a bit but, it doesn't solve the problem of people's mentality of not having responsible to clean after yourself. Also, probably some of you have yet to see how people squat on top of those sitting toilet before: there are shoe prints on it! Anytime, I would rather have a squatting toilet in the public, than a sitting one, where I will have to use a bunch of TP to line up the seat.

Being courteous, being friendly, being nice, being clean... it's all about education. Probably it should not take a genius, a committee, another research, and another 20 years for them to figure out that memorizing 'nilai-nilai murni' is not a good way to educate the young. Home education would do a much better job because I believe this teachings should be instilled into the young minds early on. Squatting toilet is hygenic but it is very tricky to use. I would not like to use it ever. Its also not just tricky but very uncomfortable. I believe that we should just have a better recyling industry and make recyclable toilet seat covers so that we dont have to contact the seat with our skin. Then we can place them in a bin to be recycled. An idea for a sensor is a good idea. I personally as a malay have been shamed about clenliness when some chinese people were talking to me about how at street level kuala lumpur is not that clean(one hong kong to one malaysian). If you remember the film entrapment my dad remarked to me that they focused on the back alleys, dirty streets around the glorious twin towers. Maybe this was designed to shame the malaysian people. I certainly think the media is a powerful force for shaping peoples ideas. And maybe by showing these areas to the world it should have an affect on malaysians to clean themselves up a bit.

[DecentMerson]

don't blame the toilet... blame the people. I would say the squatting toilet is more hygienic... there's no contact with other people. It would be funny that in order to solve the problem of people not flushing the toilet after use is to install an automatic sensor toilet. In my opinion, that's just plain stupid. Indeed, it solves the problem of dirty toilet, BUT, a bit but, it doesn't solve the problem of people's mentality of not having responsible to clean after yourself. Also, probably some of you have yet to see how people squat on top of those sitting toilet before: there are shoe prints on it! Anytime, I would rather have a squatting toilet in the public, than a sitting one, where I will have to use a bunch of TP to line up the seat.

Being courteous, being friendly, being nice, being clean... it's all about education. Probably it should not take a genius, a committee, another research, and another 20 years for them to figure out that memorizing 'nilai-nilai murni' is not a good way to educate the young. Home education would do a much better job because I believe this teachings should be instilled into the young minds early on. Squatting toilet is hygenic but it is very tricky to use. I would not like to use it ever. Its also not just tricky but very uncomfortable. I believe that we should just have a better recyling industry and make recyclable toilet seat covers so that we dont have to contact the seat with our skin. Then we can place them in a bin to be recycled. An idea for a sensor is a good idea. I personally as a malay have been shamed about clenliness when some chinese people were talking to me about how at street level kuala lumpur is not that clean(one hong kong to one malaysian). If you remember the film entrapment my dad remarked to me that they focused on the back alleys, dirty streets around the glorious twin towers. Maybe this was designed to shame the malaysian people. I certainly think the media is a powerful force for shaping peoples ideas. And maybe by showing these areas to the world it should have an affect on malaysians to clean themselves up a bit.

Speaking about Entrapment, i don't think they do that to shame Malaysia. They can do much more to shame Malaysia if they want to. They can just film the actual streets in KL to shame Malaysia.

Quoted from IMDB:

Errors in geography: The Petronas Towers in Malaysia are not located immediately beside slums. The scenes involving the hideout in Malaysia were filmed in actual slums, and the towers were added into the film later. The Malaysian government complained about this as they felt it misrepresented their rich/poor divide.

[PJKru]

don't blame the toilet... blame the people. I would say the squatting toilet is more hygienic... there's no contact with other people. It would be funny that in order to solve the problem of people not flushing the toilet after use is to install an automatic sensor toilet. In my opinion, that's just plain stupid. Indeed, it solves the problem of dirty toilet, BUT, a bit but, it doesn't solve the problem of people's mentality of not having responsible to clean after yourself. Also, probably some of you have yet to see how people squat on top of those sitting toilet before: there are shoe prints on it! Anytime, I would rather have a squatting toilet in the public, than a sitting one, where I will have to use a bunch of TP to line up the seat.

Being courteous, being friendly, being nice, being clean... it's all about education. Probably it should not take a genius, a committee, another research, and another 20 years for them to figure out that memorizing 'nilai-nilai murni' is not a good way to educate the young. Home education would do a much better job because I believe this teachings should be instilled into the young minds early on. Squatting toilet is hygenic but it is very tricky to use. I would not like to use it ever. Its also not just tricky but very uncomfortable. I believe that we should just have a better recyling industry and make recyclable toilet seat covers so that we dont have to contact the seat with our skin. Then we can place them in a bin to be recycled. An idea for a sensor is a good idea. I personally as a malay have been shamed about clenliness when some chinese people were talking to me about how at street level kuala lumpur is not that clean(one hong kong to one malaysian). If you remember the film entrapment my dad remarked to me that they focused on the back alleys, dirty streets around the glorious twin towers. Maybe this was designed to shame the malaysian people. I certainly think the media is a powerful force for shaping peoples ideas. And maybe by showing these areas to the world it should have an affect on malaysians to clean themselves up a bit.

Speaking about Entrapment, i don't think they do that to shame Malaysia. They can do much more to shame Malaysia if they want to. They can just film the actual streets in KL to shame Malaysia.

Quoted from IMDB:

Errors in geography: The Petronas Towers in Malaysia are not located immediately beside slums. The scenes involving the hideout in Malaysia were filmed in actual slums, and the towers were added into the film later. The Malaysian government complained about this as they felt it misrepresented their rich/poor divide.
Malaysia has to educate the current generation of youngsters in school to be more hygenic. Maybe they should take a hygene class twice a semester. They should also give hygene ratings to restaurants and public places. Have an annual hygene awards to go along with restaurant awards too.