Please be fair and inclusive - RAMON NAVARATNAM

ALMOST all Malaysians would have been shocked and deeply disappointed by the divisive discussions that took place at the recent “Rise of the Ummah” convention.

Tuesday, 16 Jan 2018

RAMON NAVARATNAM

It was even more depressing to hear that a former senior education officer, Datuk Raof Husin, had urged the Government to “return the exclusive right of government scholarships to bumiputra students and do not give them to others”.

For crying out loud, what was Raof doing right through his long career in the education service? Was he promoting or degrading national unity? I wonder how he got away with this anti-national unity attitude. Has he got so many followers that people can legitimately ask: “Is our Government condoning this negativity and divisiveness?”

The other shocker emerging from this conservative convention was the equally damaging statement by Muslim cleric Ismail Mina Ahmad who reportedly tried to erase the great patriotic contributions and ultimate sacrifices made by non-Malays, especially in the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Royal Malaysia police, in the defence of our dear country. How can anyone be so unfair and discriminatory to our fellow citizens unless they are blatantly racial?

It is also laudable that the secular group Bebas spokesman Azrul Mohd Khalib has boldly called on Malaysians to reject the demands of this negative and conservative convention. Bebas has rightly pointed out “the real need to focus on the future, where we do not need to depend on racial discrimination and bigotry to succeed”. Bebas is so rational and right.

Many other loyal individuals and organisations have also bravely spoken up. The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism led by its president Datuk R.S. Mohan Shan, MIC treasurer-general Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari, and MCA Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker have all stoutly spoken against this threat to national unity from the parochial conservative convention.

But the Government has surprisingly been quiet so far. “Why?” I wonder. The Government should come out against racist and unrighteous remarks. It is indeed expected by all right-thinking Malaysians, especially voters, to state its firm stand against divisive and disruptive remarks that are not historical facts and against national unity and the future of non-Malays.

Both Raof and Ismail Mina Ahmad have apparently violated the spirit of our precious Constitution and the Rukunegara, which provide the foundations of our national unity, fairness, justice and socioeconomic progress.

Should the Government not take the lead by expressing its official stand against attempts to cause public restlessness, disharmony and even unrest?

In fact, the authorities could be reasonably expected to take appropriate action under the laws of the land against those who undermine national unity.

So many Malaysians would appeal to the Government to please be fair and inclusive and to actively promote national unity in our beloved country. This is particularly pertinent at this time before the 14th general election.

A positive move by the Government would definitely benefit all patriotic Malaysians who will be grateful for its leadership to effectively promote greater peace and harmony in our nation.

TAN SRI RAMON NAVARATNAM

Chairman

Asli Center of Public Policy Studies

https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2018/01/16/please-be-fair-and-inclusive/

Malaysia not churning out suitable graduates for innovation, R&D: Professor

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian universities are not producing the type of graduates needed to drive innovation and research and development (R&D), both of which are necessary to move the nation forward.

Posted on 7 September 2017 - 09:21pm
Last updated on 7 September 2017 - 09:32pm

Eva Yeong

Perkins speaking at the seminar in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Xafiq El Shah / TheSun

Professor Dwight H. Perkins, the Harold Hitchings Burbank Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus, at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard Kennedy School, said Malaysia is at a point where it will have to innovate very substantially.

“The question becomes whether Malaysia has the capacity here in the country to carry out that kind of innovation. Are the institutions, supporting infrastructure adequate to support that kind of activity? The first and foremost question is whether the education system is capable of producing the people that Malaysia needs to lead this endeavour,” he said at a seminar yesterday.

The seminar titled “Policy Imperatives to Drive Future Growth” is the third in a four-part seminar series jointly organised by the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia and Malaysian Economic Association.

“Going forward, I think the big problem is where we are going to get human capital that is going to lead a nation towards an economy where innovation – domestic innovation by domestic people – is absolutely essential and where do you get the human resources to do that,” he added.

Perkins noted the brain drain issue in Malaysia, whereby many students who move up to tertiary level go abroad. In addition, a large number of Malaysians who go abroad for training do not come home but remain or move to countries like Singapore, China and the US.

He said one of the problems with the education system is the nature of Malaysian universities whereby the presidencies are picked by the government.

Although there was an effort to bring quality into the faculties, he noted that there was a lot of politics involved as well. While Malaysian universities picked their management, faculties and students primarily on the basis of merit, a very substantial portion of the population is still excluded.

While efforts to eliminate the relationship between ethnic group and occupation continue to this day, Perkins said, the biggest problem in universities is that all the privileges are going to people who are already privileged.

This is a major reason why the universities are not what they should be, he said, adding that if teachers are brought in without merit, it would be cheating the students.

“A few years ago I was pretty optimistic that Malaysia was going to make the necessary changes; I am a lot less optimistic today,” he said.

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/09/07/malaysia-not-churning-out-suitable-graduates-innovation-rd-professor

Najib: Malaysia's upward social mobility trumps Britain and US

Malaysia's upward social mobility is better than that in Britain and the United States, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (pic).

Thursday, 10 November 2016 | MYT 2:44 PM
BY ROYCE TAN

SHAH ALAM: Malaysia's upward social mobility is better than that in Britain and the United States, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (pic).

He said the percentage of Malays and bumiputra that have moved forward from the B40 income group in the span of just one generation was impressive.

"This is because the Government policies we have in place are better than other countries.

"If one's parents are now in the B40 group, it doesn't mean that the child will also remain in that income group.

"The Khazanah Report showed that education is one of the most important factors for social mobility," Najib said in his speech during the National Integration Convention 2016 at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here Thursday.

He added that anyone can go far with access to quality education.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/11/10/najib-malaysia-upward-social-mobility-trumps-britain-and-us/