Malaysia Boleh or Malaysia Bodoh?
What say you?
As we all know, our country is plagued with allegations of corruption and nepotism fiascos. It is no wonder that Malaysia is still considered a third-world country. Sure, this may not be an interesting topic to blog about but I personally feel that Malaysia can do so much better.
In light of what has been going on in the newspapers such as the Lina Joy case, allegations of corruption, kissing couples in the KLCC park, what dresscode should be adhered to in Parliament and many more ridiculous "important" matters that our leaders like to conjure during their mamak teh tarik breaks, isn't it amazing how this country hasn't gone to hell yet?
Before the ISA breaks down my door and haul me off to prison for inciting the country, I'd like to point out that I love this country and I acknowledge the fact that we have indeed come a long way from what it has been 50 years ago. However, having that said, we cannot deny that our country can and must do better.
This post is fitting considering we are fast approaching to celebrating our country's 50th anniversary of independence. Question to be asked is have Malaysia and fellow Malaysians grown over the past 50 years?
I personally feel that yes, we have grown a great deal since 50 years ago. Granted that many speculations to Mahathir's credibility are flying about, we must agree that he did put Malaysia on the map. Something which all Malaysians should be grateful for.
What got me started on this issue? Well, I was reading an interesting article by Michael Backman who is an internationally renowned writer and columnist who specialises in various issues that surround Asia. He has written columns on Malaysia and I feel that it is a must-read for Malaysians.
After reading his views and opinions, I really do feel that he is the voice most Malaysians have been looking for. In his 'Boleh or Bodoh Column' (The Age, 15 November 2006), I could not help but agree with his views. Yes, our government has a horrible habit of spending ridiculous amounts of tax payers' money for nonsense. All for what? To prove that Malaysia Boleh or Malaysia Bodoh? You be the judge.
The one thing that was not included in this article is our recent RM2 million public self-cleaning toilet since the article was written prior to the construction of such an extravagant useless piece of metal. It is things like this that makes me wonder what goes on in our leaders' rusty clockwork of a brain. Instead of trying to prove to the whole world that Malaysians are too stupid to use a toilet properly, that RM2 million could've been used to EDUCATE morons who piss on the walls and shit in urinals! What we fundamentally need is proper EDUCATION and NOT some machine that only encourages people to be lazy!
Another issue in Backman's 'Education, Rafidah and other matters' (The Age, 29 November 2006) column is how our schools lack proper education system (which, is archaic today in my opinion) and how funds OUGHT to be pumped to the right avenues to improve it.
I could not agree more.
I am very sure a lot of us who have attended government schools would agree that upon reaching higher education, high school education was a worthless piece of crap and that we learn MORE in private colleges / unis that would actually be useful in our everyday lives.
It is amazing how we turned out. I would have to agree that most Malaysians spend their adult life trying to undo the damages that have been inflicted because of the current system. Given that I am still studying, I can actually see it in action in my class and even in myself.
Before I conclude this post, I'd like to urge you guys to at least have a read of how a foreigner such as Backman sees Malaysia. You may or may not agree and/or feel that the issues discussed are sensitive but it is an eye-opener. It's about time we crawled out of our tempurungs and find a way to improve the conditions that may plague our country.
For the Malaysians who have no clue how our national anthem goes, for the love of God, learn it. You live in Malaysia and the very least you can do for your country is know the words to 'Negaraku'!
Backman's Columns on Malaysia
As we all know, our country is plagued with allegations of corruption and nepotism fiascos. It is no wonder that Malaysia is still considered a third-world country. Sure, this may not be an interesting topic to blog about but I personally feel that Malaysia can do so much better.
In light of what has been going on in the newspapers such as the Lina Joy case, allegations of corruption, kissing couples in the KLCC park, what dresscode should be adhered to in Parliament and many more ridiculous "important" matters that our leaders like to conjure during their mamak teh tarik breaks, isn't it amazing how this country hasn't gone to hell yet?
Before the ISA breaks down my door and haul me off to prison for inciting the country, I'd like to point out that I love this country and I acknowledge the fact that we have indeed come a long way from what it has been 50 years ago. However, having that said, we cannot deny that our country can and must do better.
This post is fitting considering we are fast approaching to celebrating our country's 50th anniversary of independence. Question to be asked is have Malaysia and fellow Malaysians grown over the past 50 years?
I personally feel that yes, we have grown a great deal since 50 years ago. Granted that many speculations to Mahathir's credibility are flying about, we must agree that he did put Malaysia on the map. Something which all Malaysians should be grateful for.
What got me started on this issue? Well, I was reading an interesting article by Michael Backman who is an internationally renowned writer and columnist who specialises in various issues that surround Asia. He has written columns on Malaysia and I feel that it is a must-read for Malaysians.
After reading his views and opinions, I really do feel that he is the voice most Malaysians have been looking for. In his 'Boleh or Bodoh Column' (The Age, 15 November 2006), I could not help but agree with his views. Yes, our government has a horrible habit of spending ridiculous amounts of tax payers' money for nonsense. All for what? To prove that Malaysia Boleh or Malaysia Bodoh? You be the judge.
The one thing that was not included in this article is our recent RM2 million public self-cleaning toilet since the article was written prior to the construction of such an extravagant useless piece of metal. It is things like this that makes me wonder what goes on in our leaders' rusty clockwork of a brain. Instead of trying to prove to the whole world that Malaysians are too stupid to use a toilet properly, that RM2 million could've been used to EDUCATE morons who piss on the walls and shit in urinals! What we fundamentally need is proper EDUCATION and NOT some machine that only encourages people to be lazy!
Another issue in Backman's 'Education, Rafidah and other matters' (The Age, 29 November 2006) column is how our schools lack proper education system (which, is archaic today in my opinion) and how funds OUGHT to be pumped to the right avenues to improve it.
I could not agree more.
I am very sure a lot of us who have attended government schools would agree that upon reaching higher education, high school education was a worthless piece of crap and that we learn MORE in private colleges / unis that would actually be useful in our everyday lives.
Learning is largely by rote. In an email to me last week, one Malaysian recalled her schooling as being in a system “all about spoon-feeding, memory work and regurgitation. Students are not encouraged to think for themselves and they become adults who swallow everything they're told.”Do you not agree?
It is amazing how we turned out. I would have to agree that most Malaysians spend their adult life trying to undo the damages that have been inflicted because of the current system. Given that I am still studying, I can actually see it in action in my class and even in myself.
Before I conclude this post, I'd like to urge you guys to at least have a read of how a foreigner such as Backman sees Malaysia. You may or may not agree and/or feel that the issues discussed are sensitive but it is an eye-opener. It's about time we crawled out of our tempurungs and find a way to improve the conditions that may plague our country.
For the Malaysians who have no clue how our national anthem goes, for the love of God, learn it. You live in Malaysia and the very least you can do for your country is know the words to 'Negaraku'!
Backman's Columns on Malaysia
