After more than six years since the introduction of the three-month national service program (which started in December 2003), we constantly heard of numerous teething problems reported by the media. But the recent revelation by Council Chairman on the occurrence of fights in camps among participants principally due to cultural differences raise lots of questions to the perceived achievement of the program’s objective.
Showing posts with label MY News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MY News. Show all posts
DPM, Tan Sri Muhyidin Yassin, raised the possibility of abolishing the UPSR and PMR recently as part of the part of government efforts to restructure the learning system which was seen as too examination oriented and failed to provide a holistic education.
Unity and stability are priceless commodities and essential ingredients for the future of any country what more in the case of Malaysia – a country of multi ethnicity, religions and so on and so forth. Without the correct handling of sensitive issues, it could lead the country to an abyss and anarchy. We should never allow our beloved nation to go down that road, no matter what the personal or community agenda that one is championing for.
Malaysia was borne out of determination through compromises, accommodation and sacrifices between our great leaders. Let us not to shatter the dreams of seeing Malaysia becoming a great nation: a nation that stand tall among the international community. But the news coming out of the formal or informal media in Malaysia is too distressing to us, Malaysians residing abroad.
Malaysia was borne out of determination through compromises, accommodation and sacrifices between our great leaders. Let us not to shatter the dreams of seeing Malaysia becoming a great nation: a nation that stand tall among the international community. But the news coming out of the formal or informal media in Malaysia is too distressing to us, Malaysians residing abroad.
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Are we losing grasp of the true values and meaning of understanding, tolerance, etc.? Is this the Malaysia that we want or hopes for? What are we turning Malaysia to? Why are all this only happening now? Does it mean that the values practiced by the older generations of Malaysia that have managed to live side and side, peacefully with respect and tolerance are of no relevance in this era of so-called globalized development.
Perhaps we should look at how our education system in the past had managed to bring about a peaceful and tolerance society as compared to the current system. Education is an important element in shaping society. Subjects such as Civic or appreciation of society should be exposed to the children at the young age. Program such as the National Service, though very well intended, was formulated with the vision to strengthen the spirit of patriotism and unity in the hearts and minds of Malaysian youth. But the program is only meant for those above 17 or 18 years old and above, an age which is considered already too late to mould them into responsible citizens. Looking at the number of cases (based on newspaper reports), there is already an increasing trend of disciplinary problems involving secondary school children such truancy, drugs, and the list goes on. Hence, the success rate at turning this irresponsible behavior would not be as high as that we hope for.
In this respect, we should have some other programs that could instill this spirit of team player, patriotism at a much younger age such as having summer camps, etc. They will then learn those values in a fun manner and not kind of regimented. Universities should also look at encouraging their students’ associations/clubs to have more community oriented programs during semester breaks. All these programs will go a long way in teaching them how to assimilate and integrate in a multi-racial society.
May Malaysia continue to develop and prosper!
Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka………and the resounding rapturous echoes from the packed Merdeka Stadium during that historic moment 52 years ago again keep on being replayed in the comfort of our living room. But do we really understand and appreciate the history behind it? Or are we now totally detached from our own history that we felt our right to write our own version of history according to our own interpretations based on our shallow appreciation of events that led to that momentous event now termed “Merdeka”. Are we a nation capable of coming up with merely empty rhetoric or slogans to denotes the occasion?
As Malaysians, we should always be proud of who we are and what we have achieved thus far. Though considered a small and young nation, we could still stand tall among the comity of nations. We have been cited by the international community as a nation that have developed and thrives through tolerance and co-existence the basic premise of our independence. Our slogan of being a multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-cultural society is now being put to the test and questioned not by the international community but by our own citizens. Where have we failed??
As Malaysians, we should always be proud of who we are and what we have achieved thus far. Though considered a small and young nation, we could still stand tall among the comity of nations. We have been cited by the international community as a nation that have developed and thrives through tolerance and co-existence the basic premise of our independence. Our slogan of being a multi-racial, multi-religious, and multi-cultural society is now being put to the test and questioned not by the international community but by our own citizens. Where have we failed??
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It is thus timely for us to really ponder about what is happening in Malaysia and where are we going from here? All of us as individuals have rights but individual or community rights should never takes priority over the nation’s right. Without the nation we are nothing! You are firstly recognized internationally for the nation that you belong to. Do not drag Malaysia down the roads of many other great but fallen countries just to accord the rights of individuals or community.
Let us take stock of our 52 years of independence in relations to our history to continue preserving the concept of identity, society, balance and through this we remember who we are and where we come from (quoted from the words of Datuk Dr. Sharom Ahmat during his acceptance address as a recipient of a honorary doctorate in philosophy at the last Universiti Sains Malaysia Convocation).
Let us all together conscientiously work towards Vision 2020 for all Malaysians. Without continued unity and stability, we would not achieve development and greatness that we as loving citizens aspires Malaysia to be. As responsible citizens, we have a duty to work as hard as we can and make whatever sacrifice we must in order to make Malaysia as good as we can make it for the benefit of our future generations. Let us not be remembered and cursed by them for not taking the opportunities to make Malaysia great.
Selamat Hari Merdeka.
Process of reform within any organization - be it small or large – is a continuous process to ensure the organization’s continued relevance, efficiency and effectiveness. As such, the proposal mooted by PM Dato’ Seri Najib Razak should be looked welcomed by the civil service to ensure continuous efficient delivery system to the public. In implementing the proposal, however, government needs to look at the issue comprehensively and not solely on the ability or capability of officers only. There are other contributing factors that determine the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness such as the operating guidelines or procedures. Interdepartmental rivalry issues need to be reined in to ensure that policies and its implementation are supportive of national interests and not merely any particular department’s interest. There have been too many instances where certain programs introduced by departments had negated the overall national agenda..
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The public service department had actually implemented exchange programs for senior public officials to be seconded to private companies for the last 10 years. But yet whatever experience gain by the program has not really benefitted the service in general. Perhaps, there is a need to re-look at such program and see how it could be further improved to meet the objective and guidelines for the proposed structural reform mooted by PM. Government should also look at why departments that had been privatized performed better than when they were a government entity. Such departments include Tenaga, Inland Revenue Board, and many others. Putting it simply, their working environment changed. They are operating on different set of procedures, rules and guidelines. Decisions reached are more in-house – by the Board of Directors. Government departments meanwhile had to follow different sets of outdated rules and procedures which had indirectly constraints their decision-masking process and effectiveness because it had first to undergo the various interdepartmental/ministries reviews and opinions before it could actually be implemented. Thus, it is imperative to comprehensively look at existing guidelines and procedures and not merely at the issue of staff capability/talent. This would ensure the success of the proposed structural reform of the public service.
Terpanggil untuk saya catatkan di blog peribadi ini setelah terbaca teks ucapan YABhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad di Perhimpunan dan Sidang Kemuncak Pribumi Perkasa Negara, di Kuala Lumpu yang telah diadakan di Kuala Lumpur pada Ahad 22 Mac yang lepas. Teks ucapan tersebut dipautkan ke blog ini untuk saya jadikan pedoman dan ingatan kepada diri sendiri akan tanggungjawab terhadap Bangsa, Agama dan Negara. Kemelut politik yang melanda negara telah sampai ke tahap yang membimbangkan dan sekiranya masih terus lena dan tiada kesedaran akan membawa kehancuran bukan sahaja kepada negara malahan bangsa dan agama. Itu ada lah realiti yang tidak boleh dinafikan. Bacalah sebagai peringatan. (Teks ucapan YABhg. Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad)
All nations are bracing for a downslide in their economy arising from the global economic recession. Malaysia too will not be immuned or spared from the reverberating effects of a recession. In its own way, the government has introduced a mini budget - a RM60bil lifeline - for the country to try and prevent it from slipping into a recession. Much discussion had been held, some with opposing views in terms of its allocation. What is more important though is to ensure that the 60 billion is utilized to its maximum according to what it was meant for and not for other purposes according to the interpretation of individuals in power.
The objective of having the budget would not be achieved if there are leakages, misappropriation, etc. Despite it being a mini budget with specific objectives, there are still voices of dissent on how it should be distributed. To the voices of disagreement, the word “budget” in itself means allocation of resources in accordance with priority within the means available to achieve the maximum output. As such there is no way the allocation could meet all demands.
Faced with a bleak and gloomy economic situation, Malaysia and other nations need to focus its energy and efforts at reviving the economy. In the case of Malaysia, too much time and emphasis has been spent on political bickering among the the various political parties. Politics alone will not take Malaysia anywhere but only the road downward which inevitably will also brings down the country’s economy and image as well. Let us all be honest and true to oneself to want to work towards the betterment of the nation and our peoples. Do not allow the economy of our country be held at ransom or be another political issue to further divide the nation. Let us all as individuals not allow ourselves be hoodwinked into the personal game plan of any parties. Bring back stability to Malaysia and let us all be proud to be known as Malaysian once again.
Faced with a bleak and gloomy economic situation, Malaysia and other nations need to focus its energy and efforts at reviving the economy. In the case of Malaysia, too much time and emphasis has been spent on political bickering among the the various political parties. Politics alone will not take Malaysia anywhere but only the road downward which inevitably will also brings down the country’s economy and image as well. Let us all be honest and true to oneself to want to work towards the betterment of the nation and our peoples. Do not allow the economy of our country be held at ransom or be another political issue to further divide the nation. Let us all as individuals not allow ourselves be hoodwinked into the personal game plan of any parties. Bring back stability to Malaysia and let us all be proud to be known as Malaysian once again.
It seems that the children and youth of Malaysia will continue to suffer the inconsistency and the ever changing policies of our leaders. Their futures are at stake and nobody ever cares for them at the rate things are being discussed. They continue to be “guinea pigs” or mere pawns in the political game. What I am referring to is the issue of language? The issue is being politicized not for the interest of the children and the youth but a cause for some unscrupulous and interested parties to further their own agenda.
I pity my cousins, nephews and nieces seeing them grappling with the science and mathematics when the government decided to introduce English as the medium for teaching science and mathematics. They have however overcome those difficulties through their perseverance and feel more comfortable with the language primarily due to more access to reference materials available on the market and also from the internet. They now not only have better knowledge of the subjects in English, but it had directly increased their command of English itself.
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I too have nephews that had undergone their primary, secondary and tertiary through the national school system where all subject were thought in Bahasa Malaysia. You will find that generation of youth having difficulty in conversing in English. I could recall about 10 years ago when the government and the private sectors all raise the issue of non-competency of our youth in English to the extent that it has affected their marketability in the job market. Issue of furthering national cause at the international arena will be jeopardized if one were not able to express oneself confidently in English. We have to look at things in the proper perspective. Our children and youth will be at the losing end. How do continue to promote Malaysia as center of excellence for education, investment, banking, tourism, etc if the population could not provide the appropriate potential employees. Or do we just want Malaysians to work as the unskilled laborers.
Did the generation that have undergone their whole education system in English before forget their Bahasa Malaysia? Or are they less Malaysian? Who are they now? Why not seek their views? Do not use the issue as a political tool because it is the youth and eventually the nation that will lose. To the demonstrators, do not allow yourself to be a tool to disadvantaged the future generation. Just ponder over your actions and the potential consequences on our youth and the nation in the future. Do not sell the future of our youth and the nation. [Picture: Courtesy of The Star, Malaysia]
