No single system that pleases everyone

It is that time of the year again when scores of top students find it hard to accept why they have been rejected outright for the prestigious Public Services Department (PSD) scholarships.

Comparison is a norm in this case between a better and an average student who may, by pure luck secures the scholarship which will see him or her packing to go overseas to pursue tertiary studies.

I understand how hard it is to comprehend when you see your classmates who may not be academically better than you could end up luckier than he should be.

For the top students who have been rejected, accusation of unfairness will definitely be levelled against the government of the day for practising favouritism and non accountability in the awarding of the scholarships which may worth up to RM1 million each.

Having worked for a political organisation before, I had come across the predicament of these top students who came in droves seeking help to secure the scholarships during the appeal season.

I could still remember how a mother who came to me broke down as the son who was unsuccessful in his bid to be a PSD scholar had pressured the family so much that the mother could not take it anymore.

But the mother was lucky enough not having to undergo such immense pressure from her son when he was eventually given the scholarship to go overseas to do a professional course.

I understand how the scholarship means so much to these students who come from poor background as it is the only hope for them to go to prestigious universities overseas.

Of course politicians from both divides have made various statements regarding the criteria in the awarding of the scholarships.

MCA president and Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for instance had called for the government to review the existing selection criteria which is based on merit (20%), race (60%), Sabah and Sarawak (10%) and the underprivileged (10%).

But his suggestion was met with criticism from Perkasa, a Malay non-governmental organisation of which its president, Datuk Ibrahim Ali had accused the former of trying to score political mileage among the Chinese electorates.

Political mileage or not, I must say when it comes to education, politicians from both divides must close rank and come together to find the best way to retain the best brain in the country.

It is an irony as some people say that our government spends so much in providing education from primary school up to the upper secondary level only to see those top students being pinched over by other countries and eventually becoming their permanent residents.

Politicians have called for the awarding of the PSD scholarships to be based purely on meritocracy but would this be the best solution to keep everyone happy? I doubt it though.

We have to go back to the basic of how our education system works.

As of now, it seems that as long as you have more A1’s, one would stand a better chance of securing the scholarship.

We have students who scored A1’s in an incredible feat of more than 20 subjects which is unheard of in the past.

But would this be fair to those students who come from a school which does not offer so many subjects due to shortage of teachers and facilities? Again I doubt it.

This is exactly the point made by PSD director general, Tan Sri Ismail Adam who defended the current criteria in the awarding of the scholarships.

While meritocracy is the ultimate goal eventually, what the government must do now is to review the current education system by capping the number of subjects to say, eight or nine core subjects only to be fair to every student.

I do not understand the logic in allowing students to sit up to 20 subjects when what matters most is a student’s performance in core subjects.

Second, the PSD ought to make clear the guidelines and requirements of the scholarships so as not to leave everyone in the dark.

With clear guidelines and requirements, it would save the PSD and the government of having to face the wrath of the public as well as the politicians.

Then, the PSD must ensure that it does not practise favouritism in the awarding of the scholarships and must uphold that only the best students are selected for the scholarships.

But again, would this be fair to students who come from poor background who do not have the privilege of going to tuitions or buying reference books compared to their richer peers? I beg this is not.

We do not want to see dropouts among the PSD scholars as this would indirectly put our country in shame in the eyes of the world for these scholars are the country’s so-called ambassadors overseas.

To come out with a system which is fair to everyone is almost impossible in this country of multi ethnicity when everyone is selfishly fighting for himself.

Meritocracy is ideal but I guess at the end of the day, we have to acknowledge that sometimes we do not always get what we want.

To those who failed to make it in the PSD scholarships, it could be a blessing in disguise as there could be silver lining somewhere else.

The right to rule is legitimacy

All this while I have restrained myself from commenting on the Perak political crisis.

For one, there have been lots of analysis and commentaries, both in the conventional or new media either for or against the BN.

But this week, I have finally decided to pen my thoughts on the on-going political saga in this state which I must say is shot to fame all but for the wrong reason.

March 8 general election is well over a year ago now and one thing for sure is that the PR was legitimately elected by the people of Perak to rule the state.

But the legitimacy was dealt with a harsh reality of party hopping when the PR state government woke up one fine day only to find that its mere one year old government was short-lived and robbed.

The despised act of three state assemblymen to become independents created a ruckus in the state when PR was robbed of its legitimacy as the rightful choice of state government.

With both the BN and PR holding to 28 seats each in the State Legislative Assembly with the three independents friendly to the BN, the mayhem eventually begin.

Yeah, remember the hype of the September 16 takeover plan by the PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last year?

I see the logic on the side of the BN in the coup against the PR akin to the Chinese saying- “you celebrate the first day and I’ll celebrate the 15th.”

Well, who says two wrongs make it a right and I beg to differ gentlemen.

The fracas in the Perak State Legislative Assembly a couple of days ago has become a worldwide laughing stock.

There was not any sitting at all literally on May 7 as the lawmakers from both sides were “standing” throughout the session which is seen to be more like a circus in play.

And now there is this deadlock in the argument on who is the rightful Mentri Besar of Perak and the legal tussle in this case is yet to end any sooner I predict.

To end this fiasco, I join the chorus of many people out there in the like of Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the Bar Council and even the Senate President, Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh that the best solution is to dissolve the state assembly to pave way for a snap poll.

Going back to the people will be the only way to solve the crisis which has reared its ugly head and no one, including both parties are benefitting from this stalemate which has drained out the energy of everyone, including the general public whom has grown tired of immense politicking.

The PR which has been calling for the dissolution is playing its card right by championing the right of the people to elect the government.

With Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak becoming the Prime Minister just not long ago, the Perak crisis I strongly believe has tainted his image in the eye of the people.

Blatant disregard of the rule of law and separation of powers will erode the people’s confidence with the government of the day.

If this is not corrected immediately, what the BN can expect will be more bruises in the next general election as people will vote overwhelmingly for the PR.

There could even be a change of government if BN continues to be so arrogant with its approach without executing the change which has become nothing but a mere slogan.

While the damage is already done in Perak, it is still not too late to remedy the political mayhem and bring back the normalcy to the political landscape in the state.

Going back to the people via a fresh poll is the only way to solve the saga as legitimacy is of paramount importance in this case.

Ruling without legitimacy is akin to giving birth to a child out of wedlock.

The Perak crisis will definitely be an issue in the yet another by-election in Penanti end of this month and the PR will be out to prove a point that it is gaining popularity or even sympathy from the people.

Legitimacy is what it takes to rule and respect must be earned from the people.

Dissolving the Perak State Legislative Assembly and going back to the people is the only way to legitimise the rightful Mentri Besar, the Speaker and the State Government.

Reform now, Najib!

The 1 Malaysia concept coined by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as soon as he assumed the office from his predecessor, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is a new buzz word in politics now.

In less than 100 days after assuming the highest office in the country, Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has won accolades from Malaysians for his bravery and far looking vision.

The Prime Minister has decided to open up the economy i.e. lifting of 30% bumiputra equity in 27 sub sectors and the decision to raise foreign equity for investment banks and insurers to 70 per cent but retained a 30 per cent limit in local commercial banks in a mixed bag of incentives to boost the financial services industry.

This decision despite long overdue is very much welcomed by everyone in the business community in particular for it means that there would be an even level playing field which will definitely augur well for the overall development for this country.

Despite not totally opening up our economy, I must say this is a move in the right direction and a good policy is definitely coming the way albeit slowly but surely.

There are even talks among the higher ups that the New Economic Policy or NEP should be re-looked as this policy which has been in existence since the 1970’s to help uplift the living standard of the bumiputra may not be relevant anymore today.

A survey conducted recently suggests that the new generation of Malays are ready for the meritocracy system to be enforced and this latest development should be a point for ponder for the new administration.

There may be argument that whether the survey conducted truly reflects the sentiment on the ground which warrant the abolishment of the NEP as it may only apply to certain segment of the Malay community.

To me, the 1 Malaysia concept should be the term of reference for any policies to be implemented by the new administration as the Prime Minister must know exactly what he wants to achieve for this country of over 20 million population of various races.

While some may cast doubt on whether the new Prime Minister would be able to turn his words into actions, I myself would take a more reasonable outlook and try to uphold my optimism that things will get better from now onwards.

The NEP must include the whole spectrum of the society regardless of whether one is a Malay, Chinese or Indian for if our country wants to be steadfast and move ahead with time, inclusiveness is the only way forward.

The BN administration cannot afford to exclude any single race in implementing policies if it wants to regain the confidence of the people, especially the non bumiputra whom have openly revolted against the BN in the elections.

There will definitely be some pressures from within Umno for Datuk Seri Najib to be the guardian of the Malay special rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

But in this new century of Malaysia and as shown in the survey where the new generation of Malays are ready for even playing field, the new Prime Minister must know how to manoeuvre carefully not to ruffle the feathers of his fellow Umno members who have been the champion of the Malay rights.

At the same time, Datuk Seri Najib must ensure that no other races other than Malays are left behind as the country moves forward.

Definitely this is a mounting task for anyone, not only Datuk Seri Najib who sits up there for a single wrong move may cost political downfall for BN.

The Prime Minister must strike a balance to ensure that every Malaysian benefits from whatever policies and that no single race is offended in return.

It takes the whole team of administration to work together in good faith to push forward the “inclusiveness” policies for the betterment and future of this country.

Procrastinating on this matter will further delay and make Malaysia uncompetitive in the eye of the world.

The time is now and not later for Datuk Seri Najib to push for the much needed reform and he should walk the talk to regain the lost confidence of those who voted against BN.