All races contributed to national development

Highlighting non-Malay contribution timely

I refer to your report “RTM to air films on non-Malay contributions”(Star February 27).

We welcome the statement by Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin that documentaries on the nation’s non-Malay freedom fighters will be aired over Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) soon.

This is long overdue and the minister must actively pursue this matter with urgency and whole-heartedly. There is no doubt that non-Malays have contributed a lot to the nation not only in the pre- and post-independent days but also in the decades that followed. In fact they are continuing to contribute immensely to the development of the nation on all fronts.

In is a pity that while our younger generations of Malaysians are fully aware of the contributions of our past Malay leaders but ignorant of those of the non-Malays. Not only the Chinese and Indian freedom fighters need to be given due recognition but all non-Malays citizens who have in many ways helped to make Malaysia what it is today, as their permanent home for them and their generations to come. Ignorance of the sacrifices of a particular group would only create jealousy and suspicion by others towards them.

Many non-Malays have indeed contributed excellently in the civil service, armed forces, police, judiciary, sports, the plantation and mining sectors. In fact they have contributed their services in almost every sector with great dedication and loyalty.

Denying their rightful place in the history of the nation has created a great deal of frustration and despair. Many are losing hope for a bright future in their own homeland, which they helped to build. Nationalism and patriotism should be the proud possession of all not one particular race.

The government should consider all citizens as equal partners in nation building and provide the opportunities for all based purely on merit. Only when citizens are given due recognition and appreciation for their sacrifices will they develop a sense of belonging which will in turn instill patriotism to the nation.

We must stress to our children that our nation is what it is today as a result of the sacrifices and contribution of all the various ethnic groups in the country. We have all toiled together to build our nation. No one single group should be solely credited for our success as this will only be detrimental to the progress of our nation.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Police prsence deters crime

Physical presence deters crime

It is indeed reassuring that the police and other government agencies are going all out to check crime and make our roads safe during the comming festive season. Their zeal to do that is apparent in implementing the Ops Limau and Ops Sikap XII.

As the members of the public, whose welfare and safety are utmost in the hearts of the enforcing agencies, we too must cooperate fully with them to make these operations a real success. Without our heartfelt cooperation all their efforts will be only in vain.

The idea of placing police officers on express buses is an ingenious one and should be commended. There is no doubt; the presence of the police on buses will enforce some degree of discipline on the roads. It is however equally important to ensure police presence along the highways and roads as well if we really want to reduce significantly the road accidents.

Similarly deploying more police personnel to patrol our neighborhoods is also worthy of praise. This would definitely keep the criminals at bay thereby creating a sense of security and confidence among the people.

From the initial response to these actions of our police is very encouraging. It can be concluded that the mere physical presence if police personnel is enough to instill discipline and stop errant divers on our roads. The site of police in our neighborhoods is enough in many instances to allay our fears and boost our confidence. It is also the best deterrent for would be criminals and thugs.

We hope these preventive actions of the police and other agencies would not be confined to just festive seasons but become a standard practice throughout the year until a time when the people attain a more disciplined and civic minded culture as a way of life.

To maintain an effective physical presence all the time may be costly and riddled with numerous problems and constraints but I bet it would be an investment that will never be regretted for generations to come.

Dr.Chris Anthony


Comments

I agree that the physical presence of the police do in a way deter crimes, nab a few errant motorists but however not an effective long term solution to why/what causes these terrible accidents and total waste of innocent lives. The News reporting alsd missed one vital piece of info - In fatal accidents, were the ppl in the car all wearing seat belts? Was the motorcyclist wearing a helmet properly buckled? Was the baby strapped in baby car seats at that time? This info not only provide a more accurate statistic but a valuable education tool and a constant reminder to all on the road the legal requirements of seabelts & helmets. In NZ & Australia all fatal road accidents are attended by apart from the police, the coroner,the crash scene unit but also the road planners to try and reconstruct & determine the probable cause of the accident.Apart from the obvious - speed, alcohol,not wearing seatbelts or helmets, it may be caused by any faults of the road eg dangerous incline/bends or even damaged seal.

"For our police force to mantain an effective physical presence all the time may be costly and riddled with numerous problems and constraints but I bet it would be an investment that will never be regretted for generations to come"

With the mentality of many motorist here, the best investment for generations to come is education, education and education. The drivers of today are the product of yesteryears, learning and observing their parents/elders ways of bad driving habits. The drivers of tomorrow will be the children of today watching the bad habits of parents drivers today!

Typical remarks.

No need seatbelts here lah - no police. Hello, do we wear seatbelts for the police? Seatbelts and helmets are to protect yourself and your love ones.

Everyday observation.
Dad on a bike, one sometimes two young child behind him and then wife at the rear. All not wearing helmets! You don't need to be speeding to cause serious head injuries or possible death if the bike falls over esp young children.

My guess is, it will take at least two generations to change the mentality, get rid of these bad habits, observe the road rules, drive in a responsible/orderly manner and respect other motorist on the road.

This is just one bug bear amongst others which badly affects our everday life in this country aiming for developed nation status and the list continues.....
So forget about 2020.Try 3020!

Cheers.

By kiwimy,
21-Feb-2007

Education our best tool for unity

Communal ties are at their most delicate in nearly four decades. It is terrifying to realise how easily racial and religious sentiments can be aroused by the powers-that-be for political advantage. The education system which has become more communal despite its supposed non-ethnic and non-religious status is the main reason for the growing division between the races. Initially, we had all races studying together in one class but then they were segregated by race for the purpose of religious and moral classes resulting in students of same race grouping together, but under the same roof. Today we have taken another backward step with each race studying in their own vernacular schools under separate roofs and rarely do they ever come together.

Learning of vernacular languages should be encouraged as by itself is not the cause of racial disunity. But segregating the pupils for the purpose is discriminative. In fact there is no better way of fostering racial integration other than encouraging our children to learn each others language.

We need to revamp the education system to return it to its original status and aspiration of unifying the races through the national schools. Our national schools must reflect our racial and religious diversity. Pupils of all races and creed must be placed in one class so that they can interact freely with one another. Emphasis on their common identities rather than their differences should be encouraged.

There should also be a racially balanced mix of teachers as well in all our national schools. It is common knowledge that if there is diversity in the same environment then there will be more tolerance and goodwill and that is the best way to fight fanaticism and fundamentalism in a community.

We need politicians who are true national leaders and not ethnic champions. In the 60s, every citizen looked up to politicians as Malaysian leaders but now we consider them as leaders of the Malays, Chinese or Indians. Problems faced by a community are solely left to its own minister to handle. Even the prime minister, who should be the leader of all races, is increasingly seen as the leader of the Malays only.

Our divide along ethnic lines is beginning to be seen as a great loss to the nation’s productivity and competitiveness. If we want to survive and succeed in this globalised world, we Malaysians - regardless of race - must unite and pool our resources and expertise so as to remain competitive
We yearn for the day when Malaysians will share a single identity, but gauging by present developments in the country, this is fast eluding us. Our aspiration for a united Malaysia is sadly not being appreciated by the present generation of leaders who are taking over the reins of power and the visions envisaged by our founding forefathers is fast eluding us.

We must urgently wake up from the denial syndrome that has inflicted our society, act fast to re-build our resources by uniting the people of various ethnicity. The sooner we do that the better our chances of success in a highly competitive world.

Dr.Chris Anthony


Comments:

The TRUE fact is communal approach and interest will never change. Our dream of having one Malaysian Race and one Malaysian National can NEVER come true even 100 years from now. We have leaders championing their respective race and religion for their political mileage , particularly the main ruling and leading party. Not only they champion their own race and religion , they even go to the extend of downing the others as threats to their existence despite the fact they are ruling and the majority , how SILLY - ASN

By asneoh, 8-Feb-2007

Review text book loan scheme

Free textbooks for those who really deserve

Come the month of January each year, parents are burdened with the expenses to provide education for their children. The amount needed keeps increasing every year. These include the money required for school uniform, attire for sports and co-curricular activities, shoes, transport, books, tuition fees and food. The amount needed may come up to hundreds of ringgit per child , which becomes beyond the means of an average wage earner with a number of school going children.

The government did the right thing in coming up with the text book loan scheme in all schools to ease the financial burden of the people. It was with the sole noble intention of providing the all important education that is vital for its citizens.

According to this scheme parents with an income of RM1000 and more are not eligible for free text books for their children. At the present cost of living this limit I feel is grossly unjust, as RM 1,000 is such negligible amount for even a family of four these days. There are so many parents with income exceeding this limit but are really finding ends meet and have to resort to loan sharks, the consequences of which we are all familiar.

The implementation of the free textbook scheme needs to be reviewed. By strictly relying solely on documents to prove one’s salary, a large number of genuine applicants are rejected whereas many with more than the stipulated income but “tahu jalan” are granted the free textbooks. It is indeed sad that a “I win all always” culture is gaining roots in our country. There is total disregard for those genuinely in need. Even what is rightfully theirs is snatched away by those who “tahu jalan”.

A more comprehensive mechanism should be implemented in selecting those who require assistance with the textbooks. Families with a total income of less than RM2,000 should automatically qualify for the free textbook scheme. Those with more than RM2,000 but less than RM5,000 should be scrutinized by a case by case basis. All essential financial commitments of the parents should be examined, such as number of dependents (children and aged parents), medical expenditure, house loans, motor vehicle loans and so on.

We are sure many teachers and headmasters are aware of the plight of these poor parents but are unable or refuse to help because of strict enforcement of the stipulated salary limit. This is a pitiful state of affairs of our administration. We have very good and fantastic plans but many of them fail because of poor implementation due to lack of the human touch of those entrusted with the powers to do so.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Racial unity

Education our best tool for unity

Communal ties are at their most delicate in nearly four decades. It is terrifying to realise how easily racial and religious sentiments can be aroused by the powers-that-be for political advantage. The education system which has become more communal despite its supposed non-ethnic and non-religious status is the main reason for the growing division between the races.

Initially, we had all races studying together in one class but then they were segregated by race for the purpose of religious and moral classes resulting in students of same race grouping together, but under the same roof. Today we have taken another backward step with each race studying in their own vernacular schools under separate roofs and rarely do they ever come together.

Learning of vernacular languages should be encouraged as by itself is not the cause of racial disunity. But segregating the pupils for the purpose is discriminative. In fact there is no better way of fostering racial integration other than encouraging our children to learn each others language.

We need to revamp the education system to return it to its original status and aspiration of unifying the races through the national schools. Our national schools must reflect our racial and religious diversity. Pupils of all races and creed must be placed in one class so that they can interact freely with one another. Emphasis on their common identities rather than their differences should be encouraged.

There should also be a racially balanced mix of teachers as well in all our national schools. It is common knowledge that if there is diversity in the same environment then there will be more tolerance and goodwill and that is the best way to fight fanaticism and fundamentalism in a community.

We need politicians who are true national leaders and not ethnic champions. In the 60s, every citizen looked up to politicians as Malaysian leaders but now we consider them as leaders of the Malays, Chinese or Indians. Problems faced by a community are solely left to its own minister to handle. Even the prime minister, who should be the leader of all races, is increasingly seen as the leader of the Malays only.

Our divide along ethnic lines is beginning to be seen as a great loss to the nation’s productivity and competitiveness. If we want to survive and succeed in this globalised world, we Malaysians - regardless of race - must unite and pool our resources and expertise so as to remain competitive
We yearn for the day when Malaysians will share a single identity, but gauging by present developments in the country, this is fast eluding us. Our aspiration for a united Malaysia is sadly not being appreciated by the present generation of leaders who are taking over the reins of power and the visions envisaged by our founding forefathers is fast eluding us.

We must urgently wake up from the denial syndrome that has inflicted our society, act fast to re-build our resources by uniting the people of various ethnicity. The sooner we do that the better our chances of success in a highly competitive world.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Shortage of housemen

Need to lead by example

It is really shocking to know that having gone through the system some 30 years ago, is still not changed for the better. It was acceptable then for us to work long hours non-stop as there were at times only a single houseman available in each department. At that time we had just one university producing less than a hundred doctors a year.

Today more than a thousand doctors are churned out of our 19 local medical colleges every year and they are all absorbed into the government hospitals for houseman and subsequent medical officer and specialist training. Despite this mass production, it is puzzling why we are still short of housemen, and they are still forced to work 36 hours at a stretch.

Despite all these years of development, we are told that we are not only short of housemen, but also medical officers, specialists, nurses, and all categories of paramedical personnel. In fact you name the discipline and we will be told we are short in that area. What is happening to all the doctors being produced by our own universities? When will this shortage be ever overcome?. It may not be the actual number that is in short supply but rather the manner in which they are deployed and administered.

I sympathize with housemen for being blamed for all the complications and death that may arise in the management of his patients despite his long hours of dedicated hard work. It is important to understand that a houseman is the lowest in the hierarchy of the doctors in the medical team. Although they have very important roles to play, they are the least experienced, needing great deal of guidance and supervision in carrying out the various treatments. They are to be practically “attached” to the specialists who are responsible not only for their clinical training but also ethical as well.

Unfortunately these days some housemen go through their entire clinical posting of several months without ever seeing their heads of department, who are too busy with everything else but training the junior doctors. The training of junior doctors has become the least of their priorities, leaving the junior and less experienced ones to the task, which can be described as “the blind leading the blind.”

It would be unfair to blame the junior doctors for all the flaws in our health delivery system when they are not properly guided. Unless the senior specialists and consultants lead by example; we will never improve the quality of care to our patients.

Most of us, who had been with the system, would agree that the quality of medical care on the whole has deteriorated despite the government’s efforts to build the latest sophisticated hospitals. The reason for this is obvious – lack of dedication. Our present system is breeding dedication to the “almighty ringgit”, not to the profession and patients.

There is a need to re-look at the reasons for the deteriorating standards of health care. Unless we bring back the magic called “dedication” into our work ethics, no amount of money spent will restore the excellence in our health care that our leaders are proudly promoting.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Mastering English

English is a necessity not an option

It is really distressing to read your report “Varsity students do badly in MUET”(Star, Jan 24).
It is disturbing to know that almost one-third of our public university students scored Bands One and Two in the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) which indicates their low proficiency in English.

The recommendation by the vice-chancellors' committee to make it compulsory for students to score at least a Band Three before they graduate from university is move in the right direction and should be adopted. In fact it should be made a criterion for admission to the university in the first place especially for science-based courses.

Turning down the recommendations of the vice-chancellors’ committee recommendation would be really doing the students a disfavor particularly those from rural areas. Instead the higher qualifying standard should be maintained and the students guided and encouraged to work harder to achieve that.

Lowering the standard and shunning them from the higher requirements would only instill a defeatist attitude in our younger generation, which would be detrimental to the nation in a global world.

While our universities should be commended for ornanising intensive English courses, it is regrettable that they are not taken seriously by the students themselves. This is due to misconceptions, especially in those from rural areas that are ingrained in them earlier from school days.

The positive attitude towards mastering English, or for that matter any language, should be inculcated from young. It should be stressed again and again that fears and prejudice against learning English are unfounded as it will in no way undermine our own national language.

Dr.Chris Anthony