I think that it is dumb. According to TheStar, our government is considering to limit the number of subjects taken by SPM students to ensure fairer scholarship selection. Although I do not think that the current free-for-all was a good thing to have, I do not agree with this methodology to address the issue of PSD scholarships.

It also raises the issue of fairness. While our DPM said that it was unfair on those who are forced to take less subjects because of economic or administrative reasons. However, the suggested policy would take away the option of taking more subjects from those who may wish to do more. Personally, I like the idea of having the freedom to pick and choose subjects.

However, what the PSD should do is to only consider results from a set number of subjects. This is fair, transparent and simple to do. As a criteria, the PSD should just list down the subjects needed. Having A1s in other subjects can be ignored totally for the purpose of scholarship selection. There is no point adding in an A1 in Science I/II when you’ve already got an A1 in Physics, Chemistry and Biology separately.

If the student wishes to take more subjects in order to pad up their results, they are free to do so as long as they understand that only the results that are requirements will be considered. In fact, the students should only be evaluated based on the pre-requirement subjects. So, the student should not be penalised for getting a bunch of A2s in other non-requirement subjects.

However, it doesn’t surprise me that the government can come up with such dumb solutions to the simplest of problems.

PS: In other news, our PM has said that he intends to dismantle the decades old system of preferment for ethnic Malays. I wonder why it has not been picked up by the local press.

I attended the scholarship forum organised by DAP yesterday, mainly because I am personally interested in education matters and also because I was curious as to what kind of things does DAP have to say about it. They managed to present some data and I actually thought that things weren’t as bad as it may seem.

You see, if we consider only the top 2% of our students as the creme de la creme, that’s about 10,000 people coming out each year. JPA only gives out 2,000 scholarships and that is spread across multiple disciplines and countries. Obviously, many people will just fall through the net. There just isn’t the budget necessary to fund everyone. Personally, I think that we should all be thankful that our government actually bothers to fund anyone at all. There are not many governments that do that.

The DAP worked out the number of places available for non-bumi to be about 1080 places. To me, that is a fair number. Things have changed a lot. In my days, we were competing for double-digit spaces. The trouble is that these places are spread over a wide number of courses and countries. If everyone wants to study medicine in the UK, there aren’t enough places obviously.

An MP mentioned that the interview process was flawed. Students were interviewed in large groups and hardly given any time to speak. I went through those in my day as well. There is nothing wrong with group interviews. It is all about group dynamics. You just need to understand how to make yourself stand out in the ‘right’ way. If you are quietly sitting at the corner waiting for your turn to talk, obviously, you are not going to get anywhere with the interviewer.

Another MP mentioned that considering someone with 12A1 as equal to a 9A1 is not right while considering someone with 12A1 and 1A2 as worse than a 9A1 is wrong. Personally, I beg to differ. I think that having a 9A1 criteria as a clear cut-off point is good. That is a perfectly quantifiable criterion. Considering someone with 1A2 as less than perfect, is also fair to eliminate those who take more subjects as a lottery to simply increase their number of As. You may not agree with the fact that 12A1 + 1A2 is worse than 9A1, but that is a crystal clear criterion. At least it isn’t subjective.

Of course, there was a fair bit of politicking at the event. However, I turned off most of that by merely closing my eyes and taking a break. The speakers spoke for about 2 hours. So, my attention span was dwindling anyway. Luckily, those which had anything to say, got to say it first.

I found it particularly interesting that a politician can make his ‘last point’ extremely lasting.

Since this is an annual thing, I thought that I should just put a few words down to tell the kids who got rejected by JPA – Don’t Give Up!

Dear JPA Reject,

I shall use the words that I had once heard, from a good professor of mine: “Although you may feel dejected, do not feel depressed.” The reason is really simple. The JPA scholarship is not the be-all-end-all of your dreams. Your dreams are yours to keep. So, keep them alive!

I have been fortunate enough to get multiple education scholarship offers in my life and I had turned down a few of them. I have also made many friends who are both government scholars and non-government scholars alike. So, I would like to share some of these experiences.

First and foremost, the JPA scholarship scheme is just one of the many scholarships available, both local and overseas. You should realise that there are many scholarship awarding bodies in Malaysia. For those who will be facing their SPM examinations in the future, please remember to apply for multiple scholarships, if only to increase your chances of actually getting one.

You see, everyone has a different set of criteria. You may not agree with the JPA selection criteria and you may not fit in with it. However, there are also other scholarship bodies who do not agree with the JPA selection criteria and apply their own criteria in scholar selection. So, while you may not fit into the JPA mould, you may actually fit into some other mould.

There are also many overseas scholarship schemes available. In fact, many foreign universities are able to provide some sort of financial aid for their students. You should check to see if you qualify for these. There are also various international foundations and bodies who offer scholarships. This is particularly true if you are able to secure a place in a top university.

This brings me to my second point. This is not the end of the road. You can still try again at the post-STPM (and equivalent) level. There is nothing to stop you from continuing your education to a pre-university level and trying again. There are plenty of Malaysians who have done exactly that – do their pre-university education themselves and re-apply for scholarships again.

If you cannot afford to study your A-Levels/IB at a private institution, you can always do your STPM. You may not realise this but the STPM is actually a very well recognised pre-university level qualification. You will still be able to apply for various foreign universities with the STPM. Do not always believe what the private colleges tell you about the STPM.

However, some of you may be turned-off by the lengthy duration of the STPM exam. For this, I have only one advice – a single year is nothing, in the larger scheme of things. Think about this for a minute. What is a single year difference when compared with an entirely lifetime. In fact, it is a common practice to take a ‘gap-year’ to go explore various avenues in life. This can even help you figure out what it is that you actually want in life instead of blindly going with the flow.

This brings me to my next point. Not everyone is made out to be a doctor. In fact, you are probably not made out to be a doctor. The medicine path is a long and arduous one and if you are not made out to be a doctor, studying medicine is going to be hell. I have seen this happen to many friends. So, you should really ask yourself if you really love medicine or if you’re doing it just for the heck of it.

You can be a success, if you do something that you truly like – be it something as dull as accounting or something as exciting as engineering (alright, I’m biased!). But seriously, you need to think carefully of your career choice. It is something that you will be living with daily for the rest of your life. If you find that you hate medicine after so many years of study, you will lose more than just a couple of years.

And finally, do not let this little hurdle stop you from pursuing your dreams. There are many paths that can lead to your dream. Sometimes, it may actually be better to take the path less tread. So, do not think that your world has ended as a result of this rejection. Learn to handle rejection and to use it positively to improve yourself so that you will ultimately, still achieve your dreams.

PS: Do not stop dreaming!

with metta,
Shawn Tan.
(Still trying to achieve my dreams!)

Like I said before, I’ve been busy ‘spring cleaning’ my house these last couple of week – tossing out 30 years of junk is not an easy undertaking. As a result, I have come across a lot of old memories and treasures from the past. Surprisingly, I found a copy of my undergraduate scholarship offer letter in my pile of junk last week. That brought back a lot of memories.

Those were trying times – an emotional roller-coaster. I can still remember receiving the phone call during my SPM examinations, to double check my choice of course and destination country. It was on the day of my Biology II paper. That got me all excited for days, about the prospect of going overseas for my degree. Shortly after that, came the letter that brought me crashing back down to earth.

It was 1997 and our currency had just been devalued by half in the short span of weeks. Funds were running dry and budgets were cut. Due to this, our government had decided to cut the number of scholars flying off. Thousands of students from all sorts of agencies were affected. I received a letter right after my SPM examinations. It was short and terse. In it, it said that in-line with government policy, the scholarship programme was being cut, and I, with it.

Now, that sucked. To a 17 year-old, it seemed like the end of my hopes and dreams.

After that, I received a scholarship offer to pursue my degree at a local private university instead. So, things didn’t look so bad after all. I would still be able to get a degree and I was quite excited by the prospect of joining a new university. I’ve always liked being a pioneer and I looked forward to all kinds of new experiences at this young university. In the end, I got to do a lot of cool stuff, more than I would have had the opportunity to at any old foreign university!

Then, the SPM results were announced. I could still remember the look that I got from teachers as I walked into the school to get my results. They already knew what I was about to find out. I did not do as well as all of them had hoped. It was not just me. Turned out that my entire batch did not do as well as the school had hoped. There was only one person with an A1 in BM that year, which was an anomaly, and it wasn’t me.

For me, while it was a sad occasion to have let down the entire school, I did not think too much about it. It was soon time to pack and get ready anyway. I already had a spot offered to me at a university, where I joined hundreds of other stranded government scholars. Orientation week there was thoroughly depressing like an AA meeting. We would all introduce ourselves in the following pattern:

“Hi, my name is [name]. I am supposed to be in [country] doing [course]. Instead, I am here now.”

Life likes to throw a wrench in the works sometimes. We went on to have some of the best years of our lives. I think that having the shared experience of being hapless victims of the financial crisis really helped us to bond. For me at least, I found the entire 5 years spent, a meaningful journey. It taught me a lot about how to take what life throws at me and not to ask too many questions about it.

Although there has been several more wrenches thrown into several more works since then, I think that my life has generally been a smooth one, so far. I’ve had to fight a few battles, but nothing yet that I could not handle. I’m looking forward to living my life to its fullest.

Education scholarships. Our government disburses many of them through its many agencies and government linked companies. We are fortunate in that we have one of the most generous national governments, when it comes to educational funding. However, there are many things about these scholarships that trigger an emotional response when people talk about them.

This reminds me of a TehTarik session that we once had where someone, who had clearly a lot of anger for our government, claimed that he was denied a scholarship because the government was ‘racist’ (or something like that). I was rather taken aback that he could claim that in a room full of non-bumi government scholars who have all been given full scholarships by our ‘racist’ government. So, being the tactless person that I am, I asked him why he thought he deserved a scholarship.

He had this bewildered look in his eyes like I was challenging him (okay, so maybe it did sound like a challenge). His answer surprised me as he mentioned that straight A1s is the reason in a room full of top students of all shapes and sizes. Thankfully, a few people then asked him: “so, what?” Then, he started mentioning other things (possibly head prefect or something) in a room full of people who had represented their states and even nation. Now more people asked him again: “so, what?”

In retrospect, I guess it was harsh to have been taken down like that but he had it coming. Most people think that they deserve a scholarship without asking themselves why. While I may have slighted him personally, he had slighted many others with his allegations. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who can keep an open mind so I won’t be surprised if he does not speak to me ever again but here is the thing.

Perceptions are flawed as they require us to view things through the lens of our own personal bias. In fact, my own perception is shaped by my personal experiences (i.e. bias). My personal bias has shown me a different facet of our government that most others see. I personally know five Malaysians whom had recently gotten into a PhD programme at Cambridge and tried their hand at applying for Malaysian government sponsorship.

From this group (and my previous experiences of others), I can say that there is no such thing as a sure thing or guarantee of a scholarship. Being a top Cambridge graduate is no guarantee, regardless of whether you are a Malay or not. Being an employee of a government agency is no guarantee, even if it is your turn to go for your PhD studies. Being an existing government scholar and a top student is no guarantee either. All this during a time when the government is trying it’s best to increase the number of PhD in the country.

In the words of a Singaporean mother I once met, you have to be really good to get a Malaysian government scholarship. Personally, I think that you need to be extremely lucky to get a single scholarship and in order to be able to get multiple scholarships, you need to be touched by the gods (especially if you are a non-bumi). There is actually some truth in that and a Malaysian scholarship is just like any other scholarship. Some people get them, while others don’t.

The recent suggestion by our Selangor MB that UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA) open up it’s doors to people of other races and foreigners, has been met with all kinds of responses. To those who do not know, UiTM is pretty much a single-ethnic university, which was founded by MARA, a government agency created to funnel direct aid to a specific race. So, suggesting that the university turn away from its founding objectives is practically blasphemous, especially since it involves a racial right.

On one side, we have the people who believe that UiTM is the last bastion of education for their race. It provides its students a university degree and a chance at a life that many may not have otherwise. There is no denying that MARA serves a function. I was initially surprised when I first met several SPM Grade 3 holders who were on MARA scholarships, but after thinking about it a bit, I realised that MARA had a different set of objectives and criteria when awarding these scholarships.

Although such cases are extremely rare, MARA has already opened up entry to its junior colleges and also offers overseas scholarships to non-bumiputera for a decade. So, it is perfectly understandable that some people will feel threatened by the very suggestion of opening up a ethnic based university that is seen as many, as the last chance for some down trodden kids to do good. But what confuses me is the type of response that has come from the non-bumiputera side.

Many have taken this opportunity to vent their frustrations. The credibility of its VC has been challenged, the quality of its students have been questioned and the university itself has been a target of ridicule. Most have taken the stance that the university itself is useless and serves no purpose. Under such intense bias, I can perfectly understand why some 9,000 students of the university have come out in protest and promised to take further action if the sanctity of their institution is threatened.

Personally, I think that none of it is called for. The university has a function and a role, which many of us may disagree with. But while it is performing it’s duty, there is not reason to call it (or any of it’s members) names. The question of opening up UiTM affects more than just a single university, it questions the very existence of MARA. MARA has done a lot of good work in helping the bumiputera out of poverty. So, suggesting to dismantle such an institution, would obviously need to be thought through first.

Additionally, I feel that the very people calling it names and ridiculing the actions of its supporters, would do the very same thing if the situation was reversed. Assuming that the MB had called for the closing down of all vernacular schools instead, I can see the very same kind of irrational behaviour coming from the non-bumiputera of the country. In fact, I can imagine the whole thing flaring out of control, if it were to actually happen.

Personally, I see the MARA educational institutions in the same light as any other vernacular institution. Both sets of institutions are seen as the last bastion of whatever racial identity that they are designed to propagate. This is the crux of the problem. If we are to take apart one, it is only fair that we take apart all the others as well. In fact, I would strongly support this idea, if it was ever mooted. But it will take a suicidal politician to actually suggest standardising everything.

“Simply put, Admiral, you have already used the stick. It’s time to use a carrot.” — Dr Gaius Baltar, Battlestar Galactica (S2E10).

A news story appeared in TheStar today, regarding our government medical students who are studying overseas. The article goes on to describe the phenomenon where “medical students sent abroad to study on government scholarships, many costing more than a million ringgit each, are breaking their 10-year bond by refusing to return and serve in public hospitals.”

Since I’m not a medical student, I wouldn’t really know their motivations to do such a thing. But the article did bring up a few arguments that seem to indicate the sad perception on the part of our government. I shall try to explain:

1. It says that the excuse these undergraduates often give is that they want to do their two-year housemanship overseas and continue with sub-specialisation courses. But when they do so, they may then get employed and become eligible for registration in Britain. With the pay they are getting there, it’s highly unlikely they will come back and serve.
2. Due to PSD’s perceived lenient treatment of such students in the past and a paltry penalty of RM160,000 each before 2003, it encouraged undergraduates, who have seen many of their seniors being let off, to follow suit. The government is now seriously considering suggestions to make errant students repay twice or thrice the sum of their scholarships as punishment.

Both these points raised by Human Capital Development division director Datin Madinah Mohamad, only show that the government is looking at things from a monetary viewpoint. If it was a pure question of money, I would expect less scholars to break their bond as not many people can actually afford to pay back that kind of money. Additionally, I also know for a fact that there are even local doctors who have not completed their compulsory government service because of various reasons.

While I do agree that pay is an important factor, anyone worth their salt will know that it’s not everything. Career progression and having a suitable environment to pursue interesting work is just as important, if not more so. That is why so many organisations are trying their best in creating a healthy work environment in order to retain people.

It is good that the government is trying to plug the stupid loophole, in the first place, asking the students to pay back only a fraction of their education cost. However, punishing future scholars by making them pay twice or thrice the sum, is an even stupider idea. Nobody should be ‘punished’ for trying to pursue a better future, which is the whole idea of getting an education in the first place.

Which is the reason why I think that the government does not quite have a handle on things. This whole idea of punishing people is just endemic of the wrong way of looking at things by our government. You can either choose to use the stick or the carrot. It becomes stupid to use the stick, when everyone else is using the carrot. The prime example is our neighbour, who dangles all kinds of carrots to attract our Malaysians over to the other side of the causeway.

Everyone realises that we are having a serious brain drain issue in our country. I hazard to guess that human capital may actually be one of our major exports. Goodness knows that a significantly large portion of the workforce, driving our neighbour’s economy, is Malaysian. I was recently told that there are 15,000 of our bankers working in Hong Kong. I won’t be surprised if the Malaysian diaspora working worldwide, numbered several hundred thousand.

I pointed out to a friend that to encourage scholars to work in Malaysia, the government had to look at more than just the monetary issue. Opportunities are much more important than money. My friend said that these scholars had a duty to go home and should not need to be encouraged at all instead. I disagree with that point of view as I do not believe that ‘forcing’ anyone to do anything is going to be a good thing for anybody. I doubt that anyone would want to be treated at a hospital by a doctor who was forced into the job.

It is true that they have a duty to the tax payer, but there are many other parameters that feed into the equation. If the conditions back home were promising, these scholars would naturally come home to serve. If the conditions back home are not, then these scholars would have to choose between their duty and self preservation. Unfortunately, nature has wired each of us for the latter and in the end, the carrot will win.

So, if the government wants to retain their own scholars, use the carrot, and I don’t mean money. Give these people the opportunity to do their work and do not drown them in senseless bureaucracy.

PS: Battlestar Galactica rocks! It has so many wise quotes that I have used in so many blogs.

At our most recent TehTarik gathering, I have been asked to anchor our next discussion on Malaysian issues. The last session was a success and we all managed to learn things about Malaysia that we did not know of before. So, I would like to try to build on that and make the next session a good one too.

My areas of interest are fairly limited and in order to be a good anchor, I will need to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the subject area, so that I can inject stuff to keep the conversations going.

A friend suggested that I might want to talk about the MSC. It may be a good idea, if only to discuss ideas on how to reinvigorate the whole project. I’m fairly certain that not many people know what the MSC is actually about and what has happened to it. So, for some of the passport Malaysians here, it would be an opportunity for them to learn something about our past.

Another possible topic to talk about would be local universities. I doubt that many people here actually know of what’s happening in the local universities and there are many misconceptions. Therefore, it might be educational to actually talk about local universities and what we should do about them. And for this topic, I can actually invite some other postgrads here who were from local public universities, to help with the discussions.

Yes, that would be a good idea. Even if it isn’t educational or useful, at the very least, we would be able to get some foreign and local grads to exchange views and dispel myths. Personally, I’d like to leave race out of the picture and talk about academic aspects of the system. It might even be possible to broaden the topic to tertiery education, in order to include topics on scholarship fundings and foreign universities.

So, all that is left now is to find an angle to approach the subject and come up with a short, concise, reading list for everyone to read, in time for our next gathering in a fortnight.

With Metta.