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Okay, this topic keeps coming back again and again. So, I thought that I’ll try to put down a more cogent argument on what it is that I think is wrong with our vernacular schools, Chinese ones (SJC) in particular. I was out at Ace Hardware shopping for some stuff for my car when I heard on the radio that Mukhriz has called for the closing down of vernacular schools as they are a cause of racial polarisation in Malaysia.

I would like to put on record that I am in agreement with Mukhriz on this issue. By its very nature, vernacular schools are divisive and nobody can argue against that. They are little ethnic bubbles that are just just waiting to burst. Recent statistics have quoted that almost 90% of Malaysian Chinese parents send their kids to SJC schools these days and I think that it is a bad idea. I will try to outline some simple reasons below.

1. Perceptions on quality
   There is a public perception that the SJC schools provide a better quality of education than our SK schools. I say that this is a perception because there is no truth to this matter. Let me put forth a couple of counter arguments. Any logical person can instantly see that SJC schools cannot possibly provide a better education.

   The students need to learn certain subjects in multiple languages, which reduces the amount of time a teacher can spend on each. As a result, the syllabus is spread too thinly across and the students end up learning little in all the languages. Furthermore, the classes are packed full with easily 60 students in a single class, thus worsening the teacher-student ratio and further acerbating the above situation.

   As a result, the parents end up having to send their kids to a series of after-school tuition classes. These things are mushrooming everywhere. If the quality of the SJC schools were truly that good, these tuition centres would not be flooded with SJC students, of which they are. Of course, there are also SK students at these tuition centres but my point is that, whatever perception of quality that the SJC schools have is exactly that, a perception only.

2. Lies, damn lies and statistics
   Of course, one can argue that the examination statistics and anecdotal evidence seems to show that SJC schools provide students with a better education. However, we all know that statistics lie and these ones are lying more than others. I will put forth more statistics to show why everyone has been hoodwinked into thinking that SJC schools are better.

   According to some statistics quoted by MCA, about 30% of the SJC students drop out of school before finishing SPM. One can assume that these are the bottom 30% of the student population and drop out of school for more lucrative market opportunities. That is your reason why the statistics favour SJC schools. The bottom 30% of the SK student population does not drop out of school but will linger on until they at least finish SPM. Granted, they will cause all kinds of social problems but at the very least, even the bottom 30% finishes school.

   Then, there is the anecdotal evidence of SJC students who move from a SJC primary school onto an SMK secondary school. They tend to see that they perform better than many of the students in the SMK school. However, what they don’t realise is that the top students from an SK primary school take a very different education path from that of SJC schools.

   To most SK students, the most important examination is the UPSR examination and not the SPM examination. After finishing primary school, all the Tier-1 students are taken out of normal schools and placed into elite schools such as MCKK, TKC and other residential schools. The ones whom are left in SMK schools are the Tier-2 ones who then leave after PMR, leaving the Tier-3 ones to finish their education in SMK schools.

3. Cultural shock therapy
   Which leads me to my main point. The SJC students generally live in an ethnic bubble. I use the term “bubble” to indicate not only the isolated nature of its existence but also how fragile it is. This existence is built on an foundation of unfounded lies and statistics. Of course, it gives everyone inside the bubble a feel good factor but we have all got to confront reality at some point.

   We have all got to realise by now that the Malaysian Chinese community only make up about 25% of our population. Once we leave the SJC bubbles, we will need to meet the other 75% of the country. I have seen this many times and the pupils from SJC schools have problems interacting with the other 75% either at university or at work.

   This is easy to understand when you consider that the typical SJC student is generally only proficient at speaking Mandarin. Often, they have trouble speaking any other language and when you are unable to converse with your friends, you cannot possibly interact well. As a result, SJC students tend to stick to other SJC students and end up in an exclusive club of Mandarin speakers.

   While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it is a problem when it comes to issues of national unity. Most SJC students will defend the use of Mandarin to its last, including those in the political parties. However, doesn’t anyone find it curious that the current spat between the #1 and #2 of MCA is being fought in English?

Anyway, this entry is much longer than usual and I would like to end with a simple point. The SJC schools provide no significant benefits to the community and country when compared with SK schools. Instead, they are an exclusive ethnic bubble that is waiting to burst. Granted, they are not the only factor, but nobody can deny that they are a contributing factor to the worsening ethnic situation in Malaysia.

So, I will support any motion to dismantle the vernacular education in Malaysia and to force everyone into national schools while there is still time to undo the damage. However, I will also add one final caveat. If the vernacular schools are to be shut down, then we need to also open up MCKK, TKC and MRSM schools to everyone.

PS: Comments are open below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Oops, I have just realised that I had not published a blog entry about my new car. More importantly, I have not shown you all any photos of it! So, here are a few photos of my new car. I took a few internal and external shots. It is what I call a “starter car” as it is a rather basic car with limited features.

Driving the car has been an absolute terror joy recently. Initially, I was not used to the responsiveness and power under the hood. Also, the brakes had a noticeable lag in responsiveness. The car is supposed to come with some sort of pseudo-ABS system, which might explain it. However, I’ve now grown better accustomed to it. These things take a few days after all.

I have even taken it for a long distance drive, down to Melaka and back, which is about 250km in total. I will be taking it for another long distance drive, down to Kluang and back, which will be about 500km in total. So, I will be needing my first 1000km service soon.

Like I mentioned earlier, manual cars are fun to drive. Only in manual cars can you actually feel the acceleration of the engine. Only in manual cars can you actually feel everything moving immediately to your commands. However, it is also only in manual cars where you can feel the aches and pains of driving through a 3 hour traffic jam.

I am also going to keep a log of the amount of fuel consumption for the car. I will then analyse this data to see how good or bad the fuel situation is. I have a feeling that the results will come back something like this: bad for traffic jams, great for driving long distances.

A couple of friends of mine from China decided to drop by to visit recently. One of them was attending a conference in Singapore and decided to spend a week in Malaysia as the air ticket only cost an additional £30. So, I played host for a few days and brought them around to a few places. I can only say that it has been an interesting experience for me as well.

On the very first day that I was supposed to meet them, we arranged to meet at KLCC. However, at the last minute, they went over to Bukit Bintang for some shopping. So, I drove from Jalan Ampang over to Pavilion and I learned an awful truth about my car. It does makan minyak (eat oil) as others have so rightfully mention.

Although the journey typically only takes about 5 minutes, I was stuck in a traffic jam for an hour, just trying to get there and another 2 hours, while trying to get out. It was during this time that I saw my fuel gauge drop from about 85% to about 65% full. Man, it really guzzles the petrol when the car isn’t moving. My friends commented that they hate the traffic and they hate spending their vacation in a jam. Well, I can certainly understand that.

I decided to take them away from KL as there were other things to see and eat outside. Since they’re from Guangzhou, they can always go to Hong Kong to do their shopping anyway. So, I brought them out to Kajang for some satay. I introduced them to the differences between nasi himpit and ketupat. I also happened to mention that the town of Kajang is famous for two things: the satay and me! :p

I also brought them to Putrajaya at night, which was a nice experience for me too. They managed to see the layout of our new administrative capitol and I realised that I can still remember the roads in the area, from when I was working there almost 8 years ago. I have never been there at night though, and the area does look a lot different at night. We were even lucky enough to encounter a pasar malam night market and I introduced them to our version of it.

I also brought them to Melaka for a day trip, which was also another interesting experience for me. The last time that I had been there was when I was still a kid. So, I have absolutely no memory of the place, much less the roads. However, I decided that it was an extremely small place and we could just randomly walk about. I brought them to the Jonker Walk area and also the A Famosa area. We had chicken rice balls for lunch and then came back.

In the process of spending a couple of days with them, I explained to them about our unique history, politics and geography that made us what we are today. We also took turns at bashing, Singapore. Seems like my friends didn’t like their time there. Their complaints were: bad food, fugly girls and downright boring place. They commented that Malaysia was much better in all ways. To me, this meant that my tour-guide work was successful.

Anyway, this was a chance to test my car on the highway, driving at speeds of around 100kmh for a long distance. All I can say is that I have been quite happy with the handling of the car so far. However, I have this bad habit of always forgetting to lock my car doors. This is a habit that needs changing – pronto!

** Photo courtesy of Feng’s camera and my tripod!!

According to this article in TheStar, “The Regent of Negri Sembilan, Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Ja’afar, has called on royal immunity to be reinstated so the constitutional monarchy can be restored to its full sovereignty. He said that if the Ruler were to exercise his duties in a fair, just and impartial manner to protect the Federal Constitution, his sovereignty needed to be protected too.”

I think that this is a potential political coup, if only our political parties are able to look beyond their noses. If we wish to undo some of the things done in the Mahathir era, this is potentially one of the things that we need to look into. Our former PM had effectively clipped the wings of the monarchy and relegated them to a purely ceremonial role. However, if we wish to undo this, we will need to work through parliament.

And this is the political gem. As neither side of the house has a 2/3 majority, none of them can amend the Constitution on their own. In other words, there needs to be cross-party consensus and cooperation. If I was a PR/BN MP, I would think of using this as a potential platform for reaching across the table. The way I see it, it is a win-win situation for them.

If the other parties decide to tag along and agree to the amendments to the Constitution, the one who pushed for the amendment would score a public relations victory as they have shown the ability to work across party, to undo some of the harms done in the past. If the other parties decide not to agree to the amendments, the one who pushed for it would again score a political victory as they will be seen as defenders of the monarchy. At this time, when the monarchy is being seen as our last bastion of freedom, this can only be a good thing.

Of course, any amendments to our Constitution needs to be studied in depth before being made. There are reasons that the wings of the monarchy were clipped in the past. However, times today have changed and the younger generation of monarchs seem more educated and more professional in discharging their duties. The opposite has happened in our other branches of government, who seem to have become lackadaisical.

Anyway, this is just a random thought.

Looks like there might be a fight brewing between our estates on the issue of the yoga fatwa. According to the news articles, the Sultans of Perak and Selangor have both stepped in on the issue. So, there may be a small battle brewing between our different estates. This is something unique about our Malaysian system of monarchy and democracy. While the separation of powers between our various branches of government have been eroded in recent years, we still have an additional check and balance, our Sultans (emphasis – S).

The state Islamic councils may agree with the fatwa and wish to ratify it. However, in all matters related to Islam in Malaysia, the state rulers actually have the final say even if our Council of Rulers does not need to approve any national fatwa. However, nobody questions the fact that the Sultans are the heads of the religion in their respective states and the ratification of the fatwa by each state requires their consent. If they do not consent, the fatwa just gets relegated into an official opinion on the matter instead of a ruling.

At the very least, the rakyat (people) have now an alternative avenue for taking their case to. It seems that some of the Sultans may want to study the matter in detail first before deciding on the issue. Even if the decision ultimately lies with the Sultans, they can possibly be swayed by popular opinion. Afterall, they are rulers of the people and care for our well-being. So, this is heating up to be an interesting case with plenty of opinions on all sides. I love our convoluted system of checks and balances.

I think that this and other recent event, highlight a fundamental flaw in our government. Our authorities have had it their way for far too long and they are beginning to think that they are the rulers of the land. While the real rulers have generally chosen to play silent, the younger ones are now beginning to assert some of their royal influence. Thankfully, they have been asserting their powers in very subtle but rational ways and not abusing them like some of the previous rulers.

However, the biggest joker has to be Samy Vellu. According to news articles, “Samy Vellu said the council had every right to make a decision on Muslims and Islamic matter. He, however, said the description by the council on the yoga as haram may have caused confusion among the non-Muslims, particularly the Hindus.” I think that it is funny that Samy is barking up the wrong tree.

For the rest of us, it may be time to kick back, relax and take out the pop-corn.

According to MalaysiaKini, Wee Meng Chee (aka NameWee) is once again embroiled in another stupid saga. However, I personally think that he is acting like an idiot now. I think that his touch with fame has gone to his head and he is now attention hungry. It speaks volumes of his musical talents if he has to resort to constant controversy in order to sell his music.

According to the article, “The video featured a school teacher teaching English in a class, using vulgar words. The clip also included several semi-naked scenes. The first part of the video was four minutes and 54 seconds long, the second was four minutes and 47 seconds and the third clip was three minutes and 3 seconds long. Wee had shown the name of the school in the third clipping.”

Personally, I have not seen the video myself as it has been flagged as inappropriate on YouTube. However, I can already draw some conclusions from the news article. They quoted him as saying that, “I think the school wanting to take action against me is a good thing because this will allow more people to get a chance to see the video and understand the issues.”

He claims that the education system in Malaysia is all screwed up for Chinese schools. The example given was for mathematics. The students learn it in Mandarin in primary school, switch over to Malay in secondary school and then switch over to English again at the tertiery level. While I totally agree with his observation, he should not blame the government entirely for the predicament.

At present, Mathematics is taught in English at all levels but there are certain quarters who want to revert the teaching of it back to Mandarin. These quarters claim that it is easier to switch the students over to English at the secondary level while maintaining Mandarin as the language in primary. To these people, I say “hogwash”. If the foundations were built with Mandarin, they would have to play catch up with the rest when they get to secondary school, which isn’t all that easy.

However, I think that NameWee is an idiot. While I think that he is free to comment on a pertinent issue, I vehemently disagree with him using the footage of his school in the video. There is absolutely no reason for him to do so. He can still raise awareness on the issue without naming any specific school. Afterall, this is a national issue, not a specific issue with the teachers in a specific school. This smacks of idiocy to me. I thought that after his Negarakuku saga, he would have learned to put a little more effort into his work.

Not only do I think that it is stupid, I also think that it borders on illegal. Schools are not public grounds where one can freely enter or exit. Moreover, his school is not a public school and I am sure that he has no grounds to use footage of his school in his video. Any person with half a brain should know that you will need to apply for permission from a school before you can shoot footage on their ground. I know because I had done it before in the past.

So, I think that NameWee is an idiot. He hungers for publicity, has to sell his songs through controversy, and has no respect for the law at all. I personally hope that the school sues him for every last sen that he has.

See, like I mentioned in an earlier entry, our Royal Malaysian Police Force is a very compassionate police force. I doubt that you will be able to find another police force like ours in this world. According to this article in TheStar today, a 19 year old involved in a car-chase, tried to run down a policeman, got shot at by the police, got caught with drugs, is under investigation for attempted murder and was still released on bail to allow him to sit for his STPM examinations.

Read that statement carefully again. This is a 19 year old, who is probably a druggie as he was found with a small quantity of drugs in his possession. He was involved in a car chase with the police. He will probably be charged with attempted murder for trying to run down a policeman (it is unlikely that he will be able to evade the charges as he is no longer a minor and potentially a druggie). Now let us see what his potential charges are:

1. He is charged with attempted murder for trying to run down a policeman with his car.
2. He is charged with reckless driving as he was driving without a license and got involved in a police car chase.
3. He is charged with drug possession of various illicit drugs.
4. He is charged with a combination of the above.

After all this, the police were still compassionate enough to let him out on bail in order for him to sit for his STPM examinations, so as not to ruin his future. If he passes his STPM, he may even get a place to study for a degree in a local or foreign university. However, his future is quite likely ruined in any case. The police will probably file charges after his examinations.

Personally, I think that his only defense is to claim to have acted under stress. Everyone knows that STPM is a grueling examination. So, he can claim that he is not a druggie, but he had to resort to drugs to help out with his stress. He got afraid when caught by the police and ran. He didn’t mean to run down the policeman but was only trying to get away.

Can you imagine this happening in any other country other than Malaysia?