Yoursay: Looking for the elusive progressive Malays

YOURSAY | 'The Malays are as much a victim of government policy as the non-Malays think they are.'

Is hoping for meritocracy futile?

Apricot: It is definitely a delusion that progressive Malays even exist in Malaysia. Those really progressive Malays have already migrated overseas, running away from the shackles of race and religion.

What are left are the pseudo-progressive, who stayed to enjoy the largesse of public funds "extorted" from a violent event 50 years ago.

With the diminishing percentage in non-Malays and quota of near 100 percent in education and GLCs (government-linked companies), these pseudo-progressives may finally realise the shackle is not worth the unsustainable state largesse they enjoyed and they will go on with their Plan B, like so many able and mobile non-Malays did.

What next is unknown. But doesn't unknown itself is also a hope?

The Analyser: There is always the possibility that the Malays are as much a victim of government policy as the non-Malays think they are.

Who would buck the system if they were offered opportunities, only to find on graduation that they have been misled?

The average Malays do not want religion rammed down their throats 24/7, nor did they devise the crap-awful education system, nor employ the teachers.

Politicians decided all those things. And surprise, surprise. The present batch of politicians is performing no better than the ones they criticised for so long.

Ian2003: I am not so sure if the average Malay does not want religion rammed down his throat, but the growing number of religious schools speaks for the demand for such schools and those who decide to send their children to them.

David Dass: There is the danger of us not seeing the country as it really is.

Yes, there are many things wrong with the country. Yes, the New Economic Policy (NEP) has resulted in many non-Malays of ability not getting the support they needed to access higher education.

Or finding jobs in the public sector.

And yes, low standards of education and loss of English language proficiency have taken its toll. But all of this notwithstanding, this country has produced and continues to produce Malaysians of outstanding ability. And they are of all races and they are everywhere. In the country and out of the country.

We could and should be better than we are at present, had our policies been more inclusive, our standards of education higher and English language proficiency made a priority. We should not lose so many of our talented young people. Most leave for better-paying jobs elsewhere.

Education will continue to be a priority for Malaysians. And one way or another, many Malaysians will seek to improve themselves through education. Educational reform should simply make the process better for all.

Jaded: The system has evolved into one that unfairly robs the talented of opportunities that is due to them. We hear this year in, year out. The same grouse appears after the results of STPM and 'O' Level are released.

Malaysiakini columnist S Thayaparan is correct - doing the same thing and expecting different results is insanity. Well, the people voted Pakatan Harapan but the results are still the same.

The current government sadly lacks the political will to change the system to one where the poor, instead of a race, is favoured.

There are no objections when we give financial help to the poor for their studies, we only object when the rich benefit from this system just because they belong to a race. Even then, there must be a limit to the aid and only the brightest of the poor get the help.

There are no objections if we invest in more classes to help the poor, we only object when the standards are lowered to allow the weak to pass.

We have been hearing about these systemic problems in the education system, yet there is no political will to change it. Unless we change, sub-standard graduates will continue to flood the market, with no employers willing to take them; and why would they?

Malaysia will continue on a downward spiral as the future pillars are insufficiently strong to prop up the economy. Despite the simple but tough action required, things will likely continue to fester and come the next round of results, we will hear of the same complaints again and that is insanity.

Anonymous #33227154: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is simply doing lip service. Many of our politicians simply don't mean what they preach. If they do, they would not deny bright, young Malaysians from deserved education opportunities. They really don't care about the future of Malaysia.

Our racist quota system is consistently producing low standard graduates and pulling all of us down, and ironically, the Malays ended up as the biggest losers. The yardstick is continuously lowered to produce a bunch of 'fake As achievers' to justify racism.

Read lawyer Siti Kasim's article to understand the true picture.

The Wakandan: Racist affirmative policy has taken us a century backward. The saying that in order to move forward we must go backward first to put our steps on proper balance is in some ways quite true.

But it also puts us on dangerous ground because affirmative action is like a drug, opium. Once addicted, it is hard to get out of it. Besides, there are the withdrawal symptoms that the patient needs to grapple with.

There should be limited time for the necessary affirmative action and then to decisively escape from it before it scars and damages the country with greater harm.

Affirmative action will only hurt the people it is meant to benefit in the long run. It will stifle their intellectual competitive growth. They will become dependent and weak as a race. In the US, the blacks saw this and wisely refused it, except perhaps for a few years start.

The fastest way to destroy a race would be to feed them with opium. They then will be rendered useless and weak human beings. The way to move forward is to put us into the survival mode, ruthlessly if need be.

History shows us that people could only rise very fast if they go through hardship and even defeat.

Germany and Japan, for example. China too.

Complacency and the good life can only stagnate us. The US and Europe can be inching into this category.

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