YOURSAY | Malaysia’s problem is its third-world mentality

YOURSAY | ‘Throw money at a problem and expect things to magically right themselves forever.’

Minister: School toilet funds closely monitored for 'leaks'

PurpleGopher1703: People can learn even when sitting on a dirty floor, wearing ragged clothes. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek is underperforming.

Yet again, she fails to understand that the content of the curriculum is what makes a student a better person. Focus on the teaching quality and not the toilet quality, for now.

We have lost one too many generations to stupid non-leaders already. We have many graduates who can’t perform simple tasks, lack common sense, and are fragile, lazy, and unable to comprehend or communicate.

Malaysia’s problem is its third-world mentality. Throw money at a problem and expect things to magically right itself forever. For once, instil responsibility, accountability, and a good maintenance culture.

BOBBYO: To install better toilets and other facilities are good plan for the students, as they provide better conducive conditions for the students.

Yet, we are not talking about the main criteria to take students’ knowledge to a higher level so that they can stand proudly on the world stage.

To achieve this, we need to alter the syllabus. During these 10 months (Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government), there was no talk or initiative to alter the course of the students’ future.

While the nations around us are aiming higher, we are reversing the standard of our education.

Lowering standards in passing marks, teaching more religious subjects instead of subjects that are important. Subjects that will prepare them for the fast changes that are taking place today.

As for the leakages, leave it to the little Napoleons in the ministry. All this while, they are the ones running this nation. They will keep on being in charge, as we can see that the education ministers have been the most ineffective in running the ministry.

So good luck in stopping the leakages that have been going on for the last 60 years.

Just a Malaysian: Leaking is the word for most government projects. Maintenance is another issue where new facilities become old with no proper maintenance.  

Just compare the Kuala Lumpur International Airport versus Singapore’s old Terminal 1 airport.  Toilets in schools are the least of our problems.

I was waiting for some groundbreaking statements from the reform-minded government on education. Looks like this is on par with black shoes. We have no strategies except to throw more and more money at the problem.

BlackGuppy0377: Hello, the conditions of essentials like classrooms, teaching instruments/aids, halls, fields, and toilets may be important aspects of school life for both boys and girls, what's more important is the curriculum.

What sort of values are we inculcating in these young minds who are the future of this country? How do we turn them into mature adults with a great sense of responsibility with respect to fellow humans and the environment while learning about the world we live in?

Looks like our education minister has not thought through these essential educational aspects at all.

Justice: Agricultural projects and subsidies should be subject to stringent monitoring and control by all the relevant agencies. This is where leakages have been and are persisting.

Farmers, fisherfolk, and those in the rural kampungs, Orang Asli settlements in West Malaysia and rural villages, and longhouses in Sabah and Sarawak have been cheated by corrupt officials colluding with cartels, contractors, and suppliers.

PW Cheng: Gosh, the minister must micromanage the conditions of school toilets when she should be looking at how to improve the failed education system.

The double whammy is not only on the failed education system, but it also portrays how serious corruption is in this country when it extends to “leaks” in school toilets.

I am not referring to leaking from pipes but leakages due to corruption.

Malaysia is just a fantasy land for corruption. It is shameful that no political leaders have the guts and will to fix it. The latest has plenty of talk only and no action.

BrownCheetah9736: It is shocking that in the 21st century, our education minister is focusing on toilets, instead of working on plans to arrest the declining standards of education and the falling ranking of tertiary universities.

This is what you get when you parachute a first-time MP and political lightweight to a grade-A ministerial portfolio, which is totally over her head.

Fair-minded senior citizen: Discipline in life and for life begins with our approach to the cleanliness of our toilets. Simple adage - leave it the way you like to see it when you use it.

This is a good beginning and the money spent is put to good use. If it is going to be a five-star toilet, pray let our minds from a young age be given a star too.

Well done, minister.

Nebuchadnezzar23: Once again, the Education Ministry is looking at the peripherals. Improve the fundamentals of teaching and learning. Issues such as toilets or shoes will take care of themselves.

Focus on the curriculum, teaching, and learning methods, and help teachers accomplish their primary task - teaching.

2023: “The project was first announced three months ago with an allocation of RM70,000 for each school and a targeted completion by the end of this month.”

Really, all schools need repairs to their toilets. But shouldn’t it be given only to those who really need it and based on actual costing?

Why RM70,000 for every school? If a school doesn’t need it, is it not leaking the funds anyway? I don’t understand how the system works.

PinkBeetle4287: Our students must be given proper lessons on hygiene and keeping clean toilets is one of them. The schools must create a programme of awareness to keep the toilets and classrooms clean.

Without educating them, the government will continue to spend money to keep the schools clean. All you need is a good headmaster to initiate a “Keep Our School Clean” programme.

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