Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Increasing The Malaysian Talent Pool Posted: 19 Sep 2011 02:49 PM PDT By Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysian Mirror Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak praised Malaysians for their maturity and awareness of human rights, but to make Malaysia "the best democracy in the world", as he claims is his intent, will he be prepared to reward all talented Malaysians irrespective of race and religion? The nation is not short of talented people who come in all shapes and sizes, colours and creeds. A few have come from privileged backgrounds whilst many hail from more humble origins. However, when it comes to rewarding talent, only the Malays in Malaysia have a bite of the cherry, more specifically, only Malay men reach the top, and stay there. The statistics speak for themselves. Women do very well in Malaysian education; our schools, colleges and universities churn out many brilliant women scholars every year. Girls choose the more challenging subjects and excel, whilst the majority of boys, select subjects that are less demanding. Males lag behind and then present the lame, old excuse, that boys, are late developers. Isn't it time men stopped hiding behind prissy excuses? Some attribute the high attainment of women to the home environment where boys relax and are waited on hand and foot, whilst the girls have to help with the chores, take care of the younger siblings and cope with their schoolwork. Girls learn to manage their time properly and take on responsibility, at an early age. In Asian families, the boy is treated like a king and when he grows up, he expects this special consideration to be extended to him at most times, if not all the time. Most of us can identify at least one male family member who is a laggard and a bully, but whose actions are condoned by his mother. So, it seems that women who spoil and pander to their sons and husbands are at the root of the problems that our society has with men. Will Najib acknowledge the talents of women and give everyone a fair crack of the whip, irregardless of their sex? Will Najib in his desire to make Malaysia "the best democracy in the world", reward the Malaysians who are not Malay or Muslim? Will he finally acknowledge the struggles and achievements of the non-Malays and non-Muslims who have contributed towards the success of Malaysia? Or will these people be shunned as before and be forced to bid farewell to their families, their place of birth and bring their talent to another nation in which they will have to make a new home? Will Najib be open in mind and spirit and welcome the non-Malay, non-Muslim Malaysians to be committed, productive members of society? How many professionals and academics should we allow other nations to absorb at our expense? Talent isn't limited to those with brilliant academic minds. We have millions of non-Malays who swear allegiance to the King and country, but whose progress within the armed forces is limited and whose loyalty is often questioned. Will Najib open the doors of opportunity to these subjects and show that he is capable of providing them with "the best democracy in the world"? Several hundred thousand non-Malays and non-Muslim have already made the ultimate sacrifice when defending the nation. They were not the last non-Malay patriots, but who can blame the younger faithful citizens for refusing to enlist when they are told that they are second class citizens or immigrants? The Malaysian constitution assures each Malaysian the freedom to worship the religion of his choice. If Najib is sincere, will his policies reflect this and will he prevent the houses of worship and the holy books of other religions form being desecrated? Will he put a stop to forced conversions, body snatching and families being torn apart by our warped religious laws? Our current educational policies appear only to reward those from Malay/Muslim backgrounds. Scholarships and other educational opportunities are not based on merit and are not used to reward talent. There are allegations that some Malays do not have to repay their study loans or break the terms of their scholarship, without punishment. The increasing resentment felt by open-minded Malays, the non-Malays and non-Muslims is reaching fever pitch. Is it any wonder many refuse to return to their country of birth on completion of their studies? If Najib says we are mature and care about human rights, then will he put the interests of the people first? Can he reinstate good governance with an upright and honest judiciary and also an independent police force? Will he ensure that money politics remains a thing of the past and will he allow university and college students the right to vote and take a healthy interest in politics? Is he willing to match the rakyat's maturity and allow freedom of expression and freedom of speech amongst other things? Will the civil service, ministerial posts and the higher ranks of government departments and the GLCs be open to non-Malays, too? The rakyat will stand behind Najib in his desire for "the best democracy in the world", but perhaps he will find the most opposition from within the ranks of Umno. They have had the upper-hand for the past 54 years and may not be able to tolerate a more mature, liberal and democratic society. This might be the acid test that will precipitate another clash of wills within Umno: Will the hardliners support him, in his new found maturity, and endorse the candidacy of a non-Malay, non-Muslim and non-male for the highest post in the land – that of Prime minister of Malaysia?
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