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PR ‘rallying’ for lost support
‘All is OK, boss’ when it actually isn’t
Hindraf and Bersih: Last chance to unite
Barisan Nasional’s sledge-hammer reaction to the Bersih Rally on 9th July 2011
Bersih Rally a Turning Point for Democracy
Attracting the Best To Teaching

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 04:51 PM PDT

The July 9 rally is an attempt by PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to shore up its public support ahead of the next general election and in the wake of recent by-election losses and negative publicity.

"Speaking from my experience, I am very positive that the Bersih 2.0 rally was planned by Anwar. Undoubtedly, he is behind it," said former PKR deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar, who is president of JUST. "I do not think that the rally is about electoral reform at all. It is just used as a means to shore up Anwar's position in the country by the quickest route, by instilling anger in Malaysian citizens and hoping that the demonstration will lead to a change of power, like what happened in Egypt."

By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY, The Star

The July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally is really a Pakatan Rakyat effort to win back the political momentum it once enjoyed after the March 2008 tsunami but has since lost to Barisan Nasional in a series of by-elections – except Sibu.

Even the Sibu by-election was won by the DAP with a slim 300-vote majority.

Although the party went on to win 15 urban seats in the Sarawak state election, the state Barisan Nasional managed to win a two-thirds majority, clinching most of the rural seats and losing only the urban seats to the DAP.

To recapture the political momentum is the unstated goal of the Bersih 2.0 rally going into the 13th general election, which is near, going by the latest hint dropped by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at a closed door meeting of the Sabah Barisan Nasional on Wednesday.

PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the man behind it, senses that a major public rally, which would galvanise the public mood, shake the Barisan Nasional and prepare Pakatan Rakyat for seizing Putrajaya, is the best chance of getting the political momentum back.

In tandem with that goal, Bersih 2.0 has lost its public face as an independent NGO and increasingly showing its Pakatan Rakyat face, even as police step up their action to stop the rally, which they have termed illegal and a nuisance.

The political momentum enjoyed by Pakatan Rakyat moved back to Barisan Nasional with victories in the Kerdau, Batu Sapi, Tenang and Merlimau by-elections, which were won by Barisan with large majorities, indicating that Malay and Indian voters have returned to the coalition.

Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad won the Kerdau seat in Pahang with a majority of 2,724 votes while Roslan Ahmad won the Merlimau seat with a majority of 3,643.

In the Tenang by-election on Jan 30, Barisan Nasional also won by a 3,700 vote majority whereas in Batu Sapi, the majority was massive with over 6,000 votes.

Pakatan Rakyat initially had a dream run that left it victorious in eight of the first 11 by-elections held, results which were seen as a sign that it had cemented its support among voters.

However, Barisan Nasional then won two by-elections last November, one in January this year and two more later, in a major boost for its morale ahead of an early general election.

It is this momentum that Pakatan Rakyat lost – first by the failed Sept 16 gambit and later, by Anwar's sexual troubles – that it is trying to regain with its Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9.

It hopes to go into the 13th general election with a major success behind it and erase all the bad perception from the by-election defeats and Anwar's troubles over the Sodomy 2 trial, in which, incidentally, he has been called to enter his defence.

The trial opens a week after the July 9 rally.

The latest video sex scandal with a mainland Chinese sex worker is another embarrassment haunting him.

The Bersih 2.0 rally, therefore, has an ulterior motive and is planned by individuals who want to shore up their political position ahead of the general election.

"I do not think that the rally is about electoral reform at all.

"It is just used as a means to shore up Anwar's position in the country by the quickest route, by instilling anger in Malaysian citizens and hoping that the demonstration will lead to a change of power, like what happened in Egypt," Dr Chandra said.

Bersih, too, has increasingly dropped its mask and is showing its true self as an NGO extension of the Pakatan Rakyat with nearly all of its supporters also doubling up as supporters of Pakatan Rakyat.

It has strong support from the Selangor and Penang state governments with even Selangor promising RM15,000 for Bersih 2.0 expenses.

It has PAS leaders supporting it, with some promising to bring 100,000 members for the rally.

All the three Pakatan Rakyat political parties are mobilising for the big event, indicating that Bersih 2.0 is an Opposition event, like it or not.

PAS is the core of Bersih 2.0 and it is expected to mobilise its members for the event and is confident of leading the Malays, now that PKR leader Anwar is facing mounting woes of his own.

The Opposition leaders behind Bersih are hoping that a massive turnout would shake the Government and weaken it.

A weak government, it is theorised, would not be able to fight hard at the polls.

Barisan is anxious to avoid any test of wills on the streets on July 9.

Instead, it wants Pakatan Rakyat to face it at the polls in a free and fair fight to decide the matter once and for all.

‘All is OK, boss’ when it actually isn’t

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 03:04 PM PDT

How is any 'regular' Malay youth going to get a housing loan for RM220,000 for homes in the 'famed' Sungai Besi plot? asks a former Umno assemblyman.

Umno leaders should not assume that the people do not know that the political environment had changed massively. Umno's arrogance has been the primary reason. It has distanced itself from the ground. Take, for instance, the latest morsel of gossip making its rounds. The people are talking about the US$120,000 handbag and how the son of an ex-premier indulged his wife with a RM750,000 handbag!

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, Free Malaysia Today

Why has the Bersih rally rattled Umno and provoked Perkasa? Whose self-interest has been threatened?

Umno and the government are handling the Anwar Ibrahim case foolishly. The manner by which Umno is handling the Anwar case is a reflection of the gutter level thinking of Umno thinkers.

Anwar is already doomed. His chances of becoming prime minister are almost non-existent now.

Which citizen wants a prime minister who spends 90% of his time countering allegations of sexual misconduct.

Anwar is already a damaged good for prime ministership. Whatever he has gone through has sufficiently reduced his credibility as a leader.

But despite this he remains lucky because, like Zaid Ibrahim aptly put, Umno is leading his case.

Imagine this. With Anwar in jail, how will Umno justify its existence in people's minds?

Having said that, the next general election will be probably the worst Umno has ever experienced. If I am wrong, great! But thus far my prophercies have been accurate.

If Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is saying that he will be fielding "many young faces", then it is a good statement because the old foggies who have been in power forever are racing to make hay while the sun shines.

And because they know the sun is setting, the race is getting increasingly tight.

People are aware

Many of them have forgotten that it is the people who determine the rise and fall of Umno.

The people will determine this based on their now increased awareness (of the political and socio-economic situation in the country).

Umno leaders should not assume that the people do not know that the political environment had changed massively.

Umno's arrogance has been the primary reason. It has distanced itself from the ground.

Take, for instance, the latest morsel of gossip making its rounds.

The people are talking about the US$120,000 handbag and how the son of an ex-premier indulged his wife with a RM750,000 handbag!

Here and there people are talking about the flow of tears against the brilliance of diamonds for the "privileged Malays".

The mainstream media do not tell you about this. They just give you happy stories.

Because they dish out cheery stories, you don't get to read about how government land in Sungai Besi was transferred to company X for "zero cost".

Posted: 30 Jun 2011 02:58 PM PDT

Perhaps, if the Hindraf movement will not join the rally, then hopefully, individual Hindraf members will participate in their personal capacities.

When Hindraf organised a demonstration against racism in February, no opposition politician supported them. When hundreds of Hindraf supporters were arrested and 54 were charged in court, one Hindraf supporter commented: "Not a single word from civil societies. Their silence is deafening." Perhaps Pakatan's arrogance has cost them dearly. Equally, is Hindraf cutting off its nose, despite its face?

Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today

One name stands out in the Bersih 2.0 rally: Hindraf. In a communiqué issued on June 15, Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar said that Hindraf would not participate in the march because Pakatan Rakyat had reneged on its promise to Hindraf after the 2008 general election.

Uthayakumar said, "We are not participating because Pakatan failed to endorse our 18-point demand made in 2007."

Might Hindraf be persuaded to reconsider its earlier decision to stay away?

When would we be given another golden opportunity to show unity among the various communities in Malaysia? In another 54 years perhaps?

People of various ages, faiths, races and backgrounds would be coming together on July 9 in a show of strength.

The message to the Barisan Nasional-led coalition is that we would not tolerate lip service anymore, that electoral reforms are necessary and that human rights abuses cannot be ignored.

It is also a deliberate snub to the Election Commission because its offer to talk and engage with us has only come at the last minute.

Back in 2007, the first Bersih march on Nov 10 and the subsequent Hindraf rally on Nov 25 were instrumental in forcing a change in people's attitude towards BN.

There is no denying that Hindraf's leaders were successful in galvanising the movement to stand behind Pakatan. Also without the support of the Hindraf movement, whose members turned out in the tens of thousands, the outcome of the 2008 general election might have been different.

These two marches in 2007 contributed towards the significant opposition gains in the 2008 polls.

Using the element of fear

It is obvious that all the parties and individuals who are opposed to the "Walk for Democracy" are using the fear element to cow the public into staying at home.

Fear is what makes Umno-BN and its cronies try their best to stop the march because a mobilised rakyat demanding urgent democratic and electoral reforms is a dangerous beast.

Fear is what drove MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek to warn his party members against joining the march, saying that it was politically motivated and illegal: "We cannot accept the objective of this illegal rally."

Fear and shame drove the EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar to declare that Bersih was merely a front for Pakatan to increase its bid for Putrajaya.

He said, "There was (a 2007) demonstration and as result, a momentum was built and in the 2008 election (the opposition) won big… now, the rumour is that snap polls will be called and history will be repeated.

"(They think) let us have Bersih 2.0 with more supporters, the momentum will grow and possibly win Putrajaya."

Wan Ahmad told S Ambiga, the Bersih chairman, to be apolitical: "If Bersih separates itself from political parties, then we can meet Bersih as a member of civil society as its agenda is for the good of all."

However, Wan Ahmad forgets that if he had not been a lame chairman of the EC and discharged his duties professionally, then Malaysia might not have been lumped into such a quagmire.

In another attempt to blacken the Bersih organisers, Umno sympathisers have said that the EC was efficient, that elections in Malaysia were fair, otherwise, the opposition would not have been able to win five states in the last general election.

Have these people considered that if the elections had been truly clean, fair and free, and the EC did not collude with Umno, the opposition might not have won just five states but would have scored outright victories throughout Malaysia?

Last February, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak claimed that Hindraf did not need to represent the Indian community because the government was capable of looking after the interests of the Indians.

He said, "We have taken action on the question of Indian community interests, meaning that they don't need Hindraf, they only need BN."

After 54 years of BN, what improvements in living standards or educational and work opportunities have the Indians to show for BN's supposed concern?

Time to be magnanimous

But BN alone is not to blame; Uthayakumar of Hindraf is still seething from being let down by Pakatan after the 2008 general election.

True. It is frustrating and a serious point of grievance.

Hindraf leaders have striven so hard for the Indians but have achieved very little because they have been let down by politicians. They have been used, as every political party uses us, the rakyat, for their own means and to fulfil their own agendas.

There are almost 850,000 Indian voters, yet there is not a single constituency with an Indian majority.

In 2007, Hindraf was said to be linked with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam but none of the politicians or any social activist defended Hindraf.

Hindraf was accused of having overseas links and plots to overthrow the government but again no one spoke up for them. When Hindraf's Orange T-shirts were banned because they threatened national security, or when Hindraf's supporters' children were arrested, again no one came to their defence.

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 08:27 PM PDT

Prime Minister Najib will be the ultimate loser in the coming General Election and will be ousted just like his predecessor, Tun Abdullah Badawi

The hype and exaggeration of the consequences of the Bersih Rally – civil commotion, financial losses in the RM billions, the takeover of the government, the revival of communism, etc. – is another symptom of an administration under siege and devoid of any creative response to what is otherwise a non-issue.

By Matthias Chang

There are four main factions in UMNO, three of which are determined to prevent the PM's faction from gaining an overwhelming upper-hand and a repetition of "Pak Lah's political theatrics" – when the family-in-laws included ruled supreme. This is so typical of "Malay politics". Can you imagine the wannabes waiting for 15 years or more to have a bite at the political cherry?

The era of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was an exception and only because he was a visionary and a pragmatic leader, and an act that is hard to follow. The trend for all future leaders will assuredly be one term, as there are just too many in the queue to be the next prime minister.

The Prime Minister is a seasoned politician, adept at surviving the back-stabbing and double-dealings inherent in all political power-grabs. So why is he reacting in such a high-handed manner to the Bersih challenge?

A heavy-handed reaction – threats of incarceration under the Internal Security Act, threats of unleashing sectarian / racial violence by the likes of Perkasa, the unnecessary posturing by UMNO Youth and its irrelevant leader, Khairy (off to join the Gaza Flotilla to get some brownie points where he has no credibility in advancing the just struggles of the Palestinians), the raid of Bersih's office and the confiscation of its materials etc., but no police action against UMNO Youth's disorderly conduct outside PKR's headquarters even when they threatened to burn down the building – indicates the administration's one track mentality in solving problems, not that the Bersih Rally is a problem.

The hype and exaggeration of the consequences of the Bersih Rally – civil commotion, financial losses in the RM billions, the takeover of the government, the revival of communism, etc. – is another symptom of an administration under siege and devoid of any creative response to what is otherwise a non-issue.

To declare that it is a crime and or illegal to wear any clothing in yellow bearing the logo "Bersih" is sheer stupidity. And the Home Minister is a lawyer by training! If such clampdown is to demonstrate the power of UMNO and nothing else, then the year long campaign that we are "1Malaysia" rings hollow and that the Barisan Nasional government has no faith in its policies especially its "Economic Transformation Programme" (ETP), the political crown jewel of Najib's administration.

If Barisan Nasional needs brute force to cow the people to vote for it, as opposed to using rational arguments and sound policies, it will be the end of the Barisan Nasional. The Barisan Nasional would be giving the Opposition a walk over in the next General Election.

The Election Commission is an independent agency. This is the mantra that the BN government never ceases to affirm.

Everyone is for a free and fair election.

The 2008 General Election is the best evidence that elections were conducted fairly, as the Opposition took over five state governments and reduced the BN two-thirds majority in Parliament, a historic achievement by the Opposition Coalition.

Bersih has assured the nation that the rally would be peaceful and its intention is to deliver a memorandum for a fair and clean election to the King.

We shall hold them to their word and promise.

How long would the Bersih Rally be, in the absence of any police action? At the most, one and half hours, and thereafter, they would have to disperse, again peacefully. End of the story. Nothing happens, no news worthy of a headline in the front page of the local mainstream media or for that matter the foreign media.

The police can agree to a pre-designated route to avoid creating traffic jams and unnecessary inconvenience to the public.

There is no need for the deployment of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) or the military. What is needed is traffic police to assist the organizers.

This is all that is required.

Any leader associated with the Bersih Rally would lose credibility if they allow the rally to turn ugly or violent. In those circumstances, the security forces would have every justification to take stern action and they can be deployed quickly.

Let us not make a mountain out of a mole-hill!

My advice to the Prime Minister is simple. Be at the gate of the Agong's palace to stand in solidarity with the participants and show support for their civic-mindedness and assure all those peaceful participants that every effort will be made to ensure a fair and clean election as was the case in 2008 and all previous elections.

Why is there a need for Perkasa to have a counter-rally, when it is not even part of the Barisan Nasional? Whether BN likes it or not, Perkasa is perceived as being thuggish and provocative. It may have a role in serving a Malay agenda (rallying Malays to vote for UMNO), but it will not be able to deliver the Malay votes. It is a sad reflection of UMNO that it needs Perkasa, an external force to rally Malay voters and when its leader is not even a member of UMNO, but an "independent" Member of Parliament. This is really pathetic!

Why must UMNO Youth behave in a manner that is perceived as racial and repugnant?

Perkasa undermines the Barisan Nasional. It cannot deliver on its own merits and has no mass following, if UMNO members do not join its ranks.

I challenge Perkasa to deliver 50,000 members to march peacefully to the Agong's palace to assure the entire nation that they too are for fair and clean elections, not on the 9th July 2011 but on a separate occasion so that we can see for ourselves the true strength of Perkasa and whether it genuinely reflects the aspirations of the Malay community and the Barisan Nasional.

If Barisan Nasional wants to commit suicide and lose the next General Election, then follow Perkasa's sectarian bravado and Khairy's infantile opportunism.

If Barisan Nasional insists on adopting the sledge hammer approach to the Bersih Rally, they will lose the next election. The blowback will be intense and unforgiving. And if Najib is naïve and foolish enough to declare an emergency and launch another Operation Lalang, the Chinese and Indian voters will abandon Barisan Nasional in droves and whatever efforts thus far to win back their allegiance will go up in smoke. This is a given.

Remember also that as a Muslim country, we are also a target of the neo-cons' agenda. Those outside forces who are hell bent to destabilize Muslim countries are waiting for an excuse to subvert Malaysia.

The Bersih Rally is a non-issue and can be diffused quietly and without any fanfare.

I trust common sense will prevail.

Bersih Rally a Turning Point for Democracy

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 04:58 PM PDT

Umno also realizes that it has committed too many wrongs that betray the people's interest, and more people have come to know of these through the fast growing alternative media. Combined with the growing influence of opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat, the coming rally could be a powerful demonstration of the people's will to reclaim sovereignty from the long-reigning kleptocracy through electoral reforms. That is something that Umno does not want to see happening.

By Kim Quek

Amidst the frenzy of draconian measures to prevent the July 9 Bersih rally from taking place, many Malaysians have begun to wonder: Has Malaysia descended into a state of lawlessness?

No sooner had Home Minister declared that wearing the yellow Bersih T-shirt was illegal, the Inspector General of Police up the ante by announcing that even "shoes, cars, buses or any medium that promote the Bersih rally are illegal, as this amounts to sedition", and he said the people involved will be arrested.

To date, more than a hundred people have been arrested all over the country in the past four days, mainly for wearing the yellow Bersih shirts.

To me, this sounds like someone speaking and acting as if he is the absolute monarch who can order the arrest of anyone at his whims, and whose word is law. For nowhere in the Malaysian law can you find a provision that allow a minister or a police officer to declare an item such as the Bersih shirt illegal or to arrest someone before a crime is committed or suspected to have been committed. The Bersih rally is not even held, so how can a crime be committed in connection with the rally?

BERSIH ABOVE BOARD

So, what has driven the Minister and the IGP into such extreme conduct of resorting to brazenly unlawful exercise of power?

Is Bersih a terrorist organization that plots to overthrow the government by violence? Is Bersih calling people to break laws and create chaos? What terrible deeds have Bersih done to cause such phobia in the authorities that they should strike at everything that moves, so to speak, that smells of Bersih?

None of that.

Bersih is a civil society movement participated by sixty two non-government organizations to campaign for electoral reforms. . And the July 9 rally is specifically called to address the problem of the authorities' recalcitrance to institute any form of reform. Despite persistent requests over many years, the Election Commission and the incumbent ruling coalition Barisan Nasional have not moved even one inch towards reforming an electoral system that has been reduced to a complete farce through ever escalating vote-buying, abuse of power and massive rigging.

With such noble intention, how could Bersih be branded as anything other than a respectable body that works towards restoration of democracy and return of political power to the people? It should be obvious by now that without free and fair election, political power is vested in a few incumbent leaders, not with the people.

And when such a respectable body calls for a rally to highlight its cause to the nation, how can such a rally be taboo, and everything connected with it be decreed illegal?

Up to now, the incumbent hegemon Umno and the police have not come up with an iota of credible evidence that the Bersih rally is anything but a peaceful and honourable gathering, called in accordance with the right endowed by the Constitution to every citizen. Regretably, the police have so far conducted themselves as a force serving Umno's parochial political interests, in direct confrontation with the interests of the masses.

AUTHORITIES' EXCUSES INCREDULOUS

The excuses given so far to justify arrest and to label the rally illegal are laughable and carry no credibility – accusations such as a communist plot to wage war against the Agong, a movement aided by foreign Christian bodies to subvert the country, an event that will jeopardize public order and national security, and cause economic damage.

These tales of impending threats and calamities are so far-fetched that they are not only disbelieved by decent Malaysians, but also reflect the paucity of rationale of the incumbent power to justify their condemnation and clampdown on the movement.

That their excuses to crucify the Bersih rally are rubbish is amply manifested in the admirable political and economic well being of those democratic countries where such peaceful rallies are part and parcel of their democratic way of life. Look at our regional neighbor Hong Kong. Rallies of a few hundred thousand people to demonstrate against the Hong Kong or Chinese government are routinely staged there, and yet there was not the slightest indication that public order was affected or businesses harmed. On the contrary, Hong Kong continues to enjoy ever increasing prosperity and stability.

So, what is Umno afraid of?

The honest truth and the bottom line is: Umno has no confidence to politically survive a free and fair election.

That is why it has not yielded an inch in the direction of moving Malaysian election to a more level-playing field, and it has no intention to do so in the future.

That is something that Umno does not want to see happening.

NO WIN FOR UMNO

We can hence expect that Umno will continue to step up pressure against Bersih by manipulating compliant institutions such as police and judiciary, at the expense of the Constitution and law, to stifle the Bersih move.

But Umno is in a no-win situation. To be faithful to the Constitution which means that the peaceful rally must be allowed to proceed, Umno dreads to see a mammoth assembly that could be demoralizing to its dwindling supporters. On the hand, a brutal repression that breaks all laws may kindle public fury to an explosive state with unpredictable consequences. Even if it succeeds in suppressing the rally, it can only bring temporary relief to Umno, as the ugly scenes of unjustified cruelty and transgression of law and fundamental human rights will be mercilessly bared for all to see, thanks to modern IT technology, reminiscent of the Tahrir square uprising and the subsequent revolutionary fire that has spread across the entire Arab world. By that time, Umno and BN's popular support may have so dwindled that even the status quo of skewed election and stooge institutions cannot save it from an electoral defeat.

I am confident that the majority of Malaysians has already reached such a level of political consciousness that the will of the people will prevail to make July 9 rally an important turning point in our struggle to reclaim democracy and sovereignty for the people.

Attracting the Best To Teaching

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 12:53 PM PDT

Having been brought up under the current system it would be unrealistic to expect these teachers to be agents or advocates for change. Their position is essentially that the system was good enough for them; it should be good enough for the present and future generations. Stated differently, current teachers are part of the problem, not of the solution.

M. Bakri Musa
www.bakrimusa.com

Early this year the US Department of Education, together with OECD and the Asia Society, convened a summit of education ministers, master teachers, and union leaders from 15 countries. The theme was on attracting, training and retaining the best teachers. Those were no ordinary countries participating; their students had consistently excelled in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

America has some of the finest private and public schools, while its colleges and universities regularly dominate anybody's list of the best. Yet there was US Education Secretary Duncan sponsoring this symposium and its opening speaker. That reflects the seriousness with which American leaders and policymakers consider education. It also shows their humility and commitment to learn from the best. I long for such traits in our leaders and educators.

The core assumption of the summit is that you cannot have excellent schools without excellent teachers. "Great teachers are not just born that way," Secretary Duncan noted in his opening remarks. "It takes a high-quality system for recruiting, training, retaining, and supporting teachers over the course of their careers to develop an effective teaching force," he continued.

This emphasis on schools and education is well placed. As OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria put it, "The prosperity of our nations depends on whether we succeed to attract the brightest minds into the teaching profession, and the most talented teachers into the most challenging classrooms."

Pivotal Role of Teachers

You cannot have good schools without good teachers. Good teachers in turn come from good students, and good students need good schools in order to shine. This is not an extended version of the old chicken-and-egg riddle. Rather what these countries with exemplary schools and outstanding teachers have demonstrated is the pivotal position of the teacher. Finland and Singapore in particular have shown that you can indeed intervene to make teaching an attractive profession, the first-choice career of the talented.

In Finland teaching is a much-sought occupation, with ten applicants for every position! The teaching profession there attracts the best applicants in part because teachers get competitive pay. Singapore aggressively recruits from among the top third of its students, and those interested in and committed to teaching are paid while still in school.

Keen competition in itself is no indicator of quality. In Malaysia, there is a glut of applicants for religious teachers but no one dares claim that the applicant pool is made up of top-tier students. There is similar stiff competition to be teachers in Egypt, but its schools and students rank at the bottom in international comparisons. The reason is that the Egyptian economy is in such a rut that teaching is the only job available. The same dynamics apply to our religious teachers.

Recruiting top talent is only the beginning. Rookies' enthusiasm will get you only so far. Teachers must also be given superior initial training; then there must be a mechanism for continuing professional education and training.

Finland has an exceptionally superior system; hence it is attracting the best talents. Teachers there get training to the level of a master's degree, even for primary school teachers. They are rightly treated as professionals because they are rigorously trained and more importantly, behave as such. They are also trained to be diagnosticians to recognize not only the different learning styles but also learning problems.

A unique feature of the Finnish system is that each teacher is also a researcher, participating in research in collaboration with the local university. The best way to keep abreast in your field is to be involved in research even if only tangentially.

Being true professionals, Finnish teachers have considerable autonomy, as are their schools. The Finnish Ministry of Education is more a resource center than a command-and-control one. Its bureaucrats are not control freaks.

Those countries are also actively widening the pool talent for recruitment to include those from underrepresented minorities and those seeking mid-career change. This has particular relevance for Malaysia; it too must aggressively recruit from among Orang Asli and other minority groups especially of East Malaysia. It is important for minority students to have role models from among the teachers.

No professional would be satisfied unless he or she is assured of career advancement as well as appropriate reward and recognition for a job well done. In Singapore teachers are career tacked to be master teachers, school leaders, or specialist in curriculum or research. The government regularly tracks what competing sectors are paying their workers in order that teachers remain competitively paid.

Reforming Schools

The other significant lesson from the summit is that school reforms when effectively executed can bear positive results quickly. Poland is an example. It initiated reform only in the late 1990s but within a decade it has dramatically reduced the number of its poorly performing students and cut in half the variations in performance among its schools. Previously Polish students regularly perform at below average level of OECD countries; after reform they were on par with Americans.

Reforming school is the rage everywhere, Malaysia included. The consensus at this conference is that teachers must both be the active agents for and effective implementers of reform.

This creates a dilemma for Malaysia. Where teachers are well trained, thoroughly professional and highly effective as they are in the Scandinavian countries, they should be actively involved with the reform process. In Malaysia however, our teaching profession is far from that. It has been significantly degraded with respect to standards and professionalism, as reflected in the quality of their products – the students.

Having been brought up under the current system it would be unrealistic to expect these teachers to be agents or advocates for change. Their position is essentially that the system was good enough for them; it should be good enough for the present and future generations. Stated differently, current teachers are part of the problem, not of the solution. This does not mean that they cannot be trained or persuaded to be part of the solution, but we should not underestimate the difficulties and challenges.

The reform in Poland was, as expected of a former communist country, a top-down affair. Yet it was highly successful. Likewise in Singapore; no surprise there either, but it was also effective. A generation ago Singapore faced problems similar to what Malaysia faces today where teaching was not the first choice career for its top students.

Thailand too has its "Malaysian problem;" the Thais solved it in their own unique patient way. Recognizing the futility of persuading these teachers to agree for reform, the government simply bypassed them by liberalizing the school sector to foreign players. Consequently, international schools blossomed in Thailand. Yes, they are an option only for the elite and rich. These schools are educating the children of the influential. These students are destined to hold key positions in their country, their superior education and social standing assured them of that. They would be the ones to lead successful reforms in the future.

In reforming Malaysian schools, we could pursue either the top-down approach of Poland and Singapore, or use the slower and surer Thai way. However, I do not see the necessary enlightened and intelligent leadership to effect meaningful top-down reform, nor do I see a farsighted leadership to initiate the slow Thai way.

Quality of Schools and Fertility Rates

On perusing the list of countries whose students excelled in PISA, one fact stands out: Those countries also have low fertility rates. The latest addition to the list of top performers is China, specifically Shanghai. China's almost inhuman "one-child" policy has many critics but there is no questioning its benefits. For the past few decades China was spared the burden of feeding and housing over 300 million potential Chinese. Imagine the savings in not having another Bangladesh within your borders! Spared of those huge expenses, the Chinese could now divert resources to improving their schools.

The reverse however is not true; low fertility rates alone do not guarantee good schools. Sri Lanka is proof of that.

In Malaysia, the fertility rate for Malays, while declining, is still nearly doubled that of non-Malays. The wide discrepancy in academic achievement and other social indices between Malays and non-Malays is ultimately attributed in part to this difference in fertility rates.

If today the authorities were to implement an effective and acceptable family planning program that is enthusiastically endorsed by the religious authorities, the positive impact would be felt almost immediately. First, there will be the drop in the number of pregnancies, and nine months later the decline in the number of births. With that the savings in expenses related to medical care. That would only be the beginning. Six years later when those potential babies would be ready for school, the savings would be even greater as there would be no need for new schools and teachers.

Even more remarkable, those savings would be cumulative; they would continue to add up. With those savings we could then expend resources towards improving the quality of life of our people, and that would include providing them with good schools and superior teachers.

Those OECD and other advanced countries can focus on making their schools superior because they have the resources to do so; they have been spared the expenses that would have been incurred had they had high fertility rates. This basic link was not discussed at the summit as it was taken for granted. For Malaysia however, it is a reality that is not yet even acknowledged, much less addressed.

The wisdom of those eminent educators from OECD displayed at the summit is still valid, and Malaysia could usefully adopt them provided our leaders and policymakers bear in mind that we have a more basic problem outside the realm of education but related to it. We have to tame our fertility rates first; then with the savings we would have the resources to address the challenges of education.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Jumaat, 1 Julai 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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