The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Pay the teachers what they deserve Posted: 15 May 2014 04:26 PM PDT
Athena is in the process of perfecting her potty training. She only started taking off her diapers a few days ago and she's 99% fully trained already. She's three years old now and growing up quite fast – at a rate of a year every 12 months. It's astonishing! And in another four years she'll be ready for primary school. That's when the headache happens. The important decision to make about her education. Should we send her to a public school or a private school? Religious school or home school? It used to be a no-brainer for me. I went to government school and I turned out alright. So Athena would go to government school too. No doubt about it. But the horror stories that I've been hearing about the education system in the country have really spooked me. And now, I am definitely full of doubt. I've heard it all. From English language teachers who don't know grammar, physical education teachers teaching mathematics, to drug addicts teaching Bahasa Malaysia. I can't verify if this is all true. But the rumour mill is definitely working overtime when it comes to these stories being spread around among parents. But one thing is a fact. Malaysia's education system has a lot to be desired. We have students finishing school not having proper communication and critical thinking skills. Many people blame the education system and many blame the teachers. I have to say that it is a combination of both. We are lacking a good system, and lacking enough good teachers. The frequent language switches from Bahasa Malaysia to English to Bahasa Malaysia, and even the drilling of students to only answer exam questions, are all wrecking havoc on the students. Then there is the issue of the teachers. It seems that in Malaysia, teaching is one of the most undesired jobs. One of the main reasons is the low pay that teachers get. Other less demanding jobs in different industries pay way more than the average teacher's salary. So, when secondary school students have to pick an area of study upon entering the university, they don't make "teacher" their first choice. Only when a student is unable to get into other fields will they opt for teaching. So the cream of the crop is gone and the bottom scum remains. I don't mean to sound harsh. I know they are many good teachers in the country. I've been lucky to have had some of them teach me during my school days. (Hats off to Mr. P. Manoharan, my biology teacher, and Mr. Zainudin Ahmad Kamal AKA Zak Kapcai, my hostel warden, at STAR, Ipoh. From my primary school SRK St. Joseph in Johor Bahru, Mrs. Ayadurai. And from SMK La Salle Brickfields, Mrs. Fatimah Mohd Tahir, my Bahasa Malaysia teacher. Thanks for everything!). However, we need to face reality and the number of good and outstanding teachers are only a small percentage if compared to the entire teacher population. We can't blame the teachers. They made decisions based on their own realities too. And the situation just forces them to do what they need to do to survive. The government must raise the average salary of teachers, to a level that people who hold the nation's future in their hands deserve. When that happens, a chain reaction will be triggered. An automatic filtering system will exist to weed out the best who decide to choose teaching as their career. And these potential teachers will start feeling a self-worth that is positive to their attitude and self-esteem, as they know their responsibilities and that they are being compensated justly. Malaysian society will also experience a change in their perception of teachers. They will be seen as not only a noble profession, but also economically respected. You can't deny that is important! In the meantime, for the teachers who are out there doing their best and dedicating their lives to educating our youth despite the situation they are in, my hats are off to all of them. Have a very happy Teachers' Day! – May 16, 2014. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. | |
| Perkim perlukan Dolah Badawi untuk memimpinnya Posted: 15 May 2014 04:14 PM PDT
Perkim dilihat berperanan dan diberi perhatian oleh masyarakat apabila ia dipimpin oleh bekas Perdana Menteri Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. Sebelumnya ketika ia dipimpin oleh Tan Sri Mobin Sheperd dan Hakim Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Zain ia dilihat sebagai NGO biasa, tapi apabila bekas perdana menteri menjadi ketuanya dilihat penonjolan Perkim sebagai badan kebajikan Islam dan dakwah begitu ketara. Apa yang ada sekarang adalah hasil dan landasan yang letakkan oleh Tunku. Selepas itu apabila pimpinannya diambil oleh Ketua Menteri Sarawak, Tun Taib Mahmud tiada nampak yang baru pada Perkim hingga Perkim berasa ia perlu dipimpin oleh bekas perdana menteri juga. Maka Dr Mahathir diterima menjadi pengganti Taib. Pemilihan Dr Mahathir justeru dia saja yang memungkinkan Taib melepaskan jawatan. Tiada orang lain disegani Taib untuk menggantikannya. Percubaan Perkim itu berjaya. Harapan Perkim ialah dapat seorang pemimpin seperti Tunku. Tetapi ini belum nampak penampilan seperti peranan Tunku dulu. Perjalanan Perkim seperti biasa macam berketuakan Taib Mahmud juga. Selain Tunku berjaya menarik sebahagian orang bukan Islam menerima Islam, Tunku dapat mengajak sekurang-kurang dua tokoh politik MCA, Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin dan Tahir T.H.Tan menghabiskan baki hidup dalam kerja-kerja kebajikan Islam. Malah sebelum Tunku memimpin Perkim, Tunku didampingi oleh seorang saudara baru VIP Lim Yew Hock, bekas ketua menteri Singapura yang terakhir. Tidak dipastikan apakah melalui dakwah Tunku tokoh politik Singapura sebelum Lee Kuan Yew menjadi Islam, tetapi ternyata kawan baik Tunku itu menjadi pegawai penting Sekrateriat Negara-Negara Islam di Jeddah semasa Tunku menjadi Setiausaha Agungnya. Sebagai Yang Dipertua Perkim, Tunku selalu dilihat hadir dalam acara pengislaman saudara-saudara baru. Tetapi tidak banyak publisiti tentang peranan Dr Mahathir sebagai pemimpin Perkim. Tidak dinafikan bahawa Dr Mahathir adalah seorang cergas dalam kerja-kerja masyarakat, tetapi peranannya sebagai pemimpin Perkim tidak menonjol seperti semasa Tunku dulu. Tidak dipastikan apakah Perkim dapat apa yang dihajatnya apabila Taib dapat digantikan? Malah penampilan dan kecenderungan Dr Mahathir dalam kerja sukarela dan NGO Islam sejak awal tidak begitu ketara. Baik semasa sebelum menjadi pemimpin Umno dan semasa menjadi pemimpin Umno, bekas perdana menteri tidak dilihat sebagai orang berpendirian Islam tegas al-Marhum Tun Syed Nasir Ismail dan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim misalnya. Malah worldview Islamnya dilihat longgar dan mengikut bahawa orang sekarang ia agak liberal. Kepimpinannya dalam isu Islam lebih disenangi oleh golongan liberalisma daripada golongan dakwah. Tidaklah dia boleh disama atau disekalikan dengan fahaman itu, tetapi golongan itu mendapat untung dari pendiriannya. Agak ganjil juga dengan iman yang demikian dia memimpin Perkim sebagai sebuah badan kebajikan Islam penting bukan dakwah. Dia lebih tepat jadi orang yang dekat dengan Perkasa dan NGO yang membela Melayu dan Bumiputera. Jika Perkim perlukan seorang pemimpin yang pernah menjadi perdana menteri, mungkin penampilan Tun Abdullah Badawi lebih sesuai. Mungkin dinamik bekerja ada pada Dr Mahathir. Tetapi imej untuk kerja sukarela Islam, Tun Abdullah lebih tepat. Apakah Pak Lah boleh jadi pemimpin lebih baik bagi Perkim berbanding Dr Mahathir perlu ditelilti dan dinilai lagi. – 16 Mei, 2014. * Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider. |
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