Saturday, April 14, 2012

TEACH LAH, THE BASICS – ABC!

Another round of “dog and pony” show is upon us. As a former teacher I take exception that the current trend seems to point the finger at the teaching profession, as though accusingly demanding, “Are you doing what you are supposed to do? Support the government, stupid!” Dang, the taxpayers pay the teachers and the taxpayers pay the Education Ministry to administer. Teachers are not lap dogs and the MOE are not paid to be running dogs!

Teachers were given questionnaire to fill in for the authorities to gauge their political inclinations. Earlier attempts were to categorize teachers under different colors, from black being anti establishment to white being pro government, with assortment of different colors in between these two extremes.

Johor religious teachers were corralled over a weekend to reset their compass to ensure that apostasy does not endanger the faith of the faithful.

Not trusting teachers to instill values into their charges, a non-profit organization is putting its foot into the classroom by enlisting celebrities to end education iniquities inequity in its Teach For Malaysia program. They are scheduled to teach various subjects in schools in Kuala Langat, Klang, Kuala Selangor, Petaling Perdana and Hulu Langat in Selangor; Sentul and Keramat in Kuala Lumpur; and Tampin, Jelebu and Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan.

No details are available what various subjects they will teach. I say to these volunteers, “Don’t mess with teaching; leave it to our teachers; go instead to the National Service Camps and strut your motivation stuff.”

However, if this cannot happen and you are determined to see through this Teach For Malaysia initiative….I urge the whole lot of you to just start with BASIC ABC - “ANYTHING BUT CORRUPTION!”

The kids will be thrilled if you told them that in the past 10 years, Malaysia has lost a shocking RM1.08 trillion (US$338 billion) in illicit outflows - the fourth highest in the developing world. If this illicit outflow of money were an indication of the scale of corruption then Malaysia must have the most corrupt set of leaders in Southeast Asia, who are also the 4th most corrupt in the world – “stockpiling” what they have pillaged overseas.

You could lend further credibility to the above by quoting the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) report that in January RM930 billion flowed out of Malaysia from 2000 to 2008, growing to RM218 billion per year from an initial RM71 billion in that period. Malaysia lost RM150 billion in illicit outflows in 2009.

I can volunteer to prepare an animated Powerpoint teaching module on ABC, statistics included.

How about it, celebs?

UP TO THIS CHALLENGE?

THE DOG AND PONY SHOW HERE

9 comments:

flyer168 said...

Zorro,

Yes indeed.

Just to share this...

SPEECH TEXT
YANG AMAT BERBAHAGIA TUN AHMAD SARJI ABDUL HAMID
AT THE INAUGURAL TUN ABDUL RAZAK LECTURE SERIES
11 MARCH 2009

:"...2. The term “father” metaphorically refers to a person who is considered the founder of a body of knowledge or of an institution or of a program.

In such context, the meaning of "father" is similar to that of "founder".

This term “father” is most often used in the reverential treatment of a nation’s history.

In Malaysia, we have bestowed that honorific title to four of our
Prime Ministers, namely:

(i) Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj (1957 – 1970), as “Father of
Independence”, and “Father of Malaysia”;

(ii) Tun Abdul Razak Hussein (1970 – 1976), “Father of Development”;

(iii) Tun Hussein Onn (1976 – 1981), “Father of Unity” (1976 –
1981), and

(iv) Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (1981 – 2003), “Father of Modernization”.

3. When Tun Abdul Razak was appointed Minister of Education, he turned immediately to the development of an education policy that would be "a charter” for the children of an independent Malaya.

"The Razak Report on Education in Malaya" stamps him as a leader firmly dedicated to the ideal of a united Malayan nation.

Malay as a National language in education was accepted by all and contained in the Razak Report. As Tun Razak himself noted: "with patience, understanding and goodwill we were able to produce a national education policy . . . formulated to give our children the best education possible to make them useful and loyal citizens of our country. . . .every type of school has been brought under our national system of education and has been given equal treatment."

4. Tun Abdul Razak’s heritage in the education sector was the creation of MARA, the Institute of Technology MARA and the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Following the first Bumiputera Economic Congress, RIDA was transformed into Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) “to give a facelift and a new life” to the new organization, so stated Tun Razak. MARA’s primary function was to stimulate, assist and facilitate Bumiputera participation in commerce and industry.

The beginning of ITM (formerly MARA College) was attributed to Tun Razak who monitored the institution closely.

His mission for the Institute was to make available to Bumiputera courses in business, accountancy, commerce and secretarial studies, applied sciences, engineering etc. Tun Razak saw the dire need to increase the number of Bumiputera in both professional and semi-professional areas.

Tun Razak’s other lasting legacies in the field of educational development was the emergence of the MARA Junior Science College.

He was also the man behind the drive to build Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 1970.

The position of the Malays in tertiary education was improved abruptly with the establishment of UKM.

One of the reasons for the establishment of UKM was to provide opportunities for those who had difficulty to proceed to tertiary education due to their lack of competence in the English language...."

Sad to say that the "Noble Visions" of our Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj (1957 – 1970), as “Father of Independence”, and “Father of Malaysia” and Tun Abdul Razak Hussein (1970 – 1976), “Father of Development” has been "Hijacked, corrupted and utterly Destroyed" by Jibby, his deputy and UMNO 2009 - 2012

You be the judge.

Sesungguhnya segala puji milik Allah subhanahu wata'ala. Kita ...
http://www.unirazak.edu.my/tpl/upload/files/tarls/TARLS_Speech.pdf - Cached

Mar 11, 2009 ... When Tun Abdul Razak was appointed Minister of Education, he turned immediately to the development of an education policy that would be "a ... Professor Milton J. Esman in his book “Administration and Development in ..."

Shalom.

Anonymous said...

I am a teacher and I am proud to be a BN voter. BN has done much for teachers. Anwar as Education Minister did nothing except to ask us to speak BM Baku. And we did not heed his order.
Enuflah of this good-for-nothing Anwar.

Ali Din said...

Zorro is way behind Umno, as Umno has created 'Gila-Gila' type of komik for Najib to be a superhero for the reading of school children!

Anonymous said...

The Quran says: “And O my people! Give full measure and weight in justice and reduce not the things that are due to the people, and do not commit mischief in the land, causing corruption. (11:85)

Islam – the religion Malays profess – promotes high morality and denounces bribery and corruption for the benefit of humankind. Islamic teachings oblige all Muslims to enjoin justice and good deeds, and to oppose bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

But Umno's version of Islam somehow ignores this fact.

zorro said...

Anon1203....good for you and it is ok to be cross-eyed... "corrective surgery" does help to keep things in perspective, but like I said it is ok to remain cross-eyed especially as a teacher....the kids think you are not looking at them, yes?

flyer168 said...

Zorro,

Times must be really, really, really hard for Jibby and his Deputy....

In schools, politics rears a sinister ‘comic’ appearance
By Debra Chong
April 13, 2012

"A comic depicts a character resembling Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Copies of a political comic book extolling the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government have been circulating among teachers in recent weeks ahead of the 13th general elections, purportedly distributed by state education departments.

The 50-page booklet in full colour featuring caricatures of figures resembling leading national political figures appear to paint those from the ruling coalition in the best positive light...."

Main - Malaysia - In schools, politics rears a sinister ‘comic’ appearance @ Fri Apr 13 2012 - http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/in-schools-politics-rears-a-sinister-comic-appearance/

Shalom.

cin2tan said...

yang lain2 = fathers bangunan tapi tis one = daddy ...gula daddy =
duit kasih !!

mauriyaII said...

Anon 1203,

You must be one of those NEP products who entered into the teaching profession not through merit because of your kulitification.

When you can boldly say that you will keep on voting for the corrupt, arrogant, racist and scare-mongering UMNO/BN just to hold on to power, it clearly shows that your are ignorant or just a numbskull who refuses to see and believe the amount of corruption and wastage of public funds by these UMNOputras.

Aren't you aware of the multi-million and even billion ringgit scandals taking place with the connivance of the (harga) Barang Naik government? Or are you one of those who survives on the crumbs that are thrown at you for your servility to your UMNO/BN masters?

If as a teacher who is supposed to be well versed not only the subject you teach but also about the general affairs of the country because one of your students might pop up a sensitive/delicate question on the economic condition of the country. What would be your answer? Everything is hunky dory in the country because Najib says so or would you just ask your inquisitive student to SHUT UP.

Citing Anwar's instruction to teach bahasa baku and its failure does not in any way lessen his stature unlike our present clueless Education Minister who does not even know that a person wanting to be a good qualified teacher has to undergo a period of instruction in a college or university to inculcate in him the teaching and learning skills that are imperative to equip himself before he can step into a classroom.

The nincompoop who is the Education Minister has come up with a brain wave asking celebrities to teach in our schools for a week. What does he aim to achieve? Is he trying to say that teachers like you are a incompetent lot? Is he trying to say teacher training is a waste of resources? Is he trying to bring in those well known celebrities to con and put fellows like you to believe that we have the best education system, comparable to the US or Singapore?

It would be wise to think and be fully aware of the situation before you come up with your childish and pathetic two sens worth.

If people use as the norm of our teaching professionals, knowledgeable parents would give a wide berth to our national schools.

mauriyaII said...

errata: last paragraph.
If people use YOU as the norm ....
'YOU' has been left out inadvertently.