Ok, this complaint has been coming for a long time. I'm sorry if I seem like I just keep on bagging Malaysia, but it seems this particular issue isn't going away anytime soon, and I really want to find out who is responsible for it.
The topic of today's rant is:
Saturday classes in Malaysian schools.
Where do I begin? Well, I'll put the whole thing into context first I guess. I own and run an English language tuition centre in Malaysia. I am responsible for the teachers, students and anything else that happens under my roof. We teach the Cambridge ESOL syllabus from the UK.
Obviously, all our students are Malaysians, and most of them, say 70-80% are students still attending school.
This means that they have to follow the Malaysian school timetable and calendar. This would be fine and dandy, because our young learners (those from 6 -12 years old) have all their classes with us on Saturdays. No clash. Easy for us to organise, easy for parents to remember, easy for the students to get in the routine of.
But what no one can predict, is when the Malaysian government is going to drop a wee bomb on you at the last possible minute and order your children to attend a 'Saturday replacement class' for some public holiday either been or coming. The ripple effect of this, nay TSUNAMI effect, is plain for anyone to see. Family outings or trips out of town are ruined, tuition centres like mine face havoc with irate parents and the poor kids lose one of their precious 2 days off a week.
Is it really that hard to plan and organise a school calendar a year ahead of schedule? If we can work out the mathematics and other mindbogglingly complex problems in sending a man to the moon, can't someone at the Ministry of Education arrange a f--king calendar for the following year?!?! Is it really that hard?
Most public holidays here are for religious reasons. Fair enough. No problem there. But that still doesn't account for how the system is completely broken and no one seems to see a problem if a public holiday happens to land on a school day, making the kids lose a day. Couldn't they predict that, plan for it and release a calendar to the world saying that everything has been taken into account and all school days and public holidays are accounted for??? I COULD DO IT FOR CHRIST'S SAKE.
Just once, I'd like to meet the education minister and blast 7 colours of shit out of him for his complete ineptitude in his job, like his predecessors before him. I'd embarrass his royal holiness so much he'd have me deported that same day - but I would have stuck a big f--king pin in his pompous hide to show him that all is not well in the kingdom of bolehland.
For years we have had to put up with this complete rubbish. Parents who have 'Saturday replacement class' dropped on their lap at the last minute, tuition centres running around frantically trying to reschedule classes and the poor kids having to drag those inhumanely heavy bags to school for another day.
Enough is enough. I have a good mind to send a letter to the ministry of education with as many signatures on it as possible to highlight something a 14 year old could fix.
Fat, overpaid, underworked bastards. Your time is coming.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Part 4 - slogans, slogans, slogans
Wow, 3 posts in 1 day - must be some kind of record!
The second debate in my course was 'Is it necessary for a country to have a slogan?'
My first experience of Malaysia, many years ago, was of a country just riddled with slogans, and to my suspicious New Zealand eyes this seemed very wrong. I had never seen a country with a slogan - I had never HEARD of a country with a slogan, and the idea of a country having a slogan seemed downright naive and infantile. So, naturally, I wanted to hear Malaysians views on this phenomenon.
Just for the reader's sake, Malaysia, in the 7 years I've been here has gone through the following slogans:
1.Malaysia. Truly Asia.
2.Bersih. Cekap. Amanah.
3. Berkhidmat Untuk Negara - Service For The Country
4. Keranamu Malaysia - Because of you Malaysia
5. Cinta IT,Sayang IT - Love I.T.
6. Sekolahku, Rumahku - Your School, Your Home
7. Malaysia Boleh!!! - Malaysia Can Do It!
8. Budi bahasa budaya kita - Courtesy Is Our Culture
9. Efisyen Efektif - Efficient. Effective.
10. Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang
11. Negara bersih, rakyat sihat - Clean Country. Healthy Citizens.
12. Satu Lagi Projek Dari Kerajaan Barisan Nasional - Another Project By The Barisan Nasional Government.
13. Belia Benci Dadah - Youth Hate Drugs
14. Bahasa jiwa bangsa.
15. Tak Nak! - Don't Want
16. Saya anti rasuah - I Am Against Corruption
17. Bersatu kita teguh, bercerai kita roboh
18. Undi BN, Undi Pembangunan - Vote BN, Vote Development.
19. Majulah sukan untuk Negara
20. Pandu cermat jiwa selamat
21. Pandu dengan cermat. ingatlah orang tersayang
22. Jauhi diri anda dari dadah
23. Mesra, Cepat, Betul
and finally,
24. 1Malaysia
Riddled much? Now, the reason for all this nonsense is to make Malaysians change certain habits or to embrace new concepts. But has all of worked? Any of it??? No. Not in the least. So why does the Malaysian government continue with all this jiggery pokery? They are bereft of ideas. You would be too if you'd been doing the same job for 53 years.
The main arguements for these slogans was basically that they give people something to focus on. A rallying point for businesses to leverage for advertising purposes.
Arguements against were that slogans were for companies and cities, not entire countries. Also, slogans didn't end up representing the country at all - just a small segment of it.
Perhaps one day the Malaysian government will finally wake up to the fact that all these slogans do is make Malaysians look like a bunch of easily manipulated saps, which in my experience, most are definitely NOT.
All this would be fine, I guess, if the government ACTUALLY did anything to make these slogans a reality. You know, like put them into practice and make the campaigns substantial, long-lasting and enforced. But they are just fronts, PR gimmicks used to make it look like the government is doing something productive.
They wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes where I'm from. They would have been mocked into obscurity. They would have been the butt of a thousand jokes, and the politicians who dreamt them up would now be plying their trade in the open waters of the Pacific.
The second debate in my course was 'Is it necessary for a country to have a slogan?'
My first experience of Malaysia, many years ago, was of a country just riddled with slogans, and to my suspicious New Zealand eyes this seemed very wrong. I had never seen a country with a slogan - I had never HEARD of a country with a slogan, and the idea of a country having a slogan seemed downright naive and infantile. So, naturally, I wanted to hear Malaysians views on this phenomenon.
Just for the reader's sake, Malaysia, in the 7 years I've been here has gone through the following slogans:
1.Malaysia. Truly Asia.
2.Bersih. Cekap. Amanah.
3. Berkhidmat Untuk Negara - Service For The Country
4. Keranamu Malaysia - Because of you Malaysia
5. Cinta IT,Sayang IT - Love I.T.
6. Sekolahku, Rumahku - Your School, Your Home
7. Malaysia Boleh!!! - Malaysia Can Do It!
8. Budi bahasa budaya kita - Courtesy Is Our Culture
9. Efisyen Efektif - Efficient. Effective.
10. Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang
11. Negara bersih, rakyat sihat - Clean Country. Healthy Citizens.
12. Satu Lagi Projek Dari Kerajaan Barisan Nasional - Another Project By The Barisan Nasional Government.
13. Belia Benci Dadah - Youth Hate Drugs
14. Bahasa jiwa bangsa.
15. Tak Nak! - Don't Want
16. Saya anti rasuah - I Am Against Corruption
17. Bersatu kita teguh, bercerai kita roboh
18. Undi BN, Undi Pembangunan - Vote BN, Vote Development.
19. Majulah sukan untuk Negara
20. Pandu cermat jiwa selamat
21. Pandu dengan cermat. ingatlah orang tersayang
22. Jauhi diri anda dari dadah
23. Mesra, Cepat, Betul
and finally,
24. 1Malaysia
Riddled much? Now, the reason for all this nonsense is to make Malaysians change certain habits or to embrace new concepts. But has all of worked? Any of it??? No. Not in the least. So why does the Malaysian government continue with all this jiggery pokery? They are bereft of ideas. You would be too if you'd been doing the same job for 53 years.
The main arguements for these slogans was basically that they give people something to focus on. A rallying point for businesses to leverage for advertising purposes.
Arguements against were that slogans were for companies and cities, not entire countries. Also, slogans didn't end up representing the country at all - just a small segment of it.
Perhaps one day the Malaysian government will finally wake up to the fact that all these slogans do is make Malaysians look like a bunch of easily manipulated saps, which in my experience, most are definitely NOT.
All this would be fine, I guess, if the government ACTUALLY did anything to make these slogans a reality. You know, like put them into practice and make the campaigns substantial, long-lasting and enforced. But they are just fronts, PR gimmicks used to make it look like the government is doing something productive.
They wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes where I'm from. They would have been mocked into obscurity. They would have been the butt of a thousand jokes, and the politicians who dreamt them up would now be plying their trade in the open waters of the Pacific.
Part 3 of the debates...
On the other side of the coin;
The arguements against the Western influence on Malaysia were mostly the obvious - the liberalisation and sexualisation of society, media influence on children and teenagers, a willingness to question authority and even the rise and rise of fastfood.
I guess these are true enough. I certainly agreed with them. But what was missing from this side of the arguement was some facts. Like the side which only spoke of the benefits of Western influence, it was all anecdotal evidence.
Of course there has been a liberalisation of societies values in Malaysia. But the funny thing is, as Western culture has been blamed for this, they seem to have taken the worst of Western culture and applied it unevenly while ignoring the other aspect of liberalisation - education and responsibility. We have a very comprehensive sex education policy in NZ, something which is needed to balance out all the sex on tv and in the media in general. That crucial aspect is missing here, so you get this wildly warped sexualisation in Malaysia. But the arguement was on the right track.
Another point in the arguement was the supposed eroding of that great ambiguous idea of 'Asian values'. Now, if you ask an Asian what 'Asian values' are you'll get answers relating to conservativeness, piety, filial duties, deference to authority and the older generations and a few other things. If you compare the East and West today, you'd see some differences along these lines, but if you go back around 50 years in the West you'd have found the same values there. But again, the debate was about life now, not then, so in context the points counted.
I enjoyed this debate immensely, and have kept the notes each side used in the debate. I may refer to them again in the future sometime!
The arguements against the Western influence on Malaysia were mostly the obvious - the liberalisation and sexualisation of society, media influence on children and teenagers, a willingness to question authority and even the rise and rise of fastfood.
I guess these are true enough. I certainly agreed with them. But what was missing from this side of the arguement was some facts. Like the side which only spoke of the benefits of Western influence, it was all anecdotal evidence.
Of course there has been a liberalisation of societies values in Malaysia. But the funny thing is, as Western culture has been blamed for this, they seem to have taken the worst of Western culture and applied it unevenly while ignoring the other aspect of liberalisation - education and responsibility. We have a very comprehensive sex education policy in NZ, something which is needed to balance out all the sex on tv and in the media in general. That crucial aspect is missing here, so you get this wildly warped sexualisation in Malaysia. But the arguement was on the right track.
Another point in the arguement was the supposed eroding of that great ambiguous idea of 'Asian values'. Now, if you ask an Asian what 'Asian values' are you'll get answers relating to conservativeness, piety, filial duties, deference to authority and the older generations and a few other things. If you compare the East and West today, you'd see some differences along these lines, but if you go back around 50 years in the West you'd have found the same values there. But again, the debate was about life now, not then, so in context the points counted.
I enjoyed this debate immensely, and have kept the notes each side used in the debate. I may refer to them again in the future sometime!
Part 2 of debates... and not an Alphard in sight.
Whoops. Rather a large gap between posts.
When you have a newborn around, energy and time is drained from you at an alarming rate! Love of course, is in abundance, just not energy!
This post is the follow - up to the previous post about my school debates and other such things.
The second debate was 'How has Western Culture affected Malaysia?'. I knew this would get people talking. As one student researched and pointed out - 'It seems, these days, that it's not PC to praise Western Culture - or worse, Western Civilisation'. How true. I don't want to come across antagonistic, but it seems to be open season on all things Western these days.
In any event, I put my own feelings aside for this debate - I was much more interested to see the students debate this and what their views on this matter were. And I learned a few things too. I learned that Western culture is far, far bigger and harder to define, therefore is harder to pin down. It's become such a monster of a culture that overseas, any change in traditional or cultural behaviour is put down to 'Westernisation' whether the change that took place was a natural change or not. It's quite an achievement for the West in one aspect; to have put the rest of the world into a bind - do we embrace the West or reject it? And I for one certainly didn't go to any meeting regarding world domination. I missed the memo.
Nevertheless, it was a fascinating debate. Apart from some mindnumbingly disastrous generalisations, the students managed to nail down a few key concepts and were able to vent some long - pent - up frustrations in the process!
I must confess, I want to share some of the concepts about Western Civilisation which were brought up to show how Western Culture had positively benefitted Malaysia. Some of these made me giggle, but that's very unprofessional.
I quote:
1. Charity. Surprise, it's not a universal value. In Asian cultures, the family comes first, then friends. Strangers are 'not my problem'. The idea that anyone would go out of his or her way to care for a total stranger, or offer him aid, is completely alien and incomprehensible to most Asians. That's part of the reason orphans are not well taken care of. If it's not my child, why should I care for it? It's only national pride and embarrassment which has prompted Koreans for example, to encourage adoption within their country.
2. Courtesy to strangers. In Canada, if you walk through a door behind someone else, you expect the person in front of you to at least make sure that it doesn't swing shut in your face. In China or Korea, you can't assume that. And when I hold the door open for strangers in China or Korea, they are dumbfounded. In China, if you want to get off a crowded bus, you just push and elbow aside anyone in your way. Nobody is offended or surprised. Also, lying to or cheating a customer (as long as he's a stranger) is considered in no way immoral.
3. Waiting in line. Yes, believe it or not, queuing is not a universal practice. If you've ever seen Chinese at a bus stop or train station, you'll realise this. The result is absolute chaos, and occasional injury.
4. The honour system. Corruption in Africa, Latin America and Asia is staggering. In many countries it is impossible to get any business done without bribing someone. Cheating at many Asian universities is so bad that a degree is virtually meaningless. Even driver's licences and (probably) pilot's licences can simply be bought. Forget about getting justice in court if your adversary is richer than you.
5. Civic responsibility. Oddly enough, in a supposedly socialist country like China, there is no sense of civic or communal responsibility. People just throw garbage in any communal space, and no-one thinks of cleaning it up, except the paid street sweepers. Even in apartment buildings, the common areas (stairwells etc) are often filthy and in terrible disrepair, and no-one seems to bother about it because it's not their own private space.
6. Addresses. This is a small thing, but surprisingly in many parts of the world they haven't figured out how to do street addresses. In China, they don't commonly have street signs - except perhaps for major thoroughfares. In Korea, building numbers are chronological, not geographical. In other words, the first building erected on a street is 'one', the second is 'two' - so on a typical street the addresses would be: 1,42, 105, 3, 14, 7, 189 etc. Malaysia puts street signs at the 45 degree angle to the road, so you never know which road it's refering to!
7. Planning ahead. One of the infuriating things about working in Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, other parts of Asia, is that they are incapable (it seems) of forethought. I have seen the worst examples of public planning anywhere and the completely unorganised methods by which to build even a wall that you are left wondering what the guy in charge is actually doing; I suggest seeing number 4.
There are other virtues: sanitation, punctuality, etc etc. but that's enough for now. In my next post you'll get the other side of the coin. As you can see, from this students arguement, Western culture isn't so bad!
When you have a newborn around, energy and time is drained from you at an alarming rate! Love of course, is in abundance, just not energy!
This post is the follow - up to the previous post about my school debates and other such things.
The second debate was 'How has Western Culture affected Malaysia?'. I knew this would get people talking. As one student researched and pointed out - 'It seems, these days, that it's not PC to praise Western Culture - or worse, Western Civilisation'. How true. I don't want to come across antagonistic, but it seems to be open season on all things Western these days.
In any event, I put my own feelings aside for this debate - I was much more interested to see the students debate this and what their views on this matter were. And I learned a few things too. I learned that Western culture is far, far bigger and harder to define, therefore is harder to pin down. It's become such a monster of a culture that overseas, any change in traditional or cultural behaviour is put down to 'Westernisation' whether the change that took place was a natural change or not. It's quite an achievement for the West in one aspect; to have put the rest of the world into a bind - do we embrace the West or reject it? And I for one certainly didn't go to any meeting regarding world domination. I missed the memo.
Nevertheless, it was a fascinating debate. Apart from some mindnumbingly disastrous generalisations, the students managed to nail down a few key concepts and were able to vent some long - pent - up frustrations in the process!
I must confess, I want to share some of the concepts about Western Civilisation which were brought up to show how Western Culture had positively benefitted Malaysia. Some of these made me giggle, but that's very unprofessional.
I quote:
1. Charity. Surprise, it's not a universal value. In Asian cultures, the family comes first, then friends. Strangers are 'not my problem'. The idea that anyone would go out of his or her way to care for a total stranger, or offer him aid, is completely alien and incomprehensible to most Asians. That's part of the reason orphans are not well taken care of. If it's not my child, why should I care for it? It's only national pride and embarrassment which has prompted Koreans for example, to encourage adoption within their country.
2. Courtesy to strangers. In Canada, if you walk through a door behind someone else, you expect the person in front of you to at least make sure that it doesn't swing shut in your face. In China or Korea, you can't assume that. And when I hold the door open for strangers in China or Korea, they are dumbfounded. In China, if you want to get off a crowded bus, you just push and elbow aside anyone in your way. Nobody is offended or surprised. Also, lying to or cheating a customer (as long as he's a stranger) is considered in no way immoral.
3. Waiting in line. Yes, believe it or not, queuing is not a universal practice. If you've ever seen Chinese at a bus stop or train station, you'll realise this. The result is absolute chaos, and occasional injury.
4. The honour system. Corruption in Africa, Latin America and Asia is staggering. In many countries it is impossible to get any business done without bribing someone. Cheating at many Asian universities is so bad that a degree is virtually meaningless. Even driver's licences and (probably) pilot's licences can simply be bought. Forget about getting justice in court if your adversary is richer than you.
5. Civic responsibility. Oddly enough, in a supposedly socialist country like China, there is no sense of civic or communal responsibility. People just throw garbage in any communal space, and no-one thinks of cleaning it up, except the paid street sweepers. Even in apartment buildings, the common areas (stairwells etc) are often filthy and in terrible disrepair, and no-one seems to bother about it because it's not their own private space.
6. Addresses. This is a small thing, but surprisingly in many parts of the world they haven't figured out how to do street addresses. In China, they don't commonly have street signs - except perhaps for major thoroughfares. In Korea, building numbers are chronological, not geographical. In other words, the first building erected on a street is 'one', the second is 'two' - so on a typical street the addresses would be: 1,42, 105, 3, 14, 7, 189 etc. Malaysia puts street signs at the 45 degree angle to the road, so you never know which road it's refering to!
7. Planning ahead. One of the infuriating things about working in Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, other parts of Asia, is that they are incapable (it seems) of forethought. I have seen the worst examples of public planning anywhere and the completely unorganised methods by which to build even a wall that you are left wondering what the guy in charge is actually doing; I suggest seeing number 4.
There are other virtues: sanitation, punctuality, etc etc. but that's enough for now. In my next post you'll get the other side of the coin. As you can see, from this students arguement, Western culture isn't so bad!
Monday, March 29, 2010
1Slogan, 2Debates, 4Kids and an Alphard - Part One
Off to KL this week to look for a new car - maybe. With the small tribe we've succeeded in breeding, we feel the need for a larger set of wheels! So it's come down to a race between the Toyota Estima and the mighty Alphard. I'm all for the Alphard, just cos it's a big beastie on the road and it looks awfully comfy! And the TV/DVD will come in handy no doubt too!
Change of topic.
Last week my March IEP (Intensive English Programme) finished. Was a good course, but as it was a bit short of students, I called in some old students who had finished the previous one. The reason? Debates!
Usually, at the end of the month-long course, we have 2 debates on issues facing Malaysian students today. Sometimes the topic is something like 'Which is better? Studying in Malaysia or Studying Overseas?'. A topic like that gets everyone talking!
This time I went for something even more taboo here - one on culture and another on politics! Ah politics, I just love politics in Malaysia. I'm sure to do a post on it when I feel like writing a tome.
The first debate was 'How has Western Culture affected Malaysia - generally positively or negatively?' This generated a heated debate, with points being raised on both sides that really made me grin. I, being a Westerner, was prepared for some negativity towards my ilk, but I am a professional and show no bias. I was rather impressed with the whole debate, as it was mature and insightful - most of the time! There were times when it strayed off the point, but hey, that happens. There were also times when some very dubious allegations were made, with little or no factual basis. But on the whole a very decent attempt at a contentious topic by Malaysian students. Points raised to denounce Western cultural influence included fast food, sexual liberalisation and media influence on Malaysian youth. Points raised in affection of Western influence included concepts of charity, the honour system and waiting in line! As you can see, only small parts of both arguements were presented, mostly because of time constraints, but it was a very good arguement with the side in favour of Western influence winning by the narrowest of margins. I wasn't biased in the least.
The second debate I'll put in the next post later... again, time constraints.
Change of topic.
Last week my March IEP (Intensive English Programme) finished. Was a good course, but as it was a bit short of students, I called in some old students who had finished the previous one. The reason? Debates!
Usually, at the end of the month-long course, we have 2 debates on issues facing Malaysian students today. Sometimes the topic is something like 'Which is better? Studying in Malaysia or Studying Overseas?'. A topic like that gets everyone talking!
This time I went for something even more taboo here - one on culture and another on politics! Ah politics, I just love politics in Malaysia. I'm sure to do a post on it when I feel like writing a tome.
The first debate was 'How has Western Culture affected Malaysia - generally positively or negatively?' This generated a heated debate, with points being raised on both sides that really made me grin. I, being a Westerner, was prepared for some negativity towards my ilk, but I am a professional and show no bias. I was rather impressed with the whole debate, as it was mature and insightful - most of the time! There were times when it strayed off the point, but hey, that happens. There were also times when some very dubious allegations were made, with little or no factual basis. But on the whole a very decent attempt at a contentious topic by Malaysian students. Points raised to denounce Western cultural influence included fast food, sexual liberalisation and media influence on Malaysian youth. Points raised in affection of Western influence included concepts of charity, the honour system and waiting in line! As you can see, only small parts of both arguements were presented, mostly because of time constraints, but it was a very good arguement with the side in favour of Western influence winning by the narrowest of margins. I wasn't biased in the least.
The second debate I'll put in the next post later... again, time constraints.
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Evening Post
I taught a class tonight, my Cambridge CAE class, and many topics were discussed. It was a good class for conversations, passing ideas around and me teaching my students about how to argue properly!
I first showed them a youtube clip about the US health reform bill which was passed today. The clip was of the so-called Tea Party Republicans who were against the reform of the health system. I was interested to hear their side of the argument, but was sorely disappointed and showed my students why. A pair of media studies students from a University (didn't say which) were asking questions of the protestors as to what in the bill they were against. Not one could offer a rational argument, a debatable proposition or even a coherent sentence as to what they were against. What WAS clear however, was the complete lack of knowledge about what they were fighting against! Most just quoted a Fox News presenter or mentioned a rumour they'd heard or a part of the bill they THOUGHT was in it which they were against. No facts. No actual details of any sort - and it made them look like hillbillies. Uneducated, close-minded hillbillies.
Now my purpose of showing this to my students wasn't to pass judgement on the protestors, I left that to this blog! My purpose was to show them the importance of reading, research and finding out facts before believing in something you have been told. I showed them the footage to highlight how ridiculous these people looked, even though they firmly believed the bill was bordering on communism. I am showing a high degree of bias here, but the effect was plain for all to see.
Now, the other point of mentioning this tonight was just how much it resonated with what has been happening in Malaysia the last few months, if not years. The fear-mongering, the lack of facts, the rumours and heresay about threats to rights, privileges and the creating (or strengthening, to be more accurate) of the seige mentality of the majority Malay community here. I would hazard an educated guess and say that most Malays are not impressed or represented by these groups, but they get a following in more rural, conservative (and poor) areas. Groups which have sprung up such as Perkasa (translation I'm not sure of - see post below of my command of Bahasa!) are purely based on racism and exist to create fear and suspicion of other communities in Malaysia. Now a couple of points come to mind immediately.
How do groups like this exist at all? Why aren't they shunned into oblivion? Why do people give them the time of day? There is no one answer as far as I know, but suffice it to say that education and money play an enormous role. 'Fear of the others' is a common thread which has been implanted into the mind of your average Malaysian, and racial profiling is par for the course. Everyone does it. Most would be ashamed to admit it My point is that the politicians here use this fear to garner votes, to hold power, to accumulate wealth. I always say to my wife that if I was a reporter here I'd probably be dead within a week, a month at the most. I rock the boat, I ask the obvious question. I don't take the answer as gospel truth! The simple fact remains that these groups exist, and there are groups from each community which espouse the same nonsense, but they are not tackled head on publicly for fear of the questioner being labelled a traitor of their race, a bad Muslim or Hindu or Christian, too liberal (whatever that means) or too Westernised. That last one I just love. Anything to deflect the bigot from answering a direct question. No facts presented, just deflection.
I guess, to balance this post, I do support freedom of speech. I would go so far as to say that I support their right to express their opinion on matters they deem close to their hearts. I wouldn't question their rights to that for one second. What worries me is that they are moving in from the lunatic fringe into the mainstream. People are not countering their arguments with undeniable facts or logic. This scares me. I spend a lot of time trying to educate my students to be critical thinkers, to question the knowledge, to always ask WHY? I think in Malaysia, as in the USA (and no doubt everywhere else) education is the key.
I feel there is more to come on this topic. Watch this space. Please leave comments and I hope to get a debate going on this issue and more in the future!
I first showed them a youtube clip about the US health reform bill which was passed today. The clip was of the so-called Tea Party Republicans who were against the reform of the health system. I was interested to hear their side of the argument, but was sorely disappointed and showed my students why. A pair of media studies students from a University (didn't say which) were asking questions of the protestors as to what in the bill they were against. Not one could offer a rational argument, a debatable proposition or even a coherent sentence as to what they were against. What WAS clear however, was the complete lack of knowledge about what they were fighting against! Most just quoted a Fox News presenter or mentioned a rumour they'd heard or a part of the bill they THOUGHT was in it which they were against. No facts. No actual details of any sort - and it made them look like hillbillies. Uneducated, close-minded hillbillies.
Now my purpose of showing this to my students wasn't to pass judgement on the protestors, I left that to this blog! My purpose was to show them the importance of reading, research and finding out facts before believing in something you have been told. I showed them the footage to highlight how ridiculous these people looked, even though they firmly believed the bill was bordering on communism. I am showing a high degree of bias here, but the effect was plain for all to see.
Now, the other point of mentioning this tonight was just how much it resonated with what has been happening in Malaysia the last few months, if not years. The fear-mongering, the lack of facts, the rumours and heresay about threats to rights, privileges and the creating (or strengthening, to be more accurate) of the seige mentality of the majority Malay community here. I would hazard an educated guess and say that most Malays are not impressed or represented by these groups, but they get a following in more rural, conservative (and poor) areas. Groups which have sprung up such as Perkasa (translation I'm not sure of - see post below of my command of Bahasa!) are purely based on racism and exist to create fear and suspicion of other communities in Malaysia. Now a couple of points come to mind immediately.
How do groups like this exist at all? Why aren't they shunned into oblivion? Why do people give them the time of day? There is no one answer as far as I know, but suffice it to say that education and money play an enormous role. 'Fear of the others' is a common thread which has been implanted into the mind of your average Malaysian, and racial profiling is par for the course. Everyone does it. Most would be ashamed to admit it My point is that the politicians here use this fear to garner votes, to hold power, to accumulate wealth. I always say to my wife that if I was a reporter here I'd probably be dead within a week, a month at the most. I rock the boat, I ask the obvious question. I don't take the answer as gospel truth! The simple fact remains that these groups exist, and there are groups from each community which espouse the same nonsense, but they are not tackled head on publicly for fear of the questioner being labelled a traitor of their race, a bad Muslim or Hindu or Christian, too liberal (whatever that means) or too Westernised. That last one I just love. Anything to deflect the bigot from answering a direct question. No facts presented, just deflection.
I guess, to balance this post, I do support freedom of speech. I would go so far as to say that I support their right to express their opinion on matters they deem close to their hearts. I wouldn't question their rights to that for one second. What worries me is that they are moving in from the lunatic fringe into the mainstream. People are not countering their arguments with undeniable facts or logic. This scares me. I spend a lot of time trying to educate my students to be critical thinkers, to question the knowledge, to always ask WHY? I think in Malaysia, as in the USA (and no doubt everywhere else) education is the key.
I feel there is more to come on this topic. Watch this space. Please leave comments and I hope to get a debate going on this issue and more in the future!
Languages and my acceptance of my 'here-ness'
I've been in Malaysia almost 7 years now. That's a substantial amount of time. Long enough for me to have learned the local language and adapted to the local culture. The second one has occurred but the former has unfortunately not.
Now, I'm no imperialist. I wish I could speak Mandarin and Bahasa Whatever-it-is-this-year (either Melayu or Malaysia... depends on whether an election is coming I think...) fluently. But I can't speak either to any extent and I'm deeply embarassed about that. I've organised Mandarin lessons, which fell apart after a few weeks due to work commitments, and whenever I speak Bahasa I get stares and bewildered looks which automatically make me think I've said something wrong or dirty. I guess people here are just not prepared to hear their own language coming out of a Mat Salleh's mouth. I probably spoke correctly, but they were just not expecting it and showed me their astonished face and that promptly stopped me repeating what I said.
I guess I will have to make some arrangements sooner or later for more lessons, but my language esteem is at an all time low. My mate's in KL can have entire conversations in perfect Bahasa. I can't even ask for the time correctly. I guess I'm just no linguist. I've tried learning various languages over the years, all to no avail. No matter how much tuition I received I simply forgot the words when it came time to actually speak to someone. Trust me when I say I understand COMPLETELY my students fears and difficulties in learning English. What astounds me is their perseverance.
This language issue of mine runs parallel with my habitual reluctance to really settle down here. I've always kept myself at a distance from Malaysia as I always thought I'd be leaving any day. Not putting my heart and soul into learning the languages was one way of keeping distance I guess. But not so any longer. Here it is people - I've finally come to the acceptance that this is where I live, this is my home now and this is where I'm going to stay - for the next several years at least, work and education pending. But I've accepted that I'm here to stay.
I suppose my daughter's birth has had a major impact on that realisation. I don't call it a decision as I feel deep down it had already been made. She has made me understand that it's not bad to be here - we're in a good place. Just let it be and enjoy it.
I also suspect my grandfather's death in January also played a part in how I feel. I'm not sure how yet, but I sense that that trip to NZ just for a week opened my eyes to just what life I was living in Malaysia - one I couldn't have with 4 kids in NZ.
Looks like I have 2 homes now, lucky me! I just have to do my part for Malaysia, to improve it however I can for my kids and others. I also have to allow Malaysia to improve me, to let it get close and to allow me to learn her languages. Which I will, just not sure how or when.
Now, I'm no imperialist. I wish I could speak Mandarin and Bahasa Whatever-it-is-this-year (either Melayu or Malaysia... depends on whether an election is coming I think...) fluently. But I can't speak either to any extent and I'm deeply embarassed about that. I've organised Mandarin lessons, which fell apart after a few weeks due to work commitments, and whenever I speak Bahasa I get stares and bewildered looks which automatically make me think I've said something wrong or dirty. I guess people here are just not prepared to hear their own language coming out of a Mat Salleh's mouth. I probably spoke correctly, but they were just not expecting it and showed me their astonished face and that promptly stopped me repeating what I said.
I guess I will have to make some arrangements sooner or later for more lessons, but my language esteem is at an all time low. My mate's in KL can have entire conversations in perfect Bahasa. I can't even ask for the time correctly. I guess I'm just no linguist. I've tried learning various languages over the years, all to no avail. No matter how much tuition I received I simply forgot the words when it came time to actually speak to someone. Trust me when I say I understand COMPLETELY my students fears and difficulties in learning English. What astounds me is their perseverance.
This language issue of mine runs parallel with my habitual reluctance to really settle down here. I've always kept myself at a distance from Malaysia as I always thought I'd be leaving any day. Not putting my heart and soul into learning the languages was one way of keeping distance I guess. But not so any longer. Here it is people - I've finally come to the acceptance that this is where I live, this is my home now and this is where I'm going to stay - for the next several years at least, work and education pending. But I've accepted that I'm here to stay.
I suppose my daughter's birth has had a major impact on that realisation. I don't call it a decision as I feel deep down it had already been made. She has made me understand that it's not bad to be here - we're in a good place. Just let it be and enjoy it.
I also suspect my grandfather's death in January also played a part in how I feel. I'm not sure how yet, but I sense that that trip to NZ just for a week opened my eyes to just what life I was living in Malaysia - one I couldn't have with 4 kids in NZ.
Looks like I have 2 homes now, lucky me! I just have to do my part for Malaysia, to improve it however I can for my kids and others. I also have to allow Malaysia to improve me, to let it get close and to allow me to learn her languages. Which I will, just not sure how or when.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)