Will elites still enable bumi apathy in education? By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy

Malaysiakini : “The main problem when it came to education among the Malays was apathy.” - Anuar Ahmad, deputy chairperson of the Bumiputera Economic Congress secretariat on education reform and human capital

COMMENT | Recent public comments emanating from the Bumiputera Economic Congress secretariat surprisingly point to the dysfunction of Malay uber alles policies of successive governments.

Collating data from 8,600 respondents on issues faced by the majority community when it comes to education, the secretariat found that apathy, lack of interest in math and science, and lack of family support led to the majority community or at least a large segment of it, being left behind.

Respondents who made it overseas were very clear in what they thought of as traits which made them successful and of course, the need for a rethink when it came to education and yes, life:

“They all agreed that for Malays to progress, they need to get rid of such apathy and study hard… They said Malays should not depend on assistance but should take the initiative.”

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim likes to portray his administration as going after the elites in society, especially when it comes to corruption, but continues policies especially when it comes to education, which sustains the elites and their corrupt ways, by keeping the majority community cut off from the progressive interconnected world we live in.

Take this kerfuffle about bringing in Singaporean volunteers to teach English.

The prime minister clarified that this was a scheme to teach English “in urban poor areas as well as the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak”.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Let us focus on the “urban poor”. The issues they face are myriad and they are more likely in economically vibrant and racially diverse places.

Such places have unique issues and the people who understand those issues are the people living there, not minions of the state determining policy from Putrajaya.

This is why more democracy mainlined into the rakyat is a good thing.

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