Malaysian Student Leaders Summit
August 7th, 2007
i had the opportunity to attend the Malaysian Student Leaders Summit over the weekend, the first of many more to come. basically it’s a convention where Malaysian students who are studying all over the world congregate back here in KL to listen to speeches about the state of affairs in our country, and then discourse with the speakers about those topics in open mic sessions. over 350 students attended, and 16 speakers from very diverse fields came to address us.
haha i must admit that i love conferences and summits like this, what more when the list of speakers include the likes of ministers and corporate bigwigs, and we’re allowed to ask them all sorts of questions! furthermore the students who attended all came from good schools and were intelligent and concerned about the country, so the post-session dissecting over coffee and MICE food were very interesting. it’s always so very heartening to encounter young malaysians who have fought against the dumbing-down of the malaysian education system and have emerged victorious. ya screw pendidikan moral and all that KBKK crap; one day we are going to take over the world! and it wont be because we hafal-ed 30 nilais the night before our exams.
so this conference was quite good! definitely the most exciting panel of speakers i’ve seen so far in all the summits i’ve been to. most (but not all as you shall soon be told!) of the sessions were very informative, and the Q&A sessions that followed usually had the whole floor sitting up and leaning forward. a lot of the questions were damn interesting, and some were outright challenging. but then quite funny also lah got some sesat questions like when one girl demanded to know why the government charges for SPM, when padahal the fees were actually abolished some time back. haha. i think she was from a private school.
the sessions are as follows :
The Army and Leadership
Speaker : Laksamana Tan Sri Dato Sri Mohd Anwar (Former Chief of Defence Force of Msia)
okay this one was quite bad, quite possibly the worst of the 12 sessions. the Laksamana mostly talked about the army and naval forces of malaysia, and didnt correlate either to leadership, which was what his session was supposed to be about. it was really one big Pro-Army evangelistic talk that lasted way longer than it should have. the Q&A part saved it lah i think, because some people asked about Nuri, as well as offense/defense policies, and recent army/navy purchases. he took the questions well; his answers were quite satisfactory. haha and then there was a University of Toulouse student who asked him something, and he answered back in French wtf.
Malaysia’s Economy
Speakers : Prof Emeritus Dr Mohd Ariff Karim (Director of Msia Institute of Economic Research)
Justin Leong Ming Loong (Head of Investment, Genting Group Bhd)
i was really really really looking forward to this particular session, but it was quite disappointing overall. the Professor’s presentation was basically slide after slide of regional macroeconomic data and how Malaysia is doing in comparison; while quite informative, it was really nothing new. it got better when he outlined issues that Malaysia has to overcome in order to prosper economically, such as decreasing private consumption, jobless growth, brain drain, intraethnic income disparity, dan lain lain lagi. he touched a little on how these issues can be resolved, and i wished there had been more of that than the graphs and statistics!! Justin Leong from Genting is damn young and a damn good speaker who commands your attention right away, but there wasnt much to be gleaned from his speech. actually i dont really remember what he talked about, but he did speak about economic crises and also about the recent flourishing of msian economy. it was good rhetoric, but once again i wish there had been more substance and opinion rather than a fact-based speech. the Q&A for this session had to be cut short drastically, because Mr Navy from earlier spoke over his alloted time. only 2 questions could be asked :( which was a shame because this was such a good topic.
Corporate Governance & Transparency in Malaysia
Speakers : YM Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim (Former Prez Transparency Msia)
Dato Zarinah Anwar (Chairman of Securities Commission)
i really liked this session! they were both so passionate about their cause against corruption, and their zeal was contagious. not only were they so aware of what problems we face in regards to transparency and corporate governance, they also knew how what should be done about it. and they shared this with us. it was a very inspirational session overall. such likeable speakers :)
Corporate Challenges for the Young and Bright
Speakers : Dato Johan Raslan (Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers Msia)
Dato Tony Fernandes (Group CEO of Air Asia Bhd)
Dato Azman Mokhtar (CEO and MD of Khazanah Nasional)
haha i think this was everyone’s favourite session. Johan Raslan (sigh, so handsome! why are all the Raslan brothers so hot!) gave a very good speech that was very relevant to the audience. he expounded on What’s Hot and What’s Not in the corporate world, basically what to chase after and what to avoid. then gave us a 5-point checklist on how to succeed in the new era. sigh i am believing anything he tells me, really. Tony Fernandes was up next, and like Johan Raslan, he engaged everyone in the hall from the moment he stepped up to the mic. he mostly told his famous story of how Air Asia started and how They Did It, with the underlying message that we should all come home after our studies to make this country better. well you know how this reverse-brain-drain message can sometimes get very plasticky? with Tony Fernandes it was not like that at all. it was in fact very impelling and sincere, and it was very nice to hear the story of the Little Guy who went against the Big Guy and came out on top. fills one with so much hope and determination :) i think at the end of his speech, everyone wanted to start an airline. Azman Mokhtar was up next, and he gave a short and frank piece about how we should come back to serve the country, but it is important to pick the right time and be optimal in applying ourselves. very very good advice, i thought, and so honest too.
Malaysia’s Foreign Policy
Speaker : Dato Seri Jawhar Hassan (Chairman of ISIS)
this guy was very wise and knowledgeble, but unfortunately he has no rhetoric, so it turned out to be quite a slow session. he led us through a little history lesson of Malaysia and how we’ve dealt with external forces in the past – general stuff you should already know. then he spoke about challenges in putting ourselves forward, cohesive action, the muslim community and all that. the irritating thing about this session was that you could tell this guy had such a huge brain to pick and that he knew so much, but he just couldnt get his points across well. it was only during the Q&A that he did himself any justice. his answers were damn good and were clearly the mark of a learned man.
South Johor Economic Region
Speaker : YAB Dato Haji Abdul Ghani (Menteri Besar of Johor)
i was actually looking forward to this talk, because i have so many questions when it comes to the IDR. unfortunately it was a really bad session. a good portion of it was dedicated to telling us why the IDR is without a doubt an excellent government project. aiyah a bit lazy to listen lah, so we all skipped out on this one and went for dinner. i dont actually know if it got better, but i do know that this guy cant speak.
Environmental Governance in Malaysia
Speaker : Karam Singh Walia (TV3 Environmentalist)
i missed this one cos i left early. biiiiiig mistake. apparently it was one of the best talks of the entire summit. GRR.
Challenges & Prospects in National Building
Speaker : DYTM Dr Raja Nazrin Shah (Raja Muda of Perak)
oooh the crown prince of perak came to speak to us! this guy’s like an Oxford and Harvard graduate. i dont remember much of his speech, but i remember thinking that he had good content despite bland execution. he told us that we should look to Tun Dr Ismail as a role model. haha damn cool. he also said, ‘get a copy of the Federal Constitution if you havent already!’. then he told us what to do to contribute to national building, but i dont remember what he said. and unfortunately there was no Q&A for this session, for obvious reasons. aiyah okay lah nevermind.
Unity in Diversity – Myth or Reality?
Speakers : Prof Emeritus Dr Khoo Kay Kim (Historian, Universiti Malaya)
Datuk Rafiah Salim (Vice Chancellor, Universiti Malaya)
this was a strange session that fell short of addressing the issue at hand. Rafiah Salim went first; she gave an unmemorable speech that was really eclipsed by the horrific manner in which she handled her Q&A session. how typical of someone from a local university to deny the fact that our universities do not provide a platform for students to speak up and be heard. someone asked her if she thought students produced by local unis were going through a system where they are not taught to voice their concerns and opinions, and she replied with ‘there is no such thing!’. umm yah right lah. anyway she got booed and table-pounded when she said that, the first and only of such an occurence in this summit. and then she went like, ‘har see see behaviour like this is why you students will never be heard! all you want to do is protest! do you think protesting will get people to listen to you?”. another horrific thing she said was how there should be only one education system in this country and made uniform to all. ya allah thank god that is not the reality. Prof Khoo’s speech was more graceful and enlightening; the reach of his knowledge is so vast it’s almost scary. he cleared some misassumptions about racial disharmony in malaysian history, and spoke a little on colonialism and how it was our downfall, but ultimately it was a rather lacklustre speech. to me lah, at least. lots of people liked his speech, but i had hoped for something more powerful.
Higher Education
Speaker : Dato Mustapha Mohamed (Minister of Higher Education)
nothing too great about this speech. the best part of the session was the Q&A do, and that was when Dato Mustapha really flexed his intelligent muscles. he was asked a lot about the state of local universities and how are we supposed to level with other international institutions, and also about the competitiveness of locally-produced students, and i must say that he fielded the questions rather well.
National Economic Policy – is it still relevant?
Speaker : Prof Dato Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin (Prof of Anthropology, UKM)
haha and here comes the session on NEP, the #2 Isu Sensitif Yang Tidak Harus Dibangkitkan! the Prof referenced the Constitution a lot in his speech, and pointed out how unfair the ‘peculiarities’ were when it comes to special rights of the majority in return for ’special rights’ of the minority ie citizenship. he was very frank most of the time, and made many good points, but he hedged as well in giving direct answers when asked for his opinion. tried to be PC lah i suppose which is understandable. maklumlah, we were discussing isu-isu sensitif.
Education in Malaysia
Speaker : Tan Sri Wan Zahid Nordin (Former Director-General of Education)
this dude had a speech with damn a lot of content, and quite good one at that. he basically gave many recommendations toward the improvement of education in our country, in the form of ‘pillars’, among which were Autonomy Pillar, Pedagogical Pillar and R&D Pillar. very substantial speech with extremely good recommendations which i hope to see put into effect for the sake of our students. Q&A session was alright although he didnt answer the questions pertaining to the UCA.
——————-
and that was the end of our 2 day long summit. during the summit, we were also split up into about 10 groups to discuss certain issues such as democracy, education, environment etc. i got media in malaysia, which i was glad to be put in. at the end of the 2 days, each group had to come up with 5 declarations that would be compiled and then forwarded to the government. it was very interesting listening to each group’s 5 declarations. twas one of those Proud To Be Malaysian moments.
okay this post very long. but i will still put up 2 pictures of Andrew and Wai Kin sleeping during the summit :
Entry Filed under: Events
60 Comments Add your own
1. kiasu andrew | August 7th, 2007 at 5:29 am
ish.
2. Cat-chan | August 7th, 2007 at 5:45 am
With regard to Datuk Rafiah Salim: What on earth? The way she addressed you guys, it sounded as if she was talking to a bunch of pre-schoolers, not young adults. Geez. And honestly, what is one supposed to do when one doesn’t agree with the status quo, if not protest? Or does she want us to use a synonym for it? *blinks*
That aside, the whole talk does sound very good and I wish I’d been able to make it back to go for it. Such is life, I guess. As soon as I leave the country lots of really interesting things happen. Humbug. Being smack in the middle of my second sem doesn’t help either. rar.
Otherwise, have a great time~ All the best from down under! =^^=
3. kiasu andrew | August 7th, 2007 at 5:50 am
KUALA LUMPUR: Boos and catcalls greeted Datuk Rafiah Salim when she said public university students had the freedom to express their thoughts and ideas.
Several hundred dissenting voices rang out when the Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor, when taking a question from the floor, said there was “no such thing as students being unable to address their concerns”.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/National/20070806074513/Article/index_html
4. Michelle | August 7th, 2007 at 5:58 am
Typical… typical…
5. Lalita | August 7th, 2007 at 7:02 am
I’m trying to place Dr Shamsul – I am so sure he was one of my lecturers at UKM! Unfortunately, I cannot find a pic of him to jog my memory. Uni seems like it was so-oooo many years ago – yeah, 10 years next April.
It’s really encouraging to hear that youngsters are making an effort to ask questions and familiarise themselves with the systems etc of the country (aiyah, make me sound so old!!!). It would be so nice to see a Malaysia of equal rights and no discrimination. It would be great if Utopia did become a reality. Or am I being to idealistic??!! Malaysia is a wonderful beautiful place to live – except for the damn discrimination. I miss it more than I can say.
6. Lalita | August 7th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Hi Su Ann, it’s me again. I found a pic of Dr Shamsul! Remember him now – short-ish bloke – had him as one of three lecturers sharing a course. Phew – that would have bugged me!
7. lishun | August 7th, 2007 at 7:19 am
glad it went well. be sure to let the organisers know you enjoyed it ok?
8. sheon | August 7th, 2007 at 8:15 am
if i went to such a summit….i’d end up in ISA. i think they did a background and character check on me back then, thats why i never got invited to attend such conventions!
but….good for you to have had such a chance. envy envy….
9. Asyraf Lee | August 7th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Maybe I should turn into a politician and turn this country into something else, republic maybe.
Then everyone calls me Bapak Asyraf.
Then probably something would happen, for a better change.
Then again, I might end up being another lobbyist.
10. wilzc | August 7th, 2007 at 9:27 am
HAHAHA lovely sleeping pics!!!!
whoah shit.. theyre still DOING THIS SHIT!!!
MAN!! years and years and yeaaaarrrs ago..
when the summit was held in Johor!!! i represented the Selangor contigent… Perhimpunan Pemimpin Pelajar konon…
great.. great memories there….. ahahha..
met new chick.. strolled around the beaches (stayed in a beach resort) at 1am wif her, nearly got caught by uztaz making a round, then found out she was 2 years my senior the next mornin :D
11. sheon | August 7th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Sigh….most of you ppl here are still not eligible for voting. You guys are the apparent new generation of think-tankers malaysia so badly need.
My generation still has alotta political ignorant voters, thanks to the obsolete education/propaganda system malaysia have implemented since merdeka. it saddens me everyday to see how deeply injustice has saturated into the fabric of our nation.
happy merdeka everyone………..
12. kennysia | August 7th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Wah! Why you go and boycott the TV3 Environmentalist’s speech! You don’t care about global warming do you, Miss Su Ann?!
13. whisperer | August 7th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Very good write-up, like an old hand. And summed it up excellently with that 2 pics. You left the pros banging their heads on the wall :D Way to go, lady.
14. jimmy | August 7th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
isn’t nazrin shah the guy who rejected state funding for his wedding?
i think he should be appointed as pm hehe
15. Michael | August 7th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
wtf!!!i oso wan to go~then i can ask some whopping questions!!!
yeah~i cant go…cos i came from some “extremist chinese schools” that emm..disagree with the gov so many years ago~ Emm…i like the “Boos” part~boo~~~~
16. sheon | August 7th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
yes, DYTM Dr Nazrin Shah………..respect………(and he’s quite a looker too!…and so is his wife….woohoo)
17. Jon | August 7th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
This is a great summit, i really wish i can fly back to Malaysia to attend such summit. All the influential people in their certain field. I do agree that some people are knowledgeable, but they just have some problem dispersing their aura of knowledge to the …reminds me of all the professors in my course…
and all this summits are very “sleepable”…**ponders on the pictures**
18. Jeff from LA | August 7th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Wow, you must be pretty well-connected to be able to get in on as influential a symposium as this one seems to be. How did they choose the student-participants?
Also, I wish that we would have some equivalent symposium in the U.S. where significant political/corporate leaders would speak on the leading issues of the day.
19. Jeff from LA | August 7th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
I also feel that it is truly sad that the VC of UM feels that it is necessary to censor and restrict the freedom of speech of its students. If no one protested injustices, no one would know about them, and if no one learned of them, who would fight against them? Also how can students develop independent thought if they are forced to conform to the viewpoints that are “accepted by the university.” I am glad that you guys were smart and brave enough to boo her.
20. Bolehland | Blog Archive &hellip | August 7th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
[...] stolen from http://quaintly.net/2007/08/07/malaysian-student-leaders-summit/.) Not much to celebrate in 50 [...]
21. Jun | August 7th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
jt a note of caution about conferences as such, esp when political interests come to play, and what’s more, targeting at students, who are usually the easiest lot to brainwash. of course, all the topics are thundering and evoke utopian hopes among participants, but here’s hoping that those who attend are able to sieve thru the speeches for any hidden messages :) gosh i sound like a cynic don’t i? ;p
22. Chris | August 7th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Eh PinkPau, I link you through Facebook and UKECOnline on this post yeah? thanks thanks =P
23. MSLS: Views on NEP/NDP/VD&hellip | August 7th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
[...] speakers etc. Much has been written about it already – for overviews: ReCom, Su Ann, Andrew; on educational freedom: John, NST; on [...]
24. Michelle | August 7th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
And that lady Rafiah Salim deserves to be booed…….
If our education system is so uniform, they should have put more Chinese and Indian elements into our history textbooks instead of bombarding them with 6 topics of Islamic studies….
And if it is so uniform, then my teachers would have encouraged us to enter local unis….
And if it is SO uniform, why the hell the quota system is still floating around like a buoy in our waters of Malaysian education system?????
25. clem | August 8th, 2007 at 1:17 am
sounds like a really interesting summit, though i’d only come for tony fernandes. air asia x baby!
26. Jeff from LA | August 8th, 2007 at 5:59 am
*threadjack alert*
Su Ann, you also need to see the Bourne Ultimatum. It is really a well-filmed thinking man’s thriller.
27. pinkpau | August 8th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
andrew : haha i cant believe they actually highlighted that. good on NST
cat chan : she probably meant we should submit a nice black-and-white, make some follow up emails and phone calls, schedule a meeting for civilised discussion. haha. hey shouldnt you be on holidays now? when do nz students go on hols?
michelle : what is?
lalita : haha this dr shamsul guy is pretty funky! he must have made a cool lecturer. but his jokes were like really lame :P
lishun : already have :D
sheon : i dont understand; why would you end up in the ISA for attending a summit?
asyraf lee : bapak asyraf hahahha eh do it lah do it!!!
wilzc : was yours organized by UKEC too? and how did you avoid the uztaz! also, why is there an uztaz making rounds??
sheon : for now, us under-21s can still make a difference and create awareness :) thankfully we’re not handicapped by our youth. but then of course we cant wait to be eligible to vote
kennysia : i care i care :( :( :(
whisperer : haha i didnt mean to say that the summit was boring by putting up those 2 pics :P coz it wasnt!
jimmy : YES that’s the guy!
michael : you can go wan lah :) many of the participants are not pro-status quo anyway.
jon : no no no i didnt intend to imply that the summit was boring!! it was really interesting in fact. even the less powerful speakers held our attention due to the good content presented
jeff : she didnt exactly say it was necessory to restrict freedom of speech, but it is a wellknown fact that malaysian universities do not actually encourage or stimulate thought and debate within their student body. such a system gives birth to an unthinking, mild and opinionless majority; and so when questioned about the validity of this, the VC denied it. she’s just face-saving, i suppose, what with the presence of media in the hall and all
jun : there was very minimal brainwashing going on, but i think this summit would have been the wrongest place to attempt that :P
chris : sure go ahead!
michelle : ya exactly. i anxiously await the day such biased policies will be removed.
clem : haha his session was awesome
jeff : it isnt out here yet, but will most definitely catch it when it is!
28. sheon | August 8th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
pinkpau: i’ll be detained under ISA coz i would be too trigger happy in bombarding the panel with questions…..highly volatile questions. :)
29. aiman | August 9th, 2007 at 12:33 am
i’m really glad you enjoy the summit. after all the hard work… its very nice to read ur comment on it, that people enjoy/benefit from it. =)
30. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 1:14 am
sheon: dont think you’d go to ISA because ur not a political activist and anyway this forum was meant to ask questions. Its a good thing that the UKEC ppl have good credibility (and also times have changed in this country) or not this forum would not have been possible at all.
pau: eh i spoke to some of my friends regarding the UKEC prez, he used to be a debator haha apparently my friend picked up debating skills from him
31. melvin | August 9th, 2007 at 1:15 am
nice to meet u in nikko. wish we could have chatted more but not enough time. anyway i cabut after lunch time on sat itself..and went to PC fair at KLCC..haha. thanks for the review above:)
32. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 3:53 am
michelle : as much as we hate this racial thingy.. we have to understand that our country is still very young and is rather diverse. All multi racial countries have their birthing pains ( Look at the US in history, numerous numerous problems including the period of when there were lots of WHITES only institutions.)
So far, the only REAL pain we’ve had so far is the 1969 riots. Multi racial USA had civil wars, slave labour, racial fights, prohibition, many riots ( watch gangs of new york, although not a historicaly accurate movie, the animosity depicted is correct at that time).
As u can see also, the US had no prior ‘imperial ‘ experiences such as the French, Dutch and English thats why their causing a big fuck up in places they shouldnt be whereas the british know how to deal with ‘locals in a war’ from experience.
So people, like shi huang ti, although known as a tyrant and iron fisted, one has to understand that sometimes, small unethics have to be done to stabilise the big picture before one can move on from then.
Personally, although still with the quota system and crap, i still see the chinese and indians making it out there. We’re a resilient and hard working lot. And yes our education system may produce no very VOCAL people, it will take time. And anyway, its not just the system, 30% is the system , 70% is your own personality and effort :)
33. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 3:54 am
Actually lucky didnt call the police in to have a talk :P SURE kena lambasted left right center hahaha
34. Michelle | August 9th, 2007 at 5:37 am
songjun: Well, we still can make it but then how about those people out there who had to enter to local public universities because their parents couldn’t afford to send them to private universities or abroad?
I mean, just look at the problems which arise every year due to the quota system. The Chinese who apply to become doctors fail to become doctors and end up in what… accounting?
It is just plain dumb excuses the local unis are giving like “Oh, this course is fully occupied!” and “Oh this course is this and that…” and “Oh, they miss out an A!” while they give full liberty to their own people even though they got only an A.
Yes, I do agree the fact that we can still swim our way through these sharks but how about those who can’t? Are they going to die there and let their talents be restricted because of these sharks who simply bite at people with them?
And this quota system is also the factor that Malaysia football is in a devastating position. And other things too…..
Even though our country does not suffer from intense racial problems but if you’re involved in such procedures, such discrimination is palpable.
35. cher wee | August 9th, 2007 at 9:15 am
good entry, gal.
36. Cat-chan | August 9th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Black-and-white emails, phone calls, meetings… bzuh? but where’s the fun in that? Jokes aside… I just find it kinda sad. Have you heard about that fiasco regarding the “Negarakuku” rap? It’s a video on youtube by a M’sian student studying in Taiwan and it mocks the current situation in M’sia. So much for parody.
I had 2 weeks off at the end of June/beginning of July. I go on holiday properly at the end of the year, starting in mid-Nov, which goes on until mid-Feb the next year. NZ unis tend to stint on hols in the middle of the year. Oh, and I get a week off at the end of August. That’ll be my mid-semester break. *cries* I started in July! Where’s the time gone?
All the same, have fun~ =^^=
37. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 10:47 am
michelle : lol my dear, even to enter in medicine overseas right, they have a quota. And its a common misconception that those who dont score too well dont get in, most of the students on scholarship here (malays included) are really top class students. Yes, there maybe a few that dont get all A’s and get in compared to many other races who are ‘more deserving’ to get in..
but let me ask you. If you were chinese in China, and at least 60% of the wealth of the country is in the hands of 20% of the minority.. u as the 80% majority of the country wont you do something about it? Yes i agree its unfair. And yes , it kinda makes the malays handicapped. But without the initial boost .. do u think there will be a middle class of malays now?
Its a phase our country is going thru. Once there is a big enough middle class of educated and well fed malays, these people will be the ones to rise up and implement a newer unbiased system.
38. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 10:50 am
and eh. Life is unfair anyway.
And as inhumane and mean as it may sound..
Its the survival of the fittest. Always has been. Always will be.
39. sheon | August 9th, 2007 at 11:53 am
songjun: i agree that, somehow the quota system is ‘necessary’ for the sake of the country. however, not with the expense of the students that REALLY deserved it! The quota system if implemented as it is, i believe will gain more supporters. But, when politics and racial sentiments come into the equation, how can you reason when a 4A’s student gets scholarship and a 11A1’s student doesnt? I can attest to this, my ex is a straight A1 student, she only secured the medicine scholarship frm PSD becoz the family is politically connected (still have to pay some kopi duit nonetheless). her classmates consist of some of the top non-bumi students around the country, BUT, her bumi classmates ranges from 11A1s, to 3-4As. They are the bottom of the class for every exams, and they cant even speak proper english.
I have a bunch of engineers reporting to me, bumi+chinese+indian….most are from UTM……the bumi engineers, cant even construct a decent English phrase off their tongues! how do you expect me to take them seriously? how do you expect me to let them attend meetings on my behalf?
yes, quota. but at least make sure the ones taking up their allocated seats deserve it, and not become a farce to their eventual profession.
40. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
sheon : lol if u think that those ppl cant speak english is a problem.. wait till you talk to people in europe. 70% of people in europe do not speak english. 80 – 90 % may understand you, but only 40 % roughly can actually reply u decently.
There are lots of german, italian and french professionals who dont speak a word of english but are yet fluent in other euro languages (ie in their local homeground per se) So yes, before i came to the UK i also had the impression that everyone in the world spoke english.. especially in europe.
Not true at all lol
41. songjun | August 9th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
And i dare say in italy, public schools stop teaching english after primary school. Some italian from Tuscany i hitched a ride with said that most italians his age only learn english until that level.
He’s quite old though (circa 40) so maybe the system has changed now
42. Jeff from LA | August 9th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I’m not sure the fact that German, Italian, and French professionals do not speak English is an excuse for others not to learn English. These professionals can function perfectly in their own home countries while being unable to speak English, but if they wish to engage in international business, or work outside their countries, they must be able to speak at least a minimum amount of English.
As business becomes more globally interconnected, the inability of French, German, or Italian professionals to speak English will put them at a greater and greater disadvantage. It is true that not everyone in the world speaks English, but excluding Chinese, English is becoming more and more the lingua franca of the modern world.
43. Jeff from LA | August 9th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Of course, by this, I definitely do not mean that everyone should be required to speak English, merely that in today’s world, it can definitely be economically advantageous to do so.
44. sheon | August 9th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
everything here is in English. The building/structure design code that all engineers here adhere to is in english. all meetings are conducted in english. all reports are presented in english. all correspondence are in english. all drawings are in english. Only ONE question in my mind: “does he/she understand what he is doing/told to do?”….
those european countries are different. germany for instance, their technology is so advanced, the rest of the world is gasping just to keep up. they can afford to be ignorant to the english language. japan, china, russia….they are all able to stand on their own.
malaysia is different, we NEED foreign input, we NEED foreign technology, we NEED foreign funds, we NEED foreign support. and what is the universal language? english. If i hire an engineer to help me run the show, do i have to hire another interpreter to help his comprehension?
and……all engineering courses (in malaysia) are in english medium (as far as i know)….and you know lar..all the technical jargon and stuff, how is it possible, that a student can fully understand what is taught in class and in the text book, if he/she doesnt even speak english? let alone graduate and practise…….
45. Michelle | August 9th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I do agree with sheon regarding this matter about the foreign input.
And yes, songjun, life is unfair but it doesn’t mean the government should make it worst.
We can learn to accept it but it has taken a toll on a lot of the non bumiputera. I, being a seventeen year old girl, feels the pressure too living in such a state where everything is in the quota.
And those parents out there including mine, are striving in this dilemma too because they don’t get what they give. They pay like so many taxes and the privileges end up in the hands of others. ( You get what I mean )
The scholarship system is too biased, I must say. They only give to their own kins and push us to the sidelines.
And if this were to go on and on, when can our country be free from the wraths and the label, “Third World Country”?
And, to add note, we cannot compare ourselves to countries of the European Union. Try speaking our National Language in the States. Do you think that they will understand? If you were to converse French in the States, they will. It is one of the world’s prime languages, you know. And like what sheon said, we still depend on foreign input.
And this will not end until the government decides to use local talents in a just manner and not shun us aside with the quota system.
46. Michael | August 9th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
ok.
I study in a private chinese school.
I never had any gov help.
My A-levels cert are recognised all over the world,
except Malaysia, my home country.
I had the honour to being offered scholarships
from many countries. again except Malaysia.
Now i’m studyin in HK. Everyone is equal.
Everyone is free.
Why should i live in the quota system,
while there is other place that treat me fairly.
So if u ask me would i go back
and contribute to my home country?
No. i surely wont.
Or maybe one day, as a corrupted politician.
47. wilzc | August 10th, 2007 at 12:41 am
aha, coz they heard noises out on the beach when they were having chats wif the guards at desaru. Cant really remmeber lar, im old, its too long ago. All i know is i got in trouble coz they saw mw scramble into cover. I was wearing a red cap and im the only one having a red cap.
Organized by who? i cant remember, all i know is i was stationed in johor, had many boring seminars, met many local leaders. Represented Selangor along with say 30-40 others?? the trip lasted a good few days i think. t’was a blast coz we went wild!. i remember one of the guys who represented penang was this upper6 guy from St.Xavier’s in penang and he sneaked out, took a cab from johor to singapore to meet his girlfriend and never came back ahhahahahaha.
48. Jayelle | August 10th, 2007 at 2:39 am
ohmigod!! u know waikin one ar?
he was my junior in school..:) was supposed to meet up with him before he left for US. oh well. small world;D
49. johnleemk | August 10th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Re the quota system, etc.: this is why you guys should have gone for the summit. A lot of this stuff was apparently hashed out in the NEP discussion group, and Prof Shamsul from UKM did a good job of providing some intellectual backdrop for these things.
Suffice it to say that there is a middle ground, but unfortunately this middle ground is often unpalatable to both sides of the political divide. Malaysia cannot have a pure meritocracy yet, but at the same time neither can it have apartheid. At the moment, we are closer to apartheid than we are to meritocracy, but switching to pure meritocracy would, IMO, be almost just as bad.
50. Michael | August 10th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
So, since 2 sides would be just at bad, thats why i leave this country. My favourite quote “I love my country, but my country dont love me”. i cant fight the system, and it would be impossible for me to “join” the system. So, the only way is to leave the system.
51. shuey | August 12th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
dato’ johan r0×0rs. come come join PwC, su ann.. whilst i’m still there. or ask ur hottie friends to apply..
52. em | August 12th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
if you give up and leave the system, the system will never get better.
this country is better than it seems, if you walk away, you will never be able to discover what it trully has to offer.
shuey: yes dato johan yum… kam yummier… some PwC people actually tried recruiting us by the bus loads, even after we told them we’re no where near graduating yet…!!!
53. shuey | August 13th, 2007 at 12:09 am
well.. i wished i had the opportunity to attend such a summit. would’ve been an eye-opener. lucky u
em: haha! we’re always looking for new people. the cycle never stops. well, if any of you peeps decide on the accountancy..well, u know where to go :)
54. pinkpau | August 13th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
shuey : only if i get to work directly under johan raslan wtf /shameless
55. Rebirth :: Tockism »&hellip | August 14th, 2007 at 2:57 am
[...] I don’t really follow her blog, but she’s popular no? lol… Eksyen man haha… read what she wrote on MSLS here [...]
56. hanna | August 14th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
it was nice to be able to read a good review. planned to go for the MSLS, but didn’t make it. looks like it was a good one and i wish i went!
anyway, just wanted to say contrary to popular believe (on this comments page) the forum was open to all students and not merely by invitation only.
57. Alex | August 15th, 2007 at 1:28 am
hihi…
amaizingly you are closely connected with me through your friendship with amy..
hehe..
she is my ex-high school mate and we are in the same class…
i saw you during the time you taking andrew’s sleeping picture..
and i am the blur face beside it..
hehe…
karam singh is one of the best speaker…
hehe…you really miss it…
i am looking forward for next year’s MSLS..
are you?
take care..
from
Alex
58. Angeline | August 15th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
have a nice time at s’pore hey? Not sure if you’re still here tho.
59. pinkpau | August 16th, 2007 at 12:40 am
hanna : you so should have gone :( i dont think i’ve seen you since that first time at Big Boss’ place!
alex : haha hello blur-faced friend of amy! do you mean amy soon? and yeah i so regret missing karam singh walia’s speech!
angeline : i had a great time :) just arrived home yesterday.
60. Malaysian Student Leaders&hellip | August 10th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
[...] think that the last two MSLSs (1,2) were much more interesting and well organized; I think it was clear that many of the moderators [...]
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