The reason the Chinese hate Maszlee Malik
Yes, the Malaysian education system is a disaster. For the first 70 years it was doing great. The Malayan students in the UK at that time were regarded as the best from the Commonwealth. Then, for the last 50 years, Malaysia’s education system went to the dogs. And now the non-Malays must pay for this failure by being subjected to racial quotas so that the weak Malays get ahead and the strong non-Malays get left behind merely because they entered this world through the wrong hole.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Why do the Chinese or non-Malays hate Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik so much and want him removed? That is because Maszlee wants to maintain the 90:10 ratio for Malays versus non-Malays in what even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad calls “the backdoor entry into university”.
Mahathir is admitting that without the 90:10 quota and the system of the “backdoor entry” into university, the Malays are going to be left behind. This “crutch” (that is what the Chinese call it) and the 90:10 ratio is necessary to help the Malays. If meritocracy is adopted instead of racial quotas, the Malays will fail.
Mahathir admits this. Umno admits this. Pakatan Harapan admits this. The Chinese, however, whether from Pakatan Harapan or Barisan Nasional, want racial quotas to end (and by ending the New Economic Policy or NEP that would achieve this) or at least a better ratio instead of 90:10 (say 50:50 for Malays versus non-Malays).
The Chinese have reason to be angry with Maszlee
I have met many university students (under-graduates, post-graduates, PhD students, etc.) and my opinion is, if meritocracy decides whether they get sent to the UK for further studies, very few would be here. The level of university students today is lower than the level of form five students back in our days in the 1950s and 1960s.
Yes, over the last 50-60 years, Malaysia’s education standard has declined so much it is frightening. And who were the Education Ministers of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s who must be blamed for this?
In 1974, Mahathir took over as Education Minister and that was when things began to go south. This was followed by Musa Hitam, Sulaiman Daud, Abdullah Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak, Musa Mohamad, Hishammuddin Hussein, Shafie Salleh, Mustapa Mohamed, Khaled Nordin, Muhyiddin Yassin, Idris Jusoh, Mahdzir Khalid, and now Maszlee.
Yes, 15 Education Ministers over 45 years since 1974. Amongst them are four Prime Ministers and Deputy Prime Ministers. So, who are to blame if the Malaysian education system has failed and we still need racial quotas and crutches?
Being born Chinese is a handicap under Malaysia’s education policy
Let us not forget that the British started educating the Malays since the early 1900s. That was more than 100 years ago. And in the beginning, before Merdeka in 1957, the British regarded these educated Malays as brilliant and ready to take over the running of a newly independent Malaya.
Take my grandfather as one example. He was a product of a pre-war British education. He spoke English just like Sir Winston Churchill (in fact, he sounded just like Churchill). He was knighted by the Queen for his services to the country and carries the name Raja Sir Tun Uda. In short, the British turned him into a brown Englishman.
Then, today, we have the likes of Mat Sabu…and need I say more?
Yes, the Malaysian education system is a disaster. For the first 70 years it was doing great. The Malayan students in the UK at that time were regarded as the best from the Commonwealth. Then, for the last 50 years, Malaysia’s education system went to the dogs. And now the non-Malays must pay for this failure by being subjected to racial quotas so that the weak Malays get ahead and the strong non-Malays get left behind merely because they entered this world through the wrong hole.
Many Malays would not be in university if based on merits
The Chinese thought that once the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan takes power all this will end. Malaysia will adopt meritocracy and if you are clever you make it and if you are stupid then you go back to the kampong to plant padi or go fishing.
But that did not happen. Even under the Pakatan Harapan government it is the same as when under Barisan Nasional for 61 years. So the non-Malays are upset and they want Maszlee’s blood.
But PPBM has no choice. If they announce the end of the NEP and the racial quota system, they would also be announcing the end of PPBM, and probably the end of Pakatan Harapan as well. So, they need to maintain Umno’s or Barisan Nasional’s policies because much of the problem was the doing of previous Umno-Barisan Nasional people who are the same people in Pakatan Harapan.
Many so-called “liberal” Malays do not realise that they do not deserve what they received. If based on merits, they would not be where they are today. Of course, they think they are clever and smart and they talk and act as if they are clever and smart. But most of them are between the level of Mat Sabu and Maszlee Malik, morons in smart suits.
Today they talk so much. If 50 years ago Umno did what the “liberals” are saying, today, people like Mat Sabu and Maszlee Malik, and another one million other Malays, would be back in the kampong planting padi and catching fish.
So, if you are where you are because you are smart and clever and not because you have brown skin and came out from the “right” hole, by all means preach to me and I will listen. But if you are where you are because of Umno’s 61 years policies, then better you just keep quiet and be grateful that you are not back in the kampong planting padi or catching fish.
Anyway, read the following article about how much it costs to educate your children if you are not aided by the government. And you need RM350,000-400,000 to send your child to a UK university for three years.
READ MORE HERE: The cost of children’s education
