Malaysia has lost its way, says Ku Li

Tengku Razaleigh says many Malaysians are losing faith in their future despite the evidence of material progress. ­
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 ­ Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has urged the country to shed “crude nationalism” and come to terms with the reality that many Malaysians are losing faith in their future despite the evidence of material progress.

The veteran Umno man told the British Graduates Association at a dinner here last night that it was a fact that those Malaysians who “can stay away and settle overseas do so with the encouragement of their parents”.

“Their parents tell them to remain where they are, there is nothing for them here. The illusion of nostalgia does not explain why parents fight to send their children to private and international schools rather than the national schools they themselves went to.

“The very same politicians who recite nationalist slogans about our national schools and turn the curriculum into an ideological hammer send their own children to international schools here or in Australia and Britain.

“They know better than anyone else the shape our schools are in. It is no illusion that people do not have the faith in our judiciary and police that they once had,” said Tengku Razaleigh.

The former Finance Minister pointed out that the country inherited at independence a functional country with independent institutions.

These included “the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy, civil law grounded in a Constitution, a capable and independent civil service, including an excellent teaching service, armed forces and police, good schools, sophisticated trade practices and markets, financial markets”.

While he pointed out that the challenges of nation building were serious, but the country “faced them with an independent judiciary, a professional civil service and a well-defined set of relationships between a federal government and our individually sovereign states.”

Indeed we were able to face these challenges because these institutions functioned well.

“Institutionally, we had a good start as a nation. Why is it important to recall this?“For one it makes sense of the feeling among many Malaysians and international friends who have observed Malaysia over a longer period that Malaysia has seen better days.

There is a feeling of wasted promise, of having lost our way, or declined beyond the point of no return.”

He said that such a feeling was too pervasive to be put down to the nostalgia of always finding the good old days best.

Malaysians, Tengku Razaleigh contends, are losing faith in their future despite the evidence of material progress.

“We have lots of infrastructure. Lots of malls and highways. Especially toll highways. It is not for want of physical infrastructure, dubious as some of it is, that we feel we languish.

It is a sense that we are losing the institutional infrastructure of civilised society.”

He said that if Malaysians felt a sense of loss, or tell their children not to come home from overseas, or are making plans to emigrate, it was not because they did not love the country, or were ungrateful for tarred roads and bridges.

“It is because they feel the erosion of the institutional infrastructure of our society. Institutional intangibles such as the rule of law, accountability and transparency are the basis of a people’s confidence in their society.”

He said it was time to shed the “crude nationalism” which refuses to acknowledge things “not invented here”.

He pointed out that Malaysia had a good start because it had inherited from the British a system of laws, rights and conventions that had been refined over several hundred years.

Malaysia, he said, also inherited the English language, and with that a strong set of links to the English-speaking world.

“There should be a rethinking of our attitude to the English language. By now it is also a Malaysian language. It would be sheer hypocrisy to deny its value and centrality to us as Malaysians.

“Do we continue to deny in political rhetoric what we practice in reality, or do we grasp the situation and come up with better policies for the teaching and adoption of the language?”

He urged Malaysians to reconnect with Britain as it is today instead of recycling stale colonial era stereotypes.

MOSLEMS MUST FIRST CLEAN UP THEIR ACTS, BEFORE THEY CAN EVEN MENTION ISLAM TO ME

This is what I said in RPKs website.


Dear Malaysian people... As a non moslem and kafir and unqualified to comment on the actual arguments in Koran holy book, then I wont comments on the actual teachings. However, I have EVERY RIGHT to comment on what it means to me as one who HAS the right to practice other religion.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO ME as a Malaysian right now, is NOT what islam actually means, but what the govt, politicians, socalled religious leaders ARE ACTUALLY DOING IN THE NAME OF ISLAM. What good is it to me when Islam suposed to help me go to heaven, but the leaders are actually making me suffer life right NOW?

So you see, it is does not matter how good Islam is or Syarie is, BUT IT MATTERS how the leaders apply them and enforce them that is the things that affects the population of the world.

As RPK himself said and I quote "It is not the kafir or moslems that gave Islam a bad name, in fact it is the MOSLEMS themselves who gave islam a very bad name" And because of that, guys like me not only will ever consider converting to Islam, I wont even bother to learn anything about it.

The Moslems must first of all CLEAN THEIR OWN ACTS AND HOUSES before even considering telling me about their religion. For example, whatever happpen to the American Tourist who vowed never to come back for holiday in Malaysia because some holier than thou moslem came and raid his apartment for being accused of keeping a Malay women, where in fact is was his orang putih wife wearing a Sarong?

UNTIL today, no apoloies, what more compensation, and no lessons learnt by these bigot religious departments.

As for me, a whole lifetime being sidelined, no matter how much is my contribution to society JUST BECAUSE I am not a bumiputra moslem. BUT I AM THE ORIGINAL SON OF THE SOIL OF SABAH. thats what matters.

Unless and Until the moslem world especially the UMNO regime and even PAS has acknowledge and corrected their actions over the 50 years of Malaysia.. how can I even consider respecting islam or syariah laws?

When I was at the university overseas, the Malay Muslim Association always come to me and accused me of being anti-malaysians just becos I do not want to convert.

THAT IS HOW SERIOUS the bigots from UMNO is. They says, Islam is a way of life, so that gave them all the powers to impose their islam to others as if they are Gods..

So what is the answer to this from all the moslems in Malaysia? Shouldnt you Sack the present government and review every laws regarding religion or do they have the feeling of insecurity because they may lose their political powers??

I like a straight answer to all these !!! Answers such as "you dont understand islam" is the biggest bullshit answer I ever heard.


AND I SAY IT AGAIN, THIS ANSWER IS THE PROOF WHOEVER IS USING IT HAS TO BE THE GREATEST BULLSHITER EVER. .....

Malaysia rejects appeal to release 10,000 seized Bibles which use banned word 'Allah'

JULIA ZAPPEI -- Associated Press Writer


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian government has refused to release 10,000 Bibles confiscated for using the word "Allah" to refer to God, a banned translation in Christian texts in this Muslim-majority country, an official said Wednesday.

An official from the Home Ministry's publications unit said the government rejected pleas by church officials to allow the Bibles, imported from Indonesia, into the country.

Christians say the Muslim Malay-dominated government is violating their right to practice their religion freely.

Such religious disputes are undermining Malaysia's reputation as a harmonious multiethnic, moderate Muslim nation. About 30 percent of the country's 28 million people practice Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism or other faiths.

A Home Ministry official said the government told the importer last month to return the Indonesian-language Bibles, which are still with customs."Actually the publications, the Bibles are already banned," said the official, refusing to elaborate.

He declined to be named because he is not authorized to make public statements.The Bibles contain the word "Allah," which is banned by the government for use by non-Muslims in an apparent bid to appease Muslims.

Church officials say the word "Allah" has been used for centuries to refer generally to God in both Indonesian and Malaysian languages, which are similar.

The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the ban in court.The government maintains that the Arabic-origin word "Allah" is an Islamic word and its use by Christians and others will upset Muslims.Another 5,100 Bibles, also imported from Indonesia, were confiscated in March and have not been released.

But the ministry official did not immediately have any information on those.The Christian Federation of Malaysia, which had called for the release of all Bibles, described the seizure as "ridiculous and offensive."

"This constitutional right (to practice freely) is rendered illusory if Christians in Malaysia are denied access to Bibles in a language with which they are familiar," the federation's chairman Bishop Ng Moon Hing said in a statement.

He also rejected concerns that Bibles in the Malaysian language, or Bahasa Malaysia, containing "Allah," will upset Muslims.

"Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia have been used since before the independence of our country and have never been the cause of any public disorder," he said.

Malaysia gained independence in 1957.


So there U have it. The Muslims especially in Malaysian UMNO and PAS are so insecure in their religion that they need government protection. So their Allah their god needs political protection both from UMNO and PAS.. Need I say anything more???

Malaysia Day holiday - much ado about nothing

BY: Uncle Yap, Malaysiakini


Many East Malaysians have been clamouring around August every year for Sept 16 to be made a National Day without knowing or understanding the vagaries of history and the issues and complexities surrounding the formation of Malaysia.

Let me, as an amateur historian, go back to first principles.In July 1955, the Alliance, comprising Umno, MCA and MIC won 51 out of the 52 seats of the Malayan Federal Legislative Assembly and effectively attained 'self-rule' in colonial Malaya.

On Aug 31, 1955, at the Umno General Assembly following the Alliance's electoral triumph, a resolution was proposed to urge the party leaders to seek political independence from the British colonial power "within two years".

Another delegate was reported to have amended the resolution by the addition of 'insyallah' (God willing) at the end of the resolution as according to him, to demand independence within a strict time frame was arrogant and not in keeping with the psyche of the humble Malays.

With great amusement, the amendment was accepted and the resolution passed by acclaim.And so it was that the Merdeka Mission set sail for London in December 1955. That mission was a success and Tunku Abdul Rahman (right)came back in January 1956 and fittingly announced the "end to more than 400 years of foreign subjection" (in Melaka, where in 1511, the country first fell to foreign domination) on Aug 31, 1957, in accordance with the Umno General Assembly resolution.

The tonal significance of that date was soon explained to Tunku by his Chinese friends to be sang yet fatt(Cantonese pronunciation for 318) which could be homophonous with prosper from birth. That fact was never lost on the Tunku.

When the concept of an enlarged Federation of Malaya was publicly mooted (actually forced by the British, effete after a debilitating global conflict called WWII, wanting to shed its responsibilities for far-flung territories that were not of strategic importance) by Tunku in a speech in Singapore in May 1961 to the Foreign Correspondents Association of Southeast Asia, it was very readily accepted by Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew (left), who, without Malaysia, would have had his fragile PAP government overthrown by Lim Chin Siong's Barisan Sosialis.

Popular misconception by East Malaysians

With the British twisting his arms, Tunku was forced to accede to many demands including the 18/20 safeguards, which were to have been transitional provisions to protect the more backward East Malaysians from the more advanced and aggressive people from Singapore and Semananjong.

This gave rise to the popular misconception by many East Malaysians that during those negotiations, the Federation of Malaya was of standing as equal partners of the Crown Colony of Singapore, the State of Sarawak, the State of North Borneo and that the four equal entities joined to form the Federation of Malaysia.

These East Malaysians failed to distinguish substance from form. In substance and in effect, the Federation of Malaya was to take on three new member states to add to the 11 it already had. The 11-point star on the flag was amended to 14. The 11 stripes were raised to 14.

It was synonymous with the growth of the USA from the original 13 states, culminating in the joining of the 50th state of Hawaii in 1959. When that happened, the number of stars on the US flag was increased to 50.

The slight name change from Malaya to Malaysia has also been erroneously cited to bolster the notion that four equal parties, Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and the Federation of Malaya came together to form a new political entity.

Whilst the first three were then colonial possessions of the British Government, the Federation of Malaya was already an independent nation with membership in the United Nations Organisation (UNO).

Many East Malaysians still harbour the misconception that Tunku, a prince and the Prime Minister of an independent country was talking to Lee Kuan Yew and the community leaders in Sarawak and North Borneo as equals.

He was simply and plainly coerced (by the British for its defence) to make Malaysia happen even if it meant acceding to demands and conditions (which became part of the 18/20 points in the Malaysia Agreement).

Threat from Indonesians

The various background paperwork and enabling acts and ordinances in the legislatures of Britain, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo to bring about the establishment of Malaysia were all dated Aug 31, 1963 (Tunku never wavered in his love for the sang yet fatt homophone).

Don't take my word for it ... go to the archives and see for yourselves.

Alas, trouble beckoned from next door. Indonesia's Sukarno, wishing to avert attention from the ill-effects of his rule, started ranting about neo-colonialism and questioned the verity of the new enlarged entity called Malaysia.

To appease a close neighbour, Tunku agreed to a fact-finding mission to be sent by U Thant, then secretary-general of the UNO to ascertain the wishes of the people of Sarawak and North Borneo.

In the event, due to problems such as transport and the far-flung nature of these two huge states, U Thant's mission could not issue its report in time for the Aug 31 deadline and reluctantly, Tunku had to postpone the proclamation of Malaysia to a later date some two weeks after the scheduled Aug 31.

Throughout the history of modern Malaysia, the Sept 16 date has been treated as an unintended aberration and in future years, the annual celebration date reverted to Aug 31.

Be that as it may that Sept 16, 1963 was historically the correct date of the entry of Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo into Malaysia, it shouldn't be the case that it should now be celebrated as the Independence Day.

When Hawaii joined the United State on Aug 21, 1959, it did not demand that henceforth the rest of USA should abandon the Fourth of July and celebrate National Day on Aug 21.

Any Cantonese will tell you 169 sounds like yet loke kaw or 'play all along the way'. No wonder Tunku never ever wanted to celebrate Sept 16.

I have great sympathy for the grouses of East Malaysians. Everything seems to cost more than in Semananjong. Compared to tiny Brunei, the only one of the Borneo threesome to opt out of joining Malaysia, they seem to be lagging behind.

But the answer to their woes is definitely not getting Sept 16 recognised as National Day.

Thus rejoicing at yet another holiday would seem to me as pandering to the irrelevant or much ado about nothing.

Footnote: The Federation of Malaya, surrounded by a belligerent Indonesia, was most vulnerable in defence and Britain used the continued defence umbrella by itself and the Commonwealth (read as Australia and New Zealand) to coerce the Tunku to take in Singapore, Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei.

Uncle Yap is a retired Chartered Accountant who spends quite a fair bit of his time reading old newspapers in the National Archives in pursuit of his interest in Malaysian history. He also runs BeritaMalaysia, a free Internet news service catering for the happenings in Malaysia and its immediate neighbours.

Allah or the Lord Jesus

Allah or the Lord Jesus ?

Very interesting to read!!!!!!

Allah or the Lord Jesus Christ?

The Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion in Australia . Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for maintaining my prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their beliefs.

I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.

After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.

When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked: 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy War] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you give me the definition of an infidel?'

There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, 'Non-believers! '

I responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?'

The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of 'a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.'

He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'

I then stated, 'Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope Benedict commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or the Archbishop of Canterbury ordering all Anglicans to do the same in order to guarantee them a place in heaven!'

The Imam was speechless!

I continued, 'I also have a problem with being your 'friend' when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question. Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?'

You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame.

Needless to say, the organisers and/or promoters of the 'Diversification' training seminar were not happy with this way of dealing with the Islamic Imam and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.

In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in Australia to elect a government of their choice, complete with Sharia Law. I think everyone in Australia should be required to read this, but with the Liberal justice system, liberal media and the political correctness madness, there is no way this will be widely publicised.

Read my previous posting about the characteristics of moslems in relation to the percentage of their numbers in any country of the world. !!

Please pass this on to all your e-mail contacts

Was Teoh Beng Hock killed upstairs rather than downstairs?

1. Why did MACC not inform Teoh's family immediately when the body was found at 1.30pm on the 16th July?Teoh has his wallet with him and he could be identified easily. Why did MACC not informed his family immediately which is the normal practice.


2. When did Teoh news break out?Teoh death was not known until 6pm. What happened between 1.30pm and 6pm at the MACC?2. When was Teoh release? Or was he ever released?MACC claimed that Teoh was released at 3.45am on the 16th July. However the fact that MACC still kept his handphone shows that he was never released and was in custody until he was found dead.


3. Did Teoh ever left the MACC Building ?No, he didn't. The CCV recording at the entrance only shows him entering the MACC but there was no recording that he left MACC.


4. Was Teoh a witness or suspect?MACC claimed Teoh was a witness after he is dead. However they refused to allow a lawyer to accompany Teoh during the interrogation and claimed they have the right to question him for 24 hours without allowing anyone to see him - this clearly shows that Teoh was arrested as a suspect.


5. When was Teoh last seen in MACC building?He was last seen at 6am in the pantry.


6. When is the time of death of Teoh Beng Hock?According to the autopsy report, Teoh Beng Hock was dead at around 8 - 9am


7. Why is the MACC door kept closed at 1.35pm?Malaysiakini reporter Rahmah Ghazali, found out that the MACC door was closed at between 1.25pm and 1.40pm. It was reopen at 1.50pm. Why is it so? MACC should be operating on a 24 hour basis and therefore the door shouldn't be closed. "Coincidently", Teoh's body was found at 1.30pm. What is MACC doing behind closed door?


8. Why is Teoh's body not removed until 9.15pm?Nobody is allowed to have a glimpse at the body and Teoh's body was not removed until 9.15pm. Why does it take so long to remove the body? Are they trying to hide something?


9. Why is MACC lying about Teoh's handphone?MACC claimed that all belongings have been returned to Teoh when he was "released" at 3.45am. However the police confirmed that they got Teoh's Handphone from MACC. Why is MACC lying? It is obvious that Teoh's handphone contains important information.


10. Why is the police classifying Teoh's death as a sudden death but not murder?
The questions that the police pose to Teoh families shows that the police already presume that Teoh committed suicide and tries to mislead the family.
The police is clearly protecting "someone".


Timeline of the incident

15th July 5.00pm Teoh Beng Hock was brought to MACC hq
16th July 3.45am MACC claimed Teoh was released(cctv shows he never left the building)
6.00am Teoh was last seen in the pantry
8.00am Teoh was dead
1.25pm MACC front door was suspiciously closed
1.30pm Teohh Body was found lying at the fifth floor balcony 6.00pm News about Teoh dead was made to known publicly 9.15pm Teoh's body was removed


There are too many suspicious circumstances in Teoh Beng Hock case. We must not let Teoh Beng Hock die in vain. Get into action. Forward this email to everyone in your mailing list and let them know the truth!!! We must seek justice for Teoh Beng Hock! WE WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH


(AS FAR AS SABAHFAN IS CONCERNED, THE FUKKING MACC ARE THE MURDERERS OF TEOH.... PERIOD...)

The First Bungle - Jaga Bahasa Biar Jahanam Bangsa

(must read ...... well written by an intellectual Malay)


By Syed Akbar Ali

In one of my Four Wheel Drive trips into the jungle some years ago, we stopped at a place called Cheneh in Terengganu. I remember a makcik at a roadside stall made some nice ayam goreng. My good friend Juhaidi was with me and also my two boys. Cheneh was (and maybe still is) a typical rural backwater. The folks did not seem to know if they were coming or they were going...

There was Astro but I think the favorite show was ‘Tom Tom Bak’. But I did recall saying aloud that someday I hope that the folks in Cheneh would watch CNN, BBC and CBS and that we could just drive up and ask the makcik in Cheneh ‘Whats on CNN today?’ But I think that’s not going to happen at all. Tuan Tuan dan Puan Puan, our Prime Minister Dato Najib has made his first bungle – and within the first 100 days too. No Sirs, it is a major bungle. You have bungled big time.

Lets manage this “crisis in the making” now. First of all please stop from saying anything more about the switch from English to Malay. The more things you say, the more “face saving” devices you will need for you to swallow your pride before you can undo this mistake. But this mistake must be undone. I just happened to be with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad yesterday Thursday July 9th 09 slightly after noon when the news came in that the Cabinet had decided to flip flop over the language issue.

Firstly Tun Dr Mahathir raised a simple but valid point. The main reason quoted by Tan Sri Muhyuddin to favor the switch to Malay was that the rural Malay kids were doing poorly in Maths and Science (which are taught in English) compared to the urban kids. But what about exam scores for the rural kids in all other subjects which are taught in the Malay language? Dr Mahathir said no one showed him the statistics for that. Why? If you say that English is the reason why the rural kids are doing so poorly in Maths and Science, then by your logic the rural kids should be scoring the same as or better than the urban kids in other subjects that are taught in Malay? By your logic rural kids should be doing better than the urban kids in Sejarah, Geografi, Kemahiran Hidup, Bahasa Malaysia and other Malay language subjects.

But we know that rural kids generally score lower than urban kids in most subjects (except maybe Agama). And language has got nothing to do with it. Rural kids are usually found in lower income households, their parents are usually less educated, they have less achievement goals and so forth. That is why you call them ‘children from rural areas’. They are poor people and they are underachievers. So this comparison with rural kids and urban kids is not fully accurate (Tun Dr Mahathir used another word which I need not repeat here).

Let me give you some street feedback. At least one Internet based employment agency has instructions from its clients to completely ignore any job applicants who are graduates from UITM (University ITM).

As we know UITM graduates are all Malays. They say the quality of the graduates is low and their English is bad... They are unemployable. This is what I heard. Another preference by another employer – a Multi National Corporation - in the job market is to take in job applicants who are graduates of IPTA (private universities) who have done twinning programs.

This means their English is good and they are more marketable. Again this means Malays with poor English skills are not preferred. Bottom of the line. And here is some news from Cyberjaya. We opened up Cyberjaya and gave foreign investors much benefits and incentives to open business there. Among the foreign investments in Cyberjaya are ‘Call Centers’. Well some ‘Call Centers’ in Cyberjaya take in Indians as a first choice for employment. They feel that generally Indians speak better English. Second choice are Chinese. Finally they will look at Malays as the last choice but rarely. Even with the emphasis on English the past six years, the Malays cannot speak enough English to get a job answering telephones in Call Centers in Cyberjaya.

We cannot shut them down or arrest them under the ISA for practising such discrimination. They come here for business. We must provide them the tools necessary to run their businesses well. We are not doing the job.

To Dato Najib and Tan Sri Muhyuddin Yassin, why are you doing this? Who agrees with you? Who are you afraid of? Takkan UMNO Johor is so powerful to frighten Muhyuddin? Last nite I met a Deputy Minister and a well known “ultra Malay” ex-newspaper editor. The Deputy Minister said it was a bad decision to switch back to Malay. The ‘ultra Malay’ ex-editor was visibly upset and said “I have no comments. I don’t want to say anything.”

I think he did not agree with the switch at all. Another well known “ultra-ultra” Malay defender of all things Malay (if I just mention his job you will know who he is) said the switch to Malay was ‘satu langkah ke belakang’.

A Tan Sri from Kelantan said in English “this is a giant leap backward for the Malays”... In the present world, the English language is a ‘life giving’ language. The amount of new knowledge and new information that comes out in the English language is astounding.

No one can translate all the new knowledge and information that comes out in English EACH and EVERY DAY. It is impossible.. We have to master this language. There is no other way. Then we have the ‘tidak masuk akal’ ideas.

Tan Sri Muhyuddin says after the switch back to Malay, he still wants to upgrade the teaching of English in the rural schools. He wants to employ about 1000 native English speakers to teach English in rural schools. By native speaker I do not know if he is referring to Mrs Naidu from Brickfields or if he wants to employ real Mat Sallehs from outside the country. Mrs Naidu the retired English teacher will gladly teach English to our children for RM3000 per month. But we will have to pay the Mat Sallehs RM15,000 a month or more before they will come to work here.

But if that is a good idea then why not employ 1000 Mat Sallehs at RM15000 a month to teach Maths and Science in English in the rural schools? Because according to Tan Sri Muhyuddin, it is not the school children in the rural schools who are to be faulted. The real culprits are the teachers.

Muhyuddin let the cat out of the bag. Here is what Muhyuddin said (from the Press): “It was based on empirical studies and other specialist reviews,” he said. Based on studies conducted in 2008, he said, the ministry found that only a small percentage of teachers fully used English to teach the two subjects. “On average, the percentage of those using English during Mathematics and Science periods was around 53% to 58%,” he said, adding that only a small number of teachers were proficient.

Muhyiddin said studies carried out by local universities found that students’ mastery level of English during the entire policy was around 3% while the level among rural students was low..” So don’t push the blame on the rural students lah.

It is the teachers who were malas to teach in English. And there are other reasons why some Malay teachers do not use English. Among them are religious reasons because some people believe that speaking English may lead to you ‘jadi kristian’.

Even in the towns (including Kuala Lumpur) it is also considered “showing off” if Malay people speak English. So there are other quite illogical reasons why Malay teachers are shy to speak and teach in English. Don’t just blame it (and quite wrongly too) on the rural school children. That is not correct.

And even if what Tan Sri Muhyuddin is saying is indeed true, why burden the urban kids and dim their chances at a better future just because the rural kids are having problems with English? Urban kids are usually the children of parents who are more educated, who work in offices, run businesses and generally earn a higher income and enjoy a better standard of living.

The rural folks are usually much poorer than the urban folks. That is why we have to make sure that the rural folks get the same or better opportunities to get out of the poverty cycle and move up in life so that they too can enjoy a standard of living like the urban people..

A good education and the ability to converse in English is definitely one way up. But what this policy reversal has done is to lower the entire national average. Instead of moving the rural people up the ladder, we are now moving moving the urban folks down to the level of the rural people. We are lowering the averages.

Hang tak payah jadi pandai macam aku, biar aku jadi bodoh macam hang ! We are nailing the Malays inside the language cocoon. We are also creating a “non English understanding rural poor” versus an “English speaking urban elite” divide. The Malays who cannot speak English will be left further and further behind.

The English speaking urban folks (Malays, Chinese and Indians) will move light years ahead of the non English speaking folks. There will most definitely be an English speaking elite in the country. More problems will arise. Then we have also allowed International Schools in the country to be opened to all Malaysians.

We also have foreign universities like Nottingham and Monash. We are basically denying many Malays from qualifying to enter these universities and international schools. They can go to UITM and become more ‘cocoon infested’ and unemployable. But very, very few kids make it to university or college in the first place.

Only 2% to 3% of the population goes to university anyway. The large bulk of our young kids will become school leavers (SPM or PMR) with no employable skills, no knowledge of “life giving” English. Their future is doomed. Akhir sekali saya nampak peluang hidup bagi budak Melayu dari kampong menjadi lagi tipis. Siapa yang ada tanah getah, mungkin akan kerja potong getah saja di kampong. Kalau tak ada tanah getah, depa akan berhijrah ke Bandar dan pekan untuk mencari kerja sebagai office boy, messenger dan peon.

They may even think that office boy, messenger and peon are three different careers.