Graduates Finds It Hard To Land Jobs Due To Language Deficiency: Tun M

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took the debate on the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English a notch higher when he said it was a shame that local graduates are often unable to get jobs due to their poor command of the language.

The former prime minister said these graduates had good academic credentials but were let down by a lack of proficiency in English.

"Many of those who are jobless are not so because they do not have the paper qualifications, but because they have not mastered the language (English), especially in the fields of science and technology. And this is a shame, especially if they were good students in school," he said today when opening a conference entitled "Teacher Education in the Muslim World" organised by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

A long time proponent of teaching the two subjects in English, Mahathir said the government should do this as Malaysia will otherwise not be able to keep up with the progress in technology, where English is the "language of industry".

"I am a Malay, and I love my language too. But we have to be realistic. Manuals, guidebooks and instructions of complex procedures are done in English. New technologies and new products are being introduced all the time and all these are in English. We do not have the capacity to translate everything," he said.

He said Malay language nationalists may think that nationalism is about being able to speak the national language well.

"That is wrong. Nationalism is about becoming successful in all fields of life, being able to contribute towards the growth and the development of your country and your race. Being able to stand tall ... that is true nationalism."

Meanwhile, Mahathir also raised the question of whether moral and religious studies in Malaysia were adequate in the light of rising corruption, petty theft and serious crimes.

"We are constantly being asked to legislate new laws and increase the punishment for all kinds of crimes. It seems like the education system has not succeeded in producing the kind of law-abiding citizens that we hoped for. Even if they don't break the law, they do not have good work ethics," he said.

He said that a value system has to be integrated into these subjects, to be able to produce people who not only have sound knowledge, but also possess a good value base.

 

The Sun Daily

School Focus On Rituals To Blame For Malaysians’ Poor Character

Malaysians might have better ethics if schools had focused more on building their character and were less dogmatic on the proper form of religious doctrine, Tun Dr Mahathir suggested today in his latest criticism of the education system.

The one-time education minister called for a revamp of religious and moral studies, which he argued has failed in producing law-abiding citizens or employers with commendable work ethics.

“Most of the teachers, they are religiously educated, but their focus on good character building is not prioritised,” Dr Mahathir told reporters after the International Conference on Teacher Education in the Muslim World here.

“Holding to honourable values, not doing bad things... those are part of Islamic teachings too, but we’re focusing on how to pray, how to recite doa (prayers), how to ask things from God.”

Earlier in his keynote speech, Dr Mahathir noted that there is a growing deterioration in character among the public, with rampant corruption and spiralling serious crimes.

“It would seem that the education system has not succeeded in producing the kind of law-abiding upright citizens that we hoped for,” the former prime minister said.

“Even if they don’t break the law, their attitude towards work and sense of responsibility leaves much to be desired. They don’t seem to have good work ethics.”

Dr Mahathir also rapped some Muslims for pursuing spiritual merit over reinforcing education on this world, which he said had led to the decline of the Muslim world’s purported Golden Age of Knowledge.

“The Muslims decided that acquiring knowledge is not something that will give them merit in the next world. They believe that only through learning about religion will you gain merit for the next world,” he said.

He said that when they stopped seeking knowledge, they also stopped advancing, which in turn impacted their ability to practise their religion.

“Muslim nations have been invaded and face war, I’m sure their children will not obtain any knowledge at all,” he added.

The 88-year-old former prime minister repeated his call to the government to resume teaching science and mathematics in English, a policy he had introduced before retiring from office in October 2003.

He also urged Putrajaya to pick up the “Look East” policy he had enforced during his 22 years in power.

Last month, Dr Mahathir said Malaysians, especially Malays, have failed to grasp and emulate the “Look East” policy, and in particular the moral values espoused by the Japanese, which he claimed made them ‘shameless’ even after committing crimes.

The original “Look East” policy was introduced by Dr Mahathir when he took office in 1981, to encourage Malaysian students in Japan to bring back knowledge and acquire Japanese cultural virtues such as work ethics, discipline and punctuality.

  

The Malay Mail

Sudah Tiba Masa Internet Ditapis - Dr.M

Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad berpendapat sudah tiba masanya untuk isi kandungan Internet ditapis memandangkan ramai yang menyalahgunakan kemudahan itu.

Dr Mahathir berkata ini kerana, melalui Internet penyebaran fitnah, berita palsu dan bahan lucah tersebar dengan pantasnya tanpa disekat oleh mana-mana pihak.

"Jika dahulu kanak-kanak serta masyarakat muda tidak berpeluang melihat gambar serta video lucah tetapi dengan adanya Internet mereka dapat melihat di mana sahaja," katanya dalam ucapan semasa Majlis Konvokesyen Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) ke-16 di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata jika dahulu penyebaran gambar lucah hanya boleh dilihat melalui akhbar dan majalah dari luar negara, namun kemasukannya boleh disekat tidak seperti Internet yang digunakan berleluasa.

Tambah beliau penyebaran bahan lucah juga menyebabkan keruntuhan moral dalam kalangan golongan muda dan kanak-kanak serta meningkatnya kes rogol dan jenayah lain.

Dr Mahathir juga tidak menafikan terdapat segelintir individu yang menggunakan Internet untuk belajar melakukan jenayah berat seperti membunuh serta merompak.

"Tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa akses kepada bahan lucah menyumbang perlakuan pelbagai jenayah yang dulunya tidak berlaku, kebanyakan gambar dan video yang tersebar juga memaparkan mengenai keganasan yang melampau dan ia mempengaruhi masyarakat," katanya.

Beliau berkata faktor ini juga boleh menyebabkan kestabilan dan keselamatan negara terancam, dengan memberikan contoh terdapat negara maju yang sistem keselamatan telah diceroboh akibat kebebasan berinternet.

Menurut beliau, walaupun semasa di peringkat awal penggunaan Internet kerajaan berjanji tidak akan menyekat penggunaannya, namun kini keadaan telah berubah dan penggunaan Internet berkembang dengan meluas.




- Bernama

The Doctor Is Still in The House

ON numerous occasions, when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad makes a public appearance, one of the favourite questions raised during the Q&A would be:

“What is your secret of keeping young?”

It is actually amazing to see Dr Mahathir, at 88 and today exactly a decade since retirement, is still travelling wide and far, domestically and abroad, participating in speaking and lecture engagements.

When abroad, the invitations centred on how he turned Malaysia around, from an agrarian society into what is formerly described as the newly industrialised country and now, merely steps away from a full-fledged developed nation status.

The adulations he received abroad border on idolisation - so much so that when he went to Egypt in 2011, after Hosni Mubarak was deposed, during a live television interview, he was asked if he would consider becoming the interim Prime Minister and help the country get out of its political and economic quagmire - a consequence suffered by a divided nation, post-uprising.

While Dr Mahathir dismissed such suggestions on grounds that he was a foreigner, one of the Egyptian newspapers, taking up from the television interview, ran a story/poll the next day on whether it was all right for a foreigner, specifically Dr Mahathir, to be the leader of Egypt in the interim.

Responses to the write-up were mixed though many favouring the suggestion of Dr Mahathir leading, and according to a local Malaysian embassy staff, one response even argued that Egypt had at one time been under the leadership of a foreigner and as such, there was nothing wrong to have Dr Mahathir as one.

While such views are moot, the fact remains that Dr Mahathir continues to receive high regards abroad.

These accolades, unsolicited, are actually a reflection of what outsiders think of Malaysia.

Much as some Malaysians may not have many regards for Dr Mahathir, his stature and reputation had actually made foreigners extend their high regards for the rest of the nation as well.

Surely, by now, numerous tales about how Malaysians get special treatment abroad because of Dr Mahathir had been widely shared.

In 2003, several Malaysian journalists covering the US invasion of Iraq discovered the "magic" of the name Mahathir.

They were, alongside other international media personnel, trying to get into Karbala where, for the first time after more than two decades, the Shi’as were allowed to perform their pilgrimage following the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The Shi’a militias were controlling the road leading to the centre of the complex and had stopped all the media trucks and four-wheel drives from entering Karbala and parked along the road included the big names such as the CNN, BBC etc…

When a couple of jeeps carrying Malaysian journalists and cameramen rolled in and went up to the militia guards, they were asked where they were from.

When the militiaman was told that they were from Malaysia, the response was: “Dr Mahatheer…OK”.

One of the militias then jumped on top of the Malaysian vehicle and directed the driver to take a route that led the Malaysian team all the way to the tomb of the venerated Imam Hussein, the martyred grandson of Prophet Muhammad while other media teams including the international ones, could only cover the event from outside the shrine.

That was when Dr Mahathir was still the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Another tale was one told by a well-travelled senior civil servant who went to Bosnia for a holiday in 2010.

“The café owner asked me where I was from and when I told him I’m a Malaysian, his response was…aha, Dr Mahathir and went on to narrate to me how Dr Mahathir had saved the Bosnians and how much he had helped them (against the atrocities of the Serbs).

“The café owner refused to accept payment for what I had eaten and drank, telling me that money from a Malaysian is no good in his outlet.”

Such tales are actually quite common. Go to the Middle East or even some of the far out places in the African continent, Dr Mahathir is a Malaysian "brand" that sells and much revered.

Even in neighbouring South East Asian nations, Dr Mahathir continues to be sought after for his views and thoughts on almost anything under the sun, despite attempts by his Malaysian detractors to undermine and blemish his reputation.

And locally, he remains an enigma.

His fans adore him and some literally worship him. His detractors blame him for everything but everything that went wrong in the country.

And such is the dislike they feel for him that they even see wrong in everything that went right in Malaysia.

Without doubt, his shadow looms, long and far over everything in Malaysia. His 22 years as the Prime Minister had indeed left an indelible mark on the nation.

His detractors kept on saying that his influence has waned and he is fast becoming the past.

However, numerous comments, when made about Malaysian politics and its economy, the detractors and supporters alike, will, without fail, mention him whether in positive light or otherwise.

There have been views suggesting that he should just retire and stop meddling in the affairs of the nation.

Ironically, these views come from the very people who have self-styled themselves as advocates of freedom of expression and also the pundits that kept saying that Dr Mahathir’s influence had waned.

If his influence had waned, why worry about his interference.

Actually, while strutting in their sense of self-importance, they had overlooked the fact that they are dealing with an extraordinary politician who is different from the average ones that they are more comfortable to be associated with.

Dr Mahathir is an intellectual without pretending to be one. He is driven, disciplined and hardworking to a fault, even post retirement – and all these are something which most of his detractors, from either side of the political divide, cannot emulate - and something most do not want to be reminded of.

Indeed, his qualities have left his detractors wanting.

http://malaysiandigest.com

Ten Years' Retired And Still Working Hard For The Country

WHILE most people will play golf, see the world, go fishing or just watch TV all day, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, on the other hand, choose to spend his retirement by going to work.

But then again, Tun Mahathir is not like everybody else.

October 31, 2013 may mark a decade since he left the office of Prime Minister of Malaysia but the man – who has made Malaysia a respected Southeast-Asian nation, never stopped thinking and speaking for the country.

Malaysia Digest found out why is this so when we were recently granted an audience with the 88-year old statesman at his Putrajaya office.

“I had hoped that when I retire I can rest and do things that I like to do, but unfortunately the political scene in this country, well, has changed (and) not for the better. I think this country is not doing so well.

“So, although I did not like to be involved in politics (even when in retirement, and) should leave the people who lead the country to do whatever they like, I find that some things (if left unchecked) (would be) damaging to the country.

“And because of that I have been involved in politics throughout the 10 years I have retired. Not directly but indirectly,” said the 88-year old, who, as always, chooses his words carefully and speaks in a measured manner and tone.

Appearing in his obligatory grey bush jacket, it seems that little has changed since he stepped out of office in 2003.

Which is a good thing, of course, for Malaysia, a nation of mere 56 years still needs the watchful, mentoring eye of a statesman of his calibre.

Mahathir’s role after retirement is seen by many akin to Singapore’s unofficial “Minister-Mentor” position in cabinet, a role created to facilitate transition in political leadership,  particularly important in a Southeast-Asian nation that aspires to become a first world economy.   

Does he consider himself like a Minister-Mentor for Malaysia?

“No. I don't believe in such things. I don't want to be directly involved or wield any authority but since I can influence people, perhaps with my own ideas, It is all I want (to contribute).

"If my ideas are rejected, it’s okay,” said Mahathir.

But when what’s been installed gets uninstalled, it is not OK with Mahathir.

mD Editor Onny Izwan interviewing Tun Mahathir at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya/mD“Well, a lot of things were dismantled (since I left office). I believe any new leader has a right to make his own policies and use his own methods, but unfortunately the change, the dismantling of previous policies and projects, has not been good for this country.

“And this is evidenced by the (response of the) people who used to support the government and giving the government two-thirds majority in (the general) election, now (they) have sort of rejected – well, partially rejected – the government.

“They are still winning - but winning with a small majority – (and this puts them) always under threat, that if a substantial number of members (decide to) crossover, the government may even fall. So that gives a feeling of uncertainty to the country, to the people, and this is not good.

“I had hoped that the succeeding government would strengthen the government by their policies and their activities (but this has not been the case),” explained the former Prime Minister.

Where does he think the government has gone wrong?

“There seem to be a desire to reject all that has been done in the past to the point of condemning what was done in the past as a waste of money, as bankrupting the country, in order to prove that the stopped projects (were saving us money).

“For example, the railway line, the double tracking electrification of the railway line from Johor Bharu to Padang Besar, the cost would have been 14 billion Ringgit. (But) they stopped it completely.

“And (suddenly) later on they found that it is necessary to have this railway line, so just between Ipoh and Padang Besar, it (now) costs 12 billion Ringgit, which represents a big loss of money,” added Mahathir.

Along with it, according to Mahathir, was a loss of independence in deciding what to build in our own territory.

“Then of course, they decided that the bridge to Singapore should be abandoned.

If my ideas are rejected, it’s okay.”/mD“First, they tried to negotiate with Singapore. I knew that negotiating with Singapore is a futile effort, but they wanted to negotiate with Singapore - and sure enough, Singapore was not cooperative.

“But the strange thing is that, they did not even build a bridge in our territorial waters. So I can’t understand this because I think that this means we are not fully independent. We can't do things in our own territory and many other things were stopped (apparently) because the government has no money” reiterated Mahathir.

Have the government gone broke?

“Actually the government have more money now than during the time I was Prime Minister.

“Petronas alone has contributed 2 or 3 times more to the government after I have stepped down than during the time when I was in the government.

“So the government in my time did not have much money but we managed to develop the country and we were not in debt, we did not have any deficit and the country, financially was strong enough even to deal with currencies crisis,” said Mahathir, who is also the adviser to the national oil company.

He thinks the government now is at fault for its change in policy direction.

“But now I'm told that there is a deficit and the deficits not due to my spending money. It is due to what happened later.

“So, it is unfortunate that the change of direction has sort of antagonised the people, or makes the people unhappy to the extent that they do not want to support the Barisan Nasional (National Coalition) anymore.

“Of course we still win but with very small majority,” said the former President of Umno, the party that leads Barisan Nasional.

http://www.malaysiandigest.com

MULTIRACIAL MALAYSIA

By Dr Mahathir Mohamad

1. Malaysia is a truly multiracial country. It is truly so because Malaysians retain their identification with their countries of origin.

2. Multiracial countries are almost never peaceful. More so if the races follow different religions, speak different languages and adhere to different cultures as in Malaysia.

3. But contrary to general expectations, Malaysia is relatively peaceful and stable. It is accordingly more prosperous than can be expected of countries which gained independence recently.

4. The reason for Malaysia’s peace and prosperity is because the people believe in sharing, sharing political power and economic wealth.

5. Unfortunately there are in this country people who wish to end this sharing concept. They see a possibility of dominating not just economic wealth but political power as well.

6. They dangle this bait before the Chinese in the 2013 elections. And this resulted in wholesale desertion of Chinese voters from the BN coalition to basically the DAP.

7. Fortunately the majority of Malays adhered to the sharing concept espoused by the BN. And so, despite this desertion the BN won, but won with a much thinner majority. The fact that the contribution to this victory is largely by Malays and other indigenous people reflects a rejection of the concept of inter-racial sharing by non-Malays.

8. I think the parties in the BN should be reminded that this is a multiracial country and it can only remain peaceful and prosperous if they uphold this ideal of sharing between the races.

9. The Malays must remember that they cannot rule and prosper this country on their own.

10. They need the dynamism and business skills of the Chinese. They need also the professional skills of the Indians.

11. The Chinese and Indians must also realise that they need Malay support if they wish to form a Government in Malaysia. And Malay support will not be forthcoming if the Chinese and Indians are not prepared to share and share fairly political power and economic wealth.

12. In multiracial Malaysia a strong Government is a necessity. We cannot afford a minority Government.

13. Having tried to stop sharing in the 2013 elections, those who deserted the BN should come back. They should return to the status quo ante.

14. Perhaps some adjustments should be made to the sharing formula. But there should be no threat, no holding others to ransom by any race. Any attempt to do so would kill the effort.

15. For more than 50 years the sharing formula brought development and prosperity to Malaysia. The whole world acknowledges this. The opposition will deny this of course but then the opposition needs to denounce all Malaysia’s achievements since they wish to have one dominant race enjoying political power and economic wealth. If they acknowledge the success of Malaysia there would be no ground for their existence.

16. But all others agreed that among the countries which gained independence after the war, Malaysia is the most peaceful, stable and prosperous. Its rate of growth is among the highest in the world. Even when its trading partners in Europe and America face regression, Malaysia is still growing.

17. Only the insane can think that Malaysia should have the kind of upheavals, demonstrations and the like that we see in the countries of the Middle East and elsewhere. Maybe we are not perfect but that is no reason why we should discard something that had largely delivered on its promise.

18. Political parties do not like to lose. But in Malaysia when the Government party lost, it had peacefully surrendered power. That this has not been seen at national level is the people’s will. But at state level it has given up power in six states. I believe it will give up power at national level if the people so wish.

19. But the will of the people must be expressed through elections, not through demonstrations or other means.

20. But they say the BN Government will cheat in elections. If it cheats it would not lose at State levels and it will not see opposition candidates win and take their places in Parliament at national level. But it has never happened that the opposition fail to win at all as happened in countries in which the Government cheats. We don’t have the 99 per cent victories for the ruling party in Malaysia.

21. 2014 will be a difficult year for Malaysia. We need stability in the country more than ever. The racially-based component parties in the BN should return to the sharing principle that had won them support for more than half a century. This will ensure stability. And with stability we can face all challenges and continue to grow the country.

http://chedet.cc

FLOODS

By Dr Mahathir Mohamad 

1. Every year the east coast states would suffer from floods, with loss of property and lives. In Kuala Lumpur and other cities and towns flash floods following heavy downpours occur regularly several times a year.

2. We accept these floods as a climatic feature of Malaysia, as something which must happen. It is God’s will. There is no way we can stop them. And so we make preparation for the victims – food and evacuation centers. We commiserate with those who lost their loved ones.

3. The architects of Malaysia are not satisfied with just repairing the damage by the floods. In particular they want to prevent motor vehicles parked in underground car parks from being “drowned” as water pours down and fills up the multi-storied underground parking lots.

4. So now they build six-storeyed car parks above the ground. The residences and hotels have their first floor seven storey above the ground.

5. The cars are saved from the flood waters. But the buildings look ugly especially when no attempt is made to decorate architecturally the bare openings around the car parks to the outside.

6. A better and more attractive design would be to maintain the underground car parks but with the first floor of the building, (lobby or entrance hall) raised to about 12 feet or more above the level of the street or the road.

7. The building’s first floor must be about 12 feet plus from the road level with concrete walls surrounding the space below the first floor extending down to surround the car park bellow the building. The space between the wall and the road can be filled with earth and grown with grass and flowering plants.

8. A ramp must be built from the road to the entrance of the building at the first floor. Another ramp must be built for the cars to drive down into the multi-storeyed car park below. The car park must be enclosed by solid walls and floor. There must be good lighting and security.

9. The road or street will become virtual drains during floods due to rain or tide. This will help the flood waters to drain quickly into the canals or rivers as soon as tide goes down or rain stops.

10. On the east coast where floods regularly occur during the monsoon rain, the simplest solution is to go back to building houses on stilts like the old Malay houses. The first floor of the houses must be above the highest flood water mark.

11. The stilts supporting the houses must be sturdy and buried deep in the ground. Concrete should be used.

12. Steps can be built leading up to the first floor as in the old Malay houses. A ramp can be built so that the cars can be driven up for to the first floor during floods. There should of course be an entrance to the house from the raised porch for the car.

13. Government spends quite a substantial amount of money for flood relief. By insisting that houses be built on stilts this money would be saved. Part of the savings can be used to subsidize the cost of the stilts at least initially. The house-owners or occupants too would save money.

14. Architects can design these stilts so as to look attractive. In fact a competition for new styles of houses on stilts should be held if this idea is accepted.

15. In Malaysia the only town which built houses including shop-houses high above the road is Beaufort in Sabah.

16. Incidentally I was born in a house on stilts. The first floor of my Seberang Perak house is 4½ ft above the ground. The land is very low and during springtide river water used to flood the ground under my house and around it by a few inches. It does not do so now because of dams upstream and a barrage downstream.

17. But the northern plains of Kedah get flooded after heavy rains in Southern Thailand and North Kedah. Still the flood waters never reached the raised floor of my Seberang Perak house.

18. When I built my own house in Titi Gajah, I decided to raise the ground by about 2 ft. A concrete wall 2 ft high was built round my land and it was filled with red earth.

19. The ground floor of the house was at a slightly higher lever, about 3 ft. I decided to build a basement about 1½ ft lower. The window of the basement was about 4 ft above the floor. Outside the basement I heaped up earth to a level just below the windows. The kitchen was also at the level of the basement.

20. During springtide tide flood waters did not get into my kitchen or basement. But during big floods water did get into the kitchen and basement but not high enough to damage the hot plates or refrigerator.

21. The new housing estates in Kedah are all built on existing ground level. Where the ground is high they are safe. But those built on the low land areas will get flooded.

22. If we don’t do something, every year thousands will have to be evacuated and a few will lose their lives. And lots of money would be wasted on food, evacuation and repairing flood damage.

http://chedet.cc/