KUCHING: Political analyst Datuk Peter Minos agreed with Education Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee’s remarks that the Malaysian education system is not at par with that of Singapore and Japan.
According to him, the economic progress and success of both Japan and Singapore far outstrip ours, and that has been due in large part to the education expertise and skills of their people.
“All of us know that our tiny neighbour Singapore has undergone a rapid modernisation and economic rise in the last 50 years, and we know how they educate their people in English with a great focus on science and technology and modern subjects like IT, innovation, creativity, and analytical thinking.
“Sorry to say, and from my own observation, many Malaysian university graduates cannot even write good letters in English, making mistakes all over.
“Many of them always say, “I do not know,” when asked about current affairs and issues in matters of life, as if their acquired knowledge is truly limited and they are unwilling to read and be aware of what real life is all about,” he said in a press statement today.
Elaborating, Minos said it is as if our education system has produced many university graduates who have very little thinking and analytical abilities.
“You can imagine when they work in the government and private sectors — lack of productivity and creativity.
“Is our educated group innovative, creative, and productive enough to have a net effect on our nation and our future?
“Our Malaysian education system badly needs an overhaul. We need to bring back English so that we really get involved and connected with the world and global knowledge as we are an open economy,” he stressed.
Minos also pointed out that Malaysians need to really focus on science and technology, IT, knowledge of innovation, creativity, productivity, and such, cutting down on subjects that are not educational or do not improve the skills and expertise of the young.
“Just to add and say that I have confidence in Sarawak in the field of education and skill-giving but not on the federal side.
“In Sarawak, we get English back to some extent. Yayasan Sarawak took over good foreign universities like Swinburne and Curtin, and that matters a lot,” he said.
He added that Yayasan Sarawak is doing a lot of things to get the education system updated and modernised, like setting up very good international schools and a skills centre with the intention of producing graduates who can think and analyse and who are both creative and productive.
“Yayasan Sarawak is doing very well and fine. We cannot rely on the federal side of education, which is pretty out of sync and outdated and too much controlled and manipulated by politics and politicians.
“Our future lies in many ways in the minds of skilled and properly educated youngsters. Yes, we do. They are in fact our future as captains of industries, as leaders and administrators, and so on,” he said.
