Aarvidi’s Weblog

http://aarvidi.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/jinxed-national-service-training/

17 people have died. In China, in a train accident, 70 people died, the Chief of the Railways, his assistant and a Communist Party leader were sacked. Here in Malaysia 17 people died, and Najib says, the program cannot be stopped as many parties are involved. It is a tall order to stop the National Service, what will the people do who provide the services. Commerce or death, you decide.

On NS deaths: Are you parents dead too?

Worried And Angry Malaysian Parent: I am totally shocked and dismayed to hear of yet again another tragic case of students becoming victims of National Service. I am flabbergasted and unhappy to see that even though numerous cases of trainees having perished, the authorities concerned do not seem to learn through their past mistakes. And all this at the tragic expense of our poor children who sacrificed their lives and who are at the mercy of the government and the ministries concerned.

I demand that the National Service, due to its failure in ensuring the safety and health of the trainees, be scrapped with immediate effect. The public, especially the worrying parents who sent their children to attend the camps, just have had enough of this scam.

The deputy prime minister - as head of the ministries overseeing the running of NS - ought to assume full responsibility and be accountable for the failure that has taken numerous lives. I therefore call for him to resign from his post as DPM for this shameful, deplorable and unforgivable act of negligence.

No amount of regret or apologies or pointing of fingers to his deputies will absolve the DPM from absolving himself of such responsibility.

NS deaths: Hold Najib accountable

Thank you sixty-four and still learning for your thoughtful letter. I don’t deny the Britisher’s approach that thought us something new, like the song you mentioned. Our knowledge was widened, and new thinks were learned. I appreciate this from an educational view.

But they stopped at this - or rather the teachers of that period, did not go further. There was no attempt to play one religion against another, what the child practiced was his privilege. But the present day teacher, is unable to understand that. There is this compulsion that one religion is superlative and the others are not just correct. When the students repeated the Lord’s prayer, or made the sign of the cross, or sang hymns; in actual fact in my school, the ones practicing Islam, they did not have to attend chapel held normally once in a week, it was just knowing something new, but it was never emphasised that this is it and others are not. See the difference.

The present day teachers, not all of them, are propagating religion, something that should be left to the religious gurus, they should teach all about Islam, its history, the goodness of the practice, but never attempt to influence the students. Knowledge gained on religion is good, but it is left to the individual to practice what he wants and not definitely by compulsion.

Sixty-four And Still Learning | May 12, 08 4:32pm

I refer to the letter National schools turning into Islamic schools.

I am sad that children should be compelled to take part in ceremonies alien to their home culture and beliefs and also sad that parents should think that it is somehow not a worthwhile learning experience when a child is put in a position to experience something new.

I went to mission schools and convent schools when Malaya was a British colony. I remember the Lord’s Prayer today and can say it without missing a single word.

We Muslim children had to attend catechism. The Sisters looked kindly on us when we made the sign of the cross at assembly and said the Lord’s Prayer.

We sang hymns when the Pope died and carols at Christmas. ‘The Lord is my shepherd’ is my favourite hymn and ‘Drummer Boy’ my favourite carol.

I have remained a Muslim and am a strong believer in freedom of worship in spite of the experience (or because of it - I am not sure which). I think we have become too fragile.

We worry too much about what might damage us that we forget that learning is all about exposure and developing an understanding of our experiences.

‘The Lord is my shepherd’ is my favourite hymn

I smelled a rat earlier when Khalid Ibrahim, was more concerned with Grand Saga then the people who elected him. He has got a very short memory. Read my post here. I agree to what the writer of this letter says. He is the Mentri Besar of an important state, Selangor, and he is prepared to overlook the lost files and documents removed or shredded by the Toyo government. This is clear indication that he is willing to compromise on the actions of the former government, by playing goody-goody. I wonder when he was the CEO of Guthrie, he would have allowed this nature of hanky panky.

It is good he is bring reminded on which side the bread is buttered and any co-operation with the other side can lead to suspect of his integrity and a member of PKR.

I voted for his party, and I got every right to tell him he is not pulling his weight, short of asking him to go.

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Barricade row: Pakatan state gov’t ‘weak’.

Ever since the beginning when Pakatan Rakyat under Khalid Ibrahim took over the reins of the Selangor government, there was already signs of a weak government.

Events until now have not dispelled those lingering doubts. Immediately after taking control of the government, there was strong compelling evidence that the previous administration was shredding important state documents which could have incriminated their administration and yet Khalid chose to ignore them with a nonchalant attitude as if it was of little importance.

That single act of omission has virtually deprived the rakyat of the opportunity to punish those perpetrators of their crime for which they were so eager to conceal and destroy.

When Penang’s chief minister announced their intention to abolish the NEP and replace it with one that is more equitable there was a deafening silence from the Selangor state government.

Either Khalid didn’t hear the announcement or he had totally forgotten about the Pakatan’s manifesto.

Khalid’s reluctance to prosecute those Umno leaders responsible for shredding those state documents is understandable. After all, he was once a blue-eyed boy of Umno who so happened to lose their favour sometime ago.

Fortune has been kind to him and now that he is in the driver’s seat, he is slowly remembering his old Umno roots.

As long as Selangor continues to be under the helm of Khalid, there will be little change from its previous Umno predeccessor. After all both Khalid and Mohd Khir Toyo came from the same Umno origin.

In the case of the Bandar Makhota Cheras barricade, the whole matter could have been expeditiously resolved if there was strong leadership.

Land in the state comes under state jurisdiction and if the incumbent government cannot even settle what is within their purview then Pakatan Rakyat is heading for a very short term.

Five years in politics is a very short time. If the Pakatan cannot reform the state governments like it promised, then maybe the rakyat will have to look for an alternative government.

Time for Khalid Ibrahim to go

Rip Van Winkle slept for 20 years after drinking a potion provided by some ghosts. MIC slept for 32 years not 20, and suddenly it becomes aware of the short comings pertaining to education. A dormant party becomes proactive. What a pity it had to drink this stupid drink provided by the master UMNO and slept through a lot of things that happened in Malaysia. Congratulations MIC, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge, your voice may not be heard by the ruling government as they treat this as a whisper in the wilderness a form of echo from nowhere. You should have done this while in a position to do so. Ever heard the expression strike the iron while it is hot. When it was hot you were sleeping!

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) — The MIC wants the government to scrap Remove Class for Tamil and Chinese school pupils as the classes are no longer relevant to the current school system.
In a letter to Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, the party urged the minister to take action to abolish the classes.
MIC information chief, Datuk M. Saravanan asked the minister to review the system based on feedback he received from the Indian community which claimed that remove class had become obsolete.
“We have to review the status of the remove class. We feel it has become redundant because Science and Maths are now being taught in English.
“The use of the national language is confined to language alone, and does not effect the performance of these students when it came to the study of the two important subjects.

MIC Wants Education Ministry To Review Remove Class System :: Bernama.com