PUTRAJAYA, 27 July 2009: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today announced the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the lead ministers for the six national key results areas (NKRA). He named Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the lead minister for widening access to quality and affordable education, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin […]
education
The language of equality
(Background pic by Sophokles; Queen Elizabeth I pic public domain. Source: Wiki commons) NOT surprisingly, the debate on the reversal of the English for Teaching Science and Mathematics (known by its Malay acronym PPSMI) policy is largely framed as a zero-sum choice between English and the so-called “mother tongue” languages. Many opponents of the reversal […]
Najib & Co. (Part 1)
“Give me a chance. I will reform and I will make changes.” Then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, speaking at a press conference at the Umno general assembly in April 2009, days before he was made prime minister. He said he was aware that some parties expected him to act in an authoritarian […]
My ideal politician
THE historian’s lament is that he or she is often witness to mistakes of the past, and yet is unable to prevent them from recurring. In the end, the historian is cursed with the Cassandra complex and accused of being a tiresome doomsayer. At the risk of being black-balled from dinner parties, I would like […]
PAS muktamar passes three resolutions
SHAH ALAM, 7 June 2009: The PAS muktamar debated and passed three resolutions on the economy, on judicial integrity and on education. The resolution on the economy called for the government to preserve the interests of Muslim bumiputera entrepreneurs. It declared PAS’s opposition to the liberalisation of 27 service subsectors and the abolishment of the […]
Knotted up over scholarships
“One of the most common questions is why some who scored, say 14As, were given the scholarships but some who got 19As, were not. The view is that the ministry should streamline the number of subjects…Why should you take up to 20 subjects?” Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when he […]
Spotlight on PSD grants
Corrected 7pm, 25 May 2009 (xlucas / sxc.hu)WE fight over the Public Service Department (PSD) overseas scholarship programme almost every year. It’s the same routine: once the recipients are announced, the media and political parties such as the MCA, MIC, Gerakan and DAP are overwhelmed with complaints that many SPM high achievers are left out. […]
“Wholesale revamp” of scholarship system needed
Azmi Sharom (right, making a point) and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad KUALA LUMPUR, 22 May 2009: A parliamentary roundtable meeting comprising opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), academics, and former Public Services Department (PSD) scholars have called for a “wholesale revamp” of the scholarship system. Among the resolutions adopted by the roundtable was the formation of […]
Tackling the Chinese vote
Fui K Soong THERE is consensus among political analysts that one year on after the 2008 general election, Chinese Malaysians by and large remain “entrenched” in their support for the opposition. Despite problems within Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and conflicting stands on issues like hudud law among its parties, some analysts think that the trenches of […]
Religious education for non-Muslim preschoolers?
KENINGAU, 7 May 2009: Nursery schools (tabika) under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry should introduce the subject of religion to their non-Muslim pupils. Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Tan Sri Joseph Kurup said the approach would be in line with the 1Malaysia concept mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. He said […]
