Dr S. Munirah Alatas and Adzhar Ibrahim: Malaysia’s Education System Has Failed Us, So What’s Next?

#education #philosophy #morality
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Dr S. Munirah Alatas and Adzhar Ibrahim: Malaysia’s Education System Has Failed Us, So What’s Next?
The Trust Deficit has never been wider where Malaysia’s education system is concerned. So where do parents and children turn to, to prepare them for a future that has never been more uncertain?
Independent scholar Dr S Munirah Alatas and ex-Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) Adzhar Ibrahim offer their thoughts on some possible ways forward, even as Malaysia’s politics and policies goes ever-further backwards.
(Many thanks to the Asia School of Business for their collaboration with The Do More Podcast, in whose studio this conversation was recorded. The Asia School of Business is a partnership between MIT's Sloan School of Management and Bank Negara Malaysia).
CONTENTS
00:02:42 - Introductions: Adzhar
00:05:05 - Introductions: Munirah
00:07:55 - What’s Going Well With Malaysian Education
00:10:45 - But What Does Education MEAN?
00:16:11 - The Politicisation of Malaysian Education
00:20:55 - Philosophy Has Disappeared: Is This Because Thinkers Are Inconvenient?
00:24:00 - Let’s Not Forget Eastern Philosophers Too!
00:24:55 - The Deterioration of Local Graduates
00:26:57 - The Leader That Adzhar Admired Most: Where Did He Learn Those Attributes?
00:28:31 - The Importance of Informal Education
00:31:34 - Life at Columbia University
00:32:45 - Corporatisation and University Rankings Have Jeopardised Malaysian Universities
00:36:28 - How Should New Parents Think About Educating Their Children?
00:42:00 - Can One Entirely Bypass School and University?
00:47:55 - Why Aren’t Parents Teaching Their Kids About Resilience, Humility, Independent Thought?
00:52:54 - You Can’t Expect the Government to Dispense Good Sense When it Does Not Itself Have Good Sense!
00:54:49 - How Do Young Parents Gain More Wisdom and Perspective Without Relying on an Inept Government
00:59:41 - How Adzhar’s Parents Helped Mould Him
01:01:46 - And for Munirah .. ?
01:07:57 - What Is a Successful Individual?
01:16:45 - Let’s Ditch Language Colonialism! Language is Wealth
01:20:09 - How is Malaysia Doing Overall?
01:22:41 - Are Malaysia’s Social Policies Here to Stay?
01:28:00 - Berdikari: Standing On One’s Own Two Feet
01:30:03 - The Most Unsustainable Thing About Malaysia Is .. (Hint: It’s Not the Environment)
01:31:30 - Change Will Come From Borneo
01:34:45 - Life’s Conclusions
FOLLOW MUNIRAH HERE:
LinkedIn: / s-munirah-alatas-ph-d-...
Columns on Free Malaysia Today (FMT): www.freemalaysiatoday.com/cat...
Columns at Aliran: m.aliran.com/author/s-munirah...
Research on Google Scholar: scholar.google.com/citations?...
FOLLOW ADZHAR HERE:
LinkedIn: / adzhar-ibrahim-6720bb14
Columns on Fee Malaysia Today (FMT): www.freemalaysiatoday.com/cat...
As a Speaker: www.hrexchangenetwork.com/eve...
Follow Chuang here:
URL: www.domore.my/
LinkedIn: / hsu-chuang-khoo-ab199343
FB: / khoo.chuang
IG: khoohsuchuang
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[@emiliismail8291]

a goldmine of a podcast. thank you so much for talking about this. I also learn something new. Difference between education and training. Also, now with the rise of AI, it is ever more important to relook back the meaning of education and fundamentally understand the essence of humanity in our education in all level. Actually, as parents also, we shouldn't be always hung up on our kids need to be this and that so that they will get earn money.

[@joycelohkuching7686]

These professional views are so valuable. Keep speaking the truth

[@santoksingh5193]

Tens of thousands fully support your views.private schools,smart schools and other institutions of learning are proof of that. Need we say more?

[@semuasng4753]

@@santoksingh5193 Millions of indian refugees and chinese refugees have their own schools. Get them to move back to india or move on to canada indian friendly country. Canada is big enough.

[@FirdausIsmail1]

these are brilliant people. i could listen them talk for hours. powerful stuff

[@francisliew2801]

I could talk for hours about nothing too. You don't have enough info to break down their argument

[@MrMossie123]

Great podcast. May their voices of the two panel continue to be strong and resonate. Malaysia must get away from race based politics. Only then, will the education system follow in reforms.

[@RamanRainoo-yk2xt]

I hope more of our citizens and people in general will listen to talks like this. You can’t get this from any school or even in University.❤

[@jemiliahrouse5287]

Mj

[@hendryalphonso]

Mahatir is to be blamed for the state of our education system.

[@chuageokseng2168]

He@99 screwed up by switching from English medium schools to Sekolah Kebangsaan using BM as medium of instruction. Quota is another contributing factor schools can't delivered good results. Quota is basically a political tool to oppress our educational standard. We should think to let go.

[@MWWWWWWWWWMWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWM]

他以后的首相不改革也必须谴责

[@KHAIRUDDINSHAFEI-rs3rj]

I think you dont know much of Mahathir....you are making a blunt statement... Malaysia became a asean tigers....world respect malaysian during his time...especially in the UN....he introduce teaching of math n science in English.....thinking that you cant excess tons of knowledge in the library without acquaring good in english...

[@suel34]

​@@KHAIRUDDINSHAFEI-rs3rj Tun M only introduced Maths n Science in English much later. By then damage was already done.

[@chuageokseng2168]

@@KHAIRUDDINSHAFEI-rs3rj Ask the former ship captain@99 of Wawasan 2020® on a long voyage of 30 years on high sea about the estimated time of arrival (EA) at Port Klang. Rakyat are waiting to receive good news.

[@pohkimng6033]

Adzhar n Munirah , you are just what Malaysia needs- intelligent n educated people who are not afraid of speaking out. I wish more people would tune into this podcast n realise where Malaysia is heading to if there is no political will nor anyone brave enough to risk speaking the truth. You were both spot on about Sarawak n Sabah who is our hope of embracing diversity better that the people here in the Peninsula.

[@user-hb3ql4sb4d]

Politicians wants critical thinkers that don't ask questions

[@chuageokseng2168]

In Borneo the air is fresh free of 3R toxic politics. While in Malaya the air is polluted of 3R toxic politics. See the difference.

[@nadaiduit]

Government is not the solution to the problem. Government is the problem.

[@chuageokseng2168]

Brunei too.

[@semuasng4753]

@@nadaiduit tamil azhar ibrahim hankering for good ole english india

[@kwanhuinng4861]

Thanks for the interview with these two brilliant Malaysia

[@beranihati2008]

Dont expect 3rd class politicians to deliver 1st class education policies.

[@jukhoman9]

it’s a vicious cycle. 3rd class politicians were 3rd class students/graduates/workers before they join politics

[@syedputra5955]

The politicians want to dumb us to their standards.

[@wk3960]

When they can coerce you into getting multi dose of AstraZeneka.. What do you expect

[@wk3960]

Not forgetting 3rd class teachers, educators and professors kangkung

[@yvvonelee5026]

It was the intention from the beginning. a Malay Prince once said, why teach them to fish, when they were very happy to receive free fishes.

[@khooboobeng3234]

Dr. Munirah and Adzaha is a great speaker. Education is important beside just obtaining degrees. BOTH ARE WELL EDUCATED.

[@chuageokseng2168]

Apply Quota on higher education at the expense of Meritocracy is unwise decision.

[@semuasng4753]

@@chuageokseng2168 You are smart chinese. We must stop china brain drain of smart people. It's people like you Xi is looking for.

[@rrtrent892]

Chuan.. this is a valuable discussion. And we need to keep this discussion alive. It needs to continue further in future podcasts. I am keen to participate in future discussions. We are not evolving . Our neighbours south of Singapore are taking affirmative action in their system through the Merdeka Belajar initiative from Kampus Merdeka. I am happy to participate in a discussion.

[@Seramics]

We must understand, that if the people of Msia is smart n well educated, who is gonna vote in the corrupted dumb politician who has to make a living with 3R? These politicians has no other game, how else are they gonna make their billions dollars income? Their only game is corruption n 3R. Its not like they can actually build the country n make this a dynamic and successful country like SG or Norway. So its very important to keep the people stupid. And education is one of the main ways to do it.

[@kimilo7439]

Discontinue the quota system and our education system will become competent~ the problem now is mostly low quality of students and generous failure system allowed causing mostly so-so quality of graduate or teachers/ manpower in Malaysia

[@sharon339]

Someone once told me that to keep citizens subservient, you must keep them under educated/stupid/ignorant or fearful.

[@user-cl3ke3gy2f]

planet of the apes where monkeys spoke n humans r mute

[@wk3960]

Absolutely correct

[@veerakartik7986]

I agree 💯

[@user-gr8wd]

Spot on! It is all about control.

[@zulkiflymdsaid6661]

Yes, umno the biggest culprit...

[@Philatherapist]

Learn from your neighbour’s education system and if there are something worthy to be picked, don’t be too ashamed to use it and make adjustments to our own needs. Dr Munirah’s 18 years living and exposure to the Singapore education system could be the basics of her balanced view and for the policy makers not tapping her experience and expertise is anybody’s guess.Education per se has not failed us but the system is and our current education system which are seeing very little changes will continue to produce graduates with distorted world views, weak moral values and lacking thinking skills.

[@kooisengchng5283]

What has these 2 done for the country?. With the time spent overseas the experiences have not filtered into the policy making bodies of the govt. Not only these 2 but a few hundred of mainly Malays who have spent years overseas and in excellent institutions of higher learning to boot. But none of their experiences have permeated into the govt. So who is to blame?

[@sctckuan5638]

Answer this please

[@dtang3288]

Blame the government's racist, apartheid and harmful policies. Blame also the 3rd class and corrupt politicians running the country.

[@masterseries4004]

​​@@dtang3288correctly targeted base on your comment here. How could you or Malaysian should rectify it on education system ?

[@user-hb3ql4sb4d]

Unqualified politicians are making the rules for qualified professionals

[@santoksingh5193]

Well said. Politicians had their agendas. Their own children studied overseas and returned with English educational qualifications. The same led the nation promoting you know what! It’s like the saying “ Do what I tell you. Don’t do what I did”

[@teeteeang289]

Who to blame, it's us, the voters

[@ushamenon6975]

Politiciand being qualified alone is not enough...they need to have the foresight , learn to upgrade the system regularly, draw comparisons with the advanced countries.. so on and so forth

[@Seramics]

Politician livelihood comes first.

[@jennypenny7243]

The world we have today in Malaysia is created by the generation before, instead of blaming today's generation for lacking values, lacking attention, the baby boomer generation needs to look inwards. The younger generation didnt destroy education quality in Malaysia, the generation before did.

[@masterseries4004]

@jennypenny, generation Before, Do u referring to Tun M in power and change the education system by language (UMNO in charge everything) and quotas system in public universities.I believe no Right person in positions to handle the educations system.Now new generation what should we rectify the system in order we Malaysian could stand equally in world standard.

[@lilywong7384]

The education in Malaysia has deteriorated since independence. We should have continued with English as the medium of instruction. We should have continued to teach Maths, Science, Physics, Biology, Chemistry etc in English & not in Bahasa Malaysia.

[@user-ln5pi6zp2t]

The main problem is Malaysia got rid of meritocracy in the education system.

[@chongyeeyap9586]

Poor Mahatir didn't know the difference between Education and literacy ! He sought to make Malays literate in Malay and being their mother tongue the Malays would have a natural lead on the non-Malays and that was valid for a while until the non-Malays caught up. However that policy spell the unforeseen disaster that has plagued Malaysia even until now. Man was not born with knowledge; it has to be learned from history recorded in books written by those who have acquired expertise in that area of knowledge. The British left us with English as a learning tool but Mahatir scraped English as a medium of learning; hence Malay replaced English. How will you acquire knowledge in science, maths, engineering ( now called collectively as STEM.) When the People's Republic of China was founded in 1947 under Mao, China had only 3%literacy but today's China has a literacy of 98% highest in the world . China graduates 5,000.000 STEM graduates per year; this is the reason has surpassed America as Number 1 since 2004 measured in PPP terms. Malay is not and cannot be a language of technical learning because their are very sparse technical books written. Sorry to say, but Malaysia can never catch to the nations at the top ! Never !

[@antylvnglawvsxylanthrophia1499]

Job opportunities?

[@muhd7144]

Sad fact : In 1969 it was suddenly, out of the blue, announced that by the following year 1970 all English medium schools in Malaysia would be abolished and replaced by Malay medium sekolah kebangsaan that we have today. Just like that - no white paper, no invitation for comments from vested interests (parents, teachers, NGOs, etc), no debate in Parliament (because Parliament then was suspended in the wake of 13 May 1969 tragedy) - no nothing. So pupils who started in Standard 1/Darjah 1 in 1970 began to be taught in Malay. The rest is tragic history for the country. Who made the announcement? It was a Sarawakian Melanau Abd Rahman Yakub (uncle of Taib Mahmud) then the Minister of Education.

[@muhd7144]

​@@chongyeeyap9586Mahathir has his fair of "contributions" to Malaysia : allegedly starting cronyism, reducing independence of judiciary...but not substituting use of English with Malay. That "distinction" went to a Sarawakian - see my previous comment.

[@oneworld2724]

Federal education system failed us? Then what option, autonomy to states so each state can plan differently to cater the needs of the states. Sarawak already voiced up maybe other state will do the same.

[@semuasng4753]

anag jo afraid to leave the Malay States.

[@howyuanlok15]

Universities, esp. private ones, has move away from education for the nurturing of mind (thinker - philosophical & aesthetical), but rather training for jobs market (production). Universities have become industrial plants producing trained workers to fill-up the job market.

[@shlee3120]

Had my education before rise of Mahathir.served us who were migrant workers of 1970,well.no problem with communication nor studies in UK! Broad knowledge of history, geography, literature.Guides in Europe amazed at our knowledge of Parthenon,greek, Roman civilisation.ancient civilisations! I felt so blessed for that education system then.🙏🙏👍👍😊

[@Seramics]

Thanks to Mahathir. The country is more stupid today. Long live the Msian decline.

[@aaronselvam6729]

Thank you Munirah and Adzhar for sharing your wisdom, a very refreshing perspective on education and subsequently life

[@gysiew4063]

No politics in education policy, practice meritocracy for advancement of the nation to compete in the modern era

[@chuageokseng2168]

1st thing 1st, remove Quota on higher education followed by inserting Meritocracy into place. How it works actually ?

[@navinnathan7015]

Education starts from home.

[@jamilatanbinselamathardajo2626]

Exactly ......for the most us .....Islamic education .....

[@santoksingh5193]

We demand freedom of choice. It is every citizen’s DEMOCRACTIC RIGHT.

[@syedputra5955]

Our huge budget on education which the gomen keep Boasting about goes to school work book publishers. And sending huge numbers of gomen scholars abroad. Very little money are spent maintaining and improving local schools as we can see its Dilapidated state. And no student in teachers university in tg malim failed to graduate as to maintain chancellors KPI. All passed. Any failures, Lecturers will be questioned and penalised. So those with dismsl results still gets to teach our students.

[@knsamy6827]

A very enriching experience listening to these personalities. Positive outlook although our education system is currently in a mess! We hope something happens, and a national leadership that has the political will to revamp the whole system emerges ! Hoping against hope!

[@saohmarong2240]

A very good and very useful podcast for future malaysian education.Malaysia education is of poor quality compare to neighbour Singapore.Very sickening.

[@Philatherapist]

Education has turned into a business to such an extent that a corporation with a core in plantation, development and even gambling jumped into the the foray with the setting up of private universities or university collages. The booming business of such private institutions are in response to the setting up of public universities,vocational collages in many states of the country. The best description that can be given to the private or public universities is the ‘feeling good’ to those connected to the institutions such as the administrator,lecturers and students but the quality is another matter altogether.

[@steventham2435]

Wonderful and Great podcast. Indeed our Malaysia Education System has gone down and Jeopardize by interference of Politicians and Religions. We had lost the Truth Value of Education, Wisdom, Compassion , Multiracial Harmony Country. Hope and Pray for Better future of Malaysia.🙏🏻🙏🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏿 Tq Chuan,Dr Munirah and Adzaha.

[@pakhoe888]

Try considering applying meritocracy in our education system. Not a big leap, but a start.

[@user-cl3ke3gy2f]

education is not merit 2 different things

[@pakhoe888]

@@user-cl3ke3gy2f Thank you for proving my point, you get to go to university when you get the grades, not because of your race, that is meritocracy. 🤣

[@user-cl3ke3gy2f]

@@pakhoe888 race n meritocray r 2 differnt things ...again

[@chuageokseng2168]

Meritocracy level 1.

[@heyyou-hk7tq]

as a general principle, yes. but Meritocracy in primary education is not a fair game because it ignores disparities in socioeconomic status, access to quality education, cultural capital, systemic biases, and health, which affect students' opportunities and outcomes. I believe quotas should exist, but they should be based on social status rather than race or religion.

[@turgonmiyantur5974]

Thank you so much for this session. Its extremely insightful for everyone, actually. Thank you sir and madam! Your points are so relevant and rings a bell. Being an Gen X-ers, with both corporate and higher education experiences, I can relate! Philosophy is what I questioned in my brain when I started to network with Professors and brilliant minds from Europe. A huge eye and brain opener! Literature is another thing that was abandoned, somehow... Also, with so many external factors re-shaping what education is supposed to mean for its community and the society, a lot of blind eyes and incompetencies (probably not intended) became the hurdles for more thinking, extending (knowledge) and the appreciation of concepts and its underlying thinking processes and learning epistemologies. Yeah, the new Generation particular the Y-ers, and Z-ers, and as Alpha-ers are incoming, hopefully those who have good heart and deep mind continue to inspire, motivate and influence the convergence of technologies (particularly, AI and online/virtual channels, social media? hmm...) with the nature of good education with ethics and pathos, as well as the logos (language) of learning and skill acquisition. Again, thank you so much for this session. Hope this reaches a lot of audience. And to the host, I thought I've seen you in some travel channels? haha... anyway, thank you. Appreciate this a lot.

[@marcuschan9009]

Thank you Dr Munirah & Adzhar Ib for your invaluable sharing. I have learnt so much from your persepective.

[@user-cl3ke3gy2f]

leaders failed us... the system of MALAY as principal medium failed n is still failing...n will not change...unlike thailand n indonesia n japan

[@skanthaadsigns]

From the 2nd PM to 4th PM - they have watered down the Quality of our Education from Primary to Tertiary - Many have Certs but can't deliver Performance. For a nation that depends on Export, 40% of Export are Semi Conductors alone....our Private Sector is at a loss and have no choice to take in Foreign Expats for RM5000 above salaries. Then came Bersatu & PN, further degraded Education by removing Form 3 evaluations, and we will be churning "i don't what" student in the near future. Learn from Brunai & Singapore - no need to go far. The 3 countries all inherited the British Education System. They Improved it with the same system, we, well- its history.

[@Seramics]

We must understand, that if the people of Msia is smart n well educated, who is gonna vote in the corrupted dumb politician who has to make a living with 3R? These politicians has no other game, how else are they gonna make their billions dollars income? Their only game is corruption n 3R. Its not like they can actually build the country n make this a dynamic and successful country like SG or Norway. So its very important to keep the people stupid. And education is one of the main ways to do it.

[@wanafiqaznan]

This is the kind of content that we need. Kudos!

[@ariffinsalim2999]

I don't think our education system has failed. If it had failed, then how come we have people like in our panel 😊. Education should be viewed as a life long endeavour as we are living in a changing world. Also, we were a colony in the past & we have had to unlearn all the BS that our colonisers forced on us. We should all be at least, be happy that our education system enabled us to read, write & count. The rest is really up to us individually.

[@MrGuit12]

The long and slippery road downhill was paved waaaay back in 1970. Bravo.

[@pangalvin3658]

Like the conversation alot. I really hope that there will be more people that can see through all these duming of society. Keep up the good job.

[@bensgoodeats1493]

Don’t keep focussing on attracting investments but pay attention to education

[@vivienchong4832]

Easily the best podcast I have watched in a long long time!

[@martinbalasingam8526]

We. Must. Pay Attention. To , this two well educated n brilliant Malaysian. Our. Cabinet. Must give a. good hearing. to this proposal all. the best Malaysian

[@KarunanithiNramachandran-qw8xi]

The politicians are smart , keep the rakyat stupid as it is easier to control them and the rakyat are stupid to let it happen .

[@lunastarr1925]

as a Muslim, i made a choice of ot comparing myself to anybody....but i look up on those who have a positive and quality life..... i've nvr allowed myself to be a racist....or enslaving yself to brands or to be at par with the Jones'....even if i had the financial ability to be with them....i wld nvr want to emulate them...lavishing in excessive burdensome life style... as a teacher....i always make sure to be better and better....

[@premameha7057]

So much of what has been addressed in this discussion is true about the reality of the parents of children today - the parents need to be INVOLVED and be present in their children's education. Parents of yester-years may not have been as highly educated as most of us are today but they were very much involved in the progress of the child's education - like talking to their teachers and checking with the child upon return from school .... everryyy day ..... simple habits such as this need to be brought back to practice today.... it obviously has proven itself effective ..... it's also true about POLITICS IN MALAYSIA - needs a COMPLETE CHANGE not a reform - the OLD HAGS need to be 'abolished' seriously!!

[@rachelwan90]

I stumbled upon your podcast today. I enjoyed it but I do share the same sentiments as Dr Munirah: I'm quite pessimistic about Malaysian's education system as a whole. But heck, I enjoyed my secondary life in national schools. I learn how to... ahem... take risk: ponteng class, hide contraband, and had a lot of fun. We have both good and bad teachers, but I was really happy with the experience.

[@joeyh3167]

I also hail from Sekolah Kebangsaan, both Rendah and Menengah, and I never ponteng class; many of my friends also didn't. It depends on who you are friends with or your own conscience. There were some who did that and some who did not, so ask for those who did, is it an education system fault? Otherwise, how come there are students who can obey the rules, never fail, study hard, and excel in their studies? You mentioned bad and good teachers; remember, students also have good and bad as well. If you choose to be bad, then it's your own fault because I am very sure the school did not teach you to be bad . Don't blame the school or the government. School and government can never help you if you don't want to help yourself first.

[@rachelwan90]

@@joeyh3167 I was a very good student and did well. But I still find legals ways to ponteng class because Sejarah was sooo boring and I could memorise the whole book without needing to attend class. I'm no goody goody but whatever I did I never intend to cause harm. I was just bored. Every time I attend a boring class I'll just doze off. Judge me all you want but I'm glad I was a little bit of a risk taker. You really need to be a bit gutsy in the real world.

[@chandrikavempati5601]

Wonderful podcast. I have learnt a lot more. Thank you.❤

[@hafidzkhalid5228]

Good talk and simply love both the speakers for highlighting the actual problems as they are. Social consciousness of humanism are ingrained and a natural quality. It is the purpose of life that causes the present circumstances....

[@keeseong2980]

I am going to add my 2 cent's worth. First let me say saya adalah anak Malaysia tapi sekarang warga negera Amerika Syarikat. I am old, non-bumi, graduated from UM 1975. Ungku Aziz was the VC then. I want to thank Malaysia for my education but that was when they started to really politicize the system to what it is today. I want to thank the educators who emphasized on Math, Science and engineering. Yes, we need to have an awareness of self, social justice and interaction, philosophy, history and all that but that is the life journey, not formal education. Formal education is too short for that. After graduating from MU, I traveled the world with no money, just my guitar. My children are doing very well here now because they were not distracted by the other stuff which they call education here.

[@rrtrent892]

Your 2 Cents worth of thought are well acknowledged. As you have said as well as what's been said in the podcasts, Education is not just about formal but mainly the informal. I have had arguments with many here in Malaysia on the informal part but they tend to be Pessimistic and think it doesn't put food on the table and only privileged to the Elites. Through advancements in technology we have an overload of information that can transcend into Knowledge but many choose the easy way out and just looping around the Social Media space as their form of "Learning" which lack the width and depth about the way the world works. I feel sorry, disappointed and sad that the Malaysians continue to be down in the Sea of ignorance as well as Knowledge Arrogance.

[@keeseong2980]

@@rrtrent892 You cannot educate common sense, curiosity, social and personal character. Let me give you an example. History. Who writes history and what do the books tell you? That Columbus discover America and Francis Light discovered Penang? We need to read books but we must also learn to be discreet about what we read. That cannot be taught. The only thing we learn in school that is true is Science, Math and languages. Yes, you need to know what is going on in the world but that is not the job of education.

[@selvarajan4331]

Very interesting 2 cent worth of thought Kee Seong... 👍

[@ali-zuhaaqayla1amanalidera698]

Interesting comments from panel and podcaster.. however I failed to grab what made them conclude that the Malaysian Edu System has failed

[@nadiajr1500]

It's very clear throughout the podcast. In a brief summary, our education system has dumbed down our population so that the authorities can control the people - in order to gain votes. In one word: neo-colonialism.

[@selvarajan4331]

Very interesting discussion and ideas from wise people...thanks 👍

[@melanielawrence4320]

Love this podcast, learn more insights from guests. Thankful to hear their views about education as this served reminder to myself and life reflection.

[@amiadam522]

Why not students are allowed to learn STEM subjects in their own mother-tongue? Hopefully this will give more chance to them to explore more of these subjects and develop better understanding and more passionate in learning them. When they have passion into these subjects, they would make their own way in learning them in English throughout their learning curve.

[@jsong3005]

Kudos to the 2 guest speakers!

[@sezmihusayn4426]

basic education is to connect young kids to nature, create sylibus where they learn every type of plants,herbs,and their useful treatment, and sylibus where they can discuss what is common sense,showing them example of event and ask their feedback,on how to response if encounter any accident,who should they calling for,whats the step to handle emergency...so that young kids theyr more concious to ensure their surrounding safe,we will create generation more empathic towards how their action impact others...and why compassion,empathy,conscience, is crucial to have earlier.

[@santoksingh5193]

Are Malaysians aware that accountancy is taught completely in English in certain colleges. The students complete their final year overseas in English of course. What is good for the goose is not good for the gander. Malaysia Boleh?

[@wendyrodrigues2163]

I doubt if the people who desperately need to know that their children’s education is crap - are the ones tuning into this podcast. Let alone, can understand it’s contents. Pity because this is the mass majority that is the product of the crappy system - the closed-minded, the tunnel-visioned and the easily-offended ones who think a selective boycott without deep thought is heroic. And then look at the current crop of half-baked MPs who are more concerned about their power game more than anything. This country is sinking and the education system is the boulder that’s taking us down.

[@desmondchai5296]

Very insightful dialogue. Would love to see Prof. Dr. Mohd. Tajuddin to discuss the similar matter.

[@paramaSaravanan]

fantastic discussion

[@afinabuilders8619]

Very interesting discussion. Our politicians are the trouble makers.

[@Gane367]

excellent conversation and touched on all the pain points in Msia

[@GreyLooney111]

Absolutely. The education gained when thrown out there to get the qualification is priceless. Self discipline. Self management. Stress management. Time management. Setting priorities. These are part of the knowledge learnt. Important life skills for success in life.

[@newtonianartist7088]

A thing i would like to add towards Dr. Munirah's statement saying parent of the day is outsourcing the burden of teaching their kids to the school. Not quite the whole picture, the parent only think that they are outsourcing the teaching but in reality they too take part in their kids education be it non-counsiously. So we have kids that learn how to "act" from the schooling they get, and what to "do" from their parents. If you think about it this way, no wonder our river is still as polluted 10 years ago as compared to today.

[@rrtrent892]

@Chuang you know what would be interesting? Now that you have had these 2 individuals on your podcast, it would be ideal if the next discussion on this subject that you can bring in regular day to day individuals or professional to have them share their views. I am more than happy to participate. Our podcasts need to be more inclusive of regular Malaysians and not just the selected few from Corporate or Public sectors.

[@user-hb3ql4sb4d]

Politicians wants critical thinkers that don't ask questions

[@rrtrent892]

After reading and analysing all the comments here (I am not the Channel owner by the way), we can see a mix of Optimism as well as Pessimism. And the dominant Pessimism is quite understandable especially among certain ethnic groups as well as generation gaps and levels. But here's some Pragmatism added in to the discussion (and I know I am going to get caned by the Pessimists in this comment trail). The Pessimism has developed over decades due to the failure of the system being driven by Governments and political landscapes of the past. Now for the past 18 months we have witness a change in government. And this government is seen as being honest in trying to steer the country towards a new direction. But if we continue with our dominant Pessimistic narratives then we can only dream that change will happen. Many of us here are parents and if you can drive in some Optimism and hope into your children as well as into the younger generation then we'll see more hope for change while the current government tries their level to accelerate that change. There needs to be a drive from Top Down and Bottom Up both at the same time to bring both sides of society to meet halfway and from there drive it upwards. If we are all just going to sit and wait for government to come up with everything (hence the natural built in handout mentality) then we are just going the be left behind while our other neighbours (Indonesia, Vietnam etc) move far ahead. We also need to get over the "Singapore Hangover" because Singapore is a class of its own but there definitely a lot we can learn from them. Give it time and work from both sides then what we want to achieve will happen. We need to keep an Open Mind to education and it also doesn't mean that Education is only for the young and for the students. It is for all of us. As such the learning should never stop. But we can stop being Pessimistic and have some Hope even without Optimism. Because to give up on Hope is a Mortal Sin. And to be frank, I never went to University so I don't have a PHD, Masters or Bachelors with Honours. I just had Technical education and just have a curiosity and open mindedness to learning.

[@le_hardi6984]

In Europe, we often think that Asia is the rising civilization and that the West is dead... Your conversation is very interesting. I have the feeling that Malaysia's problems are not as serious as those we have in Europe, in France where I live, for example.

[@lynx141]

Really. What sort of problems do you have? Just curious.

[@heloisez5235]

@@lynx141migrant problem that’s one of them I suppose

[@wangsweikien341]

Asian always think western education is always the best.

[@chandrikavempati5601]

Yes, slow and steady wins the race. Parents play a big part in motivating and teaching the right values in children.

[@rrtrent892]

By the way if none of us here know it. UKM has just launched their first overseas Campus in Doha, Qatar yesterday. So all is not lost with our Institutions.

[@Tube152525]

For a start, education should groom a populace to discern what’s right, and what’s wrong, and what’s the slurry of both. Not to give into the antics of certain quarters and shun bigotry.

[@wk3960]

Dangerous... Those in power now would lose their power

[@kskhew3377]

Long story short: - most people are in love with qualifications, not education. - there are two types of education; one provides relevant, practicable information while the other, mental/philosophical/spiritual nourishment.

[@soosainathan1753]

Unfortunately the education system is not going to change. The response would be that pondok schools have produced better results than the national schools.

[@rrtrent892]

If you could all watch the 2 youtube that I have shared from the Indonesian space one has to realise that they are moving pass us and will be ahead of us if we continue on this Simplistic path of how we view or comment on these issues. Gone are the days where we view Indonesians as labourers or domestic helpers. They are moving and moving fast while we are left in our Dreamland of Ignorance or “Kedunguan” just because we can all speak English better than them. And going just on STEM subjects isn’t going to provide the intellectual space to solve all the problems we have and we shouldn’t ignore subjects of the Humanities like what some of us are heavily criticising on.

[@lynx141]

Everyone is moving ahead of us.

[@F3arlessWarriorMindset]

If it’s up to Education officials, this KZbin video would have to be delivered in Bahasa. That’s the single most critical factor for education in Malaysia, everything else is secondary and negotiable 🥳

[@chandrikavempati5601]

Moral values begin from Home.We watch our parents, and we are taught moral values and ethics by them.

[@harry1975ist]

Talking abt education system in Malaysia ..pls look at our politician and minister first.....do you think they have that standards ????...its a big question mark !!!!!!

[@arajananbittapu8204]

We have one of the best education system in the world. It was implemented by our X education minister later the PM.

[@aimanzahry]

Homes provide moral guidance. Schools provide cultural guidance. Infrastructure can empower children and their respective guides. Ive always believe that the right and adaptable infrastructure unlocks values. Our issues simmers around an outdated infrastructure, hoping its product will produce the change. Imagine coming home from a 9 to 5 experience, and sharing it over dinner at home.

[@hdufhbnjgr5491]

22:30 Agreed on teacher education,the quality of teacher ,lecturer issue is what i personally experienced ..I mean the quality of delivering lesson to students are what i see hugely lacking...Among others are syllabus, the effective time span needed in a semester to completed a course.. These are details that most of educator overlook and failed to address in details including the guess in this videos...Most people are touching it only on the surface level and not elobrating it in more details where is the problem and what specific solution needed to tackle it. Our education system are based on memorization and forcefully absorb without understanding it in practical how to used implemented it in real life... just appear good on paper and have good grades and that's it...hence why i think why young generation are turned off with education and opted for other activities like basikal lajak said in the video

[@RUHappyATM]

Not everyone can become successful digital nomads. Plus, society needs more than digital nomads. Engineers, doctors, nurses, accountants etc.

[@amberosjarade4482]

The two brilliant msians. I see 3 of you are all assest to us.

[@lowchenglong6331]

Malaysia’s education policy seems to be designed only for the Malay ethnic group, with other races playing supporting roles. Non-Malay students with good grades cannot get into university or their preferred majors despite being squeezed in.

[@wangsweikien341]

yes, while bumi can be recruited into Uni via matriculation and non bumi has to sit for STPM which is much more difficult then matriculation exam. non bumi parent no choice but send their children to private college, this become the burden for all non bumi parent.

[@lynsie186]

👏👏

[@badariahali654]

The best time and great achievement for malaysia education is during 19 seventish until 2003 where the education system is systemstic and the curriculum flow is smooth and pupils are independent but todays one of the weakness in education system is the interference of parents to the education system

[@makemeaningfulwork]

Brilliant interview. With all due respect, New York is no longer one of the greatest cities in the world.

[@elsieyong2139]

It was durlng her time, wasn't it?

[@makemeaningfulwork]

@@elsieyong2139 what does that mean?

[@zephyrzee9491]

"If a man's wit be a wandering, let him study the mathematics." (Sir Francis Bacon) If you are comfortable with mathematics, you can deal with humanities, philosophy, the classics, jurisprudence, etc. informally. Informal education starts after you get a job and the stress of exams is a long gone.

[@tuckloe5108]

Berdirikari….Ask not what the country can do for you but what you can do for your country & go “ Make yourself useful”.

[@tuckloe5108]

Yeah, get educated by listening to intelligent podcasts, that is the way to go. Podcasts by common sense people. Let children play with their peers to acquire social skills and know from what is right or what is wrong & learn from others about moral compass. Music & movies & comics will also help.

[@bobolee8531]

No sure Pisa survey how it go ..but they rated Vn education overpass msia in the ranking , raised my question as im a malaysian based in HCM vn for 5 yrs and kid study in public school in vn ..i sure it still a big gap in education esp language wise . anyway sure msia gonna improved and review the education but im sure we are not that bad .

[@hookkimhin7097]

Honestly EDUCATION does not fail us. It is us who have failed our education. I think we should take degree in Mindset,Attitude and Thinking Skills.

[@chandrikavempati5601]

Agreed, I am not a supporter of Home schooling, for the same reasons as mentioned by En.Adzhar Ibrahim.

[@vawan9160]

Holistic, Life-long education. The idea mentioned that education is used for training rather than educating is correct. Critical thinking is a skill that has to be developed and is not innate. 4 kids? Mainly one particular race, sometimes even up to 6 (one year difference onky). The Chinese have at most 1 or 2 - many even none. Capitalism plays a core role in educational psychology worldwide. This is the underlying issue causing the decay in education and society even. It's a cultural and philosophical issue. Another suggestion is that panel should have included a TEACHER. I'm a retired 66yo teacher (maths, chem, bio) from the private sector.

[@garyliu6589]

One thing for sure...you cannot depend on govt to make changes...

[@samuelashton2987]

Education and Qualification is two different things-the day we took out English and changed our textbooks to B Malaysia we messed up the education system Why did we end up with corrupt Prime Ministers and Politicians Why Tunku-- Razak-- Hussien Onn did not steal public money--- simple they had good moral values and Religious principles they lived as God fearing man--❤

[@user-kc8nt1kf7r]

Malaysian Education System has not failed. Just like anything in this world ..there are weakness. We just need to address these weaknesses, tweak it....etc. You dont have to get rid of it. We have students who after undergoing this system can be accepted around the world either in higher degree or work placement. We cannot make any form of sweeping statements as we wish.

[@user-cl3ke3gy2f]

america has NO weakness ... red indians died off ; england conquared usa n english remained 2 this days.... migrants 2 usa earned n spoke english.....

[@wk3960]

😂😂😂

[@steveleeshag5786]

How can a blind man lead another blind man?

[@abdullatiffabdulmubbin3151]

Some are true but you sometimes show your naivety in purpose of life but thank you for sharing mates

[@user-jy8bc8tx8f]

teaching is now an "escapism job" for the many graduates out there...i wonder if the g4aduate teachers took an entry exam into the teaching profession based on Singapore/Indonesia standards..how many candidates can pass....i think we need to asess our teachers before scrutinizing our education syllabus

[@leewn2319]

Both Malaya & Sg were British colonies had British system of education (at least from Primary to Secondary Schools) with scholarships to further tertiary education in UK or Australia. Sadly for decades Malaysian politicians have messed up the good system they inherited.

[@ellefc]

The only State with a progressive education system is Sarawak.

[@santoksingh5193]

Reformation of Education starts with democritation . Let parents choose what medium they want for their children,along with Bahasa Malaysia.Can parents have a choice please? Thatis democracy in practise. Comment is most welcome.

[@weiyeongtan2695]

In fact, most of the successful person with heart do not have qualification. Their intelligence comes in the heartfelt coordination of mind, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands and legs for societal bebefits. They are also philanthropist.

[@user-cl3ke3gy2f]

wat the fxzk r u munbling?