I’m a Malaysian student studying economics in Singapore and i’d like to give my 2 cents on this as it is a relatively common practice around the world and has certain implications that I want to share with everyone.

1) People respond to incentives. Our poor brethren(regardless of race) in the kgs and plantations send their children to work because, to the parents, the returns from their children working outweigh the returns from schooling.

If we can construct a system of incentives that persuades the poor parents of children to send their children to school, we would have done our country a great service. This system need not be strictly about money. Parents who fulfill the criteria may be given interest-free entrepreneurship loans, food vouchers with a certain value (eg RM100) to purchase only food items from associated supermarkets. Surely loans and food vouchers and the afore-mentioned ATM cards are less attractive to corrupt party cadres than shiny new cash, which we will not give to them.

2) It is a misconception that more educaton necessarily leads to higher economic growth, leading to higher living standards. From the 1950s-1980s, the average African country had more children with priimary education than countries in Asia, and even Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea only had schooling rates equivalent to or less than the most “educated”(Primary level) African country. This fact it borne out by the high unemployment rate among our university grads.

I think the sort of education provided as well as the quality is much more important that merely ensuring high levels of school enrolment. It is much more fruitful to the economy that we have 100 brilliant engineers than 200 Sastera majors( my apologies to the writers among us) who need extensive retraining on the job to become productive workers. Thus, perhaps the Higher Education Ministry would consider slashing university places so that competition for places is higher and more funds are available to teach and guide each precious student to be their best in each of their fields.( so even Sastera majors would be the best our country has to offer, make sense?)

It is pointless to point fingers (does that make sense?) at sundry individuals, be they scoundrel politicians or lazy civil servants for the ills that plague our society. Much better for us all if we criticise them but come up with our own solution and persuade/cajole/compel our listless leaders to serve the citizens.

But it will be a great mistake if they are celebrating now. Knowing Mahathir he will not let them go that easily. War has been declared and this is only the beginning!

And that is also the very reason we must support Dr M, not so much for he, himself, but for his crusades. It seems that he’s the only one person in Malaysia for the time being that can inflict some damages to the smiling faces on national tv.

You get to see the same faces on national tv, always smiling and always saying this and that, as if we are all idiots. Don’t they have a conscience?

Will this charade ever end? Search me. May be God is being too nice.

The ministers/ministries might agree to it if there are potential ‘untung’.
It does not matter whether those projects are suitable to Bolehland or not.

If the projects will benefit the rakyat jelata but no potential ‘untung’ to whom it may concerned, it will be in the waste basket in no time.

I agree, in Bolehland to get aid(subsidy too) you must be an UMNO member or you are not identified as a person who agree with the oppositions.

The Wang Ehsan in Penyuland is a classic example.Clark gable should know coz he loves the ‘kepok lekor’ so much.

In Bolehland what powers the YBs/Ketua Bahagian/JKKK is the Ringgit sign.

I remeber M.Nasir used to sing: ” Duit,duit dimana kau duit!”
Maybe UMNO members can use this as their new party anthenm.

The welfare of the poor is not their concern and it has been that way ever since. Even in the 60s scholarships and bursaries came with strings attached.

My classmate, whose father was a PAS (PMIP then) supporter, was excluded although he was an ace student who had to cycle 20 miles daily to school and back. His parents were poor padi farmers living in Tg Piandang.

Political gerrymandering has been perfected to an art by the ruling elite. So, what are we left with? Crumps.

The condition attached to the handout is subjected to attendence record and gives further incentive if the student performance meet certain target.

If such a system or similar system is implemented in Malayisa, we are likely to see the system based on race and the likely beneficiaries are those with connections and the shenanigan awards to few deserving students as token.

Remember, millions if not billions of ringgits had already been spent to uplift the status of Bumiputras via education. What have we achieved so far?

Sorry for such a pessimistic view. After all, if our leaders are into corruptions without checks and balances what hope is there for the betterment of the society at large. Basically, we need to reform our political system especially UMNO and if that can be done hopefully everything will fall into place.