1. Malaysiakini(http://www.malaysiakini.com)
1M'sia... but missionary schools neglected, 30 September 2010
by Susan Loone
Penangites, many from missionary schools, are unhappy with the deteriorating quality of education and discipline in them due to lack of funding from the federal government.
In response to the current sad state of affairs, the P. Ramlee MIC branch is taking the lead in organising a campaign to seek the return of the schools' former glory, as maintained by religious missionaries centuries years ago.
However, P. Ramlee branch MIC chief Dr B Anthony lamented that these efforts would be futile if the schools continue to be spooned out money unlike the others which receive the full federal funding.
Anthony, a medical doctor by profession, said the schools were not only deteriorating physically but their social problems were rising at an alarming rate.
"Teachers in these schools also lack civic-mindedness and have been found to be abusing the children until the state social welfare department has to become involved," he claimed at a press conference in Penang yesterday.
He challenged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin to clarify whether the same mission and vision of 1Malaysia concept applied to these schools.
Partiality under question
"We are all Malaysians, if the system of education in the missionary schools are mainstream, why should they not be fully funded by the government? Why the partiality in handling these schools?" he queried, as he shared stories of his alma mater, St Xavier's Institution.
Anthony was referring to the missionary school model which is said to reflect what is seen in Najib's 1Malaysia concept.
Last year, Najib, while officially opening the Conference of Christian Mission Schools in Kuala Lumpur, had paid tribute to mission schools and their role in nation building.
He had said they had a 'special ethos' which promoted unity, very much like his vision of 1 Malaysia.
"The ethos of mission schools shaped the values and beliefs of students which is in line with 1 Malaysia," he had said during the event at his alma mater, St John's Institution.
As for funding, the Education Ministry had said it will provide support to schools which identify problems they face through the School Improvement Programme (SIP).
However, it is uncertain if the programme embraces missionary schools.
While launching the SIP at the Vision School in USJ15 in April this year, Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, had said that schools were not left alone to solve their problems.
In Penang, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has allocated 24 missionary schools and nine Chinese secondary schools a total of RM1.87mil from the state government this year.
While handing over the mock cheques to representatives of the schools in Komtar, Lim had likened the aid as "bonus" to the schools.
However, he said the federal government still needed to play its role in helping the schools.
"The state government's allocation will not solve the financial problems of the schools but at least they can use the money to upgrade infrastructure facilities," he had stressed.
・Comments 1 to 6 of 6
(1) Steve Oh ：I understand my alma mater the Penang Free School, the region's oldest English medium but now BM-medium school and for a long time a top school in S E Asia in now a shadow of its former glory. What happened? This school was started by a missionary, Rev R S Hutchings who also began a school for muslims in Penang. The PFS and missionary schools produced some of the country's leaders, several exported to Singapore's leadership. It's original aim: "That it will be the first object of the Institution to provide for the education of such children as would be otherwise, brought up in idleness and consequent vice, and without any means of obtaining instruction either in useful learning or in any manual employment, and to implant in them in the early habits of industry, order and a good conduct." If some of the defence budget is spent on schools the country will be better off. The late David Boler, a former school principal released his book on mission schools in 1986 which is informative.
(2) DOC：I do agree that many missionary schools are being neglected by the BN government. This is nothing new and it has been going on for years. I feel even the regular schools will soon be left to neglect. The reason is that as our country's economy continues to worsen, fewer funds will be channelled to school up keep and education. As our school's structures become more deplorable with time so to our school education system is also deteriorating rapidly with no aggressive effort being made by the Education Ministry to stem this tide. We hear of gangstersm & racism in schools, poorly trained teaching staff, students relying more on tuition, an education system that lack insight, flip flop policies, a system of education that does not look into improving intellect, deteriorating university rating etc etc etc. Our current government has channelled all its energies into trying to stay in power that it is letting our country slip into oblivion right in front of our eyes.
(3) SusahKes: Maybe we need a by-election, for some "attention"....
(4) Patriot：As far as I know, these one time Catholic Mission schools have all being absorbed into the main stream. The school's administrator and teaching staff are provided by the Education Ministry. Unlike the Methodist Mission school, a good example is St. Mary's Secondary school in Selayang which is run by their own board of governors, the Catholic Schools no longer have their say. Thus blame the Catholic administrators for giving up this control. Most main stream schools have this sort of problems and not confined to one or two.
(5) Bozuka：24 missionary schools and nine chinese schools but "0" -ZERO Tamil schools. What is the different between BN and Pakatan government policies?
(6) Loganathan Suppiah：The issue is not funding, the issue is school management ie; the principal, school staff, teachers..Government funding of these schools has been the same all along bu the schools were doing well 30 years ago, because they had dedicated and responsible principals who valued their profession for what it gave to the community rather then the current bunch of principals who value their profession in terms of the monetary gain.
2. National Express Malaysia(
http://national-express-malaysia.blogspot.com/2010/09/probe-priest-for-slur-christian-leader.html)
Probe ‘priest’ for slur, Christian leader tells Putrajaya, 30 September 2010
PETALING JAYA, Sept 28 — A Christian leader from Sabah today backed Putrajaya to act against a man alleged to be a priest who was reported to have insulted Islam, in a bid to distance the church from condoning the act which was recorded and uploaded on YouTube.
Alfred Tais, from the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), joined Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim in calling for stern action to be taken against Christian convert Benjamin Stephen.
“They have a right to do that,” said Tais, a secretary with the evangelical group’s Bahasa Malaysia section.
“To embrace a new religion is one thing, but to humiliate the religion you embraced before or talk bad about any other religion is very bad. It’s not good testimony. It creates all kinds of misunderstanding,” he added.
Tais appeared concerned that the preacher’s words will cast Christianity and its followers in a negative light.
“I don’t agree with his statement. I think we need to practise more what the Bible says,” he stressed.
The 46-year-old, who is also a member of the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church, told The Malaysian Insider he recognised the preacher featured in the YouTube videoclips after rewatching them earlier today.
“He’s not a priest. A priest is what you call a preacher from the mainline churches like the Catholic or Anglican churches,” he explained.
“He’s a preacher from Perak, a Malay convert from a non-denominational church. I met him in Sabah four or five years ago,” he added.
Tais described Benjamin as a chubby young man but was not sure of the man’s age, putting it somewhere between the mid-20s and 30s.
He said the videoclips shown on YouTube appeared to have been recorded some years ago, not recently.
“If you want to share an encounter with God, just focus on that, don’t humiliate any religion… it’s not what religions teach. It’s wrong.”
Mashitah was reported to have urged the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department to investigate Benjamin, who was alleged to have made derogatory comments against Islam in a Kuching church and which were captured and posted on the popular video-sharing website.
“I fear that something might happen if no stern action is taken,” Bernama cited the deputy minister as saying in Putrajaya yesterday.
3. The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
Act against the racists, 3 October 2010
by Wong Chun Wai
There can only be one set of laws in this country. Those who say offensive and seditious words need to be punished. It should be as simple as that.
EVERYONE is taught that when a wrong is done, the person who did it apologises, regrets his error and promises it will never happen again. The person is often punished to show that society does not accept such behaviour.
In Malaysia, we are still waiting to see what action will be taken against the principal who made racist remarks during a school assembly.
Investigations have been carried out, according to news reports, but we are now being told that bureaucratic requirements are delaying further action.
We are told that it is not simple to take disciplinary action against a senior civil servant. In short, members of the civil service are untouchable.
This inaction does not do anyone any good. It gives the impression, rightly or wrongly, that the Government is not serious in meting out punishment. Worse, it shows that the Government tolerates such an offensive attitude.
By seemingly protecting this principal, who obviously needs psychiatric treatment, the issue remains unresolved. It should have been dealt with quickly, thus ending the controversy so we can all move on to more productive things.
By dragging its feet, others are being encouraged to do the same while the aggrieved parties, especially the students in the school, would feel that justice has not been carried out. It would demoralise them.
On a wider scale, this has caused much concern and resentment among many Malaysians who feel that the delay in acting against the culprit is unjustified and unacceptable. It would further be a divisive issue.
More importantly, this episode is contrary to the call by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to stop extremism – whether racial or religious.
Najib has been consistent in his call for moderation at local and international levels but he needs the support of the other leaders. They need to speak up, too.
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz must be commended for declaring himself to be Malaysian first and a Malay second.
Political parties like the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) put nationality first when their parties were formed decades ago for simple political reasons. Never mind the linguistic arguments over whether it should be Chinese Malaysian or Indian Malaysian.
It is not wrong to say that Nazri has staked his political career on defending a plural Malaysia, putting the long-term interest of Malaysia above himself. By speaking up, he has found himself to be a lonely figure. The right wingers have been subjecting him to all kinds of attack but he has remained steadfast.
Nazri must not walk alone. He needs Malaysians to express support for his stand and we also expect those who talk to walk the talk.
Malaysia is being watched by the world as we tackle the recent events involving race. We will be judged by how we act and how we manage race relations. There’s little point in projecting ourselves as a melting pot of many races, cultures and religions to the world if the authorities do not demonstrate our seriousness in protecting our society.
Malaysia needs to be protected, not these racists and bigots. There can only be one set of laws in this country and those who say offensive and hurtful words that are also seditious in nature need to be punished. It should be as simple as that.
More disturbing, even as we struggle over the position of the principal, an official of the National Civics Bureau has been accused of making racist remarks at a closed door gathering. Most newspapers have refused to print what he allegedly said, as we do not wish to give credence to what it was. Suffice to say, if indeed he did say it, he should just be sacked.
Then there is a pastor, said to be from the peninsula, who insulted Islam during a church sermon in Sarawak. His video-taped sermon in 2006 was put on YouTube, a video sharing portal, and can be seen around the globe.
I have watched the video clip. He is an unknown preacher, similar to the nutty American Christian preacher who threatened to burn the Quran last month. No one in the Malaysian Christian community has heard of him and he is not known to the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
He has shamed Malaysian Christians who are mostly moderates and peace-loving. Certainly, no one tolerates nor condones his hurtful words. Like the school principal, he, too, needs treatment and to be charged by the authorities.
These bigots should not be let off scot-free but made examples of what happens when mentally unsound Malaysians cross the line. Those who do wrong get punished so that no one would even dare think of following in their footsteps. So should these racists and bigots.
(End)
