Youth & Education

PSM Questions Scrapping Exams For 'Independent Thinking'

28 Jun 2010

There are many things that ail our education system, one of it being the over-emphasis on examinations, leading to an obsessive hankering after straight As. The obvious shortcomings of the system include an overly academic bias, the inability to groom and develop the non-academically inclined and the inability to contribute to national unity.

Free higher education a must

, 11 Feb 2010

Malaysiakini, 11 Feb 2010

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants the government to provide free higher education in Malaysia, as the cost of private education is a heavy financial burden for the majority of Malaysian students.

Party Deputy Secretary-General Rani Rasiah said that education is something that the government is duty bound to provide, just like healthcare and basic amenities.

“It should be the overriding priority of government to invest in and make available quality education for free. This is in the best interests of the nation.

“The role of providing such education can never be replaced by the private sector whose overriding motive is profit.”

When Education is a business (PTPTN Loan)

4 Feb 2010

The PSM views the government’s current concern over the allocation of PTPTN loans as a piecemeal critique of a very wrong policy, that of privatized tertiary education.

The Higher Education Minister has been quoted as saying that the fund terms of the PTPTN would be reviewed to make sure only needy students would avail of it. This is not because the government has had a sudden change of heart favouring the poor. Rather in its typical cart before the horse style of doing business, it has discovered that PTPTN borrowers have defaulted to the tune of RM1 billion, and also that if not reviewed the government bill for private education will shoot up to RM5 billion by 2013.

What is needed is not a review of the PTPTN loan terms but a total revamp of the higher education system which has in great part been contracted out to private businessmen.

Education Minister exploiting children?

10 Jan 2009

Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said (NST, 9 January 2009) that nearly all schoolchildren about five million pupils in the country will be mobilised to protest against the Gaza offensive by Israeli forces.

When I first read this article, a number of questions rang in my mind. Would asking students including primary school children to attend a protest and demonstration be deemed exploiting the children? Do the children have consent from their parents as it seems that the Minister had made the decision without even consulting the parents? Would the police/AG charge the Minister under the Child Act? Would the Minister be expelled from Parliament for involving children? For the state of Selangor, would the CPO of Selangor rescue these children and return them to their parents? While waiting for their parents, will they be kept protected in the police station under the care of the welfare Department ? Would the parents be later called by the police for their statement to be recorded for allowing the Minister to use their children for the protest?

CPO Khalid Must Be A Child Activist

21 Dec 2008

I have been watching and monitoring the entire melodrama created by Selangor CPO, Khalid in the last one week over JERIT campaign. Now he has become the spokesperson to the Sultan to support his claim about misuse of children. Definitely Khalid must be a child activist!

Though he 'saved' 27 children in Rawang and then made them get wet in the rain for over 15 minutes and his men pointed gun at the children when they tried to seek shelter from the rain and that the children were put in a small meeting room overnight with the wet clothes on without proper ventilation and water supply or even space to sleep plus intimidation from his men from time to time, he truly has passions for the children.

End Racism In Education

17 Aug 2008

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) calls for our education system to be liberated from racist policies and calls for quota system based on race to be abolished completely. We reiterate once again for free and affordable education for all.

If at all a quota is necessary, then the poorest segment of our society should be the first to obtain them irrespective of race and religion. Three years ago, the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government would introduce meritocracy policy instead of quota and said that it is not a victimisation of the Malays and that the Malays should not be afraid of it. Today he makes a U turn on this.

Sparks of revolutionary fervour – PSM Youth Camp 2008

3 Jun 2008

"Anak Muda Kuasa Perubahan" (The Young are the Power of Change).

Such was the tagline of the second PSM Youth Camp that was held from the 24th to the 25th of May 2008 at New Era College, Kajang. A total of 52 youth aged between 12 to 18 years of age attended this camp, hailing from Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

I actually arrived at the camp venue a couple hours late. When I got there, the campers were having an ice-breaking session. Members of the three groups introduced themselves and their nicknames via an interesting activity which helped them remember the names of their fellow participants. Each group was also tasked to come up with a "formation" which represented their group's name. The most impressive formation was that of the Che Guevara group, which was an elaborate representation of the Cuban revolutionary struggle (complete with a victorious Fidel and Che holding their hands up high). The formations of the other two groups, BOSS (which stood for Bachelor of Social Service) and Power of Youth were also commendable.

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