SERI ISKANDAR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who mooted the idea of Vision 2020, does not think Malaysia can achieve developed nation status as planned.
He said the environment had changed since Vision 2020 was launched.
Noting that the nation had been achieving growth of 8% from 1987 up until the currency crisis in 1997, he said Malaysia had targeted an average 7% growth annually should it wish to realise Vision 2020.
“But we have not been growing at 7% per year and the likelihood is that we will not achieve 7% growth during the years before 2020.
Always popular: Universiti Teknologi Petronas students shaking hands with Dr Mahathir after his public lecture yesterday.
“I have my doubts about our being able to achieve Vision 2020 in terms of economic growth,” he told reporters at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) here yesterday.
Earlier during a question-and-answer session at the end of his public lecture entitled Beyond Vision 2020, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia needed to change its course and adopt new strategies to become a developed nation.
“We are still sticking to the old strategies and these will not work in this period of time.
“For example, this country grew on the basis of foreign direct investments (FDIs) but we cannot expect any more FDIs simply because we have become a higher cost country,” he said.
Dr Mahathir, who is UTP Chancellor, in his lecture said it was difficult to imagine what the nation would be like in the future with rapid and drastic economic, social, political and environmental changes taking place in the world.
He also touched on the nation’s education system, saying that there were still many areas that were not effectively covered.
“The education system of any country should be a system that moulds the character and intelligence of the people. I don’t think we have used the education system as well as we should have.
Calling for its review, Dr Mahathir said views of the people, including teachers, should be listened to.
“The syllabus should also be looked into. Obviously, it determines what knowledge is acquired by our students and what should be the roles of the students when they become mature later on,” he added.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/23/nation/6113292&sec=nation
Dr Mahathir pessimistic over 2020 target
ONE MALAYSIA
Najib wants 'One Malaysia'
By Lee Wei Lian
PUTRAJAYA , April 1 - In his final public address before his expected swearing in as prime minister on Friday, Datuk Seri Najib Razak gave a hopeful glimpse into his administration today when he said that the new thrust of his government will be One Malaysia, or 1Malaysia as it is also known.
1Malaysia, which Najib has mentioned several times the past few days, emphasises national unity and in his speech at the ceremony to disburse funds to Tamil schools today, Najib sounded remarkably like a reformer for race relations as well as a reconciliator.
He said that two things were key in the 1Malaysia concept - mutual respect and trust among the different races in Malaysia.
"Mutual respect is not just tolerance," he said.
"That is just the bare minimum. Mutual respect means you have embraced unity in diversity. And secondly, we must trust one another. But trust is not something gained overnight. But if done conciously over time, it will eventually happen.
"Once trust is developed, Malaysia will be the sum total of all races. We will not be moving as separate communities but as one Malaysia and we will be stronger. It will be a new Malaysia because we'll change our mindset because we trust and respect each other. I hope all will join me to bring Malaysia to greater heights."
The words will be warmly received by those advocating a united and less racially divided Malaysia but at the same time will be regarded among sceptics as mere hype similar to what they heard five years before.
Then, freshly installed prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had promised to be the leader for all Malaysians, igniting hopes that a new era in race relations was at hand.
In the years following that promise, non-Malays became severely disappointed with Abdullah's ineffectiveness in reigning in the more right-wing voices within his party and decided to withdraw their support in the general elections last year.
And judging by the strident delegate speeches that characterised the recently concluded Umno party general assembly, Najib, which a Merdeka Centre survey says is coming into office with low public expectations, especially among the non-Malays, will face similar challenges in achieving his vision of 1Malaysia and winning back non-Malay support.
The son of the nation's second prime minister, however, says he is aware that the some parties expect him to act in an authoritarian manner and protested against being pre-judged before coming into office.
"Give me a chance. I will reform and I will make changes," he had told reporters in a press conference at the close of the Umno general assembly.
"I am aware that the people expect me to do certain things. Please judge me by my actions. My actions will come in due course."
He has made a few encouraging overtures following the Umno assembly.
He paid a visit to the nation's largest Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily and reached out to the Indian community by disbursing RM80 million in stimulus packages and other government funds for Tamil schools today and at the same time announced the approval of RM20 million in training funds for Indian youths.
Najib has denied that the disbursement of funds were timed to coincide with the by-elections.
"This is the actual giving out, but the announcement (of the allocations) was made much earlier even before we knew about the by-elections," said Najib.
Najib has also declined to disclose specifics about the implementation of 1Malaysia, asking the media to wait for Friday when he promises to reveal how it will be translated into programmes and policies as well as his vision for the economy, politics and the direction of the government.
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1 Malaysia
The 1Malaysia is not a new concept or formula from our Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib. Rather, the ultimate goal of 1Malaysia, which is national unity, has been the main vision of our country’s leaders before, and has been interpreted in various shapes and forms over the span of five decades of Independence. If we truly study it, what has changed is the approach and implementation according to the ever-changing times and generations.
In other words, 1Malaysia is a concept to foster unity amongst the multi-ethnic rakyat of Malaysia, substantiated by key values that every Malaysian should observe. The approach is not independent of the Government’s policies thus far , instead it complements them to further reinforce our solidarity in order to guarantee stability towards achieving higher growth and development for Malaysia and other people. This means that 1Malaysia is a formula conceptualised as a precondition in ensuring the aspirations of the country to secure a developed status by 2020 are met, if it is inculcated in the minds of the Rakyat and practiced by the entire community. If the idea of "Bangsa Malaysia" which was engendered through Vision 2020 becomes the final destination, then 1Malaysia is the roadmap that guides us towards that destination.
This definition is built upon the argument that in order achieve the status of a developed nation in the predetermined time frame, the key requisite is a strong and stable country, which can only be achieved when its people stand united. The 1Malaysia national philosophy can be extended to the concept of 1Region and ultimately 1World. This would be the next logical extension of the philosophy based on mutual trust and respect between all communities. This was the right formula not only for national harmony but also for enhancing regional and global peace.
High-performance schools: Great expectations to keep improving
2010/01/27
By Azura Abas and Lydia Gomez
KUALA LUMPUR: The high-performance schools announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday have generally produced innovative and creative programmes, not just in academic studies but also in co-curricular activities.Checks by the New Straits Times on some of these 20 high-performance schools yesterday showed that these activities have benefited the students as well as the schools.
Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Syed Putra in Kangar, for example, boasts of its “accelerated learning programme” to bring out the best in its students.
Sekolah Kebangsaan Zainab 2 in Kota Baru, meanwhile, focuses on volunteerism through its own programme “Assisted Teacher” to help slow-learners cope with their lessons.
The school management also goes to great extent to rope in volunteers for the purpose.
For the management of the fully-residential girls’ school Tunku Kurshiah College in Seremban, the endless series of brainstorming sessions, innovative strategies plus a host of other own activities created for students have, indeed, borne fruit.
The school has been synonymous with outstanding academic results and co-curriculum.
Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara, meanwhile, has been emphasising on the need to care for the environment, among other things.
But all these high-performance schools have to sustain their momentum and prove that they can improve their performance.
Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said they had the next two years to do so or risk having the status revoked.
He told NST that the schools would be monitored closely as they had certain key performance indicators to achieve in five areas — academic excellence, ability to create distinctive personalities, winning national and international awards, forming strong relationship with institutions of higher learning, and establishing strong bond with the communities.
(Source:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20100127081700/Article/index_html)
Many types of cuisine, 1Malaysia
2009/11/23
By V. Josephine
KUALA LUMPUR: In conjunction with the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia campaign, Pavilion KL is set to treat its shoppers a host of gastronomical treats this month.
With new food and beverage tenants and numerous confectionery booths, shoppers can look forward to more exciting choices to satisfy their appetites.
Serai Satay Bar is the latest attraction at Pavilion KL's Food Emporium. The satay is contained in a funky-coloured paper cup that can fill six sticks of satay, two sticks of ketupat, onions, cucumbers, with a special compartment and peanut sauce for shoppers to enjoy satay on the go.
Shoppers can choose from not only the usual chicken, beef or lamb, but also tripe, venison and prawn. Other snacks one can pick up there are cucur udang, keropok lekor, keropok ikan, banana fritters, soto ayam and mee rebus. There is also nasi kukus, which is a dish of steamed rice, three types of Indian curry and Malay-style fried chicken with spices.
Wash it all down with the outlet's signature drink of Serai Blended, made of lychee essence and serai.
Cupcake Chic offers 25 different flavours classified under four groups -- Classics, Favourites, Lite Indulgence and Black Tie.
Grandmama's is a pork-free restaurant with has about 180 seating capacity.
A must-try dish is Grandmama's fish head noodles, which comes with chunks of deep fried fish in a tomato and salted vegetable soup, complemented by fried shallots and chopped scallions. Another interesting item is the nasi bojari set, which has tri-coloured rice, asam pedas, beef rendang and deep fried chicken drumstick.
Making friends while learning
2009/11/17
KUALA TERENGGANU: From casual school mates to best of friends -- all because of the Exxonmobil's "A Moment in English" programme.
Five pupils at Sekolah Kebangsaan Rantau Petronas in Kerteh -- Muhd Haziq Abdul Manap, Ahmad Dhiyauddin Shihabuddin Arip, Skandakumera Selvaraj, Wan Amirun Naim Wan Bahruddin and Ahmad Nasreen Husaini -- joined the programme early this year.
They have since earned several accolades as a team. They became state champions in the "Story Telling and Action Songs" contest in Besut in June, represented Terengganu in the national championships in Perlis a month later and performed at various State Education Department's functions all over the state.
A part from winning competitions, the travelling and staying together as a team has made them close buddies.
Group leader Muhd Haziq said they were normal school mates when they joined the programme but were best of friends now.
He said they were, however, disappointed to finish fourth in the national competition but were happy to be in each other's company, performing song and dance routines to the tunes of Little Mermaid's movie soundtracks such as Under the Sea, Part of That World and Frozen.
"When we first joined the programme, our English was just average but now we are comfortable singing and speaking to each other in English," he said after their group's performances at the "A Moment in English" closing ceremony in Kuala Ibai near here, yesterday.
School English Language panel head Fadhilah Ab. Hamid said the students had worked hard and spent long hours since January to prepare for the state championship.
"Earlier this year, they practiced twice a week but a few weeks before every competition they practiced daily.
"But, I am happy to note that the students' proficiency in the English language has improved tremendously ever since they start participating in this programme," she said.
Meanwhile, in his closing speech, State Education Department director Ariffin Embong said the programme which was first mooted in 2003, had proven to be a success in promoting the usage of English in school extra-curricular activities.
(source:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/22EXXO/Article/index_html)
Disciplinary board: We quit because of principles
2009/11/09
KUALA LUMPUR: The decision of the five-member MCA disciplinary board to resign en bloc on Nov 4 was not linked to the party's recently announced Greater Unity Plan (GUP) or clarification of the Registrar of Societies (ROS) over the status of Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
The decision to quit, former board secretary Ivan Chen said, was based purely on the "unwavering principles" of the board members.
"There was unhappiness over shortcomings in the party's disciplinary processes as its presidential council (PC) and the central committee (CC) could overrule the board's decision," he said in a statement here.
As stated in the party constitution, the board could only recommend disciplinary action against party members and it was up to the party PC and CC to make the final decision. In Dr Chua's case, the board recommendation of sacking was commuted to a four-year suspension by the CC.
"Members of the board also made it crystal clear that the shortcomings of the party's constitution are not the fault of the present party leadership. In fact, they inherited the deficiencies from the system.
"Hence, unless the relevant provisions in the MCA constitution were amended, members of the board were of the consensus view that the board would not be able to discharge its duties effectively."
Chen, who resigned together with the five board members, reiterated the decision to quit only showed their high standards of impartiality and independence. -- Bernama
(source:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/4cca/Article/index_html)
RM500,000 fine for illegal fishing
2009/11/03
KUANTAN: Three foreign skippers -- two Vietnamese and a Thai -- were fined RM500,000 each for illegally fishing in Malaysian waters near here.
Magistrate Nordiana Abd Aziz also fined their 29 crew members RM50,000 each.
The foreigners, aged from 17 to 67, were arrested during Samudera Gagah operation by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency between 7am and 10am on Oct 24.
The skippers will spend six months in jail while the crew members five months, as they could not settle their fines.
(source:http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/22tann/Article/index_html)
