theSun | TUESDAY JUNE 9 2009 13

speak up!

What’s wrong with asking questions?

Scene: Pavilions Court, Kuala Lumpur
CHONG: Young people were there, Cikgu? I
thought the annual Asia-Pacific Roundtable
usually focuses on regional security issues,
serious issues which young people are not
interested in. So, how come young people
were there.
Zain: I think we are wrong in assum-
ing that young people are not interested in
serious matters. I think it was a great idea to
invite young people to present their perspec-
tives of things.
Chong: But peace and security issues
have always been discussed by senior peo-
ple, those who have been in the business for
a long time.
Zain: Some of their perspectives on cer-
tain subjects have remained unchanged for a
long time. Perhaps that’s the reason why the
situation has not improved. The young are
different. They would not hesitate to describe
a perspective as passé, a French word whose
meaning is similar to the Malay word basi.
Yet these seniors think they are right. They
know better. Haven’t they eaten more salt!
Chong: Thus they are the ones making
decisions. The rest of us have to accept them
without question. But how come you were at
the roundtable discussions, Cikgu?
Zain: Azman managed to squeeze an
invitation for me from the organisers. Some-
how he managed to convince the organisers
to let me in as an observer free of charge.
Chong: And Mohan? Zain: To me it is good that the
Mohan: My law firm paid young are asking a lot of questions
for me to be there. Yes, I agree these days. To them old and what
with you Cikgu that young others consider as established
people can provide fresh per- ideas should not be taken for
spectives to some outstanding granted. They should be examined
issues. They see things in a dif- for their present worth. If they are
ferent light. One young panellist no longer relevant and probably
said that government and the even a hindrance to progress they
military are not sole actors to should just be dumped. These in-
guarantee a nation’s security. cludes traditions and conventions.
Outrageous, said a senior gov- WhatTheySay When there is no longer a need for
ernment official in the audience them they should go.
to his friend. by Zainon Ahmad Nothing is sacred and nothing is
Azman: One Singaporean written in stone. Even the constitu-
think tanker began his presentation in one tion. For instance at the rate the Thais are
of the sessions by saying that it was strange saying critical things about the monarchy I
for him to be talking about democracy when wonder whether certain provisions in the
he wasn’t sure whether Singapore actually country’s constitution shielding the royal
wants democracy. My neighbour in the audi- family would not be amended shortly.
ence, a young Singaporean, whispered to me Azman: Is it true that Thais write a new
“that’s what he thinks.” constitution every time they no longer think
Zain: Young people think differently es- the old one is good enough for them?
pecially those who chat on the Internet with Mohan: True but not that way. Yes, they
nationals – young ones, of course – from have had a few constitutions already. So you
other countries. One young participant told see the questioning is happening everywhere
me that the Israel is finding it difficult to get and not just in Malaysia. Why should this be
young people to join the army these day be- this way and why should that be that way?
cause they don’t want to shoot Palestinians. Chong: But Malays don’t question.
Azman: Another participant told me of Zain: Not anymore, Chong. For instance
a Pakistani youth who told his Indian friend young Malays of southern Thailand are
on the Internet that he could not understand questioning efforts to assimilate them into
why their people should be killing each other the larger Thai society. They want to be Thai
over Kashmir. nationals but they want to be recognised as
people with a language, religion and culture
of their own. And what’s wrong with that,
they asked. Strangely many young Buddhist
Thais in the north empathise with them.
Chong: But Malays in Malaysia do not
ask questions.
Zain: In Malaysia, everyone asks ques-
tions and expresses themselves openly. For
instance, the Ibans and other Dayaks of
Sarawak and the Kadazan and the Muruts of
Sabah don’t want to be referred to as “lain-
lain”.
The Indians and the Chinese, want to
know whether they have the same citizen-
ship rights as the rest of the population – if
not why not. Is it a permanent state? Some
Malays want to know too. Also some Malays
want to know why there cannot be one na-
tional school system and why are some Chi-
nese organisations against it. Some Chinese
who are sending their children to national
schools want to know too.
Mohan: I think it is a healthy sign. The
questioning must go on. It is an inevitable
result of the openness the government has
allowed us and the outcome of March 8. For
whatever it is worth it augurs well for the
1Malaysia concept that the prime minister is
talking about.
Zain: But in questioning and debating let
us try to be more civil to one another. No one
has to be rude if he doesn’t like a particular
question. Above all we should not forget that
we are all Malaysians.

letters
letters@thesundaily.com USM explains shortlists
I REFER to “Parent smells a rat” pharmacy.

Yeop Mahidin, our forgotten hero (Letters, June 2).

The final shortlist the writer
referred to comprises many lists
Some courses would have a
higher cut-off point because of
the larger number of applicants

I
F most Malaysians don’t know
who Yeop Mahidin is, don’t
blame them for there is not a
single book available to highlight
his daring deeds in fighting the
communist terrorists.
My brief check shows that there
is nothing in the National Library,
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the
Malaysian Historical Society and
the book stores
Like others, I, too, was ignorant
until I read the book The War of the
Running Dogs by Noel Barber. It
gives a restricted write-up of Yeop
Mahidin’s battle against his hard-
core communist cousin Abdullah
C.D and his attempts to prevent the
Malays from falling for the com-
munist ideology.
When the communists were
burning buildings and killing
people in Pahang, concerned kam-
pung folk approached the Sultan
of Pahang to appoint someone to
counter the spreading communist
violence
According to the book, the car-
ing sultan came to their rescue
by appointing his secretary Yeop
Mahidin, a fearless fighter who had
escaped from Malaya to India when
the Japanese invaded Malaya.
There he joined Force 136 and was
parachuted back to Malaya to fight
the communist terrorists.
Yeop Mahidin, it seems, formed
a group of bodyguards called Vaga-
bonds and later formed the Pahang
Kampung Guards which stood by
him and fought the terrorists for
eleven years. Before the end of the
emergency, he had 26,000 loyal
guards under his command.
It may be safe to conclude that
Yeop Mahidin succeeded in pre-
venting the Pahang Malays from
coming under communist influence
and getting others to surrender. His
noble aim was to rehabilitate them
to be good citizens instead of jailing
them.
Yeop Mahidin was awarded the
M.B.E. at the victory parade in Lon-
don. When the emergency ended
he was made the commander of
the Malayan Territorial Army.
The above information on Yeop
Mahidin does not do justice to his
eleven years of risky anti-commu-
nist campaign.
There must be more outstand-
ing deeds by him and his dedicated
fighters which must be highlighted
in book form or otherwise. Any
takers?
The authorities should form
a high-level committee compris-
ing writers, historians and other
relevant personalities to unearth
more unknown heroes who have
contributed towards the defence
and success of the nation. We need
to know who our heroes are.
I am surprised that foreign
books seem to have more stories to
tell us on our nation’s history than
ours.
S.T. Rajagopal
Kuala Lumpur
of qualified candidates for each
programme. An applicant will be
entered into a list based on their
first choice in their application.
The cumulative criteria used
for ranking in the list includes
not only the results obtained but
also the co-curricular marks, the
MUnSyI assessment carried out
by Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia
(MPM) as well as interviews for
programmes like medicine and
Subjects limit a good move
THE recent announcement by
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyddin Yassin, who is also the
education minister, that students
will only be allowed to sit for a
maximum of 10 subjects in the
SPM from next year is a step in
the right direction.
Allowing students to take
and attain a maximum of 20As
brings about unhealthy competi-
tion and unnecessary grievances.
Producing students who only
achieve educational excellence
and are not multitalented is tan-
tamount to churning out misfits
to places available. The names
short-listed are of applicants
who have scored the highest
when all the marks from the dif-
ferent components have been
tallied.
Professor Ahmad Shukri
Mustapa Kamal
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Academic and
International Affairs)
not emphasise on such traits.
We live in a society where top
students should only be doctors,
lawyers, engineers, accountants
or professors.
Scholarships and loans
awarded should take into
account not only a student’s
academic achievements but
also extra-curricular activities.
Preference should be given to
students who excel in sports,
music and those holding office
in voluntary organisations.
Students applying for loans
or scholarships should also be

Cushion the poor from price hikes in what is supposed to be the

I REFER to “Pandora’s box of subsidies
“(Down2Earth, June 2). The BN constantly
reminds us that the government’s priority
is to look after the rakyat – especially the
lower-income group. However, this is not
borne out by its policies. Malaysians have
long learned to treat such claims as mere
rhetoric.
The economic downturn may have
necessitated the cut in subsidies on
essential items like sugar and flour but
surely such a cut will affect the lower-in-
come group much more than the middle
class or the rich.
A more sensible approach would
have been to provide the lower-income
group with a cushion, eg food stamps
(for the items where subsidies have been
withdrawn) to soften the inevitable rise
in their food expenditure. It would be
throwing the baby out with the bath wa-
ter if subsidies – which have their merits
– were just removed without some sort
of replacement to reduce the hardship
of the poor.
The capitalist system is perhaps the
most efficient form of economic manage-
ment. As Adam Smith opined: “It is not
from the benevolence of the butcher, the
brewer or the baker, that we can expect
our dinner, but from their regard to their
own interest.”
Put simply: In order to be successful,
companies must provide the best service
or product at the best price in order to
survive. This ultimately benefits the con-
sumers. This is the genius of capitalism as
described by Adam Smith over two hun-
dred years ago – “Let man seek his own
advantage, sometimes he will flourish,
sometimes he will flounder. But always,
the process of innovation and failure will
reward the common good.”
Capitalism has since undergone
changes – mostly to create an even play-
ing field for all players and to ensure that
there is no price fixing by cartels. Genuine
competition ultimately ensures that re-
sources are used efficiently to deliver the
best products at the lowest price.
It’s all right to apply market forces to
our economy if that is the government’s
intention. But it must be the real McCoy
not the ersatz version. Smith would be
at a loss for words to describe what
we have. It’s called crony capitalism Mr
Smith! A form of capitalism where so
many sacrifice so much for so few. Where
wealth is distributed upwards – the poor
supporting the rich.
Yin Ee Kiong
Penang
upper echelon of society. In the
1950s and 60s, students sitting
for Senior Cambridge exams only
took a maximum of eight sub-
jects and any students scoring
five distinctions was considered
to be excellent. Many of them
also excelled in sports. These are
the type of students we need to
produce – well-moulded for the
globalised world.
We need to inculcate in our
students that being successful
in life does not mean working in
an air-conditioned office. Being a
successful entrepreneur is also
an accomplishment. Even being
a good chef or a farmer earning
a respectable monthly income
should be construed as being
successful. It’s time to get out
of the box and be broadminded.
Sadly, our education system does
put through a stringent aptitude
test followed by a rigorous in-
terview with academicians and
psychologists. Only then can we
be assured that the best and
the brightest will be rewarded.
After this, a student’s financial
background should be taken into
account.
However, if a student gains
entry into a renowned university
or college, then the government
should automatically grant a
scholarship. Scholarships should
only be awarded for exceptional
students who will become in-
valuable assets to the country.
Recipients should be tied
down to the government and
be required to serve at least ten
years.
James Gonzales
Kuala Lumpur