#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Teaching In Thailand >  >  > Teaching in Asia >  >  Malaysian education system in crisis

## Mid

*Guan Eng: Malaysian education system in crisis*
Lee Wei Lian



*KUALA  LUMPUR,* April 8 — Lim Guan Eng today accused government leaders of  being in "denial" over the country's education standards, insisting that  it is in a state of crisis and requires immediate attention.

 The DAP secretary-general's statement today comes after reports that  Malaysian applicants had failed to gain admission to the world's most  prestigious university - Harvard- for the second year in a row despite  claims from the education minister that the nation's school system was  better than that of the west.

 Lim *(picture)*, who is also Penang Chief Minister,  told Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that he should stop  crowing over the World Economic Forum report that showed Malaysian  children receiving a better quality of education than those in the  United States, Germany and United Kingdom and that he should worry about  losing out to Thailand and Vietnam instead.

 "How wrong, misleading and out-of-touch Muhyiddin is has been brought  home by the failure of any Malaysian to gain admission into Harvard  University, the world’s most prestigious university, for the second year  in a row," said Lim in statement here.

 The Bagan MP noted that Malaysia was only fourth among Southeast  Asian countries in terms of undergraduate enrolment in the Ivy League  institution behind Singapore with 18, followed by Thailand with seven,  Vietnam with six and Malaysia with five.

 "In other words, instead of boasting that Malaysia’s education system  is better than US, UK or Germany, Muhyiddin should be worrying about  being overtaken by Thailand and Vietnam," said Lim.

 He also called on Muhyiddin to answer why there were no Malaysian  Nobel Prize winners and no Malaysian universities among the Top 200  Universities in the world.

 He also asked the education minister to address the issue of  Malaysian students preferring to study in Singapore, US, UK and Germany  rather than in Malaysian universities when given a choice.

 Lim said that in indexes such as the 2009 Program for International  Student Assessment (PISA) involving 75 countries, Malaysia was ranked  56th in reading ability, 55th in Mathematics ability and 53 in Science.

 He said the country's performance in the Trends in International  Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) has also seen a steady decrease  from 1999 to 2007.

 "Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should stop boasting that Malaysian kids  receive a better quality of education than United States, Germany and  United Kingdom but admit that Malaysian education is in a state of  crisis that requires immediate rescue if Malaysia does not want to lose  out to Thailand and Vietnam," said Lim.

 He urged Malaysia to establish an excellent education system capable of building talented Malaysians for the future.

 "There is no doubt that availability of human talent is the new oil of the 21st century," said Lim.

 Harvard University's selection panel chief for Malaysia was reported  yesterday as saying that Malaysians failed to gain admission to the  world's most prestigious university for the second year in a row due to  deterioration in the quality of applicants.

 This contrasts to previous years where at least one Malaysian had been admitted to Harvard every year from 1985 to 2010.

themalaysianinsider.com

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## Bettyboo

> "In other words, instead of boasting that Malaysia’s education system is better than US, UK or Germany, Muhyiddin should be worrying about *being overtaken by Thailand* and Vietnam," said Lim.


If that's true then they really are in crisis. Thailand's education system is, in many ways, going backwards, in others, it is staying the same - shite.

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## peterpan

Malaysia Bumiputra first policy was bound to fail

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## kingwilly

> Malaysia Bumiputra first policy was bound to fail


Exactly, and not just the education sector either.

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## Latindancer

Ah yes....Bhumiputras....."the sons of the earth". How appropriate. Most I have met have been utter clods. Malaysian people were the most boring I have met in any Asian country. Self-absorbed and uninterested in outsiders.
Some of the women were educated and interesting conversationalists. But the guys ? Very dull.

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## Seekingasylum

The Malaysian standard fell when English ceased to be used as the medium for secondary education. I think they are now realising the foolishness of that and are trying to reinstate its use but having forsaken it for one generation it is not as easy as they thought.

Plus, ethnic Malays are a bit stupid and incline to indolence. If it were not for the Chinese, Malaysia would be even worse than it is in the current league tables.

Mind you, using admission to Harvard as some sort of benchmark for excellence is a bit weird but there you go.

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## Mid

*Malaysian educators receive comic books praising ruling coalition*
Yong Yen Nie 
Apr 14, 2012

In an move apparently to garner educators support for the  ruling parties, copies of a comic book that praises the Barisan Nasional  government were reported to be circulated among teachers in Malaysia.

 The Malaysian Insider  reported that a 50-page booklet featuring caricatures of figures  resembling leading national political figures were distributed, that  seemed to put those from the ruling coalition in positive light but  while portraying the opposition negatively.

 The online news portal quoted an unnamed teacher who said teachers  had been briefed recently about the governments achievements in the  past few years. While there was no directive on who the teachers should  vote for, the teachers that attended the recent briefing were given the  comic book.

 The Malaysian Insider reported that it managed to obtain a copy, with  a caricature of the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, on the cover  with the words I wouldnt break your trust.

 It said the distribution of the comic books came at a time when the  countrys 13th general elections are widely anticipated, and teachers  who form a large population of the civil workforce are among the most  significant target for support for the Barisan Nasional coalition.

 Malaysias civil service comprises 1.4 million staff strength, which is considered to be large for its 28 million population.

 Previously, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has admitted that it  would be difficult for his party to win a two-thirds majority in the  upcoming general elections.

 Its a different environment now. (You have) social media at work,  you dont have a monopoly as you had. People are more educated, there is  a free flow of information, he was quoted as saying here.

 Political observers have said Najib would face a tougher task winning  in the upcoming elections if he delayed the polls to the second half of  this year, given the uncertainties in the global economy that may  impact Malaysia. By waiting, he would also be giving the Opposition more  time to strengthen. He has until April 2013 to call the elections.

 In March, Bloomberg reported that Malaysia could hold its 13th  general elections in May or June. Bloomberg said that four officials  told its newswire that Najib may dissolve the parliament soon and one of  the dates suggested for the elections was June 3.

 Nevertheless, the Prime Minister has also been making his rounds to  meet voters in various states recently. A RM500 (US$163) cash handout to  households earning below RM3,000 monthly that was announced during the  Budget speech last October was also seen as a pre-election sweetener for  voters.

asiancorrespondent.com

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## Mid

_A comic depicts a character resembling Datuk Seri Najib Razak._



_A comic depicts a character resembling an opposition leader with his arms around two men._


_A comic depicts a character resembling Najib in superhero guise._


_A comic depicts a superhero character resembling Najib (left)  apprehending another that resembles Anwar (centre) while a crowd cheers  him on._

themalaysianinsider.com

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## mikesch4ever

how many students are enrolled in harvard isn't really a good criteria for an education system.

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## cyrille

criterion.

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