When the Prof speaks..

the future 

I happen to catch RTM's DEBAT PERDANA on Sunday night regarding REVISITING RUKUNEGARA.( trust me.. nothing else on tv was interesting to watch that night!) Besides my fav. Royal Prof Ungku Aziz , unfortunately all the panels were malays with Mujahid Yusof Rawa being the only "opposition" on the bench. It is a bit ironic as the panel's composition did not relect the spirit of RUKUNEGARA. I wonder whether this week they'll be Part 2 with other Malaysians besides the malays on the forum.if they are brave , they'll get Kit Siang in..and perhaps to pair up with Nazri !! hahaha.. mesti kecoh giller..

I happen to read Prof Khoo Khay Kim's interview on NST on Sunday. Being my favourite intellect ( he adores sports as well esp football !! ) , i do concur with his opinions regarding half-hearted efforts by our own politicians in promoting national unity.

QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW.

The root of the problem, as he sees it, lies in:

* a national school system that has become more communal despite its supposed non-ethnic and non-religious status;
* the participation of political parties in national unity committees; and,
* Malaysians ignoring the fifth tenet of Rukun Negara: good behaviour and morality.

Is there a way out of the ethnic quagmire?
"Teach cultural history," says the man who has been teaching history for a good 40 years.Khoo believes the teaching of history in Malaysia is too political, preventing children from learning more about other cultures.
"Of course I don't like the idea of interfering with history. But if you teach cultural history, you don't have to shape it to what you want. You can expose the children to cultural reality."For example, many Malaysians do not know the difference between a Punjabi and a Bengali. Some have strange ideas about the religions of their friends and neighbours. All this is due to ignorance.

How does he feel that almost 37 years after he helped formulate the Rukun Negara and other basic principles of national unity, Malaysians are still polarised?

"What we have tried to do, unfortunately, never got through to the people. We were fighting against obstacles which were more potent.
"We called for national unity, understanding and tolerance, but at the ground level, we did not promote this idea.We didn't teach the children in such a way that they can begin to know one another's culture."

Is he satisfied with what he has achieved?
"I always feel that I have achieved very little. My conclusion is that when you're a true Malaysian, you're a very lonely person. It is because we're all divided by cliques. And when you're not with one, you're left out."

***********************************************

On a lighter note ,I went to Istana Budaya today on the way to my locum job to get tickets to see Datin Seri. SOLD OUT beb !!! to my frustration all tickets were finished !! Wow.. very encouraging isn't it !! The production decided to extend the show for another two days but it can only be bought after 9am on Tuesday !! Damn.. will miss this year's great show..