"Tapfere, Neue Welt"

"Brave, new world"

It is a popular belief that Malaysia is undertaking the challenges of Vision 2020. With every hardship we encounter towards that, popular or not, we learn something new. What exactly will we learn from having inadequate time to prepare ourselves for the inevitable, forthcoming globalization?

The first wave of globalization since the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ was about imperialism, conquest, gold, gospel and glory. They wondered what their country can do for the world and what the world can do for their country.

At the end of this era, Malaysia was born.

The second wave of globalization was about multinational industries, group participations beyond imaginary borders of countries. They wondered what their company can do for the world and what the world can give back in return.

I believe the third wave of globalization has just begun; the harshest of its kind that will have everyone questioning themselves; ‘what can I do for the world and what can the world do for me?’. ‘Where do I fit in?’.

In order to survive such intolerant wave of change we need to study the cause of all impairments we see now, within the society, and rectify them. To draw our next course we need to be able to foresee the dangers which lie ahead. The momentous question of the third wave is too personal. Yet, we cannot make it any simpler nor avoid it.

Education, unlike other fundamental ideas of human development, requires creativity. What an educator may draw on those Tabula Rasas is limitless. The implementations will determine whether future Malaysians will join the successful league or not. So it goes; the right educators for this nation are educators with the right methods.

Optimism is the logic of fools.

Frankly, the education quality of this country is declining and everyone can see that. Moral issues among students pile up from day to day. With more university graduates, the government is being burdened by greater figures of unemployment rate. With more qualified and educated personnel, we face even greater professionalism crisis. With more progressive efforts made by the government to curb these problems, they face hindrance of unpopular support. While this beloved country drains its oil depository, the greater emphasis of developing good human capital lacks implementation. Where and when did these all begin? Where and when will we end?

Will making the students memorize the definitions of all the philosophical –isms and tick the right answers on answer sheets suffice for the rectification?

Remember, stability is a dead fish flowing down the river. The only stability we should embrace is a stable change.

"For Permatang Pauh"