Critical Thinking During My School Days

 Critical Thinking During My School Days

M. Bakri Musa

 

Excerpt #7 from my Qur’an, Hadith, And Hikayat:  Exercises In Critical Thinking

 

The importance of critical thinking was imparted upon me early during my primary school years, only to be snuffed out during secondary school. I was fortunate later to have benefited from a modern liberal education in Canada. That resurrected my earlier natural childhood critical thinking aptitude which we all have. We have to in order to survive. My critical skills were later strengthened during medical school and specialty training years.

 

         My teachers engaged my thinking skills early during primary school. As such those years were fun, more so during test times, as perverse as that may seem. Tests are universally deemed stressful. Hence many schools have done away with them in the belief that would enhance learning. That is only an assumption. Neuropsychologists tell us that the effect of stress on learning follows a Bell curve; a little bit of it enhances learning while too much, inhibiting it. The challenge is to find the optimal level.

 

         I had my share of tests during primary school. In part because of the frequency, I did not feel the stress, the wisdom of the Malay aphorism biasa menghilangkan bisa (familiarity detoxifies the poison) being operative. There was something more, I now realize.

 

         In a typical test we would be given a series of patterns and then asked multiple-choice questions. Only much later when I took a class in psychology at university would I recognize those as Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Tests, the non-language-dependent variety.

 

         My first headmaster, G E D Lewis, had just returned after the war with his London University PhD where he had developed those IQ tests. As such he was eager to “field test” his new tool on other than British kids, and we were his ready subjects. He was followed by F J D Rawcliffe, also a London University PhD, and his interest on cross-cultural applicability of IQ Tests.

 

         As an aside, ponder this. While in a small primary school deep in the ulu of the country (Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan) our headmasters had doctorates from a leading British University! That was not all. My English teacher in Grade V as well as later my headmaster in secondary school were Oxonians!

 

         Back to my primary school years, as we had to take those special tests at frequent intervals, we were dispensed from having to take the regular subject-based school examinations. A testimony to the wide autonomy local headmasters had then! Soon I developed a “stress-free” attitude towards tests. I also acquired the added notion that I did not have to study or memorize my class work for those tests.

 

         That misconception proved disastrous during my early secondary school years. During my first term in Form One of secondary school (Year 7), I had splashes of red marks all over my class tests and assignments, except for science and mathematics. Those were my salve, but not enough for my parents.

 

         One day my teacher asked me to distribute the marked papers of an earlier test in history. I saw a paper with an A plus, and the owner happened to sit in the far corner of the classroom. On my long, slow walk towards him, I managed to glance and partially read his answers.

 

         To my surprise they were but regurgitations from our textbook. Here I thought that when asked why the Roman Empire collapsed, I had to give my own novel reasons based on what I had read. My teacher was not impressed.

 

         From that day on I decided to summarize and memorize my history and geography texts. From then on, I aced my tests. I should have been elated as I had discovered the secret. Far from that! I felt that I was forced to conform to my teachers’ rigid and meaningless expectations.

 

         A few years later as a consequence of my now improved test scores, I was shunted into the science stream and thus spared from taking history and geography. With that, less memorization and regurgitation at test times.

 

         Less but not entirely eliminated. The focus then shifted to “spotting” questions, guessing which ones would likely be asked by reviewing previous years’ tests. My working hypothesis being that questions asked in the immediate past few years would unlikely to be repeated the following year. At least my skills and focus now shifted from pure memorization to some sort of intelligent forecasting!

 

Next Excerpt # 8:  Dramatic Shift At University

Penipuan Besar Hak Istimewa Melayu

 Penipuan Besar Hak Istimewa Melayu

M. Bakri Musa

 

Petikan Ke Enam Dari Buku Saya: Qur’an Hadith And Hikayat:  Exercises In Critical Thinking (Qur’an, Hadith, Dan Hikayat:  Latihan Untuk Berfikir Dengan Teliti)

 

Jika kita membaca dengan teliti, yakni menggunakan otak, kita bukan sahaja boleh belajar dengan lebih berkesan tetapi juga menghargai apa yang kita baca. Inilah tujuan sastera tulisan, untuk memberi perangsang kepada pembacanya. Begitu juga apabila membaca al-Quran, hadis, dan hikayat kuno. Tanpa berfikir dengan teliti bila membaca Al-Quran atau hadis, itu hanyalah untuk bergema sahaja, tidak jauh berbeza dengan laskar Merah Mao dahulu yang melaungkan petikan dari Buku Merahnya tanpa berfikir atau renungan.

 

            Lebih penting dan amat berkesan ialah keupayaan untuk berfikir dengan teliti akan melindungi kita daripada pengaruh apa yang disifatkan sebagai "Penipuan Besar." Orang Jerman di bawah Nazi pada tahun 1930-an, walaupun kecanggihan dan pendidikan unggul mereka, tidak terlepas daripada penyakit berbahaya ini. Akibatnya bencana terbesar, dan bukan hanya untuk mereka.

 

            Hampir satu abad kemudian, rakyat Amerika juga nyaris tertelan dengan "Penipuan Besar" mereka sendiri. Yakni, Presiden Trump dan pengikutnya percaya bahawa beliau telah ditipu daripada kemenangan "tanah runtuh" dalam pilihan raya 2020. Amerika bernasib baik bahawa rusuhan yang berlaku hanya terhad kepada Trump dan pengikutnya yang tidak menggunakan otak mereka. Nasib baik akibat buruk itu terhad kepada seperti anggota polis yang terbunuh semasa serangan ke atas Capitol pada 6 Januari 2021.

 

            "Penipuan Besar" masyarakat kita semasa ialah “Hak Keistimewaan Melayu.” Kita percaya bahawa itu akan menyelamat kita. Keadaan sebenar ialah kita sudah dan terus merosot di depan mata kita. Apa yang jelas ialah “Hak Keistimewaan Melayu” telah di seludupkan untuk menjadi alat yang luas dan tanpa amanah untuk memperkayakan sekumpulan pemimpin kita. Sementara itu dan menggunakan bahasa ringkas, hak keistimewaan sudah menjadi candu masyarakat kita. Atau dalam istilah semasa, syok sendiri sahaja.

 

            Tidak kekurangan buku dan bahan terbitan untuk membimbing kita untuk berfikir dengan teliti. Sayang sedikit sebab kebanyakannya adalah dalam Bahasa Inggeris atau timbul dari budaya dan masyarakat Barat. Oleh sebab itu, sebahagian besar tidak bermakna atau memberi iktibar kepada masyarakat Melayu dan Islam. Sebaliknya, jauh daripada mengasah kemahiran berfikir dengan teliti, bahan tersebut hanya akan memberi kepercayaan bahawa pemikiran kritis adalah rekaan Barat untuk melemahkan kepercayaan tradisional Timur. Atau lebih teruk lagi, sisa-sisa pemikiran kolonial lama yang berhasrat untuk mengekalkan tindasan masyarakat tempatan dan memperkecilkan nilai dan cara pemikiran kita.

 

            Saya terpikat kepada pengalaman Edward Omar Moad mengajar falsafah dan kemahiran berfikir kritis di Universiti Qatar. Muridnya hanya pandai memuntahkan apa yang telah diterbitkan di Barat. Untuk mengatasi masalah ini, beliau meminta pelajarnya membaca rencana dan berita utama dalam akhbar dan penerbitan tempatan. Dia yakin bahawa pengulas di Barat tidak berminat dengan masalah tempatan. Oleh sebab itu muridnya terpaksa berfikir sendiri dan mengupas serta mengulas pendapatan tersebut.

 

            Berfikir dengan teliti membimbing kita ke arah yang lebih bermakna dan berkesan. Seterusnya itu melindungi kita daripada tertipu dan senang di pengaruhi oleh saudagar jual minyak badan di pasar malam. Juga itu akan membantu kita memahami Al-Quran dan hadis serta budaya dan sastera kita dengan lebih mendalam dan bermakna. Berfikiran kritis bukan hanya untuk kelas falsafah; ia akan membawa kita kepada pembelajaran yang lebih berkesan dan cekap. Hari kita berhenti belajar adalah hari kita mati. Jika kita membaca hikayat dengan secara ringkas tanpa renungan mendalam dan kritikus, itu akan hanya menjadi cerita "tertarik", dan seronok seperti menuntun wayang karton sahaja. Itu mungkin gembira, tetapi hanya itu sahaja.

 

            Tanpa tabiat berfikir dengan teliti oleh rakyat, pemimpin yang tidak bermanah seperti bekas Perdana Menteri Najib Razak dengan mudah boleh menipu orang Melayu termasuk raja-raja, menteri, dan pegawai tertinggi. Najib bersumpah dan kita dengan mudah percaya bahawa wang berbilion yang di sapunya dari Syarikat 1Malaysia Development Berhad ialah derma atau hadiah daripada Putera Saudi. Maklumlah kepada masyarakat Melayu, semua dari Tanah Suci adalah halal termasuklah lalatnya.

 

            Walaupun rampasan dari kondo mewah Najib berikutan kekalahannya dalam pilihan raya 2018 adalah dalam bentuk wang kertas Euro, dolar, dan pound sterling, masih ramai yang percaya bahawa itu adalah milik UMNO, kononnya. Yakni sisa perbelanjaan pilihan raya. Najib menyangkakan kita percaya bahawa penduduk di Ulu Kelantan boleh menggunakan dolar di pasar malam mereka!

 

            Najib Razak bukanlah pemimpin Melayu yang terkecuali pandai memutar putar masyarakat kita. Ramai pemimpin Melayu lain yang sama tamak mengumpulkan kekayaan yang tidak dapat dibayangkan. Semuanya bertopengkan hak istimewa Melayu membantu orang Melayu! Semasa krisis ekonomi Asia 1997, Mahathir mengadakan dana RM60 Bilion untuk “menyelamatkan” syarikat Melayu seperti Renong yang dimiliki oleh kroninya, dan juga syarikat perkapalan negara yang mana anaknya adalah pemegang saham utama.

 

            Kini Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim pula mungkin mengikut bersama mempercayai penipuan besar ini. Beliau ingin memberi berbilion kepada Syarikat Sapura Energy yang sekarang mungkin muflis. Dia memperbodohkan dirinya jika ia percaya bahawa menolong syarikat itu akan membantu pembekal Melayunya. Anwar sepatutnya lebih tahu bahawa tiada bezanya antara Renong dan Sapura.

 

            Pemimpin Melayu di semua peringkat masih belum sedar tentang kebenaran ulung. Yakni, cara paling berkesan untuk membantu orang Melayu ialah mengusahakan supaya masyarakat kita boleh berdaya saing. Meningkatkan mutu pendidikan negara khususnya di sekolah kebangsaan adalah satu permulaan yang baik dan paling mustahak.

 

            “Penipuan besar" ini akan berterusan dan dianggap sebagai kebenaran tulen selagi kaum Melayu dari pemimpin hingga ke pengikut enggan berfikir dengan teliti.

 

Seterusnya Petikan # 7: Berfikir Teliti Semasa Di Bangku Sekolah

 

The Big Lie of Malay Special Privileges

 The Big Lie of Malay Special Privileges

M. Bakri Musa

 

Excerpt #6 from my Qur’an, Hadith, And Hikayat:  Exercises In Critical Thinking

 

         There is no shortage of books and published materials on critical thinking, but the examples cited are often familiar only to those from Western cultures and societies. For the most part those would be alien if not irrelevant to Malays and Muslims. Far from sharpening critical thinking skills, those exercises would feed only their already false and negative perception of critical thinking being a Western construct to undermine traditional eastern beliefs. Or worse, the remnants of the old colonial mindset intent on keeping the natives suppressed, or belittling our cherished values and mode of thinking.

 

         The experience of Edward Omar Moad teaching philosophy and critical thinking skills at Qatar University is instructive. His students ended up merely regurgitating what had already been published in the West. To overcome that barrier, he asked his students to read the editorials and the leading news items in the region’s papers and to critique those ideas. That forced the students to think. You can be assured that Western commentators would not be interested in those genuinely unique local matters.

 

         Critical thinking guides us towards making better judgements. It would also help us understand the Qur’an and hadith better, as well as our culture and literature. Critical thinking is not just for a philosophy class; it would lead us to more effective and efficient learning. The day we stop learning is the day we die. If we read a novel in a passive manner without much reflection, then it becomes merely an “interesting” story, much like watching a soap opera. There is joy in that, but that is all there is.

 

         By becoming active readers and engaging our critical faculties, we would not only learn better and faster but also appreciate what we are reading even more. That after all is the purpose of literature; likewise, when we read the Qur’an, hadith, and folklore. Sans a critical mind, such readings of the Qur’an or hadith would be but mere rituals, no different from Mao’s Red Guards of yore mindlessly chanting quotes from his Red Book.

 

         On a more profound and consequential level, the ability to think critically would prevent us from being taken in by the “Big Lie.” The Germans under the Nazis in the 1930s, despite their sophistication and superior education, were not spared this dangerous virus. The consequences were disastrous, and not just for them.

 

         Nearly a century later, Americans too nearly fell for President Trump’s “Big Lie” that he was cheated from his “landslide” electoral victory in the 2020 elections. It was fortunate that the tragedy there was restricted only to Trump and his ill-informed followers, plus some innocent lives as with the policemen killed during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

 

         For Malays, the current “Big Lie” is that special privileges are our savior when in fact the program has degenerated in front of our very eyes to become a vast, corrupt entitlement scheme for the privileged few. 

 

         It is not coincidental that former Prime Minister Najib Razak could with ease hoodwink Malays including our rulers, ministers, and top bureaucrats that the billions he swiped from 1Malaysia Development Berhad were but generous donations from a Saudi Prince. To Malays, everything from the Holy Land is halal, including their flies. 

 

         Even when the loot confiscated from his luxurious condo following his defeat in the 2018 elections was in the form of stacks of Euros, US dollars, and pound sterling notes, many still believe that those belonged to his party. Leftovers from campaign expenses, as per Najib. Yes, those simple villagers in Ulu Kelantan could readily use Euros or US dollars at their local pasar malam!

 

         Najib Razak was not the only Malay leader guilty of hoodwinking Malays while at the same time amassing unimaginable fortunes for himself, all under the guise of Malay Special privileges and thus helping Malays. During the Asian economic crisis of 1997, Mahathir created a massive RM60 Billion rescue fund to bail out such “Malay” companies as Renong, owned by his cronies, and the national shipping company of which his son was a major shareholder.

 

         Fast forward to today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who should have known better, risks falling for the same big lie. To wit, his propping up Sapura Energy. He fools himself into believing that bailing the company would help its Malay suppliers and vendors. 

 

         Malay leaders at all levels have yet to learn this simple truth. That is, the most effective way to help Malays is to make us competitive. Improving the national schools would be a good start.

 

         This “Big Lie” will continue and be taken as gospel truth as long as we Malays, leaders and followers alike, do not use our critical faculties. 

 

Next:  Excerpt #7:  Critical Thinking During My School Days