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M. Bakri Musa

Seeing Malaysia My Way

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Location: Morgan Hill, California, United States

Malaysian-born Bakri Musa writes frequently on issues affecting his native land. His essays have appeared in the Far Eastern Economic Review, Asiaweek, International Herald Tribune, Education Quarterly, SIngapore's Straits Times, and The New Straits Times. His commentary has aired on National Public Radio's Marketplace. His regular column Seeing It My Way appears in Malaysiakini. Bakri is also a regular contributor to th eSun (Malaysia). He has previously written "The Malay Dilemma Revisited: Race Dynamics in Modern Malaysia" as well as "Malaysia in the Era of Globalization," "An Education System Worthy of Malaysia," "Seeing Malaysia My Way," and "With Love, From Malaysia." Bakri's day job (and frequently night time too!) is as a surgeon in private practice in Silicon Valley, California. He and his wife Karen live on a ranch in Morgan Hill. This website is updated twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays at 5 PM California time.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

An Education System Worthy of Malaysia - Concluding Thought

Some thought:

Last week was the final installment of my An Education System Worthy of Malaysia book. I have thought long and hard of what to add since I finished writing that book in 2003. Nothing has changed, if anything matters have gotten worse.

In gathering my thought I came across a poem by the young Indonesian poet Argus Sarjono. He was lamenting the sorry state of Indonesian schools but his sentiments could well apply to our situation in Malaysia. His poem captures my frustration with our schools. I tried hard to translate it into English but was unsuccessful, so it remains in Bahasa Indonesia. In his poetry, Argus writes of the edifice of falsehood starting right from the early years at school where the pupils fake their obedience and reverence for their teachers, and the teachers who fake their teachings, and the authorities with their fake credentials and qualifications. In the end we have built a grand edifice of falsehood that awaits its time of massive collapse. Enjoy the poetry! Reposted with permission of the poet.

Sajak Palsu

Agus R Sarjono

Selamat pagi pak, selamat pagi bu, ucap anak sekolah
dengan sapaan palsu. Lalu merekapun belajar
sejarah palsu dari buku-buku palsu. Di akhir sekolah
mereka terperangah melihat hamparan nilai mereka
yang palsu. Karena tak cukup nilai, maka berdatanganlah
mereka ke rumah-rumah bapak dan ibu guru
untuk menyerahkan amplop berisi perhatian
dan rasa hormat palsu. Sambil tersipu palsu
dan membuat tolakan-tolakan palsu, akhirnya pak guru
dan bu guru terima juga amplop itu sambil berjanji palsu
untuk mengubah nilai-nilai palsu dengan
nilai-nilai palsu yang baru. Masa sekolah
demi masa sekolah berlalu, merekapun lahir
sebagai ekonom-ekonom palsu, ahli hukum palsu,
ahli pertanian palsu, insinyur palsu.
Sebagian menjadi guru, ilmuwan
atau seniman palsu. Dengan gairah tinggi
mereka menghambur ke tengah pembangunan palsu
dengan ekonomi palsu sebagai panglima
palsu. Mereka saksikan
ramainya perniagaan palsu dengan ekspor
dan impor palsu yang mengirim dan mendatangkan
berbagai barang kelontong kualitas palsu.
Dan bank-bank palsu dengan giat menawarkan bonus
dan hadiah-hadiah palsu tapi diam-diam meminjam juga
pinjaman dengan ijin dan surat palsu kepada bank negeri
yang dijaga pejabat-pejabat palsu. Masyarakatpun berniaga
dengan uang palsu yang dijamin devisa palsu. Maka
uang-uang asing menggertak dengan kurs palsu
sehingga semua blingsatan dan terperosok krisis
yang meruntuhkan pemerintahan palsu ke dalam
nasib buruk palsu. Lalu orang-orang palsu
meneriakkan kegembiraan palsu dan mendebatkan
gagasan-gagasan palsu di tengah seminar
dan dialog-dialog palsu menyambut tibanya
demokrasi palsu yang berkibar-kibar begitu nyaring
dan palsu.

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