Prelude
Illustrated several times in my post yesterday, I believed strongly on the principle of leadership by example. It follows therefore that bad examples/habits of the leadership will be filtered down and emulated by the subordinates including grassroots supporters and other opportunists for their selfish interests.
To continue where I left, I set out the prelude:
Pre-election: To add to the ‘ramblings and doodlings of my unsettled mind’, a most disgusting incident happened involving my daughter who is an aspiring silat exponent during the 2007 interschool silat championship competition.
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1. In the incident, my daughter (the 2nd of my siblings) was the silat champion for 2 categories in the 2007 JPWPKL (Jabatan Pelajaran Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur) Silat Championship. She was however not selected to represent one of the categories at the 2007 national championship for no apparent reason whereas she was the defending champion having won the state level the year before; instead she was lied to and forced to accept the decision (she was specifically told to adhere to the decision without question). Instead, another student, a 3rd placee from another category and whose qualifying credentials were doubtful, was selected to take her place.
2. At the same time, my daughter and her school teammates won three (3) gold and one (1) silver at the 2007 JPWPKL interschool silat championship. Yet another school with only one (1) gold and one (1) silver was honored with the award for being the best school. Cannot question the decision, JPWPKL officials apparently told the school.
3. Then subsequently at the national championship held in a far away state, my daughter and her team mate (where my daughter and her friend being champions represented JPWPKL in that category) all alone without the presence of their parents, were subjected to so much humiliation, ridicule, ridiculous threats, insinuations and dejection by almost the entire WPKL team of school officials and participants due to the influence of certain officials. [JPWPKL subsequently put the blame officially on my daughter’s personal silat coaches for interference in the administration of the WPKL team.]
This 3rd part of the incident obviously caught my attention and disgust, in respect to the two earlier parts perhaps because I was extremely busy with my work that I had overlooked the details to sense some things were not right.
Upon being briefed and examining the facts of the case, family members and friends (some of whom were headmistresses before) all arrived at the common conclusion - that my daughter had been indeed grossly wronged. However, they cautioned me against taking action against the culprits and the JPWPKL for fear that the relevant authorities would act unjustly against my other school going children. What more, they say, the regulators will always protect their ‘kind’ even if the culprits are wrong. Puzzled as I was that such unbelievable could happen in our education system that I had always respected, I still proceeded and made a thick complaint to the JPWPKL and copied it to the Ministry of Education at Putrajaya. As far as I am aware, no action was taken against the culprits. True to the spirit, JPWPKL put the blame on my daughter’s silat coaches and washed their hands. Wouldn’t it be have been great if the Minister of Education pull out his kris and ‘slice up’ these 3 so called educationists?
This incident displayed ‘pure incompetence, arrogance, utter prejudice, lust for power/ position, sombong bodoh, penindas minda etc’ of these 3 culprits as well as almost the entire 2007 WPKL contingent of the National Interschool Silat Competition in Kota Bahru including the several teachers who were officials/ coaches.
My daughter and her teammate suffered much emotional, mental and psychological pain arising from the incident disturbed her studies. However, with much effort and lots of special prayers, my daughter managed to obtain 9A’s and 2 B3 in her SPM; I truly believe that she could have done much better if not for the incident.
In short, the relevance of this incidence and its parallel to the country’s present leadership is simple; no body, even the administration of her school dared question the incident to JPWPKL. As apparently happening in UMNO, nobody dared to displease the leadership as voiced out by its dissidents. “Something is wrong with our leadership”. “Something is very wrong with the 3 educationists in my daughter’s case” I would say.
It is no co-incidence that our PM is the Penaung of Silat Gayung Malaysia (SGM). Although copies of my complaint were send to the MOE at Putrajaya, no affirmative action was taken against the culprits. I hear that there are persons in the high level of Putrajaya Ministry in the Silat Co-curriculum representing GSM. My daughter fortunately is from another silat discipline. Could that also be amongst reason for no affirmative action taken against the 3?
I cannot but wonder at the similarities of the negative attitudes and characteristics of the said educationists as well as the stance of the institutions in comparison with that of the present top leadership (re extreme nepotism and cronyism, non transparency, poor governance); how much of the negative aspects of the top leadership has been assimilated to the ground. I would compare it to George Bush saying ‘either you are with us or you are not’ and you can find followers readily adopting such ridiculous statement to merely satisfy their self interest. Should this be the case, (the grassroots at) our silat co-curriculum system is heading for the docks.
It is most sad, yet shameful and sickening, to acknowledge that even in our school co-curriculum, the inside politics is so dirty, allowing to adversely affect the well being of our future generation. As TDM rightly put it ‘The culture of fear is so strongly entrenched on the Malay psyche that few dare even to speak up on the prime minister's ill-advised decisions’. Consequently, as I see it, the Blind Spot Syndrome & the FEAR FACTOR were permitted to perpetuate so prevalently in our country’s institutions
Examples of the numerous shortfalls in Silat as a school curriculum will be well illustrated in my subsequent posting. Definitely there is nothing wrong in the art of Silat or it as co-curriculum but, oh gosh, some of the teachers/ educationists involved……UGH…so shitty. Damn, damn, damn them!!!!
Should the Minister be aware of the case and condones such actions of educationists, where’s the effective implementation of the proclaimed Malaysian Education Policy in relation to resource development in particular to the stated objective of ‘Silat for All’. Thus I am so pissed off that I have totally disregarded the recent issuance of the report card for the MOE and for its system to be recognized by UNESCO; this is liken to
I will soon enough post the details of the incident and the injustices in my blog, with the HOPE that concerned citizens and interested groups including the new WPKL parliamentarians on reviewing the case, understands the seriousness of the matter. The relevant corrective/ punitive action should be taken against the 3 identified education personnel including redeeming the honor and returning the confiscated belongings to my daughter and her teammate.
If indeed Pakatan Rakyat amplifies Good Governance, Transparency, Equal Treatment etc, the new MPs should readily address the issue on hand. It is most sad, yet shameful and sickening to acknowledge that even in school co-curriculum, good governance and transparency is so lacking. The well being of our future generation will be adversely affected. Such incidences as blatant as my daughter’s case should not be allowed to recur in our education system.
INDEED THE CULPRITS REMAIN TODAY AS VERY BAD EXAMPLES IN OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM. CORRECTIVE ACTION MUST BE TAKEN TO ENSURE IN FUTURE SUCH FURTHER ABUSE BY PEOPLE IN AUTHORITY BE MITIGATED.
IF INDEED THE PRESENT LEADERSHIP HAS SET A VERY BAD EXAMPLE THAT MANY HAD FOOLISHLY FOLLOWED, THEN IT IS MOST UNHEALTHY FOR OUR FUTURE GENERATION UNLESS CORRECTIVE ACTION IS TAKEN EFFECTIVELY AND IMMEDIATELY.
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