By TK Chua

When Robert Kuok talked about Malaysia being on the wrong track, of course many of us sat up and listened. But then, is this something new to most of us?

Here is the problem – even as he said the obvious, many still want to dispute it. Some never want to admit we committed to wrong policies that stopped us from achieving our full potential.

Malaysia has been on the wrong track for a long time now. Though some of us realise this, many still deny it.

We ignore the failures staring us in the face and prefer to go on with our wayward and parochial ways.

Let’s take education as an example. For how long has the nation been debating and arguing about this issue?

In recent times, even Malay leaders and activists too, have doubted the effectiveness of our national schools.

If there is nothing wrong, why has there been so much dissatisfaction, doubts and arguments over the years?

Why do we keep arguing that our students and graduates are not knowledgeable and competitive enough when in essence we have done nothing to rectify the situation?

How many revamps and blueprints have we proposed and undertaken? But what has really happened over the years has been the informal infiltration of parochialism, bigotry, religion and poor work culture into our school system.

We know that this country needs English and “internationalisation”, yet we have leaders who argue defiantly and stupidly that not all countries using English are successful.

Look, China does not need to learn Malay to deal with us. But we need to learn Chinese and English to deal with them and the rest of the world. If some of the leaders do not understand this, then they shouldn’t be leaders in the first place.

Why do we keep subjecting our people, particularly the lower income group, to a perpetual trap?

Some say that if we introduce English medium schools, rural students will be at a disadvantage. But where do rural students studying Malay end up today? Why are we not solving our existing problems but only want to focus on potential problems?

Just look around us for goodness sake – who are the most versatile, confident and high income earners if not those who have studied or are well-versed in English, regardless of race or religion.

I am afraid our leaders are not talking sense. They can talk about national language, culture and patriotism as long as the students are not their own children.

I think it is time Malaysians think critically about what is good for their children, and not be blinded by endless stupid arguments.

TK Chua is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.