Guilty verdict in Trump's criminal hush money trial makes US history
Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York.
Sunday, 2 June 2024
A divide so hard to bridge
From the UiTM dispute to the annual matriculation issue, Malaysia seems caught in a loop of racial controversy. But there are those who give us hope.
THE SPM results are out. So, we can brace now for the annual lament of non-malays who will have top scorer children unable to get places in the public universities’ matriculation programmes.
It’s likely to be worse this year with more students scoring straight As and the number of matriculation places likely to be unchanged.
A Malay politician has already rushed in, telling the Malays who did not do well that they have nothing to worry about.
He is offering places in Giatmara, Mara and several other universities and colleges, promising them free education – and allowances to boot!
This, while other parents who are even willing to hold down two jobs to see their children get an education, are pleading for places. It must be frustrating for these parents.
The race divide in our country is very real.
The majority community and the minorities seem to be living in two different worlds, albeit in the same country. There’s already that controversy about Universiti Teknologi Mara and the parallel pathway programme for training cardiothoracic surgeons.
Despite close to 70 years of independence and more than 100 years of the various races and religions living together, we tend to know – or care – little about each other.
We even see “the other” as a joke to be laughed at, mocked, even bullied.
Take that teacher in Ampang. Four boys had thrown water bottles at each other. It is something quite ordinary – boys will be boys. So will teachers. When we were in school, we did not throw bottles, but teachers threw dusters. And they were unerringly accurate! They did not care about what race we were, that duster would land smack on the forehead of the errant lad.
This teacher in Ampang, though, does not seem so colour blind. He sent the four boys out to stand under the sun – no problem with that – but then called in three of them, reportedly of a different race, after just 15 minutes.
The other boy was left to bake for hours; he suffered a heatstroke and mental health problems. He has now been declared a disabled person and is unable to go back to regular school. The incident happened at the end of April, and as we go into June, we are told that no action has been taken against the teacher.
The boy’s mother, pregnant with another child, is devastated.
There was another mother who was devastated late last year. She had forgotten her two-year-old child and left the toddler in her car while she went about her work. That was on Nov 8. The grief-stricken mother was charged in court on Dec 22. It took the cops just a month and a half to charge a mother who had accidentally left her child in a hot car.
But the Ampang case was not an accident. It was malicious, as far as reports go. Yet, there seems to have been no real action so far although, according to the Ampang Jaya district police, the probe into the case has been completed and the investigation papers have been referred to the deputy public prosecutor.
What’s worse, the boy was served with warning letters for being away from school while he was getting medical treatment. Did the headmaster know that?
And there is that big question: Was the teacher racist? Was the difference of punishment due to the difference in race?
It should not be. Remember our current Prime Minister’s famous speech about “anak Melayu, anak Cina, anak India, anak Kadazan, anak Iban”? It was Gettysburglike, something we should all hold him to.
There can be no racism in schools. We don’t need people like that teacher in the system. What we could do with are people like Michael Tong Wai Siong.
For the last 16 years, the now 55-year-old has played father to three Malay boys. He first saw one of them when he was a 39-year-old visiting an orphanage in Gombak, Selangor.
The boy, who had learning difficulties, was sitting alone. Tong took him under his wing, putting him through tuition classes to make school easier. He also took the boy home.
Not only that, he also “adopted” the boy’s two brothers who were in a different orphanage.
He raised them as good Muslims, getting them an ustaz for religious classes and even preparing the early morning meals for the boys during Ramadan. It is heartwarming.
There was also Chee Hoi Lan, who was given the Ikon Ibu Sejatikeluarga Malaysia award in 2022. She raised a child who was abandoned at the age of two months by her biological mother, an Indonesian citizen.
Chee, a kindergarten teacher, adopted the child and single-handedly raised her as a good Muslim for 24 years now.
Both Tong and Chee are true Malaysians who understand what multiculturalism is.
I would love it if we could get more such heartwarming stories, especially the other way around. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to also hear of a Muslim who raises a non-muslim child in the religion of his or her birth?
There is also hope in people like 20-year-old Chinese lad Jeremy Wong Jin Wei and 24-year-old Malay-pakistani Zubir Khan.
Wong is Chinese but is as Indian as they come. He loves Tamil movies and Tamil songs and speaks the language fluently. He even has a couple of Indian names he has given himself – Jerogunathan Wongasamy, and Jerthalaiva Wongbeng, his Tiktok moniker.
While Wong may love Tamil songs, Zubir has become a huge Tamil singer with his hit single Macha Macha Nee Ennoda Macha, which garnered 3.5 million views on Youtube in just over five months. He, too, is surrounded by Indian friends.
In a country wracked by apartness, people like Tong, Chee, Wongasamy and Macha Zubir show us one thing – in the midst of all the bleak news, there may yet be hope for our country.
Saturday, 1 June 2024
China extends a TVET helping hand to Malaysia
One for the album: The Malaysian delegation led by Ahmad Zahid posing for a group photo after the MOU signing ceremony between Belia Mahir and Beifang International Education in Beijing. — Bernama
Scholarships and training in courses ranging from EVs to robotics and AI available
WITH over 5,000 Malaysian students set to benefit from technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in China, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called it a “game changer” in skills learning and career advancement for youth.
The Deputy Prime Minister said 220 Chinese companies are offering 5,125 places to Malaysian students to undertake short- to long-term courses in TVET.
The “game changer,” he said, will enable Malaysian students to learn high-tech equipment skills and forge a promising career path in TVET, which would come with better salaries.
“They will receive training in China through the Malaysia-China Youth TVET Training Programme’s Finishing School approach, with all expenses covered.
“These collaborations focus on various advanced courses, particularly in the automotive sector, emphasising electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy vehicles (REVs), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI),” he told the media in Beijing on Wednesday night.
Ahmad Zahid is in the Chinese capital on the last leg of his 11-day trip to mark the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China bilateral ties. Before Beijing, he was in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
It’s also his first official visit to China since becoming Deputy Prime Minister in December 2022.
On the TVET programme, Ahmad Zahid said the initiative stems from a collaboration between the National Organisation of Skilled Workers (Belia Mahir) and China’s TVET sector, particularly through the Beifang Automotive Education Group and Tang (M) International Education Group.
Earlier, he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Malaysia and 114 Chinese firms to affirm the collaboration and facilitate TVET training for Malaysian students at the Beifang International Education Centre in Daxing, Beijing.
Also present were Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, GiatMara chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir, Belia Mahir secretary-general and head of skilled youth Mohammad Rizan Hassan, Beifang International Education president Cao Zhenfeng and Tang International Education Group president Li Jinsong.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the National TVET Council chairman, said the training quota includes 500 places for Malaysian Chinese students and 200 places each for Indian students, and those from Sabah and Sarawak.
“Graduates will later be absorbed into these Chinese companies that have invested in TVET in Malaysia, enhancing their employability and immediate job market readiness.
“In addition to the 2,000 positions provided by Beifang Automotive, we have also secured a further 3,125 places following our recent discussions; it now totals 5,125 opportunities for our students.
“These courses are worth some RM30mil, sponsored by Chinese firms. Our side will cover flight tickets and a basic Chinese language course provided by the Malaysia-China Institute (MCI),” he said, adding that the courses will be rolled out in phases through 2025.
He also thanked Beifang for its commitment to sending training equipment, including six EVs and hydrogen cars to GiatMara, to facilitate the practical learning of repairing EVs and REVs, along with the free training provided to underprivileged students and instructors from Malaysian TVET institutions.
Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia’s emerging development in TVET talent is a way forward for these graduates to earn premium salaries.
“The demand for skilled labour is high, and with the requisite skills, achieving a premium salary is feasible.
“This is a proactive and straightforward process. I hope Malaysian students will seize the opportunity to further their studies,” he said.
The graduates’ qualifications, said Ahmad Zahid, are recognised by the newly unified accreditation body comprising the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the Skills Development Department for TVET courses.
“Previously, the National TVET Council has approved a single accreditation body that will do the recognition, either at the certificate or diploma level.”
Between May 29 last year and May 28 this year, he said, 850 Malaysians have undergone skill enhancement training in China in fields such as EV, AI, industrial automation, and railway maintenance.
“China’s exemplary practices in TVET serve as a benchmark for Malaysia.
“We aim to focus on industry partnerships, practical training and relevant curriculum development, utilising modern and advanced training facilities to prepare our workforce for future challenges.
“I hope all parties in Malaysia and China will fully support the MCI and subsequently become partners of the Malaysian government in our efforts to strengthen Malaysia-China diplomatic relations through TVET,” he concluded.
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