I did not get a Public Service Department scholarship after my SPM result was announced. I applied to the course that I really think I was interested in- aeronautical engineering. I was very well prepared before the interview. I thank Allah for He has given me the ability to speak with confidence in front of others, and from there you can infer that I did my interview very well. I got straight As in SPM. My father is a barber whom I put his salary as much as RM900 in the JPA scholarship application form. I was very sure that I would be getting a scholarship from the Government to study overseas.
It turned out that I did not get it. Almost all of my friends who went to the interview got their places for the scholarship program. I did not. What went wrong? I was very confident that I would be getting the scholarship since I fit all of the criteria that would make me irresistible to be chosen as a JPA Scholar- strong academic result, excellent co-curricular records, low-income family and most importantly I am a Malay boy (some people who said they are not racist told me that this is the most important criteria). Recently, I saw a headline about excellent students not getting scholarships. From the news, lots of politicians from both sides put unnecessary comments and from there, of course there are some bashing about a race who are being given so called 'special treatment'. How about those who belong to the 'special treatment'-race who did not get any help?
I was quite disappointed at first but I got another scholarship from a major company in Malaysia. Alhamdulillah, it was a better offer. But I did not get angry with Malaysia like majority people who commented on The Malaysian Insider. If you read The Malaysian Insider now, those Malaysians who migrate to other countries (even they are worse than Malaysia on many aspects) are regarded as heroes. I posted an article about medical doctors leaving Malaysia on Facebook and tagged my friends who are studying Medicine overseas sponsored by both federal and state governments. I said Malaysia should take care of Her brains to prevent this 'brain drain' problem. My friend replied to me 'her brains should take care of Malaysia...mu rasa dok taken care of ke?'. Exactly, folks. Don't you feel being taken care of? No?
To those scholars who are not coming back to work here in Malaysia, I am just wondering whether you feel guilty or not. The money that the government spend on you can be channelled to poverty-eradication programs. It can be given to the makciks, neneks and others who need them. Instead, the government has given you the opportunity to study local or overseas with the goal of lifting up the living standard of the people in Malaysia. How do you feel not guilty when you have used their money to study and not returning back to work for them?
I want to ask those who have migrated overseas with reasons that they are fed-up with Malaysia, concerned about their children's education, Malaysia is a rascist country and so on with the same question- Aren't you feel being taken care of?
One reader said that he was fed-up with the Local Council which did not pick up rubbishes on time. He complained for many times but nothing changes. That was a turning point for him to leave Malaysia. As absurd as it sounds, it represents the bureaucratic nature of our administration and at the same time, how stupid that guy was. If you want to leave Malaysia to get higher salaries in other countries, just do so without having to give such stupid reason. Malaysians on general complaint a lot but never seem to do anything about it. They complaint and complaint without the effort to change themselves. If your solutions to Malaysia's problem is to migrate, then I can easily say that you guys are weak.
Engineers, doctors, geologists and other professionals are paid much more than they are in Malaysia. So, they migrate. That's simple.
What's left for Malaysia?
I can assure you that one of those who have migrated overseas must have came across with John F. Kennedy famous quote ' Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You But What You Do For Your Country'. If you are smart, it is not very hard to comprehend the statement. You adore Americans on general but I don't think you emulate their spirits. You give to other countries because you country don't give things that you want. Please, it's not about race, again. I'm a Malay but it does not mean I get all of the things that you want. I don't know who are rascist now, the ones who protected their rights or the ones who already reach the top and want things to be distributed fairly.
Islam is beautiful in explaining justice. Being fair does not mean we all get the same thing. A father wants to buy his children clothes. He has one son and one daughter. Should he buy the same type of clothe to both of them. If the girl gets a skirt, should the boy get one too? This shows that justice means you are putting things at the right places. It must be need-based. Personally, that is why I think of those who are leaving Malaysia based on that reason are weak. If it is based on other reasons, they may be acceptable.
What have you given to your country? If you really in love with someone, you will endure fire and mountains for her/him. Isn't that the same thing for Malaysia? If the person is doing something wrong, shouldn't you try to change her instead of leaving her straight away? Leaving for greener pastures in other countries sounds good to everybody, but how is life without challenges. We are a young nation, and yet you leave this country who are in the growing process. You miss the best opportunities to shape the country the way you want it. Simply said, you surrendered to do so.
Trust me, leaving Malaysia for other countries basically are on the basis of money and opportunities. I'm not suggesting it is not good to migrate to other countries. It is just I cannot accept the most of the reasons that they are leaving. You are not being oppressed. If you can't work with fellow Malaysians who are being stereotyped as lazy, incompetent and ineffective, then do something about it. Instead, many of us complaint but never try to fix the problem. Believe me, the change starts with yourself. This is my personal opinion and I'm a little bit conservative and patriotic. By saying patriotic, I mean working for my countries even though you are outside Malaysia like Jimmy Choo or anyone working for Malaysian companies at international level. This thinking might be shallow to some readers but I don't think working in other countries not for Malaysia's benefit is patriotic. Look for the beautiful meanings of life and satisfactions.-The Chukai Insider
actually,org ckp there's this agreement between petronas n jpa,if you get one you won't get the other. tapi i'm not sure this is true or not. so far mmg xde pun manusia dpt both offers that i know off. hehe. mara ada la
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ReplyDeleteem,ok,now aku dah baca the whole post. haha. aku setuju ngn ideas mu.
ReplyDeleteaku ni sbnrnya sgt patriotik walaupun my BM giler crappy... and aku x fhm org yg rasa nk tukar citizenship etc2...diorg dok malu ke? diorg dok rasa nok ada negara yg diorg tlg bangunkan sdri ke? the fact is, sadly, our nation is run by old minds but it is very very young. so kalau young bright minds asyik duk lari je, kesian la kat malaysia. especially org melayu. i mean, kalu non-malays aku faham la nok lari ke apa,sebab understandably, sometimes the policies of malaysia can be quite tough for them to accept i guess. quite tough for me, too. tapi orang melayu tu, malaysia is where our history is. kalu kita dok proud of our history, and bangunkan our own country, nok expect sape tlg bangunkan? if you're not happy with the law, change it. you have the rights, use it.
alhamdulillah,aku dok penoh rasa 'dok taken care off'. maybe i'm lucky,maybe i don't complain too much,maybe i'm blind. ikut suka orang nok label. but one thing i learnt from my polish teacher is,dia rasa macam malaysians dok byk complain based on how he hears me speak about malaysia. aku dlm hati nk ckp ke dia, omg, malaysians la jenis manusia yg suka complain kat kedai kopi like they know everything there is to know about politics but they never do anything about it sebab diorang tau lari dari mslh je. complain2 tu senang, tapi ramai je hok dok undi... tapi aku malu nk ckp gitu. sbb aku dok rasa that is a good trait to have.
so i guess, my point is, malaysia ni muda sangat lagi. let her make her mistakes, let her face some more life lessons and hardships. let's nurture her some more. kalau nak compare dgn negara2 maju lain, memangla malaysia is nothing. but those countries didn't achieve that level of economic and political growth in mere 50 years either. so sabar la and jgn asyik duk complain je. it's frikkin annoying.