A classy way for ‘anak lord’ to prove they’re better

 

A few days ago, the prime minister was reported saying that rich and powerful people should not enjoy government subsidies by having their kids educated at elite government schools, as this burdens the system’s ability to cater for the more disadvantaged families.

I didn’t think much of the comment. I thought it was one of those 

motherhood-and-apple-pie

 feel-good statements that lazy speechwriters insert into politicians’ speeches, much along the lines of 

I will fight for the rakyat

 statements, or pretty much anything politicians say that has the word rakyat in it.

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the opposition political party Bersatu issued a statement condemning the proposal, using apocalyptic language – a threat to the nation’s future, no less! – and even mentioning the United Nations, dragged in rather reluctantly I’d imagine, when it’s so busy elsewhere ignoring the genocide in Gaza and now the killings in Lebanon.

Leave the UN be, I say. It’s old and decrepit and likely on its last legs before being replaced by the western world with something worse. Let it die in peace.

Let’s keep the elite school issue a purely Malaysian affair.

But what about the prime minister’s actual policy proposal itself? It seems innocent enough on the face of it. We should have such a good education system that even the rich and powerful want to send their kids to public schools.

But the thing is, many of the rich and powerful don’t send their kids to government schools at all. They’re all going to private schools, whether vernacular or international (or even religious), locally and even overseas.

One of the reasons is that government schools are of such varying quality. There are the elite schools – the ones mentioned by the prime minister – and there are the regular schools in the neighbourhoods where most of us live.

Source of power

As senior civil servants are mentioned, I’d imagine they’re talking about the powerful, and not so much the rich. Now I know what some of you are smirking about already – but please be nice and listen to my points.

How powerful are they actually? Well, they run the system, and are certainly powerful enough to pull the proverbial Malaysian cables to get places their kids wouldn’t have otherwise deserved. Or perhaps to cut to the front of the line ahead of kids from not-so-powerful families.

I’m neither rich nor powerful, so it’s quite understandable I’d agree with the prime minister’s sentiment. It’s no secret that many in this world who rose to the top, especially in politics, have enjoyed the privileges of attending elite schools and universities, and being part of the resultant old boys’ network.

The current prime minister himself, as well as the leader of the opposition, went to such elite schools in Malaysia. Other Malaysian leaders past and present also did, some even one-upped them by attending elite schools overseas.

In the west, US presidents such as both Bushes as well as Donald Trump went to elite schools and universities purely on the strength of their rich and powerful parents. I’d contend that they aren’t such great advertisements for such schools and universities, but that’s just me.

The UK is brilliant in this particular aspect of class warfare. Many of their leaders, especially the Conservative ones, attended elite schools and universities, although the same caveat applies – they too are hardly glowing testimonials for their alma maters, whether in intellect or character.

Elites at my alma mater

But that’s beside the point, because these people attended private institutions paid for by their parents. They weren’t recipients of public money that went into subsidising their education.

I was lucky enough to attend one of these elite schools, even if my parents weren’t rich or powerful – or perhaps just powerful because I was afraid of them. Students at my school considered ourselves as the underdogs from the kampungs, while we viewed the others elsewhere as elites and 

anak lord

, or children of lords.

As time passed however, more of our fellow students were in fact 

anak lord

 – from children of those powerful in politics or the civil service, up to children of actual royalty.

It then felt like things had changed. You could see the divide, both in terms of wealth, as shown by the clothes worn by the 

anak kampung

 and the 

anak lord

, and in attitude, such as the reluctance to rough-house it out on the rugby field.

I wasn’t surprised a few years ago when somebody suggested Mara’s colleges be opened to the T20, and not just to students from poor families.

Sense of entitlement

One possible reason is we no longer have many poor families, to which I’d say that there’s always a group of people at the bottom who need extra help, regardless of how prosperous our nation becomes.

The more likely reason is the sense of entitlement that more and more of our people, especially the Malays, feel about what the government provides, all the way from government jobs to incentives and discounts down to its top schools.

We see this sense of entitlement and desire to protect their privileges as driving our politics. It manifests itself also as the desire to enjoy such privileges even if they could afford to pay for them, purely out of the sense of entitlement to them.

As somebody who sent his kids to local schools, and was fortunate enough to be able to pay for their continuing education overseas until the kids graduated or became self-sufficient through scholarships and grants they won on merit, I’d say that was one of the best achievements in my life.

Being able to educate your children is one of the duties of parents, and being able to do it out of your own pocket because life has allowed you to do so was the icing on the cake. Knowing your kids didn’t deprive anybody else possibly more deserving is priceless, especially in your old age.

Just do it

I’d suggest this course of action strongly to the 

rich and powerful

. Do it, even if it means you’d have to dig a bit into your own pockets for your kids to attend such elite schools. It would also mean that perhaps the attitude of Malays towards education has changed, and that we now believe education is also about building resilience and independence and character apart from just intellect or a good career.

Would this save the nation much money? Probably not much, but it’ll go a long way towards making people understand the government’s main role is to offer a level playing field to all its citizens. Any tipping of the scale in favour of any group must be based on needs, and not on other considerations such as wealth or power.

If this happens, then it’ll be  huge evidence that perhaps we have actually truly educated ourselves and have progressed as a society.

To those who still want to give their kids special privileges so that they can become politicians or even prime ministers in the future, be prepared to dig into your (likely ample) pockets and pay for your 

anak lord

 education yourself. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.