Dear Uncle Nades,
It is that time of the year again. My father’s annual moaning and groaning have already started with his repeated phone calls asking me to come home.
In your note last year, you asked me to stay in England. You wrote: “Almost all systems in the country are skewed, and the government administrators see ethnicity in everything - from selection and appointments to promotions.
“The government is aware of the large number of Malaysians emigrating but does not want to address the elephant in the room. Instead, a lot of rhetoric is dished out from the prime minister downwards.”
After you spoke to Dad, he accepted that I could remain and occasionally visit, especially for Chinese New Year. But that lasted just a year, and he has started harping on it again.
I am seriously considering returning to Malaysia. At a hospital Christmas party last week, a fellow Malaysian from Miri asked me to move to Sarawak, where my qualifications, talent, and experience can be used without my skin colour and faith being considered.
This means I am closer to Dad, and it will certainly make him happy because I am only about three hours away by flight.
Please advise.
Thanks, Uncle.
Ah Boy.
Dear Ah Boy, I am glad you are thinking of Sarawak. The state government is saying and doing the right things, and I am not surprised that some of my friends are encouraging their children to go there.
Although Sarawak’s education system is administered by the Education Ministry, its Education Department coordinates educational matters in the state.
However, the federal government has agreed to devolve 10 educational administrative matters to Sarawak.
English as a medium of instruction will be extended to secondary schools in Sarawak.
State Deputy Education, Innovation, and Talent Development Minister Annuar Rapaee said this was one of several key points the federal Education Ministry agreed on in the devolution of power in education to Sarawak.
Sarawak will use English as a medium of instruction in primary and secondary schools for Additional Mathematics, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry.
[English is used to teach Science and Mathematics in primary schools under Sarawak’s dual language programme (DLP).]
Sarawak has a literacy rate of over 90 percent and is the first state in Malaysia to offer free tertiary education to its citizens. The state government is on track to provide free higher education to qualified Sarawak students at its five institutions of higher learning by 2026.
The Sarawak government emphasises technical courses related to industries being developed in Sarawak, such as hydrogen production and carbon storage.
From 2026, Sarawak-owned universities will provide free tertiary education in finance and accounting to support the management and auditing of the financial aspects of Sarawak’s green economy.
Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg is walking the talk and accepts that education is the key to the state’s target of becoming a developed state by 2030.
He said: “Those who qualify - whether they are from the rural or urban areas and whether they are from the poor or rich families, regardless of their racial and religious backgrounds, will be entitled.”
In my note last year, I also said: “At every turn, race and religion dominate - not knowledge, skill, or experience. The meritocracy that was promised has been thrown out of the window, and nothing - zilch - has changed.”
“What about your two sons? What kind of environment would they grow up in their formative years? They will end up in an education system where there is a class division based on race and religion which rule supreme over studies. They will grow up facing hatred and abhorrence at every turn.”
But it will not happen in Sarawak - there will be no quotas, discrimination, or emphasis on religious education. When it comes to entry to institutions of higher learning, your two sons will be judged on merit.
But there is a downside (maybe it is an exaggeration). Under the Malaysia Agreement, immigration and emigration are under the state’s purview. In the past, certain personalities have been barred from entry into the state.
But it should not be a problem as you are a professional and not a politically connected person. You will certainly be welcome as the state needs medical specialists, but the registration process, work papers, etc, may take some time, which, I warn you, could sometimes be enduring and frustrating.
Please be patient.
Having used a seamless process in England, you will have to endure the bureaucracy, an entrenchment in our government system.
You have a choice of sending your sons to an international school or enrolling them in a government school. I recommend the latter, as they will interact with the locals and adapt to their new surroundings.
Do not take my word for it. When you return next January, take the family for a holiday in Kuching. Walk around and chat with the locals, but no one propagates religion or debates on whose religion is better.
You will realise no discrimination or seclusion. People of all races and faiths sit together for a cuppa or a pint.
Talk to medical professionals who can provide whatever additional information you need.
See you soon!
Uncle Nades
- Mkini
R NADESWARAN says education policies and meritocracy sound more sensible and attractive than the government agencies tasked with bringing home talent from overseas. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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