Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh : Malaysia set to become worst country in the world

 

 

KANGAR – Malaysia is on track to become the worst country in the world unless its custodians change how they conduct themselves in leading the nation, said former Perlis menteri besar Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh.

He said the ills – from healthcare, to the economy and politics – afflicting the country will worsen unless a determined sense of change takes place soon.

He blamed it on the education system, which has failed to produce the right type of leaders for the new age of globalisation and emergence of great threats, such as Covid-19.

“My anger, bitterness and remorse are sincere. Our education system has failed, and we do not have the right quality of leaders to take us forward,” he told The Vibes.

Hamid, 77, who also served as Dewan Negara president, said the poor education system has led to the shortcut adoption of abusing race, religion and sovereignty to “pursue evil than for the greater good of fellow Malaysians”.

The main culprit is Umno, as the party has betrayed its own cause, he added.

– The Vibes, August 5, 2021

 

My Comments:

Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh was the former Menteri Besar of Perlis. He is old school. A trained medical doctor and a polished person he served as Menteri Besar of Perlis for nine years (1986-1995). 

Under his tenure Perlis was a "normal" State. There were no ISIS terrorists arrested by Police in Perlis during his tenure.  There were no teenaged girls who complained of being given undue attention either. 

There was also less cross border involvement between Perlis and the angry folks over in South Thailand. Perlis was normal. 

And it was largely due to Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Pawanteh's own education - which was in the old English based education system. Dr Hamid is a medical doctor trained in Karachi, Pakistan.

The type of leaders that will develop depends on the type of education acquired by the leaders.  And where they were educated.

Religion is always contentious, illogical, exclusive (you are with us or against us). That is the nature of religion. If you put a religious educated fellow in charge then that is what you will get : contentious, illogical, exclusive.

But it also depends where the fellow got his religious education. You can study religion in Darul Uloom Deoband. Many Taliban also studied there.

Or you can get a degree in Islam from Cambridge University, England or University of Heidelberg in Germany. Their Islamic education is also quite thorough. Todate no Taliban had studied at either Cambridge or Heidelberg.

Even if you studied engineering, management etc it depends on where you studied. If you studied in the United States (like I did) or in the UK and the West (1980s and after) - your outlook on how to do things will differ greatly compared to say if you studied at a local university (post 1980s).

So where the leaders studied and also what they studied makes a very big difference in the type of leadership they will exhibit.

A very large number of today's leaders in Malaysia (political and Civil Service) are graduates of local universities. Especially from one particular local university.  

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