The rarity of a Chinese parent praising son’s national school; sparks frenzied online discussion

 

EDUCATION has and always will be a hot topic among Malaysians. This is best exemplified by a post on the Entrepreneurs and Start Ups Malaysia Facebook page by Eric Siew who said he has no regrets sending his offspring to “public school”.

He went on the list the many benefits of making such a decision which included massive financial savings.

The father was especially keen to emphasise that his kids are proficient in the national language. He observed that this linguistic ability seemed to surprise certain quarters was in itself a sad reflection of the current state of Malaysian society.

The poster also pointed out the lack of self-entitlement by being among more rounded citizenry as well as exposure to different ethnic groups allowing for a well-rounded upbringing.

The post has generated 5,500 likes, 1,900 shares and 630 comments at time of writing, reflecting how important this issue is to many Malaysians. There are many lengthy comments which readers can read here.

Here is a sample of the shorter comments which do highlight many different perspectives.

There were many who supported the poster’s views.

One netizen pointed out that building lasting friendships in such an environment is networking for the future.

A few quite rightly pointed out that it depends on the needs of each individual child. One netizen also insinuated that there is no gaji buta in private set-ups as under performers will be axed. Parents – as paying clients – also get a bigger say in how school is run.

There were many who firmly believed that national schools offered the best platform for integration.

However, there were dissenting views with one netizen quite rightly pointing out how national education syllabus is used to further certain agendas, not to mention the perceived lowering of standards.

With one poster pointedly asking the ‘cost-no-object’ question, would it still be the same decision.

Amid all the debate, one netizen summed it up with a message of hope.

- Focus Malaysia