Malaysia,oh Malaysia.

Top 500 World Universities

Yesterday,we read about the ranking of top 100 universities in the world, published by the Newsweek. Sadly, Malaysia was accidentally omitted from the list. Today we have the just released "Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s 2006 Academic Ranking of World Top 500 Universities.", once again, Malaysia was accidentally dropped out within the best 500. It must be a great mistake done by the reseachers of Jiao Tong University. Malaysia boleh , why tak boleh now? Worst still, none of Malaysia's universities was in the range of "Top 100 Asia Pacific Universities".

Lim Kit Siang wrote in his blog :

It must be regarded as a national shame that not a single of the 18 universities in Malaysia is regarded internationally as coming near 32 universities in Japan, 16 universities in Australia, five universities in Taiwan, five universities in Hong Kong and two universities in Singapore – not to mention seven universities in Israel.

In the fifties and sixties, the best students in the country opt for the University of Malaya and the universities in Australia were second choices – and at that time, only the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne were regarded as on par with the University of Malaya.

Now, what were regarded as “country” or lower-division universities in Australia three or four decades ago have achieved international acclaim, with 16 universities making into the Jiao Tong University’s World Top 500 Universities 2006, while the standards and quality of Malaysian universities continue the downward decline.

So long as meritocracy and academic excellence are not restored to the highest pedestal in Malaysian academia, Malaysian universities will never be able to compete with the best in the world – and we can forget about our Vision 2020 aspirations of becoming a “First World” nation.

I understand that in the 2006 University of Malaya medical faculty intake, out of a total of 215 students, 131 are Malays, 72 Chinese, 10 Indians and 2 bumiputras from Sabah/Sarawak. Of the total 215 students, only 13 (or 6%) are from the STPM background, and all the 13 are Chinese students.

With the “best of the best” students denied their first-choice in the universities because of the continued subordination of meritocracy to non-academic considerations, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel that Malaysian universities can turn the corner to attain academic excellence and university quality to stand tall with the best universities in other countries.

Is the Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Mohamad bold enough to take the first essential step to restore meritocracy, university excellence and quality by introducing a common entrance examination for university student intake, and end the farce of the fraudulent meritocracy by using two completely different examinations of matriculation and STPM?

A reader WFH responded to his article :

Jiao Tong University’s Top 500 World Rankings List excludes any single university from Malaysia..??

I know what some idiots from the Govt will say. Even if they do not say, one can take it that the “Chinese” factor flashes through their racist minds:

“...That Shanghai Jiao Tong University is a Chinese University, and being Chinese, they surely must have a hidden agenda against Malaysian universities…”

This sort of twisted thinking provides ample excuse for people like SIL to harden their perverse thinking that it is justified, for the “noble” Malay cause, not to deal with a Chinese Malaysian businessman who supposedly offered higher value for his ECM-Libra Ave shares. Being the Youth Deputy, he’ll see this as his duty to take this issue back to the kampung-kampung and fan “anti” sentiments against Chinese Malaysians…

Isn’t there ANYONE…. ANYONE AT ALL,in whatever level of authority or power… who can find within himself the wisdom and guts to humbly and finally accept and acknowledge that the standards of EVERYTHING in this country, be it economic performance, FDIs, education, inter-community relations, inter-religious tolerance, standards of parliamentary debates, honesty, trust, H.O.N.O.U.R., financial management accountability, transperancy…(oh.. so, so, many….) has gone down the drain?

When the govt continues to delude itself that the country is not at the bottom of every heap, what can anyone expect?

The sooner the Govt acccepts hard reality that we are already at rock bottom, relative to the ENORMOUS POTENTIAL of some segment of the people of this country, the more likely we get a fighting chance at recovering our lost, underperforming years. In my opinion, if we recognise it immediately and act NOW on remedial emergency national actions, it’ll still take at least another generation to get back to positive territory what the 2 generations lost from the 1970’s because of complete mis-governance by the illegitimate political party born in 1988. All-in-all, 3 wasted generations, and Malaysia continues to slide, now at an accelerating pace….

How-lah….????? Do they expect, no rather DEMAND… that the world embraces our NEP, as what Kak Pidah is suggesting with her “...big fat no..”??

In a manner of speaking, “...no more tears..” already-lah to weep for Malaysia….

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Ching Cheong’s trial is "travesty of justice"

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Reporters Without Borders voiced outrage at yesterday’s trial in Beijing of Ching Cheong, the Hong Kong-based correspondent of the Singaporean Straits Times daily, calling it a "travesty of justice" that showed the authorities had no evidence for the spying charge against him.

"We will continue to campaign on behalf of Ching and we will not accept a guilty verdict," the press freedom organisation said. "The only possible outcome is Ching’s release. What credible judicial system would dare to try someone for ’spying,’ a crime punishable by death, in just a few hours and with defence rights flouted from start to end? This is an insult to the very idea of justice."

Ching’s trial was held behind closed doors yesterday at Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court. The hearing lasted just a few hours. So far, no information has emerged about what transpired.

Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes the Straits Times, said in a statement: "We are happy that Ching Cheong’s trial is finally over after a year of detention. We hope for the best possible outcome."

Ching was accused of spying after being arrested in April 2005 in Guangzhou. The Chinese foreign ministry claimed on 31 May 2005 that he was a spy in the pay of foreign agencies. His newspaper said it was shocked by the allegation. His wife, Mary Lau, said a go-between set a trap for him when he tried to obtain recordings of secret interviews with former reformist Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang.
(Source:Reporter without Border)

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(www.freedomhouse.org)
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2006
DRAFT COUNTRY REPORTS

Malaysia
Status: Not Free
Legal Environment: 23
Political Environment: 24
Economic Environment: 18
Total Score: 65
Malaysian media continue to be constrained by significant legal restrictions and other
forms of intimidation. The constitution permits limitations on freedom of expression, and
the government imposes them in practice, ostensibly to protect national security and
public order. The Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) requires all publishers
and printing firms to obtain an annual operations permit, which can be withdrawn without
judicial review. Authorities have shut down or otherwise circumscribed the distribution
of some pro-opposition media outlets under the PPPA. With the electronic media, the
Information Minister decides who can own a broadcast station, and the type of television
service suitable for the Malaysian public via the 1988 Broadcasting Act. The Official
Secrets Act, Sedition Act, and harsh criminal defamation laws continue to impose
restrictions on the press and other critics. Local media watch groups such as Charter 2000
continue to campaign for the repeal of these and other laws that repress freedom of
expression, including the Internal Security Act, the Emergency (Public Order and
Prevention of Crime) Ordinance, the Essential (Security Cases) Regulations, and the
Universities and University Colleges Act. The universities’ act was invoked in December
to punish journalism student, Ali Bukhari Amir, whose stories on campus politics was
published in the Islamic opposition party’s newspaper, Harakah.
Self-censorship in the Malaysian media is entrenched through the history of
political interference in media coverage of issues arbitrarily considered by the
government to be ‘sensitive’ and against the national interest. Thus the real threat for
Malaysian journalists does not come so much from professional sanctions but a learned
cautiousness against expensive defamation suits, sackings, media closures, media bans,
and unannounced interrogation by the Ministry of Internal Security for any
“mishandling” of information. Two editors from China Press, the second highest
circulated Chinese daily in the country, were forced to resign after publishing in its
November 23 edition a leaked video clip of police abuse of a woman, alleged to be a
Chinese national, who was forced to squat in the nude. The woman was later ascertained
to be a Malaysian. The story compelled Malaysia to apologize to China, a major trading partner. In December, the new Ministry of Internal Security, which has powers to issue,
revoke, or change the terms of printing and publishing licenses, ordered China Press to
show cause for its false reporting. The US-based Epoch Times, a pro-Falun Gong
Chinese-language weekly printed in Indonesia, was banned in June and July for what the
National Security Bureau said presented a negative view of China at a time when
Malaysia was improving bilateral ties with China. The case of Screenshots blogger Jeff
Ooi, who was threatened with prosecution in 2004 for allowing a reader’s post on his
Web site that was critical of the moderate vision of Islam promoted by the ruling party,
remains under investigation, and Ooi was questioned again by police in February.
Political parties and businesspeople or companies close to the ruling coalition own
or control all eight major daily newspapers. This type of patronage of the media via the
editors’ affiliation with government and corporate leaders continues to hamper
investigative reporting of public affairs, and also contributes to self-censorship on the
part of journalists. Both the print and broadcast media’s news coverage and editorials
generally support the government line, although there has been somewhat greater
criticism of official policy in the mainstream print press in recent years. Foreign
publications are subject to censorship, and the distribution of issues containing critical
articles is frequently delayed. The Internet has minimized the government's monopoly of
information and bolstered the average Malaysian’s access to alternative information
sources. Highly critical blogsites by Malaysian standards, such as Screenshots and
Sangkancil, online news sites like Malaysiakini, and media watchdogs such Aliran and
the Center for Independent Journalism have so far been able to operate since Abdullah
Badawi took over as Prime Minister in 2003, although they are subject to repeated
instances of harassment at the hands of authorities.
(Source:Freedom House Org)