'What do they learn, if at all, in universities these days?' ‘Throwing money at a problem will not solve it.'
RM10 mil training scheme for unemployed graduates
CPL: I just heard a complaint by an employer that local graduates cannot answer simple questions at job interviews and cannot match qualifications with job requirements so they have to be retrained for specific jobs. But it also reflects the education a person receives. What do they learn, if at all, in universities these days?
Tang Yuet Mun: This is an admission that there are institutes of higher learning in Malaysia not producing graduates that meet the needs of employers. The education policy needs to be revisited. Have a review of what is being taught and the quality of lecturers and students admitted to these courses. You will never get a silk purse from a sow's ear.
Secondly, we hear of a brain-drain, yet there does not seem to be much effort to attract and retain the local cream of the crop. Instead we talk of providing scholarships for students from other countries to study in Malaysia and hope that they will stay back to contribute to the growth of our country. And as to those sent away to Ivy League universities to learn on JPA (Public Service Department) scholarships, when they return, are the places for them?
Thirdly, there is no or insufficient research centres to absorb them. It goes to show this whole exercise needs rethinking and must be all encompassing. Throwing money at a problem will not solve it.
CarL: RM10 million is certainly not enough. I believe that the government should provide tax exemptions for companies who employ fresh graduates for them to gain experience. Only the small-medium enterprises have the ability to train or give these new graduates the platform to learn. For these SMEs, it can be a win-win situation. For the graduates, they can have experience in many fields.
AJ: What is it with our graduates and our teaching institutions? They learn for five years then they have to relearn again to get a job? It looks like this programme is better than their graduate programme. It's better not waste time in universities and to go here straightaway. Now we have to spent scarce money on the half-baked that will be again pilfered when it could have been used for the needy.
Who is really at fault here? Another attempt at fixing what is broken?
Louisg: Minister S Subramaniam, I think you need to speak up in the cabinet about the need to rehaul our education system. We did not vote you there for nothing.
'Hunted' Air Force man goes into hiding
Satinah Osman: If a sergeant in the Air Force could have had the ingenuity, contacts and ability to steal and dispose jet engine fighters to a far away nation (Uruguay) despite Malaysia's efficient security systems, one stands to wonder how much the generals, colonels, majors, captains and other officers of senior rank could have stolen from the Armed Forces all these years.
Are crashes of our planes due to something like this having affected the flight worthiness of the planes? The 'unsinkable' submarine will remain a sordid story in our military history for generations to come. What the military attaches of other nations serving in this country would think of our armed forces or talk of over their drinks must bring shame to our esteemed armed services chiefs and Defence Ministry officials.
Fed Up: Bravo, N Surendran for defending N Tharmendran. We don't believe for a moment that Tharmendran is the only culprit in this case. He is a scapegoat and, as usual, they picked on Indian Malaysians. Please do your best to get justice for Tharmendran and please update the Malaysian public at large on what is happening.
Cala: If the Air Force still appreciates Tharmendran's service after the alleged torturing, they should come out open and declare what plan they have in store for him. Are they regretting the torture they allegedly inflicted on him? Are they denying that such a thing ever took place? Or are they finding for him a new assignment given his new found talent, which is so rare in the Air Force?
Better public transport: A local fairy tale
Steven Wong: I have been using the LRT frequently since June. And within two months, I have encountered two major system breakdowns that pretty much paralysed the train line for at least an hour or two. And both these occurrences happened during rush hour.
We have the money to build the infrastructure, but not the mentality nor the mindset to run it. Unless we change our mindset to one that would go the extra mile, it is true that better public transport will continue to be a fairy tale.
Ida Bakar: It goes without saying that better public transport is the key to increased productivity. Why this escapes the BN government is puzzling. I was in Bucharest, Romania, in 1997 when the country faced the upheavals of a postâSoviet economy.
Even then, the population was served by the trams, buses, trolleyâbus and the underground, all of which used the one-ticketing system. I had no problem getting from one end of the city to another. All the hospitals were served by one sort of public transport or another.
In Malaysia, I have to get a taxi from Taman Tun Dr Ismail to get to Kelana Jaya LRT and buy an endless number of tickets just to get around my city. If a relatively poor country like Romania can have such a comprehensive public transport system, what excuse does Malaysia have?
Beetle: During the last fuel price increase, our "beloved PM" Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that RM4 billion would be saved a year and this will be used to improve the public transport. That was almost two years ago and the government would have a saving of RM8 billion by now, more or less. Where has the money gone? Did we see any improvement in our public transport? Obviously, a big ‘no'.
The people who reside in the Klang Valley will know best that the traffic situation has not improved a bit. Now our "beloved PM" Najib Abdul Razak once again promises us that the money saved from Friday's "price adjustment" would be used to provide better healthcare and education.
For the past 52 years since independence, our healthcare and education have deteriorated and nothing has been done to improve them, so will the RM750 million saved make any difference? The people know where actually the money will go - into those corrupt politicians' pocket - and yet, the people have to further tighten their belt.
The Incubus: Josh Hong's piece is a good summary of the conflicts that have ruined a beautiful city and choked it with traffic. The need to maintain Proton sales (they don't sell many outside of Malaysia) encourages a car-owning culture when the rest of the world's cities are going in the opposite direction.
Not mentioned were broken pavements and indiscriminate road furniture that make walking so hazardous. The only place I see money being spent in Kuala Lumpur is on yet more advertising.
Try walking down Jalan Ampang to the Twin Towers and smell the sewage being illegally discharged into the storm drains, as well as choke on the exhaust from the illegally-parked VIPs' cars sitting with the engine running to keep their drivers cool - all within sight of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
Add in the underlying problem of the motivations for investment being how much is in it for the "public servants" in the supply chain and not giving the people the capital city they deserve.
SP Choong: Josh is correct in pointing out that the social status related to car ownership and private car transport is a major obstacle in clearing road congestion here. While this attitude has changed in many progressive European cities, that has yet to happen here. Conversely, the idea that people using public transport, or bicycles for that matter, are only those who cannot afford to own cars, should be dismissed.
If our political leadership is really committed to reduce private cars for commuting, they should make buses good enough for them to give up their private cars and chauffeurs, and set themselves as an example to their constituents.
When shall we see our minister of transport doing this? We wait with bated breath.
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