Education system
On a recent trip to Penang, I read the headlines in a daily newspaper and it seems that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wants all Malaysian government workers to learn English.
He stated that Malaysia was being left behind in this very competitive world because so many government workers could not converse well in English with people from other countries.
In the Malaysian school system, they have already put into place a regulation where all mathematics and science courses must be taught in English. Soon other educational courses will also be taught in English.
It is because of this type of forward thinking that Malaysia is already years in front of Indonesia in planning for the future. There seems to be people in the Indonesian legislature who want to keep this country in the "Dark Ages".
Schools and other educational institutions are places where children go to learn things that will be useful to them in their future working lives. They should be learning things that will help them to lead reasonably happy and prosperous lives. In their early years at school they need to study math, English, social science, geography, etc.
Later they need to study courses that will help to enhance their computer skills and to study business programs that will help them to work in a job where they will earn reasonable money. Then they will not have to beg on the streets, as I see so many children doing now, or cheat and steal to get enough money for their daily food.
In many other Asian countries, children go to school for up to 14 hours a day, and in some countries there is no religious instruction, or it is not compulsory.
Why is this? Possibly because the governments of these countries realize that the place to learn about religion is the mosque, temple, church and other places of worship, or in the home. After all, it is the responsibility of the parents to help their children with their religious studies, and not the already overworked teachers.
In a truly democratic society, the decision about which religion a person wishes to follow is entirely up to that person. However, in a pseudo-democratic society, this is not always the case.
A. MEWBURN Brisbane, Australia