Out Goes The Lecturer

The Star newspapers has reported an article by a Malay language tabloid about a lecturer of a local university who failed 97% of her students for sub-standard work and was subsequently forced to resign when she refused to reverse her decision despite immense pressure from the University. The full article is reproduced below:

"A UNIVERSITI Sains Islam Malaysia lecturer who passed only four out of 157 of her law students claims she was forced to resign so that the university could protect its reputation, Kosmo! reported.

Nor (not her real name) said the reason she left was because she could not stand the pressure from the university management on her to give “sympathy marks.”

“How am I to give extra marks if the marks they got is what they should be getting?” she said, adding that her downfall started when she received a show-cause letter on why so many students had failed.

She was then criticised by her superiors, who also wanted her to add marks based on attendance so as to reduce the number of failures.

“I stood my ground. How could I give them marks for that when it is their responsibility to show up for classes?” she added.

The university declined to comment."

Haha, I am both heartened and disheartened by this report.

I am heartened because it shows that there are still people out there who live by their conscience and principles and just do what is right, regardless. If there are enough of such ethical people around, there is hope for the country.

I am disheartened because it again shows what a scam our local higher education system is. Passing students for sub-standard work is not the way to go. The sub-standard local graduates that we see are evidence that the story is probably true. The Higher Education Ministry is just concerned about the number of graduates the country churns out a year - heck care about academic excellence.

There is a certain mentality among young people here that being a graduate is an achievement by itself. There is no need to ask about the quality of the degree or the marketability of the graduates. A fair number of these graduates end up unemployed or depend on the civil service to absorb them.

We have a long way to go if we want to talk about competing globally. In developed countries, it is not just the degree that matters, but which university the degree is from that is so important in opening doors. Today, Malaysia does not even have a university that is within the world's Top 200, going by the Times (UK) survey. If we do not start looking at this issue seriously, we will always be in the backwater. Is that what we want? Will the Najib administration look into this?

The Other Side Of Lee Kuan Yew

(Above, left): Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo, 1946
(Above, right): Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo, 2006

It is no secret that I greatly admire Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore.

His achievements are many, but there are two personal aspects of him that I admire the most. The first is his integrity. He managed to wipe out corruption in this city-state and that is no mean feat. He himself is squeaky clean. You have to believe that whatever he did, rightly or wrongly as history would judge him, was only for the good of the country.

The second aspect that I admire about him is his devotion to his family, especially his wife. I have read his memoir and have had the privilege of sharing the table with the couple once for lunch when they visited my place of work.

Mr Lee himself has paid tribute to his wife publicly many times.

Recently, their daughter, a neurosurgeon in Singapore, who is 50+ and still single, wrote an article in the Straits Times, entitled "Why I choose to remain single". Her piece was touching. In it, she describes her parents' loving relationship and what it means to be partners in life.

For those who are unable to read the link, an excerpt of the article is reproduced below.

Dr Lee Wei Ling wrote:

"My father said of my mother two weeks ago: 'My wife was...not a traditional wife. She was educated, a professional woman... We had Ah Mahs, reliable, professional, dependable. (My wife) came back every lunchtime to have lunch with the children.'

Actually, my mother was a traditional wife and mother. She was not traditional only in one respect: She was also a professional woman and, for many years, the family's main breadwinner.
One of my mother's proudest possessions is a gold pendant that my father commissioned for her. He had a calligrapher engrave on the pendant the following characters: 'xian qi liang mu' and 'nei xian wai de'.

The first four characters mean virtuous wife and caring mother. The second four mean wise in looking after the family, virtuous in behaviour towards the outside world.

My mother lived her life around my father and, while we were young, around her children. I remember my mother protesting gently once about something my father had asked her to do.

'It is a partnership, dear,' my father urged.

'But it is not an equal partnership,' my mother replied.

The partnership may not have been exactly equal at particular points in time. But over the years, especially after my mother's health deteriorated after she suffered a stroke, my father was the one who took care of her. She clearly indicated she preferred my father's care to that of the doctors', in itself a revelation of the quality of his care.

He remembers her complicated regime of medications. Because she cannot see on the left side of her visual field, he sits on her left during meals. He prompts her to eat the food on the left side of her plate and picks up whatever food her left hand drops on the table.

I have always admired my father for his dedication to Singapore, his determination to do what is right, his courage in standing up to foreigners who try to tell us how to run our country.

But my father was also the eldest son in a typical Peranakan family. He cannot even crack a soft-boiled egg - such things not being expected of men, especially eldest sons, in Peranakan families.

But when my mother's health deteriorated, he readily adjusted his lifestyle to accommodate her, took care of her medications and lived his life around her. I knew how much effort it took him to do all this, and I was surprised that he was able to make the effort."

What a heartwarming story.

SGD 500K for a Prince

The New Creation Church (NCC) in Singapore has declared that it paid one of its staff a salary of SGD 500K last year. The staff in question is widely speculated to be the Senior Pastor Joseph Prince. Unsurprisingly, this sparked outrage among the public, from both Christians and non-Christians alike.

The question is: Is SGD 500K an appropriate pay for a pastor?

Some background here: NCC is a mega-church in Singapore with 22,000 members. Its services are held over 4 sessions on Sunday in an auditorium that can seat more than 5,000 each. The church is not affiliated to any established Christian denomination and its success is attributed to its pastor who is eloquent, photogenic and charismatic. The church congregation is made up of a fairly wealthy crowd - over one Sunday earlier this month, it managed to collect a total of SGD19 million as offering for its building fund.

When questioned by Straits Times reporters, the church's honorary secretary Deacon Matthew Kang said:

"Senior Pastor Prince is the key man responsible for bringing in about 95 per cent of our church's income. I must concede that he has enriched the church and not the other way round."

That's strange. I thought the mission of a church is to spread the gospel and save souls. Should the church even be enriched in a monetary way? It is highly debatable whether the performance measurement for a church should even be based on "income" generation. The total income for the church last year was SGD 55.4 million of which 95% came from tithes and offering.

It also raises disturbing questions on the church's philosophy when it says Prince is the man responsible for its success. If it is a one-man show, it could potentially give rise to a personality cult. Is the congregation worshipping Jesus Christ or Senior Pastor Prince?

The Deacon also says that it is the church's policy "to recognise and reward key contributors to the church..."

I wonder what will happen if the "key contributors" are unhappy with their remuneration. Are they likely to resign and move to another more lucrative church? And the congregation - are they likely to follow where Pastor Prince goes? Is their loyalty to their saviour or to Pastor Prince?

I will not state my view based on the scripture. As a layman, I just need to rely on common sense and my instincts. There is something not quite right here.

I do not expect any church or religious leader to live the lives of paupers - certainly not in affluent Singapore. They deserve a comfortable life. But where do we draw the line?

Let's see. Senior Pastor Prince pay-out works out to be more than SGD 40K a month. He can pretty well live a life of luxury - a condo in district 10, a merc or two, or maybe a couple of beemers at his disposal, dining out every night. I am not saying that this is what he possesses or does - but that's what his monthly salary can afford him to do. Should a pastor even be tempted to live such a lifestyle? If you answer, why not, then the next question is: can a man serve two masters - God and money?

Another leading church, Trinity Christian Centre (TCC) which is fairly large and successful (annual income of SGD 17.4 million) reportedly paid its two top pastors SGD 150K which works out to about SGD 12K a month.

Going by the test of reasonableness, I would say TCC probably got it right. This type of income would enable its pastors to live a fairly comfortable life - not extravagant, mind you - but sufficient for an average lifestyle with a medium-sized japanese car and a small suburban condo unit.

To give Pastor Prince his dues, it has been reported that Pastor Prince has requested for a "no-pay scheme" with the Church in 2006 but this was turned down by the Council. In any case, Pastor Prince has donated his entire salary of SGD 500K back to the church. I guess he does not need the money because he has plenty of royalty from his book deals and fees from other speaking engagements.

Now I wonder why the Council did not accede to his request and insisted on paying him the astronomical salary? Could it be for tax purposes that the church wanted to make the pay-out?

Or by spinning the money around like this, does it make Pastor Prince look like the good guy and philanthropist, when in fact, the money was from the church in the first place?

There is something not quite right here.

What I can say is this, if I ever want to attend a church in Singapore. I would not go near NCC. I am just not comfortable with the whole set-up.

Judging by the sheer number of discussions generated in cyberspace, I don't think NCC is doing great service to the larger Christian population who does not preach the prosperity gospel.

Skin Colour As A Job Criterion

I saw red again yesterday. It was an old issue that resurfaced.

Some time in November last year, the Selangor Chief Minister appointed a 35-year veteran to head the Selangor State Development Corporation, the government-linked group that manages the state's funds for development projects.

The person in question is a capable woman who has retired after serving 35 years within the organization and is well-qualified for the job. At 59 years of age, she was plucked from her retirement to come back to the organization. By all accounts, the woman was a respected figure, both within and outside the organization.

Her appointment raised a fracas within certain groups in the public. Why? Her skin colour was deemed not suitable for the job. Some people insisted that the top job must be held by a Malay. You see, the woman is a Chinese.

I should not be surprised. Come on...., this policy has been in existence for decades. The top jobs are always held by Malays, it is not a level playing field.

But a policy that has been in existent for decades does NOT make it right. And once again, when smacked in the face AGAIN, the injustice of it all makes me choke.

Yesterday, the woman said her final farewell to the organization. Over the past 3 months, she has helped to train a new CEO whose skin colour matched the job criterion. She is rising above...

But I am not. The cry for Equality is a very basic human instinct.

NEP, my foot. After 4 decades of affirmative action, this is all that we have to show? That skin colour remains the most relevant job criterion? When is it ever going to end?

Stop fooling ourselves by calling it affirmative action. It is a racialist policy. That's more polite than calling it a racist policy.

Wanna Be Dad? Sure..

Being a dad, or a mom, is the easiest thing in the world. There is no qualification or eligibility criteria.

In fact, in Britain, a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl have just become parents.

I feel like a fool for making a big deal about what it is like to be a mom, or a dad.

Hey, relax, take it easy. Anyone can do the job.

Perpetual Apathy

If I have to accept things as they are, then give me a lobotomy...

Aarggh....

Don't read the local newspapers.

Don't read the local blogs.

Don't see, don't hear, don't think.

Don't talk, don't discuss.

Just accept...accept... accept.

If you can't change the world, why get upset?

If you can't overcome the system, why get frustrated?

Just accept... accept...accept.

This is the key to happiness,

That's what I've been told.

Accept...accept...accept.