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Saturday, November 1, 2008

Towards a Culture of Mediocrity

We have heard the political leaders deliver volumes of speeches on “nation building”. Often times, we were ‘compelled’ to read unwanted advise from a politician holding some key government positions on the front page of a newspaper. I say unwanted because some of the ‘advise” given is not only mundane but equally puerile. I used to wonder whether the advice-giver knows that he is actually insulting our intelligence or probably he himself is lacking in grey matter. What shocks me is the audacity of being “courageous” in making public statements of such puerile nature. Where is the shame?

Then I realized, it is our Malaysian culture. In our culture it is polite to pretend to listen to what he is saying. It is also polite to report his puerile views on the front page because of his position. It does not matter that what he said is complete rubbish and affronts any reasonable person’s mind. The concept of “patronising”, “condescending” and “being talked down to” is alien to Malaysian culture. Can you find equivalent BM words for these concepts? Let me know if there is.

Because it appears that in our Malaysian culture, we accept being patronized, condescended and talked down to, we allow mediocre statements by political leaders to be published on front pages. This becomes a standard to be followed by the younger, unsuspecting minds. As this continues, we move towards a culture of mediocrity.

Then there is the psychological trap of those in power – any power, from civil service to political office. Over the past 10 years, I somehow end up having to meet high-ranking civil servants for meetings and to bring various problems to their attention (after those who came to seek my help have exhausted all avenues at the lower levels). Of course I have met some very decent, efficient, helpful and humble ones. But there are others who love the "upacara of mesyuarat". It is absolutely tiresome because I can see feudalism at work and very little real work! Somehow, I think this automatic granting of awards to these civil servants must stop as it does make their head grow bigger than their brains. Mediocrity. It is also unfair to the excellent ones in the civil service whom I know personally.

And of course one of my favorite topic – education. I personally feel that despite the technological advances of the 21st century, our educational standards are declining. I recall when I was in secondary school in Penang Free School, we started very early discussing topics which today are considered “heavy” by the same age group. My recent visit to that same school’s library gave me a shock – many quality books of general interest are missing! I had a chance to discuss with some of the form 6 students – they sounded like form 3 of my time. Why? Is it the teachers? Is the politics of education? Or is the Bahasa Malaysia language? We have to address these issues and not sweep it under the carpet with feeble excuses.

When was the last time any study on the quality of education in our country done and made public and discussed? My feeling is that even our educational standards are beginning to conform with the culture of mediocrity. I hope this is not a reflection of the kind of political leaders we have. EDUCATION CANNOT BE POLITICISED!

We often hear lamentations about the lack of good reading habits in the country. However, if you look at the book stores and the magazine stands, you will find plenty of reading material. Take a look at our newspapers. There is a whole cut-out section for “entertainment”. The magazine shops stock up much of what may described as trash material, including a lot of superstitious writings masquerading as “religion”. Do we know what books are being banned by whom and why? We need to consider the maturity and intellectual level of those who are given the task of vetting which books should be banned. Once again, a society that fears to allow the society members to think is cultivating a culture of mediocrity.

Someone told me that she sees mediocrity everywhere, the by-product of the education system of the past two decades. When I asked her, everywhere? She said, at every segment of the society.

One example of mediocre thinking is when a person is given a position, where the position comes with the power of decision making and she thinks that she is personally powerful. In other words, inability of the mind to distinguish between official responsibility and personal power. I find that quite a number of these mediocre minds unable to manage authority. Legal authority is also confused with feudalism.

Sometimes I wonder…is there a deliberate attempt to ensure that our society “excels” in the culture of mediocrity? What do you think?

8 comments:

JinPakaiTuncit said...

of course it's deliberate! how else do you keep the masses under control?

the elites send their kids to the expensive private institutions, while mat and minah kancil have to make do with the public institutions. this way the haves can continue to have while the have-nots are doomed to the endless cycle of being servants to their masters.

i went to maktab rendah sains mara, which in its early days was an experiment in producing individuals capable of critical thinking. the project was so successful that it was abandoned in favour of the traditional government school concept!

face it, bro. the powers-that-be do not want us to be "enlightened". smart sheep are difficult to control. the ones that somehow manage to "see the light" are silenced, by slaughter or ISA.

Jahamy said...

jln pakai tuncit,

You are correct. It has always been the same game throughout human history. The elites, whether powerful or wealthy - want to keep it within themselves. Hence, for the sake of self-preservation, they will do whatever they have to in order to keep it within their fold. The richer get richer and the poor get poorer. And to support the rich to get richer are a few from among the middle class to aspire to reach the elitist class. The majority of the people will remain where they are, as a support base of the elitists. Is there no escape?

I believe there is.There has been rare instances in human history where the majority citizens are able to "escape" from the clutches of the elitist. In these rarer instances, the people were united, well informed and most importantly, THEY TOOK ACTIVE PART IN SOCIETY BRAVELY.

It is only when the cats are alert will the mouses be in check. Hence, RAPERAS must do whatever is possible to keep the Rakyat forever alert and the people in governance (including the civil servants)forever on their toes. Otherwise, the vicious cycle will continue to rotate.

salam.

JinPakaiTuncit said...

dear jahamy

please indulge me as i might have missed earlier posts explaining this - what is a "RAPERA"?? where does the word come from?

bulans said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jahamy said...

jln pakai tuncit,

Rapera refers to saviour citizens as opposed to normal citizens.

JinPakaiTuncit said...

hi, jahamy

you might find this interesting

http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/index.html

Jahamy said...

jln pakai tuncai,

thanks. Did you read the posting "menjaga akidah" on the journey to god blog?

JinPakaiTuncit said...

yes, bro. just read it.

i'm not qualified to comment on the subject, other than to say than i assume all these laws to "jaga akidah" were and are made with the best intentions.

however, recall the saying "the road to hell is paved with the best intentions"!