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©New
Sunday Times (Used by permission)
by A. Kathirasen
'The teacher is the school and the school the teacher' -
R.P.S. Walker (ex-principal KE VII School)
ASK any teacher what pleases him or her most and almost invariably the answer
would be: to see my students succeed. Understandable, as they can take pride in
having had a hand, however small, in that success.
Experience has taught me that what pleases them equally, if
not more, is being appreciated. It is a warm, heavenly feeling, and I know it.
Some 20 years ago, I was walking along Lebuh Pitt in Penang when I heard someone
call out, "Sir". I spun around and saw a young man in police uniform smiling
broadly.
Seeing the quizzical look on my face as he vigorously shook my hand, he asked:
"Can't remember me ah, Sir?" I shook my head.
"You taught me English at the free tuition classes conducted by a youth
organisation at the YMHA school in Taiping. Thank you, Sir, I learned a lot from
you," he said.
And those words, I tell you, were worth the hours and effort
I had spent with those Form 3 and Form 5 students from poor families. Money
cannot buy that feeling.
Since then, over the years, I have met some students whom I had taught in
similar free tuition classes in Prai and Glugor, Penang.
I still remember the way I was "recruited" to teach pupils in Glugor in the
early eighties by Kalidas, who now stays in Seberang Jaya, Penang. Kalidas was
an office boy at the Moh Gee Chinese primary school in Jelutong. Although he
earned little, his heart was bigger than that of many who earned thousands. And
that is what attracted me to him. He had undertaken it upon himself to run free
tuition classes for poor pupils of all races.
One day, he invited me to visit his classes and then asked if I could help
teach. There was no way I could refuse a request from someone who, instead of
spending the time and energy earning extra money for his family, was helping
give poor children a lift in life.
Kalidas, for me, is a symbol of dedication. Untrained, yes. But all heart. He
had passion, which, we are now increasingly being told, is sorely lacking in
today's crop of teachers. The general sentiment is that most teachers lack
dedication and that this is so, in large part, due to an uninspiring education
system and an insipid bureaucracy.
I have been lucky to have had some excellent teachers at King Edward VII School,
both primary and secondary.
To say that they taught me would not do justice to their passion. They did what
a teacher should rightly do: they inspired a desire for learning. This is where,
I think, most of today's educators fail. Of course, the school curriculum in
those days was more wholesome.
I am a journalist today largely because of two of my teachers, Ms Leow Kam Fong
and Ms Raja Mahtra Kamaralzaman, who inspired me to continuously read and learn;
recognising something in me or my writing, they urged me to consider journalism
as a career. I will always be grateful to them. Raja Mahtra has passed on and Ms
Leow is in Australia.
Carl Jung said it well: "One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant
teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings."
Earlier this year, at the suggestion of my friend Kah Huat, I travelled down to
Taiping to meet two of my former teachers, Mr Lim Eng Keat and Mr Francis Ho.
Mr Lim taught me Science for several years while Mr Ho taught me Economics in
Form Six. I had not seen them since I left school and it was such a joy, sitting
there at the Chinese Recreation Club, sipping tea and sharing stories.
I have also had the good fortune of meeting up with Haji Razak Osman, my former
art teacher, early this year. The years have not robbed him of his jollity nor
his wit. Two weeks ago, I joined him as he broke fast for Ramadan.
It was a warm feeling.
We can only gain by making our teachers, especially those who have had an impact
on us, feel appreciated.
And today is a good day to show appreciation for our teachers, because it is
World Teachers Day. Go ahead, phone your teacher.
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In the same manner that the teacher is 'the school' and 'the school' the teacher, we have it that the politician is the 'country' and the 'country', the politicians.
Therefore, the success or failure of a nation depends upon the politicians holding the seats of power. On account of the accountability involved, in many instances, we have seen that in many foreign countries, many ministers have honourably resigned from their seats 'of power' once they are involved in any acts 'complained about' by the people. For e.g, the Minister resigned when the bridge in Korea collapsed - even for the slightest mistake, they resigned. Does this happen in Malaysia?
Many of our politicians love the 'chairs' they have been deposited upon and are stuck to them, refusing to vacate even when the need arises and when the signs are clear.
Since our politicians carve out our national policies and determine the fate of our nation, if the people of Malaysia suffer in any respect, it is the duty of the politicians to resign, or look into their sufferings and find ways to alleviate them, instead of sweeping away the problems with their big brooms (including those presented to his officers by Khir Toyo), and then allowing the problems to rest under their large carpets - until the next election, while blaming others instead of themselves.
As a notable example, our politicians cannot be so irresponsible as to set up a national policy -e.g. 70 million population, and they then sit back to watch the sufferings of the people. The sufferings come about because of insufficient jobs, insufficient fulfilling jobs, and therefore, insufficient household incomes. When this happens, they start carving into the economic cake for themselves and their families, and thank God, those families with lesser children will experience greater fulfilment because there are less mouths to be responsible for within the households. This shows that we have irresponsible leaders indeed.
The notable happening nowadays is, to avoid their having to solve the problems of the people - i.e. all peoples of Malaysia, the politicians start to side-track. They start blaming the people for everything, and even unashamedly claim that the last general elections - was 'racial' - as though they are not aware of how much they have neglected the people, the citizens of Malaysia.
One general truth is, all problems are started by the politicians. The first thing that they need to do is to realise the ill-effects caused by their misfiring of policies and the inequality generated and propagated by themselves.
On account of the above, it is indeed time to send our politicians back to school. This will allow others to lead - in the meantime!
Tan Peek Guat