education -prime and precious commodity

desiderata.civilsociety

I weave together some recent events on a subject close to every parent's heart - education. This is a prime and precious commodity, rightfully so, especially in Asian societies. More so in Malaysia, where three of the oldest and greatest civilizations -- Indian, Chhinese and Islamic -- still proudly reside and continue to flourish.

THE STAR, 18 March 2005 under a headline Education fund seeks more money from EPF reported that the National Higher Education Fund Corp (NHEFC) has applied for a loan from the Employees Provident Fund(EPF) to provide students financial help in the current academic session. Every year since 2003, the EPF had loaned the corporation RM2billion and it hoped to receive an "appropriate amount" this time, said its chairman Datuk Razali Ismail.

What raises my concern here is that the EPF has become "a lender of desperate resort"! No doubt helping young Malaysians to achieve their educational goals is a noble mission. But why the EPF? This savings fund is to take care of contributing members so that their "old age" can be taken care of by their accumulated savings, plus dividends which can only be derived from prudent investments. The EPF, I can recall as a journalist, has been used in the past to invest in several public listed companies that had gone into "dire straits". Now it is used to fund an eduaction loans body but at whose expense?

EPF money should be invested into unit trusts, blue chip stocks, local or foreign, to maximise the rate of "return on investment". It should not be used as a bailer of desperate resort -- the EPF board owes it to the members not to stray from the fund's primary mission of safeguarding and promoting the members' interests.

So what options does the NHEFC have?

To me, as a taxpayer, other corporations must do their civic and corporate duties. A body that comes to mind immediately is the national oil corporation, Petronas. Petroleum is the nation's prime and premium resource, and its benefits should flow to EVERY CITIZEN, not just Petronas employees, board of directors and shareholders.

I used to tell my friends and foreign visitors that Malaysia is indeed a lucky country. Just as it appears we are nearing the depletion of oil, Petronas announces that new oil fields are discovered off Malaysian shores, to buy us another decade or so to enjoy the good life from the black gold. Petronas enjoys revenues running into billions every year, so is it too much to ask that it donate, or extend as a friendly loan of RM2billion annually to the NHEFC?

Other profitable listed companies such as Genting, Sports Toto, Magnum and Usaha Tegas should be called upon to do their part -- as good corporate citizens. Yes, I know that many of them are already offering scholarships. But I also know that many recipients of such scholarships had less than outstanding scholarly results to show -- it's the political and family connections that mattered!

I always believe that every young Malaysian should be given assistance to realise her/his potential to the highest level; educationally, to the first degree level. Yes, it's also timely to remind such youths who benefit from the NHEFC to do their civic duties by serving their loans promptly. The NHEFC needs the money to be RE-CYCLED to benefit future young fellow Malaysians.

It's appaling to read of recent cases in the press that some beneficiaries of NHEFC loans gave as "reasons" they could not re-pay because of other commitments like servicing a car-loan, maybe even a housing loan. These are lame excuses, and from young, they better know their civic duties and their priorities. A comfortable home or car, or an expensive girlfriend or boyfriend, can come later. Don't ever use that much-touted youngest billionaire at age 27 in 1997/98 as a role model!


Here I recall with some sadness last year's case involving some 128 students with outstanding STPM results who qualified for medical studies but could not gain places in local public universities. Some smart-aleck politicians offered "help" to enable them to obtain loans from banks to pursue their studies at private medical schools. After some calculations, most of the parents and students opted out of pursuing their field of first choice academic pursuit. The reason? By the end of the six-year medical course, they potentially face a bill of RM750,000! Only 10 percent (i.e. about 10 to 12 of 128 students) finally accepted the bank loans (I'm sure, reluctantly, for there is that great burden to repay ...)

Which student would want to impose such a heavy burden on the parent? Starting off a career owing the bank a cool three-quarter million, an irony indeed as the local media trumpeted instead the role of the politicians in helping these young Malaysians. I wonder what happened to the youngest billionaire-entrepreneur, also son of a then-minister, six years later?

The press also recently spotlighted outstanding performers at the SPM (10 to 17 A1s) and STPM public examinations (4 to 5 As). A few were assured of scholarships; one received two within a week. Here I would urge our Government to offer EVERY ONE of these young achievers at least a state scholarship to a local university, if not a sponsorship to study overseas. Enough of the present system of scholarships open to application, because we know what the crony system does to such young minds thinking they can thrive on their academic merit, but then later they hit a hard wall, feeling let down and depressed.

It's no use the ministries of Science and Technology going overseas to reverse the brain-drain. It is an exercise in futility. It's no use the Minister of Health lamenting we aren't getting enough doctors in government service. Had the Ministry of Education responded to have last year's batch of 128 outstanding students aided financially to study medicine, we could have prevented some 100 bright Malaysians being lost to other disciplines, and later likely to be lost to other countries who appreciate their talents more. Will we see a repeat of this sad situation a few weeks from now when university applications close and successful ones are announced?

I'm afraid Datuk Chua Soi Lek will continue to face an increasingly uphill task of attracting doctors to government service, I don't envy his position. Our government leaders have better learn the wisdom in the saying: Don't bolt the stable door after the horse has bolted.