In Malaysiakini letter section,

The 'insurmountable' STPM Artemis Tower 1:50pm Fri Apr 30th, 2004 I agree with most points put forth by Casper, especially the part about the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination. It is indeed rather insurmountable, or at least, near- insurmountable. For the sceptics out there, let me illustrate how. I was a candidate for the 1997 STPM examinations. That meant that I had to start preparing for it in 1996 since two years is the prescribed period of schooling for most STPM candidates. Everyday, I studied for eight hours solid excluding school hours. That meant waking up at 5am everyday and going to bed at 1am the next day. Saturdays and Sundays were a 16 to 17 hour marathon. I must say those two years were very hard on me. Although I was always a high achiever in school, partly due to parental pressure, I was never really prepared to undertake a lot of hardship to secure a certain kind of results in exams. Even now, I give a lot of priority to happiness and enjoyment, and I doubt I will ever voluntarily undertake hardships like that of examinations. But the STPM was totally different. Like it or not, I had to force myself to endure that hardship and give up life temporarily. Why? Because I wanted to be enrolled in the University of Malaya (UM) to do law. And for that, I had to achieve at least 4As and 1B in the STPM to be safe. Even then, one is not guaranteed a place to do law in UM. Happily, at the end of the day, I achieved a full 5As and went on to read law. So what’s my commotion all about? You see, there were 197 5A-achievers that year in the whole country, out of the 40,000 plus candidates who sat for STPM that year. Does ‘insurmountable’ begin to make some sense now? And when I first joined law school, there were a few students from the law matriculation programme who were my classmates. They were all a year younger than me because they only had to do one year of studying. And what did they have to do for the one year? According to them, they attended a few classes a week, studied a bit before exams, and partied most of the time. Lucky them? Not really, considering they matched up poorly to their counterparts who went through the STPM. I do not blame these seemingly ‘privileged’ students. It is not their fault that our education system is what it is today, divided by racial quotas and dubious policies. As for me, I do not regret or hold a grudge against anyone for me having to sit for the STPM. If not for the STPM, I still may not know how far I can be pushed to achieve something important and near impossible. Having done it, I obtained a sense of confidence and a new level of maturity. And I do not think it is fair to generalise that those at the receiving end of racial quotas and dubious policies are lazy, unmotivated and other such stereotypes. I know many who are determined to prove that they, too, are hardworking and capable. For those who are keen on taking unfair advantage of the situation, I can only offer my sympathy for their self-induced mediocrity and eventual downfall. I trust that our leaders and many in the government are painfully aware of the crippling effects these policies can bring on those who are taught to live off them like depending on opium. However, as always, political considerations come first. Lack of political will is the mother of most ills suffered by us Malaysians. The Education Ministry must be de-politicised. De-what?

Bullseye! There is such a compromise of quality in education in the name of uplifting the standards of a race. Will it backfire? The quality of local graduates have long been questioned by employers and this continuing trend will only tarnish the image of local graduates even further. There is no substitute for hard work in order to achieve success. This has to be taught to all young students.

Sadly, such protectionist policies will only serve to isolate a race and potentially dampen its competitive spirit. It has to be realised that competing will have long term benefits. Such foresight will enable the government to formulate an education system that is fair and based on merit.

Strength lies in accepting ones weaknesses and correcting it. Hiding or denying that such a weakness exist will fool no one. Ignoring it will prove disastrous.