Be proactive, Liow urges youth
MCA chief notes poor Chinese participation in Govt programmes
SERI KEMBANGAN: The Chinese community has been urged to find out more about the Government programmes that have benefited the public.
MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said he was saddened by the poor response from young Chinese for such programmes, which are meant to assist and benefit all Malaysians.
“Kedai Kain Rakyat 1Malaysia, Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia, Atom (Automotive Workshop Modernisation) and Tukar (Retail Shop Transformation) are examples of projects with poor participation from Chinese youths,” he said.
Liow pointed this out at the Malaysia Chinese Youth Summit 2017, organised by the Youth wing of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia ( Hua Zong), at Wisma Huazong.
With the focus on National Transformation 2050 (TN50), the event was attended by about 1,000 Chinese youth from around Malaysia.
Liow was explaining the country’s push towards a digital economy when he asked participants if they had heard about the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation’s eRezeki and eUsahawan programmes.
His question was met by silence, prompting him to stray from his script.
(ERezeki allows users to earn income from online tasks, while eUsahawan is a digital entrepreneurship programme for those keen to venture into digital businesses.)
“This perhaps reflected MCA’s weakness in not channelling information effectively,” said Liow.
“At the same time, the Chinese community assumed these projects are not for them.”
In his speech, Hua Zong president Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah said they decided to host the summit after realising the serious lack of Chinese participation in TN50 events.
“Over one million youths have attended various TN50 programmes organised by different organisations, with tens of thousands of proposals and opinions recorded.
“And yet, based on feedback, Chinese youths were rarely seen at these events, let alone standing up and airing their views,” Pheng said.
“TN50 needs the enthusiastic participation of all youths.”
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon, who delivered a talk on Chinese language education in Malaysia, said the ministry would introduce a new assessment system for schools to replace the existing one, which he said overemphasised examinations.
“The current ranking system put 70% weightage on examination results,” he said, adding that the new system would also look at the school’s administration and students’ discipline.
This corresponded with the restriction on the use of workbooks in primary schools, Chong said.
Overreliance on workbooks, he said, would teach students to answer questions, but not to think.
“They are not learning knowledge,” he added.
Under the ministry’s circular in 2000, Year One to Three pupils should not use workbooks, while Year Four to Six pupils are only allowed one workbook for Mathematics, Science and Chinese or Tamil.
Chong, who is also MCA Youth chief, said teachers should work towards moulding students into loving and confident individuals with problem solving, independent thinking and creative thinking skills.