The ‘old school tie’ network
New Straits Times (Columns)
2 Sep 2007
Tunku Abdul Aziz 

THIS year I was invited to speak at two conferences organised by the United Kingdom and Eire Council for Malaysian Students (UKEC), in London and Kuala Lumpur.
The Kuala Lumpur event, the First Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit 2007, attracted our student leaders from many parts of the globe, including those from our own institutions of higher learning in Malaysia.

Based on many long and interesting conversations with them "in the corridors" on a range of subjects from employment to politics and the "state of the nation", I came away from these close personal contacts enormously impressed with their very mature understanding of the problems and opportunities in this country.

They recognised all too clearly that in spite of the outstanding progress made in the last 50 years, Malaysia must be regarded as "a work in progress", and that the job of nation building was far from over.

All expressed a wish to contribute to the orderly development that would take Malaysia to "2020" and beyond.

It did not surprise me that their aspirations for their country, their love and loyalty were as focused and intense as those of my time when we were students abroad.

These bright and articulate young people represent our best hopes for the future of our country.

On the debit side, my criticism is that most of them studying in foreign countries confessed to me that they could not count one non-Malaysian among their circle of friends.

In other words, they live in social ghettos, divorced from their surroundings and contributing little or not at all to collegiate life.

It seems an awful waste of public funds to send these students overseas only to come home with nothing more than a piece of paper which they could have acquired by attending a local university.

This was not what the deputy prime minister had in mind when he addressed some 200 Malaysians in New York last year.

I referred to this informal dinner reception in my column of Sept 12 last year, in which I wrote: "He felt that the friendships made and the networks established with other students in these internationally respected institutions would be useful later in life because these were the people most likely to provide the political, intellectual, diplomatic and corporate leadership in many countries.

"A global ‘old school tie’ network is not something to be sneered at; it could pay dividends for Malaysia."

As an overseas student in Australia, I made a deliberate decision to live in college, sharing a room with Peter, an Aussie.

I got to know, through him, a lot about the Australian mores and aspects of Australian life which I would have not known had I chosen to stay with others from my country.

Admittedly, I would have been better fed as there was always some student or other who enjoyed cooking for friends sharing a house, but then we would have spent all of our time discussing and arguing about things Malaysian.

When I moved out of college accommodation, I shared a house with three Australian students and we did the housekeeping chores together.

It was the best part of my education in a foreign country, getting to know people as people, and in the process learning a great deal about what made them and their country tick.

Having made up my mind to be involved in the life of the university community, I got a place on the university rugger team, no mean feat as the competition was very keen.

I remember on an away match when some Australian spectators, during the interval, congratulated me on my performance, and sheepishly asked: "Where did you learn to play rugby like that?"

I had difficulty restraining myself from being frivolous and saying: "Here in Australia, when I got off the P&O Oronsay last month."

What they did not know was that I had been playing the game since the age of 12 in the 4th XV.

I was coached at the best rugby-playing school, the Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Kedah by former Scottish and Irish internationals in government service who gave their time and energy to their horrible little charges, all for the love of the game!

The most wonderful thing that happened to me was to be offered the editorship of the University of Tasmania monthly newspaper, TOGATUS, a real ragbag if there was ever one.

It was a great honour nonetheless and a real challenge to be the first non-Australian in the history of the university to edit its newspaper.

There was a nice office for the editor in the Union Building. It had an old Remington typewriter and nothing else.

As I was scouting for talent to fill some key editorial positions, I ran into an extraordinarily talented student of English from Malacca by the name of Salleh Joned. He was the most creative writer I had met, and I persuaded him to be my literary editor.

Salleh was great fun to work with, always brimming with ideas, and had a wicked sense of humour. He claims not to remember this incident, but I do.

When asked by an Australian what kind of a name "Joned" was, he answered: "It is the past tense of Jones."

While he concentrated on introducing the subtleties and beauty of the English language, literature and the performing arts, I "exposed" the shortcomings of the university administration, and between the two of us, TOGATUS became a widely read publication, often quoted by mainland mainstream papers.

The only problem with my many revelations of unethical conduct was that the vice-chancellor stopped inviting me to his cocktail parties. I realised that the authorities took editors seriously, even a small time university newspaper editor.

Salleh took over from me when I graduated and returned home. He is today one of Malaysia’s great literary figures, a well-known author and a published poet in English and Malay.

He is his own man, and that to me is a sign of intellectual independence — a thinking person who has benefited from education in the best possible sense, in a liberal and democratic environment.

As a matter of interest, Salleh wrote a column in the New Straits Times called, "As I Please".

Students who are lucky enough to study abroad on taxpayers’ money owe it to themselves and the country to broaden their horizons by discarding their katak di bawah tempurung world view.

They should absorb the best that the country of their sojourn has to offer. Their time abroad is intended to make them into world citizens so that whether they enter government service or work in the business sector, they will be better fitted to represent their country or company with self-assurance and confidence.

Today, more than ever, Malaysia needs liberal intellectuals to help disseminate and explain our country’s policies on trade development, social, economic and political integration to the rest of the world so that our intentions are not misunderstood.

We cannot improve our world ranking, judged even by the most basic indicators, if we are unable to produce spokespersons who are confident, good at managing information and have the ability to present their case in clear, fluent English.

Many Malaysian representatives at international meetings do not do the country justice because their use of the English language seriously limits their full participation.

We have realised that downgrading the most important international language, the English language, has cost us dearly.

We have the moral and intellectual courage to undo what I believe is a political decision bordering on the most cruel negligence perpetrated upon our country and people.

Many are being rapidly margi-nalised in the globalised world. It is one of the factors that will weaken our international competitiveness.

Bahasa Malaysia, naturally, must remain the country’s official language and its utility as the unifying language is non-negotiable.

English should be made the language of instruction and Malay and Chinese should be made compulsory subjects. Tamil, where there is a demand for it, should be offered as an optional subject. Something to think about?

The writer is a former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Ethics. He can be contacted at tunkua@gmail.com

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