Does it really matter?

I have not been writing as much as I want to due to some development at home front, anyway nice to be back.

Recently there was a protest in Selangor where six staff bodies of state agency Selangor Development Corporation (PKNS) objected to the appointment of a senior official as acting general manager on grounds that she is Chinese. They even stated that as PKNS conducts activities that are spiritual in nature, its leader must understand and practice Islamic values. In other words it must be a Malay!

I guess we can take a monkey out of Africa but not Africa out of the monkey!

Does it really matter what race the individual is shouldn't it be it be based on the right person doing the job.

Why is the government looking for candidate based on race rather than track record and performance? Shouldn't this officer be sacked for question the decision of the MB? While that world is heading for an economic melt down these jokers are talking about which race should head a state and the federal government.

The late American president John F Kennedy who picked cabinet members who were the ‘best and the brightest’ of whatever colour or creed or religion or gender. He wanted the best people to run the US government. We also should be open-minded and pick the best for our nation and not being selfish with narrow minded interests.

It was not long ago that UMNO leaders were crying loud demanding that the CEO and managing director of MAS should be a Malay! Why is that UMNO cares that it must be a bumiputera or a Malay if this is not driven by racial agenda? Shouldn't we be driven by a national agenda? The PM of past and present as usual during festive seasons of non-bumiputeras would praise in public how the " pendatangs" contributed in nation building but when it comes to appointments of key positions, that notion takes a back step and race being the front runner! Shouldn't they be thinking that the most important point is that we should choose the right person with the right talent for the right position?

Where are we in the sports now i.e football, hockey as once we use to be on par or even better than Korea and Japan and where are they now? Look at our 18 public universities and look at their rankings in the world. The best Malaysian university, University Malaya, is ranked 246. The joke is that the education ministry is justifying that the criteria used were different but we have the best teaching staff and facilities. I may agree with the facilities claim but best teaching staff, that is questionable. When I was attending my MBA at a local university, a PHD lecturer could not utter proper English even after spending great number of years abroad doing his PHD! I leave it to your imagination on the lecturers ethnicity. Worst still I was told recently that he is the dean of that faculty! I wish them all the best in striving to be the top 100 in future.

Don't you think that we should drop this crutch-mentality and head-hunt for the best vice- chancellors, the best professors, the best lecturers and equip the universities with the best materials and take in the best students ( yes best students and not based on race or backdoor entrance to universities), if we want to be in the top ten of the world’s rankings.