- will to be

I was visiting a friend the other day and my eyes were fixated on this writing on the wall of his living room which says, “God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference”. I have read this proverb before and I am sure many people out there must have read it too. But, its timing is quite profound on this occasion. I began to relate this saying to the Obama journey, of how far America has changed, and the well-being of our own country.

The greatness of any nation depends on the mentality and attitude of its people. Tough, solid and high quality continuing education is the key. Last year, we were ranked below 200 of the world’s best universities. Soon after this finding, our Government announced that it would take steps to improve the education processes in our public universities. One of the remedial steps is to increase the numbers of PhD holders. There is nothing wrong in producing more professors, professionals and academicians. But, the question is should we churn out the numbers just to meet the ranking criteria? Or, should we not seize the opportunity to develop and nurture our students to be future world-class leaders in their chosen fields? Our straight “As” students should be able to compete internationally; our PhD holders should write thesis / papers worthy of recognition globally.

Academically, we could learn from famous universities like Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, Harvard, MIT, Ivy League, and the likes. Professionally, we could learn from bodies such the ACA, CIMA, ICAEW, ifs School of Finance, in accountancy and finance and professional bodies in other disciplines such as engineering, medicine, and sciences etc. Their entry requirements are stringent. There are no short cuts. Yet, year after year thousands are applying to enroll into their studies. Their graduates are much sought after by employers and they are held in high esteem everywhere.

I do not think private institutions of higher learning in our country can take us there. There are profit-oriented organizations competing for student numbers. And the more student numbers the better. Numbers and quality do not always go hand in hand. The responsibility should rest squarely on the shoulders of our public universities and professional bodies. They are government-funded entities and thus could concentrate and devote their efforts on the quality processes without having to think of the bottom line at the back of their minds. They are the incubators as well as keepers of our intellectual elements. This is the only way forward in order to achieve meritocracy, leadership and substance. We must seize the same spirit and convictions so aptly evident in the Obama story, to strive for a better and more progressive Malaysia.

Our politicians have the wisdom, they know the difference. But, do they have the courage and the will to make it happen? To change not for themselves, but for the nation and for our future generations.