Unit Khas Utusan buta statistik!

We should not be surprised when a newspaper article makes a judgemental error, especially when it overstates a statistical finding. The headline was this: Orang muda buta sejarah! (Young people are ignorant of history!). And yet when I actually read what it was about, I find this distressing remark not to be taken too seriously. Yes, they have found that few people are ignorant of our first Prime Minister, or the exact date of Merdeka. So why shouldn't we take their conclusions too seriously?

  First, out of 28 million people who call themselves Malaysians, only 200 were chosen to be sampled, or at least presented in this frontpage news report - that's 0.00071429% of the represented population. Well of course it's impossible to involve everyone - and that's what sampling is for - but at least have the humility to acknowledge the limits to their findings.

  Instead, the Utusan 'researchers' have concluded that 'Young people today are ignorant of history; are not interested to remember the past; have no interest in general knowledge; are too forward looking!'

  It is always very tempting to conclude that everyone in the room is a baby, when only as far as we have observed, everytime someone comes out of the room, it's a baby. Of course, Utusan has found that some Malaysians are ignorant of their own history - that's not surprising at all. However, what they have not found - hence, should not have concluded from their findings - is that such result from a non-randomized tiny sample population can be generalized to all Malaysians.

  I know, our Minister of Education has recently announced that History is a must-pass subject in SPM. It doesn't follow that we must denigrate Malaysian youth today - which include, yours truly - just because a few jokers have forgotten, or are naturally ignorant of their own history.

The Mind Of A Bigot

“ ... is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes



I Was Standing Here...

Let's All Be Rational & Moderate

It is probably unwise to discuss politics with strangers, people say. I cannot agree more. Last week when I was enjoying the taste of Malaysian food at Trafalgar Square in London, I overheard a conversation about our local politics right behind me. I reacted by loudly telling my friend, "Why would anybody talk about politics at this time and place?". It was Malaysia Night, and instead of celebrating our country and its culture  - in fact Mat Sallehs performed silat that day - these jokers behind me were debating about our present government.

Why are we divided by our political views? Well if you can't even decide what to do over the weekends - that you have to consider each possible plan and run it thru your head - imagine how, in a much larger context, the society, has to decide on its direction. It must be no surprise then that not everyone in the society can agree with a particular decision.

If we acknowledge this, then we start to realize that all those political conflicts, conspiracies, and controversies are nothing but a waste of everyone's time. Let me tell you why I think so.

Say I can't decide whether to spend this evening writing this post, or hang out with my friends at the Toga Party. They're both equally fun (let's suppose!). Isn't it pretty useless if I moan about choosing only one of them in the end - i.e. to write this post? That's because (a) whether I like it or not, a decision has been made; and (b) if I did make a bad decision, it's better for me to move on and learn from this episode - than to regret and get depressed by it.

It's pointless for you to point out to me all the alleged corruption cases by the government - or simply summarize them for me by accusing this government or that government as being corrupt. I'm not a judge, although my name suggests that, so please bring the evidence (if you have any) to the Anti-Corruption Agency perhaps. Otherwise just shut up and let me enjoy my dinner that reminds me of home!