PSD Interviews should be recorded, says Tee Keat

Record PSD Interviews

MCA Youth chairman Datuk Ong Tee Keat suggested that all interviews of PSD scholars should be recorded live. According to Datuk Ong, such recordings would be useful evidence should applicants appeal against the department's decisions.

Many Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) high achievers, he noted, had been told that they failed to get a PSD scholarship because they had not done well in the interviews. However, the students felt that they had given a good performance during the interviews and say the PSD officers had even praised them.

“So to be fair to both parties, the whole process should be recorded, and the recordings can be used as a reference if the applicants make an appeal,” Ong said after meeting with the MCA Education Bureau's committee members at the Wisma MCA here.

Tee Keat said the bureau had also suggested that an independent body be set up to look into appeals. “The PSD also should be more transparent about the selection process,” said Tee Keat, who is also Deputy Youth and Sports Minister.

To date, he added, the bureau had received 472 complaints from SPM high achievers who scored between 8As and 16As but had failed to secure a PSD scholarship. Of the 472 complainants, 135 had obtained 10 to 13 straight As, he said. He said the bureau would compile and analyse the complaints before submitting a report on them and recommendations to party president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting later on Tuesday. “We don't want a repeat of such a situation every year,” he said.

COMMENTS:

Will such recording be of any use to resolve the problem? I doubt. We had cases in the past where the governmental system provides such similar equipments to departments and schools and later found that the equipments are never use, or used sparingly, or cannot be used. As an example, The Education Television (ETV) Programme, which costs the Government millions of ringgit each year, has failed because most schools are not utilising the facility. According to the Auditor-General’s Report 2003, most schools do not watch ETV for reasons ranging from faulty equipment to the programmes clashing with the timetable. A total of 8,860 schools have the facilities to watch ETV, carried on channel 13 of Astro. The Government spends RM5 millions annually to subscribe to Astro. This payment includes the Education Package of Astro, which has the Discovery , National Geographic and Animal Planet channels. Since ETV was removed from RTM 1 and RTM 2 and placed under Astro in early 2000, the Government has paid Astro more than RM20mil for its services. The A-G’s report revealed that 91.2% of 381 schools inspected randomly last year were not using the facility. It is learned that while some schools had left malfunctioning Astro devices unrepaired, others had functioning devices but did not have a TV set. The report stated that some of the TV sets and decoders had even being left sitting in the storerooms.

Is there no other better ideas? Are we still living in the stone age and that the officers are cavemen?

It is clear from observation that there is no problem about the interviews. What had transpired at the interviews are just formalities as the officers had already made up their mind aforestate. The selection decision was made prior to the calling for interviews and the interviews are basically "Sandiwara".

The most effective way, which is the most onerous way, is to revamp the system, but for that to happen, you have to sack all the National Front MPs, which happen to include all from MCA, and install Tok Guru Nik Aziz as the PSD Director-general who has proven beyond doubt that he is the "only" honest & poorest legislator around.