My ugly face in a forum

Dear Major Oh
I have not received any reply from you so I guess this would be my last email.  I know Rao and if you meet him at the dinner send my regards to him. We have a fall out because he was adamant that I threw my support to the opposition lead by Anwar, I can’t. My principles and my values would not make me bend. I just can’t see the point for me he is solely to blame at the state of the education system now not Mahathir and both are equally responsible to the crisis that affects the country in terms of race relation.
As you might have guess I am a good friend of Khoo Salma Husband Abdul razak Loebis a writer and former Reuters correspondence. He and I concur our dislike on Anwar and what he has done. True, the rot of the education started in 1967, lead by Mahathir and other Malay leaders, they oppose Tunku in retaining the English school. Prior to it they were English schools Malay schools Chinese Schools Indian schools and were all part of the Malaysian School system. Even with the support of the late Tan Sri Melan Abdullah the editor of Utusan, Tunku fail the hawks won. Thus English school was dismantle gradually. I was the last batch of the English Medium school.
People forgot that up to that time and even up to the late 80’s enrolment in these school were high compare vis a vis the Chinese and Indian school. They were the bedrock of Malaysians and you can find a mixture of races in these school. They mix freely. True Mahathir opposes the English school but by and large the policy was left to the bureaucrats to plan and implement. At that time the idea waste built up many boarding schools for the poor but the truth was, it was for the Malays to gave them a head start. They were pluck, now defunct, standard 5 assessment test. I was one of those that did well and was chosen. I choose not to go.
In the mid 80’s by that time Anwar helm the Education Ministry and he embark to Malayenise all the ‘colonial school’ like Penang free, SMI of Ipoh, Anderson, King George of Seremban etc and make it very Malay making sure no non Malays could helm the Principal’s office. St John and Victoria would remain safe as these remain the bedrock of the elite. Penang Free would have the ignomity of having headmaster who can’t speak English and does not know the tradition.
Then he islamisize the school introducing the doa etc. Thus the unthinkable happen the enrolment to these schools starts to slide. Many non Malays, fearing they are being indoctrinated and their culture extinguish now send their children to vernacular schools. This happen only out from Klang Valley where the policy could be enforce with little opposition. How could I forgive Anwar. Under Hishamuddin they were some light when he announce that these school should be the bastion of Malaysia racial mix identity but it remain slogan as there were no political will to make it work.
True to Mahathir, he did try to return the English School (a hybrid) back but once he steps down the hawks got their way. So tell me should I support Anwar. His other disservice was,for the muslim to invalid the family wakaf system. Making all wakaf land belongs to the State Religious Department. It makes Islamic state department of Penang as one of the biggest landowner and one of the richest but making the family (wakaf as oppose to public) destitute. The Syariah amendment act 1993 made this possible. Sulaiman Abdullah fought and won for the wakaf land in Simpang Enam Penang yet he defended Anwar in his corruption trial but not his sodomy case. I will never touch Anwar especially I know of his corrupt ways.
Because SA won that case in 1997 another law was pass to the syariah to make fatwa enforceable and not questionable. It is only in Malaysia and the law was pass just before he was kick out from UMNO. There are many other incidents I know off but these 3 changes Malaysia, it leads to the terrible decision on Allah and subsequently the fatwa that follows. It destroy already the fragile relations of Malaysians and if the education systems that is taught not inclusive of the non Malays, the future of Malaysia does not look promising.
Thank you for reading and have a good dinner if you attend the OFA dinner. God Bless