Hence, it comes as a positive surprise to see the state of Sarawak initiate the first major concrete policy change — to remove the race-based quota system for university admission in favour of meritocracy. If successful, perhaps this will lead to greater reforms at all levels of education, and across the nation.
Sustained growth in wages and income must be underpinned by sustained improvement in worker productivity, in order for domestic businesses to maintain global competitiveness. Countries with greater relative export competitiveness tend to also have stronger currencies — and a higher standard of living — over the longer term. And the underlying driver for productivity gains is an educated and skilled workforce. To successfully attract high-value investments and move up the value chain, the country needs people with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the demand for the jobs to be created. In short, an educated and skilled workforce is the foundation to economic success and wealth of nations. We think most people will agree with all of the above.
As a country, for years and years we have talked about the pressing need for education reforms to arrest the decline in the quality of Malaysia’s public education system. Yet, there has been little evidence of urgency when it comes to reforms and certainly even less to show for it. Worse, successive governments have opted to outsource education to the private sector — in effect, limiting access to quality education to the privileged. Over time, this erodes the equality of opportunity in the job market for those in the lower income groups, exacerbating the income-wealth divide between the haves and the have-nots.
