Knowledge Society Essay

Before you start reading this, i would like to put up a 'WARNING' sign to all those dear people who say that i write to long. Unless you are for some reason interested in reading about the K-society, i strongly advise that you skip this article because it is extremely long. I wasn't planning on posting this here, but a few friends have asked me to, so i have acted upon their requests. Anyway, procede only if you have the patience to read...i really hope you do. Anyway, this piece of literature was the result of a joint effort between a friend and i, as she did the research and i composed the essay. Well, to those of you who have the patience to read this, thanks and i hope it gives you something to think about.

Championing the K-Society: The Path to Vision 2020

“…technology is but one important tool in the knowledge age. It is not, in itself, the knowledge that will become the commodity of the next century. A fisherman needs a fishing pole in order to eat. That fisherman can’t however, eat the pole when the fish become too expensive to catch.” Wendy Rickard made this statement in her article entitled, “The Knowledge Roadblock.”

A knowledge society is a group of informed people who share the same values and vision. In order to make Malaysia a K-Society, there must be an equally smart or knowledge based citizenry; which would require their ethical utilization of the knowledge that has been gained through learning and experience. Hence, we must first address these fundamental pre-conditions - quality of life, education, culture and attitude of the citizens, intellectual capital, stability of politics, and growth of economy - to reach this level of excellence where we can truly call ourselves a K-Society.

Quality of Life
The unemployment rate in Malaysia last year was 3.5% while the incidence of poverty was 7.5%. We can see that the poverty rate in our country is still quite high for a resourceful country. K-Society requires us to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor simply because a K-Society cares for their poor. In addition, poverty will bring about an increase in social ills and we will see the trickle-down effect of our country as a whole. As smart citizens, it is vital that we reach the peak of Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy and this can only happen when minority groups are attended to and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is closed. A self-actualized society will prosper their neighbor, not just themselves.

Currently, the New Economic Policy and the National Development Policy seem to be working well. Through both of these policies and Vision 2020, the poverty rates have decreased over the years. The Shanghai Poverty Conference showcases that the progress in economic growth and poverty reduction is uneven. Thus, it is important that we do not solely aim at reducing poverty, but also strive for an equitable economic growth.

The solution to this whole issue of poverty and unemployment is simply to bridge the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. A sufficient and elaborate welfare system with basic infrastructure should be provided for people who are in need of it. To address the issue of unemployment, more jobs need to be created to resolve the issue of social unrest. It is also important that the determination to move out of poverty is instilled in the marginalized groups because otherwise, they will just become a burden to the country.

The aboriginals are another group of people that have been treated unfairly. Their literacy rate is very low and a significant part of this is due to the lack of infrastructure, which makes the aboriginals unable to connect with the outside world. Many end up dropping out of school because they feel rejected.

To deal with this issue, we need to take a more effective affirmative action. Certain non-profit organizations, such as the Demonstrator Application Grant Scheme (DAGS), have been very successful in giving aid to the remote and rural communities of our country, and the Kelabits in Bario, Sarawak welcomed the Internet with open arms. DAGS has demonstrated that it is possible to put forward the most rural communities to the world through the Internet. Thus, more organizations should follow the footsteps of DAGS in helping the aboriginals improve their lifestyles.

The engine of a K-Society is Information and Communications Technology (ICT). According to last year’s statistics, there are 2,987,000 Internet subscribers out of Malaysia’s population of 10.2 million. The amount of computers in homes is still insufficient, as only about 3% of this nation has fixed Internet access. The “One Home, One Computer” campaign is working, but very gradually and this outreach needs to be expanded.

Education
Daily, we constantly deal with data. When it is meaningful, we call it information. It is vital that we learn to absorb all this information and apply it as knowledge. Knowledge is information used to solve problems or create other new value. The education system plays a major role in this process of learning, unlearning and relearning. Somehow, the young generation doesn’t recognize the importance of attaining knowledge from books, other than schoolbooks. Therefore, they should realize the importance of learning, and move towards attempting to acquire more knowledge. These ripples will soon bring about tidal waves.

Owing to the fact that the education system provides the foundation to everything else, it plays one of the most important roles in championing the K-Society. Many students go through their whole schooling life without questioning what they are taught and what they ‘learn’. In fact, students are frequently discouraged from asking questions and encouraged to fully accept what they are being taught, instead of being encouraged to think critically. Students should be taught to question so that a critical mindset is nurtured from a young age. Through their ability to question, individuals will be able to step back from the immediate situation and take a broader perspective on world issues.

Moreover, there are only a handful of teachers in secondary schools who are fluent in English. This is a critical issue that must be addressed, as many of them are science and mathematics teachers. The standard for qualified teachers should be raised so that they can actually become good role models for the students.

The quality of the tertiary education system affects the quality of our future leaders. Nonetheless, local graduates many times cannot compare with the foreign graduates simply because many are computer illiterate, not fluent in English and do not have good communication skills.

To curb these issues, I would suggest that the class sizes be reduced and that class participation be encouraged. Also, classes on creative thinking, philosophy, communication skills and computer should be compulsory for all students.

We are fortunate to grow up in a multilingual society where most of us learn at least two languages - Bahasa Malaysia as the national language and English as the spoken lingua franca in daily urban use. If we are not able to speak English fluently, there is no way that we will be able to compete with any other first world nations. The younger generation is constantly being exposed to ‘Manglish’ through sitcoms, such as Phua Chu Kang, and many children grow up attempting to imitate that type of ‘English’ because they believe it is cool. What is happening to the media, which plays such a critical role in our lives?

The decision to teach mathematics and science in English is wise because although Bahasa Malaysia is our national language, it cannot function internationally and basic scientific terms are lost. Nonetheless, although we focus on improving our English we cannot forsake our own national language, as that is what makes us unique as Malaysians.

Culture and Attitude
The issue of Bumiputeras must also be taken into account. Now, we face the cradle to the grave syndrome, where many Malaysians are overly dependent on the government. An article entitled, “Cultivate Value Culture, Malays Told” from The Star newspaper, reports how Tun Dr. Mahathir says that the Malays need to develop a value culture to resist “immediate satisfaction” and not throw away the many opportunities given to them by the government. Thus, the Bumiputeras should be encouraged to pick-up their own fishing pole and become more independent. It is important though, that they improve themselves without changing their culture and losing their very own unique identity.

Once we have the knowledge that allows us to become a K-Society, we need to be aware how this knowledge is utilized. This is where smart citizenship plays a salient role. It is possible for us to misuse the knowledge that we have gained and create things that are better left alone, such as nuclear artillery. To prevent such violation, it is important that the society be educated not only on how to apply knowledge, but also on how to apply it ethically.

Intellectual Capital
Somehow, our country is facing the issue of brain drain, where our local professionals are leaving the country and refusing to come back to Malaysia. It is important that their achievements are duly recognized and that they are given sufficient benefits to make them enjoy working here as Nunn, in his article, describes a K-economy as “a new utopia, with collaborative knowledge workers enjoying intrinsically satisfying work…” A new government program has provided a good profit for researchers whose ideas are commercially viable. Otherwise, with all our professionals leaving, how can we ever move forward?

At this point in time, Malaysia is still a developing nation and in order to expand the supply of highly skilled and knowledgeable human capital to aid in development, we do require foreign professional help to better ourselves. An article from The Star newspaper talks about how medical professionals from India want to work with their Malaysian counterparts because we have the basic facilities and India has the required knowledge. Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kuala Lumpur City Centre are just some of the many examples of what we have achieved with foreign help.

Politics
A knowledge society needs K-leaders and role models. Our leaders must have dignity and show this level of responsibility by keeping promises that they make. For instance, MPs running for elections make all sorts of promises, but when it comes down to fulfilling them, many fail. Our leaders-to-be should portray a positive image as they are in role model positions.
We should observe the ‘Look East’ policy by Tun Dr. Mahathir as it gives us a goal to aim for.

Also, national welfare should be given priority, and the appropriate budget should be allocated for each sector. Efforts made to formulate policies and strategies towards K-Society, should be acknowledge such as that of the Strategic Intervention Group Malaysia (SiGMA). Malaysia generally has good diplomatic relationships with other countries and this will help with establishing ourselves as a K-Society.

Economy and R&D
According to YB Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, our GDP has grown by 8% in the second quarter (Q2) of this year. Malaysia is the 18th largest exporter in the world and these exports have doubled our GDP.

R&D is an area that is developing very slowly as only 0.49% of our GDP is spent on R&D. Thus, it should be expanded as new sectors are taken up. For instance, the Taninet project under DAGS is helping farmers sell their crops over the Internet. A bigger portion of the national budget should be provided for R&D. Besides that, commercial banks should provide loans for this field. Our country is short of professionals in the R&D area, so by improving our education system, curbing the brain drain problem and providing an increased budget for R&D, this field should soar high, bringing us towards excellence.

E-commerce is still a new idea in Malaysia. Nonetheless, it should be promoted to enable us to compete more effectively in the global market. We have already made our first move by introducing e-banking through Maybank. With this increase in the usage of technology, our country can compete at a global level and we can promote our goods at an international level.

Conclusion
In conclusion, all of these six major issues play an enormous role in Malaysia becoming a K-Society through smart citizenship. Each of these areas is not divorced from each other and plays a salient role in this attempt. Nunn states that a K-Society will produce “individuals capable of thinking past yesterday’s problems and creating innovative and imaginative solutions, fiercely protective of individual freedom and crucially aware of the importance for social stability of some measure of egalitarianism”. Thus, only when we are at our very best in every single area can we consider ourselves a K-Society.

I was just wondering...is there a maximum length for stuff posted on blogs? Maybe i'll try to figure that out some other time. For now, i know that you can post articles this long...and this is quite long.