TODAY, it seems everything including education – the cornerstone of nation building – is being nonchalantly bandied about.
It would be useful to remind us, especially the young, of our mid-19th century pre-colonial era, when the early Christian missionaries from the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist denominations helped lay a solid foundation for education in our country.
Several of those pioneering endeavours, more than a century or century-and-a-half old, and institutions that grew out of them, have largely stood the test of time, becoming an integral component of our bigger social matrix.
Those efforts have contributed in no small way towards producing, over the years, men and women of outstanding character and capabity in all walks of life.
Those who have distinguished themselves, nationally and with honour carried our "colours" on the international stage, proud to call themselves Malaysians over and above everything else.
An old proverb says: "Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding." True learning must lead to acquiring knowledge that imbues one with wisdom and understanding to live peaceably and pursue the best for all.
In that context, we recall some three years ago, on the 110th anniversary of his alma mater, St John's Insitution Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he still cherished the values and principles imparted to him while he was a student at the school.
"That sense of being together and plus a strong ethos and spirit of St John's I still remember till today," he said.
"St John's as a school and as an institution in fact has contributed substantially in producing quality people with leadership skills and right values to take this country forward," he added.
He wished that St John's Institution would continue to play a prominent role in the area of education landscape in Malaysia.
Let's hope our education system, unpolluted by what is today's divisive politics, will continue to nurture and produce men and women of quality, with competence and conviction, to lead our nation and be a shining example to generations who follow.
Rueben Dudley
Petaling Jaya
It would be useful to remind us, especially the young, of our mid-19th century pre-colonial era, when the early Christian missionaries from the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist denominations helped lay a solid foundation for education in our country.
Several of those pioneering endeavours, more than a century or century-and-a-half old, and institutions that grew out of them, have largely stood the test of time, becoming an integral component of our bigger social matrix.
Those efforts have contributed in no small way towards producing, over the years, men and women of outstanding character and capabity in all walks of life.
Those who have distinguished themselves, nationally and with honour carried our "colours" on the international stage, proud to call themselves Malaysians over and above everything else.
An old proverb says: "Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding." True learning must lead to acquiring knowledge that imbues one with wisdom and understanding to live peaceably and pursue the best for all.
In that context, we recall some three years ago, on the 110th anniversary of his alma mater, St John's Insitution Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he still cherished the values and principles imparted to him while he was a student at the school.
"That sense of being together and plus a strong ethos and spirit of St John's I still remember till today," he said.
"St John's as a school and as an institution in fact has contributed substantially in producing quality people with leadership skills and right values to take this country forward," he added.
He wished that St John's Institution would continue to play a prominent role in the area of education landscape in Malaysia.
Let's hope our education system, unpolluted by what is today's divisive politics, will continue to nurture and produce men and women of quality, with competence and conviction, to lead our nation and be a shining example to generations who follow.
Rueben Dudley
Petaling Jaya