Napoleon bertempur dengan 25,000 tentera Empayar Ottoman dan 6,000 tentera di Mesir malah berdepan dengan angkatan tentera Austria dan Russia di Austerlitz. Empayarnya menjarah Sepanyol, Afrika Utara sehingga ke sempadan Russia.

Walaupun dengan semua pencapaian ini, Napoleon masih gentarkan surat khabar. Mengapa? Kerana surat khabar boleh mengawal dan mempengaruhi idea, kata-kata dan perdebatan. Napoleon takutkan perpecahan dalaman. Napoleon mahu kuasa kawalan mutlak. Malah berkata, “Aku mahu mencipta sebuah badan pendidikan yang akan menentukan cara orang Perancis berfikir!”

Dan itulah yang dilakukannya, mencipta rangkaian sekolah awam dalam usahanya untuk membentuk dan menentukan bagaimana rakyat Perancis sewajarnya berfikir dan bertindak. Usaha yang dilakukan Napoleon melalui sekolah awam terbukti berkesan tetapi beliau memandang rendah dan meletakkan titik noktah kepada kreativiti dan intelektualisme manusia. Konsep yang sama kemudiannya diadaptasikan di seluruh Perancis, dan menembusi tamadun Barat sehingga ke Amerika, dan akhirnya ke seluruh dunia.

Kebebasan Bersuara Menuju Pemikiran Kritis

Adakah rakyat Malaysia juga dikawal dalam aktiviti berfikir dan bertindak? Adakah kita, selaku negara bangsa yang moderat dan progresif, memahami makna kebebasan, keadilan dan demokrasi yang sebenar?

Masyarakat perlu mula berfikir, mempersoal dan melibatkan diri, bagi memahami matlamat bidang kuasa, keputusan penghakiman atau sistem tertentu. Kita perlu mewujudkan landasan yang selamat untuk menggalakan wacana intelektual dan mengizinkan rakyat Malaysia berfikir di luar kotak, mengatasi batas makna yang diajar di sekolah, norma masyarakat dan kerajaan.

Ini mungkin kelihatan seolah-olah seperti galakan untuk menyertai aktiviti memberontak tanpa hala tuju yang mengancam keselamatan awam. Namun sebenarnya kalau mempertimbangkan soal psikologi secara songsang dan kerencaman moral tidak diniatkan yang selalunya hanya berlaku apabila rakyat ditekan dan dalam situasi inilah rakyat akan berpihak dengan pihak pembangkang, walaupun pihak pembangkang itu tidak semestinya menjunjung kebenaran. Mereka membangkang hanya kerana ditekan.

Generasi muda terutamanya, akan mudah dipengaruhi dengan pelbagai idea, tanpa mengambil kira kesahihan, hanya kerana untuk menjadikan diri mereka berlainan daripada arus perdana. Ini tidak sihat. Kita perlu membenarkan dan membebaskan wacana dan wadah intelek. Pihak terpinggir dan tertindas perlu diberikan ruang untuk berdialog dan berdebat. Idea perlu dicabar dalam ruangan awam.

Bukti sejarah menunjukkan kemerdekaan idea dan pemikiran telah berjaya mencetuskan Revolusi Industri Britain. Malaysia juga perlu meraikan “Pencerahan” lebih daripada sekadar kemakmuran luaran semata, melalui Pemikiran Kritis.

Revolusi industri dan masa gemilang penciptaan hanya boleh berlaku sekiranya manusia diberikan kebebasan berfikir. Hanya ketika itulah manusia boleh mencapai kegemilangan hinggakan langit bukan lagi batas malah bulan pun boleh diraih.

Kisah Mobiliti Sosial melalui Pendidikan

Datuk saya merupakan testimoni bagaimana pendidikan melonjakkan mobiliti sosial rentas generasi. Beliau berasal dari Telok Panglima Garang, jauh daripada kesesakan Kuala Lumpur. Di awal hidupnya, beliau pelajar terbaik di sekolahnya dan ditawarkan biasiswa oleh Resident British ketika itu.

Beliau menyempurnakan pengajiannya di Victoria Institution, bekerja sebagai wartawan dengan akhbar Majlis. Ketika saya kecil, saya masih mengingati bagaimana beliau menekankan peri pentingnya pendidikan dan kesedaran sebagai kunci penggerak tamadun kemanusiaan yang hebat. Beliau bekerja keras bagi memastikan semua anak-anak serta cucu-cucunya berjaya menyempurnakan pendidikan tinggi. Saya masih ingat kata-katanya yang beliau tidak ada penyesalan lain kerana semua cucu-cucunya memperolehi pendidikan yang baik.

Banyak yang telah ditulis bagaimana Malaysia sewajarnya bebas daripada perangkap dan cengkaman pendapatan sederhana. Kita sudah terperangkap di dalamnya sejak 1996. Satu-satunya cara untuk bergerak ke depan ialah melalui pendidikan. Sejarah Negara Dunia Pertama berulang kali, membuktikan bagaimana betapa kuatnya kuasa pendidikan yang menjadi asas ketamadunan serta mampu meningkatkan kualiti kehidupan masyarakat.

Menghargai Atok

Apabila saya memulakan perjalanan ijazah kedoktoran, adalah menjadi harapan untuk saya membentuk kesedaran dan menyumbang kepada masyarakat melalui tesis dan rencana. Kelompok rencana yang diterbitkan sewaktu penyelidikan merupakan sebahagian daripada naskah yang berjudul “Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysians” dan “Malaysia Kaya, Rakyat Miskin”.

Naskah ini menggambarkan pemerhatian operasi harian Petronas kepada orang awam, selaku “cash cow” terbesar negara dan sumbangannya kepada pertumbuhan Malaysia. Saya kemudiannya juga menulis tentang realiti sosio ekonomi Malaysia, terutama sekali dalam soal Pendidikan dan Kesukarelawan. Saya cuba menterjemahkan faedah yang diperolehi daripada pendidikan; bahaya perangkap pendapatan sederhana; kesenjangan pendapatan yang semakin meluas serta kebejatan sosial yang semakin memburuk.

Paling mustahak, saya cuba menekankan bagaimana sebuah sistem pendidikan yang menyeluruh mampu memberi manfaat kepada keadaan sosio ekonomi yang lebih menyeluruh, yang pada masa sama akan menghapuskan kemiskinan dan meningkatkan kesejahteraan negara bangsa. Hujah-hujah itu akhirnya dirumuskan kepada keperluan mendesak kepada pembuat dasar supaya memperkenalkan sasaran “Seorang Graduan, Sebuah Isirumah”.

Perlu diakui, saya menyentuh pelbagai isu. Tetapi secara keseluruhannya, pendidikan ialah salah satu, tidakpun yang satu-satunya, penyelesaian terpenting bagi kebanyakan masalah yang dihadapi kita pada masa kini. Perjuangan saya bukan memerangi ribuan askar. Perjuangan saya ialah penentangan kepada kelompangan pendidikan dan ketandusan kesedaran. Saya sepenuh raga percaya dan yakin yang hanya melalui pendidikan Malaysia akan makmur. Saya sepenuhnya percaya yang pendidikan ialah penyelesaian, kalau tidak kepada semua masalah, sekurang-kurangnya kepada banyak khilaf sosio ekonomi negara ini. Pendidikan sejati mengajar kita berfikir, bukan patuh buta.

Membentuk Kesedaran Bersama

Seperti debu yang tidak dipedulikan, begitulah kalau bersendirian dalam perjuangan- seperti saya dengan idea-idea ini. Bagaimanapun, debu sekecil ini boleh mencetuskan ribut sekiranya lebih ramai berpakat membentuk usaha bersama demi rakyat Malaysia.

Sekiranya kita membenarkan pemikiran untuk disemai, ia akan berubah menjadi dividen untuk negara bangsa kita yang kecil dan merdeka ini, tetapi masih lagi bergelut untuk memahami makna sebenar pertumbuhan, kemodenan dan pembangunan manusia. Sekiranya kita terus menghalang dan gagal menggalakkan pemikiran, rakyat Malaysia akan ditinggalkan berpecah belah dalam pergelutan sukar mencari makna dalam kebanjiran pengaruh global.

Pemikiran bukan hanya mencetuskan revolusi dan pergerakan anti-pemerintahan, tetapi juga membentuk dunia akademik, masyarakat dan mempengaruhi kepimpinan, perangkaan dasar, dan akhirnya kehidupan sejahtera manusia umum.

Selaku negara sedang membangun, Malaysia sedang mendepani halangan terakhir dan tersukar untuk mencapai kekayaan dan kemakmuran; yakni pembentukan masyarakat berasaskan ilmu pengetahuan, dipandu oleh para intelek dan pemikir. Baca, faham, fikir dan bertindak!

Mari semai budaya membaca dan pemikiran kritis dalam kalangan rakyat Malaysia, menggalakkan kecintaan ilmu, cukup peduli untuk melonjakkan status sosio-ekonomi dan bergerak maju kepada Malaysia yang lebih makmur.

The post Memerangi Kejahilan dan Ketidakpedulian Demi Malaysia Makmur first appeared on Anas Alam Faizli.

The writer stresses the importance of inculcating the reading habit if Malaysia wants to move towards becoming a First World nation.

TO DESTROY an entire community and its idealism, the Nazis had in April 1933 conducted a Biblioclasm, or book burning, to “cleanse” Germany against “the un-German Spirit’. Similarly, in 213 BC, and again when the communist movement found its grounds in what is now the People’s Republic of China, all books on confucianism and writings were burnt.

It is no surprise why books were burnt instead of buildings, houses, mills, orchards and food sources.

Literary purging was arguably one of the primary steps in silencing aspects of culture, ideology, and knowledge, given its ability to encourage deep thought in politics, philosophy and socio-economic changes which may be in opposition to the prevalent regime.

Books can be so powerful that Napoleon Bonaparte once said: “I fear four hostile editors than a thousand bayonets.”

Alongside the obliteration of Baitul Hikmah (the great library and research centre in Baghdad, Iran) by the Mongols almost 800 years ago, these incidents were strong manifestations of the magnanimous role of books in the proliferation of knowledge and human civilisation.

The Quran itself, advocates that one needs to read and write. It is obvious that reading, largely contributed and influenced the thinking of many great scholars of both the ancient and the modern world, and western and eastern civilisations.

Being literate is indeed a remarkable gift and the ability to record history is one of its many consequences. It is simply disheartening that not many details have been recorded by our ancestors. Keeping records

There is still so much that we don’t know about Parameswara and the Malacca Sultanate, its economic governance, the warfare strategy used by Tun Perak, and the validity of Hikayat Hang Tuah, amongst others.

In contrast, China has documented its existence in detail from as far back as 4,000 years ago.

The National Literacy Surveys carried out in 1996 and 2005 by the National Library both concluded that Malaysians on average read only two books per year, as opposed to the Japanese and French, who each read 10 books a year. Leading the pack were the Americans and the Canadians, who each read an average of 17 books a year.

It is unfortunate that Malay-sians are not keen readers.

Intertwined with hedonism, audio-visual and digital-based entertainment, youth and adults alike no longer find pleasure in reading as a pastime or source of entertainment.

One apparent result is that arguments and discourse amongst the adult Malaysian population is now based on unsubstantiated opinions, plagiarised from coffee chats and Facebook status of similar quality.

They lack deep study of contexts and historical records of the subject at hand.

We must firstly understand and accept that a necessary condition for societal advancement and ultimately the improvement of an individual or household’s economic condition is education. Education level correlates with wealth, and at the core of education is reading.

Empirical studies have proven that the quality of life correlates with the number of books read. The top percentile is represented with people who read an average of one book a week or 50 books a year.

The bottom percentile is however represented by people who read less; some still do read but only read tabloid magazines or purely the news. Reading brings significant benefits through virtual experience, knowledge attainment, brain exercise and emotional development.

Jeanne Chall, a Harvard University expert in literacy research argued that there is a mutual exclusive correlation between reading and education.

The more people read, the more educated the person will be and vice-versa.

Reading is the door to experiencing things that one has no access to otherwise. Reading teaches us about the world around us, as we may or may have not seen.

Through reading, one learns about people, places and events outside their own experience.

One is exposed to ways of life, ideas and beliefs about the world, which may be different from one that he or she is surrounded with.

Reading is also the fastest way to attain knowledge, facts and linguistic mastery. With the knowledge acquired, those who read tend to converse and process information better.

It also builds character, sharpens our thinking and widens our awareness in social, economic, political, historical and other issues.

Reading exercises our brains too. Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain than watching television.

For example, reading strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections.

These result in improvement in concentration for both children and adults alike, as they may be victims of short attention spans. As we read more and more, we get better at it.

There are also psychological and cognitive advantages to reading.

Though too easily stereotyped exclusively as an avenue for IQ (intelligence quotient) development, reading can also be an avenue for EQ (emotional quotient) development.

When we read, our brains translate the descriptions we read of people, places and things into visuals. When we’re engaged in a story, we’re also imagining how the characters are feeling. We use our own experiences to imagine how we would feel in the same situation which would also help us develop empathy.

I recognise the challenges inherent in establishing a reading Malaysian society.

With escalating cost of living especially within a developing nation, Malaysians are pressed to dedicate their time in the pursuit of economic and material wealth. As a result, “there is no time for a book”.

The exorbitant prices of mainstream prints and published books have landed its weight on the problem. Imported titles on paperback can cost a lot.

For the 80% of Malaysian households (total family income) earning less than RM5,000 on average monthly, such prices are prohibitively expensive. It may help if residents establish local community book clubs in their respective neighbourhood.

This way, the burden of high costs of quality reading materials can be shared and it will promote consistency in reading. As American journalist Walter Cronkite said: “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”

There is also a worrying trend where there seems to be a lack of love for knowledge. Many Malaysian communities have drowned in the waves of hedonism and individualism, almost “secularising” between reading for the purpose of passing exams, and reading for the sheer thirst and quest for knowledge.

It is true that knowledge these days is only a click away. However, reading establishes an argument and expansive elaboration followed by a proposal or conclusion by an author who is equipped with a background of the subject matter.

This makes reading a superior option to the fragmented bits and pieces of knowledge gained from the Internet and other audio-visual media.

There are some ways to inculcate the reading habit among Malaysians. It can either be through a mind-set change or by encouraging them to start reading from young. Parents have a big role to play in inculcating the reading culture among children so they can grow up into readers and knowledgeable, informed individuals who can easily engage in any intellectual discussion.

A generation improvement will ensure that future generations will continue to read much more.

Do scout for opportunities to acquire books and reading materials at bargains. Book fairs are excellent opportunities to stock up your family’s reading needs for the year.

Used book stores, and specialty book-lending services too will proliferate, once we start creating demand for them. E-books and pdf format files available online are also plausible options to consider.

Set some time everyday for reading; at least 10 minutes. Always carry a book everywhere you go so you can read whenever you have time. Make a list of reading items or themes that you would like to discover or revisit.

Carl Jung, a Swiss psychotherapist argued that a society’s culture and mind-set is coded and inherited through the DNA. We can and we will change that.

Changing habits

Datuk Fadilah Kamsah, a local motivator coined the concept of 40 habits where repeating something for 40 times will turn it into a habit.

Habits can change and should be changed! It has been stated in the Quran that the condition of a people can only be changed when they are ready to do so.

The history of First World nations (developed countries) have time and time again shown us how powerful the power of reading and knowledge is in founding civilisations and uplifting societies’ quality of life.

As a developing nation, Malaysia is approaching the last but toughest hurdle in achieving wealth and prosperity; that is a knowledge-based society, driven by intellectuals and thinkers.

This aim requires both the individual and collective effort of all Malaysians. Reading can and will change the fate of our nation.

Let’s inculcate the reading culture among Malaysians, promote a love for knowledge, uplift our socio-economic status and strive for a better Malaysia. Let’s improve our generation and the next.

A popular saying from Confucius states that “no matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance”.

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