When it was first introduced by Dr Mahathir in 1991 (during the 6th Malaysian Plan), it hard for me to believe commodity country like us can gain developed nation status in just about 30 years. Lucky for us to have the luxury of double digit GDP growth from 1990 to 1997. However since then, our GDP grow quite flattish with only single digit growth.
The same concern remain, can we achieve the vision 2020?
I read in the newspaper saying that, in order for us to realize the vision 2020, Malaysia needs to grow by at least 7% every year for the next 12 years. Considering negative growth in 2009 and very small one in 2010, we have to grow by about 9% consistently every single year from 2011 to 2020.
If that’s sound little bit techny, let’s try to relate with our salary.
Degree teacher is currently fetching about RM2200 when they first started (pls correct me if am wrong). Assuming the government income increase 9% annually and passed half of the profits to its government servant (maybe about 4.5%), by year 2020, the entry salary for the same profession will be RM3400. The figure is indeed very attractive but that won’t be my point for now.
My real point is how a teacher with initial monthly salary of RM3400 will/should be?
TokMa is a teacher and Abiy always share how her career evolves over time. In the early days when the starting salary is about RM1200, teachers just go back and forth to school teaching students. If you happen to be a teacher during that old day, you can still enjoy working half-day and go back home sharp at 12 or 6pm.
Years later, when their salary increased to around RM1600 (starting salary), they start to stay back for additional 1-2 hours for the extra classes. I believe that time parents starts to take their children’s education very seriously and expect more effort from teachers; especially when national examination just around the corner.
And now with the RM2200 starting salary, there are expectation for the teachers to do some extra-curricular activities like “pengakap” and so on. I believe at this moment, we start to realize that straight A’s is not good enough. A student must be very well-versed in managing their own life and having good communication skills.
And with RM3400 starting salary by 2020, what additional role a teacher will be? In other words, what set of skill a kids must have after having good grasp of their life & commendable communication skills?
Am not sure exactly what but I think the next decade or so will be about how we can compete globally as individual. Maybe, kids in the next generation must be ready to take entrepreneurial risk to survive and no more play safe mentality as they grow. Living in comfort zone might be history that time.
Having said that, new kids might require positive motivation to strive for ‘improvement’ no matter how good, better or best their standing that time really are. It’s a big undertaking and gap to close, and hence, making the role of modern teacher more challenging. If the salary that time really will be RM3400, worth it la kan?
It’s all about how we contribute and add value to our job to justify our increment in take home pay. No doubts our income per capita as a nation will grow as we move along but as we creep up the value chain, it’s all about value that we able to deliver without jeopardising other “humanity principle”.
So, whenever I think about vision 2020, I ask myself “what else I can do to add value”. Can this blog be one of them?
Talking about this Malaysian vision 2020, these are some known challenges:
* To form a nation that stands as one.
* To produce a Malaysian community that has freedom, strength, and full of self confidence.
* To develop a mature democratic community.
* To form a community that has high morale, ethics and religious strength.
* To cultivate a community that is matured and tolerant.
* To form a progressive science community.
* To cultivate a community rich in values and loving culture.
* To ensure the formation of a community with a fair economy.
* To cultivate a prosperous community.
Are we ready to achieve those by 2020?
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