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Human Resource Development: The Key Towards a More Progressive
Bidayuh Community in the Era of the New Reality
By
Peter Songan, Gabriel Tonga Noweg, Ik Pahon Joyik, and Kendy Edward
1.0 Introduction
We are now moving into a new and more challenging phase of our country’s
development. We are entering a dynamic era, which many development experts called
the new reality or the new millennium, very much influenced by many forces of change.
What does the new reality means? What are the forces of change that shape the new
reality? What are the challenges of the new reality and its implications on human
resource development (HRD)? What does this new reality mean to us—the Bidayuh?
Are we ready to meet the challenges created by this new reality? How should we cope
with these challenges so that we will not lag behind? In this paper, we attempt to provide
answers to the foregoing questions.
The concept of the new reality has been extensively discussed in many forums
and the mass media, and we will not describe it in details here anymore. We begin by
describing the forces of change that shape the new reality. Next, we discuss the
challenges and opportunities of the new reality and their implications on HRD. We then
describe our current situation (where are we now?) to determine where we stand and
whether we are ready to meet the challenges and to cope with the new reality. Next, we
attempt to propose some actions that we should take to meet the challenges and to cope
with the new reality. We also put forward some thought-provoking question as we
prepare ourselves to compete and survive in the era of the new reality.
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2.0 Forces of Change
Presently, we are living in the world that is undergoing rapid changes—an era that
has been coined the new reality. Many forces of change, the major ones being
industrialization, globalization, the world that is becoming border-less, instant
communication and rapid technological advancement shape the new reality. Let us now
describe each of these forces of change that are affecting our country and society, and the
challenges and opportunities brought about by them.
2.1 Industrialization. Our country is now undergoing rapid growth due to the
increased expansion of the manufacturing sectors as well as the modern services sector.
The primary sector, that is, agriculture and mining, and the government services in
relation to total output is experiencing a secular-declining trend as the industrial and
modern services sectors increase their dominance. It is expected that by the year 2020,
agriculture will find its share of total output declining from 18.7 percent to only 6.3
percent as a result of much rapid growth in other sectors. The share of mining is also
expected to decline as exploitation of oil and gas is managed for “sustained” output,
while other mineral products, despite success in on-going extensive effort at finding and
exploiting other minerals, are not expected to increase output much beyond present
levels.
The manufacturing sector, which is growing rapidly is predicted to reach maturity
by the year 2020 and is expected to account for around 40 percent of output compared to
its present share of 27 percent. Thus, the structure of production in our country is
expected to be predominantly industrial by the time we reach the year 2020. This
sector’s share is, however, expected to consolidate thereafter to around 35 percent by
2030 as Malaysia gets into the post-industrial age.
The modern services sector is also growing rapidly over the years, making up for
the decline in the government services sub-sector. This sector as a whole will increase its
share of output from 41.8 percent in 1990 to around 50 percent by the year 2020. Rapid
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growth is expected in all non-governmental service sub-sectors, due to increasing
industrialization of the structure of production and trading of goods and services. As
such, services rendered by these sub-sectors namely, banking and finance, transport,
storage, communications, consultations and advertisement are likely to grow, both in
their level of coverage as well as their degree of sophistication. New developments in
information technology, telecommunications and fiber-optic technology have to be
mastered together with the latest developments in financial operations, banking,
insurance and transport management. Services that are related to leisure, health, private
education and entertainment will also increase with rising levels of income and
improvements in quality of life. This sector is in fact expected to continue to gain in
relative size and sophistication even beyond 2020 as Malaysia enters its post-industrial
age, possibly reaching 60 percent by 2030.
Industrialization and economic growth depends principally on the development of
people—of their potentials, skills, capabilities, resourcefulness and commitment. The
upgrading of skills and knowledge, self-improvement, positive work attitudes and
discipline, managerial abilities and willingness to strive toward excellence are considered
much desired in spearheading our country to become an industrialized and developed
nation by the year 2020.
2.2 Globalization. The world is now becoming more “linked” or “enmeshed”
through increased trade, investment and capital flows complemented by technology,
knowledge and information flows as well as labour movements. Such linkages are
supported by rapid improvements in communications and transportation, increased trade,
the appearance of new “growth poles” particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, further
globalization of output and the opening up of “closed” economies like Eastern Europe,
India and perhaps Indochina. Trends over the last six years, where growth of world trade
has exceeded the rate of world output may thus continue in the future. Economic
activities are becoming more global today. This means that ownership of firms is very
much internationalized. Business activities are integrated across geographical and
organizational boundaries. There is freedom to conceive, design, buy, produce,
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distribute, and sell products and services in a manner which offers maximum benefits
regardless of the consequences on geographic locations or organizational units. Global
firms are not constrained by national boundaries as they search for ideas, talent, capital
and other resources for their success. These firms develop relationships with firms
located in other countries to distribute and sell their products, and use joint ventures with
international partners to develop and exploit new technologies. They operate with few, if
any, self-imposed geographic or organizational constraints on where or how they conduct
their business operations. Many Malaysian companies are joining in the fray and are now
becoming global. These companies’ multinational headquarters where research and
development, strategic planning, and where the most valuable and high value-added
activities take place are located in Malaysia with their subsidiaries established throughout
the world. These trends will have a lot of implications on HRD. First, every employable
person can choose to work in more than one place. Second, there will be a universal
fraternity of specialists and a tremendous demand for excellence and professionalism.
Third, the nature of work changes with new technologies and new culture; robots will
perform routine jobs. Finally, labour transmigration will take place on a greater scale
from other developing countries to our country, attracted by higher salaries and other
incentives. Globalization inevitably creates global competition in the market place that
ultimately leads to strong demand for knowledgeable and skillful people. Thus,
continuous training is needed to cater for the needs of the global labour market.
2.3 Border-less World and Instant Communication Through IT. The new
reality will also witness a tremendous communication explosion with faster modes and
shortened distances of travel. There will be a substantial increase in productivity for
those nations that have the capacity to acquire relevant knowledge and new technology.
Information replaces energy as the main transforming resource. It adds value to products
and services by increasing the efficiency of labor, materials and capital used. For
example, information speeds the discovery of minerals and reduces the cost of their
recovery. It facilitates the discovery of new materials, the development of new
equipment and processes. Using new quality processes and technologies require new
skills and knowledge that can only be acquired through training.
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2.4 Technological Advancement. The new reality will witness formidable
technological explosion facilitated by advancement in information technology, medicine
and biotechnology. The technological explosion will render scientists technically
obsolete ten years from graduation from technical schools. They would lack the latest
skills and knowledge in their own field. Most scientists would be unfamiliar with ten or
fifteen new sciences that may spring up meanwhile. In terms of HRD, the implication
would be to develop team player skills to enable scientists to work as a multi-disciplinary
team or to have continuous training programs. The rapid advancement in technology
demand people to be trained and keep up with the change.
3.0 Overall Implications of Forces of Change on HRD
Industrialization will have an effect on total labour supply, which is forecasted to
grow at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent between 1990 and 2020. The size of labour
force or employment will thus increase from 7.0 million to 15.3 million during this period
More people who will enter the labour force need to be trained to produce a
knowledgeable and skillful manpower. The changing structure of production will
demand that the largest share of employment come from the services and manufacturing
sectors. In addition, rapid technological change which occurs as Malaysia move further
into the age of micro-electronics, fiber-optics, information technology, biotechnology and
laser technology will require the development of a labour force with the right kind of
training.
Based on the changing trends described above, the demand for professional,
technical and related workers is projected to increase sharply from 8.8 percent in 1990 to
13.5 percent in 2020. On the other hand, the share of administrative and managerial
workers is expected to increase from 2.5 percent to 4.3 percent during the same period
(see Appendix A). A projected 2.0 million persons will be employed in the professional
and technical occupations, representing an increase of 1.4 million from the present levels.
Many of these will be engineers and engineering assistants especially in the chemical,
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mechanical, electrical and electronics, and mechatronics fields. Our country will require
an estimated of 36,100 engineers and 147,500 engineering assistants by the year 2000
(see Appendix B). However, our local institutions have the capacity to produce only
18,900 engineers and 94,473 engineering assistants by that time. These figures show big
gaps that need to be filled through effective HRD effort. Great demand is also expected
for multi-skilled craftsmen in tool and die making, fabrication, machining, electrical and
electronics. For both the manufacturing and services sectors, the demand for managers
and supervisors who are technologically oriented will also increase dramatically. In this
regard, the government through the Sixth and Seventh Malaysia Plans has made sure that
the quality of education be enhanced and accessible to all sections of society. It has
approved the offering of courses in technology-related fields in public and private
institutions of higher learning. Private educational institutions with twinning programs
with overseas universities are also being encouraged.
The key factor in the successful achievement of meeting the challenges of the new
reality is the development of human resources to run and manage industry productively
and competitively. One way of becoming competitive in a particular industry is by being
the most efficient producer within that industry, producing at a lower cost than the
competitors. One specific effort to increase efficiency of production is through HRD.
The importance of HRD in Malaysia was clearly stated and prescribed under Vision
2020. The Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia in his speech at the inaugural meeting
of the Malaysian Business Council on 28th February 1991 has this to say
“In our drive to move vigorously ahead, nothing is more important than
the development of human resources. It is blindly clear that the most
important resource of any nation must be the talents, skills, creativity and
will of its people. What we have between our ears, at our elbow and in our
heart is much more important than what we have below our feet and
around us. Our people are our ultimate resource. Without doubt, in the
1990’s and beyond, Malaysia must give the fullest emphasis possible to
the development of this ultimate resource.”
To ensure adequate supply of professional, technical, skilled, managerial and
research manpower is through an effective HRD program, complemented by high labour
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mobility within an efficient labour market. This will help upgrade the efficiency of
labour. Well-trained and multi-skilled, productive, flexible and creative workforce with
positive values has to be developed. Sopiee (1993) came up with a list of positive values
that should be a core of our culture in our effort to achieve the objectives of Vision 2020.
These include integrity, discipline, industriousness, excellence, creativity and innovative,
competitiveness, perseverance, self-reliance, thriftiness, and commitment to knowledge,
information and know-how acquisition.
HRD is one of the major challenges of Vision 2020, which stresses that Malaysia
must give the fullest emphasis towards developing its human resources. In Vision 2020,
the main thrust of HRD is (1) the development of educated, well trained and flexible
manpower, and (2) the inculcation of positive values and attitudes to develop an
industrialized society and foster national unity. HRD is strongly emphasized in the New
Development Policy of the Second Outline Perspective Plan (OPP2). It outlines the
creation of a productive and disciplined labour force and development of necessary skills
to meet the challenges in industrialization through a culture of merit and excellence.
With the changing structure of the economy towards greater industrialization, manpower
requirements are beginning to change. The expected globalization of the economy, the
fast changing technological development taking place in our country and around the
world, as well as the imperative to remain competitive dictate that the manpower of the
future will have to be well trained and multi-skilled, flexible and creative. In addition,
they have to be fluent not only in technical subjects, but also in languages and with
machines. Industrial values such as hard work, punctuality and discipline are also crucial
as we move ahead towards the industrial era. Thus, the broad thrust of HRD in the OPP2
is to prepare Malaysians to compete in the global economy. In this connection, the
number and quality of professionals, technicians and entrepreneurs will have to be
increased to enable them to play an enhanced role in the national economy. With the
emergence of a tight labour market, the country cannot continue to depend on its cheap
labour. What we need is quality and productive workforce in order to remain competitive
in the global market. We have to invest in HRD now so that the workforce of the future
can contribute towards the growth of the economy.
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4. Broad Concept and Objectives of HRD
HRD is a key towards a developed and industrialized society. For Malaysia, it is
not only essential but also critical to the achievement of Vision 2020. The process of
developing a human resource development plan for Vision 2020 involves projections and
reviews of each of the past and present outline perspective plans and the five-year plans.
The primary objective of HRD is to effectively utilize scarce or abundant human
resources towards achieving both broad and specific objectives of the nation as well as
the industry, business and the individual employee.
HRD as a concept is the process of increasing the knowledge, the skills, and the
capacities of all people in society. In economic terms, it could be described as the
accumulation of human capital and its effective investment in the development of the
economy. In political terms, HRD prepares people for adult participation in the political
processes, particularly as citizens in a democracy. From the social and cultural points of
view, the development of human resources helps people to lead fuller and richer lives,
less bound by tradition. In short, the process of HRD unlocks the door to modernization.
Human resources are developed in many ways. The most obvious is by formal education,
beginning with primary or first-level education, continuing with various forms of
secondary education, and then higher education including the colleges, universities, and
higher technical institutes. Second, human resources are also developed “on the job”
through systematic or informal training programs in employing organizations; in adult
education programs; and through membership in various political, social, religious, and
cultural groups. A third process is self-development, as individuals seek to acquire
greater knowledge, skills, or capacities through preparation on their own initiative—by
taking formal or correspondence courses, by reading, or by learning from others in
informal contacts. Motivation for self-development is directly related to the social values
of society and to incentives for training and for entering one occupation as opposed to
another, as well as for learning new skills. Two other processes of HRD are
improvements in the health of the working population through better medical and public
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health programs, and improvements in nutrition, which increase the working capacity of
people, on a man-hour basis as well as over a working life. The process of
industrialization requires human resources that are educated in science and technology.
As such, education in science and technology is very important for a country like ours
that is fast moving into an industrialized nation status. Strong emphases are now being
given to mathematics and science in primary and secondary schools. The education of
young children in mathematics and science at an early stage has a strong impact on their
abilities and interests in their choice of engineering and technology-related subjects at
higher stages of education.
We are now aware of the challenges and the opportunities that are brought about
by the new reality. Obviously, to be able to compete in the new reality, we need to
increase the number and quality of Bidayuh professionals, technicians and entrepreneurs.
However, are we moving in the right direction and ready for the new reality? Let us now
take stock of ourselves by analyzing our present situation to see whether we are ready to
cope with the new reality.
5. Current Situation of Workforce and Education
5.1 Bidayuh Workforce. The Bidayuhs are known to be dwellers of the
hinterlands of the Kuching and Samarahan Divisions. It is obvious, therefore, that the
Bidayuh community is mainly rural in nature. The reasons for the Bidayuhs being
mainly "rural" in their socio-demographic characteristics until today, however, are not
necessarily related to their place of origin. Many of these reasons are attributed to the
general developments within the community itself. These developments include changes
in attitude, culture, traditions as well as the economic functions in which these people
revolve. All these factors of change, on the other hand, are also dependent upon the
levels of educational achievement, exposure to external influences and the community's
ability to adapt to the fast changing urban environments.
Approximately 75.0 percent of our working population are living in the rural
areas as farmers, plantation workers and petty traders. The rest are in towns working as
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civil servants, factory workers, mechanics and construction labourers. Many are now
taking up temporary employment in the service industry. An obvious trend is that a very
large percentage of restaurant helpers are Bidayuh youths. For example, a case study
carried out at one restaurant chain in Kuching identified as many as 66.0 percent of their
workers being Bidayuhs (Kum, 1997). Employment in this kind of service sector
requires little skill and is poorly paid. Although, the trend may be similar in the
manufacturing industry as reported by Loo (1997), the percentage of these workers
holding significant or managerial positions are too few. Most of them are performing the
non-technical and general labour type of jobs. As of today, our community is still much
lagging behind in many respects relative to some other communities in the state. This lag
is partly due to the lack of vision and poor strategies in directing and enhancing our
human resource development both at the school level and at the tertiary and vocational
levels. This situation exists, not solely due to the fault of our community itself but also
other factors outside the community, which we will have no choice but to address openly.
5.2 Educational Status and Trend. The Bidayuh race has often been
mistakenly quoted as one ethnic group with a high rate of literacy. This statement is
grossly misleading and unacceptable as well as "disturbing" to the more informed and
knowledgeable Bidayuhs. There are of course situations in smaller towns of Sarawak
where there are large numbers of Bidayuhs holding senior government posts. This
phenomenon, however, should not be misconstrued as Bidayuh's educational superiority
over other races. It may merely shows that Bidayuhs are more confined to government
jobs due to their inability to compete in the commercial, industrial and other more
remunerative employment. Another point to note also is that these few Bidayuhs who are
civil servants tend to be urban dwellers. The situation is different in the rural areas,
where majorities are farmers, and where we can see that poverty and illiteracy persist at
an annoying level. Studies by Songan, Sangging, Shah and Wok (1985) and by Noweg
(1989) in two different Bidayuh rural settings showed that the Bidayuh was among the
ethnic groups with the highest incidence of poverty. A study by Abdul Rashid Abdullah
(1990) conformed to the official reports of poverty among the rural Bidayuhs.
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Recent surveys conducted in several villages in the Padawan areas (Noweg, 1995)
and the upper Penrissen areas (Noweg, 1996) indicate that the majority (between 80 to 90
percent) of household heads were subsistence farmers. The average monthly cash
incomes per household were about RM546 and RM580, respectively. These findings
indicate that very little improvement has been made in our effort to get out of this vicious
cycle of poverty. The average level of household heads’ formal education was also quite
low, that is about three years for the Padawan areas and four years for the upper
Penrissen areas. This means that household heads were mostly educated up to the
primary school level only. Similar studies conducted in the Jagoi area in Bau (Ritang,
1997) also indicates that the average level of education among the household heads was
about five years. Sani (1997), on the other hand, noted that the average length of formal
education among the Bidayuh household heads in the Mongkos area in Serian is about six
years. From these studies, therefore, it is apparent that the level of education among the
middle-aged and older age groups in our rural population is very low.
For the younger generation Bidayuhs, the average level of education tends to be
higher for the urban and sub-urban dwellers although no studies had been done
specifically to validate this assumption. For the rural areas, there are still some problems
with respect to retention of students in school. For instance, Peter (1998) pointed out that
as high as about 2.5 percent of rural students in Bidayuh areas dropped out of school
every year. This figure is a little too high and it would appear that the focus of the
community should be on identifying the most appropriate and socially acceptable
corrective measures to arrest the problem. Little in-depth scientific investigation had
been carried out to uncover the reasons for the persistence of such phenomenon in the
rural areas. Although it had been argued that family related problems were the main
cause, it needs to be proven. Studies by Peter (1998) and Nojey (1998) revealed that
unpleasant physical environment in the school, negative peer influences, lack of guidance
and motivation as well as a lack of personal discipline are also the reasons for high
dropouts. Cultural background accounts for this seemingly perplexing situation. Peter
(1998) identified traditional capital intensive farming had a negative impact on schooling.
Other cultural practices such as gawai celebration and fruit (durian) season were also
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some cultural events that take away children's attention from school. Another factor
which was found to be contributing negatively to progress of rural students was the
availability of jobs in the services industry such as restaurants and hotels (Kum, 1997).
This phenomenon is highly correlated to financial difficulties in the family. In a case like
this, students were often attracted to jobs or opportunities to earn for themselves and their
families at a very early age. When faced with such opportunities, students are less
motivated to go higher in their educational pursuits and thus leave school early without
having the thought of entering colleges or universities.
5.3 Some general trends in schools. The performance of students in secondary
schools, their choice of streams and entry into tertiary educational institutions were
analyzed to determine the general trends of the Bidayuh with regard to educational status.
5.3.1 Students performances in secondary school . In terms of quantity, the
number of Bidayuh students who did well in science and mathematics is not something
for us to be proud of. Noweg, Songan and Tuen (1997) analyzed the examination results
of secondary schools in the Bidayuh schooling regions (Lundu, Bau, Penrissen, Padawan
and Serian) for the 1994, 1995 and 1996 examination years. The analysis was made to
compare performances in these schools with that of schools in Kuching City. They found
that student performances in mathematics and science were very well below with that of
the average performances for town schools (see Table 1, Appendix C). For the Penilaian
Menengah Rendah (PMR), the difference is more striking for mathematics as compared
to science.
As for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results, the difference in performances
of Bidayuh schooling regions compared to schools in Kuching City is even more drastic
(Table 2, Appendix C). The analysis also shows that performances in mathematics are
very low in Bidayuh schooling regions. In 1996 for instance, only 53.1 percent of all
candidates passed in mathematics as compared to 88.5 percent in schools in Kuching
City. The picture is the same for science, but only to a lesser extent.
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In terms of quality, the analysis of SPM science subjects (General Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry and Biology) for 1996 was also performed to see the general
performances of the “Bidayuh schools” relative to schools in Kuching City (Table 1,
Appendix D). In all science subjects, students in the Bidayuh schooling areas did poorly.
Only 33.6 percent of all candidates obtained a grade of 6 and below for Additional
Mathematics as compared to 79.6 percent in Kuching schools. The percentage of passes
in Bidayuh schooling areas was even lower for Physics and Chemistry. For Biology,
however, the percentage of passing with grade 6 and below is higher (at 46.8 percent),
but is only mid-way the performances of schools in Kuching City.
The detailed analysis of grades for Additional Mathematics at the SPM level
further reveals a very discouraging finding. Only 4.5 percent of candidates in the
Bidayuh schooling areas obtained grade 1 and 2 compared to about 26 percent for schools
in Kuching City (Table 2, Appendix D). Some 9 percent obtained grades 3 and 4 as
compared to about 29 percent in Kuching City’s schools. The result for Physics is even
worse. There were no grades 1and 2 for schools in the predominantly Bidayuh areas of
Bau and Lundu in 1996.
5.3.2 Choice of "stream" and fields of studies. In most of the cases, parents and
teachers, alike, tend to take for granted what children are taking up in terms of their
"stream" of studies when they enter form four. Noweg et al. (1997) observed that most
school administrators and teachers had the opinion and consensus that Bidayuh students
are not interested in science subjects. This statement, in the authors' opinion, was not
quite accurate. They argued that there were other reasons for the very low percentages of
Bidayuh students in science classes. They listed the following reasons:
1. Students may have performed poorly in mathematics and science at the PMR level
and thus were automatically disqualified by school administrators or the Education
Department from going into science classes at the SPM level.
2. Students may already have the preconceived idea that science is difficult and that they
will have a miserable time in class for the next two years at their SPM level. Thus,
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they chose to take up arts classes despite their excellent performances in science and
mathematics at the PMR level.
3. Students tend to “emulate” their close senior friends who are in general bound to be
going into Arts classes.
4. Students were sometimes advised by their parents to take up Arts for fear that their
children will fail in their SPM, thus will not be able to continue schooling or get a
job.
5. Only the best students (based on their PMR results) have been allowed to go into
Science classes because of limited number of these classes, seemingly because of a
shortage of mathematics and science teachers.
The pattern of class choice (arts or science) will directly affect the kind of entry
into the tertiary institutions. If we have high percentage of Bidayuh students attending
the arts classes at the secondary school levels, we naturally find more entry into the arts
majors at the university level.
5.3.3 Entry into tertiary educational institutions. A brief survey of several local
tertiary learning institutions that was conducted by Noweg et al. (1997) revealed that very
few Bidayuh students majored in the "hard" sciences. These institutions are labeled A, B
and C (not in any order) for confidentiality purposes. As shown in Table 1, the total
number of Bidayuh students at all levels of study in institution A is only 30, which is only
0.4 percent of the total campus population. Out of the 30 students, 13 percent is in the
pure sciences (Engineering, Medicine, Information Technology, Biochemistry, etc.).
About 63 percent is in the general sciences (Social sciences, Cognitive Science, Biology,
Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery, etc) and only 23 percent
is in the arts group (History, Business & Management, Accounting, Marketing, Theater,
Design, Music, etc.).
Institution B has a total of 67 Bidayuh students. This number is just
approximately 1 percent of the total campus population. Out of the total, 13 percent is in
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pure sciences, 72 percent is in the general science-related courses, and 15 percent is in the
arts courses.
Table 1. Enrollment at Institution A, By Year And Course Categories For 1995
Course category Institution A Institution B Institution C
No. (%) No. (%) No. (%)
Pure science 4 13.0 9 13.0 12 23.0
Science related 19 63.0 48 72.0 20 38.5
Pure arts 7 24.0 10 15.0 20 38.5
Total 30 100 67 100 52 100
A total of 52 Bidayuh students are enrolled at institution C. This number makes
up approximately 6 percent of the total campus population. This is the only campus
where we are probably going to have a bigger percentage of our students enrolled in the
future if the current trend holds. Out of the total, 23 percent is in the pure sciences, 38.5
percent is in the general science-related courses, and 38.5 percent is in the arts courses.
The enrolment analysis may appear to contradict earlier discussions which
revealed the seemingly poor Bidayuh performances and thus low enrolments in science
classes at the SPM level in Bidayuh schooling areas. The rate of enrolment in science
related courses at the local universities are higher than enrolment in the pure arts. The
question is where did these science students come from? There are several possible
explanations, and the three most obvious ones are:
1. A big percentage of the Bidayuh students who are enrolled in science at the university
level were actually students who attended schools in Kuching City and other major
towns of Sarawak. These students come from families whose parents are more
educated and knowledgeable.
2. In general, Bumiputera science students actually find it easier to get admitted into the
university as compared to the arts students. This is because there are more study
majors or options available and thus are entry openings to science students.
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3. The entry requirements for arts students have become stringent. This is a result of the
overly huge number of STPM arts students. The requirement for entry is such that a
student has to obtain an almost perfect STPM result. Such a situation is not of any
advantage for the typical Bidayuh student.
5.4 Cultural Variables Impeding Performance and Discipline. The earlier
analysis of the examination results reveals that the performance of the Bidayuh students
is generally poor, especially in science and mathematics. They also have problem with
discipline in schools. What are the causes of their poor performance and lack of
discipline? A general observation made by Noweg et al. (1997) revealed that the roots of
poor performance and lack of discipline among the Bidayuh students originate from the
culture at home. The cultural variables that contribute to these problems are related
mainly to wrong parental care. The types of wrong parental care that are quite prevalent
in the Bidayuh villages are (1) parents not having time for their children, (2) parents
showing bad examples, (3) “do not care” attitude, and (4) “leaving it to others” attitude.
5.4.1 No time for children. Parents do not have time for their children because
they are busy working on the farm or earning money elsewhere. For example, the
husband who works in some big towns in Sarawak may see his wife and children only a
few times a year. Therefore, he does not know what or how his children are doing in
schools or even whom they are mixing with. Children of primary school age are very
vulnerable and can easily be misled into doing the wrong things or following bad
example.
5.4.2 Parents showing bad example. Some parents spend their free time at coffee
shops chitchatting, smoking, getting drunk and gambling instead of guiding their children
at home. Children of these parents may think it is all right to do the same because their
parents are doing it. Worse still, these children will influence others in schools and get
angry with teachers who try to stop them from doing things that they learn from their
parents. Under these circumstances, the disciplinary action taken by teachers may even
be conceived and construed as insulting to the children and parents alike.
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5.4.3 Parent who do not care. There are parents, even in these days and age that
do not care whether their children go to school or not. In certain cases when the children
indicate reluctance to go to school, the parents allow them to stay at home and help with
the daily chores. This indifferent attitude towards educating their children stems from
ignorance of the importance of education. For the very poor Bidayuh, there is the more
pressing need of survival such that even education, although free, is a luxury they cannot
afford.
5.4.4 Leaving it to others. The attitude of parents leaving parental care and
disciplinary action entirely to the teachers is wrong. If parents cannot discipline their few
children at home, how can they expect teachers to cope with hundreds of children in
school? Division of responsibility is required here. Parents should discipline their
children at home. Teachers discipline students for school-related actions only. Parents
and teachers should agree on the goal of the disciplinary action, its form, intensity and
frequency so that there is no contradiction between how it is done at home and in school.
It is obvious that the cultural trends that have now become major problems will
continue to hinder performance and discipline among the Bidayuh students if we do not
address them immediately. They will make us a disadvantaged group in many respects.
We will be lacking human resources in the various fields of science, which include
medicine, engineering, information technology, biotechnology, biochemistry and the like.
The next millennium will demand a different set of technologies, work patterns and
processes. These are some scenarios of the new reality that demand immediate action. If
we want to progress in concert with the new reality, we better act now.
6.0 HRD Strategic Action Plan
In order to ensure that our community does not lag behind in terms of available
professionals, technicians and entrepreneurs as we enter the era of the new reality, we
should take whatever opportunities and leeway come along the way. Toward such
efforts, it is deemed very necessary and crucial that we should come up with an action
17
plan to develop our human resources to meet the challenges of the new reality. We have
to develop our own human resource development strategic plan. Among the issues that
we need to address in this plan are as follows:
•What is our vision and mission?
•What are our strengths and weaknesses?
•Given the strengths that we have, how are we going to use them to exploit the
opportunities created by the new reality and how are we going to use it to reduce the
threats?
•What are our short and long-term goals?
•What are the programs and activities that we should implement to achieve these short
and long-term goals?
•Who is the implementing bodies for these programs?
•Do we have strong support from our community leaders?
•How are we going to obtain financial resources to implement these programs?
•How should we disseminate information about this plan to every stratum of our
community?
•How should we monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and success of our programs?
We would like to propose here a framework for our HRD Action Plan. This is the
beginning of an idea, and we could “brainstorm” on it so that we can formulate an action
plan that is acceptable and feasible.
6.1 Our Proposed Framework for an Action Plan
A. Formation of a HRD Special Committee
There is a need to from a special committee to look into efficient ways of
developing our human resources. The committee could be formed through
our association (DBNA) or other relevant organization as long as the
members of the committee are vested with the mandate and authority to
18
carry out whatever action plan that they have agreed upon. They must
also be committed and full supported by our community leaders.
The Proposed HRD Committee Set-Up
i) Proposed Roles and Functions of the State Level Committee
•To formulate mission, vision, policies and priorities.
•To identify the long-term and short-term objectives based on our
priorities.
•To develop a HRD Strategic Action Plan.
•To monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of HRD programs and
activities at the District and Village Levels.
•To come up with remedial measures and review of programs and
activities when necessary.
•To source for “money” to finance the various activities.
•To publicize the roles, objectives and programs to ensure that the
community fully understand them.
•To carry out research and development activities to determine
ways to improve HRD programs and activities.
19
State Level Committee
District Level Committee
Village Level Committee
ii) District Level Committee
•To be established in those districts where the Bidayuh population
are found to be dominant, that is, Lundu, Bau, Kuching, Siburan,
Serian.
•To act as the liaison between the Village Level Committee and
State Level Committee.
•To liaise with the Education Department and schools within their
respective district.
•To organize joint activities with schools and villages.
•To serve the interests of the Bidayuh students studying at the
secondary schools (Form 1 - 6) in their respective district.
iii) Village Level
•To cater for the Bidayuh students at the Primary School level.
•To organize tuition classes at the village level especially during
school holidays.
•To assist in creating awareness and understanding among Bidayuh
parents on the importance of education and HRD.
B. The First Step
The committee which has a huge task ahead of them could start by
identifying and adopting one school at the village level from each of the
three districts (Bau, Lundu and Serian) as a pilot project. From here
onward, we hope to go farther in our effort to develop our human
resources.
7.0 Conclusion
20
We have to be realistic and practical because we are living in the era of the new
reality. Let us examine ourselves, and act fast to meet the challenges created by
industrialization, globalization, the world that is becoming border-less, instant
communication through information technology, and the rapid technological
advancement. We have to strengthen our human resource development effort to prepare
our society adequately to cope with the new reality. The goals of modern societies, as we
have already stressed, are political, cultural, and social as well as economic. Human
resource development is a necessary condition for achieving all of them. A developed
society needs educated political leaders, lawyers and judges, academicians, trained
engineers, doctors, managers, artists, writers, craftsmen, and journalists to spur its
development. In an advanced and industrialized society, the capacities of man are
extensively developed; in a traditional one they are for the most part undeveloped. If our
society is unable to develop its human resources, it cannot develop much else, whether it
be a modern political and social structure, a sense of national unity, or higher standards of
living.
Progress is basically the result of human effort. It takes human agents to mobilize
capital, to exploit natural resources, to create markets, and to carry out trade. The
builders of an advanced and industrialized society are elite of various kinds who organize
and lead the march toward progress. These elite may be revolutionary intellectuals,
nationalist leaders, or members of a dynastic or rising middle class. Their effectiveness
as prime movers depends not only on their own development but on the knowledge,
skills, and capabilities of those whom they lead as well. Thus, in a very real sense the
wealth of a society and its potential for social, economic, and political growth stem from
the power to develop and effectively utilize the innate capacities of people. Human
resource development, therefore, is a more realistic and reliable indicator of
modernization or development than any other single measure. It is one of the necessary
conditions for all kinds of growth—social, political, cultural, or economic.
In this paper, we have come up with many thought provoking questions
concerning issues that we should address immediately in order to progress in tandem with
the new reality. During the last decade, we have been flooding our thoughts and mind
21
with countless seminars, workshops and symposium. Sad to say that all the valuable
working papers remain as academic exercises only, and are buried in book shelves and
cabinets. In apprehending the new reality or the new millennium, we must be bold
enough to formulate a viable action plan. The action plan that we have developed should
become the foundation for us to move forward in this new millennium. We should not be
merely by-standers, but the real actors of the new reality. We must believe in ourselves,
in our strengths, capabilities and in our entrepreneurial abilities. Somehow and
somewhere, we have to take the first giant step, and together we can do it.
22
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24
Appendix A
Employment by Broad Occupational Category
Share of Total Employment (%)
Occupational Group 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Professional and Technical 6.8 8.8 10.0 11.8 13.5
Administrative and Managerial 1.8 2.5 2.9 3.6 4.3
Clerical 8.3 9.8 9.9 10.0 10.1
Sales 9.2 11.5 13.8 14.5 15.2
Service 9.8 11.6 12.6 13.6 14.6
Agricultural 36.4 28.3 20.2 15.5 11.0
Production 27.6 27.6 30.5 31.0 31.3
Total 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Economic Planning Unit estimates
25
Appendix B
Capacity of Local Institutions To Meet Demand For Selected Professional And Technical
Occupations in Malaysia 1991 - 2000
Occupation Stock
1990
Employ-
ment
2000
Net Req.
1991-
2000
Gross
Req.
1991-2000
Local
Supply
1991-
2000
Gap
1991-
2000
Engineers 26,500 56,600 30,100 36,100 18,900 -17,200
Civil 11,100 19,500 8,400 10,100 3,330 -6,770
Electric. &
electron.
6,200 14,600 8,400 10,100 3,780 -6,320
Mechanical 5,200 10,800 5,600 6,700 3,600 -3,100
Chemical 800 2,000 1,200 1,400 810 -590
Others 3,200 9,700 6,500 7,800 7,380 -420
Eng. Assist. 72,400 195,300 122,900 147,500 94,473 -53,027
Civil 27,100 58,500 31,400 37,700 18,900 -18,800
Electric. &
Electron.
32,300 75,900 43,600 52,300 27,000 -25,300
Mechanical 6,400 32,400 26,600 31,200 19,080 -12,120
Chemical 600 6,000 5,400 6,500 513 -5,987
Others 6,000 22,500 16,500 19,800 28,980 9,180
Source: Estimates based on the Second Outline Perspective Plan
26
Appendix C
The examination results (percentage of passes) of schools in Bidayuh schooling regions
(Lundu, Bau, Penrissen/Padawan and Serian) in comparison to Kuching City’s schools.
Table 1. Comparison Between Percentage Passes For PMR Mathematics And Science
For Schools In Bidayuh Schooling Regions And Kuching City’s Schools
Percentage passes, by subjects
BIDAYUH SCHOOLING Mathematics Science
REGIONS 1994 1995 1996 1994 1995 1996
Lundu 84.5 87.7 90.3 92.3 90.8 94.6
Bau 86.4 92.2 90.1 93.2 93.1 94.4
Penrissen/ Padawan 86.5 86.8 87.9 89.1 89.7 88.3
Serian 86.0 82.3 85.3 90.1 90.2 90.6
Average for all regions 85.8 87.3 88.4 91.1 90.9 91.9
Kuching City’s Schools 95.7 96.1 97.0 95.5 96.7 96.8
Source: Summarized from records from the Education Department (1996)
Table 2. Comparison Between Percentage Passes For SPM Mathematics And Science For
Schools In Bidayuh Schooling Regions And Kuching City’s Schools
Percentage passes, by subjects
BIDAYUH SCHOOLING Mathematics (1449) Science (1511)
REGIONS 1994 1995 1996 1994 1995 1996
Lundu 25.2 54.1 62.1 67.0 69.3 82.6
Bau 28.6 56.4 49.2 68.2 80.2 81.0
Penrissen/ Padawan 40.3 70.2 70.4 79.8 86.8 81.2
Serian 31.2 50.8 63.2 72.1 73.7 82.0
Average for all regions 32.8 58.8 53.1 73.2 78.4 81.7
Kuching City’s Schools 73.6 82.8 88.5 87.2 82.1 88.5
Source: Summarized from records from the Education Department (1996)
27
Appendix D
The examination results (quality of passes) of schools in Bidayuh schooling regions
(Lundu, Bau, Penrissen/Padawan and Serian) in comparison to Kuching City’s schools.
Table 1. Comparison Between Percentages Of Credit Passes (Grade 1-6) For Selected
1996 SPM Science Subjects For Schools In Bidayuh Schooling Regions And Kuching
City’s Schools
BIDAYUH SCHOOLING Percentage passes, by subjects
REGIONS Add. Math
(3472)
Physics
(4531)
Chemistry
(4541)
Biology
(4551)
Lundu 34.6 17.3 34.7 69.4
Bau 26.2 28.5 41.9 44.5
Penrissen/ Padawan 36.5 27.8 21.4 32.4
Serian 37.1 31.9 30.5 40.9
Average for all regions 33.6 26.4 32.1 46.8
Kuching City’s Schools 79.6 72.0 78.9 88.7
Source: Summarized from records from the Education Department (1996)
Table 2. Comparison Between Percentages Passes By Grade Groups For The 1996 SPM
Additional Mathematics For Schools In Bidayuh Schooling Regions And Kuching City’s
Schools
BIDAYUH SCHOOLING Percentage passes, by grade groups
REGIONS Grade 1&2 Grade 3&4 Grade 5&6
Lundu 4.3 4.3 26
Bau 2.5 4.2 19.6
Penrissen/ Padawan 4.9 12.3 12.2
Serian 6.0 11.35 19.7
Average for all regions 4.5 9.0 20.2
Kuching City’s Schools 25.7 29.0 24.9
Source: Summarized from records from the Education Department (1996)
28