Comments on: On Returning Home

By: pelf-ism is contagious

pelf-ism is contagious — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 14:14:07 +0000

On breaking bonds…

She pretty much summed up what I wanted to comment on this issue.The bottom line is, is it really the poor pay that is keeping these graduates away from retuning to and serve Malaysia? Or did these “students” already had such plans when the…

By: Yee Pei

Yee Pei — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 10:13:06 +0000

lishun: You may want to go find out more about that, because Richard tells me that his friend in King’s recieved a letter already. Then again, if you are going to serve the 10 yrs’ bond, it doesn’t make a diff lah… :)

ngchmd: I find it worrying that some people place integrity far far below wealth and greed. That kind of “ranking” resembles that of a thief or a conman’s doesn’t it? (Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and commenting. :D)

By: ngchmd

ngchmd — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 08:12:15 +0000

When evaluating one’s goals and objectives, a vital question must be asked: What is your highest aspiration? Wealth, fame, knowledge, popularity or integrity.

If integrity is second to any of the alternatives, then it is subject to sacrifice in situations where a choice must be made. Such situations will inevitably occur in every person’s life.

YP: Make sure you visit the beautiful Antrim Coast and the Giants causeway while in Northern Ireland. Best wishes.

By: lishun

lishun — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 15:09:55 +0000

p/s: jpa has mentioned something about making us pay every single cent spent on us if we break the bond. however, nothing’s been given to us in black and white. we were not required to sign any new contracts or anything of that sort. as far as i know, as long as you didn’t sign anything concrete, the conditions of the contract you signed earlier still apply. which means the condition of paying a lump sum (ranging between rm160k to rm350k, depending on when you signed the contract) is the actual one to be followed.

By: lishun

lishun — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 15:06:50 +0000

i agree with yeepei. i’m a jpa scholar. some of you might know about the whole mess i was in last year. as much as i resent the fact that i have to let go of my dream of pursuing my studies overseas, i know that the psd is not obliged to give me what i want all the time just because i “deserve” it.

straight A1s for spm doesn’t mean the government owes you anything. when they gave you the offer, you had the choice to accept or decline. yeepei is right in that the moment you sign that contract, you’re subject to every condition listed in it. if it means that the psd has every right to choose which unis you should rank first, then so be it.

i don’t get the fuss about the 10-year bond. it means i am guaranteed a job the moment i graduate. it means i have the opportunity to familiarise myself with the malaysian health system. it allows me to build a network here and the medical profession is a very social one that involves cooperation between doctors of every field. it literally pays to have friends in the healthcare business.

what is so troublesome about serving the government for 10 years? my parents would have had to sell the car and maybe even the house to pay for my education otherwise. plus 10 years in the government means i will be halfway through to being eligible for receiving pension. no one realises the value of pension until they’re 70 and incapable of working any longer.

anyway, am ranting. it just pisses me off that jpa scholars complain without thinking. it pisses me off even more when students who don’t get the scholarship, especially non-bumis, immediately play the racism card.

first of all, you can’t change the constitution. secondly, the jpa scholarship is not the one and only scholarship available out there. many of my friends have not been awarded the jpa scholarship but have applied for other scholarships, decided to work for merit scholarships, or have taken out loans and are already working towards paying those loans back.

have more tenacity and less of that “you-owe-me-cuz-i-am-brilliant” attitude and we’ll all do very well indeed.

By: Yee Pei

Yee Pei — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 15:05:59 +0000

Karen: Wow, that’s a very long comment, long enough to be a blog post on it’s own, don’t you think? Anyway, I agree with you that some scholars do take it for granted, and while scholars complain about JPA’s inconsistencies, it may be due to past scholars’ actions that these inconsistencies exist… once again the phrase “there’s always 2 sides to a coin” comes into play.

Delrina: thanks. :D

By: delrina

delrina — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:38:31 +0000

hi there! as a queen’s student to another, i just want to congratulate you on coming to belfast. hope u will enjoy your clinical years here as much as I do!

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 08:14:49 +0000

This post, is in no way generalizing the scholars. Some I know, are really genuine people.

You know, I think we won’t call JPA scholars
ungrateful, if we’re not surrounded by the majority who tells it to our face that they’re going to manipulate JPA for their own personal benefit.
Because if they really are going to fulfill their promise of serving the nation, I find NO problem in them being unhappy for not getting what they’ve been promised.
It’s like you give me this, and I promise I’ll give u that.
But the situation is nothing like this. Scholars feel like you have to give me this, even though I’ll run off one day.Cause I’m a high-achiever and I totally deserve to be in the best university in UK, making the best of myself. Cause I deserve it.Don’t academic prodigies always end up successful in life???

People see scholars as smart-asses, which I don’t deny.
And as much as they’re unhappy with JPA’s inconsistent promises, they don’t realise that they themselves, are the result of JPA’s serious incompetency.

You are right, the problem lies in them feeling like its their right to it.
If they recognised the agreement to the scholarship as a promise for world class workforce in exchange of world-class education, they would not be thinking of breaking the bond, earning big bucks in a developed country and collecting the MRCPs.

How can this happen? Malaysia has a long way to go, before they know what they’re doing…
Awarding scholarships to rich asses, then getting them pay a fraction to escape the bond, or letting them disappear completely..

If JPA students want to talk about injustice of JPA’s promises, they should look hard at the log in their eyes and see what sort of injustice they are pulling, by stripping opportunities from more deserving students (by this i mean financially-considered students) and making full use of the opportunity FOR THEIR OWN PERSONAL BENEFIT.

This is the ultimate injustice. To be in the position where you are free to make choices in your life, and then choosing the immoral path of lowliness.

Please don’t leave. For the sake of the comfortable life you don’t rightfully own, millions of people are deprived…the millions whom the government is trying to provide for. The millions who are the reason for the scholarship.

Where is the integrity ?
Unlike being an accountant, or an engineer, a doctor directly serves the most basic human needs. You would think them last as the dishonest one, the selfish one and nothing like who these scholar doctors are.

By: Yee Pei

Yee Pei — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:38:36 +0000

But Gongster, when you signed the contract, you also agreed to that tiny clause at the bottom which says they have the right to alter certain conditions, don’t you? :P

I think scholars and scholars-to-be have to realise that nothing in this world is perfect. If they choose to take on a scholarship, they will be under the organisation’s thumb for a period of time.

By: adeline

adeline — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:34:33 +0000

as a much-maligned JPA scholar, (we played mafia with the title, remember?) I have to say I agree with most of what you wrote, YP. I too feel that many scholars take plenty of stuff for granted.

however, must also add here that some of JPA’s conditions dont leave much room for us to pursue our own dreams as well. too long to elaborate, but some people signed contracts in good faith, only to find the conditions “evolving” with time. then when we protest, we get accused of not being grateful.

2 sides to every coin la.