Kiasu-ism

It is a well known fact that Singaporean are very ‘kiasu’ people. ‘Kiasu’ literally means afraid to lose in Hokkien. This type of behavior can be easily witnessed especially in crowded areas. Once I was on board of the MRT train, it then stopped at an interchange where all the passengers were required to alight the train, walked across the platform and board another train to continue their journey. There was a family standing beside me, father, mother and a son. As soon as the train stopped, the father commanded his son to quickly ran towards the other train and ‘grab’ the seats. He himself also rushed across the platform. I could easily see from where I stood that there were still lots of empty seats available, there was no need to rush at all. That day, the ‘kiasu’ legacy has been successfully passed on from father to son, generation to generation. I’m sure this young kid will behave exactly like his father when he has his own family in the future.

The Root of the ProblemHowever, the MRT is not the reason why Singaporean become a ‘kiasu’ species. The cause of this behavior can be traced back to 1965 when Singapore was asked to leave the Federation of Malaysia. A small island without any resources, its leaders were very concerned about Singapore future. Without Malaysia as its hinterland, how could it possibly survive and prosper. The feeling of insecurity was definitely there. Forced in such a desperate situation, Singapore struggled to be first to grab foreign investment to develop its economy. This was the mood then and one might asks why does Singaporeans still feel insecure when their country has become so prosperous today. Surprisingly, the sense of insecurity is still there. From time to time, their leaders have reminded their citizen that if Singapore fails, no one in the region would ever lend a helping hand to support it. They are reminded that Singapore is a First World Oasis surrounded by Third World Countries (that include Malaysia as well).

The RelevanceAlthough Malaysian are not famous for kiasu-ism, I can see similarities in our education industry. Private colleges and universities are fighting each other for a very small pool of resources (i.e. students). Every institution wants to be the first to launch a new program, give attractive scholarship and other promises. Everyone seems to be doing the same thing at the same time. These marketing activities have taken up a lot of the academics’ time and effort at the expense of quality in education.

In terms of priority, there are three ways in my view which must be done in order to attract students:
· Retain passionate lecturers
· Set strict marking scheme
· Motivate students by means of awards (without any imposed conditions)

These approach may not yield result in the short term, but will definitely raise the standard of the programs. In the long run, it will attract not only students but committed lecturers as well.

Passion in Education

Most people work to earn a living. What keeps them going is the idea that they are going to receive their pay cheque at the end of the month. But this is not the case with the lecturers in KDU Design School. All of them work for the love of education. They put in extra hours even after classes have finished in preparing more teaching materials for their students. They went down to the ground whenever there was a competition to support the students even though it was held on weekend. Simply put, they are passionate in what they do.

I was told that the students in private colleges in Singapore are not as lucky as those in Malaysia. Students dare not complain even though they not happy with the lecturers or the school. And the lecturers usually give nasty comments, sometimes even personal attacks. How I wish this is the case for Penang.

Design lecturers are indeed the gems of KDU and they deserve all the respect.

KDU Design School

I've held up this posting for quite some time now. The major reason is I was waiting for miracle to happen. And if the management did the right thing, then there is no need for this posting anymore. Unfortunately, the contrary appears to be the case. However, I'm not going to elaborate on what went wrong in this posting, rather I would like to highlight some of the things that we did right in the past.

Name of School
There were many names being proposed for our department, first we were parked under CPAC together with Mass Comm Department, then we went our separate way and was called Instituto di Design (a name that was proposed by PJ people which I didn't quite agree). The Italian name was inappropriate because we are a Malaysian art school and should project the asian image. At one time I was proposing George Town School of Design. This was the time when George Town was not yet being enlisted as World Heritage Site. I knew that the name will have big impact in the future anticipating the approval from UNESCO. However for whatever reason, the top management in particular Dr. Chia just kept silent about the proposal as if nothing has ever mentioned (by the way she was the one who suggested that our school needed a new name). In the end, I just liked to call it Design Department and it appeared under my name whenever I sent out emails to coworkers or university partners.

4th Floor
But this posting is not about the school's name either. What I want to mention here are some of the spirit that most of us possessed in the past that have made this young school a force to be reckoned with in the education industry. This takes me back to November 2005 when I first stepped into KDU for an interview. I was interviewed by Dr. Tan Toh Wah and Mark Stephen Felix. I was then taken to a tour at 4th Floor - the site of the future design school. I have to clarify that the department already exist at that time, just that it was still attached with Mass Comm and was located on the 2nd Floor.

When we went up there, I saw a relatively empty floor with long corridor. It was strange that I was not dissapointed with what I witnessed. In fact, I was actually happy to see the place. The empty space told me the potential of the school. If we are to make a difference in art education, it has to be here and nowhere else throughout Penang. Another thing that attracted me was Dr. Tan's vision of turning the school into the 'Cultural Center of Penang', and I thought to myself - what a noble and holistic idea! I decided instantly that I would quit my job as an architect and hop into KDU as a full time academic.

My Objectives
A lot of people couldn't understand my decision then but I was very sure what I was doing. At that time I was frustrated with the development of the architectural industry in Penang. People were concerned more on costing above anything else. The key persons in the profession only interested in enriching their pockets in the expense of design excellence. Architecture in Penang became merely duplications of design from elsewhere, KL in particular. I realised that I was surrounded in a very commercially driven environment and I was the minority in the group. I couldn't possibly change the profession alone. I need to duplicate more people with commitment in design and teaching is the best way to do it! I believe some of the lecturers also have the same ambitions like me, we all want to educate our students hoping that they would one day become a trend setter in the industry, not just a follower. I don't know how successful I am in realising my dream but I am contented to know that people like Jerry, Eilis, Kai Shyuan and Yi-Wen will be an example of a new breed of designers in Penang. Yes, I believe they will be the trend setters!

My Memorable Moment
The thing that I missed most of KDU was during students' presentation (or 'Crit' Session) with the panel of fellow lecturers. I liked the interaction between the students and lecturers although I have always hope for a more heated debate. Sometimes the students took it personally but I'm sure that one day they will realise how important those sessions are to their career when they have to confront a real life client to sell their ideas.
The Team
I know I have said this many times but allow me to say it again here: I really had a wonderful team in KDU. Wonderful in the sense that we all share the same vision and commitment. We all want to grow the school to become the premier art school in the Northern Region and we want our students to succeed. Tribute goes to Ellison, Shirley, Maizul, Stella and Jenny. It took 3 years to gather all of us together into this 'family'. The word 'family' was first used by Maizul and I was touched to realise that he treats us as his family.
Future of the School
The prospect of the school depends largely on the new Academic Department Head that is going to take over. If he shares the same vision like all of us do, then the school will continue to prosper and excel. The road ahead will be tough but I'm not a fortune teller either. I don't know how it will turn out, or maybe I do know but I'm not going to reveal the picture in my crystal ball here. All I can say is that we did had magic moments together as a team before and we actually had achieved our vision with all the winnings in major competition and so on. More importantly, we have inspired a handful of young people to become true designers. Let us feel contented and grateful that we were given the opportunity to make a difference!

Can Nigeria take it?