Education: The Journey Goes On

Datu Putit Matzen

Life has its mysteries and cycles that no one has an entire knowledge of. A human being’s life is shaped by a complex of factors, from genetics to heredity to cultural background. While nobody has a monopoly of knowledge in this world, certain people excel in specific fields or are outstanding in their profession. What makes them what they are now is a mixture of God-given talents and the individual’s unique way of harnessing these gifts coupled with an upbringing and string of experiences that the personencounters in his entire career.

“There has to be a constant will to improve oneself and to enhance the effectiveness in your chosen field” says Datu Haji Putit Bin Matzen who is now a Pegawai Tadbir Khas in the Chief Minister’s Department. He related “ During my time, we had to adopt drastic measures in order to promote quality education and ensure that the students were getting what they needed and deserved. At one point, we had to close ten Chinese schools all at the same time and transfer the students to better schools with enough number of students and adequate facilities.”

Datu Putit started his career in the government service in 1972 as a teacher at SMK Luar Bandar Sibu. From then he held various posts in the Education Department until he became the Education Director for Sarawak in 1995. Holding such post until 2000, Datu Putit has undoubtedly contributed much to the development of the Malaysian educational system and has touched many lives within and outside the teaching profession.

From Overseas to the Jungles

His first post was quite interesting as it took place at the height of communist insurgency in Sarawak. After staying in Australia for five years, he came back to Sarawak and was posted in the interiors of Sibu. “I was scared initially but told myself that I should overcome my fears. Being in the jungle allowed me to experience close rapport with the teachers and students. This is something you don’t see and experience anymore these days”. His recollection of events comprised of intellectual pursuits as well as humourous stories.

Reflection

Academic success is certainly good but it is certainly not all. It is a sad thing that children find themselves in stressful situations. When I was a child and in primary school, the word stress never existed in my vocabulary, it had never been part of my world. I got tired, I knew. But I don’t remember getting stressed at all. The recent suicide of the 10 – year- old boy from Singapore is indeed an eye opener for all of us, especially to those in the academia.

There is indeed an urgent need to reexamine our educational system. Is there really a necessity for those tuition schools? I’ve always believed that our mind can only absorb information up to certain extent; anything in excess is detrimental. You may have a mental breakdown wherein you just forget everything that you are supposed to know at a particular moment. Remember the stories of those supposed geniuses failing in the examinations? The old adage holds true- too much of a good thing is bad!

Choosing one’s profession in life is not always by choice. Somehow, certain people or circumstances lead you to take up a certain course and the rest just follows. “ When I was young, I didn’t plan to be a teacher or to be in the field of education. But during my time , it was a good idea to take up education . The promise of a secure job afterwards was there. I wanted to take up engineering but changed my mind”

However when Datu Putit started as a teacher in SMK Luar Bandar Sibu in the Sibu Division, it is where he started to appreciate the close interaction among the people as well as the simplicity of life. It was evident that values prevailed in the work place and somehow it made all the difference.

“Values are Caught not Taught”

How do we integrate moral and ethical values in our education system? There must be a way but it is not something you achieve overnight. It is a long process and will certainly take the cooperation of both the parents and the teachers.

“It’s difficult to teach values because they are values. We did try many times but no one can really measure the depth or the level of the absorption of these values.” He asserts , though, that we have to keep on devising new ways and adopting new strategies to improve further our education system in Malaysia. “We have to continue to learn and we must understand the rationale of what we are doing. This is very important”.

A Meaningful Life

As a whole, gratitude and self-fulfillment characterizes Datu Putit Matzen’s life in the government service.

“It has been a life full of challenges and worthwhile experiences and I don’t have a bit of regret even though it was not my first career choice,” emphasized Datu Putit.

Jolly and kind-hearted are just few of the adjectives that will describe Datu Putit Matzen. His almost 30 years of stay in the education department is reflective on how he values education as a whole. “Inculcating values among our children and young people is very important and that’s why parents should make it a point that they get a good education throughout life.

He sees himself few years from now as one with a more active involvement in civic and religious organisations. He also sees the future with all the time in his hands for doing the things close to his heart, among which is documenting a string of valuable experiences and meaningful insights he has acquired all these years. “Few years from now, I hope I would have completed the books that I have been contemplating on.”