MUCH has been written about the importance of youth in                                                                                                
fulfilling national aspirations and much more commentary has                                                                                          
been made about how the younger generation can be developed                                                                                           
into wholesome, responsible and caring citizens.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Rhetoric has been supported by some action on the ground, but                                                                                         
the opportunities for developing youth have been few and far                                                                                          
between.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Human development is the function of furthering the                                                                                                   
intellectual, emotional and spiritual faculties of an                                                                                                 
individual. We refer to these as IQ, EQ and SQ.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
How are these aspects of human development catered to in the                                                                                          
experience of our young people? Where are the gaps? How do we                                                                                         
plug or at least narrow the gaps?                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
First, IQ. Developing IQ is not at issue as our educational                                                                                           
system is geared towards knowledge acquisition with success                                                                                           
measured in terms not only of grade, but increasingly by the                                                                                          
number of As earned. This is the time-tested system from                                                                                              
kindergarten to university.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Unfortunately, the system encourages regurgitation rather than                                                                                        
creativity as the dreaded examination is the principal (in                                                                                            
most situations the only) means of assessment.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Memory power is not what we want to develop in our youth; let                                                                                         
this be performed by the computer.  What is needed is to                                                                                              
develop the thinking, creative and application shills of the                                                                                          
young the substance of IQ.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The gap is one of focus and thrust. Existing curricula could                                                                                          
be revamped to encourage independent thought, with ongoing                                                                                            
work, including project submissions, forming an important                                                                                             
determinant in the grading of students.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Second, EQ. Developing EQ or emotional intelligence is very                                                                                           
much left to chance.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
In an educational environment where academic scores are                                                                                               
everything, leaving this important aspect of human development                                                                                        
to chance will inevitably stunt the development of leaders.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to relate with                                                                                           
others with interpersonal skills as the core competency.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is the crucial determinant of good leadership, defined by                                                                                          
one source as "the ability to get ordinary people to perform                                                                                     
extraordinary work."                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
It manifests its outcomes in political, military, corporate,                                                                                          
social religious and civic leadership. For instance, British                                                                                          
wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, was low on IQ but                                                                                          
very high on EQ; likewise our first prime minister, Tunku                                                                                             
Abdul Rahman.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The gap us developing EQ in our young people is enormous. The                                                                                         
expanding academic curriculum fills up the space of a day                                                                                             
(Parkinson's Law at work) with very little time for                                                                                                   
extra-curricular activities which, in schools, provide the                                                                                            
opportunity for bringing together groups of like-minded                                                                                               
individuals to interact towards a common purpose.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Leadership, unlike an academic subject, cannot be taught; it                                                                                          
has to be experienced, often by trial and error.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
In schools, which offer the haven for learning, it is safe to                                                                                         
experiment without real risks, to try out and to learn.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Joining the Scout movement is not about uniforms and badges;                                                                                          
it is about belonging to a group, dealing with each other over                                                                                        
activities and building up esprit de corps, good will and                                                                                             
fellowship as it is about leading others as a patrol leader or                                                                                        
a team leader.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
It points the way towards good behaviour and living by a code                                                                                         
of conduct.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
It is about the preparation for moving into the real life of                                                                                          
the professions, the corporate world or government later on.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
There are, of course, opportunities to reduce the gap.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Some voluntary organisations like Rotary and MIM offer youth                                                                                          
leadership-type programmes to develop EQ.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Rotary organises an annual two-week Rotary Youth Leadership                                                                                           
Awards for the teenage group while MIM organises a similar                                                                                            
activity in collaboration with the Royal Navy in Lumut for the                                                                                        
twenty-something. But enrolment is restricted to about 50 to                                                                                          
60 in each exercise.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
This is miniscule compared to the number of young people in                                                                                           
the country.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
What can make the substantial difference is for the                                                                                                   
educational system to draw on the experience of yesteryears,                                                                                          
when specific involvement and active participation in                                                                                                 
extra-curricular activities is not only encouraged, but made                                                                                          
mandatory.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
In more developed educational systems like in the United                                                                                              
States, these activities, including sports and games, are also                                                                                        
given assessment and contribute to the final performance of                                                                                           
students.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Finally, SQ. Spiritual intelligence deals with core values and                                                                                        
personal behaviour.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
It seeks to draw the line between good and evil, right and                                                                                            
wrong, permissible and improper.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
While religion subscribes to these lines of discrimination,                                                                                           
spiritual intelligence is religion-free and should apply                                                                                              
equally to the very religious as well as to the freethinker.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Against an onslaught of materialism and conspicuous                                                                                                   
consumption, it is core values that identify the human person.                                                                                        
He or she stands for something and core values do not change.                                                                                         
.                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
There is real danger that standards of moral and ethical                                                                                              
behaviour will decline if intervention through guidance,                                                                                              
counselling and mentoring is not put in place.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
We are alarmed by shootings and killings committed by school                                                                                          
kids in the US; we should be equally concerned over teenage                                                                                           
gangs in Malaysia who have been found to be extortionists and                                                                                         
thieves.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
We have to accept the fact that the traditional three                                                                                                 
generation family unit is the exception rather than the rule.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
We have also to recognise that quite a number of families have                                                                                        
both spouses in employment, leaving children either to fend                                                                                           
for themselves or be in the care of maids.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Where is, therefore, the moral guidance from the home?                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Parents have a strong role in shaping their children. Moral                                                                                           
education in schools also needs a revamp so that school kids                                                                                          
can have someone to turn to for guidance and help.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
Vision 2020 is not only an economic document.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
While we appreciate that it seeks to have economic development                                                                                        
as an objective, its nobler and much more difficult mission is                                                                                        
to develop "a united nation, with a confident Malaysian                                                                                          
society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in                                                                                        
a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring,                                                                                           
economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous,                                                                                          
and in full possession of an economy that is competitive,                                                                                             
dynamic, robust and resilient" (Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir                                                                                           
Mohamad, in launching Vision 2020).                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
I have reduced the nine challenges of Vision 2020 to three                                                                                            
paths of human development.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
It has been said that when we use our heads we are thinkers                                                                                           
our hands workers and our heart Samaritans.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
When we use our heads and our hands we are technicians, our                                                                                           
heads and our hearts benefactors, our hands and our hearts                                                                                            
artists.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
The ideal hope of Vision 2020 is to develop the Malaysian who                                                                                         
applies his head, hand and heart to all that he does.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
To achieve this vision will demand that we lay out very                                                                                               
clearly the triple pathways of IQ, EQ and SQ that all young                                                                                           
Malaysians will have to take in the journey of human growth                                                                                           
and development.