Kuala Lampur, Sept. 23 -- "Never ever hire anyone with a Grade Point Average of 4.0" ~ Tom Peters

Let's be real. For most Asian kids to do well in school, it usually means that s/he has developed a certain habit of mind: memorisation.

Unless all the Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan have undergone a (literally) mind-blowing revolution, how Malaysian teachers educate students today wouldn't be that different from how they did back when the Form 3 exam was known as SRP.

Memorisation, in fact, is an apt symbol for our attitude towards formal education i.e. it's safe and it's effective. How can there be a downside?

That's why millions of Malaysians use the method.

Likewise, "scoring well in school" is seen as the ...