Malaysia’s Dual-Education System Is A Racial Time-Bomb

Malaysia should stop using the education system as a means of vote buying. The first ‘May 13’ in 1969 was because of economic segregation. The next ‘May 13’ is going to be because of schools segregation. And while the first ‘May 13’ was resolved through the New Economic Policy, this next ‘May 13’ cannot be solved until Malaysia adopts a single school system. And while the first ‘May 13’ was due to economic disparity, the next ‘May 13’ is going to be because of the political exploitation of education and the policy of segregation.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The United States went through a revolution of sorts from 1954 to 1971 when civil rights movements fought to end segregation. That was during the era of the Kennedy brothers, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Rosa Parks, and so on. It was not until 1971 that the US Supreme Court ruled that busing can be used to integrate schools. Up to 1969, the US still had black schools and white schools and separate school-buses for blacks and whites, and there was no integration of blacks and whites in the US school system, especially the farther south you went.

While all this was happening in the US and the US moved forward to finally see a black President in 2009, in Malaysia the country was going backwards. The early years saw integration of the various races but after Merdeka race relations began to break down. Pre-Merdeka Malayans who saw one another as fellow Malayans began to view themselves as Malays, Chinese and Indians and, of course, after 1963, as Sabahans and Sarawakians as well.

Prior to 1960 there was no serious racial or religious divide although one was conscious of one’s ethnicity and religious belief and Malaysians went to great pains to not upset the sensitivities of those of other races and religions. But after that things began to deteriorate and race and religion became important, especially in the realm of politics. And, for the Chinese, education became the driving force of their politics.

While Malay politicians had their Malay nationalism and Islam to ride on, the Chinese politicians lacked any credible platform. So Chinese politicians latched onto Chinese schools and Chinese education as their political platform. And, invariably, by segregating Chinese students from the mainstream schools and education system, this created segregation of the races as well.

For years Chinese philanthropists, guilds, clan associations, trade associations, and so on, gave hundreds of millions to Chinese schools and Chinese education. The government knew that this tantamount to moving backwards and could eventually transform into a racial time-bomb. However, Umno was capable of winning only about one-third of the popular votes and it needed its non-Malay partners to bring in the balance of the votes so that it could stay in power.

For example, in 1965 Umno won only 38% of the votes and in 1969 44%. After the formation of Barisan Nasional Umno won only 40% of the seats and if not for the other coalition members they would not be in power. So the non-Malay parties in the coalition were important and they told Umno the only way they could continue getting Chinese support was to pander to the Chinese guilds, clan associations and trade associations and, more importantly, to the Chinese educationists.

In the end, Chinese politics was dictated by the Chinese educationists. And the Chinese educationists had the Chinese philanthropists, guilds, clan associations, trade associations, etc., behind them. Hence if Umno wants the non-Umno parties in the ruling coalition to continue getting Chinese votes they have to bend backwards and allow Chinese schools and Chinese education to flourish.

Cairo University set up in 1908 is far superior to any Chinese school in Malaysia and it teaches more than just Islam

Lee Kuan Yew knew the danger in this and that was why he clamped down on Chinese schools and Chinese education and arrested the Chinese education activists. He was not going to allow Singapore to be moulded by the Chinese school system because he knew Chinese schools would be the hotbed for anti-government ideology. Worse still, it bred chauvinism and parochialism that would eventually transform into racism. And Singapore would never be able to achieve integration if children from ages five to 17 are segregated.

So Lee Kuan Yew did not care what the Chinese educationists wanted. They either toe the line or go to jail. And eventually Lee Kuan Yew achieved what he dreamt for Singapore, which was to bring Singapore into the modern world and lead Asia.

In Malaysia, however, the country was going backwards and was moving in the opposite direction to Singapore and the reverse of what was happening in the US. While everyone else was discarding segregation and opting for integration, Malaysia was institutionalising segregation. And this was hurting race relations. Instead of learning from ‘May 13’ and reversing the policies that led to that race riot, the government actually made it worse by giving in even more to the demands for Chinese schools and Chinese education.

The Umno leaders at that time feared losing power and ‘May 13’ convinced them that the possibility of losing power is real. And they were told that the only way to not lose power is to garner Chinese support. And the only way to garner Chinese support is to give them their Chinese schools and Chinese education. That is like trying to put out the fire by pouring petrol onto it. The Umno leaders of that time lacked the courage that Lee Kuan Yew had on how to deal with the Chinese education movement.

They thought the more they give in to Chinese demands the more support they will get. What they did not realise is the more they give in the less support they would get from the Chinese. And what is even more important is they gambled on the chance that segregation in the education system would not result in a breakdown of race relations but would actually help race relations because the Chinese would be very grateful to the government for being allowed their schools and their education system.

Today it has been proven that segregation in the education system has not helped race relations. In fact, segregation has deteriorated race relations because it has not brought about integration between the Chinese and the non-Chinese. The ages between five and 17 are the most crucial and impressionable years and are the years when integration develops. To segregate the races at those ages means integration will never be possible.

Malaysia has already ‘lost’ two generations. Race relations is currently at its lowest and it will take two or more generations before this can change. Even then it can only change if segregation within the education system is immediately abolished and an integrated education system is adopted.

But then Umno’s partners in Barisan Nasional will resist this. They will tell Umno that DAP uses Chinese schools and Chinese education to win votes. And if the non-Umno parties in Barisan Nasional do not also go along with this political strategy then DAP will accuse them of selling out the Chinese and of being traitors to the Chinese race. Hence they, too, must play the Chinese schools and Chinese education card to win votes.

In short, the Chinese schools and Chinese education card is a means to win votes. And if you do not also play this card you will not win votes. So Chinese schools and Chinese education is actually a vote-buying platform. And no Chinese politician from both sides of the political divide would dare oppose Chinese schools and Chinese education. And the fact that this means segregation and is against integration is a price the country has to pay to win Chinese votes.

That is like saying logging and messing up the environment is a necessary price the country has to pay to earn money. Logging may hurt the environment but in the interest of earning money that is the lesser of the two evils. Segregation may hurt the country as well but in the interest of winning Chinese votes that is a necessary price the country has to pay.

The propagators of Chinese schools and the Chinese education system say Chinese schools are more superior to national schools and that is why they want to retain Chinese schools and the Chinese education system. That is a fallacy and has not been proven. Nevertheless, even if that were true is that more important than national integration? No so-called more superior system is worth more than national integration as Nazi Germany has proven through its segregation policy.

They say there is nothing to stop the other races from enrolling in Chinese schools and that in some schools as high as 10% of the students are non-Chinese. Others say China is emerging as the new world economic power so Chinese schools are important if you want to do business with China.

Those are all lame excuses disguised as reasons. Chinese send their children to the west for their education and even in places like North West England the place is flooded with Chinese students. You will find Chinese students everywhere and their purchasing power is so strong that stores employ Chinese staff to cater to their Chinese clientele.

The future generation Chinese are English-speaking and English-educated, not Mandarin-speaking Chinese, as how Lee Kuan Yew predicted since way back. The neighbourhood where I live in Manchester has more than 20 Chinese families, and while their parents and/or grandparents speak Chinese, the younger generation speak better English than the Mancunians and Liverpudlians (even I cannot understand when Mancunians and Liverpudlians speak).

So the future is not a Mandarin-speaking world but an English-speaking world and the hordes of Chinese in the UK is testimony of this.

The Chinese educationists may argue that Chinese schools are not attended 100% by Chinese but have a small percentage of non-Chinese as well so the problem of segregation is not serious. Well, even in the US there are whites in black schools and blacks in white schools but that does not mean there are no racial problems in the US. In fact, in spite of school integration, the racial problem in the US is still serious although not as bad as in the 1950s and 1960s when they practiced segregation.

Today, Malays think in terms of Malays, Chinese in terms of Chinese, Indians in terms of Indians, and Sabahans and Sarawakians in terms of regional interests. It is now 60 years since Merdeka and Malaysians are still not Malaysians but identify themselves along racial, regional and parochial lines. Children need to be moulded from ages five to 17. But from ages five to 17 Chinese go to Chinese schools and non-Chinese go to non-Chinese schools.

Malaysia is sitting on a time-bomb. And the question is not if, but when, the time-bomb will go off. As long as Malaysia practices segregation and not integration of the education system there will always be two Malaysias and never one Malaysia.

The non-Malay parties in Barisan Nasional will continue to threaten Umno that if the Chinese are not allowed their own schools and their own education system then they will never vote government and will vote opposition. DAP says they have already maximised Chinese support and the Chinese will always vote opposition.

China and Singapore are going English and the UK is being flooded with Chinese students while Malaysian Chinese are going backwards

If what DAP says is true then what does it matter any longer? Even when the government allows segregation and does not force integration of the education system, according to DAP, the majority of the Chinese, as high as 90% plus-minus, vote opposition. So, without their own schools and their own education system what more can happen? Will this time 100% of the Chinese vote opposition?

Maybe without their own schools and their own education system 100% of the Chinese will vote opposition. But then this will eventually end the racist policy of segregating the Chinese from the other races from ages five to 17. In the long run this will be better for race relations in Malaysia. And you cannot make an omelette unless your break the shell. So it may be necessary to break the shell of segregation of the school and education system to achieve racial integration.

However, the politicians will never dare do this. Even the government’s hands are tied. So maybe the Conference of Rulers will have to step in and grab the bull by the horns. The Rulers will be able to do what others cannot. National integration is crucial and has to be number one on the list of priorities. The excuse that Malaysia needs a dual-education system because the Chinese education system is more superior to the national education system, even if race relations needs to be sacrificed, is not in the interest of the nation.

The Chinese say Singapore is far better than Malaysia. In that case Malaysia should follow Singapore and not pander to the Chinese education activists who want to segregate the races. Malaysia should do just like what Lee Kuan Yew did to bring Singapore onto the world stage. They say Malaysia’s education system sucks. What do you expect when we still practice what the other countries like the US and Singapore got rid off more than 50 years ago?

DAP, of course, wants the present education system to be maintained. This is because the system breeds racism and DAP thrives on racism. If you remove racism then DAP no longer has any platform to stand on. The other non-Malay parties in Barisan Nasional also fear speaking out against the present system lest DAP labels them as traitors to the Chinese race. So they, too, play the same segregation card in a weak attempt to beat DAP at their own game. And herein lies the problem. Parties like MCA, Gerakan, and so on, try to be more Chinese than DAP by also playing the Chinese school and Chinese education card.

DAP and the Chinese education activists will continue to argue that mother-tongue education is their constitutional right. In that case Malays can also argue that a madrasah education system à la Pakistan and Afghanistan is also their constitutional right. But then if the government allows Malays their ‘constitutional right’ of ‘proper’ Islamic education the non-Malays will scream that the government is breeding extremism and allowing the ‘Talibanisation’ of Malaysia. But then it is acceptable to breed extremism and Chinese Talibans in the current racially segregated education system.

Malaysia should stop using the education system as a means of vote buying. The first ‘May 13’ in 1969 was because of economic segregation. The next ‘May 13’ is going to be because of schools segregation. And while the first ‘May 13’ was resolved through the New Economic Policy, this next ‘May 13’ cannot be solved until Malaysia adopts a single school system. And while the first ‘May 13’ was due to economic disparity, the next ‘May 13’ is going to be because of the political exploitation of education and the policy of segregation.