A new shared experience for Malaysian youths

Having identified some guiding principles for a New Programme (working title) to replace the National Civics Bureau (Biro Tatanegara, BTN) and National Service (NS), let us look today at some of the practicalities of implementing such a programme.

I believe there are two main approaches.

The first, I have written about previously, and involves a rather different approach than the previous models.

This model involves incorporating a compulsory class and time period in all existing schools in Malaysia, regardless of stream.

This class, held once every one or two weeks, would provide the time and space to deliver all the material and experiences imagined in Part 1 of this article.

The advantage to this approach is that it provides the most amount of time with students, and integrates the material into day-to-day learning within each school.

Disadvantages may include the long time required to work out all the logistics necessary for the integration of this class and its teachers into all existing school systems.

More importantly perhaps, solely using this approach offers little if any possibilities for students to interact with other young Malaysians from outside their school.

Regular camps

The second main possible approach follows a model much closer to the previous National Service programmes, and can be likened a little bit to the summer camps we see in the US for instance.

In essence, a diverse group of students from various school systems and streams in Malaysia are brought together in a camp-like environment.

The duration and frequency of these compulsory camps are open to various possibilities, ranging from having only one compulsory camp, to requiring students to attend one every year or every quarter and so on.

The more frequently the camps are held, the shorter they need to be. Depending on their frequency, their duration could be anywhere from one weekend to say two weeks.

Again, the primary purpose of these camps is to give students a chance to interact and bond with their fellow Malaysians whom they would be unlikely to even meet otherwise.

A camp might thus be attended by students from national schools, Chinese private schools, religious schools, international schools, and so on.

If the camps are held every year, for instance, it would be good for each camp to have the same batch of attendees, so that the youths have the opportunity to build more meaningful friendships across a longer period of time.

An annual camp could also cover a different theme each year. Examples of themes might include the appreciation of our national diversity; the basic structure and functions of Malaysian government; the importance of critical thinking; and institutional checks and balances, and so on.

Sports, community service and group projects

The activities in these camps should focus on experiential learning.

In practice, the best way for students to get to know each other and form bonds is to involve them in joint projects that pursue common goals.

Some of the most obvious activities would be sports, community service, and the preparation of presentations.

These activities would offer numerous health benefits, provide a social service, and give students a chance to have meaningful discussions and interactions.

Each camp could be divided into sports houses similar to those found in most schools, while community service projects would provide exposure for the students to places and communities in Malaysia that may be quite new to them.

In the delivery of knowledge and information, multimedia is a powerful tool that should be leveraged.

Well produced and carefully planned lectures and videos can serve to ensure a common experience for all students, while facilitators can lead live discussions after such videos to encourage meaningful conversations.

Students should also be encouraged to work together to produce presentations and material of their own, such as plays or artistic performances.

Needless to say, the focus should be training students in different ways of thinking, rather than telling them what to think, as was the case of BTN.

Safety and health first

The challenges of developing such a complex programme are indubitably considerable. The amount of coordination, consultation and planning to ensure the buy-in of all stakeholders will no doubt be staggering.

In pursuing such an awesome responsibility, we must remember that the health and safety of the children are sacrosanct.

We must never forget the darkest stains on the previous iteration of National Service, where organisational ineptitude cost students their lives.

Every single precaution imaginable must be taken, because there is nothing more precious to our country.

Even taking into consideration all the challenges, the opportunity here is immense.

We are talking about nothing less than defining the heart and soul of what it means to be Malaysian.

It may be the case that this, more than anything else, will define what is genuinely new in our celebrated new Malaysia.
 

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NATHANIEL TAN is eager to serve. - Mkini