Blame not ‘chopsticks’ for failure of Malaysians to integrate

 

From Moaz Nair

With due respect to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, blame not “chopsticks” for the failure of Malaysians to integrate.

Politicians chanting the catchphrase “racial unity” or “racial integration” has become cliche. It does not carry any weight when elements of disparity in the treatment of people of diverse ethnic backgrounds are still prevalent after more than six decades of the country’s independence.

If truth be told, the current education policies cannot win the hearts of Malaysians of various races to put them under one roof in schools. This has thwarted efforts to bring the races together.

By design or default, the moment Malaysian children enter school they come to realise that they are classed as “Bumiputera” and “non-Bumiputera” – ticking boxes that identify themselves by race, and not as Malaysians.

These tags go on until the university level and beyond that. And for political appeasement, opportunities in the fields of education, economy and jobs associated with the government are limited for the non-Bumiputeras.

This has become a blot faced by the non-Bumiputeras. Obviously, it triggers identity differences among the different races and paves the way for “non-Bumiputera” citizens to find different educational, economic and social pathways for survival. It will further make them buttress their identities as different from others.

Political expediency

Sociological studies have shown that any group of human beings who are set aside from the norms of the majority society will strive to find their own identity. This is an unfortunate status quo that exists in Malaysian society today. It also reflects the failure of the state to tackle the issue of national integration, what more the existing political parties are mostly race-based. Race and religion are used by politicians to woo votes to keep them in power.

For their political expediency, they do not mind having any system where the people are divided by their ethnic status, race or religion. Ethnic relations can be a course offered in higher education institutions but this is more academic in nature. On the ground, racial relations have not lived up to the theories propounded by academicians.

What is observed on the ground is that Malaysians of Chinese ethnicity seek their identity through Chinese schools, Indian ethnicity with Tamil schools, and there are Malays who try to strengthen their Muslim identity through religious schools.

The elite and the well-heeled choose private and international schools and some even choose to study abroad. In other words, with many options available, national schools are losing appeal. Many parents seem to have relegated national schools to second or third choice for their children’s education.

Different options of this nature were in the early days held in a nation down south after the country’s exit from Malaysia in 1965 to become an independent and sovereign state. This system failed to get the support of its people of different races when, at the same time, English medium schools were established. Vernacular schools became unpopular and parents chose the English medium schools – the national schools – for their children’s education.

This brought almost all their ethnic groups under one roof all through the country’s education system. Mother tongue languages are taught in these schools. These are the secrets of their educational success and they have not wavered since, resulting in the quality of education that is considered among the best in the world.

In the Malaysian context, the Malay language is the medium of instruction in national schools. There is no real issue on this. To bring back English medium schools in the present may not be politically viable, as this will not appease the Malay nationalists. But if only the teaching of English can be reinforced, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education is brought to a new level and given the option to be taught in English, and the mother tongue languages are taught in national schools, this will certainly attract more children from various ethnic backgrounds to study under one roof.

Unfortunately, to this day, the level of teaching and achievement of English in national schools is not encouraging. Mother tongue languages are also not given emphasis. Some schools are not even offering STEM subjects in English. But there are residential schools for a selected few who are allowed to use English and sit for foreign-based examinations such as the IB Diploma Programme and the GCE A-Levels. Not many non-Bumiputera students are given the privilege to study in these schools.

Fairer opportunities for all

Seeing the lopsided system in the national education system, a large number of ethnic minorities have chosen various paths to pursue their education. They cannot be blamed as they feel that they are not being given fair opportunities to further their education in premier schools that mainly accommodate Bumiputera students. They further feel that they are discriminated against when choosing courses of their liking when applying for places in public universities. What more when applying for jobs in the government sector.

Looking at the employment sector, the government sector is filled with Bumiputeras and most of the private sector is successfully supported by non-Bumiputeras. There is indeed a different culture of life between these two sectors.

In terms of higher education, the private education sector consists more of non-Bumiputeras. Non-Bumiputera parents who have the means send their children to study abroad or at local private institutions for a brighter future. They are at large exposed to various ethnic groups and are willing to compete among them to succeed in education.

On the contrary, most Bumiputeras are more likely to further their studies at public universities (IPTA) and UiTM. They do compete with each other but among the same race.

There are huge differences and gaps between Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras in terms of foreign language proficiency, especially in English, and competitiveness. With all these divergences in the social fabric of society, each race lives with its own aspirations and work culture.

This separation of attitudes and culture of life has further dichotomised the workforce. Employers are more inclined and comfortable to accept and use employees who are of the same race and in line with their work culture to deal with one another and also with clients.

Still lagging behind

In reality, Malaysians are still lagging behind in shaping a nation that the people can be proud of. Even what community leaders aspire to shape a united nation may remain as only a dream slogan.

The national education system, as in all countries, plays an important role in uniting the various ethnic groups. As for Malaysia, national schools have to be enhanced in terms of quality and competitiveness and be the core schools to foster a true spirit of unity. Mother tongue languages have to be offered in all national schools to attract more students of different ethnic groups. The teaching of English has to be strengthened. And do not turn national schools into “religious schools”, as this will shoo away ethnic groups of different faiths.

National schools have to be neutral when it comes to race and religion and also provide equal treatment to all Malaysians to study regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. It is no longer appropriate to hold a school, college or university for a single race.

Let there be a single examination system for all students to enter public universities, not STPM for non-Bumiputeras and matriculation for Bumiputeras. Or else, just make SPM the main examination for students to enter the university.

Every higher institution has to take students from all ethnic backgrounds to reflect the country’s population. The teaching staff have to come from various races. If the national school is multiracial – from teachers to students – this can attract more students from all races to study together under one roof.

If all schools and institutions of higher learning in the country consist of multiracial students, this will pave the way for all Malaysians to have the feeling of oneness, as they are exposed to a healthy competitive environment with lesser prejudice towards one another.

For national integration to become a reality, there cannot be any form of prejudice or discrimination against any ethnic group in the national education policies and other domains in society, as this is utterly perverse.

Malaysians are of diverse cultural backgrounds. It is education that has to be the core platform for cultural tolerance and the unification of all races where every citizen born in this country is given the same educational opportunities. And after which, as citizens of the country, they also have to be treated as equals when pursuing their careers. - FMT

Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.