Unity begins in school

 If each race continues to seek separation by establishing distinct identities through separate education systems, true racial unity will remain wishful thinking.

From Moaz Nair

Judging by current social trends, we are still far from forging a sense of unity that we can truly be proud of.

Recently, politicians stirred up racially charged rhetoric to win votes and gain power. This unhealthy phenomenon risks further dividing the country’s multi-ethnic population.

On the other hand, some politicians suggest that for the people to unite, they must sit, learn, recreate, play sports and work together to build the nation’s future.

While this is a good recommendation, any effort to unite the races must begin at the school level.

Despite the country achieving independence long ago, its education system still fails to win the hearts of all citizens from various ethnic backgrounds.

A large portion of the Chinese community prefers sending their children to Chinese vernacular schools while many in the Indian community prefer Tamil vernacular schools, even though many of these schools are in poor condition and lack adequate facilities.

Minority groups in this country send their children to national-type schools where their mother tongue is used as the medium of instruction. Meanwhile, some within the majority group are more inclined to send their children to various streams of full-time religious schools to gain religious knowledge. This phenomenon has become increasingly pronounced, despite the long period since independence.

Different lifestyles and work cultures

Highly educated Malays and other races who consider themselves the social elite look down on national schools. They are willing to send their children to private and international schools, or even abroad.

Looking at the employment sector, the public sector is predominantly filled by Bumiputeras, while the private sector is largely occupied by non-Bumiputeras. Consequently, distinct lifestyles and work cultures have emerged within these two sectors.

In higher education, the private sector sees a higher enrolment of non-Bumiputeras. Well-to-do non-Bumiputera parents are willing to send their children to study abroad or at local private institutions in hopes of securing a brighter future.

These non-Bumiputera students are prepared to compete with other races to succeed academically. Conversely, most Bumiputeras tend to pursue their studies at public universities and Universiti Teknologi Mara, where they appear more comfortable competing among themselves.

As a result, a significant disparity has formed between Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras regarding foreign language proficiency and competitiveness. Each race lives with its own distinct attitude and work culture.

This segregation of attitudes and lifestyles will not bridge the unity gap. In the working world, employers generally prefer hiring workers who align with their own work culture.

Unity, an ideal for now

Ultimately, the unity envisioned by community leaders may remain nothing more than an idealistic slogan.

The national education system must play a vital role in unifying the people. National schools should be upgraded in terms of quality and competitiveness, which would position them as the core foundation for nurturing genuine unity and make them the primary choice for all citizens.

The Malay language needs to be empowered to truly reflect its status as the national language belonging to all citizens. National schools, including elite government schools, must remain neutral regarding religion and race, granting equal learning rights to all citizens regardless of background.

The teaching workforce should also comprise individuals from various ethnic groups. Furthermore, national schools must offer classes for the mother tongues of all races if there is a demand for them. This step could attract students from all communities.

The Dual Language Programme for teaching mathematics, science and technical subjects should be implemented in all national schools to attract a diverse student body and secure the students’ future. Students should be given the option to learn these subjects in either Malay or English.

All schools and higher education institutions in the country must be multi-ethnic to provide citizens with opportunities to foster unity and healthy competition. A quota system for admission into elite schools and higher learning institutions – reflective of national population demographics – should be established as a policy so that no race feels marginalised.

The core of racial unification begins in school. If each race continues to seek separation from others by establishing distinct identities through separate education systems, and if educational institutions only attract specific ethnic groups, the dream of achieving true racial unity will remain nothing more than wishful thinking. - FMT

Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.

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