No, no - education not cause of disunity

No, no - education not cause of disunityA Concerned MalaysianMar 1, 06 3:25pm
Dr Chris Anthony couldn't be further away from the truth when he blames the current education system which allows the existence of vernacular schools for the lack of unity among Malaysians.

According to him, racial unity can be fostered among the new generation by simply placing pupils of all races in one class so that they can interact freely with one another. In my opinion, this line of thinking is both naive and dishonest.

Following Dr Mahathir Mohamad's pontificating to the world that to tackle Islamist terrorism we must remove its root causes, I suggest that Malaysians, notably those who subscribe to the same way of thinking as Dr Chris Anthony's, make the effort to identify the root cause of our disunity and remove it.

Let us not resort to populist but hollow solutions in which the status quo would want us to believe. In fact, I think most Malaysians already know what the problem is this: the unequal treatment of Malaysians based on race which is the most fundamental reason for our disunity. I am not talking about everyday racism plaguing most multiracial societies. I am talking about institutionalised racism enshrined in our constitution which is amplified and enforced by the government.

How can we unite when we are formally partitioned into groups which have different sets of rights? How can we unite when we are constantly being reminded by the government through various application forms that we are either Malay, Chinese, Indians and others, but never Malaysians? How can we gel into a single entity when our ID cards explicitly say whether we are Muslims (and hence bumiputera) or not?

How can we achieve unity when our top politicians wield weapons in general assemblies to threaten the minorities just so they can score quick political points? How can we unite when pro-government politicians hurl racial abuses in parliament and get away scot-free? How can we tell our children to look beyond race, when one day we have to drag them back to reality by telling them that their race comes into account for scholarship applications and university admissions? Instead of viewing the popularity of vernacular schools as a cause, we should view it as a symptom of disunity.

I believe many parents send their children to vernacular schools as a sub-conscious protest against a system that perceivably favours one race over the others. As second-class citizens, preserving their cultural identities allows them to feel that all is not lost.

Even if vernacular schools are closed, our disunity will only manifest itself in other forms. Let any non-Malay Malaysian choose exclusively between the preservation of his mother tongue and equal treatment - I am sure the latter will get the overwhelming vote. A proof of this is the many Malaysians who have migrated to Western countries - do we see them insisting on letting their children study their respective mother tongues in school? Hence, my accusations of dishonesty towards those who prefer to throw baseless accusations at vernacular schools because it is easy and risk-free, but, due to fear of reprisals, dare not point the finger at the status quo although they are inherently guilty.

Furthermore, those who blame vernacular schools but not government sponsored Mara junior colleges and universities are pure hypocrites. At least vernacular schools admit students based on merit alone.

We all know that MRSMs and UiTM actively practise race-based selection policies. Why do you not propose closing down MRSMs and UiTM in your suggested revamp of the education system, Dr Chris Anthony? Do not forget that currently in national schools, we do have non-Malay students.

I have had the honour of befriending some of them during my university years, and I must say that in university, they too stick with their own kind although they can't speak their own mother tongue. In a system that promotes the proliferation of only one culture and shuns the others, it is only human nature to confide more in those who are categorised in the same racial group.

Therefore, it is absolutely naive to think that racial unity can be achieved by merely putting our children under one roof without ultimately treating them equally. Furthermore, we have witnessed the increasing Islamisation in our national schools which have multiracial students.

Hence, contrary to the belief of Dr Chris Anthony, cultural diversity and subsequently unity will not necessarily exist in national schools because they are being used by the government as instruments to carry out their political agenda.

Every year, we see many vernacular schools achieve record-breaking performances in major exams. This shows that at least academically, these schools have done something right, and are a valuable source of knowledge for us in the pursuit of improving the standing of national schools. Certainly, closing down vernacular schools is an option, but not only this does not improve unity, the country will lose a valuable asset.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for racial unity. But please, shift your attention to the fundamental cause of disunity. You are simply barking up the wrong tree when you blame the present education system alone.

Concerned Malaysian