LAST week, Malaysians were shocked to read about a school in Batu Pahat that had segregated pupils wanting to take part in extra-curricular activities, based on race as well as gender.

While some ethnic groups may have a proclivity for certain sports, it should certainly never be a barrier of entry to others. Not only is the directive an insult to the Education Act, it also directly contravenes Article 12 of the federal constitution.

The school has since apologised – after a mini uproar involving political leaders, and education and community activists – and retracted the notice. 

In a multiracial country like ours, this kind of issue arises every now and then. Yet, recently, they seem to occur more often than not. 

Every time it does arise, the now usual suspects are blamed: vernacular schools and DAP. 

The counter arguments also surface: religious schools, Umno, lop-sided government policies.

But these things have always been here, so what is different?

For starters, the lack of genuine political will to solve this.

While we have a dedicated, fully funded and staffed, National Unity Ministry, little action has been seen other than the National Unity Blueprint unveiled in February, which has yet to translate to effective policies and projects, perhaps due in part to Parliament’s temporary but indefinite closure.

The blueprint itself consists of familiar, if rehashed steps taken in various previous forms, steps like reinforcing tenets of the Rukun Negara, fostering goodwill and promoting language as a means of understanding rather than division.

These steps were taken before – in the aftermath of May 13, 1969 – to great success, yet somewhere along the way, it has eroded.

Perhaps a great starting point would be to reduce or even remove race and religion from the mainstream political discourse. The Sheraton Move provided a golden opportunity to do just that.

With practically all Malay-Muslim parties under one camp, it would have been the perfect opportunity to remove some of impediments to racial and religious harmony, such as granting legal status to deserving temples or putting an end to debacles like the tragedy of an unfortunate firefighter, or the question of implementation of RUU 355, or ratification of ICERD and the Rome Statute.

Such gestures would not only prove sincerity and even magnanimity on the part of the government, they would help douse heated issues that have been a stumbling block to more meaningful dialogue, and open up possibilities for more of the same, rather than narrowing down the diplomatic crawlspace to discuss various issues on grounds of sensitivity.

The change in government also presented the present administration to demonstrate that it could be fair to all the races despite lacking a balanced composition between the various ethnic and religious groups amongst its elected representatives.

To its credit, it has not done much to carry out political “threats” made by its component parties during the course of the previous administration, preferring to stick instead to the tried and tested status quo. But even more can be done. 

Long standing issues like Unified Examination Certificate, the kalimah Allah issue, Indira Gandhi and others could be tackled by this government, if it so chooses.

A consultative committee with representatives of bodies like the National Fatwa Council and Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, could be empowered to consult the government on sensitive issues, and act as a mediation body, to recommend both outcomes and policies, instead of directly using the courts as a means to achieve that goal.

This could be a better alternative, especially when the people involved have no ulterior motive other than reaching a mutual agreement and understanding the other party’s position and making themselves understood.

Not all problems can be solved directly with political intervention, which actually risks making them worse – there is political value in confrontation, and your political opponent is equally likely to take an opposing stand for the sake of.

It starts with the political will to make things better, or at the very least, not worse than they are. – April 21, 2021.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.