TWO years ago, I made a trip to Geneva and stayed in a hotel near its famous lake. As I came down from my room for dinner, I observed quite a number Swiss and European people smoking in front of the hotel.

I was curious whether they would throw the cigarette butts into the rubbish bin. To my amazement for about a half an hour not one of them threw their cigarette butts on the pavement. They threw the cigarette butts into bins that was provided.

The Swiss citizens showed discipline of the present, by following the rules of disposal. The behavioural praxis of its citizens indicates a great harmony with the aesthetic aspects of Geneva which made it a significant destination for tourism.

On a similar narrative, I went for a walk at a recreation park in Ipoh recently. I was impressed by the efforts taken by local authorities to keep the park clean with a pleasant looking bin for rubbish.

The bins were placed in several areas for those who use the park to dispose of rubbish.

As I walked through the whole park, I noticed there was litter all around even though efforts have been made to ensure the park is clean.

I believe the attitude of littering is something not just confined to recreation parks in Ipoh but a perennial problem facing the nation as whole, where certain Malaysians seem to take a careless attitude in exercising responsibility of the present.

The education philosophy of the country is as follows: education in Malaysia is an ongoing effort towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and devotion to God.

While the philosophy seems to be lofty, the modus operandi has failed to create consciousness of the present among its stakeholder citizens, especially on what it means practically to produce said individuals.

The philosophy itself has no meaning if it loses focus to create consciousness of the present responsibilities among citizens in their immediate context, on how to see, discern, and act immediately on a situation like abstaining from littering or keeping authorities on their toes to ensure their cities are clean, where citizens and foreigners feel at home.

Our education focuses too much on memory and nostalgia but it has failed to create citizens of the present that are vital in creating an effective, preventive, efficient ecosystem and mechanism in solving problems, simple or complex.

Since the firm belief in God is entrenched in our philosophy of our education, we should learn from mystical traditions of religions on what it means to live in the present.

Therefore, the broader education praxis of the country should move in a direction of creating the consciousness of the present in the hearts and minds of the young and the old on what it means to see, discern and act immediately with the consciousness of the present so that Malaysia would be a country that it gets its basics right.

Let’s work on creating the consciousness of the present among Malaysians citizens to support the education philosophy for a holistic and integrated individual. – May 2, 2022.

* Ronald Benjamin is secretary for the Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue.

* 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.