THE first challenge posed to the new education minister is to make the national school the school of choice.

Is it possible for the education system to use national schools to bring all races together?  To proponents of race relations, it takes a unified and neutral education system for the country to unite its people. Education that is progressive and not prejudicial in nature plays a very important role in creating a tolerant and open-minded society. Apparently, most of our senior leaders today must have come from that system of education, where they were educated in a multicultural setting with all races and grew up with tolerance for each other.

Friendship among races then was genuine, and until today, many alumni get together to reminisce the good old days. Teachers and students in schools mixed together and never had any racial predispositions towards one another.

Many of these teachers taught with dedication in rural schools where students were of a single race. Urban schools, on the other hand, were multiracial, as was the composition of teachers too.

If the education system of a country fails to unite its people, then we will see society becoming less tolerant. We cannot ignore this hold-up if we want to progress in today’s borderless and globalised world, and make Malaysians a vibrant and tolerant people.

National unity, as advocated by sociologists, is best achieved through education. The government should do a lot more to make this achievable through the education system.

The education system we have now is polarising the races, in a way. Malaysia is so unique that it has schools and institutions of higher learning built exclusively for the various races and even religions. This has to be done with gradually, without coercion.

Malaysians go to vernacular, religious, and national schools. It may not be acceptable to many to dismantle the system we have now. However, the government could do a lot more, slowly but surely, to make national schools attractive to all Malaysians. Just take the cue from our neighbour, Singapore. The city-state today has one of the best education systems in the world, after about only 50 years of independence.

The first step to draw students to national schools and convince their parents of its viability is by having mother tongue languages – Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and other languages if required – be taught at the primary level. Besides this, there has to be an emphasis on the English language. Secondly, let the composition of teachers in schools be multiracial. Thirdly, do not turn national schools into “religious schools”, as this will drive away children of parents who do not subscribe to the religion.

These views have been voiced by many patriotic citizens who want to see all Malaysians grow up united through a single education system.

Secular education, a key to the future

Racial integration begins at the school level. All races in the country have to be blamed for not giving in to create a united Malaysia. We observe that each race seems to fight only for the rights of its people. This leads to a conflict of differences in the psyches of all races. When differences supersede similarities, it gives rise to greater conflicts and there is bound to be more friction in society. It is also hard to live in diversity when one race regards itself as superior to another race.

For the country to be peaceful, people of all ethnic groups should be seen as equal and gainfully contributing to the politics, economy and culture of the country. Education plays a role here. The media too should play a role in highlighting the rightful accomplishments and grievances of all races in the country to make all citizens feel that they belong to one nation and empathise with the unfortunate.

The fundamental unifying force of our nation – a multi-racial and multi-religious set up - is a neutral secular education, as only this approach would make Malaysians become progressive, more broad-minded, and more tolerant towards each other. It is through secular progressive education, as opposed to a bigoted education policy, that Malaysians are able to live with dignity and possess a knowledge and sense of worth that will help uplift the social status of everyone, irrespective of race or religion. Almost all nations in the world consider education to be the most effective tool to unify people.

Malaysia missed this opportunity when it first achieved independence. Whatever was agreed upon at that point in time and inked in the constitution was not pragmatic in the long run. The people are still divided by the school systems we have, which are national, vernacular, and religious in nature. These are the divisive forces in our society. Even national schools are now allowed to be influenced by groups who want to change them to schools with a religious identity – marginalising and scaring away citizens of other religions.

Unfortunately, the government has not done enough to save these schools from these undesired elements. This lack of political will to secularise education and create a neutral education system has made the whole education scheme become sluggish and increasingly unpopular.

Gradually do away with different types of schools

When the education system itself is seen as discerning, we circumvent it by compelling our university students to understand race relations – an academic gimmick propagated by some hogwash academics and endorsed by some blinkered politicians. Race relations should start at the primary school level and be sustained throughout schooling life. It does not start at the university level.

The most viable solution to generate genuine racial unity is for the country to gradually do  away with the different types of schools for different races and for all to embrace a national secular and neutral education policy. As for national schools, besides having mother tongue languages taught at the primary level, the government should continue with the dual language programme, and have the sciences taught in English in all schools. The choice should be given to children to choose the medium of learning they prefer.  

Introducing English medium schools would be another option, as many private and international schools are allowed to offer lessons in the English medium for the well-to-do – even to the extent of making students sit foreign-based examinations.

Every child that enters a national school should be considered Malaysian and be given rights and status equal to any other Malaysian. No school in the country should be exclusive to any single race or religion. Let our children grow together, from childhood to university and into the working world, as true Malaysians – away from defining themselves according to their ethnicity. The country has ample opportunities for all, and those in power should not be prejudiced, but go all out to tap and hone the talent of all the ethnic groups for the country’s long-term gain.

Many countries in the world have become melting pots for people of various origins. People eventually speak common national languages and share the same visions and missions for their nations. Malaysia should emulate this and chart a course where children of all races are taught to live together, treated equally, and share the same ideals in life for the good of our nation.

Political will for this to happen

Regrettably, there is still inadequate political will for this to happen. Politicians are more interested in harping on the interests of their own races and religions to remain in power. Ironically, they talk about “Bangsa Malaysia” to delude the people. We cannot go far with this kind of mindset, as this would destroy the fabric of our society.

There has to be a political awakening among Malaysians, before the country is wrecked by racial and religious discord. We don’t want the country to be looked down on and shunned by other countries. We want a peaceful Malaysia, destined for all the people who have made this country their home – a vision of our revered father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and all rational-minded citizens.

With the dawn of a new Malaysia after the recent general election, Malaysians hope to see a more vibrant education system that will bring all the races together. Efforts towards this should start at the primary level.

If this can be achieved, the newly appointed education minister will pass his first test.

* Dr Moaz Nair reads The Malaysian Insight.