From The Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times 21 December 2002
CASE IN POINT: Show a bit more faith in national schools



by Umi Khattab*


MANY are pondering why certain groups of people in society seem
obsessed with religious education to the extent that they have chosen
to place their children in what is commonly referred to as Sekolah
Agama Rakyat (SAR), lacking confidence in the national education
system and in what the Government sees as best for the people.

If religion could solve all our woes, we would not need science,
medicine, government, money, clothes and food.

Sure, there are schools of thought that profess science, technology,
money, food, clothes and governments are all about religion and that
religion must be the basis to our thoughts, acts and deeds.

Thus, instead of shutting down SAR, let's close down national schools,
since it is claimed they have lost their lustre, and open more
religious schools and universities. These will produce better brains
and earn better jobs for Malaysians in general. In fact, these
religious schools will nurture disciplined Malaysians who will never
betray the Government.

Many religious gurus and their fans go to great lengths to outwardly
manifest their belief in order to seek approval from and impress their
community.

A lifetime is spent on religious obligations preparing from as young
an age as possible for the afterlife.

Some are known to make religion a business. They build schools, banks,
manufacture and retail products and form associations and political
parties.

This is carried out through a process of fee collection, donations and
fund-raising, all in the name of heavenly blessings. Many write books,
publish news organs and fill websites propagating a particular version
of their faith, mythologising and profiteering lucratively in the
process. Because of the blind obsession with their faith, many do
business with no regard for other communities, failing as such to
Malaysianise, Asianise and globalise their products and ideas.

There are some shops and offices that insist I must take off my shoes
before entering. Most times, I change my mind, and move on to another
that does not impose or inconvenience me - as a customer I have the
power to decide.

A handful of these gurus become billionaires while the seduced
majority remain impoverished.

Thus, religious pursuits if not placed under checks and balances, can
lead to the creation of rogues and scoundrels who will make religion a
trade and a political game.

Because of threats from the Islamic opposition party - Pas - the
Barisan Nasional Government appears to have lost its sense of
multi-religious and multiethnic responsibility. So much effort went
into accusing MIC and MCA of being unpatriotic when the issue of a
single school system was raised and debated. Writing elsewhere, I
myself, in different words, advocated the abolition of vernacular
schools and the introduction of multi-lingualism under one roof and
the need for Malaysians to actively master more than one language for
meaningful ethnic integration and useful employment.

Now, as we take the first step in cleaning up non-mainstream schools
such as the SAR, little regard is given to the secularisation of
education, as though it is a sin to even mention it. Discourse on
religious education in Malaysia blatantly disregards the spiritual
needs of ethnic minority communities that together make up almost 50
per cent of the population. They have no God and no spiritual quest,
but they have a mother tongue. The teaching of religious education in
national schools must be approached almost like the teaching of
languages. I say religious education, not Islamic education because
the spiritual needs of all Malaysians must be respected and reflected
in the education system. Schools must introduce students to as many
religious traditions as possible and encourage pupils to understand
various religious principles and thoughts. All religious books and
scriptures must be made available in school libraries. In other words,
the responsibility of national schools must be towards nurturing a
Bangsa Malaysia, made to understand fundamental differences and
similarities in religious beliefs and practices and in the process
acquire skills to live together in harmony.

More detailed religious instruction can be offered outside the
curriculum in Saturday classes open to all ethnic groups who should be
free to choose to attend an Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or
Bahai session, or not to attend at all. Furthermore, as SAR get
absorbed into national schools and as these schools appear more
Islamic in outlook, presumably giving more time and emphasis to
Islamic education, non-Muslims will naturally move out leading to a
win-lose situation. The fear among ethnic minority nonMuslims is the
possible emergence of an Islamic national school system, which may, in
theory, preach equality and fair treatment of non-Muslims, but in
practice, create a segregated school environment.

Many ethnic minorities, including some Malays, for a long time opted
out of the national school system, because they preferred a secular
environment of learning.

In order to win, Malaysian Muslims must ask, why the minority
non-Muslims are not demanding religious instructions in national
schools as they are for the preservation of vernacular schools.
Non-Muslims in general tend not to fuss over religion nor drag it into
schools and politics. This, however, must not be misconstrued as their
being irreligious or in any way less religious.

These communities, I understand, draw clear lines between science and
faith and do not waste time politicising or sensationalising religion.
To many non-Muslims, faith tends to be a private matter, while
language is a public one. But this does not mean the Government must
totally disregard and disrespect the spiritual needs of an increasing
minority population in the schools of today. As things stand, Malaysia
seems to be in many ways divided along the lines of Islamic and
non-Islamicness. This is evident in the legal, education, financial,
social and political institutions. The national education system too,
if not thought out well, will grow into a national Islamic and
non-Islamic system. National schools must have a selling point - a
differentiation - to draw citizens of the country to fill up the
seats, sit comfortably next to each other, and learn in a socially
healthy, politically equitable, multi-cultural environment. I wish all
readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

* The writer is associate professor in the School of Media and
Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

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