Are Chinese and Tamil schools the cause of disunity? Tough questions and honest answers are needed

Yet another debate has erupted over the existence of vernacular schools in Malaysia.This time an academic, and not a politician or leader of a non-governmental organisation, sparked the debate.

The views of Teo Kok Seong, a member of Malaysia’s Council of Professors, elicited a response from politicians and others, including UMNO Youth. That in turn caused more comments, claims and accusations to arise; even police reports to be lodged.

Teo, a former professor of ethnic studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said in an interview with a portal called Merdeka Times on 29 February that Chinese and Tamil schools hindered the promotion of unity.

He claimed, among other things, that almost all Chinese children who attended Chinese vernacular schools were proficient only in Chinese and that they did not want to integrate with the majority Malays.

Limit the number of vernacular schools, says academic

He added that the number of vernacular schools must be limited as they were a threat to the mainstream national schools.

Merdeka Times reported him as saying that the Chinese looked down on the Malays as being incapable or lazy.

This did not go down well with the Chinese community, and Teresa Kok, the DAP Member of Parliament for Seputeh, raised the matter in Parliament, calling on police to act against Teo.

She said Teo's remarks were inflammatory and could cause disunity.

In defending himself, Teo was reported as saying on 5 March that negative perceptions about the Malays and Indians were the norm among generations of Chinese in Malaysia and that this was evident in their conversations on social media platforms.

On 11 March, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Parliament that the police had opened an investigation into Teo’s remarks under Section 505 of the Penal Code for public mischief and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for misuse of network facilities.

The fact is, Teo has expressed similar views in the past. I think opinion leaders, including academics, should be allowed freedom to voice their views without the threat of criminal action so long as it is not aimed at inciting anyone into committing acts of violence.

Single schooling system will promote harmony, claims UMNO Youth

Following Teo’s remarks, UMNO Youth chief Akmal Salleh said a single schooling system would strengthen racial harmony and national unity and that it was time to do away with vernacular schools.

In claiming that Malaysians had been segregated from a young age because of vernacular schools and that racial tension stemmed from segregation in schools, Akmal called for a review of vernacular schools.

Several others have since jumped aboard to give their views in the news media and more furiously on social media about the topic.

Unfortunately, neither Teo nor Akmal provided research-based facts and figures. This is necessary, especially when an academic speaks.

So far, I’ve not heard of any unbiased research from reputable institutions which shows that Chinese and Tamil schools are indeed the root cause of racial polarisation in Malaysia.

Supposing there are no Chinese and Tamil schools

In discussing this topic, we need to ask tough questions; and we need honest answers.

Let’s consider this: Supposing there are no Chinese or Tamil schools, only national schools; would there be unity in the nation, as those who want to close vernacular schools, assume?

In national schools, the medium of instruction is Bahasa Malaysia, which means all students learn in the same language. Being in the same school, Malays, Chinese and Indians will be forced to interact with one another.

That will certainly help them understand each other better but is that enough to foster unity in Malaysian society?

For now, let’s leave aside other aspects of Malaysian life – such as culture, politics and the economy where many divisive situations, policies and forces lurk - and only consider the situation in national schools where students of all races study..

Is it not true that in Peninsular Malaysia, Malay pupils prefer to huddle together, Chinese pupils stick mostly to those of their race and ditto for the Indians?

Will this situation change if Chinese and Tamil schools are closed? Will Chinese pupils, for example, prefer to mingle with Malay and Indian pupils rather than those of their own race?

Isn’t this preference for our own race hardwired in us?

Have secondary schools failed?

Children have six years of education in primary school and after that almost all of them go to single-language stream public secondary schools where they study anywhere from five to seven years, depending on whether they do Form Six.

If Chinese and Tamil primary schools which use the same syllabus as national primary schools teaching in Bahasa Malaysia cause segregation, and if this is a cause of disunity, what are public secondary schools doing? Haven’t they failed as well?

Assuming that vernacular schools cause divisions, what have secondary schools done to rectify it? Surely the secondary school teachers and the system should have been able to at least repair the damage done? Has that happened?

When we visit a secondary school today, do we always or frequently find students of all races mingling freely during recess or breaks and not gathering with those of their own race? Do we find Malay students playing basketball and Chinese students playing sepak takraw?

The fact is, secondary schools use Bahasa Malaysia. Everyone learns the same thing – except for Islam for Muslims and moral studies for non-Muslims - in the same language. Has this helped Malaysia become more united? If not, why not?

Do we find the cultures and rights of students of all races getting equal respect, so that they all feel comfortable, if not happy, attending national schools?

Do we find some secondary school students and undergraduates feeling alienated or automatically falling into categories of Muslims and non-Muslims – and not Malaysians first and always - due to policies and practices in the schools or universities themselves?

Do we find secondary schools and universities encouraging students to discuss and learn each other’s cultures and religions so that there is less room for racial polarisation and misunderstandings to grow?

Have proponents of shuttering Chinese and Tamil primary schools thought of the impact on unity of placing Malay students – and only 10 per cent of non-Malay students – in matriculation classes?

The most important question

Have they considered what impact giving more seats in public universities to Malay students and denying seats to some non-Malay students who excel in their exams can have on national unity or a sense of togetherness?

These are among the tough questions that need to be asked when we talk about education and unity, and not just selectively limit ourselves to asking whether vernacular schools promote unity.

If we sincerely want to get to the root causes of disunity, we must, as I said earlier, ask tough questions and offer honest answers. Are we prepared to do this?

For me, this is the most important question regarding schools and unity: Is our entire education system – from kindergarten to university - promoting unity or contributing to racial polarisation?

A.Kathirasen is a veteran Malaysian journalist/editor who has been writing columns, with breaks, in newspapers and online since 1981. All views expressed are the writer's own.

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