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Posted: 21 Oct 2011 10:52 PM PDT

So, to take extreme but plausible examples, a Malay child could easily attend a rural national school where there are no students from other ethnic groups then go on to an all-Malay secondary boarding school and end up going to university in the Middle East where, again, he or she does not encounter a non-Malay Malaysian. Similarly, there will be Chinese kids who go to vernacular primary school, then an independent Chinese high school, finishing off in Taiwan and not come into any meaningful contact with a non-Chinese Malaysian.

The effect of these parallel lives is further worsened by occupation - the civil service is dominated by Malays and some segments of the private sector are reflective of a particular race; living arrangements - neighbourhoods are increasingly being defined by the dominance of one race; and lifestyle - the proliferation of satellite television and the Internet has allowed people to stay within their cultural silos 24/7 – for instance constantly watching television channels of their own mother tongue (although some things like Bollywood movies temporarily break the silos by cutting across ethnic divides).

In the first part of this article, I focused on education. The other things may be important but I think the fundamental contributor to the perpetuation of these parallel lives is our democratised but divisive education system. The existence of multiple types of schools has successfully driven a wedge between young Malaysians at their most formative years, and we have been reduced to solving this problem of polarisation and its ugly corollary, intolerance, with expensive band-aids like the national service programme.

I also pointed out two important things regarding this debate about one single school system (the Sekolah Kebangsaan) versus the present multiple-type situation. First, there is a fallacy that if national schools taught mother-tongue languages (Mandarin and Tamil), improve quality and discipline, and addressed the common complaint that these schools have become too Malay or Islamic in character, more non-Malay parents will send their children there as opposed to vernacular schools.

The survey results which I presented in my last column showed that a majority of Chinese parents would still send their kids to vernacular Chinese schools even if all the above reforms took place. What was more alarming was that 60% of the respondents said that sending their children to different schools from other Malaysian kids would not worsen ethnic relations. Essentially, this is an argument for cultural exclusivity and one that is not based on the quality of education.

Second, politically, the single school option appeared to be a non-starter. No political party, on either side of the divide, will touch this for fear of losing votes from the affected communities. This means the parallel lines that define the state of our union are set to continue making the reality of a more united people more of a myth than a reality.

So what do we do? I have thought long and hard about this problem and I see it as one of the most critical issues that prevents us from progressing any further. At first, I was going to suggest more Band-Aids like having more joint activities between different types of schools or joint assemblies and other platforms, which would increase contact hours between our kids. But then I realised that would not even be close to enough.

I looked at the problem again and revisited what I previously thought to be undoable - a single national school. I think the problem with this suggestion in the past was that it didn't tell us how this could be politically workable. Proponents would state the obvious about its benefits, especially on unity, and maybe challenge what some perceived as a constitutional guarantee for the existence of vernacular schools. But that would pretty much be the sum of the argument. It did not really tell you how this could actually happen, especially with the political stakes involved.

Here's my suggestion. We can solve the parallel-lives problem by creating a single, unitary education system where all Malaysian kids go to the same school - the Sekolah Kebangsaan. They would have maximum contact hours with each other during their formative years and grow up together. But that is not really the big idea. The big idea is about how to achieve this and more.

My proposal is nothing short of radical. I figured, since we have pretty much run out of effective Band-Aids, I think every option should be considered, even ones that appear sacrilegious. Recently, I tweeted that there needs to be a generational reset in Malaysian politics. Some people who read this took it to mean that we need to see younger leaders come through the ranks. That is, of course, true but it is also stating the obvious and not what I meant.

What I am calling for is a hard reboot of our country. When we reset everything, it allows us to reshape the basis of our union so that it reflects the challenges of our generation. Now, I am not advocating constitutional amendments but rather for us to revisit and rewrite our "social contract".

We have to remember, when the original bargain was struck, Malaysia was a very different place. The original social contract had to strike a balance between the legitimate concerns of the Malays about their position and also the desire for then immigrants to be part of this land as citizens. But much of the details were filled in later. The spirit of certain constitutional provisions like Article 153 was used to partly justify some aspects of ethnic-preferential policies. The education system was not touched under the original social contract - it allowed for the continued existence of mother-tongue schools.

So while the original social contract was relevant for its time, it does not offer us with enough solutions or room to maneuver today. What we need is a new concord among Malaysians that will help us address not only the never-ending parallel-lives issue but also deal with other fundamental issues regarding preferential policies.

Now, before I am dismissed as a traitor to my own ethnic community, let me stress something. Fundamental provisions in the constitution like Article 153 mentioned earlier would not be touched. There is no threat to the religion of Islam, the Malay language or to the Malay rulers. I think all Malaysians can agree to this.

Posted: 21 Oct 2011 04:05 AM PDT

UMNO dan BN sudah beraja di hati dan bersultan di mata. Aziz Bari tidak mengkritik Sultan tetapi beliau di tuduh berbuat demikian. Mereka berkuasa dan mempengaruhi pentadbiran UIA untuk menghantar surat tunjuk sebab kepada Aziz Bari. Kata-kata Aziz Bari di interpretasikan sebagai menderhaka kepada Sultan.

Entah bila UMNO ini sayang pada Raja saya pun tak tahu. Setahu saya UMNOlah yang menderhaka kepada Raja pada 1993 dahulu. UMNOlah yang telah menelanjangkan Raja-Raja Melayu dalam krisis perlembagaan itu. Ramai pemimpin UMNO yang membuat kenyataan mengkritik Raja sebagai institusi yang kononnya sudah tiada relevannya lagi.

Malahan ada ahli Parlimen bercakap begitu bongkak dengan mencadangkan Raja_Raja Melayu di ikat dan dirotan dan sebagainya. Lebih menyedihkan lagi Almarhum Tuanku Jaafar telah dituduh menyewakan tanah untuk membela babi di Bukit Pelandok. Utusan Malaysia lah yang mengetuai serangan terhadap Raja Melayu semasa itu.

Media perdana telah mensensasikan isu Raja-Raja Melayu dan memfitnah Raja Melayu seolah Raja-Raja Melayu itu lebih rendah dari manusia biasa. Apabila saya sebut isu ini ada pula yang mengatakan Dr Mahathir melakukannya semata-mata untuk kebaikan Raja Melayu itu sendiri dan berbagai-bagai alasan yang diberikan oleh penyokong beliau bagi menghalalkan tindakan menghina Raja-Raja Melayu itu.

Kenapa sekarang UMNO dan pemimpin-pemimpin yang menghina secara direct semasa itu tidak dihadapkan ke mahkamah sedangkan perlembagaan negara telah dengan terang menyatakan yang Raja tidak boleh di sentuh samada di dalam atau di luar parlimen. Kenapa Dr Mahathir, dan ramai di antara pemimpin UMNO semasa itu tidak di kemukakan kepada pengadilan sedangkan Aziz Bari yang hanya membawa pandangan akademik itu dengan pantas di perlakukan dengan tidak adil.

Aziz Bari adalah seorang tokoh akademik dan beliau mempunyai pengikut dan ramai yang memberikan perhatian terhadap pandangan beliau. Mahasiswa UIA kini sedang memberontak kerana tindakan yang tidak adil terhadap seorang tokoh akademik yang serius yang pandangannya diambil perhatian bukan sahaja oleh Mahasiswa UIA tetapi juga oleh masyarakat ramai yang mengikuti pemikiran beliau.

Hari demi hari pihak yang memerintah menunjukan sikap tidak menghargai pandangan terbuka seorang yang serius terhadap keadaan semasa negara. Tindakan terhadap Aziz Bari mendapat tentangan orang ramai kecuali dari mereka yang buntu dan jumud pemikiran.

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Sabtu, 22 Oktober 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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