Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Moving towards a civil society Posted: 21 Nov 2011 05:51 PM PST The strength of our society lies in its ability to safeguard human dignity and nobility, to build a land fair and happy, just and caring and living by humanitarian ideals. The present state of education is not on the right footing. There is a lack of vision to translate the noble values and world view in organising the present reality. Malaysian society should be a thinking society. In the present modern society, the concern of many education programmes is on the ability to acquire skills which enable an individual to command more commercial rewards. Datuk Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan, The Star AT a time when our country is doing well, the Government should not lose sight of a more fundamental goal, that is, to develop Malaysians into a civil society. The enhancement of human dignity, the establishment of liberty, the eradication of society's ills, the revitalisation of our heritage and cultural empowerment which reflects intellectual and artistic achievements are some of the goals to be met by our Government. This is very much in line with the kind of society as envisaged in the Quran, "... a land fair and happy, and a Lord Oft-Forgiving", a prosperous and blessed nation, just and caring, and living by humanitarian ideals. In our efforts to develop our society, our path to economic prosperity should always be a holistic and multi-dimensional approach. We should be aware that the strength of society lies in its ability to safeguard human dignity and nobility. Humanitarian ideals should be the guiding principles in developing society in all spheres of our endeavours, including economic activities. In fact, for a nation to sustain its economic performance, social strength plays a determinant part. Ibn al-Qayyim, a great Muslim scholar, rightly commented that the basis of shariah is the wisdom and welfare of the people in this world as well as the hereafter. This welfare lies in complete justice, mercy, well-being and wisdom. Anything that departs from justice to oppression, from mercy to harshness, from welfare to misery and from wisdom to folly, has nothing to do with shariah. This view is shared by al-Ghazali who taught that the very objective of shariah is to promote the welfare of the people, which lies in safeguarding their faith, life, intellect, posterity and property. Whatever ensures the safeguard of these five aims serves public interest and is desirable. In our move towards a civil society, we must be convinced that society's competitiveness and development capability can be realised through holistic achievement. In line with the views of al-Ghazali, a number of priorities should be given attention in policy formulations, be it education, economic, culture and others. The education system should be able to develop Malaysians who have attachment to moral requirements. In Islam, the purpose of education is to create a good individual who possesses a holistic world view based on divine guidance, good and productive character, very participative in social development and, above all, be willing to uphold truth, justice and cooperate with others. This requires our curricula at all levels of education to be conducted along an integrated approach for all subjects.From the Islamic point of view, all subjects have to relate to the noble values of truth, justice and benevolence. The present state of education is not on the right footing. There is a lack of vision to translate the noble values and world view in organising the present reality. Malaysian society should be a thinking society. In the present modern society, the concern of many education programmes is on the ability to acquire skills which enable an individual to command more commercial rewards. The acquisition of professional qualifications and skills should be promoted. Professionals should be individuals who can appreciate and understand the social development and cultural practices of society. In a developing society like ours, we must be able to mobilise every individual to participate and contribute at his optimum level to the social welfare of society. In the present materialistic society, the move towards a mechanistic society is becoming very apparent. Schools and universities are giving emphasis to the technical aspect of knowledge. In the economic discipline, for example, we are producing technical economists who are concerned only with the technical tools to analyse economic phenomena. Most curricula do not give enough consideration to subjects which develop critical thinking among graduates on social requirements. A continuous effort must always be focused on ensuring a social harmony in our multiracial society. The strategy for social development should be along the spirit of mutual cooperation. We take pride in being able to practise tolerance and have mutual respect for one another. Every positive element in the culture of every race should be adopted in our national policies to foster better relationship. In order for us to move towards further advancement, social stability is fundamental. Cooperation based on the spirit of justice should be the rule of the game. Through social harmony, we can ensure a guarantee for every individual right and security in our society. We must ensure that economic prosperity should benefit our present generation. In this regard, the authorities should work seriously and effectively in achieving a low cost of living economy. Housing and transportation expenses must be reviewed for lower pricing. These two items form the bulk of the people's expenses. Continued efforts in reforming, deregulating and liberalising the economy are indeed welcome. The sincerity and willingness of the authorities to improve these sectors will be the starting point for our economic stability and advancement. We should also safeguard our posterity. The commitment by the authorities to develop Malaysians into a civil society reflects a noble intent. The road to this success is certainly wrought with challenges, but alternatives are not available to achieve that success in life – creating a noble civilisation.
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