Teach ethics when they’re young

WHEN I read recently that university students will have to undergo a compulsory anti-corruption course from next year, a fitting Tamil proverb flashed across my mind: Ainthil valayathathu aimbathil valayathu (what does not bend at five, will not bend at 50).

The age when a student starts tertiary education is way too late to teach moral values and integrity. These vital components of a person’s character should rightly be taught from early childhood.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission deputy chief commissioner Datuk Seri Norazlan Mohd Razali, who announced this on Sunday, said the course would offer “structured learning to enable students to have a better understanding of corruption and its impact, not only on themselves but also on the country”.

He was quoted as saying that the agency was worried that working youths would be tempted by bribes and that the course would provide exposure to students so that they would not ask for or give bribes.

According to him, 275 people comprising 231 men and 44 women between the ages of 18 and 30 were nabbed for corruption offences over the past three years and 85 were found guilty.

With corruption being endemic in the country, pervading all levels of the civil service as well as being deeply ingrained in the private sector, it is farcical to offer such a course as a solution.

Take the latest assessment of graft in the public sector. Malaysia has plunged another five spots in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for 2021, dipping to 62nd among 180 countries. As for the private sector, it is common knowledge that bribes and kickbacks have become key costs of doing business in Malaysia.It is grossly naive to presume that the introduction of such a course for university students will help cure the cancer of corruption in this country.

The rot has seeped into the core, as shown by the number of politicians – including a former prime minister and deputy prime minister – on trial for embezzling billions through corrupt practices or the abuse of power.

It is no exaggeration to say that there is disquiet over many of our institutions, especially after several high-profile personalities who also faced corruption charges were acquitted or discharged without clear explanations for the decisions.

But tragically, there seems to be no indignation or outrage over the ubiquity of corruption and utter lack of integrity among them. Instead, these leaders are feted as heroes by a wide segment of Malaysians, an indication of how sick our society has become.

The move to introduce a compulsory anti-corruption course in institutes of higher learning signals another truth: the dismal failure of moral and religious education in our schools.

The system is supposed to develop moral values in the young. If schoolchildren have not been able to learn virtues such as honesty, responsibility for actions and respect for others in society, the system has failed. It needs to be replaced at a very basic level, instead of taking a short cut via universities.

Instilling ethics is vital not only for students as individuals, but also for social cohesion. Perhaps Malaysia should look at Japan where dotoku (moral education) is an integral part of its educational system.

The goal of Japan’s Education Ministry is to “cultivate students’ morality, including moral mentality, judgement, engagement and attitude” through all educational activities in school. This includes orderliness, mindfulness, hard work, fairness and harmony in relationships and with nature. The ministry’s guidelines stipulate spending at least one hour a week on moral education.

Since 2018, moral education has been a full-fledged subject in primary and junior secondary schools there. For many years previously, it was an ungraded school activity.

Moral education in Japan is aimed at developing citizens who will have the spirit of respect for others and consistently realise this spirit at home, at school and in actual life situations.

Towards this, moral instruction in schools is geared towards contents related to expected fundamental patterns of behaviour. The first is to maintain safety and secure good health, develop self-reliance, observe good manners, keep oneself neat, improve the environment, use things and money effectively, and recognise the value of time.

Japanese children are also taught “moral sentiments and moral judgements” by respecting the personalities of others, controlling themselves and acting according to their beliefs.

They are taught to be honest and sincere; believe in justice and be courageous; overcome difficulties to accomplish the right aims; listen to advice from elders; act with deeper consideration without selfishness; show alertness, courtesy and enthusiasm; take good care of animals and plants; and have a pure mind.

There is also focus on the “development of personality and a creative attitude towards life”. The children are taught to recognise and strengthen their own special abilities and skills, strive for achievement of worthy aims and set high goals, improve their life with original ideas, maintain a studious attitude, and to always pursue the truth.

Under the concept of “good manners and practical will are indispensable for a member of a society”, they learn to be kind to everyone and to care for the weak or unfortunate, respect those who devote themselves to the service of others, to trust each other, and to be fair and impartial to everybody.

They are also taught to be generous; observe rules and promises; differentiate between rights and duties; appreciate work; protect public property and public morality; love their family, school and the nation; and understand the people of the world correctly and relate to them in a friendly manner.

Media consultant M. Veera Pandiyan likes this quote by Albert Camus: ‘Integrity has no need for rules.’