Spare a thought before reacting

ONCE again we’ve all reacted without stopping to reflect and consider wisdom because race and religion are involved. The flash point this time is an SPM workshop that seemed to cater to only one race.

This is not to say that Malaysians are always impetuous, impatient or selfish, but it does show that even after 40 years, we have not changed how we deal with racial and religious issues.

I am not here to support the school and teachers in question, nor am I supporting the government and the Education Ministry. I am interested only in how we should consider dealing with such problems – which I believe should be done with deeper reflection and wisdom in communication.

The issue, as I understand it from media reports, is that a school in Johor had organised an SPM workshop for only Malay students. Upon inquiries by parents of non-Malays in a WhatsApp messaging group, the first impression was that the workshop was for the religious subject of Islam. However, when more information trickled in, parents discovered that some “secular” subjects like Mathematics and the Sciences would also be covered at the all-Malay workshop.

As I understand it, the administrators then said that the workshop was one of a series that took into account the Chinese New Year holidays for non-Malays. Then there was also the added response that the workshop was to uphold the school’s performance by concentrating on weak students – which turned out to be all the Malay students participating in the workshop.

There are several criticisms from parents that I can garner in this incident. The concern of the parents firstly is that the school is practicing racial discrimination and perhaps using school resources to help only one group. The other criticism is that new Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek “failed” in her duties by passing the issue back to the Johor Education Department. Thirdly, there is the criticism that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Madani* society concept has not made its proper mark in the Education Ministry.

I have three responses that I think Malaysians should consider as part of an approach that considers wisdom instead of an unthinking outburst of concern in reaction to the issue.

First, the criticism that Anwar’s Madani society concept has failed: Are people naive enough to expect 50 years of Malay indoctrination by race-based political parties to be changed in a matter of a few weeks – practically overnight – upon the launch of the Madani concept?

Wisdom requires us to ask ourselves, can people change that fast, or even at all? I have always said in my talks and writing that even God cannot change the hearts of humans as we have been given free will; add to that selfishness and voluntary ignorance through laziness to the difficulty in changing attitudes. So, obviously, it would take at least one or two years for the Madani message to seep through the ministry and into school administrators and teachers.

Then there are the accusations that the new Education Minister was derelict in her duty because she did not take action against the school administrators. To me, this is again a naive criticism.

Firstly, I know that the culture of conducting special workshops and classes for Malay students dates back at least three decades to when my wife was still teaching in public schools.

A little later, my daughters, who have always done well at school, were also offered places in “special all-Malay” programmes under the pretext of learning extra Islamic Studies subjects like Arabic. I had always refused such offers and always preferred that my children remain in a mixed-race class. My wife always disagreed with my decision but I am the head of the family as stipulated in Islamic culture.

She didn’t agree for a long time until today, when my eldest child began pursuing a PhD in race relations and worked in an NGO called Architects of Diversity which focuses on programmes of interracial harmony. My other daughter teaches at an international school where non-Malays are the majority. A third daughter once worked in radio at BFM – where the staff is a mixed group – reporting on race and religious issues.

My point is that the idea of “helping Malays” through special tuition classes has been a standard practice of school administrators for a long time – long before the new minister was sworn into office. Taking harsh action against a practice that has been rooted as a Malay and Islamic agenda is simply a suicide mission in the politics of Malaysia. The state elections that are coming up will go to more extremist politicians if such an issue is not handled with political delicacy.

And finally, I believe that Malaysians should be more open to the idea of Malay teachers helping Malay students. This is because it is seen by many teachers as not only a social responsibility but also a religious obligation. As long as the teachers are using their own time outside of office hours and do not use school funds – they can source funds from Muslim charities – it should be seen in the light of a social and religious responsibility. In this case, I think the school should apologise and return any funds if it had used PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) money.

Teaching Malay students, even as a religious act, must not be irresponsible in terms of official teaching time and the appropriate funding. I wish the school will stop this practice gradually and introduce a more Madani and inclusive policy in the near future. All teachers, regardless of their race and culture, must see all their students, regardless of faiths and culture, as belonging to them.

And unless all of us change our ways of thinking and responding to such issues and turn instead to deep wisdom, we will all be party to any failures or shortcomings that this nation already has and may acquire in the future.

*Madani is an acronym for a policy under the Malaysia Unity Government that embraces six core values: keMampanan (sustainability), kesejAhteraan (prosperity), Daya cipta (innovation), hormAt (respect), keyakiNan (trust) and Ihsan (compassion).

Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI University.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.