Mukhriz enlightens the critics

Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, the BN MP for Jerlun, was recently castigated in the Press and elsewhere for advocating the abolition of vernacular education — but this may testify more to our own insecurities about individual ethnic identities than what the first-term MP actually said.

“I was particularly careful not to use words like ‘abolish’, so for it still to be reported that way — with headlines that are quite sensational — is disappointing.

This is why I need to clarify the issue again,” he told Malay Mail at Parliament.

“I may have been misunderstood in that the only thing I touched on was the medium of instruction. I feel that there needs to be one language. In Singapore, it’s English; other countries have their own languages. In Japan, it’s Japanese of course. This unifies us.”

His main concern was the growing sense of racial polarisation in Malaysia: “The perception, at least, is that we are all heading separate ways — that the forces pulling us apart are getting stronger. Things today appear to have gone from bad to worse; people are talking about why politics is still based on racial lines — and I think our divided education is a major factor.”

Referring to the Razak Report of 1956 and the Barnes report of 1961, Mukhriz said that even early in the nation’s history, government leaders were already concerned about the divisive dangers of a multi-streamed national education system.

“Today, I fear that we are in some kind of denial syndrome that will not get any better if left unattended: To say that the disunity we see now is not at least partly the result of the education system that we have — well, I haven’t seen any clear evidence contrary to what I think is the case.

“This really isn’t anything original. A lot of people have thought this way before me, and the fact remains that we have to start at a young age if we’re to instill the right culture and values that bring people together.”

Was it, however, too late to make the necessary changes? Vernacular education appears increasingly to have become entrenched in our political vocabulary as an inalienable constitutional right.

“I’d rather not think it’s too late. That would be giving up, and we admit that we don’t mind if it gets worse. It all boils down to the realisation that we do have a problem, and the first thing we need is political will.”

He argued against the common assumption that vernacular education was backed by a constitutional guarantee: “Article 152 clearly states that one has the right to learn and teach one’s mother tongue — it does not say we have the right to learn in our mother tongue.

“There’s a vast difference by virtue of a single preposition: in. The fact that we have vernacular schools is, I think, a part of the discretionary authority of the minister. As (Deputy Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib (Razak) said, as long as you want it, we will allow it.

“In this sense it’s a privilege — he can’t say he will ‘allow it’ if it was a right enshrined in the Constitution, can he? It’d be a law and it wouldn’t be for him to allow or disallow it.”

However, Mukhriz admitted that national schools needed a great deal of improvement, and vernacular schools could lead the way: “There are many things practised by vernacular schools that are good. The way they teach mathematics, for example — and this has nothing to do with Mandarin because it’s now done in English — and their methods, should be emulated.

“We must pick out the things they are doing right and make sure that national schools also do the same.

I’d really like to see the day when all Malaysians of all races voluntarily send their children to national schools — if they themselves felt compelled to do this because national schools provided the best education, then the whole subject wouldn’t arise.”

He added that there were currently some 50,000 non- Chinese children in Chinese schools, which indicated to some extent the confidence parents felt in the ability of vernacular schools.

“I also said that languages like Mandarin and Tamil should be made compulsory in national schools for those who consider it their mother tongue, and optional for those who don’t. Imagine an Indian who speaks good Mandarin, or a Malay speaking good Tamil — this in itself also creates unity. Surely it must be good?”

Vernacular school organisations, however, protect their independence fiercely.

The powerful Dong Jiao Zong (the federation of Chinese school committees’ and teachers’ associations) recently threatened to take to the streets in a nationwide protest against continued use of English in the teaching of science and mathematics.

“I think they’re missing the point,” said Mukhriz, whose father (former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed) initiated the policy in 2003. “The whole idea of teaching maths and science in English isn’t to improve English proficiency — it’s to provide access to important knowledge in science and mathematics, and later to use English as a means of obtaining this information”.

tunku : i guess those who opposing the idea are the one who wants all malaysian to be divided and never unites.again we hope one day there will be only one type of school and languages like mandarin , arabic and tamil be taught in it.bahasa malaysia and english, of course as the main languages.