Racism is bred in Malaysian schools

Racism is bred in Malaysian schools




A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that it is terrifying to think about how racist Malaysia can be. This week, it seems like a school in Johor Bahru has taken my fear to baffling levels.

An all-girls “elite” school in JB allegedly conducted a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) workshop exclusively for its poor-performing Malay-Muslim students, in a hotel. The school originally claimed that the programme was meant only for Muslim students, as it would be focusing on Islamic studies.

But later it was exposed that the workshop was wide-ranging, and included critical subjects like chemistry and additional mathematics. Naturally, non-Malay parents demanded an explanation from the school.

It appears that there was a WhatsApp group for the parents that included the teachers. Screenshots of the conversations in this group are going viral on social media. The principal had to respond to the questions from irate parents about the racist nature of this workshop.

In the screenshots, the principal says the workshop was part of an intervention to assist Malay students who had fared poorly in their studies. Apparently, 40 students had failed their recent trial examinations, and that if no measures were taken to intervene, these students would not be able to pass their SPM.

But there is no comment about any under-performing non-Malay students in that school.

So, it could either be that all the non-Malay students were high-performers in this elite school, or this entire workshop just reeks to high-heaven of intentional institutional racism and segregation.

Surely, Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indian, and Malaysian “Dan Lain-Lain” students at this school also need help with SPM examinations. They can’t all be “hyper-intelligent” in comparison to the Malay students? This is just genetically not possible, is it?

This episode is reminiscent of incidents in the apartheid era of South Africa, or during the heyday of racial segregation in the US in the ’50s and ’60s. In Malaysia, this is happening in 2023.

So much for our national integration.

The response by the education ministry in the aftermath of the social media “blitzkrieg” was to deny that the SPM workshop at this school had discriminated against non-Muslim students.

They came up with a cockamamie tale that the workshop was broken up into different sessions to avoid disrupting the festivities for students celebrating Chinese New Year. But this “just wasn’t communicated” to the parents.

Doesn’t this appear like a nonsensical justification after being “caught red-handed”?

It is awfully nice that the school didn’t want to disrupt Malaysian Chinese students during the festivities. This must be a first for a public institution. I mean, there are examples of university exams being scheduled during Deepavali or other non-Malay festivities.

So, this school was nice enough to the Malaysian Chinese pupils. But perplexingly, Malaysian Indian students and students from other races were also excluded from this workshop.

The narrative being spun now by the ministry is spectacularly unbelievable.

Incidentally, the workshop wasn’t held openly in the school. Instead, it was conducted in a hotel. This just sounds ominous. It’s like a clandestine secret-society meeting for private coaching sessions in a hotel.

When questioned, our education minister replied that it was up to the Johor education department to take action against the school for allegedly offering an overnight examination workshop for Muslim students. Apparently, she can’t do anything about this, as it was a state matter, and her hands are tied.

So much for a “progressive” and “inclusive” new government!

If you speak to non-Malay teachers, they will tell you that this practice of segregation and having “exclusive” sessions to prepare students for public examinations has been practised for a very long time.

It has always been done under the guise of giving the students guidance and motivation, using religion. This basically excludes non-Muslims.

No one dared to question the use of religion because of national sensitivities. And, we all know that politicians and civil servants use this as a “sacred cow”, and will immediately accuse anyone questioning this practice as being subversive or meddling with our national fabric.

Ostensibly, the state education departments and the education ministry were always aware.

In 2023, should this still be tacitly allowed to go on? Shouldn’t any discrimination in educational opportunities be at the top of the agenda for our current “reformist” government?

The prime minister launched a new slogan last week, as is the practice with “new” prime ministers in our country. This time around, it’s called Malaysia Madani. The prime minister used this term to explain his vision of development, as a balance between individual liberties and social stability.

But what individual liberties exist when “state sponsored” racism in Malaysia is so openly practised? Where are our individual liberties in a racist society?

People, especially politicians, rarely want to admit this fact. If exposed, it is quickly swept under the carpet or discussions are shut down on the pretext of national unity.

Malaysians lament about a lop-sided government service with 90% of our public servants coming from one race only. And, we moan about the brain drain in Malaysia. How can we be so blind and not see that racist national policies push the brightest and best minds out of Malaysia to shine elsewhere?

It is abundantly clear that the nation’s education curricula divide the population by race and religion. Our entire education system has been corrupted with religious and ethnic dogma. How can we now expect our children to live together in a multi-ethnic society?

This diabolical incident in JB clearly demonstrates that unless this new government makes a concerted effort to clean up our education system, and free it from religiosity and entrenched racial doctrines, Malaysia will continue to be plagued by racism, racist practices, and racist people.