Do the Right Thing to Respect Our Cultural Diversity

Certain parts of the Interlok novel, which is a reading text for literature in secondary schools starting this year have created a lot of discussions. It is understandable given the fact that the issue being debated is both a sensitive and emotional one to the Indian community. There is a need to respect the sentiments expressed by many quarters which comprise of political, social, linguistic and religious segments of the Indian community. The fact remains that the particular word is highly derogative and pejorative. Its use, even verbally, has been rejected by the community (“Don’t let a word come between us”-NST, Jan.17). It is the right of the Indian community to determine what it deems as acceptable and those that need to be rejected. It is a norm set by the community and it is only fair to expect that other communities respect norms set by it. Likewise, the Indian community would not and should not question norms set by other communities should they become subject of controversy. In the true spirit of maintaining our rich cultural diversity, the parts which are deemed derogatory and pejorative should be dropped.

There are, of course, many questions which have been raised to maintain the status-quo. Those include, why this has become an issue now when the book has been in existence for about 40 years. Please do not forget that only starting this year the book has been made a reading text for hundreds of thousand students nationwide. For the question, doesn’t caste system exist in the Indian community? This caste system, which is certainly not endorsed by Hinduism, is a man-made structure, as seen in many other civilizations, to justify their own position and interests. It has to be borne in mind that the use of this particular word in question or the caste on the whole is discriminatory and is against the very core of human rights of individuals. The other argument that, this would not be an issue if it is taught in context, leaves us with very little options. It is questionable whether the teachers will be able to explain the use of the word in the proper context given the fact that the majority of the teachers teaching Malay Literature are non-Indians. We also cannot ignore the possibilities that the term may be used by students with a derogatory connotation.

As such, we request the authorities to do the right thing to respect our rich cultural diversity.

The Malaysian Indian Community

Don: Malaysian Indian community split into many factions

Consultative Council on Religious Harmony

I think we need to support the suggestion put forward by YAYASAN 1Malaysia to form a Consultative Council on Religious Harmony (NST, 13.01.10). It is an excellent suggestion put forward at a time when we are revisiting the issue of racial harmony. This council should have representatives from various religious communities and other relevant parties to deliberate on important issues.  

It is our strong conviction that this consultative council will provide a platform to leaders of various faiths to deliberate on critical religious issues in the country and suggest remedies. It is also our strong belief that through communication and interaction will emerge the solutions that will accommodate the interests and aspirations of the diverse communities that constitute our nation.

We would like to reiterate here that a particular religion and its details should be left to scholars of that religion and its followers to deliberate on and decide on matters related to the faith. However, there has be a platform for representatives from various religious communities to deliberate on and seek remedies for problems and issues which sometimes arise out of interactions of people of different faiths.

In a multiracial and a multi-religious country, such as Malaysia, where it is imperative that we interact with each other on a daily basis, there are bound to be instances where issues or even misunderstandings arise. Through discussion and deliberations, we can continue to help people respect the diversity amongst us and continue to cultivate the sense of mutual-respect. We are of the opinion that Malaysians, on the whole, have come a long way in safe-guarding the racial and religious harmony which exists in this country and the setting-up of this consultative council will further enhance the bond between the different communities.

Let Us Do Our Part to Save The Environment

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen ended with an agreement by countries to cap the global temperature rise by committing to significant emission reductions, and to raise finance to kickstart action in the developing world to deal with climate change.

At the meeting, world leaders, including from Malaysia, agreed to the ‘Copenhagen Accord’, which was supported by a majority of countries, including amongst them the biggest and the richest, and the smallest and most vulnerable. The Copenhagen Accord recognizes the scientific view that an increase in global temperature below 2 degrees is required to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

In order to achieve this goal, the accord specifies that industrialised countries are required to implement, individually or jointly, quantified economy-wide emissions targets from 2020, to be listed in the accord before 31 January 2010. A number of developing countries, including major emerging economies, agreed to communicate their efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, every two years, besides listing their voluntary pledges.

It was also acknowledged at the conference that the pledges listed by developed and developing countries may, according to science, be found insufficient to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees or less. As such, the leaders called for a review of the accord, to be completed by 2015.

The review would include a consideration of the long-term goal to limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Heads of state and government also intend to unleash prompt action on mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries and capacity-building.

One of the significant outcomes of the conference was the decision to establish the “Copenhagen Climate Fund” to support immediate action on climate change. The collective commitment towards the fund by developed countries over the next three years will approach 30 billion US dollars. For long-term finance, developed countries agreed to support a goal of jointly mobilizing 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries.

The Malaysian delegation to the COP15 was headed by the Hon. Prime Minister. He told the delegates that, “Malaysia is committed together with all other countries to do our best to combat climate change.  We realize that this is no easy task, in fact, it is nothing short of a herculean endeavour.  This Convention under which we are meeting is our best hope for a global framework of cooperation on climate change”. The Prime Minister gave an assurance that Malaysia will continue to contribute to this extremely important process.             

Many provided mixed reactions to the outcomes of the COP15. Many were disappointed by the fact that COP15’s failure to produce a legally binding climate change agreement was unacceptable. At the conference, some of the poorer developing countries kept the proceedings frozen with procedural objection after procedural objection, while major economies like the U.S. and China brought little new to the summit and barely budged from their negotiation positions. In the end, all that was produced was an interim accord barely worth the name. It was bitterly attacked by many environmentalists, and even its chief architect, President Barack Obama, admitted the pact was “not enough” and that “we have a long way to go” (TIME).

Nevertheless, the conference provided a platform for world leaders to address this urgent issue. As was reported by TIME, “For all its limitations, however, the Copenhagen Accord is the first real step to fighting climate change in the 21st century. The real value of Copenhagen of the summit may lie in what it teaches us about dealing with climate change — and much more”.

The next annual Climate Change Conference will take place towards the end of 2010 in Mexico City, preceded by a major two week negotiating session in Bonn, Germany, in June.     

The issue of climate change is a serious issue which needs to be addressed immediately. While the heads of governments are trying hard to handle this issue, it is extremely important that every individual realizes his or her role in making a significant contribution. At the government level, Malaysia remain committed to ensure at least 50 per cent of our land area remain as forests as pledged in the Rio Summit. Currently our natural forests and agriculture crop plantations combined cover 75 per cent of the country’s land area. 

Individuals, on their part, realizing that this is an urgent and a serious issue, need to adopt certain measures which will help safe-guard the environment. For a start, why don’t we reduce the use of plastic bags, and instead bring our own shopping bags to shopping malls. We need to recycle items, use both sides of the paper to print, reduce the temperature of air-condition units in our rooms, and if possible turn off air-con units and lights when we are out of our rooms for a long period of time. Let us do out bit to save our environment.

Religious Education for Hindus

Religious Education for Hindus in Malaysia

John Dewey, without doubt, is one of the educators in the United States who has left significant marks in the American school of thought and those marks are still obvious in the American Education System. He said that, Education is life itself. Many now seem to take education for making a living, when education is life itself. Swami Vivekananda reminded everyone that education is a light that shows the mankind the right direction to surge. The purpose of education is not just making a child literate. Education adds rationality to ones thinking, makes one knowledgeable and self sufficient. If education fails to inculcate self-discipline and commitment to achieve in the minds of children, it is not their fault.

The great teacher Thiruvalluar, who has been paid tribute by many including Gandhi who said, “I wanted to learn Tamil only to enable me to study Valluvar’s Thirukkural through his mother tongue itself. Only a few us know the name of Thiruvalluvar. There is none who has given such a treasure of wisdom like him”, and 1952 Nobel Price winner Albert Schweitzer who said, “There hardly exists in the literature of the world a collection of maxims in which we find such lofty wisdom”, said 2035 years ago, “What Profit have those derived from learning, who worship not the good feet of Him who is possessed of pure knowledge?”.

In Malaysia, we have the National Philosophy of Education (NPE) since 1988 which is used as the guide to formulate curriculum from pre-school to tertiary education. The NPE requires the education system to produce Malaysians who are balanced individuals who possess intellectual, psychomotor, emotional and spiritual capacities. It is the belief that only when one is balanced in all four aspects, one will be an individual who will be knowledgeable, active, emotionally balanced with high moral and spiritual values. This is, no doubt, in line with what great scholars like Dewey, Vivekananda and Thiruvalluvar have said.

But, unfortunately religious education is not taught to students in Malaysian schools, except for Islam, the official religion, to Muslim students. This has been the policy in Malaysian schools since independence. It seems that the time has come to evaluate our education system when we claim that our NPE is the guide to all curricula used in Malaysia starting from pre-school to tertiary level. The NPE is clear in its focus to produce balanced individuals of Malaysians in all four aspects. The reality, however, is that about 40 per cent of the new generation of Malaysians do not receive education in one of the four aspects, that is, in the spiritual component. It is not difficult to imagine the effects of this practice.

In the Indian community, the crime rate among Indian youth has been increasing for the last few years. It has become the serious concern of the community. Every time news is published in the Tamil Newspapers about crime, the community becomes concerned, talk about it, and of course quickly forget about it. After all, we all have short memory and are busy with our own things. Very little is done by the community to tackle this issue. The question is what needs to be done.

One strategy which most agree will make a significant difference in the systematic and comprehensive Hindu Religious Education provided to Indian children from young. It has to be continuous and systematic. It also has to be developmental. It certainly cannot be a one-off session which may not leave any positive impact in children. Now, what needs to be done? Well, there has to be a syllabus, resource book for teachers, text-books, training for teachers and implementation in schools. If we have all these, can religious education take place in schools?

The government, of course, even as early as 1975, has given permission to Malaysian Hindus to teach Hinduism to Hindu students provided it does not use public funds, is conducted outside of school hours, taught only to Hindus, and more importantly after obtaining permission from the respective school principals. What this means is that the preparation of the syllabus, resource book for teachers, text-books, training for teachers and implementation in schools are all the responsibilities of the community.

The next question is did any individual or organization try in the past. Yes. Malaysia Hindudharma Mamandram and Malaysia Hindu Sangam as organizations, and numerous individuals have made attempts. Malaysia Hindudharma Mamandram (MHDM), even as early as 1999, prepared a syllabus, resource book for teachers, text-book, prarthanai paamalai (collection of religious hymns) and trained about 1000 Tamil school teachers nationwide to help implement this in schools.

Well, since MHDM is a voluntary organization with limited funding, MHDM was not able to continue doing this good project in schools. It was not easy sustaining the interest and enthusiasm of teachers in schools. The teaching of Hindu religious education is still on in schools where there are interested and committed teachers and headmasters. By any count, vast majority of Hindu children do not receive exposure to Hindu religion.

The other question often raised is, without doubt, why aren’t the Hindu temples doing this? Well, this is a one-million dollar question which is often asked but not often addressed fully. I intend to address this important issue another time.

So, because of the situation the community is in and the ever increasing social problems in the community, MHDM has been requesting the government to provide religious education to all Malaysians according to their faiths. This is certainly in line with the requirements of the National Philosophy of Education. This is not something unthinkable. Malaysia has been credited many times for being unique in many aspects. Measure to teach religious education to all Malaysians in line with NPE will add another feather to the already colorful cap, that is our beloved Malaysia.       

Below is the call MHDM made to the government in 2003 to introduce Hindu religious education to Hindu students (NST, July 2003).     

Single School System for Malaysia!

The NST today (30.10.09) had a story on ’More talks on single-school system’. It reported the Deputy Prime Minister as saying this is a ’big matter’ that needed more discussion and also suggesting that, “But on the government’s side, we have to consider all aspects of the implementation of such an idea.” 

It was also reported that Muhyiddin wants input from all quarters evaluated before a single-school system could be considered to replace the current system, which allows the existence of vernacular, missionary and Islamic religious schools.
He reminded everyone that “The existing system is a heritage from our country’s history. It is okay to discuss the changing of the school system, but the government will not do anything without consulting the respective communities. Every opinion in this matter, be it from the Chinese, Malay, Indian or other communities, is important to us.”

Interestingly, yesterday (29.10.09) at a forum in conjunction with our National Language Month organized by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government where the panelists were Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr. Nik Safiah Karim, Professor Dr. Teo Kok Seong and myself which was moderated by Datuk Johan Jaafar this issue of a single school system for Malaysians was raised. I think it is fine to, once again, visit this important topic. After some discussion it was agreed that the vernacular, missionary and Ismalic religious schools are going to be there for sure. It was agreed that one had to take this situation as a reality and work within the system to find the best solutions to achieve national unity.

One point which has to be noted is that, this discussion on school system goes back to as far as 1956. Our founding fathers did deliberate long on this issue and finally seem to have decided that there was going to be more than one system of education, at least at the primary level. They suggested that, ” We have also, as required by our terms of reference, taken as a guiding principle the intention to make Malay the national language of the country whilst preserving and sustaining the growth of the languages and cultures of non-Malay peoples living in the country Article 10 (Page 2). They also decided that “…more than one medium of instruction may be used. There will be sufficient flexibility in the curriculum to allow schools or parts of schools to give special attention to particular Malayan languages and cultures. Grants-in-aid will be given at uniform rates to all National-Type Secondary schools (Article 13c (Page 3).

In this respect, it is important to note that the Deputy Prime Minister, based on the provisions provided for in the Razak Report (1956) has suggested that “The existing system is a heritage from our country’s history”.

We have to take into account a number of aspects when we are addressing this very important issue. One important issue, of course, is to state objectively whether it is justified to say that the very existence of these vernacular, missionary and Islamic religious schools works against achieving national unity. One can’t help but to ask whether there had been empirical studies undertaken to investigate this important issue. For that matter, how successful have the national schools been, where children of all races go to, in fostering national unity has not been studied adequately. More importantly, the obstacles in the system also warrant scrutiny.

It is quite obvious when someone suggests that we come up with a single school system with the aim of providing opportunities to our children of different races, religions and backgrounds to interact, his or her intention is noble. He or she believes that providing the children with the opportunities will enable them to interact. Ideally it should work. Once again, whether this happens as one would like to see needs to be studied. Even when the children of different races are in a single school, for administrative reasons if the children are streamed into different groups based on single race or end up being in groups which are predominately of a single race, this would not help make things better. This is one of the reasons often cited why our national schools have not become attractive enough to the non-Malay community.

When we talk about having a single school system, we often talk about the vernacular, missionary and Islamic religious schools. The argument is that they work against national unity. While this is being debated, I would like to bring another issue to this argument which makes this issue even more complicated and challenging. In the past, Malaysians, irrespective of their racial background, were not allowed to send their children to international schools. The elite have been fighting to change this policy for a long time. Now, whoever could effort, may send his or her children to international schools where the medium of instruction is English. In our discussion to have a single system of schools, what is our take on the issue of Malaysians sending their children to international schools?

In my opinion, when we address this important issue once again, as has been suggested by the Deputy Prime Minister, let us listen to the views of every concerned Malaysian. Let us be very objective about things.

When we talk about a single school system, please take serious note of the existing situation, including whatever new ‘fittings’ we have included into the make-up which also maybe working against our national unity, including allowing our Malaysian children to attend international schools. There are, I believe, other ‘fittings’ in our system which may also be working against national unity. Please do not single out the vernacular, missionary and Islamic Religious schools as the culprit when we talk about problems in achieving national unity.

One way out, maybe, is that we have to have a comprehensive review of our education system, and not quick-fixes, to solve this any many other important issues. Our education system went through a comprehensive scrutiny in 1979, that was 30 years ago, when our former prime minister Tun Mahathir was the Minister of Education. It is important that we have a comprehensive review of the education system now and address all issues including having a single school system. Whatever happens, as has been suggested by the Deputy Prime Minister, “the government will not do anything without consulting the respective communities. Every opinion in this matter, be it from the Chinese, Malay, Indian or other communities, is important to us”. Let us hope we will be successful in coming up with what is best for the future of our beloved country, “1Malaysia”.

Help those in need. Read the story.

The Great Guru Thiruvalluvar said 2035 years ago that,

80. அன்பின் வழியது உயிர்நிலை அ·திலார்க்கு
என்புதோல் போர்த்த உடம்பு.
The seat of life is love alone;
Or beings are but skin and bone!
Remember the email message I sent earlier. I urged MHDM members and individuals out there to do their bit to help those in need. More so now that it is Deepavali time.

MHDM, with the help of Klang Arul Nilayam made an attempt to identify a very deserving family in Sentosa, Klang.

This is story about our visit to their place yesterday 13/10/09).

My wife Sakunthala, I, Mr.Nagaraj, and Mr.Rajoo went to this house yesterday evening.

The family consists of the husband in his late 30s, his wife, four children, and the lady’s mother. The eldest of the four children was out. The rest were at home.

The husband does odd jobs to make a living. Works with a Chinese man and they live in his house. The earnings are just enough to take care of the rent, water and electricity. The lady is a house-wife. She is pregnant with their fifth child. The old lady is bed-ridden with urinary problems. She needs to go to the hospital to have her bag replaced once in two weeks. The eldest has stopped schooling. The second and third are in schools. The last one is at home.

Now the problems – The husband is a drug-addict. He seemed ok yesterday. He talked well and was very polite and appreciative. The old lady was not taken to the hospital which they should have done a few days ago because they did not have the RM30.00. The second girl couldn’t go to school because the bus driver refused to take because they have not paid the bus fare for the last three months. The third boy who used to go to the kinder-garten too has stopped because they owe the kinder-garten RM210(RM70x3). Situation was bad that last week they did not have anything to eat. Our Klang Arul Nilayam through their ‘Pidi Arisi Thittam’ send some rice they had a meal from that. They told me that they did not have anything to eat until that rice arrived.

When we started giving out the cloths and food, they all were very thankful and kept telling us that they could now eat for about a month. They couldn’t afford to buy even a single piece cloth for any of the children. 

We were touched because the kids were do delighted receiving the cloths and kept thanking us. They came to car to send us off, not forgetting to thank us. They said that they were so happy that we visited their home.

Besides the donations we have collected to get those cloths and food items, we gave another RM50.00 for them take the old lady to the doctor as soon as possible and use the remaining RM20 buy that man a shirt. (By the way, we had cloths for all except for him).

I promised them that we will do something concrete about making it possible for the kids to go to school. We have to also make sure that they have basic items to eat.

Well, my fellow MHDM members and friends out there, please read this story, reflect on it, and do the needful. Your contributions, however small they are, will go a long way in making things possible for this family.

I just can’t explain how I felt being there. More so, the joy in their faces.

What was amazing to me and my wife is that none of them showed facial expressions which did not reflect enthusiasm, future and hope. They showed us that no problems (not to mention the position they are in now) could stop somebody from hoping for a better future, with blessings from God.

God bless all.

Praise to the Creator.

Dear friends, greetings to everyone of you. Thank you for coming to my web-site. I intend to write from time to time to share my thoughts with you. I propose to write on issues which I consider are important to humanity. I would like to begin my writing with some of my thoughts on the Creator.

I would like to quote from my recent book, Religion and Governance (2009) which was edited by Prof. Chandra Muzaffar and was published by Arah Publications, Kuala Lumpur.

Moral Life in the Veda embraces human being’s duties to God and his fellow beings. The Vedas assume a very close and intimate relationship between human beings and god. Human beings have to live under the very eye of God. Apart from the duties owed to God, there are also duties to fellow humans. Kindness to all is enjoined; hospitality is reckoned a great virtue: “The riches of one who gives do not diminish… He who possessed of good hardens his heart against feeble man craving nourishment, against the sufferer coming to him (for help) and pursues (his own enjoyment even) before him, that man finds no consoler”. Virtue is conformity to the law of God, which includes the love of the human being. Vice is disobedience to this law. 

..Thirukkural, authored by Thiruvalluvar in the Tamil Language, dates back to 2037 years ago. It is the work of a master-crafsman with no concern for anything but the human and the divine as co-existent and inseparable. The Thirukkural becomes an entire body of unwritten law coming under aram. Aram embraces a universal and permanent code of reference for human conduct as distinct from the more modern concept of legal sanction arising from written laws. The sanction contained in aram is inner and divine. Aram runs through Thirukkural as thread would through a chain of precious beads.

Thank you.

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