Revisiting 1 Sekolah Untuk Semua

I have read many arguments for the 1 Sekolah untuk semua, much of it is because the many national schools, vernacular schools, religious schools and international schools are producing young Malaysians who cannot communicate effectively with one another and it would be difficult for integration now and the future. We are turning into quite a segregated society actually, just look around us, socially, we eat,sit, walk or play together among friends who speak the same language with us.

About the only time I observed Malaysians socializing together are during watching a good Hollywood movie(even then we don’t speak to the stranger beside us) or watching the Thomas Cup or some soccer matches in some stadiums somewhere. I think ineffective communication between the races in Malaysia in the not so distant future because of the language barrier will cause other social problems especially about the way we understand, accept and tolerate our fellow Malaysians for what we are.

How I envy our neigbors the Thais, the Indonesian, the Filipinos, The Cambodians, the Burmese, the Vietnamese even Singapore whose Government had instituted a one school one language system. Theirs can be truly said to be one united people united by a common language. It is truly heartening when I meet Chinese Indonesians tourists who do their shopping in Singapore talking among themselves in Indonesian. Sadly here in Malaysia after 52 years of Merdeka we are still locked in racial based arguments.

Here is an article from M-Star about Prof Emeritus Khoo Kay Kim who is a keen proponent of the One School System, his ideas are still applicable now and I so agree with the good Professor:

PROF KHOO KAY KIM kata hanya sekolah satu aliran boleh capai matlamat 1Malaysia

Khamis Oktober 22, 2009
BUKIT MERTAJAM: Sistem pendidikan negara perlu disusun semula termasuk melaksanakan sistem sekolah satu aliran bagi memastikan matlamat gagasan 1Malaysia tercapai, kata tokoh sejarah dan akademik Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim.Beliau berkata, sistem pendidikan yang mengamalkan sekolah pelbagai aliran ketika ini tidak membantu rakyat menyelami makna sebenar gagasan itu.

Katanya, sejak dari kecil lagi rakyat sudah diasingkan mengikut aliran dan bahasa ibunda masing-masing dan apabila dewasa, semangat kerjasama dan persefahaman sukar untuk dijalinkan.

"Kita tidak perlu kepada sekolah yang banyak aliran, bahasa ibunda setiap kaum boleh diselitkan sebagai sebahagian daripada kurikulum di bilik darjah," katanya kepada pemberita selepas menghadiri program wacana "One Malaysia: Cabaran dan Harapan" sempena program semarak perpaduan dan patriotisme Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia peringkat kebangsaan di sini hari ini.

Namun begitu, beliau menjangkakan ada pihak yang akan membantah cadangan itu tetapi mereka yang berbuat demikian perlu menilai semula sejauh mana sistem pendidikan ketika ini boleh membantu mengukuhkan pembentukan sebuah negara bangsa. Mengimbau kembali sejarah terbentuknya sekolah pelbagai aliran di negara ini, Prof Khoo Kay Kim berkata, mengikut sejarah, British membenarkan penubuhan sekolah pelbagai bahasa di Tanah Melayu kerana kebanyakan pendatang ketika itu tidak mempunyai niat untuk menetap di negara ini.

"Jadi, British membenarkan mereka membuka sekolah menggunakan bahasa ibunda masing-masing supaya mereka dapat belajar mengenai negara sendiri. "Bagaimanapun, sistem ini tidak lagi perlu diteruskan sekarang kerana mereka sudah menjadi warga negara Malaysia dan perlu dididik supaya menerima negara ini dan masyarakat berbilang kaum yang ada di sini sebagai sebahagian daripada diri mereka," katanya lagi.

Khoo juga berkata, kebanyakan rakyat negara ini tidak tahu dan tidak memahami sejarah negara sehingga menyebabkan mereka berfikiran secara sempit. Menurutnya, ada segelintir ahli politik yang lebih mengutamakan kepentingan diri dan agenda.

Unfortunately many Politicians do not agree with Professor Khoo and especially the MCA which I think now is much influenced by the Dong Zong movement have even put up various demands here :

Excerpts:
MCA had now directly asked the government to increase allocations to Chinese schools from about four per cent to 20 per cent under the 10th Malaysia Plan, he said.Besides that, the MCA is also asking the government to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) by Chinese independent schools etc.etc.

Read more here

The MCA in its attempt to revive its political standing among the Chinese will only help to segregate them from the majority Malaysian population. Anyway throwing money at a problem, in this case Chinese reducing support for the MCA does not work, votes cannot be bought. I think even BN head honcho UMNO knows that now after the Sibu By-election results.

All politicians should heed this quote from Albert Einstein:

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

The above are just my food for thoughts on the 1 Sekolah untuk Semua movement.