The question in question (!) is QUESTION 49 as below:

Senarai berikut berkaitan dengan sistem pendidikan di negara kita sebelum merdeka.

• Sekolah vernakular melayu
• sekolah vernakular cina
• sekolah vernakular tamil

Apakah kesan perlaksanaan sistem pendidikan tersebut?

A Petempatan baru bertambah

B Perpaduan rakyat sukar dicapai

C Penghijrahan penduduk ke bandar

D Perbelanjaan pengurusan meningkat

What is your opinion on the question and answers above? The answer is B. My opinion is that the question talked about the 3 types of schools (Malay, Chinese, and Tamil) and said that the vernacular schools (note: Malay school is vernacular as well) were in place before independence. The impact of having such separate school systems is that unity is difficult to achieve. Note that the question talked about the situation before independence where the syllabus, teachers, and pretty much everything was not standardised. The teaching material focused on the “motherland” at that time (Jawi/Arab/Malay, India and China). There was no common syllabus and nothing about “unity”. Secondly, the correct answer said that unity is hard to achieve (sukar dicapai). It didn’t say not achievable (tidak boleh dicapai).  For me, nothing wrong in the question, but just that in the current “hot” and “sensitive” times, it could have been avoided.

What happens now is the complaints by parents and other parties:

PARENTS of PMR students are unhappy with a question in the History test, which they claim asked the students about the effect the implementation of vernacular schools before independence had on the country’s educational policy, reported Makkal Osai.

The daily reported the parents as complaining that the question had also said vernacular schools were a stumbling block to the country’s unity. They alleged that such questions would affect the mentality and morale of younger children studying in Tamil and Chinese schools.

The parents also said that for the past 53 years, the vernacular schools had been fully supportive of the changes introduced by the Education Ministry.

They also called on examiners to be careful in selecting questions in the future so as not to create unease and tension among the major communities.

As one MCA leader said, don’t make vernacular school as scapegoats because post-independence, the syllabus, teachers training, the education philosophy and policies are all standardised. Both BM and English are taught in Tamil and Chinese schools, and any student from any race and religion can study in any vernacular school. There’s no barrier and no segregation.

I don’t agree with HRP this time on this issue. There’s many other issues to pick on, don’t waste time on this non-issue because it dilutes the other arguments. Refer to their statement below:

The PMR history question which suggests that Tamil schools are the reason for national disunity being achieved is an insult to the PMR students intelligence. [it did not say Tamil schools only. Also include Malay and Chinese schools].

It is either Tamil schools or no schools for most of the 70% of the Malaysian Indians who are in the poor or hardcore poor category. They have a Tamil school at walking distance. How can they afford to pay the RM100 to RM250 bus fare when they earn a mere RM600 to RM800 per month? [indeed, most would sent to the nearest school]

These 70% Indian poor is as a result of 53 long years of UMNO racism, discrimination and exclusion of the Indians from the national mainstream development of Malaysia.

The UMNO led Malay-sian government has to get to the point by abiding by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees equality for all Malaysians.

To start off with 370 or 70% of the 523 Tamil schools nationwide (NST 11/6/08 at page 24) have been denied full government financial assistance resulting, for example, the Ladang Jeram Estate Tamil School, Kuantan Tamil school being wholly in shipping containers, Lukut Tamil school Port Dickson housed upstairs a shophouse, Assad Tamil School Penang in a basement and the Tepi Sungai Tamil School, Klang which is operating from a JKR storeroom – should all be provided with state land and made fully assisted. There is no where else in the world where a primary school exists in these conditions. Only in bi-racial One Malay-sia can this extent of racism prevail. [Two of the schools are still in same condition, while th new building for SJKT Tepi Sungai is up and running. Refer http://sjktjlntpsg.blogspot.com]

The allocation per Tamil school student is RM10.55 but for a Malay school is it three times higher at RM33.00 per student (Sempuruthi Magazine August 2008 pg 47) [this is part of education policy I believe].

To the direct contrary 7,500 Malay schools will be marked 3 star, 2,000 marked 4 star and 500 marked 5 star by 2010. (NST 16/9/08 page 9). But the historical Mount Austin Estate Tamil School completely disappeared from the face of One Malay-sia. The first of it’s kind on planet earth! (MN 13/10/10 at page 4).

Teachers training opportunities are also denied to 1,522 temporary teachers in Tamil schools nationwide. (TN 5/1/09 front page) Only 100 out of 1067 temporary Tamil school teachers get to do the Kursus Dalam Cuti holiday Teachers training course. (TN 30/9/08 page 2).

But 15,000 Diploma qualified and trained (Malay muslim) primary school teachers are given the opportunity to do the primary school graduate teachers programme to ensure that at least 50% of the 140,000 (Malay muslim) primary school teachers have a degree in education awarded by 2010 in the five years Degree programme consisting of four years school holiday course and the fifth year on full time basis at all the Teacher Training Universities. (NST 23/7/2008 at page 18). Such facilities are denied to tamil school teachers.

These inequalities and UMNO racism are the real reasons for racial disunity in Malaysia even after 53 years of independence and not the vernacular schools.

Thus racist PMR exam questions to this effect holds no water and should not be allowed in future. The Director for PMR exams must therefore be forthwith sacked for this line of PMR exam questions especially in the light of UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bi-racial One Malay-sia policy.

P.Uthayakumar