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Education system blamed
By MAZWIN NIK ANIS and EE-LYN TAN
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/29/nation/17286868&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: National Unity and Integration Department director-general Datuk Azman Azmin said the most probable reason some teenagers did not have friends of different races was because of the “environment they are in, especially in schools.
He said parents’ tendency to send their children to vernacular schools instead of national schools meant students lacked the opportunity to mingle and interact with their peers from other races.
“I attribute the findings to the current education system, which has resulted in lack of interaction among students of different racial backgrounds. There are also other factors that compound this, which we will try to determine,” he said when asked to comment on the findings of the survey.
Azman, however, expressed concern over the results of the survey where respondents said mixing with other races was not something that concerned them.
He said this did not reflect the “future Malaysians” which the Government aimed to inculcate and promote, adding that his department was working closely with the Education and Higher Education ministries on a programme to promote interaction and integration among students.
This would be known as the Students’ Integration for Unity Programme and Azman said it would involve students working together at various activities, including camping and motivation talks.
National Parent-Teacher Associations Collaborative Council president Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Ali Hassan felt schools should promote unity in diversity by encouraging racial integration among their students
