KUALA LUMPUR: In order to address disunity among Malaysians ahead of the National Transformation (TN50), the Malaysian education must be reformed, said Principal Fellow of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong.
He said, the seven current education system which includes national, vernacular, Islamic religious, private, international, private Chinese-based and home schooling have led to segregation among the students from early age.
"At a very early age, the children have been segregated. We only let them interact with each other when they reach secondary school.
"By the age of 13, the children would have their own group of friends. I believe the time has come for our education system to be reformed.
"I'm not saying we should shut down vernacular schools but it's time we rethink about it and make a reform," he told reporters when met at the National Aspiration and Leadership Summit (NALS) 2017 at Putra World Trade Centre today.
TN50, envisioned by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is the country’s roadmap for 30 years, post 2020.
Najib first announced the transformation plan during the tabling of Budget 2017 on Oct 21, last year, aimed to set a new ‘vision’ for the nation as well as to transform Malaysia into a nation of calibre, with a new mindset.
Aside from reforming the education system, Teo said that discussions on cultures should also be held, especially among the youths, in order to achieve peace and harmony in the country.
According to Teo, trust is one of the problems need to be addressed.
"Culture includes many aspects such as history, value, way of life and so on. We need to understand more about each others' cultures so that we can address the problem of trust.
"We shouldn't be worried about other people arguing or protesting our opinions. Until when do we have to think about this? Culture is also a way of life, like religion.
"We must be open to discussion. The Deputy Prime Minister Datuk SeriDr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi mentioned this last year and I think it's time we really consider this," Teo added.
In an interview with Berita Harian last year, Zahid said, while racial unity was already implicitly and explicitly taught in public schools, it was still important to have an education system that reflects that same unity and "close to the people's conscience".
"What is happening now, we must look at the country’s education system that exists in various mediums until there is no meeting point.
"How can a country have three different systems based on race and religion with no meeting point. We must have national education that crosses the barriers of race, religion and ethnicity," Zahid said.