You are on page 1of 1

theSun | TUESDAY JULY 28 2009 œ 13

speak up!

letters
letters@thesundaily.com

Long road to religious


understanding
TUNKU ‘Abidin Muhriz in his column Abiding His friends and acquaintances were multiracial
Times (July 24) concludes the discussion on and multireligious but his true understanding came
religious trust and understanding “Believing in from his readings and constant delving into the
Malaysia” thus: great books on these religions. He admired some
In 1968, the then mentri besar of Negri Sem- of the rites of passage and practices of other reli-
bilan, Tan Sri Datuk Dr Mohd Said Mohamed, laid gions which he thought were more practical and
the foundation stone, blessed by a bishop, of St conducive to living. Among these were the male
Mark’s Anglican Church in Seremban. It was being circumcision practices of Judaism and Islam, the
rebuilt after a fire had gutted it, and the federal Hindu cremation and the Muslim pilgrimage. He
and state governments made a donation to help held them in awe and did not think it was wrong
in the construction work. That, surely, is what our to acquire knowledge and be informed about
first Rukun Negara is all about. them. He did not think it was sinful for his children
Knowing the life and times of Dr Mohd Said to do Scripture as a subject in school or to score
well, I would like to add that the first elected mentri an A in Christian religious knowledge. Through this
besar of Negri Sembilan was rather broadminded he believed they would have a compassionate
in his thoughts and beliefs. By today’s standards understanding of Christianity while remaining true
he would be considered an unconventional Ma- to Islam.
lay/ Muslim for having the highest esteem for and His children were brought up not to think it
knowledge of the world’s great religions – Islam, was haram or blasphemous to enter a church or
Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism. temple to attend social/communal events held
From an early age he was tutored in the there; or to stand in line with their schoolmates
Quranic traditions in a home and kampung envi- at assembly when Hail Mary and Our Father were
ronment that was deeply religious, as most rural being chanted, just as these days the non-Muslims
Malay kampungs would have been then. But his spare a moment’s silence for the doa recited at
exposure to other peoples and their faiths started public functions. At such times what is foremost
early. As a schoolboy he was taught by the most is the reverence paid to the other faiths and their
dedicated English Christian schoolmasters. As an believers.
undergraduate medical student he was mentored Thus, Tunku ‘Abidin Muhriz’s religious and
and trained by the best Western Christian profes- cultural experiences are to be commended and
sors alongside his Hindu and Buddhist course emulated for the interfaith understanding and
mates in King Edward VII College, Singapore. As compassion they instil in the young Malaysians
a young government doctor serving out his first who are fortunate enough to have been exposed
posting in Pahang, he saw the sufferings of the ru- to them at home or abroad.
ral Malays and Indians still bound by the orthodox It is the kind of socio-cultural and educational
teachings and practices of their respective faiths environment that 1Malaysia must aspire to and
and cultures. His post-graduate medical studies Malaysians must nurture to rid ourselves of the
was a two-year stint in England and Ireland with ethnic-racial-religious bigotry and chauvinism
their deep rooted Protestant and Roman Catholic with their accompanying prejudices and intoler-
basis. As part of his service to the outer commu- ance and judgments. The implications for national
nity he gave of his time to look after the health politics are obvious.
of the Christian orphans in a Convent school and
gave night lectures to the multiracial science club Halimah Mohd Said
of a government school. Kuala Lumpur

Why having English-medium


schools makes sense
HAVING read the various points presented on the fessionals who are unable to have an intellectual
reversal of the policy to teach maths and science discourse in proper English.
in English, I would have to concede that for the I have often cringed whenever I hear a fellow
benefit of the majority of the students, especially Malaysian trying to explain a point to a foreigner
those from the rural areas, it does make sense to in English. This situation is not only limited to
teach both subjects in their mother tongues. Malaysian university graduates.
However, I would like to implore that the gov- Malaysia is an open economy where we hope
ernment allow schools in urban areas to decide if to attract foreigners to come invest, do business
they would like to continue teaching the subjects in Malaysia or award opportunities to Malaysian
in English or even convert to an English medium companies wanting to venture overseas.
school. We may have professionals who are compe-
Detractors of English medium schools state tent in their technical fields, but many are unable
that based on history, having English and Malay to communicate well or make their colleagues
medium schools divided our nation, that the gap and superiors understand the point that they are
was very wide between the English and the Malay trying to make when conversing in English.
medium students. Does that make good business?
It is also stated that one of the main reasons Would foreigners want to hire or work with
for the use of Bahasa Malaysia as the single people that they have difficulty understanding?
medium of instruction in schools was to unite Many stated that the decline of English among
all Malaysians. Malaysians has nothing to do with the usage of
Unfortunately, Bahasa Malaysia has failed to Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction for
unite Malaysians as our school system is not science and maths in schools.
only divided into halves but consists of national, Although that statement may be true, but to
Mandarin and Tamil medium schools. improve the proficiency of English you have to
Therefore, why not have English-medium get the students to think in English, to explain in
schools for those who wish to enrol their children English and to communicate in English.
in such schools, especially in urban areas? Wasn’t it mentioned that one of the problems
Regarding the wide gap between the English associated with the implementation of the policy
and Malay medium students, are they suggesting was due to the inability of the science and maths
that English-medium schools should not be al- teachers who were taught and trained in Bahasa
lowed to exist because the children there would Malaysia to make the switch to teaching (explain-
progress farther and faster than those in Malay- ing and communicating) the students in English?
medium schools? I hope that the government allows schools to
Hence, they should be held back so that the choose if they want to continue teaching science
gap is made narrower? and maths in English or start having English-me-
It is true that the number of professionals that dium schools again.
we have in Malaysia have increased immensely
despite having Malay, Mandarin and Tamil medium Adri Hemy Abdul Ghani
schools, but I have seen too many Malaysian pro- Jeddah

You might also like