Malaysia to start new course on racial ties

Malaysia to start new course on racial ties

Malaysian university students will soon have to take a compulsory
course on racial relations amid fears of a widening gap among
races in the country, reports said on Sunday.

The course, tentatively entitled "Ethnic Relations in
Malaysia," would help young Malaysians understand and respect
each other, Higher Education Minister Shafie Mohamad Salleh said.

"I have found there is a tendency among students of the same
race to hang around together and if this is left unchecked, once
they have graduated, the polarization continues," Shafie was
quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

"Although we have co-curricular activities and the sharing of
rooms among different races on campus, I feel this is
superficial," he said.

If left unchecked, this "polarization.. will persist and
spread beyond the campus," he was quoted as saying by the New
Sunday Times.

No date has been set for the new subject to be introduced and
details of the course had yet to be decided upon, he said, adding
that he would meet university officials this month for
discussions on the matter.

A survey commissioned by the National Higher Education
Research Institute involving over 6,000 university students last
year revealed that ethnic Malays were least inclined to mix with
students from other ethnic backgrounds, the New Sunday Times
said.

Malays make up more than half of Malaysia's population of 25
million, with the remainder comprising ethnic Chinese and Indian
minorities.

In a bid to boost racial integration as well as promote
patriotism, Malaysia embarked on a controversial 500-million-
ringgit (US$132 million) national service program this year.

The troubled scheme has seen numerous reports of race-based
fighting in the camps since its inception. --AFP