Malaysia's Chinese schools help to foster racial harmony

Malaysia's Chinese schools help to foster racial harmony

By Leslie Lau

KUALA LUMPUR: The government's moves for greater integration among Malay, Chinese and Indian students may well receive a boost from an unlikely source -- Chinese-medium schools.

These schools, long used by the Chinese community to promote the teaching of Mandarin in Malaysia, are now seeing an increase in Malay and Indian enrollment.

Education Ministry figures show 60,000 Malays and Indians are now studying in the 1,280 Chinese primary schools, at which the medium of instruction is Mandarin.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Hon Choon Kim told The Straits Times that the trend had led to better racial understanding, which the government says is on the decline in universities.

Concerned with racial polarization, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday that the government was building additional "vision schools", a concept that allows students from three language streams to study within the same compound.

Vision schools are aimed at becoming a cornerstone of the government's plan for more racial integration to maintain the country's policy of multi-racialism.

But many Malay and Indian parents have already opted for Chinese schools because these are perceived to be academically superior to national schools at which Malay is the medium of instruction.

Datuk Hon said: "They are attracted by the perception that Chinese schools have better discipline and are managed better. They also want their children to study Mandarin."

Datin Mimi Hamzah sent her youngest child, Latifah, 11, to Puay Chai primary so the girl could learn a third language. The school is considered to be the premier Chinese school in Petaling Jaya, just outside Kuala Lumpur.

"When I sent my daughter to a Chinese school, I was thinking in terms of her learning Mandarin because she already speaks English at home. So far, it has been a good experiment for the family," she told The Straits Times.

She said there was rarely any concept of racial difference among children, pointing out that her daughter mixed freely with her Chinese classmates.

Her only gripe was that students at such schools were immersed in Chinese culture.

"But the very Chinese nature of these schools is moderated by the exposure we give her at home. The benefits of a Chinese school offset the little hiccups," she said.

To bring a better understanding of other cultures to the school, Datin Mimi and other parents have taken to organizing "Festivals of Malaysia" gatherings for the students.

"They know a lot about the Lantern festival or Chinese New Year, so we have organized events to highlight Deepavali and Hari Raya," she said.

Latifah is in Year 5 and speaks fluent Mandarin and English.

"Most of my friends are Chinese and they have never made me feel different," she said.

She also has no problems with being a Muslim in a Chinese school. When it comes to food, she said: "I just avoid the pork."

-- The Straits Times/Asia News Network