[ad_1]
MP SPEAKS | Good sense must rule now that the dust has settled on the khat mischief. Both sides now have to close rank after the cabinet has made its decision on the basis of general consensus.
Few people have noticed that the BN government has already developed the teaching on khat in the Standard 5 Bahasa Malaysia curriculum in regional schools as of 2016.
At the same time, they approved the policy khat in regional schools for both Standards 4 and 6 at a later date.
Properly, when the policy was announced recently, the Ministry of Education did not communicate this policy properly, leaving much room for dispute. It got very messy when so many parties got involved in all the failure.
First, the issue should be discussed with other lawmakers because it involves a sensitive issue that the opposition could easily play.
This has never been done, leaving many of us in the dark and unable to explain to our constituents.
Known for the many controversies surrounding his ads, the Honorable Minister of Education Maszlee Malik must, from now on, stop making unilateral announcements without consulting his fellow legislators, who represent the broader spectrum of our multicultural society.
With the widespread use of social media, the incident involving a man pushing eggs at Menglembu Assembly Service Steven Chaw's Ipoh service center is unfortunate.
Deputy Minister of Education Teo Nie Ching's attempt to stop parental concerns has attracted more than 35,000 angry comments.
Something as simple as khat can become a hot topic of discussion for more than two weeks. There is no point in trying to stop the fire after it spreads wide and wide.
Even Lim Kit Siang was investigated by some opportunists during a Hunger Ghost festival.
The DAP counselor never said he supports Jawi's teaching in schools, but only said he learned Jawi while he was detained under the 1969 Homeland Security Act.
Through social media, even Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has received his fair share of criticism for the decision of the Ministry of Education.
The last thing Malaysians want to see is that silat is suddenly becoming mandatory in schools as part of Malaysian culture. This is how some of our politicians regress!
This failure should never have happened because the controversy had nothing to do with race or religion. Many Malaysians, including Daim Zainuddin, Rafidah Aziz, Siti Kassim and Azly Rahman, also voiced their objections.
At the same time, the whole thing has been hampered by the barrage of political issues in some quarters.
It is unfortunate that DAP leaders became the punishment package in some communities, when just ordinary, non-partisan parents expressed their concerns about the ministry's initiative.
Some, including pro-Malay Rais Yatim (above), urged the government to separate Arab culture from Islam. In what Rais labeled the Arabization of Malay culture, for too long the Malayans have embraced Arab culture as Islam.
Within the Christian community, there are also two opposing views in relation to the learning of khat.
On the one hand, some, including the larger non-Muslim community, are concerned about learning khat could lead to the conversion to Islam in schools. This view is expressed against the backdrop of Maszle's statement in December on setting up schools in East Malaysia & # 39;medan dakwah. "
Although this care applies to some, others argue that too khatWhether Arabic or Jawi is a form of calligraphy that can also be used to communicate the Christian message to at least a billion Muslims.
A quick search on the internet shows that there are many Arabic Bible verses in beautiful khat.
Generally, most people are not opposed to learning khat, but it should be introduced as elective and done outside of school hours, or parked alongside other forms of calligraphy within art lessons. This would give children a good exposure to various forms of calligraphy.
Clause 9 of the National Language Act 1963/1967 clearly states that "the script of the national language must be the Roman script". The law is silent on the learning of a Jawi script as mandatory for all Malaysians, although it does not prohibit anyone from using a Jawi script.
This is why we should emphasize the possibilities given to children. They may choose to learn the Jawi manuscript or Jawi's calligraphic form as part of their extra-curricular activities.
Go ahead, khat be taken from Bahasa Malaysia software and taught as part of Cultural Heritage and Calligraphy Art (Warisan Bangsa dan Seni Tulis).
With an education system already in the shadows, khat is the least of all the priorities that should take the attention of the ministry. As Daim recently noted, "The Ministry of Education should not fail our nation."
The nation's education system must focus on core issues that will help young people excel in their future careers. We need more qualified people to help the Education Department.
Edmund Santhara is the MP for Segamat.
The views expressed here are those of the author / contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malajiakini.
[ad_2]
Source link
