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Issues in Malaysian Education: Past, Present, and Future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2011

Tham Seong Chee
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The promulgation of the Constitutional Amendment Act in the Malaysian Parliament in 1971 would seem to suggest an end to intercommunal squabbles over certain major issues which had threatened to bring about an irrevocable split in the tenuously held together multi-communal structure of the country. The Act proclaimed that “in the interest of security and public order” matters pertaining to citizenship (Pt. III of the Constitution), the National Language (Article 152), the special position of the Malays (Article 153), and the Sovereignty of the Rulers (Article 181.) were not to be questioned in public, in state legislatures, and in Parliament. Proscription on these issues had come about as a direct result of the cataclysmic events of 13 May 1969. The promulgation of the Act was the first item of business in the reconvened Malaysian Parliament following the dissolution of the National Operations Council (NOC) which had temporarily ruled the country.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , September 1979 , pp. 321 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1979

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References

1 Second Malaysia Plan, 1971–1975 (Kuala Lumpur, 1971), chap. 1, para. 2.

2 Outline Perspective Plan, 1971–1990 in Chap. 4 of Third Malaysia Plan, 1976–1980 and the Mid-Term Review of the Second Malaysia Plan. 1971–1975 (Kuala Lumpur, 1973).

3 The Rukunegara is essentially a code of conduct made up of the following tenets: belief in God; loyalty to King and Country; upholding the Constitution; Rule of Law; good behaviour and morality. For a discussion of the Rukunegara, principally its origin, nature, and functions, see: Alatas, Syed Hussein, “The Rukunegara and the Return to Democracy in Malaysia”, in Pacific Community 2, 4 (1971): 800–808Google Scholar. There is also some discussion of it in Milne, R.S., ‘“National Ideology” and Nation Building in Malaysia”, Asian Survey 10, 7 (July 1970): 563–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 The concept of political culture attributed to G.A. Almond is defined by Lucian W. Pye as “an ordered subjective realm of politics which gives meaning to the polity, discipline to institutions, and social relevance to individual acts…. For the individual the political culture provides controlling guidelines for effective political behaviour, and for the collectivity it gives a systematic structure of values and rational considerations which ensures coherence in the performance of institutions and organizations”. See Pye, L.C. and Verba, S. (eds.), Political Culture and Political Development (Princeton, 1965), p. 7CrossRefGoogle Scholar

5 A number of definitions of political development were identified by Pye, but the most appropriate one for the purposes of this discussion is that “political development involves an increase in the capacity of the political system to manage public affairs, control controversy, and cope with popular demands”. Ibid., p. 13.

6 Hough, G.G., “Notes on the Education Policy of Sir Stamford Raffles”, Journal of Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic Society 11, 2 (1933): 166–70Google Scholar. For an extended sociological discussion, see Chee, Tham Seong, Malays and Modernization: A Sociological Interpretation (Singapore, 1977)Google Scholar, chap. 4.

7 Minute of 1934 supporting the Anglicists on the Committee of Public Instruction. This is recounted in Tilman, R.O., “Education and Political Development in Malaysia”, in Man, State and Society in Contemporary Southeast Asia, ed. Tilman, R.O. (New York, 1969), p. 230, fn. 10.Google Scholar

8 Seng, Philip Loh Fook, Seeds of Separatism: Educational Policy in Malaya. 1874–1940 (Kuala Lumpur, 1975)Google Scholar.

9 Friction generated through the colonial educational system was that between the so-called Western educated and the vernacular educated in each of the communities. No doubt there was felt discrimination by the vernacular educated, but their anger was directed at the members of their own community whom they felt had lost their cultural moorings, and this usually meant laxity in moral standards. Collective opposition against colonial authority occurred, but this was not motivated by felt discrimination because of vernacular education. Indeed the Western educated and vernacular educated more frequently co-operated with each other within the purview of their own community and its interests.

10 Report of the Committee on Malay Education (Barnes Report), Kuala Lumpur, 1951.

11 Report on Chinese Schools and Education of Chinese, Federation of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1951.

12 Barnes Report, para. 18, p. 24. No doubt the Malayan Emergency during this period contributed substantially to this mode of thinking as the majority of the terrorists were Chinese. But to use this as a means to rationalize a policy recommendation is, to say the least, unfortunate and inaccurate. In any case, certain Malay ultras and nationalists in particular continue to harbour this thought.

13 Educational Policy No. 67 of 1954, Federation of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1954.

14 Ibid., p. 8.

15 Ibid., p. 3. The thinking of the colonial government during this period seemed to be (in the light of political changes occurring at the time) that English medium education was the best means of bringing about some form of unified Malayan polity. See, for example, the article by Silcock, T.H., “Forces for Unity in Malaya: Observations of a European Resident”, International Affairs 25, 4 (1949)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. The article was republished in 1961 by Donald Moore, together with other papers and articles by Silcock. Silcock's view was that “English education is vital to Malaya. Whether or not the people of the country ultimately favour a Malay language education, as things are a Malay language education could not per se unify the people; English education is the only instrument that could. But to succeed it must be a widespread education, an education in English of virtually the whole population and not only the middle class.” See Silcock, T.H., Towards a Malayan Nation (Singapore, 1961), p. 41Google Scholar.

16 Report of the Education Committee, 1956 (Abdul Razak Report), Kuala Lumpur, 1956, chap. 1, Constitution and Terms of Reference. Part II of the terms of reference was “to examine the Educational structure of the country including such provisions of the Education Ordinance, 1952, as may require alterations or adaptations and the measures for its implementation contained in Council Paper on educational policy No. 67 of 1954, p. 11.

17 Ibid., p. 3.

18 These examinations were the LCE (Lower Certificate of Education); CSC (Cambridge School Certificate) later renamed Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or Malaysian Certificate of Education; and the HSC (Higher School Certificate or Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran). As can be seen this arrangement effectively forced the closure of all or most Chinese secondary schools.

19 Report of the Committee Appointed by the National Operations Council to Study Campus Life of Students of the University of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur, 1971).

20 Enloe, C.H., Multi-Ethnic Politics: The Case of Malaysia (Berkeley, 1970), p. 43.Google Scholar

21 Ibid., p. 48.

22 The other aspects of this identity are: Islam, the institution of the Sultan at the state level and the institution of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong at the Federal level, and the Adatistiadat of the Malays. See Tham Seong Chee, Malays and Modernization, chap. 10.

23 For a background to this aspect of Malaysian-Singapore history, see Yew, Lee Kuan, The Battle for a Malaysian Malaysia (Singapore, 1965)Google Scholar; and Vasil, R.K., Politics in a Plural Society: A Study of Non-Communal Political Parties in West Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, 1971)Google Scholar.

24 Report of the Education Review Committee, 1960 (Rahman Talib Report), Kuala Lumpur, 1964.

25 The terms of reference of the Committee were: “To review the arrangements in the Federation of Malaya for higher education and to make recommendations for the development and improvement of such education in the light of the foreseeable needs and financial resources of the country.” The members of the Committee were all ministers in the cabinet. The chairman was Inche Mohd. Khir Johari, the Minister of Education at that time. Report of the Higher Education Planning Committee. Kuala Lumpur, 1967.

26 Ibid., pt. I, p. 163.

27 The Technical College became the National Institute of Technology in 1972, with full university status, offering courses leading to professional qualifications in Architecture, Surveying, Town and Country Planning, as well as Engineering. The University of Science, founded in 1969, offers courses in Natural Science, Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Applied Science, Building Science, and Technology, Courses are offered through a number of broadly based schools.

28 In 1966, about 2,500 candidates sat for the Higher School Certificate Examination in the medium of the national language for the first time. The subjects made available were: (a) Special General Paper; (b) Malay — Principal Level; (c) Islamic Studies — Principal Level; (d) Art — Principal Level; (e) Mathematics — Subsidiary Level; and (f) Classical Arabic — Subsidiary Level. Report of Higher Education Planning Committee, p. 232. It should be noted that the subjects as listed above are by themselves interesting as they suggest various educational as well as non-educational problems relating to education among the Malays. Reference will be made to this later.

29 For an account of the politics involved see, Roff, Margaret, “The Politics of Language in Malaya”, Asian Survey 7, 5 (1967) 316–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar. A useful linguistic account of the language situation in Malaya during that period is found in the monograph by Le Page, R.B., The National Language Question: Linguistic Problems of Newly Independent States (London, 1964)Google Scholar.

30 In the Parliamentary Election of 1969 in West Malaysia, the Alliance Party won 66 seats (48.4% of valid votes); the PMIP. 12 seats (23% of validf votes); the DAP, 13 seats (13.7% of valid votes); the GRM, 8 seats (8.6% of valid votes); and the PPP, 4 seats (3.9% of valid votes). See Ratnam, K.J. and Milne, R.S., “The 1969 Parliamentary Election in West Malaysia”, Pacific Āffairs 43, 2 (1970): 203–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar. A more detailed study was made later by Vasil, R.K., The Malaysian General Election of 1969 (Singapore, 1972)Google Scholar.

31 The first collectively organized effort in this direction took place in 1965, when the First Economic Congress of indigenous Peoples (Konggeres Ekonomi Bumiputera) under the chairmanship of the then Minister of Education. Enche Mohd. Khir Johari, was held in Kuala Lumpur. The Congress adopted a total of sixty-eight resolutions with the intent to solicit Ġovernmental support for their implementation.

32 See, for example, Mannheim, K., Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge (London, 1972), p. 191.Google Scholar

33 Ibid., p. 198.

34 Report of the Committee appointed by the NOC to Study Campus Life of Students of the University of Malaya (Majid Ismail Report), Kuala Lumpur, 1971, pp. 1–2.

35 Ibid., p. 48.

36 Majid Ismail Report, 1971, pp. 44–45.

37 Majid Ismail Report, 1971, p. 44.

38 Kajian Keciciran (Dropout Study), Ministry of Education, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, 1973).

39 In particular, refer to the Scale Items used in the study to measure (1) educational motivation, (2) academic self-concept, (3) teacher expectations, (4) parental expectations, and (5) modernity. In measuring modernity, the study asks such questions as: How often do you read newspapers? Do you think a person can be good without any religion? How many states are there in Malaysia? Is the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) a member of the U.N.? There is confusion here between knowledge and the mental state — the latter is certainly much more fundamental but was not evaluated in the study. In any case, the use of the questionnaire (least of all administered on school pupils) in the Malaysian context is often not a reliable indicator of actual mental states, particularly in studies of the type cited.

40 Yoshimitsu Takei, J.C. Bock, and B. Saunders, Educational Sponsorship by Ethnicity: A Preliminary Analysis of the West Malaysian Experience (Ohio University Center for International Studies, Southeast Asia Series No. 28). The sample size of the study was 7,120 students made up of: 14 English medium schools with ethnically heterogeneous student bodies, 3 English-language schools with homogeneous Malay student bodies, 6 Malay-language schools with homogeneous Malay student bodies, 7 English-language schools with homogeneous Chinese students bodies, and 5 Chinese-language private schools with homogeneous Chinese student bodies.

41 This examination was held at the third year of the secondary school. It has since then been discontinued, partly as a result of the introduction of the comprehensive school system in Malaysia.

42 The population of Malaysia in 1975 was estimated to be 12.25 million of which slightly over 10.25 million live in Peninsular Malaysia. The Malay population in Peninsular Malaysia in 1975 was approx. 53.1% as against 35.5% Chinese; 10.6% Indians; and 0.8% others. Of the Malay population about 80% are rural.

43 The Dewan Latehan RIDA was opened in 1957 and provided four types of courses, viz., (1) a two-year course for the LCC Higher Examination in book-keeping, type-writing, elements of commerce, costing, economics, commercial law, finance, and banking; (2) a one-year course for the LCC Intermediate Examination; (3) 18 days training for small businessmen; and (4) Two months training in coir-making. See The MARA Institute of Technology: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Kuala Lumpur, 1969). pp. 7–9. See also Auditor-General's Report on the Accounts of RIDA, 1961.

44 Section 6 (Subsection 1) of MARA Act. 1966.

45 Third Malaysia Plan, 1976–1980, p. 393.

46 According to the Third Malaysia Plan, there were an estimated 31,500 Malaysian students enrolled in overseas institutions in 1975. Of these 4,005 were scholarship holders. The racial breakdown were as follows: Malays and other indigenous people 20.6%, Chinese 69%, Indians 9.2%, and other 1.2%.

47 This was the point made in Esman, M.J., Administration and Development in Malaysia: Institution Budding and Reform in a Plural Society (Ithaca, 1972), p. 54 ff.Google Scholar

48 In fact, the switch to Malay as the main medium of instruction, coupled with the absence of governmental or public examinations in other languages than bahasa Malaysia, has caused Chinese and Tamil medium primary schools to become peripheral and, in the long run, may lead to their demise. In any case the present procedure adopted to teach Chinese as a language places the onus on parents

49 For instance, when the idea of the Merdeka Chinese language University was mooted in 1968 by a section of the Chinese leadership in the MCA, it was assumed that there would be no financial difficulties in setting it up. Indeed the proponents claimed that vast sums were promised by various Chinese individuals and groups.

50 For an exemplification of this, see Tham, op. cit., chap. 4.

51 Silcock, T.H., Towards a Malayan Nation (Singapore, 1961Google Scholar) and Gungwu, Wang, “Malaysia: Contending Elites”, Current Affairs Bulletin, Department of Adult Education, University of Sydney. (Dec. 1970).Google Scholar

52 Rabushka, A., Race and Politics in Urban Malaya (Stanford, 1973), p. 49.Google Scholar

53 Bock, J.C. “Education and Nation Building in Malaysia: A Study of Institutional Effect in 34 Secondary Schools” (Ph.D. diss., Stanford University, 1971)Google Scholar. It should be mentioned that Bock completed his field-work in the summer of 1968. Though he has not explained it, his results were likely to have been influenced some extent by the heightened racial antagonism that precipitated the 1969 racial disturbances in Kuala Lumpur. His thesis was submitted in 1970.

54 Rudner, M., “Education, Development and Change in Malaysia”. South East Asian Studies 15, 1 (1977): 30.Google Scholar

55 This study will not explore or evaluate this aspect of Malaysian politics. However, readers interested are requested to refer to Wang Gungwu's extremely useful analysis referred to earlier in footnote 51.