Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli has urged the government to strengthen the national education system as a first step towards implementing equal rights for all.
Rafizi said Malaysian society had become polarised because of the divisions in the education system, with non-Malays opting for vernacular schools because of perceived lack of quality in national schools.
As a result, segregationist tendencies had developed, with children going from primary school to university and then to work without having had much interaction with children of other communities.
The lack of interaction between different communities fuelled distrust and insecurity. “Without interaction, there is no understanding and respect and seeing each other’s perspectives,” he said, giving the example of PAS in Terengganu, with its homogenous population.
Rafizi said young people of his time, in the 1960s and 70s, were not as insecure economically and politically as the current younger generation.
“Only a really great national education policy will remove the insecurity of the Bumiputeras, eventually allowing us to do away with Bumiputera policies,” he told reporters at a forum today at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.
Rafizi said the issue of Bumiputera special rights is a sensitive one, and requires a progressive approach that can ameliorate the insecurity among the Bumiputera community.
“Will getting rid of every Bumiputera policy and resetting the system actually turn out well? Or do you progressively navigate the matter and handle the policies one by one?” he said.
“We cannot go on as if its business as usual with our schools. And that’s the centre of everything.”
He said the government should further invest in the education ministry and appoint a minister with conviction, who will push through bold reforms instead of merely running daily affairs.
Rafizi said improvements can be made to the quality of teachers, syllabi and infrastructure in order to restore parents’ trust in the national schools.
“We need to appoint someone willing to begin reforms and tell the public: this is where it begins. The future of the country begins in the classroom. Once we reach that stage, we can have discussions about Bumiputera policy, education, social justice in education and so on,” he said.
