Moral studies need a review

THERE’S no doubt that Malaysia is not an easy country to govern. With approximately 31 million people comprising various races, religions and cultures, it goes without saying that we are a complex society.

As such, it is of paramount importance for the National School Education System to be focused on unifying the people and instilling patriotic values especially in the hearts and minds of the younger rakyat.

In the current education system, it is compulsory for Muslim students to take Islamic Studies and for those who are not Muslims to do Moral Studies.

According to former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam in his book, Frankly Speaking, many Muslim students in the late ‘70s became involved with deviant extremist groups when they went overseas to continue their studies mainly because of culture shock, making them easy prey for the groups. It is therefore understandable that the Education Ministry integrated Islamic Studies as compulsory for the SPM examination.

That being said, what about the nonMuslim students? While Muslim students learn Islamic his tory (which is also a major component of the Form 4 Sejarah syllabus) and practices, the nonMuslim students are left with a “Moral Studies” paper.

With all due respect, I feel that what is taught in this subject is absolute nonsense and has no real relevance to the real world.

The students are made to memorise a list of 36 madeup nilai-nilai murni (noble values) and their definitions which they must regurgitate as set in the syllabus – not a word more, not a word less, not even a synonym – if they want to play safe during the assessment of the subject. I find it hard to comprehend how this has any relevance to moulding a morally upright and civic society.

There is also a political slant here. For instance, if a question asks a student to give his or her opinion on a topic regarding freedom of speech, for example a peaceful demonstration, the answer “Yes, I believe in peaceful demonstrations” will not be accepted no matter how rational or logical the arguments provided are.

Don’t get me wrong; I do agree that freedom of speech has its limit and I do not condone public rallies no matter how peaceful. The crux of the matter here is that students should be given a chance to have their say on a particular topic, especially if it is not really sensitive like the instance above.

If having to memorise the 36 nilai-nilai murni wordforword is not enough, through their Form 4 and Form 5 years, nonMuslim students (popularly known as “moral students”) have to compile a scrapbook of handwritten essays based on specific topics as well as reports on assignments complete with photographs. Those who do not produce this scrapbook risk failing their SPM Moral assessment.

By the way, a certain personality and his legacy are avoided topics now because of the current political development.

It has been said that the benchmark to get an “A+” has been increased significantly from the standard baseline of 90%. How true this is, I personally don’t know but judging from the drop in the number of A+ scorers, with certain schools in the “good school” range not even getting a single A+ for SPM 2016 Pendidikan Moral, it is quite believable. That means either the rumour is true or the students failed to answer as intended.

The reality is that many students – sad to say, many of them are nonMalays – are losing their sense of patriotism for our beloved motherland. The issues I’ve pointed out are just a small part of what actually makes them upset with the country.

Let’s face it, teenagers in this day and age of technology are not daft. There is no point trying to brainwash them through school like this because it will just make them more unhappy with the country.

Teach them the reality of the beauty of our country and its diversity, not through memorising a list of nilai-nilai murni and pointless brainwashing.

Will all due respect, I implore the Education Ministry to review the Moral Studies syllabus. I greatly respect the Government’s present efforts in promoting patriotism and unity but for the aspiration of a firstclass mentality and open society by 2050 to be a reality, we must start from the ground with a moderately liberal and openminded education system.

STUDENT Kuala Lumpur