THE unification of education in Malaysia is a story as old as the independence of Malaya. Yet it remains a relevant topic for discussion.
There are those who believed that vernacular schools, Indian or Chinese were obstacles towards the concept of national unity.
Recently, however, a netizen took the limelight online by stating that if vernacular schools have to be closed, then religious schools should follow suit.
With the ID of Bohemian Rhaptodi, he added that statistically, vernacular Chinese schools have more diversity compared to government schools.
Aku setuju 100%, walaupun statistically SJKC lebih multi-racial daripada SK.
Tutup sekali sekolah agama, maahad tahfiz, MRSM, SBP, SMAA, SABK, SJKT.
Biar semua belajar bawah satu bumbung sampai Tingkatan 5. Solid 11 tahun. https://t.co/VAtJaQxvOO
— Bohemian Rhaptodi (@LOLsusaho) February 25, 2025
His remarks, however, did not go well with the online community who said that this was akin to an apple and orange comparison.
Netizen Jaa said religious schools have totally different syllabus compared to the vernacular Chinese schools which is similar to the government schools.
“Religious schools teach Al Quran, Tajwid, Akidah, Akhlak, Sirah, Tauhid, Feqah, Jawi, Khat and others,” he said, adding that people who want Chinese schools should just go home to China.
Opposing him was Alief Muhd who said religious and tahfix schools need to close down to reduce the amount of cases where these schools were seen begging for money.
“Are you taking drugs when you were typing this? Your foolishness is unique,” said alsagoff towards Bohemian Rhaptodi.
Munier added that religious schools should remain while performance-based schools are created for people of every race.
The tug of war continues with another netizen claiming that Chinese schools need to be closed down due to the declining birth rate of the Chinese.
On another note, anti bahlolism inquired if international schools needed to go too, to which Bohemian Rhaptodi responded that it was necessary for the uber rich and elites.
Then there was Davveen Vasudev who warned that national unity may not be so clear cut in Malaysia.
Netizen Azlan Huzeifa further suggested that the years of education for Malaysian be shortened to 18 years old so they could quickly enter the workforce.
On our part, we are big on the spirit of a united Malaysia as long as the government is capable of demonstrating that they are able to run their schools at the level of efficiency of a vernacular Chinese school.
At the moment, the results are not convincing at all, take for example, something as simple as the comparison between the lunch meals in the cafeterias of a vernacular Chinese school and a government school. —Feb 2, 2025
Main image: The Star
