JUNE 15 — It gets to a stage where we Malaysians don’t really know whether to laugh or cry; such is the state of affairs. The latest fiasco is one that concerns all Malaysians, as it is raises serious questions about the teaching standards in some of our public universities. At its worst, the scandal exhibits the worst kind of ignorance, racism and bigotry that is capable of sowing dangerous seeds of hatred among the different races in this country.

The TITAS Mandatory Module for Undergraduates in Universities

On Monday, June 20, 2016, Deputy Education Minster Datuk K. Kamalanathan posted on social media a screen grab of the TITAS teaching module which is compulsory for all undergraduate students in higher learning institutes such as colleges and universities; both public and private, in Malaysia. TITAS stands for “Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia”. In other words, Islamic and Asian Civilisations. He was commenting on the “mistakes” of lecture slides of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)’s TITAS module .

Many will wonder why such a module would be deemed compulsory for all undergraduates. It seems to me to be both unnecessary and tedious as Malaysian students would have already been subjected to a similar syllabus throughout their study of “Sejarah” in government secondary schools. So why the double jeopardy?

In the wake of this scandal, I decided to learn more about TITAS  and got a copy of the syllabus from a kind colleague who also supplied me with one of the recommended texts for this module. The book is entitled Modul Pengajian Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia and is edited by Osman Bakar; Azizan Baharuddin and Zaid Ahmad (published by University Malaya). I spent many hours poring over this text; and found that these were some of the main aims of making this subject mandatory in universities:

“Buku ini menyentuh pembinaan dan perkembangan tamadun Islam dan tamadun-tamadun besar Asia yang lain iaitu Melayu, Cina dan India. Pengajian tamadun ini diperkenalkan di peringkat universiti atas kesedaran bahawa para pelajar perlu memahami latar belakang pemikiran, pembudayaan dan sejarah dalam tamadun-tamdun besar yang melingkungi mereka serta bagi menyuburkan dialog antara tamadun. Pengetahuan ini penting untuk memupuk semangat persefahan dan kesalingan serta sikap hormat-menghormati di kalangan rakyat pelbagai agama, kaum dan budaya. Selain itu para pelajar juga diharapkan mempunyai pemikiran yang luas dan berpandangan global di samping menghayati nilai-nilai murni sejagat.”

So these, then, were the noble intentions behind the introduction of this mandatory module in 2013. The Ministry of Education must have deemed it such a serious problem — the need to build race relations further at University level; to make students more aware and respectful of each other. It is thus ironical indeed that these intentions backfired in such a scandalous way in the last few days.

The Controversial Slides

The above mentioned screen grab posted by the Deputy Education Minister sparked outrage among Hindus and Sikhs nationwide due to the content of some of the slides. Among the controversial content of the slides are the following: • A slide stating that “Some Hindu followers believe that dirt on the body is a ritual which could lead to the attainment of Nirvana”; • A slide saying that Islam had taught Hindu followers “manners in life”.

A slide claiming that the “Sikhism founder Kabir” did not fully understand Islam and was influenced by the surrounding Hindu community.

It is indeed shocking and incredible that this depicts the academic standard in a public university. It is so absurd that it could even be funny. Except that it is not; because people tend to get ultra sensitive over religious issues. Furthermore in this case it is not really an example of freedom of expression; or artistic imagery. It is a blatant falsification of history. It amounts to a gross misrepresentation of the truth and foundation behind these great religions. Guru Nanak was not referred to as the founder of Sikhism, as he should have been. What about the “Guru Granth Sahib”; the Holy Book of Sikhism? What about the nine Sikh Gurus who continued Guru Nanak’s teachings? It is indeed bizarre to say that Kabir was the founder of Sikhism.

And this from a University lecturer in a mandatory module for all students!

And as for us Hindus, what simpletons we must have been for later civilisations to just come along and teach us about “manners and cleanliness”. Perhaps I had better go home tonight and smear lots of dirt on myself; in the glorious hope that this will allow me to attain Nirvana immediately. In my dreams, perhaps? What an insult to one of the oldest and highly complex religions and civilisations of the ancient world.  And what breathtaking insolence.

Worrying academic standards in our public universities

One cannot help but be incredulous: isn’t there a vetting procedure to screen the content of the modules taught? Sure, it might have been the fault of a particular lecturer and he / she may have created his / her own slides to supplement the teaching of the subject; but isn’t there a monitoring and supervision of that content/s? It is also a disturbing reflection of the academic standard in a public university. Is it any surprise, then, that the global ranking of our public universities have plummeted in recent years?

Furthermore, as a teacher, how can you teach a subject and be so grossly ignorant about its basic tenets and foundation?  Granted, people make mistakes. We are human. But if you are teaching a particular module, you ought to be at least aware of basic facts. Such negligence and incompetence cannot be condoned anywhere; let alone in a public university, where we invest in our children’s future.

Fuelling Racial Mistrust and Resentment

What is the point of making TITAS a mandatory module and then making a mockery of it? Instead of uniting the races it has the dangerous potential to do the very opposite – inciting hatred and mistrust. These are the ugly seeds of racial riots and disaster and we are watching them being sown in the backyards of our very own public universities.

The Distortion of History in our School Textbooks

The Deputy Education Minister also stated that this case illustrates that the desire to be ignorant has spread to those right at the top. He acknowledged that: “We have seen this in schools before and now we realise it is also evident in universities.… Distorted historical facts are in school textbooks, in examination questions and now in university slides”. The Nazis, during the Second World War, showed the world the evils of Fascism in their desire to strengthen their horrific perception of a superior Aryan race which resulted in the tragedy of the Holocaust.

Our history books in Malaysian state schools hardly examine the two World Wars in the last century in any sufficient detail. Is it a surprise, then, that many undergraduates in Malaysia have not even heard of the Holocaust and its horrors?

Instead, we spend almost the entire History syllabus looking merely at Malaysian history and the rise and glory of the Islamic civilisation and religion. It is as though we perceive ourselves as being at the centre of a very small universe where other countries; their histories; their people; their cultures and beliefs don’t really matter.

How then do we expect our students to be broad minded? Our narrow minded education system is certainly not helping in this quest.

Categorisation of Examination Candidates into “Islam” and “Bukan Islam”

Even in public examinations, students are asked to shade a box and indicate their religion. This requirement is unnecessary; unfair and simply absurd. For what is the relevance of the candidate’s religion in a public examination? Or is there a more sinister reason for this categorisation ? To me, it is frightening that the box (for the candidate to shade) only has two categories: “Islam” and “Bukan Islam”. It is as though the whole of Malaysia can be lumped into just these two religious communities. Again, this kind of narrow minded mentality will not get us far. It will surely harbour mistrust; resentment and even fear in the minds of young children. Is this what we want for the children of this country ?

Responsibility and Accountability for Mistakes made By Those in Power

UTM has recently issued an apology over the “erroneous” slides. It was a “mistake” according to the UTM Vice Chancellor, in a statement made yesterday. Apparently an investigation is ongoing, and that “due action will be taken”. What exactly constitutes that due course of action was not elaborated upon.

Soon the whole incident may be conveniently buried. Or another scandal may rise;  perhaps more idiotic or ridiculous than this one. And the Rakyat will be forced to move on. After all, it is about rules of survival. And one of the most basic rules of the jungle is that only the fittest will survive.

Our Rich Diversity is Our Strength

Our multicultural diversity is something that we are entitled to be proud of. We have worked hard for national unity and the painful sacrifices of our forefathers must not be forgotten. Our parents’ generation witnessed the ugliness of the racial riots of May 13th 1969. Our generation; and the ones after us, must learn from the blood and wounds of history; and not repeat these mistakes.

We must look deep within and ask ourselves whether advertisements such as “Malaysia Truly Asia” are merely an act for the eyes of foreigners ;  meaningless tourist propaganda and empty rhetoric; or whether racial unity is something we really do aspire towards.

And if the answer is yes, is it only about stories and cartoons of the Holy Trinity of “Ali, Ah Kau and Muthu” or getting together for open houses in a so called “Muhibbah” spirit? When it comes to food, we Malaysians seem to celebrate the diversity of our different races very well indeed. We manage to proudly and precariously balance the Rendang; Kuay Teow and Thosai  on our heaped plates.  Is our unity, then, so superficial?

I hope not. Knowing that race and religious issues are currently hyper sensitive; let’s start by respecting and not belittling or mocking other faiths. This is the basic responsibility of not just particular individuals; but each and every one of us.

After all, it is our differences that make us colourful; beautiful; and unique.

Malaysia Boleh.

Right ? 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.