OCTOBER 18 — I love playing chess. I am neither a professional player nor a complete beginner.
Chess simply makes me happy. It challenges me to think, anticipate, and make decisions carefully.
I started playing when I was about 10 years old. Back then, I hardly knew the rules.
I learned them gradually by playing again and again. Knowing the rules did not instantly turn me into a grandmaster.
However, it gave me confidence. I began to understand what I should do and what I should avoid.
That knowledge reduced my mistakes and allowed me to play the game with purpose.
To become truly skilled, of course, one must continue practising. Yet imagine if I had never learned the rules at all.
I would not have been able to play for more than a few minutes.
Against a computer, I would lose almost immediately. Against another person, the experience would quickly become frustrating for both sides.
Sometimes, I wonder whether many of us navigate life in much the same way expected to follow rules that we have never formally been taught.
This narrative opening exposes a profound institutional contradiction within modern governance: society expects citizens to strictly abide by complex statutory frameworks without ever providing systematic instruction in their fundamental rules.
Expecting individuals to navigate everyday life without teaching them its legal rules creates structural disadvantage and unnecessary public vulnerability.
Legal realities and the accessibility gap
As a Malaysian, apart from a few laws that directly affect me, I know very little about Malaysian law.
Ironically, despite having pursued a master’s degree in criminal justice and explored several laws for academic purposes, I still realise how much I do not know.
Laws are created in Parliament to regulate society and protect the rights of its people. They apply to all of us.
If we violate them, we may face legal consequences. Claiming ignorance of the law is generally not accepted as a defence (Hassan, 2020). In other words, whether we know the rules or not, we are still expected to play by them.
This reality raises an important concern. Many people may be unaware of their legal obligations, but they may also be unaware of their legal rights.
Some do not know what protection the law offers them as employees, consumers, tenants, spouses, or citizens. Access to legal advice is often expensive, and not everyone can afford to consult a lawyer whenever a legal question arises.
As a result, many people navigate life without fully understanding the legal framework that governs their everyday decisions.
The uncompromising legal doctrine that ignorance of the law provides no excuse, when paired with the prohibitive financial costs of private legal counsel, places an asymmetrical burden on ordinary citizens.
Addressing this accessibility gap is therefore a critical priority for public legal education and democratic equity.
Legal literacy as an essential life skill
This does not mean that everyone must become a lawyer. Just as not every chess player needs to become a grandmaster, citizens do not need expert-level legal knowledge.
Understanding one’s basic rights and responsibilities is not a specialised skill reserved for lawyers; it is an essential life skill.
Legal literacy empowers individuals to make informed decisions, avoid unnecessary mistakes, and recognise when their rights are being violated.
Perhaps it is time for us to ask whether legal awareness should be given greater emphasis in schools and public education initiatives.
After all, if society expects people to follow the rules, shouldn’t people first be given a fair opportunity to understand them?
Reframing legal literacy as a fundamental civic right shifts the focus from individual fault to institutional responsibility, establishing a mandate for public education systems to provide foundational legal instruction.
Prioritising practical legal knowledge in schools
If legal literacy is indeed essential, then an important question arises: what practical knowledge should our education system prioritise?
I still remember learning algebraic expressions in school. While mathematics undoubtedly develops analytical thinking, I rarely use algebra directly in my daily life, especially as my career has taken me into the field of language.
Yet basic legal knowledge is different. Regardless of whether one becomes a teacher, engineer, doctor, business owner, artist, or linguist, everyone lives under the same legal framework.
Every individual signs contracts, purchases goods and services, uses public facilities, enters employment, drives on public roads, and interacts with institutions governed by law.
Understanding the fundamentals of the legal system can help individuals make informed choices, recognise when their rights are being violated, and fulfil their responsibilities as citizens.
Perhaps schools should not only prepare students for examinations and careers but also equip them with the practical knowledge needed to navigate society responsibly.
Legal literacy may not prevent every mistake, just as knowing the rules of chess does not guarantee victory.
However, it enables people to participate with awareness, confidence, and a better understanding of the consequences of their actions.
Basic legal education may also reduce the tendency to blame individuals entirely for not knowing the law.
While ignorance of the law is generally not accepted as an excuse, society should recognise that many people have never been given the opportunity to learn even the most fundamental legal principles.
By equipping citizens with basic legal knowledge from an early age, we can foster a more informed society where people are better able to fulfil their responsibilities, exercise their rights, and avoid unintentional violations of the law.
Embedding practical legal concepts into primary and secondary curricula transitions citizens from passive rule-followers into active self-advocates, ensuring that civic education serves a functional purpose in modern daily life.
Navigating society with awareness
Playing chess without knowing the rules is frustrating. Living in a society governed by laws without understanding them can be far more consequential.
In both cases, knowing the rules may not guarantee victory, but it certainly gives us a better chance to play the game wisely.
Ultimately, while legal literacy cannot immunise an individual against all of life’s challenges, it provides the indispensable framework for agency, fairness, and structural justice across every level of society.
* Tamilhiile Manggai G. Mohgan is a language lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, and may be reached at [email protected].
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
