Education – A Tool for Unity

IPOH: Educating the young according to their ethnic and religious background is unsuitable in multi-cultural Malaysia, the Sultan of Perak said.

Suggesting a policy that would unite the country’s multi-faceted people, Sultan Azlan Shah said this would help young Malaysians understand and respect one another in their formative years.

“The education policy and its agenda must make the fostering of better religious and racial ties a priority,” he said when launching the golden jubilee celebrations of Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman here yesterday.

“As citizens who walk the same earth and breathe the same air, it is imperative that everyone is moulded and nurtured through a common education system.

“National interest must rise above group interest,” added the ruler, who also pointed out that it would benefit the country if the student population at boarding schools reflected a “more complete” composition of Malaysian society.

Regarding the school, which was named after Malaysia’s first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Azlan Shah said it fulfilled a social need by providing education to students from all over the country.

“Given the chance to live together, play together and learn together, our young people can identify themselves first as Malaysians who live in a free country.

“Being of a different ethnic group would be secondary and a less important matter,” he added.

The ruler said schools function like factories, but only that they produce people of academic excellence and work as a nurturing ground for leaders in every field, including the arts and sports, as well as a place to foster human relationship.