AS OUR country reaches a respectable age of 50 years as an independent nation, it is a good time for us to re-examine what else we can do to make us more united.

One of the cornerstones of Malaysian unity has always been education. Hate them or love them, schools seen as agents of unity or the cause of disunity — have been the centre of political, social and communal concern.

As citizens of a 50-year-old nation, we are very passionate about the education system. I bet there are no two persons in Malaysia who will completely agree on everything we have in our schools today.

We not only learn to read and write there but also form our opinions and prejudices about almost everything from what we see and learn in the school environment.

It is a shame that in the school system we have today the children are deprived of a sense of belonging. Being proud of your school, it would seem, is not in the normal syllabus or co-curriculum activities.

A sense of belonging is a deep-rooted instinct in all human beings, and it is a shame that students are not allowed to enjoy this basic feeling because, it would seem, our education system serves the higher socio-political purpose of producing mechanical Malaysians who will think and act alike.



Thirty years ago, my schoolmates and I were treated to a free movie after taking part in the state-level National Day parade in Seremban.

I can still remember that the show was at the Capitol cinema in Jalan Sheikh Ahmad (sadly the cinema is no more) and all of us rushed upstairs to the circle seats.

Why did we do it? Because we were from King George V secondary school and in our opinion being upstairs confirmed our status as students of THE premier school in town.

More importantly, our number one enemies from St Paul's Institution were seated downstairs. Mid-way through the show, it was time for us to act. Sweet wrappers, peanut shells and kwai-chi (melon seeds) were rained down on the Paulians.

It was harmless fun, a simple school kid prank. The next year, they conquered the circle seats and we Georgians were on the receiving end of the bombs from the top.

The Paulians were also very good at hockey and when it came to matches between our two schools these were always a close affair.

Until today, the old boys of the two schools are still fiercely loyal and, more importantly, PROUD of their respective alma maters.

Such rivalry and pride have enabled Seremban to produce many leaders in sports, politics, the civil service and community service for the nation.

Do you hear your son or daughter speak with pride of their school or of rivalry with another?

The education system has changed all that. Firstly, there are now a lot more schools than 30 years ago. And somewhere along the way, someone decided that schools would be named after the housing estates or even the road where they were located.

My daughter goes to SK USJ2 in Subang Jaya. Can you imagine trying to cheer and shout "Come on, USJ2?" It is a mouthful, and can hardly be an inspirational cheer as your football star races down the line to score.

Schools should be named after a person, a famous one if possible. I think with 50 years of history, there would be enough multi-racial heroes out there who can lend their name to schools and inspire our youngsters.

Even if you have that one good footballer or hockey player who can rise above a mouthful of a cheer, chances are today your school will lose that player to a specialised sports school.

Sports glory is a very important part of creating pride in the student body, and in turn such loyalty inspires the children do well on all fronts for their school.

But that is not how things work nowadays.

There are schools in every state that specialise in hockey, football, athletics, etc. The best players, once found, are taken away from their original schools and placed in these so-call sports factories.

In the words of Deputy Education Minister Datuk Noh Omar, the plan now is to strengthen the training module and streamline the school sports curriculum to produce more professional athletes.

It seems gathering all the good athletes into one school will help the nation create better footballers and hockey players.

They've got to be kidding, right? They have been doing this for the past two decades, but where is that super team? What have all these special schools got us? Not a single shot at international glory.

A good point to note is that — the world beaters we do have today — Nicol David (women's squash) or Shalin Zulkifli (women's bowling) are all involved in individual sports.

I'd rather have the best players — team sports or otherwise stay behind in their original school so that they can inspire the others.

As if this was not bad enough, then there are those sports schools like the one at Bukit Jalil. The Government now wants to build more of the same.

A friend of mine sits on the schools sports advisory panel and I told him bluntly that this practice must stop. But, unfortunately, a couple of weeks after our talk, a new school sports programme was announced to further cement the present set-up.

It is a pity because already all our schools look the same and are faced with all sorts of criticism on the teaching front. Having their pride and joy taken away is just something these soulless, faceless

and uninspired schools cannot afford.

Many schools like my own KGV and St Paul's, St John's and Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, St Xavier's and Free School in Penang, Malacca High and St Francis in Malacca, St Michael's and Anderson in Ipoh are still being supported by their former students.

Their respective old boys and girls provide scholarships and other financial support for their alma mater.

I doubt the students of today's generation will do the same, not because they will not have the capability to do so but rather that they will not have much connection with their old school.

It is time to give our schools proper names and to bring back student pride in the place where they spend the best years of their life.

The Star