2.

1 Vision Schools

As the old Malay proverb says, if you wish to bend a bamboo, you have to do it when it is

still a young shoot, or else it would break. The same principle applies to educating and

nurturing future leaders of a growing nation. In the words of the late Nelson Mandela,

education is the most powerful weapon which you can change the world. In this case, we

are trying forge a future where all Malaysian consider themselves Malaysian first, and

Malay or Chinese or Indian or any other ethnicity, second.

Malaysia as a relatively young and developing country, will surely experience changes

and teething difficulties in all aspects of the country's needs, particularly in the political,

social and economic fields. However, the integrity of Malaysia maintaining the concept

of community mobilization, if not properly managed, will create another racial conflict.

The bloody incident of May 13, 1969 was a black spot in the country's history. Although

the incident has long passed, it is not impossible for history to repeat itself, if the affairs

of racial unity and tolerance is not managed with utmost care. The effort to unite the

people of our fair country continues with the introduction of the Vision School Concept

which is more inclusive, collective and racially harmonic schooling system.

The Vision School concept was looked upon as a practical move, where the students of

all ethnicities mixed around quite freely, shared the same playing fields, and canteens, but

still attend their own respective schools. It is essentially three schools in one, each with

own respective administrative and academic staff, sharing the same school campus. It
was hoped that the informal hours spent together would inculcate a spirit of unitedness

and the love for their nation. When they are able to interact from an early stage of

schooling and understand their other’s cultures, the children would grow up into a

generation of multicultural and united nation ready to face the challenges and realize the

Vision 2020.

The Vision School concept is aimed at fostering racial integration. However, there were

still resistance to the implementation of the concept. School is the best place to start a

community integration process. Vision Schools provide the best opportunities for

students from multi-racial backgrounds to interact directly because they would share

canteens, playing fields, halls, and other facilities at school. They would have the

opportunity to get to know and understand each other. With that, they will grow up with

tolerance and respect for the culture and religion of other races. The sense of suspicion

among races can be avoided. This can nurture racial understanding and thus accelerate

national integration.

Vision School would also help with the students’ mastery of Malay and English

languages rapidly. In vernacular schools, students communicate in their native language.

They would only speak Malay and English during the Malay and English subjects.

Therefore, the level of mastery of Malay and English languages of the students is very

disappointing. On the other hand, in the Vision School, its’ pupils are diverse. They

would have to use Malay and English to communicate. The frequency of using Malay
and English will allow them to communicate more fluently in those languages.

However, the concept of the Vision School has been opposed by some members of the

community. Some leaders of the Chinese and Indian communities claim that they

considered the Vision School would erode their ethnic identity and language. Some

Malay community leaders are also against the concept as they claimed the Vision School

would affect the roles of the Religious Schools because Islamic Studies could not be

taught in entirety at the Vision School. These chauvinist attitude is a barrier to the

government’s effort to implement the Vision School concept.

The Vision Schools though is very important to the future of the country but still has its

drawbacks. State. Despite being in the same campus and sharing of schools’ facilities,

they are still polarized. The students still form friendship and playmates groups along

racially divided lines. Even the teachers stick to their own colleagues from their

respective schools. So what would be the answer the problem of Malaysian unity?