'Vernacular schools not stumbling block to national unity'

Vernacular schools in multi- ethnic Malaysia are not a stumbling block to national unity, an academic has said, days after a professor called for abolishing Tamil and Chinese medium schools.
Dr Denison Jayasooria from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, responding to calls for Tamil and Chinese schools to be abolished as a way to achieve unity among the races, said that national unity rests on various factors, including the role played by educators and the community at large.
"I do not think that the school environment in vernacular schools is an issue as they are still national schools and use the same curriculum," Dr Denison said.

"I think a child can be brought up to be non-racial in his outlook through an appreciation of the diversity, which should be strengthened (regardless of which stream of school he attends), he said.
Earlier, Universiti Teknologi Mara pro-chancellor Dr Abdul Rahman Arshad had called for all Malaysian children to attend single-stream or national schools.
The reaction drew criticism from some sections while many had disagreed with the former Education director-general's views, with some even terming his call seditious.

Dr Denison, who is a principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies in UKM, also said the nation-building agenda could be further strengthened after the conclusion of the general election.

Eight per cent of Malaysia's population is ethnic Indian and most of them are Tamils.
Whereas, 25 per cent of the population is ethnic Chinese.
Besides the main stream National schools where several subjects are in Malay, Malaysia also has Tamil and Chinese schools.