We have been independent since 1957, but the colonial legacy of 'divide and rule' through various strategies seems to have been strengthened, rather than discarded. The definition of a Malaysian is elusive, and the much-hyped Malaysian identity as 'melting pot' of a variety of ethnicities seems an illusion.

The education system should be one that integrates the young generation, enabling them to interact with others irrespective of racial origins or religious affiliations. Alas, racial origin and religious affiliation seem to be the rallying point for most of our political parties. Citizens are more divided than ever as these parties are exploiting these issues to the tilt.

The history of our schools clearly shows their necessity during the colonial era. The Chinese and Tamils had their syllabi from their homeland, Malay and English schools had their syllabi designed by the colonial administration.

While the Indians did not have the economic means for a full-fledged secondary education system, the Chinese did, paving the way for their young ones to gain university education in the Chinese medium.

The Chinese have always emphasised on education, and were willing to set aside tidy sums of money to build educational institutions in the villages, towns and cities. Most of these institutions were built on land owned by the community. In each big town, we see at least a couple of secondary schools owned by the community. One school will remain as a private school owned by the community, while the others run under the national education system as the national-type schools.

The community have proven the implementation of the national education system were able to compare the results. The placement of the academic staff and the students in these schools have become the prerogative of the local education authorities, and the perception of the Chinese community is that these schools do not get a fair treatment.

There are very few Chinese schools situated on government land. This shows two distinct features: the Chinese have understood the provision in the Federal Constitution that the communities will be allowed to conserve the study of their languages without any mention of governmental support.

In case that government support ends, the community is willing to take the task unto itself as it has the physical facilities ready. The second feature is the colossal failure and the inability of the government to gain the confidence of the community through a sensitive and effective policy implementation that allays any fears of the community.

On the one hand, the extreme stand taken by the Chinese to have schools that do not reflect the Malaysian identity is dangerous and sows seeds of alienation, while on the other hand, the highly biased policy implementation of the national educational administration has created a situation where the majority has become aversive to other communities in the country.

The engineered ethnic composition of the staff has accelerated this process. When policy-makers hail from one single community, this is bound to happen; and this very nature of one community deciding the fate of the education of the other communities evokes a feeling of worry and uncertainty. We wonder how the fathers of our policies could not understand this elementary fact.

The reluctance of the Chinese community to greet the Wawasan school concept is simply due to a fact that it is designed and implemented by one community onto the others.

The prime minister may be sincere in his wish to witness a Malaysian education system that helps in the formation of a Malaysian identity. But the entrenched education system and its administrators are ill-equipped to deliver such a product.

Unless all our communities feel that they have a genuine stake in the system and voluntarily send their children to the nearby community school that caters for the needs of the local population without any bias, we cannot be proud being Malaysians.

Today, the system seeks to create a upward mobility through many sponsored routes for one community, while the other communities strive to match that with rival routes to ensure that the younger generations are not left out in the race.

Coercion by legislation alone will not bring about an integration of the various ethnic groups. Although the majority rules in a democracy, the needs and aspirations of the minorities must be safeguarded, and the minorities should be made to feel comfortable.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, both the majority and the minorities seem to feel uncomfortable due to a host of factors that have been effectively exploited by our short-sighted politicians.

We need real statesmen to address this mess. If left unchecked, unemployment among youth over a prolonged period will create strife. Maybe education in this country must be administered by an independent multi-racial commission that is free from political interferences, but bound only by the Federal Constitution.

As long as there is political interference, this mess is bound to deteriorate further to the detriment of our nation.