Anwar Ibrahim had a wonderful opportunity to bring the various communities closer when he was education minister in the 1980s and spearheading the Malaysian National Syllabus for Secondary Schools (KBSM). He took a personal interest in the curricula and Moral Studies was brought in for non-Muslims as a compulsory subject.

While it was admirable that he introduced Bahasa Baku for the national language, he was not that accommodative for mother-tongue education. He increased the number of Agama Islam periods to six of 40 minutes each, four of which were within the timetable and two as a practical sessions out of the school timetable.

Meanwhile, three periods of Moral Studies for the non-Muslims were slotted into the school timetable to run concurrently with Agama Islam, leaving only one period for Pupils' Own Language class. In effect, Chinese and Tamil had to be taught out of school hours.

What was more disappointing was that before the KBSM was implemented, Civics was a 40-minute (weekly) subject for all students, and Chinese and Tamil classes were held together with Agama Islam during three periods within the school timetable.

The general feeling then was that it was a deliberate attempt to hamper the learning of Chinese and Tamil at the secondary school level. Most of the Chinese and Tamil students were not keen to attend classes after school hours. It was even worse for those using public transport or a school bus service.

When the matter was brought up for discussion to allow principals some flexibility in arranging the teaching of Pupils' Own Language, they were told to strictly follow the directives given by the minister and that there was no room for compromise on the implementation of the KBSM.

That decision by Anwar created a greater divide among Malaysians. He lost an ideal opportunity to show all Malaysians that the Pupils' Own Language classes could be taught in national schools, under one roof, effectively. And if only a good model had been put in place in earnest, we would be closer to placating those who champion vernacular schools to safeguard their mother-tongue.

It is irrelevant how Anwar feels about mother-tongue education today when he is not in power. His successor today, Hishamuddin Hussein Onn, has said very clearly that he would never 'succumb' to any pressure from any group that will threaten the special position of the bumiputeras in education which may be interpreted in many ways.

Are we any closer to solutions after embarking on 'revamps' in education? I doubt it.

Unless the ministers especially those from Umno clearly and sincerely display a willingness to accommodate the needs of the minorities, the insistence on having different types of schools for the minority communities will go unabated - leaving the dream of a united Malaysia a mere dream.