Had someone told me that young Malaysians nowadays are more united, I would have laughed in his face. However, when it is coming from a person with the stature of James Wong Wing On ('Young Malaysians: The search for genuine national unity', Aug 15) it made me pause and read on.

Unfortunately, his article failed to convince me. The mainstream media and the politicians might have their own agendas to claim that racial and religious unity has declined, but I certainly disagree with James Wong's opinion as I feel this is a gross misinterpretation of reality.

I am in my mid-30s and having studied in national-type schools, a local public university as well as having had the opportunity to observe at close hand today's youths, I am of the opinion that compared with the older generations, Malaysian youths are divided along racial and religious lines and the situation is worsening.

There are several factors contributing to this.

1) Education system

We had English-medium schools. Students were from all races. We were able to mix freely amongst each other. This enabled us to understand and respect each other's culture and religion. However, with the introduction of Bahasa Malaysia-medium schools and the declining level of educational standards in those schools, non-Malay parents started to send their children to national-type (Chinese, Tamil) and independent schools.

This deprived the young children from mixing with children of other races at an early stage. By the time they meet at the secondary schools, racial prejudices have already been set firmly in their young minds.

I would like to point out that many non-Malay parents were forced to send their children to national-type or independent schools not because they disliked the national language but due to the bureaucratic practices at the education departments and the overzealous teachers/administrators at national schools.

Many children were denied the opportunity to study their mother tongue as the school administrators used all the tricks and excuses in the book to block their intake. There was too much emphasis on the teaching of Islam and implementation of Islamic practices. The racial composition of teachers also changed from multi-ethnic to predominantly Malay.

2) The rise of Islamic consciousness

Overzealous authorities have also tried to impose 'Islamic' practices on non-Muslims. When I was studying in a local university (this was more than a decade ago), the university authorities forced non-Muslim female undergraduates to wear the tudung (headscarf) during orientation week and tried to make non-Muslim males use track bottoms instead of shorts when playing sports.

I could go on and on about these moronic rules and practices but the point is what used to be a racial divide now has been replaced by a religious one. The racial divide was easier to close with the improved economic and social equality of the races. But the religious divide is a very much more serious matter as it is far harder or even impossible to narrow or eliminate.

3) Globalisation

With the advent of globalisation, the information that we receive, irrespective of whether it is in print, visual or digital format, is no longer controlled by the government. This could be good, but it is bad for ethnic relations.

Previously, we watched RTM and the local news so we followed national developments and learnt to respect the cultures and sensitivities of the other races. We also had a good understanding of Bahasa Malaysia. But with the liberalised flow of information, we have access to satellite TV, the Internet and hundreds of newspapers and magazines. Many people are no longer interested in local news or programmes.

For example, many of the Astro subscribers and their children tend to watch programmes in their mother tongue or foreign news channels. This had created more barriers to inter-ethnic relations and national integration. This unfettered information flow also has brought a moral decay upon our youths, resulting in them losing respect for the law and order and acting on their basic instincts rather than guided by their consciousness.

Malaysians nowadays are better educated and many have been exposed to life in Western countries and their brand of democracy and civil liberties. While these young people tend to have a more liberal view, unfortunately these views tend to be confined to civil rights and administration of the country rather than the inter-ethnic relationships.

They lack critical thinking skills and try to apply the Western template in totality to the Malaysian context. Of course, there are exceptions and these exceptional young people are the ones who normally attend courses such as mentioned by James Wong.

In contrast, the generation before mine was race- and religion-blind and much more tolerant compared with our children's generation or ours. They might not have been better educated but they certainly had better social consciousness and are far more committed to national integration and unity than us.

I'm always amazed to see the way senior citizens of various races interacting among each other. They have no use for race or religion.

But each time I observe how our school children and youths behave, I really worry for the future of our beloved nation. If you do not believe me, visit any of our schools and observe things for yourself.