I am a ‘product’ of the national school curriculum implemented in the 1970s. When I entered primary one, we did not have English medium schools anymore. My parents sent me to national school. The memory is still fresh in my mind, although it was more than 30 years ago that I first entered school. During my first day of school, I could see so many new friends who spoke different languages.

When I grew older, I was in the local university and realised that those who were from national schools like me were able to mix freely with Malaysian of different races. We could chat, share our views, etc. But most of those who were from the national-type school were not able to mix freely. And after graduating and joining the working group, this trend applied too. The question is why should we let this happen?

As a Malaysian, most of us know that education is an important issue and an extremely sensitive issue. Any mishandling of the issue by the government will be used by opposition parties against it. Hence, sometimes this type of issue is better put aside. Maintain the status quo. Everyone will be happy. But for how long? Day after day, most of us will notice that citizens of different races in our country do not integrate.

One example is the issue of the Vision schools. Who dares to bring it up again? It created so much discomfort between the government and certain educational parties. But does it mean that when we sweep something aside, everything will be cleaned up and straightened out on its own?

Issues need to be dealt with accordingly. Solutions need to be found together. Recently, when our prime minister gave comments about national schools and their main function for national integration, compared to national-type schools, it has became a sensitive issue again. When will we learn? As a Chinese Malaysian who studied in a national school since primary school, I am proud of my English and the way I speak the Malay language. But I do have my disappointments.

I cannot write Chinese (I learned to read Chinese through song lyrics). The language is important in the region, especially when we are dealing with other Asian countries like China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. And also by knowing the language, we have access to knowledge in books and articles.

We all know that our government has introduced People’s Own Language programmess in national schools. But since it’s an optional subject, we noticed that it is not progressing as well as it should be. When something is ‘optional,’ we are tempted to consider it as not important. Parents feel it too.

Parents are doubtful that their children will be able to learn their own languages, like Mandarin or Tamil, in a national school. This worry has prompted more and more parents to send their children to national-type schools. And I believe that this trend is unhealthy for our long-term national integration.

I would like to suggest that in national schools, people of different races must be taught their own language and passing this subject must be compulsory. As for implementing it, the education ministry needs to come out with proper guidelines. Ask yourself this question: Why should parents enroll their children in national-type schools if children will have adequate facilities to learn their own languages in the national schools?

This will be a way for us to move towards a more racially-integrated country. National integration should start when our citizens are still young. The future of our country depends on policymakers today. Don’t delay. The issue has been dragging on for a long time now. In 25 years time, it’s my hope that the next generation will say, ‘Why should we have so many types of schools in Malaysia, when one type of school will serve the needs of all’ A new generation with a true Malaysian spirit will evolve. Let us hope for that day to come.