COMMENT You don't have to be a rocket scientist to detect the contradictions, lies and half-truths that are being perpetrated in the country.

These things are not coming from just ordinary people, but from those having ministerial ranks and civil service positions - persons who ought to know what is seriously lacking in the country!

It is going to be nearly 60 years after political independence, yet we talking about "empowering" ethnic relations, trying to do away with vernacular schools as though they stand in the way of national unity.

However, we continue to emphasise bumiputera rights, such as special privileges for Malays, special schools and colleges for Malays, housing quota and preferential places for Malays in the civil service and the private sector.

With Umno in power for decades, what can we expect? Do we expect Umno to abandon its "Ketuanan Melayu" ideology to embrace an ideology that is inclusive and integrative? This will mean that Umno will become irrelevant in the Malaysian political arena.

And yet Umno politicians, when the situation demands, would have no feeling of guilt to talk about Umno being an all-inclusive party, its long-term partnership with non-Malay parties in the BN and that it cares for all ethnic groups.

Umno's hypocrisy is well-known; there is no need to elaborate. However, what puzzles me is how Umno politicians have contributed in a large measure to "ethnicise" the education system of the country to a point that the system has failed Malaysians miserably.

The education system, right from the primary to tertiary education, has failed to prepare Malaysians both intellectually and in terms of human resources to fit in with the present globalised world.

Skill level of Malaysians far behind Singaporeans

The present skill level of Malaysians is around 30 percent, far behind Singapore, South Korea and Japan, to name a few countries. Perhaps it is time that we stop comparing Malaysia to these Asian economic giants and compare with failed states like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Laos and others.

Our ministers, simply don't understand the Malaysian human resources predicament but sometimes go roller-coast by saying that we are moving towards a developed status by the year 2020, maybe the goal-post has been shifted now, given the 1MDB and the colossal loss of funds!

A few days back Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid said his ministry is going to empower schoolchildren between the ages of seven and 12 to have better racial ties.

To this effect, the ministry plans to organise programmes to enable children of different ethnic groups to understand one another’s culture, custom and religion.

This suggestion is simplistic, naïve and stupid, to say the least. One wonders what kind of education minister Khalid is, and from where he sourced this "wonderful" idea of racial integration?

The idea of children and adults getting together represents a nonsensical approach to racial integration. It is very simplistic and does not get to the bottom of what is really standing in the way of race relations in the country.

Inter-racial mixing during major festivals (open houses) and occasional congregations by themselves do not address fundamental issues of ethnic and religious tensions in the country.

We have been having open houses during festivals predating independence, but have these done anything to mitigate the growing ethnic and religious tensions in the country? The answer is definitely no! These occasions are specious in nature and they might show a semblance of racial integration, but that is all!

A move towards improving ethnic ties and relationships must be comprehensive and genuine. It should move from one stage to another, and in the process investigate the real roots of racial tensions and what are the causes of such tensions in schools and other places.

But surely one thing is certain: we cannot expect Umno leaders and ministers to resolve this perennial problem that actually emanates from pursuing racial policies and goals.

The root cause of our tensions

As I have reiterated countless time in my publications, the root cause of racial and religious tensions in the country is the racist nature of our political, social and economic systems.

You get rid of this, then we can expect changes in the realm of education. It is no point in blaming students and parents; they are merely acting what has been instilled in them for years! Maybe Khalid should take time off to examine the “trap” he is caught in before opening his mouth!

Anyway, whether he realises or not, Khalid does not have the luxury to re-examine the state of race relations in the country!  In other words, all these utterances by ministers and top civil servants are meant to "white-wash" the beleaguered regime of the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that is caught in the whirlpool of 1MDB financial scandal of a massive kind.

Najib needs to be saved at all costs and it has become a duty of his handpicked ministers and top civil servants to their utmost best to shore up the regime.

We will not be surprised if Umno is already bankrolling countless numbers of cyber troopers to prop up Najib in the cyberspace!

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.