Former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan today shared her thoughts on the erroneous information contained in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s teaching modules regarding Hindus and Sikhism.

In an open letter to UTM vice-chancellor Wahid Omar, she outlined the root causes of such incidents, and suggested solutions.

Below is her letter in full:

Open Letter to the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Prof Ir Dr Wahid Omar

Dear Vice-Chancellor,

Your apology and expression of remorse together with your commitment to investigate the Titas slides is most welcome.

Let me, however, offer you a perspective which I hope you will consider.

What happened at your institution is, in my view, merely a symptom of a much larger problem that the country is facing. Years of brainwashing, racist supremacist statements by our leaders, and a system that condones and encourages racial polarisation have brought us today, to those infamous slides. As an educator, I am sure you are equally alarmed at where we are, given that this is the 21st century we are talking about and we are no longer a young nation.

The systematic creation of a narrow and bigoted thought process may help in a political agenda, but does nothing for the recipients of such tutelage. We can only rewrite history and social science so much. I hope that you share my view that those who have manipulated our young minds into becoming so closed have done the community a great disservice. They have also done a great disservice to those who are made to feel they are lesser mortals. Indeed, what they have done is to stunt the potential of our youth, both in heart and mind, making it difficult for them to compete in the global village.

Thus I see your latest problem as an inevitable result of a system that has been in place for years and which is sanctioned by those in power. You know the system I am talking about. You said this is an isolated incident. I don’t believe it will be the last of such incidents to surface in our education system. The only reason we know about the slides is because they went viral. But how many other such incidents are undetected? It may even be happening discreetly and may manifest in so many different ways.

Do you not think it is time to change, sir?

As an educator you must know that this brainwashing and feeding of young minds with false information must stop. Not all fall prey to this abuse, mind you. Many students, due to their parents’ and other teachers’ positive influences, do not succumb. I also know there are many good and dedicated teachers and these teachers are not the ones I am speaking of.

Having somewhat identified the source of the problem, I think I should be constructive. But before that, I believe you should ignore those who have suggested that you should not offer an apology. They are the ones who would encourage the system of “them and us”. They do not want Malaysians to live in harmony. They love the polarisation. They do not believe that human beings are all equal. They certainly do not believe in our diversity, as you do. They fail to understand that your tendering an apology is a sign of strength and courage, not weakness and that it is an acknowledgement that human beings are not infallible but that we can become better.

Now the solutions. You have stated that you are conducting investigations and that due action will be taken as necessary. I have some other suggestions.

May I suggest that you take your inquiry much further than just this incident. I suggest that you delve deeper and identify the root causes of the thought process of the educators who were responsible for the slides. It appears that they too are a product of the system I spoke of. I suggest you also engage all your lecturers of all races and ask them what they truly feel about each community in the country. Do they feel superior, or do they feel like second-class citizens? Investigate where your educators are from. Their schools, their influences and the reasons for their mindsets.

Engage your students in the same way. Ask if they stick to groups of one race or do they engage harmoniously with one another. I believe the polarisation is stark in most institutions and this has been the case for many years.

After all that, tabulate the findings and then move on to your second phase. The difficult one. Changing the mindsets of both the lecturers and students.

Teach them to value each others’ cultures. Show them how rich each culture is. Let them learn how much a diverse Malaysia can teach them. That we are all humans with the same aspirations. That they must open up their minds and embrace all the knowledge that they can acquire and can share. And most importantly that they must have an inquiring mind, free of prejudices and bigotry. In fact, why not have them all learn about the different religions? Did you know that when I want to give speeches, I can go to any religious text and I will have no problems finding beautiful passages on peace, justice, compassion and integrity.

What do you think, sir? Are you willing to carry out this experiment for the sake of the nation? There are many people who will gladly help you. Take it not only as a challenge but as a necessary step to reverse our intellectual decline.

Were you aware, sir, that there is a wonderful article in the latest The Economist about how to make a good teacher? It is worth a read. And it is worth asking your teachers to read it too. It is clearly time to invest in our teachers.

It is also time we aimed for a system of education with integrity and intellectual excellence. We need to encourage true scholarship. I am not an education professional but I believe we have to keep politicians out of deciding education policy and leave it to educators instead. In other words, let’s take the politics out of education.

You can be the start of the change that this nation needs. I hope that as an educator you will set an example and consider what I have said with an open mind. It is time. Our children deserve much better.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Ambiga Sreenevasan