Being Human, Humane, Humaneness, Humankind-redspirit
Beyond the 'Dong Zong issue' by Azly Rahman in Malaysiakini I read with interest about ongoing governmental discrimination against Chinese schools, as highlighted by Dong Zong. Why are quality teachers and an abundance of resources still channeled only to Malay-dominated schools? Why are children in Chinese schools criminalised by the ‘sanction on teaching staff” which will ultimately deprive students of a good mother-tongue education? What actually is our illness with regard to denial of the students’ right to their own language? Do policy makers actually understand the relationship between culture, cognition, consciousness and citizenship? What does nationalism mean these days, and how do we understand it vis-a-viz use of language in schools? Whose brand of nationalism is being made dominant and what should an inclusive one look like? What is the real issue behind the age-old request for the Chinese schools to have more teachers? How are the children criminalised by all this?...