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Nazri: UPM book is seditious

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ethnic Relations book being used in a local university is seditious and should be renamed “Ethnic Dis-relation”, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. 

“The book will only create tension within the different races in Malaysia,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday after looking at excerpts of the Universiti Putra Malaysia Ethnic Relations book published in January this year. 

“What was on their minds when they wrote the book? How will the contents help enhance ethnic relations?” . 

Nazri expressed surprise that some parts considered offensive were published. 

“This is seditious. We really do not need such things to be taught to our students. It is very insensitive of those who published the book,” he added.  

The book will be a compulsory subject for university students from this year. 

He said the Higher Education Ministry should study the book and that “really, there are no lessons to be learnt from the book”. 

Nazri said those unhappy with the book’s contents could lodge a police report so that the police could investigate.  

Among the contents that disturbed Nazri were blaming the 2001 Kampung Medan incident on Indians and the May 13 race riots on the DAP. 

Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed told reporters that the ministry had no plan to suspend the book. 

However, he said the Government would make necessary changes if required. 

Earlier, in Parliament, he said the book’s contents were based on historical facts, which might be open to further analysis and interpretation. 

Issues such as the May 13 incident, the Kampung Medan riots and the Malaysian Chinese Election Appeals Committee (Suqiu) had become part of the country’s history, he said. 

“The Suqiu appeal has been understood as extremist and had gone against the provisions in the Malaysian Constitution,” he told Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. 

“Some historical facts cannot be changed and others are subject to interpretation.  

“Analysts can make their own interpretation on the issues covered. 

“The Government will ensure that if there are any factual errors, it will make the proper amendments.” 

Lim had asked Mustapa if the ministry was aware of some matters highlighted in the new Ethnic Relations book.  

Lim said the book could aggravate racial relations instead of promoting national unity among university students. 

Later, at a press conference, Chong Chieng Jen (DAP – Bandar Kuching) said the book should be withdrawn as it contained inaccurate excerpts of the Federal Constitution. 

He pointed out a “grave error” on page 85, which quoted Article 11 (4) as “no religion except Islam can be taught or preached to non-Muslims”. 

“Article 11 (4) actually states that only Islam can be taught or preached to Muslims. 

“The book should be withdrawn to protect the freedom of Malaysians. The wrongful translation is tantamount to rewriting the Constitution,” he told reporters.  

PM orders ethnic relations guidebook withdrawn

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has instructed Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) to withdraw its controversial ethnic relations guidebook.

Ong: Textbooks should consider sensitive issues

KUALA LUMPUR: Textbooks and reference books should be balanced, taking into account the sensitivities of the different communities in the country.  

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said books published must not be based on the views of just one or two individuals. 

“That will be very personal and biased. It will be unfair if the book is used as a textbook. This will send wrong signals to the younger generation,” he said. 

He was commenting on Universiti Putra Malaysia’s teaching guide on the Ethnic Relations subject, published in January, which discusses issues such as the May 13 incident, the Kampung Medan riots and the Malaysian Chinese Election Appeals Committee (Suqiu). 

Ong said the MCA felt that the guide should not draw conclusions on certain incidents that would jeopardise the relationship and harmony between the various ethnic groups.  

Malaysians, he said, should not forget the country’s history. 

“The country achieved its independence through various political parties that represented its major races. We fought hard for it. Don’t let a few incidents override our historical background,” he cautioned. 

He said the contributions made by everyone from the pre-Merdeka days up to today must be appreciated. 

Yesterday, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed had said the ministry was willing to improve on the guide and correct facts in the book that were not balanced. 

“We have noted his assurance,” said Ong. 

Meanwhile, Gerakan Youth has protested against the guide because it said the party’s general election victory procession and statements by party leaders were one of the reasons for the May 13,1969, riot. 

“This is a distortion of historical facts,” the movement’s chairman Datuk Mah Siew Keong said in a statement. 

“The guidebook is misleading and baseless and contradicts the Gerakan’s non-racial approach and its initiative in promoting national unity and ethnic harmony,” he added. 

He said the Higher Education Ministry’s “good intention” of making Ethnic Relations a mandatory subject for university students should not be politicised.  

Grads claim biasness in other courses

By SHARMILLA GANESAN

PETALING JAYA: At Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), the Ethnic Relations subject is a one-semester compulsory course which is worth two credits. Students attend two-hour lectures twice a week and many are taught by part-time lecturers.  

At public universities, it is one of several compulsory subjects undergraduates have to take, and pass, anytime during their three or four-year course. They also have to take Malaysian Studies, Islamic Civilisation, Malaysian Citizenship and languages. 

The Ethnic Relations course covers, among others, an introduction to basic concepts, such as plurality. 

First-year students at Universiti Malaya, Joseph Tong and Chong Huey Ching, however, claimed that they have not been informed about the subject. 

A few graduates, however, hope that the scrutiny sparked by the outburst over the Ethnic Relations module will also bring into focus the biasness of the content in the other compulsory university courses, namely Islamic Civilisation and Malaysian Citizenship. 

A fresh graduate of UPM said she had encountered biased content in the compulsory Islamic Civilisation unit when she was studying.  

“I found the textbook very condescending towards the other religions, and the lecturer would highlight these parts,” she said.  

A Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia graduate too said how his lecturer handled the Islamic Civilisation class made him feel very uncomfortable.  

“He made me hate going to the class. In the end, I skipped the class and because of that I lost credit points, which affected my overall results,” he added.  

UPM guide for lecturers stays

By SIMRIT KAUR and ZULKIFLI ABDUL RAHMAN

KUALA LUMPUR: The Higher Education Ministry will not withdraw the Ethnic Relations module being used at Universiti Putra Malaysia as it is merely a teaching guide, not an authorised textbook. 

“UPM found it necessary to come up with a guide as this compulsory course involved thousands of students,” Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. 

“It is not a ‘book’ in the real sense as it did not go through the editing process that a textbook would undergo.” 

He said the ministry was preparing standardised and detailed guidelines and a textbook to be used by all public universities. The textbook produced by the ministry will be titled Basic Concept of Ethnic Relations. 

However, Mustapa said, there was no need for UPM to withdraw its teaching guide or for the Ethnic Relations subject to be abolished. 

“UPM has been asked to ensure that they reflect the standardised guidelines being prepared by the ministry,” he added.  

A module with guidelines for the new subject was drafted in December last year.  

“It is at the final stage of editing and is awaiting approval. It should be ready in two to three months’ time,” Mustapa said. 

It was prepared by a panel of experts led by Dr Johan Saravanamuthu Abdullah from Universiti Sains Malaysia; Datuk Prof Dr Shamsul Amri Baharudin and Prof Dr Abdul Latif Samian from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; Prof Dr Azizan Baharuddin and Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim from Universiti Malaya, Prof Dr Jayum Jawan from Universiti Putra Malaysia; and Assoc Prof Musa Ahmad from Universiti Teknologi MARA. 

In October 2004, a decision was made to make Ethnic Relations a compulsory subject for all university students beginning with the 2006/2007 academic session.  

Currently, the Ethnic Relations subject is not standardised, with each university running the course based on its respective capabilities. 

Mustapa also refuted Opposition allegations that the UPM guidelines were historically inaccurate.  

He said a typographical error on the propagation of Islam would be corrected. He was referring to Article 11 (4) which was misquoted as “no religion except Islam can be taught or preached to non-Muslims” which should have read Muslims. 

“The Suqiu demands in 1999 were extremist as they went against Article 153 of the Federal Constitution on the rights of bumiputras while the DAP’s involvement in rallies during the May 13 incidents is a historical fact, although other political parties were involved.” 

He added that the line on “Indians’ anti-social behaviour in the Kampung Medan incident” was taken from a study by Dr Denison Jayasooria presented at a convention in 2003. 

Mustapa added dsthe public university students were free to give other views. 

“Those who don’t agree (with the guidelines) can debate it during the Ethnic Relations class,” he said.  

Don: Be careful in ethnic relations

PETALING JAYA: Ethnic relations is a sensitive subject that needs to be handled with care, and universities should not rush to get their teaching materials and content out, said historian Prof Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim yesterday. 

“Why do we always fall into the typical Malaysian pitfall of rushing into something, only to discover that the results are not up to expectations? Historical facts, for instance, need to be easily verifiable,” he said, admonishing the Ethnic Relations module prepared by Universiti Putra Malaysia, which caused a furore over its factual errors.  

“Writers dealing with historical facts must be able to give the precise source of where they get their facts. If the source is vague, then their facts will be highly questionable.” 

The guide or notes for lecturers were reportedly prepared in haste for its first-year students to accommodate the Government’s decision to introduce the subject this academic year, which started in early July at public universities.  

According to a UPM academic, the teaching guide was compiled from archives and a collection of materials by several authors to provide uniformity to the teaching of the course. 

Prof Khoo described some of the contents as “rash” and “judgmental”, particularly the blaming of the May 13 race riots on the DAP. 

“It is a rash statement because there is no evidence of who started the riots. It is a complex issue that needs to be studied from all aspects. It is important for historians not to pass judgment and be able to deal with hard facts coldly,” he added.  

Prof Khoo, who is a member of the multi-racial team assigned to design the course, said no textbook had been drafted and the module outlining the course would only be out next month.  

He said the best way to relay the subject to students was to focus on culture instead of politics. 

“We should not encourage young people to talk about politics, instead they should talk about culture,” he said.  

“There is no need to address the subject politically because politics engages conflict and deals with competition for power when the real issue is the lack of understanding between the different races among the younger generation. They need to understand the differences between races and what makes each one special.”  

For Academic Movement president Associate Professor Dr Wan Abdul Manan Wan Muda, it could be a case of too little too late to introduce the subject of ethnic relations to students in university. 

“Ethnic sensitivities, understanding and harmony need to be fostered from a young age,” he said.  

Mustapa’s reply on Kg Medan riots irks MPs

KUALA LUMPUR: MPs saw red during the debate on the Ethnic Relations guidebook at the Dewan Rakyat, with parliamentarians from both sides of the House questioning the merit of the controversial teaching guide.

The reply by Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, especially on the Kampung Medan riots, irked not only Opposition MPs but also several from the Barisan Nasional. Mustapa’s reply to points raised in a motion by Chong Chieng Jen (DAP – Bandar Kuching) did not satisfy the MPs, who constantly fired salvos at him for purportedly “beating around the bush” in his 30-minute explanation.

On a section in page 78 of the guide which blamed Indian youths for the 2001 Kampung Medan incident, he said it was based on a paper by Datuk Dr Denison Jeyasooria, the MIC think-tank Yayasan Strategic Social executive director. K. Devamany (BN – Cameron Highlands) objected to this, saying that “Jeyasooria’s personal views does not represent the MIC’s stand.'’

Earlier, Chong tabled a motion addressing several points in the guide which he claimed were erroneous and distorted certain historical facts. On the controversy regarding the DAP’s alleged involvement in the May 13, 1969 riots, Mustapa said it was a fact, although he did not deny the involvement of other political parties. Chong said it was unfair that the guide pointed fingers at the DAP as the cause for the racial riots, arguing that the Gerakan and Umno were the ones responsible.

Datuk Razali Ibrahim (BN – Muar) said the guide would not provide much help in promoting racial relations. “A mere 120 pages are not enough to explain such issues to students. Even the subject of the struggles of Umno was only one page long,” he added.

Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN – Ayer Hitam) said the ministry should postpone teaching the subject until a thorough review had been conducted. “It seemed like the authors were not sensitive to the feelings of Malaysians of other races when they put this guide together,” he added. "Students who have attended the course have told me that it does not mention the contribution of the Chinese and Indians at all.”

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said the mistakes made in the guide amounted to “distorting the truth.” “We should inculcate unity and move away from racial polarisation. But this guidebook is not helping matters at all,” he added.

Mustapa said the text in question was only a teaching guide, adding that a proper textbook on the subject would be issued for universities soon. He denied that the guide was seditious, adding that it would not be withdrawn, although there were some mistakes. “Please don’t be emotional. It’s only a guidebook for lecturers. I admit that there’s a typographical error in relation to Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution. I apologise. That will be corrected,” he said. Mustapa said that some paragraphs on Suqiu would also be rephrased and the word “extremist” replaced.

Meanwhile, MIC secretary-general Datuk S. Subramaniam said Dr Jeyasooria’s view was personal and was not endorsed by the party. He said the direction taken by the guide was disappointing, and the focus should be on “the richness of our racial diversity.”