1. THE MALAYSIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
A HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL
PERSPECTIVE
NOAH EZRIN

2. ABOUT MALAYSIA
Federation of Malaysia consists of :
 Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak
(Malaysian Borneo)
Location:
 Between 2deg – 7deg north of Equator
 South East Asia
 Borders Thailand (North), Singapore (South), Indonesia (South) and
Philippines (East)
Area:
 127,355 sq miles (329,847 km²)
Population:
 29,768, 915
 Malay 50.4%
 Chinese 23.7%
 Indigenous 11%
 Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004 est.)

3. Major Cities:
 KUALA LUMPUR (capital) 1.493 million
 Penang(Georgetown)
 Johor Bahru
 Ipoh
Languages:
 Bahasa Malaysia (official)
 English
 Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan)
 Tamil (Indian)
Literacy:
 definition: age 15 and over can read and write
 93.1% literacy rate
 School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
 13 years
 Education Expenditure:
 5.1% of GDP
ABOUT MALAYSIA

4. ABOUT MALAYSIA
Government Type:
 Constitutional Monarchy
 Nominally headed by paramount ruler (commonly referred to as the king) and
a bicameral Parliament consisting of a nonelected upper house and an elected
lower house
Independence:
 31 August 1957 (from the UK)
Economy:
 Malaysia, a middle-income country, has transformed itself since the 1970s
from a producer of raw materials into an emerging multi-sector economy.
Industries:
 Peninsular Malaysia - rubber and oil palm processing and manufacturing,
petroleum and natural gas, light manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical
technology, electronics and semi-conductors, timber processing
 Sabah - logging, petroleum and natural gas production;
 Sarawak - agriculture processing, petroleum and natural gas production,
logging

5. EARLY EDUCATION
 Prior to British colonization, education was informal
 Limited to acquiring survival skills
COLONIZATION
 PORTUGUESE (1511-1641) - Limited impact on Education
 DUTCH (1641-1824) - NO impact on Education
 BRITISH (1824-1942 and 1945-1957)
 Significant influence on development of education
 Development of English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil and
religious education
 Divide and Rule - Did not promote ethnic unity
 JAPANESE
 Significant influence on relationship between
ethnic groups
 School curriculum promoted Japanese culture and
values

6. ENGLISH SCHOOLS – PRE JAPANESE OCCUPATION
 Establishment of English schools in Malaya was led by the British
government, individuals and Christian missionaries.
 Opportunity to spread Christianity among the locals.
 Curriculum emphasized preparing students for the Cambridge Overseas
School Certificate
 Opportunity to further their education at the diploma level at Kings Edward
Medical College VII (1912) in Singapore, Raffles College (1919) or at degree
level at the University of England
 Earliest schools established were the Penang Free School (1816) in Pulau
Pinang, Victoria Institution (1893) and St. John’s Institution (1893)in Kuala
Lumpur, as well as the Methodist Boys’ School (1897) in Selangor.
 The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) was founded in 1905 to cater for
Malay aristocrats.

7. VERNACULAR MALAY SCHOOLS – PRE JAPANESE OCCUPATION
British Government set up Malay schools to teach Malay
children to become better farmers than their parents.
The curriculum emphasized on reading, writing, arithmetic,
geography and physical education
 The first Malay school was established in 1855 in Gelugur,
Penang
 The first Malay Girls’ School in Teluk Belanga also in Penang

8. VERNACULAR CHINESE SCHOOLS – PRE JAPANESE OCCUPATION
The Chinese were brought to Malaya from mainland China to
work at the tin mines in urban areas.
The curriculum, textbooks and teachers were brought in from
China
The first Chinese school was set up in Malacca in 1816 by
group of missionaries from London
Curriculum included History, Geography, Science,
Mathematics, Ethics, Writing, Physical Education and Music

9. VERNACULAR TAMIL SCHOOLS – PRE JAPANESE OCCUPATION
 The Indians were brought into Malaya to work in estates and plantations
 The development and growth of Tamil schools was thus closely linked to
the opening of rubber estates, coffee, sugar-cane and coconut plantations
 Textbooks and teachers were brought in from India while the curriculum
was adapted from the Indian curriculum.
 Parents opted to send their children to English schools as they had better
facilities and resources.
 By 1930, there were four types of Tamil schools namely, government
schools, estate schools, Indian community private schools and the
Christian missionary private schools.

10. DURING JAPANESE OCCUPATION (1942-1945)
 The Japanese army continued the vernacular schools
introduced by the British
 Added the Japanese language into the curriculum.
 Established the Nippon-Go school which emphasized on
Japanese culture and values.
 Education at the secondary level was replaced with the
establishment of technical schools and technical college
 Local teachers were given training in the teaching of the
Japanese language

11. PRE-INDEPENDENCE EDUCATION – BRITISH (1945-1957)
 Absence of uniformity in the provision of education
 Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil schools used their
respective medium of instruction, curricula, books and
teachers
 Children of different ethnic background could only study
together in the English schools
 Teachers for the Chinese and Tamil schools were brought in
from China and India
SEGREGATION EXISTED AMONG THE ETHNIC GROUPS

12. POST-INDEPENDENCE EDUCATION – POST 1957
 Prior to independence, there was awareness amongst the leaders and
the locals for the need to replace the education systems left behind by
the colonists with one common education system for all.
 This awareness resulted in the Razak Report 1956
 The Education Committee Report 1956 established an education system
that incorporated national characteristics and guaranteed a place in
schools for all children regardless of their ethnic or religion.
 The education policies as outlined in the Razak Report were the
foundation in the formulation of a national education system that
placed high emphasis on national unity.

13. CHALLENGES AND POLITICS
 At the time of independence, the segregated system of primary school
was accepted by the government as an integral part of the national
education system.
 Coexistence of alternative streams of education alongside mainstream
education provided different enrolment choices resulting in different
educational paths
 At the time of independence there were three types of secondary schools
using Malay, English, and Chinese as the medium of instruction
 Government was concerned of further ethnic segregation caused by the
Chinese secondary schools which flourished under British rule

14. CHALLENGES AND POLITICS
 Education Act of 1961 required all secondary schools to use Malay or
English as the medium of instruction faced strong objection from Chinese
 Still today 60 Chinese secondary schools had opted not to comply with
the Education Act of 1961 – comprising of 55,000 students
 The vernacular primary schools have persistently been singled as the main
cause of ethnic polarization in Malaysia
 The ‘divide and rule’ policy implemented by the British resulted in socio-
economic disparity which benefitted the Chinese and affected the
educational sector
 The racial riots of 13 May 1969 caused by intense discontent over the
socioeconomic and education disparity between the Malays and the
Chinese resulted in the aggressive setting up of educational institutions of
higher learning for the Malays.

15. DESEGREGATION EFFORTS
 1980s, the government began establishing integrated schools by bringing
together the three language media primary schools that were located in
the same vicinity
 1990s, Vision schools implemented where the children of 3 major race
would be administered by the 3 different races – a combined vernacular
school concept
BOTH EFFORTS REJECTED AND NOT SUPPORTED – BY THE
CHINESE FOR FEAR OF LOSING THEIR ETHNIC HERITAGE
 Movement by the government to make the national primary schools the
schools of choice has nevertheless been viewed apprehensively among
non-Malays, especially by Chinese educationists.
 The above measures were seen as a threat to the survival of Chinese
primary schools.

16. NATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
"Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further
developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and
integrated manner, so as to produce individuals who are
intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced
and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and devotion to
God.
Such an effort is designed to produce Malaysian citizens who
are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral
standards, and who are responsible and capable of achieving
high level of personal well-being as well as being able to
contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the
society and the nation at large."

17. VISION & MISSION
VISION
EXCELLENT SCHOOLS, A GLORIOUS GENERATION
MISSION
DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL POTENTIAL THROUGH
QUALITY EDUCATION

18. ASPIRATIONS
 Access: Every child in Malaysia deserves equal access to an education that
will enable that child to achieve his or her potential
 Quality: All children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent
education that is uniquely Malaysian and comparable to the best
international systems.
 Equity: Top-performing school systems deliver the best possible education
for every child, regardless of geography, gender, or socioeconomic
background.
 Unity: As students spend over a quarter of their time in school from the
ages of 7 to 17, schools are in a key position to foster unity.
 Efficiency: The Malaysian education system has always been well-funded,
yet improvements in student outcomes have not always matched the
resources channeled into the system.

19. IN CONCLUSION
In order for Multi-Ethnic Malaysia to achieve the Vision, Mission and
Aspiration of the National Education Philosophy and foster unity:
TOTAL Desegregation of the educational system (SCHOOLS)
complete structural revamp of the vernacular schools
One common medium of instructions across all schools – both primary and
secondary
ENGLISH AND BAHASA MALAYSIA LANGUAGE MUST BE MADE PRIORITY AS
MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTIONS
CHINESE AND INDIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURE BE MADE AS A SUBJECT
IN SCHOOLS

20. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Raman, S. R., & Sua, T. (2010). Ethnic segregation in Malaysia's education system:
enrolment choices, preferential policies and desegregation. Paedagogica Historica,
46(1/2), 117-131.
Segawa, N. (2007). Malaysia's 1996 Education Act: The Impact of a Multiculturalism-
type Approach on National Integration. SOJOURN: Journal Of Social Issues In Southeast
Asia, 22(1), 30-56.
Education in Malaysia: A Journey to Excellence / prepared by the Educational Planning
and Research Division. Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Includes index
ISBN 978-983-9522-21-1
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21. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lambert, T. (n.d.). A SHORT HISTORY OF MALAYSIA. A Brief History of Malaysia.
Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://www.localhistories.org/malaysia.html
Journal of Educational Administration; Educational development and reformation in
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Professor and Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya, Malaysia
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