Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Education by Mission schools, not even a word of thanks

In 1967, the official Yearbook of the Federation of Malaysia states;
when reporting the quality of education in schools run by the Christian bodies expressed:
“..... the Mission schools, particular those under the direction of the Roman Catholic Christian Brothers and the Americam Methodist Church were chiefly responsible for the rapid advancement in English education.And by 1914, some three fourths of the boys receiving education were in those schools ..... It is a striking tribute to the selflessness of these men and women that they should have gained the ready confidence and affection of both parents and teachersdespite differences in religion and culture ......”

Available school records before world war II , in fact showed that 74% of the boys and almost all the girls were in Mission schools.

Today, we have the following statement from Parliament.
Tuan Syed Hood bin Syed Edros [Parit Sulong]: Bukan sahaja patung, tetapi Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat pergilah, tengoklah salib Kristian diletakkan di depan-depan sekolah. Saya tidak faham Kementerian Pelajaran, adakah pegawai-pegawai tidak nampak atau memang dasar kita membenarkan perkara ini. Walau bagaimanapun, saya sebagai orang yang bertanggungjawab kepada diri saya, agama, bangsa dan tanah air ini, saya menyatakan pendirian saya bahawa patung-patung ini hendaklah dirobohkan, salib-salib ini hendaklah dimusnahkan dan pengaruhpengaruh gereja di sekolah-sekolah ini hendaklah dihentikan. Begitu juga dana yang dikumpulkan di sekolah-sekolah ini. Adakah kita mendapat laporan? Kalau boleh kementerian mendedahkan dana sekolah-sekolah ini. Saya difahamkan ada sekolah-sekolah ini juga ditaja oleh pihak-pihak gereja. Dana-dananya datang daripada gereja-gereja dan adakah pihak kementerian pantau sumber-sumbernya? Adakah audit-audit dilaksanakan?


Member of Parliament (Malay of course) has called for the removal of Christian symbols from these schools. so what of tradition, never mind even a word of thanks to these schools for producing and providing generations after generations of Malaysians with quality education and English as a first language.





Picture of St. George's from taipingtalk.com

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