LETTER | “Who is Maszlee Malik?” There is no better way to know him than to talk to him. In the absence of that opportunity, I took a look at part of his research work here.

I do not know enough about all the complex issues surrounding Maszlee’s appointment and I certainly do not claim to represent all views that express caution. I’ll just focus on my three main concerns.

• Is someone whose expertise (at least from his research) concerns government and in particular, the role of Islam in government the right candidate for the education portfolio?
   
• Given his background as an Islamic scholar, will he promote the Islamisation of education?
   
• I think is the biggest hole in our education system is how our students are not trained to question everything. Will he plug that hole?

My summary answers (based on my reading of his research) are.

• Yes, provided he listens to those who can give him the right insight.
   
• Unlikely. At least, none of his research suggests so.
   
• Yes. I find myself most aligned with him in this regard.

Is he qualified to be the minister of education? Is Maszlee an educator? Yes. Is education his field of research? No. From my reading, Maszlee is most concerned with how social capital affects the formation of good governance.

Social capital refers to the collective qualities that individuals possess and how all of it contributes towards a more caring, dynamic, productive and progressive society. I would imagine that such individuals are the goal of an education system. Further understanding how social capital relates to good governance can only be a bonus.

Maszlee mentions ihsan and falah again and again in his research. I quote from Maszlee’s article in the International Journal of Education and Social Science:

“Ihsan (Perfection) connotes the comprehensive excellence, and the final crowning glory or finishing embellishment. It is the ultimate aim of the dynamic process of development in the economic, social and spiritual sense, and attaining it implies the attainment of falah (holistic success in both worldly and hereafter.”

We can and will bicker a little over what exactly constitutes ihsan and falah in a day to day setting but I am quite sure that we would agree on most of what we discuss. I trust Maszlee will have many who will be able to provide him with good advice on how to tackle the complexities of the education system and will be well-equipped to digest that advice and formulate good policies based on it.

Will he promote Islamisation of education? To really know, we have to ask him. Does his research suggest this? Not that I can tell. Maszlee’s work discusses the role religion plays in the development of social capital and how social capital can play a defining role in the development of good governance. He then discusses the statement with Islamic tenets. There is nothing wrong with that.

One could study the same question from many angles. It is important to discuss the role religion and culture plays through a lens of a major faith. I tried (because I am a sceptic) but could not find anything in his work that mentions the need for Islam as a precursor to success. I can’t find anything that precludes any other faith (or the lack of faith).

I have full confidence that Maszlee’s main convictions as a person and teacher are to churn out students who are well-developed individuals as building blocks of a well-governed country.

Will Maszlee move education in a way that teaches our young ones to question everything? Yes. I fully believe so. My formation of this belief is not based on his research but rather, an article of his. I quote:

“The Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF) has stood on the sidelines since Zakir Naik’s early presence in Malaysia because we do not subscribe to his dialectical and combative approach, overbearing Islam over others, conscious or unconsciously proselytising, and often times oblivious of the local context and demography.

“In a similar vein, the maqasid syari’ah (higher objectives of Islamic law) epitomises hifz ad-deen as the protection and preservation of all belief and moral systems and enhances mutual respect and understanding among followers of all religions.

“However, we do not overtly criticise Zakir Naik and his following, of his style and his methodology, because it is his ijtihad (juristic opinion) and prerogative vis-a-vis the deliverance of Islam’s message of peace and mercy. We instead invite the genuine and sincere among us to steer the discourse towards a civilisational dialogue, enhancing the higher purposes of aspiring for lita’rafu and not one driven by litanafasu, despise and envy of the others.”

I couldn’t agree more. The training to question everything starts with the ability to listen to everything and to form one’s own opinion based on reason and openness to new facts instead of dogmatic prior convictions. There is no need to clamp down on discourse or to punish students for asking their teachers to justify what they are taught beyond what is presented in books.

Maszlee (and his co-author’s) point is that while he may not agree with Zakir Naik’s opinion, they are adhering to an even greater principle which is to allow someone to express their opinion regardless what it is. Our role is not to stop such speech, but to teach our young ones how to detect such speech, reject it and to reason peacefully. I trust that Maszlee will see to this and move our education towards a system where students are trained to question and learn instead of listening.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.