LETTER | In a recently published article entitled "Islamic Assault on Malaysia's Higher Education" by Murray Hunter, it was opined that the ex-Education Minister Maszlee Malik had left behind a column of Islamic activists in the top echelons of the ministry and public universities.
Citing a former vice-chancellor as a source of which he did not name, Hunter approvingly pointed out that the 26 newly appointed vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors were not made on merit but rather on the basis their of loyalty to Maszlee, Salafi preachers and Perlis Mufti (Muslim legal expert) Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.
He further stated while referring to the same source that "if Maszlee had more time as the education minister, both the ministry and almost every top position in Malaysia’s public universities would have been filled with members of an Islamic NGO dedicated to enhancing Islamic teachings and practices in everyday life. That NGO is Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia. Hunter also lumps other organisations affiliated with Ikram as assisting the same cause.
What is disconcerting about Hunter's article is the claim that Ikram's leadership has been infiltrated by Salafi sympathizers pushing fringe ideas of Islam. Salafism according to Hunter is "a revivalist crusade within Sunni Islam that developed in Egypt in the late 19th century as a response to Western European imperialism".
Following Hunter's line of thinking, one may say by extension that those who are associated with Ikram will similarly further the cause of Salafism in the country. And so it seems that according to the article, there is an explicit agenda to Islamise the higher education system in Malaysia rather than pushing for education reforms.
Who then is Ikram which Hunter alleges as pushing fringe ideas of Islam and who are those affiliated with Ikram?
There is Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM), a coalition of twenty-seven civil society organisations of mixed faiths, human rights, community service providers, think-tanks and educationist groups - whose overall goal is to respond to the critical challenge of National Unity and Inter-religious Harmony. Amongst the mixed-faith civil society organisations within GBM, Ikram stands as one of its founding members. The senior leadership of Ikram are also senior leaders and executive committee members of GBM. Within this coalition, Ikram embarks on nation-building projects such as the promotion of inter-ethnic and religious harmony over issues such as the constitutionality of vernacular schools and the recent Jawi controversy.
In working together with other member organisation within GBM that are of different faith and ethnic composition, IKRAM utilises the guiding principles of Islam to disseminate and educate the general public on a better and more prosperous way of life where one is able to find and understand themselves and the people around them. In this respect, Ikram's vision of a "Rahmah Nation" (compassionate nation) deserves mention simply because non-Muslim coalition members within GBM such as the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) and others can stand together with Ikram on such goals for Nation Building.
- Competent and accountable leadership
- Administrative system based on effective check and balance
- Good governance
- Fair and just Laws
- Knowledgeable, civil and caring society
- Strong family institution
- Harmonious ethnic and religious relations
- Stable and thriving economy
- Equitable distribution of wealth
- Sustainable development
- Safeguarding citizens' welfare, health and security
- Spearheading global peace and humanitarian efforts
Of course, the detailed implementation of such concepts and goals remains to be worked out in total and to be fully affected. But suffice to say that within the multi-ethnic and religious make-up of GBM, Ikram has been able to collaborate with other ethnic groups to foster a better and deeper understanding of each other’s religious cultures and practices.
They have conducted the Aidilfitri harmony celebrations which saw various ethnic performances carried out and food stalls established for the rakyat to get to know the other 'ethnicities' food. They have exchanged views with academics and lecturers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China. They became one of GBM participants that launched the National Unity Piggy Bank and more recently as co-partners in organising the Forum Jawi: Saling Memahami (Jawi Forum: Understanding One Another) to help ease misunderstandings on the Jawi Issue.
Ikram’s Impak Bahasa Malaysia
Within local communities, GBM has been able to initiate and contribute to the welfare and development of local communities via the Impak programmes. Originally adapted and modified by one of GBM's longstanding member, the Tamil Foundation from the United State’s Parents Assisting Student Success (Pass) programmes, GBM organised classes held for parents to educate them so that they, in turn, could educate their children. Utilising the Impak Chinese programme, GBM was able to reach out to both parents and school-going children in B40 areas to benefit them.
Due to its effectiveness, from September 2016, Ikram took the lead in commencing the Impak BM program for residents in PPR Kota Damansara, collaborating with other NGOs such as Friends of Kota Damansara (FoKD) and Community Transformative Initiative (CTI). Two batches of classes were held from 2016 to 2017, benefitting over 30 Malaysian Malays, Chinese and Indian parent participants as well as their children.
Family days were carried out for the participants with the sole purpose of enhancing relationships between the parents and Impak organisers. Future plans for Impak’s implementation program include taking it to the school level while more of such programs would be offered in PPR-Kota Damansara as well as nearby schools in Petaling Jaya and Kajang.
Since 2018, the Impak BM program was taken forward where Ikram has held eight training-for-trainers (ToT) sessions for Impak BM, in which three of were National Level ToT. The other ToT's were for trainers in Putrajaya, Sabah, Northern Malaysia, Johor and Simpang Renggam. As of May 2019, 378 Impak BM trainers and two master trainers conducted over 24 Impak BM classes across Malaysia from October 2018 to May 2019 with a recorded number of 516 parent participants of different ethnicities. The closing ceremony of "Karnival Sayangi Komunitiku" at PPR Taman Wahyu on 2019 witnessed the new launch of Impak programme by Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s representative P Prakabaran.
Ikram’s actions in this programme for the past few years reflected greatly on their commitment and concerns towards not only for the Muslim communities but for non-Muslims as well. We in GBM could say that Ikram is an Islamic organisation that strives for moderation, progressiveness and acceptance for everyone from all walks of life.
Based on the above-mentioned, Ikram advocates on progressive ideologies such as creating dependable leadership for the rakyat, equality and justice. The guiding of Islam that Ikram adheres to includes initiatives to form understandings and collaborations with other ethnicities with different religions to work together to achieve the "Rahmah Nation".
In this climate of misunderstandings, uneasiness and suspicions towards each other and perhaps anxiety over the Islamisation agenda, a great deal of effort must be committed to dispel fears of all communities and replace that with inclusiveness, acceptance with mutual respect and embracing shared value to strive for the common good.
Every Malaysian owe this responsibility to themselves, their children and their families to make this dream a reality. It is our duties as loyal Malaysians to seek after the welfare of the city and the country with justice, compassion and mercy. The urgent call is to prioritise the welfare of the poor and unfortunate as well as aiming towards a cleaner and sustainable environment. Above all, it is equally important to create a harmonious community with respect for diversity within the given ethnicities and religious mix in the country.
It is in this respect that Hunter’s article has failed to achieve. Rather than spur educational reforms, Hunter’s article has brought disrepute as well as fostered further dissensions and suspicions with communities.
To our agreement, our nation is not perfect, there is much that is not right with it and there exist the differences of expectations in terms of our national trajectory and even identities. But that is within the realm of dialogues, negotiations and most critically, in reaching out to all rakyat that is of different languages, beliefs, practices and cultures that could be utilised to form the common understanding between Malaysians.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
