How Sarawak can lead the way in incorporating cultural heritage with modern-day learning
Few people will dispute that Sarawak is rich in cultural diversity and guardian of a wealthy inheritance of indigenous languages, historical knowledge, cultures, traditions, art and music. In fact, Sarawak’s sizable tourism sector banks on these things to draw millions of visitors to our shores every year.
However, constant socio-economic emphases on modernisation, urbanisation and development over the years has and is eating away at efforts to preserve and propagate these mostly intangible elements.
Many locals are proud to identify themselves as Sarawakians, but when it comes to cultural identity, it becomes harder to pinpoint what exactly it is that we are proud of when we find out we actually know so little about the cultural context we come from and are surrounded by.
Both the national education system and our national schools are, arguably, the predominant avenues through which the depletion of historical and cultural knowledge can be mitigated. They also offer the best hope to reverse the trend.
Unfortunately, key subjects for imparting and propagating cultural awareness and appreciation — music, literature and the arts — seem to be the last in line to receive resources and attention (should any be left over) from a resource-starved education system.
They also tend to be the first to be sacrificed for the needs of other subjects deemed more worthy of attention, such as science and maths.
In the interest of ‘pure’ academics, we are giving up our collective awareness of our cultural heritage, laying the groundwork instead for a tragic loss from which future generations may never recover.
Thankfully, there are dedicated musicians, academics and educators working behind the scenes who are going through great lengths and effort to ensure that traditional Sarawakian music does not drown in the onslaught of modernisation.
Among them is Chong Pek Lin, a senior music lecturer at Batu Lintang Teachers’ College who has already written two books on the folk songs of the Kenyah people and is planning to release a third book on the folk songs of East Malaysia very soon.
In addition to being an adept player of traditional Kenyah music instruments including the sape, Chong is also a passionate music educator.
Chong did not originally intend to become a music teacher, having graduated with a degree in Chemistry and taught the subject for a number of years in West Malaysia. On the strength of her diploma in music, she joined the Batu Lintang teachers’ college in 1989 to be a music teacher.
Her first step towards becoming a music scribe of sorts stemmed innocently enough from the need to find good quality traditional folk songs for her school’s choir to perform. She found her attention drawn towards the folk songs of the Kenyah people because of its rich melodies.
With the encouragement of her mother, the late Datin Julia Chong, she decided to pursue her Masters in ethnic music at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Her research took her all the way to Ulu Baram over difficult terrain and river rapids into interior areas where she discovered a veritable treasure trove of traditional folk songs and dances.
She felt she had to write down as much as she could and with the invaluable help of the locals, she documented, recorded and transcribed a wealth of traditional folk songs and dances.
Localising music education
Chong feels strongly that there is much to be gained from adapting the music syllabus in schools to incorporate traditional folk songs.
Chong opined that the current KBSR syllabus and how it is taught in schools leaves a lot to be desired as the textbook was compiled within a matter of months, meaning that the authors had composed their own music to use in the book in order to fulfill the syllabus requirements.
Although the authors are qualified and experienced, the manner in how the textbook was compiled meant that its material was not as good as it could be.
Complicating the situation is the lack of alternative materials which music teachers can use to complement the textbook, forcing many teachers to source for resources overseas which are in turn, based on foreign music.
This has resulted in students and teachers being more familiar with music from outside Malaysia rather than local music.
It has also led to the current paradox of Sarawak having difficulty to find enough skilled younger musicians and singers to fill the shoes of the older generation of performers – many of whom have retired or have passed away – and attempting to promote and export its traditional music through tourism and cultural exchanges as a way to generate economic income for the state.
Chong favours using traditional folk songs and music instruments to teach music because they can help make the subject more alive as well as make music education more culturally relevant.
By her estimate, only 3 per cent of the current syllabus uses folk songs.
Chong said that traditional Kenyah music is actually quite well-suited to teach music concepts such as the pentatonic scale and how to sing in harmony.
In addition to developing students’ appreciation for music, it could also be a springboard for other subjects such as history, arts, local traditions and culture which can help students understand the overall picture of the world they exist in.
Hopefully, it would also help to strengthen students’ interests in these ‘soft’ subjects and nurture it beyond the K12 stage into university and post-graduate level where it is sorely needed.
However, the harsh reality is that achieving this outcome will require proper planning, significant willpower and coordination between decision-makers, policy-makers and educators.
Untapped potential
Chong pointed out that in addition to taking viable steps to address the shortage of qualified music teachers, there must also be the will to put long-term measures in place which will build up and strengthen local research and expertise in music education.
Support and coordination between various government departments, education providers and NGOs is crucial. Otherwise, potential benefits would be wasted.
In 2006, Chong authored ‘Songs from the Baram: Kenyah Songs from Upriver Longhouses’ as part of a Sarawak Development Institute Project and made possible with funding from the US Department of State.
The book even came with audio and visual compact discs of Kenyah songs which Chong had transcribed as part of her research and was published with the hope that eventually it would be used by all schools in Malaysia for their music lessons.
About 1,000 copies were initially printed, with 600 presented to the State Education Department to be distributed free of charge to various government bodies, schools and other institutes of learning around the state.
However, Chong does not know what happened to these books or whether they are being used to teach music in schools as she has not yet come across anyone using it to teach music.
Even the school attended by children from one of the longhouses which contributed significantly to her research did not receive copies (when she discovered this, Chong gave a copy of the book to the school).
Going forward
Joni Mitchell once sang wistfully, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone?”
It seems rather ironic to use lyrics written by a Canadian folk singer – songwriter to remind us how we should appreciate our own local folk songs but just maybe, that’s exactly the point we should be making.
It’s not just about preserving and perpetuating cultural knowledge, it’s also about fostering cultural awareness and respect between different ethnic groups.
The shared love of music has always been a uniting factor between Malaysians and it makes sense to use it to create and cultivate a shared national identity.
After all, if foreigners can appreciate our traditional music, why can’t we?